Before I was a successful entrepreneur, coach, author and speaker, I was a homeschooling, stay-at-home mom of 4 with no college degree deciding every week what groceries had to go back on the shelf when the list was longer than the bank account was deep. One day, on the brink of bankruptcy, I decided that doing without was not going to be my family’s story. This was the start of my journey to build a multi-million-dollar business, from my kitchen table to a corporate campus, through pure determination and ‘doing it scared’.
Fourteen years later, after choosing the wrong investment partner, I found myself stripped of my business and in this realized that I had also lost my perceived value and purpose (my reason for being created). If I wasn’t the founder of my business, who was I? What value did I have in this world?
At that point I didn’t see myself as successful. I couldn’t see what I had accomplished and overcome…all I could see were the failures, bad choices and disappointing results. For the next few years I pulled my chair up to a ‘table for two’ and engaged in conversations with God. It was there that I let Him remind me that…
…purpose in life is not something to be chased after or measured by others.
We are born with one purpose – to glorify God wherever He places us.
I saw how I had been living with my hair on fire trying to meet expectations of the world and lost sight of my heart fire. Today, through books, retreats, speaking and coaching, I help those who are ready to stop living with their hair on fire learn to live with their heart on fire – shining for God just as He created them, for His glory.
I grew up in Texas, so you’ll hear me say “ya’ll” often and “fixin’ to” about as much! I didn’t realize ‘fixin to’ was a foreign language until I was in my twenties and had started working abroad (aka – out of state)!
I’ve raised 4 amazing children (3 boys and a girl) and now I’m enjoying the ‘Nana’ life (current count at 6!)
Walking with me every step of the way is a patient and empowering husband of 30 something years (don’t tell him I’m not real sure what the ‘something’ count is at this point!)
And can I just tell you… all of the above has come with more than its fair share of hair on fire days, weeks….SEASONS! I tried to find a picture that told the ‘real’ story, but no one’s ever around saying ‘hold on…let me take a picture of this moment’ during the ‘real story’ days. Can I get an amen somebody!
But when we found our way through the hard, the ugly and the chaotic – when the heart fires blazed – it made every singed hair worth it!
I love to cook, but because I want to, not because I have to. When I have to cook, I’m known to say ‘let’s go out!’! When I get to cook – what I want, when I want – I love being creative and challenged.
A ‘fun’ weekend for me is getting a surprise box from the local produce co-op filled with whatever the bounty was that week. I get a rush finding ways to cook with what’s in the box using only what I already have in the fridge, freezer and pantry!
When stressed or overwhelmed, I ‘self-soothe’ by organizing – something…ANYTHING!
- A closet
- A room
- A meal plan
- A desk
- A drawer
- A.ny.thing!
There’s just something soothing about turning chaos into order.
(Or is that just me?).
My first love is Jesus. He loved me before I even knew how to love Him and when I wasn’t that lovable. I can still be ‘hard to love’ on any given day, especially when I’ve let my hair catch fire! Without Him, my hair would always be on fire, and He is the reason I have a heart fire.
I learned along the way that when I let Jesus take me to His Father’s table every day, I am sure to find nourishment for my hungry soul. God – Elohim (my creator), El Shadai (my nourisher) – meets me at His table, a table for 2, ready to feed my soul exactly what it needs.
It’s at His table that we discover our heart fire.
We are all created with 1 purpose – to glorify our creator (to shine for Him) – and each of us is called to do that in unique and wonderful ways. When we let God show us how He uniquely gifted us to serve Him, our heart is on fire and we shine!
Our world may still be chaotic and a little crazy, but the fire in our hearts shines through our eyes and fuels us to move into more of what life holds for us. Shining with His glory.
It’s when we stop seeking to shine for Him and seek validation, acceptance, and glory from the world (the people in our world, our social media, etc…) that the fire moves from our heart to our hair.
- We strive to shine in the world vs into the world
- We seek to shine for our own glory vs for His glory
Delight yourself in the Lord ,
Psalm 37:4 AMP
And He will give you the desires
and petitions of your heart.
So to His table I go to let Him build the fires of my heart, to let Him stoke the flames, and to keep the fire out of my hair.
YOUR HEART MIGHT BE ON FIRE IF….
- You wake up most mornings excited to start a new day
- Sometimes you lose track of time doing what you love
- People notice how upbeat and energized you are
- You’re clear about your life priorities and this empowers you to say yes to what’s important and no to everything else (without guilt!)
- You are looking for ways to fuel the fire
YOUR HAIR MIGHT BE ON FIRE IF…
- You wake up most mornings exhausted, even after a good night’s rest
- The days seem long and you feel like you’re getting no where
- People might even comment that you seem a little stressed
- You find yourself saying yes to everything others want you to do, leaving no time for what you want to do (and maybe no time to even figure out what you want to do)
- You are looking for ways to put the fire out
