Conversations: The Friendship Behind the Podcast

Two friends and two decades of story. We open the door on how our friendship began in Atlanta—roommates, youth ministry, and life maps—and how those early rhythms shaped the way we lead, teach, and pray today. 

We also trace the roots of The Father’s Business. Elizabeth’s mom, Sylvia Gunter, never set out to build a brand; she prayed with people, wrote what served them, and watched God carry those resources farther than any plan could. When Sylvia handed us the baton, she gave us permission to honor the heartbeat while finding our own voice. That voice found a home in our podcast. Starting in 2022, we began translating legacy tools into conversations you can take on a walk, into the car, or onto the couch. And we keep returning to identity: knowing who God is and who you are in him.

If you’re longing for practical ways to trust God when life looks dark, to grow a resilient faith, and to be reminded you’re a beloved son or daughter, you’re in the right place. Listen, share it with a friend. Then tell us what you want us to tackle next—we’re listening. You can find us on YouTube now as well in our video format.

Transcript

Welcome And Video Debut

SPEAKER_01 0:04

Hey friends, I'm Kimberly. And I'm Elizabeth, and this is the Father's Business Podcast, born out of Sylvia Gunter's heart for people to know who God is and who they are in him.

How Our Friendship Began

SPEAKER_00 0:15

So wherever you're listening from today, we pray that you will sense his nearness and know that you are his beloved sons and daughters. We're really glad you're here with us today. Hey friends, welcome to the Father's Business Podcast. Elizabeth and I have an opportunity to be together for a couple of days here. And so we thought, you know what, we want to have some conversations. So what we want to do today is we really want to just reintroduce ourselves, let you get to know us a little bit, especially since we're in person. And so we're going to do a little series on um just conversations with Kimberly and Elizabeth. If you have been listening to our podcast, you've got it on Apple, Spotify, all the different channels, and we have primarily been doing an audio podcast. This is our first actual video podcast. It is. So if you're listening to this, you might want to go check out the video portion. Um and if you're joining us by video, welcome. So today we just want to talk about the father's business and Kimberly and Elizabeth and let you get to know us a little bit. So Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:16

I mean, a lot of times when we meet someone who's been listening to our podcast, they're like, How did you two even get together and do all this? And honestly, Kimberly, I've been thinking about it because you know me. I can remember where we were, what you had on, and like what the weather was, all of that. I do not have a memory of the first time I met you. I I know like date-wise, it had to have been in 1999 because I had just moved back. I'd been overseas, gone to seminary, and then moved to Atlanta. And then you came to Atlanta and a mutual friend of ours introduced us. So I don't have a memory of that first time I met you, so I don't know what my first impression was. But I must have liked you because what I do remember is very shortly after meeting you, I was like, Um, this is crazy, but do you want to become my roommate?

SPEAKER_00 2:09

That's right. Yep, yep. I remember our friend that connected us was um, she got us connected with a couple of other women our age, and we started kind of a small group. Yeah. Um, and we got to know each other that way. And then we just be kind of became natural friends, honestly. It kind of happened. And then I started working at a church and you were working there some and working for in ministry with uh one of the guys there. And I think you had just gotten your house or your your townhouse.

SPEAKER_01 2:37

I just I just bought a condo and had an extra bedroom.

SPEAKER_00 2:39

I was like, hey, you know, come yeah, because I w I'd been in Atlanta for a couple of months trying to figure out what's my next step. Yeah. I had graduated from college and done an internship for about a year or two and then moved to Atlanta trying to figure out what was next. So I'd gotten this job at the church, and you were like, Yeah, stay for a while and live with me.

Life Maps And Deep Story Sharing

SPEAKER_01 2:56

Yeah, and that turned out. Yeah, yeah. So we were together there both doing youth ministry and and other things in in the Atlanta area for a couple of years. And then about the same time we went east and west. You went west to Texas and I went east back over to Romania for another round, because I which kind of surprised me because I thought when I moved home the first time after I'd lived in Romania and Hungary, I thought, well, that was a season and that's over. So I was a little surprised when God's like, let's go back over for a few more years.

SPEAKER_00 3:26

So And how do you think we maintained? I guess we had a pretty solid friendship to maintain it through that distance.

SPEAKER_01 3:32

Yeah, well, you were going through probably the hardest time of your life because as I moved away, your dad had been diagnosed with cancer, and then I remember the day being in Romania and getting the phone call that he had passed and just the grief I felt because of visas and uh and residency, and I hadn't been in Romania long enough. I couldn't leave Romania to get home to be there for you for the funeral and all of that. I had I needed to wait one more month before I came home. So I what I remember is it would be during the day your time and the middle of the night my time, and we'd get on the phone. Um, because at that point I had an international calling plan that made that possible. And I would just sit on the phone with you at night and didn't have a whole lot of wisdom to share, but just to be present and be with you and just keep saying, as we often do, the moon is round. Yeah, which is where all that started.

SPEAKER_00 4:22

Yeah. And that actually was a phrase we got introduced to in Atlanta when we were roommates. I remember one of the things that stands out to me, which was early on, something that you had learned or gone through when you were in seminary or with some friends was like life mapping kind of thing, right? Like just sharing your story and walking through. And early on, through meeting in this small group, and I think the group of girls that we were with just kind of started sharing pretty deeply together.

SPEAKER_01 4:47

Yeah, no, though I think we ended up doing that exercise. Everybody went through and did their life map.

The Moon Is Round: Trusting God

SPEAKER_00 4:52

We did. And you and I, I remember in particular, we went to this chapel and we sat down together and we kind of shared our stories with one another. Right. And I think that's what I mean, a lot of women out there in particular, and men too, but in particular women, I think that's kind of what bonds us in friendship is really just sharing our life stories and seeing how God has worked through that. Right. Um, and so sometime after that, we lived together for about two years. Sometime after that, we went to a concert. Um, you can actually recall that story a thousand times better.

SPEAKER_01 5:20

There you go. We were up in the balcony. We you and I had just finished a week-long conference where we were part of the leadership of hosting like 500 teenagers in Atlanta, which was great, but nuts. So we almost didn't go because we were so tired. But I was like, I really want to go hear this concert. And it was Alan Levi. And that is I was contemplating um moving overseas. I knew that was coming. Um, there's a lot of daunting things about that. You were in the your dad had been diagnosed or not? No, not in Atlanta.

SPEAKER_00 5:52

He didn't get diagnosed until after I moved.

SPEAKER_01 5:55

But you were in the process of moving out to seminary. I think my grandmother had passed away. Yes. Yeah, that's what was going on. So I was like, I knew there was some big family stuff going on, and you're moving, and there was just a lot of uncertainty in both of our lives. And that was the first night that Alan Levi sang that song and shared the meaning behind it. Was it?

SPEAKER_00 6:12

Yeah. See, I didn't remember that. Yeah. That's where we had the details. Who has all the details?

From Sylvia’s Living Room To Books

SPEAKER_01 6:17

Olivia. Um, who can remember where car keys are? Yeah, but I could tell you what happened in 2001. So um, yeah, that's he shared the story. He actually learned that phrase from a friend of his who had struggled with cancer and just being able to trust that from our perspective, it may look like the moon is not there or it's just a sliver or whatever. But the truth is the moon is always round. And so that the same with God, that he's always present, even if sometimes he just feels like a little sliver or an eclipse in the sky at times. And so when you and I were both going through hard things, because my move back to Romania was great, but it did not come. I mean, it was also with a lot of hard, hard things. So I was like, Are you serious? Are you sure this is what I was supposed to do? So a lot of times I don't know what else to tell you other than the moon is round and just hold on to that. So yeah, that's how we kind of got started. And then how did we get to the father's business? I was kind of born into it. So my Sylvia Gunter. Sylvia Gunter started the father's business. She never meant to start the father's business. She did what we're kind of doing right here, which is I grew up watching her sit on the couch one-on-one with people. And she's like, Well, you know, tell me what's going on. Well, let's hear what God wants to say to you about that and let's pray about that. She also led Bible, you know, women's Bible studies at church, and over and she was very good at creating handouts when she would be teaching places. And over time, people would be like, Hey, I came to that thing three years ago and you had a handout. Do you have another copy of it? Can you send it to me? And um, so she part of it was she got tired of like keep mailing copies to people. The other part, God's like, it it's time for you to put all this in a book. And that's where Prayer Portions was born, which was her first book, not her last. But I've been kind of behind the scenes editing ghostwriting and things with her, doing leading. How many times did I go on retreats with her and do things with her? And then officially came on staff in 2012 and became a part of the father's business. Mom and I led rock journey conferences together, and you were as much as you could be at almost every one of those. Um, because that's what best friends do. I'm like, Kimberly, you're gonna come help me lead this conference. Right, right, and be there and teach and do all sorts of things. And and so over time, it's just, you know, you were a volunteer, and then I was like, would you be more than a volunteer? And that kind of brings us up to 2022. See, I know that date too. When I called you up, we're all, you know, have been in COVID and kind of feeling kind of in lockdown. Also at the same time, my dad is in the middle of his battle of Alzheimer's, and so you and I actually had not even seen each other for several years because I was like, I can't travel, I've got to be here to help take care of my dad. So I called you up and I was like, could we start a podcast? I was like, I I don't know anything about technology. That's you, you're the guru. And also, our dream has always been since all the way back in Atlanta that one day you and I would be teaching and sharing and impacting people's lives together. I here we are. That's our goal, is what we're trying to do. Yeah. Yeah, because we would go to other conferences where you would see women sitting up on a stage together. And I remember saying to you, one day we're gonna be in those chairs, and that and and just the passion to want to be able to give our lives away to to other women and and just impact especially our heart has always been kind of for the generations younger than us, because we both were in you were no longer than I, but both in youth ministry and college ministry, and just wanting to remember and how hard those years are growing up and wanting to invest in those those generations. So that's kind of how we got here.

SPEAKER_00 10:08

So 2022 was when you called and said, Do you want to do a podcast? Um, and we kind of said, Okay, let's do it and let's take some of the materials that Sylvia has written that you've helped her write over the years, and let's just start turning those books into podcast form. Series. And so that became a journey, and all of a sudden it was like, wow, this is one, you and I were getting energized by doing something together, by a vision of taking written materials and turning them into audio form and getting to spread the word a lot that way. And and it also became a way that we started putting more of our voice into some of what Sylvia had written for years. But that was kind of like a hey, that's a trial run. Let's just see how this goes. Yeah. We kind of we just was like, we'll step into it, but we don't really know is it gonna go anywhere? We're gonna keep doing it, is this sustainable? You know?

SPEAKER_01 10:59

Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_00 11:00

And then your mom decided basically, your mom decided she wanted to pass the baton to us. When was that? Two years ago. Yep. Yep. Twenty-four?

Launching The Podcast In 2022

SPEAKER_01 11:11

I mean, officially, yeah. Yeah, we had a celebration in October of twenty-four to as kind of a ceremonial passing of the baton. But she she had already kind of been like, girls, it's your time, let's go. Um she's and that's what's so cool is she, I mean, ever since you met me back in the 90s, she's been investing in both of us, not only through her teaching, but just you know, you're around me, you're around my mom. So she's prayed for you and loved on you. And so so much fun to watch the things that were planted in us over the years, again, with our own life story and our own stuff, but coming out and now being able to share them with with others. So, and I mean, we didn't know if like four people would listen to this podcast or nobody, but we're like, we're we're gonna give it a shot. And still I think we don't really know completely what we're doing, but people are showing up and listening, and I have been really humbled and amazed by the response of people saying, you know, how much it has ministered to them, which that that's just awesome because we were for the kind of those teen years in the thousand 2000s, we were doing four or five full-blown conferences a year. And so you got that life on life touch with people, which is so much our passion. And when that all kind of went away, not only for family reasons, but COVID shutdown and whatever, it's just been like it's getting part of my lungs filled back up with fully with air, is being able to be used by God to impact other people. It's gone around the world. Like it's it's over a hundred countries. I don't remember exactly how many, but we've got people listening all over the world. And I'm like, how how dude okay. Yeah, but that's yeah, that's the story of the father's business. Right.

SPEAKER_00 12:50

That's what I was gonna say.

SPEAKER_01 12:51

That was your mom's story. My mom's story is you're writing books down in her basement, basically, because the father's business does not have a corporate headquarters. It's always been work from home, even before that was trendy. And so fr with no marketing and just a website where you can come and order our materials, and then you know, we got real trendy in 2015 and put them on Amazon. So that was a big step forward. You know, it's just God. God's just done it. And I mean, the numbers of stories we've heard, like one of my favorites is someone called us or emailed us from the Philippines and said, I found this book in the trash can, and can I get more of these? And I'm like, one, how did it get to the Philippines? And then two, who put it in a trash can? But God can God can do so much more. And um, there's stories, some we can share and some we can't, even of closed nations where uh we know her materials have gone and underground churches are using them, and it's just I'm just amazed. That's when you know it's not us, it's it's totally God. And so the same with this podcast and this adventure that we're on.

Passing The Baton From Sylvia

SPEAKER_00 13:54

Yeah. We were sharing with our board, the Father's Business Board the other day that we have is it 293 episodes that we'd done? Yes. And I thought, wow, that like just the I mean, we feel like we're just trucking away and doing it, and I'm thinking, man, we've we're already at 293 episodes. Like it's I don't know, it's it's pretty cool and exciting for us to get to be able to do it and for us to get to be able to share the materials with with you. But it's also awesome to hear, like you're saying, the stories that we hear from people and the encouragement of people saying so many people have said to me, they say, I feel like I'm just listening to you two sitting on a couch talking.

SPEAKER_01 14:30

And here we are.

SPEAKER_00 14:30

Here we are. And I think that's what a you know 20 plus year friendship is, and that's what we want. We don't we our heart is never, you know, we're gonna we're gonna lecture you, we're gonna get this in you, but but yeah, it's all about knowing who the father is and knowing who you are in the father. And so that is a relationship. It is about abiding with him and him abiding with you. And so it's been a journey, it's been interesting, and we're always naturally dreaming about what more can we do, not because we're trying to grow something and just like your mom's heart, it's not about how big can we make this, how do we reach the masses and that kind of thing. It's really about we so believe, and our friendship has been based on that, but also our individual lives and the people who have invested in us and our family and the legacies that have been poured into us through others, is so about being rooted in Christ and being able to walk with him through it all and understanding the impact that a life with Christ and knowing that we are his covenant sons and daughters can have. And so that's the passion that drives us. And yet, I'll tell you, like one of the things that Elizabeth and I love to do also is just have fun. And so we we're gonna be real and we're gonna laugh. We're, you know, that's just who we are. I I don't know who's the funnier one. You're we're funny in very different ways.

SPEAKER_01 15:51

I mean in very different ways. We make each other laugh. So that's yeah, yeah. We have been compared to the mean old men on the Muppets. Oh, yeah, there's that. The kind of snarky. You can get kind of snarky and sarcastic, but Jesus is still working.

SPEAKER_00 16:02

And there's you know, those memes out there that are like who you're gonna go to the funeral with and laugh in the I was like, Yeah, yeah, we can't go to those serious moments.

Global Reach Without A HQ

SPEAKER_01 16:08

Serious moments we do not need to sit next to each other. Definitely not. Definitely not. We've had some of those. Yeah, and we've had people say, just ignore the two of them. Right, right. Yeah. Sorry. But yeah, part of that is because sometimes it's just a look, because I I can finish the sentence that you're that you're thinking, and and then we both start giggling without even ever saying anything. So right. Um, but yeah, I think our other passion that we both share, and I think part of why we've connected so much, is we both were impacted by people who invested in us. Right. And that life on life, and just being honest and real and not pretend like we got our act together. And I think more times than not, my teaching illustrations come from places when I didn't do it well, you know, and just this is how I struggled, and here's how Jesus had to pick me up off the floor and say, let's let's try it one more time, more so than you know, from victory to victory. And if you just read this book and pray this prayer, then you're gonna have the victorious Christian life. Like I'm not attracted to people like that. So I I think that's the other thing that kind of connected us together because pretty quickly we're like, you know, here's here's the good, the bad, and the ugly, and and the transparency of being willing to, as Paul says, share not just the gospel but your lives as well. And so I hope this is a place where you feel that we do that uh on our podcast and that you know you can email us, contact us, and share your life with us and that it would be a safe place where where people wouldn't necessarily feel judged or intimidated. We're all trying to figure out this life.

SPEAKER_00 17:35

Yeah, you know, and different things get thrown at us in different seasons, and we all walk through those seasons, and I think we're we're the community of faith is meant to encourage one another and walk through it. And it's also the the glory cloud of witnesses, right? That we see in Hebrews like over and over again. We have been encouraged by others who have poured into us, and we will continue to be that for others, and yeah, you know, it's encouragement that we've just got to keep pressing on and walking with God through it all.

SPEAKER_01 18:01

So, Kimberly, we've talked a lot about the ways that we think were similar. What what is something that you think is different?

SPEAKER_00 18:08

Different?

SPEAKER_01 18:08

I mean, there's there's several.

SPEAKER_00 18:09

There's a lot. There's a lot. Well, you can't ever find your keys and you have shoes everywhere.

SPEAKER_01 18:14

I do. I don't believe in shoes. I I really and this goes back to childhood. Like, mom's like, our biggest struggle was, and this is back in the day when you didn't have Velcro, where you had to tie up the little shoes. And she would work so hard to get my shoes on me, and the minute I got in the car, I would take them off. And like, I do have vivid memories as a child of mom in the front seat and me in the back. And she's like, do not take your shoes off before we get to the store, and bing, they're already off. So is that why you keep all your shoes in your car? I do, because I as soon as I get in the car, I don't want my shoes on anymore.

SPEAKER_00 18:46

Yeah, so so one time, one time, a vivid memory. It's it is often if I drive Elizabeth's car, but one time in particular, I went to drive Elizabeth's car and um I got in it and I called her and I was like, Are you trying to kill me? Yeah. Because I think there were four pairs of shoes. There could have been five. In the floorboard where your feet go to drive the car.

SPEAKER_01 19:05

Guys, I can't think with shoes on. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 19:07

There's something that's it feels claustrophobic. I don't like it. I have shoes on right now and she does not. We don't have to show the I have shoes and she does not.

SPEAKER_01 19:16

Because I can't think with shoes on. And when I speak, I don't wear shoes. And there are two reasons for that. One is I hate shoes. Practical. So practical. But also early on in this, when I was like, maybe I should wear shoes, because I mean you are speaking. I just really immediately that verse about, you know, take off your shoes, you're on holy ground. And so for me, it is a a reminder that this this is a very holy thing that God is allowing me to speak. So I mean, even on the podcast, I'm never going to be wearing shoes. It's not gonna happen. Because this is holy ground, right? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:49

I I get cold easily, which is another difference. You're often warm. I'm very feet need to be covered. Yeah, God didn't tell you that verse. He told me that verse. You did. You did. I mean, those are just some funny ways. I would what would you say? Would you think of other ways? You said there's lots of ways we're different.

SPEAKER_01 20:04

Oh, well, there's one that's already come up several times since you've been here, which is the level of of maintenance that we have in our lives. I love watching Kimberly fold clothes, pack a suitcase. Like it is precision. I I am not, I hate maintenance. Like that that seems like a waste of time. But you're like why you can't find your keys or yeah, that important paper that's supposed to be right there on my desk. I can't find it. Because part of that, I believe, is my brain is always churning with a thousand different ideas, or you know, we need to faster, quicker, better, efficient, whatever. And I I'm trying to learn that if I would have maintenance, I could also be efficient because I would spend less time looking for things, but that's a hard one. So I think that is a a a difference. That's a big difference.

SPEAKER_00 20:49

And we we learned that when we were living together early on. And I was walking the house, I'm like, why is there money on the floor? And why are there shoes on the floor and keys on the floor? And she's like, Well, where are your keys? I'm like, go into my room, look in the second left drawer on the bottom, under the you know, like in very specific pieces.

Honest Faith And Real Life

SPEAKER_01 21:07

Methodical. So what I loved when we lived together is oftentimes I was like, I can't find da-da-da-da. And then you would know right where it was. I was like, how do you know where my stuff is? Because I saw it. Visual and it was everywhere, and I could see it. So yeah, but you know, just I mean, pun, silly stuff. I think I the great thing is on the deep core issues we are in alignment. But maybe maybe on how we keep our room, maybe not so much. Yeah, yeah. So, other than Jesus, which that's always the right answer, what are some of your passions? What what else makes you feel alive?

SPEAKER_00 21:44

Obviously, I do love discipleship and you know, investing in others. That is a huge passion of mine and helping people know who they are in Christ. And that's part of why this works in leading the father's business. That's the passion, always been the vision of the father's business, and it's a shared vision we have. Um but beyond that, if you could see our view. Right now, I can see outside. She's having to look that way, but I can see outside. And I love being outside. I love being outside. In particular, I love the ocean. I love water. I love just vast expanses of water. And I have a convertible and I love driving that convertible and putting the top down. My parents gave me a convertible on my 16th birthday and it was used. Don't I'm not I'm brat, but not big brat. And it was very used. I I just wanted one. And I don't know why. I didn't no one really had one when I was growing up, but when I got it, it was just the open air, right? I love that. Um being near the water and driving the convertible and just having fun. What about you?

SPEAKER_01 22:34

Yeah, I mean, I also like big horizons. It can be either kind of where we are here, kind of up up where I can see the horizon of the sky. I like the ocean. I like sitting on the beach looking at the ocean more than being in the ocean. You you have found a new passion for snorkeling and other things.

SPEAKER_00 22:52

Get in there and see it.

Fun, Laughter, And Differences

SPEAKER_01 22:52

But yeah, but when I cannot see the end of the horizon, I enjoy that. But I prefer being more indoors. My favorite activity I is recreational napping. Not not napping because you're tired, just because you can. So I have a cat named Gus, and that's a whole nother story we won't get into. But uh his name is Gus. And if I can take a nap on my couch and he curls up and sleeps right next to my leg, that that is just amazing. If there was an Olympic team for napping, I would be a gold medalist in it. We're kind of recording this during the winter Olympics, and that is my other, my other big passion. What really makes my heart come alive is figure skating. I mean, that has a lot to do with my story with God and how he has spoken to me. But I mean, ever since I was itty bitty, figure skating, yes, but Olympic figure skating is my jam. So I'm over six feet tall, so I was never going to be a figure skater because you have to have a much lower center of gravity. I mean, even this last week, as I was watching ice skating, God spoke something very deeply to me. But if I am outside, my favorite place to be is on a swing. So you love to be in motion in a convertible. There's something about being on a swing, and that's another place. Like if I just need to go spend some time with God, listen to worship music, whatever. And if I can find a swing, there's just something about that level of motion in being with him. So and I think we also do share a love of dark chocolate. Yeah. That would be my other passion.

SPEAKER_00 24:15

Some people like that milk chocolate stuff, but something about dark chocolate.

SPEAKER_01 24:19

Something about dark chocolate.

SPEAKER_00 24:20

Yep. So dark chocolate and peppermint's the best. That's where we disagree. That's where we disagree.

SPEAKER_01 24:24

I was about to say maybe that's why we're friends, but then you had to go put toothpaste on the dark chocolate and just ruin it. So yeah, no.

SPEAKER_00 24:30

Oh me. Okay, you can have dark chocolate and raspberries. It's okay. There you go. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 24:34

I'll take it. Peanut butter, like anything other than toothpaste. Yeah. But the good things is I'll never eat yours. That's right. So we don't get in arguments about that. But I will eat yours. Yes, you will. Yes, you will. Yes, you will. So anyway, we're we're just excited you're along for the ride and the journey with us wherever this goes. We'd love to hear from you. If there's As we said, we're starting this series on conversations and just some some deep thoughts. Actually, all of them are coming out of kind of thoughts that ran through our heads recently. And I said we should have a conversation about that. And then we decided, you know what, let's wait and have that conversation on camera and just be able to share some of that with everybody. Just kind of some musings and thoughts of what God might be churning in both of our hearts. So we'd love to hear from you guys if you have any series topics you'd love for us to cover. Questions that you have coming out of any of the books that you can find on thefathersbusiness.com. We would love for you to be a part of this journey with us.

SPEAKER_00 25:25

Be encouraged and let us know how we can pray for you and let us know how we can answer your questions and talk about things that would help encourage you in your walk with Jesus.

SPEAKER_01 25:34

This podcast is made possible through donations by people like you. To donate, go to www.thefathersbusiness.com. Be sure to follow us at the Father's Biz on Instagram and Facebook.