How to Let God Use Cheeseballs to Spark Joy with Molly Sanborn

Can a giant tub of cheese balls and a heart full of faith truly change lives and spark unexpected spiritual growth?

On this episode of the Collide Kids Podcast, host Christen Clark sits down with Molly Sanborn, also known as the "Cheeseball Chick," a speaker, influencer, and author whose hilarious, heartfelt adventures connect faith, purpose, and family life in surprising ways. Molly shares how raising Christian kids, embracing spiritual growth through hardship, and bringing joy to everyday moments collide with God's purpose—even when life gets messy, cheesy, or a little unexpected.

• [00:07:04] How Molly's cheeseballs journey started
• [00:15:14] Molly’s open-heart surgery and how God gave her purpose in pain
• [00:13:48] Using everyday life for discipleship and connecting with others
• [00:30:24] Molly’s childhood journals and the importance of honest faith

Resources:

• Molly’s Book on Amazon: Cheese Balls for Jesus
• Instagram: @cheeseballchick
• Website: craigandmolly.com
• Website: collidekidspodcast.com
• Instagram: @collidekidspod

Clip Finder:

Viral Topic: When Cheese Balls and Faith Collide  "It is kind of funny, like cheese balls and Jesus collided, and it is like this beautiful thing."

— Molly Sanborn [00:07:08 → 00:07:13]

Viral Acts of Kindness: Oh my word, cheese balls are bringing the world together.

— Molly Sanborn [00:10:49 → 00:10:51]

Spreading Joy in Everyday Life: "I just wanna make, I wanna make you smile and spread joy and encourage people. Life is hard, you know, we need to laugh more."

— Molly Sanborn [00:13:26 → 00:13:32]

Finding Purpose in Pain: "God will not waste your pain, and that there is purpose in the pain."

— Molly Sanborn [00:17:39 → 00:17:43]

Unexpected Connections in Difficult Times: "One of those exchanges happened right before my third surgery with a nurse named Jen at Mayo Clinic who was not even my nurse. She came in 'cause she heard there was a patient who had cheese balls and she was from Wisconsin and thought I was a cheesehead too."

— Molly Sanborn [00:18:13 → 00:18:27]

Hearing God in Everyday Moments: "I'm guessing maybe most people haven't heard the Holy Spirit say, bring the cheese balls, but I did. It was like, yeah, this still small voice, just like not an audible voice, but I knew I was supposed to bring the cheese balls."

— Molly Sanborn [00:24:33 → 00:24:43]

Building a Strong Spiritual Foundation: "I would love to encourage all of you kids and anyone of any age to invest first and foremost in getting to know Jesus and being open and honest with him."

— Molly Sanborn [00:30:11 → 00:30:18]

Bark proactively works to monitor, detect, and alert you to potential issues on your kids' devices. Visit bark.us to learn more about how you can keep your kids safe online. Use the code COLLIDEKIDS to get 15% off Your Bark Technologies Plan !

Transcript

Christen Clark [00:00:30]:

Hey y'all, welcome to the Collide Kids Podcast. I'm your host, Christen Clark. The Collide Kids Podcast is a show for kids and families where we learn together how life and faith collide. I am so glad that you're here today. Before we jump into today's episode, I wanna ask you something really quick. Have you checked out my other podcast, The 7 Minute Devotions for Busy Parents? Have you listened yet? Now, I've talked about this a few times in some of these episodes, and listen, if you haven't yet, This is your sign. It's exactly what it sounds like. It's a 7-minute devotion for parents who are busy.

Christen Clark [00:01:03]:

So if you are a parent who's busy or you know of a parent who's busy, it's specifically for busy moms and dads who wanna grow in their faith and learn more about discipling their kids, but don't always have a ton of extra time. There's 2 episodes released each week, and they're just a quick download. And you can even click the link in my show notes today to join my email list, and I'll send them straight to your inbox. Easy, encouraging, doable. You can find us on Facebook and Instagram @7MinuteDevotions. I would love for you to connect with me there. Okay, can we talk about how spring just feels like a fresh start, right? The, the weather is changing, and so we can open all the windows. We've been doing that in my house and clean out a closet or two.

Christen Clark [00:01:43]:

There's just something about this season that makes you wanna try something new or maybe even say yes to something a little unexpected. Which is perfect for today's conversation. Now, as you know, I usually ask my guests to share a joke at the beginning of the show, and today's guest, she definitely did that. But I thought I would share one with you right now because this conversation is inspiring me. So here's my joke. Are you ready? Why did the cheese go to church? Because it wanted to be grateful. Okay, I'll just stick to the podcasting part. I'll leave the jokes to my guest.

Christen Clark [00:02:22]:

Speaking of cheese, today's guest has a story you are gonna love. I'm talking with Molly Sanborn, also known as the Cheeseball Chick. Yes, you heard that right. Molly is a speaker, influencer, and author of Cheeseballs for Jesus: Funny Faith-Filled Stories to Encourage and Inspire. She has a master's degree in marriage and family therapy, and she is a survivor of open-heart surgery. She and her husband founded a ministry called Whatever You Do Ministries. Molly gets to speak nationwide to youth, families, and marriage conferences, and when she's not doing that, she's literally just hanging out at a ninja gym training with her kids. But what I love most about Molly is how she embraces the unexpected ways God works through our lives, even in the silly, messy, and cheesy parts, and points people back to him.

Christen Clark [00:03:12]:

You guys, this is such a fun conversation, and you are going to walk away so encouraged. So here is my conversation with the Cheeseball Chick, Molly Sanborn. This is, this is the best opener ever, is the cat.

Molly Sanborn [00:03:35]:

My cat!

Christen Clark [00:03:36]:

Your cat!

Molly Sanborn [00:03:38]:

I did not invite her into this podcast.

Christen Clark [00:03:40]:

As soon as we hit record, Dr Pepper's like, I need to be in the shot.

Molly Sanborn [00:03:44]:

Seriously? Okay, so Dr Pepper, say hi, and then you're grounded, okay?

Christen Clark [00:03:48]:

Molly Sandborn, thank you so much for being on the Collide Kids Podcast today.

Molly Sanborn [00:03:51]:

Yes, I'm honored to be your guest, and so is Dr Pepper, I guess.

Christen Clark [00:03:54]:

Yes. I love that you named your cat Dr Pepper. That's a great name. Yep.

Molly Sanborn [00:03:59]:

She, her, what do you say, predecessor, whoever went before her, was Sprite. And then we also have a root beer that's been adopted by a neighbor we don't know. So our cat's been, seriously, our cat is double timing us, like two timing us.

Christen Clark [00:04:12]:

Wherever the food is, that's what it is.

Molly Sanborn [00:04:14]:

Yeah. She actually got really sad. We saw her in the neighbor's yard and she blew up. So yeah, I think she's getting better food. At some neighbor's house. She probably does. Anyways. Yeah.

Molly Sanborn [00:04:22]:

Enough about the cats. That's great.

Christen Clark [00:04:23]:

I love that. Cats are so fun. Well, I am so excited to have you on the show. I, I found your story on Instagram and instantly was like, oh, this is so fun.

Molly Sanborn [00:04:34]:

Oh.

Christen Clark [00:04:34]:

So I had to get you on the show. So I'm so glad you're here. Would you just introduce yourself to our listeners? Tell us a little bit about who you are and what you do.

Molly Sanborn [00:04:41]:

Yeah. Hey, thanks for having me on. And my name is Molly Sanborn. I am from New Hope, Minnesota. And I am a speaker and author, a homeschool mom of 2 kids who are aged 13 and 11, and the house is quiet right now because they're at their co-op. So this is my time to sneak this in. Awesome. And, and I'm known all around the world as the Cheeseball Chick because I have a mission to bring joy to the world one cheeseball at a time with my cheeseball backpack and dispenser.

Molly Sanborn [00:05:11]:

There it is. So for people who are listening, you maybe wanna describe what you're seeing.

Christen Clark [00:05:15]:

Yes. So if you're watching on YouTube, you're able to see that she has a cheese ball container dispenser, right? And it's a backpack.

Molly Sanborn [00:05:23]:

Yeah.

Christen Clark [00:05:23]:

So you can wear this at all times.

Molly Sanborn [00:05:26]:

Yep.

Christen Clark [00:05:27]:

I love this. So you are the Cheese Ball Chick. How long have you been the Cheese Ball Chick?

Molly Sanborn [00:05:32]:

Oh my goodness. Oh my word. Since 2008.

Christen Clark [00:05:36]:

Okay. 2008. Wow. That's amazing.

Molly Sanborn [00:05:39]:

Yeah.

Christen Clark [00:05:39]:

Okay. Well, I am so excited to talk about this and to hear your story about cheese balls because People listening right now are like, what is happening? But this is gonna be so fun. But before we do that, because this is a show for kids, I always start out with asking my guests to tell me a joke. So what do you got for us today?

Molly Sanborn [00:05:55]:

Okay, so I think your listeners might find this kind of fun. I actually got to be on the TV show Wipeout.

Christen Clark [00:06:02]:

So people can, that's amazing.

Molly Sanborn [00:06:03]:

People can Google my episode. Um, just Google Wizard of Owls, like not Oz, but Owls and Owls.

Christen Clark [00:06:09]:

Okay.

Molly Sanborn [00:06:10]:

And you can get it on Hulu. There's clips on YouTube, Cheeseball Molly on Wipeout anyway. You can see me totally wipe out. I'm gonna spoil it. I did not win $50,000, but I did, I did pretty well. And they did very nice commentary about me. And when I did not advance in the second round to the third round, they zoomed in on my face. I was hanging off a ladder.

Molly Sanborn [00:06:29]:

I was looking so sad. And they said, sorry, cheese ball, it's just nacho day. So there's my joke. Oh, and they also said that I was doing very Gouda, like, or no, they said that's not Gouda, like the cheese.

Christen Clark [00:06:43]:

Like the cheese. That's great.

Molly Sanborn [00:06:44]:

I love that.

Christen Clark [00:06:46]:

Yeah, it's nacho day.

Molly Sanborn [00:06:47]:

Nacho day. Yeah.

Christen Clark [00:06:49]:

Okay, so let's talk about this whole thing with cheese balls. And I love that you have been able to figure out a career where you have combined cheese balls, your passion for cheese balls, and for Jesus. So I wanna hear how these things came together.

Molly Sanborn [00:07:04]:

Yeah, well, it's funny, I was thinking about the name of your podcast Collide. I'm like, it is kind of funny, like cheese balls and Jesus collided, and it is like this beautiful thing. So I need to say from the get-go, I did not wake up one day and say, I'm gonna wear snacks on my back, what should I do? Like this, this happened to me. I truly believe, I mean, I just laugh about it because you'll hear, as you hear the beginning of the story, like I did not make this happen. And so I can see how God had orchestrated this from the beginning. Never envisioned that I would write a book called Cheeseballs for Jesus and that would be my handle on, you know, Cheeseball Chick on social media and yeah. So I was speaking at a youth event in Virginia, and throughout the weekend they were feeding the speakers and the musicians, and they had a big container of cheese balls and it was about halfway empty. At the end of the weekend, they had to clear the room out and throw all the snacks away or repurpose them or give them away.

Molly Sanborn [00:07:55]:

And someone said, hey, Molly, do you wanna bring the cheese balls, like, you know, the big container of cheese balls, uh, back home to Minnesota? And at first I was like, uh, no, they're kind of big and awkward and I like cheese balls, but no thanks. And then I remembered my sister who had 4 young kids at the time had recently asked me to keep my eye out for toy storage containers. So I was like, like, oh, I'm like, I could give her the cheese ball container. So I wasn't even about the cheese balls. Seriously. I just need to get the container home. But I did, you know, I left the cheese balls in there cuz they are a good snack.

Christen Clark [00:08:27]:

Sure.

Molly Sanborn [00:08:27]:

So I'm walking through the airport and I, I have the cheese balls just, just tucked under my arm. There's no backpack or dispenser yet. Right. And everywhere I walked, people would stare at me and then they'd start laughing and smiling. And at first I was like, why are— like embarrassed. Like, is my fly down? Am I trailing toilet paper? Right. And then I realized they're just laughing because it's funny to see a woman carrying a big giant container of cheese balls through the airport.

Christen Clark [00:08:52]:

Right. Through the airport. Yes.

Molly Sanborn [00:08:53]:

Then they get to the security checkpoint. They got to go in their own bin through the X-ray machine. Yeah. They get stalled. The security guard is so confused. Like, what am I seeing on the screen? They come out the other side. They're like, okay, guys, come over here. And all these security guards surround my cheese balls.

Molly Sanborn [00:09:09]:

And I think I'm like, oh, they're just too big. They're going to confiscate them. You can't bring snacks on the plane. They were just laughing and smiling, and it made everyone happy, and they're cracking cheesy jokes. So then I get on the plane, and I'm sitting in my seat holding my cheese balls. And I'm not kidding. I didn't ask for this. All of a sudden, over the intercom, the flight attendant says for the entire airplane to hear, He says, ladies and gentlemen, if any of you're hungry, there's a cheeseball lady with snacks.

Molly Sanborn [00:09:36]:

And then he says my seat number. And I'm like, what? Then I hold up the cheeseballs. Everyone's laughing. It was so fun. Okay. He announces me 2 more times on the flight, like making cheesy jokes. Whoa. The people on either side of me, this is where I know it's a God thing.

Molly Sanborn [00:09:52]:

I didn't try to make this happen. It was just super organic, but the cheeseballs are not organic, just for the record. But the experience was, yes, the people on either side of me started talking to me because of the whole cheese ball thing. Like it broke the ice, it started the conversation, and they said, why do you have cheese balls? And I said, I was just given them at a conference I was speaking at. And then they said, well, what were you speaking about? And I said, Jesus. So it was cheese balls to Jesus in 10 seconds.

Christen Clark [00:10:19]:

Wow.

Molly Sanborn [00:10:20]:

It led to spiritual conversations, Christen, like I, I couldn't believe it. And then in Chicago O'Hare, my connecting flight, people are now recognizing me as the lady with cheese balls, like way removed from the flight. At my next gate, at the next flight, I connect with a young woman because of the cheese ball. She starts talking to me and we end up in a spiritual conversation where she admits to me that she wants to start going back to church again. And I invited her to mine back in Minneapolis and she came. So I was like, Oh my word, cheese balls are bringing the world together.

Christen Clark [00:10:51]:

That's amazing.

Molly Sanborn [00:10:52]:

I told my friends over dinner how cheese balls made everyone laugh and smile. And one of my friends said, you should carry cheese balls around and see how God uses it. And I was like, I didn't see the vision right then. Like, okay, that's kind of big and awkward.

Christen Clark [00:11:06]:

Yeah.

Molly Sanborn [00:11:06]:

But just for fun, I made a duct tape backpack, went with my friend Katie to the mall. Mind you, I'm in my mid-20s at this point. Okay, so.

Christen Clark [00:11:14]:

Okay.

Molly Sanborn [00:11:15]:

I mean, I just think I'm a kid at heart. So I love being on your show. I love, I love kids. I love, I love having fun. Fun inventing things. So I wore my cheese balls to the mall and learned very quickly there's a fine line between being creepy and unique. Okay, so I don't go up to people and be like, eat my snacks. I just wear them like, you know, a purse or a backpack, and people come to you.

Molly Sanborn [00:11:39]:

And so what happened that first day was just so fun. People would say, why do you have cheese balls? And I'd say, just to make you smile and spread joy. Do you want some? And some people did stick their hand in the container But a lot of people said no thank you, but they still loved that I had cheese balls on my back.

Christen Clark [00:11:52]:

Right, right.

Molly Sanborn [00:11:53]:

So that's when I decided I needed to create a sanitary dispensing system.

Christen Clark [00:11:57]:

Dispenser, yes.

Molly Sanborn [00:11:58]:

Where you can eat cheese balls germ-free every time. So they, I, I, it was so fun. I started wearing them everywhere. I wore them on my first date with my husband a month later. And they've been a part of our story ever since, like almost all 50 states, like 7 or 8, 9 countries. And God uses it, and it's just crazy. It's just, I think he picked the cheesiest thing.

Christen Clark [00:12:22]:

Yes, literally.

Molly Sanborn [00:12:24]:

I will use anything to encourage people and draw people to him.

Christen Clark [00:12:27]:

That's incredible. Yes, I saw on your website that you had your cheese ball backpack on your wedding day, like in your dress.

Molly Sanborn [00:12:34]:

We need to clarify though, okay? Okay. I didn't wear it down the aisle.

Christen Clark [00:12:37]:

Okay, good.

Molly Sanborn [00:12:38]:

There are some boundaries. But yes, they for sure made an appearance, definitely.

Christen Clark [00:12:43]:

So tell me a little bit about why this works so well. Like, you know, like it's just cheese balls. So how is this connecting people?

Molly Sanborn [00:12:52]:

Yeah, I mean, good question. Because when I explain the story, people sometimes are still like, like, what is this? What? How? What?

Christen Clark [00:12:58]:

What?

Molly Sanborn [00:12:58]:

So, okay, I was just— I just spoke with my husband at a marriage conference in Ohio. And so we had to fly to and from this conference and I just am wearing my cheese balls through the airport. It's just like a backpack. And I will notice people obviously staring, laughing. And sometimes if it's like, if they're really engaged, I may just turn my back a little and say, do you want a cheese ball? And smile. And then we're just, and then we're talking and they're like, why do you do this? And then I would say, I just wanna make, I wanna make you smile and spread joy and encourage people. Life is hard, you know, we need to laugh more. And then I will just, gauge, kind of, you know, Holy Spirit hopefully helps direct me each time where to go with the conversation, what questions to ask, just kind of, you can kind of tell, you know, if people are open to spiritual things or faith stuff.

Molly Sanborn [00:13:48]:

So I don't always drop the name of Jesus, and it's not always spiritual, but it's always encouraging. But a lot of times it is, and it seems so kind of silly, but there's often a very natural flow into spiritual things because of joy and life being hard. And people relate to needing hope and joy. And so I think walking through the airport or the mall or whatever it is, it catches people by surprise and then they're curious and they start the conversation usually. And so I'm talking with people who want to be engaged and talk. So I met a couple. Sweet Marta and Bob, actually from Virginia, in the airport just 2 days ago. And they always travel with some of my books, Cheeseballs for Jesus, because it's like a great way to share Jesus with people in a non-threatening way, because it's just the first chapter is the cheeseball story and then 14 other God stories.

Molly Sanborn [00:14:45]:

So I'm often giving away books and getting to then stay in touch with people after, which is really cool.

Christen Clark [00:14:52]:

That's amazing. I love that. So you are going around and you're spreading joy by just with cheese balls. And you talked about like, we all need that, especially when times are hard. And the way that I found you was on Instagram, you were sharing your story about your heart surgery.

Molly Sanborn [00:15:08]:

Wow.

Christen Clark [00:15:09]:

Would you just tell us a little bit about that and how God has used even your heart surgery to start conversations about Jesus?

Molly Sanborn [00:15:14]:

Yeah, absolutely. I have found that the waiting rooms in hospitals and clinics, and pre-op rooms, people are so ripe for encouragement and hope because most people are in the hospital because of a reason they wish they didn't have. Mm-hmm. So I had open heart surgery May 27th, this last year, 2025. I actually have a ring here. It's a spinner ring, and my husband gave it to me for my birthday. It says, 5/27/25, I'm alive. And the inside says, for his glory.

Molly Sanborn [00:15:47]:

And that's been my, that's been my theme through my open heart surgery. And then two more unexpected surgeries, unfortunately. The top of my sternum did not heal. They wired it shut. My heart function is doing well, but three months after surgery, the top of the sternum did not come together fully and there was clicking and popping. Ugh. Yeah. And when I'd sneeze, it was like Rice Krispies.

Molly Sanborn [00:16:12]:

Crack, snap, or pop, or whatever. Snap, whatever you say. Like, I feel like that, you know?

Christen Clark [00:16:17]:

Yeah. Shouldn't make that noise.

Molly Sanborn [00:16:18]:

Yeah. Then I had to have another surgery. That's why I'm wearing my titanium shirt because I have 5 titanium plates holding me together and 40 screws in here. So that was an unexpected second surgery, 3 months after open heart surgery. And then 3 weeks after that surgery, I cleared my throat and felt another pop. And had to go back in for a third surgery. And so, yeah, it was tough and it was hard and there was lots of unexpected things and healing was a lot slower than expected. And I'm still in that healing journey.

Molly Sanborn [00:16:51]:

But I felt every time that I was to go to an appointment leading up to surgery and through surgery, that God wanted me to bring my cheese balls. And there were times, believe me, there were times I'm like, no, I don't wanna bring my cheese balls. Like, I am an extrovert, but there's times I just kind of want to like, you know, just be still.

Christen Clark [00:17:11]:

Yeah, to yourself, yeah.

Molly Sanborn [00:17:12]:

But I tell you, every time I obeyed God and brought the cheese balls in, like there were so many special connections and conversations. And I would say too, a person does not need to wear snacks on their back to make connections, right? Like this is my calling from God. God will just use your presence in the waiting room or your silent prayers for people that are sitting next to you. But I definitely got to experience through all these surgeries that God will not waste your pain, and that there is purpose in the pain. And so I think because I went into open-heart surgery with the idea of, God, how do you want to use me? God really gave me a mission to use my pain for a purpose. And I, I share with people all the time now, if you have a pulse, you have a purpose.

Christen Clark [00:18:00]:

That's right.

Molly Sanborn [00:18:01]:

No matter how life is going, whether life is going great or you're, you're finding yourself in a really hard time. So I would have all kinds of encouraging conversations with people in waiting rooms and doctors and nurses. One of those exchanges happened right before my third surgery with a nurse named Jen at Mayo Clinic who was not even my nurse. She came in 'cause she heard there was a patient who had cheese balls and she was from Wisconsin and thought I was a cheesehead too. And so I end up sharing a whole story with her, the cheese balls. I end up giving her a book. My husband caught it on video. It was 3 minutes long.

Molly Sanborn [00:18:35]:

With her permission, we posted it. It went viral. I mean, around the world, 5 million views. I ended up on K-LOVE radio because of it. And I have people from all over the world connecting with me because of the surgery journey, saying that it's encouraged them to, you know, grow in their faith or turn to God or know that they're not alone. And so, yeah, I've just been blown away. God will use anything. He'll use cheese balls, he'll use medical journeys, he'll use whatever we offer up to him.

Christen Clark [00:19:03]:

That's amazing. And that's so true. I think, like you said, there's purpose in the pain. And so when we go through difficult seasons, we think, oh no, like, God can't do anything with this, like, I just have to suffer through it. But God uses our suffering, he uses those things in our life to grow us, to make us better, and to reach other people, which is what you've been able to do. So I love that. And I love that it's not because you're a great theologian. I mean, you might be, you might have a lot of biblical training and all that, but it's just because you're carrying around snacks on your back, right? Yeah.

Molly Sanborn [00:19:34]:

And, and people just, people crave authenticity, right? And genuineness. And so for me, you know, I told you the backstory, it's the cheeseball thing isn't like a shtick. It's not like, hey, I'm gonna do this so that I can be noticed, so that I can somehow advance as a speaker and author. Like, It's just a part of my calling. Mm-hmm. And it's been, it's been super fun to see how God will use it.

Christen Clark [00:20:00]:

So do you wear it every day or is it just once in a while?

Molly Sanborn [00:20:03]:

So definitely when this whole thing started and pre-kids, like, um, I would say, let's see, I started carrying cheese balls when I was 27, 26, I was 26, had our first kid at 30. And then, you know, had my son shortly after, 19 months later. And so when life got busy as a mom and I'm carrying around babies and bottles and all the things.

Christen Clark [00:20:26]:

You're strapping on cheese balls.

Molly Sanborn [00:20:27]:

Yeah, but I would say for a solid 5 years, I literally did wear it everywhere I went, and it was hilarious and so fun. And now I would say, because of my priorities in life, and my kids need to know they are prioritized over cheese balls, although they love my cheese balls, like they wanna eat them all the time. I don't wear them everywhere like anymore, but anytime I travel or speak, or if there's a fun sporting event, or I mean, I do wear them quite a bit.

Christen Clark [00:20:53]:

Yeah, definitely. When you have babies, it's, it's really hard to do anything but just, you know, tend to the babies.

Molly Sanborn [00:21:00]:

Right, right.

Christen Clark [00:21:02]:

And so how did you create the, the backpack and the dispenser? Is that something that you put together or did you have it made somewhere?

Molly Sanborn [00:21:09]:

When I decided that I wanted to do the sanitary dispensing system, my brother, which I appreciate so much. Thank you. I know this was pre-COVID, like I was way ahead. You are.

Christen Clark [00:21:20]:

Yes.

Molly Sanborn [00:21:21]:

People appreciate that. So my brother who was in law school at the time and just a couple years older than me, so in his late 20s, he was all into this idea too. And, and so we kind of put our heads together. We went to Home Depot and we had all these ideas. Like we knew we needed to have some kind of like pole dispenser PVC pipe thing, but we're standing in the PVC pipe aisle and we're like not quite sure how to make this happen. We have ideas. And a Home Depot worker, Jim, with a bushy beard and the orange apron, like just as he should, comes up and says, how can I help you?

Christen Clark [00:21:54]:

And you're like, oh, get ready.

Molly Sanborn [00:21:55]:

I know, I'm holding my cheese ball container. I'm like, well, Jim, we need to create a sanitary dispensing system. And he loved it and he ran with it. And so the three of us put our heads together and literally I walked out. He even pulled out the tools right there in Home Depot. I walked out of Home Depot with the first, like, prototype of the dispenser.

Christen Clark [00:22:15]:

Wow.

Molly Sanborn [00:22:16]:

And almost 20 years later, Jim and I are still friends. He's been out to our house for dinner multiple times. I write about him in the first chapter of my book and got his permission to share everything. It's a really, really special relationship with him. And then the backpack I originally made out of duct tape, but then I was wearing my cheese balls around at the Minnesota State Fair early on in this whole cheese ball journey. And I walked past a booth and the booth was a backpack company and they called me over. They're like, whoa, whoa, whoa. This is often how it goes.

Molly Sanborn [00:22:45]:

Come back here. What is that all about? And so I do my spiel, you know, wanna spread joy, encourage people. And they said, oh, we can get you something way better than duct tape. And so they volunteered like to make for free a fitted container. It's got padding on it. It's adjustable.

Christen Clark [00:23:03]:

Nice.

Molly Sanborn [00:23:04]:

And, um, it says Battle Lake Outdoors. It turns out that company actually was only 30 minutes from our house in central Minnesota. And so that was a fun little connection as well.

Christen Clark [00:23:14]:

That is amazing. You know, it makes me think of, I have this Bible verse on my wall and it's from Isaiah, but the, the paraphrase for the verse is God equips who he has called. And so I think that's true in your story where like you didn't have to have all the details and all the little things like God just sent the right people. In your path to help you with just carrying your cheese balls?

Molly Sanborn [00:23:37]:

Absolutely. Yeah, 100%. And I think it was just the, just taking the next step, right? In any calling, we, God is not going to show us the whole big picture. I think had God showed me that I was going to wear cheese balls for, you know, pushing 20 years, I may have been like, no thank you.

Christen Clark [00:23:54]:

Yeah.

Molly Sanborn [00:23:55]:

But then as I just took each next step, you know, it makes me think of a story when I, it was one of my appointments with my MRI. I had to have pre-surgery and I, it was an early morning appointment. I was gonna be at the hospital for 4 hours and I was crabby. I was running late to my appointment, not a morning person, had to use valet and, and kind of cheap. I wanted to park on the street and walk, but I didn't have time. And as I pull into the front of the hospital, I give the valet my keys and I'm like rushing into the door and I, I see the cheeseball container in the backseat of the minivan and I pass it. I'm like, no, not today.

Christen Clark [00:24:30]:

Yeah.

Molly Sanborn [00:24:31]:

And as I walk in the door, I'm not kidding, I'm guessing maybe most people haven't heard the Holy Spirit say, bring the cheese balls, but I did. It was like, yeah, this still small voice, just like not an audible voice, but I knew I was supposed to bring the cheese balls. And I ignored that voice and I walked into the hospital and then the voice continued, thank you God for being persistent when we don't listen right away. And after the third time I was like, fine. So I like have to run after the minivan who's nearly pulling away. Grabbed the cheese balls, was super crabby, brought it to my appointment, stuffed them under the chair, didn't want to talk to anybody. And then God revealed to me that I had a really bad attitude and I should probably ask him for help. So I just shot the quickest prayer up to God.

Molly Sanborn [00:25:14]:

I said, God, I'm so sorry. I'm super grumpy. Please forgive me and help me be on your agenda today. Basically, it's just something like that.

Christen Clark [00:25:21]:

Yeah.

Molly Sanborn [00:25:22]:

And I, I can't go— I mean, we don't have time. It would take forever to tell you all the details of what happened, but God turned my attitude around. I ended up having the most significant conversations with 6 different people that day, from MRI techs to people in the waiting room to the guy, uh, Victor, who drew my blood and was crying as he drew my blood because he said he felt like he was at church as I was sharing this story with him.

Christen Clark [00:25:47]:

Wow.

Molly Sanborn [00:25:48]:

And I just think how God is so gracious, right, to give us second chances and third chances to get on his agenda. And that it's sometimes it's us missing out on the blessing if we don't obey. But also I think of all the connections I made. I'm still in contact. This was several years ago. I'm still in contact with every single one of those 6 people. 2 of the ladies in the waiting room invited me and my family to Golden Corral. We met cheese balls.

Molly Sanborn [00:26:15]:

So yeah, God will use anything and everything.

Christen Clark [00:26:18]:

That's so true. And I love that you shared that you didn't have the best attitude, but you still did it. It might have taken a few promptings, but you still went through with it, and God still was able to use that because he has a plan. And so sometimes our calling, we don't get to put the things down that God is asking us to do just because we're in pain or because we're going through a crisis. We still have to serve him. And it's not because it's for us to just spend all of ourselves out, but for him to be able to use all of those situations for his glory. So I love that you got to do that. So are you just super passionate about cheese balls? Like, do you have like stacks and stacks of cheese ball containers at your house?

Molly Sanborn [00:26:59]:

I do have several in the garage right now and, uh, in my living room. I've been given— I don't know if you've seen it, it's so cute. People keep giving me these mini cheese ball barrel ornaments. And it's so cute because— I'll just grab it. Hang on.

Christen Clark [00:27:12]:

Okay. Yes, let's see it.

Molly Sanborn [00:27:13]:

Okay. So we don't have our Christmas tree up anymore, but I still put these out. So this one says, be a cheese baller. This one is Tubbo Cheese Balls. So it's so— I literally, I wanna keep getting them as gifts. In fact, I have to have people write their names on the bottom so I know who gave me what. So people will like give me them. And it's kind of cute because they think they're the first people that—

Christen Clark [00:27:35]:

Yeah.

Molly Sanborn [00:27:36]:

I have like 10 to 12 of these, but I want more.

Christen Clark [00:27:38]:

You're going to have a whole tree. You can do a whole cheese ball tree.

Molly Sanborn [00:27:41]:

That's exactly right. I'm working toward that. Yeah. That's awesome. And I do love— I love cheese balls. They taste yummy, but it's more about what they do, you know, when you wear them out. That is, of course, why I keep doing it.

Christen Clark [00:27:53]:

That's amazing. You need to attach little, like, dispensers to your ornaments, you know, like make them. Yes.

Molly Sanborn [00:27:59]:

That's a— yes, that's a great idea.

Christen Clark [00:28:00]:

There you go.

Molly Sanborn [00:28:01]:

Yeah, I like that.

Christen Clark [00:28:02]:

Well, Molly, this has been so fun. I've loved hearing your story, and I so appreciate that you are, are doing this. And tell us more about your book. Where can our listeners find out about your book?

Molly Sanborn [00:28:12]:

Oh yeah, so it's on Amazon. It's anywhere books are sold. I also have an audiobook, and it's my voice. So if you'd like to hear me tell my stories, you can do that. There's also ebook. So it's called Cheeseballs for Jesus: Funny Faith-Filled Stories to Encourage and Inspire And the whole book is not all about cheeseballs. Chapter 1 is the cheeseball story with tons more details and stories than I got to tell you. And then there's 14 more what I call God stories that are fun and faith-filled, but also really do go deep.

Molly Sanborn [00:28:42]:

There's topics I cover like anxiety, and when I dealt with jealousy, and one time when I nearly died in a boat sinking.

Christen Clark [00:28:52]:

Oh, wow.

Molly Sanborn [00:28:53]:

Yeah, but it's actually very humorous as well. So people have described my book like chicken soup for the soul, cheesy version.

Christen Clark [00:29:01]:

So I love that.

Molly Sanborn [00:29:02]:

And I wrote it for all ages. I've heard families do it together as devotionals because I have little devotional thoughts at the end of every chapter, a prayer, a scripture, and then kind of a takeaway. Lots of women do it as book clubs, I've heard.

Christen Clark [00:29:15]:

That's awesome.

Molly Sanborn [00:29:16]:

And teens read it on their own, women, men.

Christen Clark [00:29:18]:

So yes, and I would imagine you would need to have some cheese balls as you read it, right?

Molly Sanborn [00:29:23]:

Oh, definitely. That makes it more enjoyable for sure.

Christen Clark [00:29:25]:

Right. Yes. It's one of those things like if you're reading a lot about that, you're gonna need that snack as you read.

Molly Sanborn [00:29:30]:

So, yes. Yes.

Christen Clark [00:29:32]:

Well, thank you so much for doing this today. Before I let you go, I always ask my guests to tell me a memory from when they were a kid.

Molly Sanborn [00:29:38]:

Yeah.

Christen Clark [00:29:38]:

So what memory do you wanna share with us today?

Molly Sanborn [00:29:40]:

Thank you for giving me the heads up. So I ran down to my basement and I actually got this big heavy container. Oh my goodness. This is all my journals from— Wow. Well, from my life, but primarily from when I was a teenager. So I started journaling prayers to Jesus when I was 12. And I have to say, I'll read an excerpt, but I would have to say that my relationship with God that I built as a kid just has been so foundational. So I would love to encourage all of you kids and anyone of any age to invest first and foremost in getting to know Jesus and being open and honest with him.

Molly Sanborn [00:30:19]:

Okay, I'm gonna get super vulnerable here. Are you ready?

Christen Clark [00:30:22]:

I love this. I'm so excited.

Molly Sanborn [00:30:24]:

Okay, this was from October 20th, 1994. I was 12 years old. I was at camp and I said, "Dear Jesus, guess what?" Like, God's like, "What, Molly?" And then I said, "Justin isn't here. I'm so sad." I liked Justin, okay? I had a crush on him. But then I said, "Tony isn't either." Okay, so I guess I had two boys at once. Anyways, and then I told God, I said, You know how I'm disappointed in a bunch of stuff, like the situation with cabins, friends, counselors, and stuff. Please help it all work out and everything. I trust you will.

Molly Sanborn [00:30:55]:

So I'm telling God, like, I'm having a bad time. Please help. Then I wrote, please help my shorts dry out and not smell by tomorrow. And in parentheses I said, you know what happened. Oh no. Seriously, Christen, I think it was so traumatic I blocked it out.

Christen Clark [00:31:13]:

You blocked it out?

Molly Sanborn [00:31:13]:

Did I pee in my pants? Did I scare someone? Oh no! I don't know, but I share that. I wanna share that as my memory because God cares so much about what we care about. Yes. And there is nothing too insignificant that God doesn't wanna hear from you on. And so whatever it is—

Christen Clark [00:31:32]:

That's so true.

Molly Sanborn [00:31:33]:

If it's a big, big, big thing, or if it's you just want your shorts to dry out, you know, and not smell by tomorrow, talk to God about it.

Christen Clark [00:31:41]:

Yes.

Molly Sanborn [00:31:41]:

I've gone through, I have like, praying about zits and pimples and telling God, there's been a zit that's been there for a week and a half. Please help it go away. You know?

Christen Clark [00:31:49]:

Yeah.

Molly Sanborn [00:31:50]:

So anyway, that's—

Christen Clark [00:31:51]:

I love that so much. I love— and I love that you can't remember what happened.

Molly Sanborn [00:31:56]:

I don't. I don't remember.

Christen Clark [00:31:57]:

But the Lord knows. And you said that, you know what happened.

Molly Sanborn [00:32:00]:

And I survived. I made it.

Christen Clark [00:32:01]:

That's right. You're still here. You're still here. So that's incredible. Thank you for sharing that. That's so good. Well, thank you so much for being on the show today. And I, I'm going to encourage our listeners to check out your website and check out your book.

Christen Clark [00:32:15]:

I think that would be so encouraging for them. So thank you again for being here today.

Molly Sanborn [00:32:19]:

Yeah, thanks, Christen, for having me.

Christen Clark [00:32:30]:

Okay, I love so much that she shared her journal entries from when she was younger. That's so fun and so true. She said that God cares about the things that we care about, no matter how big or how small. I love that. Isn't it amazing how God can use something as simple and fun as cheese balls to spread joy and to start conversations about God and share the gospel? I think that's incredible. And God can also use something serious and life-changing, like Molly's heart surgery. She was able to have opportunities to share encouragement with people in those waiting rooms and those doctors and nurses, people that needed hope. I also really loved the theme that she had, the reminder she carried on her ring that says, "I am alive." for His glory.

Christen Clark [00:33:14]:

She said, "If you have a pulse, you have a purpose." Even if you're going through a hard time, or you have a difficult story, or you are in a situation where you don't know what your purpose is, if you're alive, you still have a purpose, and there's purpose in the pain. So just keep being open and allow God to use you in whatever circumstances, whether it's cheese balls, or sports, or heart surgery, or whatever, God can use you. And Molly also said God is not always going to show us the whole big picture, so we just need to keep taking that next step and following God, and he will use us to do what he wants to do in our lives. Amazing. Well, if you'd like to learn more about her book and see all the amazing videos we talked about today, like her experience on Wipeout, go to her website, CraigandMolly.com. We'll be sure to have that in the show notes. And you guys, be sure to watch this episode on the Collide Kids Podcast YouTube channel, if nothing else, just to see her cat, Dr Pepper, try to take over the interview at the very beginning. It was my favorite start to an interview ever.

Christen Clark [00:34:21]:

Well, thank you guys so much for listening today. As we wrap up, my prayer for you is that something from this conversation sticks with you today. I hope you remember that nothing is is too big or too small for God, and that if you have a pulse, you have a purpose. Remember this: God loves you so much, and he is walking with you right where you are. If you love today's episode, share it with a friend and follow us on social media at Collide Kids Pod so you don't miss what's next. You can find more episodes and resources at collidekidspodcast.com and leave a quick rating and review. That really helps other families find out about the show. Thanks so much for being a part of the Collide Kids podcast.

Christen Clark [00:35:02]:

And in case no one has told you today, God loves you so much. See you next time.