Beyond the Cookie Cutter

Hosted by Mary Black

Business Entrepreneurship Kids Family Parenting Education

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Episodes

171

Latest episode

Aug 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

Feeling stuck in a cookie cutter life? Struggling to inject order into schedule, children, work, and budget? No time for YOU and your UNIQUE needs? In this podcast, you will find insights from women who have – and are still living through many of the things that you are experiencing. They freely share wisdom and valuable lessons from years of experience. Mary Black shares her own lessons learned, along with outside interviews with beautiful, experienced women. Mary is an amazing communicator. She loves to teach naturally through stories that touch the heart. She helps women connect to the power of their own narrative to grow themselves and those they influence in joyful, inspiring ways.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

September 22, 202618 min

The 60/40 Rule: Making Room for Growth

Send us a Text Message! We would love to hear from you! In this episode, you’ll learn more about how the 60/40 Rule is a simple way to create financial space—to give, save, receive, prepare for the future, and live with greater freedom today. Mary shares personal experiences and explores how small financial choices can shape not only our finances, but also our character, our peace of mind, and our ability to bless others. Resources: The Transforming Power of the 60/40 Rule. Listen to the interview here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2120872/episodes/19770464 We love hearing from you! For more discussion, join us in the Beyond Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/538808736953034 Gathering Women of Hope Facebook page: https://bit.ly/4vs9IOh Podcast Email: marybcooks@gmail.com Instagram: @marybcooks Here's to your joy-filled life! -Mary

September 15, 202613 min

Gardening and Life: What Are You Planting?

Send us a Text Message! We would love to hear from you! The garden has its own way of telling the truth: what we plant matters. In this episode, Mary explores the law of the harvest and how simple truths, combined with small choices repeated over time, can influence what grows in our lives. She also considers gratitude, patience, and what God has already placed in our hands. Resource: Frog and Toad: Storybook Favorites, by Arnold Lobel. HarperCollins, 2014. We love hearing from you! For more discussion, join us in the Beyond Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/538808736953034 Gathering Women of Hope Facebook page: https://bit.ly/4vs9IOh Podcast Email: marybcooks@gmail.com Instagram: @marybcooks Here's to your joy-filled life! -Mary

September 8, 2026Episode 1732 min

The Transforming Power of the 60/40 Rule (Interview)

Send us a Text Message! We would love to hear from you! Have you ever felt helpless to change your financial situation? In this interview, my friend, Mary Ann, tells of her experience with the 60/40 Rule of Saving and how it has changed her perspective on money as well as the whole financial landscape of her family. Challenges still come, but she describes how peace has also come to replace the former persistent feeling of lack. Don't miss this one! We love hearing from you! For more discussion, join us in the Beyond Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/538808736953034 Gathering Women of Hope Facebook page: https://bit.ly/4vs9IOh Podcast Email: marybcooks@gmail.com Instagram: @marybcooks Here's to your joy-filled life! -Mary

September 1, 2026Episode 1615 min

Enjoy the Adventure!

Send us a Text Message! We would love to hear from you! What if improving yourself isn't about fixing what's wrong with you, but discovering what's possible within you? In this episode, Mary explores the difference between self-criticism and genuine growth—and how God invites us to grow while helping us take the next step. You'll be encouraged to look at one area of your life with curiosity instead of judgment, and to see growth not as proof that you're not enough, but as an opportunity to discover more of who you really are. We love hearing from you! For more discussion, join us in the Beyond Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/538808736953034 Gathering Women of Hope Facebook page: https://bit.ly/4vs9IOh Podcast Email: marybcooks@gmail.com Instagram: @marybcooks Here's to your joy-filled life! -Mary

August 25, 2026Episode 1512 min

Small Choices. Simple Truths. Sustainable Growth.

Send us a Text Message! We would love to hear from you! What if lasting change doesn't come from doing everything, but from making small choices, living simple truths, and allowing growth to happen over time? Mary shares the story behind the new tagline and the philosophy shaping this next chapter—helping women discover who they really are, become confident creators, and use what they have to create a better future for themselves and others. We love hearing from you! For more discussion, join us in the Beyond Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/538808736953034 Gathering Women of Hope Facebook page: https://bit.ly/4vs9IOh Podcast Email: marybcooks@gmail.com Instagram: @marybcooks Here's to your joy-filled life! -Mary

August 20, 2026Episode 1413 min

Scarcity and Finding Enough

Send us a Text Message! We would love to hear from you! In the last episode, we talked about the emotional ledger—the invisible account we keep when someone hurts us, and the debts we continue trying to collect. This episode takes that conversation one step further: What if part of the reason we have such a hard time letting go is that, underneath the hurt, there is a scarcity belief? We buy into the false belief that “If something was taken from me, there won't be enough left for me.” Mary shares a personal story about discovering how scarcity thinking had turned a difficult relationship into a power struggle—and how letting go of the emotional debt gave her something she didn't realize she was missing: freedom. Because abundance isn't the belief that we'll never experience loss. It's the belief that loss doesn't have the final word. What if there is still enough and more than enough? Enough for you to create, grow, give. Enough for you to become who you were created to be. Sometimes finding abundance isn't about getting more. Sometimes it's about discovering that there was plenty available to us all along. We love hearing from you! For more discussion, join us in the Beyond Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/538808736953034 Gathering Women of Hope Facebook page: https://bit.ly/4vs9IOh Podcast Email: marybcooks@gmail.com Instagram: @marybcooks Here's to your joy-filled life! -Mary

August 13, 2026Episode 1313 min

The Forgiveness Ledger

Send us a Text Message! We would love to hear from you! In this unique discussion about forgiveness, Mary shares some of her insights about how scarcity just might be related to forgiveness. Every grudge is a debt we're waiting to collect. Every act of forgiveness is a debt we choose to release. The Forgiveness Ledger explores the surprising overlap between how we handle money and how we handle hurt — why some of us can't stop keeping score, and what it actually takes to close an account for good. We love hearing from you! For more discussion, join us in the Beyond Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/538808736953034 Gathering Women of Hope Facebook page: https://bit.ly/4vs9IOh Podcast Email: marybcooks@gmail.com Instagram: @marybcooks Here's to your joy-filled life! -Mary

August 6, 2026Episode 126 min

Hold the Line

Send us a Text Message! We would love to hear from you! Some of the strongest women you'll ever meet don't make the headlines. They're quietly caring for loved ones, navigating financial challenges, facing health struggles, and carrying burdens that few people ever see. They aren't perfect—but they keep showing up. They keep loving. They keep believing. They keep holding the line. In this episode, Mary shares a simple moment with a neighbor's old-fashioned clothesline that became a powerful reminder of the strength found in faith, perseverance, and community. If you've ever felt like your own line was about to break, this conversation will remind you that you're stronger than you realize—and that you were never meant to carry life's burdens alone. At Beyond, we believe lasting transformation begins with small choices, simple truths, and sustainable growth. Together, we're learning to Seek, Discover, Create, Grow, Manage, and Share so we can build lives that bless our families, our communities, and the world. This week's challenge: Ask yourself, Where am I being called to hold the line? Then take one small step forward—and if someone else's line is under strain, find one way to help strengthen it. Keep holding the line. Keep making small choices. Keep living Beyond. We love hearing from you! For more discussion, join us in the Beyond Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/538808736953034 Gathering Women of Hope Facebook page: https://bit.ly/4vs9IOh Podcast Email: marybcooks@gmail.com Instagram: @marybcooks Here's to your joy-filled life! -Mary

July 31, 2026Episode 117 min

Welcome to Beyond!

Send us a Text Message! We would love to hear from you! What if you were never meant to fit someone else's mold? In this special episode, Mary shares the story behind the name Beyond the Cookie Cutter and introduces the vision that is shaping the Beyond Community. It's a conversation about discovering who you really are, moving beyond fear and limiting beliefs, and becoming the kind of person who creates, grows, manages, and generously shares resources. This isn't just about financial education. It's about building a life of purpose, strengthening families and communities, and creating a better future—one small choice at a time. If you've ever felt different, wondered where you belong, or sensed there was something more you were meant to become, this episode is your invitation to step Beyond. We love hearing from you! For more discussion, join us in the Beyond Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/538808736953034 Gathering Women of Hope Facebook page: https://bit.ly/4vs9IOh Podcast Email: marybcooks@gmail.com Instagram: @marybcooks Here's to your joy-filled life! -Mary

July 23, 2026Episode 1011 min

Money Doesn't Change You—It Reveals You

Send us a Text Message! We would love to hear from you! Is building wealth selfish... or could it actually be one of the greatest ways to serve others? In this episode, Mary challenges some of the most common beliefs about money and explores a different perspective: wealth isn't about accumulating more for ourselves—it's about increasing our capacity to bless others. Together we'll explore powerful ideas like: Why character matters more than wealth. How money becomes "the hands" that allow love to act. Why generous people need resources. What it means to become someone who can be trusted with more. If you've ever felt guilty about wanting financial success, this conversation may change the way you think about money forever. We love hearing from you! For more discussion, join us in the Beyond Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/538808736953034 Gathering Women of Hope Facebook page: https://bit.ly/4vs9IOh Podcast Email: marybcooks@gmail.com Instagram: @marybcooks Here's to your joy-filled life! -Mary