It Works! strongly encourages you to share your “why” with people and I haven’t done it yet. I’m not really sure why, probably some fear, so I decided tonight was a good time to put it out there. Normally people can fit it into a Facebook post or a video but I’m apparently too long winded for that because FB kept cutting me off… so back to the blog I go!

So what is my “why” for jumping in with It Works! Global??

I actually have a few! My first why is my family.  I love my boys so much and want to be my best self for them.  Josh works so hard day in and day out and never complains. I admire him so much for that.  But in residency, working harder doesn’t equal making more money.  He still makes very little despite all of the time he puts in.  I want to do my part in helping our family stay afloat financially during these hard years of residency.  I don’t want him to have to stress or worry about us not having the money we need to buy groceries or get new brakes.  I actually take care of all of the finances but he knows by the sobbing and anxiety when things get tight.  Then there’s Rowan, who brings us more joy to our lives than we could have ever anticipated or imagined.  I can’t even put it into words.  Josh and I prayed so hard about our decision to have me stay home with him after he was born and not go back to teaching full time.  It has certainly not been an easy road financially but every minute I am home with him is worth it. I would not trade my days with him for anything.  After a year of trying to do side jobs with crafting and taking time to just figure out being a mom, I knew we needed more in order to survive these last 2 years of residency.  I was praying hard about where God wanted me.  This company came out of no where for me. I had never tried a product and I thought it was crazy.  But after we did a lot of research on the products, witnessed results, and see how the company gives back to its distributors to help them get out of debt, and how they give to back to others to make a big impact for Christ, I was sold.  One of the foundations they work directly with is called Selah Freedom and they are fighting to end human trafficking. This is a cause that weighs so heavily on my heart, as you’ve read about if you’ve read my previous posts.  So once learning about this, I couldn’t help but be a part of the movement.  Right now we are not at a place to give big amounts of money away to people and causes that are in need but I believe this company was put in our lives for that reason as well.  My last why is because I want to be able to give back more.  I want to be able to help those in need and many times that takes some extra finances.  I am so excited to see where God leads me in this business!  For me it’s about helping women feel beautiful whether it be on the inside or outside.  I want to help raise self esteem, build women up, free them from the lies they believe about themselves.  I could go on.  But this company is giving me that opportunity.  I’ve been very hesitant thus far in really shouting it from the rooftops because I have so many fears of being judged, which go back to me dealing with my own self esteem issues.  But I’m ready to move forward and overcome.  I know that I am capable of having a team of women that want to go on this journey with me.  I am ready to fight with people by my side.  I want to make a difference and I want to bring people along for the ride.  I want to be genuine, motivating, and a world changer. My goals are big, and most people shake their head and roll their eyes at me, but my God is big so I trust him with my big goals and dreams.

With all of that said, I am looking for 3 people to join my team.  I have the opportunity to earn a $500 GOOD (Get Out Of Debt) bonus if I can do that by the end of August.  I’ve had the past 2 months to get people to join as well but I just didn’t feel ready nor did I work hard enough.  But I was still feeling out how I wanted to approach my business having never done something like this before.  My fears of how people were going to judge me squashed my excitement about growing. But I’ve decided my approach is just to be real. Be me. Love God and love people. I know that meeting that goal is a long shot, and honestly, I’m not too concerned about it.  What I want to do is help people grow, help moms stay at home with their kids, help people get out of debt, and be a part of what God can do in people’s lives through this company.  If you sign up by the end of the month you will have until October 31st to earn your own $500 GOOD bonus as well.  I would love to do this alongside some ladies so that we can encourage one another, build friendships, and make a difference together. So I guess it would be safe to say that my actual last why is you, and all of the people out there that are looking to make a positive change in their lives.

So there you have it. Every last bit of the long winded explanation.  I’m sorry, I’m just not made to fit my stories into 140 characters. If I’m going to be me, I’m going to use ALL. THE. WORDS. I really can’t believe I still had that many words after 5pm.  Normally things all start to slur and blur together. I’ll call it a success!

Thanks for reading!

What would be YOUR WHY???

I want to start by copying and pasting an excerpt that I read the other day from “My Utmost for His Highest” by Oswald Chambers.  Read it slowly to give it a chance to sink in. Let’s be real… I have to read everything he writes slowly, because half the time it’s over my head and if I read like more than 5 words in 30 seconds I end up completely lost. Anyyywaaays…

“We tend to think that if Jesus Christ compels us to do something and we are obedient to Him, He will lead us to great success. We should never have the thought that our dreams of success are God’s purpose for us. In fact, His purpose may be exactly the opposite. We have the idea that God is leading us toward a particular end or a desired goal, but He is not. The question of whether or not we arrive at a particular goal is of little importance, and reaching it becomes merely an episode along the way. What we see as only the process of reaching a particular end, God sees as the goal itself.

What is my vision of God’s purpose for me? Whatever it may be, His purpose is for me to depend on Him and on His power now. If I can stay calm, faithful, and unconfused while in the middle of the turmoil of life, the goal of the purpose of God is being accomplished in me. God is not working toward a particular finish— His purpose is the process itself. What He desires for me is that I see “Him walking on the sea” with no shore, no success, nor goal in sight, but simply having the absolute certainty that everything is all right because I see “Him walking on the sea” (Mark 6:49). It is the process, not the outcome, that is glorifying to God.

God’s training is for now, not later. His purpose is for this very minute, not for sometime in the future. We have nothing to do with what will follow our obedience, and we are wrong to concern ourselves with it. What people call preparation, God sees as the goal itself.

God’s purpose is to enable me to see that He can walk on the storms of my life right now. If we have a further goal in mind, we are not paying enough attention to the present time. However, if we realize that moment-by-moment obedience is the goal, then each moment as it comes is precious.”

I am the queen of looking ahead. I plan until I can’t plan anymore.  I think about planning for what’s to come more than I focus on what’s here now.  I want to be ready for what’s next and prepared for anything.  I want to reach the goals I set and see the fruit of my labor. I love the end result.

That being said, I was slapped across the face by these lovely words above.

This blew my mind for many reasons, but one being, very rarely do I think about the process.  A lot of times I don’t think about what I’m doing while I’m trying to reach a goal or the things I’m learning along the way.  I see “done” and “not done” or “now” and “not yet/never.”  It’s easy to have the mindset that God won’t get the glory until you have the final product. So work harder, right?? That’s how Satan twists my thoughts to think that the process and hard work can sometimes be worthless, especially when you aren’t seeing any fruit. The next reason being, just because God calls you to something, doesn’t mean it’s going to be a success.  It could mean the opposite. Say whaaaaa?!? BIG TIME SCARY.  I want to be successful at everything I put my mind to.  You mean God might want me to fail? More than once? Even when I work hard? And do it for His glory? I’m having trouble coming to terms with that one.  The type A in me doesn’t get how failing works into anyone’s plans.  When things aren’t going my way, I immediately look for how I can control it and fix it.  I want to find the answer in the chaotic storms of life.  ERRRRR (buzzer sound ha!) WRONG!

Chambers says here, the answer is this: obedience.  Moment by moment obedience is the goal.  If I’m constantly looking ahead to a big end result then I’m not looking at right now. And I know I miss a lot by doing this.  I miss reasons to be thankful, lessons I should be learning, and seeing God work in mighty ways. I’m just beginning to realize how much God is teaching me in the process. I don’t want to miss out on the moment or the lesson because I’m preoccupied with the outcome. I want to be obedient and receptive to his teaching now, not later.  I want to be “calm, faithful, and unconfused while in the middle of the turmoil of life…” Easier said than done, right?! Yikes!

Just remember, His purpose IS the process.

All it takes is a few words to get my wheels spinning a hundred miles a minute.  What does set my soul on fire? Seriously. What breaks my heart, fills me with abundant joy, gets me fired up, brings me closer to God and people, and so on?! The basic answer that I’ve come up with goes back to my “save the world” mentality.  But after really thinking about it I tried to narrow it down a little. Here’s the list I came up with:

What sets my soul on fire?

1. Being a mom and a wife.

2. Teaching girls/ women about self esteem, self worth, value, seeing themselves the way God sees them, God’s grace, etc.

3. Doing something to bring awareness to/stop human and sex trafficking and the exploitation of women and children.

4. Giving abused and underprivileged kids love, opportunities, and care.

5. Hungry, unwanted babies around the world that need a forever family.

All of these things are on my mind constantly.  They are 5 of the 438739 “tabs” open in my mind open at all times. These are the  5 I cry about at random times thinking about how I don’t do enough.  How am I, Dana of Morgantown, going to do anything about most of these things, especially #3-5.  Aside from being the best mom and wife I can be, I don’t know where to start.  This blog is an attempt at an outlet for #2 because I feel like I have so much to say and no one to say it to! (Well besides Josh, but he’s not a girl and doesn’t understand the tabs in my head and doesn’t really need pep talks or words from the heart on his value haha!)  So my thoughts immediately go to all of the reasons why I can’t do anything.  I become paralyzed almost instantly when I think about these things because I’m thinking about all of the cant’s and wont’s that are in the way.

So what does Satan tell me is in the way?

1. Money. I don’t have any.  Our current financial situation is not conducive to giving money to organizations that are in need and are trying to make headway on these very injustices. Satan says, “You can’t possibly give on top of tithing because then you’ll be on the streets begging for your own food.”

2. Wants.  I can be so selfish.  I hate it.  I pray all the time that God will take away my desire of wanting things.  I hate wanting everything at Target and TJ Maxx and on my IG feed.  My fleshly desires take over and turn those little wants into things I think I need. I obsess over things I want sometimes.  It’s ridiculous.  But I’m working on it, so that counts right?

3. Fear.  I’m a scaredy cat.  I’m scared of making mistakes, failing completely, and being ridiculed about decisions I make, meeting new people, being awkward, the list can go on.  I try my best to cover all of this up, (i’m a closet introvert) but the awkwardness just can’t be contained sometimes haha! Making an impact and changing people’s lives would require meeting people, taking chances, and letting my awkwardness be ok.

4. Myself.  I am SO in the way.  My anxious, over thinking, self induced craziness gets in the way big time! Satan uses what is actually a “go getter, type A” attitude and turns it into a “this is to big for you, let someone else save the world” attitude.  I drive myself nuts.  “JUST DO SOMETHING!!,” I tell myself over and over again.

I know that being a mom and a wife is so important and I know that that specific calling has been placed on my life. But I also know that God has placed these other fires in my soul for a reason.  Josh often encourages me by saying that I don’t have to worry or stress myself about figuring out what else I can be doing right now, but for me, it’s not really about just trying to do “stuff,” it’s about changing lives and reaching out to these hurting and broken women and children. It’s about teaching teen girls and young women that they are worth more and called to more than what our world says they are. It’s about helping them turn away from bad relationships and to see their true value, it’s about helping them release the chains of fear, lies, insecurities, and bad decisions that bind them.  It’s about bringing children out of lonely, poverty stricken, unhealthy situations to show them unconditional love, healthy relationships, and allowing them to have a place in a family.  It’s about showing Christ’s love to these people.  I can’t count on everyone else to do it, because what if everyone is counting on others to do it too, then no one does anything.  And then the tears flow.  There’s so many people that do nothing.  And currently I’m one of them.

I know that right now, financially and with Josh’s work schedule, anddd with a one year old, it is not realistic to think that we’ll be traveling the world doing big things, or adopting babies in the next 2 years and maybe not even in the next 10 years or starting any organizations for women and children.  What I do know is, there has to be a way to make an impact in my community in the Morgantown and Pittsburgh areas right now.  There has to be a way to use the little time and funds that I have to make an impact in someone’s life.

God is moving in my heart with ways that I can use my It Works! business to glorify him and advance His kingdom.  When I meet Him at the gates of heaven he’s not going to say good job working so hard and selling so many wraps, He’s going to say well done for using the resources I blessed you with to tell people about me and show them my love.  Well done for following the desires and fires I placed in your heart to be my hands and feet in this world.

There are still so many hows and whys and wheres in my mind but I’m praying and doing my research to find the answers. I want to be fearless as a mother, as a wife, and as a servant of Christ.  The pursuit is underway.

What sets your soul on fire? What would you pursue if you had no fears?

~Dana

A few books to read if you’re searching for what sets your soul on fire:

Interrupted by Jen Hatmaker

Undaunted by Christine Caine

Love Does by Bob Goff

Crazy Love by Francis Chan

Forgotten God by Francis Chan

The Bible. Um duh.

Life is crazyyyyyy to the 143257th degree right now but I just wanted to stop for a minute and write a post that I need to hear and reflect on and maybe it will meet you where you are at right now as well.

This comes from a devotion I did awhile back and I searched and searched one of my old journals today trying to find it because I knew I needed a refresher. This was from a study I was going through in James and much of it was on trials we go through… now looking back at all the notes I took, there is a lot I’d like to write about it but today I only have time to share this small portion that kept coming to my mind.

Trials produce patience, maturity, seeking God’s wisdom, and future blessings.

The rewards for those that are faithful in times of persecution are the crown of glory, the crown of life, and the crown of righteousness.

I am here…

by God’s appointment.

in His keeping.

under His training.

for His time.

James 1:12 “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial…”

xoxo, Dana

How’s that for some alliteration?!?

The past week has been BUSY! I have all these things swirling around in my head that I want to write about but when nap time rolls around there are always so many other things that end up needing done before I can sit down at the computer.  In the past 10 days I successfully launched my business with It Works! Global and have hit the ground running, I buried myself up to my neck in planning Rowan’s first birthday party (of which I said would be simple and low key… yeah right!), traveled to Pittsburgh twice (for 5 out of the 10 days), dedicated Rowan at WVC, and celebrated 3 birthdays, Father’s Day, and our 3 year anniversary!  I’m sure there’s more but I’m too exhausted to think about it.

I’m pretty good with handling a busy schedule and Rowan is such an amazing on-the-go, travel buddy but sometimes we just like to take a deep breath and be at home.  The thing is, I thrive on a schedule. Whether it’s a busy day or a stay at home day, I always have a schedule for us.  Rowan now also thrives on a schedule but we are still working on Josh! Ha!  Sometimes I get a little too anal, OCD, or whatever you want to call it, with how and when things are to be done.  Josh’s influence has helped me greatly in this area… it’s part of what he calls me becoming a “transformed woman” …and that will get a little more explanation below, and maybe it’s own blog post some day. Ha! When my every-minute-scheduled habits take over, it turns into me being uber particular about things and my perfectionistic qualities rear their ugly heads.

I have always dealt with being a perfectionist and, unfortunately in the past, when I didn’t reach the expectations I had set for myself, I automatically hopped on the negative self-talk train and would remind myself of all the reasons why I shouldn’t and couldn’t do this and that.  This was the case with grades, sports, relationships, teaching, and pretty much everything.  Actually, most times, I would meet the expectations I had set because I wouldn’t allow myself not to.  This approach led to A LOT of unnecessary stress and anxiety.  It led to Satan being in control of my thoughts and actions.  He knew the best way to take control of my life and he wouldn’t give up.  This was a constant battle.

When Josh and I got married and moved to Morgantown I carried these habits here with me…. they were at their peak because I had just thrown a wedding that I was sure everyone hated attending (satan), went on a honeymoon that I did a horrible job choosing because it rained the whole time (satan), moved away and no one from home would ever make an attempt to talk to me again (satan), would never find a new job or new friends (satan), and so on and so forth.  My mind would always have 3,989,473 tabs open like this. Crazytown.

Slowly, over the past several years, I have finally let God take control of my thoughts on my worth and the idea that I have to be perfect to be loved, successful, or happy.  The “new” me is what Josh calls me being a “transformed woman” and he takes all the credit. But I think he knows he definitely needed God’s help to accomplish the insurmountable task of changing what’s going on in this head of mine haha! It’s still a lot of work for me to slow down and not allow anxiety to take over.  Those of you who know me now and didn’t know me back then are probably thinking “What the heck?!? It was worse??” But this is me making progress.

As I was starting this journey with It Works! I knew I needed to pray that I would not allow satan to take this business that God so graciously and divinely appointed to my life, and make it a way for him to weasel back in to my thoughts.  Boy was satan already on his game though.  In the past two weeks, as I’ve been getting the business up and running, I’ve had all kinds of fights with him, God, and myself.  Things like “God why would you give this to me? Why would I want to try this? You know I’m not good at selling things, talking to people, being healthy, learning, teaching, and so on and so on… over and over…” There have been a few moments when I’ve already wanted to give up because of the negative thoughts.  When thoughts like these come flooding in, they stop me from making progress on anything. Not just the business. They take a toll on my parenting, my marriage, my relationships, and my productivity in general.  When I believe the lies, I become paralyzed in every aspect of my life.

The thing is, I know that I have potential.  I know who I am in the eyes of Christ.  I know that I have a passion for injustices and what people used to call a “save the world” mentality. I know that there were desires and passions placed in my heart for a reason- even when I try to bury them because I deem them too BIG. I know they are there. I know that I’m wired the way I am for a reason.  When my type A, anxious, personality is tended to and has correct delivery, great things can (and will) happen.

With all of that said, the message is this. God uses imperfect people to get His will done. He equips the called, not the other way around. A translation of Eccesiastes 11:4 says if you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done. Amen! You have to trust God, get started, and move forward despite your fears and doubts.  In my case this time, fears of not having a perfect, profitable business right from the start.  God calls us to NOT live just a mediocre life. When being a perfectionist paralyzes me, my life becomes mediocre at best.  But because He loves me I can rest in promises like this one from 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weakness, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

I can be weak, because He makes me strong. I can be imperfect, because He is perfect. I can let my guard down, because He guards my heart.  I can win the battle again my fears and anxiety because He is fighting the battle for me.

xoxo, Dana

More scripture…

James 1:12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial.

Galations 6:9 Let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

Luke 18:1 You must always pray and never lose heart.

Welcome everyone!

Here I am again, finding myself in the world of blogging! Only this time I feel much more ready, relaxed, and refocused.  This time I have a lot to say, so much so that I don’t know where to start.  God has placed so many things on my heart that I desperately want to share with you! When you get here you may not find eloquent writing or perfect editing, but you will find out what’s on my heart and what it’s like in real life with me.  I’m sorry in advance! Josh should warn you… although he may love this because once I pour out my heart in a million unorganized words on here, I may not have as much to say to him haha! And let’s be real- most of what I think I need to talk to him about, comes to me as soon as he lays his head down on the pillow at night. #thestruggleisreal.  I go through manyyyyy emotions in a day- too many- (can I get an AMEN from all the ladies ha!) and as I have been praying over this blog, my hope is that my emotions and dealings with conquering my fears, striving to love others the way God intended us to, and learning to surrender my will to him daily, will make an impact on your life and bring God glory. Wait, can God use crazy to bring Him glory?? I sure hope so!

After much consideration, I decided to go with “My Steadfast Soul” as the title of my blog for a number of reasons.  The main reason being that the word “steadfast” has been “my word” ever since we moved to West Virginia three years ago.  When we got here there was a lot going on with me emotionally, and at work, and just in life in general with so many changes happening so quickly, and as I turned to scripture, the word steadfast kept appearing over and over again.  I used to write it long ways on my middle finger everyday at work. Somehow that small reminder to be steadfast got me through a lot… and reminded me that God would not want me to stick that finger up by itself. And you think I’m kidding haha! So now fast forward three years and we have made the decision for me to put teaching in the classroom aside for a little while and stay home with my sweet boy, Rowan. Even in this season of life, the word steadfast remains my anthem although it has taken on different meaning. A few definitions of steadfast are: firm in purpose, resolution, faith, attachment, unwavering faith and adherence.

Where I’m at now in life, to me it means to be unwavering in my faith, to adhere to God’s plan for my life, to find purpose and stand firm in what He calls me to do, and to be in constant prayer for all my people (I’ve been trying to pray for all of you!) All hard stuff to abide by on a daily basis. FOR REAL. But His grace is sufficient and He knows my heart. He also knows that I’m an over-thinker, a worrier, and a control freak. I really struggle with quieting down my mind so that I can hear Him speaking to me and know it’s Him.  He’d need a megaphone to talk over all the crazy ha! For the past few months, I have been praying hard, reading my Bible, going through tons of devotions and books, journaling like crazy, writing my prayers out and just really trying to feel God speak to me and I just kept wondering why I didn’t hear Him and feel his presence. Then about three weeks ago it all started to go down… (that sounds bad but it’s been AMAZING!)

I finished the book Undaunted by Christine Caine and by the end of it my heart was completely broken apart over the injustice of human and sex trafficking. Check out the A21 Campaign if you’d like to know more but I’ll cover more on this topic in another post or you’ll be here all day.  But after reading this book I would find myself crying at random times over the issue (remember the emotions I mentioned??) God laid it so heavily on my heart.  But what do I do about it, where do I start? I have no money, I’m one person, I don’t have resources.  Then I moved on to the book Interrupted by Jen Hatmaker. Broke me all over again.  You need to read these books.  Life changing.  The tagline on Jen’s book even says, “When Jesus Wrecks Comfortable Christianity” and that’s no joke.  So I’m praying hardddd… What can I do? Lord give me resources, give me guidance, give us stability financially so I can give generously and help people out of these injustices…

All of this brings me to last week when God showed up BIG time and has been revealing Himself to me over and over again in so many ways.  I’m going to shorten this story bc this blog post is beginning to have the potential to win an award for the. longest. EVER. I’m sorry. BUT SO MANY WORDS AND EMOTIONS. Please stay with me to hear how awesome God is!

So last week I was presented with an opportunity to go into direct sales with a company.  But something just didn’t feel right in my heart and gut so I made a few phone calls to people I trust and respect for advice.  When I call Kate she tells me about this company It Works! Global and recommends that I check it out just to do some research on other direct sales companies.  I call this woman that Kate directs me to, Beth, and she proceeds to tell me all of the amazing things about this Christian company that are changing so many lives. We talk about products, opportunities, money, etc (all of which are amazing and all natural and she basically had already sold me) but then she goes “Oh yeah I wanted to mention that we also do mission trips and one of the organizations that we created is called Selah Freedom and its mission is to abolish sex trafficking and exploitation and other injustices.  SAY WHAAAAAA?!?!? I just started crying over the phone.  It only took 15 mins for this woman to know I’m crazy town. Something so little that she added was something SO BIG to me.  That’s because our God is SO BIG and SO GOOD.  I am the last person on the planet that ever thought I’d go into direct sales and I had 174895743 reasons why I should not do it, but here I am now, an It Works! Distributor! I started this journey with It Works a week ago and God has showed up and revealed that He is in this 100% everyday.  I know this is Him because I wouldn’t be doing it if it wasn’t.  A sweet friend we have, Carol, said to me, sometimes you have to have faith and trust Him enough to get out of the boat, and step out onto the water, for He will hold you up. THEN the next day, my devotions by Rick Warren said the same thing, literally word for word.  I CANNOT and would not make this up.  I’m in awe and I’m trying to grasp what He’s doing and I can’t wait to see what He’s going to do. I’m also scared out of my mind but that is masked with excitement haha!

It’s been a whirlwind of a week but I love people and I love these products and this company and it’s so awesome seeing how they are both changing lives. I want to change lives.  So that’s how I ended up here.  I had been wrestling with the idea of this blog and the way God has been working confirmed for me that it would be unfair of me to not share how He works in my life.

I just want to invite you all on this journey with me.  God has a plan and purpose and has shown great provision in my life- provision that only He can provide.  If you feel like there is something on your heart that requires you to step out onto the water in faith- DO IT! If it is not in His will, He will lead you back.  There will be days when you are unsure… in my case (more like nutcase!) it can change by the moment.  But He will reveal Himself.  His promises are greater than your problem, no matter how big the problem may seem. Be persistent in prayer because the antidote to fear is being in God’s presence.

Wow… I could really go on forever but I need to save things for other posts haha! I hope you stuck with me through all of that.  I’m going to leave you with some scripture that has been uplifting and encouraging to me lately.

xoxo, Dana

2 Timothy 2:13 Even when we are too weak to have any faith left, he remains faithful to us and will help us… and he will always carry out his promises to us.

John 15:7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

Hebrews 4:16 Let us approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.

Ephesians 3:20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly, than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us.