Meet The Fearless 5 Leader

                                                                                                   Dr. Kim Costello

Who is Kim in a nutshell?

I am a wife, a mother, a grandmother and a daughter. I love my family and it is my family that inspires me to be the best version of me. Although there are many words that can be used to describe me, the word that stands out the most is “peacemaker” and is perfectly aligned with my favorite bible verse, “blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God” (Mathew 5:9). In my profession, I help others navigate their adversarial circumstances so that they can find peace. In this, I have always viewed obstacles to not be true roadblocks but as challenges that can be worked through, circumstances and situations that can always be figured out by not going around them but by facing them head on. No matter how big the proverbial hill or mountain is, we continue to climb and overcome through building, creating, and implementing a path guided by God, truly embracing his beauty.

Where do you stand with Christ as of right now and where do you see your relationship with Him headed?

There are times that I know God is in front of me, guiding me. Other times, I know that God is beside me as a supporting lifelong friend. Then there are times that God is behind me, trusting that my faith in Him is strong enough to let me go forth on my own, yet keeping a watchful eye on me. In knowing this, I am building my trust bank daily, where I am letting control be something that I let go of.

I know that the struggle to trust God with life can be a big issue, as you’re finding out. But the thing to remember is that our God is a very big God and has all things under His control. That includes big things like the financial crisis and the little things like how we live our lives. You might have heard the phrase “let go and let God”. Some people think that this is the way we as Christians ought to understand the Christian life – we give up ourselves and let God control it all. However, this is very simplistic and problematic, to say the least.

Rom 12:1-2 is helpful at this point. True worship is to give up our lives for God, to live for Him alone. God calls us to lie in obedience to him. That does not involve relinquishing control, but rather letting God’s plans and purposes shape the things we do. Our minds are not switched off, but rather transformed and renewed by God, and so we become aware of the new way God wants us to live. This takes self control and action, two things that we all too often overlook the importance of.

Describe what makes you fearless?

For years, I would struggle with the “What if” Syndrome. “What if,” I send this letter and I have spelling errors? “What if,” I speak in public and forget what I am supposed to say? “What if,” the way I raised my children was not the right way? There were so many years that I was afraid of being judged or criticized, and the fear of the “What if’s” would get the best of me. I was so relieved that, in God’s eyes, performance does not matter. God just cares about the relationship we have with him. In 2nd Timothy 1:7 it says that God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power. God wants us to use our power. He wants us to come to him with our insecurities, our doubts and confusion. What makes me fearless is that I rely on God for my power. My strength comes from him and I trust in him to guide me in my life direction.


Where do you stand with Christ as of right now and where do you see your relationship with Him headed?

There are times that I know God is in front of me, guiding me. Other times, I know that God is beside me as a supporting lifelong friend. Then there are times that God is behind me, trusting that my faith in Him is strong enough to let me go forth on my own, yet keeping a watchful eye on me. In knowing this, I am building my trust bank daily, where I am letting control be something that I let go of.

I know that the struggle to trust God with life can be a big issue, as you’re finding out. But the thing to remember is that our God is a very big God and has all things under His control. That includes big things like the financial crisis and the little things like how we live our lives. You might have heard the phrase “let go and let God”. Some people think that this is the way we as Christians ought to understand the Christian life – we give up ourselves and let God control it all. However, this is very simplistic and problematic, to say the least.
Rom 12:1-2 is helpful at this point. True worship is to give up our lives for God, to live for Him alone. God calls us to lie in obedience to him. That does not involve relinquishing control, but rather letting God’s plans and purposes shape the things we do. Our minds are not switched off, but rather transformed and renewed by God, and so we become aware of the new way God wants us to live. This takes self-control and action, two things that we all too often overlook the importance of.

What is one of your favorite childhood memories?

While I have many fond memories of my childhood, the memories that stand out the most are those about the Christmas holiday. My love language is gift giving, so there is no surprise that Christmas is my favorite holiday. But my Christmas memories are not just about the presents, it is about a bigger and better gift: family. As family is so very important to me and what I hold closest to my heart, Christmas is the one time of the year that my entire family, from near and far, would get together to celebrate Christ’s birth and our deep love for one another. My paternal grandmother would spend the day cooking an amazing meal, and we sat together as a tightly bonded family, appreciating each other and all that we had. The sight and smell of the fresh snow outside, the scent of food permeating from the kitchen, and the tree that was so beautifully decorated as a family team effort are sights that remain vivid in my mind.

What makes your bond with your daughters unique?

My bond with my daughters in unique because in each daughter there is an attribute of strength in each of them that are literally my personal weakness so they each accent me in different ways. As a parent and business owner, I feel that my role is to be the serious one, one that makes sure that everyone is safe and taken care of, one that must wear many “hats” and does not know which direction to go, and one that sometimes has difficulty seeing the big picture because of being so focused on the small, immediate pictures. It is in this that my bonds with my daughters are what makes me whole. My youngest daughter, Allie, is my humorous, lighthearted child who can see the humor in any situation. She brings laughter and joy to everyone she is around. Allie brings this to our relationship, a bond built on laughter and happiness. My middle daughter, Autumn, is a truly gentle spirit, showing exceptional patience in times that are truly challenging and trying. She has a gift for taking the world in, taking the all of the information in front of her and figuring things out. Autumn shares the gift with me, and we share the bond of insight and wisdom. My eldest daughter, Ashlee, is the true definition of zealous. She has a deep love for every endeavor she takes on and moves forward in a logical and sequential manner. So often Ashlee is the “other side of my brain”, helping me see things through to completion when I have come to a halt, with a deep bond that is built on growth and accomplishment. Candice has a military background. She served in the Air-force and it was there where she found her innate ability to delegate. She is a force to reckon with when she has a task that needs to be mastered and she has a unique way of building rapport and trust while she guides fearlessly. I personally prefer not to delegate and am grateful that Candice fulfills this role as the taskmaster.

God has given each one of our daughters’ unique qualities that complement me. Their attributes combined with mine make us a compete Fearless 5 package.