I promised a post on Friday, but life got away from me, so here I am.  This is better anyway because I’ve had 3 more nights and two full days to learn and grow.  I always want to write from a place of life wisdom and truth, and frankly, time makes all the difference in my being wise or not.  What I’m wanting to share comes from a place of my dreams and desires for others, for you, as well as for myself, and I don’t take this lightly.

For the last few years, as I’ve studied life coaching as well as spiritual formation, I’ve become more and more convinced that our relationships need to be based more in the coaching model.  I actually feel, at my core, that people shouldn’t have to pay for personal coaches to help them grow and become.  I better understand and agree with paying for career/business/executive coaches that help you become your best professionally or help you grow your business.  But, for personal growth, I have this deep conviction that we need to be helping each other do this regularly, not having to pay people to help us become and move forward through life.

That being said, I also recognize that not everyone has deep relationships in their lives with people whom they can lean into for a reciprocal type of “coaching” help from time to time through the seasons of life.  On the flip-side, not all of us feel equipped to be “coaches” in the lives of our close friends or family.  These two areas are where I want to make a difference.

My heart has had a dream for about four years now that I’m still slowly allowing to become a real idea and potential plan.  I want to be able to help others learn how to be in those deep relationships with one another that lead to being able to reciprocally help one another to grow and become our best potential selves, to live into the purposes for which we were created in the first place.   I’d like to offer a space for this to happen, in groups and as individuals, a place for spiritual retreat.

Meanwhile, on the journey to get to that point, I’m open to teaching, speaking, writing, or doing whatever I can to help others learn and grow, to “become”.  I have much yet to learn before I could own, run, and/or manage a spiritual retreat center, as well as the need for land/the space to have such a place.  I view my present experiences as opportunities to learn and grow myself, to become prepared for the potential of this dream becoming a reality, and to begin to prepare for the plans that it would take to make this happen, in God’s timing.

Part of my current learning is still centered around my year-long focus on becoming more physically well and whole.  I’ve lost 21 lbs. and am continuing to glean new information and practice new habits to become healthier for the long haul.  As this 50th year focus will soon transition into my 51st year (Oct 19 is my birthday), I’ll keep applying what I’ve been learning in regards to my physical wellness, but I’ve taken on a new emphasis for the year ahead, in attempts to help our family through my vocational opportunities.

Basically, this means I’m going to work as much as I can in the year ahead and say yes to open doors as they come to me.  I say this, though, knowing that I have limits to my physical and emotional well-being, so if the time comes to say “no” to something in order to help my own wellness, I will do so, knowing that the only way I can be of good to anyone, myself or my family, that I have to be holistically well.

Ultimately, this holistic wellness is about being a good steward of this life that God has given me to live.  I cannot lean into the purpose for which He created me if I’m not well and available, with the proper knowledge and skills, to accomplish what He has uniquely purposed for me.  Hence, self-care is of great importance to me and for me to teach others as I help them move forward towards the deep relationships that can lead to reciprocally coaching and helping each other grow into God’s intentions for all of us as His children.