June 11, 2025 • 39 mins
Are You Feeling Stuck in the Daily Grind?
If you're feeling buried under routines, disconnected from your dreams, or like life has become one long to-do list, this episode is your permission slip to pause, reflect, and redream. Guest Jenni LaBrie shares wisdom for those who feel stuck in survival mode and offers a pathway back to purpose, clarity, and the sacred beauty in everyday life. Whether you're exhausted, burned out, or just unsure of your next step—this conversation will speak directly to your soul.
💡 Key Takeaways:
- Dormant Dreams Still Matter – Why the dreams you shelved are still calling you and how to begin listening again.
- Getting Unstuck from the Daily Grind – Practical steps for those feeling trapped in busy schedules and burnout.
- Big vs. Small Mindset – How shifting your thinking can open doors to purpose and possibility.
- The Sacred in the Ordinary – Discover how even your daily commute or mundane routine can become holy ground.
- Redreaming Again – What it looks like to courageously let go of old scripts and write new ones.
✨ How This Helps You + What to Do Next
If you're weary from just getting by, this episode offers more than encouragement—it gives you a framework to reclaim your joy, rediscover your purpose, and redream your life. Jenni’s story proves that even in the middle of chaos, transformation is possible. You don’t have to quit your job or overhaul your life to start—sometimes the smallest shift in perspective leads to the greatest change.
🎧 Listen now and start moving from survival mode to sacred living.
Ad Mention: Our 6 Places to Go Looking for God guide will help you look for, find, and experience God, and we’re confident that by using it, you will be refreshed in your faith, challenged to grow in your relationship with God, and experience God’s presence in new and life-giving ways.
Meet Jenni LaBrie
Jenni LaBrie is a writer, speaker, coach, and co-founder of Grounded Learning, LLC. Known for her incredible gift of helping women who feel stuck in the daily grind to reawaken their dreams and step into the life they were truly meant to live. With over two decades of experience in education, coaching, and curriculum design, she brings wisdom, humor, and real-life experience to every conversation. Jenni is also co-host of the Grounded Learners Guild podcast and the creator of The Sacred COMMUTE™—a transformational approach to finding spiritual clarity in the most ordinary of places.
🔗 Learn more about Jenni: Website | Instagram
Follow Willow: Website | Instagram | Facebook
🎧 Subscribe and Share on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:13):
Hey, there. So glad you hoppedon the Collide podcast. This is Willow
Weston, and I love learningwith you and growing and letting
Jesus run into our livestogether. Man, our lives are messy,
and they're joyous and they'rebeautiful, and they're broken, and
they're hard, and they'regood, and they're all the things,
(00:35):
and we need each other. And sotoday, I love that I could have a
conversation with JennyLabrie. She's a writer, a speaker,
a coach, and a podcast host.Lots of the things, but she has a
real heart to help women redream again, to really enter into
(00:57):
the sacred space with God, tobreak out of the daily grind and
listen to what he has for themso that they don't just survive,
but they actually thrive. Somy hope in handing you this interview
today is in all the ways thatyou feel like you are just rocking
that survival life, that thisgives you some encouragement. So
(01:18):
check it out, Jenny. I lovethat we get to have this conversation
today. You're coming in fromChicago. You have three kids, and
I love that you say yourhometown's in the Chicago burbs and
that we can find you and yourkids sipping root beer on your front
porch on a good day. So istoday, like, a good weather day there,
(01:42):
or what you got going?
We got some clouds today, butthe sun has peaked through a little
bit. And actually, last night,we had some. Some rain, and I got
to see a rainbow for the firsttime in months. It was beautiful
and so worth it.
I love that you love that,because I'm in the Pacific Northwest,
and someone just actually toldme, and I don't know if it's true,
(02:05):
but I live in a town calledBellingham, Washington, and someone
said there's a list of the top100 rainiest places in the nation,
and Bellingham was number one.
Oh, goodness. Yeah.
The rainbows just mean therain is coming to an end for a few
minutes, which is awesome.That's hilarious. Well, I love that
(02:25):
you guys drink root beer.That's cute.
I love it. It's one of myfavorites. That, and I didn't put
this one on there, but I lovepickles, too, and that's not a great
combo, but that's my eclectictaste for you. Yeah.
Pickles. My mom's favoritesnack when I was growing up was pickles
and mayonnaise and peanutbutter sandwiches.
Wow.
(02:46):
And I never have tried it. I'mfrightened by the idea.
It is unconventional, for sure.
Yes. Yes. Well, you do so manythings. You're a Writer, a speaker,
a coach. You co found an LLCcalled Grounded Learning. There's
so many things that you're upto. I want to just talk about this
(03:07):
passion you have for women whofeel stuck in the daily grind. Why
is that a passion of yours?
Oh, goodness. I could go wayback to. Well, my roots are in education.
I actually spent 13 years in aSpanish high school classroom. Before
that, I was traveling abroadand learning a language. And so personal
growth has always been a partof just who I am and why I love working
(03:31):
with that age group. But whatreally turned me into where I find
myself in this part of thejourney is when I started coaching.
And it was in the industry ofeducation and coaching our educators
and our teachers, and they areby and large one of the most hardworking,
but also burned outprofessionals. And I work with them
on the daily. And so justseeing the challenges that have arisen,
(03:56):
especially at the hands ofCOVID you know, it's been five years,
and I was in the heart ofprofessional learning, growth and
coaching when all of that wasgoing down. And so that's where I
find myself shifting in theneeds of not just professional growth,
but personal growth. And Ithink there's been a real point of
(04:18):
attention on what does thatmean? What does that mean? And how
do I do that and how do Igrow? How do I upskill? What are
all these terms and why? Andso that's really where I got my roots
and started, but have beenleaning into the whispers and the
nudges from God to thinkbeyond the public education space.
(04:43):
When you think about women whoare stuck in the daily grind, what
can that look like? Because, Imean, obviously the daily grind means
we're all still alive. Like,we're here, we're doing the thing.
That's not something wenecessarily are looking to escape
right away, most of us. Butwhat is being stuck in it look like
(05:04):
versus unstuck?
Well, you know, if that's themillion dollar question, and I'm
still in a journey of tryingto find that. I've been toying around
with, you know, podcaster andcoach and speaker and all of these
terms, but really what itboils down to is the essence of being
a word wielder and a dreamdefender. And I find more now than
(05:27):
ever, it's hard for people to.To find what dreaming looks like.
And how do we dare to have thecourage to dream again. And being
stuck in that really, thatpattern, it's hard to want to dream
for fun, to dream for growth,to dream for longings. Unfulfilled
(05:48):
and so that unstuck. How do weget unstuck? And I really think that
there is something in ourlongings and in our dreaming. But
a lot of times that's scary orwe don't. We think it's frivolous
or we don't know how to do it.And so what the stuck looks like
is in these loops, in thesepatterns of consistent mundane moments
(06:09):
that are maybe beckoning usinto more and we don't really know
what to do with them.
I want to talk more with youabout dreams. You talk a lot about
dormant dreams. How would awoman know if she has a dormant dream?
Oh, how would you know youhave a dormant dream? There's usually
(06:29):
some. There's something theretapping on your heart. There's something
there that keeps. Whether it'san audible word, whether that's a
feeling within your gut,whether that is a whisper from the
Lord, whether that issomething reoccurring that you're
(06:52):
noticing over and over andover again. There's usually some
kind of underlying more. Andthat's hard to sometimes uncover
by yourself. And that's wherecoaching has come to play, where
I've learned and been coachedmyself a whole bunch through trying
to find what that looks like.Not doing that alone.
(07:14):
I so resonate with thatbecause I think back and this is
a long time ago because mykids are like 19 and 22 now. But
when they were little, when Igot pregnant with my first I. I left
my ministry job to be a stayat home mom. And that was a choice
I wanted to make. And I'msuper glad for our family. It was
a great choice. Loved it. ButI missed. There was a part of me
(07:38):
by about like year six where.And I did it for eight years. My
husband looked at me and he'slike, it feels like there's a part
of you that's dying inside.Like he saw in me this dormant dream
that I had to be a messenger,preach to speak to write to do. All
the things that I had beendoing that I set aside and I chose
(08:00):
to set aside to invest in mykiddos. But there was a piece of
me that. It was almost like Icouldn't be content by just putting
those gifts in a closet andclosing the door and letting them
just kind of like get stale inthere. And I'm sure there was a piece
where the Lord was okay withme setting those aside for a time.
(08:24):
But after a while it startedto sort of eat at me.
Yeah.
And I think that's whatHappens. That thing you're talking
about where there's like anagging feeling, there's something
there where you feel like I'mnot fully, I'm not fully doing what
I'm made or called to do. Haveyou had a moment like that in your
own life?
(08:44):
Oh, absolutely. And intouching, in that dormancy piece
that you're talking about,like right when you are, whether
you're sleepwalking or you'renot sleeping well, there's this like
in between, between you'reconscious, semi conscious, and you're
kind of asleep and that theHoly Spirit wants to awaken something
(09:04):
in you. And sometimes it'slike, how do I find that? How do
I get there? Right. For me,that has been for me the sacred commute.
I would say that I was livingJesus adjacent rather than a Jesus
immersed lifestyle. And thatwas because I was running from task
to task. And sometimes we saydormant, like maybe we're sleeping,
(09:25):
but really sometimes we'rejust numbing or we're just so overstimulated
and we're so busy that it'sreally hard to hear that still quiet
voice of the Lord. And in mysacred commute, time that took years
of me like actually noticingpatterns of like I'm not just commuting.
Maybe there's something moreto this liminal space that I'm having.
But it took a lot of selfawareness and time to get myself
(09:47):
there. And at times I don'teven know if I really recognized
that it was the Lord saying,there's more, Jenny, or whispering,
there's more. And so thatreally took its toll on me in the.
I used to drive two hours aday making all my rounds. And so
that was where I had time.That's where I had time other than
(10:10):
everything else that wasdistracting me and numbing me.
Right before we talk aboutthis idea that you brought up about
the sacred commute, I want totalk to you a little bit more about
this phrase you used to Jesusadjacent. Define for people who are
listening who don'tnecessarily know what that term means.
(10:30):
What's Jesus adjacent and whatare we invited to be sure.
I think it's just a term I'vebeen playing around with. Like I
said a word wielder. I like toplay with words. And really that
term has come to describewhere my upbringing was Christian
and I was actually raisedMethodist first and then I marri
(10:54):
into a Lutheran denomination.And you know, there's a background
of Christianity in my story,but I went decades with hearing and
knowing Jesus. But not reallyhaving a relationship with him. So
he was like kind of adjacent.He was like on the side. And it wasn't
until I was beckoned intosomething more with him, into that
(11:15):
relationship where Iunderstood what it meant. And it
wasn't as scary oroverwhelming or light or it wasn't
as scary or overwhelming aswhat maybe you would think being
immersed in something is. Andwho better or what better to be immersed
(11:36):
in than Jesus, right?
It's funny, as you're talking,I'm thinking about Jesus in the New
Testament, in the Gospels. Andyou see him and he shows up to places
we talk about. Jesus collides.Like he runs into the places we are,
whether it was at thesynagogue or the market or alongside
(11:56):
a lake or at a wedding. And heshows up there and it's very interesting
because he often had thisinvitation that he asked so many
of us, which is come andfollow me. I mean, I don't know if
that's Jesus adjacent, but Iwould think it's more of an immersive
experience of like, hey, I'mactually going to ask you to leave
(12:19):
your boat, leave your people,leave your dad, leave your 401k,
leave your career, like, leavethe whole thing. It's flipping scary.
And I'm going to ask you to gowith me where I go and do what I
do and be up to what I'm upto. That's a full fledged immersion.
Versus, hey, come back to menext week at this market, Come back
(12:40):
to me next week at thesynagogue. Come back to me next week
when there's a differentwedding. I'm just picturing as you're
talking. There's a differentmentality between I'm going to come
back and run into Jesus inthis one place that I know he sometimes
shows up versus I'm going toimmerse my entire life and follow
(13:01):
him. And so it sounds likethat's when your dream started to
come alive, when you startedto get immersed in Jesus. What did
that look like for you? Youhad this commute. Talk to us about
the sacred commute and howthis God who collides showed up in
the middle of that.
Yeah, the sacred commute issomething that I was going through
(13:23):
as most things. Anytime we gothrough the valley, when we're in
a valley or we're in thewilderness, we're struggling. And
this happened to be commutingto my job during the heart of the
pandemic and reallyconsidering my mortality. And like,
man, I'm showing up forsomething and I've Got to really
think about who I am and whatI'm about and why I'm doing what
(13:45):
I'm doing. And. And so when Iwas in the midst of that, I started,
although it was terrifying atthe time, I started journaling a
whole bunch more. I really.Part of my writing story was a lot
in my childhood and earlyyears. And I've always written a
lot academically because of myjob. But I put away whether it was
(14:09):
creative writing orjournaling, and I ended up taking
that out again at anotherbeckoning or nudging of the Lord.
And I started to noticepatterns when I was journaling more.
What are these patterns?Because it typically happened after
I got home from the drive. Andthat's where I started finding and
(14:29):
seeing the patterns of theshifts he was doing within me or
practices that just seemedlike they were coming from. Like,
where were they coming from?And the commute turned into an acronym.
And each of those lettersmeaning something more than just
commuting in a car. Butreally, what does that look like
when you're on a loop and youknow, we have this, we hear about
(14:53):
the journey of life, right?Life is a journey, not a destination.
And when I hear that, I askthe question, if it's a journey,
how do I journey? Well, andyou know what? The modern journey
doesn't really look like anepic quest. It actually looks more
like a mundane loop back andforth. Whether that is in your car
(15:14):
or it's from your bedroom tothe kitchen in the morning and back,
whether that is runningerrands. And if we are always darting
between these tasks, how do weactually meet with Jesus? How do
we actually develop arelationship with him? Because it's
really hard. Especially, youknow, I'm a full time working mom,
(15:36):
commuting two hours a day withthree kids. How do I actually immerse
myself in Jesus? And so thecommute practices started to be things
that I could do on the go orin the grind. And that he started
shifting things within mebecause it was something that I was
able to do in this modern typeof journeying through life. And that's
the essence of what those are.
(15:58):
I love that. Do you share theacronym or is this super secret?
No, absolutely not. It's like,how deep do you want to go into it?
I want to hear what that Ican't hear. It's an acronym and not
know what it stands for. Yougotta give it to us.
We got it. And you know what?Each of those letters of the acronym
(16:19):
has something so universal.And then there are practices that
go with each three practicesto each of those letters. If you
really want to get into it,I'll go through the acronym and then
you tell me when we move on tothe next thing. But the acronym itself
is that C is calm. How do wefind calm in the storm? How do we
find it while we're on the goand grinding through the life that
(16:42):
we're living? There's a way todo that. He shows us how to do that.
Even in this modern landscapewe find ourselves. And then there's
O. O is others. And this isone that I was not good at. This
is one. I am an introvert atheart. This is one where I would
rather, in thisindividualistic society we have grown,
(17:03):
been raised in, I'd ratherjust figure it out and be on my own.
But really, how do we bringothers into, whether it's our mess
or whether it is on the go?How do we do that? And there are
two M's. There's the musicangle, right? And that music angle.
The benefits of worship andpraise. But there was so much I had
to learn about music. And sothat could be a part of your sacred
(17:27):
commute. And the second M.This is my wheelhouse. This is where
I feel at home, where the. Oh,I didn't. And that's media and learning,
Right? Media. In terms oflearning. And how do we leverage
what is at our fingertips?Now, for many years, I was an instructional
technology coach foreducators. And how do we leverage
media, debunking it as beingsomething that's problematic or that's
(17:49):
causing issues within oursociety. And how do we actually leverage
it as faithful humans in theways that, like, the Lord has taught
me so much in just five yearsbecause of what I've been able to
do with leveraging media indifferent ways. And then finally,
the last three are myfavorite. And these are the ones
that, again, are just. They'reso overarching, but with. With the
(18:14):
practices tethered to them,they're pretty fun and cool. And
the first one is unity. Andwho are we unifying ourselves with?
T is truth, right? And withthat truth, we know who our truth
is and when we put our trustin that truth. And then finally,
my favorite, and actually it'skind of a curveball, is echo. But
when you think of an echo andthe ripple effect that it has, what
(18:36):
is God doing in your life inthis commute? Or what is he doing
on this journey that you'redoing, this modern journey? And how
is he. How is he encouragingyou to echo that transformation into
your life and into the livesof others.
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(19:22):
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(19:44):
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But when you think of an echoand the ripple effect that it has,
what is God doing in your lifein this commute? Or what is he doing
on this journey that you'redoing, this modern journey? And how
(20:07):
is he, how is he encouragingyou to echo that transformation into
your life and into the livesof others?
So are these basically rhythmsor habits that you're encouraging
us to have every day in thedaily grind, all day?
Such a good question. Andthat's what I also and just thinking
(20:27):
of the natural educatorteacher in me is that like you want
them to be useful and youdon't want to box people in. The
more you box yourself in, theharder it is for you to integrate
what you're trying to do orfor it to be something that really
works for you. And so the waythe whole concept of designing that
has been that you can pick andchoose what works. There are some
(20:48):
days when I'm really not goingto be connecting with others. Like
I really need some silence.And silence comes as one of those
practices in calm. And thatwas a lesson, for example, that when
I thought about it, I hadn'tactually sat in silence for even
a three minute span in years.And all of a sudden it was like you
(21:10):
start to learn like whenyou're walking in step with the Holy
Spirit of like you start tosense what he's telling you when
you've made those spaces morethan just getting the job done and
checking a box.
Well, I love that you'reinviting us to think about our daily
(21:30):
life and ways we canexperience God in the midst of the
crazy and the loop. You talkso much about dreams. I want to make
sure we take time for thatwhile we have time. You talk about
the big and small mindset.Tell us a little bit more about how
to know if we have a bigmindset or a small mindset.
(21:53):
The big, small mindset. Thisis another one that especially as
I notice the more and more Iwork at a district office for a public
K12 education system, andthere's so much around data science
and numbers and quantity, overquality and up and to the right.
And when we are focused onthat, it's easy to get caught in
(22:18):
the mix of big achievement,numbers, growth. And again, growth
is important, impact isimportant. But there is this quality
element, and sometimes it'shard to measure some of the elements
that are not as big. Theymight be smaller. Whether it's moments
or where you invest in aconversation with somebody that seems
(22:42):
small that actually has animpact beyond what looks like the
world says is a big thing.When we think of when we're. We're
wanting to help others orinfluence others, and we can get
in that trap of like, I onlyhelped 10 people today, but those
are 10 people. Those are that.Right. And so when we hear of these
(23:04):
influencers that are helpingthousands, it's like, does that mean
that their numbers are bigger,so that's more important, or they
matter more? And so that's theessence of the big, small mindset.
And what can we do withoutunderestimating the importance of
the small? And honestly, whenwe think of the way Jesus lived his
(23:25):
life, he leaned into thosesmall moments, and those are the
ones that made an impact onthe kingdom, right?
Yeah. I mean, as you'retalking, I'm thinking we definitely
live in a culture in a timewhere I think, even when I talk to
a lot of young people and theythink about their dreams and hopes
(23:45):
and the things they want todo, they start with the big. But
most of the people we see whoare experiencing the big, the big
influence, the big impact,whatever, they started small and
they were faithful to what wasright in front of them. And you see
that in scripture, where, youknow, Scripture says if you're faithful
with little, you'll be givenmore. You're not given a lot. And
(24:09):
if you can handle that, you'regiven a lot more. You're given a
little, and you're given alittle more and a little more. And
so I'm curious if you have astory that could inspire us on just
the way you've seen in yourown life or someone else's life,
the power of really investingin the small things and what can
(24:33):
happen as a result of that. Yeah.
You know, the first thing thatpops into my head is the writing
journey that I'm on. And itis. And, Willow, you are a writer
yourself. And so you know whatit looks like sometimes to have a
dream that is influenced byindustry. Right. And what that could
(24:59):
look like if you, in order tohave quote, unquote, success. Right.
Or even have a proposal thatis accepted or even looked at. Do
you have the numbers for that?And last summer, I went to a writer's
conference for the first timeand working on my craft in that way
(25:20):
and learned so much. And, youknow, I don't know if I knew what
my goal was going into that.And perhaps it's easy to get wrapped
up in, myself included. Like,you know, what are the big goals
or what are the big dreamswhen you go into something like that?
And really, the best part ofthat were the two individuals that
(25:42):
I met there that are now mybest friends. And it's been 10 months.
Right. And I talk to themmultiple times a day. And when you
look at what society woulddeem that as. Is that a success that
you made two friends, I wouldsay so when you feel and you see
the impact on the way you areliving and what the Lord has done
(26:03):
in that work, that's the firstone that comes to mind. Of course,
there could be so many thatare out there. But again, when we
measure our success by thenumbers, it's really easy to get
discouraged in our dreams. Butif we see, like you mentioned, the.
The small moments, being giventhose and being faithful in those,
(26:26):
you know, the sky's the limit.
Yeah. It's interesting how wemeasure success, isn't it? It's frightening,
actually. I mean, you bring upthe book writing thing, and I have
to say, I mean, my book isgetting published this year, and
that's very importantadulation. Thank you. But the road
(26:49):
there likes to tell you you'revery small and you have little potential,
and it can feel like you'regetting beaten up every other day.
So I totally resonate withthat. It's funny, I got asked last
week to show up to a localpublic school to meet with a girl
who requested to meet with me.I don't know her. I don't know her
(27:14):
or her family was out in thecounty, and apparently she had done
one of the Bible studies Iwrote. And so there's a mentoring
program in the school, and shewas talking to her mentor about being
impacted by this Bible Study.And she wanted to meet the author.
And the mentor's like, I knowwho she is. I can set that up. So
I drive out into the middle ofthe county. You know, the map says
(27:37):
to go to a barn. I'm like, ohmy gosh, am I going to get murdered?
I don't know what this is. Iget there, there's all these kids
petting goats. And it was thisbeautiful program where there's all
these mentors that invest inthese kids. Every single kid in this
high school gets a mentor fortheir entire high school experience
that they meet with, I thinkevery week, a local person, which
(27:59):
is incredible. And so I showup here and I'm gonna meet this girl.
I have no idea what she wantsto talk to me about. And Basically
she's the 16 year old girl.She's like 6ft tall, super warm and
bubbly and she's been throughsome stuff and she wants to write
and she's like, I don't knowhow to start. And it was so cool
(28:23):
to watch this young girl havea dream. And she actually is putting
herself out there and saying,how can I start doing something?
And the answer really is like,well, let's dial this all the way
back to how can you startsmall? And we gotta talk about what
that looks like, right? Don'tstart with your name and lights,
girlfriend. Start with how areyou saying yes to opportunities to
(28:47):
use your voice, whether it's,you know, in oral speaking or in
writing. And here's anassignment that you could start with
for writing. But all that tosay, I think we as women have dreams.
And those dreams can even beinfused in us since we're little,
since we're young. Like thisgirl at 16 years old. What are the
(29:09):
things that you're seeinghappening to women that you're hearing
about in this work you'redoing that are making us feel like
we don't have what it takes,or that we aren't enough, or what
are the things that areholding women back from really pursuing
their dreams?
(29:30):
I interestingly find thatthere's a lot of. Whether it's we've
heard of imposter syndrome.That's a big one, right? The imposter
syndrome. And that could looklike a variety of things, but you
know, our. It's so much easierto hear the negative than the positive
of anything, right? And thereis, there's some science out there
(29:55):
that also says that in themorning your cortisol levels peak
between the hours of 7 and8am, which is like, right when you're
starting your day. And I foundthis really interesting because that's
where I was noticing. I wasstruggling to even, like, just make
it through a day, let alonedream beyond or think. Think back
(30:16):
to, like, that inner child of,like, who do I want to be? Right?
I could barely even get to anyof that because I was feeling like
an imposter every day. Or thecortisol levels are high and I'm
feeling anxious in the day, orI'm feeling unsuccessful. I think
there's just so many lies.Whether that's coming at us from
(30:36):
the directions of whetherthat's work or media or. Or friend
groups or whatever, orcomparison, we do it to ourselves,
right? With comparing, youknow, it's the thief of joy. And
so I think that a lot of timesthere's this, like, this noise, right?
(30:58):
This constant humming ofsomething that is challenging us
in all the wrong ways. Andsometimes we're listening to it.
Actually, a lot of times we'relistening to it too much. And so
that's what I'm seeing is theimposter syndrome anxiety, the listening
to all of that.
(31:20):
What are you finding helping?What's helping women redream again?
And know. I mean, one of yourthings that is a strong message that
you, you know, live to preachis that you don't have to just survive,
but you're made to thrive. Sowhat. What's helping a woman to truly
thrive.
Willow? That one's hardbecause you know what? I feel like
(31:43):
for each one of us, it looksvery different. I wish I had the
magic pill of what that couldbe. But what I would say for me has
been a lesson in steppingoutside of myself, being vulnerable,
listening to trustedindividuals in my life, and surrounding
(32:05):
myself with people that. Thatare able to take up. Allow me to
take up space with them.Whether that is through, like, you
know, coaching seems like aluxury, right? And in ways it can
be. So where are we spendingour time? And who are we surrounding
(32:26):
ourselves with? And what arewe consuming versus what are we creating?
Right? And a lot of that, whatI'm seeing, even in dreaming, is
like, if you can see yourselfas a creator, right? Or art, like,
I think sometimes we. Am I anartist? Am I creative? It took me
a long time to, like, leaninto that. Am I a creative? What
(32:47):
does that look like if I'mnot, like, a famous creator? Right?
But the more I leaned intothose creative elements as well,
the more I could see that I'mmore than the tasks that I'm supposed
to do during the Day I'm morethan the roles that I play at work,
and it gets your priorities inline, right? And being a daughter
(33:10):
of Jesus has been reallyinstrumental and it's taken me a
long time to assume that roleand welcome that role and invite.
The invitation's always beenthere. But to say yes, right? Like
you even said to say yes. So,you know, and our God is a creator.
(33:32):
And so the more we can mirrorJesus, the more we can mirror our
God, I think the more likelywe are to find that inner. That inner
peace and get our prioritieslined up. Where sometimes it all
just seems like, how do I doit? Right? And that's with people
and with Jesus. Right.
(33:53):
Jenny, I know that there'swomen listening who feel like their
dreams have died and theycan't begin to consider what it would
look like to redream again.There's women listening who feel
like they're definitelysurviving and they're stuck in the
daily grind. What do you wantto say to them? Today.
(34:15):
You have permission to dreamagain. And it's scary. And it may
not be dreaming for somethingso big and scary, but what does that
look like? Even in the small.What could be that small liminal
(34:39):
space today, going back to,you know, that loop that you're in
and how can we find, withinthat loop that you're in, how can
you connect in a way where youare being rebellious? And that's,
(35:02):
again, that's scary, right?Being willing to step out of the
loop. Being willing. And ifyou can't do it alone, who are you
linking arms with? Who are yougoing to reach out to? And again,
the vulnerability there isextremely hard for some, myself included.
(35:23):
Again, the inner introvert inme would rather just be stuck in
my loop because it seemssafer. But the moment you step out
and take that risk ofvulnerability and connection, the
more you are able to have theability to set a goal or to think
(35:45):
bigger or to actually hearwhat is beckoning in the nooks and
crannies of your living right now.
Jenny, I know that there'speople who are going to want to follow
you, hear more about thesacred Commute acronym and so many
(36:08):
things that you're up to. Howcan they do that?
Absolutely. So you can find meon Instagram, Sacred Commuters, and.
And also on my website,jennylabrie.com and on that website,
I've just got a bunch offreebies there that can help lead
you through the entire commuteor there's even swipe files to help
you take that leap of faith.To take that next step and seeing
(36:31):
yourself maybe embracing someof the pieces of your story outside
of the mundane commute andstepping into something a little
bit more sacred for yourselfand for your story.
Jenny, thank you for being onthe podcast today.
Yeah, absolutely. Thanks forhaving me. It's been so much fun.
(36:57):
Hey friend, I don't know whereyou're at with the whole dreaming
thing today, but after talkingwith Jenny, I just wanted to remind
you of a few things. One, makesure that you subscribe to our podcast
so you can get this weekly soit can continue to encourage, inspire
you in your faith, in yourlife. But I want to tell you about
(37:19):
a few resources we have aroundhere at Collidethat could potentially
help you with your dreams. Ithought of four as she was talking.
I want to tell you about allfour of them. One is a free exercise
called five exercises to helpyou do amazing things that is on
our website. Make sure tocheck it out because we curated this
(37:40):
thing for you to help you inyour calling. The others are check
out the yes you or the Goahead Bible study books that I wrote.
I purposely wrote them to helpwomen. Yes you is tackling all those
ways that you say, not me,God, I'm not enough. I'm. I'm too
old. I'm not that interesting.I'm not that cool, I'm not that hip.
(38:02):
All the ways that youdisqualify yourself from God, using
you and purposing your life.And so that is a great study to grab
if you want to tackle thatvoice that's just bugging you. The
other one is called Go aheadand it's a Bible study that wrote
(38:23):
and actually at the end why Ithought of it is because at the very
end there's an entire dreamjournal that helps you re dream for
your life. And part ofdreaming is taking leaps of faith.
So that Bible study reallyhelps you to recognize that the extraordinary
is sitting right outside ofthe ordinary that you now sit in.
(38:44):
And how do you leap out andwalk on water and take that step
of faith and experienceextraordinary things? So check that
out. And then the last one iswomen of impact. We had like 70 some
women hop on a course andteach and they're women who truly
are living their dreams andmaking impact in this world. So check
that out. Out. We have tons ofresources on our website at wecolide.
(39:07):
Net. In the meantime, friend,keep colliding with Jesus and we'll
catch you next week.
Hey, there. So glad you hoppedon the Collide podcast. This is Willow
Weston, and I love learningwith you and growing and letting
Jesus run into our livestogether. Man, our lives are messy,
and they're joyous and they'rebeautiful, and they're broken, and
they're hard, and they'regood, and they're all the things,
(00:35):
and we need each other. And sotoday, I love that I could have a
conversation with JennyLabrie. She's a writer, a speaker,
a coach, and a podcast host.Lots of the things, but she has a
real heart to help women redream again, to really enter into
(00:57):
the sacred space with God, tobreak out of the daily grind and
listen to what he has for themso that they don't just survive,
but they actually thrive. Somy hope in handing you this interview
today is in all the ways thatyou feel like you are just rocking
that survival life, that thisgives you some encouragement. So
(01:18):
check it out, Jenny. I lovethat we get to have this conversation
today. You're coming in fromChicago. You have three kids, and
I love that you say yourhometown's in the Chicago burbs and
that we can find you and yourkids sipping root beer on your front
porch on a good day. So istoday, like, a good weather day there,
(01:42):
or what you got going?
We got some clouds today, butthe sun has peaked through a little
bit. And actually, last night,we had some. Some rain, and I got
to see a rainbow for the firsttime in months. It was beautiful
and so worth it.
I love that you love that,because I'm in the Pacific Northwest,
and someone just actually toldme, and I don't know if it's true,
(02:05):
but I live in a town calledBellingham, Washington, and someone
said there's a list of the top100 rainiest places in the nation,
and Bellingham was number one.
Oh, goodness. Yeah.
The rainbows just mean therain is coming to an end for a few
minutes, which is awesome.That's hilarious. Well, I love that
(02:25):
you guys drink root beer.That's cute.
I love it. It's one of myfavorites. That, and I didn't put
this one on there, but I lovepickles, too, and that's not a great
combo, but that's my eclectictaste for you. Yeah.
Pickles. My mom's favoritesnack when I was growing up was pickles
and mayonnaise and peanutbutter sandwiches.
Wow.
(02:46):
And I never have tried it. I'mfrightened by the idea.
It is unconventional, for sure.
Yes. Yes. Well, you do so manythings. You're a Writer, a speaker,
a coach. You co found an LLCcalled Grounded Learning. There's
so many things that you're upto. I want to just talk about this
(03:07):
passion you have for women whofeel stuck in the daily grind. Why
is that a passion of yours?
Oh, goodness. I could go wayback to. Well, my roots are in education.
I actually spent 13 years in aSpanish high school classroom. Before
that, I was traveling abroadand learning a language. And so personal
growth has always been a partof just who I am and why I love working
(03:31):
with that age group. But whatreally turned me into where I find
myself in this part of thejourney is when I started coaching.
And it was in the industry ofeducation and coaching our educators
and our teachers, and they areby and large one of the most hardworking,
but also burned outprofessionals. And I work with them
on the daily. And so justseeing the challenges that have arisen,
(03:56):
especially at the hands ofCOVID you know, it's been five years,
and I was in the heart ofprofessional learning, growth and
coaching when all of that wasgoing down. And so that's where I
find myself shifting in theneeds of not just professional growth,
but personal growth. And Ithink there's been a real point of
(04:18):
attention on what does thatmean? What does that mean? And how
do I do that and how do Igrow? How do I upskill? What are
all these terms and why? Andso that's really where I got my roots
and started, but have beenleaning into the whispers and the
nudges from God to thinkbeyond the public education space.
(04:43):
When you think about women whoare stuck in the daily grind, what
can that look like? Because, Imean, obviously the daily grind means
we're all still alive. Like,we're here, we're doing the thing.
That's not something wenecessarily are looking to escape
right away, most of us. Butwhat is being stuck in it look like
(05:04):
versus unstuck?
Well, you know, if that's themillion dollar question, and I'm
still in a journey of tryingto find that. I've been toying around
with, you know, podcaster andcoach and speaker and all of these
terms, but really what itboils down to is the essence of being
a word wielder and a dreamdefender. And I find more now than
(05:27):
ever, it's hard for people to.To find what dreaming looks like.
And how do we dare to have thecourage to dream again. And being
stuck in that really, thatpattern, it's hard to want to dream
for fun, to dream for growth,to dream for longings. Unfulfilled
(05:48):
and so that unstuck. How do weget unstuck? And I really think that
there is something in ourlongings and in our dreaming. But
a lot of times that's scary orwe don't. We think it's frivolous
or we don't know how to do it.And so what the stuck looks like
is in these loops, in thesepatterns of consistent mundane moments
(06:09):
that are maybe beckoning usinto more and we don't really know
what to do with them.
I want to talk more with youabout dreams. You talk a lot about
dormant dreams. How would awoman know if she has a dormant dream?
Oh, how would you know youhave a dormant dream? There's usually
(06:29):
some. There's something theretapping on your heart. There's something
there that keeps. Whether it'san audible word, whether that's a
feeling within your gut,whether that is a whisper from the
Lord, whether that issomething reoccurring that you're
(06:52):
noticing over and over andover again. There's usually some
kind of underlying more. Andthat's hard to sometimes uncover
by yourself. And that's wherecoaching has come to play, where
I've learned and been coachedmyself a whole bunch through trying
to find what that looks like.Not doing that alone.
(07:14):
I so resonate with thatbecause I think back and this is
a long time ago because mykids are like 19 and 22 now. But
when they were little, when Igot pregnant with my first I. I left
my ministry job to be a stayat home mom. And that was a choice
I wanted to make. And I'msuper glad for our family. It was
a great choice. Loved it. ButI missed. There was a part of me
(07:38):
by about like year six where.And I did it for eight years. My
husband looked at me and he'slike, it feels like there's a part
of you that's dying inside.Like he saw in me this dormant dream
that I had to be a messenger,preach to speak to write to do. All
the things that I had beendoing that I set aside and I chose
(08:00):
to set aside to invest in mykiddos. But there was a piece of
me that. It was almost like Icouldn't be content by just putting
those gifts in a closet andclosing the door and letting them
just kind of like get stale inthere. And I'm sure there was a piece
where the Lord was okay withme setting those aside for a time.
(08:24):
But after a while it startedto sort of eat at me.
Yeah.
And I think that's whatHappens. That thing you're talking
about where there's like anagging feeling, there's something
there where you feel like I'mnot fully, I'm not fully doing what
I'm made or called to do. Haveyou had a moment like that in your
own life?
(08:44):
Oh, absolutely. And intouching, in that dormancy piece
that you're talking about,like right when you are, whether
you're sleepwalking or you'renot sleeping well, there's this like
in between, between you'reconscious, semi conscious, and you're
kind of asleep and that theHoly Spirit wants to awaken something
(09:04):
in you. And sometimes it'slike, how do I find that? How do
I get there? Right. For me,that has been for me the sacred commute.
I would say that I was livingJesus adjacent rather than a Jesus
immersed lifestyle. And thatwas because I was running from task
to task. And sometimes we saydormant, like maybe we're sleeping,
(09:25):
but really sometimes we'rejust numbing or we're just so overstimulated
and we're so busy that it'sreally hard to hear that still quiet
voice of the Lord. And in mysacred commute, time that took years
of me like actually noticingpatterns of like I'm not just commuting.
Maybe there's something moreto this liminal space that I'm having.
But it took a lot of selfawareness and time to get myself
(09:47):
there. And at times I don'teven know if I really recognized
that it was the Lord saying,there's more, Jenny, or whispering,
there's more. And so thatreally took its toll on me in the.
I used to drive two hours aday making all my rounds. And so
that was where I had time.That's where I had time other than
(10:10):
everything else that wasdistracting me and numbing me.
Right before we talk aboutthis idea that you brought up about
the sacred commute, I want totalk to you a little bit more about
this phrase you used to Jesusadjacent. Define for people who are
listening who don'tnecessarily know what that term means.
(10:30):
What's Jesus adjacent and whatare we invited to be sure.
I think it's just a term I'vebeen playing around with. Like I
said a word wielder. I like toplay with words. And really that
term has come to describewhere my upbringing was Christian
and I was actually raisedMethodist first and then I marri
(10:54):
into a Lutheran denomination.And you know, there's a background
of Christianity in my story,but I went decades with hearing and
knowing Jesus. But not reallyhaving a relationship with him. So
he was like kind of adjacent.He was like on the side. And it wasn't
until I was beckoned intosomething more with him, into that
(11:15):
relationship where Iunderstood what it meant. And it
wasn't as scary oroverwhelming or light or it wasn't
as scary or overwhelming aswhat maybe you would think being
immersed in something is. Andwho better or what better to be immersed
(11:36):
in than Jesus, right?
It's funny, as you're talking,I'm thinking about Jesus in the New
Testament, in the Gospels. Andyou see him and he shows up to places
we talk about. Jesus collides.Like he runs into the places we are,
whether it was at thesynagogue or the market or alongside
(11:56):
a lake or at a wedding. And heshows up there and it's very interesting
because he often had thisinvitation that he asked so many
of us, which is come andfollow me. I mean, I don't know if
that's Jesus adjacent, but Iwould think it's more of an immersive
experience of like, hey, I'mactually going to ask you to leave
(12:19):
your boat, leave your people,leave your dad, leave your 401k,
leave your career, like, leavethe whole thing. It's flipping scary.
And I'm going to ask you to gowith me where I go and do what I
do and be up to what I'm upto. That's a full fledged immersion.
Versus, hey, come back to menext week at this market, Come back
(12:40):
to me next week at thesynagogue. Come back to me next week
when there's a differentwedding. I'm just picturing as you're
talking. There's a differentmentality between I'm going to come
back and run into Jesus inthis one place that I know he sometimes
shows up versus I'm going toimmerse my entire life and follow
(13:01):
him. And so it sounds likethat's when your dream started to
come alive, when you startedto get immersed in Jesus. What did
that look like for you? Youhad this commute. Talk to us about
the sacred commute and howthis God who collides showed up in
the middle of that.
Yeah, the sacred commute issomething that I was going through
(13:23):
as most things. Anytime we gothrough the valley, when we're in
a valley or we're in thewilderness, we're struggling. And
this happened to be commutingto my job during the heart of the
pandemic and reallyconsidering my mortality. And like,
man, I'm showing up forsomething and I've Got to really
think about who I am and whatI'm about and why I'm doing what
(13:45):
I'm doing. And. And so when Iwas in the midst of that, I started,
although it was terrifying atthe time, I started journaling a
whole bunch more. I really.Part of my writing story was a lot
in my childhood and earlyyears. And I've always written a
lot academically because of myjob. But I put away whether it was
(14:09):
creative writing orjournaling, and I ended up taking
that out again at anotherbeckoning or nudging of the Lord.
And I started to noticepatterns when I was journaling more.
What are these patterns?Because it typically happened after
I got home from the drive. Andthat's where I started finding and
(14:29):
seeing the patterns of theshifts he was doing within me or
practices that just seemedlike they were coming from. Like,
where were they coming from?And the commute turned into an acronym.
And each of those lettersmeaning something more than just
commuting in a car. Butreally, what does that look like
when you're on a loop and youknow, we have this, we hear about
(14:53):
the journey of life, right?Life is a journey, not a destination.
And when I hear that, I askthe question, if it's a journey,
how do I journey? Well, andyou know what? The modern journey
doesn't really look like anepic quest. It actually looks more
like a mundane loop back andforth. Whether that is in your car
(15:14):
or it's from your bedroom tothe kitchen in the morning and back,
whether that is runningerrands. And if we are always darting
between these tasks, how do weactually meet with Jesus? How do
we actually develop arelationship with him? Because it's
really hard. Especially, youknow, I'm a full time working mom,
(15:36):
commuting two hours a day withthree kids. How do I actually immerse
myself in Jesus? And so thecommute practices started to be things
that I could do on the go orin the grind. And that he started
shifting things within mebecause it was something that I was
able to do in this modern typeof journeying through life. And that's
the essence of what those are.
(15:58):
I love that. Do you share theacronym or is this super secret?
No, absolutely not. It's like,how deep do you want to go into it?
I want to hear what that Ican't hear. It's an acronym and not
know what it stands for. Yougotta give it to us.
We got it. And you know what?Each of those letters of the acronym
(16:19):
has something so universal.And then there are practices that
go with each three practicesto each of those letters. If you
really want to get into it,I'll go through the acronym and then
you tell me when we move on tothe next thing. But the acronym itself
is that C is calm. How do wefind calm in the storm? How do we
find it while we're on the goand grinding through the life that
(16:42):
we're living? There's a way todo that. He shows us how to do that.
Even in this modern landscapewe find ourselves. And then there's
O. O is others. And this isone that I was not good at. This
is one. I am an introvert atheart. This is one where I would
rather, in thisindividualistic society we have grown,
(17:03):
been raised in, I'd ratherjust figure it out and be on my own.
But really, how do we bringothers into, whether it's our mess
or whether it is on the go?How do we do that? And there are
two M's. There's the musicangle, right? And that music angle.
The benefits of worship andpraise. But there was so much I had
to learn about music. And sothat could be a part of your sacred
(17:27):
commute. And the second M.This is my wheelhouse. This is where
I feel at home, where the. Oh,I didn't. And that's media and learning,
Right? Media. In terms oflearning. And how do we leverage
what is at our fingertips?Now, for many years, I was an instructional
technology coach foreducators. And how do we leverage
media, debunking it as beingsomething that's problematic or that's
(17:49):
causing issues within oursociety. And how do we actually leverage
it as faithful humans in theways that, like, the Lord has taught
me so much in just five yearsbecause of what I've been able to
do with leveraging media indifferent ways. And then finally,
the last three are myfavorite. And these are the ones
that, again, are just. They'reso overarching, but with. With the
(18:14):
practices tethered to them,they're pretty fun and cool. And
the first one is unity. Andwho are we unifying ourselves with?
T is truth, right? And withthat truth, we know who our truth
is and when we put our trustin that truth. And then finally,
my favorite, and actually it'skind of a curveball, is echo. But
when you think of an echo andthe ripple effect that it has, what
(18:36):
is God doing in your life inthis commute? Or what is he doing
on this journey that you'redoing, this modern journey? And how
is he. How is he encouragingyou to echo that transformation into
your life and into the livesof others.
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(18:59):
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(19:22):
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(19:44):
experience the life changingpower of God's presence in your life.
But when you think of an echoand the ripple effect that it has,
what is God doing in your lifein this commute? Or what is he doing
on this journey that you'redoing, this modern journey? And how
(20:07):
is he, how is he encouragingyou to echo that transformation into
your life and into the livesof others?
So are these basically rhythmsor habits that you're encouraging
us to have every day in thedaily grind, all day?
Such a good question. Andthat's what I also and just thinking
(20:27):
of the natural educatorteacher in me is that like you want
them to be useful and youdon't want to box people in. The
more you box yourself in, theharder it is for you to integrate
what you're trying to do orfor it to be something that really
works for you. And so the waythe whole concept of designing that
has been that you can pick andchoose what works. There are some
(20:48):
days when I'm really not goingto be connecting with others. Like
I really need some silence.And silence comes as one of those
practices in calm. And thatwas a lesson, for example, that when
I thought about it, I hadn'tactually sat in silence for even
a three minute span in years.And all of a sudden it was like you
(21:10):
start to learn like whenyou're walking in step with the Holy
Spirit of like you start tosense what he's telling you when
you've made those spaces morethan just getting the job done and
checking a box.
Well, I love that you'reinviting us to think about our daily
(21:30):
life and ways we canexperience God in the midst of the
crazy and the loop. You talkso much about dreams. I want to make
sure we take time for thatwhile we have time. You talk about
the big and small mindset.Tell us a little bit more about how
to know if we have a bigmindset or a small mindset.
(21:53):
The big, small mindset. Thisis another one that especially as
I notice the more and more Iwork at a district office for a public
K12 education system, andthere's so much around data science
and numbers and quantity, overquality and up and to the right.
And when we are focused onthat, it's easy to get caught in
(22:18):
the mix of big achievement,numbers, growth. And again, growth
is important, impact isimportant. But there is this quality
element, and sometimes it'shard to measure some of the elements
that are not as big. Theymight be smaller. Whether it's moments
or where you invest in aconversation with somebody that seems
(22:42):
small that actually has animpact beyond what looks like the
world says is a big thing.When we think of when we're. We're
wanting to help others orinfluence others, and we can get
in that trap of like, I onlyhelped 10 people today, but those
are 10 people. Those are that.Right. And so when we hear of these
(23:04):
influencers that are helpingthousands, it's like, does that mean
that their numbers are bigger,so that's more important, or they
matter more? And so that's theessence of the big, small mindset.
And what can we do withoutunderestimating the importance of
the small? And honestly, whenwe think of the way Jesus lived his
(23:25):
life, he leaned into thosesmall moments, and those are the
ones that made an impact onthe kingdom, right?
Yeah. I mean, as you'retalking, I'm thinking we definitely
live in a culture in a timewhere I think, even when I talk to
a lot of young people and theythink about their dreams and hopes
(23:45):
and the things they want todo, they start with the big. But
most of the people we see whoare experiencing the big, the big
influence, the big impact,whatever, they started small and
they were faithful to what wasright in front of them. And you see
that in scripture, where, youknow, Scripture says if you're faithful
with little, you'll be givenmore. You're not given a lot. And
(24:09):
if you can handle that, you'regiven a lot more. You're given a
little, and you're given alittle more and a little more. And
so I'm curious if you have astory that could inspire us on just
the way you've seen in yourown life or someone else's life,
the power of really investingin the small things and what can
(24:33):
happen as a result of that. Yeah.
You know, the first thing thatpops into my head is the writing
journey that I'm on. And itis. And, Willow, you are a writer
yourself. And so you know whatit looks like sometimes to have a
dream that is influenced byindustry. Right. And what that could
(24:59):
look like if you, in order tohave quote, unquote, success. Right.
Or even have a proposal thatis accepted or even looked at. Do
you have the numbers for that?And last summer, I went to a writer's
conference for the first timeand working on my craft in that way
(25:20):
and learned so much. And, youknow, I don't know if I knew what
my goal was going into that.And perhaps it's easy to get wrapped
up in, myself included. Like,you know, what are the big goals
or what are the big dreamswhen you go into something like that?
And really, the best part ofthat were the two individuals that
(25:42):
I met there that are now mybest friends. And it's been 10 months.
Right. And I talk to themmultiple times a day. And when you
look at what society woulddeem that as. Is that a success that
you made two friends, I wouldsay so when you feel and you see
the impact on the way you areliving and what the Lord has done
(26:03):
in that work, that's the firstone that comes to mind. Of course,
there could be so many thatare out there. But again, when we
measure our success by thenumbers, it's really easy to get
discouraged in our dreams. Butif we see, like you mentioned, the.
The small moments, being giventhose and being faithful in those,
(26:26):
you know, the sky's the limit.
Yeah. It's interesting how wemeasure success, isn't it? It's frightening,
actually. I mean, you bring upthe book writing thing, and I have
to say, I mean, my book isgetting published this year, and
that's very importantadulation. Thank you. But the road
(26:49):
there likes to tell you you'revery small and you have little potential,
and it can feel like you'regetting beaten up every other day.
So I totally resonate withthat. It's funny, I got asked last
week to show up to a localpublic school to meet with a girl
who requested to meet with me.I don't know her. I don't know her
(27:14):
or her family was out in thecounty, and apparently she had done
one of the Bible studies Iwrote. And so there's a mentoring
program in the school, and shewas talking to her mentor about being
impacted by this Bible Study.And she wanted to meet the author.
And the mentor's like, I knowwho she is. I can set that up. So
I drive out into the middle ofthe county. You know, the map says
(27:37):
to go to a barn. I'm like, ohmy gosh, am I going to get murdered?
I don't know what this is. Iget there, there's all these kids
petting goats. And it was thisbeautiful program where there's all
these mentors that invest inthese kids. Every single kid in this
high school gets a mentor fortheir entire high school experience
that they meet with, I thinkevery week, a local person, which
(27:59):
is incredible. And so I showup here and I'm gonna meet this girl.
I have no idea what she wantsto talk to me about. And Basically
she's the 16 year old girl.She's like 6ft tall, super warm and
bubbly and she's been throughsome stuff and she wants to write
and she's like, I don't knowhow to start. And it was so cool
(28:23):
to watch this young girl havea dream. And she actually is putting
herself out there and saying,how can I start doing something?
And the answer really is like,well, let's dial this all the way
back to how can you startsmall? And we gotta talk about what
that looks like, right? Don'tstart with your name and lights,
girlfriend. Start with how areyou saying yes to opportunities to
(28:47):
use your voice, whether it's,you know, in oral speaking or in
writing. And here's anassignment that you could start with
for writing. But all that tosay, I think we as women have dreams.
And those dreams can even beinfused in us since we're little,
since we're young. Like thisgirl at 16 years old. What are the
(29:09):
things that you're seeinghappening to women that you're hearing
about in this work you'redoing that are making us feel like
we don't have what it takes,or that we aren't enough, or what
are the things that areholding women back from really pursuing
their dreams?
(29:30):
I interestingly find thatthere's a lot of. Whether it's we've
heard of imposter syndrome.That's a big one, right? The imposter
syndrome. And that could looklike a variety of things, but you
know, our. It's so much easierto hear the negative than the positive
of anything, right? And thereis, there's some science out there
(29:55):
that also says that in themorning your cortisol levels peak
between the hours of 7 and8am, which is like, right when you're
starting your day. And I foundthis really interesting because that's
where I was noticing. I wasstruggling to even, like, just make
it through a day, let alonedream beyond or think. Think back
(30:16):
to, like, that inner child of,like, who do I want to be? Right?
I could barely even get to anyof that because I was feeling like
an imposter every day. Or thecortisol levels are high and I'm
feeling anxious in the day, orI'm feeling unsuccessful. I think
there's just so many lies.Whether that's coming at us from
(30:36):
the directions of whetherthat's work or media or. Or friend
groups or whatever, orcomparison, we do it to ourselves,
right? With comparing, youknow, it's the thief of joy. And
so I think that a lot of timesthere's this, like, this noise, right?
(30:58):
This constant humming ofsomething that is challenging us
in all the wrong ways. Andsometimes we're listening to it.
Actually, a lot of times we'relistening to it too much. And so
that's what I'm seeing is theimposter syndrome anxiety, the listening
to all of that.
(31:20):
What are you finding helping?What's helping women redream again?
And know. I mean, one of yourthings that is a strong message that
you, you know, live to preachis that you don't have to just survive,
but you're made to thrive. Sowhat. What's helping a woman to truly
thrive.
Willow? That one's hardbecause you know what? I feel like
(31:43):
for each one of us, it looksvery different. I wish I had the
magic pill of what that couldbe. But what I would say for me has
been a lesson in steppingoutside of myself, being vulnerable,
listening to trustedindividuals in my life, and surrounding
(32:05):
myself with people that. Thatare able to take up. Allow me to
take up space with them.Whether that is through, like, you
know, coaching seems like aluxury, right? And in ways it can
be. So where are we spendingour time? And who are we surrounding
(32:26):
ourselves with? And what arewe consuming versus what are we creating?
Right? And a lot of that, whatI'm seeing, even in dreaming, is
like, if you can see yourselfas a creator, right? Or art, like,
I think sometimes we. Am I anartist? Am I creative? It took me
a long time to, like, leaninto that. Am I a creative? What
(32:47):
does that look like if I'mnot, like, a famous creator? Right?
But the more I leaned intothose creative elements as well,
the more I could see that I'mmore than the tasks that I'm supposed
to do during the Day I'm morethan the roles that I play at work,
and it gets your priorities inline, right? And being a daughter
(33:10):
of Jesus has been reallyinstrumental and it's taken me a
long time to assume that roleand welcome that role and invite.
The invitation's always beenthere. But to say yes, right? Like
you even said to say yes. So,you know, and our God is a creator.
(33:32):
And so the more we can mirrorJesus, the more we can mirror our
God, I think the more likelywe are to find that inner. That inner
peace and get our prioritieslined up. Where sometimes it all
just seems like, how do I doit? Right? And that's with people
and with Jesus. Right.
(33:53):
Jenny, I know that there'swomen listening who feel like their
dreams have died and theycan't begin to consider what it would
look like to redream again.There's women listening who feel
like they're definitelysurviving and they're stuck in the
daily grind. What do you wantto say to them? Today.
(34:15):
You have permission to dreamagain. And it's scary. And it may
not be dreaming for somethingso big and scary, but what does that
look like? Even in the small.What could be that small liminal
(34:39):
space today, going back to,you know, that loop that you're in
and how can we find, withinthat loop that you're in, how can
you connect in a way where youare being rebellious? And that's,
(35:02):
again, that's scary, right?Being willing to step out of the
loop. Being willing. And ifyou can't do it alone, who are you
linking arms with? Who are yougoing to reach out to? And again,
the vulnerability there isextremely hard for some, myself included.
(35:23):
Again, the inner introvert inme would rather just be stuck in
my loop because it seemssafer. But the moment you step out
and take that risk ofvulnerability and connection, the
more you are able to have theability to set a goal or to think
(35:45):
bigger or to actually hearwhat is beckoning in the nooks and
crannies of your living right now.
Jenny, I know that there'speople who are going to want to follow
you, hear more about thesacred Commute acronym and so many
(36:08):
things that you're up to. Howcan they do that?
Absolutely. So you can find meon Instagram, Sacred Commuters, and.
And also on my website,jennylabrie.com and on that website,
I've just got a bunch offreebies there that can help lead
you through the entire commuteor there's even swipe files to help
you take that leap of faith.To take that next step and seeing
(36:31):
yourself maybe embracing someof the pieces of your story outside
of the mundane commute andstepping into something a little
bit more sacred for yourselfand for your story.
Jenny, thank you for being onthe podcast today.
Yeah, absolutely. Thanks forhaving me. It's been so much fun.
(36:57):
Hey friend, I don't know whereyou're at with the whole dreaming
thing today, but after talkingwith Jenny, I just wanted to remind
you of a few things. One, makesure that you subscribe to our podcast
so you can get this weekly soit can continue to encourage, inspire
you in your faith, in yourlife. But I want to tell you about
(37:19):
a few resources we have aroundhere at Collidethat could potentially
help you with your dreams. Ithought of four as she was talking.
I want to tell you about allfour of them. One is a free exercise
called five exercises to helpyou do amazing things that is on
our website. Make sure tocheck it out because we curated this
(37:40):
thing for you to help you inyour calling. The others are check
out the yes you or the Goahead Bible study books that I wrote.
I purposely wrote them to helpwomen. Yes you is tackling all those
ways that you say, not me,God, I'm not enough. I'm. I'm too
old. I'm not that interesting.I'm not that cool, I'm not that hip.
(38:02):
All the ways that youdisqualify yourself from God, using
you and purposing your life.And so that is a great study to grab
if you want to tackle thatvoice that's just bugging you. The
other one is called Go aheadand it's a Bible study that wrote
(38:23):
and actually at the end why Ithought of it is because at the very
end there's an entire dreamjournal that helps you re dream for
your life. And part ofdreaming is taking leaps of faith.
So that Bible study reallyhelps you to recognize that the extraordinary
is sitting right outside ofthe ordinary that you now sit in.
(38:44):
And how do you leap out andwalk on water and take that step
of faith and experienceextraordinary things? So check that
out. And then the last one iswomen of impact. We had like 70 some
women hop on a course andteach and they're women who truly
are living their dreams andmaking impact in this world. So check
that out. Out. We have tons ofresources on our website at wecolide.
(39:07):
Net. In the meantime, friend,keep colliding with Jesus and we'll
catch you next week.
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