Faith in Action—Big Mama's Coffee & More, July 27, 2026

Tune into Faith in Action at 9 a.m., Monday, July 27, on Channel 88.1 FM, Siouxland Catholic Radio. Host Joanne Fox talks with Mary, owner of Big Mama's Coffee & More. 

This program replays at 7 p.m. Saturday, August 1.

Faith in Action is brought to you by Mary's Choice, a Sioux City Pregnancy Resource Center. Previous Faith in Action programs can be found at siouxlandcatholicradio.com, on YouTube, and on several other podcasting platforms. Programming is subject to change.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Hello listeners of Cooland Catholic Radio channel 88.1 FM, K-F H C Pocket68, and K-O-I-A-Stormlight. Thank you so much for tuning in to Faith in Action. I'm your host, Joanne Fox, and maybe it's 9 a.m. on a Monday and you're listening to it. Maybe it's 7 p.m. on a Saturday, and that's when you decided to listen to it. Or maybe you went right to our website, to landcatholicradio.com, clicked on programs, clicked on local programs, clicked on Faith in Action, or just clicked on the Faith in Action icon, and you can listen at your convenience. And that is all due to the generosity of Mary's choice, which is a Food City Pregnancy Resource Center here in town. And they are the exclusive underwriter for this show. And for those of you who are a little bit more tech-savvy than me, we are also on Spotify and a number of other podcasting platforms. So we are out there in the techno universe of, you know, changing lives and enlightening listeners about stuff that uh is interesting and maybe they should know about. So listeners, you know, uh basically this show is a lot about me, and I bring on people I know or my friends and acquaintances because I think they have an interesting story to tell. And I'm always fascinated by individuals who bring their faith into their businesses. And let's face it, listeners, we go into a lot of businesses, and maybe they are not as Christian as we would hope they would be. And that's neither here nor there. A lot of these businesses are secular. So we get it. But the ones that bring their faith into their businesses, I think, are really exemplifying what we are trying to do by communicating the goodness of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And you know, if you listen to the show, uh I've had other individuals on who emulate their faith through their business. Uh Dave Ferris here in Swiss City, uh, Sneaky Chicken has long been a wonderful proponent of His Faith Live. And then the delightful young women over in Neely, Nebraska, Rachel Barlow and Heather Vick, I've had them on the show, and they again um emulate their faith through their business, and that is River Mill coffee shop in Neely, and they have things on the wall that talk about their faith, and and they they just really do a great job in making sure people know what kind of background they come out of. And so I am kind of um uh a stalker on Facebook, and I love seeing what people post, and I became very intrigued with the number of posts I saw from my guest who is on the show today, Mary Warden Fieldler. And Mary is the owner of Big Mama's Coffee and more in downtown Six City. And Mary has done just a wonderful job using Facebook by kind of promoting we're all in this together, we're all brothers and sisters in Christ. And I just found it so delightful that I stopped into the coffee shop and I stole her on coming onto the show. And she was gracious enough to say, yes, I'd like to do that. So uh with the phone with me from uh Big Mama's coffee shop in downtown City is Mary Warden Fiedler. And Mary, I can't thank you enough for taking time out of your work day to chat with me and enlighten our listeners about what it is you do at your coffee shop. I know you're still there, Mary, but you need to respond. Oh, I'm sorry. I know you were so intrigued with this m Joanne going on and on and on, because it is my show. So I'm entitled.

SPEAKER_01 3:58

Actually, it kind of made me tear up because your introduction is phenomenal and your phone voice. Oh my gosh, your phone voice is amazing. So I was kind of really facing off. I'm so sorry.

SPEAKER_00 4:12

Oh no, no worries. And you know, we move on because this is radio and it's taped, and you know, we just kind of shrug our shoulders and move on. So, Mary, um I know a little bit about you just because I stalk you on Facebook, and now we're Facebook friends listeners, so don't get upset that I'm just stalking her. But Mary, why don't you tell the listeners a little bit about yourself? Um, where you grew up, where you went to school, and and maybe some other stuff we'll kind of get into.

SPEAKER_01 4:39

Yes, Joanne. Thank you so much again for giving me this opportunity. I am a lifelong Sioux City um resident. I love Sioux City. My father was assistant chief of police here in Sioux City. He was on the force for 36 years, and um I went to Catholic school, Blessed Sacrament, in Healen. I graduated in Healing in 1980, and um during the time after 1980, oh I lived in Texas for about 10 years, but then I came back to Sioux City. Um, I was unable to have children, and so I adopted five, and they are the joy of my life. Um, they are Rachel, who's 30, and and Jack, who's 23, and Isaac is 22, Frances is 21, and Holly is 20, and uh they bring me great joy.

SPEAKER_00 5:34

Oh, how wonderful. And of course, one of the things I noticed that you post on Facebook is when Healing alums come into the coffee shop. But we're we're gonna get to that in a minute. Um, so uh what what kind of employment opportunities did you have uh after you graduated school?

SPEAKER_01 5:55

When I graduated from Healing, my parents were not college educated. My dad um started off at the police force, you know, just as a rookie uh street cop, and then he worked his way up to assistant chief of police. So college really wasn't um pushed in my family. So it wasn't until later that I went to Western Iowa Tech, great institution here in Sioux City, and I got my associate's degree in in accounting, business, and microcomputers. And then I went on to Briar Cliff and got my uh bachelor's. Um since 1982, um I've been doing bookwork and taxes. Um, I had my own little practice, and uh my mom died in 1995, and my father was um um like 72 at the time, and so I told my mom before she died that I would make sure I took care of my dad. So for 20 years, from um 1995 until uh 2016, I took care of my dad. He lived alone and he died when he was uh 92. Um, and so I really um I did dabble in some secular jobs. I was still doing my private accounting practice, but after my dad died, um I decided, you know, I I need to find another job. But I'll back up a second. In 19 uh in 2014, uh St. Michael's School was looking for a food director with the federal government lunch program. So I did do that for about um six years. Best job I ever had, Julian. I loved it. The kids were amazing over there. And so in 2024, I thought, you know what, it's time to get serious. So I put my resume out, and I was having a devil of a time trying to find anyone that would want to hire me. I think I was being engaged discriminated against, and I wasn't asking for a lot of money. And so at that time I thought, you know what? I've always loved food, I've always loved coffee, and uh the little coffee shop that was here prior to me um was having some difficulty. So I reached out to her and said, you know what, let me take over your lease. I want to see what I can do. And so that was when I decided to do Big Mamas was in February of nine uh February of twenty twenty-four. And my uh uh great opening was November thirteenth, and we've been open now for going on seven months, and it's just been the greatest gift in my life. This this coffee shop, this corner, it's just been the greatest gift.

SPEAKER_00 8:38

Well, uh for listeners who might ask themselves, what does it take to go from being an employee to an employer, and especially one in which you are um doing your own shop? Um I can't even get my heads or head around this because I think to myself, well, oh my goodness, what w what kind of things would I serve and how much coffee do I need to to how did you get all of that kind of calculated? And boy, I think I hit the nail right on the head there. You come out of a numbers background. I bet it wasn't as big a stretch for you as it might have been for me, you know, who comes out of a word background.

SPEAKER_01 9:20

Yes, exactly. Um because of my accounting background, I I am a numbers fanatic, even though I was a wretched math student at Healing. But um accounting is just addition and subtraction. Um when I started, um, I did a lot of visualizing, you know, like okay, what what does it take? What do I have to do? Oh, I gotta have food. How much food? And so the food background that I had at St. Michael's came in real handy. And then um my daughter Franny, who's 21, was a huge asset to me because she would see things for sale on marketplace. Mom, there's some tables for sale, mom, there's a refrigerator, mom, there's a a a freezer, mom, there's this, there's that. And and so I I when I started, I said, um, well, first of all, my whole life has always been, you know what, God, I know you're really busy. So I'll take care of it. Don't worry about me, God. I got it covered. And I have caused major problems because I've done it myself. So this time I said, Okay, we're gonna have God lead us on this. And so my prayer was, this is what I'd like to do, God. And if it's something that's gonna be a good thing, then I just ask that you bless it. And every time something came forward, we would pray, hey God, if this is it, then you open the door. And I'll tell you what, Joanne, it would just open. Um, we went down to Habitat for Humanity, they had chairs, really nice chairs for three bucks a piece.

SPEAKER_00 10:57

And and so I may be driving down to Habitat for Humanity when we get done with this interview. Wow, three bucks a piece? Holy moly.

SPEAKER_01 11:07

Yes, because I had already kind of envisioned uh a kitchen type of wooden chair, and I thought, well, you know, ten bucks. And they the they had like a bucket wooden chair for three bucks, and Franny was with me, and she's like, Mom, quit dragging your feet. So we bought twelve for thirty-six dollars, and that was the beginning of the snowball effect. Because then we turned around and we got a deep freeze, and we got two stoves and and um some refrigerators, and things were just starting to fall in our lap. Um, and and then I would pick her brain a lot, you know, hey, we gotta do this, how do we do that? You know, and what do we do about this? And I I I guess it was kind of dumb luck and also just trusting God because somebody would say something and I'd be like, Oh my gosh, I never thought about that. Absolutely. Um, a lot of things are just trial and error, and I tell you what, one of my favorite Bible verses is uh it's uh Mark 5, 36, fear not, only believe. And um the other one is Jeremiah 32, 27. I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me? And so I just daily, hey, God, show me this is your shop, you show me what I need to do, and I'll do it. And so there have been things that have just came to light that had nothing to do with me. You know, like when I did my vinyl signs, I had no clue. I didn't have any money to uh order it out to be provided, and so I bought a cricket, a little cricket printer thing, and it was like a Lucy Ball episode the day I went to put them up because it kept sticking to me and it was windy out. And I remember I remember saying, Jesus, you gotta help me. I said, It's a mess. And I don't know, well, I do know it was God, it was not me. It just came together, the windows look beautiful, and um I think it just takes a lot of true grit and faith and laughter. You gotta have laughter because if you don't, you're gonna cry every day.

SPEAKER_00 13:18

That's true, because it it's a lot, you know. You are responsible for this business and for the employees and for the customers that come in. But how did you come up with the name Big Mama's Coffee and more? I mean, you could have called it anything.

SPEAKER_01 13:34

Exactly, because I was thinking I was gonna call it cozy coffee.

SPEAKER_00 13:39

Oh, that's nice too.

SPEAKER_01 13:40

Um yeah, when my kids were little, I used to say to them, Look, I brought you into the world, I can take you out of the world. I'm Big Mama, and I could squish you like a book, so you better behave. So my best friend said to me, my best friend Brenda said, Why don't you call it Big Mamas? And I thought, you know what? That's perfect. That's exactly what we'll call it. And it is pretty funny because um when people come in, they're expecting this very big Louisiana type woman who would be Big Mama, and they come in and they see me, and I'm only five foot two. And and being in the shop, the only person here because I it's just a you know, it's me doing the whole shebang. Now, my son Isaac has just graduated from Morningside College uh with a teaching endorsement. So during the summer, he's here helping me, so that really helps. But before he came on board, it was just me, and and I've lost quite a bit of weight running back and forth. So that's where Big Mamas came from. And it just tickles me something fierce when people are like, So you're like Big Mama? Yep, I'm Big Mama.

SPEAKER_00 14:57

Well, and so much of what you're saying kind of um reflects uh one of the the shows we carry on the air. Uh Dr. Ray Garandi, the doctor, is in, and I think he has ten or eleven children, and he says the same thing that you just said, and that is, I brought you into this world and I can take you out. And he's kind of a slightly built man because we brought him to Sioux City for one of our dinners. And yeah, it's funny, you know, because again in your head you're think you're listening to this guy on the radio that's a very deep voice and it's very uh distinct and and uh you know it's very uh um uh what do I call it? Uh when you you know you really say your words the pronunciation and the enunciation articulation, and you think, oh my gosh, you know, this guy probably once played linebacker for the you know the Green Bay Packers or something. And then you see him and it's like, oh, there's the difference. And listener is right, because when I stopped in to see Mary, and everybody knows that I think uh everybody in this world is taller than me, than uh, you know, uh anybody except small children, because I am not even five feet anymore. And it was so refreshing to stand next to Mary and realize that she wasn't all that much taller than me, which made the whole Big Mamas coffee and more even a little bit more delightful. So I'm so glad you shared those uh stories with us. And then once you got kind of Yes, dear.

SPEAKER_01 16:24

I did want to tell you something kind of funny. When I was in the fourth grade, I was five foot two, and all the other girls were you know like four nine, and they all weighed like seventy-five pounds, and I weighed like a hundred and ten, I was five two and a hundred and ten in fourth grade. So I always thought of myself as huge, and now when I take pictures of myself with my customers or even alumni, I'm like, who is this shorty? Oh, that's me. What happened? I used to be so tall. In fourth grade. Yeah, and now it's like, man, I'm shrinking. I'm not big like I thought I was.

SPEAKER_00 17:04

So once you kind of get everything, the decor, and um how do you decide on a menu? I think that's really interesting. I mean, obviously it's coffee, but then you have more. And so what kinds of things do you know that you can produce for the customers, and what kinds of things did you say to yourself, Oh, maybe maybe we'll leave that to some other restaurant in Sioux City?

SPEAKER_01 17:29

I bothered my sister Susie immensely. My sister Amy, I bothered my best friends because I would say to them, What do I make that's really good? And then they would say, Oh, your taverns are really good, or they would say, This you make is really good. And then we also did a lot of practice runs before I opened, and that was really helpful because my sister Amy would tell all my cousins, hey, Mary's doing a practice run on Saturday. And the first time we did it, I thought I would try BLTs. And then I realized, uh-uh, BLTs is too time consuming. Um, and then I also had uh people suggest do your potato salad, it's killer. Very, it's very labor intensive, and so with it just me being in the shop, I can't do some of those things. I it it's too it's just too labor intensive, and the things just kind of you know, um, and you would know this as a writer. I belong to a writer's group. You start out with one foundation in mind, and then it takes on a life of its own. And that's what I found happened. I I started out with thinking I would do brats and roasted potatoes, and the coffee shop then just started speaking to me and telling me, nope, that's too labor intensive right now, put it aside. And then I've had other customers. Patrick over at the Francis building has told me, hey, you gotta do a cheap hot dog on Friday. Everybody loves hot dogs on Friday, and so things just kind of unfolding right before my eyes. And so I've got some daily staples that everybody loves. They're super easy. I can do them in my sleep, and it just just started growing, a life of its own. And I didn't have anything to do about I didn't have anything, I didn't have any input. God just also kind of opened my eyes and said, Hey, do this, silly, do this one, do this.

SPEAKER_00 19:27

That's perfect. Well, what about stuff in the morning? Um, because obviously a lot of since you're coffee and more, let's back up and talk about uh, you know, the coffee because wow, you know, you can't blink in Sioux City and there's not another coffee shop. So then how do you determine what you're gonna do with coffee and then I've gotta have something with my coffee? I don't know what, but I've gotta have something with my coffee. So tell the listeners, you know, if I came in at uh we'll say eight eight a.m. because I needed some coffee and something else, what do you have for me?

SPEAKER_01 20:01

When you come in the door, um coffee king is my supplier, they have off awesome, awesome coffee.

SPEAKER_00 20:08

Truth.

SPEAKER_01 20:08

And and coffee king, if if I am a vendor for if I buy from them, they will not sell the coffee bean I choose to another coffee uh vendor within 50 miles. And that I really thoroughly enjoy. So my espresso bean is the only place you can get it, is right here within 50 miles. So I don't have to worry about someone else having the same espresso bean. Um, so when you come in, I have two little coffee pots because I do I did not want to um have the big bun stuff. I wanted the little ones so I could control how quickly I put out my drip. Coffee King did make me my own drip. It's called Boss Lady, and it's mine, and I sell it and I love it. So in the morning, you can come in and have an espresso, you could have a drip, it's all ready to go. I try to have my staples every morning egg bites, cinnamon rolls. Sometimes I'll have an apple strudel. I try to have lemon bars, I have a very, very good bread pudding, a cranberry bread pudding. I try to have that, um, biscuits and gravy. I'm not bragging, but I've been told they're as good as Johnny Mars.

SPEAKER_00 21:20

Oh, that is high praise, Mary. Let me tell you that.

SPEAKER_01 21:26

Yes, and and the thing is, I I I don't see it. You know, I I taste these things, I don't see it. I mean, people people will like I had one customer say to me that my bread pudding was life changing. And I was like, Wow, okay. Yeah. So if you come in, those are my daily staples. And the first thing I I have on my back refrigerator, I have a list of the things I have to get out and make sure I have them ready to go.

SPEAKER_02 21:56

Sure.

SPEAKER_01 21:56

I don't want to be standing there like, nope, don't have that. Nope, don't have that and and uh so it is a a sacrifice for me to get up in the morning and get here but once I'm going I just love every minute.

SPEAKER_00 22:10

Yeah I would have assumed you were a morning person because you do you have to get up early because you have to have everything ready to go when you open that door and the people are gathering they're ready to hit the road.

SPEAKER_01 22:22

Well here's the deal I'm a and my family knows this. I'm a deadhead. I hear nothing and that was my fear was oh dear God do not let me oversleep and I've only overslept twice in seven months you know so my alarm clock is usually going off at 3 30 four o'clock in the morning and um I am so grateful that God helps me to get up and get get moving. Now that doesn't mean I'm always going to be down here at five but it does mean I'm up and and uh I'm moving so that's a good thing.

SPEAKER_00 22:55

That is a very good thing. So how did you determine you know the hours of operation and maybe we should tell the listeners what the hours of operation are.

SPEAKER_01 23:06

The hours currently are Monday through Friday 7 until 2 and then Saturday 8 to 1. You know you were saying that you're a stalker on Facebook. Well I'm a stalker as well. Stalkers rock yay Joanne I I Googled all of my neighbors Breckies Jitters uh Coffeeworks up on Pier Street Ron John's place and I wanted to see what were their hours of operation. Downtown there's not a lot of um places opened on Monday and so I thought well I'm gonna throw my hat in the ring and see what Mondays what Mondays do. And Mondays are are uh pretty decent and I'm very glad about that um I am opened um like I said Monday through Saturday and I've kind of been toying around with maybe taking a day off in the middle of the week. I'm not sure yet but um I I spent a lot of time really thinking you know what would be the best hours of operation what's everybody else doing um and then I also would come down and sit and shop and I would watch traffic and count traffic. I did that quite a bit just to see what's the flow look like you know how many times are people walking by who's walking by and so it was kind of um just uh a shot in the dark so to speak you know okay Lord this is what I'm gonna do you know guide me and show me and uh so that's kind of where I'm at.

SPEAKER_00 24:37

Okay. Well I f and I found it interesting you know the the whole closing at two o'clock on um m the weekdays and then closing at one on a on a Saturday because I thought Mary must have really been keeping an eye on the foot traffic and um you know people and and what time they were coming in and I thought to myself I bet she is realizing that especially in downtown Sioux City things drop off pretty quickly after a lunch hour and the people who are working in downtown Sioux City they're in their offices and when it hits four four thirty five they're out the door they're gone home. So I thought again I that's my thought was why you possibly were uh having these hours of operation and I'm also seeing too uh I I thought I would stay open till two because I thought there are some people like at the library a good friend of mine worked at the library and she would take a lunch hour at 130 and I thought well I I'll stay open for that but I'm starting to question you know is it worth it or should I just close up at one the other thing is I'll let you in on a little secret.

SPEAKER_01 25:48

I do have quite a bit of people that will come after I've closed and I'm a sap because I'll see them and I'll open the door and I'll say hi what can I do and they'll say I really want a cup of coffee. So I'll tell them get in here I'll give you one real quick I'll give you one and uh so I do do that quite a bit if they're stragglers. I feel bad for 'em.

SPEAKER_00 26:10

Well and I imagine the other thing is because they see value in what you're doing that they may sit down and then you're sitting down with them and a little conversation and then you take a picture with them and and so you're building up what I would call a sense of community amongst your customers and yourself because that's kind of the vibe I got when I walked in was happy people and they're interacting with each other and so it it doesn't surprise me if somebody came sneaking in at you know 130 and said Ah God I really need a cup of coffee in a tavern and you'd say okay and then you'd sit down with them.

SPEAKER_01 26:52

Exactly and the other thing you are right Joanne you are so right because especially when it's just me in the shop um I might have two or three people in line and maybe I have a regular customer and a brand new person from the warrior. So right away I'll say hey Joe this is this is Stan. I'm gonna be fixing Joe stuff I'll be right back and they'll be out there talking as if they were best friends. And it cracks me up because they're engaging one another and that's when I decided to say you know what you've got a really interesting story to tell let's tell me about it. I want to put that up on Facebook. It's so interesting it's so wonderful and I meet the most amazing people here that I would have never ever you know engaged with had it not been for this wonderful corner.

SPEAKER_00 27:44

Yeah I would agree with you on that and again listeners you know that I stalk Mary and Big Mama's coffee on Facebook so I see her her little videos and I see her pictures and they always make me smile. Sometimes I know who these people are because like Mary I'm a Sioux City native you know spent my basic my entire life in Sioux City except for when I went away to school and so I know a lot of people and it just it I can't tell you how much it makes me smile when I see these pictures and then I hear your little I well I'm not it it's not Facebook live but it is uh a little video that you post. And I'm real curious as to what prompted you to do that because I think a lot of our listeners who are maybe a little bit more mature maybe they have grandchildren maybe they have great grandchildren would not be comfortable doing this. So what prompted that?

SPEAKER_01 28:43

Well here's the thing and you're right Joanne you almost need a five year old to get you set up because five year olds know social media well I didn't start out thinking um I was going to do videos I had this girl come in she was going to her name was Piper and she was going to open a coffee shop out in Morningside and she came in and she said she was going to various coffee shops to investigate and I started laughing because I said oh sure now you tell me after I've made your coffee you probably already critiqued me because I knew nothing about espresso I knew nothing about pouring shine and and we got to talking and she said you know you are so funny if you made videos people would eat you alive and I said no way I'm too shy no way I am not doing it so she kind of planted the bug and I had a customer come in one day and he said to me that my father was his godfather and I'm like get out of here I've never heard this story before and at that moment I thought I gotta put this up on Facebook. This is so rich this is so wonderful how we're connected and then before I knew it it's just like I said earlier it took a life of its own. Sometimes somebody would come in with a really cool story and I would just like get over here let's take a picture I want to tell everybody about this this is so fascinating and it didn't start out that way Joanne like I said I'm really shy and I was thinking oh dear God help me I don't know what I'm doing. So I called my daughter Franny and I said Franny how how do I set this stuff up I know nothing. So Franny we would kind of FaceTime back and forth and then she'd show me on her phone how to do it on Facebook and then I'd have other customers come in and say hey if you do it this way it's easier and I'd be like oh man you guys are so smart. So it did not start out that way at all it just kind of um blossomed into that and uh I'm just tickled pink. I just love to tell those stories and I'm just tickled pink that everybody likes them.

SPEAKER_00 30:57

Yeah and they do let me tell you because I see the likes you get clicked on with them. And listeners I want to remind you if you're just tuning in right now again I thank you for tuning in. I appreciate your support. The show is Faith in action I'm your host Joanne Fox and on the phone with me is Mary Warden Fiedler and she is the owner operator of Big Mama's Coffee and More in downtown Sioux City it is on the corner of I think that's fourth and Nebraska and am I got have I got the right cross street there Mary?

SPEAKER_01 31:27

No ma'am it's fifth in Nebraska. Fifth in Nebraska right across the street yep right across the street from the Martin Luther King Bus Transportation Service.

SPEAKER_00 31:36

Yes the Reverend Dr Martin Luther King Multimodal Ground Transportation Center is the actual uh legal name of the bus barn is what I call it. Wow that's very interesting yeah and and listeners that comes from my years of uh working at the Sioux City Journal where we had to know exactly what some of this stuff was called and that's the only reason I know that so Mary this has just been wonderful but you what I want to kind of also address is we talked about your hours Monday through Friday 7 to 2 Saturday 8 to 1.

SPEAKER_01 32:11

Why not Sunday number one God says we should have a day of rest and I'm tired since that's my day of rest. But I am down here usually kind of puttering around if I need to clean the bathrooms or mop or do something else but yeah I I also figured you know a lot of families like to do a brunch and that's not my that's not my mission. I'm I'm not I don't want to do brunches. I want to do quick and fast and and little and so I decided Sundays would be my day my day off my day of rest and uh get back in the saddle on Monday.

SPEAKER_00 32:53

And it's interesting that you said that because um I had alluded when we first started this whole conversation that that was kind of the approach that uh Dave Ferris at Sneaky's chicken here in Sioux City and Rachel Barlow and Heather Vick at River Mill Coffee Shop in Neely Nebraska they just said Sunday is the Lord's day. And when you think about the number of establishments that are open on Sunday I actually don't shop at a lot of them and I will go to the places that aren't open on Sunday on another day. I make it my business to do that because again that's part of my faith and I want to support those individuals who kind of have the same I don't know um belief I guess that I do and you know I'm not trying to be you know better than thou or holier than thou but I think when a business emulates a faith based operation that it's our duty somewhat as Catholics to support these businesses.

SPEAKER_01 34:01

So what kind of feedback have you gotten from people who go oh you're not open on Sunday you know I I've had a a few you know oh they're not open on some uh up on Sundays but nothing like oh man you you'd really clean up if you were not not a lot and the other thing is I do have a a a prayer request little jar I get a lot of positive feedback I get a lot of prayer requests in there and and that really touches me immensely um and I have a lot of little Jesuses people give me those little Jesus things they're like uh I you know they're like a quarter of an inch big or something people are always giving them to me and I have them all over the shop.

SPEAKER_00 34:49

So I haven't had a lot of negativity as far as oh you're not open on Sunday oh you're you're uh faith based um I've had a lot more positive response and that's great to hear because a lot of times I think we step into opportunities we're not sure where they're gonna go and so you know we either trust in the Lord or trust in our intuition and go forth with it and this apparently has been a good choice for you.

SPEAKER_01 35:20

You know it it's interesting because there have been some times when I'm coming to work and I'm getting kind of anxious you know and then I have to stop myself not about me. This is yours God this is yours I'm just the the worker for you you you bring the customers I need you bless what needs to be blessed I'm just doing what I feel that you're asking me to do and and that then gives me great confidence that it's not about me that it's all about him and and there are times and I'm not trying to say I'm I'm Jesus not at all but one of the greatest gifts I ever got was I started reading the Bible cover to cover and I'm doing this little Bible reading thing and it just finished up the four gospels and in it each of the gospel writers were talking about when Jesus rode into Jerusalem and how he wept on the donkey how he wept and there are times I'll see homeless people downtown and I'll get this this um emotional feeling come over me where I just kind of want to weep and and I kinda understand what how Jesus felt. And so when I'm here I'm just like okay God this is yours this is yours you know let me pray for whoever needs to be prayed for let me be a blessing to whoever needs to be blessed and you just do your thing God and I'm just I'm just your hands. I'm just the one that's gonna do it.

SPEAKER_00 36:50

And you are doing a wonderful job at it and I I will say that because I so enjoy what you do on social media. It always brings a smile to my face and I really wanted to share with the listeners you know your whole approach to being a businesswoman and you know how you carry that out in conjunction with your faith. So you've been now in business for quite a few months Mary what would you say is the best part of taking on Big Mama's coffee and more the best part Joanne is when I walk in the door every morning the first thing I say is good morning good morning God good morning coffee shop I can't wait to see what's gonna happen because I never know you know and that's my favorite part because I may get five customers that day I may get 70 customers that day.

SPEAKER_01 37:51

I never know and it's always different and there's always something to laugh about and when I go home at the end of the night it's such a wonderful treasure for me to be able to think back when I first walked in all of the things that happened and it's just get it is just such a joyful feeling that I have that's the greatest gift.

SPEAKER_00 38:14

I just love this corner it's the greatest gift it is somehow head shaking when we look at how the Holy Spirit works in very mysterious ways in our lives because you really took a leap of faith and I can tell you when I interviewed uh Rachel and Heather and Dave they all talked about this incredible leap of faith they did when they decided to go into business for themselves. It's uh it's not an easy row to hole at all.

SPEAKER_01 38:45

And well you know Joanne I have no money coming in since probably since probably July you know because I'm not working. What I pay my bills is what I earn here and I'll tell you something God blesses God always provides and you just have to stay in the day like Jesus said you know don't spin don't toil don't worry yes and it is my faith has grown like never before and uh it's it's mind boggling and I'm so grateful. I'm so grateful to our father so grateful.

SPEAKER_00 39:23

Well and I am grateful too Mary this has been an absolute treat to chat with you I am so glad that again the Holy Spirit urged me to get out of my car and walk into your business and introduce myself and say Mary I love what you do on social media um I love your videos and I think my Catholic radio listeners would also enjoy hearing about your story. So I can't thank you enough Mary this has been just a delight um so I I know you're a busy woman I mean you got a business to run so uh I just want to again express my thanks to you.

SPEAKER_01 40:03

Well Julianne you just warmed the cockles of my heart and my bet it you know talking about how we're all connected it's it's so funny because my best friend Brenda Shaner Thielen knows you as well and it just it just makes me laugh when I see different people how they know different people I know and you're a delight and I was so touched and I'm so grateful. So thank you so much Joanne for this opportunity.

SPEAKER_00 40:28

You bet. And I'm tickled that you dropped Brenda's name she's a very sweet friend I think the world of her we've collaborated on a number of things and she also has a very special place in my heart. So listeners that kind of wraps up another edition of Faith in action um I've been on the phone with uh my new best friend Mary Warden Fiedler she is the um uh owner and operator of Big Mama's Coffee and more and that is at the corner of 5th and Nebraska Street in Sioux City Iowa downtown and so if you enjoy this program and you tuned in late you can always go to our website Siouxland Catholicradio.com click on Faith in Action listen at your convenience or if you'd like to listen to it again or any of our shows they are all there. We're also on Spotify and a number of other podcasting platforms that's all due to the generosity of Mary's choice at City Pregnancy Resource Center which is the exclusive underwriter for this show. And don't forget listeners we have some great national and international programming but we have some of the best local programming too every day at 3 o'clock we have the Divine Mercy Chaplet. Every Sunday at 9 a.m we have Mass celebrate it at Modern Day Parish Life Plan which comes out of Omaha airs on Sundays at 8 p.m and Catholic Ministry Professionals with John and Ty, that is Tuesday at 4. Draw Near with Fred and Cara is Wednesday at 4. And Father Knows Best with Father Mark Stoll Wednesday at 9 p.m so a lot of great uh programming we have here again you go to our website stillandcatholicradio.com click on any of those programs and I guarantee you it will enhance your faith life so on behalf of myself I'm Joanne Fox I'm the host of Faith in action and my executive producer Anne Reed I want to remind you that a faithful reaction is good but faith in action oh it's so much better. Thanks for listening and God bless.