I went to a women’s retreat this weekend. I heard many different stories of God’s Faithfulness and I was reminded of how faithful He has been in my own life. We can trust Him for the future because we remember how he has provided for us in the past.
My faith is the foundation of my life. As I move forward with Coaching and helping women say YES! to a greater calling in their own lives, I’m reminded again of the greatest calling in mine. And that is to praise Jesus and tell others about His saving grace. I don’t mean I need to go door to door and talk about Jesus but I need to show up as a person who walks with the Lord. This manifests in a peace, a joy, a light, that is different than the world. You’ve seen it. Those people that have peace in the midst of a terrifying diagnosis, the ones who smile and have gratitude even in a season of loss, the people who are strong and courageous while the rest of the world is freaking out. I want to be those people. And with Jesus’s help, I know I can be. I see how He has helped me grow and mature over the last 50 years. The way He has invited me to go deeper with Him and the peace that has grown in my own life because of my walk with Him.
I am passionate about what I do. I am passionate about helping women say YES! to living with purpose. I am excited about helping women break through strongholds and conquer fear. I am grateful that I get to speak into women’s lives and walk with them as they become who they were designed to be. But none of that is possible if I am not rooted in who I am and whose I am. I can’t be who I’m designed to be without plugging into my source. I can’t be disconnected from my roots and my original design and expect to thrive. It’s impossible.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. -John 14:27 NIV
As my coaching business is growing, I’ve been thinking and praying about the work I do. I have been asking God, how would you have me lead? How can my work glorify you? And He has answered, “Tell them about me”. He has reminded me that people are hungry for deeper conversation. The women I work with need to know some practical things like how to write an effective Instagram bio but what they really want is purpose, connection, clarity (this is what we all want!). And all of those things come from being rooted in Jesus and having a strong foundation.
See, the world will tell you that having big numbers is the definition of success. The world will make you think that more is better – for Instagram followers or Facebook likes or event attendance. You will start to believe that you only matter if you have lots and lots of people following you. But God will tell you it’s the one. He will remind you that it is the one person, the one heart, the one mind, the one that God brings to you that is looking for hope, for peace, for joy. How can we speak to the one?
As I move forward with Great Big YES! I’m in a bunch of marketing groups and I love it all. But I’m really cognizant of being different. Of having an approach that is unique, based on my faith. Just like everyone else, I want to grow my business and I want to learn all about the business and marketing world so I can help myself and others but all of this has to be in alignment with my foundation, with my faith. I don’t want worldly success at any cost. I will always choose to run my business from a place of integrity, I will always be true to my values and to my faith.
In one of my marketing groups, we were asked to come up with 3 pillars of our business. I have done that and want to share with you. I feel confident this will help me move forward in alignment and stay rooted while growing. I know it will help me lead well and not get off track. I hope and pray it will help my clients give structure to their own path, always keeping in mind the three pillars.
The three pillars are: Foundation, Focus, Flow.
- Foundation: My faith in Jesus. Staying in God’s Word. Praying. Being in a community of believers. Spending time in relationship with the Lord.
- Focus: All the coaching stuff – mindset, overcoming fear, finding clarity, scheduling, time management, taking every thought captive, creating healthy habits.
- Flow: When these two things are aligned. When we are no longer pushing forward in our own strength, when we are plugged into the power of God. When we are living a life of peace and joy and purpose. Flow can’t be forced but when you are in it, anything is possible!
This has been my story. I’m a three on the enneagram, The Achiever, and I have been a striver and a chameleon for all my life. It has worked for me until it didn’t. Maybe you can relate? But God told me that I can rest, that He has me, that His plans for me are good, that I can trust Him. I can still be myself and if I remain plugged into Him, I can stop white knuckling and gritting my teeth to achieve in my own strength, but I can get into the Flow with Him and then…anything is possible!!! He invited me to walk with Him, to lay down my burdens and enter into the unforced rhythms of grace. I said YES! to Him and my life has been forever changed.
When the story of my life is written, who knows? I might have a lot of followers or I might have none. Either way, it will be well with my soul. And when you think about it, isn’t that the whole point?
My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.
God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us. -Ephesians 3:16-21 The Message (MSG)
Had to show you the whole picture so you could see the boots!! 🙂
Here’s the latest podcast!
Thanks for being here! Keep saying “YES!”
I’m rooting for you!
Sue