The Diary of a Discarded Daughter - Redeeming a Painful Past
Welcome to the Diary of a Discarded Daughter (formerly titled "The Chronicles of the Christian Drama Queen") Diary of a Discarded Daughter is hosted by Lisa Schafer—a woman who has walked through forty years of abandonment, childhood s**ual abuse, and the long, messy road to healing.
This podcast takes a raw, authentic, heartfelt, and often humorous look at the deep wounds left by being unprotected, unloved, and unwanted. Abandoned and abused as a child, Lisa Schafer, Founder of Christian Drama Queen Solutions, shares the wounds that shaped her choices, her faith, and her understanding of God, as well as the healing and redemption Jesus gave her during her 40-year search for answers to painful questions. If you’ve ever struggled to "let go" of trauma or wrestled with bitterness, Lisa offers a seat at the table.
Through candid conversations, spiritual insights, and her signature wit (often at her own expense), Lisa creates a space for women to dig deeper into their walk with Jesus. Whether you're drowning in past pain or just beginning to confront it, she offers encouragement, truth, and an open invitation to get real about the hard stuff—without shame.
Lisa Schafer is the author of two Bible studies on forgiveness:
📖 DISCARDED – A Daughter’s Journey to Reclaim Freedom and Forgive the Father Who Left Her Behind
📖 The Christian Victim’s Guide to Forgiving the Unforgivable
(Both available on Amazon.)
Please note: Lisa is not a licensed counselor, pastor, or mental health professional. She strongly encourages listeners to seek professional care when needed.
Subscribe, follow, rate, and share—because someone you love may need to hear what you're hearing.
Episodes
59 episodes
Rage and How the Discarded Must Deal with it. 072525
What a surprise to find out (during what was supposed to be the happiest time of my life, welcoming our new baby into the world) that I had terrible thoughts of rage, abuse and despair. But that's how many of us tossed aside or abused at a youn...
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17:39
Finding Intimacy with a Heavenly Father You Don't Trust
Discarded Daughters struggle to see their Heavenly Father honestly, as protector and provider, as a safe place to run and hide. And make no mistake, good works and Christian activity are suppose to be a response to an intimate walk with the Lor...
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18:37
Father's Day is Painful for the Discarded Daughter - How the CDQ "Celebrates."
Forgiven is NOT the Same as ForgottenI love being in fellowship with other believers. I love worshipping in song and praising Jesus with all my heart. So—I DO attend church. But some days are just harder than others. And for Discarde...
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21:06
Interview with Aliese Halcomb from The Peaceful Mompreneur - Balance, Blessing and Business
If you feel called of God to ministry or business and still need to keep it "all together" on the home front, then this is the episode for you! Aliese is one of the first guests I've brought to the Chronicles of the Christian Drama Queen Podcas...
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30:02
Forgiving the Unforgivable Guest Spot on Tapestry Network Wove-In Wednesdays
A few months ago, I was invited to share the Forgiving the Unforgivable subject on Tapestry Ministry Network with Stephanie Morin Sherwood during their live Facebook group broadcast called Woven In Wednesdays. It's a bit longer than my usual br...
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30:06
Is It Really Okay for Us To Walk Away? Cutting People Out - What Would Jesus Do?
Lisa never claims to have all the answers. This became abundantly clear when she read through someone else's post on Facebook, expressing their comfort with cutting someone out of their life. We all deal with toxic relationships, and have proba...
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13:40
Part 4 - What Keeps YOU Up at Night - Are You Worthy? A Surprising Answer
Scripture has provided a resounding "NO!" in answer to the questions of whether we are unloved or unwanted (see parts 2 & 3 of this series). But what about the question of whether we are worthy? Deserving blessing? When feelings of unworthi...
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17:50
Pt. 3 - What Keeps You Up at Night? Feeling UNWANTED
This is part III of the series I'm doing regarding the emotional baggage that keeps Christian Drama Queens like me, abandoned and recovering from childhood trauma, awake at night. Am I as unwanted as I've convinced myself I am? Where is God on ...
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19:15
Can You Homeschool? SHOULD You? The CDQ Was Interviewed Re: Her 25 Year HS Journey
This episode is a little longer and a little different from Lisa's typical Drama Queen excursions. This week Lisa talks about her 25 years as a homeschooling mom. What led her to do it? Was God really calling her to the chaos and blessing of ho...
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34:44
Sometimes the CDQ Says, "Yes," for All The Wrong Reasons
Discarded Daughters struggle with the desire to be needed, wanted, loved, accepted...and often don't turn down opportunities to put out someone else's fire, when deep down they know they should. In this episode, Lisa shares her heartbreak over ...
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15:29
Embracing Your "Muchness" - How the Enemy Wants to Shut YOU Up!
In this episode, Lisa recounts the weekend retreat when the enemy spent an inordinate amount of time trying to keep her quiet and convincing her that only "church mouse" personalities can truly be called by God to deliver His message. Discover ...
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14:27
Part 2-What Keeps YOU Up @ Night? - The CDQ's Emotional Bondage-Feeling Unloved
The is the second episode in the series, What Keeps YOU Up @ Night? - The CDQ's Bible Study Through Emotional Bondage. In this episode, Lisa gives the Biblical ammunition to fight the deception many traumatized women believe; "No...
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14:39
Pt. 1 - What Keeps YOU Up at Night? The Christian Drama Queen's Emotional Bondage
In this episode, Lisa shares a list of emotional bondage that haunts most all Christians at some point in time. They carry guilt, doubt, self-loathing, pain from a traumatic past, lack of trust in a God they've claimed to be devoted to, and mor...
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13:45
Am I Entrepreneur Material? A workshop preparing those who plan to build a business
When I decided to be a WAHM, I really didn't have any idea what I was getting myself into. This is a recording of the Work-At-Home workshop I offer on my YouTube channel. If you're hoping to build a business from home, there are many things you...
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27:05
About the Babies We Lost - The Christian Drama Queen Mourns the Adoptions That Fell Through
Recently I've been doing a lot of grief "counseling" with women burdened by loss. And it's brought up some painful memories of my own. In this episode, I share the stories of children we fell in love with but were never allowed to parent. Aside...
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19:31
Fight the Urge to Comfort and Just Allow The Grieving to Suffer
I know it may sound completely counterintuitive to NOT comfort those who are grieving, but hear me out. In this episode, Lisa shares her own thoughts regarding the way Believers tend to step on the grief of others with more "comfort" than they ...
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13:27
God's Blindness And Your Idolatry - Confessing and Letting Go
Drama Queens like to play the victim. Doesn't matter if they're Christian or not. Their pain and suffering has to be bigger and more horrendous than anyone's in the room. What's the damage done by hanging onto their trauma? And, once the convic...
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10:46
Rejecting Jesus in the Name of "Freedom" - How Long Will You Wait?
In this episode, Lisa shares the story of a rich man who thought more of his independence and wealth than his eternal soul, and asks the question: Is Jesus just your Savior? Or have you really made Him Lord of your life? And what are you waitin...
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12:51
Don't I Have the RIGHT to be Bitter?
Lisa would never imply that victims don't have the right to feel the pain they're experiencing. After all, she struggled herself for over 40 years to understand God had a plan and a purpose for the suffering in her past. But most victims don't ...
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11:59
How the Brokenhearted Respond to Pain OR WWJD?
No matter who you are, everyone has felt slighted, ignored, uncherished and unappreciated at some point. How long should you sit feeling sorry for yourself; on the pitty pot, so to speak? Even if your feelings are justified, is there a better…m...
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16:46
Pretending Bitterness is Next to Godliness? Sister, Take Care of Your Bidness!
In this episode, Lisa makes no bones about how broken victims need to quit believing they have a right to feel bitter and vengeful. Although a victim herself, she's not saying she knows how every victim feels after being abused, victimized, lef...
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13:54
The Holy Spirit Forced My Hand - The CDQ Tried to Run Like Jonah but Had to Deal With Her Bitterness
If you listened to the episode published recently regarding Lisa's "church hurt" and her struggle to forgive those who call themselves, "Believers," you won't want to miss this episode; a part two, if you will. The Christian Drama Queen thought...
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13:02
Bullying in the Life of The Christian Drama Queen, and How She Accidentally Got Even.
In this episode, Lisa shares the pain she experienced as a ten-year-old shrinking violet and how her earlier victimization at the hands of a child molester kept her feeling small and unprotected, to the point she allowed herself to be victimize...
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15:25
The Ugly Green Headed Monster: Envy in the Life of the Christian Drama Queen
Comparison is the Death of Contentment - In this episode, the Christian Drama Queen admits that she not only envies others and the way God blesses them, but she even judges them and compares her "want" to their blessings. But ho...
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12:25
Let's Talk About Those Who Are "Church Hurt." Yep! This Christian Drama Queen Shares the Trauma of Being Hurt By "The Brethren."
Lisa admits in this episode that it seems to be much harder to forgive the believers who've hurt her than the pagans who have no idea what charity looks like. You might be surprised how much church hurt is floating around out there. And who's s...
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19:51