Have you ever put a dream on hold because fear, comparison, or self-doubt got in the way? Maybe you’ve been waiting until you feel ready, or hoping for the perfect plan before you begin. But here’s the truth: we don’t need the full roadmap to step forward. Just like the disciples passing the bread, the miracle happens in the action.

This week, we’re wrapping up our Loaves & Writing the Next Chapter in Middle Motherhood series by stepping into the part of the story where everyone ate, everyone was satisfied, and there was more than enough left over. 🍞🐟

Together, we’ll explore:

✨ The Loaves & Fishes Model in Motion — why action is the place where God multiplies what we offer. 🌱 Someday, Should, and Soul Goals — how to recognize the goals that drain us vs. the ones that bring holy boldness. 💪 Do It Afraid — why fear doesn’t disqualify us, but often points to where God is calling us next. 📝 Practical Tools — how to create a “To-Be List” and let it shape your “To-Do List,” so your goals flow from identity as God’s beloved.

📖 Scripture: “They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.” — Matthew 14:20

💛 Journal Prompt: “What soul goal is God inviting me to take action on right now? And what one small step can I take this week — even if I feel afraid?”

It’s time for us to stop waiting until everything feels safe or certain. Let’s take the step, pass the piece, and watch God multiply our loaves and fishes into something that feeds far more than just ourselves. 🌸

📣 Ready to take the next step?

We don’t have to wait until everything feels perfect. Let’s do this together:

🌸 Grab your FREE Middle Motherhood Planner — reflect, pray, and map out what’s in your basket so you can take the next step with clarity. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OQkwOfJLTXm5WKKdNFvjFjp8x8aAEUag/view

🌸 Book your complimentary Life Audit & Clarity Session with Kara — a free 1:1 coaching conversation to help you uncover your soul goals and take action with confidence.  https://calendly.com/karatrochta/lifeaudit?month=2025-09

Ever set a goal that looked great on paper but left you feeling frustrated, guilty, or just plain stuck? We’ve all been there. Too often, we chase “should” goals or tuck away “someday” goals—while the ones God is actually calling us toward remain buried.

This week on Nourished to Bloom, we’re flipping the script and learning how to set Soul Goals—the kind that grow out of God’s whispers, align with our gifts, and require His help to flourish.

Here’s what we’re digging into together:

✨ Why typical goal-setting leaves us empty — and how to stop chasing pressure-driven “shoulds” 🌱 The three kinds of goals:  • Someday Goals — dreamy but always pushed to the backburner  • Should Goals — fueled by comparison and outside voices  • Soul Goals — birthed from prayer and rooted in God’s unique call on our lives 🍞 The Loaves & Fishes model (Matthew 14:19): Jesus blesses, breaks, and shares—just like He does with our gifts and even our brokenness 💡 How to spot a Soul Goal: it excites you and scares you at the same time—holy boldness in action! 📝 A simple 5-step roadmap for setting goals with God instead of by yourself

And remember this: even what feels small or broken in your story can be multiplied in God’s hands. 💛

📣 Ready for your next step? 👉 Download your FREE Middle Motherhood Planner 👉 Book a complimentary Life Audit & Clarity Session with Kara to uncover your unique Soul Goals

Let’s step into courage together, offering our loaves, our fishes, and even our broken pieces—trusting that God will do more than we can imagine. 🌸

Last week, we discovered what’s in our basket — our loaves and fishes — the unique gifts, passions, time, and experiences God has already entrusted to us.

This week, we’re exploring what to do with that basket. Before God can multiply what we have, we have to look up and let go — surrendering control, fear, and comparison so we can step into the vision He has for our next chapter.

We’ll talk about why giving ourselves permission to desire is such a key step in discernment, how God speaks through those desires, and a practical way to get clarity on your goals by creating a To-Be List— a vision of who you want to be as His beloved daughter.

💡 In this episode, we:

📖 Reflect on Matthew 14:19 and what it means to look up and give thanks before the miracle

💭 Talk about why it’s so hard to truly let go and trust God’s plan over our preferences

🌱 Explore how God often speaks through the desires on our hearts

📝 Create a “Being List” — so our to-do lists flow from who we are called to be

🙏 Pray for clarity on what dreams God is inviting us to surrender and step into

📣 Ready to put it into practice?

✏️ Journal your “Being List” — write out who you desire to be as a beloved daughter of God

📥 Download the free Middle Motherhood Planner

🗓 Book your free Vision Session with Kara to get personalized support in stepping into your next chapter

💌 Share this episode with a friend who’s navigating a season of transition

Let’s lift our eyes to the One who gave us our loaves and fishes in the first place… and trust Him to shape, bless, and multiply them in ways we can’t yet imagine. 💛

Ep. 74 Not Sure What’s Next for You? Discover Your Loaves & Fishes

Have you ever found yourself in the quiet of your kitchen—coffee in hand, dishes in the sink—wondering, “What now?” Maybe your days finally have that white space you used to crave… but instead of clarity, you feel lost in the “onlys.” Only a few hours to yourself. Only a small passion. Only one dream that feels too late.

In this kickoff episode of our new series, Writing the Next Chapter in Middle Motherhood we’re asking one powerful question: 👉 What’s already in your basket?

And no, I’m not talking about your grocery list—I’m talking about your gifts, your passions, your hard-won wisdom, and all that God has already placed in your hands.

Let’s walk through how to find clarity by looking at what you ALREADY have, and how Jesus can take your “only” and multiply it for something beautiful in this next chapter.

Inspired by the miracle of the loaves and fishes (Matthew 14:13–21), we’re exploring how God multiplies our “only” when we offer it back to Him. This isn’t just for moms—this is for all of us navigating change, identity shifts, and a holy longing for something more. Your gifts, talents, and passions ARE your “loaves and fishes.” Even if they seem ordinary, they are exactly what God wants to use.

Let’s reflect together, take inventory, and stop overlooking the ordinary gifts God wants to use.

💡 In this episode, we:

🙋‍♀️ Normalize the identity shift that comes with kids in school or life transitions

🧺 Ask honest questions about what’s already in our hands

📖 Explore what “loaves and fishes” look like in our real lives

✨ Reframe the lie of “only” and embrace what’s more than enough in God’s hands

📝 Walk through a life inventory—health, faith, friendships, finances, and more

🙏 Invite God to bless, break, and multiply what we offer

📣 Ready for next steps?

📥 Download the free Middle Motherhood Planner

🗓 Book your free Vision Session with Kara to dig deeper into your next chapter

💌 Share this episode with a friend in transition—because miracles often begin with an invitation

God’s not waiting for perfection—He’s asking us to bring what we have. Let’s name it, offer it, and watch what He does with it. 💛

Ever feel like no matter how hard we try to “eat right,” we end up caught in a cycle of guilt, restriction, or just total overwhelm from all the nutrition advice out there? Maybe we’ve even thought, “If I’m not perfect, what’s the point?”

If that sounds familiar, we’re not alone. In this week’s episode of the Nourished to Bloom podcast, we’re taking a grace-filled pause to remember this: authentic health isn’t found in perfection—it’s rooted in gentleness, compassion, and faith. 🌿

This heartfelt replay reminds us that it’s in the messy, imperfect, real-life moments where true wellness can take root. Kara even shares how a simple cold last week became a holy reminder to slow down, honor our bodies, and let go of all-or-nothing thinking.

Together, we’ll explore:

🌱 The difference between “perfect eating” and sustainable, Spirit-led health 🙏 How the Fruits of the Spirit—like patience, gentleness, and self-control—can guide our wellness journey 🥦 Why embracing gentle nutrition helps us break free from the diet cycle 🌸 How variety, moderation, and balance become possible when we release food rules 💖 Why compassion (the kind Christ offers us) is essential to nurturing a healthy relationship with food and our bodies

Let’s break free from chasing someone else’s version of health—and become the faithful caretakers of the bodies God has entrusted to us. 💪💕

This week’s gentle challenge: What’s one way we can add more gentleness to our health journey? Maybe it’s skipping the calorie count. Or resting without guilt. Or adding color to our plate without overthinking it. Let’s start there. 🌈

We’re wrapping up something special on the podcast—our “Summer with the Holy Spirit” series—and in this final episode, we explore the last gift from Isaiah 11:2: ✨ Fear of the Lord (also known as awe).

That phrase might sound a little intense at first—like something we’re supposed to be afraid of—but what we discover is that this gift is actually about reverence, wonder, and a deep awareness of God's majesty and love. It’s about being moved to humility and trust when we recognize that God is working in ways far bigger and more beautiful than we can imagine.

Here’s what we’re reflecting on this week:

🔍 Fear of the Lord = Awe + Gratitude Instead of rushing through a quick “gratitude list,” we’re slowing down and asking deeper questions like:

• “Where is God working in my life right now?”
• “What has He done that I might have missed before?”
• “How is He showing up in my ordinary?”

💫 When we start to notice these moments, gratitude becomes a doorway to awe—and awe leads us into deeper faith.

🧠 Gratitude, Temperament-Style Whether we tend to be:

• 🔥 goal-driven (choleric)
• 💧 deep-feeling (melancholic)
• 🌬️ steady and peace-seeking (phlegmatic)
• 🌟 joy-filled and people-loving (sanguine)

…we reflect on questions that help us see God's fingerprints in ways that speak directly to how we’re wired. (Haven’t taken your temperament quiz yet? Check the show notes!)

🧤 A Thought to Carry Into the Week Picture a glove on the table—it’s beautifully made but can’t fulfill its purpose until a hand fills it. That’s us. The Holy Spirit is the hand. These gifts we’ve explored all summer? They aren’t just nice ideas—they’re what allow us to be filled, moved, and transformed.

🌿 This Week’s Gentle Invitation: Let’s pause. Reflect. Ask God to open our eyes to His awe-inspiring work—especially in the ordinary. Let’s allow gratitude to lead us into wonder, and let that wonder renew our joy and trust.

Thank you for being part of this journey with us. If there’s something you’re longing to hear more about—intuitive eating, faith-led wellness, motherhood, or how the Holy Spirit moves through it all—we’d love to know. 💌 Just send me a message at [email protected]!

Take the temperaments quiz!

Let’s talk about what it really means to live with piety and humility — not in a heavy or overly religious way, but in a way that brings more peace, perspective, and freedom to your everyday life.

In this episode of the Summer with the Holy Spirit series, you’ll learn how the gift of piety invites you to embrace your dependence on God — not because you’re weak or failing, but because He is strong and faithful. When you lean into this gift, humility starts to flow more naturally — not the kind that makes you feel small or unworthy, but the kind that frees you from striving, comparing, or trying to prove yourself.

We’ll unpack what humility really looks like (with wisdom from St. Thérèse of Lisieux and C.S. Lewis) and how to live it out — even on busy days when you feel anything but “spiritual.”

Here’s what you’ll walk away with:

🙏 A fresh, simple definition of piety that helps you reconnect with God 🕊️ A better understanding of humility — as thinking of yourself less, not putting yourself down 🌸 5 practical ways to live out this gift in your daily life:

• ⛅ Embrace your limitations instead of resenting them
• ✨ Let go of the pressure to be seen or validated
• 🤲 Look for quiet ways to serve others with love
• 🙅‍♀️ Stop apologizing for being human
• 💐 Offer small, ordinary acts as worship

If you’ve been feeling stretched thin or stuck in comparison, this episode will help you reset your heart, remember who you are, and find peace in letting God be big — so you don’t have to be.

This episode of Nourished to Bloom is tender and raw. Recording it wasn’t easy—but it felt necessary. As floods have devastated parts of the Texas Hill Country, just minutes from my own home, I found myself wrestling with the weight of grief, confusion, and helplessness.

💧 A moment to grieve the heartbreak and devastation in our community 🙏 A powerful prayer for the girls and families of Camp Mystic and all those affected 🕊️ A reflection on the gift of knowledge and how it helps us hold onto God's truth when we can’t make sense of the pain 🛐 Encouragement to pray for the first responders, families, and leaders navigating unimaginable loss 🤍 A call to compassion and faith when answers feel far away

While it may seem small in the face of such tragedy, this episode is an offering—an invitation to sit in sorrow, cling to truth, and allow the Holy Spirit to guide our hearts toward hope.

If you feel called, you’ll find a donation link in the show notes to support flood relief through the Hill Country Community Foundation.

https://cftexashillcountry.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=4201

Have you ever felt like you're barely holding it all together—wondering if you’re strong enough to keep going, or if maybe you should just let go of that dream God placed on your heart because it’s starting to feel too heavy?

In this episode of Nourished to Bloom, I’m sharing what perseverance really looks like as a Christian woman—and I’ll be honest, it’s not about hustling harder or pushing through on your own. I’m diving into what I call holy perseverance—a Spirit-led kind of strength that comes from the gift of fortitude, not from self-reliance.

This one’s especially for you if you’ve ever...

✨ Left a career and felt like you lost your identity ✨ Felt pressure to always be more or do more ✨ Wondered if your worth still holds up when your life doesn’t match the world’s version of success

I know those feelings because I’ve lived them.

I’m opening up about my own story—from being the overachiever and “most likely to succeed” to facing the hidden, quiet seasons of motherhood where the external applause faded and I felt like I had no idea who I was anymore. But God used those very moments to rebuild me—one grace-filled step at a time—and to reshape my understanding of what it really means to live with holy boldness.

🛡 In this episode, I’ll walk you through: 🌟 How my identity got tangled up in performance—and what happened when it all unraveled 🌟 The difference between worldly perseverance and Spirit-filled fortitude 🌟 What it means to put on the armor of God (Ephesians 6!) and actually use it in daily life 🌟 Why fortitude isn’t about surviving—it’s about thriving in your calling 🌟 How to take the next right step—even when you don’t feel strong, certain, or “ready”

If you’ve been feeling weary, burned out, or unsure if you can keep going… this is your reminder that you don’t have to do it alone. God doesn’t ask us to muscle through—He invites us to lean in and let Him strengthen us with His Spirit.

🎧 Tune in now to Episode 69 and discover how the gift of fortitude can change how you live—mind, body, and soul.

🌼 This week’s challenge: Take a quiet moment and ask yourself: Am I living for the world or for the Lord? What’s one small but bold step I can take to move toward the life God is calling me to?

👣 Maybe it’s letting go of people-pleasing 🙏 Starting your day with prayer 💬 Saying “yes” to something that feels scary—but deeply right

You don’t have to have it all figured out. You just have to take the next faithful step—with Him. 💛

Thanks for being here, friend. Take that bold next step, and I’ll see you back here next week for more encouragement on your faith and wellness journey!

Have you ever found yourself overwhelmed by decision fatigue — whether it’s what to make for dinner, how to respond to a child’s meltdown, or discerning your bigger purpose in this season? You’re not alone!

 In this week’s episode, we’re diving deep into how the Holy Spirit’s gift of counsel can help us choose wisely, align our desires with God’s will, and find spiritual freedom and peace in our everyday lives.

Here’s a Glimpse of What You’ll Discover: 🎁What the Gift of Counsel Really Is: Not just good advice or strong opinions, but allowing the Holy Spirit to guide our conscience and help us make holy, peace-filled decisions.

🤔Discernment Made Simpler: Practical ways to pause and ask, “Does this choice draw me closer to God, or farther away?” — even in the small moments of your day.

⚖️ Motherhood & Right Judgment: How scripture (hello, Matthew 7:1-5!) and self-reflection can help us model patience, humility, and truth for our families.

💪🏻Infusing Wellness with Wisdom: Rejecting noisy, worldly standards about our self-worth, and instead stewarding our health as a reflection of our God-given dignity.

✅Simple, Actionable Steps: Kara breaks down how to invite the Holy Spirit into your daily choices — from quick prayers (“Come, Holy Spirit, guide my choices today!”) to examining your conscience, and seeking wisdom from spiritually mature mentors.

The bottom line? The Holy Spirit wants to help you choose well. Let’s be women who don’t follow the world’s way of decision-making, but who seek right judgment, rooted in truth and love.