Latest / Daughters of Armor / Episode 07: From Religion to Relationship: Katie Anne's Journey from Mormonism to Jesus
Transcript
- speaker-0: Welcome everyone I have honestly, I I I know I say this a lot, but I'm really excited about my guest today, Katie Ann, because her story is nothing but awesome and God's sovereign hand is all over it. Plus, she has stunning glasses, so she inspired me to stick mine on. speaker-1: Ha ha ha. speaker-0: But actually I'm telling Katie, I don't know, man. Like my eyes, I you know, I'm I'm very much close to 50, and I know I've been told you're gonna need reading glasses, but I can't see. I will have to use them for a little bit, but I will take them off because of the glare. but yeah, before we we chat and before we hear just your amazing testimony, I'd love to introduce you. So, Katie Ann, she is a certified life coach, she's the podcast host of Beyond Believing, a single mom of five children and for the past 17 years she lived what looked like the perfect life but divorce became her unexpected catalyst to discovering true biblical Christianity and the woman of God and the woman of God that created her to be. And so after her separation, Katie didn't just leave her marriage. She left her lifelong religion, which I'm I'm just in awe of this story, and I can't wait for you to share. because she was searching for the truth. And God met her in the quiet, painful moments of being without her children 50% of the time and transformed her understanding of his love, his word, and her identity in Christ. And so today she's pursuing a degree in biblical theology and business and leadership and graduating very shortly, in fact. Summer 2026, praise God. She's the creator of the Sila Healing, a 12-week private coaching program to help divorced Christian women build biblical homes and break the cycle of broken relationships. So without further ado, can lady for my my ladies that are watching on YouTube, can we just give her a round of applause? And if you're listening on the podcast, like I you you you need to watch the video of this because this this woman, man, she's something else. speaker-1: I think yeah. speaker-0: Katie, wow. I would love for you to start off with your testimony because as when we first connected, my my my my jaw just dislocated and dropped to the floor. So please give you know I I like it, I like to call it his story, right? But your his story and and his transformation and how he just took a hold of your heart and did work. Please, I'd love for you to share. speaker-1: Yeah, amen. All glory to God. Like it just I always say no one was more surprised than I was by the journey. but I will say, yes, unfortunately, my story starts with a divorce. And it actually not mine. My parents divorced when was four, and I grew up in a very contentious split home dynamic my whole entire life, and that really shaped my identity. And who I believed I was. I also grew up in the Mormon religion and very entrenched in that world. My mom's family is deep, deep roots, all the way back to like the fourth president of the church who knew the founding Joseph Smith, everything personal, like deep on down. And I will say that was that was my identity. That's what I clung to. I knew that God knew me. I knew that he existed when I was a young I think I was about 13 years old, one of the apostles from the church came and spoke to us. And he said this quote that really I clung to. He said, if you could see the woman God created you to become, you would rise up and never be the same again. And I truly believe that even though that came from a source that wasn't directly, God uses all kinds of, he uses every single individual, right? Mm-hmm to deliver his word and his truth. And that resonated in my soul. And I clung to that. and I got r ol married, excuse me, at the ripe old age of 23 years old in the Mormon world. You were basically an old widow by that time. And I had committed I would never give my children the experience that I had been raised up in. And it was really my desire. And so when I met my husband, he and I knew each other six weeks and we had got married. So we got married eight weeks from the day that we met each other. And I just thought he is. all of these checklists for what the Mormon criterion are. And you know, it was a very short, very fast courtship. And I thought I knew everything that I needed to know. And on our honeymoon, I was like, I think I missed something really important. My aunt had written, I had one of those autograph frames at my reception. And so everyone got to sign a frame that was our wedding picture. And my aunt wrote, Keep talking, talking, talking. And I was like, I don't know how to talk to this man. And I don't think he knows how to talk to me. And so we were on our honeymoon and I thought, I think I missed something really important, but because in the Mormon religion, everything is a covenant. And I had made this covenant with God. We got married in the temple. And I was like, but here I am. And I just have to make the best out of it. I know he has a good heart and genuine intentions. And we're just gonna keep moving forward because I don't actually know what I don't know. And my whole entire life, all I ever wanted was to be a mom. And so I thought this is my catalyst or my avenue to be a mom. And I became a mom and I realized I had no idea how to be a mom. Well let's but I just speaker-0: Assuming you were still in your twenties? Yes. So Yeah, speaker-1: Skeleton. speaker-0: really still a baby, of course. speaker-1: Yep. I was 24 when I had her. So I got married at 23. I had her just before my 25th birthday. And you know, I just went and threw into the throes of this culture, community, religion. And I threw myself into everything I had been taught to do, which was to be a mom and a wife. And I'm supposed to do this well. And I was just now in baby mode and come out, you know, that was our entire marriage was very, very difficult because we didn't know how to talk to each other. We didn't know how to communicate. We didn't know how to hold space for each other. We didn't know how to express ourselves. And by the time I had had my oldest son, who's now 11, I was like, something is really wrong. And I know this isn't right. I had been diagnosed with multiple autoimmune diseases by that point. Okay. And my my second daughter is profoundly deaf. So we went through the throes of special education needs, early childhood development, all of these services, resources, learning American sign language, what is it like to be this community? And that was our whole life. My ex-husband traveled for work. So I was basically a single mom for the first seven years of our marriage. And then he worked 15 to 17 hour days. And so I was really felt like I was thinking we lived very far from home and I just was on my own. And I just thought this is how it's supposed to be. But deep in my soul, I was Tormented. I just, I was miserable. My family was miserable. And I was like, I'm not fun. I am not fun. This is not, I don't think this isn't what I signed up for. I'm pretty sure it's not what he signed up for. And like, how am I supposed to do this? So I just started pleading with God, like. Show me what I'm supposed to do. And I got into self-development and personal development. And of course I prayed. I went to the temple more. I threw myself into my calling more and did more, did more, felt more and more empty. speaker-0: I would love to just have a better understanding because I I mean I I know of very little of Mormonism. So I'd love for you to just kind of share like what's the difference really between, you know, what you were practicing then and Christianity, which is what you're practicing now. speaker-1: Yeah, so the really main difference is it's very performance-based. It's works-based. You know, they really rely heavily on James 4 of by your faith, your works, you'll be known by your works of your faith. So it's very pharisaical. If you think about the laws of the Old Testament and where the Hebrews, the Israelites originally, it's like that, but on a different level of like your salvation is dependent on that. You have to go through these checks and balances. Baptism is the key to salvation. Not to salvation, but your entrance into heaven. Like if you're not baptized, you don't qualify. If you and then there's rings and things all upon there that go up through the temple and all those. And then if you don't go on, if you don't pay your tithing, you can't go to the temple. And so then you can't be practicing at that level and being doing those works so that you can't even help your own salvation. It's a very they like to liken it to the story about a child wanting to purchase a bicycle. And working and saving up all this money to go get a bicycle with your parent. And the par your parent takes you to the store and you go to purchase the bicycle and they say, You're $10 short. Wow. And this is like going in front of Heavenly Father. Like you get to heaven and he's like, You're $10 short. And your parent says, Don't worry, I've paid the difference. And that's how you learn about Jesus and salvation is that after all you can do, then he comes in and pays the rest. I know, look at that look of horrification on your face. speaker-0: Wow, okay. speaker-1: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So it's very performance based. It's very works based. It's very, have more faith. Have you paid your tithing? Go to the temple more, pray more, read your book of Mormon more. You know, if you're struggling, you it's because you are deficient in your faith in some way or capacity, or you don't understand, or you should lean on somebody else's understanding to help you. And there's really no hope for the deficiency. Like Christ is gonna make up the difference. Christ is gonna make up the difference, but it's still all you can do. So have you really done all you can do? speaker-0: Wow. speaker-1: it's heavy. It's very heavy. It's very heavy. And so I am just desperate for God. I go to the temple every week. I'm praying. And there's some point where I'm literally debilitated by several of these autoimmune disorders and diseases and in things that I'm having, and I'm just like. Lord, what am I missing? What am I missing? What am I missing? And he's planting all these little seeds in now that I can see. And in the time I didn't know. And I really contemplated my, you know, am I even in the right marriage? My entire marriage. And you know, my mom is a marriage and family therapist. And she finally just one day said, why don't you just give yourself permission to explore divorce is an actual option? And I was like, I just can't do that to my kids. I just can't do that to my kids. And one day God showed me they can have a different experience. And what he actually opened my eyes to was they were living the same experience I was living inside my marriage. Right. That I lived with divorced parents because it was so contentious and very toxic and the communication patterns and all of those things. And I contributed to those 100%. Like I'm not trying to say it was all my ex-husband's fault or that he was sifting. Deficient in any way. Like we were both deficient. But as I started on my this journey of like, I have to find, I'm not in the right spot. And I know I'm not in the right spot. And I don't know how to get to where I'm supposed to go. And that was really the question in the back of my mind. And the more that I learned, the more that I developed, the bigger the chasm between my ex-husband and I got, and the bigger that barrier became. And so one day I had that thought and I was like, Okay. And I started seeing my oldest child and my daughter at the time. My oldest was 16. She was dating and I was like, I am modeling for her the companion and a dynamic and all of my children. And my boys at the time were three and seven. And I thought I can show them something different. I'm not going to be able to show my girls anything different in this way, but I will be able to give my boys something different. And hopefully I can repair the damage I've caused to my girls. And so I finally just decided to go and head and ask and tell my husband, you know, I think this is really time for us. We'd gone to counseling and all those things. And he just really wasn't interested and he was doing what he knew he was best. He really was doing what he did, what he could. And that was in September, and we had mediation in October. I was invited to read the Bible by a family friend right about that time in September that I left. And I was like, Of course, I'm going to show you how Mormonism is true. We're reading the New Testament and I'm reading about Matthew in Matthew, where Christ is talking to the Pharisees and answering the whose wife is this woman who marries the seven brothers going to be in the heavens? Who in the heavens is she, Lord? Because she's married the seven brothers. And he says, You fools, you fools, first of all, like you fools. Don't you know that in the heavens you're neither given nor received in marriage, but you're as the angels. And we are the God of the living. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, he's not the God of the dead. And I was like, something about that this time. Like I went to, I was reading the English Gender version at that time. Went back to my King James Joseph Smith Bible. I was like, I've read this before. I know that I've read this before. But for the first time, that really struck me. And I thought, I think I might be wrong. For the very first time in my life, I questioned my own religion. So that was like. Middle of September, middle to end of September. Again, we had mediation October. I moved out in November. I'd left and decided to leave my religion in November. And and then I went to 50-50 custody where I was no longer spending full time with my children. And I had been completely separated from my entire family, community, everything by that point. And I was literally alone. And I was sitting in my living room one one very lonely day thinking, what on Earth has just happened. Like I am alone, alone. And God said, Now that I have your attention. And I just said, this is what you've been trying to show me all along. You just needed me to be still. And I was filling and filling and preparing and doing and working. And I just needed to stop. And as soon as I stopped, so that's been four years. That's been four years. he has not left my side. And I will say, women ask me all the time, like, isn't that so lonely? This seems so lonely. And I say, I have never been more held in my life. Even though physically I am physically alone many of the time, God has been just the most amazing companion, a true partner. He's taught me what it means to be his bride, what it looks like for him to be my husband. How does that actually look? What does that mean? All this ache inside of me, this loneliness, this separation, the Abandonment I felt as a child, that's like not enough. He just spoke into me and he continues to every single day and show me how he is my healer. All of my autoimmune diseases have completely erased. I had exercise asthma, my lungs would burn. And at one day I was out for a run in the cold and I'm like, my lungs don't burn. And he said, If I can heal your lungs, I can heal your heart. Amen. And he just has it is the most beautiful, most filling, most uplifting, most peaceful, most held, seen, understood, loved. I was been longing for my whole life. And here he is. And he's always been here. And he's like, this is what I've been trying to show you. And this is now what I teach these women in my Say Law Healing program. This is the foundation each of us are really longing for, whether you've grown up knowing him or not. That relationship and that identity is who he says you are. He shown me this woman he created me to be. And every day he gives me strength to rise up and become her because he's giving me that power. And it's blows my mind every day, every single day. speaker-0: I have no words. And this is where I was just, I was so excited because when you first told me, you know, how you grew up, you know, the the the home that you grew up in, the religion that you had practiced to really the Lord just transforming your heart. It is amazing. And now He is, yes, your true. True companion, the only one that we really need. That's why he's our daily bread. That's why he's a living water. And it's just so awesome to see his sovereign hand from the moment that you were little, because all of that wasn't a mistake, right? Everything that you've gone through was already written. speaker-1: Yeah. speaker-0: I I'm just so so when so you you you you read scripture? Like was that when you know this this when you were no longer spiritually blind? Like how how did that because to leave completely, I don't even I can't even imagine what yeah to be excommunicated basically. Like what what what is what does that even look like? What like what happened there? speaker-1: Yeah, yeah. So I had to ask for them to remove my name from the records, which they're like, well, you know, you're gonna lose all of these. And I was like, I would like for them to be completely severed. I don't want to be associated because every time you go to the temple, you're literally you're praying these prayers and performing these rites and rituals. You're literally cursing yourself every time. And I realized that that was part of my healing was I had to now break these bonds and these prayers and these promises that have been spoken of over me from generations, literally. Past and that's one of the prayers. It's like you pray for upon me and upon all generations throughout all time. That is one of the prayers verbatim that you repeat verbatim in that temple. And my ancestors have been praying that prayer. My ancestors have been struggling in these same autoimmune diseases and these same patterns and the same things. And I'm learning like he truly just I read that first in Matthew, and it was like, I think I might be wrong. And it was just like Everything opened up and I would read his word. It really does come absolutely alive to me every single time I open it. And it's just like there's a psalm, Psalm 143 says, I stretch out my hands to you, my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. I felt so spiritually starved, I just can't drink enough. Wow, it's so amazing. Yeah. speaker-0: Wow, talk about no more dry ground, right? Wow. Wow. speaker-1: Yes, I mean, and it is fertile. I will say it's a preparation season. It's not like the heavens parted and he just poured out everything I needed in that moment. But in a way, he kind of did. But he continues to feed me as I need it. And he has been my provider. I took a class about the Hebrew names of Jesus, of Jehovah. my, I was like, this is God. Me, like, what's the difference between the Jesus you grew up worshipping and the Jesus you know now? Yes, it is, it's such a good question. But and I always say the Jesus that I know and understand now, the God I understand and know now, just the one I grew up with simply was not big enough and powerful enough to perform and transform me as. This God I know now because He's not just my savior and redeemer and friend. That's what I learned as a child. Jesus is my savior, redeemer, and friend. He is those things, but he's also our healer. He sees me. He's my provider. He's the He's my rock, my banner, my shield, my fortress. And every single one of those things, like I know and understand them deeply. Like he didn't just go hang on a cross for me. He didn't just go get born in a manger. His like every single day I take a breath is a miracle. speaker-0: Amen. speaker-1: And he's the author of all of it. And I was just I just didn't even comprehend it to that level before. God is so good. So good. So good. speaker-0: So good. So good. So I mean, my goodness, you've you've you've lived through it, and now you know your your God-given, you know, purpose and mission is through the Sila healing program. So I you know, I know that you speak of or you really want to help women who are perhaps going through a divorce or are divorced Christian women and they're trying to rebuild their lives, right? and you're literally holding them by the hand, helping them move through the shame. And so and and exhaustion and comparison and you're, you know, because where you are at with with this, you know, peace that surpasses all understanding, this confidence and all this clarity, because you know who you are in Christ, you really focus on what you've call the five pillars of health. So I'd love if we can kind of, you know, talk about each pillar and how is it that you have women with these five pillars. So I think the first one is is their health, right? speaker-1: Yeah. Yep. So I truly believe like mental health, yeah, is the first one. So again, my mom is a family thought child therapist. And so I grew up with the psychology background, like reading Victor Frankel and stuff like that with her. and so I just kind of understood all of that. And it's amazing to look back and see how God has prepared you. But I I went through all kinds of my own mental health challenges as a teenager growing up. Of course, my own identity, everything goes back to that. but the mental health piece of it is really, and this is actually beautiful. If you read the Westminster catechism for the thou shalt not kill, why we have that commandment. if you read that definition, it basically is talking about how it's not just about killing, but also preserving life, right? You said that we should protect and defend and preserve all life. It actually includes in that Westminster catechism of definition the things we say about ourselves and others. speaker-0: Good. speaker-1: That the words we use and speak over each other, the identity labels we use is part of that aspect. So God's plan is actually the original form of how do we take care of our mental health? It is by speaking his power and his word over us and stepping into the identity he has written for us, which is really like all outlined in this beautiful book that speaks exactly over us. And so that is. Plan is not just about preserving and protecting our life, but that we're precious. Yes. Every soul is precious. Yes. Every soul is precious. Every soul has value. I grew up believing I had nothing to contribute. I truly didn't think I had any talents until I was like almost 40. Wow. Truly didn't think I had anything to offer until I was almost 40. And that God is telling you you have something, and He speaks to you so individually. And that's why I love. The certification I actually did, and this is why it comes back to this is it teaches us about our thoughts and how do we understand and discern between thoughts and facts. And we have been raised and taught to believe in our society that everything in the world is outside of our control, but is but dictates our life. The things other people say, the way that they talk to us, yes, our culture. The way that people interact with us, if somebody cuts us off in traffic or not, if people are living their standards according to our expectations or not. And we are taught to believe that all of those things force us to feel and have the experience that we're having. And so when I went through this, I chose this certification because it used the specific model and the specific way of identifying our thoughts and then separating them out from actual facts. Yes. And so when I read the Bible, I was like, this is thought work. This is the model. This is God's plan for bringing back our power into us. Like I have control over my feelings. Nobody else gets to decide how I'm gonna feel. You can say whatever you want to say, you can do whatever you want to do. I don't have to agree with it. I don't have to like it, but I also don't have to allow it to rule my life. Yes. I get to say how I want. to experience my life based on whatever you decided to do. speaker-0: Hence, we need to literally renew our mind every day, getting into the word. You know, number one, remembering his I am, who he is, because then we'll remember who we are. And this resonates deeply because in in you know, in my world, the you know, the health and wellness world, women very much are ashamed of their own body. They're ashamed of what they see in the mirror, they attach. their worthiness to the number of the on the scale. And you know, say things like, I'm ugly, or I'm fat, or they'll just really, you know, or I'm a failure, or and and so I resonate with that because then yes, their their thoughts will inadvertently, you know, seep then into how they interact out there. And when they hear things, you know, from that ant who always says, You look kind of heavy. Don't I think you need to lose some weight. Or, you know, or or a spouse that kind of pinches you in the places that are uncomfortable and says, Hey, honey, maybe you should hit the gym. You know, you absorb all that, believe that it's true, and just feel so there's just so many self-defeating thoughts that you claim to be true. Right. And so yeah, I I I totally resonate with that. Yeah. It's it's really powerful. And how you, you know, I know that you remind your women that hey, you're the daughter of an almighty king, right? There's there's royalty that runs through your blood, right? So exactly yeah. So good. So good. speaker-1: so mental and then emotional. So we of course, everything we think is happening is affecting our feelings. And we do have very powerful feelings and very powerful emotions, but they come from our thoughts. Yes. And even this is what the Bible says your thoughts create your feelings, create your experience. Yes. Right. And this is what that my model teaches. And so I teach women how to embrace your feelings because our brain wants us to believe. The most unsafe thing we can do is feel a negative emotion. Right. And what I teach them is like this, it's called a feeling because it's a literal sensation in your body. Yes. And that's all. That's speaker-0: That's it. speaker-1: all. That's all it is. And so when you can, I teach them how to basically calm your nervous system and be in control of that and guide them through how do I process the feeling? How do I separate that from the emotion? What Thought is dragging that. What's going on in my head right now? And what do I really want to do with that, if anything at all? Because the point isn't to always go around feeling happy and amazing. Of course. The point is to be intentional with our choices. And sometimes we want to be outraged. We want to be outraged at injustice. We want to be defenders of the faith. We want to be defenders of justice and protect our ourselves and our children, our livelihoods, our communities, people we love. Those, you know, those are God-given. Really beautiful. Even God was Jesus was angry, right? He overturned the temple and the tables. And this is my favorite actual line about Jesus is he sat and braided a rope. He did not have a reactionary experience. Do you know how much time it took him to sit and braid a rope? speaker-0: Right. speaker-1: This was intentional. And that's what I teach my clients is that you have emotions that are powerful, but and they are for your use and your benefit. They do not control you. So and when you continue to appoint that, like to try to suppress them or ignore them, it's like pushing a ball underwater and it just grows and grows until it explodes and then it does own you. Yes. And so if you want to have power and you want to be in control, this is what I think is part of what Christ is, you know, Proverbs is telling us about is to have his wisdom and understanding and insight. He says, and his self-control, you know, he doesn't give us a spirit of fear. That's it. But a spirit of power. And love and self-control. Power. Like his power literally lives inside of us. Yeah. And it gives us love and self-control. And the most self-control we have is when we're intentional. And that's when we have the most influence and the most power over ourselves and over everything else happening. Right. Yes. speaker-0: Thank you. speaker-1: And it's and again, it's not because you're a dictator. It's not because you're trying to control everything, but it's actually the surrender of it all. Yes, that is what's empowered. speaker-0: That's right there. Surrender. Because some, you know, have some women who are controlling are speaker-1: And yes. speaker-0: just forcing themselves on the driver's wheel, right? And then you have women who are are on the complete opposite end. And so speaker-1: Victor. speaker-0: and you're right. It exactly. They're victim. And you're right. You know, when when our emotions, you know, and then we react to that. physical speaker-1: sensation. Yeah. speaker-0: that we're feeling most of the time, you know, because in my mind, you know, when when women are feeling bored, angry, frustrated, worried, anxious, all the things, 99.9% of the time they will skip their workout, they'll binge on a pint of ice cream, they'll down a bottle of wine, they'll, you know, yell at their kids or You know, and and and the outcome because of these emotions is is typically negative. And and it doesn't serve them from my perspective, from a you know, a a health their their their what they do what they know they should do is now thrown out the window because their emotions are so high. Hence, you know, I work with a lot of women who are emotional eaters as an example. Yes. So yeah, what what you're saying, yes, rings so true. Rings so true. That's Powerful. That's a powerful pillar. speaker-1: It is we call it indulgent emotions because it creates more of itself. Right. So instead of so instead of producing a solution, you produce more of this the chaos. Yes. The spiral there. Yes. speaker-0: Yes. And always, well, from at least from from what you know, what I've seen, what I've experienced, will not serve you. Right. speaker-1: No. Well it never gives you what you're actually looking for, which is a habit. speaker-0: Yeah, and take you far away from what you what you actually want, right? Yeah. Yeah. That's how do speaker-1: Yes, yeah, it is. So we speaker-0: we lean then in on your third pillar, which I know is spiritual? How does that help in all things? Because to me, that's that really is the foundation of it all. speaker-1: Yes, it is truly everything is what does he say? All things are spiritual. All things are spiritual. And so I really would say like the foundation first thing is the spiritual pillar of it because that is the foundation of understanding. Paul says, and I love this so much that we're not fighting a battle of flesh and blood. Yes. We're fighting a yes, we are fighting a battle of unseen and everything that is seen temporary. The speaker-0: Yes. speaker-1: spiritual war, everything we see is temporary. And everything that is unseen is eternal. Yes. And that's what we're seeking after is the unseen. But everything seen around us is temporary. And we and gosh, the enemy works so hard at like giving that thing that's in front of us so much power. And that's where it always comes back to. I man, there's so many verses, but where God says, He who is in you, first John four, four, he who is in me is greater than he who is in the world. And he says, Is anything too hard for the Lord? speaker-0: Right. speaker-1: That's right. Nothing. All things must bow to him. And that is one of the foundational. This is why we start with our identity, because this was what stood out to me is when he's talking to the apostles and he says, Well, who do men say that I am? And then he says, But who do you say that I am? Yeah. And as I was reading that one day, God just was like, When was the last time you asked me that question, Katie? Wow. So I started saying, okay, Lord, who do you say I am? And that is the voice that anchors me because that's I am first his creation, a spirit. Yeah. All things are spiritual before they are physical. And if I am giving power to the physical, I am diminishing the power of him in me and giving power to the flesh or to what is seen. And I I just truly believe that when you step in fully to that identity, there is not anything you can overcome. That is what Paul and all the apostles did. It was the anointing of the spirit. It was the anointing of the spirit. He came and this is actually really beautiful. I'm gonna show this. I know a lot of women don't like submission or surrender because what like we need why to submit to your husband as he submits to the Lord. But this is Adam was given Eve, what as a help meet? And it the Greek word is Ezer. The Hebrew word is these air. The only other time in scripture that word is used is to describe the spirit of God. He is the helper. Yes. speaker-0: The helper. speaker-1: And you are the helper. speaker-0: Amen. speaker-1: You are his helper. Not as somebody who is less than, but somebody who's truly divine. And when you understand that, it's like you just not because you're conceited or something, but the power of God in you is real. Yes. And it has dominion over your body, over your health, over your finances, over your mind, everything. Yes. And when you place that power where it's supposed to be, there is nothing you cannot do because it's not you. Paul says it's not this me. It's the spirit who is in me. speaker-0: Amen. speaker-1: So giving them back to that. speaker-0: Good because you might have I'm sure you've you've worked with clients or women who are who've never really understood that. You know, because again from from my perspective, it's like your this this vessel houses the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit deserves a mansion, not a rundown hotel. speaker-1: Right. Right. speaker-0: And you know, and that same spirit who helped who who literally was there before everything was formed, hovering over the deep, raised Christ from the dead. That same power, you know, for those of us that are in Christ is in us. And that's pretty mind blowing. When it really speaker-1: You think about it. speaker-0: is. You're absolutely right. And and but it's it's you know when you're so steeped in you know what like what you what it shared, what's in front of you, what what you can see. And so just in your feelings, in your emotions, in that dark hole that you're, you know, trying to scrape yourself out or dig yourself out. It's so it's har it's challenging to remember who the power that you have in you. It's so true. You're absolutely right. speaker-1: Yes. Yeah, it is. But it's like that is again the lie of Satan. Like what is all of the temptations that Satan has given man since the beginning? Absolutely. The lie that you can't trust God. And he always he says when he comes to Jesus, every time speaker-0: Yes. speaker-1: If he says if you if speaker-0: Yes, that's it. speaker-1: you are who you say you are, then you will do this. Right. And that's what he makes us question over and over again is our identity. Yes. As speaker-0: Yeah. speaker-1: long as he can make you question that, you can question anything else. And that's literally like the anchor of everything around us. If you know who you are as his, as his creation, nothing can get in your way. speaker-0: Absolutely. Absolutely. That is so good. Okay, so your next pillar I really resonate with, obviously, I resonate with all of them, but I work with the physical body. So how do how do you approach this pillar now with your work? speaker-1: Yeah, so physical. Now I will I told you I I was diagnosed with multiple autoimmune diseases over the course of my health. And so I was can see how God again prepared me because I identified as how my body could perform. So when I got married, I was newly married. I really felt like again, I didn't have any gifts or talents or skills. My older sister, so I have three older siblings. And they are very athletic. They all went so they all went through high school before me. They were like the basketball star. Right. And I was like, I have this asthma, I can't even run. And I'm so I became a cheerleader and they were like, what have you done to our family name? Like speaker-0: I'm true leading too. Okay. Thank you very much. We are athletes. Katie, we're athletes. Cheerleading is athletic. Okay. speaker-1: So I just carried this, but when I but I'm also very Italian and very stubborn and both sides of my family, I have very, very strong independent women. My mom's family is German, my dad's family is Italian, like very strong Italian, and I'm very stubborn. And so as soon as the the quickest way to get me to do anything is to tell me I can't do it, quite honestly. That's just what that means. I'm oppositional, I am defiant. And when I was newly married, you know, my ex-husband said something about me not being able to run this race or something. And I was like, yes, I can, why not? And but when I was got pregnant with my daughter, I just was adamant that I was not going to accept this belief or identity as having a mom bot. I just was like, I don't need to gain 40 or 50 pounds. What is I just started taking nutrition classes. And I so I did all this research about what is healthy, what do I actually need? Can I still exercise? Because that was this was a minute ago. Yeah. Just before speaker-0: Yeah. speaker-1: you they were like, if you're pregnant, you can't exercise. That was still the story that I was told when I had my oldest. So that dates me a little bit, but I just chose not to believe that. And I just felt like moving my body and being healthy was something that was important. Yes. And so I learned how to prioritize that and take care of that. And when I was I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis when in 2013, my second daughter who's deaf, we again I only use ASL. I woke up and I just my hands were frozen and I couldn't sign. So I couldn't bend my fingers to sign and she was four at the time. And yeah, I mean I couldn't I couldn't grab the milk jug or twist their lids off their sippy cups and My husband again was traveling. He was not there. So I'm alone with my three girls. And I'm like, I can't do anything. I can't bend my fingers. And by the end of that day, I couldn't stand up. I couldn't move my arms. I was literally frozen like a tin man. And they told me I had rheumatoid. I literally had it in one day. I mean, my fingers were so swollen, they were all touching. I was swollen. I couldn't put anything on. He my husband hurried home. He was six hours away. And he was able to come home, but he had to wash my hair because I couldn't bend my arms to reach up to my head. I couldn't bend anything, literally couldn't bend anything. And so they diagnosed me through anti arthritis and basically it's a death sentence for mobility. They said you can't run or do any weightlifting bearing exercises. You can do Tai Chi and swim. And I was like, Yeah, 30. Yeah. Like, speaker-0: No speaker-1: I'm sorry. I just don't accept that. So That was the first of many diagnoses, but I just said I don't accept that. I looked into natural medicine and I had been, I had a background in sports nutrition because I wanted to be able to perform better. Cause I, you know, don't do anything halfway. So I was like, if I'm in a race, I'm gonna win. So how do I do that? So I just thought if I can fuel my body to perform, I should, why can't I fuel my body to heal? Right. So then I got into holistic. Few medicine basically, food is our medicine and medicine is your food. So I went and learned all of those things. And yeah, I I've not had an episode like that. So that was in 2013. So it's been I literally truly praise God. Yeah. Cause I was like, I will not not communicate with my child. That's just not an option. But that's the power of the mind, also. And I think I didn't know at the time. But that is how we speak healing over our body. Whatever, when we go and get a diagnosis, like we need medicine, we need doctors. I'm not saying you shouldn't do an end. I'm giving them medical advice here. But I just fully believe that what you speak over your body is powerful. And if you say, I have anything, you are accepting that over yourself. And this is why it starts with spiritual, because you are spiritually accepting. Something that is not the design God gave you. When Christ healed everyone, what did He say? Your sins are forgiven. speaker-0: Yes. speaker-1: Forgiven. There is something spiritually blocking you from your body performing the way He He created it to. So I believe your health really, that physical aspect of it, is an avenue to the spiritual connection. And so the way you speak over your mind, which is why we have to consume the word. So we can take those thoughts captive and we can align. Like when we get a diagnosis that's perpetually debilitating, right? then we have that power to say. And that was again even before I was saved. So like God does these miracles, right? Where no matter where you're at. But when you truly, truly just refuse to accept anything but the way your body was designed and built to function. I say that over myself all the time. Like, I pray my body will function after its proper order, the way you created and designed it with the power of your spirit within me as the temple and the vesicle of your spirit. So when I go out and I do a run or something, like I am praising God. I am praising God. I and I will say like one day I was out on this run and I love to run in the trails and I just was, I was the sunrise and I'm like, Lord, like your Creation is so amazing. And I'm look at these beautiful mountains, look at the sunrise, these hills, these flowers, these animals. I can hear. And he said, and you are greater. Wow. We are the only creation where he said, It is very good. Yes. We were the final. We are the pinnacle of his creation. Yes. That is amazing. speaker-0: So good. speaker-1: You, your body, your spirit, you individually. or the pinnacle of his creation and he sees you as very good. speaker-0: Man. speaker-1: Of course we want to take care of that to make it we like that's what we're designed for. Like that is that is powerful. speaker-0: Amen. You know, it's it. I hear a lot of women who say, you know, I'm too old or it hurts or I can't do it. And it's and it's, you know, you're absolutely right. Our mind is so powerful. I mean, my I have a I have a late cousin. He he recently passed, and he was diagnosed. Thank you. He was diagnosed with cancer. he was only given months to live live, and he lived four years. And then this passed a few months ago, he was only given weeks, but he he he was like, nope, because I I I truly believe, and this is the mind, right? His body was going. He was on like he couldn't eat anymore, he couldn't drink because it hurt to swallow, right? So he was real really hanging on, but it was his mind that was hanging on because he wanted to, you know, say and spend time with whom he needed to. But that that power of the mind right there. The body was ready to go, but his mind was like, no, I'm not done yet. speaker-1: Right. speaker-0: And I've and I've seen women, the difference, they're they're the same age where you have one woman who, you know, is is whether she's like in her 50s and 60s and she's super active and she's, you know, sing and lifting heavy. And then you have the same woman, the same age, and she's like, And just always complaining about aches and pains. And that's speaker-1: Yes. speaker-0: the body responds. But they're the exact same age, right? And so yeah, the power of the mind and how we speak to ourselves and the acceptance of if you are diagnosed, you know, with with an unfortunate dis-ease, that again, again, renew your mind daily. And we see like for you as an example. You know, you have this mission. You have God has a plan for your life and He needs you to be healthy, to be able to serve the way that you do. Yeah. speaker-1: Yeah, yeah, he guess. Yeah. And I will just say that doesn't mean that I don't have like tired days. Absolutely. speaker-0: Okay, so speaker-1: But I think that's part of our that's part of our actually just shared this in an episode about Elijah resting under the tree. There are seasons we need rest. So speaker-0: Absolutely. Yeah. speaker-1: it's not like it's not about like pushing yourself to perform all the time, which is what I think we unfortunately interpret Proverbs 31 woman as this isn't about performance. It's about wisdom and discernment and applying the knowledge of God in your life in all areas. Yeah. And knowing when it's a season to push, and when it's a season to rest and prepare and let things take root. Yes. And to see this is, but that's why the it's so important again, that spiritual peace is to be connected and know. Like yesterday I laid down and took a two hour nap. Okay. Like very indulgent. speaker-0: Speaking my love language, I love naps. That is my jam. Right? Like there's not a day that goes by where I don't take a nap. So I'm about Yes. speaker-1: Yes. So but it's like giving your body everything it's not trying to make it perform where you want. And this is I'll share the the race has a been on my mind a lot, but Romans 12 2 is where he says to transform your minds, renew them daily to obey Christ. But verse one is what I love because he says, I appeal to you by the mercies of God to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy. And acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. There you go. And then he tells us, how do we do that? By not being conformed by the world and the things in front of us, but transforming our minds daily, he says, to obey Christ. Amen. Our bodies are and our minds are meant to obey God. Amen. And that is our form of worship, how we take care of that. And again, it's just over and over. And again, this is how the model works. Like two people can have the same diagnosis and have completely different experiences because of what they believe about it. So which is creates the experience. speaker-0: True. So true. That's powerful. I love this. Okay, so we've we've spoken about emotions. We've we've touched upon our mental health and our spiritual, our physical. How do you round out your pillars? speaker-1: So the last one is financial or provisions. I always say we do still live in the world. Do you still live in a world where speaker-0: You know, the other side of heaven. But in the meantime, we're still here. Yeah. So speaker-1: We are still here. Yeah. But also like when this is for me, when I think about this, I look at Solomon. Right. He asked what? He was given anything he wanted. Yeah. And he asked for wisdom and being able to judge the people of God. Yep. Righteously. And then God blessed him temporally. Yeah. But this is what gets me is at the end of his life, he is lamenting all the temporal. Things that he got distracted by and how insignificant they compared to the glory of God and that wisdom of God. And so it's not like we're not supposed to have financial health. We are. God has a plan for us financially. I mean, you think about every main character in the Bible, they lived an abundant life in God. Yes. In abundance. It isn't about the accumulation or the possession of things. temporal finances, it is where our heart posture is that gets us in danger. It is the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil evil. And Solomon's love was for to judge the people of God righteously. And then his wisdom led him to have an abundance of wealth the world has never seen since. Like they say in our day he accumulated a billion dollars a day. Wow. In revenue. Wow. Like we can't even comprehend that. No. Right. Like in his time. But he was the most wise. And so this is where God is our Jehovah Jrah. And even in the Lord's Prayer, he says, Give us our day this daily bread. Yes. He is meant to provide but a daily sustenance, daily, the manna he is giving us every single day. And this is something I love is that I learned about the Israelites coming out of Egypt. Philip Anthony Mitchell shared this about how they had to come out of Egypt and he gave him this tithe, right? We had to corner off a corner of our field for the poverty, right? For those in poverty. And he said, like, and this is what everyone says, God doesn't need your money. He doesn't need your tithes, he doesn't need your offerings, he doesn't have any he There's nothing you can do. Like that was not the point. And this is what I love about this, which brings us back to our identity again, is that God was taking Egypt out of the Israelites. They had been slaves. Their identity was slaves. That's right. They were used to being told what to do, when to do it, how to do it, at the pace to do it, everything. And now they had to learn to become stewards. Right. They had to learn to become the people of God to provide and steward each other and God's provision, God's way. That is why He instituted this. And that is also our finances is not about becoming wealthy. It's about becoming stewards of God's resources. Because it's his including ourselves. Everything is his. speaker-0: Ultimately our body is his, our money is his, everything is his. Yes. speaker-1: Right. speaker-0: From slaves of swords. I love that. speaker-1: Yes, yes. So good. Right. So we are we are stewards. So how are we stewarding? And I love this in the parable of the talents where he says, you know, he gave each of them according to their capacity. This speaker-0: Right. speaker-1: isn't about somebody getting more or less or having more abundant than you, but being able like this is the mercy of God giving you what he knows you can handle and what you need and what you have the ability to do. speaker-0: It yes. In speaker-1: In the season you're in. speaker-0: his public timing. speaker-1: Yes, right, right. So everything under the sun, right? speaker-0: right we we desire so much hence the you know the the the tendency and I mean it's with socials it's so easy to compare jealous to be envious of all the things you know whether it's their business or their family or the relationship or whatever and it's like no just that that trust me I've I've got your plan laid out perfectly speaker-1: Exactly. Right. You have to be prepared to steward what he's coming to put in given to you. speaker-0: Good. So good. my goodness. Okay. I am I I have loved this. Just so many beautiful reminders. Your testimony is so powerful. I would love as we wrap up, Katie Ann, so there's a a couple of questions that I always ask my guests. and the first one being, who is your greatest mentor? speaker-1: that's so good. My greatest mentor. I would say the Proverbs 31 Woman. wow. Like she really speaks to me. She really speaks to me. But I think God teaches me a lot through her. I actually was we don't you don't learn Proverbs as a Mormon. Like you don't read that or the Psalms or any of those books, right? And so I didn't even read the Proverbs 31 Woman until I came out of Mormonism and I was like. This is the most beautiful thing I've ever read in my life. And then I found out that this is actually quite controversial for a woman. And I think that's why we can get very distracted by the performance. Sure. And the list of things that she has quote unquote accomplished or what she has. But it says it ends with what? Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain. But a woman who fears the Lord. Is to repay to be praised. It's not about and it starts with an excellent wife. Yeah. How this the characteristics of the character of a woman. Yes. The character. How does she steward her time? How what is the posture of her heart? She fears the Lord. Amen. She speaks with wisdom and kindness because she's full of the spirit. She knows how to do these things. And these are not all done simultaneously. There are seasons of life. Where it's time for you to sit and prepare for winter. Yeah. She laughs at fear of the future. Like, yeah. Wow, that's the confidence of the power of the spirit within me. So speaker-0: So speaker-1: not about like, and and then he brings all those skills. Like again, Solomon, he brought the skills. You have the wisdom and inside insight and understanding. He brings all of the other skills and qualities, but it starts with the fear of the Lord. speaker-0: Amen. Amen. That's good. I love that. I love that. Okay. My last question before we share how my audience can get a hold of you, because I'm sure you have touched many, many hearts of my listeners. what is your legacy? speaker-1: My legacy, the story of God. I want everyone to look at my life, my child, my children. I want them specifically. And this is what God showed me. I thought I had to come out of this marriage to give them an example of a healthy marriage and what that looks like. And I realized I didn't have God. I couldn't give them God, which was always my priority because I didn't have Him. Right. And now I can give them who he really is. And that's been a really hard journey. I'm not gonna lie. Having like my ex-husband is still very Mormon and it's very hard for my children, my my boys especially, because they see this is dad and this is mom. And now everything we're saying spiritually contradicts everything. Right. But really, it's that chasm has just been very emphasized since our split and our The only thing I that really matters is God. Amen. Nothing else matters if you don't have him. So I want my children and anybody who meets me or sees me to say there's something different and recognize it's the God. It's God. It's he who is in me. There isn't anything about me that should that is fantastical. It is the spirit of God doing the work. It's really not mine. It's his. speaker-0: Amen. Praise God. So good man. Wow. Okay. I would love, and we'll have all of this, of course, in the show notes, but the best way to contact you and anything that is is upcoming that you would like to share, let's hear it. speaker-1: Yeah. So I'm doing a brand new resource called just the 30-day post-divorce identity reset. Okay. So anytime in your post-divorce journey, just 30 days, you can get to a new identity and understanding. Who does God say you are? Where does He want you to be? Anytime. So it's just a 30 day reset. It's just comes with like a workbook over the course of four four weeks and comes with some group workshops and coaching and things like that that you can enter. My podcast is on all the platforms, including YouTube at just Coach KDN. And then they can get more about my private say lucky link, coaching through coachkdn.com backslash call. speaker-0: Perfect. Perfect. I will have all of that there. honestly, before before I release you, I would love to pray for you. Would that be okay? speaker-1: Good. Yes, I was gonna say let's pray. It's just the spirit is powerful here. speaker-0: Wow, wow, wow, wow. Father God, I am in awe of just your mercy, your grace. Thank you, Lord, for being slow to anger and patient with us, Lord God. You are not only our father, but a great provider, a great healer, a great physician, Lord God. And I am, it's so beautiful, Lord, to witness your sovereign hand on KD Ann's life. Lord, you have never left her. You have never forsaken her, Lord God. And the way that you are using her through her story, through her coaching, through her sela program, Lord God, it is, it is, it is absolutely a gift, Lord. And without you and the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on that cross, without us being cleansed by the blood of Christ, no longer slaves to our sin, Lord God, no longer slaves to to lies, Lord God. But now we are have unveiled the truth that we are cloaked with your righteousness righteousness, Lord God, and to hear Katie Ann's heart, her servant heart, Lord, to help women through pain and tribulations, Lord God, to help them through the the hardships, Father God, through her life is is is awesome. And we give you all glory and honor and praise for that. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for just revealing to her every time she opens the word, Lord, to make it clear what you want to speak into her heart when she reads scripture, Lord. And I just pray a covering over my sister. I pray that you continue to remind her to put on the six pieces of armor every time she steps out, Lord. We know that the enemy hates this and we know the enemy is afraid. But Lord, we also know that you have already won. It is finished. And so God, we we just say thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, in advance as well for what is to come. And so, Lord, thank you for bringing my sister through the darkness dur during this time where she was pruned, because now the fruit is clear, Lord, and and we we honor you in all of that. We take zero it's not of our doing, Lord. It's you you, you alone. And so thank you. Thank you for this opportunity to to speak in this manner, Lord God, to touch other women, Lord, who may be lost, Lord, or who are in need of a savior. I pray that this podcast will be a seed that the Holy Spirit will continue to water. So may your will be done, Father, and continue to inspire and and guide my sister in Christ with every single step, Lord. We we are just again in awe of you. So thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You are holy, holy, holy. We love you, Father. We praise you, Father. We glorify you in all of this, all of these things I pray, in the precious name of our Lord and the most beautiful Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. speaker-1: Amen. Praise God. speaker-0: So good. Thank you. It's so good. I am I'm giving you the biggest virtual hug right now. I'm like, wow, speaker-1: No speaker-0: wow, wow, so so good. I will all of those details. That 30-day resource sounds so powerful. And if you ladies want to learn more about maybe you're interested in some one-on-one coaching, it's coachkadyann.com forward slash coach. speaker-1: Four. speaker-0: Well I'll I'll put that in the resources. I'll put that in the show notes as well. I'm so humbled. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for moving the kingdom the way that you do, Katie Ann. You are such a blessing. speaker-1: Praise God. Praise God for what he does. speaker-0: Amen. Amen. So until the next time, ladies, we'll see you again Bye-bye, everyone. speaker-1: Bye.