Hello and welcome to the Hope Unlocked podcast . I'm your host , Kristen Kurtz , and I'm also the founder of New Wings Coaching , where I empower and unlock women to soar in their calling and roar with their voices . If you're curious to learn more about how coaching can help you unlock your potential , be sure to explore the show notes for ways to connect with me further . Get ready to dive in as we uncover empowering keys and insights in this episode . So tune in and let's unlock hope together . Welcome to the Hope Unlocked podcast . I'm Kristen Kurtz , your host .
Speaker 2I pray this episode is like a holy IV of hope for your soul . Please help me welcome my sweet friend Dana Siebel to the show . We are just freshly connected , I would say within the last , maybe the last month or something . We have both been , I would say , divinely connected through a mutual friend named Kendra , and Kendra has a ministry called Ministry Makers and both of us have been led in by , I would say , by Holy Spirit , in , uh , by , I would say by Holy spirit . For sure , Like this is a Holy spirit plan , um , to be coaches within ministry makers . So we'd love for you to share a little bit more about yourself and then we'll just get down with our conversation . We're we're really just sharing what's on our hearts today , and I can't wait for her to share more about herself .
Speaker 3Well , thank you , kristen , I'm excited to be here . Oh my gosh . Okay , so so much has happened in the last year and I really do believe God is like , just like we had a conversation before we were talking about . God is calling us to the front line . Right , he's building an army , a front line right , he's building an army . He is looking for women to lead these armies specifically . Right , and so just being able to say yes to God , right , and just letting him guide you , like this past year .
Speaker 3So I guess maybe I could just start by saying this I am an occupational therapist . That's what my heart has been called to do . I love working with geriatrics . That's like where my heart has been for the last five years . Now I have two kids . My daughter is graduating college in like two weeks . I'm really excited for her . My son is 15 . He's in high school . So I'm actually like getting ready to face this huge transition , right ? My daughter is just like she's an adult now , and then my son daughter is just like she's an adult now , and then my son , like I only have a couple more years and then he'll be an adult too . And I'm really excited about that , because I keep telling myself , like I get to have my husband all to myself , and so we never really had a time in our life where we didn't we weren't taking care of kids .
Speaker 3So I'm really looking forward to the future . So much fun yeah .
Speaker 2And transition . Yeah , I'm in transition too over here with my boys . It's very , it's very interesting to be in transition with children and go wow , how did that time go by so fast ? I don't understand Lord .
Speaker 3Right , right , and like , with that transition , right we have , we are , so our identity is embedded in these roles that we've created for ourselves . Right , and so I love to have conversations with other women who are in the same position about where do they see themselves in , like 10 , 15 years from now . You know , because for a lot of us , like , it's hard for us to give up that role that we're transitioning out of . And I think that's where , like , the empty nester syndrome comes in , where people just start , where , especially women , just start to feel lost , you know , because they just they're so they look to that role for their identity . And so part of what I like to , I guess , educate on or bring more awareness towards is that your life is not ending , it's just beginning , like a new season of life , like what else is there for you ? Like , get excited , because the possibilities are endless .
Speaker 2Right . So when you have had those conversations with women asking them to like envision 10 to 15 years out , Do you find that women have a hard time with that ?
Speaker 3Oh , absolutely Absolutely . I mean . So what God has really put on my heart , working in the field that I'm in , with a population that I get to work with , has really opened my eyes between the here and then what's coming later for us , right ? So what I mean by that is as a mother , as a wife , as living in my mid life . Right , I have kids , I have a household , I have a career . I have all of these things that keep my focus , that keep me busy , and in the midst of the chaos I don't have time to think about .
Speaker 3You know , what's going to happen to me in 10 , 15 years from now . And I don't know where I'm going to end up . I don't know if I'm going to be taking care of my husband . I don't know if I'm going to end up . I don't know if I'm going to be taking care of my husband . I don't know if I'm going to have a husband . You know what I mean . And then also , too , who's going to take care of me in 15 , 20 years ? Nobody thinks about that . And then go even further . Nobody thinks about what it's like , like where to die . Even right , does death scare you ? But the thing is , the closer that we get to the older ages , the more that thought creeps up in the back of our mind . So it's really interesting to have these conversations now , and 90% of the women tell me that they never even thought about that . Yeah .
Speaker 2Yeah , I don't , I actually haven't thought out that far . I often tell people like I'm I'm kind of cool today , I know Terrible , I am working on like visioning out like 90 days . That's where God's got me focused . Right now is like kind of having a 90 day focus , but then , yes , having some broader , you know , spectrum focuses as well . Occupational therapy I would love to hear , like , was that something that just came across your path or was it something that you'd always kind of thought about when you were a child ? You know , some people are like I have been dreaming about this since I was five years old , like what did that ?
Speaker 3look like no for me , like I had no idea what what OT was not even a clue , and I went to . First of all I never even thought that I would even graduate college and I think the Lord really put it on my heart like you need an education , you know , and right out of high school I got married . So I felt a lot of resistance from my family because school is expensive , right , college is expensive , and that was one of the biggest thing that deterred me from going to college . But once I got into college I like my eyes were opened , like there's so much possibility here , right . And then I discovered physical therapy first , and so that was kind of my focus . But then I absolutely love mental health .
Speaker 3I minored in psychology and so when I was actually working for a physical therapist , I met an OT and she was the one that introduced me to occupational therapy . And she says you know , with your background , she's like you would be perfect for OT because it's heavy in mental health . And I was like that's all she had to say and I was like I'm hooked . So I did my research , I applied and at that time there was like over 800 applicants to one school and they only accepted 20 . Wow , so I prayed about that and I was like God , if , like , I'm only going to apply to one school and if I get in , then I know that that's the career for me , and if not , then I'll do something else . So , yeah , so tell us else .
Speaker 2So yeah , more about like . So there's physical therapy and occupational therapy . What is the difference ?
Speaker 3so what I like to tell people is I like to keep it very simple . So OT is heavy in mental health and physical therapy is heavy in physical health . Okay .
Speaker 3So with physical therapy they really focus on the biomechanics of the person and with occupational therapy we are more of like a general um , a holistic generalist , where we can look at the entire person and we can work on whatever it is that they need right , Whereas physical therapy can really only focus on the person and how they're functioning and that's like and that really is to say that that's the way billing works .
Ok , because they do a lot more and we do . We cross paths a lot . But defining it according to , like Medicare Right , what can what can they bill for versus what can we bill for so it gets like really into the details when you talk about like the corporate world . But as far as like just baseline , I mean , I like to separate it between mental and physical health , If that makes sense .
Speaker 2So like what would your like you go into work one day ? Like what would your workday look like ? What would your like a client interaction look like ? I'm just curious , and maybe others are too .
Speaker 3Yeah , um .
Speaker 3So right now one of the clients that I work with , she has , um her diagnosis with , like the stroke .
Speaker 3She's about six years post-stroke , so she has like left side paralysis . She's really working to integrate both of her arms into whatever it is that she's doing , because when you stop using your limb right , that the muscles start to atrophy and then also , too , with stroke , you have neglect to where you don't even focus on the side that's been affected . Like you , you don't even know that it's there , you don't know what it's doing , it's lost in space , sometimes even , like you , get it caught in like doorways and you just don't , don't notice . So what I do is I go in and I purposely create like tasks and activities that require her to use both hands , and sometimes what we call I can't even think of the word now , but what I'll do with her is I'll put like an oven mitt on the hand that isn't affected and then it'll force her to use the affected hand , um , and then it also brings awareness towards that side . So she really has to be intentional about what she is doing and how she is doing it so what would be so she's most ?
Speaker 2uh , I guess like with this how long have you worked with her ?
Speaker 3Um , I've been working with her for about a year now Well , I shouldn't say a year , it's probably been about less than eight months .
Speaker 2So have you seen like some amazing miracles happen in the midst as well , like in the workplace , happen in the midst as well , like in the workplace .
Speaker 3Um , miracles , as far as somebody being completely healed , like miracles and like the things that we've seen that the bible talks about . I've never witnessed those kinds of miracles , but , um , what I would say maybe little miracles are people who have worked so hard at regaining their function that they've gone from a wheelchair to walking with nothing . You know when the prognosis was . You'll never get out of the wheelchair you know , so who ?
Speaker 3said I guess , yeah , I mean that's true . So who said I guess ? Yeah , I mean that's her . So I don't know . I honestly I don't know , because that's just the the perception that they have at first right when they're given statistics people with your injury , this is , you know , their prognosis .
Speaker 2So , being that this is called hope unlocked , um , I remember getting a prognosis that I couldn't have kids from a doctor and I thought to myself you don't know at all , you don't have the final say . And god , obviously I have two miracle children . Um , but it's beautiful because I mean , in the work that you're doing , you may not be able to say you know , I don't know if you can , but , like god can do anything right , get your hopes up . I mean , you are like a I don't know you're , you're like a ball of fun and joy . So I can imagine people get to experience joy and hope and love through what you carry , just by being you .
Speaker 3Oh well , thank you , that's really sweet , you know , I tell people this all of the time , like , if you know God , god has given you the gift of the spirit and with the fruit of the spirit is joy , it's peace , it's patience , it's love , it's kindness , and when you are able to express those and I feel like there is such an opportunity to live in that spirit when you are faced with somebody who has , um , maybe a perception of themselves that's not very good , and then you have an opportunity to be like , but God sees you this way .
Speaker 3Like this is how God sees you . You know like you are worth this , like you , you know like you are worth this , like you , you know . And just being able to give off that type of energy , I guess maybe it helps them to realize , like you know , you're right . Yes , you know , I see it in you , so why can't I have it too ?
Speaker 2can't , I have it too exactly you get to reflect Christ others , even if you don't necessarily say all of the you know Christian quote-unquote lingo , right , you get to be .
Speaker 3You get to be Christ with skin on wherever you go right , yeah , yeah , and , and I too , the reason why God had brought me out of the corporate world .
Speaker 3So last year I ended up quitting my job and , um , because God had called me into this new season where he wanted me to create my own company and really let women know how much they are worth . Know how much they are worth , and so just giving them that . What do I want to say ? My heart is to warn them . My heart is to get them to start thinking about what is going to come next , because when you are prepared for that next season of life , your mental and your physical health will be so much better off that you're not going to start seeing these early onset of disease . Right , you'll have . You'll be able to take care of yourself that much more longer and be as independent as possible in all of the self-care tasks and all of and doing all of the things that you absolutely love . Yeah , so , um , I forgot where I was going with that well , you know , with your , with your own business , like what ?
Speaker 2what is the name of your business ?
Speaker 3it's called full faith ot so what is the like ?
Speaker 2are you contracting through , like where you're working right now , like subcontracting , and then like , what would it look like for somebody ? Yeah , like , what are you doing with your business and who are you specifically trying to reach ? If somebody hears this today , now , what does that look like right now for you ?
Speaker 3offer you . Yeah , so , okay . So I remember now where I was going with that , that last um discussion , but , um , for God , calling me out of the corporate world . I have more freedom in ministering to the people that I come in contact with , and so I take every opportunity I can to let them know who Jesus is right , what they can do to start to really heal from the inside out .
Speaker 3So my company , full Faith OT , I am doing contracting work . I'm helping a friend of mine that I had met . She is actually building her company and hers is geared towards home health , so she does like functional mobility exercise with her clients and it's the same population , it's the older generation . But now that she brought me on , people have reached out to her that have other disabilities and they're outside of her normal population of people , which has actually worked out amazingly . I mean for both of us and still being able to gain that experience being in the community and also being able to just bring in that faith , that's more of that spiritual awareness . And so with that contract I've been able to raise funds to build my own company and it's just been an amazing adventure because , girl , I'm not like business minded at all . I have no idea what I'm doing and I am like how to run a business . I am still learning the very basics , and marketing is definitely not my strength , but I have been able along the way .
Speaker 3God has brought people into my life that have taught me different things , and one of the people that I'm working with now he's actually just moved here from Argentina . He is an amazing web designer and I mean this is like this is so God , because I am like I don't know how to design a web , like a web page . I tried it . It took me three months and I feel like it just is not worth anything . But so , meeting this this guy , he's really young , but he's super smart . He's just started his own business , too , and he's like I want you to be my first client . He's like I want to build your website , I want to do all of your marketing for you . So I'm like okay , you know like it's just like when , when you think there is no way God will bring somebody some resource into your life , and he like this is this is how you're gonna do it . So it's just been , yeah , it's been amazing , and so , for full faith , um , I am really wanting to advocate for the women who are in the midst of the chaos right , who feel like maybe they , they there's a higher calling for them , but right now they're focused on their children , they're focused on managing their home , they're focused on their career , but what is creeping up in their mind is the idea of what am I going to do next ?
Speaker 3What does the rest of my life look like ?
Speaker 3Do I ? Am I going to have to be a caretaker for my parents , you know ? And how am I going to manage all of this and take care of myself ? And so my message to these women is if you can do something every single day which is for your mental and your physical health , you can create a routine that fills your bucket to overflowing . You are going to have more than enough to give . And so when that time in your life comes to where you have to make those hard decisions like do I move into an assisted living place , or do I move in with my parents ? Or do I move into an assisted living place , or do I move in with my parents , or do I move in with my daughter or my children you know what I mean Because you feel like either you need to be taken care of or somebody else needs to be taken care of . But the idea is that you've taken such good care of yourself that you are prepared for that long term responsibility . Does that make sense ?
Speaker 2Yeah , so what would you like ? What age group would you say that you're reaching for ? What ? Um ? I think you mentioned like geriatrics . Is that more so your career , um ? In . Ot . And then , as far as your business goes , like , what age group have you seen that you've worked with ? Um ? That really like resonates with that message .
Speaker 3So anywhere from like as early as the thirties and as late as women in their seventies . Yeah .
Speaker 3So I mean right now , because there's such a shift between the generation , right , the focus has just been such a there's huge gaps in between , and so I feel like that , like my daughter's generation that's coming up , they're a little bit more intuitive about taking care of themselves , about being more prepared for the future . But women who are I share the same age group with which is I'm in my 40s , right , we grew up in an era where I feel like the here and now was more important than what comes later . And two , there's been this talk about the sandwich generation
too . There's been this talk about the sandwich generation , and that's us too , where we're being prepared to take care of our parents , but yet we still are raising kids , we still have a family , and that really requires a lot of a lot from you .
Speaker 3And then even women in their 70s , like , maybe they feel a calling from God , right , and they are starting to really see the decline in their health . Maybe they're starting to see their mental health decline and it's like , okay , well , what can they do to change that ? You know , the body is such an amazing source of life that is constantly regenerating . So until the day you die your body , you can learn , you can grow , you can change your habits .
Speaker 2Well , I love that you mentioned that , because , you know , I don't know if people have said before like hey , you got to narrow down your niche . And I like to say I love that you answered such a broad range with like , no , like you weren't hesitant in that , because I agree with you . Um , the women that I work with , uh , are anywhere between you know , I would say , late thirties to almost 70 . And there's this resonating message between all of them , one of the things that the Lord was showing me a few years ago . You know , with the women , especially in their like sixties , you know the world would say that you got to retire , like you're going to , you're going to retire when you're 65 , like you're just done .
Speaker 2And I kept hearing in my spirit , refired , you're not retiring , you're refiring , like you can still keep going . And what I was talking to you about earlier today , even the gym that I go to , it's incredible because there are classes that I go to where there's 20 to like 80 year olds , seriously , and some of these eight year olds like do like bigger weights than I do , because they've been like conditioning themselves , like one of the gals that I was talking to today , she's early seventies , she's like I've been working out for 45 years . I don't miss , you know , my workouts , because I know what can happen if I stop moving . And I'm just like you know .
Speaker 3yeah , that is key , that is key . And I have women friends who are in , you know , the same um age group that I am in , and they are complaining already . You know , their body hurts , they're overweight , they can't keep up there , they wish that they were 20 years old again or 30 years old again , and and it's like bringing the idea to them that there is nothing left for you in your past life . You know , what can you do today to look forward to this new life ? And it's like just you have to really work on that mindset shift , because that's where it all begins .
Speaker 2Yes , absolutely . Well , that's interesting . You'd say that too , because I just did . I was driving the other day and I just looked in the rear view mirror and I decided to do a little Instagram live talking about reflections , and we got to stop looking in the rear view mirror .
Speaker 2We got to stop looking to the side mirrors because you're comparing yourself to everybody else around the side . Look forward that windshield . It's in front of you for a reason . And those little words on the little side mirrors that say this object may appear or this object is smaller than it appears . You know I'm talking about like that's . That's breakthrough . It may look small but you keep going forward and those little like steps that you take by moving forward . It's going to accumulate and there's going to be a big breakthrough . But you've got to be able to , like , celebrate the small milestones , because there's way too much that people just stay stuck in in the past , wouldn't you say ?
Speaker 3yeah , oh yeah , absolutely . I wish I was this , I wish I was , I used to be this . I wish I was that again . Yeah , what ?
Speaker 2do you think people ?
Speaker 3just the what .
Speaker 2What do you think ? What do you feel ? The ?
Speaker 3root of that is the root of that , their identity . For sure they don't have a solid enough foundation and knowing that they're worth what they are worth , and also to like God . There is so much to celebrate in the aging process . There's so many benefits to aging and unfortunately we don't highlight enough those wonderful , beautiful things that God gives us . And also , too , if we're even blessed to get to , you know , to be as old as we are . When people don't even get to grow old , you know they don't even get the opportunity . So being able to to realize that and focus on the blessings that God has waiting for us . And it even says in the Bible right , god , like people look at the outward appearance , right , but God looks at the heart . And so we really have to know like , okay , we've been there , we've done that , what is there for us ? But here's the barrier , though the world is telling us something different . Absolutely .
Speaker 3The world is constantly throwing anti-aging , this anti-aging , that you should try your hardest to not age , because you don't want that . But I love to talk about how can we age naturally , how can we age gracefully and , you know , how can we become the people that God sees us being in our old age .
Speaker 2So what would be some keys that you would share ? You know I shared with you that I feel like I do this . You know , podcast for the one , and you've got a gal who's listening . I'm just imagining visioning this woman who's listening and she's like I don't know what that means to age gracefully Like . What does that even mean ? What are some keys that are , like I like to say , counterculture to what the world is telling her ? What tangible things can she start to do to kind of flip the script on what the world is like screaming at her ?
Speaker 3Yeah , absolutely , and that's what my company . So faith is actually an acronym . So faith is actually an acronym and it's for foundation , accountability , integrity , transformation and then holistic health . So you really have to build that foundation of identity . You have to know who you are , where you came from and why were you even created , right ? Why did God even create women ? And then , with that , you take that and that morphs into your identity . Like , you know your worth , you know that your time here on earth is very short , so let's make the most out of it , right ? So you're building that foundation and then you're becoming accountable for yourself .
Speaker 3What are you going to do with the time that you have here ? Are you going to make the most out of each day ? Or are you going to wait until the end of the week and complain about the things that you didn't do ? Right ? Are you going to start to create these good habits ? That's going to lead you into the vision of yourself that you have for the future , right ? This person , this woman who is thriving and that requires you to take action every single day . And then the integrity is being able to align your actions with your beliefs , right ? And then all of the things that come against you to cause you to break that chain , right . And then that's when , like , the self-sabotage comes in . That's when all of these things break you away and then that's when you go into that depression because your actions aren't following what you , what you believe . There's a huge disconnect there and then we have this beautiful transformation . Right , you've designed this woman . Now step into her .
Speaker 3When you wake up in the morning , you're going to ask yourself would my future self , what would she do today ? She would take 20 minutes to go and strength train . She would take 15 minutes and read scripture . She would feed her spirit , right , and just have that outlook on life where I am strong because my bucket is overflowing , just like I was talking about earlier , I have enough energy to make it through . Whatever it is that is going , you know , is going to come my way , and then you have , like , holistic health .
Speaker 3So it's not just focusing on fitness , not just focusing on mental health , right , it's all of these things that come together . It's emotional , it's spiritual , it's physical , it's mental , it's all of these things . Are you feeding yourself first ? Are you taking care of yourself enough every single day to know when your bucket is depleting ? Right to know , to feel comfortable enough to say hey , no , I can't do that today because I know my bucket is going to be empty soon and I need to do the things to take care of myself first . So that way , when I show up , I'm going to show up as my best self . I'm going to show up as this woman that I know that I am beautiful .
Speaker 2Definitely blueprint right there . That acronym did you ? Did you sit down one day and it just like dropped on you ?
Speaker 3Uh , yes , so this whole program that I created . It took me three months to put the mental health piece together , and that was when God was calling
me at his hardest and I had no idea how to communicate this to anybody , even my husband . My husband and I we used to fight all the time because I just couldn't communicate what God was trying to tell me to him , and I like we would get so frustrated . But come to find out like God was like . I don't want you to communicate this to anybody , Like I want you to have . I'm trying to download something to you and I need your full attention . And so when I finally told my husband that right , then he was like , okay , all right , you know , like , and it was like almost like a breakthrough for him too . And so I sat down , I wrote this program out . Like these things just kept coming . And so I was like almost like a breakthrough for him too . And so I sat down , I wrote this program out like these things just kept coming .
Speaker 2And so I was like , okay , god , like it's all you , it is all you , because I could not , in my own strength , come up with any of this and that's where you know it's so beautiful , because you , you said , you know I don't really know what I'm doing in business , and the beauty about it , though , is that we really don't have to , when we're in partnership with god , like he's gonna give us what we need , and we need for the people that are already waiting for you , because you were created for this time . There's other people that were created to do other things , but they're supposed to be connected to you . They're just not connected to you yet , right so we don't have to strive .
Speaker 2We don't have to hustle , we don't have to follow everybody else's blueprints . Girl , I had to go through a whole dying to myself process in 2017 , like I was like , yeah , please tell me how to do my business and I'll do it . And then to let go and just like ask him , like , what does this look like ? What is it ? And a lot of times it looks kind of crazy , actually , yeah . So yeah , that's been fun .
Speaker 3Yeah , I checked out your website and I love your website . Girl , I cannot tell you how similar like we are . I was just . I'm still like on this high from our first conversation , how God had called you , in the spirit , woman of wonder , and God calls me woman of worth .
Speaker 3And God calls me woman of worth . Like I finally was like telling my husband that and I'm like I am still like I don't know how to say this , because I just every time I think about it , like it's just like that wellspring of , like this geyser I don't know , like I just get so excited .
Speaker 2Well , it's beautiful too , because when he said woman of wonder , when I wrote it , I actually use like acronyms a lot and I was like it's . It's beautiful too , because when he said woman of wonder , when I wrote it , I actually use like acronyms a lot and I was like it's a wow and you're a wow , we're wow , we're wow . Girls , um , yeah , it's so beautiful , like how , so you're a woman of worth , okay , so let's , let's , let's , kick it back a little bit . Did , did you always feel like a woman of worth ?
Speaker 3No .
Speaker 2Did you ? Always identify yourself that way yeah .
Speaker 3And I think that's why God calls me that in the spirit , right , because I had such a hard time so growing up . I never fit in anywhere . My mom is Italian , my dad is black , so I never like fit in with in the . The community that I grew up with was all white , so you could count the minorities on your hand of the school that I went to , and so I just never felt like I fit in anywhere .
Speaker 3And I think there is such purpose in that that there's such beauty in that , because God , my entire life was like , look , I set you apart for a reason , you know , like , take that to heart , and I did . But I feel like I was , you know , just took it the wrong way and was like , if I don't fit in anywhere , then what am I worth , you know ? And I just felt like I led my life like that for a long time , just not feeling like I deserved anything , and that was a huge barrier to me even going to college . I'm not worthy of a degree , I'm not worthy of making something of myself , I'm not worthy of you know . But God brings the right people into your life to help guide you and it's just yeah , so , and it's just been like that all of my life .
Speaker 3So when he called me a woman of work , he's like this is where we're going to start , and so the foundation of my business is we go through scripture and I pull out the women in the Bible and I educate women on . This is how God sees you right . These are all the women that made all of these mistakes in redemption Right and this is why God even created you . Nobody . You know what I'm going to challenge you . Next time you have a conversation with somebody , ask them if they know why women were created . Because everybody that I talk to , like , they come up with these , like , they start joking and I have to tell them like , you're joking because you don't know Like and is that okay ? Like , are you okay with that ?
Speaker 2Well , share , share with us . Like what ? What has he shown you through ? What is the answer to that question ? Through his eyes .
Speaker 3It's found in Genesis . So Genesis I think it's Genesis 2 or something . I have to look it up but he tells us exactly why women were created . And what's interesting is , when I was doing a study on this , is that he uses the word helper . He created us from Adam's rib , right , so , and if you think about where the rib is , it's close to the heart . So when we were created , God was like Adam . You need a helper , and for the longest time I got hung up on that word like helper . Like this is gonna sound really bad , but I feel like it was like more of like a janitorial role , you know , like somebody .
Speaker 3I don't know that's just what was in my mind . Well , do laundry , yeah , yeah , exactly . And I was like , well , there's got to be more to this , right . So , doing more in-depth study , there's a place in , I believe it's , exodus I could be wrong , don't quote me on that but where god calls himself a helper and he helps the israelites out of egypt , right . So the idea that God even calls himself a helper and then he calls us women a helper and it's like , wow , ok , so that completely destroys my idea of a helper and elevates it to the level of God is calling me a helper .
Speaker 3You know like wow , and so just having that idea right In our mind , that , and then you build on that idea with marriage . Okay , why did God create marriage ? And , um , I forgot where what . I'm sorry , I lost my train of thought I had like four things going on in my brain at the same time .
Speaker 3I understand yeah , okay , no , and then , like , when you read how Adam describes woman and you can maybe think about it in more modern day words that we would use he calls her woman , right , but it could be you could replace that word for beautiful or gorgeous , or I mean Adam knew how beautiful this woman was , and so he writes like poetry to her , basically you know , like just telling her what an amazing creation she is . So I mean all of these things like come together and if you build your identity on that , I mean if you understand your worth , like , and then for Eve too , like any one of us could be Eve , right , god created us with such intricacy that . And then for Eve too , like any one of us could be Eve , right , god created us with such intricacy that any one of us is Eve . He loved us each individually that much that he put in the time to create each one of us . So it's just , it's a heart issue is what it really is .
Speaker 2Yeah , amen . I mean one thing that you know , even when you're talking about the rib , because there was something I was reading recently and I can't even remember what it was , but you know , the ribs protect the lungs , they protect the heart . We are protectors . Yeah , I mean , look at at , we are like mama bears , lionesses out there . I don't know about you , but I'd I'd jump in front of a car if my kid was running out there . I'm to me that's fearless . I think a lot of women are very fearless , but there's something that's causing fear to hold them back
from really stepping into the woman that they are .
Speaker 3Right , have you noticed that ? And I think it has a lot to do . Yeah , and I think it has a lot to do with who they believe they are and where do they come from . Right , I mean , this world tells us that women are not worth as much as men . And now the narrative is if you don't want to be a woman , you can just change your gender . Right like , it's just like . No , there's so much purpose and so much worth in how God created you . I mean , he knit you together . He knew you before you were even conceived , knew you before you were born , like if people really understood that .
Speaker 2I keep saying , like there's such an identity crisis , like it's , it's like a plague , and we get to do the work to come alongside , re-identify with who god created them to be , because in that they can actually be free and then go set others free . But until then , I've had my own identity crisis . Um , I don't know about you like . I know you mentioned some of the stuff you grew up with .
Speaker 2But there was a lot of trauma growing up and I didn't know who I was . I looked in the mirror and I just thought I was worthless . That was the lie . I was worthless and that was a lie that I carried for probably two or three decades .
Speaker 3Yeah , A long time . How did you get out of it ? How did you get out of it , though ?
Speaker 2Well , I was rescued from addiction when I was 25 . And then it began this process of just unwinding from addiction not like literally not knowing who I was at all and him like learning to be loved and to be like that's been a big thing is learning to just be still because I was on such a like uh , just a path of like being busy so I didn't have to like face my emotions or feel or anything . Yeah , so if I just kept myself busy , and even before that , if I just , you know , stayed drunk or high or smoke cigarettes or worked out a lot or did all the things that would kind of keep me going , the moment I had to feel like actually feel my feelings , that was , that was a whole breaking . It was a breaking like that was a a year or two of like straight breaking , like a yeah , it was a whole process .
Speaker 3you had to break me yeah , break you out of the old shell , yeah , take off your plate of news , right ? And you know what's interesting now that you say that . So a part of my program , I have women go and interview somebody that's very close to them and most of them interview their husband of them , and most of them interview their husband . And so I tell them , ask them very specific questions about who you are , like , what and and , and it's not even like mind boggling questions , okay , so it's like what are your strengths , what are your weaknesses , and who do they see you as in the future ? It's those three questions .
Speaker 3I've had one , one of the women , her husband told her well , wait a minute , give me some time to think about this , I'll get back to you tomorrow . And she was like okay , fine . But one of the other women , she asked her husband and he was like I don't know , I never even thought about that and that was it . And so , in reviewing that with her , I was like well , what did he end up saying ? And she's like he just said that he never thought about it . And I was like okay , are you happy with that , you know ? And she was like well , I mean , he , he just that's what he said . And I was like okay , so this gives me insight into how surface level we are living . Yes , right , we . We don't even want to dive deep into these hard questions , but that is what it takes in order for you to figure out who you are and where you're going . Right , like it's , like it opens up your eyes , like you , now that you're living , like to know what it is to actually live .
Speaker 2It's so much like well , that's the thing Like for us as coaches , that's a big part of what we do is we ask questions ? Because questions help dig in . I like to call myself a gold digger , because there is actual gold when you ask somebody a question they've maybe never been asked before or confront something that's never been confronted before . Jesus asked questions . The Bible is filled with him asking questions because they had to have a literal come to Jesus moment and answer the questions , rather than having having somebody tell you like , yes , we bring , we bring resources , we bring keys , we bring um . You know all the things right , but a lot of what happens in coaching is asking those questions . People have the revelation and then they run with it , wouldn't you say ?
Speaker 3Oh yeah , absolutely , absolutely . I mean , one of the big questions that Jesus asked is who do people say that I am , or who do you say that I am ? You know ? And I think we can take that question and ask people that like who do you think I am ? You know what I mean ? And it's just and it and it's not , and what that creates is like a perception of how people see you and doesn't match how you see yourself .
Speaker 2Right , exactly Because a lot of times , wouldn't you say when , like , if we look in the mirror I just did a video about this recently Like , when we look in the mirror , we don't actually see like a hundred percent of who we are . There's no way to like , see the mirror is a mirror ? Like , the reflection on the mirror isn't a hundred percent . You , you can't see all things . You need somebody to hold up a mirror to you and , like you said , have these people that come along in your path that literally help bring breakthrough to you , because they do draw out the gold in you , they remind you of who you are . Where are you going ? What are you doing ? Where are you Like ? Where are you Like , where are you going ? Because it's so easy , especially in this world right now , I would say , there are so many distractions , wouldn't you say , oh , absolutely , how do you see that affecting a lot of the women you work with right now , with all the distractions ?
Speaker 3I think it comes down to like a comparison game , right , like , and not only that too , but it's like if you're not good at that , move on to something else . Instead of taking the time to figure out how it's going to work for you , how you do fit in into your life , you know , and then , too , like the distractions , I need to continuously keep moving on to the next thing . So , whatever it is that I'm doing now , how can I get the quickest results ?
Speaker 2Right .
Speaker 3And that is such a huge barrier because it doesn't give you time to find your strength in whatever transition that you're in or whatever point in life that you're in . Yeah .
Speaker 2Well , what is it like ? What does your program look like ? Is it something that's ongoing , or is it something that you do like every few weeks ? What does that look like on your end for the women that are listening ?
Speaker 3that might be interested in hearing more on your end for the women that are listening , that might be interested in hearing more . So it is a 12-week program , and what we focus on is how do we create a routine that best fits your lifestyle and what is important to you ? So I'm still working on the finer details of how to um really incorporate the mental and the physical aspects of it . So I had um . So right now I'm actually writing a book . I'm putting the mental health piece into a book , and because , being an occupational therapist , I understand the importance of repetition . So there's all of these self-help books out there , self-help programs , but once you're done , like you're done and it's very rare that you come back to it and they say there's a certain amount of time to create a habit , right , but here's . Here's . My thing , though , is that you have to know yourself well enough to know if that habit is going to stick . And then also , too , how can we modify that habit to to your lifestyle , to your lifestyle ?
Speaker 3Um , there's so many programs out there that are like follow this line by line , by line , and then , once you get out on your own , like nobody's holding your hand anymore . So it's either go back to this program or find another one , right , but I want to be able to create such a daily plan , something that you can carry out every single day . That's going to get you to your goal . And then we do like accountability . There's also a book club that goes along with it and that holds accountability too . So we have like these .
Speaker 3At first it's like one-on-one , and then we slowly taper off , we go to the group and then we go to like a maintenance program where I check in like once a week , and that's just for the full 12 weeks . And then at the end of the 12 weeks , you decide , like how do you want to proceed and how are you going to serve your community ? So do you need assistance in maybe creating some type of online presence ? Do you want to start your own book club ? Do you want to have continuous one-on-ones Like what does that look like for you ? You know , what ?
Speaker 3what is benefiting you ? So , it's a very customizable program .
Speaker 2Yes , because , like people don't fit in a box , let's just be real . At least people think they maybe do , but they need to have that revelation that no , you are not called to fit in a box .
Speaker 3Right and long-term success too . Like you have to be motivated yourself enough to do it . Nobody outside is going to motivate you to get it done right . So this hand holding that everybody does with this line by line instruction sheet that does , that's not long term , that's not going to last . That like that will serve you in the moment , but what's going to serve you when you're on your own ? How are you going to be able to function on your own ?
Speaker 2Yes , well , I love what he is doing in and through you . So we also , as I mentioned in the beginning , we're part of ministry makers with Kendra D Carroll , and she brought us
both in . There are several coaches , but I was led to interview you because you interviewed me on your Facebook last week and I was like , hey , like , why not share what you're doing too ? So what is your focus group going to be all about ?
Speaker 3What is your focus group going to be all about ? So my focus group I'm so excited is about spirituality , building that foundation of the spirit of God . Who is the Holy Spirit , right ? How do you tap into the power of the Holy Spirit and how do you develop the gift of the Spirit , Because each of us have a unique gift and like , how do you tap into that ? And then also to , how is that going to guide you into what comes next ? And so I like to explore that idea and I feel like there's so much ambiguity with spirituality these days . Right , People claim that they're spiritual , but what does that mean ? And the Bible is very clear about when you claim to be spiritual . It talks about the spirit of God and how to know that it's the spirit of God , and that is what you absolutely need to draw from the energy , the strength that you're drawing from , because there are other spirits in this world .
Speaker 2Yes .
Speaker 3And so you want to be very careful about which ones you allow in . So that's where we're going to start .
Speaker 2So good , yeah , we're getting started in May , which may is in two days , but you know it's kind of like kickoff , um , and then I'm going to be doing a group called embracing the wonder of god . Again , going back to the , you know , woman of wonder , I'm constantly seeing details and as we're , you know , walking out our calling , I like to say I help women . You know , walking out our calling . I like to say I help women , you know , soar in their calling and devour with their voices . And you know , along the pathway there are going to be some challenges , there's going to be maybe some arrows , things that are going to try to stop you , but we can still continue to like stay above the snake line , come up higher his perspective , like the wonders , like the seeing him in the details , because every single day I don't know about you , dana , but like he is showing me signs and wonders every single day , like there's not a day that goes by that I'm not seeing .
Speaker 2um something from him , yeah , whether it's in the word or a song , or a connection , or um you know somebody sending me like a prophetic word that I needed at that very moment Um , I'll never forget a mentor of mine . Um , when I was walking through a really , really dark Valley , probably six , seven years ago , it was like I think it's six words , see him in the details , five words , see him in the details . And it just it unlocked wonder in me , literally like it absolutely unlocked wonder .
Speaker 2So I want to really impart that to women , you know , as we're walking out this path , and just to bring back that childlike faith , that childlike wonder like I people think I'm like , oh my gosh , you were , how do you see these things ? Oh well , you gotta look up , you gotta look around . Like , stop looking at just your phone , we gotta get outside , we gotta do different things . Um , so that's just a little bit of what um Kendra actually saw that in me and she was like this is the group that you are going to need to do , and I'm like , okay , well , I'll go for that . So , um , like I said , we get started in May .
Speaker 2Um , if you want to get in touch with us and check out the groups that are available , I think we have three groups , three different coaches so far that are leading um , in the show notes I will link up the website where you can check everything out and , yeah , anything else you want to share . I always like to say if there's anything else , like thinking of this one woman who's listening . Obviously there's going to be more , but I always focus on the one . Is there anything else you wanted to say this one woman ? And also , would you be open to praying over her today ?
Speaker 3Oh yeah , absolutely . Your time is now . Your time is today . It is now God is calling you and , oh gosh , what is it going to take for you to answer ? You know , when God gets a hold of your heart , he's not going to let go . So , yeah , okay . So I'll close this out in prayer . Oh my gosh , god , you are so good .
Speaker 3Thank you for these opportunities , lord . Thank you for bringing us together , father , because we know that where we are gathered , father , two or more in your name you are with us , and so we just pray that you continue to work in our hearts , father , just continue to show us who you are , just to continue to be in those details and to give us eyes so that we can see your heart , so we can know you , father . And I just pray for these women who are listening to this Lord , that you touch their heart just as much as you touched ours . Let them know who they are , lord , who they belong to , father , and just let them know their worth , lord , that you want them in your kingdom with you , father . And we thank you for today . We thank you that you continue to work through us , lord , and build your army . So I want to welcome the women that have made the decision today and thank you , Father .
Speaker 2In my dog started like howling like she was singing . I had to mute for a second but I was like , oh , she was like thank you so much for sharing today . You are a gift . I'm so thankful that we've connected and like it's just the beginning , so so much fun . Thank you , Kristen , and I'll share any contact information for Dana in the show notes . Like I said for ministry makers , I will also share the website below . If you guys have any questions , please reach out to me or Dana and we will chat soon on the next Hope Unlocked podcast . I will . Well , I actually I almost forgot . I have to close with our anchoring verse . It's me .
Speaker 2Okay , hope , fill you with all joy and peace and believing . Set by the power of the Holy spirit , you may abound in hope , and that's Romans 15 , 13 . So thank you for being a brave voice that sets others free , and I will be back with another episode next week . Take care , hope . Unlock listeners .