Echos of Impact

Tina Smith on trading performance for God's peace ⚠️ Trigger Warning: This episode includes discussion of abuse and childhood cancer, which may be sensitive for some listeners. In this powerful episode of Echos of Impact, Briana and Cherise sit down with Tina Smith—a licensed therapist, author, and coach for women in leadership and entrepreneurship. Tina's story is one of deep faith, perseverance, and surrender. As a mom to three children, including a childhood cancer survivor, she's walked through immense challenges that have refined her heart and renewed her faith. For over 25 years, Tina has dedicated her life to helping others heal—founding the Selah Treatment Center, a charitable organization in Canada that provides accessible, subsidized mental health care. She's also the author of Renewing Our Minds in Love: Integrating Neuroscience and Scripture for Wholeness and Healing, a book that beautifully bridges science and faith to help readers find spiritual and emotional restoration. Together, we talk about what it means to reach the end of ourselves and find strength in surrender—how God uses breaking points to rebuild us stronger, and how we can move from performance-based faith to resting in God's love. Tina shares practical tools for taking the pressure off, creating safe community, and learning to be fully human and fully loved. What We Cover: How surrender and faith shaped Tina's story of healing The connection between trauma, neuroscience, and Scripture Why it's okay to stop performing and start resting in grace Practical ways to take the pressure off and embrace your humanity The importance of therapy and safe community in spiritual growth Letting go of self-sufficiency and learning to trust God again Key Quotes: "It's okay to be human. It's okay to fail. You are loved completely as you are, and God still has more for you." "Religious practices can cripple us, but Jesus restores us. He doesn't want us to perform for love—He wants us to rest in it." "When we let go of performance, we make space for God's peace to move in." About Tina Smith: "I'm a proud mom to one young adult son—a childhood cancer survivor—and two teenage daughters. My family's journey has deeply shaped my perspective on resilience, hope, and the power of healing. For over 25 years, I've served as a therapist in the field of mental health, building a thriving private counselling practice and founding Selah Treatment Center—a charitable organization in Canada dedicated to providing accessible, subsidized mental health support. I am also the author of Renewing Our Minds in Love: Integrating Neuroscience and Scripture for Wholeness and Healing, and a coach for women in leadership and entrepreneurship, helping them find healing, strength, and clarity so they can lead with confidence and create a lasting legacy. My life's work has not only been shaped by professional achievements but also by painful hardships, failures, and the ongoing journey of finding myself again. Through it all, I carry a passion for empowering others to rise and flourish in every season." Connect with Tina Smith: 🌿 Website: swordandgrace.org 📚 Book: Renewing Our Minds in Love: Integrating Neuroscience and Scripture for Wholeness and Healing 💼 Selah Treatment Center: selahsupport.ca 📸 Instagram: @tinajoansmith 📘 Facebook: Tina Smith 📩 Coaching Inquiries: swordandgrace.org Join the Conversation: How has God met you in moments of surrender? Share your thoughts with us on Instagram or in our Facebook community! 💛 Follow us: Instagram: Echos of Impact Life Coaching: The Woman's Success Code Facebook Group: Echos of Impact Community Take the Next Step: ✨ Interested in joining The Woman's Success Code? Discover how you can grow in faith, purpose, and community here. 💛 Ready for a fresh start? Schedule your complimentary Life Audit with Briana here. If you enjoyed this episode, please follow and leave a review. Your support helps us continue to share inspiring stories of faith, healing, and purpose—just like Tina's. Until next week, friends! 💛

⚠️ Trigger Warning: This episode includes discussion of child loss. In this tender, faith-filled episode of Echos of Impact, Briana sits down with Nikki Moore—wife, mom, and entrepreneur—to share her powerful story of loss, faith, and the beauty of community. Nikki grew up in Northern California but has called Kansas City home for the past 25 years. She's been married to her husband, Brent, for 22 years, and they have three children: Mia (19, sophomore in college), Micah (13, seventh grade), and Marley, forever 3½. A former first-grade teacher of nine years, Nikki has spent the last 15 years as a stay-at-home mom and 10 years working for herself—living out her passion for helping women create purposeful, family-first lives. In this conversation, Nikki shares the story of her daughter Marley's battle with a brain tumor at just 18 months old, and how her family found strength through faith and community in the midst of heartbreak. From the small miracles that carried them through hospital stays to the friends and neighbors who showed up in simple yet sacred ways, Nikki's story reminds us what it looks like when the body of Christ becomes His hands and feet. Together, Briana and Nikki explore: 💛 What it means to see God's goodness even when healing doesn't look the way you prayed 💛 How community can carry us through the darkest seasons 💛 The power of showing up for others in practical, meaningful ways 💛 Grieving differently within marriage and still choosing unity 💛 Remembering and honoring a loved one in personal ways 💛 Finding renewed purpose after loss and walking forward in hope Key Quotes: "It's not possible to do it all on your own. We're not meant to be on an island—we're meant to be in community." "You can either let the pain destroy you, or you can let it refine you. I chose to keep giving God the glory." "Silence hurts more than imperfect words. Say something. Show up." Connect with Nikki Moore: 🌿 Instagram: @nikkimoore1110 🌿 Facebook: Nikki Lewis Moore 🌿 Website: Shaklee – Nikki Moore Join the Conversation: How has God used community to carry you in a hard season? Share your story with us on Instagram or inside our Facebook group! Follow us on Instagram: 🎙 Echos of Impact 💛 The Woman's Success Code Join our Facebook Group: Echos of Impact Community Take the Next Step: ✨ Interested in joining The Woman's Success Code? Learn more here. ✨ Ready for a fresh start? Schedule your complimentary Life Audit with Briana here. Final Notes: If this episode encouraged you, please follow and leave a review—your support helps us continue sharing stories like Nikki's. Until next week, friends! 💛

⚠️ Trigger Warning: This episode includes brief discussion of abuse and excommunication within a religious setting. Listener discretion advised. In this deeply insightful episode of Echos of Impact, Briana and Cherise sit down with Lisa Gray — a licensed marriage and family therapist and author whose story moves from legalism to grace and from conflict avoidance to healthy connection. Lisa specializes in helping high-conflict couples and couples navigating chronic pain and illness. She shares about growing up in a biblical cult, being excommunicated after insisting abuse be reported, and how she discovered the true meaning of grace after years of spiritual confusion. Now, as the author of Healthy Conflict, Happy Couple and the forthcoming Thriving in a Relationship When You Have Chronic Illness, Lisa equips couples to communicate with compassion, curiosity, and Christ-centered grace. Together, we dive into what it means to live purpose in the present, how conflict can increase intimacy, and why curiosity might be the most powerful tool in both marriage and faith. What We Cover Lisa's upbringing in a biblical cult — and what led her to walk away How she rediscovered grace and rebuilt her relationship with God What it looks like to hold boundaries and kindness at the same time The five most common conflicts couples face (and why how we fight matters more than what we fight about) How to handle conflict with curiosity and calm instead of defensiveness Why "conflict increases intimacy" — and how it can draw us closer The heart behind Lisa's books — from building healthy marriages to thriving amid chronic illness Practical tools for women who feel they're "doing all they can" in marriage How to choose the right couples therapist (what to ask before you book) Key Quotes "My purpose is to be where my feet are—to follow the Holy Spirit and do what God's prompting me to do right now." "Conflict increases intimacy. You can't know someone fully without conflict." "Clear is kind. Unclear is unkind." "You can pay now or pay later—and later is always more expensive." Connect with Lisa Gray 📘 Order: Healthy Conflict, Happy Couple 📖 Pre-Order: Thriving in a Relationship When You Have Chronic Illness (releases Nov 1) 🌐 Websites: lisagraymft.com | lisagrayauthor.com 📸 Instagram: @lisagraymft | @therapybooknook Join the Conversation What's one area where you can invite more curiosity instead of defensiveness this week? Share with us on Instagram or in our Facebook group! How is God inviting you to slow down and stay curious this week? Share with us on Instagram or in our Facebook group! Podcast Instagram: Echos of Impact Life Coaching Instagram: The Woman's Success Code Facebook: Echos of Impact Community Take the Next Step Interested in joining The Woman's Success Code? Learn more here Ready for a fresh start? Schedule your complimentary Life Audit with Briana

In this special episode of Echos of Impact, Briana and Cherise sit down—just the two of us—for a conversation that's close to our hearts: how do we hear God's voice? We don't come to this as experts, but as women who have spent a lifetime praying, listening, wrestling, and sometimes wondering if we heard Him right. Together, we share our own stories of hearing God through scripture, prayer, fasting, journaling, nature, dreams, and even those unexpected "word pictures" He places on our hearts. We talk about how easy it is to put our own spin on what we think God is saying—and how to instead hold things loosely, test them against scripture, and lean into the peace He provides. From butterflies in the driveway to whispered verses that repeat over and over, we've both seen how God is faithful to keep speaking when we slow down to notice. This episode is an honest, vulnerable conversation about discernment, intimacy with God, and the reality that His voice is often less about earthquakes and fire—and more about the still, small whisper. What We Cover: The four ways people often hear from God: seer, hearer, feeler, knower Stories from our own lives of hearing God in unexpected ways Why it matters to hold words and visions loosely and test them with scripture How nature, dreams, and repeated verses can be ways God gets our attention The importance of leaning into peace and creating space to notice His presence Key Quotes: ✨ "Lean into the peace. Lean into God's still small voice and recognize that when He passed by Elijah, He wasn't in the earthquake or the wind—He was in the whisper." ✨ "God is not going to let you miss Him. He will keep pursuing you like the lost sheep—He doesn't give up." Join the Conversation: How has God spoken to you lately? Through scripture, prayer, nature, or maybe even a dream? We'd love to hear your story—share it with us on Instagram or in our Facebook group! Connect with Us: 👉 Follow us on Instagram: Podcast Instagram | Life Coaching Instagram 👉 Join our Facebook Group: Echos of Impact Community 👉 Interested in joining The Woman's Success Code? Learn more here. 👉 Ready for a fresh start? Schedule your complimentary Life Audit with Briana here. Final Notes: If this episode encouraged you, don't forget to follow and leave a review. Your support helps us continue to share real, faith-filled conversations that point back to Jesus. 💛

Trigger Warning: This episode includes themes of loss and grief. Please use discretion when listening. In this heartfelt episode of Echos of Impact, Briana sits down with Lauren Sterling Garcia—a remarried widow, mom of eight, real estate agent, "pretend farmer," and host of the Ordinary Grit podcast. Introduced by a mutual friend (and later realizing they'd just attended the same family camp!), Briana and Cherise invite Lauren to share her story of loving well, walking through an eight-month cancer battle with her late husband Scott, and choosing to keep running her race with Jesus—through grief, through healing, and into unexpected redemption. Lauren shares how simplifying purpose—to know God and glorify Him—reframed everything. From hospital rooms and back-porch conversations during COVID to sacred moments with community, she reminds us that God's truth is still true on our worst day, and that presence often matters more than perfect words. What We Cover Lauren's faith journey: from ministry and blended family to adopting five children and welcoming an eighth Walking through an aggressive cancer diagnosis during COVID and the sacred legacy Scott left "Walk to the water" faith: when deliverance looks different than we hoped Parenting grief across ages—and why purpose doesn't die when a spouse does The ministry of presence: listening, Scripture, worship, and community care Compassion reshaped: giving others the benefit of the doubt in seasons of pain Finding love again: healing, discernment, and running your race with Jesus Key Quotes "If it's true, it's true on my worst day. God's truth doesn't change when I don't get what I want." "My purpose didn't die because Scott died—I still have my race to run." "We don't move on; we move forward with Jesus." Connect with Lauren Listen to Ordinary Grit: ordinarygrit.com Follow Lauren on Instagram: @mamademucho | Lauren Sterling – Realtor Join the Conversation Where have you seen God's truth carry you through pain? We'd love to hear your story! Share with us on Instagram or in our Facebook group. Follow us on Instagram: Podcast Instagram | Life Coaching Instagram Join our Facebook Group: Echos of Impact Community Take the Next Step Interested in joining The Woman's Success Code? Discover how you can grow in faith, purpose, and community. Learn more here. Ready for a fresh start? Schedule your complimentary Life Audit with Briana today. Book here. Final Notes: If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to follow and leave a review. Your support helps us continue to share inspiring stories like Lauren's. Until next week, friends! 💛

Trigger Warning: This episode contains discussions of infidelity, substance abuse, and marital conflict. Please listen with discretion. In this powerful episode of Echos of Impact, Briana and Cherise sit down with Erika Taphorn, a photographer, wife, and mom of five from central Illinois, to share her raw and redemptive story of marriage restoration. Erika opens up about her journey—from becoming a teen mom at 19, to moving her family to Hawaii in obedience to God's call, to walking through a painful wilderness season that nearly ended her marriage. Through separation, infidelity, addiction, and heartbreak, Erika experienced God's presence in ways that can only be described as miraculous. Her testimony reminds us that even when the foundation of our lives feels shattered, God can rebuild, restore, and redeem in His timing. What We Cover: Erika's unexpected beginning as a teen mom and the way motherhood drew her closer to Jesus The adventure of moving her family to Hawaii—and the lessons God taught them there The wilderness season that brought addiction, infidelity, and near-divorce to the surface How prayer, community, and total surrender became lifelines in the darkest moments The miracle of God stepping in "at the 11th hour" to restore her marriage Key Quotes: "I'm not going to fight with you in person—I'm going to fight for us in prayer." "If God could step in then and change his heart, how much more can I trust Him with the little things?" Connect with Erika: 🌐 erikataphorn.com (blog coming soon) 📸 Instagram: @thetaphorns | @erikataphornphoto Join the Conversation: How has God met you in your own wilderness seasons? Share your story with us on Instagram or in our Facebook group! ✨ Follow us on Instagram: Podcast Instagram | Life Coaching Instagram ✨ Join our Facebook Group: Echos of Impact Community Take the Next Step: 🌟 Interested in joining The Woman's Success Code? Discover how you can grow in faith, purpose, and community. Learn more here. 🌟 Ready for a fresh start? Schedule your complimentary Life Audit with Briana. Final Notes: If this episode encouraged you, don't forget to follow and leave a review. Your support helps us share more stories of God's power to restore and redeem. Until next week, friends! 💛

In this heartfelt conversation, Cherise and Briana sit down with Michelle McMahon—follower of Jesus, wife, girl mom, former pastor, and trauma-trained therapist—to unpack how curiosity (not control) opens the door to connection, clarity, and healing. Michelle shares how God restored what was lost in her childhood story and how that redemption now shapes her calling as a counselor for couples and individuals walking through betrayal trauma and restoration. What We Cover Purpose & Identity: Why living your purpose starts with knowing who and whose you are. Curiosity vs. Control: How curiosity draws people closer—in marriage, parenting, church, and community. "Slower is faster": Practical ways to slow down so you can truly listen, regulate emotions, and heal. Marriage Tools: The Pain & Peace Cycle (Restoration Therapy) and how to move from reaction to repair. Faith & Questions: Why it's safe—and Christ-like—to bring your questions to Jesus. Key Quotes "Control disconnects you from others. Curiosity draws them closer." "Slower is faster—when we slow down, we move toward deeper healing." "Jesus was asked 183 questions and only answered 4 directly. If that's how He lived, that's how I want to live." Connect with Michelle Counseling (In-Person or Telehealth): Michelle McMahon, PLPC — michelle@kcrecoverypartners.com | kcrecoverypartners.com | Work: 816-945-4208 Practice: BrianJames Therapy (Christian practice with multiple cost points) Pastoral Care Groups: ChurchWellCo Speaker One-Sheet / Bio: Google Drive Resources & Books Mentioned Curious: The Unexpected Power of a Question-Led Life by Tom Hughes — Amazon The Cost of Control: Why We Crave It, the Anxiety It Gives Us, and the Real Power God Promises by Sharon Hodde Miller — Amazon Join the Conversation How is God inviting you to slow down and stay curious this week? Share with us on Instagram or in our Facebook group! Podcast Instagram: Echos of Impact Life Coaching Instagram: The Woman's Success Code Facebook: Echos of Impact Community Take the Next Step Interested in joining The Woman's Success Code? Learn more here Ready for a fresh start? Schedule your complimentary Life Audit with Briana If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to follow and leave a review. Your support helps us continue sharing inspiring stories like Michelle's. Until next week, friends! 💛

In this season-opening conversation of Echos of Impact, Cherise and Briana invite you behind the curtain—what God's been teaching us lately, how testimony shapes us, and why "slow is fast" can change the way we show up at home. We talk about setting the "temperature" of our homes with peace and intention, letting the Holy Spirit lead our pace, and why learning through people's stories is often a softer, deeply transformational way to grow in faith. Together, we reflect on favorite themes from last season—friendship, forgiveness, miracles, holding grief and hope—and how those stories continue to form us. We also share what's coming this season (newsletter + landing page!) and how you can speak into future topics and guests. What We Cover Season 3 kickoff: gratitude for our community and the heart behind the podcast Slow is fast: why God keeps inviting us to slow down—and how that practically changes our days Setting the temperature at home: choosing peace, compassion, and intention (even when everyone's tired) Testimony as a softer teacher: how God uses other people's stories to shape our own Friendship, forgiveness, and miracles: themes we're still carrying forward Daily tethers to Jesus: quiet time, breath prayers, and small lifelines throughout the day Community invitation: topics you want us to cover and guests you want us to meet Key Quotes "Go slow and take the temperature. Be aware of what you're bringing into the room." "Slow is fast—God often does deeper work at a slower pace." "A wise woman builds her home… and often that looks like setting the tone with peace." "Testimony teaches—it's a softer way to learn about God's heart." "We're not promised an easy outcome, but we are promised His presence." Join the Conversation What helps you slow down and set a peaceful tone in your home? Tell us on Instagram or inside the Facebook group—we'd love to hear what's working for you. Connect with Us Follow on Instagram: Podcast — https://www.instagram.com/echos_of_impact/ Follow on Instagram: Life Coaching — https://www.instagram.com/thewomanssuccesscode/ Join our Facebook Group: Echos of Impact Community — https://www.facebook.com/groups/echosofimpact Take the Next Step Interested in joining The Woman's Success Code? Learn more: https://echosofimpact.vipmembervault.com/home Ready for a fresh start? Schedule your complimentary Life Audit with Briana: https://calendly.com/echosofimpact/complimentary-life-audit?month=2024-12 Final Notes If this episode encouraged you, follow and leave a review. Your support helps us keep sharing stories that point to Jesus and strengthen everyday faith. Until next week, friends! 💛

In this inspiring episode of Echos of Impact, Briana and Cherise sit down with Andrea Hill—a wife, mom of four, nurse, entrepreneur, and founder of Mission 212 Foundation—to hear her powerful story of finding God's peace in the midst of unimaginable trials. Andrea and her husband, Austin, walked through years of uncertainty after he was diagnosed with stage 4 stomach cancer. What began as a terrifying prognosis has now become a testimony of God's faithfulness, healing, and purpose. Out of their journey, Andrea and Austin founded the Mission 212 Foundation, an organization that comes alongside fathers with cancer and their families to bring hope, support, and unforgettable memories in the middle of hardship. Andrea shares how her daily practice of gratitude, reliance on faith, and willingness to ask for help carried her through seasons of exhaustion, caregiving, and grief. She reminds us that even in the darkest caves, God's light still shines through—and that we're never meant to walk these storms alone. What We Cover: Andrea's childhood and family roots in Iowa The shock of her husband's stage 4 stomach cancer diagnosis with three young kids and a newborn at home How gratitude journaling became her lifeline in suffering The birth of Mission 212 Foundation and its unique mission to support fathers with cancer and their families Marriage, caregiving, and learning to ask for help in times of weakness What it means to let God's light in during dark seasons and to live with bold faith and gratitude Key Quotes: "Gratitude has carried me through every storm. Even on my husband's sickest days, I chose to thank God for the smallest things—and it changed everything." "I want to bring light into people's dark caves, because God's presence is always there, even when we can't see it." Connect with Andrea Hill: 🌐 Mission 212 Foundation 📸 Attack Sports Performance on Instagram 📖 Mission 212 on Facebook 🛍️ Andrea's Shaklee Wellness Storefront Join the Conversation: Where have you seen God's light in your own storm? Share with us on Instagram or in our Facebook group—we'd love to hear your story! Follow us on Instagram: Podcast Instagram | Life Coaching Instagram Join our Facebook Group: Echos of Impact Community Take the Next Step: Interested in joining The Woman's Success Code? Discover how you can grow in faith, purpose, and community. Learn more here. Ready for a fresh start? Schedule your complimentary Life Audit with Briana today. Final Notes: If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to follow and leave a review. Your support helps us continue to share inspiring stories like Andrea's. Until next week, friends! 💛

In this heartfelt episode of Echos of Impact, Briana and Cherise sit down for another real and raw conversation about friendship—the beauty, the wounds, and the longing we all carry for meaningful connection. After hearing powerful feedback from listeners on their last friendship episode, Briana and Cherise return to unpack what friendship really looks like through a Christian lens. Together, they explore how past hurts can create walls, how different friendships serve different roles, and why seeing Jesus as our first and most faithful friend changes everything. They remind us that friendship doesn't always have to look like hours-long coffee dates or constant check-ins. Instead, it can be woven into the rhythms of everyday life—voice messages, walks, folding laundry side-by-side, or simply a text that says, "I thought of you today." But the most important truth they circle back to is this: friendship begins with Jesus. When we learn to see Him as our closest friend, we stop demanding perfection from others and instead begin loving them with grace, freedom, and joy. What We Cover: Why friendship wounds impact how we approach new relationships How to release pressure and embrace small, meaningful ways of connecting The importance of setting boundaries while still loving like Jesus Seeing Jesus as your best friend—and what that practically looks like Modeling healthy friendships for our kids and communities Key Quotes: "Every person carries friendship wounds, but we also all carry a longing to be seen and loved." "Not every friend has to be your everything. Let each friendship be what it is." "Jesus shows us how to love people well—even when the relationship isn't perfectly mutual." "Start with yourself. Learn how Jesus loves you, and let everything else flow from there." Join the Conversation: Do you see Jesus as your friend? How has that shaped the way you show up in friendships with others? We'd love to hear your thoughts on Instagram or in our Facebook community! Follow Along: Podcast Instagram: @echos_of_impact Life Coaching Instagram: @thewomanssuccesscode Join our Facebook Group: Echos of Impact Community Take the Next Step: Interested in joining The Woman's Success Code? Learn more here! Ready for a fresh start? Schedule your complimentary Life Audit with Briana today. If this episode encouraged you, don't forget to follow and leave a review. Your support helps us continue sharing inspiring conversations that point back to God's love. 💛