In this edition of Coffee Chat, hosts Amber and Lisa welcome Christina Custodio, a professional photographer, author, and speaker, to share her powerful story of faith during a family crisis. Christina recounts the harrowing experience of her son Isaiah's sudden severe brain hemorrhage during football practice, the emergency surgery that saved his life, and their road to recovery. Through this ordeal, Christina discusses the depth of her reliance on God, the support of her community, and the lessons in faith, trust, and resilience that she and her family learned. This heartfelt conversation delves into the emotional, spiritual, and practical challenges of navigating a life-changing event while maintaining hope and joy.

00:00 Welcome to Coffee Chat
00:07 Introducing Christina Custodio
00:58 Christina's Journey into Writing
02:06 A Mother's Worst Nightmare
06:38 The Miraculous Recovery
09:14 Life After the Surgery
10:28 Balancing Family and Faith
18:50 The Impact on Siblings
20:30 Supporting Each Other Through Difficult Times
21:09 Finding Joy in Helping Others
22:49 Lessons in Reliance on God
27:06 The Power of Prayer and Letting Go
32:34 Embracing Diversity and Unity in Faith
36:05 The Role of Pain and Suffering in Spiritual Growth
37:29 A Mother's Journey of Faith and Trust
39:53 Seeking and Feeling God's Presence

Thank you for taking the time to like, subscribe, share, and comment. Visit leadingladies.life to find out more. Also, follow @leadingladieslife on social. Amber & Lisa are authors of the multi-award-winning book, Leading Ladies: Discover Your God-Grown Strategy for Success, which dives into the power of community and empowering women of faith to rise up and make a difference, using our gifts and faith to shine brightly in the world. Watch the Facebook Live edition on our YouTube Channel @coffeechatladies .

From Award-Winning Novels to Highland Cows: A Conversation About Simplicity, Heirlooms, and Faith with Maureen Miller

Grab your favorite cup of coffee (or peppermint tea!) and settle in for this soul-stirring conversation with novelist and homesteader Maureen Miller, aka "the flower girl herself."

Amber and Lisa dive deep with Maureen about her award-winning time-slip novel Gideon's Book, but this chat goes way beyond just talking books. We're talking highland cows (yes, really), geriatric farms, greenhouse disasters involving white flies, and why sometimes you just need to eat box mac and cheese even when you're a homesteader.

From spinning wool with drop spindles to performing surgery on grandkids' stuffies, from the spiritual depth of farming to why handwritten notes still matter in our disposable world—this conversation will make you want to slow down, pull your grandma's china off the shelf, and remember what really matters.

Fair warning: This episode might make you want to grow potatoes in your backyard, write more letters, and definitely think twice before grabbing those paper plates. And if you've ever wondered what it costs to raise a highland cow or why a Bible survived a tornado on a piano... well, you'll just have to listen.

In this episode:

• The 16-year journey to write Gideon's Book (including starting completely over!)
• What homesteading really looks like (spoiler: it's not always Instagram-perfect)
• Why we need to be better stewards of the heirlooms God has given us—both the stuff AND ourselves
• Chiefs football, Taylor Swift speculation, and Leading Ladies 2.0 at Walmart!

Come for the book talk, stay for the life-giving reminder that sometimes the simple things are the most sacred things.

00:00 - Welcome & Kansas City Chiefs Love The girls kick things off with that Flower Girl song, football banter, and why Kansas City lets famous people live normal lives (we're looking at you, Travis and Taylor)

04:00 - Big Announcements: Leading Ladies is at Walmart! Amber and Lisa share exciting news about Leading Ladies 2.0 hitting Barnes & Noble and Walmart—produce aisle book signings, anyone?

05:00 - Meet Maureen Miller: Award-Winning Novelist & Homesteader Introducing the magnetic flower girl herself and the incredible story behind her award-winning debut novel, Gideon's Book

06:00 - The 16-Year Journey: From Whisper to Published Novel How God whispered "the Bible by the bed" in 2007, why Maureen started completely over, and what it took to bring this time-slip story to life

08:00 - What is Gideon's Book Really About? Time slips, Gideon Bibles in hotel rooms, adoptive mothers, birth mothers, and a beautiful tribute to how God's Word transforms lives

11:00 - Homesteading During COVID: Finding Silver Linings What life looked like on Selah Farm during lockdown, walking the country roads, and choosing gratitude in hard seasons

14:00 - The Reality of Homesteading (It's Not All Instagram Perfect) Overgrown greenhouses, white fly infestations, and why Maureen calls it a "geriatric farm"—spoiler: she's doing something right!

18:00 - How Much Does a Highland Cow Cost, Anyway? The real talk about raising cattle, why Amber can't fit one in h

Thank you for taking the time to like, subscribe, share, and comment. Visit leadingladies.life to find out more. Also, follow @leadingladieslife on social. Amber & Lisa are authors of the multi-award-winning book, Leading Ladies: Discover Your God-Grown Strategy for Success, which dives into the power of community and empowering women of faith to rise up and make a difference, using our gifts and faith to shine brightly in the world. Watch the Facebook Live edition on our YouTube Channel @coffeechatladies .

Life has been life'in, people, and we're back with a heart-to-heart that might just be the permission slip you've been waiting for.

In this episode, Lisa opens up about the reality of being a firstborn daughter turned lifelong caregiver—from raising younger siblings in the seventies to caring for her mom through cancer and brain surgery, and now navigating her dad's recent health crisis. If you've ever felt guilty for needing rest, struggled to say no, or wondered why everyone else's emergency becomes your responsibility, this conversation is for you.

Whether you're caring for aging parents, raising kids, managing chronic illness, or just trying to survive while being everyone's person, we hope this reminds you: God has broad shoulders for your burdens, and you don't have to carry it all alone.

Pour yourself a cup of something warm and join us.

Thank you for taking the time to like, subscribe, share, and comment. Visit leadingladies.life to find out more. Also, follow @leadingladieslife on social. Amber & Lisa are authors of the multi-award-winning book, Leading Ladies: Discover Your God-Grown Strategy for Success, which dives into the power of community and empowering women of faith to rise up and make a difference, using our gifts and faith to shine brightly in the world. Watch the Facebook Live edition on our YouTube Channel @coffeechatladies .

In this episode, hosts Lisa and Amber sit down with Natasha Harris Butler. Natasha is now navigating life as a single mother to her three-year-old son while building her private practice as a therapist, and she's just released her first book.

The conversation centers around Natasha's new devotional, "Anchored by Grace: Prayers for Keeping an Undivided Heart After Divorce" - a 30-day resource for anyone walking through difficult seasons. Rather than shying away from hard topics, the hosts create space for honest discussion about taking those things that bring shame and laying them out in the light, because transparency disarms the enemy's ability to use our struggles against us.

Natasha opens up about how God showed up in practical ways during her divorce - including waking up one morning to find attorney fees in her account when she had no idea how the money got there. These are the kind of real-life provisions that can only be attributed to God's kindness in the midst of pain.

The episode explores themes of grief as the loss of our vision for the future, the importance of finding community rather than isolating, and understanding that our broken places aren't sources of shame but spaces where God's light can shine brightest. Throughout the conversation, Natasha shares her heart for creating purpose from her pain and maintaining integrity for her son's sake.

This is a tender, honest conversation about resilience, faith, and God's faithfulness in the messy, grace-filled journey of life when it doesn't go according to plan.

Timeline:

00:00 - Welcome and introductions - podcasting from scaffolding in the almost-finished studio

01:00 - Meeting Natasha Butler Harris - watching young women grow up and do "grown woman things" 03:00 - Introducing "Anchored by Grace: Prayers for Keeping an Undivided Heart After Divorce"

04:00 - Taking shame out of the shadows - laying struggles in the light to disarm the enemy

06:00 - Natasha's journey - waiting 40 years to marry, the excitement and devastation of divorce

08:00 - Memorializing God's faithfulness - learning to record how God shows up

10:00 - Broken vessels and God's light - how brokenness becomes a place for God to shine

13:00 - God's practical provision - mysterious attorney fees and financial miracles

16:00 - Learning surrender - trusting God with parenting decisions and co-parenting

18:00 - God's faithfulness in divorce - breaking stigma around hard seasons

20:00 - Writing the book - from personal prayers to encouraging others in practice

22:00 - Where to find "Anchored by Grace" - Amazon vs Barnes & Noble

24:00 - Closing prayer for those walking through difficult seasons 25:30 - Final advice - find community, don't isolate, no shame in reaching out

Thank you for taking the time to like, subscribe, share, and comment. Visit leadingladies.life to find out more. Also, follow @leadingladieslife on social. Amber & Lisa are authors of the multi-award-winning book, Leading Ladies: Discover Your God-Grown Strategy for Success, which dives into the power of community and empowering women of faith to rise up and make a difference, using our gifts and faith to shine brightly in the world. Watch the Facebook Live edition on our YouTube Channel @coffeechatladies .

Join Amber, Lisa, and special guest Adrienne Story in this heartfelt episode of Coffee Chat. Together, they discuss the profound experience of navigating grief, particularly through infant loss. Adrienne shares her touching journey of losing children, dealing with profound grief, and finding ways to honor her losses while still embracing new joys. They also tackle topics such as the unhelpful things people say, the stages of grief, and the importance of faith and support during trying times. Whether you're walking through a season of loss or looking to support a loved one, this episode offers compassionate insight and hope.

00:00 Welcome Back to Coffee Chat
00:47 Celebrating Achievements and Sharing Updates
02:38 Introducing Adrian and Discussing Grief
05:36 Personal Stories of Loss and Grief
09:09 Adrian's Journey Through Grief
16:52 Navigating Pregnancy After Loss
21:34 Coping with Subsequent Losses
36:30 A Mother's Intuition and Reassurance
36:45 Facing Complications and Divine Reassurance
37:30 The Third Pregnancy and God's Reassurance
39:29 Family Expansion and Unexpected Blessings
39:56 Adrian's Journey: Pregnancy Amidst Family Struggles
40:50 Medical Challenges and Support System
43:52 Naming Significance and Family Bonds
45:41 Grief and Joy: A Mother's Dual Experience
46:46 Navigating Grief and Finding Purpose
51:46 The Reality of Grief and Supportive Words
01:06:28 Redeeming Moments and Helping Others
01:12:19 Final Thoughts and Praye

Thank you for taking the time to like, subscribe, share, and comment. Visit leadingladies.life to find out more. Also, follow @leadingladieslife on social. Amber & Lisa are authors of the multi-award-winning book, Leading Ladies: Discover Your God-Grown Strategy for Success, which dives into the power of community and empowering women of faith to rise up and make a difference, using our gifts and faith to shine brightly in the world. Watch the Facebook Live edition on our YouTube Channel @coffeechatladies .

Instead of our regular live coffee chat this week, we're thrilled to share something special - the audio introduction and first chapter from Amber's new devotional, "Flowers Find a Way: Resilient Blooms of Relentless Faith." Settle in with your favorite beverage as you listen to "A Legacy in Petals" (the introduction) and "The Defiance of Holy Blooms" (Day One). This preview captures the heart of Amber's 30-day devotional about finding hope and growth in difficult circumstances. Through the metaphor of flowers pushing through concrete, Amber explores how we can maintain our softness and authenticity while breaking through life's hardest moments. As she shares in the book, "The concrete doesn't stand a chance against a flower that refuses to stay buried."

Coffee Chat Live with Amber & Lisa will return next week, but we hope this audio excerpt provides encouragement and a meaningful preview of what the full devotional offers. 📖 "Flowers Find a Way" is available now in print wherever books are sold. Get $3 off by following the Flowers Find a Way link at coffeechatladies.com☕ We'd love to hear what resonated with you from this preview!

Thank you for taking the time to like, subscribe, share, and comment. Visit leadingladies.life to find out more. Also, follow @leadingladieslife on social. Amber & Lisa are authors of the multi-award-winning book, Leading Ladies: Discover Your God-Grown Strategy for Success, which dives into the power of community and empowering women of faith to rise up and make a difference, using our gifts and faith to shine brightly in the world. Watch the Facebook Live edition on our YouTube Channel @coffeechatladies .

In this deeply moving episode of Coffee Chat, hosts Lisa and Amber welcome their first-ever male guest, Pastor Randy Burns. With over 37 years of pastoral ministry experience and 26 years as a professional counselor, Randy brings profound insights into understanding trauma, the healing process, and how faith intersects with mental health. This conversation moves beyond theory when Randy leads Amber through a powerful healing prayer experience, demonstrating how God's presence can bring refreshment, clarity, and restoration. Whether you're carrying your own wounds or supporting loved ones through theirs, this episode offers practical wisdom for the journey toward wholeness.

1. Introduction to Randy Burns (0:00-5:00)
   • Randy Burns joins as the podcast's first male guest
   • Background in pastoral ministry (37 years) and counseling (26 years)
   • Brief personal history on Randy's education and calling
2. Understanding Trauma (5:00-15:00)
   • Defining trauma as emotional overload, crushed spirit, or brokenness
   • How trauma can be experienced directly or witnessed
   • The impact of religious trauma and church experiences
   • How unresolved trauma shapes our perception of God
3. Sin as a Symptom (15:00-22:00)
   • Looking beyond behaviors to underlying needs and wounds
   • Ministry in challenging environments
   • Creating safe spaces in church communities
4. The Healing Journey (22:00-32:00)
   • Healing as a non-linear, layered process
   • The birthday party analogy - God addressing each stage of life
   • How sensory triggers connect to past trauma
   • Knowing when you're ready to address past wounds
5. Ministry with Unresolved Trauma (32:00-40:00)
   • Can wounded people effectively minister to others?
   • Setting healthy boundaries in helping relationships
   • Self-care practices for those in ministry
   • The "not the lifeguard on duty" principle
6. Healing Prayer Experience (40:00-60:00)
   • Randy guides Amber through a healing prayer session
   • Grounding techniques and becoming present
   • Creating space to hear God speak to specific needs
   • Amber's personal revelation and emotional release
7. Closing Reflections (60:00-66:00)
   • Simplified steps for healing prayer
   • The importance of having others walk with us through trauma
   • Daily refreshment through God's presence
   • Contact information and wrap-up

Guest Bio: Randy Burns has served in pastoral ministry for 37 years and counseling for 26 years. He holds a master's degree in pastoral counseling and is a minister in one of Kansas City's most challenging neighborhoods. Randy brings a unique perspective on healing, combining professional expertise with personal experience and spiritual wisdom. Have Questions? Email Pastor Randy at leerb7@gmail.com.

Thank you for taking the time to like, subscribe, share, and comment. Visit leadingladies.life to find out more. Also, follow @leadingladieslife on social. Amber & Lisa are authors of the multi-award-winning book, Leading Ladies: Discover Your God-Grown Strategy for Success, which dives into the power of community and empowering women of faith to rise up and make a difference, using our gifts and faith to shine brightly in the world. Watch the Facebook Live edition on our YouTube Channel @coffeechatladies .

Join Amber and Lisa in this heartfelt discussion about navigating friendships and trust in a world where relationships can be both messy and beautiful. Broadcasting during Missouri's monsoon season (with Amber dealing with a mini waterfall in her laundry room!), the hosts dive into the complexities of friendship - from identifying who belongs in your inner circle to recognizing when relationships might be unhealthy. They share personal stories, biblical wisdom, and practical advice on developing meaningful connections while maintaining healthy boundaries. Whether you're feeling lonely in leadership or questioning the authenticity of relationships in your life, this conversation offers compassionate guidance for building trust and nurturing genuine friendships.

Thank you for taking the time to like, subscribe, share, and comment. Visit leadingladies.life to find out more. Also, follow @leadingladieslife on social. Amber & Lisa are authors of the multi-award-winning book, Leading Ladies: Discover Your God-Grown Strategy for Success, which dives into the power of community and empowering women of faith to rise up and make a difference, using our gifts and faith to shine brightly in the world. Watch the Facebook Live edition on our YouTube Channel @coffeechatladies .