Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 42:55 — 39.3MB) | Embed

Subscribe: RSS | More

Welcome back to Fierce Calling! In today’s episode, host Doris Swift sits down with Kate Battistelli—author, speaker, and one of the hosts of the popular Mom to Mom Podcast. Kate shares her powerful story of stepping from a career in theater and the New York Broadway scene into an unexpected life of faith, family, and purpose after coming to know Christ at the age of 29.

Together, Doris and Kate explore what it means to step into unknown seasons—such as the empty nest—and discover new meaning and purpose beyond motherhood. Kate reflects on her journey, from being a Broadway understudy to embracing roles as a mother to the award-winning Christian music artist, Francesca Battistelli, grandmother to 7, wife, and writer, all while encouraging women to boldly obey God’s call, even if it means venturing outside their comfort zones.

We’re talking about her career in theater opposite a well-known actor, how she met her hubby, their sweet salvation story, and how God has amazing plans and a powerful purpose for each of our lives.

You’ll also hear practical tips for navigating life transitions, building strong marriages, mentoring the next generation, and saying “yes” to unexpected challenges—whether it’s writing a book, starting a podcast, or simply volunteering.

Stick around until the end for a special offer from Kate, and get ready to be inspired to step out where your passion, compassion, and conviction intersect!

Episode Highlights

00:00 “Writer, Podcaster, Former Actress”

04:20 Exciting Stories and New Offers

10:25 From Understudy to Leading Role

12:45 “Unexpected Encounter at Holiness Church”

14:35 “Life-Changing Divine Calling”

20:30 Faithful Obedience and Calling

22:12 Redefining Life After Parenting

25:44 “Preparing for Future Goals”

28:20 Prioritize Relationship Over Parenting

31:31 Finding Purpose Beyond Motherhood

34:32 Pray for Prodigal Children’s Return

38:02 Impact Through Obedience

42:06 “Join, Share, and Connect”

We’re Talking About Her Amazing Books and More!

Connect with Kate!

You can connect with Kate at katebattistelli.com where you’ll find her books, social media links, podcast, blog, and even some amazing recipes!

Plus, If you’d like to read the introduction and the first chapter of The Afterparty of the Empty Nest for free, just text: afterparty (all one word with no spaces), to 44144. And you’ll get a couple of other fun goodies as well!

Kate Battistelli is the author of The After Party of the Empty Nest: Mom is Not Your Only Name, the bestseller, The God Dare: Will You Choose to Believe the Impossible, and Growing Great Kids: Partner with God to Cultivate His Purpose in Your Child’s Life. She is a contributing writer to the (in)courage Bible for Women and The Spirit-Led Woman’s Bible, and her writing has appeared in Guideposts, The Joyful Life magazine, The Better Mom, Mici magazine, and more. She is one-third of the popular
Mom to Mom Podcast. In addition, she is an honoree with She Leads Tennessee.

As a young actress in New York City, Kate had a life-changing experience, going from understudy to starring as Anna in the
Broadway National Tour of The King and I opposite Yul Brynner for more than 1,000 performances. Kate and her husband laid down their careers in the Broadway theatre in answer to their first “God Dare,” moving out of New York City and into a life of homeschooling and home business. She lives in Franklin, TN, near her daughter, contemporary Christian recording artist Francesca Battistelli, and seven precious grandchildren. Kate serves women by encouraging them to step out of their safe space and into His irresistible future.

She’s a Jersey girl living in Franklin, TN, with her husband Mike. They’ve been married for 40 plus years and are the parents of GRAMMY Award-winning Christian recording artist Francesca Battistelli Goodwin. She and her husband, Matt, have given us 7 beautiful grandchildren, and they are the delight of our lives!

What Threatens to Steal Your Joy?

Check out Surrender the Joy Stealers: Rediscover the Jesus Joy in You 6-week Bible study rooted in John 15. You can find more info at https://dorisswift.com/book/

Let’s Stay Connected!

Find my free resources including Fear Fighting Bible Verses, Simple Tips for Sharing Your Faith, Surrender the Joy Stealers, Step Out of Your Doubt and Into Your Calling ebook, and more on my dorisswift.com homepage!

Love Fierce Calling?

Did you know that following, rating, and leaving a review over at Podchaser or Apple Podcasts helps others discover the show too? I would so appreciate it, friend!

Need a Speaker for Your Next Women’s Event? Now Booking for 2026!

Check out my speaking page, grab my flyer, and let’s talk about me speaking at your next women’s event…

Thanks for Listening!

I hope this episode encouraged, inspired, and challenged you to cultivate community, live and walk in the value, purpose, and worth God gave you, and take action where your passion, compassion, and conviction intersect.

If you’re looking for a speaker for your next women’s conference, retreat, luncheon, or workshop, reach out and connect with me on my speaker page at https://www.womenspeakers.com/florida/edgewater/speaker/doris-swift

Let’s have a chat about your next event!

Stay tuned for more amazing content and remember to check the show notes for all the links mentioned.

Thank you for being a part of our community. We are grateful for your continued support and encourage you to embrace the unique gifts that make you magnificently you.

I hope you’ll join me next time when I talk with another guest who is taking action where her passion, compassion, and conviction intersect …

Until then friend, have a blessed week, and I’ll talk to you soon.

With love and joy,

Doris

P.S. Don’t forget to follow us on social media for bite-sized wisdom and inspiration from Doris and our incredible guests! 📲

Transcript

Doris [00:00:52]:
What is threatening to steal your joy? What is it that feels so heavy right now that you could barely stand? God has a plan and his plan is to surrender it. Surrender it to him. It might be a prodigal, it might be a relationship, a marriage, something with your job. So many things. We have so many amazing blessings, but there are so many things in our life that threaten to steal our joy. I’m Doris Swift, author of the award winning six week Bible study, Surrender the Joy. Rediscover the Jesus joy in you. And it helps women rediscover the overflowing, ever present Jesus joy within that fills, empowers and ripens the fruit that God produces in our lives.

Doris [00:02:32]:
Using personal and biblical stories, I share how you can identify your joy stealers. Surrender them to God. Reawaken the joy within and share the joy with others. You can do it on your own or with a group. Check it out, friends. Surrender the joy stealers. Rediscover the Jesus joy in you. It’s available on all the online retailers. It’s time to take your joy back.

Doris [00:02:57]:
Welcome back to the show today. I am so excited to introduce to you my friend, Kate Battistelli. I’ve been looking forward to this interview with her. She is the author of The After Party of the Empty Nest. Mom is Not Your Only Name. Amen. And she’s also the author of the bestseller The God Dare, Will you choose to believe the impossible? And Growing Great Kids Partner with God to Cultivate His Purpose in Your Child’s Life.

Doris [00:03:26]:
And she is a contributing writer to a lot of different publications and she’s also one third of the popular mom to mom podcast. So you listen to podcasts, so be sure to check that out. And she’s also a former actress, so we’re going to hear a little bit about that. It’s kind of exciting. She currently lives in Franklin, Tennessee and she is near her daughter, who you probably know, she’s the contemporary Christian recording artist Francesca Battistelli and she has seven precious grandchildren. So this is very exciting and a good reason to move to Tennessee. And I love this about Kate, that she serves women by encouraging them to step out of their safe space and into his irresistible future. I’ve never heard it put that way.

Doris [00:04:13]:
So I, I’m really intrigued and I love that so much. Kate, welcome to the show.

Kate [00:04:17]:
Thank you, Doris. I am thrilled to be here.

Doris [00:04:20]:
I am so excited about this because we are going to talk about so many amazing things that are really going to bless the audience, the listener today. So Listener, stay tuned to the end because Kate has something exciting that she wants to offer you. So. So we don’t want to miss out on that. And we are talking about the new book. But there’s so many things, really, that are kind of intertwined in your story, Kate, and from your background and everything, that’s so fascinating. And I just can’t wait for you to share that. So I would love if you would share a little about your story, however the Lord leads you and how you are taking action, where your passion, compassion and conviction intersection.

Kate [00:05:03]:
Yeah, I mean, my story is so quirky. I always tell people, you know, God just. God has a sense of humor because he took me from not knowing him to finding him at 29. So I didn’t grow up in a Christian home. I grew up going to church. But there was never any, you know, any desire to know Jesus, and it was never really talked about. So I left home. I went to four colleges in two years.

Kate [00:05:28]:
I didn’t graduate from any of them. So I like to remind people I’m a college dropout. But that doesn’t matter. You can still do lots of stuff. But I did get on the dean’s list, so there’s that. And my husband has a doctorate, so combined, kind of, you know, works, works, works in my favor. But, yeah, just had an interesting life. Now I’m married.

Kate [00:05:47]:
We’ve been married 42 years this summer. We have seven grandkids. Just one child. God. I wanted a big family. God gave us one, but she’s got seven. And it’s such a blessing, you know, you don’t think about what that’ll be like till you have them. My husband always says, you don’t think your heart can grow bigger, but it really can.

Kate [00:06:07]:
And with each one, it just grows a little bit more. So it’s. It’s a. If you’re blessed to have grandchildren, it’s a wonderful thing. Yeah, we feel just honored, you know, that’s beautiful.

Doris [00:06:19]:
And, you know, having, because you talk about in the book, too, how Francesca was the only child and, you know, all that, but she’s given you seven is a pretty amazing number of grandkids to have. And it’s like a good number. It’s like a God number. It is. Maybe she’ll have more.

Kate [00:06:36]:
It really is.

Doris [00:06:38]:
She’ll have 12. You know, that’s a God number, too.

Kate [00:06:40]:
That’s true. So is eight. They’re all God numbers. Just some are. You don’t want 13, but.

Doris [00:06:46]:
But that. That’s so fun and fantastic. And, you know, I Know that you have a lot of background in theater and that kind of thing. So you have a lot of talent in your family and how this all came about, because I think your husband was involved in Broadway as well. So if you could tell us a little bit about that and share how that went and how God segued you out of that particular season in your life.

Kate [00:07:11]:
Sure, it’s a crazy story, and to me, it’s a really prophetic picture of what God was doing even before I knew him. And I’ll come back to that. But, yeah, I was a young actress in New York just wanting to be famous. I wanted fame. And fortunately, I’d lived in New Jersey like you had, and New York was not that far. So eventually I made my way there in my 20s and I was doing different things. Children’s theater, regional theater, whatever I could do, I would say yes to. Well, one day I got a call from my agent and he says, kate, there’s a big production of the King and I starring Yul Brynner that’s going to be a national tour.

Kate [00:07:49]:
And if some of your audience, they might be too young, they’re like, who? Well, he was a huge star, if you’ve ever seen the Ten Commandments. He played Farrow, and he was back in 1981. He was still a huge star, so he was starring in it. And my agent wanted me to audition for the understudy to the leading lady. And I thought, okay, well, I ended up getting the part. I thought, well, this is great. I’m going to travel, I’m going to actually earn some money. I’ll never go on, because understudies basically are like an insurance policy for the producer.

Kate [00:08:22]:
So especially at that level. And I was. I had experience, but I didn’t have, you know, that kind of experience. I was young to be picked for an understudy, but I was thrilled. But I learned my part. You have to know your part backward and forward. So I knew if ever called on, I’ll be able to do this, thinking I’m never going to get a chance. Well, about two months into the run of the show, I walk into the theater one night and as soon as my foot crosses the threshold, the stage manager runs to me, he grabs me and he says, she’s sick.

Kate [00:08:55]:
You’re on. And I mean, your life flashes before your eyes. Because I don’t know if people realize the King and I has probably the biggest role for a female in all of musical theater. It’s a three hour show and I sang seven songs I’m on stage almost the whole time. I mean, it’s just a huge show. So the thought of. And I got in at 7:15 for an 8 o’ clock show because I didn’t have much to do in the chorus, you know, it didn’t take much to get ready. But for that, you know, the hoop skirts, the hats I’d never handled the props I’d never worn the costumes, I’d never done a scene with Yul Brynner.

Kate [00:09:30]:
So the thought of, the thought of all of it was terrifying. But as I’m standing in the wings about to go on, the thought occurred to me. And I told this to my daughter many times, I said, sometimes you just have to do it afraid. There are those times in life where you can’t back up. It’s like having a baby, you know, you can’t. When it starts, you can’t get out of it. And this is, this was that same thing. This is what I was getting paid for.

Kate [00:09:53]:
Well, I did the show. I didn’t die because I thought I might, but I didn’t. Ended up going on for the leading lady for two weeks because she had pneumonia. But she got well, came back to the show. I went back to the chorus because that’s how it works. And I thought that was great, you know, great credit for my resume. But that’s not the end of the story. The crazy part is about a month later I get a call from one of the producers and he says, Kate, Mr.

Kate [00:10:18]:
Brenner has sent the leading lady back to New York. He’s paid off her two year contract and he wants you in the role.

Doris [00:10:24]:
Wow.

Kate [00:10:25]:
I mean, that never happens. They’re not going to put an understudy in a leading role like that. They’re always going to bring in somebody from New York. But I really look at it as a God thing, the way he will reach down and pull you out of obscurity to dance with him. Because if you know the king and I, toward the end, there’s that big shall we dance scene, which I get chills just talking about. It was an amazing, just an amazing thing to be a part of. I ended up doing the show almost three years, about a thousand performances, so all over the place. But the best part is this cute guy joined the tour named Mike Battistelli.

Kate [00:11:01]:
He was the associate conductor and we’ve always played gigantic theater. So I could see, you could see the orchestra and I could see, who’s that cute guy. He joined as the associate conductor so he had to learn the score so he’s flipping the pages and I’m seeing him and thinking, he’s really cute. I gotta get the scoop on him. So a couple of my friends, I said, I’m find out, you know, what’s the deal with him? Find out if he’s married, whatever. Well, he wasn’t. We literally fell in love across the footlight because I could see him, he could see me. He said, when I first saw you, I thought you were a much older British actress.

Kate [00:11:33]:
But then I found out you were a girl from New Jersey with a good English accent. So he will still tell that story. But we met, we fell in love. When I left the show in 1983, we ended up getting married in July. And, well, if you want, I’ll tell you our salvation story, because it’s just as crazy as this whole thing.

Doris [00:11:51]:
Let’s hear it. Okay.

Kate [00:11:53]:
Well, we had a little side business because we were both then unemployed. And we started this business and there was an older woman that was mentoring us. She was just helping us figure it out. Well, if we found out she was a born again Jewish woman, a messianic Jew, and she was a typical New Yorker, she was relentless. She kept inviting us to church, and she would not stop inviting us. And we kept saying, no, we’re good, you know, we don’t need to go to church was our thought. But she kept inviting us. So Mike and I just looked at each other one day and said, if she invites us one more time, let’s just get this over with.

Kate [00:12:28]:
Because eventually it’s rude to say no one more time. You kind of have to say yes. I always tell people, don’t stop inviting. They eventually have to say yes. But she invites us to church. And, you know, New York, we get on the F train. The last stop in the F train in Jamaica, Queens. And we lived in the Village.

Kate [00:12:45]:
So this is a long subway ride. And we’re like thinking, oh, Lord, what are we getting? What have we gotten ourselves into? Well, we get out of the subway, and the church is about two blocks away. And the church was in a big old movie theater. So we’re walking to the church, and you could almost sense the building pulsating, like something was going on. Now, they were having a big gospel choir that night, so that was part of it. But also the Holy Spirit. You know, when you don’t know what the Holy Spirit or who he is, it’s very intimidating. But we walk into this church, we find out it’s an all black holiness church, which, if you know, that’s the men sit on one side, the women on the other.

Kate [00:13:27]:
The women wear dresses, they don’t wear makeup, they don’t wear jewelry. It’s a very strict sect, I guess, of Christianity, I don’t know. Well, denomination, wonderful people, but just different. I mean, I was raised Episcopalian. I didn’t know any of this. And the other thing is in the lobby, there are crutches hanging on the wall of people that have been healed, empty wheelchairs. We’re thinking, what farm planet did we just get dropped on because we just had no experience with this. Well, she seats us in the front row.

Kate [00:14:00]:
We’re the only three white faces in an all black church. Mike sitting on one side because the men and women are separated. Our friend June and I were on the other side. And the pastor just gave this fiery salvation message because I’m pretty sure she said to him, they need to get saved. So, you know, put it all on because they need, they need salvation. Well, at the end with his, you know, his altar call, Mike’s hand went up on his side, mine went up. We didn’t know each other, were saying yes to Jesus. We went forward, gave our hearts to the Lord, and that was it.

Kate [00:14:35]:
You know, we were, we’ve never turned back from that, but we were still living in New York, still, you know, that was night, that was March 31, 1984. A year after that we had our daughter Francesca. And a year after that, we’re still living in New York. Mike’s conducting on Broadway and Radio City. I’m just doing all kinds of different off Broadway things. And we start getting this sense, both of us, that something’s not right here. And we knew the Lord was saying to us, this is not the life that I’ve planned for you. I want you to lay this down kind of like Abraham, you know, walk away from everything, you know, go to a land that I’ll show you, I won’t tell you.

Kate [00:15:16]:
And we didn’t know what to do. We ended up moving back to New Jersey for a while, had our home business started, homeschooling. Way before it was cool, you know, way before. It’s the thing we, everybody does before there were computers. It’s really fun to not have computers, but yeah, I mean, it was just crazy. And we, we ended up down in Florida when Franny was about, gosh, I guess about seven. But it was just such a. Interesting twist and turn.

Kate [00:15:43]:
I like to call it 90 degree turns. You know, you’re going one way with the Lord and then he says, no, I want you to go this completely different way that you were never expecting. And he’ll do that. But if we’re open to hearing his voice, you know, and if we decide to say yes, because we could have said no, we could have stayed in New York and, you know, could have gotten my Tony maybe, I don’t know. But I’m. I don’t look back with any regret. I would not go back to that for a million years, you know, but it was a crazy season.

Doris [00:16:14]:
Yeah. Wow. That’s a powerful story, you know, and talking about when you arrived at this church and it was just so far out of your comfort zone with what way far out? And it’s like, what is this about? Hello. But, but thank you so much for the encouragement of saying don’t give up asking. Because I know sometimes, I mean, we all have been guilty of. We just give up too soon. Like, nevermind, they’re not going to do that, you know, or we just don’t really consider what God can do and you know, like if we keep going with what he leads us to do and not to give up, you know, and so I love that.

Kate [00:16:53]:
Definitely.

Doris [00:16:54]:
That was. That’s great. So I love that and how you both work called or feeling that almost like conviction.

Kate [00:17:02]:
Yeah, it was conviction. Yeah. We’re just both sensing at the same time. We both knew and it was hard. You know, people think you’re crazy when you’ve reached a certain level. My husband has a doctorate. Like I said, he worked his whole life to get to where he got. And then God says, walk away.

Kate [00:17:20]:
And you’re just like, all right. But obedience always has. It always has good at the end. If you’re going to obey, there’s. There’s a price to obey, but there’s also a reward. That’s what I found.

Doris [00:17:32]:
Yes. Well, that’s really encouraging for someone to hear because, you know, there might be someone listening right now who’s kind of struggling with a decision and they feel like, do I just give this all up? And what would that look like? And I think it kind of segues. I love your story that you share. I’m pretty sure it’s in the newest book when you share the story about how you. You really were never planning to be an author and then never, you know, and then the first book kind of came out of nowhere when you were going to speak, I think, with your husband. Right.

Kate [00:18:06]:
So, yeah, God dared me to write that book. He really literally dared me. And I had no interest. I knew I could write like I Knew I was a good writer, but the thought of being an author, I thought, no, God, I don’t want to do that. You know how God is. He can make you do what you don’t want to do. So for me, that’s what I call. My second book was called the God Dare because.

Kate [00:18:29]:
Because of the way I see it all through scripture, how all these different Bible heroes take these amazing steps with the Lord. It’s. It’s God’s call on them. But I call it a God dare because they. They could say no. But by. Because they did it, they changed the world. And it’s just all through scripture.

Kate [00:18:47]:
And that’s what he did to us. I mean, seems crazy, but it felt like that, you know, that he’s just daring you to go a completely different direction. It’s like, okay, Lord, this is you, not me.

Doris [00:19:00]:
Yeah. And so absolutely true that, you know, we can say no. And what if we said no, and then we look back and go, wow, I’m glad I didn’t say no.

Kate [00:19:11]:
Well, we can. We can choose to be chosen. We can choose to be chosen to change the world, or we can say no, and God will find somebody else. Do you know who Reinhard Bonnke was? Do you remember who he was? He was like the Billy Graham of Africa. Huge ministry. Millions came into the kingdom. Well, when he was at the height of his ministry, God told him. He said, you were not my first choice.

Kate [00:19:34]:
You were my third choice. So imagine how humbling that is. But imagine those two other guys, you know, they get to heaven, and God says, look what you turned down. And that. That strikes terror into my heart. I’m like, God, I. I didn’t meet you till I was 29, so I’ve already missed a lot. I don’t want to miss anything else.

Kate [00:19:52]:
I don’t want to go to heaven and see, there’s all these blank pages. This was yours, you know, And I think for so many of us, fear will stop us. Comfort zone. So if anybody’s listening that’s struggling, just pray. Ask the Lord for confirmation. He will show you. Get some Christians that you know that have a strong walk with the Lord to pray for you. Because it may well be God saying, step into something crazy.

Kate [00:20:17]:
Step into something scary, because it usually is, you know, I mean, you know, writing a book is scary. It’s not easy. You’re putting yourself out there, hoping somebody’s gonna actually read it and get something from it.

Doris [00:20:30]:
Yeah, it definitely is. And it’s just kind of reminder of, this is God. This is your calling. And I’m not gonna make it about me. You know, like, well, what if I fail? Or what if this isn’t good? Or I don’t sell enough copies? Or, you know, and so just like you were saying earlier, the obedience is the important step to take. And step out in faith and obedience, and then he does the rest. But I also love how you brought out that point, which was really golden, about how if we’re not going to say yes to something, someone else will. And sometimes we’re that someone else.

Doris [00:21:06]:
You know, we might be the third person God is calling to do something, and so we don’t have to, like, take offense for third place. It’s just like that, that’s what we were supposed to do. And I love that. I love that. That’s really cool. And just talking about your book because so many women can relate to all your books, actually. And I love the God dare, because we all can relate to that for sure. And you were talking about that after party because I know you kind of think about on Broadway right when the show’s over.

Doris [00:21:39]:
Is that kind of. Yeah, I heard you talk about that.

Kate [00:21:41]:
Yeah, there’s an after party and, you know, it’s a time for everybody to get together, kind of look at what they did, realize it was good, congratulate themselves. But then, okay, what’s the next audition? What’s the next thing I’m going to do? But it’s a good time to examine what you did and to look back in Pride. And I find that’s the same with motherhood. You know, it’s. It’s an after party is a good time. It’s not. You’re not sitting there dissecting everything and what was wrong and how terrible it is. It’s a joyful time.

Kate [00:22:12]:
And so many women get to the empty nest and they’re just miserable. You know, they’re just stuck in that. I don’t know who I am. I don’t know what to do with my life, which is nothing wrong with that, but God is laying out a whole new future for you. You know, raising kids was a season amazing, important. You change the world in that as you raise your children. But once they’re gone, what are you going to do with the next 40, 50, 60 years? We have to think that way. You know, what’s that thing? We’re not going to sit in bed and watch Netflix and eat Cheetos.

Kate [00:22:46]:
There’s a purpose for us. You know, we’re put on this planet for a reason. Especially think about that you were saved till now. You know, I believe we’re in the end times. And the fact that God could have put us on this planet anytime in the last however many 6,000 years, he chose the end. He chose. He saved us till now. When you think about that, that’s pretty mind blowing that he has us here because of what he wants us to do.

Kate [00:23:14]:
Each of us has an assignment to build the kingdom. But we have to say yes. Like with Reinhard Bonnke, you know, somebody has to say yes. And if you look at it that way and ask the Lord, what is my place in this? You know what, in the grand scheme of this, of salvation and of getting as many people in the boat as we can, what’s my part? It can be huge. It can be. There is no huge, big or small. I don’t think in the kingdom. I think it’s just a matter of obedience.

Kate [00:23:41]:
You either are obeying or you’re not. You know, so true that it to me. Yeah.

Doris [00:23:47]:
And you know, I like how you just was. You were talking about how to be prepared, you know, for like when I liken that to. Okay, like when you walked in to that stage door that day and it’s like, you’re on Kate, this is it. And you know, so. But you were prepared for it ahead of time. You know, it’s not like you didn’t know the lines or you weren’t. You hadn’t been practicing. You were diligent in doing that and said yes to that role.

Doris [00:24:15]:
But then I also love how you just then brought out the fact that thinking about empty nest is not just a. For the woman who’s already there at the empty nest season.

Kate [00:24:26]:
Right.

Doris [00:24:27]:
We can prepare ahead. And I know you talk about that in your book, the things that women can do now, you know, maybe young moms even can do now and just have that mindset that we are raising our children to follow Jesus and discipling them. So if you could share a little bit about that, because I think that’s encouraging.

Kate [00:24:45]:
Yeah. We have to remember we’re raising them to go. That’s the whole point. And every day they’re getting a little bit closer to that. But if you’ve still got kids at home and you know this is looming, maybe in the next couple of years, now’s the time to start thinking about it. And that was my mistake. I just never. It just never occurred to me because we were.

Kate [00:25:04]:
Since she was an only child, we were very involved in helping navigate the whole Nashville music, all that stuff until she finally left home just to kind of help her pave the way. And whatever was happening, we wanted to be part of it just to protect her. But once she was gone, then it really hit me like a ton of bricks. And I just thought, what do I do now? Because that was every. I was a stay at home mom and, and the thought of now I’ve got all this time to fill, which actually is a wonderful thing. But at the time it just felt like this weight on me and it was really hard. So what I did, I started volunteering, which really helped. And I always recommend women to do that.

Kate [00:25:44]:
But if you’re, if you’ve still got kids at home, you’re not quite at that point, start thinking about, start praying about it, start preparing about for it if you know what you’re going to do. If you know, like I know the Lord’s told me to say open a business or go back to college. What can you start doing now to start preparing for that? If he’s calling you to go back to college, well, can you take one class a year or one semester at a time? You don’t have to do the whole thing, but how much closer you’ll be to your goal. Or if you want to start a business, well, go work for somebody that has a small business or go online and see what all is involved. Because there’s a lot. If you’re going to have a business, there’s a lot to that all. Or maybe you want to go into politics. I mean, there’s a million things.

Kate [00:26:29]:
Or write a book, whatever that is. Start praying more than anything is pray to know that you’re on the right track. But also start using the resources. I mean, we didn’t have YouTube when I was growing up. There was no Facebook. You know, when we, even when she was, I think Frannie was 18 when Facebook came out. So for me to do any of this writing or anything, there were really no resources, but now there’s so many. So if you’re a woman with kids still at home or they’re going this fall or whatever, and it’s just looming and terrifying, you don’t let it, don’t let it terrify you.

Kate [00:27:03]:
It’s a really great season. The best thing, even though the kids are gone and you’re looking across that dinner table and they’re not there, there’s all this freedom. All of a sudden you actually do have freedom to do the stuff you want. Maybe you’d like more than 20 minutes of Bible study in the morning. You know, you can spend two hours. You know what I mean? There’s so much more you can do. You can go out to lunch with friends or go out to dinner with your husband. We took our grandkids recently to Chick Fil a.

Kate [00:27:33]:
It was $100, more than 100, to take these kids for lunch. And I thought, man, if you’re a mom, that finally they’re gone, there’s some extra cash, you and your husband can have a nice dinner. And that’s another thing keep pouring into your marriage now. Don’t let things get to where the kids are gone and you’re looking at each other going, I don’t even know you. There’s this very sad phenomenon called gray divorce. I don’t know if your listeners have heard of that, but it’s becoming more and more common, even among Christian couples, that the kids go. They have nothing in common anymore, and they get divorced. So I talk a lot about maintaining that intimacy with your husband, because we know God is first, but he’s next.

Kate [00:28:20]:
He comes before the kids, which is hard when they’re really little. I mean, you’re 247 when they’re little. But still, there’s a way to have a date night do something where you can maintain that relationship because it’s not hard for it to. Not hard for couples to split up because the kids are that buffer. And if there were issues simmering under the surface, it’s easy to kind of just push them to the side. But once the kids are gone, you’re looking at each other and it’s become a real problem. So spend that time now to make that a priority.

Doris [00:28:55]:
Yeah, great advice. And yeah. Because you don’t want to look at each other after the kids are gone and go, I don’t even know who you are.

Kate [00:29:03]:
Who are you? I don’t even know if I still like you. And you may not, but you have to plan. It’s like you don’t plan for retirement when you’re retired. Right. You plan years before. Well, same with your marriage, especially if you’ve got younger ones. Just do what you can to pour into it. I have like 20 date night ideas in the book just to make it.

Kate [00:29:23]:
To make people give them an idea that this is not as hard as you think. You know, you don’t. Doesn’t have to be going out and spending a hundred dollars on a meal. There’s a ton of other things you can do to just maintain that closeness. Because he’s gonna be there when the kids and the Legos and the mess is gone, you know, so that, that’s probably one of the most important things to do before. For your nest is empty.

Doris [00:29:46]:
Yeah. Wow, that is so good. And I love in the book how you do share those things and for people because sometimes they’re like, I don’t know what to do. So they can just get your book and then they’ll know. And so I love that. And how in the book too that you share different stories from different women and you know, their experiences and how you’ve, you broke down that you have these like types of moms based on these three birds. Yes. Could you share a little bit about that? That was so fun.

Kate [00:30:19]:
Sure. Oh sure. Well, you’re thinking nest. It kind of makes birds make sense. Well, I see it as three types of mama birds. There’s the swallow, who’s the one that’s kind of looking forward to the emptiness. Not everybody is sad and scared about. There’s some that, look, I know where I’m going when you kids are gone.

Kate [00:30:37]:
Love you, but bye. I mean, they may still have some sad, you know, mourning and stuff, but they’re ready to go. And then there’s the mourning dove. And we know, you know, they’re sad little coos that they make and they just sound so sad. And that’s the mom who just kind of gets stuck. She’s in that and she can’t really see a purpose other than being mom. And once that purpose is gone, she’s very sad and confused and can sometimes sit in that for a while. And then there’s the robin mom.

Kate [00:31:06]:
It’s kind of a combo of both. She wants to move on, but she’s also kind of stuck. And that’s what I was, I was more that combo mom that saw that, yeah, there has to be more. But this is really hard. You know, we can get into self pity. We can, we can just get stuck there. I, I talked to a mom recently who’s, you know, it’s been three years since my kids left. I’m like, three years, you need to get on this.

Kate [00:31:31]:
You know, it’s time to move out of that because there is so much more. And I think a lot of women think that was it being a mom, that was my call, my purpose. I have nothing now unless they have kids and I’m a grandma. That is not true. God has ordained something for you from before the foundation of the world and that it’s up to us to find out what that is through prayer, through getting other people to pray, you know, through step out that’s why I say step out and volunteer. Because if nothing else, you may find your calling in that. And if nothing else, find a younger mom you can mentor because you know more than she does. Right.

Kate [00:32:11]:
You’ve been through it. You can help her. And there’s tons of younger moms, you know, they’re going to Instagram for their information, for their mothering tips, and you’re not going to get it on Instagram or a podcast of all young moms. They need the older voices that. To the tightest two women to speak into them and say, you can get through it. Let me help you. You know, here’s what I can do and here’s how I can advise you. We really need that.

Kate [00:32:35]:
So if nothing else, at least do that. Yeah, I think that’ll help a lot of other women, you know.

Doris [00:32:40]:
Sure.

Doris [00:32:41]:
Yeah.

Doris [00:32:41]:
And I love it. It is so biblical, you know, for the Titus 2 woman to mentor other women and young women. And we can learn a lot from each other, too. But also, you know, sharing what we know with. There are many young women out there who have not had a mother figure in their life. You know, that has been many. And so they need a mother figure that is a follower of Jesus, you know, that is a believer and looks at things through a biblical perspective and a godly lens and can impart those beautiful things on to whatever it is they share, you know, with them. And mentorship is so precious.

Doris [00:33:27]:
So. And I very much. And you know, of course we have your beautiful daughter. She is talented and she is serving the Lord in her song and with, you know, all that she does and that, that is really a blessing to see that come to pass, you know, when your child and but you talk about prodigals in your book too, because there’s a lot of moms who are struggling because their child has walked away from the faith, but to just keep encouraging them in that. And so I love how you.

Kate [00:34:01]:
Yeah. And I mean, really, the only answer to that is prayer and intercession because I like to remind them that God Jesus leaves the 99 and he goes for the 1, and your child is the one. There are lots of kids that have walked away from the. From the church because this world just sucks them in, you know, all the crazy in this world. But he knows better than you do. He loves them more than you do, and he’s going after him. But just pray, pray, pray. And if there’s any communication, keep that open.

Kate [00:34:32]:
Sometimes there’s not. Sometimes kids just cut their parents off. But, you know, the prodigal son did come back. He got to that point where he realized this is not working, and pray that, you know, the one thing I always pray, because I have family members, most of them are not saved, but I pray, Lord, send an ambassador into their lives that can. That they’ll listen to, because they’re not going to listen to me, but they’re going to listen to somebody else. And that’s a powerful thing. I think if you’re a mom of prodigal, pray for that person to just come in and hit them with the Holy Spirit, you know, that can. That can help.

Doris [00:35:08]:
Amen.

Doris [00:35:09]:
Yeah.

Doris [00:35:09]:
And when we were talking earlier about how saying yes to whatever God is calling us to do, our yes might be an answer to somebody’s prayer, some mom’s prayer for their child who needs to hear, you know, a truth from someone like you say outside the family that they’ll be open to listen to. And, you know, sometimes we’re the water, sometimes we plant the seeds. And. But, you know, that’s the beauty of all of that. And.

Kate [00:35:35]:
Right.

Doris [00:35:36]:
Yeah. So that is. That is so encouraging for a mom who’s listening right now. You know, and even if you’re not a mom listening right now, there might be someone in your family who you have a burden for because they’re lost. And. And just to surrender that, you know, surrender it to God and just trust him. And like, you said prayer, which is why, too, I love in your book, how at the end of each chapter, which I also love, your chapters aren’t hugely long, so that. Yeah, so it’s.

Doris [00:36:05]:
It’s great. And you can get through it. And then at the end, you have the discussion questions, and then you go into, like, scripture verses that are encouraging for, you know, applicable for that. And then you have prayer. So sometimes we need a little help with the prompt, you know, with the prayer. So that is. That is so important. And.

Doris [00:36:26]:
Yeah, so this has been so amazing. And I. I was just going to ask if is there anything else that you feel led to share to someone who’s listening to Dave? Because I know, like, really, when we can think about you and I in different seasons, even, like, I was a banker for 29 years, and I didn’t even start doing podcasting or writing books and speaking and all that until after I was 50. I went back to school at 55, graduated at 59. You know, so, yeah, so it’s like you’re not. It’s not. You’re not done. So, like you said, don’t, like, just Sit in the grandma waiting room.

Kate [00:37:03]:
You know, like, because you may not be a grandma, you know, your kids may not have, they may not get married. And if you’re waiting for that, don’t get, don’t fall into that trap. But I think, you know, I tell women all the time. If you told me 15 years ago, Kate, in 15 years you’ll have written four books. Really? Because I have a devotional companion that just came out to the book. So you’ve written four books, you’ll be part of a successful podcast, you’ll speak around the country. I’d have said, you’re crazy. That’s not me.

Kate [00:37:32]:
But God said, that is you. And for everybody listening, God has something else for you. He has another name. Like I can call myself an author, you know, it makes no sense that I can even say that, but because I was bold enough to step out and do what God was calling me to do, now I have this whole other life. And that’s what the empty nest is. It’s this whole other life. It’s going back to college, it’s starting to step out and start a podcast. That’s not an easy thing.

Kate [00:38:02]:
But you stepped out. Now you’re impacting women all over the place and what a, what a world changing thing that is, you know, and we’re not all going to start podcasts, but whatever it is, maybe God’s saying, hey, I want you to volunteer at the Alzheimer’s unit in your hospital because of the people you’re going to impact, the families. You know what I mean? It doesn’t, it doesn’t always have. We think it has to be something big, and it really doesn’t. It, it’s all big in God’s eyes. If we’re obeying, you know, it comes really comes down to obedience. You can say no if you want, but please don’t, Please step in and do that thing. It may seem crazy, and it usually is if it’s God, but do it anyway.

Doris [00:38:38]:
Yeah, do it anyway and do it afraid if you need to. But I love how kind of that’s been. The theme through our conversation is like, just say yes. Obedience brings the blessing. It may not look like what we think, but it definitely is worth it to say yes to God and, you know, to encourage others in their walk. And like you said, we don’t have to start something. We can become part of something already happening. And, you know, you just never know.

Doris [00:39:09]:
Or like in your case, going back to the theater, you. You never even realized that you were going to step into the lead role in that. But it was all part of God’s plan and how he worked all of that in your past. And so that was really. That’s really cool. I love that story so much. And so, you know, this book is great. I love how you remind us that mom is not our only name.

Doris [00:39:33]:
And that can also go for any other role that we try to just tie our entire identity into. Because then when we. But we’re still, I mean, moms after they leave the nest, but it’s in a different capacity. And so reminding women, like you just said, I can call myself an author. You know, he. He kind of. He names us, but then he can rename us in different ways that we never would even fathom. Like, you know, he does that exceedingly, abundantly above.

Kate [00:40:04]:
He does. He really does.

Doris [00:40:06]:
Yeah.

Doris [00:40:06]:
It’s amazing.

Doris [00:40:07]:
Well, I love this, Kate. This has been so encouraging. I’m so glad we got to finally do this. And, and I really enjoyed talking to you too, because we really only met in person, I think once it was at a conference and I think we just passed each other at the food table or something. I want to say it was like one of the spark conferences or something. And probably.

Kate [00:40:25]:
Yeah, yeah.

Doris [00:40:26]:
And it’s just, you know, you get so busy, you don’t get to really talk with people. So I really love this opportunity to chat with you and to hear a lot of the. The wisdom that God has given you to share. And I would love if you would share how the listener can connect with you and resources that you have to offer and how they can find you.

Kate [00:40:44]:
Sure. Well, they can find me @KateBattistelli.com and on all social media. I’m just Kate Battistelli. So I’d love to connect with any of your listeners that, you know, follow me and we’ll just chat, whatever. But I do have a special offer. If you’d like to read the introduction and the first chapter of the book for free. All you do is text afterparty, all one word, like no spaces to 44144. And you’ll get that and then a couple other fun goodies that we like to send out.

Kate [00:41:14]:
So yeah, it’s a way to at least see is this something that I want to dive deeper into? And like I said, there’s the book and now, now there’s the Devotional Companion, which is a journal. It’s a 31 day devotional. So it takes you a little bit deeper into all of this with some space for writing out your own prayers. And all of that. So that’s fun.

Doris [00:41:34]:
Nice. And I’ll have all that in the show notes so people can find you the links and everything. And I just want to mention, too, I really thought it was so precious how in. In the book, you do an invitation to the mom to the after party. Like, we’re invited to the after party. And, you know, it’s like, we don’t rsvp. We don’t have a choice for that.

Kate [00:41:55]:
Attendance is mandatory.

Doris [00:41:57]:
Attendance is mandatory. That’s fantastic. So thank you so much for being on, and I hope to have you back on again. This was so fun.

Kate [00:42:05]:
Thanks, Doris. I’d love to come back.

Doris [00:42:06]:
Yeah, it’d be so good. And, friends, thank you so much for listening today. I know what Kate shared really encouraged you, and if you could share this episode, I would love it so much. And I hope you join me next time when I talk with another woman who’s taking action where her passion, compassion, and conviction intersect. Until then, friends, have a blessed week, and I’ll talk to you soon.