Breaking Free from Expectations: Finding Your True Identity with Stephanie Ravenscraft

In this episode, I welcome Stephanie Ravenscraft for an inspiring conversation about breaking free from others' expectations, embracing your true identity, and navigating life transitions with confidence. Stephanie shares her personal journey of transformation and offers practical advice for women who are experiencing major life changes, particularly the empty nest phase.

About Stephanie Ravenscraft

Stephanie is a life coach who helps women break free from external expectations and discover their authentic selves. After spending 20 years as a stay-at-home mom to three children, she now guides others through mindset shifts and personal transformations. She hosts her own podcast and offers coaching through her website, stephanieravenscraft.com.

You'll hear in this episode:

1.  Advice for Embracing Change and New Seasons 

2. How to Approach Empty Nesting with Purpose 

3. Wisdom for Ditching Expectations and Instead  Embracing Who God Created You to Be

4. Identity Beyond Motherhood 

5. Discovering What Being Yourself Means to You 

6. Stephanie's Own Healing Journey 

Connect with Stephanie

https://www.stephanieravenscraft.com

Instagram: @ThrivingMosaic

Facebook: Stephanie Ravenscraft

YouTube: @StephanieRavenscraft

Sensitive Wrists? See the YouTube Short mentioned in the Age with Grace and Strength tip at the end of the episode here.

Nourished Notes Bi-Weekly Newsletter

30+ Non-Gym Ways to Improve Your Health (free download)

Connect with Amy:
GracedHealth.com
Instagram: @GracedHealth
YouTube: @AmyConnell

Transcript

Stephanie Ravenscraft

Amy: [00:00:00] Stephanie, welcome to the show.

Stephanie Ravenscraft: Thank you so much. I'm very excited to be here with you today.

Amy Connell: Yeah, I am too. And so I'm thrilled that we were connected and I am happy that you are joining because you seem to have a zoomed out focus for women entrepreneurs and women in these transitioning stages of life and maybe reframing that. Resettling it, and I know that you have a big focus on helping women break free from expectations of others.

I mean, and everybody's ears just perked up. So many of us

Stephanie Ravenscraft: I would hope so. From a very young age, whether we are encouraged to, be quiet in public or, sit with your legs to like, it starts so little and our expectations are just built upon us and built upon us, and built upon us until you don't know who you are anymore.

Because you are only the expectations of everyone around you, [00:01:00] and that's not your true identity.

Amy Connell: Yes. Absolutely. I have to chuckle when you say sit with your legs together. I am a personal trainer and I have trained young women, teen girls in the past.

Stephanie Ravenscraft: Okay.

Amy Connell: will go out to these multipurpose fields and do training. Glute bridges are a personal favorite of.

Mine as a trainer

Stephanie Ravenscraft: Yeah.

Amy Connell: strengthen your glutes and your smaller muscles and they're helpful with knees and all kinds of stuff. And these girls, understandably, do not like to lay down with their knees, not together

Stephanie Ravenscraft: Right. It's ingrained from such a small age and so I'm sitting wide right now, like clearly I'm under my desk, but, I'm comfortable I came to a place in my life about 12 years ago, in 2012. the end of 2011 led up to a lot of different things.

And so in 2012, I am kind of suffocating under all of these expectations. [00:02:00] From, from family, the church, neighbors my husband, my kids, my in-laws. I couldn't breathe. I was, surviving. Just barely making it by. I had read the book, captivating.

John and Stacey Eldridge, and I read that book probably, I probably read it for the first time in like 2010. And I participated in Bible studies about that book. I led bible studies about that book over the course of those couple of years. And then in February of 2012, I had the opportunity to go to the captivating retreat. in this retreat they go through, all of the major touch points of the book. During one session, which was mother, sisters Daughters, a chapter of this book, in all the times that I had read it on my own and led bible studies I'd never read this chapter.

It was a huge. [00:03:00] Touchpoint of my young life trauma. I wouldn't touch this chapter. When I get into that session that day, the first thing that Stacey Eldridge says is, please don't leave. She calls it the mother wound. And I definitely had one.

The first thing she says is, please don't leave. It's gonna be hard. It's gonna hurt. I mean, half the room cleared out maybe a third, probably like a third of the room got up and left. When you think about that, all of these women were here to connect with God and to better themselves and to heal

I couldn't focus on that one topic and be willing to heal and learn on this one topic. so I decided to stay. I slumped down in my chair and I crust my arms and I, you know, but I stayed and. I had the most profound healing [00:04:00] moment of my entire life. I came home a completely different woman, and my husband will tell you the same thing He says that I came home with a freedom to be myself that I didn't have when I left on that mountain, God confirmed to me that it's okay to be who he created me to be.

Not who everyone else expected me to be. I've kind of been, kicking down walls ever since. That's what I do now.

Amy Connell: Isn't it funny how it can feel so fearful step into who we think God created us to be? it's like, oh, but what if, and we're talking to God, negotiating with him or being like, I don't know God, but what if this or, but what about, and all of these butts.

Stephanie Ravenscraft: Yeah,

Amy Connell: yeah, I got your butt, or whatever. 

Stephanie Ravenscraft: No, and so for me it was the confirmation. On my way home, I say down because it was like two hours up in the mountain out of Denver. So [00:05:00] I came down the mountain, different and, on my way home, I read John Eldridges book, beautiful Outlaw, which is literally about Jesus as a man.

And I remember in my prayer time, probably halfway through that book, just this overwhelming sense that God was speaking to me. If Jesus can be unapologetically himself and one with me at the same time, so can you. And it changed my life. And so from that moment on, when I lay my head on the pillow every night, the only people who have to be comfortable with what I did are myself and my God.

And that's it. I make mistakes. Absolutely. Do I own up to them most of the time? I own up to my mistakes. I have to be comfortable with who I am and I have to be living within my faith and what I find [00:06:00] to believe that God wants for me.

Amy Connell: Yeah. That's so good. I feel like there's a lot that I can dig into and when I invited you on, I wanted to talk about empty nesting. So I'm trying, in my head, I'm like, okay, where can we go? 

Stephanie Ravenscraft: Yeah.

Amy Connell: That's a message that so many women need to hear, For women who are in this phase of their life, where their kids are out of the house maybe their careers have transitioned one way or another. Maybe their marital status has changed. I mean, we experience a lot of changes in here, and

Stephanie Ravenscraft: Absolutely.

Amy Connell: there's this space of like, okay, well I feel God calling me to do this. But I'm afraid, or 

Stephanie Ravenscraft: Mm-hmm.

Amy Connell: gets in the way because we don't want to make ourselves vulnerable to a situation 

and so I'm wondering if you can [00:07:00] just speak into that space, that place of like where a woman has her, just things have changed

Stephanie Ravenscraft: Mm-hmm.

Amy Connell: whether it's children, whether it's marriage, her job, but things are changed. She's feeling pulled there's all of the buts. But what if? 

Stephanie Ravenscraft: that's part of the journey. We are always changing. Our circumstances are always changing, and through our circumstances we are learning and growing, I think that a lot of, 

the fear the holding back and not allowing that change to happen is, the darkness keeping you stuck. I've done a lot of work in mindset and how the mind works and our brain is always going to keep us where we're comfortable.

Amy Connell: Yeah. 

Stephanie Ravenscraft: Anytime that we want to have an experience or are having a change in life, that is going to change our comfort.

Our brain is always [00:08:00] gonna fight against it at every turn, but if we are diligent and committed to growing and being the best version of ourselves, which is who God created us to be. Then through habits repetition dedication and accountability, we can become that person by fighting through, the buts and the vulnerability and, and the what ifs.

And you know, but I'm comfortable here. Well, yes, we're comfortable here because, you know, real change comes when we become uncomfortable.

Amy Connell: Yeah. It's funny you mentioned the mindset and the comfort of being in the same place. this year I have been, this is the first time I've ever done this, so I read John a's book soundtracks at the end of 2022.

Stephanie Ravenscraft: Okay.

Amy Connell: all of 2023, I was like, you're gonna write some affirmations, Amy, you're gonna write some [00:09:00] affirmations. I did not do this until the beginning of 2024. a slow learner, I guess, but I started writing down these words of what God says about me

Stephanie Ravenscraft: Mm-hmm.

Amy Connell: and then some other little points. one of the points is, I have to, as I'm sure you have to do a level of this as well, pitch myself to. Provide a service to other people, right?

Great.

something that I think would be valuable to your community, but it's vulnerable and it's highly uncomfortable. But one of the things that I wrote was getting a know is disappointing, but not reaching out to get the know is more disappointing. And so after repeating this over and over every weekday. I was able to like, that was the neural pathway in my brain. And so when it came time to ask some hard questions for people, like for book review or 

Stephanie Ravenscraft: Yeah.

Amy Connell: I was like, oh, this is scary. But you're gonna be more [00:10:00] disappointed If you don't reach out then if you do.

So, just a little

Stephanie Ravenscraft: Alright.

Amy Connell: to share how important it is for us to say things. In our mindset and to create new pathways.

Stephanie Ravenscraft: No, absolutely. that is what 2012 was for me, a lot of shedding the skin of the words that other people had spoken over me I was coldhearted. I was, not a nice person. I'm uncarrier. these are words that had been, I mean, certain things about my body type that came from, family, it's hereditary, all this shedding, all of that and believing that I am God's beloved.

I am generous. do I have boundaries? Absolutely, I do. But Boundaries are healthy,

Amy Connell: Yeah.

Stephanie Ravenscraft: boundaries are good. when people don't like those boundaries, those are the people who, have negative or harsh things to say about me as a person or my character. that's what a lot of 2012 [00:11:00] was for me, shedding those words.

even. If you're not in a profession where you are selling yourself, the hardest person to sell yourself to is yourself. 

Amy Connell: Mm-hmm.

Stephanie Ravenscraft: it doesn't matter you know. I spent 20 years as a stay-at-home mom and, some of those years just convincing myself to get outta bed and get the kids to school and, you know, whatnot.

Selling myself to myself has always been. My hardest task, even now, I am a life coach. helping other people with their mindset. That doesn't mean My mindset is perfect. I still have to say these things to myself. I still have to coach myself along the way.

I don't just magically have it all together.

Amy Connell: Yeah. I'm the same way. 

Stephanie Ravenscraft: Hmm.

Amy Connell: It's funny, like I recently. Hired a coach to help me with a few things, including checking some form in the gym, even though I know, and I can see it in my

Stephanie Ravenscraft: Uhhuh,

Amy Connell: but I'm like, I need to make sure that [00:12:00] things are good, from outside looking

Stephanie Ravenscraft: right?

Amy Connell: yeah, I totally get that. Like, just because we're talking about this kind of stuff mean we always,

Stephanie Ravenscraft: Doesn't mean we're fixed. It's a journey. Life is a continual journey. I will keep learning. I will keep growing. 

Amy Connell: So true.

Stephanie Ravenscraft: it, it's, yeah.

Amy Connell: So I'm thinking aboutthese expectations we have when the kids are gone, you know, whether it's.

Stephanie Ravenscraft: Hmm.

Amy Connell: Happy, sad. Whether it's like, oh my gosh, now I'm going to clean out all of the drawers in the kitchen. Or, you know, something as big or small, depending on your

Stephanie Ravenscraft: Yeah.

Amy Connell: Or I mean, there's 

Stephanie Ravenscraft: Oh.

Amy Connell: And I'm wondering if you can walk us through some expectations that you see in women,

Stephanie Ravenscraft: Mm-hmm.

Amy Connell: of what might be. Holding them back from stepping into what God is calling them to do.

Stephanie Ravenscraft: Okay. I [00:13:00] think I can only speak from experience as a stay-at-home mom. for me, for so long, that was my entire identity. one of the expectations that I broke, Very early on was how I parented my children. I took a lot of slack from family members and people who thought I was doing it wrong and, and all of these things.

But I never spoke that I was raising children, I was raising adults. The goal was always to get them to adulthood, to be mature, responsiblecontributing adults to society and then leave my house. because I had that mindset and I prepared in that way, that becoming an empty nest wasn't such a surprise to me.

I had been preparing for it. And so nowmy youngest daughter's 19, she just moved home for the summer. This will probably be her last summer that she's here The whole three months of the summer. she comes in last week, she got here Thursday night, so on Friday, [00:14:00] she's like, mom, what are you doing today?

And I'm telling her my plans for the day. She goes, oh. I'm like, I think this is gonna be a big learning curve for us because you are 19, not nine. this is gonna be a completely different experience for you. I had prepared for them to leave that was my goal.

But at the same time, a lot of those 20 years, there's five years between my oldest and youngest. So, a lot of those 20 years being a mom I could let my whole identity slide into that if that happens, When they're gone, you don't know what to do. Like, who am I now?

you can't even define what expectations you're living under because you've lost who you are. Completely. I've had people tell my kids that, once the last one was gone, my husband and I were gonna get a divorce. That's not happening. We were happily married for nearly 28 years.

my life is not over because my fridge is full of food. nobody is eating my food there. There's food when I wanna go, I'm fully sustained. I think it [00:15:00] is knowing, who you are and what your next stage looks like.

Minus them and baseball games or football games or cheerleading practice or dance. in my case it was dance. it is knowing who you are and what you have to offer the world outside of that. one of my favorite things about having adult children, I have three They are 24, 22, and 19, 

I am friends with my older children. I'm becoming friends with McKenna, my youngest, but it's still very much mom, mom, mom. But I am friends with my children. I like hanging out with them. My daughter and I had lunch on Monday. we went to lunch and shopping and just had a day together.

I like hanging out with them, but they are no longer my whole life.

Amy Connell: Mm-hmm.

Stephanie Ravenscraft: It's time for them to do their chapter, to do their book. they started as chapters in my book and now they're going off to do their own. [00:16:00] I love that and I support it I love watching it happen 

I can do that completely because I also know who I am and what I have to offer the world outside of that. a lot of the expectation gets caught up in the, I don't know who I am outside of all this expectation and role that society says I have to play.

Amy Connell: Right.

Stephanie Ravenscraft: Did that follow that? 

Amy Connell: yeah, 

Stephanie Ravenscraft: Okay.

Amy Connell: to play off of that as well, that society expects us to maintain

Stephanie Ravenscraft: Mm.

Amy Connell: we may be doing one thing and then it can be a shift, and then it's like, wait a minute, but that's not how I know you, or that's not how. You know what you used to do, and so why are you changing it?

It is hard to do that. I mean, it's funny, I started, so my family calls it Graced Healthing, so

Stephanie Ravenscraft: Okay.

Amy Connell: is the Graced Health Podcast. It started as a blog. It was the Graced Health Blog. I have said this before and [00:17:00] I truly believe it, that I feel like God gave me Graced health. As something that would bridge me to when the

Stephanie Ravenscraft: Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Amy Connell: I started thisseven years ago,

Stephanie Ravenscraft: Okay.

Amy Connell: it has grown. It has developed. it has changed a lot and I've been fortunate enough to be able to put out some big projects, my younger son who's graduating high school this year, that's kind of all of his memory.

I started this when he was in fourth grade. 

Stephanie Ravenscraft: Mm-hmm.

Amy Connell: has a little bit more of a memory and now I'm off on my own tangent. But I think it's helpful to, like, I really feel like God gave me that because it was like, oh, the Amy, there's so much you can do outside of your kids and this is what I'm calling you to, 0 knock to those who have a primary focus on their children and nothing else. And that's a wonderful place to be as well.

Stephanie Ravenscraft: Mm-hmm.

Amy Connell: it's, this is a both and situation in my opinion, but I just think that God knew that I needed to like diversify [00:18:00] my focus. Otherwise it was gonna get pretty rough. 

Stephanie Ravenscraft: Right. No, I absolutely agree. You know, I was very blessed to have,

Amy Connell: Mm-hmm.

Stephanie Ravenscraft: the life that I did, my husband has been an entrepreneur. Since 2008, and, we have been able to build this life that we are absolutely in love with I was still able to stay at home and, build into these people who we have now sent out into the world.

I'm forever grateful for that,

Amy Connell: Yeah.

Stephanie Ravenscraft: but I knew that my life wasn't over then. I'm 45 years old, I've got a lot of life left, A friend of mine, who is in a mastermind said on our call yesterday, she's also 45. my grandparents lived into their nineties and I think one was 103.

So she's like, I got 55 more years of life left. so, when I'm thinking about that, My grandparents lived into their nineties, so I have like 50 years of life left. That's a [00:19:00] lot of life. That's more life than I've already lived,

Amy Connell: Yeah,

Stephanie Ravenscraft: And so is it just over?

Amy Connell: Yeah.

Stephanie Ravenscraft: 

Yeah, I had a conversation with my best friend. sometime last year. we were talking about aging. We were at the gym, walking on the treadmill and we're walking, we're watching these, these beautiful girls walk around and their spandex, shorts and their tank tops, or their sports s brawls and, and you know, I'm just like, I.

Good for them. They, they're here, they're doing it. They keep their bodies active or, you know, serve whatever purpose they're here for. And so we were talking about it and I said, the difference is, we were talking about our age in contrast to theirs. the difference is that growing up our role models and what was on TV for women that are our age now, were the golden girls.

And now you've got Gwen Stefani and all of these remarkably gorgeous, still active [00:20:00] kicking butt women who were in their fifties, that wasn't what we were shown was, okay. Once you were in that age, you were elderly and that's not true. 

Breaking out of that perception or expectation, celebrate it. I didn't know who I was until I was in my thirties, since I was 33, I've been living my best life because I know who I am in my heart who I'm created to be and what I'm created to do.

And I, you know, live it up.

Amy Connell: Yeah.

Stephanie Ravenscraft: Absolutely.

Amy Connell: God is so good. I love that. I read just yesterday an article that. Casually mentioned that, oh no, it's in a book I'm reading. I think her name is Ru McClanahan, who played Blanche on Golden Girls. She

Stephanie Ravenscraft: Yes. I know, I know

Amy Connell: I'm like,

Stephanie Ravenscraft: that, that's what I'm saying, like Exactly. Exactly. And you've got, Diane Keaton and, and Jane Fonda and these, these Lily [00:21:00] Tomlin, these women are still acting and active and, and they're in their seventies and eighties. it is a completely different perception of age than what we grew up seeing.

Amy Connell: Yeah.

Stephanie Ravenscraft: So no fifties,

Amy Connell: Dreyfus. 

Stephanie Ravenscraft: fifties 

Amy Connell: Yeah, I know. 

Stephanie Ravenscraft: Yeah.

Amy Connell: Julie Louis Dreyfus podcast? Wiser than Me?

Stephanie Ravenscraft: I haven't,

Amy Connell: She interviews women in their seventies and seventies and up seventies,

Stephanie Ravenscraft: Ooh, yeah,

Amy Connell: so

Stephanie Ravenscraft: I'd like that.

Amy Connell: Okay. I won't get on a podcast tangent.

Stephanie Ravenscraft: I'm writing it down and drilling a square around it, 

Amy Connell: go take a listen.

Stephanie Ravenscraft: yeah.

Amy Connell: But yeah, it's called Wiser than me.

Stephanie Ravenscraft: Okay.

Amy Connell: listened to a ton of them, but I've listened to some of them and they're pretty inspiring, I gotta admit. Okay. so, I'm wondering, you can either talk to me as a, as a emerging empty nester, you can talk to the woman who kids have been outta house for a while, but maybe she's kind of starting to fill that niggle, that little like.

Stephanie Ravenscraft: Mm-hmm.

Amy Connell: Prompting of the Holy Spirit or whisper, or however you wanna define it. Maybe it's someone whose [00:22:00] kids are not yet out, And she's starting to think about what is life gonna be like then I'm wondering if you might have some guidance for us for any of those situations. particularly with regard to what we've been talking about as far as. Expectations and really bucking the societal expectations.

Stephanie Ravenscraft: Okay, number one, celebrate it.

Amy Connell: Yeah.

Stephanie Ravenscraft: I mean, it's hard work sharing yourself and molding other humans. Is really hard work and so celebrate pat yourself on the back. this is a job well done one of the things that I have to, especially with my 19-year-old she is, on the spectrum and deals with a lot of social anxiety I have to trust that I have given her what she needs.

To figure it out on her [00:23:00] own or to ask for help. If she can't, I cannot just jump in and rescue her at every turn because that's a hindrance and that's not doing either of us any good for the stage that I want to live in. accepting that you have done a good job and that you've given them the tools that they need, and you have to trust that they'll come to you if they need more.

Celebrate that's step one, celebrate. And I think that goes against the norm. You know, I really, a lot in my circle, a lot of, a lot of women have, have been, you know, my life is over. I don't know what to do with myself. How am I gonna get out of bed? Well, celebrate what you've already done and you're gonna be more likely to put your feet on the floor each morning.

I don't know how to go into that much deeper because really that one step of celebrating, you know, whether you've been at it, for just 18 years with one kid or, you have one and they stayed longer. My middle [00:24:00] son didn't go to college and he stayed here until he was 22.

just last year, he'll be 23 in September. he stayed here and he was working and that was good. that was fine because I always told them, I'd rather you stay until you absolutely know you can go out and make it on your own than go out and come back because this is not a revolving door, 

That's not how this works. When you're celebrating the job that you've done, you are more likely to move forward in a positive manner. But if you're focusing on the negative and that they're gone, and now what I do, and who am I without them, and you stay in that negative pattern, you're going to keep repeating that negative pattern.

Amy Connell: Mm-hmm.

Stephanie Ravenscraft: if you start with celebration. you're in a more positive mindset. you're going to be more likely to create new ideas and come up with things that you wanna do. And you know, one [00:25:00] thing that my husband and I both encourage our clients to do is make a list of 50 things I want.

Doesn't have to be rational, doesn't have to be within the realm of possibility. 50 things that I want. I mine currently has 36 on it. And, because I, because they're, they're good things. Like they're, they're good things and I've learned how to hone it over time, 

Then look at that list and say, okay, let's pick three that I'm gonna work toward, out of those three, this one I'm gonna work on right now. And then make a plan. then you're doing something and you're moving forward and you have something for yourself to live for, to continue for.

Amy Connell: that's great.

Stephanie Ravenscraft: I think it's also the best teacher that we have for our adult children is to see us continue to thrive while they are thriving, as we have encouraged them and taught them to do, a lot [00:26:00] of raising these people was. Them watching me not doing what I said they did what I did. they're sponges and they soak that up and that never really changes.

whether they're soaking up your guidance or have, you know, developed their own political views or what, they never stopped being sponges and soaking things up. And the same thing is true for us. It's just what are we absorbing?

Amy Connell: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Very good, very good. Okay, Stephanie, I have some questions that I

Stephanie Ravenscraft: Okay.

Amy Connell: my guests. One of them I know the answer to because you and I are on video, but I love learning about people's tattoos.

Stephanie Ravenscraft: Okay.

Amy Connell: that when they have tattoos, there's often a meeting behind it. I see on your forearms that you do have some tattoos.

Stephanie Ravenscraft: I do.

Amy Connell: sharing what they are or pick one of them? 

Stephanie Ravenscraft: Okay.

Amy Connell: the meaning behind it.

Stephanie Ravenscraft: So the one on my right wrist is the outline [00:27:00] of mini mouse, and in the middle it has the word free. a tattoo is something I always knew that I wanted, but I wanted it to mean something.

Amy Connell: Mm-hmm.

Stephanie Ravenscraft: I waited until I had one. That meant everything to me. I told you about my experience in 2012 and shortly after that, my best friend and I went to a Disney social media moms, or I don't even remember what it was called, but it was this event put on by Disney for moms and social media.

at the time, we were doing a podcast called the Full-Time Mom. And we were invited. to participate. the opening dinner that night was in Animal Kingdom and, you know, it's, it's after the park closed. So it's just these people at this conference and they have the characters set up all around the, all around the park.

[00:28:00] And Minnie Mouse has always been my favorite character, absolutely always. I was standing in line to meet Safari Minnie and had this profound moment with God where I knew. it was safe to let my inner little girl be free.

I had spent my entire life protecting her I couldn't always protect my outer little girl. so I had spent my entire life protecting the little girl who lives inside of me and standing in line to meet safari. Many God told me she is safe and she can be free. it was such a profound moment in my life, changed me completely.

And so when I was, thinking about what this would look like and working with the artist and sketching it out, and the appointments on the calendar. So I go to my dad [00:29:00] who cannot stand tattoos, like absolutely hates them, and I said, I just wanted you to know that I'm getting a tattoo, but I want you to understand why number one, what you think of, it really doesn't matter to me.

But I, but I want to tell, but I want out of respect. I'm gonna tell you this anyway. what I told my dad was that I have healed a lot of inner trauma left over from my childhood. I fell and hit my chin when I was a kid and I have a scar right here. I fell and I scraped my knee. I mean, numerous times I grew up on a farm, and I have scars on my knees, and I have these things that I have gone through in my life that have left scars on my body.

And you can see that I have healed because there is a scar left behind. I have done all of this work to heal my inner self, [00:30:00] but there's no mark and nobody can see it. I'm getting this tattoo as an outward sign of my inner healing, and he never said anything about it. he respected. So that is, my mini mouse tattoo on my right forearm.

Amy Connell: Outward sign of inner healing. I love that. 

Stephanie Ravenscraft: thank you.

Amy Connell: Stephanie, tell people where they can connect with you if they are interested in working with you as a coach, so tell people the best place to connect.

Stephanie Ravenscraft: to connect, you can email me directly at stephanie@stephanieravenscraft.com. You can go to my website. My podcast is listed there. there's a work with me button at the top of the page for my mastermind and my one-on-one coaching, and that's stephanie ravenscraft.com.

Sorry, I have a long name. It takes a lot to say.

Amy Connell: Well, I do put things in the show notes, 

Stephanie Ravenscraft: Okay.

Amy Connell: so no worries about that. Stephanie, do you have [00:31:00] a meaningful Bible verse that you would like to share with us?

Stephanie Ravenscraft: One of my absolute favorite Bible verses is Esther four 14, and the second half of it says, for if you remain silent. At this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish.

And who knows, but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this. And so there are many variations of this verse. And my, my favorite is simply, perhaps you were created for such a time as this. I have held true to that in every stage of my life. Perhaps I was created to be the pastor's wife, to be the entrepreneur's wife, to be a stay at home mom, to be an empty nester, perhaps I was created exactly the way I am for this exact stage that I am living in.

Amy Connell: That's really great. I love that. Thank you. Okay, Stephanie, I'm gonna ask you to have the [00:32:00] last word. What is the one simple thing that you would like us to remember about our conversation? It can be big or small, but just one simple nugget 

Stephanie Ravenscraft: I think the biggest thing that came out of our talk today is to be free. To be yourself. to find what that means for you to be comfortable in your own skin and to know that you love you and God loves you. And that equals a happy life.

Amy Connell: Very good. Thank you so much. that is all for today. Go out there and have a graced day.