Joy Inspired Podcast

Season 2: Episode 11 - Path 2 Peace

• Nikki Cruise • Season 2 • Episode 11

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0:00 | 38:15

Episode Summary: 

In this deeply powerful conversation, Nikki Cruise sits down with Colleen Stewart, founder of Path to Peace Coaching, a veteran and trauma survivor who now helps others reclaim their peace through faith and healing.

For years, she struggled to understand what was happening to her as unresolved trauma surfaced through flashbacks, stress, and emotional turmoil.

But God had a greater story unfolding.

Through a process of healing, surrender, and partnering with God, Colleen discovered something transformative: the missing pieces in our lives are often not truly missing, they’re simply hidden beneath lies we’ve believed about ourselves.

Now, Colleen equips professionals who have experienced trauma to uncover those hidden pieces, remove limiting beliefs, and rebuild their lives with clarity, purpose, and peace.

This episode is a powerful reminder that even when life collapses like a sinkhole beneath us, God is still rebuilding the foundation.

Key Takeaways

  • The Missing Piece Isn’t Missing - the “missing pieces” in our lives are often obscured by lies we have believed. 
  • Peace doesn’t come from controlling life’s circumstances. 
  • Unhealed trauma can influence our health, relationships, and career decisions without us even realizing it.
  • Sometimes we “fail the test but pass the learning.” Growth often happens through disappointment and unexpected obstacles.
  • God equips us with tools and experiences long before we realize how they will be used in our calling.

Scriptures 

  • Isaiah 26:3 - “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in You.”
  • Proverbs 4:7 - “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom.”
  • Romans 8:28 - “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him.”

Encouragement

  • If you feel like your life has collapsed beneath your feet, remember that sinkholes don’t define the end of the road.
  • God is the master builder of restoration.
  • Your trauma does not disqualify you from purpose.
  • Your past does not remove your calling.
  • And the peace you’re searching for may already be closer than you think.
  • Healing often begins with one courageous step: letting go of control and allowing God to rebuild the foundation.

Root questions to reflect on: 

  1. What beliefs about myself might actually be lies I’ve accepted as truth?
  2. Where in my life am I still trying to stay in control instead of surrendering to God?
  3. What might my future look like if I truly believed God had restoration ahead for me?
  4. Is there an area of trauma or pain that I’ve been avoiding instead of bringing to God?

Connect With the Guest

Colleen (CB) Stewart
Founder, Path to Peace Coaching

Social Media: CB Stewart
Email: reachcbstewart@gmail.com

Free Resource for Listeners:
Get Colleen's 3-step Guide to Overcome the Effects of Trauma

Click here to download!

Stay Connected with Nikki:

Closing Encouragement:

 “You were created for a unique purpose. When you invite God into your business, you step into a calling that impacts eternity. Remember, alignment doesn’t mean perfection—it’s a journey of trust, surrender, and joy.”

Until next time, stay blessed, stay joyful, and keep walking in your purpose!

SPEAKER_00

Welcome to the Joy-Inspired Podcast. I'm Nikki Cruz and I'm thrilled to explore with you what it means to walk in a faith-infused business. This is your space to find powerful tools and insights, to build with resilience, and to create impact through your unique purpose, discovering a joy that only God can provide. Together, let's embrace a business journey anchored in faith and empowered by joy. Let's jump in. Now, hello, hello, hello, beautiful friends, and welcome back to the Joy-Inspired Podcast, where faith meets purpose, purpose meets miracles, and where we help entrepreneurs just like you build businesses that glorify God, nourish your soul, and still keep the bank account looking blessed and highly favored. Because you know God wants us to have joy. Can I get an amen on that? I'm your host, Nikki Cruz, and uh your resident Joy Junkie. If you're new here, welcome. We might be a little bit crazy. We're all about joy, but we're mainly about aligning faith, passion, and purpose with God and helping you see where God fits into your life, your entrepreneurship, or just your daily business. We're kind of call ourselves personal purpose excavators. And yes, the South African accent is here. I'm located in Texas, originally from South Africa. But I want to remind you that wherever we are in the world, we serve one and the same God. And he is the God of restoration, he is the God of new beginnings, he is the God of rebuilding. So if you're ready to settle in, grab your journal, grab your coffee or your water, and get ready. Because I have an amazing guest today. So got that journal? Got it? Are you ready? Got your tissues? Because maybe you're gonna need that and your pressure. Because this woman sitting with us here today carries a mantle of peace. And it's peace that's gonna minister straight to you. What met her in person, which in the virtual world doesn't often happen nowadays, but even long before that, we connected and we could sense the connection between one another. And there is an overflowing on peace. I am over the moon and excited to welcome Colleen Stewart, founder of Path to Peace Coaching. She's a powerhouse woman of God who empowers veterans and professionals to break free from the stinkholds of trauma and reconnect with the God of peace himself. You're not ready, but you're gonna get it anyway, because this is gonna come as a whole lot of power. Putin, welcome, welcome, welcome to the Joe Inspired Podcast. I have been so excited for this conversation because you don't just talk about peace, you actually carry it. Thank you so much for being here. And just for my guests who have never met you, and before we go all prophetic and drive people's living rooms into uh something unfamiliar, let's start simple. Tell us who you are, who you serve, and what path to peace actually looks like, and how God positioned you to serve veterans and professionals by walking through trauma.

SPEAKER_01

Yes, thank you, Nikki. Appreciate you having me today. And it's kind of a long story, but I'll try to make it short. I was um I had a difficult childhood, very dysfunctional, went into the military at age 17 and uh got married, had a child, I was having a good time, uh but something was wrong, and I didn't know what it was, as many people don't. Um I was a perfectionist, and so I drove myself really hard to succeed, and I became a commissioned officer, and then one day a PTSD flashback came, and I had no concept of what was happening to me. And um, I had already started being diagnosed with medical conditions, which is pretty common when your body holds all that stress and and dysfunction inside and you don't let that out. So um, pretty much the only emotion that I would show to people was anger. Um, yeah, pretty much that was it. Stressed all the time. I was really good at my job. Um, although I did try to become less of a perfectionist, but uh in the end, basically, instead of 30 days to retire, I I mean, instead of four years to retire, I was given 30 days. And that did not help with a brand new PTSD diagnosis. I didn't even know what it was. Like people had to explain to me what had happened to me, and it took me another, oh my gosh, probably eight years before I even heard the term flashback. I didn't even know what happened to me. I just I just knew it was bad, and it ruined my career. And um yeah, just it it shouldn't take people 15 years to find peace. And um, I've got a business partner, it's taken her six years to find peace, and you know what, that's too long. It just is. So I help basically veterans and and professionals who have suffered through traumatic incidents, and then their you know, those returning memories caused them to lose their health, uh, their career, their relationships. Yeah, it just it it devastates lifestyles, and I'm not I I don't like that because I know that it didn't come from God, and I've had PTSD actually lifted off of me, but it took longer to find why I'm here, who you know what should I do, where should I go? How do you want me to use this this health and vitality that you've given me? How do you, you know, the connections through the years? And um, so the the last I'd say between five and seven years, it's it's the last five years when I really realized, oh, I have peace in my life, and this is new, and this is the first time I've ever felt this.

SPEAKER_00

So it is it's it's wonderful, and that itself calls for a celebration, you know. I feel like doing a happy dance right here. So it but that word you use to describe it, sinkhole, is exactly it. You feel like there's this solid foundation under you, and then suddenly it's gone with no understanding or explanation. And you know we love a God story on this podcast. So walk us through your journey from military leadership to that amazing event you went to in 2024, where God gave you your whole business setup in 24 hours, because as you said, it took time, even after you were healed, to find your purpose or the purpose for this. Give us a little bit of that background to that that led up to that amazing event and how this path to peace was birthed.

SPEAKER_01

Well, it's amazing, honestly. Um the story starts like 20 years ago in 2005 when God first gave me the the smallest pieces of what would become my slogan and my my I didn't know peace was coming, but the the whole thing came together. It's like the the missing piece to the puzzle when I was uh hospitalized for a short time um because I couldn't cope with the memory that came back. I couldn't remember my baby sister's name, and that freaked me out pretty bad. And um yeah, so I asked actually to be hospitalized for a period of time until they felt I was safe. And in there, I put together a puzzle and I took it straight out of the box, and it was missing a piece, and I kept the puzzle, and God 20 years later brought that back together with what piece P-E-A-C-E is missing from your life, is the slogan, and then the logo is basically a puzzle piece in with the words path to peace inside, and it's it he gave me the whole business, the God talks. That was like, oh, I'm supposed to be a god talks coach, and then and then he's already trained me um through uh landmark worldwide on how to generate the reverse engineering of your life. So we use like this way of discovering you know the lies that you believe. You discover the truth about your life in those areas, and then you knock those out of the way. You really get rid of those lies, those barriers that have always been in your way to your your career path, your your relationships, your um health, you know, those little things that you you didn't see, we call those blind spots. And then once those are identified, it it's getting rid of them is pretty easy. It's what you don't see that kind of eats your lunch. And then what I do is we help you look out into the future, like where you where you desire to be, uh, and what God shows you during this path, and we reverse engineer from a future fulfilled, which is pretty cool. We roll it back quarter by quarter, and then you know, month and week by week, and you actually develop your own plan back to today as to how to move forward. But what is really different about it is the technique of the reverse engineering and going from the future, being a real tangible thing that you can see is not like a vision board where you're like, I think this year we'll do this or that. No, this is like you really see the future, and uh we both know Patricia King, and she says all the time, if you can see it, you can have it, and that's that is real. Um I I cannot tell you just the difference this has made in my life. It brought the peace because you know, my relationships work. My health isn't precisely where I like it. You know what I mean? Like if you looked at my life today, you might think, well, the circumstances really didn't change that much, did they? But things work that even you wouldn't even think they would, but they do, and it's all it's like God partnered with me to generate new peace in my life. And so I discovered at the end of five years, I was like, man, this is great, and it's not going away, you know, the other shoes not about to drop. This is actually established in my life, of you know, building up you fall in the sinkhole because you didn't even know it was there, and then all of a you know, you you clean it up and you start rebuilding, and eventually you get back to a solid surface again. And um, all that all that healing is like it's a done deal, it's really nice. Every once in a while, there's a little something you gotta sort out, but you know, it comes in layers.

SPEAKER_00

You know, you said something so so powerful there, and that was that the missing pieces, and you mentioned about the lies and the truth, and so often that missing piece isn't actually missing, it's obscured by the lies of the enemy. The piece is there, we are not broken, we are misled. And as you said that, it just struck me so hard is that puzzle piece is not missing, my friends, it's there, and that I believe is part of why when you look at the future, at uh working from the future backwards, you don't see the future with a missing piece. And if that piece really was missing, there would be a big gap. So, this is what Colleen's talking about, and you know you've had so much come together because you were partnering with God, and you said God partnered with you, yes, but you chose to partner with him, and that's something we talk about often here on the Joy Inspired Podcast because as entrepreneurs we get to learn number one, who's in control, and number two, who the partners are. It's not God and God, it's not you and you, it's God and you. God wants you to let him take the lead, be in control, but he wants you to be part of the process and partner with him. So as you step in, as you hear him, you know, how did you begin stepping into this new season of your assignment as a peace coach?

SPEAKER_01

Well, the practice that we do do is really to sit with God um and find that internal peace, even if it's just a moment, so you can actually hear his voice. Um and there's been so many people I I um always have been trained to establish teams around what we're doing, and so that's really um I I have zero intention of ever doing this by myself. God's my first partner, and then there's other people, and you know, and uh yeah, he just he brings the right people at the right time, and honestly, the day my husband set foot in my Uber that I was driving was was the day everything changed. I mean, within an hour, my whole life was different, and that was just like uh things financially, even that that never worked before, do uh just like what? I mean, one of the things that God did, this is crazy. Um, so I know it's not me. I actually got to keep my house after my second ex-husband set it on fire. And after I had not been able to make a house payment in 26 months, which you know that's that's not me. That was God 100%. And my husband was telling me, you're gonna get to keep your house. You you really are, and I'm like, no, I'm not. It's okay, I'm good. I don't need my house. And he's like, No, you're gonna get to keep your house. And that just that just blew my mind because everything, um, it's like I became the person who could be with someone who was calm, who uh who was just uh a godly man, frankly. Who would have thought that God could bring someone in your Uber? There was a better choice than you could find. That's really what it boils down to, I think.

SPEAKER_00

Oh, yeah. And you you say it there, you know, who would have thought we forget that we serve the God of all abundance, we forget that we serve this incredible God. And you know, I love asking people these kind of questions because we're talking about the supernatural here. We think that we that God has to put into our boxes. Well, here God gave you your business blueprint, your idea, your everything like immediately when the time was right, and when you were ready. So you stand in this place of authority with God, taking dominion. And uh, I know that God does not check resumes, God checks readiness. So here's my question that I want you to share with everyone. How long have you actually been building Path to Peace? And what has that journey looked like so far? Because remember, folks, God doesn't check resumes. She hasn't been sitting in college studying medical psychology for 26 years to do what she's doing, and God is bringing impact through her.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Go ahead, Kaleen.

SPEAKER_01

I started officially September 1st of 2025.

SPEAKER_00

And this is congratulations. That has been a year in the making, a year since God told her, and showed it. I know that because I was at, I met her for dinner after that first event where God started pointing this out to her. And um, you know, God does what God does when we are faithful, when we surrender it to Him, and when we let go of the reins. So let's get real about some of these goals. I love speaking to women who can talk faith and finances all in the same sentence. Are you one of those? Because where is your business right now and what's the next financial goal God's put in front of you? There's no shame whether it's big or small, but I want you to hear how Colleen speaks boldly about this. We celebrate growth around here. So, where's your business at at the moment? You just started two months ago, and what is your goal that you are standing on in faith, in growth?

SPEAKER_01

To have my first eight clients by the end of the year. And I've got the sales funnel set up, I got, you know, all the stuff, the the background. God literally, he brought me the whole thing. I mean, I knew about God talks, you know, I had done some things, uh, some coaching and stuff before for different programs, but he brought it all together in 24 hours. I had it just, it was like, oh yeah, don't forget about this and don't forget about that, and don't forget about this and don't forget about that. And I've already built businesses before, so um it's crazy. The LLC has been established since 2020, but I didn't I didn't know what for. I thought I was gonna use it for something else. Um, so I just kept it because on on advice uh from my accountant, and then um, so I already had the business. Banking, everything was already set up. And then last year I was working on digital marketing because I thought that's what this was gonna be. But actually, that was training for this year because I already understand funnels, I already have like this whole training system that I set it up. You know how it is, they'll they'll do it for you for a price, and God kept telling, no, I want you to learn how to do it. I'm like, but I can't stand this. So I let that business go last year, and uh it was still there when I came back this year. It's like real estate online, right? All the stuff that you put out there is still there, and you still own it, and it's like, oh, I didn't even think of it that way. He set me up.

SPEAKER_00

He didn't, and yeah, you're kind of doing things, you're working through things and doing things, and you don't see where they fit in. No, but God knows, and if you're aligning your faith, your passion, and your purpose, even if you don't know your purpose yet, God begins to show it to you, and it is about walking in faith. And yeah, you know, there are many people who might say, Oh, you think you're gonna get eight clients by the end of the year? Are you kidding, sister? You know what? To all you naysayers, she has the faith. And it's not about the faith that will move the mountains, it's the belief that God is gonna do what he's gonna do. And yes, there is a slight difference there. You know, you can have all the faith out there, but if you don't truly believe that God will do it for you, he won't. So I just celebrate you for what God is doing, but you know who I really celebrate for? Those eight clients, at least on the receiving end, who are going to find that newness, who are gonna reach that abundance of life and joy. So I I also read another thing in your application that I love that you said in October. You said, I failed the test, but I passed the learning.

SPEAKER_01

Yes, I did.

SPEAKER_00

And failing the test and passing the learning is an incredible life lesson, incredible life lesson because the tests are set by man. Yeah, the learning is what draws us closer to God. So share a bit of that story with our listeners, especially how God uncovered those blind spots and helped you to move forward on a firmer foundation because that's what it's about.

SPEAKER_01

That's it. There's one of those little things that was hidden still. Um it just it was there. And so I didn't I didn't see it. Um, so I had this uh paid program that I was going through to help build the business faster and find people like you, which is funny because I already knew you. So uh I was going through class and they required that I uh I meet this. Um like I passed everything on the test, but I didn't meet the result, right? And uh so I was like, well, I failed, I gotta do this month over again. Um, but it has been really, really kind of awesome. And at the time I had done three things. So I had reached out for help right away, um, gone to their coaching, and and they just all they did was repeat the same stuff they the information they already gave me. I'm like, no, that's not that's if that worked and I used it, it I wouldn't be asking, honestly. So I got frustrated um because I was being told to do the same thing twice. But and if it had worked, I wouldn't need help and I wouldn't have come to them. So uh the third thing, um, besides getting stuck and uh being told something over and over again, like I couldn't get the help that I was looking for, which was actually a trigger. And I really don't do well when I'm stuck. So I was asking for help and I felt ignored. Um, and I guess that kept me from moving forward and achieving the results that I needed, which occurred in the first week and the second week of of this month when I was redoing it. Like I already passed that and I already have to move into the next month. But it it was the realization that it was those things that affected me. It was getting stuck, it was that feeling that went back to my past, like you know, trying to get someone's attention and then being told to do what you already were doing is you know, I realize that about myself now in a professional way. I'm like, oh, okay, that's that's what that is. And I I actually got some coaching help, and somebody pointed it out to me.

SPEAKER_00

And that's where it's so powerful, is that you know, I've been talking a lot lately about how we can get the anointing before we get the appointing. And the reason for that is because we get the anointing and we have no idea how to steward it and what hurdles we're gonna hit before we hit the appointing. Wow, and just like you hit those places in those exams, you know, where suddenly there was something which you weren't ready for. That's why the appointing hadn't happened yet. So, I mean, look at David. Yeah, he was appointed, he was anointed, but he wasn't appointed. Look at Joseph, he had this incredible mission of prophetic dreams, and look how well he stewarded that. He got thrown in the pit by his brothers because he lauded it over them. Not intentionally, he knew no better. It had to be steward, and you know why? It's after the anointing we get the disappointing, because it's in the disappointing that we learn the strength and the stewardship of those gifts to deliver well in the appointment. And you've said it just there: the learning versus the failure, God's way versus man's way, and that's where we grow. And it's just awesome how you've stepped into that. And you know, there is so much that all the folks here get to learn from you, and you have so much wisdom, so much knowledge. You've lived this life in that leadership, curriculum building, trauma healing ministry, near-death experiences, which we haven't even touched on this time around. We might need to get you back for that one. Friend, you've got a whole few books inside you.

SPEAKER_01

Yes.

SPEAKER_00

What key strategies, insights, or even mistakes have helped you become the woman you are that we are listening to today?

SPEAKER_01

I would say the first thing that had to go was giving up control. I was trained to do that since I was a child, you know, control and manipulation, that's how you're gonna get what you want, and all this. And um, no. Actually, what I learned. Let's see, first thing I learned was turn off the uh audios, the internal audios of the words that people spoke over you. This goes straight back to God talks, it really does. Um, because those words I had come into agreement with, even as a child, I didn't know any different, right? Because you don't, you just know what's around you and what you're taught. And um, there were a lot. Oh my god, the the mountain of lies that I believed and I was in agreement with, and then I've just built my whole life on that. Um, so when it all came crashing down, like that sinkhole that falls in, um that I realized I don't control other people ever. I can barely control myself on a good day, and sometimes I can't even do that, evidently. So I just I I just I really had to get that up, give that up. Um I don't know if everybody on here agrees, but I got to some deliverance, got a little ministry, and uh yeah, got rid of that. And um, so yeah, that was I would say the first major step toward rebuilding in peace.

SPEAKER_00

I think that's beautiful because let's face it, folks, if you're in control, God's not. Yeah, well, and when you look at it like that, it's kind of a no-brainer. I gotta let go of control, you know, and there's wisdom in that. There's so much wisdom. And Proverbs 4, verse 7 actually tells us wisdom is the principal thing, therefore, get wisdom. Now, if you're trying to be in control, God is a lot wiser than you. So uh take a hint, step, step aside, let him be in control. So, Colleen, I'm just so happy. We've had an amazing time talking to you here. But if these folks want to connect with you, if they want to reach out and go, hey, tell me more. Where can they get hold of you? And folks, if you don't have your pen and paper handy, it is in the comments and show notes below. But I'm going to get Colleen to call it out to you anyway.

SPEAKER_01

Okay. Um, for starters, probably the best way to reach me is on LinkedIn. Colleen Stewart. I have a couple other last names from before, in case friends from before are looking for me. Uh, we have a company page there called Path to Peace Coach. Um, I was gonna say one more thing. Oh, about giving control over to God. I just gotta say this. I'm sorry. It just honestly, none of this, none of this peace would have been possible if I had kept that control myself. Because, like, just like my house, getting to keep that after it was set on fire, like and rebuilt, 26 months of not been able to make a house payment. That's impossible in this world, you know that. And if if I had tried to stay in control, if I hadn't been willing to give it up, I probably wouldn't have gotten to keep it. But he works everything to the good, and it's not just the good things, even the bad things, he will work it all to your good, but you gotta let him have the control, and it's so much easier than you trying to hold the reins, because that's where you lose your joy.

SPEAKER_00

You are not able to control your life, so why not hand it over to the one who can and the one who can do it successfully? That's where you find the joy. Well, Colleen, wow, thank you so much for for bringing your heart, your faith, and that beautiful mantle of peace that you carry today. Thank you. And friends, those of you who are listening, Isaiah 26, verse 3 says, You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are stayed on you. Don't get distracted. So, friends, if you want to learn more and you want to grab the three-steps guide to overcoming the effects of trauma, you can connect with her in the link in the comments. And thank you so much for that generous gift, Colleen. But folks, keep walking in joy, keep walking in purpose, and remember, you are not a counterfeit, you are called, even if you don't see your purpose yet. God has it there and might have it uncovered. Pauline, any last-minute words for our audience?

SPEAKER_01

If you're ready to start your journey to peace, um, there's a path laid out for you. You just have to find it. Just let God it, you know, the the let go, let God statement is so perfect. Um, he he really wants to know you more than you want whatever it is you want in life. Like he really just desires to have that relationship with you. And there's a lot sometimes that has built up in our lives that we've really got to let go of for him to be able to really speak to us and for us to receive everything that he has for us. It's it's a lot more than we expect, and the special gift um is at the pathtopeacecoaching.com.

SPEAKER_00

Thank you so much. And folks, you know, I just I feel the Holy Spirit nudging me to say this to you. You might have been listening and thinking, but I've got this trauma, I've got this sinkhole in my life, but I'm not a veteran. You know what? That trauma isn't qualified by being a veteran, it's seen more regularly in veterans, but you don't need to justify why you're struggling with that. You need to be vulnerable. Oh, I've got Holy Spirit chills. You need to be vulnerable and just be able to say to the Lord, I'm ready to acknowledge my need. Because you don't have to have an excuse to be struggling with something. If you're struggling with it, step into the solution, connect with Colleen. If you really aren't a right fit for what they can do for you, they will refer you. So on that note, I encourage you, go and step into your path for peace. Go and find the joy of the Lord that is going to give you the strength to get through your challenges and trials. And I look forward to seeing you all next week. And remember, if there's someone you know that this episode might serve, share it with them and ask your questions in the comments. Colleen and I will be looking out. Blessings all. Bye. Thank you so much for joining me on the Joy Inspired Podcast at www.joinspiredpodcast.com. Make sure you hit that subscribe button so that you can get this and every other episode that comes out. We have lots of great stuff coming, and you don't want to miss it. So make sure to hit that subscribe. I'm so grateful for all the reviews and comments, and I look forward to serving you in next week's episode.