February 17, 2025 • 27 mins
Ever wonder if joy can exist in life's toughest challenges? Join us on the Walkthrough Podcast as we, Gianina and Kiley, embark on an exploration of life's valleys and victories. From our roots in Romania and Nebraska to our thriving friendship in Tennessee, we share how our connection blossomed through social marketing, culminating in memorable moments like our first meeting in Las Vegas. This episode isn't just our introduction; it's a heartfelt invitation to a journey shaped by faith, where sharing stories becomes a beacon of hope and encouragement for those who might feel alone in their struggles.
We're diving headfirst into the power of vulnerability and the strength found in authenticity. Through the lens of personal experiences, including helping a daughter navigate the tricky dynamics of school life, we highlight how open communication can break the chains of isolation. Our discussion underscores the idea that difficult times, though challenging, are fertile ground for growth and learning. We unpack a nuanced understanding of joy, one that allows it to coexist with sadness or anger, grounded in faith rather than fleeting happiness. This perspective is especially vital for Christians who often feel the pressure to maintain a facade of constant happiness.
As we emphasize resilience and authenticity, we're committed to building a vibrant community through shared stories. Our vision for the podcast is clear: to empower listeners to actively "walk through" life's challenges, rather than remain stagnant in pain. We invite you to engage with us, share your stories, and join our Facebook community, where support and encouragement abound. By launching with three episodes, including our personal journeys, we aim to forge a deep connection with you, reminding you that you are not navigating this journey alone. Together, let's find joy amidst life's struggles and take charge of our paths.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Gianina (00:00):
Hey there, friend, welcome to Walk Through stories
from the valleys and thevictories.
We're your hosts, Gianina andKylie, here to take you on a
journey through life's ups anddowns.
That's right.
Kiley (00:10):
Each week we're sitting down with incredible guests who
share their real life stories.
Gianina (00:14):
And together we're uncovering how God shows up in
the middle of it all.
Psalm 23 reminds us that evenwhen we walk through the darkest
valleys, God is with us.
Kiley (00:23):
So, whether you're in the valley or celebrating the
victory, you're in the rightplace.
Gianina (00:27):
Let's walk through this life together.
Hello everybody, welcome to theWalkthrough Podcast.
My name is Gianina and I'm soexcited that you're here.
This is officially our firstepisode, although this is our
third or fourth recording, whichis really cool because we've
had an opportunity to get toknow a little bit on a deeper
(00:48):
level who we're going to betalking to and the kinds of
things that you're going to behearing, and so we're really
excited to share with you just alittle bit more about ourselves
and our why behind this podcast.
My name is Gianina and I wasborn in Romania and have lived
in the US sinceS since I wasfive, and I currently live in
Tennessee with my husband, and Ihave one biological son and two
(01:13):
amazing bonus kids that alsoare here with us part-time, and
so we just love Tennessee.
It's been an amazing journeyfor us and just walking through
what the Lord has brought usinto our lives and through our
lives, so we're definitelyexcited to share with you.
Kiley (01:29):
Hey, I'm Kylie.
I was born in Nebraska, of allplaces, and lived in California
most of my life.
I now live in Tennessee as well.
Even though Gianina and I arein the same state, we are
probably what?
Three hours away from eachother?
Gianina (01:47):
Yeah, probably about two and a half three and a half
hours-ish.
Kiley (01:50):
Yeah, so at least we're still in the.
We're in the same time zone now.
Gianina (01:54):
We're getting closer.
Kiley (01:55):
Yeah, but yeah, I live here with my husband, ryan, and
our 14-year-old daughter, and weare half of the year we're busy
with club volleyball.
And we are half of the yearwe're busy with club volleyball
and the other half we are justenjoying our downtime and having
visitors come and stay with us.
And, yeah it's.
We've been here for two and ahalf years, almost three, oh
(02:18):
gosh, almost three years now.
Yeah, well, you just we love it.
I can't believe it's been thatlong.
I know I had to think likewe've been in our house almost a
year, but that was a wholeother process in itself.
So Janina and I actually metthrough social marketing about
(02:39):
10 years ago, wow.
And the first time we actuallymet each other in person, we
were at a convention in LasVegas and we roomed with three
other girls that we had alsonever met before and it just
clicked and we've been reallyclose friends ever since that is
(03:03):
so crazy to think about that.
Gianina (03:04):
That was our first time meeting so many of us that were
in that room and just me, meand you especially, because it
feels like we had been friendsforever prior to that and even
after that.
But it was definitely a crazyweekend, or however long it was
that we were there.
But we definitely got reallyclose, partly because we were
(03:28):
five girls to one roomphysically close, yeah, yeah,
and it wasn't even like one ofthose big rooms, it was just
like two queen beds in a hotelroom with one bathroom.
Kiley (03:38):
So, yeah, with lots of luggage and lots of cosmetics in
the back.
Gianina (03:52):
I have to say, though, I'm a really light packer like
an abnormally light packer for afemale, and so I cannot take
credit for the tons of luggage.
Kiley (03:57):
But I think I had a carry on and that was about it for me
.
Gianina (04:02):
But you know, it was probably our friend Chynna, that
.
Yeah, well, I love you.
Sorry, Chynna we love you umawesome well, it is really cool
to be doing this podcast withyou, because how long have we
been talking about this sincebefore?
Kiley (04:18):
you moved.
You know, you're right, I thinkwe kind of we kind of toyed
with the idea a little bitbefore and life was just not
wasn't having it at that time.
And then when we moved here, Iobviously had a lot more time to
myself because we had movedaway from family and friends,
(04:40):
you know.
Thus more free time because weweren't always attending events
and parties and hangouts andwhatnot.
And then more of life happenedwith us buying our house and the
renovations and you've had somestuff going on.
And so now we're finally calmand settled and we're doing it.
Gianina (05:03):
And it's so exciting, and it was one of those things
where I truly say this and Ifeel like God just didn't let us
forget.
We kind of put it on the backburner and then something would
just pop up whether it was amemory or a bible verse or a
song or somebody speaking and wewould have this nudge like so,
are we going to do this?
And then we'd kind of drop itfor a while and then it would
(05:24):
come back up and it just reallyfeels like this is something
that is led by God, because wewould have forgotten about it
and just not done this if it wasin our own strength and
willpower.
Kiley (05:40):
When we first started talking about it, we wanted to.
We just kind of, I think, wejust wanted to do a podcast so
we could just make a point ofregularly talking with each
other and just talking aboutthings that are going on in our
lives, and it evolved intosomething so much more.
We both have stories to last alifetime and we've realized that
(06:03):
a lot of other people have alot of stories that they would
like to share, and there arepeople that love to hear others'
stories and get hope from thosestories and encouragement, and
so it really did evolve intosomething a little bit more.
I was originally thinking like,oh, it could be the girlfriend
(06:25):
hour.
We just sit and chit chat andit's like no, we need to have a
little more purpose.
Not saying that that's a badthing, because I think everybody
needs to be in community andfellowship with other people,
but just the episodes that we'verecorded so far that you guys,
our listeners, the episodes thatwe've recorded so far, that
(06:48):
that you guys, our listeners,will hear eventually it's.
There's just so many incrediblethings happening in the lives
of you know, our friends and ourfamilies, and it's it's
wonderful to hear them sharewhat they have experienced.
Gianina (07:02):
Yeah, and I think there's so many different
podcasts for so many differentthings that are really powerful
and necessary, and this is justthe lane that God has put on our
hearts and what he wants to useour voices for, and honestly,
that could change over time andit could be morphed into
something different, just as Godleads us in that.
But I will say, for me this isjust kind of my story and my why
(07:27):
behind this, and obviously Iwon't share too much of my story
because you guys are going tohear that on the third episode,
but I just wanted to to honestlyso much shock that I just froze
(07:54):
and I didn't feel like I hadcommunity and probably most of
that was me pushing people awayunintentionally.
I think another part of that ispeople have always kind of seen
me as the strong one and sonobody really thought that I
would need something or thoughtto reach out.
And I think the other part ofthat is I didn't know how to
(08:17):
connect with people about what Iwas going through, because it
felt like a very isolating thingthat I personally didn't know
anybody who had gone throughthat, and so it just it was a
really hard time and I think itwas hard for people to
understand where I was comingfrom because it was such a
different dynamic, and so it wasa time where I would say it was
pretty isolating.
(08:37):
But that was where God reallyworked in my heart and I got to
see him in a way that I hadn'tbefore.
And even in just reading booksand stories and podcasts and
different things, I kept findingthese beautiful stories that
were written in hindsight andthat told stories about.
This is what I went through andthis is where I was and this is
(09:01):
the victory of what God hasbrought me through.
And I remember, as I wasreading those stories, just
having this thought of likethere needs to be a place where
people are sharing the processand not just sharing from the
mountaintop once they've gottenout of the valley, because the
process is a lonely place andit's a place where you can just
(09:23):
feel hopeless.
So especially we talk aboutthis in other parts of our lives
where, like, people want to bea part of your journey and they
want to be a part of your storyand they don't want to just see
the highlights.
But I think the reason isbecause they can connect with
those lows and they can connectwith those valleys because we
all have them and everybody canrelate to them, and so I just
(09:46):
felt, really felt led.
Honestly, it originally startedwith an idea for a book and I
started writing that and it wasthe walkthrough book and it was
became more of like a journal ofme, just like writing out what
God was speaking to me and whathe was saying and just writing
my heart.
And from that was birthed thisidea of why not share other
(10:07):
people's stories in this too,because there's just so much
value in hearing and, just likewe've already experienced with
the guests that we've had on theshow, there's so much wisdom
from everybody.
Yeah, there's, there's so muchthat we can learn from one
another, and I never wanted itto become a place where I feel
like I know everything and I'velearned everything, and
(10:30):
especially about grief.
Like I don't want to be knownas the person who's the expert
in grief, because I don't everwant to be an expert in that,
but it's just the chapter thatGod has me in right now and has
had me in for the last coupleyears and what I'm learning and
processing through.
But I want this to also be aplace where people can share the
(10:52):
highs and not just the lows,where we can just share real
life.
And so that's kind of my heartbehind it and I wanted to share
that.
And then, kylie, I also want tojust hear your perspective and
your heart and why behind likewhy?
why this podcast?
Why this topic?
Why is this important to you?
Kiley (11:11):
Well, I mean, honestly, it started with me just kind of
being gung ho for just doingthis with you.
But the more we've talked, themore I do realize that it is
important to share our stories.
And especially now with socialmedia, everybody is so inclined
to share the highs, you know,the highlights, the perfect
pictures and all that kind ofstuff and you don't.
(11:33):
I mean, there are times whenyou see people sharing about
rough things that are going onin their lives, but I definitely
think there's a lot of peopleout there that don't wanna share
that stuff because it's hard.
It's easy to ask for prayers ifa family member is sick or
(11:54):
somebody has passed away, butit's not as easy to ask for
prayers if a family member issick or somebody has passed away
.
But it's not as easy to ask forprayers when you're going
through something so traumaticthat you don't think either you
don't, you don't want to burdenpeople with it, or you don't
feel like they're going tounderstand what it is that
they're going through.
You know, you see the pleasepray I can't give details, but
(12:15):
please pray for me and um, I Ithink people need to know that
they are not alone in whatthey're going through Even if,
even if somebody can'tnecessarily relate to what it is
that is happening with them,they can still be there to be a
shoulder if somebody just needsto listen.
(12:37):
And I'm right there with you.
I don't.
I have grown in my own wisdomand I've grown in my own faith,
but I definitely I don't know itall by any means.
I know what I've experiencedand I'm happy to share my
stories with people, and I thinkpart of it, too, is with my
(12:59):
daughter being as old as she is.
Now she's getting to an agewhere it's always the end of the
world drama and I keep tellingher you will be okay, you will
be okay.
I know you don't think that Iknow what you're going through,
but I've been through it, Iunderstand and I think that's
that's part of it too is, youknow, having certain stories
(13:24):
that you you've encountered andbeing able to share that wisdom
because it, you know, over smallit might be or or however big
you know you still can can sharewhat you've experienced and
hopefully encourage somebodyelse.
Gianina (13:38):
Yeah, I think one of the things that you hit on that
really just spoke to me issometimes people are afraid to
share where they're at becausethey're afraid to be a burden or
they're afraid of what peoplemight think of them.
And I just I feel like that'sso key what people might think
of them.
And I just I feel like that'sso key because the enemy wants
(14:00):
to keep us in darkness.
And when things that we'refacing are in darkness like
think about even your daughter,for example, if she's going
through something where, say,like there's drama at school and
she feels betrayed by a friendand she is being lied to and
being told things that aren'ttrue about herself, and she kept
that to herself and she waslike I don't want to be a burden
to anyone.
I'm just going to keep this tomyself.
(14:21):
I mean, I know from personalexperience, the more I keep
things in my head, the bigger itgrows and the more that it just
like festers and it turns intoa wildfire and before I know it,
I'm having all these negativeself thoughts and doubts and
speaking negatively to myself.
And then I'll say something toa friend like I know you and I
have even had theseconversations and then you can
(14:43):
speak life and just say you knowwhat?
I've felt that way too, andthen you start to realize that
the enemy isn't that creativeand we're all being fed the same
lies.
And we're all kind of goingthrough some of the same
darkness and I think when webring that to light, just it
kills the power that it has.
And that's like a really coolpart of this that, honestly, I
(15:06):
hadn't thought of until you saidthat is that when we speak
these things as we're goingthrough them, like it takes
power away from the enemybecause he no longer can control
this thing in darkness right,well, and I something of
something what you just said.
Kiley (15:24):
It it made me not realize , because I've known this for a
long time, but it just put on myheart.
We were created to be inrelationships with each other
and part of being in arelationship is that
communication and talking withpeople.
And so when you, when youtalked about the enemy wanting
to keep us in darkness,obviously he wants us to not
(15:45):
share with people because heknows that once we get into that
community, we'll have thesupport that we need and we'll
grow in our faith and he's justgoing to be.
You know so and I, I.
I also want people to know that, no matter where they are, no
matter what they're experiencing, they are worthy of being
listened to.
They're worthy of being heardand helped and, um, I just I
(16:10):
hope that this can be a doorwayfor that to just expand for
people and know, you know, thatpeople care about them and want
to help them.
Gianina (16:22):
What do you think is?
This is just like kind ofsomething I'm thinking about is
like a lot of times we hearpeople say if you could only see
the light at the end of thetunnel or if you could only see
the fog clearing, then you'll beable to have the endurance to
make it to the finish line.
What do you think is somethingbeautiful that we can take away
(16:43):
from the process and not justgetting to the finish line?
Kiley (16:47):
Well, I think it's knowing that we're learning more
about ourselves and learninghow God helps us through those
things.
And yeah, it's great when wemake it through those tough
seasons.
But without the hard times,there wouldn't be those.
Gianina (17:04):
Right.
Kiley (17:05):
You know everything would just be kind of status quo.
And as much as you know, asmuch as it sucks to go through
that stuff that you're growingand you're learning to go
through that stuff that you'regrowing and you're learning, and
it's probably not alwayssomething that you want to have
happening to you.
But one of the Bible versesthat I love is I'm probably not
(17:26):
going to say this word for wordcorrectly, but it's we focus our
eyes not on what is seen, butwhat is unseen or what.
What is seen is temporary andwhat is unseen is eternal, and
so it's not.
While we are growing here onthis, this earth and this life
is temporary, we're also helpingto grow the kingdom and yeah,
(17:49):
and those things that we arelearning yeah
and so I would I as as hard asit is to say, enjoy the journey,
because I know it's not alwaysenjoyable, but I I think it's
important for people to know toothat you can.
You can have joy in the morning, um, you can have joy and be
(18:09):
sad at the same time.
You can have joy and be sad atthe same time.
You can have joy and be angryat the same time, because joy is
not a feeling.
It's that faith and it's thatknowing that God is there and
he's going to get you through it.
Gianina (18:27):
That's so good, because I think a lot of times as
Christians, especially as women,we're taught that if we don't
have joy which quote unquotehappiness, if we don't display
happiness, then we're lackingfaith.
Or if we don't act joyful, thenwe're not trusting God, and so
(18:51):
that's really cool, just the waythat you put that.
That joy is so beyond like youcan be angry and have joy at the
same time, and you can.
You can be sad and have joy atthe same time, and I think for
me, how that kind of was showedin this season that I was in is
(19:13):
having faith that this isn't theend and that right like there's
still joy there, even though,like this sucks, but still being
real in that of like god, thisis just a hard season or this is
a hard day and I'm reallystruggling right now, but even
then I have joy because you arethe source of joy and I have you
(19:34):
.
So that's like such a powerfulthing to keep in mind.
I think, just having theperspective of eternity and how
like this is temporary andseeing God through that lens of
of eternity and seeing Godthrough the lens of Jesus and
really looking at, like what thetruth that the Bible tell us
(19:57):
are, because it's so easy tolike live our own truth, quote
unquote like oh well, my, mytruth right now is that, like
God's not good fulfill hispromises or he's not faithful,
(20:19):
like Jesus can't physically lieand if Jesus says that God is
good, then God is good and wejust need to look for where that
goodness is in that situation.
And it might be hard, we mightnot see it right away, but I
think it's just trusting thathe's there and, honestly, like I
had moments and I hate evensaying this, it's hard for me to
say but I had moments where Iwas angry with God, like not
(20:41):
just angry, but I was angry atGod.
And even in those moments itwas still like God, like I'm
angry at you and I don'tunderstand, but I'm going to.
I just need you to show me,just prove me wrong.
Like show me that I'm wrong,show me that my anger, like I
shouldn't be mad at you, show mewhy I shouldn't be angry with
(21:01):
you.
And he does and he's faithful,and so I think that's really
cool just to think about beingable to share these things as
people are walking through.
And I know one of the gueststhat we're going to have very
soon I'm in just a few episodes.
She is like very much in aseason of loss and grief, and so
(21:22):
I think it's going to be sospecial to be able to hear her
perspective of where she'sfinding God in this situation,
and so those are.
Those are really the thingsthat we wanted to be able to
share with you guys and we.
We didn't want to keep it justall low because that could be
hard to just hear like sad storyafter sad story.
Kiley (21:44):
Yeah, so we have, but we also don't want to keep it, you
know, oh, look at, all of thisstuff has worked out for me.
Yeah.
We want to make sure that it'sreal, it's raw, it's not.
Not everything is rainbows andbutterflies and unicorns all the
time.
We all have our things thatwe're going through.
(22:04):
We all have our things thatwe've been through and, I think,
just humanizing life, becauselife happens and it's what you,
what you learn from thoselessons and what you're
encouraged by in those lessonsthat we we want to try to to
share with everyone.
Gianina (22:22):
Yeah and like.
One thing I really want toemphasize too is that this
podcast is called walk through.
It's not called stay here, andso we're not building houses in
the valley, we're walkingthrough this and we're going to
get through this.
And I think that's a reallyimportant part of it is.
I remember when I first startedattending this church and the
(22:46):
pastor said you know, we allhear the phrase it's okay to not
be okay, Like we all hear thatright, and everyone's like it's
okay to not be okay as they patyou on the back.
But this pastor was like it'sokay to not be okay, but it's
not okay to stay there, and thatthat just really hit me of like
this, we're not going to be inthis season forever, and so
that's something that I want forour listeners and for this
(23:08):
podcast too, is we're not goingto like just keep each other
comfortable in our misery, youknow, or?
in our hurt or in our pain, andthat's something God is really
speaking to me right now too,because, honestly, this is just
like a vulnerable moment for me.
But I do feel like the pastcouple years I've had more of a
(23:30):
victim mentality and I've seenthat carried over more than just
the situation that I wentthrough.
It's like I was operating fromsuch a place of hurt, in that
that I was acting like a victimin multiple areas of my life,
and so I'm learning how likeliterally, I prayed that today I
(23:51):
said, god, I need you to showme how to go from victim to
victory, because I don't wantthis to be my story where I
always feel like I'm a victim ofsomething, and so I want that
for our listeners too, and Iwant that for people to just
know that you may be goingthrough this, but we're not
going to just pat you on theback and compare scars and
(24:14):
compare wounds, like that's notthe purpose of this, it's to get
through this together.
We're not going to stay in thisseason forever.
Kiley (24:23):
Yeah that's, oh, that's so good sometimes.
Sometimes I have a lot of wordsand sometimes I don't, and that
was, that was just.
That was really good, you know,and I I think one of the things
that I would also like to sayis I've always kind of operated
(24:43):
on the glass half full mentalityand one of the going back to
the joy.
You know you have to find thejoy.
Things may be not going right,but there's still a lot of other
things that are good and youcan be joyful about them, and so
I agree, you can be sad, youcan be hurt.
Just don't unpack and livethere yeah, and don't let that,
(25:07):
that emotion, drive the car.
You don't want to be a passengerto that.
You want to be the driver.
You want to.
You want to be able to makethose moves and do what you need
to do to get through the season.
Yeah, that's true so well, I amreally, really excited for
everybody to hear all of thestories and I would love to even
(25:30):
I don't know have have peoplemessage us or write in about
their thoughts or anything thatthey might want to share too.
We have a questionnaire.
If any of our listeners want tobe a part of this podcast and
want to share their story andyou feel led to talk to us about
what's going on, we would loveto have that, because I really
(25:54):
think it's just so important forpeople to know that there's
people that care about what'sgoing on in their lives.
Gianina (26:04):
Yeah, for sure, that's really good.
I want to hear feedback frompeople too, and that's an
important part of this for me isthe community and getting to
know people and, honestly, kylieknows this, but eventually, my
hope would be for us to be ableto meet up in person in some way
and connect with everybodywho's listening, and be able to
(26:27):
hug your necks and, you know,cry together, laugh together,
sing together, whatever we wantto do, like.
I just think that that would beso cool.
So this isn't just somethingwhere Kylie and I like to hear
each other's voices and I mean,although I do, like I love
hanging out with you andchatting, but we can do that on
(26:47):
the phone with just ourselves.
So, yeah, this is a communityand something that, like, we
really wanted to share withother people and truly something
that I feel is God led, and wejust pray that the people who
are meant to hear these storieswill hear them.
And so, with that being said,share this with your friends if
(27:08):
you think that this is somethingthat they would benefit from.
Listen to the next coupleepisodes, because we're going to
be releasing three episodes,including this one the first day
, so you can actually hearKylie's story and you can hear
my story as well, and so that'llgive you a little bit more
insight to what this podcast isabout.
And then we also have aFacebook group that I will link
(27:33):
in the comments of this so thatyou can grab that link and hop
in the Facebook group too, justbecause, truthfully, we want it
to be a community and not justsomething where Kylie and I are
the stars of the show, becausethat's not what it's about at
all.
Kiley (27:46):
Thank you, guys for being here and for joining us.
We're so excited to walkthrough everything together with
you and just remember that youare, you're not alone.
We got you.
Hey there, friend, welcome to Walk Through stories
from the valleys and thevictories.
We're your hosts, Gianina andKylie, here to take you on a
journey through life's ups anddowns.
That's right.
Kiley (00:10):
Each week we're sitting down with incredible guests who
share their real life stories.
Gianina (00:14):
And together we're uncovering how God shows up in
the middle of it all.
Psalm 23 reminds us that evenwhen we walk through the darkest
valleys, God is with us.
Kiley (00:23):
So, whether you're in the valley or celebrating the
victory, you're in the rightplace.
Gianina (00:27):
Let's walk through this life together.
Hello everybody, welcome to theWalkthrough Podcast.
My name is Gianina and I'm soexcited that you're here.
This is officially our firstepisode, although this is our
third or fourth recording, whichis really cool because we've
had an opportunity to get toknow a little bit on a deeper
(00:48):
level who we're going to betalking to and the kinds of
things that you're going to behearing, and so we're really
excited to share with you just alittle bit more about ourselves
and our why behind this podcast.
My name is Gianina and I wasborn in Romania and have lived
in the US sinceS since I wasfive, and I currently live in
Tennessee with my husband, and Ihave one biological son and two
(01:13):
amazing bonus kids that alsoare here with us part-time, and
so we just love Tennessee.
It's been an amazing journeyfor us and just walking through
what the Lord has brought usinto our lives and through our
lives, so we're definitelyexcited to share with you.
Kiley (01:29):
Hey, I'm Kylie.
I was born in Nebraska, of allplaces, and lived in California
most of my life.
I now live in Tennessee as well.
Even though Gianina and I arein the same state, we are
probably what?
Three hours away from eachother?
Gianina (01:47):
Yeah, probably about two and a half three and a half
hours-ish.
Kiley (01:50):
Yeah, so at least we're still in the.
We're in the same time zone now.
Gianina (01:54):
We're getting closer.
Kiley (01:55):
Yeah, but yeah, I live here with my husband, ryan, and
our 14-year-old daughter, and weare half of the year we're busy
with club volleyball.
And we are half of the yearwe're busy with club volleyball
and the other half we are justenjoying our downtime and having
visitors come and stay with us.
And, yeah it's.
We've been here for two and ahalf years, almost three, oh
(02:18):
gosh, almost three years now.
Yeah, well, you just we love it.
I can't believe it's been thatlong.
I know I had to think likewe've been in our house almost a
year, but that was a wholeother process in itself.
So Janina and I actually metthrough social marketing about
(02:39):
10 years ago, wow.
And the first time we actuallymet each other in person, we
were at a convention in LasVegas and we roomed with three
other girls that we had alsonever met before and it just
clicked and we've been reallyclose friends ever since that is
(03:03):
so crazy to think about that.
Gianina (03:04):
That was our first time meeting so many of us that were
in that room and just me, meand you especially, because it
feels like we had been friendsforever prior to that and even
after that.
But it was definitely a crazyweekend, or however long it was
that we were there.
But we definitely got reallyclose, partly because we were
(03:28):
five girls to one roomphysically close, yeah, yeah,
and it wasn't even like one ofthose big rooms, it was just
like two queen beds in a hotelroom with one bathroom.
Kiley (03:38):
So, yeah, with lots of luggage and lots of cosmetics in
the back.
Gianina (03:52):
I have to say, though, I'm a really light packer like
an abnormally light packer for afemale, and so I cannot take
credit for the tons of luggage.
Kiley (03:57):
But I think I had a carry on and that was about it for me
.
Gianina (04:02):
But you know, it was probably our friend Chynna, that
.
Yeah, well, I love you.
Sorry, Chynna we love you umawesome well, it is really cool
to be doing this podcast withyou, because how long have we
been talking about this sincebefore?
Kiley (04:18):
you moved.
You know, you're right, I thinkwe kind of we kind of toyed
with the idea a little bitbefore and life was just not
wasn't having it at that time.
And then when we moved here, Iobviously had a lot more time to
myself because we had movedaway from family and friends,
(04:40):
you know.
Thus more free time because weweren't always attending events
and parties and hangouts andwhatnot.
And then more of life happenedwith us buying our house and the
renovations and you've had somestuff going on.
And so now we're finally calmand settled and we're doing it.
Gianina (05:03):
And it's so exciting, and it was one of those things
where I truly say this and Ifeel like God just didn't let us
forget.
We kind of put it on the backburner and then something would
just pop up whether it was amemory or a bible verse or a
song or somebody speaking and wewould have this nudge like so,
are we going to do this?
And then we'd kind of drop itfor a while and then it would
(05:24):
come back up and it just reallyfeels like this is something
that is led by God, because wewould have forgotten about it
and just not done this if it wasin our own strength and
willpower.
Kiley (05:40):
When we first started talking about it, we wanted to.
We just kind of, I think, wejust wanted to do a podcast so
we could just make a point ofregularly talking with each
other and just talking aboutthings that are going on in our
lives, and it evolved intosomething so much more.
We both have stories to last alifetime and we've realized that
(06:03):
a lot of other people have alot of stories that they would
like to share, and there arepeople that love to hear others'
stories and get hope from thosestories and encouragement, and
so it really did evolve intosomething a little bit more.
I was originally thinking like,oh, it could be the girlfriend
(06:25):
hour.
We just sit and chit chat andit's like no, we need to have a
little more purpose.
Not saying that that's a badthing, because I think everybody
needs to be in community andfellowship with other people,
but just the episodes that we'verecorded so far that you guys,
our listeners, the episodes thatwe've recorded so far, that
(06:48):
that you guys, our listeners,will hear eventually it's.
There's just so many incrediblethings happening in the lives
of you know, our friends and ourfamilies, and it's it's
wonderful to hear them sharewhat they have experienced.
Gianina (07:02):
Yeah, and I think there's so many different
podcasts for so many differentthings that are really powerful
and necessary, and this is justthe lane that God has put on our
hearts and what he wants to useour voices for, and honestly,
that could change over time andit could be morphed into
something different, just as Godleads us in that.
But I will say, for me this isjust kind of my story and my why
(07:27):
behind this, and obviously Iwon't share too much of my story
because you guys are going tohear that on the third episode,
but I just wanted to to honestlyso much shock that I just froze
(07:54):
and I didn't feel like I hadcommunity and probably most of
that was me pushing people awayunintentionally.
I think another part of that ispeople have always kind of seen
me as the strong one and sonobody really thought that I
would need something or thoughtto reach out.
And I think the other part ofthat is I didn't know how to
(08:17):
connect with people about what Iwas going through, because it
felt like a very isolating thingthat I personally didn't know
anybody who had gone throughthat, and so it just it was a
really hard time and I think itwas hard for people to
understand where I was comingfrom because it was such a
different dynamic, and so it wasa time where I would say it was
pretty isolating.
(08:37):
But that was where God reallyworked in my heart and I got to
see him in a way that I hadn'tbefore.
And even in just reading booksand stories and podcasts and
different things, I kept findingthese beautiful stories that
were written in hindsight andthat told stories about.
This is what I went through andthis is where I was and this is
(09:01):
the victory of what God hasbrought me through.
And I remember, as I wasreading those stories, just
having this thought of likethere needs to be a place where
people are sharing the processand not just sharing from the
mountaintop once they've gottenout of the valley, because the
process is a lonely place andit's a place where you can just
(09:23):
feel hopeless.
So especially we talk aboutthis in other parts of our lives
where, like, people want to bea part of your journey and they
want to be a part of your storyand they don't want to just see
the highlights.
But I think the reason isbecause they can connect with
those lows and they can connectwith those valleys because we
all have them and everybody canrelate to them, and so I just
(09:46):
felt, really felt led.
Honestly, it originally startedwith an idea for a book and I
started writing that and it wasthe walkthrough book and it was
became more of like a journal ofme, just like writing out what
God was speaking to me and whathe was saying and just writing
my heart.
And from that was birthed thisidea of why not share other
(10:07):
people's stories in this too,because there's just so much
value in hearing and, just likewe've already experienced with
the guests that we've had on theshow, there's so much wisdom
from everybody.
Yeah, there's, there's so muchthat we can learn from one
another, and I never wanted itto become a place where I feel
like I know everything and I'velearned everything, and
(10:30):
especially about grief.
Like I don't want to be knownas the person who's the expert
in grief, because I don't everwant to be an expert in that,
but it's just the chapter thatGod has me in right now and has
had me in for the last coupleyears and what I'm learning and
processing through.
But I want this to also be aplace where people can share the
(10:52):
highs and not just the lows,where we can just share real
life.
And so that's kind of my heartbehind it and I wanted to share
that.
And then, kylie, I also want tojust hear your perspective and
your heart and why behind likewhy?
why this podcast?
Why this topic?
Why is this important to you?
Kiley (11:11):
Well, I mean, honestly, it started with me just kind of
being gung ho for just doingthis with you.
But the more we've talked, themore I do realize that it is
important to share our stories.
And especially now with socialmedia, everybody is so inclined
to share the highs, you know,the highlights, the perfect
pictures and all that kind ofstuff and you don't.
(11:33):
I mean, there are times whenyou see people sharing about
rough things that are going onin their lives, but I definitely
think there's a lot of peopleout there that don't wanna share
that stuff because it's hard.
It's easy to ask for prayers ifa family member is sick or
(11:54):
somebody has passed away, butit's not as easy to ask for
prayers if a family member issick or somebody has passed away
.
But it's not as easy to ask forprayers when you're going
through something so traumaticthat you don't think either you
don't, you don't want to burdenpeople with it, or you don't
feel like they're going tounderstand what it is that
they're going through.
You know, you see the pleasepray I can't give details, but
(12:15):
please pray for me and um, I Ithink people need to know that
they are not alone in whatthey're going through Even if,
even if somebody can'tnecessarily relate to what it is
that is happening with them,they can still be there to be a
shoulder if somebody just needsto listen.
(12:37):
And I'm right there with you.
I don't.
I have grown in my own wisdomand I've grown in my own faith,
but I definitely I don't know itall by any means.
I know what I've experiencedand I'm happy to share my
stories with people, and I thinkpart of it, too, is with my
(12:59):
daughter being as old as she is.
Now she's getting to an agewhere it's always the end of the
world drama and I keep tellingher you will be okay, you will
be okay.
I know you don't think that Iknow what you're going through,
but I've been through it, Iunderstand and I think that's
that's part of it too is, youknow, having certain stories
(13:24):
that you you've encountered andbeing able to share that wisdom
because it, you know, over smallit might be or or however big
you know you still can can sharewhat you've experienced and
hopefully encourage somebodyelse.
Gianina (13:38):
Yeah, I think one of the things that you hit on that
really just spoke to me issometimes people are afraid to
share where they're at becausethey're afraid to be a burden or
they're afraid of what peoplemight think of them.
And I just I feel like that'sso key what people might think
of them.
And I just I feel like that'sso key because the enemy wants
(14:00):
to keep us in darkness.
And when things that we'refacing are in darkness like
think about even your daughter,for example, if she's going
through something where, say,like there's drama at school and
she feels betrayed by a friendand she is being lied to and
being told things that aren'ttrue about herself, and she kept
that to herself and she waslike I don't want to be a burden
to anyone.
I'm just going to keep this tomyself.
(14:21):
I mean, I know from personalexperience, the more I keep
things in my head, the bigger itgrows and the more that it just
like festers and it turns intoa wildfire and before I know it,
I'm having all these negativeself thoughts and doubts and
speaking negatively to myself.
And then I'll say something toa friend like I know you and I
have even had theseconversations and then you can
(14:43):
speak life and just say you knowwhat?
I've felt that way too, andthen you start to realize that
the enemy isn't that creativeand we're all being fed the same
lies.
And we're all kind of goingthrough some of the same
darkness and I think when webring that to light, just it
kills the power that it has.
And that's like a really coolpart of this that, honestly, I
(15:06):
hadn't thought of until you saidthat is that when we speak
these things as we're goingthrough them, like it takes
power away from the enemybecause he no longer can control
this thing in darkness right,well, and I something of
something what you just said.
Kiley (15:24):
It it made me not realize , because I've known this for a
long time, but it just put on myheart.
We were created to be inrelationships with each other
and part of being in arelationship is that
communication and talking withpeople.
And so when you, when youtalked about the enemy wanting
to keep us in darkness,obviously he wants us to not
(15:45):
share with people because heknows that once we get into that
community, we'll have thesupport that we need and we'll
grow in our faith and he's justgoing to be.
You know so and I, I.
I also want people to know that, no matter where they are, no
matter what they're experiencing, they are worthy of being
listened to.
They're worthy of being heardand helped and, um, I just I
(16:10):
hope that this can be a doorwayfor that to just expand for
people and know, you know, thatpeople care about them and want
to help them.
Gianina (16:22):
What do you think is?
This is just like kind ofsomething I'm thinking about is
like a lot of times we hearpeople say if you could only see
the light at the end of thetunnel or if you could only see
the fog clearing, then you'll beable to have the endurance to
make it to the finish line.
What do you think is somethingbeautiful that we can take away
(16:43):
from the process and not justgetting to the finish line?
Kiley (16:47):
Well, I think it's knowing that we're learning more
about ourselves and learninghow God helps us through those
things.
And yeah, it's great when wemake it through those tough
seasons.
But without the hard times,there wouldn't be those.
Gianina (17:04):
Right.
Kiley (17:05):
You know everything would just be kind of status quo.
And as much as you know, asmuch as it sucks to go through
that stuff that you're growingand you're learning to go
through that stuff that you'regrowing and you're learning, and
it's probably not alwayssomething that you want to have
happening to you.
But one of the Bible versesthat I love is I'm probably not
(17:26):
going to say this word for wordcorrectly, but it's we focus our
eyes not on what is seen, butwhat is unseen or what.
What is seen is temporary andwhat is unseen is eternal, and
so it's not.
While we are growing here onthis, this earth and this life
is temporary, we're also helpingto grow the kingdom and yeah,
(17:49):
and those things that we arelearning yeah
and so I would I as as hard asit is to say, enjoy the journey,
because I know it's not alwaysenjoyable, but I I think it's
important for people to know toothat you can.
You can have joy in the morning, um, you can have joy and be
(18:09):
sad at the same time.
You can have joy and be sad atthe same time.
You can have joy and be angryat the same time, because joy is
not a feeling.
It's that faith and it's thatknowing that God is there and
he's going to get you through it.
Gianina (18:27):
That's so good, because I think a lot of times as
Christians, especially as women,we're taught that if we don't
have joy which quote unquotehappiness, if we don't display
happiness, then we're lackingfaith.
Or if we don't act joyful, thenwe're not trusting God, and so
(18:51):
that's really cool, just the waythat you put that.
That joy is so beyond like youcan be angry and have joy at the
same time, and you can.
You can be sad and have joy atthe same time, and I think for
me, how that kind of was showedin this season that I was in is
(19:13):
having faith that this isn't theend and that right like there's
still joy there, even though,like this sucks, but still being
real in that of like god, thisis just a hard season or this is
a hard day and I'm reallystruggling right now, but even
then I have joy because you arethe source of joy and I have you
(19:34):
.
So that's like such a powerfulthing to keep in mind.
I think, just having theperspective of eternity and how
like this is temporary andseeing God through that lens of
of eternity and seeing Godthrough the lens of Jesus and
really looking at, like what thetruth that the Bible tell us
(19:57):
are, because it's so easy tolike live our own truth, quote
unquote like oh well, my, mytruth right now is that, like
God's not good fulfill hispromises or he's not faithful,
(20:19):
like Jesus can't physically lieand if Jesus says that God is
good, then God is good and wejust need to look for where that
goodness is in that situation.
And it might be hard, we mightnot see it right away, but I
think it's just trusting thathe's there and, honestly, like I
had moments and I hate evensaying this, it's hard for me to
say but I had moments where Iwas angry with God, like not
(20:41):
just angry, but I was angry atGod.
And even in those moments itwas still like God, like I'm
angry at you and I don'tunderstand, but I'm going to.
I just need you to show me,just prove me wrong.
Like show me that I'm wrong,show me that my anger, like I
shouldn't be mad at you, show mewhy I shouldn't be angry with
(21:01):
you.
And he does and he's faithful,and so I think that's really
cool just to think about beingable to share these things as
people are walking through.
And I know one of the gueststhat we're going to have very
soon I'm in just a few episodes.
She is like very much in aseason of loss and grief, and so
(21:22):
I think it's going to be sospecial to be able to hear her
perspective of where she'sfinding God in this situation,
and so those are.
Those are really the thingsthat we wanted to be able to
share with you guys and we.
We didn't want to keep it justall low because that could be
hard to just hear like sad storyafter sad story.
Kiley (21:44):
Yeah, so we have, but we also don't want to keep it, you
know, oh, look at, all of thisstuff has worked out for me.
Yeah.
We want to make sure that it'sreal, it's raw, it's not.
Not everything is rainbows andbutterflies and unicorns all the
time.
We all have our things thatwe're going through.
(22:04):
We all have our things thatwe've been through and, I think,
just humanizing life, becauselife happens and it's what you,
what you learn from thoselessons and what you're
encouraged by in those lessonsthat we we want to try to to
share with everyone.
Gianina (22:22):
Yeah and like.
One thing I really want toemphasize too is that this
podcast is called walk through.
It's not called stay here, andso we're not building houses in
the valley, we're walkingthrough this and we're going to
get through this.
And I think that's a reallyimportant part of it is.
I remember when I first startedattending this church and the
(22:46):
pastor said you know, we allhear the phrase it's okay to not
be okay, Like we all hear thatright, and everyone's like it's
okay to not be okay as they patyou on the back.
But this pastor was like it'sokay to not be okay, but it's
not okay to stay there, and thatthat just really hit me of like
this, we're not going to be inthis season forever, and so
that's something that I want forour listeners and for this
(23:08):
podcast too, is we're not goingto like just keep each other
comfortable in our misery, youknow, or?
in our hurt or in our pain, andthat's something God is really
speaking to me right now too,because, honestly, this is just
like a vulnerable moment for me.
But I do feel like the pastcouple years I've had more of a
(23:30):
victim mentality and I've seenthat carried over more than just
the situation that I wentthrough.
It's like I was operating fromsuch a place of hurt, in that
that I was acting like a victimin multiple areas of my life,
and so I'm learning how likeliterally, I prayed that today I
(23:51):
said, god, I need you to showme how to go from victim to
victory, because I don't wantthis to be my story where I
always feel like I'm a victim ofsomething, and so I want that
for our listeners too, and Iwant that for people to just
know that you may be goingthrough this, but we're not
going to just pat you on theback and compare scars and
(24:14):
compare wounds, like that's notthe purpose of this, it's to get
through this together.
We're not going to stay in thisseason forever.
Kiley (24:23):
Yeah that's, oh, that's so good sometimes.
Sometimes I have a lot of wordsand sometimes I don't, and that
was, that was just.
That was really good, you know,and I I think one of the things
that I would also like to sayis I've always kind of operated
(24:43):
on the glass half full mentalityand one of the going back to
the joy.
You know you have to find thejoy.
Things may be not going right,but there's still a lot of other
things that are good and youcan be joyful about them, and so
I agree, you can be sad, youcan be hurt.
Just don't unpack and livethere yeah, and don't let that,
(25:07):
that emotion, drive the car.
You don't want to be a passengerto that.
You want to be the driver.
You want to.
You want to be able to makethose moves and do what you need
to do to get through the season.
Yeah, that's true so well, I amreally, really excited for
everybody to hear all of thestories and I would love to even
(25:30):
I don't know have have peoplemessage us or write in about
their thoughts or anything thatthey might want to share too.
We have a questionnaire.
If any of our listeners want tobe a part of this podcast and
want to share their story andyou feel led to talk to us about
what's going on, we would loveto have that, because I really
(25:54):
think it's just so important forpeople to know that there's
people that care about what'sgoing on in their lives.
Gianina (26:04):
Yeah, for sure, that's really good.
I want to hear feedback frompeople too, and that's an
important part of this for me isthe community and getting to
know people and, honestly, kylieknows this, but eventually, my
hope would be for us to be ableto meet up in person in some way
and connect with everybodywho's listening, and be able to
(26:27):
hug your necks and, you know,cry together, laugh together,
sing together, whatever we wantto do, like.
I just think that that would beso cool.
So this isn't just somethingwhere Kylie and I like to hear
each other's voices and I mean,although I do, like I love
hanging out with you andchatting, but we can do that on
(26:47):
the phone with just ourselves.
So, yeah, this is a communityand something that, like, we
really wanted to share withother people and truly something
that I feel is God led, and wejust pray that the people who
are meant to hear these storieswill hear them.
And so, with that being said,share this with your friends if
(27:08):
you think that this is somethingthat they would benefit from.
Listen to the next coupleepisodes, because we're going to
be releasing three episodes,including this one the first day
, so you can actually hearKylie's story and you can hear
my story as well, and so that'llgive you a little bit more
insight to what this podcast isabout.
And then we also have aFacebook group that I will link
(27:33):
in the comments of this so thatyou can grab that link and hop
in the Facebook group too, justbecause, truthfully, we want it
to be a community and not justsomething where Kylie and I are
the stars of the show, becausethat's not what it's about at
all.
Kiley (27:46):
Thank you, guys for being here and for joining us.
We're so excited to walkthrough everything together with
you and just remember that youare, you're not alone.
We got you.
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