Step into the world of dreams and aspirations with The Calling’s radio show. Join host Dr. Chrysandra Brunson as she converses with the inspiring Priscilla Rahn, the Vice Chairman of the Colorado Republican Party. Together, they uncover the profound journeys of pursuing dreams and the intricate balance of faith and politics. Discover how Priscilla’s family heritage and civic engagement have informed her journey, propelling her toward making significant impacts both locally and nationally. This episode promises a treasure trove of insights into living a fulfilling life guided by Christian values and political activism.
Welcome, everyone, to The Calling’s radio show to all the dreamers. I’m your radio host, Chrysandra Brunson, founder and CEO of The Calling. And it is such an honor to be with all of you today. You know, at The Calling, we have realized that so many people are afraid to go after the dreams that God has put on their heart. And that’s just plain wrong because God has given us each one a dream. And if we’re not living it out, we are wasting it. And we do not want to die with regret. So that’s why we at The Calling have been able to create custom programs to inspire, empower, and equip the body of Christ to go after God’s calling on our lives wholeheartedly. And we do that through global conferences, workshops, seminars, and even through this radio program to all the dreamers. And we have the world-renowned guest, Like we have today, Priscilla Rahn. Priscilla, we’re so glad you’re in studio. I’m so glad to be here with you, Chrysandra. This is so special. You are VIP and just such a treasure to God’s heart and to his kingdom and to my heart in the calling. And we’re just so glad that you could come today and just make the time. So thank you so much. And Priscilla, you have so many different titles and especially just wife and your an incredible wife and world changer. What would you add underneath that for some of these world changing titles? Uber volunteer.
PRISCILLA RAHN :
Seems like everything I do is a volunteer job. I can do that. Yeah. Yeah.
CHRYSANDRA :
But with the state of Colorado and the U.S., there’s a lot.
PRISCILLA RAHN :
Yeah. So a year and a half ago, I was elected as the vice chairman of the Colorado Republican Party. Yeah. Yeah. And it’s just been amazing to meet so many people and talk to so many people and learn about civic engagement and how things work and just the fundamentals of the constitution and how things operate and how I can use my gifts as a child of God and my understanding of what God desires us to do as we live in communion with so many other people, how we can bring those together you know there are some people who would say oh separation of church and state but God is such an embedded part of who I am and how I think we should live together and share our space that it’s hard to separate those two
CHRYSANDRA :
Well, I think, Priscilla, you just nailed it because you really can’t, you know, I think once you realize your core values, well, Jesus’s core values in him as in scripture and what he believes in. that he is a just God and he wants to see that in our everyday lives. And so you can’t help. But once we, once you realize and turn the switch, sometimes it’s just through someone even saying it like today, you just speaking at Priscilla, that the light bulb comes on and they know that they have to get involved. So that’s you. Yeah.
PRISCILLA RAHN :
Well, it was really neat to find out how involved your family was. I had no idea the connection. And so it just makes it that much sweeter when you meet people that you’re friends with. And then you’re like, oh, you’re also aware of what’s going on. Because we need to be involved in our communities. And we need to elect godly, just people who… look at life through a fairness lens and a lens where it’s humanitarian. And that’s such an important thing that I look for when I look for the qualities of people who are going to lead because we’re all so busy. And if we can elect someone that we trust… to do the work, then it makes life so much easier. But over the years, I found, man, we’re not really electing people who have our best interest in mind. How do I get involved? And it’s like, oh, it’s that simple. Just get involved and start talking to people. Right, right.
CHRYSANDRA :
Well, Priscilla, so this is the Lord has placed you and obviously this is what his calling is on your life for such a time as this. Can you just rewind the tape a little bit? And when you were a little girl, how did God just start dropping it? These little gifts and tools and foreseeing your future? even when you were little?
PRISCILLA RAHN :
You know, I think it’s probably a little bit hereditary. So my mom’s from Seoul, Korea, but her mother was a business owner. My grandmother owned a grocery store in Seoul. Yes. And my grandfather was Japanese and he was also a businessman. He sold school supplies all over Asia. So on my mom’s side, you know, we have entrepreneurs. And then when my mom immigrated to the U.S., she didn’t have an education because the war started when she was a little girl. And so I just watched my mom work really long hours, minimum wage jobs, just labor jobs. And then she started her own business. She started learning how to sew. my father was in the military. So between the two, I just learned a lot of discipline and then entrepreneurship. And my grandmother said something to my mother, which she instilled in me, which is to get ahead in life. You work while other people sleep. That’s how you get ahead, you know? And so, yeah, I saw this in my parents. And then when they came to, uh, um, of the Lord, then that spiritual peace and that godly calling and how God calls us to bring in our acknowledgement of him and the need for a savior. And also how God says, if you don’t work, you don’t eat. And it’s our job to take care of the widow and the orphan. And God wants us to give our first fruits to him and just to care about others. And so just bringing all of that together for me started, I think those seeds were planted as a little girl growing up. And then when I got into high school, there were so many clubs. I went to school in Texas and being in clubs was the thing. We had FBLA, Future Business Leaders of America. And I was elected president of FBLA. It was like the club. It was like the club. I was like, okay. And then I started, they taught us how to do extemporaneous speaking. Wow, what does that mean? It’s like, it’s not quite debate, but they give you a topic. And then you have a few minutes to prepare. And you have to talk for 10 minutes, almost like persuasion. So I think early on, I just learned how to see a topic, pick a side, explain my rationale for why I agreed with that. And then I had people in my family. My dad’s sister was the first African-American woman elected to the city council in our city. Wow. Wow. So from her, I learned a lot about civic engagement. So I think over time, I just started learning from my family. Hey, you don’t just live life. You participate in life. You get involved and you use your superpowers for good in the community. Oh. So that’s kind of like how I got my activity going in politics. And then just to quickly fast forward two years ago, I met the former chair of the Colorado Republican Party. His name was Steve House. And he’s the person who said, you know, you should run for public office, which I never thought about doing. Wow. And then COVID hit. I was in the middle of my campaign. And I didn’t win. But… He said, then you should run for vice chair of the Colorado Republican Party. And I’m like, you’re nuts. But I did. And, you know, the rest is history is like I’m here and it’s exhilarating. I love it.
CHRYSANDRA :
That is so incredible. Well, I love I mean, there’s so many aspects to pull out of that. First, we need to touch. I mean, we need to touch on the entrepreneurship part and just that whole perspective to Priscilla that you went for one position. It wasn’t the right door. So you just kept on walking fearlessly to the position that you’re in now, changing lives everywhere. Can you give people just that perspective of what your role really looks like and some of the responsibilities? Yeah.
PRISCILLA RAHN :
Sure, so first of all, I was elected by all Republicans in the state who are delegates. And I wear two hats. And these are the two hats that I’m most comfortable wearing. One is candidate support. Because having been a candidate, I thought it was really important for all the candidates to feel supported. and have information. And then the other hat I wear is community outreach. So I love being in the community. I love going to events that are not necessarily Republican events, but on behalf of the Republican Party where I show up and talk to people. So the official role of the vice chairman is to work at the will of the chairman. So the chairman can say, hey, I need you to do this or I need you to be a surrogate at an event where I can’t be and speak. So I get invited all over the state to talk about issues. I’ll be at the Colorado Republican Women’s Annual Retreat in Breckenridge in a couple of weeks, giving a talk on a topic that I’m still trying to formulate. But- I’m just going around to different events and supporting people and trying to get out the vote and educate people on our platform.
CHRYSANDRA :
Right. Right. And, you know, it’s just where anyone lands on their political views. It’s just your values. And for a lot of the Christian values, it lies on the conservative side. And so. We appreciate what you’re doing, Priscilla, to be able to stand up for the least of these and to be able to hear. I just challenge everyone. I know everyone’s thinking this, too, that they can’t wait to hear you speak. So later in the program, too, Priscilla will announce it. But where can people go to find you to be able to to follow you and encourage and cheer you on?
PRISCILLA RAHN :
I would love any cheering and prayers. Yes. So I’m all over Facebook at under Priscilla Rahn. I’m on Twitter, Priscilla Rahn and Instagram. And I have a website, PriscillaRahn.com. It’s P-R-I-S-C-I-L-L-A-R-A-H-N.com. And I upload all my interviews and videos and things like that. So that’s kind of a one stop shop.
CHRYSANDRA :
I love it. Well, we’re going to share that, too, a little bit later on. If you didn’t catch it, you’re driving in the car. We’ll share it again. But that’s so special, too, Priscilla, that your parents were such entrepreneurs and they like sowed that seed in your heart to be able to work hard and then to be able to sow into the kingdom. And you are an incredible entrepreneur and just opened up your newest business. And what is what is the name of that business?
PRISCILLA RAHN :
So it’s Rodell Organics. And a lot of people say, who’s Rodell? Well, it’s my middle name. I was named after my grandmother. So it’s R-H-O-D-E-L-L, a very old and unique name. And so my business is called Rodell Organics. You can find me on Etsy or you can come to my shop. It’s at Hydra Lounge in Lone Tree. Yes. So you can come and buy all kinds of soaps and candles and deodorants and bath bombs and…
CHRYSANDRA :
And you guys, I just yeah, I can smell them from here. They’re just amazing and so gorgeous and high quality. So that is so neat that you opened it. How did you have the courage to be able to step into that dream?
PRISCILLA RAHN :
Well, I was a part time teacher, so I wasn’t bringing in a lot of money. And like a lot of teachers, we have second and third jobs. Yeah. And my mom is a teacher, too. Yep. Yep. So it’s like I’m broke and I don’t like being broke. Yeah. I could either get a job or I could start my own business. And so. So Darren and I, we decided before we got married. Yeah. We would give each other a hundred dollar allowance every month that we decided we could spend without having to question.
ADVERTISER :
Yeah.
PRISCILLA RAHN :
I saved two months worth of allowance to start my business. Oh, my God. And then so I just started making hair oils in my kitchen. And then I started. So when you know how when you start clicking on YouTube, how to make. Yeah. If you click how to make and then you start going, oh, my goodness, that’s so cool. I can make that. And then I started making, you know, soaps. That was the thing. So that was how I started.
CHRYSANDRA :
Oh my gosh. Well, we’re going to take a short break Priscilla, but we want to learn more because there are so many dreams inside of our hearts that new businesses, new nonprofits, just ideas. And you’re the perfect person to be able to inspire us to do that. We thank everyone for tuning in to all the dreamers radio show. We have Priscilla Rahn on with us. We’ll be right back. Hi guys, this is Chrysandra Brunson, host of To All The Dreamers. I am so happy to introduce personal training, nutritional guidance, and behavioral change coaching. Healthy, happy, and heavenly for your wellness, spirit, soul, and body. Contact Mimi Kroger at healthyhappyandheavenly.com.
ADVERTISER :
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CHRYSANDRA :
We are back. Thank you for tuning in to all the Dreamers radio show. We have the one and only Priscilla Rahn in studio with us. We’re so excited to have you, Priscilla.
PRISCILLA RAHN :
It’s so funny. You bundle of energy. I need this in the middle of the day. You’re better than a cup of coffee. I’ll just come see Cassandra.
CHRYSANDRA :
Well, thank you. Well, you light up my, I’m definitely an extrovert. So I’m like charged up and just so excited to, especially when it comes to dreams and calling and how to activate these dreams. And you were just telling us, Priscilla, that you were, you, you had it in your heart that you needed to make some extra money and you could either go, Find a job somewhere else or to stir up creativity in your heart. And you started using the tool of YouTube, which is… You know, like I think we watch videos like watching other people do things, but then to take that actually as education. And that’s what you did. And so you started watching these videos.
PRISCILLA RAHN :
Yeah, I’m really resourceful as a teacher. Like I can make a dollar stretch really far. And if I can find something free and I always say to my students. The internet has free information. You guys, like I didn’t have access to internet and free information on how to learn. We would have to spend so much money and go to schools to learn how to do things new. And I thought, you know, I can sit here in my house and watch a video and learn how to make something. And the trial and error process, you know, everybody goes through trial and error process. but I got really good at making soaps, and then I started making bath bombs, and shower steamers, and then body butters, and like all kinds of things, and so my dream is to have my own Lush, or to be in Whole Foods, Or something where, you know.
CHRYSANDRA :
Hey, if you’re tuning in and want to be able to be an investor.
PRISCILLA RAHN :
That’s the thing. I’m passionate and it’s all organic. And I think people love handmade from the heart products that are high quality. So that’s been my love and my passion. So when I get off of work late at night, you can go to my YouTube. I mean, sorry, my Facebook and watch me cut soap.
CHRYSANDRA :
Fun. Yes. Well, I mean, what it is, is that it’s not just you cutting soap or so it’s watching you live out your calling and a part of your dream that you can’t make up that God put it on your heart and inspires other people to do that, too. And I know everyone’s going to want to find you your shop and ask. at hydro lounge. And that is just such an incredible business as well. And, uh, that is just really neat. So you were this entrepreneur and then, but had all these, I love that. Like God has allowed this creativity to not allow you just to be in one box, but in a whole bunch of different spheres to be able to make an impact and education and, um, politically. So what would you say is going on in the education realm right now that we, uh, can be aware of for the future generation.
PRISCILLA RAHN :
Well, one thing’s for sure. I know a lot of parents across the nation when COVID hit, got a glimpse into what our public education system looked like, and they were not happy with what they were seeing. And I think for a lot of conservative educators and Christian educators, it’s been a slow boil. This is my 29th year in education, former principal.
CHRYSANDRA :
So I’ve seen, you would not know that you guys, she likes 20. Yeah. It’s my skincare. We’ll have to talk about that another time, too. It’s perfect. Thank you. Thank you.
PRISCILLA RAHN :
But I will say that, you know, we can look at the data and it’s very disheartening to see. And it’s the disproportionate data, especially in our minority and low income communities. And we just need to do better. And the way a lot of us are doing better is to push for parental choice and education choice. And I know that rubs people the wrong way that are very, very pro public education. And I am pro public education. But we can see that there’s no one size fits all for kids. And there are things that are being taught to children that go against our spiritual and Christian beliefs. And like we started off on the show, we cannot separate those two. Those are embedded in our everyday lives and parents should be able to trust that when they send their children, they give their children to me for eight hours, I wanna return them back in better condition that they gave them to me in the morning. So the only way I can do that is to respect how parents are choosing to raise their children and not overstep or replace. Because we’re seeing a lot of teachers and administrators saying, you can trust me before you trust your parents. And I don’t think that’s right. We should always trust. foster a strong relationship between children and parents, but always also be there if a child is in need. But we are not the parents. And so I think that we need to be very, very careful. So right now we’re seeing a movement in education. Arizona actually is leading that charge where they’re funding the child and not the system. I think that when we look at the data, over 80% of black and Hispanic parents are pro-education choice. And so when you see parents saying, you know what, I don’t want my child Trapped in one system. I want to be able to send them to a better school Then we should support that because I think that’s a good a good decision.
CHRYSANDRA :
Do you think Priscilla that there should be? Availability for a child to go to any school that they want to I do.
PRISCILLA RAHN :
Yeah, I do I mean we’re looking at people who are paying taxes property taxes and sales tax and all kinds of taxes well and If we collectively are not fulfilling the promises that we made to parents, then those parents should have a right to say, I’m going to take my dollars that I earned and invest it back into my child. It’s not the government’s money. It’s… The people’s money. It’s our money. There’s no free anything. And so that’s I’ve had to come to that acknowledgement over a time because I wasn’t I was indoctrinated to think it’s only public education. Right. If we would only fully fund public education. Yeah. And we would solve all these problems. But hey, there’s no money. nobody can give me a number of what that fully funded is. And number two, we’ve increased funding in public education more now than we ever have in the history of public education. So I don’t think- And has there been a big shift in the schools? Well, I know there’s been a battle in making sure that the money goes to the teacher and the students because it can get locked in bureaucracy and higher levels in administration. So there needs to be audits done. But we can’t. The money is there. Yeah. There’s so much money. Really? There’s so much. There’s plenty of money. But I don’t think that money is the end all be all to everything. fixing the problems. It’s actually focusing on classic education and going back to the basics and not overburdening a teacher in the school day with so many other responsibilities. But let’s get to the basics of making sure we’re meeting the needs of all kids educationally.
CHRYSANDRA :
Right. Well, this just ties into how important it is for us to stand up this November and to be able to get to get out there and vote. Priscilla, what would you tell everybody to do to be able to get involved in this season?
PRISCILLA RAHN :
So I’m assuming that everybody who’s listening to this show is either a conservative or a Christian. I need to tell you that typically during a presidential year, there are 350,000 more Republicans in Colorado who vote in a presidential year that don’t vote in a midterm. And so if we just got half of those people to vote this November, we could have a lot of victories in Colorado.
CHRYSANDRA :
So say that one more time. How many people do not vote?
PRISCILLA RAHN :
So about 350,000 more people vote in a presidential election than vote in a primary election in Colorado. You guys. So we have to change that. We need you to vote. Don’t throw away your ballot. You’re going to get it in the mail. Fill it out. All ours. All the way down. Yes. And turn in your ballot. Hand deliver your ballot. And ask your family and your friends and your neighbors. You can collect up to 10 ballots. That’s legal. That’s the law in Colorado. You can hand carry ballots. up to 10 ballots to the ballot box. And we just need everybody to vote because we have great candidates who are going to solve the problems in Colorado.
CHRYSANDRA :
Yes. And Priscilla, if they don’t know who to vote for, if they’re going down the list, how can they get to know the candidates and be able to trust who they are?
PRISCILLA RAHN :
If you go to COLO, which is COLO, G-O-P, C-O-L-O-G-O-P dot org, or is it dot com? I’m sorry. It’s one of the two, C-O-L-O-G-O-P dot com. You can see a list of all the candidates and their websites and vet them and read about them. But it’s amazing the people that we have on our tickets all across Colorado.
CHRYSANDRA :
Aww. Well, that is that’s very inspiring. And you guys, we you’re listening to this program right now for a reason. And you need to get involved. And we are coming towards the end of our program. We would love to hear your wisdom on living out God’s calling on your life. And one or two tips that have been life changing to your heart to do so.
PRISCILLA RAHN :
Well, one tip is when God opens a little door, go through it. Don’t look for all these big opportunities. People think, oh, I’m waiting for my big, big door to open. But sometimes God opens little doors. Just walk through those. Wow. And then you will get to the big door. And then the other thing is surround yourself with godly people and wisdom. And don’t ever make a big decision without two or three people that you know are walking the walk to say, can you pray with me? Can this be on your radar? And can I check in with you? You know, we we think we’re hearing from the Lord sometimes and maybe sometimes it’s just our feelings or our thoughts and we can get, you know, bound into that. But always get someone else’s perspective on because the Bible talks about that, you know, godly, godly leaders and and advice. So that would be counsel.
CHRYSANDRA :
Mm hmm. Those are so profound. I love that. We do need to be able to be humble enough to be able to see God’s open doors around us and not be so prideful that it doesn’t look exactly what we had pictured it in our heart and mind, but to be. have that peace that surrounds you know it transcends all understanding to guide us to walk through them those doors so thank you for that and for the godly council we that’s very profound and grateful for um god just being so abounding and giving us people to live life with and when we’re looking for it so priscilla people want to stay in touch with you how can they do that
PRISCILLA RAHN :
Well, again, you can follow me on PriscillaRahn.com or email me at Priscilla at PriscillaRahn.com. If you Google my name, you’ll find me. Yes.
CHRYSANDRA :
And spell it for everyone so that they can. Because I think it’s such a royal name.
PRISCILLA RAHN :
It’s beautiful. Thank you. So Priscilla is P-R-I-S-C-I-L-L-A. Like Presley. And Rahn is R-A-H-N. Thanks to my Mennonite, German Mennonite husband that I married. And Presley, you have to give a shout out to your amazing husband. I do. My Canadian amazing Grammy nominated number one billboard artist, jazz saxophonist, Darren Rahn, who’s an awesome spiritual leader.
CHRYSANDRA :
Yes.
PRISCILLA RAHN :
And I love him so much.
CHRYSANDRA :
Aw, well, you guys are a power couple and just world changers. And we are just so honored to be able to have you on, Priscilla. And hopefully you and Darren could be back very soon. And we just welcome everyone to connect with Priscilla today. If you’re driving, when you park, go write Priscilla. Check out her website. Connect with her on social media. Go to her incredible business and encourage people to vote this November. We thank everybody for tuning into all the dreamers radio show today. I’m your host, Cassandra Brunson, and you can connect with Priscilla and other guests at the calling nonprofit.org. And we hope that you are inspired, empowered and equipped to go after God’s calling on your life today. Remember, what would you do if you knew you could not fail? Whatever the answer is to that question, you are born to live it out. We look forward to staying in time with you next time. Stay tuned, Dreamer.
