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Homeopathy At Home with Melissa
I am a Registered Homeopath and Lactation Consultant who loves Jesus and believes in the power of prayer in healing and restoration. God designed our bodies to heal themselves. We interfere with the body’s abilities by introducing medications which stop the action our bodies were made to do - heal! Homeopathy comes in and stimulates the immune system to help the body remember how to heal itself. ALL people are welcomed here, no matter your beliefs! I discuss mostly homeopathy here, but also I bring an encouraging word from the Lord and touch on the topics of parenting, homeschooling, marriage, and nutrition. Welcome to my world! It’s a beautiful, healthy life!
Homeopathy At Home with Melissa
From Nurse to Coach: Blanche's Journey of Healing and Purpose
Send a text to Melissa and she’ll answer it on the next episode.
Have you ever wondered what might happen if you simply asked God, "What else can I do for you?" For Blanche, this humble prayer sparked an extraordinary transformation from nurse case manager to author, coach, and podcaster—all within a single month!
In this powerful conversation, Blanche shares her journey from a difficult childhood in the Philippines marked by abuse and separation from her father, to discovering healing through forgiveness and purpose. With raw honesty, she reveals how carrying unforgiveness affected not just her relationships but her physical health, explaining the scientific connection between bitterness and conditions like high blood pressure, weakened immunity, and even serious illness.
The turning point in Blanche's story comes when she returns to the Philippines after years of separation and experiences a profound moment of reconciliation with her parents. This emotional breakthrough illustrates how true forgiveness often requires more than just words—it demands vulnerability and sometimes even physically embracing those who hurt us.
What makes Blanche's perspective particularly fascinating is how she bridges cultural approaches to health and healing. Growing up in the Philippines, herbal medicine wasn't considered "alternative"—it was integrated into nursing education and everyday healthcare. This holistic mindset now infuses her coaching practice through four powerful pillars: forgiveness coaching, marriage reset coaching (especially for intercultural couples), nurse career coaching, and rediscovery coaching for women over 40.
For women who feel defined solely by their roles as wives and mothers, Blanche offers a life-giving reminder: "You're not just a wife, you're not just a mom. You have your own God-given calling." Her passion for helping women rediscover their identity and purpose, especially after 40, springs from her conviction that our primary identity should be rooted in Christ, not in our temporary roles.
Ready to explore what healing, forgiveness, and purpose might look like in your own life? Listen now and discover how you too might be "anointed and appointed for such a time as this."
Coach Blanche DiDomenico
Author | Freedom and Marriage Coach | Speaker | Podcast Host
📘 Featured Book: *Rise With Purpose: A Biblical Workbook to Building Resilience, Growing in Faith, and Living your God-given Calling*
🎙️ Podcasts: RISE Tayo – Stories of Filipino Resilience and Calling & The Anointed Life with Coach Blanche
💬 Niche: Faith-driven women in their 40s navigating identity, transitions, and calling, nurses who are burned out, couples needing help with marital issues
🗣️ Signature Talks
- Time Stewardship for Christian Women
- Unforgiveness is Blocking Your Breakthrough
- Cultivating a Growth Mindset: God’s Way
- What It Means to Be Anointed by God
🌟 About Coach Blanche
A proud Filipino-American immigrant, registered nurse, and certified case manager turned life coach, Blanche empowers women to reclaim their identity, reignite their faith, and RISE into their God-given calling.
Her heart-centered, Holy Spirit-led messages are rooted in scripture, resilience, and the RISE framework:
Resilience – Impact – Service – Empowerment
📬 Booking Info
🌐 Website: blanchedidomenico.com
📧 Email: freedomcoach@blanchedidomenico.com
📱 IG: @saved_daughter_of_the_king FB: Blanche DiDomenico
📍 Based in NC | Available for virtual and in-person events
Welcome back to Homeopathy at Home with Melissa. Hey Melissa, hey Brie, great to see you today. Yeah, same Today we get to do an interview, and so you guys, if you've been listening for a while we periodically have some other wonderful people from honestly all different kinds of backgrounds, so tonight's a pretty fun one. You want to introduce her?
Speaker 2:Yes, so this is Blanche, and we actually met Blanche through her husband. Her husband took the Gateway series with us. How did this happen, Blanche? How did we talk? How did we come to? Oh, I know what it was. How did we talk? How did we come to? Oh, I know what it was. I was talking to um.
Speaker 2:So, because, because your husband was in the in the gateway, I was talking to him about your son's health and, um, and he mentioned that some of what you do, and I was like I want to talk to her and so then so you and I talked on the phone and then I listened to your podcast and that was awesome. So I just want to tell you, I want to introduce Blanche and so, um, just that she is an author, she's a freedom and marriage coach, which is so interesting, and she's a speaker and she's a podcast host. So, like I already said, I listened to your podcast and I thought it was amazing, and so I really enjoyed our phone conversation not that long ago and I would love for you to tell our listeners a little bit about you.
Speaker 3:Awesome, and thank you, melissa, for having me. And so nice to meet you, brie. And thank you, melissa, for having me, and so nice to meet you, bree. I was looking forward to this conversation and it's funny you said that, melissa, that you know how did we get here, right? I always say it's God-ordained. Truly, he orchestrates people coming into our lives. And the cool thing was, just, like you mentioned, my husband, troy. He's been going to your classes and he's really so passionate about homeopathic medication and medicine. He wants to be a consultant, all that, which I'm fully supportive of him. But he was talking so much about you. He was like, oh my goodness, I love this teacher, and he was just talking on and on about you and, and so I was just listening to him. And then, when you had that conversation with him and you told him that you wanted to talk to me, I was like, oh my goodness, that would be so cool. So, um, with that being said, and thank you for that introduction, that really humbles me, to be honest, all of that just transpired within the last oh my gosh, I would say three months.
Speaker 3:My day job. I am a nurse case manager. Actually, I just got another job, still within the same company, but I do work at home. I have a background with hospice. I have a background with medical, surgical nursing and palliative care nursing. So I've been a nurse since 2005. So kind of old, but I'm graduated in nursing in the Philippines, so I came here from the Philippines in 2010. So I've been here for goodness 2010, 15 years, right, so a lot of things there, but the Lord really, just so.
Speaker 3:Again, I have three boys, of course, my husband, troy. We live in North Carolina, which is hopefully you can see each other Melissa and Bree, if you're also in North Carolina, it'd be so awesome, it'll be so awesome. But, um, so again, I was doing my, my job, you know, I was working at home and raising my boys and and something just clicked in me, um, around march, uh, I don't know if you've heard of myron golden, but, um, I really love him. He's one of the best business coach out out there. You would, you can try and check out his youtube channel. But one thing about him is he's just really talking about our gifts, that we all have gifts, and I mean it's in the bible also, right, I mean we're given talents and gifts. So, anyway, to cut the long story short, how I got all the. You're talking about being an author, podcaster. I also have a youtube channel.
Speaker 3:Um, that, really, just how do I say it? I feel like, so okay, what? I prayed because I work at home. I'm here at home monday to friday. Um, I clock in at eight, I get done at five and I go downstairs and make dinner and before I know I'd have to put the kids to bed. Right, that's my whole life. I mean my whole day, my whole week, and then, of course, errands in the evening I mean in the weekends and then that's it. That's my life. I have a very small baking business. I do love pastry so much, so, hopefully, if I could bake you some goodies one day, um, but one day I just prayed. I said Lord, what else can I do for you? Is there anything else? Because, again, I'm here, I'm here at home.
Speaker 3:So I stumbled upon coaching, the coaching business, and when I started doing the certification, it really just you know when the shoe fits so perfectly and I was like, oh my gosh, this is what I wanted to do, this is what I wanted to do, this is what I wanted to do.
Speaker 3:So I prayed and so, long story short, in one month I took my certification, um, I wrote a book, I started a YouTube channel and then I did a podcast, all in one month. It was crazy, you guys, I don't know, don't ask me how I did it, of course, by the grace of God. So I launched my coaching business, um, so that's why I'm here and, with all of that being said, it's really I, I feel so. I always say we are anointed and appointed at times such as this, because we are living in exciting times and I just feel that there is so much for us to do in our own way. Just like you, melissa, I mean amazing, right Like you're doing homeopathic medicine, and wow, we all are part of the body of Christ, so we all have our roles. So I just feel like this is my role in this little niche of mine. So that's it.
Speaker 2:Love it. Thank you for sharing that, and you know, what you just reminded me of is you told me something on the phone. When we talked on the phone, there was something that you prayed either the day before or the day that I told Troy I wanted to talk to you. Do you remember what I'm talking about?
Speaker 3:We talked a lot about a lot of things and I was just so excited talking to you. Do you remember what I'm talking about, um? I we talked a lot about a lot of things and I was just so excited talking to you in the phone, um. But one of my prayers truly was to open doors for me because, again, I'm new in this area. Well, we've been here four years but still don't know a lot of people and it's hard when you're trying to you know, like tell them about your book, or even just telling them about your coaching business and what I can really provide value to people. So my prayer I'm not going to lie I was like Lord, I don't know, I mean, you gave me all these things you gave me. I found my voice. Believe me.
Speaker 3:When I first started doing YouTube, I didn't even want to look at my face, like it's like no, I don't want to hear my face. But then he told me he's like Blanche, it's not about you, it's not about you, you're the vessel and I'm going to speak through you and people will hear it. And so I'm like okay, thank you, it's not about me. Pressure's off. I'm just here to serve and that's. That's really why I'm just here to serve.
Speaker 2:And that's, that's really why I'm doing all this things. And he and I can tell that he does speak through you because you know, I listened to your podcast and it was amazing. I was like, okay, this is good stuff. Remember, I was so excited. I was like we got to talk about end times because we're on the same page with end time stuff. So I get I get so excited when I talk to somebody who I feel like, well, I shouldn't say, I shouldn't say who feels, who I feel like gets it, because I don't want to, I don't want to say that I've arrived and I know it and you don't, but we're on the same page. So that's, that's what I gotta say about and and um, but I saw somewhere in your bio that you do forgiveness coaching. That is huge, right, bree? That's huge.
Speaker 3:Yep, yeah, can you just tell us what that looks like. Yes, thank you for asking, and I'm getting goosebumps right now, I don't know why, but, um, holy spirit, before I did this I prayed that you know he's going to come and he's going to be with us, um, so it's really part of my four pillar coaching um program and I think everybody, we all have our past, we all have our trauma, we all have, uh, a lot of baggage, right, um, and coming to, okay, way before I knew I know the lord um, I was raised in in a catholic family and all that, but it I didn't really understand so much about what he did for me on the cross. Of course, I understand, you know, you know when people say, oh, he died for your sins, I understand, maybe, but until I really read, read his word, until I read the bible, that there's so much in there and it it's not just okay, he died for your sins. Well, why, Right? Why did he die? Why did he have to die? So, going back to your question about the forgiveness coaching, it really came out of because I had so much growing up.
Speaker 3:I had a really, really, really, really hard childhood I went through and I already talked about this a little bit in my podcast, so it's out there. I went through abuse when I was young. My mom was very, very strict, so there's verbal and physical abuse there and maybe as young as four years old that I can remember, and when I was growing up, my dad it's. It's hard to explain now, maybe we'll talk about it later, but when my parents got married they were both young and in the Philippines it's hard. For example, if you didn't finish a college degree, it's very hard for you to find a job there. So, with that being said, my mom was a midwife. My dad didn't finish college so he had to leave. He worked in Saudi Arabia for 14 years. So since I was 10 months old, he left the country and he would only come home maybe every two years, stay within a month with us and then leave again. So he did that for 14 years. So because of that, money was tight. We were underwent. Also, like you know, poverty and all that. I still went to a good school because I had good scholarship, thank goodness. But my mom had all those problems and basically, when she gets mad and frustrated about finances and all that, she kind of, you know, put it towards me. So so, growing up, you know all that.
Speaker 3:And then I grew up and then they crazy thing, in 2000, year 2000, my mom and my dad went to, came here in United States and I was 18 and I had a younger sister she was 14 at that time and my youngest sister was nine so I took care of them. My parents came here. So that's very typical in the Philippines, by the way, for parents to go to other countries so that they can send money. So basically that's what I did I took care of my youngest sister. Of course, my parents supported us financially, but I still, you know, I was the one taking care of them while I was going to college as well. So, with that being said, I didn't see my parents from the moment I was 18 years old until I was 28.
Speaker 3:So I thought I forgave my mom. I mean, there was a lot of circumstances that I probably maybe talked to her on the phone, I even wrote her a letter and all that. But every time I do that, you know, sometimes, when you're saying you're forgiving someone, you would expect like they would actually say, yeah, I'm sorry, but I didn't get that. So, okay, so I'm 43 years old now. Oh, I'm telling my age online, it's okay, but why am I saying this? It's because people tend to it doesn't matter how old we are, right, I mean, I'm just saying it doesn't matter, maybe we're in our 60s or whatever. If the unforgiveness is still in our hearts, it's really going to wreak havoc in our lives, in our relationships, in everybody around us, especially our own families. So last year I'm sharing this right now, hopefully it's okay Last year, so my parent, my mom okay, I'm just going to tell this my mom lives in Chicago, my sister lives in Chicago, the youngest one also.
Speaker 3:My dad lives in the Philippines and sister lives in Chicago, the youngest one also my dad lives in the Philippines and my younger sisters also live in the Philippines. So last year, september, since I came here in 2010, I have not gone home to the Philippines. So that was 14 years, right, and number two, it's so hard because it's so expensive, but I say that was God's grace. So anyway, september of 2024, we all went home Me, my mom, my sister and then my boys, troy. We all went home and that was awesome.
Speaker 3:So I thought you know, like you thought, because there were so many times I talked to my mom, I thought I was completely, I completely forgave her. But then every time there's some triggers and the bitterness is still there. So as a Christian, we read in the Bible it says forgive, because you were also forgiven, or if you don't forgive, then your Heavenly Father will not forgive you. So when we got there, the first day we got there, we were staying at my mom's house. My mom and my dad's house. They're still together.
Speaker 3:So I didn't know what happened. I just went to their room and I look at my mom and I just started crying Like I just bawled my eyes out and I just said I'm so sorry for everything, and that's all I did. I just cried and said sorry and hugged her. She didn't have to say anything. And then I looked at my dad, because of course there's also some resentment towards my dad because he wasn't there. You know what I mean. I was left alone to go through all that. I look at dad and I I also said I'm sorry and I hug him I don't even know how long and I was kind of dreading that first time kind of reunion for us because we had so many complicated dynamics of relationship, you know, as you can imagine we didn't really grow up with her and all that crazy things. But after that it's like clean slate. It's like whew, everything was wiped off clean.
Speaker 3:And I'm saying that because it's the power of the Holy Spirit. Really it wasn't me, but I had the choice to do it right. So why am I saying this? Had the choice to do it right, so why am I saying this?
Speaker 3:When I'm doing my coaching, I'm really upfront that how I'm going to help you is based on the Bible. It's a faith-based coaching and I understand not many people do have the same beliefs, but I still believe that, even biblical principles, we can really help others Because, let's face it, I mean, of course I would always say you know, if you need to go to counseling to process that trauma, you need to, because coaching and counseling for me it really works together. For counseling, of course, you have to deal with the past, but with coaching it's really equipping you with tools to move forward to the future. So that's really why I'm doing the forgiveness coaching, because I mean, you're in the, you're in the healing space, right? Um, we know that whatever, um, I would say block, maybe because everything comes together like it's holistic, right, it's holistic medicine, it's holistic healing. So we know if somebody has that unforgiveness, it doesn't just affect their mind, but it affects their physical body Absolutely.
Speaker 2:That's actually what I wanted to. That was going to be my next question. What do you know? Do you have a good idea, understanding of what are the physical, what can happen physically when somebody is walking in unforgiveness?
Speaker 3:There's actually a lot of studies out there and they can check this out. There was even a study for people who had trauma and unforgiveness, and some of I don't know exactly like how much, but there was a really high probability of this people having could develop cancers. And also, as a nurse, I understand. You know, if we have unforgiveness, we have bitterness in our heart. Guess what happens to our um, you know, when you feel mad and you feel, well, madness is not even that, not just even being upset, it's the bitterness and resentment, it's like that simmering of anger right there and it affects our physical body.
Speaker 3:You know, cortisol. Cortisol is a good thing, our body needs it, but if there's too much of it because of you know, your blood pressure goes up, it weakens your immune system, for sure. It makes you susceptible to infection and you can't sleep. Restlessness, fatigue, and spiritually, of course, that's huge right, it's like a big clog in our spirit, like I feel like if I don't forgive, I feel like I can't even go into the throne room of God. You know there's that blockage, so that's spiritually, but physically you were saying you know there's that blockage, so that's spiritually, but physically you were saying it's like your body is releasing toxins when you are not forgiving. So I know it's a lot of. It's a process, it's a healing, it's a journey, but I think just knowing that, hey, I need help. I need help with how do I forgive. There are steps.
Speaker 2:Yeah, for sure, Bri. Are you thinking of anything?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I do. I mean, I have some personal questions too, but I wanted to say how powerful your prayer was. It's like stuck with me when you said, lord, what else can I do for you? It's like stuck with me when you said, lord, what else can I do for you? I mean, I want that kind of spirit Like you're just, I think a lot of times people are defeated in their life. Right, we become victims to like well, what is my life? I'm just sitting here in my room, like at my house, just working this job, instead of having the heart posture of okay, god, what else can, what else do you have for me? And that was powerful. So it reminds me like in in the Bible where it says like here am I send me, like open hands to what do you have for me, god? So that spoke to me. So thank you for sharing that.
Speaker 1:Um, also have to say how much you got done in a month reminds me of Melissa. When she gets something, she'll be like I'm going to do this course and then the next morning. So I did this course. I'm like you literally just came up with the idea yesterday. That would take me a year or maybe more, so I just had to throw that in there. That was funny, but I am really curious about your faith journey. Like you grew up in the Philippines with a really difficult life, I know it is more evangelical Christianity is more common in the Philippines, correct? At other countries, I guess, maybe not.
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, the cool thing is. So the Philippines, you know, it's in the Pacific, right, it's the only Christian country Can you imagine, it's the only Christian country in the whole around us, like I would say, overwhelmingly Christian. You know, on the bottom of us there's Malaysia, indonesia. They have mostly Islam, hinduism, buddhism, and then, of course, bottom of us, there's Malaysia, indonesia. They have mostly Islam, hinduism, buddhism, and then, of course, japan, shintoism, china. Of course they have their own religion, but I'm grateful that, wow, you know, the Philippines is a Christian nation, but you were saying about evangelicals. So it's, I think it's 80, if I'm not wrong, I think it's 80, if I'm not wrong, I think it's 80 percent Catholic. Yeah, because, so the Spaniards we still call them Spaniards, the Spanish in since 15, 15, 21, ferdinand Magellan came to the Philippines, discovered the Philippines it wasn't called the Philippines yet, but they brought Catholicism to the country yet, but they brought um catholicism to the country. And since then we, because we were under 300, um, oh my gosh, 333 years under the spanish rule. So I don't know if you've noticed, like our last names, if you, especially for my mexican friends, you know our last names are so the same um, because they converted. Everybody changed your last names and all that. So anyhow, um, but yes, it's, it's 80 catholic, um, maybe I would say I think maybe 20 um muslim and I would say 50, I'm not sure, but it's overwhelmingly Catholic. So, evangelism it's funny you said evangelicals because I feel I am one of the products of the evangelism.
Speaker 3:Coming from the United States, this is a cool story. I went to a school. It's called Silliman University and it's in the central part of the country. Silliman University was founded in 1901 because a philanthropist from New York his name is Dr Horace B Silliman gave money to the Presbyterian Church to start a school in the Philippines. And so they did that. And this school you guys can even check it out and Google it it is number one in Asiaia in nursing school and that's I'm a proud product of it. And but not just that, that's where I started learning about the bible, because we had to go through college learning about the bible. We have religious studies as part of our our courses since first year in college. So so again, growing up Catholic. Yes, I know about the Lord.
Speaker 3:I was very, very active in church but unfortunately didn't really, you know, read so much of the Bible, it's more of just going to mass, going to church and all that. But you're talking about my faith journey when I was 14, no, I was 15. I almost died. Um, my dad was you've seen those little scooters it's in the philippines, is very common. So my dad was driving this scooter, I was behind him, he was picking me up from a youth for christ. It's a conference in the philippines. It's a youth for christ conference which I was of and we were doing praise and worship the whole night.
Speaker 3:On the way home a drunk driver hit us and I personally couldn't remember this. I feel like if I died that day I wouldn't have felt pain. But I didn't remember. But I guess it hit my head and I was, I don't know unconscious for how many minutes, and right side my face got like in the cement, so there's like half of my face was like wounds in there, whatever. So I was in the hospital but praise, god didn't break any bones. So my point is I feel like Satan wanted to take me down. That might, but he couldn't had my angels.
Speaker 3:Um, but my whole faith journey started when I just started asking questions. I was so inquisitive. I remember growing up my teacher wrote on my report card. Blanche is so inquisitive and I was so scared because I remember my mom's so strict. I'm like, oh my gosh, she's going to get mad at me Anyhow. So when I was, you know, learning about just going through the things with you know, the catholicism and all that I did understand a lot of things. So I was asking questions so fast forward when I was in college, just like I said, it was a protestant school maybe it was one of the first protestant schools in the philippines and because had the religious studies, that's when I understood a little bit more about the Bible. But then when I well, I'm sorry, before I graduated nursing school, one of my classmates who was a pastor this is really the pivotal time of my faith he asked me one day Blanche, if you die today, do you know where you're going? Blanche, if you die today, do you know where you're going? Like, point blank, just ask me. So he was older than us. We called him Kuya. Kuya in the Philippines means big brother, so we treat him like he was our big brother, you know. So we have lots of respect for him. But so he just literally asked me point blank and I said I hope, heaven, you know. And then, right then, and there, he shared to me the gospel and he planted those seeds. I know for sure he was the one who planted those seeds, but it took me a while. Um took me a while, and I'm gonna fast forward again.
Speaker 3:Um, I was engaged to my boyfriend of three years and then he cheated on me and we broke up. I I thought we were getting married. So 2008 was the darkest, darkest year of my life at that time, I guess. And my one of my friends wanted me to have a date with this guy. Funny, he was a pastor. Okay, it's so funny. I'm like I'm not ready. He's like, let's just go out on a date whatever. Well, of course, he invited me to bible study. That was our date, bible study. I'm like, okay, fine, I'll go so every thursday.
Speaker 3:Since then, after like a year after I broke up with my ex um, I was going to bible study every thursday and I told them I'm gonna come to your Bible study only if you allow me to ask questions, every single question I will ask you Because I remember when I was serving in church, in Catholic church, my priest. He couldn't answer my question. He would look at me like Blanche, why are you asking questions? He thought, like this weird of me asking questions. So anyhow. So I went to this bible study and I asked all the questions I didn't understand. And so, april of 2009, I I accepted the lord jesus and was baptized in the pacific ocean. So that was my um faith story. Of course, there's more after that, but that really, that really um changed my life.
Speaker 1:So thank you. That's amazing. I asked because, um, I, my husband and I met, and in the Philippines on a mission trip there you did, and so it has a very special place in my heart and I have some really good friends who are Filipino. I would tell you, the best food, the most beautiful country, so, but I remember it being, I guess, compared to some other countries we had gone to, more open to Christianity. Yes, um, so it wasn't super uncommon, but I didn't realize the heavy Catholicism. So that's, that's. I mean, what a cool, a cool way that God had his hand on your life that whole time, through all of those really difficult years.
Speaker 3:Amen.
Speaker 1:So where did you go? I mean, I was just thinking I need to remember. We traveled quite a bit, so I'm going to try to find out for you and I can tell you. Maybe after we can talk more. Um, because it was a long, it was like 2009,. Maybe that I went, so it was very cool, but, um, I want to know what it would look like. What does it look like working with you? Is it sessions, like virtual sessions? You give me homework or you know I? What would it be like if I was wanting or I guess you speak too, so would you do like a, an event? What does some of that look like?
Speaker 3:Um, all of the above, but um, for my uh coaching, uh for uh, forgiveness, coaching, it's, it's really one-on-one. I do have. I have like a um program. It's typically it. So I have to do a discovery call first and see where the where my client is at, but typically it runs um six to eight weeks. Uh, so it, we do it via zoom. So anybody can you know um and over the world. Um, it's one-on-one coaching. So I also. So I'm I'm grateful that you mentioned that like would I be willing to speak um in a crowd? So that is one of my goals is really to expand, um, maybe do a group coaching and because then I want I will be able to really impact more people. But right now I am offering the one-on-one coaching. Typically, again, it's six to eight weeks, depending on the situation with my client.
Speaker 3:So and you do more than just forgiveness, right yes, right, I have four, um called four, so I do forgiveness coaching marriage. I call it marriage reset coaching, really focusing on intercultural and interracial couples Because, let's face it, marriage as it is is hard, but add the additional layer of being from different cultures and different yeah, different cultures. It's really hard and, yeah, we went through a lot also with my husband. Uh, so that's marriage reason. And for my nurse friends, because I'm a nurse and I really have a heart for my, my nursing friends who are still stuck in a very toxic health care environment at the bedside. I mean, of course, if you love what you're doing, that's great, but I know so many of some of our nurses who are really having a hard time right now. I can't even imagine. The last time I was at the bedside was in 2014. And I was already experienced a lot of bullying, toxicity, a lot. So I'm grateful that I was able to transition from the bedside to now Since 2018, I've been working at a remote job, working from home, so even way before COVID happened, so that's a blessing. And then the fourth one is, which is special to my heart, because this is so in connection when we're talking about, like, melissa, she's a go-getter and Bree, you're here, you know you're doing kingdom ministry is really empowering the church. This is why I wrote my book. I mean, when you said author, it makes me like, oh, but I wrote one book for now. It's called Rise With Purpose. One book for now, um, it's, it's called rise with purpose. I understand that especially.
Speaker 3:I'm in my 40s I think you guys are probably younger than me, I don't know but um, especially for women who are in their 40s, you know, when our children are maybe growing up a little bit more, you know before, when we were in the trenches, when they were little and they were breastfeeding and whatever, like we were so in the motherhood of we're just in there and we're so busy, right, like I can't even I feel like it's a blur when I look back. But now my kids are nine, eight and 13. And now I can actually do stuff like this, like really do things that I love. That I feel like is really God given calling.
Speaker 3:And so my fourth pillar of coaching is really it's called rediscovery for women of 40 and above, because we have to rediscover ourselves, because sometimes, you know, as, as as women and when we become moms, we forgot that we actually had other talents and skills way before we get married, way before we had children, way before we become moms. So you know, just rediscovering that oh I love painting before Well, not just rediscovering your talents and your hobbies in the past, but really aligning what is your God-given calling. So that's really special to me and I'm so so I don't know very passionate to really help women Like, hey, there is so much more. You're not just a wife I shouldn't say just, but you're not. What I'm saying is you're not just a wife, you're not just a mom, but you can be more because you have your own God-given calling.
Speaker 1:So that's my what you're saying reminds me of um. My husband will say it's not what you're doing for the, for god, or what you do, but who you are, the, who god has designed you to be. So if you I mean if you think of all those roles at any point in our lives is like sad as it sounds to say, or morbid, you could be one second. You're not a wife anymore, true, or a mother like there are. Those roles are important and they're obviously a big part of what we do here, but those things aren't don't last forever, you know. And so I love, I just keep hearing your question Lord, what else do you have for me? And I think that sounds like that is like a thread through all of what you do.
Speaker 3:Exactly exactly. And I'm glad you mentioned about the roles, because sometimes, as women, we are defined by our roles, which we shouldn't be. It's huge in our identity. Our identity should be rooted in Christ. That's our first identity. And of course, the enemy, satan, always attacks our identity, right? I mean, look at our society, you know so when we are rooted, when we know who we are in Jesus Christ, we will be unstoppable. I mean, that's why. That is why Satan absolutely attacks us, especially us women, and makes us feel this small, makes us feel like, oh, you know, you're not good enough or you're just a stay-at-home mom or whatever. Right, he attacks our identity. But hey, we are fearfully and wonderfully made. We're made in the image of God, like we are given all the talents and skills. We are given gifts. We are anointed, we are set apart. We are given gifts, we are anointed, we are set apart. And when women knows about that, I really feel like the body of church will wake up and really we can really push so much against the darkness of this world.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I love it. You know what? So there's a few things that you said and that I don't think I knew. You talked about being called to strengthen the church, and I do feel like that's also my calling within the health, you know, adult lifetime is the church. Before COVID, they were heavily leaning on doctors and allopathic medicine and I would hear all the time you know, god made doctors and stuff like that. You know God made medicine and so we need to go to the doctor. It was preached. Actually, we need to go to the doctor, we need to do what the doctor says, because they are, you know, anointed by God, and that never sat well with me, but I didn't know why.
Speaker 2:As I was growing and then when I started a more natural healthcare journey I really was I had two sets of friends. I had my church friends and I had my natural healthcare friends, and they didn't mix. My church friends were all going to the doctor. My natural healthcare friends weren't believers Interesting. So I was in the middle, like what. I was alone. I was absolutely alone and and I literally had to be like two different people. I couldn't talk about this over here and, yes, I should have talked about Jesus over here, but I wasn't there yet. I wasn't, you know, I didn't know my assignment yet, right, so I was just silent over here. So I love that you know that you you were, you're called to that, and that just really spoke to me.
Speaker 2:The other thing, what I see in your four pillars, is that you're coaching from what the Lord has walked you through. So it's so powerful when we can walk through something hard and then come through that and then help other women or other people through the same kind of thing, because now we've been through it and we know what that feels like, we can share our story. But also, just having walked through it just gives us a little bit more. Yes, I can still help people with health conditions that I've never had before. Of course I can, but when somebody comes to me with a health condition that I have experienced myself, that I've come through, or that my children have come through, I'm just that much more powerful in it because I know a little bit more right. And then the last thing I do want to just ask you is your natural health care journey. What's your history? How did you, what do you do with natural health care and where did that come from?
Speaker 3:So it's so cool. You said that, melissa, because coming from the Philippines, I come with a different lens. So in the Philippines I also forgot to mention I did teach nursing in the Philippines for a year, which I love teaching. I feel like thank you God, I feel like that's one of my gifts also, but I taught nursing. But I taught nursing and as a Filipino people as a whole, we've always been all about natural medicines, okay. So when we're talking about herbal medication, that's so normal for us.
Speaker 3:It's not like when I came to the United States it didn't make sense. I kind of got confused. Basically, I'm like like what's the big? You know pull, because there it wasn't, it wasn't separate. You know what I mean? Um, and I had you know again, I was a nurse, right, but we were taught in a different way. Um, when I taught nursing for our third year and fourth year nursing students no, sorry, second year and third year nursing students, because all we have is bachelor's degree over there, so it's four years we taught them how to go to communities and we teach the communities on how to make our own herbal medications, like for cough, for fever, for ointment, for itching, and all these plants are around us.
Speaker 3:So because here's the thing, most people there and also a big difference is, of course there's no insurance there. I mean, now they do, but it's not like the insurance here. So most people there number one can hardly pay for medications. I remember when I was working in the hospital there Okay, this will be so foreign to you guys, but when you're in the hospital and let's say you're admitted in the hospital, right, and then the doctor would give you a prescription not even a prescription because you're in the hospital, but it's there, it's still a prescription. So he would be writing, let's say, amoxicillin, blah, blah, blah, whatever for fever. What happens is that prescription, while you're in the hospital, will be given to the family and the family buys it outside. So because there's an insurance, if the family has no money, they have no medication. So when I was a nurse, we have this little thing like a box. So each room we have a little thing in the box In each room. If the patient has no medication for, let's say, antibiotics, we put in their chart no medicine, you see, because they can't afford it. So in a way which is really crazy to me, in a way it's like of course there are life-saving medications. That is course. There are um life-saving medications. That is true. There are life-saving medications, but in a way, most people don't just go straight to the doctor.
Speaker 3:We, we find other ways, alternative ways. We we take um herbal medications and I remember my grandmother. She had high blood pressure and we we call them bls. It's BLS.
Speaker 3:Oil is made of I'm trying to convert the Filipino name in English but it's made of garlic, ginger, and I forgot the third one. It's BLS oh my gosh, and vinegar, okay, I think that's it. And you give that to them three times a day. And then for the fever, there's what the is, what um a plant called lagundi. You just boil that and you drink it. I mean, that's so normal for us.
Speaker 3:And I remember when my kids were growing up, even way before homeopathic medicine was introduced to us, to our pediatrician, which was I'm so grateful that she did I put a clove of garlic underneath the sole of my kid's feet and put some oil in there and wrap it with their sock and that's it for their fever. You know what I mean. Like I don't run towards Tylenol or whatever. You know. I mean it's there if I need it. But when you ask me about homeopathic. So I did.
Speaker 3:To be honest, I didn't hear about homeopathic medicine until my our pediatrician, who's from india. Her name's dr manjuran. I love her so much. Um, she's in illinois but she's the one introduced it to us, so it was really troy who was so like. He's like she's like oh my gosh, we're really gonna do this and we love this doctor because he's all about alternative medication. I'm sure I told you but it works, and he's like there's no, you know, there's no side effects. I'm like perfect, you know.
Speaker 3:I mean I feel, and even as a nurse, I know sometimes people think like oh, when you're a nurse or doctor, you're completely you cannot think about. You know, you're all about conventional medicine. I personally don't believe so, but maybe we're kind of just rare, just because I don't know, maybe the way they, uh, they teach nursing here or teach medicine here, I don't know. I've never, you know, I didn't take my medicine, my nursing degree here. But my point is I didn't. It wasn't hard for me to to like just grab on to the homeopathic medication because I understood it that you know there's always an alternative and we don't have to rush and just get all this over the counter or whatever over the counter or whatever. So yeah, um, I guess I'm I'm grateful that, with my training and even my background coming from the philippines, even the, the government we have, they publish top 10 medication I'm sorry, top 10 herbal medication, I'm sorry, top 10 herbal plants so at least people have a list that they know what to get. So that's really part of our culture, very cool.
Speaker 1:So it sounds like that was a continuation for you. That was not a far-fetched thing where for medical, the medical community here in the US. They're opposing forces, Wouldn't you agree, Melissa, Like they don't is not the same.
Speaker 2:So, together making sure, making sure that the patient, then the people, actually have something. If they can't afford it, then here's an alternative. No, you can't afford it.
Speaker 1:They can straight up get in trouble for suggesting yeah, I mean things that are not so. I mean, really, I don't want to overstep in saying this, but medicine here equals pharmaceuticals, like, when you practice medicine, you're practicing pharmaceuticals, not wellness, right, right, so I'll turn anything besides. The pharmaceutical is considered alternative here, and that's like people can get in trouble, you know, for things in their practices. We know some. Some people who've come to classes share their experiences trying to suggest alternatives. So how cool. Another reason to love the Philippines. Yes, melissa, you get to go, you get to visit Melissa.
Speaker 3:You hear me we're going to fly there together. Yeah, but it's so. So I saw that. It's crazy. You said that, brie, because I saw that firsthand. When we told a pediatrician this is not the same pediatrician I'm talking about this was in.
Speaker 2:Illinois.
Speaker 3:I mean Pennsylvania, with my first son, enzo, when we told them that we're not vaccinating and oh, that was a whole big. I mean, okay, one thing about troy. I mean he's so passionate, super passionate, to a point that he will get mad, okay. So I said, babe, let me talk, because I don't want number one to want to be kicked out of this office. There is a way of how we tell them don't worry, I'll handle it. But he was, oh my gosh, he was livid, he was so mad. I said, no, you don't need to.
Speaker 3:But I saw it firsthand. The moment you mention like you don't want to subscribe to that, you know, the moment you mention, oh, I'm going to be treating the way I wanted to treat my own child, it's like, you know, it's like whoa, it's like so foreign to them. But again, for me, coming from the, my country, it's not foreign, it's like it's fine, you know. Okay, but I had to explain to my husband that I also had to tell him this because my second son ended up in the NICU. He was premature, he was 35 weeks when he was born and again, I understand where he was coming from. But I had to calm him down that he didn't want him to get antibiotics and all that stuff, but he was. You know, he was in the NICU, he was recovering. So I had to give him, in a way, like not every single doctor out there I have to say this also not every single doctor out there is out to get you. There are some doctors who are truly called by God, who are really truly practicing the way they think can help their patients.
Speaker 3:I have to say that there are, but unfortunately the most unfortunate part of that is their training. The training itself is what? Like I feel like it's lacking. I don't understand that. Why can't? It has to be right. I mean, in nursing school we were taught holistic nursing body, mind and spirit, holistically. You can't just look at it in this symptom. That's all just straight. The symptom thing, like no, that's why I don't even understand. I mean I work for insurance company. I don't understand why. I don't even understand. I mean I work for insurance company. I don't understand why they don't pay. They don't pay massages. That's huge. Like I don't get it. You're into preventing people to go to hospital, give them free massages, like I mean, just simple as that. I don't understand, I don't know. That's just me.
Speaker 2:So they say they're into but they're not. So, Blanche, thank you so much for just coming tonight and talking to us, and I am just so thankful for you for following the call of the Lord and doing what he's told you to do, and I just bless your business and pray that you will prosper and that you'll end that you'll bless many people. You know, as the ripples go out from you, that you're. Many people will be blessed because of what you're doing and your love for Jesus and um, I will put your bio in the show notes of this, of this episode, and um, we just look forward to, I look forward to just staying in touch and, yes, at some point we'll connect and get together in real life and just pray that you be blessed.
Speaker 3:Absolutely, absolutely, and thank you. Thank you, brie, thank you Melissa, both of you ladies. I also will continue to pray for your business as well, and it is your calling, right? It's really not just a business, it is a calling, and you are following what the Lord wants you to do and hopefully, one day I can also interview you for my podcast. That would be so cool. Yeah, I would love that. I would love that. And, bree, I'm so grateful that you're here. Yeah, I would love that. I would love that. And brie, I'm so grateful that you're here. Um, you still have to tell me where you went. I'm not kidding. Yeah, um, but thank you, thank you, thank you, and for having me here, and all glory to god. Thank you, amen amen.
Speaker 2:Have a great night you too. Bye.
