Olivia Schaff — Learning to Live Open-Handed

Sometimes following God makes sense to you before it makes sense to anyone else.

Olivia Schaff thought she knew what life after college would look like. She studied finance, considered a career in real estate, and had a path in front of her that felt safe and explainable.

But God kept leading her somewhere else.

In this conversation, Olivia shares how her faith became something she no longer wanted to keep private, the conviction that led her to start It’s Cool to Love Jesus, and the unexpected response when her first 50 hats sold out in two hours. She also shares the decision to step away from the career she thought she would build and into student ministry — and the very specific moment God met her while she was asking for clarity.

We talk about caring deeply about what other people think, identity in Christ, showing up to church alone, daily surrender, and what it looks like to hold our plans with open hands.

And somewhere in the middle of the conversation, we stop talking and worship together.

This one is about learning that obedience doesn’t always make sense to everyone around you — and trusting God enough to follow anyway.

Built By Faith is a space for honest conversations about how faith is formed in real life.

SISU Sauna has given the Built By Faith community a discount: https://vencl.co/sisu

00:00 — Cold Open

00:22 — Meet Olivia

02:51 — The People Who Helped Build Her Faith

07:40 — When Faith Became Real

12:26 — Saved vs. Surrendered

17:00 — Why Keep Jesus Private?

21:20 — Choosing the Path That Didn’t Make Sense

23:53 — Asking God for Clarity

28:00 — The Night Everything Became Clear

32:41 — Caring What Other People Think

36:05 — Surrender Is a Daily Decision

38:20 — Building a Life With God

42:43 — Knowing God Through His Creation

47:28 — Jesus Intercedes for Us

48:43 — It’s Cool to Love Jesus

52:58 — What Are You Trying to Be Famous For?

56:19 — Responding to the Call

57:15 — An Unplanned Moment of Worship

1:03:53 — “He’s So Cool”

1:08:15 — Why Surrender If We’re Already Forgiven?

1:11:11 — Who Are We to Say No?

1:13:44 — Closing Prayer