I finally launched Thrive with Kari as a podcast

If you watched the video from my ordination that I shared in my previous post, you would have seen it prophesied about my podcast. Fun fact is those who prophesied about it, did not know me and had no idea that I was desperately trying to get funds for the entire 2023 to relaunch my “Thrive with Kari” radio show as a podcast. 

I produced 18 hours of the show on live radio wholly by Chef and Steward, partnering with a radio station in Aruba, but I eventually got overwhelmed because I was doing it without funding and didn’t even have the extra funds for the child care I needed to go to studio for 4 hours every Sunday. 

Of course, I couldn’t take a 6 year old to the station with me. I did it once out of necessity and let’t just say- it didn’t go very well. 

But I knew that this show was given to me my God, and even the name “Thrive with Kari” and the tagline, “The desert blooms” both come from scriptural references from Isaiah 35 that God gave me as a mandate to leave Jordan and return to Aruba and cause the desert I had found myself in- to thrive and bloom.

 I tried corporate sponsors out of the US, and even got approached by Christian venture capitalists out of the Netherlands who saw my work and wanted to partner with me.  We even had a signed contract in which they committed to fund USD$150,000 towards the production. 

I went as far as securing a team and blocking production dates because I had a signed contract in hand and they were even going to fund a MAJOR equipment upgrade that would allow me to build and kit out a dedicated professional broadcast studio.  This was the stuff my prayers were made of and I was beyond thrilled that I had finally been sent destiny helpers to help me execute the vision God has given me. 

And then nothing. Everything came to a sudden halt and excuses started coming when the funds were to be disbursed. But during all this time I was praying for God’s will to be done and that I wouldn’t enter into any partnership that wasn’t of God. 

My gut had been uneasy the whole time about a particular clause that would practically have them own me and my worldwide income and a penalty of 5 years income payable to them PLUS the loan repayment in FULL if I decided to terminate. 

Against my usual business practice with these kinds of contracts I didn’t engage a lawyer because let’s face it, I was still in the trenches recovering from a financially devastating divorce and I let down my guard to a  smooth talking Christian man who saw me as an untapped cash cow. 

Desperation is NEVER a great scent to wear in any business negotiation.  As much as I prayed for wisdom to prevail, I was blinded by my own desires. So I signed a contract that would have gobbled up my soul. 

But God! Yes, God takes care of small children and dumb animals and I was behaving like the latter so He made the whole thing grind to a screeching halt. 

And while I was very forlorn that I wasn’t able to relaunch, I knew I dodged an atomic bomb. 

I also spoke to two different top media sales experts to help me raise funds through corporate sponsorship. 

I allowed the talks with the first one to fizzle as it was becoming apparent that the funds would not be available for production so I had nothing to sell- and yes I could sell off my previous season but I was just ashamed and dejected because I had confidently spoken of the strength of the partners I thought were fully with me. 

It would take me all of 6 months to approach another top media sales executive and then within two months of inaction, I started to become impatient. 

I knew that God was calling me to focus on “Thrive with Kari” but from experience I knew I needed funding outside of my own company and I was torn. 

And then I went through deliverance and  received a massive impartation at my ordination and then an urgency started bubbling up in my spirit, 

The first thing was that I felt pressed to get a mic stand for my professional broadcast mic so that I could start recording. I bought one in the US only to return to Aruba to see that I needed an adapter for it to work with my mic. But funny enough, that very evening of my arrival, I felt pressed to go to the music store and get the adaptor. They were out, but I felt strongly that I couldn’t delay any more to wait for an Amazon. order to be shipped to me in Aruba and that I shouldn’t leave the store with a working solution. So I got a small tabletop mic stand and took it home. 

I was also led to practice to use the mic -which I hadn’t even connected for the several months that I had it. It worked magnificently. 

And then… I was led to write about something I was processing about the demise of my marriage.. and I did. And then I got another prophetic word confirming that I should just go ahead and launch small- even without the bels and whistles I envisioned. And then after that, I was led to record that thing I wrote about the lessons from the demise of my marriage, and I did. And after that I was led to upload it to YouTube and in the process of doing that, I noticed that I had the option of uploading it as a podcast and I selected and made the channel art on the fly and the rest is history.