September 5, 2023 • 40 mins
Transitioning through life's seasons often requires recalibration, not only of our style but also of our identity. This week Amber and Lisa sit down with Leading Lady Dawn Damon to discuss our journey through these shifts, revealing how letting go of once-loved things can lead to personal growth. As we explore this path of embracing new opportunities and reinvention, we recognize the unique talents bestowed upon us by God, which often extend beyond traditional ministry roles. We wrap up our chat by tackling the fear of failure and reminding ourselves that every task, no matter how small, can be a ministry that God has given us to steward. So, come along for this enlightening and inspiring conversation, and who knows, you might just find your next grand venture in the most unexpected place!
Thank you for taking the time to like, subscribe, share, and comment. Visit leadingladies.life to find out more. Also, follow @leadingladieslife on social. Amber & Lisa are authors of the multi-award-winning book, Leading Ladies: Discover Your God-Grown Strategy for Success, which dives into the power of community and empowering women of faith to rise up and make a difference, using our gifts and faith to shine brightly in the world. Watch the Facebook Live edition on our YouTube Channel @coffeechatladies .
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey everyone and welcome to our first coffee chat
of September, the month of Cozy.
Have you guys had your puffieslattes yet?
Have you had those?
Speaker 2 (00:14):
I have not.
I had the pumpkin cream foam.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Let's see how many and what do you have in your cup
this morning Dawn.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
I'm having a caramel coffee with a little bit of
whipped cream on the top.
Oh, it sounds decadent, it's alittle naughty, but it's so good
it's a little it is.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
We're so happy to have on the program a brave
hearted woman, one of ourleading ladies, dawn Damon.
We just love her heart tominister to us in midlife.
We've had a crazy summer andtransitions and challenge.
(00:56):
And, lisa, you just had awedding.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
I did.
Weddings are a little differentnow than when I got married in
1988.
Right.
So you remember when you wouldgo to weddings and this was a
lovely wedding, by the way todear young people who just man
their power packed couple, andthere's a long lineage of them
within the lives of people welove, so it's really cool.
(01:22):
But remember when you would goto a wedding and your party
favor at the end, where thoselovely little mints and a little
tiny box those little and thebox probably cost more than the
minstead.
To make you know what I mean, Ijust want you to.
I just like has changed and Iam all for it.
Okay, so the party favor is abag of coffee bean and the
(01:49):
married couple, savannah andMario, have their own blend.
It's called Savio specialroasted.
Oh, it says the perfect blendof Savio.
Thank you for coming.
Enjoy a cup of coffee on us 50%dark roast she is African
American and 50% medium roast heis.
What are you?
Speaker 1 (02:11):
He's interesting.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
That is that I had this morning and I know they
just got married last night, butI had to shoot a little video
as I was drinking my morningcoffee for them.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
It is good we reached a time in society that it seems
like creativity is like on theup turn, like people are doing
things that you haven't thoughtof before.
The gig society has become thenorm and you can do a lot that
you didn't used to be able to do.
(02:42):
Like Right, can you design, youcan do your own big shops.
You have this beautiful thingcalled Etsy and creativity, I
think is is hot and thick rightnow because, right, going into a
generation where we're doingwhat we really feel like, we can
do this right at theirfingertips, yes, you could do
(03:05):
anything that wasn't tied topreaching and ministry.
What would you probably do?
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Right, Absolutely, would own probably a bling store
accessories all things sparkly,glittery accessories I.
My second love is fashion and Iwould do that.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
I would come to your store.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
I would come, and so I think that would be so fun.
I used to work in the fashionindustry in my early life years,
teens and early twenties, and Ido.
I just I adore that and I dosuffer from shiny object
syndrome Though it's, there'ssomething shiny.
But I do intentionally neglectsome things that I love because
(03:53):
I will get distracted.
So I like that's not for thisseason, right now, because I try
to do so many things.
Otherwise I'd be on Etsy, I'dbe designing things and right.
But to your point, how cool isthat?
Because there was such a narrowfunnel work creatives.
You had to be the tap to doanything.
(04:14):
And how many starving artistsjust died with the gifts trapped
inside of them.
I am a creative and I, when Isee something, I say I can make
that, I can make that, I cancreate that or I would like that
if it was this or that.
And then I go, I find a way todo it, and I am finding the more
(04:37):
that I do what is right infront of me right now, which is,
of course, the book leadingladies book which, by the way,
y'all Dawn is one of ourcontributors and we're so
grateful to her for contributingher letter to the church, to
the women of the church, toencourage them.
We're going to talk about that,but it brings this up.
(04:58):
You mentioned you get distracted, and I often fight with that.
Am I really being distracted,or are those things I should be
doing and I know this soundsdumb but little things like
knitting my grandbabies a hat?
I would love to just sit for acouple hours and knit my
grandbabies a hat, and that'sjust that creative part of me.
(05:19):
I think it's probably also thatpart of me that wants
everything to be nice and neat.
Those stitches come acrossperfect when the rest of life is
not, but I can't seem to findthe time, and I am at war
sometimes, and you mentionedit's a distraction for you.
How do you deal with that,though?
What do you do with it?
(05:40):
Because I just want to dump infor a few hours with my nice
cozy, fuzzy, warm yarn.
Yes, so I totally relate to this, and I try to schedule my life
in such a way that I have acouple of things that I live by.
One is do what I have to dofirst and do what I can do next,
(06:03):
so I make sure that the heavylifting is out of the way for me
, whether that's for the week,the day, whatever it is.
Then I also schedule I callthem tactile days and it's where
I have to touch something, Ihave to create something.
I have to, and that's why Ihave way too many clothes.
(06:23):
I have more clothes.
I used to be on the platformevery weekend and now my life
has changed, so not so much.
I'm still on camera, but nobodyknows that I got camouflage
shorts on under this.
I like shopping because I loveputting outfits together and
colors.
This will go with that.
It's just my way of creating,and so I have to discipline
(06:45):
myself to say there is going tobe some of that.
At least I have to, or I'd bereally shutting down a part of
that's really authentically me,right.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
Yeah, I think that's interesting.
You say that Dawn because evenwhen you are in ministry and
stuff that bullying, that style,the authentic Dawn is in what
really represents you inministry, because it's a part of
who you are, so it's not likethat gets left behind.
(07:14):
We can operate in that evenwhen you don't even think things
will connect.
A lot of times I'm pleasantlysurprised how things connect.
Things have been hobbies kindof work alongside what you're
doing in ministry.
Lisa is a top, she's anorganizer, she's a zizer.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
You wouldn't know it by what's on the other side of
the computer right now.
I've had to let a few things gointo this life.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
It was funny because a couple of months ago we had
our little coffee tour,caffeinated to her, where we
took over a coffee shop and allthey did is have to step back
and let Lisa decorate the roomshe operated.
She knew what she was supposedto be doing.
She was kind, that was in herwheelhouse.
So that's a way of operating inour gifts to facilitate
(08:10):
ministry.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
I can have a good juicer.
I can juice anything.
I can juice a coffee house, letme juice it up here.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
And the one thing that I really just love about
you, dawn, is your ministry.
Your style invigorates energyinto midlife because it's
sparkle, it's bling, it'spersonality.
I've gotten really bummed outby all the things in my Facebook
(08:40):
feed with how to dress whenyou're over 50.
I'm like where's the shape?
How we're supposed to be?
It's like everything.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
You feel like if you hit 50, okay, everything turns
frumpy, the way we dress ourskin, dolls, little things I'm
being very you understand what Imean into reality.
So how do we judge that from 50?
So I love that word and itreminds me of bougie too, which
(09:09):
is a fun word, but I think forus definitely.
I noticed a transition in mywardrobe because I gravitate
towards a certain style, whichI'm sure everyone does, and it
reflects our personality.
But I was putting on somethings that I could get away
with, and I did have arevelation that said, yep, nope,
(09:31):
I don't think.
I don't think you're pullingthat off, sister, you look good.
And so I did have to retire somethings and say but I had to
find the new me that reflectedstill the sassy, feisty or
whatever words that I hear usedtowards my personality.
But I had to find the thingsthat fit me and say goodbye to
(09:55):
some other things for sure Yet,and still I still have.
Now I'm beyond the 50s, now inthe 60s, and I'm like I'm not
trying to be who I'm not, but Iam reinventing midlife.
It's a new brand, it's a newbreed, it's a new day.
We're living longer, we don'thave to hang up the stilettos
(10:17):
and wear mall walking shoes forthe rest of our life.
No, we don't have to do that,because I do believe that
vibrancy is contagious.
When you look good, you feelgood and vice versa.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
I like that.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
You talk about a turning point where you looked
at your wardrobe and you said,no, this isn't going to work
anymore.
I would imagine that there arethings that have happened on a
much deeper level during theseyears that have created that
rebound for you.
Can you tell us about some ofthat?
Because there are some thingsthat we walk through when we hit
(10:55):
the stage of life thatoftentimes nobody tells you
about whether it's a careerchange, whether it's okay the
children are now grown in out ofthe home, whether it's a
caregiver for your parents now,sometimes we have some tragic
things.
And sometimes what kind ofthings were going on in your
life that finally helped you putyour dreams God's dreams for
(11:20):
you into play, and how did youfind the courage to step into
that.
Oh my goodness, I have so manythoughts in my head now.
Now we're going to keep it onthe real right.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
You want to be down and dirty.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
Like Amber, I quote you sometimes when I'm doing I
go okay, messy bun here a day orwhatever you spent that one day
.
I'm like, okay, good, that's whyI wore my hair up.
Okay, listen.
So when I hit midlife I was atan all-time career high.
I had reached the pinnacle onthe executive pastor of a mega
church.
Things were going well Wardrove, reflected Powerhouse.
(11:58):
Take me serious.
I'm the boss woman up in here,but I have 17 male pastors
working underneath of me.
So don't lose your femininity,but don't be, I'm not trying to
be a man.
So clothes and makeup andhairstyle all reflected that.
Albeit I still tapped my flair,I didn't let myself get too
(12:21):
conservative, but I alsorecognize I'm on the platform
and I'm not trying to drawattention away from God to me
and I'm not trying to be an eyetrap or a hindrance for anybody
entering into worship oranything.
So no form fitting, nothingtight.
Then, tragedy of all tragedies,which now I'm so grateful that
(12:43):
God let it happen.
But in the time I couldn't seeit.
But my husband of 28 years leftme and I lost my position.
I had to step down from the job.
I went from the pinnacle of acareer down to nothing, when
your church and your ministryand your money and your purpose
and your friend are all in onething and it's all wiped away
(13:07):
and my kids had moved out of thehouse and then my dog died.
I literally felt like I had ajob experience.
Then I lost a lot of weightbecause of anxiety and panic
attacks and the fear that camealong with that transitional
season, and so then again,clothes changed because I
(13:30):
couldn't fit into anything.
I had no need for suits and noneed for this and that.
So then it was more.
But then one thing that I willtell you is I watched a lot of
all of a sudden.
I'm a midlife woman anddivorced at 46, 47.
I'd seen that.
I knew that picture, I knewthat show.
Women started wearing cleavageand the skirt started coming up
(13:50):
and clothes started getting andI was like Lord Jesus, I will
not be.
Yeah, I will not be that woman,but I had more of a just a
casual style and I think inthose clothes were all smaller
when I got through that season.
And then I met my husband and Igot married and I had to say
goodbye to those clothes.
Lisa, you're right on.
(14:11):
It was like this represents aseason of my life.
Your clothes are adorable.
They are a little more sexy,they are a little more lirty,
but they're not out of the realmof a righteous woman.
But thank you God, thank youGod.
I packed those up and sent themaway because I couldn't even
get one arm in them, and now I'mon an antidepressant and I blew
(14:35):
up and gained 25 pounds fromthat.
Not today I'm good now, butafter all of that.
So it is funny how the stylefollows us, and so for me now to
say I'm good with me.
After that I planted a churchand this church was called
tribes as a multicultural church.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
Oh, I like it.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
Yep and we wanted to be.
We were also known asredemption city, the wall of
Nehemiah that was put backtogether with the burnt and
broken stones.
Wow, and so we said you did thatas a woman coming out of
divorce.
I was married at the time.
I didn't have a segue job as anexecutive pastor of another
(15:20):
church as a single woman forfive years.
But then as we planted thatchurch, then we said we want to
relate.
So it was genes, it waswhatever I wanted to wear.
I'd blinged out almost everyweek and it was just because we
just said we get permissionAgain with the standard of not
trying to be provocative, sexyor God forbid that I would ever
(15:42):
detract from the word of Godwhile I'm preaching.
I always would tone it down.
But if I wasn't on the platformthat Sunday because I had a
co-pastor, I really got to itand I think I'd say that's where
I really found my voice and myflow and I was 50.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
It's interesting when you talked about that is, we go
into seasons of our lives whereour clothes of the past no
longer fit us and our styles nolonger fit us.
We don't.
We're like, oh, who was I who?
At the same time, it calls usinto seasons where we evaluate
(16:22):
and transition and we have totransition and sometimes we have
to put to bed some of the mostbeloved things that we have.
One of the things that I used tohave and I loved in my 20s I
love shoes.
I love platform shoes.
I am almost six foot tall but Ilove platform shoes and I loved
(16:46):
sporty spice.
I loved sporty spice.
I had the black dress, thewhite stripes down it, and I
would wear, I would work, Iworked for, I worked for a
denomination in the nationalheadquarters and I'd come in
with my stripes on and myplatform shoes because that's
what I loved.
At the same time, my 50 yearold C will not fit into those
(17:11):
platform shoes anymore.
And I had all these beautifulshoes when I lived in London.
All these beautiful shoes hadheels like this.
They don't fit me, they hurt me.
And then I realized what is morebeneficial the style, what I
look like, what I look cool orthat I am not hobbling around
(17:35):
with something that I just like.
This is cool.
I don't want to let go of it.
I think there's differencebetween what we like and what is
good and what is beneficial.
I like, I like.
There's things that I like and Ilike to do and I like to wear,
and but they may not benefit forme at this point in my life and
(17:58):
I learned I had to learn to beokay with holding things very
loosely, those things.
What really does matter?
When I went to go get myheadshots done for the book, of
course, with all my prescriptionmedication for my mood
stabilizers, everything I hadgained over a hundred pounds and
(18:19):
I was crying.
I was crying in the middle ofall to beauty, thinking I don't
know if I can do my headshots,and then it was like what really
matters in this moment isconfronting this in my head or
not doing what I'm supposed todo.
So that's a conflict, a lot ofus.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
I like what you're saying because you're not shing
it down even deeper.
Okay, our brand and ourpersonalities reflected in our
clothes, the seasons of life arereflected in that.
But what if it's all removedbecause it's not beneficial?
What if you take it away?
Is our self-esteem rooted inhow we're dressed?
(19:03):
Or do have we really done thatdeep work with God?
That said, I'm okay by myselfif I'm naked.
Stand in the mirror, I'm okaywith me.
I don't have to put all thisfacade on to somehow power up
and feel like I am okay or Ibelong and not so critically
(19:26):
important, amber.
And the same thing could betrue of position.
Like I felt like I had a reallystrong self-worth and
self-esteem, but when I lost allof that, I had to go back and
reevaluate.
What was I building out of thatself-worth, aren't I?
Those are some pretty bigwounds to our heart.
You said something earlier.
(19:46):
When everything is in all thesame place, basically your job,
your friends, all of it yourlife is in one spot, and then
you lose that.
Just thinking of that, myhusband and I, I've had some
experiences for years that werequite painful when it came to
some ends in ministryopportunities, and it really
(20:10):
does shake you up At your core.
There's a lot of self-doubtthat goes on.
You doubt your calling, youdoubt whether or not you have
what it takes.
All of it Did you.
Can you tell us what you had todo personally to dig your way
out of that?
Were there any things that youturned to that really helped you
(20:31):
?
It's interesting that we'vecome kind of full circle,
because in the beginning yousaid we never know how
something's going to connect.
When I was in the ministry andin that high position I met a
woman who was also in theministry at another church in
another city and she came into aconference that I was doing and
(20:53):
it was a safe place for her andshe just let her guard down and
she was weeping profusely andGod began to give me some words
for her.
I began to minister to her andthat started a mentoring
relationship that went on forseveral years.
She would come drive to myoffice.
I'd pour into her.
That would be for Zoom right.
(21:14):
So you made these trueinvestments in yourself and your
feeling.
So she and her husband had apainful ending in ministry.
They lost the church that theywere because some conflicts
there of personalities, and thenthey got a fresh start and they
planted another church.
And when I went through mydivorce I called her and I said
(21:36):
I wanna let you know, I want youto hear it from me.
This is what's happened to meand now I think it happens for
me, but at the time thishappened to me and I just want
you to hear it from me.
She called me back a week laterand said we want you, we wanna
hire you.
You poured into me.
We need you so bad.
(21:56):
I'm like no, you don't want me.
I'm a lightning rod, I'm noteven.
I'm separated, I'm gonna begoing through divorce.
She said we want you, we don'tcare.
They said we're not gonna shootour wounded, we're putting our
arms around.
Plus, we need you.
And I was like are you sure youneed me?
We need you.
So they hired me.
We had a couple of campuses, onechurch, two locations.
(22:19):
The thing ended up going into athird.
But for five years.
Now here's what I'll tell youreal quick.
Another friend had called andsaid Don, I just feel like I had
a dream or a word from you.
God said he's gonna give you anest.
Like you feel like you justbeen thrown out, but God's gonna
give you a nest and I see youin this nest, but you're gonna
fly away from it.
You're gonna go north butyou're gonna come back.
(22:41):
I said, oh, thank you, and Iwrote that down and I'm like,
okay, so they bring me into thisnew church, hire me my first
time, coming in for the finalinterview.
I walk into the building andthere is a two story mural of an
eagle sitting in a nest.
And the other church was to thenorth, an hour north.
(23:01):
They said we want this to beyour home base, but we want you
to also preach at the otherchurch once a month.
And I knew that was what Godhad prepared for me.
They ministered to me.
So the reciprocal ministry likeyou, I poured into people, I
ministered to people, and thosewere the very ones that came
back and bandaged my wounds andpoured in the oil and the wine
(23:22):
for me and brought me back tolife.
And it's just, we are both alljust so thankful for one another
that God gave us thatrelationship.
Speaker 1 (23:31):
I love what you said, because you didn't know.
You were saying I don't know ifI'm ready for this, I don't
know if I'm ready to get back inthe saddle, I don't know.
And I think that is a very, avery big place that a lot of us
are at in our transitions in ourlife.
I remember when I lost my, whenmy magazine folded the first
(23:55):
magazine that I had folded I hadno vision beyond that place
that I was and then I doubtedeverywhere else that I could be
effective and it scared mebecause I thought I hit an end
and I didn't really know what todo with that.
(24:19):
And I feel like there's a lotof people, a lot of women out
there that are in that place,that they're at an end.
They never envision life beyondthat end.
What would you say to them?
Speaker 2 (24:34):
So it's time for fresh vision, baby.
Fresh vision because without avision, we do perish, right.
And so God is not going?
Oh no, I didn't see that coming.
What am I gonna do with her?
God has something in store foreach and every one of us in this
new season of our life.
No doubt, no doubt about that.
(24:56):
And we fear the unknown.
We are so afraid of it.
Our brain, the biology of ourlife is afraid of it.
Our body is afraid of it.
We don't know what to do, butGod does.
He's already.
There's no time with God.
He's already been there, healready knows that we're gonna
be okay.
And I always wondered, amber too, are my gifts transferable?
(25:18):
This church loves me, they knowme, but are they really gifts?
Or am I just like the daughterin the house that grew up and
they love me?
And then you go to the nextplace and it's oh gosh, I, this
works, will it work again?
But so the gifts that are inyou, like we look at you, amber,
we go.
Are you kidding?
You had one shred of doubt aboutyour gifts, holy cow, not Amber
(25:44):
.
You're amazingly gifted, notLisa?
Oh, my goodness, lisa, she'sjust the design waiting to
happen so people can see ourgifts.
We don't always see them.
But when you said vision, soget a journal, get along with
God and journal around thatquestion how can I serve you
best, god?
If we ask what am I supposed todo, that almost gets like way
(26:06):
over one of it how can I serveyou best?
You get a more specificresponse in your spirit, can you
hear?
Because we know how we'regifted, we know how we're wired
and we know what's inside of usand we know what that dream is,
even though we might notarticulate it.
And so when we say how can Ibest serve you, I think all of
(26:27):
everything that we've beencreated to be, that's inside of
us, begins to speak to us.
Speaker 1 (26:33):
I think another thing that we often do is we see our
we see serving guy tied to aministry role that is outside of
the church, maybe would noteven be applicable, but I think
what God's shown me is sometimesI need to look at things
(26:55):
differently to realize that Ican.
Number one, I have chops thatcan make it in the real world.
That's right.
I have yes, ma'am, yes you do.
And then that, and no matterhow diminished you felt or how
much you wanted to, how much youfeel that you should be on this
(27:18):
level, are there people youngerthan me that have Fortune 500
companies?
I don't know.
I always feel one step awayfrom my college years and that's
of our chance.
Can you even function at a newlevel to get where you need to
go and to be validated for whatyou feel that you have to offer?
(27:40):
Not validated, but youunderstand.
But I do that's a good word.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
And you wanna feel affirmed.
Speaker 1 (27:46):
And I know, Lisa, there's a lot of roles you've
stepped into that you may.
You don't get followed by two,oh, absolutely not.
Speaker 2 (27:54):
Sometimes we get so tied up in what our training is
and we forget that if God hasput something in you, even if
you didn't go get a degree forit, that doesn't negate what is
in you, what he's placed in you.
Sometimes you have to think sofar out of the box and we put
God and what we think he wantsfrom us in this tiny little
(28:16):
space and we hold it there andwe compare everything to what's
in this tiny space.
Okay, if it won't fit in here,then it must not be God, and
that is so not true.
We are multifaceted individuals.
There's so much more in us thatwe don't see that he wants to
(28:37):
utilize, he wants to use, andsometimes it's just a matter of
being willing to say yes to thenew, no matter how fearful you
are, no matter how insecure youare.
It's a matter of saying God, ifyou are with me, I will walk
through the doorway until youshut the doors down.
(28:58):
I'm gonna do it because forsome reason it's right here.
And I feel like also anotherthing, especially for
ministry-minded people we oftenlook inside the doors of the
church and there is so much thatGod wants to do with the
kingdom outside of the walls ofthe church.
(29:19):
If we're just willing to say yesand to once again walk through
those opportunities in thosedoors.
I so agree.
There was a book written someyears ago I can't remember the
author's name, forgive me forthat, but it's something like
Out of the Salt Shaker and thepremise is yes, we're the salt
of the earth and yet we allwanna just live in a salt shaker
(29:40):
with all the other salt.
My salt is better than yoursalt, my salt, my light is
bigger than your light.
I'll live in the lighthouse.
No, we're the light of theworld, we're the salt of the
earth.
Let me take it out of the boxand get out into the world.
We're not of it, but we bear bein it and we're making a
difference.
So this is such greatconversation, y'all, and I think
(30:01):
the whole thing, some wordsthat I've been hearing as we've
been talking, like diminished Ithink that's a word that
resonates with midlife, womenfeeling diminished, transition
is a word that resonates andbrings some fear, feeling
irrelevant I don't know what itis I do now.
Or Huayun, you said emptiness orlack of vision.
(30:22):
These are all things that Ifeel are very real for women in
our age group, whether it's 40s,50s, 60s, 70s, because we're
living longer.
The person who's gonna livepast 120 as well on the earth by
now they say even up to four or500 years old that person's
already born.
I can't imagine why we'd wannalive that long.
(30:43):
But anyway, there's justsecurity that starts at 60.
That's gonna be a thing of thepast.
They're gonna push that way out.
So this age is gonna be aboutreinvention, about my next
chapter, about what is it thatI'm looking forward to now.
So I wanna encourage womenlistening that, whether it's the
(31:04):
creative gifts, whether it'sthink about what you dreamt of
when you were 10 years old butit went dormant.
Think about what that was thatyou loved to do, because I
really feel like this is thatstage where we get to do that
thing.
Speaker 1 (31:17):
Exactly, I agree.
I think it's very interestingto God.
I fight the voice of failure,like we all do, and starting
over and starting again, and Godgave me this word of that
innate feeling in you is becauseI wanna step into your feeling
(31:44):
of failure, because without meit fails.
Everything that comes to yourhand fails.
That feeling is a mode and amove towards reliance, that God
has something for you that willsucceed if you put the seed in
(32:05):
his hand.
It may not be what we like andthink of, it may not be what we
have in our mind.
I recently sorry, I juststarted working for a skincare
company.
I didn't know that for anything.
I thought it was a surprise.
I'm a journalist, major, forgoodness sake and I'm working as
this first skincare company.
(32:25):
I said how can this be aministry?
It's the ministry of being asteward of what God's given you.
Speaker 2 (32:32):
What's your guess?
Speaker 1 (32:33):
It is.
It's a ministry and we'rehelping women and, in that,
helping women realize that Godhas given us this to steward so
we can do what we do better.
So, as I said, reimagining whatthe ministry might look like
(32:56):
and not holding that so close.
Speaker 2 (32:58):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
Don, I just want, I have this desire, just I feel
like there are going to be.
There are women that will bewatching this, they're listening
to this later, that need a wordover them, that need a prayer
over them that will just movethem bravely into the next
season they're going into.
(33:20):
Would you lead us in prayer?
Speaker 2 (33:24):
Sure I'd love to Father God as we approach your
throne.
I thank you for the confidencethat you give us and the
invitation that you say you canbe for me boldly.
And, lord, I am so aware ofyour heart for women.
As we look, jesus, at howyou're invited women, how you
(33:46):
gave us honor, you gave us aplace at the table.
You called us to be right byyour side.
You did not diminish us, youdid not reject us, you did not
dismiss us, but you revealedyourself to us at many places.
A woman was the first place.
(34:06):
You revealed yourself asMessiah and you revealed
yourself as the living King.
It was two women and God.
For the women listening andwatching this, I pray that
revelation would happen for them.
You would reveal yourself notonly as their Lord and their
master, their shepherd, theirco-creator, that you stand with
(34:29):
them saying this is what I havein store for you, this is where
I'm leading you, this is how Iequipped you, this is how I
gifted you, and now I stand withyou.
Just as I blew on the disciples, I blowed fresh wind on you in
this season and I say seedsawaken, destiny awaken, gifts,
(34:53):
dreams, vision awaken.
Like I called Lazarus out ofthe tune called you by name.
Come out of that place, thatdormant place.
There have been wounds in yourlife, there have been tragedies,
things that have wrapped you up, kept you small, make you feel
(35:13):
confined.
But today, woman of God, hearthe voice of Jesus saying I am
calling you forth and don't beafraid of a committed fellowship
of sisters who can unwrap you,who can help you, who can be
used of God to minister to you.
At the same time.
(35:34):
This is your season to flourish, to grow, to extend those weary
arms and find out that there isstrength in you again, believe
again, trust again, sing yoursong, write your book, plan your
plans, dream your dreams, danceyour dance, give it all to God
(35:57):
and watch what Schnee will do.
And I just want to say thisFather, watch over your word to
perform it.
Jesus, in your name, god, Ibelieve that oftentimes we feel
we're going to be punished if westep out in faith ahead of you,
if we do something that'sstriving.
(36:17):
But may we understand that ittakes faith to take a step, to
believe that what's pounding inour chest came from you.
That thing that lights us upand brings some excitement came
from you.
We're not getting ahead of you.
We're awakening and recognizingthat you put it in us.
(36:39):
So may we take that step offaith, may we move forward, god,
believing that you have createdus for such a time as this.
So, god, I call forth.
I'm just hearing a jubilantsymphony.
I've never even said thosewords before, but, like the
music has begun, there's an armyof women going.
(37:00):
Yes, I'm ready.
Yes, let me have one morechance at this thing called life
.
Live big, go for it, you growgirl.
Amen, amen, amen.
Speaker 1 (37:12):
Share quickly about your book.
I know we're winding down ontime, your book coming out.
Speaker 2 (37:19):
Super excited.
We're going to have a coverreveal in the days ahead.
Guess who designed the cover?
I have no idea who would havedone that Brilliant, oh my
goodness.
The name of the book is themaking of a bravehearted woman
courage, confidence and visionin midlife.
I share five.
Really, they're secrets,they're fundamental truths and I
(37:43):
call them fortitude.
Five things you've got to get ahold of to flourish in midlife,
and you can get your copycoming in November with full
vision.
Yay, oh, don, it's been so goodto have you with us today.
Thank you for sharing yourheart and just it's been
(38:05):
wonderful to have you.
We got to do a little radiobroadcast with Don this week too
, so it's been the week of Don,so we had a wonderful time with
her.
You guys are my think of theweek.
We really appreciate you.
We just want to remindeverybody, before we sign off
here, that we would love for youto visit our website,
(38:26):
leadingladieslife.
If you haven't already, goahead and sign up to be one of
our VIPs.
There's still that freedownload from Ms Makayla Weaver,
if you'd like that.
A copy of the song is a giftfrom us to you and we will be
right back here with you soon,we hope.
Okay.
Speaker 1 (38:44):
Take care, bye guys.
Speaker 2 (38:47):
Goodbye everyone.
Much love to you, bye.
Hey everyone and welcome to our first coffee chat
of September, the month of Cozy.
Have you guys had your puffieslattes yet?
Have you had those?
Speaker 2 (00:14):
I have not.
I had the pumpkin cream foam.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Let's see how many and what do you have in your cup
this morning Dawn.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
I'm having a caramel coffee with a little bit of
whipped cream on the top.
Oh, it sounds decadent, it's alittle naughty, but it's so good
it's a little it is.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
We're so happy to have on the program a brave
hearted woman, one of ourleading ladies, dawn Damon.
We just love her heart tominister to us in midlife.
We've had a crazy summer andtransitions and challenge.
(00:56):
And, lisa, you just had awedding.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
I did.
Weddings are a little differentnow than when I got married in
1988.
Right.
So you remember when you wouldgo to weddings and this was a
lovely wedding, by the way todear young people who just man
their power packed couple, andthere's a long lineage of them
within the lives of people welove, so it's really cool.
(01:22):
But remember when you would goto a wedding and your party
favor at the end, where thoselovely little mints and a little
tiny box those little and thebox probably cost more than the
minstead.
To make you know what I mean, Ijust want you to.
I just like has changed and Iam all for it.
Okay, so the party favor is abag of coffee bean and the
(01:49):
married couple, savannah andMario, have their own blend.
It's called Savio specialroasted.
Oh, it says the perfect blendof Savio.
Thank you for coming.
Enjoy a cup of coffee on us 50%dark roast she is African
American and 50% medium roast heis.
What are you?
Speaker 1 (02:11):
He's interesting.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
That is that I had this morning and I know they
just got married last night, butI had to shoot a little video
as I was drinking my morningcoffee for them.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
It is good we reached a time in society that it seems
like creativity is like on theup turn, like people are doing
things that you haven't thoughtof before.
The gig society has become thenorm and you can do a lot that
you didn't used to be able to do.
(02:42):
Like Right, can you design, youcan do your own big shops.
You have this beautiful thingcalled Etsy and creativity, I
think is is hot and thick rightnow because, right, going into a
generation where we're doingwhat we really feel like, we can
do this right at theirfingertips, yes, you could do
(03:05):
anything that wasn't tied topreaching and ministry.
What would you probably do?
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Right, Absolutely, would own probably a bling store
accessories all things sparkly,glittery accessories I.
My second love is fashion and Iwould do that.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
I would come to your store.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
I would come, and so I think that would be so fun.
I used to work in the fashionindustry in my early life years,
teens and early twenties, and Ido.
I just I adore that and I dosuffer from shiny object
syndrome Though it's, there'ssomething shiny.
But I do intentionally neglectsome things that I love because
(03:53):
I will get distracted.
So I like that's not for thisseason, right now, because I try
to do so many things.
Otherwise I'd be on Etsy, I'dbe designing things and right.
But to your point, how cool isthat?
Because there was such a narrowfunnel work creatives.
You had to be the tap to doanything.
(04:14):
And how many starving artistsjust died with the gifts trapped
inside of them.
I am a creative and I, when Isee something, I say I can make
that, I can make that, I cancreate that or I would like that
if it was this or that.
And then I go, I find a way todo it, and I am finding the more
(04:37):
that I do what is right infront of me right now, which is,
of course, the book leadingladies book which, by the way,
y'all Dawn is one of ourcontributors and we're so
grateful to her for contributingher letter to the church, to
the women of the church, toencourage them.
We're going to talk about that,but it brings this up.
(04:58):
You mentioned you get distracted, and I often fight with that.
Am I really being distracted,or are those things I should be
doing and I know this soundsdumb but little things like
knitting my grandbabies a hat?
I would love to just sit for acouple hours and knit my
grandbabies a hat, and that'sjust that creative part of me.
(05:19):
I think it's probably also thatpart of me that wants
everything to be nice and neat.
Those stitches come acrossperfect when the rest of life is
not, but I can't seem to findthe time, and I am at war
sometimes, and you mentionedit's a distraction for you.
How do you deal with that,though?
What do you do with it?
(05:40):
Because I just want to dump infor a few hours with my nice
cozy, fuzzy, warm yarn.
Yes, so I totally relate to this, and I try to schedule my life
in such a way that I have acouple of things that I live by.
One is do what I have to dofirst and do what I can do next,
(06:03):
so I make sure that the heavylifting is out of the way for me
, whether that's for the week,the day, whatever it is.
Then I also schedule I callthem tactile days and it's where
I have to touch something, Ihave to create something.
I have to, and that's why Ihave way too many clothes.
(06:23):
I have more clothes.
I used to be on the platformevery weekend and now my life
has changed, so not so much.
I'm still on camera, but nobodyknows that I got camouflage
shorts on under this.
I like shopping because I loveputting outfits together and
colors.
This will go with that.
It's just my way of creating,and so I have to discipline
(06:45):
myself to say there is going tobe some of that.
At least I have to, or I'd bereally shutting down a part of
that's really authentically me,right.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
Yeah, I think that's interesting.
You say that Dawn because evenwhen you are in ministry and
stuff that bullying, that style,the authentic Dawn is in what
really represents you inministry, because it's a part of
who you are, so it's not likethat gets left behind.
(07:14):
We can operate in that evenwhen you don't even think things
will connect.
A lot of times I'm pleasantlysurprised how things connect.
Things have been hobbies kindof work alongside what you're
doing in ministry.
Lisa is a top, she's anorganizer, she's a zizer.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
You wouldn't know it by what's on the other side of
the computer right now.
I've had to let a few things gointo this life.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
It was funny because a couple of months ago we had
our little coffee tour,caffeinated to her, where we
took over a coffee shop and allthey did is have to step back
and let Lisa decorate the roomshe operated.
She knew what she was supposedto be doing.
She was kind, that was in herwheelhouse.
So that's a way of operating inour gifts to facilitate
(08:10):
ministry.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
I can have a good juicer.
I can juice anything.
I can juice a coffee house, letme juice it up here.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
And the one thing that I really just love about
you, dawn, is your ministry.
Your style invigorates energyinto midlife because it's
sparkle, it's bling, it'spersonality.
I've gotten really bummed outby all the things in my Facebook
(08:40):
feed with how to dress whenyou're over 50.
I'm like where's the shape?
How we're supposed to be?
It's like everything.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
You feel like if you hit 50, okay, everything turns
frumpy, the way we dress ourskin, dolls, little things I'm
being very you understand what Imean into reality.
So how do we judge that from 50?
So I love that word and itreminds me of bougie too, which
(09:09):
is a fun word, but I think forus definitely.
I noticed a transition in mywardrobe because I gravitate
towards a certain style, whichI'm sure everyone does, and it
reflects our personality.
But I was putting on somethings that I could get away
with, and I did have arevelation that said, yep, nope,
(09:31):
I don't think.
I don't think you're pullingthat off, sister, you look good.
And so I did have to retire somethings and say but I had to
find the new me that reflectedstill the sassy, feisty or
whatever words that I hear usedtowards my personality.
But I had to find the thingsthat fit me and say goodbye to
(09:55):
some other things for sure Yet,and still I still have.
Now I'm beyond the 50s, now inthe 60s, and I'm like I'm not
trying to be who I'm not, but Iam reinventing midlife.
It's a new brand, it's a newbreed, it's a new day.
We're living longer, we don'thave to hang up the stilettos
(10:17):
and wear mall walking shoes forthe rest of our life.
No, we don't have to do that,because I do believe that
vibrancy is contagious.
When you look good, you feelgood and vice versa.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
I like that.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
You talk about a turning point where you looked
at your wardrobe and you said,no, this isn't going to work
anymore.
I would imagine that there arethings that have happened on a
much deeper level during theseyears that have created that
rebound for you.
Can you tell us about some ofthat?
Because there are some thingsthat we walk through when we hit
(10:55):
the stage of life thatoftentimes nobody tells you
about whether it's a careerchange, whether it's okay the
children are now grown in out ofthe home, whether it's a
caregiver for your parents now,sometimes we have some tragic
things.
And sometimes what kind ofthings were going on in your
life that finally helped you putyour dreams God's dreams for
(11:20):
you into play, and how did youfind the courage to step into
that.
Oh my goodness, I have so manythoughts in my head now.
Now we're going to keep it onthe real right.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
You want to be down and dirty.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
Like Amber, I quote you sometimes when I'm doing I
go okay, messy bun here a day orwhatever you spent that one day
.
I'm like, okay, good, that's whyI wore my hair up.
Okay, listen.
So when I hit midlife I was atan all-time career high.
I had reached the pinnacle onthe executive pastor of a mega
church.
Things were going well Wardrove, reflected Powerhouse.
(11:58):
Take me serious.
I'm the boss woman up in here,but I have 17 male pastors
working underneath of me.
So don't lose your femininity,but don't be, I'm not trying to
be a man.
So clothes and makeup andhairstyle all reflected that.
Albeit I still tapped my flair,I didn't let myself get too
(12:21):
conservative, but I alsorecognize I'm on the platform
and I'm not trying to drawattention away from God to me
and I'm not trying to be an eyetrap or a hindrance for anybody
entering into worship oranything.
So no form fitting, nothingtight.
Then, tragedy of all tragedies,which now I'm so grateful that
(12:43):
God let it happen.
But in the time I couldn't seeit.
But my husband of 28 years leftme and I lost my position.
I had to step down from the job.
I went from the pinnacle of acareer down to nothing, when
your church and your ministryand your money and your purpose
and your friend are all in onething and it's all wiped away
(13:07):
and my kids had moved out of thehouse and then my dog died.
I literally felt like I had ajob experience.
Then I lost a lot of weightbecause of anxiety and panic
attacks and the fear that camealong with that transitional
season, and so then again,clothes changed because I
(13:30):
couldn't fit into anything.
I had no need for suits and noneed for this and that.
So then it was more.
But then one thing that I willtell you is I watched a lot of
all of a sudden.
I'm a midlife woman anddivorced at 46, 47.
I'd seen that.
I knew that picture, I knewthat show.
Women started wearing cleavageand the skirt started coming up
(13:50):
and clothes started getting andI was like Lord Jesus, I will
not be.
Yeah, I will not be that woman,but I had more of a just a
casual style and I think inthose clothes were all smaller
when I got through that season.
And then I met my husband and Igot married and I had to say
goodbye to those clothes.
Lisa, you're right on.
(14:11):
It was like this represents aseason of my life.
Your clothes are adorable.
They are a little more sexy,they are a little more lirty,
but they're not out of the realmof a righteous woman.
But thank you God, thank youGod.
I packed those up and sent themaway because I couldn't even
get one arm in them, and now I'mon an antidepressant and I blew
(14:35):
up and gained 25 pounds fromthat.
Not today I'm good now, butafter all of that.
So it is funny how the stylefollows us, and so for me now to
say I'm good with me.
After that I planted a churchand this church was called
tribes as a multicultural church.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
Oh, I like it.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
Yep and we wanted to be.
We were also known asredemption city, the wall of
Nehemiah that was put backtogether with the burnt and
broken stones.
Wow, and so we said you did thatas a woman coming out of
divorce.
I was married at the time.
I didn't have a segue job as anexecutive pastor of another
(15:20):
church as a single woman forfive years.
But then as we planted thatchurch, then we said we want to
relate.
So it was genes, it waswhatever I wanted to wear.
I'd blinged out almost everyweek and it was just because we
just said we get permissionAgain with the standard of not
trying to be provocative, sexyor God forbid that I would ever
(15:42):
detract from the word of Godwhile I'm preaching.
I always would tone it down.
But if I wasn't on the platformthat Sunday because I had a
co-pastor, I really got to itand I think I'd say that's where
I really found my voice and myflow and I was 50.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
It's interesting when you talked about that is, we go
into seasons of our lives whereour clothes of the past no
longer fit us and our styles nolonger fit us.
We don't.
We're like, oh, who was I who?
At the same time, it calls usinto seasons where we evaluate
(16:22):
and transition and we have totransition and sometimes we have
to put to bed some of the mostbeloved things that we have.
One of the things that I used tohave and I loved in my 20s I
love shoes.
I love platform shoes.
I am almost six foot tall but Ilove platform shoes and I loved
(16:46):
sporty spice.
I loved sporty spice.
I had the black dress, thewhite stripes down it, and I
would wear, I would work, Iworked for, I worked for a
denomination in the nationalheadquarters and I'd come in
with my stripes on and myplatform shoes because that's
what I loved.
At the same time, my 50 yearold C will not fit into those
(17:11):
platform shoes anymore.
And I had all these beautifulshoes when I lived in London.
All these beautiful shoes hadheels like this.
They don't fit me, they hurt me.
And then I realized what is morebeneficial the style, what I
look like, what I look cool orthat I am not hobbling around
(17:35):
with something that I just like.
This is cool.
I don't want to let go of it.
I think there's differencebetween what we like and what is
good and what is beneficial.
I like, I like.
There's things that I like and Ilike to do and I like to wear,
and but they may not benefit forme at this point in my life and
(17:58):
I learned I had to learn to beokay with holding things very
loosely, those things.
What really does matter?
When I went to go get myheadshots done for the book, of
course, with all my prescriptionmedication for my mood
stabilizers, everything I hadgained over a hundred pounds and
(18:19):
I was crying.
I was crying in the middle ofall to beauty, thinking I don't
know if I can do my headshots,and then it was like what really
matters in this moment isconfronting this in my head or
not doing what I'm supposed todo.
So that's a conflict, a lot ofus.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
I like what you're saying because you're not shing
it down even deeper.
Okay, our brand and ourpersonalities reflected in our
clothes, the seasons of life arereflected in that.
But what if it's all removedbecause it's not beneficial?
What if you take it away?
Is our self-esteem rooted inhow we're dressed?
(19:03):
Or do have we really done thatdeep work with God?
That said, I'm okay by myselfif I'm naked.
Stand in the mirror, I'm okaywith me.
I don't have to put all thisfacade on to somehow power up
and feel like I am okay or Ibelong and not so critically
(19:26):
important, amber.
And the same thing could betrue of position.
Like I felt like I had a reallystrong self-worth and
self-esteem, but when I lost allof that, I had to go back and
reevaluate.
What was I building out of thatself-worth, aren't I?
Those are some pretty bigwounds to our heart.
You said something earlier.
(19:46):
When everything is in all thesame place, basically your job,
your friends, all of it yourlife is in one spot, and then
you lose that.
Just thinking of that, myhusband and I, I've had some
experiences for years that werequite painful when it came to
some ends in ministryopportunities, and it really
(20:10):
does shake you up At your core.
There's a lot of self-doubtthat goes on.
You doubt your calling, youdoubt whether or not you have
what it takes.
All of it Did you.
Can you tell us what you had todo personally to dig your way
out of that?
Were there any things that youturned to that really helped you
(20:31):
?
It's interesting that we'vecome kind of full circle,
because in the beginning yousaid we never know how
something's going to connect.
When I was in the ministry andin that high position I met a
woman who was also in theministry at another church in
another city and she came into aconference that I was doing and
(20:53):
it was a safe place for her andshe just let her guard down and
she was weeping profusely andGod began to give me some words
for her.
I began to minister to her andthat started a mentoring
relationship that went on forseveral years.
She would come drive to myoffice.
I'd pour into her.
That would be for Zoom right.
(21:14):
So you made these trueinvestments in yourself and your
feeling.
So she and her husband had apainful ending in ministry.
They lost the church that theywere because some conflicts
there of personalities, and thenthey got a fresh start and they
planted another church.
And when I went through mydivorce I called her and I said
(21:36):
I wanna let you know, I want youto hear it from me.
This is what's happened to meand now I think it happens for
me, but at the time thishappened to me and I just want
you to hear it from me.
She called me back a week laterand said we want you, we wanna
hire you.
You poured into me.
We need you so bad.
(21:56):
I'm like no, you don't want me.
I'm a lightning rod, I'm noteven.
I'm separated, I'm gonna begoing through divorce.
She said we want you, we don'tcare.
They said we're not gonna shootour wounded, we're putting our
arms around.
Plus, we need you.
And I was like are you sure youneed me?
We need you.
So they hired me.
We had a couple of campuses, onechurch, two locations.
(22:19):
The thing ended up going into athird.
But for five years.
Now here's what I'll tell youreal quick.
Another friend had called andsaid Don, I just feel like I had
a dream or a word from you.
God said he's gonna give you anest.
Like you feel like you justbeen thrown out, but God's gonna
give you a nest and I see youin this nest, but you're gonna
fly away from it.
You're gonna go north butyou're gonna come back.
(22:41):
I said, oh, thank you, and Iwrote that down and I'm like,
okay, so they bring me into thisnew church, hire me my first
time, coming in for the finalinterview.
I walk into the building andthere is a two story mural of an
eagle sitting in a nest.
And the other church was to thenorth, an hour north.
(23:01):
They said we want this to beyour home base, but we want you
to also preach at the otherchurch once a month.
And I knew that was what Godhad prepared for me.
They ministered to me.
So the reciprocal ministry likeyou, I poured into people, I
ministered to people, and thosewere the very ones that came
back and bandaged my wounds andpoured in the oil and the wine
(23:22):
for me and brought me back tolife.
And it's just, we are both alljust so thankful for one another
that God gave us thatrelationship.
Speaker 1 (23:31):
I love what you said, because you didn't know.
You were saying I don't know ifI'm ready for this, I don't
know if I'm ready to get back inthe saddle, I don't know.
And I think that is a very, avery big place that a lot of us
are at in our transitions in ourlife.
I remember when I lost my, whenmy magazine folded the first
(23:55):
magazine that I had folded I hadno vision beyond that place
that I was and then I doubtedeverywhere else that I could be
effective and it scared mebecause I thought I hit an end
and I didn't really know what todo with that.
(24:19):
And I feel like there's a lotof people, a lot of women out
there that are in that place,that they're at an end.
They never envision life beyondthat end.
What would you say to them?
Speaker 2 (24:34):
So it's time for fresh vision, baby.
Fresh vision because without avision, we do perish, right.
And so God is not going?
Oh no, I didn't see that coming.
What am I gonna do with her?
God has something in store foreach and every one of us in this
new season of our life.
No doubt, no doubt about that.
(24:56):
And we fear the unknown.
We are so afraid of it.
Our brain, the biology of ourlife is afraid of it.
Our body is afraid of it.
We don't know what to do, butGod does.
He's already.
There's no time with God.
He's already been there, healready knows that we're gonna
be okay.
And I always wondered, amber too, are my gifts transferable?
(25:18):
This church loves me, they knowme, but are they really gifts?
Or am I just like the daughterin the house that grew up and
they love me?
And then you go to the nextplace and it's oh gosh, I, this
works, will it work again?
But so the gifts that are inyou, like we look at you, amber,
we go.
Are you kidding?
You had one shred of doubt aboutyour gifts, holy cow, not Amber
(25:44):
.
You're amazingly gifted, notLisa?
Oh, my goodness, lisa, she'sjust the design waiting to
happen so people can see ourgifts.
We don't always see them.
But when you said vision, soget a journal, get along with
God and journal around thatquestion how can I serve you
best, god?
If we ask what am I supposed todo, that almost gets like way
(26:06):
over one of it how can I serveyou best?
You get a more specificresponse in your spirit, can you
hear?
Because we know how we'regifted, we know how we're wired
and we know what's inside of usand we know what that dream is,
even though we might notarticulate it.
And so when we say how can Ibest serve you, I think all of
(26:27):
everything that we've beencreated to be, that's inside of
us, begins to speak to us.
Speaker 1 (26:33):
I think another thing that we often do is we see our
we see serving guy tied to aministry role that is outside of
the church, maybe would noteven be applicable, but I think
what God's shown me is sometimesI need to look at things
(26:55):
differently to realize that Ican.
Number one, I have chops thatcan make it in the real world.
That's right.
I have yes, ma'am, yes you do.
And then that, and no matterhow diminished you felt or how
much you wanted to, how much youfeel that you should be on this
(27:18):
level, are there people youngerthan me that have Fortune 500
companies?
I don't know.
I always feel one step awayfrom my college years and that's
of our chance.
Can you even function at a newlevel to get where you need to
go and to be validated for whatyou feel that you have to offer?
(27:40):
Not validated, but youunderstand.
But I do that's a good word.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
And you wanna feel affirmed.
Speaker 1 (27:46):
And I know, Lisa, there's a lot of roles you've
stepped into that you may.
You don't get followed by two,oh, absolutely not.
Speaker 2 (27:54):
Sometimes we get so tied up in what our training is
and we forget that if God hasput something in you, even if
you didn't go get a degree forit, that doesn't negate what is
in you, what he's placed in you.
Sometimes you have to think sofar out of the box and we put
God and what we think he wantsfrom us in this tiny little
(28:16):
space and we hold it there andwe compare everything to what's
in this tiny space.
Okay, if it won't fit in here,then it must not be God, and
that is so not true.
We are multifaceted individuals.
There's so much more in us thatwe don't see that he wants to
(28:37):
utilize, he wants to use, andsometimes it's just a matter of
being willing to say yes to thenew, no matter how fearful you
are, no matter how insecure youare.
It's a matter of saying God, ifyou are with me, I will walk
through the doorway until youshut the doors down.
(28:58):
I'm gonna do it because forsome reason it's right here.
And I feel like also anotherthing, especially for
ministry-minded people we oftenlook inside the doors of the
church and there is so much thatGod wants to do with the
kingdom outside of the walls ofthe church.
(29:19):
If we're just willing to say yesand to once again walk through
those opportunities in thosedoors.
I so agree.
There was a book written someyears ago I can't remember the
author's name, forgive me forthat, but it's something like
Out of the Salt Shaker and thepremise is yes, we're the salt
of the earth and yet we allwanna just live in a salt shaker
(29:40):
with all the other salt.
My salt is better than yoursalt, my salt, my light is
bigger than your light.
I'll live in the lighthouse.
No, we're the light of theworld, we're the salt of the
earth.
Let me take it out of the boxand get out into the world.
We're not of it, but we bear bein it and we're making a
difference.
So this is such greatconversation, y'all, and I think
(30:01):
the whole thing, some wordsthat I've been hearing as we've
been talking, like diminished Ithink that's a word that
resonates with midlife, womenfeeling diminished, transition
is a word that resonates andbrings some fear, feeling
irrelevant I don't know what itis I do now.
Or Huayun, you said emptiness orlack of vision.
(30:22):
These are all things that Ifeel are very real for women in
our age group, whether it's 40s,50s, 60s, 70s, because we're
living longer.
The person who's gonna livepast 120 as well on the earth by
now they say even up to four or500 years old that person's
already born.
I can't imagine why we'd wannalive that long.
(30:43):
But anyway, there's justsecurity that starts at 60.
That's gonna be a thing of thepast.
They're gonna push that way out.
So this age is gonna be aboutreinvention, about my next
chapter, about what is it thatI'm looking forward to now.
So I wanna encourage womenlistening that, whether it's the
(31:04):
creative gifts, whether it'sthink about what you dreamt of
when you were 10 years old butit went dormant.
Think about what that was thatyou loved to do, because I
really feel like this is thatstage where we get to do that
thing.
Speaker 1 (31:17):
Exactly, I agree.
I think it's very interestingto God.
I fight the voice of failure,like we all do, and starting
over and starting again, and Godgave me this word of that
innate feeling in you is becauseI wanna step into your feeling
(31:44):
of failure, because without meit fails.
Everything that comes to yourhand fails.
That feeling is a mode and amove towards reliance, that God
has something for you that willsucceed if you put the seed in
(32:05):
his hand.
It may not be what we like andthink of, it may not be what we
have in our mind.
I recently sorry, I juststarted working for a skincare
company.
I didn't know that for anything.
I thought it was a surprise.
I'm a journalist, major, forgoodness sake and I'm working as
this first skincare company.
(32:25):
I said how can this be aministry?
It's the ministry of being asteward of what God's given you.
Speaker 2 (32:32):
What's your guess?
Speaker 1 (32:33):
It is.
It's a ministry and we'rehelping women and, in that,
helping women realize that Godhas given us this to steward so
we can do what we do better.
So, as I said, reimagining whatthe ministry might look like
(32:56):
and not holding that so close.
Speaker 2 (32:58):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
Don, I just want, I have this desire, just I feel
like there are going to be.
There are women that will bewatching this, they're listening
to this later, that need a wordover them, that need a prayer
over them that will just movethem bravely into the next
season they're going into.
(33:20):
Would you lead us in prayer?
Speaker 2 (33:24):
Sure I'd love to Father God as we approach your
throne.
I thank you for the confidencethat you give us and the
invitation that you say you canbe for me boldly.
And, lord, I am so aware ofyour heart for women.
As we look, jesus, at howyou're invited women, how you
(33:46):
gave us honor, you gave us aplace at the table.
You called us to be right byyour side.
You did not diminish us, youdid not reject us, you did not
dismiss us, but you revealedyourself to us at many places.
A woman was the first place.
(34:06):
You revealed yourself asMessiah and you revealed
yourself as the living King.
It was two women and God.
For the women listening andwatching this, I pray that
revelation would happen for them.
You would reveal yourself notonly as their Lord and their
master, their shepherd, theirco-creator, that you stand with
(34:29):
them saying this is what I havein store for you, this is where
I'm leading you, this is how Iequipped you, this is how I
gifted you, and now I stand withyou.
Just as I blew on the disciples, I blowed fresh wind on you in
this season and I say seedsawaken, destiny awaken, gifts,
(34:53):
dreams, vision awaken.
Like I called Lazarus out ofthe tune called you by name.
Come out of that place, thatdormant place.
There have been wounds in yourlife, there have been tragedies,
things that have wrapped you up, kept you small, make you feel
(35:13):
confined.
But today, woman of God, hearthe voice of Jesus saying I am
calling you forth and don't beafraid of a committed fellowship
of sisters who can unwrap you,who can help you, who can be
used of God to minister to you.
At the same time.
(35:34):
This is your season to flourish, to grow, to extend those weary
arms and find out that there isstrength in you again, believe
again, trust again, sing yoursong, write your book, plan your
plans, dream your dreams, danceyour dance, give it all to God
(35:57):
and watch what Schnee will do.
And I just want to say thisFather, watch over your word to
perform it.
Jesus, in your name, god, Ibelieve that oftentimes we feel
we're going to be punished if westep out in faith ahead of you,
if we do something that'sstriving.
(36:17):
But may we understand that ittakes faith to take a step, to
believe that what's pounding inour chest came from you.
That thing that lights us upand brings some excitement came
from you.
We're not getting ahead of you.
We're awakening and recognizingthat you put it in us.
(36:39):
So may we take that step offaith, may we move forward, god,
believing that you have createdus for such a time as this.
So, god, I call forth.
I'm just hearing a jubilantsymphony.
I've never even said thosewords before, but, like the
music has begun, there's an armyof women going.
(37:00):
Yes, I'm ready.
Yes, let me have one morechance at this thing called life
.
Live big, go for it, you growgirl.
Amen, amen, amen.
Speaker 1 (37:12):
Share quickly about your book.
I know we're winding down ontime, your book coming out.
Speaker 2 (37:19):
Super excited.
We're going to have a coverreveal in the days ahead.
Guess who designed the cover?
I have no idea who would havedone that Brilliant, oh my
goodness.
The name of the book is themaking of a bravehearted woman
courage, confidence and visionin midlife.
I share five.
Really, they're secrets,they're fundamental truths and I
(37:43):
call them fortitude.
Five things you've got to get ahold of to flourish in midlife,
and you can get your copycoming in November with full
vision.
Yay, oh, don, it's been so goodto have you with us today.
Thank you for sharing yourheart and just it's been
(38:05):
wonderful to have you.
We got to do a little radiobroadcast with Don this week too
, so it's been the week of Don,so we had a wonderful time with
her.
You guys are my think of theweek.
We really appreciate you.
We just want to remindeverybody, before we sign off
here, that we would love for youto visit our website,
(38:26):
leadingladieslife.
If you haven't already, goahead and sign up to be one of
our VIPs.
There's still that freedownload from Ms Makayla Weaver,
if you'd like that.
A copy of the song is a giftfrom us to you and we will be
right back here with you soon,we hope.
Okay.
Speaker 1 (38:44):
Take care, bye guys.
Speaker 2 (38:47):
Goodbye everyone.
Much love to you, bye.
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