Jenedy Paige: The Courage to Create

Jenedy Paige never planned to become a professional oil painter or a 6-time American Ninja Warrior competitor, but that is where God has led her. A proud BYU-Idaho alum, she credits her alma mater with giving her a solid creative foundation.

Jenedy considers her greatest masterpieces her four children — three here on earth and one in Heaven. She and her husband, Victor, share a love for adventure and travel, often exploring rock climbing crags around the world.

When she’s not painting or training, Jenedy enjoys jump-roping, playing the piano, and singing songs from musicals. She also loves eating dinner for breakfast, and watching a good rom-com. After a decade in Utah, their family is starting a new chapter in Chicago. Through her art and her voice, Jenedy empowers others to live boldly, create bravely, and follow God faithfully.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:03

Welcome to Lipstick and Legacy, a podcast where your story matters and your journey has purpose. Together, we lift and inspire our communities one story at a time. Today I have Jennity Page. I am so grateful that she has chosen to take some time with us. Gennady is a professional oil painter, a six-time American ninja warrior competitor, a wife of mother, and a woman of deep faith. And she's just really never imagined the path that her life would take. Welcome, Gennady.

SPEAKER_01 0:36

Thank you, Julia. Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_00 0:39

Yes. So Jennity, I uh had the opportunity to hear you speak at a women's conference here in Las Vegas. And it was obviously very inspirational. You have an intriguing story. What was the young Gennady like? Tell me a little bit about your childhood, where you're from, and who you were as a child.

SPEAKER_01 0:59

That's a fun question because I was actually just typing up my journals from when I was like 11 this morning. Um yeah, I was actually very different. I actually think, you know, we change and evolve so much as people. Um, but as a kid, I was very shy. Um having to give an oral presentation in one of my elementary school classes was like the worst day of my life. Um I was really into music. I thought I was gonna be a piano teacher when I grew up or professional pianist. Um I was also very academic. I just liked doing well in school. And I grew up in the western United States. So I was born in Idaho, and I have lived um in California, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Oregon, and just kind of like bounced around a lot. I I went to several different elementary schools, two junior highs, two high schools. And it's just because my dad would feel like this itch to move.

SPEAKER_00 2:04

Oh wow. So it wasn't like military or anything like that.

SPEAKER_01 2:08

No, and so, but it ended up being a really big blessing because I feel like because we had to move so many times, it really helped me to learn to overcome my shyness. And now I consider myself like one of the least shy people and will talk to anybody at any time in front of any group. Um, but yeah, growing up, I was just you come from a big family.

SPEAKER_00 2:31

Was there lots of siblings, or what did that dynamic look like for you?

SPEAKER_01 2:34

Um, I just have an older brother, a younger brother, and a younger sister. So there's four of us, two boys and two girls.

SPEAKER_00 2:41

So you're very artistic at this stage in your life. Was that something that was always very uh you uh you knew that you were this way, or was this something that developed? Like as a child, did you see that artistic value?

SPEAKER_01 2:54

Um I'll say I had a strong relationship with Crayola crayons. Um I really enjoyed I collected coloring books and and colored in them pretty frequently. In fact, actually, I just moved to Chicago and in the move I found all these coloring books from when I was a kid that I've saved. Um, but it wasn't like I thought this is what I was gonna be when I grow up. You know, like I wasn't the best drawer in in my class at school. I was pretty mediocre, but I did enjoy coloring. Um so art, art was like kind of like a hobby, something I enjoyed doing, but never imagined doing it professionally until I moved my senior high school, and we moved from a very big school in Utah to a very tiny school in Colorado. And up to that point I was very uh focused on AP and honors classes and getting a full right to college. And then when I moved, there was no AP or honors program at all in my new school, and so kind of because of lack of options, I took six art classes my senior year. And I actually had an art teacher there who introduced art to me in the form of a journal. And I had actually started writing in a journal when I was um almost 11. And so to to be introduced art into in that collaboration with journaling was absolutely perfect for me personally because I already knew the value of journaling. And and instead of like writing how you felt, you just created an image about how you felt.

SPEAKER_00 4:31

So was it writing with the art or was it just like a separate like art journal?

SPEAKER_01 4:36

No, it was like a set you want to see it?

SPEAKER_00 4:38

Yeah, I would love to see. I'd love to see. Grab it.

SPEAKER_01 4:42

Yeah, no, it's like a separate, it's like a separate entity.

SPEAKER_00 4:50

It's interesting how we have people come into our lives. I had a teacher in 10th grade and we were writing five paragraph essays, and he said, You're actually a good writer. And it's interesting how one person telling you one thing can really inspire you. I thought, oh my gosh, nobody's ever told me like I'm good at that. And then I've always enjoyed writing like ever since. So show me a little bit what that journal looks like.

SPEAKER_01 5:18

So here it is. And yeah, it's it's interesting because this teacher that I had, she was fresh out of college and she only taught there like that year because she got divorced and and moved away. And so I still can't find her to this day. Like I've wanted to find her and thank her and tell her that she changed my life, and it's one thing, it's I just hope I'll find her one day. So I did a lot of collage because I couldn't draw very well at the time, so a lot of my art journal looked like this. Um and then like this is supposed to be a cloud and it says possible on it. Um anyways, but then when I did try to draw, here's here you can see I mixed a little bit of words with the imagery, and I know this looks like a piece of asparagus. Okay, but this is supposed to be my hand and it's green because green is my favorite color, and so anything in this book that's green, it's not just anyone's hand, it's my hand, or it's it's me because that was like the symbol that I used in this book.

SPEAKER_00 6:36

It's like the Grinch, it reminds me of the Grinch clock, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:38

And then like this one, it's also a self-portrait because it's green. I know, and you're like, how is that a self-portrait? Well, it was actually like this. It's supposed to be like feeling discouraged in like my hand and my hair.

SPEAKER_00 6:52

So wow, that's really interesting.

SPEAKER_01 6:55

So that's that's where I started.

SPEAKER_00 6:56

That's really I love that. Um, so you went to high school in this tiny town, and you really kind of found like you enjoyed journaling with through art, and then you graduated high school. Did you go straight to college? What did that look like?

SPEAKER_01 7:11

Yeah, I went to BYU, Idaho, and I studied illustration. But it's what did that require tell me about that journey a little bit. Well, it was like first day of freshman orientation, we're sitting in this lecture hall, and like I've come from this this town where I had like 80 kids in my class, okay? And and you think that you have talent when you're in a small community like that. And then to be in the university at this orientation, I saw work from previous students, and that's when it became very clear to me that I had no talent. And I thought I felt almost embarrassed that I thought that I could major in art because I was so far below the ability of everybody else. And so I actually left that meeting in tears thinking that I was gonna have to switch my major. And then as I was walking home to my apartment, I just felt God tell me, Janity, you can become an artist. And I I was like, Are you are you sure? Like, have you have you seen my work? And like, how could I possibly do this? And then I just felt God offer me a promise that He would help me. And I had been developing a relationship with God since I was about ten years old, and so I had like eight years of experience of of prayer and receiving answers to prayers, and so when he told me that I could do it, I believed him. I didn't question, I didn't say no, I can't, because he said I could. He's God. So then I just had I knew I had a lot of work to do. I knew it wasn't gonna be easy, um, but I knew that it was possible. And so I would just go to the school at like 4 a.m. when it opened for janitors, and I would I would start each day with a prayer, and I would just say, you know, God, you you promised you'd be here to help me. We both know what I'm capable of doing on my own. So if anything good is gonna happen, it's gonna be because you're here to help me do it. And that's still kind of like the same prayer that I offer today.

SPEAKER_00 9:19

So it sounds like you've always had this innate faith. There's some people that are just faithful and it's a gift. I believe that having faith naturally is a gift. Is that something that you always had even as a child? Like you knew there was a God, you knew that there was um that he spoke to you, or was it something that you kind of developed over time?

SPEAKER_01 9:40

Um, I mean, I grew up in a very faithful home, but I would say like a really pivotal moment happened when I was 10. And and that was my mom. She had this little like family council one night, and she told us that we could each have a personal relationship with God. And I was like, okay, sign me up. And and how how do I have a relationship with someone that I can't see? And she said that it was uh through a simple daily practice of doing three things every day, and it was to write in a journal, read scripture, and to pray. And and so prayer journal scripture, she called the PJs, and she encouraged us every day when we put on our PJs to remember to do our PJs, and so I started the like two weeks before sixth grade, and I've continued that practice throughout my life till today. That's really what you're awesome. First thing that I did this morning journaling.

SPEAKER_00 10:40

Wow. Right. So it looks like okay, so you went to college, you graduated college. There was a story that you told during uh the talk that I that I heard you when you were speaking, and you talked about getting tuition and how there was like this huge blessing and that God doesn't do boring. You kept saying that. And I really loved thinking about that, how God shows up kind of at that last minute and like this crescendo, and it's like, let me show you what I can do now, right? Can you tell me a little bit about that experience and how that strengthened your face?

SPEAKER_01 11:15

Yeah, sure. So I came home from my freshman year of college very eager to be financially independent. Um my parents had just taken in two foster daughters, and I didn't want to be a financial burden on my family. And so I immediately started applying for every job I could think of from waiting tables at a restaurant to working at the outlet malls, and no one would hire me. And I I was getting really frustrated. I was like, my application, I'm valedictorian. Like I am, I am a responsible human. Like, you want to hire me? And nobody wouldn't. I'd get so frustrated. And finally, you know, it's like I could feel like the time ticking because you only have three months or so when you're home from college. And so one morning I ran out into we lived in these uh a very agricultural part of Colorado. So I ran into these fields by my house, and I found this utility box, and I sat on it, and I just looked up at this big sky, and I said, God, I am not getting off of this box until I know what I'm doing with my summer. Because I know that you know what my needs are and my desires to like be financially independent, and I need some help because my best efforts are are fruitless. I feel the answer, Jenity, you are where you need to be, the money will come. And I was thinking, so the answer is I don't get a job. And magically the money that I need for school will just appear. Uh but yeah, so I went home, I told my mom, I was like, guess what? I talked to God this morning and he told me. He told me what I needed to do. He told me that I'm not sure.

SPEAKER_00 13:06

No mom's white, okay, great.

SPEAKER_01 13:09

Yeah. In fact, it was so embarrassing because my little brother would give me a hard time, you know. He would be like, Why are you being so lazy? Like, just go get a job, you know. And both of my parents questioned me. And it, I think that was one of the first times in my life where I felt like I had gotten like a really uh player answer from God, and then my whole family thinks I'm crazy. But we did have these two foster girls that were teenagers, and I felt like I needed to spend some time with them. So I taught them a little bit of piano lessons. Um, we worked a little bit on like how to make macaroni and cheese, like some basic life skills. And then I got, you know, I got a few odd jobs throughout the summer. I like watched my neighbor's dogs, but when the end of the summer came, I I was far below uh what I needed to pay for school. So this is like two days before school's gonna start. And my mom sits me down at our table and she's like, Okay, Jenny, like we need to talk about how you're actually gonna pay for school. And I was like, Yeah, God told me that that the money would come. And she was like, Okay, so dad has some stocks and we could sell, and I was like, No, absolutely, absolutely not. No, this is not the answer. And my mom was like, Jenny, we need to be realistic. And sometimes God answers our prayers by selling stocks. And I was like, that's about it. I remember it's like so dramatic. I like like kind of ran from the kitchen table, like up to my bedroom, and I shut the door and I was crying, and I was telling God, I was like, Okay, this is the moment, you know, like you promised me the money would come. And I, in my naive faith, I honestly waited for an angel to show up with a briefcase. Like that, that's what I was anticipating. Yeah, like your mind. And I thought that, you know, I I believe that that angels exist. I believe God can send messengers, and so I just sat there on the floor of my bedroom and waited for the messenger to come. And guess what, guys? The angel didn't show up with the briefcase. And I was so disappointed. I went to bed just sobbing, thinking that God had let me down. So then the next day is like the last day before I'm leaving for school. And my dad comes home from work around five o'clock, and he's like, Jenny, I need to I need to talk to you in my office. And so I go into my dad's office and he sits me down and he was like, I was at work today. And my boss came into my to my office and he said that the company had chosen like a few select employees to thank for their hard work, and he gave me this, and he he slid a check for sixteen thousand dollars across the table. And all all I needed for school was like three grand, you know. So it it was more weight like triple, quadruple what I actually needed to pay for school, but I just I just wept and looked at my dad and I was like, I told you that.

SPEAKER_02 16:05

I told you God would find a way.

SPEAKER_01 16:08

I told you, and and I call that like the the summer of the sixteen thousand dollar miracle because for me it totally was, you know, and and um we we find these times in our lives where we're we're praying for you know angels with briefcases, and I feel like God just stretches us as far as He can, you know, like our family just moved to Chicago like a month ago, and we've been trying to sell our house in Utah since March. Did you finally sell it? No, no, guess what? I have not. I still have not sold my house. So if anybody's looking for home in Utah, that's beautiful. Like my kids and I have prayed and fasted, and and it starts you start to feel like he he's not listening to you, you know.

SPEAKER_00 17:02

And I know he is because you've seen him show up in your life. That's the thing, you've seen this happen over and over. It's like rewind, repeat, and then it's like the same story, but then it's like, well, why didn't I sell it on the last day that we needed to sell it? Or like who knows the reason it's still sitting? I I don't know. I don't think anybody knows.

SPEAKER_01 17:23

I know. So stay tuned for the exciting conclusion. Because I I know, I don't think God wants me to be destitute. I mean, maybe he does. Maybe he wants to teach our family some lessons on humility. I don't know, but um but yeah, it's like it's it's in this moment of waiting, you know, that that the faith really grows. Like my faith didn't grow when we when I my dad slid that check across the table, right? It's always like in the time before. Like I love the statue of the David by Michelangelo and Florence because that sculpture is done right in that moment before David throws the stone, you know, and and in the peak of the time before is when your faith is actually the strongest. You're you know, and so I've told my kids, I was like, you know, just think about it. Like, if our house sold tonight, how would your prayers change tomorrow? Right, you know, because it's like the moment you get what you want, well, then you don't have to have as much faith anymore.

SPEAKER_00 18:28

Then you go to, oh, well, thanks, that was great. Thank you. Sometimes I even forget to give thanks. I feel like that moment and I have to remember, like, oh, I prayed about this and the prayer was answered. I need to give thanks and not just be like, oh, great, it happened. So let's just gears a little bit. So you've been on American Nature Warrior. So for me, fitness has always been like a huge part of my life. I started working out consistently at 16, and I feel like I've never missed a day unless I'm having a baby, or in that period, like right after a baby. And I always found that so my ex-husband went to prison on a life sentence for a white collar crime. And we were at this trial in the district of East St. Louis. And I don't know if you've been there, but it looks like a third world country. There's like heaps of rubble like burning in this weird place. And I just remember on our breaks during trial, I would always find a gym and go to the gym. And I remember my father-in-law at the time would say, How in this moment can you go to the gym? And I'm like, because it's the only thing I have control over in my life is this workout, right? And I just always got away. And it was something in my life that I could control when everything else was like spinning out of control. And I was just wondering, has fitness always been something in your life? Tell me a little bit about how you got on the show. I mean, it I still can't do a pull-up and I've worked out my whole life. It's just something I can't do. I've decided that's okay. Tell me a little bit about that.

SPEAKER_01 20:00

Yeah, so growing up, I was definitely not an athlete. I still don't know the rules to most sports. Um, but I did discover running as a freshman in high school. I did a half a season of cross-country, but I quit because I didn't like the fact that I felt like barfing at the end of races. And I felt like the competition was killing my love for just enjoying to run. And so um, I just would run casually. I was a casual runner from high school through college through having babies. Um, and so I I didn't have like any any upper body strength, but I I was cardiovascularly in shape. Um, and then it actually wasn't until we moved to Utah in 2015 that we were just down the street from a rec center. And I told my husband, I was like, Did you know there's like there's like a gym we could walk to from our house? Like maybe we should lift weights sometimes. And um in that time in my life, I was also healing from losing my son. Um, I lost my son to to water to a pool. And it's really interesting because it was like running prior to losing my son was just something that you know, it was a stress reliever and something I enjoyed, something that made me feel good. But after my son died, it it was like I was running for survival, and it was like I could push my body so hard, and somehow it helped to relieve like the emotional pain that I had. And then when I started lifting weights, I felt like it was very similar, you know, you have to resist this heavy thing. And I felt that as I lifted heavy things physically, it somehow strengthened my spiritual ability to lift heavy things. Um, and so it was very much kind of like a therapy.

SPEAKER_00 21:54

I always call it therapy with results, like it's like a dual. I used to first Train and I would always tell the women talk while you move and you'll have a dual result residual. You'll release all of that trauma and energy, and you're also building muscle. It's great.

SPEAKER_01 22:09

Right. So I I uh very slowly, like over a period of three years, started to gain like a little bit of strength. Um, but then it was in 2018 my little brother invited me to go indoor rock climbing with him uh in a at a gym in Lehigh, Utah. And I had never been bouldering before. It's like where you climb without a rope. Um, you just you just like climb like 13 feet and then you just fall on a mat. So it's not not super scary. But okay climbing, climbing like lit some fire inside me because I loved that it was like a mental and physical exercise because you had to literally solve a problem. Like the routes were called problems, and you could go work out problems, and I and I loved that. And it felt like as I overcame these problems at the climbing gym that it helped me overcome my other problems in my life. So I was climbing for three months, which in the world of climbing is about as infantile as you can get. And one day at the gym, I I felt something. I just felt God say, You should have signed American Ninja Warrior. Okay. And I just remember being like, well, that was weird. I had actually watched the show quite a bit with my husband, and I had had the conversation with him, like sitting on the couch. Would you ever do that? He's like, No. And I was like, Yeah, I wouldn't do that either. That's crazy. And so it was weird that I had this feeling to do it because I had already decided that I never would. And so I just kind of pushed it aside. But then every time I went climbing like that, feeling came back, and I was like, okay, so I'm having this feeling that I should do this thing, but I don't want to do it. So this feeling is coming from elsewhere because it's not within me, because I'm fighting against it, so I'm gonna pray about it. And so I did it was just like one of those prayers that you never think you're gonna offer, like, hey God, like we've been friends like a long time. And I know this is weird, so left field, but like, do you want me to apply to American Ninja Warrior? And it was just like, yes. And I was like, Why?

SPEAKER_00 24:11

And no, okay, why?

SPEAKER_01 24:14

Yeah, why? But you know, I feel like that that question's not very fruitful, and it's really interesting, you know, because in the world of science, you have like laws and theories, and like laws are things exist this way because they are, it's like a known fact, right? But then like mankind, we try to theor theorize on why things are the way they are, and it's like laws never change, but theories do all the time. And I feel like in my life, it's like God will hand me like a law, like I need to do this thing, and then I spend all this time theorizing, you know. Oh, like he needs me to do this because, but and the and the truth is like it's all kind of fruitless because the thing that's most important is just no, you just need to do the thing, you know. And in time, I think in time you realize why. But, anyways, so I applied, and to apply, you just have to like fill out a bunch of paperwork online and then make a three-minute video telling your story. And then after I applied, I told my husband, maybe I should like train, like maybe I need to find a ninja gym somewhere and take like ninja classes, right?

SPEAKER_00 25:22

Because it's not just climbing. I mean, that's like all the it's like the course, it's like you know, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:26

I I say that it's kind of like climbing, but you don't get to use your feet, which is kind of climbing. Yeah, yeah. So, anyways, I found a gym, it was an hour away. I had to drive an hour every Monday night to go take classes with like teenage boys because they didn't really have a class for 30-year-old women, you know. And um, and I fell a lot and I fell a lot, and it seemed impossible. And I wondered why God was having me do this thing, especially when my hands were bleeding at the end of my practice, and I was saying, gotcha, I'm an artist, and you're like, you're throwing these things into metal bars, so this is not making sense to me. But then um, one one practice at a time, I would do something that I thought I could never do, you know, and so it was kind of like these walls of impossibility like started to expand. And then in the spring of 2019, they invited me to compete on season 11. And I've now competed on six seasons. Um, my last one just aired a week ago Monday.

SPEAKER_00 26:24

Um how is that how does that work? So you were on the first one, like I've I've watched it tons of it. How does that work? Do they invite you back for another season to compete with like other people again? Like, how how do you keep re-competing on that show? Every year you apply. So you've reapplied every single time.

SPEAKER_01 26:43

Yeah, I've made like seven application videos.

SPEAKER_00 26:47

And I bet those get better and better. You're probably really good at them now, right?

SPEAKER_01 26:51

Like I hire professionals and they make them and they do a really good job. I think in part one of the reasons why I keep getting invited back is because I do have very good videos. And you know, I think there's a lot of very basic homemade videos, and you've got these casting producers that are probably sitting in rooms for hours watching people's content, and then they get to a professionally made video and they're like, put her on the show, like please.

SPEAKER_00 27:19

So, what was your best experience on the show and like your worst moment ever that you were like, Why in the world did I do this?

SPEAKER_01 27:27

Um, I would say one of my best moments on the show, I would say there's two. One, this last season. I mean, I don't want to give a spoiler, but I did fairly well um this season, and that felt really good because guess what? A lot of times you put in all this work and effort, and then you're guaranteed nothing. Like you you can go out on the first obstacle, which nobody wants to do, and it's very embarrassing. Um, and then I would also say last season was awesome. That's season 17. I'm on episode five, and that one was really cool because that was actually my first time being aired. So, like, you go and compete, but they don't necessarily run. And they gave me like several minutes and told my whole story, and and after you know, five years of competing, it was so nice to finally be aired, and it was crazy because when I competed in season 17, I actually ran the course on September 26th, which is the day that my son fell in a pool. And so to have those days align and to see how, and you know, my son's name was Victory, and so to be able to have kind of like this, it felt like a victory moment to be able to compete on the show on that day was really beautiful, and then I would say like my worst time competing on the show, it was two in the morning, which I think most people don't realize is that you start filming at like 10 o'clock at night and you film until 6 a.m. And so you can run anytime in there, and you have weather and it's sometimes freezing cold. And this time that I was competing, um, I was supposed to run before the break at one in the morning. That's when everybody goes to lunch. And then um, because they were trying to get all these teenagers to run before me, they had to push my rent till after the break. So I gotta just wait for like an hour.

SPEAKER_02 29:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:22

And then when I came back, the the dew point outside had like gone crazy high, and so all the obstacles were wet. And um, and they're supposed to dry them off, uh, but they don't always. And I ran and grabbed this pole that was the first obstacle, and as soon as I grabbed this metal pole, it was soaking wet, and I just started to slide. And you the the goal was you have this pole and you have to climb it before it falls into the water, right? And so I'm climbing and I'm climbing and I'm climbing, and I and I'm just sliding, and it felt like there's nothing I could do, and and I I went out on the first obstacle, and my kids, everybody was just devastated, you know, because nobody that was my first time ever going out on the first obstacle, and it just felt like humiliating humiliation. Jeez, it feels humiliating, yeah. It does, but you know, but then in that moment I gotta decide like how I wanted to handle it, and I decided to just tell my kids, you know what, what am I in control of? I'm in control of my preparation, and I'm in control of my my my emotions and my feelings, and I can decide how I want to handle this. And like some things were out of my control today, and you just have to let it go and move forward and know that there will be other opportunities in the future. And at the end of the day, it's just a dumb reality TV show. There's a lot more important things in life.

SPEAKER_00 30:51

You've competed many times on this. I I would love to get to your son um victory and also your oil painting, but I just have one more question about your time on American Ninja. Now you said that this was put into you, you you kind of had this audible experience where it's like, do this competition. Do you understand the why now, or are you still trying to figure that part out?

SPEAKER_01 31:13

Yeah, so after my fourth season of not being aired, I came home so frustrated. And I was asking God, you know, like, why are we still doing this? And God was like, Genity, look at you. You are a totally different person today than you were four years ago. And I was like, Oh yeah, like I guess I'm like a lot stronger. Genety, did you know that I care way more about the development of a human soul than I do about reality TV? And I was like, Oh, and and this idea that Gennady, you're so focused on the this obstacle course, but in reality, I didn't need you to do something so much as I needed you to become something. I needed you to become a stronger person, and this has helped you become a stronger person. I was like, Oh, yeah, I guess I guess you're right. So should I compete this year? I was like, yeah. And I was like, okay, cool. And then like the next season they aired my run.

SPEAKER_00 32:19

Um, but yeah, like I think I've I've it's all again that crescendo, like, now we're airing you after all of these trial and errors, really. That's incredible.

SPEAKER_01 32:30

Yeah, and and and the sport has taught me so much because like one of the basic obstacles is called the lache, where you're swinging on this metal bar, and then six feet away is like another metal bar, and you just have to swing, throw, and catch. And I remember the first time I was in the gym and I was like, wait, what? Like, like I'm five seven and I'm somehow gonna like levitate six feet. Like, how is this possible? And it seems crazy, town, and and it's scary to just throw your body, right? And you fall and you fall and you fall, but then like eventually you catch it, and then you're just like what and then and then that bar moves to seven feet and then eight feet and then nine feet and then ten feet, and then and like my current record is like 11 feet, you know, and so it's taught me the sport has taught me so much about we are capable of so much more than we think, like we're children of God, you know. And then it's also led me to like want to help instill that in other women. So I I started coaching moms about two years ago because you know, I was teaching kids at the gym, and then I'd have these moms come in, they just sit on the sidelines, and I was like, Okay, so like you're already here, and like there's a bar right there. And if you just like every time you brought your kids here, you just like hung on that bar like a little bit, like you would get stronger, and you're like already here, and so that started happening, and eventually one of the moms was like, So I actually want to take a class, but I need like a beginner beginner class. And I was like, Let's do it. And so being able to take you know what I've learned from this sport and the and the grid and the perseverance and the possibilities that it's taught me, and then like pass it on to other people, yeah, it's been amazing. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 34:12

I love that. Um, I really I love that idea. I my kids used to do soccer practice, and I remember sitting there with all the parents, and I remember thinking, why am I just sitting when I could be like getting my exercise in? And so I started running. And I remember getting some side eyes from the other moms, like, what is she doing? You know, and by the end of the season, I had like three or four moms that were either walking or running. And it's just it's kind of contagious when you have when you start doing something like that. And I think that you're inspiring other women to better themselves, or at the time that they're bettering their children as well. I think that's a very important thing like that. You've talked a lot about victory, and I have 10 children, and I have not lost any of them per se. And when you spoke about this as a women's conference, I think it just resonates so deeply with every woman, whether you have a child or an adult, you have to have something to like as a child. And every day I was basically one of my grandchildren. And I was upstairs for like 30 seconds. I looked at the front door so far and thought about the front door, and he's 18 months old. And in the moment, I didn't know where he was. And I just had that panic. I ran out to the neighborhood and we couldn't find him, and there's swimming pools everywhere. And I'm like, oh my. And I can only imagine we found him, you know, five minutes later, but that was a really long five minutes. Tell me a little bit about Victory, about his life, and about your life after his. Tell me a little bit about that if if you're okay doing so.

SPEAKER_01 35:50

Yeah, so uh Victory was my first baby. He was actually kind of hard to get him here. Um, it's funny, like my mom got pregnant on birth control. And I just kind of always assumed that I would just decide that I wanted to have a baby, and then poof, I would have one. And so that was a little bit of a surprise, but it it was really a beautiful time because it it took me from being in this place of okay, I guess I'll be a parent because I guess that's like what I'm supposed to do, but I'm kind of scared to like really pleading for a child. And um, and then when I I finally got pregnant and and had him, that was also a really big transition for me because I went from just working and painting full time to being a mom. And one night I was up with him like three in the morning, and he's crying, and I and I've already fed him and changed him and everything, and I I don't know why we're still upset. And I looked across the room and I saw my easel, and I hadn't painted, you know, since he was born. And I I remember just having like this brief moment of kind of like resentment that like I could like he was keeping me from the thing that I loved so much, and like in that brief moment, I felt God kind of censure me, like like hold up, you know, and I was like, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Like, okay, I know, I know this is the most important thing. I know this is the most important thing I'll ever do. Um, but I had taken this C. S. Lewis course when I was in college, and C. S. Lewis ends the book Mere Christianity talking about how there must be a true giving up of the self and that you must submit to death of all your favorite wishes, and that nothing within you that is not died will ever be raised from the dead. I remember thinking, well, what if my greatest wish is to paint paintings for Jesus? I mean, like, why would I have to surrender that? Like, I'm doing things for him. But then in that moment, as I'm holding my son, I hear that quote in my head from Lewis, and I think, oh my gosh, this is what he was, this is what he means. Like, I have to let go of painting, or I'm gonna resent motherhood. I'm gonna, I'm gonna resent like my most important calling here on earth. And so I actually quit painting. And I uh and said, well, I guess I'm just gonna be a mom. And I let it and I let it go. And then about you know, six months later, my son developed a sleep schedule, and this miraculous thing happened where there was like time in the day where I could like do something. And so I like I like ran to my easel and I and I learned to take advantage of any time that he was sleeping to to paint. And so it's kind of like God took it away from me, but then he gave it back to me. And I'm so glad he did because it helped put into perspective like what was most important. So then fast forward, my son's three, and we're living with my parents so that my husband could do grad school, and they had a pool, and they also had a a gate and alarms and all the things, but at the end of the day, you still have a large body of water in your backyard, and accidents sometimes happen, sometimes gates are left open. And so just like a perfect storm happened, and um we ended up pulling my son out of the pool. He was resuscitated, flew to the hospital, and then we proceeded to be to be in the hospital for seven weeks, and you can imagine how many times I prayed to God that I would never paint again if he would just give me my son back. And um and I and I I honestly thought that he would live, you know, like he wasn't on life support or anything, and and you think, man, after three weeks, like this seems like he's gonna survive. And so when he didn't, I was just so severely disappointed um and broken, and that time was incredibly challenging. It's like in a way you don't feel anything for a few months. I think because God kind of puts you on this like spiritual morphing trip. I felt like I had something flowing in my veins that like kind of made me feel nothing, felt very numb. Um, but then you know, eventually God's like, okay, we're gonna just gonna take this out and we're just gonna let you start to stand on your own.

SPEAKER_00 40:17

And that's your yeah.

SPEAKER_01 40:21

And and that's when I I think it was really hard for me, was like six months or so after he passed away that I felt the most raw and the most broken. But it was so beautiful because God had given me like several gifts to help me deal. And the first thing was art, you know, like how I how I filled this book up with things that I was experiencing like as a as a senior in high school. And now I could take the experiences that I was having as a gravy mother and I could pour them into a canvas, you know. And so that was like really helpful, and then I could write. And and I learned actually as a senior in high school that I was editing my journal. I remember like one day I was writing my journal and I was thinking and I didn't write something because I didn't want anybody to read it. And then I was like, wait, what? Like, we're editing, like what what is the point in keeping this thing if we're not gonna be honest? Like, how is this gonna be beneficial to you if you're putting in a superficial version of yourself into this book, you know? And so I I was very raw in my writings, and I felt that that was another um another aspect of my life that helped me deal. And then and then and then running and fitness, and then also my faith, like that practice of of of prayer journal scriptures helped pull me through. And and you know, sometimes it's really hard to show up in that relationship with God when He just hurts your feelings really bad. You know, when He didn't give you the thing that you wanted, it's like you're not feeling like, hey, let's hang out.

SPEAKER_00 41:58

It's like, yeah, fine, be that way. Yeah, I know.

SPEAKER_01 42:02

I'm gonna be over here in this corner. I know you're there, but I'm just kind of like not feeling it today. I've actually had times, you know, in my journal, and actually, you know, that that night that I fell on the first obstacle of American Ninja, and I was so disappointed. And I I went to my hotel room after that and I had a a prayer, and my prayer was just like Heavenly Father, I'm just really disappointed right now.

SPEAKER_00 42:34

That's helpful. That is awful. That is all tomorrow. I think when you know when you talk about your son, I know you've talked about it many times. I'm sure in speaking and podcasts, and I find that as I tell my story, it gets easier to talk about every time. Like you get kind of disconnected from it. It's I I feel like a feeling like when I've written about it or spoken about it, it feels me in a way that I can talk about it without it just being so heavy and crushing every single time. Was there a time that you had a face crisis? I guess is the right word, where you were just so mad that when you have a child taken, you know, that's that's like the I mean, that's probably the worst thing you can experience in this life, I would imagine. Did you ever have that moment where you just were like, I don't want to like, I don't want to do this and like I don't want this. I was there ever a moment for you like that.

SPEAKER_01 43:31

Well, I'd say a couple of things. One, I think because I had put in so much time and energy into this relationship with God when things were good, that I knew too much.

SPEAKER_00 43:45

You planted those roots. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 43:47

Yeah, it was like I was already I was like too invested in the relationship to to to walk away.

SPEAKER_00 43:55

That's really I love I really like that.

SPEAKER_01 43:58

Because I I knew I knew that there was nothing earthly in this world that could put me back together other than Jesus Christ. Like and so even though I was mad and raw and disappointed and frustrated, I hadn't like I had no choice but to keep showing up even in my brokenness. And I and I feel like God I think he loves that. Like I think he loves when we're so raw and tender and we still choose him. And I think that he is kind to us, even though it looks like he's not, because he didn't give you what he wanted. In so many other ways that he could, he was kind to me. And would and and all these little like mercies would show up and I would write them down. And I felt like over time it started to hurt less as I saw more and more of God reaching for me still, you know. And I and I do think that as we as we reach for him, he can't help but reach back. Um and I do recommend that you establish yeah your roots and your foundation with God when your life is good. And it's hard to do that because it might feel like you don't need him when everything is beautiful, but if you can if you can establish that when when life is good, then when the hard times come, you already have that that foundation.

SPEAKER_00 45:38

That's really beautiful. I I do love that. I think that that can really resonate with with many people. And oftentimes when we go through hard things, we want to push God away and just say, no, I can do this on my own, like I don't, I don't need you. And I think we're really seeing that in society today, just kind of this generation of kids that are just, you know, they they push God out of their life and try to find their way worldly. And it's never happiness. It just really isn't. And I always say that when I I had a woman come over, she's a good friend of mine, and she was coming for a podcast and talked to her for a long time, and she says, like, you know, I've I've left my faith and I got a divorce or something. And she told me all the reasons why she left the faith. And I just looked at her and I said, I've seen too many miracles in my life to ever reject this faith. I know that exists. I always have to testify to that. I've just seen too many miracles. And no matter the storm, I will always stand on that rock. It's just who I am. So I understand that. Um, one thing you mentioned is kind of the last point I wanted to hit on. Thank you for sharing that. I I can only imagine the difficulty. And sometimes with our stories, we just want to like button them up and put them on the shelf and like let them collect us. But then why does God give us trials? I truly believe it's to share our stories with others to comfort and it's only through other people often that we are comforted and served. Yeah, always through other angels that show up, right? Um now you had said in this the talk that I heard you talk about was like you just one day, you know, this is put on your mind to be an oil painter and you created these beautiful paintings. And I've seen some of your beautiful paintings, and I actually did a reel, I made a little social media reel, and I was like, you know, during my hard times, like God's never said, like, go be a pastry chef. You're gonna be make amazing things, go paint. Like my stick person is the same one I've been drawing since like second grade. Like I feel as though God's never gifted me this beautiful talent that you have. What do you say to women going through hard things and they just can't see what God's given to them to help others along that way? I can't paint a beautiful masterpiece. I can't cook a meal, I can't play the piano. Those are things I can't do, and God hasn't impressed that upon me. What do you say to women who are struggling with finding their gifts and their talents?

SPEAKER_01 48:03

So, one thing I would say is well, you're hosting a podcast and you've also coached so many people through their fitness journeys, right? So we all have gifts.

SPEAKER_00 48:13

I would really like to oil paint something that was meaningful.

SPEAKER_01 48:16

That's what I would Well, girl, well, maybe you need to come hang out in my studio, okay?

SPEAKER_00 48:22

You might just tell me to go back to Las Vegas and and keep and keep podcasting.

SPEAKER_01 48:28

Because I I do think that we have an innate ability as humans, as um, as children of God to learn. And learning is difficult and challenging, and it you know, it might take hours and hours, you know, and and we're not always interested to to devote the time. Um, but the other thing that I would say is that I didn't know who I was when I was 12. You know, I go back and read these journals. What did I I mean I was just jumping on the trampoline and eating ramen like every other kid. And but the thing that made all the difference was developing a relationship with God and his son Jesus Christ. As I consistently put in the effort to do that, they led me one step at a time to discover who I was. It's like as I as I put in the effort to come to know Christ, He introduced me to who I was. He had to teach me, oh Genity, you actually you're an artist. Oh Genity, you should apply for this show. You're actually an athlete. And and so I would say like the key is develop the relationship with your creator and then continue to invite him into your creation process, your personal creation story, because you're just not done yet. You know, and that we I I do believe that we all have a gift, we all have something to do to bless the world with. I think a lot of the times the things that God asks us to do, we're too scared to do them. And he's not gonna force us to do it. I mean, I know that I've I've had feelings like you need to write a book. Have I written the book yet? Not yet. We're working on it. But you know, pay attention, like put in the time every day, a little bit of time in the morning, be quiet, get a book out so you can write down what you feel. Because I think that's the other thing, you know, sometimes maybe God did tell you something you just forgot because you then your kids came down for breakfast, and then you had to start your job, and then you were looking at Instagram, and then whatever God told you that morning is like like it went out the window a long time ago. But if you if you if you have a journal, then you can write down and then you can kind of be accountable to yourself. So I kind of like I kind of keep a list of things that I felt that are important for me to pursue in my book, and then I can do little things to like check them off. And I will say that that God like I believe in a of uh that faith is a principle of action, and that most of the time He's going to ask you to do something that will be uncomfortable for you, but that as you act on those things, then you end up becoming something different than you were before.

SPEAKER_00 51:11

Yes, I always say start where you are with what you have. And I've also found like I I started doing these little interviews just in my neighborhood with women to see what they're doing to serve our community. And I just was blown away at their stories. And then I had this idea like, I need to do a podcast. Like I just want to tell people stories. I don't care if they're Instagram famous or if they're just my next doormate, like I don't care who they are. We all have a story to share. And sometimes you don't know why those are pressed upon you. And I do do believe they're they're from God or your higher power, whatever somebody believes. And I've also found that when God does give you those ideas, that He makes a way. Like some people probably ask you, how do you do all of these things and still have a family? Right. If God wants you to do the thing, He's going to provide a way and you can do all things through Jesus Christ. And I truly believe that. And so when I think, I'm gonna read my scriptures this month, the entire book of scripture in one month, it's gonna take me an hour a day. It's interesting how your day arranges around that and you can still do all the things you need to, as well as your goal or what's been impressed upon you.

SPEAKER_01 52:21

Yeah, and the other thing that I want to point out that I've learned is that to take advantage of small moments, because like I was just talking to a woman this morning and she was like, Genity, like how do you journal the dying? Like, I want to be a better journaler. And I was like, Okay, so you just need to have a journal and then you need to have it like be near your person so that if you have a few minutes, then you can write. Like there's probably several times in our day where we have 10 or 15 minutes, and I feel like one of the things that the adversary does is he says, Oh, well, I mean what can you do in 10 minutes? I mean, can you can you really do anything in 10 minutes? Oh my gosh, you could run a mile in 10 minutes. You could probably write one full page in your journal in 10 minutes. You could probably study four different Spanish verbs in 10 minutes. You could you could meal plan for you know the next five days in 10 minutes. Like there's there's so much that we can do in in small amounts of time, but I feel like you know, the adversary comes in, he's like, nah, I mean, you might as well just like check out YouTube. I mean, you only have 10 minutes, so and so it's really easy to like throw away, you know, and and um I've heard this concept of like spending time versus investing time, and it's like really easy just to spend our time, you know. I'm just gonna sit on this couch for 10 minutes, which you know, sometimes we need that, sometimes we need a rest. But you could also choose to like invest your time. And what if instead I chose to use this this 10 minutes and invest it into something that's important to me, you know? And so because honestly, I built my career literally, sometimes it was 15 minutes a day that I had to paint. And instead of saying, Oh, poor me, like my kids are so demanding, I only have 15 minutes to pay, I just said, guess what? I got 15 minutes, and I'm gonna be 15 minutes better today than I was yesterday, and that's okay.

SPEAKER_00 54:27

I many years ago, when I was going through some really difficult times, I would always be on the elliptical and I would write on my phone. And it was interesting because fast forward like 15 years, I had a finish to my book, and that was all of the beginnings of the book, and it just all came together. And I thought I would, I'm so grateful I took those moments of I could just be listening to music, but I also was like writing a book. I wrote almost an entire book on an elliptical. And I think that that's really powerful. And then I thought I never knew this would come in handy later, but when I sat down to finish the book, which is finished now and just ready for publish, it's like I'm so grateful I invested that time rather than just spending my time doing the elliptical. It had some benefit. So Jenity, thank you so much for sharing your time with me. I know how busy you are. I know this will resonate with women, and I really do appreciate you. Thank you for coming on Lipstick and Legacy.

SPEAKER_01 55:27

My pleasure. Thanks, Julia.