EP 01: The Backstory....
Hi ladies, I am so excited about launching this podcast and sharing the things that God has laid on my heart with you.I want to start with my back story because many people may follow me on social media, or see me around in my small town and you just see the highlight reel. Well if you see me around town I am usually wearing my quitters (aka yoga pants) so you get a glimpse of my real life there but you may not know all of the adventures that led me to beautifully designed.
Episode 1: The backstory....
Let me start by sharing about my boys. I am way outnumbered, my husband Ryan (who is a corporate pilot) and I have been married almost 14 years and we have 2 boys Wilson (age 9) and Levi (almost 7). We have the cutest Golden Doodle Wrigley who is also male. So I def. live in boy land.We aren’t “busy” because we choose what fills our days, but its definitely a full plate of footballs, baseball bags, soccer, Church activities, school, and sleep ( I love sleep).Gods provision in our lives is evident and we can trace His faithfulness back to the day Ryan and I met. I knew we had an assignment and it would consist of helping others.I always knew I had a strong calling on my life to gather women, but I always struggled with how it would happen. Life is all about seasons and although I knew deep down in my gut that I was created for something specific that was woven in me in my mothers womb, I allowed insecurity and doubt dictate my destiny.Ryan and I knew we wanted to have children right away and after having our first son Wilson we were kind of like “oh wait, we have to keep him alive.” If you have ever had kids I know you can relate to this feeling. I had gained A LOT of weight with the pregnancy and at that time my husband hated his job and we struggled financially. I clung to every coo and kiss from my newborn and prayed A LOT.I started to go to food for comfort and I realized that oreos was starting to become life. I began my journey of negative self talk. You know the self talk that makes you feel like you don’t know who you are anymore.2.5 years later after having our second son Levi, the oreos increased but postpartum depression settled. I felt lost, not recognizing the girl in the mirror, and I felt trapped in a body that weighed 280 lbs. I felt like my husband deserved a better wife you know one that was a size 4 who felt like getting up in the mornings. I refused to go outside of my house bc then people would know how much weight I truly gained. Every lb gained = another second I fell into depression.I was drowning in the laundry and craved to just feel like “me” again.One of my friends invited me to a MOPS group (mothers of pre-schoolers), I said yes desperate for connection. God used Mops to surround me with women that would love the good, bad, and ugly parts of me. We joined that church where Mops was held and God began to restore what the enemy tried to take, my identity.It doesn’t matter how old you are or what season of life that you are in, I truly believe that women go through seasons of identity crisis. We wear MANY hats and we are so many things to so many people. And sometimes at the end of the day we don’t recognize ourselves. This isn’t a topic plastered on social media and it definitely isn’t going to make a pretty and fun graphic to pin on pinterest but IT’S REAL. I knew that God wanted me to share my story of my identity crisis but I didn’t know how!In 2015 my Bible study at Church started “Seamless” by Angie Smith.” It goes through the whole Bible as one complete story. I fell in love with the Word of God and my friend and I decided to do it online with our out of town friends. We thought we would gather 100 people between us and when there was over 9,000 in just 4 weeks, I knew God was up to something. My first initial reaction was that I wasn’t prepared or that these women should have somebody like Angie Smith or Beth Moore teach it. As I prayed God reminded me that I went through my depression and identity crisis for “such a time as this.” It was time to use my voice to share how Jesus Christ transformed my life from being a woman who wouldn’t leave her house to now leading an online Bible study to over 9,000 women.Ladies, God restores and redeems. He created Beautifully Designed so women would have a community (a safe place to land the good, bad, and ugly of their lives). And to be reminded of the redeeming power of Jesus Christ.Over the last 3 years it has grown to over 20,000 women through fb, you tube, and instagram. Women from all over the world is reminded through this ministry that they are LOVED by the ONE who beautifully designed them.It’s time to take the masks off and redefine beauty. This podcast will have relevant topics that women of any age and season can be encouraged by. We will have special surprise guests and tips on how to live the life God has called you to live.I hope you are excited to take this journey with me, if you would snap shot this episode and share on your social with the #BeautifullyDesignedPodcast that would be amazing. I want as many women to know that there pant size, job, failures, or successes do not define them. As followers of Jesus Christ we are renamed DAUGHTERS OF THE KING.
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