When God Gives You an IMPOSSIBLE Mission: Kate Rose Lee

Join us on this inspiring episode of Walking with the Savior where we dive into the extraordinary journey of Kate Lee. Have you ever felt a divine calling yet doubted your ability to fulfill it? Today, Kate shares her incredible story of how she was moved by the Spirit to write about Brandon Sulser's miraculous survival through four near-fatal accidents. Despite feeling inadequate and overwhelmed, Kate’s faith and perseverance led to a powerful testimony of spiritual experiences. From reconnecting with high school friend Brandon, overcoming personal struggles, to witnessing divine guidance in her writing process, Kate's journey is a testament to the miracles that happen when we follow God's call. Tune in to hear how God used Kate to tell Brandon's story and the unexpected blessings that followed. You won't want to miss this heartfelt episode filled with faith, resilience, and divine intervention.

Kate & Brandon's book: https://amzn.to/40T6ntm
Brandon's coaching: https://pressforwardcoaching.com/
Heroic - the App to change the way you live: https://www.heroic.us/go/basic?fpr=beahero2day
Info on starting a podcast: https://www.skool.com/signup?ref=950c06e705ac4921b4af24c7dd5940a8

Watch on Youtube

00:00 High School Connections and Reconnecting with Brandon
03:21 The Decision to Write Brandon's Story
05:14 Challenges and Divine Guidance in Writing
08:29 Kate's Writing Journey and Personal Struggles
19:55 Organizing Brandon's Story
24:54 The Importance of Authenticity
26:25 Brandon's Struggles and Resilience
27:55 The Power of Broken Things
32:15 Finding Purpose and Overcoming Doubts
34:36 The Journey of Faith and Writing
36:48 Personal Growth and Reflection
40:31 Concluding Thoughts and Gratitude

Transcript

0:00

Have you ever felt like you were called to do something by God, but in the back of your mind, you're like, no way. I don't have the time, the energy, the money, the means, the know how. I just can't do it. But yet you feel that nudge to do this. From the spirit telling you, Hey, this is what I need you to do. Today. Kate Lee joins us to tell her story of writing the book, about Brandon Sulcer's life. Now, Brandon Sulcer was on last week and he shared his story of four tragic accidents that nearly killed him, well, he lived to tell his story and Kate Lee felt inspired. And impressed by the spirit to write that story with the help of Brandon. The only problem is Kate didn't feel like a great writer and didn't feel like she had the time, didn't feel like she had the means, but God pushed her to do something great. Now tune in to listen to the story of Kate Lee and how God used her and inspired her and led to many powerful spiritual experiences as she took this journey and walk with the Savior.

john_1_02-12-2025_162732: 1:01

Kate. I know you wrote Brandon's book and we've already talked about that. How did you get To collaborate with Brandon. How did you set that up and how did that come to be?

kate_1_02-12-2025_162732: 1:11

So, um, Brandon and I actually went to high school together and his little brother Bronson and I graduated the same year and my husband, all three of us graduated the same year. And then Brandon was a year older is a year older than Bronson. And so I kind of got to know him a little bit my senior year, all of our senior years. And then, we, my best friend and I did a group date. invited Brandon as one of the guys to be a part of the dates. We got to know him better that night. then that actually was, I think, the end, like three weeks before the end of his senior year in my junior year. So it was actually just a few weeks, maybe a month before one of his accidents that he had gone through right before he became paralyzed. And, um, so we kind of had that meeting there and then my friend and I would come visit him over the years and see him and then many years later, um, I was working at out at the gym and I saw Bronson who's my age and just was asking, how's Brandon doing? What's new? And anyway, Bronson happened to mention that Brandon had been through. Multiple other accents. I had only been aware that, you know, of his accent where he became paralyzed. And so I was shocked that I had not heard of any of these, especially since we had all lived in the same city our whole lives. so after he, Bronson was telling me about this, I was like, we've got to have Brandon come speak to some of our young men and young women in our church. I worked with young women at the time. And so, um, He said, yeah, gave me his number. And Brandon came and spoke. And as he was speaking, just thought, how has nobody written this into a book? This is incredible. And I was blown away by his experiences. It was just nothing like anyone else has gone through. so anyway, that's how we got reconnected. And I think that was like 15 years after high school, I want to say. And so as he was speaking, um, I just kept thinking someone has got to tell the story. Someone has got to tell a story. funny thing at that time is I have way too much on my plate, which tends to be the case with me all the time, but, I had already written two books, three books that hadn't really gone anywhere. I'd had big opportunities, but they hadn't gone anywhere. And a screenplay. And so the last thing I wanted was to be rejected again. And, um, but I just, someone had to write it. And so I talked to him after and said, this was fantastic. And then I just said, Brandon, who's, has anybody ever approached you to write your story? And he was like, ah, kind of like their somebody was trying to help me. And then it just didn't really pan out. And anyway, and I. myself saying without even realizing and just saying, Hey, well, I don't know if you know this, but I've written a few books and I'm certainly not the best person, best writer in the world. But if you have no one else, like almost trying to talk him out of it, but like. Incompelled to offer. So I was like, if you have someone else, awesome, totally go with them. If you don't, like, I would love to help you. This story needs to be told. so then I left and literally walked across the street to my house from the church and was like, I'm an idiot. I'm an idiot. Why did I do that? Why did I do that? Just, Over and over got home, told my husband. He's like, why did you do that? Why did you do that? Why did you do that? He's like, you do not have the time for this. I'm like. I don't know. I hope he doesn't call. Do I write him back? Do I tell him? No, it's not me this whole conversation. And anyway, I get a text from him probably the next day. And it's like, so where do we begin? Let's do this. And I was like, oh, crap. But because I knew what this entailed, like I knew every book that I've written has been a two year process at least is. And it's not a two year part time process. It's a two year full time process. And I'm of four kids. And so it entails me writing sometimes at three in the morning or waking up or not going to bed because you write when, when you're inspired. And sometimes that's me getting up and going, um, Okay, I have another chapter I got to write and, or it's during nap times or, but it's not convenient it's hard when you're a mom of little kids. And then of course there was being rejected, adding that to it that I was like, uh, I don't want to be the reason that his story doesn't go somewhere, it just felt so right. It just, I knew I needed to do it. And the other element of it was that I knew him. I knew him not crazy well, but I knew him well enough. I knew the city we both grew up in. the areas where he was hurt. It just made sense. And so it just made sense. And that's, so we started the process, the very long two year process.

john_1_02-12-2025_162732: 6:28

I feel like that's the way God is. You read the scriptures and it's like, God asked people to do impossible things. And he never asked at the convenient time. Right? I mean, Peter at the shores of Galilee. It's like, you know, they're not catching anything and then Jesus comes out there and they catch this boatload of fish, you know this Dream catch for a fisherman all that you'd ever want as a fisherman two boats load so much that it's about to sink both boats And at that moment Jesus like yeah, come follow me Leave it off. It's like, what right now? I just got what I dreamed of and now you want me to leave it. And I think in your situation, it's like, maybe you weren't live leaving behind what you dreamed of, but you're like, this is not a good time. This is not a good time. So as we're talking today, I want to talk about this. God asked us to do these impossible things, slay giants, build boats, um, you know, make incredible journeys, raise families for today.

kate_1_02-12-2025_162732: 7:39

Yeah. Yeah.

john_1_02-12-2025_162732: 7:44

crazy health challenges and, and sometimes we get the message in church, church speak that we get Jesus Christ and then it all gets easy. Let's get real. Sometimes Jesus Christ asks us to do very, very, very difficult things. And sometimes the timing doesn't make sense. I believe he helps us in that journey. To climb those mountains and to slay the giants So as you look back in your experience and you took on this incredible task, which sounds like Overwhelming to be honest to your writing journey

kate_1_02-12-2025_162732: 8:29

Yeah,

john_1_02-12-2025_162732: 8:29

along the way. How do you feel like the savior? Can you give us some feel of some moments or some times where you felt like the savior showed up and helped you? To be a better writer to help you publish this book, etc, etc, etc.

kate_1_02-12-2025_162732: 8:42

absolutely. So I'm going to give a really quick background and then I'm going to answer that because I love what you just said about having these heat like the fish. That was the perfect analogy. had never thought about that until you just said that, but he gave them the best thing they in a worldly sense that they could want wanted. That was so purposeful. That's so the savior, right? And then it was like, now, follow me.

john_1_02-12-2025_162732: 9:08

Yeah, wait

kate_1_02-12-2025_162732: 9:09

amazing. like, okay, you just won 5 million in lottery. Now give it all away. Like, but it is so Jesus, right. But so hard and human. So I love that you said that. So. Really brief background for me. I did not study writing in college. I was gonna be a journalist I thought I wanted to because my whole life I was a storyteller i'm the ninth of 10 kids Everyone was like you're a storyteller. You're a storyteller. So I was gonna do journalism. Well, i'm terrible. I was terrible english. I'm, okay now But um, I can tell a great story. I'm, not a good editor. But um Anyway, I was even in this journalism class at Utah State, and the teacher every week would use a story, an example that we had written for good, like a good example, and then an example for bad, like, don't do this. I kid you not, every single week, I was the bad example for the entire semester.

john_1_02-12-2025_162732: 10:03

No,

kate_1_02-12-2025_162732: 10:04

Until the last, until the last paper I wrote, which my dad had written with me. so and then he was like so proud, the teacher like, you got it fine. I'm like, no, my dad wrote it. Like, so anyway, I was not a writer. In any sense, but I could tell a story and I always felt the spirit really strong in me. And I had a way of being able to convey my feelings, hopefully in a real world sense. And so I had that, but there was this hurdle of like, but you're not a writer. So one day. I start having the thought to write down my family stories, funny stories of growing up in my family of 12, right? Like my mom one time wanted to sacrifice a lamb in our suburban backyard for Easter and have us like raise it for a year and then sacrifice it. That's not normal, nor is it okay. Right? So we didn't, needless to say, but I had all these funny stories. Funny hilarious stories. My mother's this fanatical wonderful religious woman that took it a little too far sometimes So I wrote them in this book and just for my family Well, they started really gaining traction people thought they were hilarious these different stories We'd act out the donner party We'd go for these family nights and my parents would have us hike this mountain give us a little Tablespoon of wheat for dinner and we'd be the pioneers. We were like, oh my gosh You But they were always trying to get us to build our testimonies and like know what these people went through. And it was awesome. Like we learned about Black History Month and the Civil War and all these things. They tried to really imbue with us like this love of different things and knowledge of what people went through. So even though it was kind of nuts at times, it was also super effective too. I mean, I remember watching Glory, you know, as a 12 year old, which is scary, it was edited, but. Knowing things as a 12 year old that other people didn't know and crying watching that story and so I did have this Story in me that I loved and so I started writing these stories and people Read them and it got bigger and bigger and I heard people in the grocery store telling one time a story of mine In front of me and then one time I was in a restaurant and I heard a girl telling a story and I was like Oh my gosh, like, but it kind of made me think like, I a writer? Like, do I have something to share? it was just interesting. So I did that book, wrote it for my family, didn't go anywhere, but people, people read it. Well then like a couple years later, all of a sudden this suspense thriller idea comes to me. And I'm like, know how to write a suspense thriller. I don't know how to write a book. It's one thing to write your own stories, but I don't, I don't know, but it would not leave. And I knew an ending and a beginning and a middle. And I just sat down and I Googled, how do you write a book? And I put chapter one and I started writing and this book after like two years came together and it was pretty good. And then I started sending it to agents thinking I was going to get published, right? And I just rejected, rejected, rejected hundreds of rejections. And then a couple of them were really kind and were like, Hey, so this is like half the size of what a book should be. And you need to go to some writer's conference and You have potential, but it was good for me. And I was like, okay, so I did some more and made it the length and it still didn't go anywhere. Well, then a couple of years later, another idea, the suspense thriller comes from, and I'm like, Oh my heavens, I am not doing this again. This will be my third book. But then I'd heard things that people that it took like three books to go somewhere. And more importantly, I just couldn't get it out of my mind. I couldn't. And it was, the story was better than the first story. So I started to write it. actually what happened is I was like, I'm not going to be an idiot and write a whole book that takes too long. But what if this was like a screenplay, like a movie, this seems more like a movie. So I buy screenplay software and figure out Google, like how do you write a screenplay? And so I write this screenplay and it's pretty good. And I have other people reading it and they're like, is pretty good. Like, and so I entered a contest in LA and it was called the Next Great Movie Idea Contest. And I entered it and there was 4, 000 entrants, over 4, 000 entrants. And I placed in the top 20.

john_1_02-12-2025_162732: 14:29

mm.

kate_1_02-12-2025_162732: 14:30

And I was like one of the only women. And anyway, I knew, I knew I would place like, it was crazy. Most of the time you're like, this is, this is, I'm not going to go anywhere. And you're self doubt, self doubt, but I knew it was good. then I got to work with this guy out of LA for like three months on it and we worked and eventually he was like, Hey, you know what, Kate, like you would have so much better chance of. this picked up as a book than a movie. There's like 200 movies a year that are made. There's 2000 books a year that are published. So you should just write it in a book. And I was like, cool, I'll just write it in a book. Like I'll do that overnight. Why not just rewrite my screenplay to a book, you know? So sure. Anyway. And I was like, ah, so I just left it be. And then like later. When I could look at it again, I, I wrote it into a book and it was a lot easier cause I had a screenplay and I, I could do it and it was good. It was a great book. And then I got invited by this girl to be a part of, she was really well known and she had a book and she had like. 30 women who were all funny women that were contributing it. And she had already sold millions of copies of one of a book. And so I got to be part of it. And I was like, okay, I'm on my way. I'm going to be a New York times bestseller. I'm going to be this author that's well known and it's going to work out. And I remember in the back of my head thinking Heavenly father wouldn't have me get this opportunity just to take it away. Right. I was like, no cue the fish. Right. So. I start reading the other women's chapters that are going to be in the book and my heart just falls. I'm like, cannot be a part of this book. book is not who I am as a child of God. This does not represent the things that I believe. is totally would be harmful if people read this and knew that I was associated with it. Super great women, super kind women. They just didn't have the same belief system that I had. And because I had that and the Lord knew I had it, then my standard was higher. Because of what I believed and what he knew I knew and so I had to call her and at the 11th hour Which stinks when you're trying to publish something and say hey, I'm so sorry Could you actually pull my chapter out she was really sweet and said, you know what when I got to know you better I thought I don't think this is a good fit for her I appreciated that because something in the way I had lived my life, even though she didn't, she wasn't religious or anything, she recognized that this wasn't a good fit for me

john_1_02-12-2025_162732: 17:08

Mm-hmm

kate_1_02-12-2025_162732: 17:09

and I was

john_1_02-12-2025_162732: 17:09

Mm-hmm

kate_1_02-12-2025_162732: 17:10

for that. there was my fish. There was my opportunity. I had these other books that probably could have gone somewhere because you need a foot in the door and it was gone. walked away and that was hard. It's done because then you start to question, wait, God, you gave me this talent. And it was going somewhere. So I'm confused. Like what do you want me to do with this? Like what am I? Surely you didn't give me this just to take it away. Is it really just a test? But I do have this gift I feel like so what do you want me to do? So it was kind of like after all of those things had happened And then I went to a writer's conference in New York. I was invited in with People who were writing in GQ magazine and professors and a doctor that worked at John Hopkins. And then there was me, that was nobody. And there's like 15 of us in this room. And I got to pitch my suspense thriller to four agents and one guy that's done movies that are popular and all four of them liked it. And the one guy that turned down everybody read my suspense and he was like, I can totally see this as a movie and he was so excited and he must have used the f word in between every single word he said to me. Like just, I think my face even was like this, like you're a writer? this doesn't, this isn't even a sentence. Like this is, like I'm in junior high. It's just so But anyway, it just, And I remember sitting there just thinking again, I don't belong here. I just don't belong here. I'm never going to fit here. I wonder if the Lord's like giving me this opportunity to be like, hey, I want you to know like, yeah, you want to take this road, like it could probably go somewhere. And you maybe could be well known and this is a great story, it doesn't really have that much importance in life. So what do you want? Do you want the fish or do you want to follow me? And I really had to choose. And honestly, like it was hard to turn down the fish, but I want to follow him at the end of the, at the end of this whole thing. I want to produce content that brings people to him. then it was about that time that I had that experience with Brandon and that was my background. And so I hadn't written a story that was someone's true story. You know, I hadn't done a fiction story. And so I didn't know how that was going to go, but my experience writing it was entirely different with him. Um, so I think your question was, How did the Lord guide me in my process of writing this book? So Okay. So, Brandon said, where do we start? And I said, I want you to send me every single journal entry you have ever written. Every talk you've ever given, anything that has ever had anything to do with your life. Send it to me, email them to me. So I don't even, I wish I'd written down how many emails he sent me. I think he had compiled them into big, huge emails. And then I think I want to say he sent me about 200 pages might've been like three of stuff now. So I have these, all these pages is probably about 200 and I'm like, okay, heavenly father. Like, where do I go with this? How do I do this? And it's like, a talk in here in the middle of a thought and then there's a journal. Nothing's in chronological order Then there's another and there's a ton of repeats and then you've said something this way and then you've said it a different way over here and just all of these papers. And so i'm like, emily father If I'm going to do this and this is right, I need you to guide me because this is not in my wheelhouse. I don't know how to do this. Also, I want, I need your help. So that was my biggest thing. So every single time I worked on the book, every single time I'd write or I'd meet with Brandon, I would pray. Every time before I began, help me to know what your words are. Help me to know how Brandon would say this. Help me to see this in my mind. Help me to know his feelings as if they are mine. Help me to feel his heartaches, his anguishes, his depression. Help me to feel his hopes as if they were mine so that I can write Like I'm him help me to use his word. So it's not Kate. It's Brandon and the Lord. And so all of those things were miraculous because it happened every time. It was time consuming and took effort, but it Was never hard in the sense of like, it was hard as a mom to juggle, do things like that. But the writing flowed a lot of that is because Brandon is great at writing his thoughts. He's so close to with God that I could use that and it was awesome and that made it easier. And the other half of that was the Lord. filled in all the rest. And so it didn't have to be about me, which was wonderful. And, um, I would say, so we had all these papers and I printed everything because I was like, I don't know, I can't see this on a computer. I would need 400 screens. So I printed it all and spread it all out in my bedroom, just stacks at a time. And I went through, I think my husband helped me and I was like, just find anything that's like a repeat. If you see something that kind of looks, and I'm talking, we had to look at patterns, like. paragraph patterns to be able to find not even read. so I was able after I think about a month to whittle it down. And then I think I had like half the pages. So I was like, okay, checked all those. And then I was like, okay, now we start to put this into four different categories. First accident, accident, third accident and fourth accident. So then I started doing that and I would literally cut pieces of paper. In half or in thirds where he would talk about a different one and I would tape it to another piece of paper where he would talk about like paralyzed accident. So I'm like, Frankensteining all these papers together, creating these long just trying to get them in categories. So once I have the four accidents together, then I'm like, okay, Brandon, now you and I can start meeting. So it's like three months after that, we've done this and I take. the first stack, which is his traumatic brain injury from being in the bicycle accident with his boy scout troop. And I take that I get rid of anything that's maybe excess or doesn't flow and I just keep the things that do flow. I read it all a couple times and then I go meet with him and I set it aside and I'm like, okay, now I want you to just tell me what happened. We're not going to read anything. Just tell me. Just start telling I listened to him and then I just start taking notes and he'll say these incredible quotes something the spirit and I just go stop and then just type for a second and we got into this awesome rhythm where he wasn't offended because I just put my hand up and he just knew and then I tried and then I would read it back to him and I'd say is this Is this how you felt? And he'd go, yes, that's exactly, and then I'd say, okay, expand on that. Like, what did you mean when you said this? Or you said there was an experience where you felt something, you're on the bike, you knelt down and prayed. You got off your bike as a 12 year old and prayed, and I made sure it was accurate, right? Like, If we're going to tell this and you don't remember it, we're not putting it in there. This has to be real. People are already not going to believe the story because you've survived four major accidents. So we are going to be honest. We're going to be real. We're going to be real about depression. We're going to be real. If you've ever been angry, we're going to be honest. And he was so good at all of that. so he would tell me things and then He would tell me again and I'd write and then sometimes I'd talk to his dad or mom. What do you remember from this? What do you remember from this? And then we would say he could do about two hours at a time and then he'd be exhausted. And he needs to rest. And so I would take my little couple hours and my notes, certainly it was not a chapter, right? I would go home and I would pray and I'd go, I need you to tell me we're going with this. How are we making a chapter? it needs to be Brandon. It needs to be his words. And. It would be like just flow and I would read it. And there were times I kid you not that tears would stream down my face. As I was writing, because I was reading the words that I was writing, knowing they did not come from me and I would read them like I was reading the book and just ball and just the spirit was so strong. And in fact, one time, um, my family had all left. And so I just had the home and it was quiet. And this one chapter, I just, it's my favorite chapter. It's called broken things. And we had, we had talked about this chapter. That's what it was. It was, he had been through another hard experience. He had lost, um, I think a lot of money, like an investment. Like he had worked so hard and just other thing had gone wrong and I couldn't get ahold of him. And I was like, And his independence means everything, right? He's an adult man. He needs to make his own money. He needs to be able to move. He needs to be able to do things that you and I need to be able to do as a 40 year old. I couldn't get a hold of him. I'm texting him, Hey, are you okay? What is going on? Something's wrong. I can feel something's wrong. I text his brother Bronson. What is going on? He tells me. So I write Brandon. I'm like, Hey, I heard what happened. You take the time you need, but we are getting back at this. I will be there next week at this time, and we're doing this. We're finishing this story. so I showed up, he is a shell. Of himself, right? He's depressed. He's totally devastated. Totally understandable. And we start talking about this broken things chapter and it's perfect that he's in this mindset because now Brandon's talking. As a broken person. Right. So now I can feel what he felt back then because he fills it right now. so I'm seeing him and he is just talking about how depressing it is. And I'm in church and a lady says to me, you know you're never gonna get married. Right? Like who says that right but he deals with stuff like that And then it's and he's 20 or however old he is when he hears that and he doesn't think that's gonna be his reality But now someone's told him that and life's already hard. It's just burdens burdens burdens and so he's going through all these depressing moments that he's had in his life or like Working at the hospital and then he has to quit because he's in this head on collision then he gets his degree finally, which is amazing because even just rolling up the ramps at school that everyone knows are there for handicapped people and that should be a blessing for a handicapped person. Well, what they don't understand is with a backpack full of books on the back of his wheelchair. too heavy to roll with only 15 percent of your muscles. So he's trying to even roll up the ramp that's put there for him and he can't because it's too heavy. The weight's too much. So he's reliant on people all the time. Someone has to come and will him. He has to wait for somebody else. Someone has to come and open the door. He has to wait. So his college experience is a hundred times worse than harder than everybody else's college experience because doesn't have the physical strength to do it. But he has people that come in his life and help him all throughout this experience, which is marvelous. So while he's talking about the brokenness, he's also talking about the blessings. So I say to him, um, Brandon, I want you to be really honest with me. Have you ever been angry at God this? And no one would blame you. God wouldn't blame you. Like, have you ever been angry and he just doesn't skip a beat and he goes, no, everything I am. of everything I've gone through.

john_1_02-12-2025_162732: 30:12

Hmm.

kate_1_02-12-2025_162732: 30:12

And then he pauses and he says to me, well, and you know, God loves broken things. And I just was like, what did you just say? And just, I mean, it was just so nonchalant for him, but he just, and you know, God loves broken things. And I was like, my gosh, Brandon, that's the chapter heading is broken things. And I came home and he didn't have much in him. And so we've really didn't have much for this chapter. And I started to write this and my family was all gone. And that was the chapter where just streamed down my face as I was writing. And I physically pushed my laptop away at one point. I looked at my house and I just said, Father, I can feel people here. can feel angels surrounding me. Not just

john_1_02-12-2025_162732: 31:09

Hmm.

kate_1_02-12-2025_162732: 31:10

I can feel people on the other side of the veil who are writers, who are helping me, who love Brandon, who love me, who are writing this story. And I just want you to know, I'm so grateful that I get to be a part of this. am so grateful I get to be here and witness this. And it was just this most, I mean, I didn't want it to end. It was palpable, the spirit. then as I sat there with just tears, we finished, I finished, I can't even say me because it wasn't me, but the spirit finished the book. And it was just, And God loves broken things and broken things love God. And that was the, the words that came to me. And I was like, that is it. Because when we're broken, we love, we love God when we're most broken, we need him the most. And that was just one of my most. special experiences that I got to be a part of.

john_1_02-12-2025_162732: 32:15

As you reach in, as we're, as we're talking to about this, I'm thinking about people out there and I personally believe that everybody has a plan. Like, God has a plan for everybody. God has a purpose for everybody. God has a calling for everybody. And if you connect with the savior, And you say, what do you want me to do? He's going to give you something to do Like He is going to give you something to do and a lot of times he's going to inspire you to do something That's bigger than you are. So what would you say to somebody today if they know deep in their heart? They're like i've been meaning to do this But i've been too afraid to start Because I don't know how and I don't know how it's going to work out and I don't have time and I don't have money And I don't have and I got plenty excuses What could you say to that person?

kate_1_02-12-2025_162732: 33:12

Oh, I, I would say first go to a sacred place and I would ask God, ask him point blank. I am feeling inspired that you want me to do this. you please confirm to my heart that this is what you want me to do? So that I have that backing, right? Like I felt really good about marrying my husband. That's helped me sustain me through our marriage. I can always go back to that and know that God didn't lie to me. It didn't turn out in hard times that he wasn't the right choice. It's just a hard time he told me in the beginning, yes, if you choose him, that's a great choice. So if I have that assurance that this is what Heavenly Father wants me to do, it's going to be a lot easier to carry me through because it's going to get hard and you're going to question and you're going to feel like I'm not enough and you're going to think I'm an idiot. Why did I think I could do this? And the thing is, yeah, we are. And why do we think we can do this? Well, because we're doing it with God, because if it's just you doing it, it's. It's not going to be great, but if you do it with God, yeah, it will. It's going to be awesome. It's going to be way better than you are, which is great. So I think the first thing is go and ask him for that assurance. And if it's right, it's going to keep producing good things and good results. If it's not, it's, it's not going to be great. It's just hard. A lot of times it's hard. So it's tricky because sometimes like my other books, those aren't uplifting books. They're not bad books, certainly. But I did feel inspired to do those, right? I felt good. But what I didn't realize at the time is I had to have a master's degree in writing. I had to get that somewhere. Well, I couldn't go to college and get a master's degree at that time. I couldn't, but I could write in my free time. And so I kind of just taught myself and different things and got this degree in writing. Well no other way to learn how to do a sport or write or the piano or whatever you're going to do except doing it. So I had to learn how to become a writer before I could write. sometimes it doesn't make sense the pathway until you look back and then you're like, Oh, okay, well yeah, it didn't. I'm not a New York times bestseller and I'm not a movie writer or screenplay writer or whatever. But I have written this book that I probably couldn't have done if I had started with it. I know I couldn't have done had I started with it. So you just keep going with the path. Also don't give a timeline to the Lord. It's usually going to take you way longer than you think it is because anything worth doing takes time and all of my writing, Seth, that was probably 15 years of time that passed from my first book to finishing Brandon's book. And that's a long time, I mean, how long is a doctor in school or how long is, you know, it's just, it takes time, anything that you're going to do and really do genuinely is going to take you time. And your first podcast is probably different than your 400th podcast, right? Maybe

john_1_02-12-2025_162732: 36:12

I get, why are you getting purpose? Why are you getting personal here? No,

kate_1_02-12-2025_162732: 36:16

haven't listened, it's probably great. But

john_1_02-12-2025_162732: 36:18

no, it's not.

kate_1_02-12-2025_162732: 36:19

no, great. But it is, but you just learn, maybe there's an echo or something, you know what I mean? But you just learn and it's, but the process is awesome because Heavenly Father's not even always, He's not even just concerned with the end result. He's concerned with your progress the whole way, so he's not worried that it's taking 15 years. He's like, this is great. You're just learning. That book's going nowhere. Don't worry about it. You're going to write another one that's also going nowhere. Don't worry about it. Then you're going to write another

john_1_02-12-2025_162732: 36:48

think one thing to keep in mind too, is that sometimes

kate_1_02-12-2025_162732: 36:51

totally

john_1_02-12-2025_162732: 36:51

think that mission, we have a vision of what that mission is supposed to look like. Like for example, you. You're writing books. You have this like, Oh, New York times bestseller. I'm going to be on TV. I'm going to be famous. Oprah's going to have me on book club of the month. You know, I mean, right. I mean, come on, this is the way the American dream works, right? You get an idea, you go do it. Right. Uh, but I think the thing that Jesus Christ is most concerned about isn't the end results. It's us

kate_1_02-12-2025_162732: 37:29

Yeah.

john_1_02-12-2025_162732: 37:30

like, what will this do for us? As a person and for example you I can just tell that you've grown and shaped and developed this faith That's led you through this journey I love how you're like go to god and confirm that like that's an evidence of faith in your life That comes from experience of getting nitty gritty with hearing God writing, having angels around you, speaking to you like that's shaped you, what this book becomes and what it does. I think what the Savior really matters to him is how it shapes us. And we're the one he cares about most to start with. Does he hope good things come? Of course. Do, for example, this podcast, do I want everybody in the world to hear this great testimonies like you? Of course. But I've also realized, man, this has shaped me.

kate_1_02-12-2025_162732: 38:36

Yeah.

john_1_02-12-2025_162732: 38:37

Way more than it's probably shaped any of my guests or any of my listeners. And then it's been an epic journey for my faith. How do you feel like this journey has shaped you and strengthened your faith in Jesus Christ?

kate_2_02-12-2025_171437: 38:53

So this is a really cool thing. When Brandon and I were working on the book at one point, I don't remember when I said to him, if nothing else comes for this, cause I said, don't plan on us making any money. We're not going to make any money even if we sell copies. But I said, but if nothing else comes with us, how cool would it be if you found your future life? I'm like, if we can find your future wife, that would be the coolest thing in the world. Cause he really wanted to be married, right? He really wanted a family. And I was like, that would be cool. Not thinking anything of that. But I just thought, what if he got known and somebody like found him? Well, that's exactly what happened. And so this girl reached out after the book and read it and loved it and reached out to him. And he ended up dating her and they got married and she's fabulous. And he's so happy. And I was like,

john_1_02-12-2025_171437: 39:40

Um, You

kate_2_02-12-2025_171437: 40:02

if that was the way I'm all, he's like, Kate's in on that. I'm like, I'm totally in on that. But I mean, just one of those miracles. That was really cool. Like he ended up getting what he wanted more than anything, which was a partner and it ended up happening. So that was kind of a cool experience.

john_1_02-12-2025_171437: 40:19

So Brandon, if you're listening, let's jump on and have you tell this story because I love a good love story. So let's have you jump on and tell us your love story. And uh, yeah, that's awesome. I'm so glad you shared that.

john_1_02-12-2025_162732: 40:31

What I see in your stories. He led you step by step to do something that you didn't want to do, but you were called to do. And along the way, he, he led you and provided miracles. Evidence that he's involved in our life, and I just want to thank you so much for sharing your testimony today, your story, your walk with the savior. Thank everybody for joining us on this week's episode of walking with the savior. We'll see you next week. Have a great week, everybody.