Big Girl Thoughts | Real Women | Real Talk | Real Faith

CONTENT NOTE: This conversation includes discussion of childhood verbal, physical, and sexual abuse, and the loss of a loved one. Please listen with care. Support is available any time through RAINN at 1-800-656-4673 or online.rainn.org.
Hey babe. Welcome back to Big Girl Thoughts.
For episode #08, I sat down with my friend Kat, and I need to brag on her for a minute. She is the friend who calls you right back, the one you can tell anything. She is also one of the bravest women I know.
Kat grew up in a house on a hill in Colorado that looked shiny and perfect from the outside. Inside was a different story: abuse that was verbal, physical, and sexual, a mom who couldn't be present, and a childhood she assumed was normal because it was all she knew. Her sisters were taken by the courts when she was in fifth grade. Years later she lost her brother, her best friend and her steadiest constant, far too soon.
She married young and poured everything into building the perfect family she never had. The turning point came in a shower, home from spreading her brother's ashes, when she heard God say what she already knew: he is never going to change. She left. She had her fourth baby with worship music playing and more peace than that moment should have held. Then she started over.
Today Kat will tell you the enemy is a liar, that your worth is not up for debate, and that you can do hard things, but only through Him. Grab your coffee. This one is tender, and it is worth every minute.
WHAT WE GET INTO0:00 Meet Kat.2:55 The house on the hill.3:44 Behind closed doors.5:53 When her sisters were taken.6:18 Her brother, and two very different childhoods.8:44 Counting down to freedom.14:55 Free, but still trying to fill the holes.17:00 Meeting her ex, and becoming a mom.20:24 Motherhood at 21.24:07 Losing her brother.26:08 "He's never gonna change."28:38 Ryan, worship music, and peace in the chaos.30:52 Starting over, and proving she's worthy of love.35:19 Shame, and raising four kids.37:45 "The enemy is a liar."40:36 You can do hard things, but only through Him.41:49 Rapid fire with Kat.43:30 Until next time.
ABOUT KAT:Kat is a single mom in the Austin area, the youngest of a big blended family from Colorado Springs. She survived childhood abuse and the loss of her brother and best friend, then built a life on her own with two and three jobs at a time and an associate's degree earned while raising her kids. She is a recovering people pleaser, a mom determined to raise her children knowing their worth, and living proof that you can do hard things through God.
LISTEN ONSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033ntRmennSoOEIObPs1gcApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/big-girl-thoughts-real-women-real-talk-real-faith/id1896816739
 
WATCH ON
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvITHgYmaRdBonSO4hDVxfw 
 
FOLLOW BIG GIRL THOUGHTSWeb: https://biggirlthoughts.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleighleege/ 
 
xo, Ash
#BigGirlThoughts 

Hey babe. Welcome back to Big Girl Thoughts.
For episode #07, I sat down with Kristen, and I left our very first coffee thinking she was the most resilient woman I had ever met. Kristen was born without part of her right arm, and she will be the first to tell you it is just normal. She grew up playing varsity tennis (and winning the "most inspirational" award every single year), surfing the California coast, and figuring out how to tie her shoes before her big sister did. Today she is an executive pastry chef who builds jaw-dropping wedding cakes, up to fifteen in a single week, single-handedly. Her words, not mine.
Then came the line that stopped me cold: "I don't identify as disabled. I identify as a child of God." Kristen carries deep faith and the best sense of humor you will hear all week (wait for the Bethany Hamilton story). If you have ever felt stuck or overwhelmed, her mantra is for you. Just start. The momentum will build.
WHAT WE GET INTO0:00 Meet Kristen.2:04 Born without a right arm, and why it's "just normal."2:19 Varsity tennis and the "most inspirational" award.6:46 She tied her shoes before her big sister.10:10 "I don't identify as disabled. I identify as a child of God."12:37 Meeting Joe (married one week after she turned 20).16:14 The time a stranger thought she was Bethany Hamilton.17:31 One hand, half price: the nail salon math.18:09 How Frosting Fanatic started.21:24 From stay-at-home mom to wedding cakes.27:45 "When you're overwhelmed, just start."28:52 The big girl thought.30:23 Worship while she bakes (and the Phil Wickham connection).31:55 Rapid fire with Kristen.34:27 One word: resilient.36:56 Where to find her.
ABOUT KRISTENKristen is an executive pastry chef in the Austin area and the baker behind Frosting Fanatic. Born without part of her right arm, she is a former varsity tennis player and lifelong surfer, now a wife to Joe and a mom of three. She does it all with one hand and a whole lot of grit, and she would rather make you laugh about it than have you feel sorry for her.
FIND KRISTENInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/frosting_fanatic/Website: https://frostingfanatic.com
LISTEN ONSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033ntRmennSoOEIObPs1gcApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/big-girl-thoughts-real-women-real-talk-real-faith/id1896816739
WATCH ON
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Biggirlthoughtspodcast 
FOLLOW BIG GIRL THOUGHTSWeb: https://biggirlthoughts.com
FOLLOW ASHLEIGHInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleighleege/
xo, Ash
#BigGirlThoughts #ChildOfGod #JustStart #Resilience #ChristianWomen #FaithOverFear #LimbDifference #WeddingCakes #WomenInBusiness #Testimony

Hey babe. Welcome back to Big Girl Thoughts.A gentle heads-up before you press play: Victoria and I talk about the loss of her mom and about a night in 2020 when she came close to ending her life. If you're in a hard place right now, you are not alone. You can call or text 988 (the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) any time, day or night.
For episode #06, I sat down with my friend Victoria. Her name means conqueror, and she has lived up to it. She was adopted twice, first at birth by her mom Bonnie Jo, a single mama and nurse, then again at 13 by her dad. She grew up biracial on a small farm in Indiana and learned early that the world doesn't always see your heart the way God does. Then her mom died of cancer, her dad walked away, and 2020 left her isolated in a tiny apartment with a plan to give up. In her darkest hour she heard God's voice, in her mom's voice, say, "Sis, get up." She got up. She moved to Austin, she bought her first house, and she's still leaning into the process. This one will wreck you and rebuild you.
WHAT WE GET INTO 0:00 "Men were decoration." 1:03 Meet Victoria. 2:40 How we met at church. 4:37 Where the story gets juicy (2017-2019). 5:37 Adopted at birth: "a love child." 8:02 Adopted again at 13. 8:16 The farm, and what school was really like. 9:45 Losing her mom, Bonnie Jo. 11:00 Two moms who did not play (the pistol and the bat). 16:51 Content, single, and full. 18:34 "Be a wife first." 23:22 The darkest time: 2020. 28:20 "Sis, get up." Hearing God. 30:51 Peace is my GPS. 32:01 The house on the hill. 33:02 How she actually healed. 39:23 Leaning into the process (an Esther story). 43:44 Rapid fire with Victoria.
 
ABOUT VICTORIA
Victoria is a coach, a fierce prayer warrior, and one of Ashleigh's dearest friends. Indiana farm girl turned Austin homeowner, she works in learning and development and pours into women wherever she goes. Adopted twice, healed on purpose, and standing on 1 Samuel 16:7: people see the outside, but God sees the heart.LISTEN ON
Spotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/show/033ntRmennSoOEIObPs1gc Apple Podcasts:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/big-girl-thoughts-real-women-real-talk-real-faith/id1896816739
 
WATCH ON
YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvITHgYmaRdBonSO4hDVxfw
 
FOLLOW BIG GIRL THOUGHTS
Web: https://biggirlthoughts.com FOLLOW ASHLEIGH
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleighleege/ xo, Ash #BigGirlThoughts #SisGetUp #LeanIntoTheProcess #FaithOverFear #ChristianWomen #TestimonyPodcast #GriefAndFaith #HealingJourney #AdoptionStory #988

Hey babe. Welcome back to Big Girl Thoughts.
For episode #05, I sat down with my sweet friend Raven. Twelve days before her wedding, with the dress altered and the flights booked, she sat across a brunch table and said "I can't marry you." God had been sending her the same message through stranger after stranger, and she finally listened. Three months after the breakup, she met Enrique over a pan of dirty rice at a church potluck. They married in February 2024 and found out they were pregnant soon after. A gentle heads-up: we talk about pregnancy loss in this one. In her second trimester, Raven went into labor and they lost their baby boy, Judah.
Raven tells the whole story with more hope than I could have imagined. If you have walked through loss of any kind, she wants you to know two things. You are allowed to grieve. And your pain is not permanent.
WHAT WE GET INTO0:00 Meet Raven.2:37 "My story would be a limited series."5:47 Engaged in five months.7:10 "That man is not your husband."11:27 The brunch, 12 days out.15:08 Three months later: Enrique.21:47 "Raven, will you let me heal you?"27:35 The dinner, the dessert, the news.29:42 The cramps she thought were normal.33:59 The ultrasound.39:42 Judah: worship goes first.42:25 Permission to grieve.46:26 The big girl thought.53:33 Rapid fire with Raven.
ABOUT RAVENRaven is a wife to Enrique and a mama to Judah, who is with Jesus. She spent years being the strong one for everybody else and is learning to let people show up for her. She and Ashleigh met at church, and one puppy named Bentley sealed the friendship.
RAVEN'S INSTAGRAM: @ravennichelle_
LISTEN ONSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033ntRmennSoOEIObPs1gc Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/big-girl-thoughts-real-women-real-talk-real-faith/id1896816739
 
WATCH ON
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Biggirlthoughtspodcast
 
FOLLOW BIG GIRL THOUGHTSWeb: https://biggirlthoughts.com
FOLLOW ASHLEIGHInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleighleege/
xo, Ash
#BigGirlThoughts #PainIsNotPermanent #HisPromisesAre #FaithOverFear #ChristianWomen #TestimonyPodcast #GriefAndFaith #PregnancyLossAwareness #SendWorshipFirst

Hey babe. Welcome back to Big Girl Thoughts.
For episode #04, I sat down with Jenessa Wait. You probably know her shop — the posters, the trucker hats, the "He still does miracles" line. What you may not know is that the whole thing started with a Canadian girl waiting on a green card, a friend's iPhone, and a still small voice that said "You could do this too." She picked up a ballpoint pen. Eleven years later, there's a seven-figure company, a warehouse, seven employees, and a book she wrote for postpartum mamas called A Heart So Full. If you have ever felt the nudge and let fear talk you out of it, this one is for you. Jenessa came on to tell you not to bow to it.
WHAT WE GET INTO 0:00 Meet Jenessa. 4:35 The coffee, the DM, and the still small voice. 10:55 Fear is exhausting. Faith is fear in reverse. 21:45 Loaves, fishes, and finger-painting in the office. 25:12 Wood signs to Austin. The parking-lot flop. 30:09 The setback was the setup. 32:06 Two words from God: do prints. 37:18 What I would tell the woman who is scared. 47:44 Rapid fire with Jenessa.
 
ABOUT JENESSA
Jenessa Wait is the founder of shop.jenessawait.com, the Christian home-goods and apparel company behind the "He still does miracles" hat and a whole lot of posters that end up in nurseries. Canadian by birth, Austin by call, wife to Sean, mama to two with one on the way, and a former young-adult pastor who still pastors anyone who buys a hat.Instagram: @jenessawait
Shop: https://shop.jenessawait.com
 
LISTEN ON
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/big-girl-thoughts-real-women-real-talk-real-faith/id1896816739 
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033ntRmennSoOEIObPs1gc 
WATCH ON
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Biggirlthoughtspodcast
FOLLOW BIG GIRL THOUGHTS
Web: https://biggirlthoughts.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleighleege/xo, Ash
 
#BigGirlThoughts #KickFearInTheFace #ButGod #JenessaWait #FaithOverFear #ChristianWomen #FaithAndHumor #TestimonyPodcast #ChristianEntrepreneur

Hey babe. Welcome back to Big Girl Thoughts.For episode #03, I sat down with my husband Shawn. You probably know him a little, the rebel in my posts. What you may not know is that he started drinking at 15 and went 13 years full tilt. By 28, working LA actor, one hand on a fifth of Jack Daniels and a Bible in the other, asking God to take it. Then he met me. Then he made one vow, "I won't lose you to liquid," and white-knuckled the first year of sobriety in Santa Monica AA rooms alongside Matt Perry and Anthony Hopkins. His sponsor was a diamond dealer who made my wedding ring. He's coming up on 24 years sober. If you have ever loved an addict, or are praying for one, this one is for you. Shawn came on to tell you it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when. And to burn your boats.
 
WHAT WE GET INTO0:00 Meet Shawn.3:20 From Iowa to Hollywood.4:20 "I love acting more than you."12:37 Jack Daniels in one hand, Bible in the other.16:35 Then he met me.21:40 "I won't lose you to liquid."29:01 His AA sponsor made my wedding ring.36:00 Done to you, or done for you?37:28 Burn your boats.
 
ABOUT SHAWN:Shawn is my husband. Going on 24 years sober, he runs three companies and leads a men's freedom group at our church. Iowa kid who grew up without a dad in the home, chased the actor dream to LA, and found his way out of the bottle a few years later. If you know him, you know him. If you don't, you'd love him.
 
LISTEN ON
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033ntRmennSoOEIObPs1gc
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/big-girl-thoughts-real-women-real-talk-real-faith/id1896816739
 
WATCH ON:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Biggirlthoughtspodcast
 
FOLLOW BIG GIRL THOUGHTSWeb: https://biggirlthoughts.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleighleege/
 
xo, Ash
#BigGirlThoughts #ButGod #MyRebel #SobrietyStory #ChristianMarriage #FaithJourney #ChristianMen #TestimonyPodcast #FaithAndHumor

Hey babe.
Welcome back to Big Girl Thoughts. For episode 02, I sat down with my friend Leah. She is a mighty prayer warrior, she serves at City Reach Church, and she has one of the biggest laughs you will ever hear. Don't let her tiny frame fool you. By 12 she had lost her innocence. By 14 she was on ecstasy every weekend. By her twenties she was on Vicodin, then meth, then homeless for two years. And then a door opened in a crack house in Oregon, and the man who answered it is now her husband. This one goes deep. If you have ever felt like you've gone too far, this episode is for you.
 
WHAT WE GET INTO
0:00 Meet Leah.
3:45 A family that loved Jesus, then asked to leave.
11:29 Twelve, looking for love.
27:25 When Vicodin came on the scene.
30:42 The conjoined twins.
35:43 The door Shane opened.
48:39 Sober in 2011.
55:14 "Are you done?"
58:04 Rapid fire with Leah.
 
ABOUT LEAH:
Leah is a mighty prayer warrior on staff at City Reach Church. Wife to Shane (the man who answered the door), mom to two boys, Braxton and Kingston. Sober since 2011.
 
WATCH ON YOUTUBE:
https://youtu.be/Ovl_F86PvOA
 
FOLLOW BIG GIRL THOUGHTS
Web: https://biggirlthoughts.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleighleege/
 
#BigGirlThoughts #BGTPodcast #AshleighLeege #FaithJourney #TestimonyPodcast #ChristianWomenPodcast

At 17, two weeks before high school graduation, Treasa lost the woman who raised her and became the guardian of six siblings overnight. Today she leads ministry.
This is the first episode of Big Girl Thoughts, and Mama T pulls back the curtain on everything in between. In this episode, Ashleigh sits down with her best friend Treasa, AKA Mama T, for a conversation about brokenness and what it takes to turn a mess into a message. If you have ever felt unworthy, or like your story is too much, this one is for you.
WHAT WE COVER0:00 Intro: meet Mama T 2:14 "Baby, I'm back": why she said yes 5:13 From brokenness to belonging 10:01 The prom night that changed everything 18:57 The stranger in Greens Point Mall25:58 Did it happen to you, or for you?30:04 The friend who broke in38:38 Go to the throne before the phone46:01 The vineyard dream ABOUT TREASATreasa, known to the BGT family as Mama T, leads the Dream Team at her local church and has spent the last four years in vocational ministry. She's a grandmother to Ty, a champion of every woman she meets, and the kind of friend who calls you out and calls you up in the same breath.
Treasa's Instagram: @mcginnistreasa
LISTEN ONSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033ntRmennSoOEIObPs1gc Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/big-girl-thoughts-real-women-real-talk-real-faith/id1896816739WATCH ONYouTube: https://youtu.be/c847GE4lm3Q
FOLLOW BIG GIRL THOUGHTS Web: https://biggirlthoughts.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleighleege/ #BigGirlThoughts #BGTPodcast #AshleighLeege #FaithJourney #MamaT #BrokennessToBelonging #TestimonyPodcast #ChristianWomenPodcast