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  • The Fine Line Between Entitlement and Healthy Self-Worth | How to Ask for What You Want With Grace

    The Fine Line Between Entitlement and Healthy Self-Worth | How to Ask for What You Want With Grace
    2026/07/24
    I booked a river jump suite in Mexico a year and a half in advance. Paid extra to upgrade. Agreed to sit through a 90 minute timeshare presentation to make it work. And when I checked in, they gave me a different room. What happened next is not my finest moment. In this episode of Taking Life by the Raines, Brandi gets real about a sin she thinks a lot of us struggle with and rarely admit: entitlement. She just got back from Mexico where she was convicted — hard — about the way she showed up when things didn't go as planned. She shares the full story, what it cost her spiritually, what she learned about the difference between entitlement and healthy self-worth, and how she is recalibrating going into this next season. This one is for anyone who has ever let a disappointment turn into a full-blown attitude and known in the moment that they were going too far but just could not stop. In this episode: • The river suite story: booked it, paid for it, didn't get it, and completely lost her witness • The book How to Raise Grateful Kids in an Entitled World and why it convicted her about herself, not her kids • When you're so far in you can't back down — and why it's never too late to stop • Her friend who is still building her faith and why Brandi failed her on this trip • Entitlement is a fine line: where healthy self-worth ends and entitlement begins • Riley at the nail salon: teaching her daughter to ask for what she wants with grace • Sugar goes farther than salt — always lead with grace and kindness • The smiling-on-the-phone sales lesson and what it taught Brandi about energy • The goal is not to expect less — it is to contribute as much as you hope to receive • Holy Spirit, activate: how to hand over the moment when you are too far in to back up • Agape on her wrist and what she forgot to look at all week in Mexico • Practicing gratitude is not about accepting less — it's about seeing life in a God light 📖 The book referenced in this episode: https://a.co/d/05BAL6lu New episodes every week. Subscribe and join us. 💜 📲 Follow Taking Life by the Raines: Instagram: instagram.com/takinglifebytheraines/ TikTok: tiktok.com/takinglifebythera Facebook: facebook.com/takinglifebytheraines/ 📲 Follow Brandi: Instagram: instagram.com/brandirainesbeauty/ TikTok: tiktok.com/brandirainesbeauty Facebook: facebook.com/followbrandiraines/ About me + my links: msha.ke/brandirainesbeauty_ Shop my Komigo storefront: komigo.me/brandi 🎧 Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts: takinglifebytheraines.com #takinglifebytheraines #brandiraines #entitlement #gratitude #christianwomen #faithjourney #mompreneur #holyspirit #womenempowerment #millennialmom 0:00 Today's topic: entitlement and a heavy conviction 0:31 Call yourself to the carpet — do a self audit 0:56 Brandi's intro and where she is right now in life 2:29 Blessed but overwhelmed — and what that even means 2:49 No notes today — going from the hip and the heart 3:12 The book: How to Raise Grateful Kids in an Entitled World 4:02 The hotel example from the book and what it triggered 5:10 The river suite: X Grotte Mexico, a year and a half of planning 6:19 The voucher, the upgrade, the timeshare presentation they agreed to 6:48 Paying $5,000 and showing up to the wrong room 8:10 The oceanfront suite they were given instead 8:52 River suite with two double beds — and Brandi is not happy 9:11 She starts off kind and then goes wrong 10:26 The hotel comes back: the manager, the resistance, the cold shoulder 11:12 Choosing the river suite with doubles over the king with pool 12:07 Her friend's situation: room not ready, maintenance excuse, and the truth 13:39 Allowing it to fester for 24 hours on vacation 13:54 They weren't doing maintenance — they were filming a commercial 14:18 The drone outside the balcony in a towel moment 16:00 I acted a fool and let it ruin part of the trip 19:00 Entitlement in everyday moments: grocery pickup, overcooked steak, cold coffee 21:25 When you know you should stop and you just cannot 22:17 Holy Spirit activate: it is never too late to hand it over 22:38 Agape on her wrist and what she forgot to look at 22:56 She repented to her friends and to God 24:54 Recalibrating: where are you acting entitled right now 25:32 The nail salon: Riley, the cat eye nails, and a teachable moment 29:19 Teaching Riley to ask for what you want and meet rudeness with grace 30:04 The smiling-on-the-phone sales lesson and what it taught her about energy 31:39 Sugar goes farther than salt — always 32:36 Two steps forward: tolerate disappointment better and practice gratitude 33:14 High expectations are okay — the goal is to contribute as much as you hope to receive 34:02 Holy Spirit activate in the moments you feel entitled 35:18 We can do better — closing call to gratitude and grace Powered by ATL Podcast Pros https://...
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    36 分
  • You Have to Be Delusional Enough to Believe It Before It Happens

    You Have to Be Delusional Enough to Believe It Before It Happens
    2026/07/03

    When Brandi quit her job in 2017, she was pregnant with her second child. Casey was a non-rate in the Coast Guard making the least amount of money possible. They lived in a tiny apartment in Pensacola they called the Raisin Box. And not a single person in her life was willing to look her in the eyes and say: do it. It is going to be okay.

    So she did it anyway.

    In Episode 10 of Taking Life by the Raines, Brandi is talking directly to the person who is struggling to keep going. The one who is distracted, comparing herself, and unsure whether what God called her to is even real. The one who is waiting for someone to tell her it is okay to take the leap. Brandi is going to be that person today.

    She talks through quitting her job, the Lira hair launch, being delusional enough to believe before it happens, why consistency beats talent every single time, and what ten years of ordinary moments have built into something only God could have designed.

    In this episode:

    • Quitting her job pregnant with no safety net and nobody telling her it was okay

    • Why consistency will take you further than any talent you have

    • You have to be delusional enough to believe it before it happens

    • The difference between fake it till you make it and embodying the habits of success

    • You will be the only thing that stops you — not the market, not the algorithm

    • Why she hid her business milestones and stopped celebrating her own success

    • Scarcity mindset, therapy, and rewiring her relationship with money

    • God will give you the tools, the money, and the strength — if it is His will

    • If it feels forced, it is probably not for you — here is how to tell the difference

    • Launching Lira: the hair company and what Lira means in Hebrew

    • Your future success is built on ordinary moments, not one big breakthrough

    • Stop comparing your process to someone else's calling

    New episodes every week. Subscribe and join us. 💜

    📲 Follow Taking Life by the Raines:

    Instagram: instagram.com/takinglifebytheraines/

    TikTok: tiktok.com/takinglifebythera

    Facebook: facebook.com/takinglifebytheraines/

    📲 Follow Brandi:

    Instagram: instagram.com/brandirainesbeauty/

    TikTok: tiktok.com/brandirainesbeauty

    Facebook: facebook.com/followbrandiraines/

    About me + my links: msha.ke/brandirainesbeauty_

    Shop my Komigo storefront: komigo.me/brandi

    🎧 Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts: takinglifebytheraines.com

    #takinglifebytheraines #brandiraines #consistencyovertalent #doit scared #faithandbusiness #christianwomen #mompreneur #womenentrepreneurs #personalgrowth #faithjourney

    0:00 Consistency will take you further than any talent

    0:52 Welcome: Brandi introduces herself and the Lira hair launch

    1:59 Speaking to the person who is struggling to keep going

    2:30 The Raisin Box in Pensacola: quitting her job in 2017

    3:56 Nobody was willing to tell her it was going to be okay

    4:52 I am going to be the one to tell you: do it

    6:02 Ships in the night with Casey and why she took the leap

    7:12 The validation you need is already inside you

    7:55 You will be the only thing that stops you

    8:48 Be delusional enough to believe it before it happens

    9:20 Embody the habits not fake it till you make it

    13:00 Hiding her own milestones and dimming her success

    15:00 Your calling is not their calling — stop comparing

    18:00 Scarcity mindset, therapy, and rewiring her money relationship

    22:00 If it feels forced it is probably not for you

    26:00 The rolling ball: how to know when God is in it

    29:45 They are called to something different — let that be on them

    31:10 Scarcity says this is as good as it gets

    32:12 God called her to rest and she finally listened

    32:55 Get consistent with the one thing God is calling you to

    33:34 Your future is built on ordinary moments not one big breakthrough

    34:12 Closing: everything you need is already in you

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    35 分
  • Setting Boundaries and Protecting My Peace | The Things I Have Stopped Apologizing For

    Setting Boundaries and Protecting My Peace | The Things I Have Stopped Apologizing For
    2026/06/25

    Have you ever noticed how often women say sorry?

    Sorry I'm late. Sorry I need help. Sorry for asking. Sorry for being emotional. Somewhere along the way we were conditioned to apologize for taking up space. And in Episode 9 of Taking Life by the Raines, Brandi is done.

    This is the list of things she has stopped apologizing for. And she wants you to stop apologizing for them too.

    She opens with the difference between being kind and abandoning yourself. She talks through protecting her peace, saying no with her chest, outgrowing people and seasons, dimming her ambition because she felt guilty about her own success, and the moment she realized her faith creates a divide and she is okay with that. She closes with Galatians 1:10 — am I trying to win the approval of human beings or of God?

    In this episode:

    • Why women are conditioned to over-apologize and over-explain

    • Protecting your peace is not selfish — it is good stewardship of what God gave you

    • Not every conversation and not every opinion deserves access to you

    • No is a full sentence. No explanation required.

    • Every yes is a no to something else — and that matters

    • Outgrowing people, places, and seasons — and why it comes with grief

    • Dimming your ambition because you feel guilty about your own success

    • What agape love actually means and how it changes the way you serve

    • Galatians 1:10: am I trying to win the approval of people or of God

    • Stop making everyone else so comfortable that you live uncomfortably in your own skin

    • Life is short. You are not promised tomorrow. Say it with your chest.

    New episodes every week. Subscribe and join us. 💜

    📲 Follow Taking Life by the Raines:

    Instagram: instagram.com/takinglifebytheraines/

    TikTok: tiktok.com/takinglifebythera

    Facebook: facebook.com/takinglifebytheraines/

    📲 Follow Brandi:

    Instagram: instagram.com/brandirainesbeauty/

    TikTok: tiktok.com/brandirainesbeauty

    Facebook: facebook.com/followbrandiraines/

    About me + my links: msha.ke/brandirainesbeauty_

    Shop my Komigo storefront: komigo.me/brandi

    🎧 Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts: takinglifebytheraines.com

    #takinglifebytheraines #brandiraines #unapologeticallyme #settingboundaries #christianwomen #noisasentence #protectyourpeace #mompreneur #womenempowerment #galatians110

    0:00 Cold open: have you noticed how often women apologize

    0:57 Welcome and today's topic: the things I stopped apologizing for

    1:38 Empathy as a gift and how it becomes a trap

    2:54 I will not apologize for protecting my peace

    3:57 Not every opinion deserves access to you

    4:45 Saying no without apologizing for it

    5:52 Every yes is a no to something else

    7:14 Did God ask you to carry this? Ask before you say yes.

    7:55 Outgrowing people, places, and seasons

    10:00 Grief that comes with outgrowing — and why it is necessary

    12:00 Not apologizing for your faith

    16:00 Agape: sacrificial love without expectation

    21:55 What favor from God actually looks like

    24:10 Not apologizing for being ambitious

    25:33 Giving other women permission to go after something bigger

    26:42 Closing: what are you still apologizing for that you should not be

    28:27 Galatians 1:10: approval of people or of God

    29:07 Stop apologizing for taking up space — say it with your chest

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    30 分
  • Check on Your Strong Friends - They Are Probably Just Surviving

    Check on Your Strong Friends - They Are Probably Just Surviving
    2026/06/18

    When you are a good swimmer, nobody can tell when you are drowning.

    If that hit you, this episode is for you.

    In Episode 8 of Taking Life by the Raines, Brandi gets into something most strong women carry in silence: the loneliness of being the one everyone relies on. The one who has the answer. The one who keeps the schedule, holds the household, leads the team, shows up consistently, and somehow never gets asked how she is really doing.

    Brandi also opens up about losing Casey's Papa, launching her hair company Lira, the scarcity mindset she has carried since childhood, her ADHD, and what it has taken to finally learn that rest is not a reward — it is a requirement.

    In this episode:

    • The loneliness of being the strong one and why people stop checking on you

    • When you are a good swimmer nobody can tell when you are drowning

    • Scarcity mindset, ADHD, and the triple threat of being a high-achieving woman

    • Launching Lira: the hair company backed by the founders of Unique

    • Why rest is not earned — it is what you achieve from

    • The self-imposed pressure that does not actually come from anyone else

    • How Casey told her he has never doubted her — and what that unlocked

    • Checking on your strong friends: they are probably just surviving

    • Even Jesus set boundaries, rested, and said no — and we forget that

    • The GLOW prayer framework: Gratitude, Let it out, Own your desires, Wait

    • Matthew 11:28 — come to me all who are weary and I will give you rest

    • Your permission slip to lay it down, rest, and stop being the strong one today

    New episodes every week. Subscribe and join us. 💜

    📲 Follow Taking Life by the Raines:

    Instagram: instagram.com/takinglifebytheraines/

    TikTok: tiktok.com/takinglifebythera

    Facebook: facebook.com/takinglifebytheraines/

    📲 Follow Brandi:

    Instagram: instagram.com/brandirainesbeauty/

    TikTok: tiktok.com/brandirainesbeauty

    Facebook: facebook.com/followbrandiraines/

    About me + my links: msha.ke/brandirainesbeauty_

    Shop my Komigo storefront: komigo.me/brandi

    🎧 Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts: takinglifebytheraines.com

    #takinglifebytheraines #brandiraines #thestrength #checkonyourfrends #christianwomen #mompreneur #restisrequired #womenempowerment #faithjourney #millennialmom

    0:00 Welcome back and who Brandi is

    1:02 Taking time off: Disney, 30A, and losing Papa

    2:15 Being the strong one and nobody checking on you

    3:36 When you are a good swimmer nobody can tell when you are drowning

    4:40 The loneliness of being the strong one

    5:32 Showing up for ten years while nobody asked how you were doing

    6:36 Holding it together with a tiny string

    7:30 Check on the strong ones in your life

    8:15 Scarcity mindset and ADHD as superpower and weakness

    9:27 From 100K to 15 million in sales and still not celebrating

    10:21 Launching Lira and the negative comments that fired Brandi up

    11:31 Rest is not earned — it is what you achieve from

    12:26 Carrying the burden of being the one everyone looks to

    14:06 Ten years in network marketing and always having the right reaction

    15:50 It is okay to not be the strong one sometimes

    16:23 Casey was the sole provider for six years — the role reversal

    20:18 God rewards you when you take time to rest and process

    20:46 Even Jesus rested, set limits, and said no

    21:49 The pressure is kind of made up

    22:52 Casey said he has never doubted her — and what that changed

    24:08 Holding it in causes resentment in marriage

    25:46 Align me Jesus — the prayer that cuts through the noise

    26:52 The GLOW framework: Gratitude, Let it out, Own your desires, Wait

    28:10 What this episode is meant to give you permission to do

    28:51 You can still be the strong one after you rest

    29:39 Taking a Sabbath feels lazy — but it is obedience

    30:08 Your permission slip: pause, reflect, and check on your people

    31:15 Check in on your husband too

    33:15 Matthew 11:28: come to me all who are weary

    34:00 Lay one thing down and rest — closing word

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    35 分
  • Behind the Highlight Reel: The Fear Nobody Talks About When You Are Growing

    Behind the Highlight Reel: The Fear Nobody Talks About When You Are Growing
    2026/05/31
    Here is the truth about growth that nobody posts on social media. It is terrifying. In Episode 7 of Taking Life by the Raines, Brandi gets into the biggest transitional period of her career and her life. Since January her nervous system has been in fight-or-flight mode. She is launching a hair company. Her supplement company is dropping four new products and exploring a major partnership. And the platform she has built her entire career on, network marketing, is being reinvented from the ground up. This episode is for every woman in a transitional season who is scared to take the next step. The woman who sees people succeeding online and assumes they have it figured out. They do not. Brandi does not either. And she is showing you what it looks like to keep moving through it anyway. In this episode: • The CEO meeting in Utah that changed everything • Komigo becoming Curated: what the rebrand means and why Brandi is all in • Launching a hair company and four new supplement products simultaneously • What network marketing is being replaced with and why Brandi is not walking away • Imposter syndrome: the world's worst case of it and why every successful person has it too • High performers are just as scared as you. They have just figured out how to keep moving. • Motivation is a feeling. Discipline is a decision. The difference matters. • God will close the door if you are not meant to walk through it, and sometimes He will not and it becomes a lesson • Peace that makes no sense: leaning into Philippians 4 and faith in chaos • Agape love, sacrificial service, and showing up for others even when you are scared • Big risk, big win or big lesson: you have nothing to lose New episodes every week. Subscribe and join us. 💜 📲 Follow Taking Life by the Raines: Instagram: instagram.com/takinglifebytheraines/ TikTok: tiktok.com/takinglifebythera Facebook: facebook.com/takinglifebytheraines/ 📲 Follow Brandi: Instagram: instagram.com/brandirainesbeauty/ TikTok: tiktok.com/brandirainesbeauty Facebook: facebook.com/followbrandiraines/ About me + my links: msha.ke/brandirainesbeauty_ Shop my Komigo storefront: komigo.me/brandi 🎧 Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts: takinglifebytheraines.com fear of failure women | imposter syndrome entrepreneur | how to keep going when scared | network marketing rebrand | faith in transition | Christian women podcast | mompreneur mindset | personal growth podcast women | taking the next step in business | Brandi Raines podcast 0:00 Intro 0:49 Welcome back 1:45 Building on social media since 2017: live video, makeup tutorials, and creative outlet 2:31 Right now: the biggest transitional period of Brandi's life 3:07 Marriage is in a great place. Business is a whole other story. 5:19 What is happening right now: new hair company, supplement partnership, Vision Summit 5:55 Flying to Utah: Vision Summit January, excited, on an all time high 6:22 How Komigo started 7:12 Curated: the new platform, new name, what it means going forward 7:33 Vision Summit announcement 7:55 The private CEO meeting after the Summit 8:21 My world was flipped upside down 8:54 Network marketing is changing: affiliate marketing, TikTok Shop, coaching competition 9:16 I love network marketing: but the industry had to evolve to survive 10:25 Vision Summit part two: Curated announced to the field 12:20 Fight or flight since January 13:43 Creator-led brands: why today's consumer wants what Curated is building 14:06 Layering on the supplement company: four new products, peptides, partnership conversations 15:55 High performers are just as scared 16:26 Opening the Bible every day out loud 17:40 Will Smith on failure 18:14 Do it until failure: the gym analogy and the burnout set that makes you grow 23:54 The world's worst imposter syndrome 24:58 Cannot cling to old seasons 25:24 Times are changing: how to evolve without losing what you came from 27:45 The road less traveled 28:05 Ask God for what you need each day 28:33 Joy in chaos peace that makes no sense 29:12 Peace is not certainty 30:01 Close your eyes and ask God for peace in the chaos: He will give it to you 30:50 You inspire people just by showing up 31:14 Sacrificial love without expectation 31:40 Ten out of ten do not get a tattoo in Mexico: the anniversary story 32:04 Agape as a model for marriage and for life: servant heart to everyone not just a spouse 32:48 Being a light of God through the hard times: if not for yourself then for others 33:21 What if you do not fail: what if you fly, what if this is the choice that changes your life 34:05 My story is your story 37:03 Hard seasons are the soil: where God plants you to grow the next version of yourself 37:43 Believe God has got your back: He takes care of the birds, why not you 38:42 Closing: #takinglifebytheraines#brandiraines#fearoffailure#impostersyndrome#christianwomen#mompreneur#...
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    39 分
  • I Did Not Want Kids. Then God Said Otherwise

    I Did Not Want Kids. Then God Said Otherwise
    2026/05/14
    A year before I got pregnant with Riley, I said out loud that I did not want kids anytime soon. Three months into dating Casey, I was standing in a CVS bathroom with a pregnancy test on my lunch break. Here is the thing about motherhood. Nothing prepares you for it. Not one single thing. And in Episode 6, I am getting into all of it. The unexpected pregnancy I could not tell anyone about for two and a half months while Casey was away at boot camp. The night Casey and I stood in our living room holding Riley and just sobbed. The moment that motherly instinct clicked and I knew I was going to be okay. The way God used my kids to break me free from every trauma I had been carrying. I also talk about something I have never shared publicly: my ADHD diagnosis in ninth grade, being put on 50mg of Adderall a day as a teenager, and then being given Ambien to sleep at night on top of it. How cold turkey stopping when I graduated contributed to my weight gain, my mood swings, and why I started my own supplement company years later. And why, as a mom now, I will never just accept what a doctor hands my kids without asking every question first. I also cover: • How motherhood completely rewires your brain and your hustle • What to do when you feel like you are drowning in the overwhelm • The mom guilt trap and why you have got to stop comparing yourself to other moms • What it means to pour into your marriage while raising kids • The 7-7-12 rule for staying connected to your spouse • How to advocate for your kids when every doctor is pushing medication • Functional mushrooms, holistic pediatricians, and what changed everything for my family • And the word every tired, overwhelmed, doing-her-best mom needs to hear today New episodes every week. Subscribe and join us. 💜 📲 Follow Taking Life by the Raines: Instagram: instagram.com/takinglifebytheraines/ TikTok: tiktok.com/takinglifebythera Facebook: facebook.com/takinglifebytheraines/ 📲 Follow Brandi: Instagram: instagram.com/brandirainesbeauty/ TikTok: tiktok.com/brandirainesbeauty Facebook: facebook.com/followbrandiraines/ About me + my links: msha.ke/brandirainesbeauty_ Shop my Komigo storefront: komigo.me/brandi 🎧 Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts: takinglifebytheraines.com 0:00 Welcome back 0:53 Christians are not perfect: social media lies and real redemption 1:45 Tonight's topic: motherhood, how it changes you in ways nobody warns you about 2:13 One year before getting pregnant: I said I do not want kids 2:48 Meeting Casey in March 2015 3:30 Stone Mountain date night 4:02 Growing up with trauma 4:51 Mental health then vs. now 5:41 What Brandi loves and does not love about today's culture 6:02 Casey goes to boot camp 6:49 Gina from the office: the first person she told 7:08 Keeping it secret for two and a half months while Casey was at boot camp 7:59 Cape May, New Jersey: the trip where she finally told him 8:38 The whirlwind: young, scared, minimal money, just started dating 9:02 When you find your person 9:54 You guys are going to be fine 10:10 Moving to Pensacola pregnant: God breaking her free from past trauma 10:42 What nobody warns you about parenthood 11:09 The second night home with Riley: standing in the living room sobbing 11:50 The Holy Spirit in that moment 12:13 Motherly instinct clicks 12:47 The strength motherhood gave her 13:07 Wait for the one: why your spouse matters more than you know when kids come 13:49 The mental load of motherhood 14:09 Speaking to the overwhelmed mom 15:06 Your heavenly Father wants to carry the stress: let Him 15:35 Coming from trauma 16:13 Keeping up with the Joneses 17:05 The mental load unpacked 35:27 Approaching your spouse for support 35:52 Give exact examples 36:36 Pouring back into your marriage 37:13 The 7-7-12 rule 38:12 The car ride story 39:10 Becoming roommates with your spouse 39:40 Inner healing makes vulnerable conversations possible 40:33 Make time for your marriage now 40:58 ADHD diagnosis in ninth grade 42:26 Prescribed Adderall 43:38 50mg of Adderall a day 44:26 Then they gave her Ambien to sleep 44:51 Cold turkey at graduation 45:17 Why she started a supplement company 45:43 Holistic pediatrician, blood work, zero Flintstone vitamins 46:13 What she wishes somebody had advocated for her 47:01 Pushing back on Big Pharma 48:38 Small tweaks in diet that transformed her kids 49:05 God made you the perfect mother for your children 50:07 God slowed them down and gave them babies 50:45 From mama heart to mama heart 51:38 Closing: finish the Poppi motherhood podcast | becoming a mom changed me | ADHD medication kids | unexpected pregnancy story | mom guilt | holistic parenting podcast | Christian mom podcast | millennial mom | marriage and kids | Brandi Raines podcast #takinglifebytheraines #brandiraines #motherhoodpodcast #momguilt #christianmom #millennialmom #holisticparenting #...
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    52 分
  • We Were Numbing Everything: The High School Years Nobody Knew About

    We Were Numbing Everything: The High School Years Nobody Knew About
    2026/04/16

    You think you know me. You don't know this version.

    In Episode 5 I finally brought on my first guest, my childhood best friend Alexa, the one person on earth who has seen me through literally every season. The bratty middle schooler. The wild high schooler. The girl who should have ended up dead or pregnant but somehow didn't. The woman who couldn't accept a compliment. And the mom and wife I've become today.

    This one is unscripted, unfiltered, and honestly hilarious. We're telling the stories I have never told. Sneaking to Missouri in the middle of the night and telling our parents we were at Cedar Point. Getting caught by a cop with an expired license at a party and somehow walking away free. The high school sorority that absolutely should not have existed. The things we were numbing and why. The moment Alexa looked at me across a table and thought, "she's not the same girl anymore".

    And the most important part. The conversation at the end where she tells me what she is most proud of me for. I could not make it through that without crying.

    If you have a childhood best friend who has seen the full version of you (the one you don't post on social media) this episode is going to hit home.

    Tag them below. 💜

    New episodes every week. Subscribe so you never miss one.

    📲 Follow Taking Life by the Raines:

    Instagram: instagram.com/takinglifebytheraines/

    TikTok: tiktok.com/takinglifebythera

    Facebook: facebook.com/takinglifebytheraines/

    📲 Follow Brandi:

    Instagram: instagram.com/brandirainesbeauty/

    TikTok: tiktok.com/brandirainesbeauty

    Facebook: facebook.com/followbrandiraines/

    About me + my links: msha.ke/brandirainesbeauty_

    Shop my Komigo storefront: komigo.me/brandi

    🎧 Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts: takinglifebytheraines.com

    0:00 Cold open — "I should have ended up dead or pregnant"

    1:03 Welcome — meet Alexa Rex, Brandi's childhood best friend

    2:50 What it means to have a friend who has seen every season of your life

    3:58 First question: what was I actually like?

    4:47 How they met — competitive dance team in fifth grade

    6:04 Dance was their home away from home — chaotic backgrounds

    7:16 How they became close — Katelyn, parties, and dating brothers

    8:23 Alexa's honest take — "you were a brat, disrespectful to everyone"

    9:49 Christians who have done dark things — faith without a perfect past

    12:21 The Missouri road trip — lying to their parents about Cedar Point

    16:33 Getting caught — parents compare stories, the lie unravels

    18:38 High school parties, bonding over chaotic home lives

    20:06 The high school sorority that absolutely should not have existed

    21:40 "I should have ended up dead or pregnant" — the party bus years

    22:59 Being taken advantage of at a freshman year party

    24:04 Numbing everything — what we were really running from

    25:18 Close calls — guns, cops, expired licenses, and walking away

    27:56 After high school — Brandi moves to Disney, the friendship ebbs

    29:19 What Brandi was struggling with that she didn't even realize

    30:28 Dark times Alexa witnessed — the real picture from the outside

    32:08 The proud moment — Brandi leaves Michigan for Florida

    32:59 When Alexa knew — meeting Casey changed everything

    34:44 Numbing vs. healing — then and now

    58:01 You don't have to be embarrassed — let go of the guilt and shame

    59:53 Change is possible — even when people don't believe you yet

    1:00:12 Last question — what are you most proud of me for?

    1:00:41 "The mom that you are" — both of them cry

    1:02:46 Friendships that point you to Jesus — the ones that matter

    1:04:32 Dark humor, fond memories, and closing laughs

    1:05:11 Closing — "go hug your childhood bestie"

    childhood best friend podcast | growing up wild and surviving | women friendship podcast | personal growth story | faith and friendship | Brandi Raines podcast | Taking Life by the Raines | Christian women podcast | millennial mom friendship | real talk women

    #takinglifebytheraines #brandiraines #bestfriendpodcast #childhoodfriendship #womenempowerment #christianwomen #millennialmom #realtalk #faithjourney #personalgrowth
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    1 時間 6 分
  • How I Built Confidence From Nothing and You Can Too

    How I Built Confidence From Nothing and You Can Too
    2026/04/09

    Here is something I don't think people expect me to say. It took me 14 years to actually feel confident. Like genuinely, deeply, not-faking-it confident.

    The girl you see on social media selling makeup, running a beauty empire, coaching thousands of women? She spent most of her life deeply insecure about her looks, her capability, and her money. She faked confidence so hard that it came across as obnoxious. And she spent years comparing herself to everyone around her while quietly falling apart inside.

    In Episode 4 I am getting into all of it. How comparison steals your confidence before you even realize it is happening. How growing up Filipino in a predominantly white small town in Michigan left me feeling like the sore thumb in every room I walked into. How a comment about my love handles in middle school sent me to get lipo as an adult. How I spent the early years of motherhood sobbing over my baby's milestones because I was too busy comparing myself to every other mom around me.

    And the three seasons of my life where I finally proved to myself that I was capable of more than where I came from.

    Confidence is not something you are born with. It is not linked to money or status or a perfect body. It is something you build. And I am going to show you how.

    New episodes every week. Subscribe 💜

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    🎧 Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts: takinglifebytheraines.com

    0:00 Welcome — diving into confidence after 14 years of building it

    0:27 What confidence actually is — not what social media says it is

    1:36 Why she's sharing her insecurities — so you can see yourself

    2:42 The one thing that stops women from finding success

    3:46 Her biggest insecurity growing up — her looks

    4:23 Growing up Filipino in Michigan — looking different from everyone

    5:56 Third grade gym class — the "Chinese eyes" moment that stuck

    7:28 The weight insecurity — Hollister jeans, love handles, and competitive dance

    9:15 How a childhood insecurity led to lipo as an adult

    10:31 Insecurity 2 — capability: believing where I came from was the ceiling

    12:00 Insecurity 3 — finances and hiding past-due bills as a kid

    14:31 What fake confidence looks like from the outside

    16:20 Comparison — the thief of joy and creator of false reality

    16:49 Her love-hate relationship with social media

    18:08 Comparing herself to other moms — the beach condo story

    19:30 Hudson's milestones vs. her niece — sobbing over a baby who couldn't sit up

    23:23 Goals set from comparison not calling — retiring Casey before he wanted it

    27:08 Confidence does not come from other people's perception of you

    28:25 Motivation vs. discipline — what actually builds confidence over time

    30:27 Fixate on what God has for you — stop the hamster wheel of comparison

    31:31 Three seasons that proved she was capable — turning points

    32:30 Season 1 — moving to Florida in 2011 with $2,000 and a prayer

    35:02 Season 2 — meeting Casey and breaking the generational mold

    37:00 Season 3 — 2020, the pandemic, and her business going 10x

    40:07 U-Haul to Georgia — laying on a mattress and feeling proud

    41:31 When her confidence finally stopped being a performance

    43:37 Teaching her kids — don't ask if they like you, ask how you feel

    44:35 Confidence is not born, it is built — and it comes in seasons

    45:31 Confidence grows with faith — actionable steps to get there

    46:54 Closing — it is never too late to blossom into what God is calling you

    how to build confidence | comparison and insecurity | confidence for women | self esteem podcast | personal growth women | stop comparing yourself | women empowerment podcast | Christian women podcast | millennial mom podcast | social media and confidence

    #takinglifebytheraines #brandiraines #confidence #selfesteem #stopcomparing #womenempowerment #christianwomen #millennialmom #personalgrowth #faithjourney
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    47 分