Redefining Success as a Christian Working Mom
How do you redefine success as a Christian working mom?
You redefine success by deciding what it actually means for your family and your faith — not what the charts, the algorithm, or the other moms in your industry say it should look like. For Marina, that meant trading downloads and sponsorships for presence with her kids, peace in a slower season, and obedience to what God asked her to build. When success stops being about making a name for yourself, you get to show up without the pressure to be perfect.
By Marina Tolentino | September 22, 2026
Guess what? We're back. And a lot has changed while I was away.
When I started this podcast, I thought success meant hitting the top charts. It meant brand sponsorships. It meant the show paying for itself, and people knowing the name Work Like A Mother before they ever knew who I was.
We did 60-something episodes in about a year — sometimes more than one a week. And if I'm being honest, it never really moved the needle the way I thought it should.
So I stepped away. And in the 18 months since, God rewrote almost every definition of success I was carrying — in my home, in my faith, and in my business. This is the catch-up.
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Dropping the expectation of perfection
First things first: this season looks different.
There's a new mic, more solo episodes, and I'm doing more of it myself instead of paying a full editing team, because this podcast comes out of my own pocket.
Full disclosure: I was supposed to bring the show back in June. This is my procrastination — and, not gonna lie, my insecurity — finally getting out of the way.
The day I recorded this, I woke up with a curly poof ball, so it went in a hat for the school commute — and that's what you got on camera.
And that's the point. We're not aiming for the most polished podcast studio anymore. We're showing up as we are.
If you've been waiting to start something until the setup is perfect — the logo, the website, the lighting, the "right" season — sis, it's not coming. Show up with what you have.
What 18 months of motherhood taught me about success
When I stepped away from the podcast, I didn't step away from work. I still ran my real estate business and stayed consistent with closings. But the biggest thing I got back was time to be present with my kids.
The homeschool years
We pulled my son out of third grade a little over two years ago. Some of what was happening at school didn't line up with our values as a Christian family, and at a certain point, my mama heart just knew he needed to come home.
I didn't feel qualified. I have a degree in early childhood education and human development — I'm technically trained to be a preschool teacher — but teaching elementary is a whole different thing. And the hardest part? You don't really get a break. Kids will talk back and negotiate with their mom in a way they never would with another authority figure.
In 2025, I homeschooled both kids — my son in fifth grade and my daughter in kindergarten. My husband is full time on the farm, so we "shift parent" as needed. If I have half a day of showings or a meeting in town, he covers the kids. That's still one of the best parts of being work-from-home entrepreneurs.
Back to school, and a different kind of win
This fall, we put the kids back in school.
My son is in sixth grade at a hybrid school — two days on campus, three at home on Zoom. The steep learning curve? Typing. Turns out intro to keyboarding doesn't cut it when you have to write two paragraphs without home row on lock.
My daughter is in first grade at our local public school. She's my little shadow — super shy — and all her friends were my son's twelve-year-old buddies. She needed some girlfriends.
The whole first week, she came home a total chatty Kathy: here's who I met, here's what we did, I love my teacher. That was a huge answered prayer.
Defining success for yourself
Here's what I didn't expect. For the last year and a half, I've been in it — but in a peaceful way. I wasn't looking around comparing myself to other realtors or worrying that everyone else was doing XYZ while I was over here being a recluse.
That expectation severely dropped. My version of success is very different from other people's, and I found so much peace, rest, and release in defining it for myself.
If you're in a season where it feels like everyone is passing you — they're launching, growing, posting — ask yourself whose scoreboard you're actually playing on. Is it God's? Or is it Instagram's?
This new season of Work Like A Mother is built for the commute line, the drive to pickup, and the ten minutes of reflection you squeeze in before the kids need you again. If you want a weekly dose of encouragement for your faith, your family, and your business, follow the show so every new Tuesday episode lands right in your feed. Follow Work Like A Mother on Spotify here.
Why this podcast isn't mine anymore
This is the part that changed the most.
In season one, I was scared to talk about my faith. I thought it was a bad look. I thought guests who didn't share my beliefs wouldn't want to come on. I thought it would pigeonhole me into a niche so small nobody would listen. Doubts, questions, and limiting beliefs — all of it.
I grew up in the church, walked away in my early 20s, and came back to my faith in 2017. So I was a Christian back in 2024. But I wasn't confident talking about it on a platform. That's the difference.
Here's the truth: everyone is an influencer. Platform or not, you influence the people around you with your character.
If I had to sum up the comeback story, it's this: season one was about me making a name for myself. Now this podcast isn't mine — it's God's. I just want Him to use it.
So if you're a longtime listener and you're thinking, "Wait, we're talking about God now?" — yes. And I hope you stay. If you're not a believer yet, I'd challenge you to listen with an open heart and mind and see if anything we talk about resonates.
Surrender is not a one-and-done
I'm a self-diagnosed Type A, so the biggest work God's been doing in me is surrender and letting go of control. When I hold something up to my neck with a clenched fist, it doesn't go anywhere. That's worry and anxiety, and that's not from God.
But it's a process. Just like you sometimes have to forgive someone a thousand times before you feel released, you have to let go of control over and over. Let it go. Let it go. Let it go.
The calling that brought me back
When we brought my son home, God used it as a wake-up call for me. I realized I had not equipped him with a real faith foundation. My faith was so personal that I kept it in my own bubble — I wasn't sharing it with my kids or my husband. I assumed taking him to church would cover it.
It didn't. And it felt like God grabbing me by the shoulders: Wake up, Marina. Do this on purpose.
Then, somewhere in 2024, I felt so strongly tasked by the Lord to write a book. Which is hilarious, because I'm not an author. I haven't written anything longer than two pages since college.
I immediately identified with Moses. When God called him, Moses said, "Who am I?" (Exodus 3:11), and then, "I am slow of speech and of tongue" (Exodus 4:10). And God said, basically, You're the one I'm asking, and I'll be your strength (Exodus 4:11–12).
At the same time, God put me in a year-long discipleship group built to send us out to make disciples (Matthew 28:19–20), and I was asked to lead the parenting class at our church.
In those rooms, I kept hearing the same thing: parents wanted more. And so many of the Christian parenting books I was reading boiled down to "here's what worked for my family, so do that." But every family is different — single moms, blended families, every financial situation.
I wanted to get back to what the Bible actually says about raising kids, so they don't walk away from Jesus when they grow up like I did.
That book is called The Hidden Deception: Raising Kids Who Don't Drift From Jesus, and it's coming out by early December. It's the project bringing this podcast back, because there are so many conversations — about screens, dating, and what it actually looks like to abide with Jesus as a parent — that you can't cover in a 45-minute Sunday sermon.
With calling comes new capacity
I'll be honest: I'm in a gap right now. I'm walking in obedience, but I can't see the other side of the tunnel. I don't know how the launch will go. I don't know how I'll cover the cost of self-publishing.
But I believe with calling comes new capacity. God called me to this, so I'm going to do it — and it'll work out the way He wants it to, as long as I stay in alignment with Him.
Maybe that's where you are too. Obedient, but still in the dark part of the tunnel. Keep walking.
What's coming this season
New episodes drop every Tuesday morning. Some will be me talking straight to the camera like this. Some will be conversations with incredible women — moms of teenagers, new moms, grandmas, and business experts with testimonies to share.
Up next is a three-part identity series, starting with Episode 62 of Work Like A Mother. Because before we can talk about what you're called to do, we have to get clear on who you are.
So here's my question for you this week: what does success actually look like for you in this season? Not your industry's version. Not the internet's. Yours — and God's.
If this encouraged you, follow Work Like A Mother so you don't miss the identity series, and share this episode with a mama who needs it.
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About Marina Tolentino
Marina Tolentino is a REALTOR®, author, and the host of the Work Like A Mother podcast, where she helps Christian working moms feel confident about their next move — at home, in faith, and in business. Listen and subscribe at marinatolentino.com/podcast.
