Latest / Arise Women of God / Stop Feeling Overwhelmed: Finding Your Divine Call & Faith in Action for Women
Transcript
- 0:00And I felt like the most imperfect parent ever.
- 0:03And what do I have to say?
- 0:05Because I messed so many things up.
- 0:07And yet I remember long ago that I thought, oh, my gosh, I have the degrees.
- 0:11I have experience.
- 0:11I taught parenting classes.
- 0:13I wrote parenting programs before I had children.
- 0:15That was my emphasis.
- 0:16One day, I remember specifically where I was in California, where we lived.
- 0:20And I remember thinking, this is so hard.
- 0:24I can't keep track of everything for my kids.
- 0:26I cannot do everything.
- 0:28There's just too much to focus on.
- 0:30And as I thought about that, I felt like I needed to come up with a system that would help me to help my kids.
- 0:38Are you a woman who knows God is calling you to something more, but you're unsure where to start or how to grow it into something impactful?
- 0:47You are not alone, and you're in the right place.
- 0:50Welcome to the Arise Women of God Podcast, a show for Christian women who feel called to shine his light and step into their divine purpose.
- 1:00Each week, you'll hear stories of faithful women, both from the Bible and today, who heard God's voice and chose to say yes even when it felt uncomfortable or uncertain, to step with faith into the unknown.
- 1:15You'll walk away with encouragement, spiritual insight, and practical steps to follow those holy promptings in your own life.
- 1:24So let's arise together as women warriors of light.
- 1:28Let's do it God's way.
- 1:30God strong.
- 1:35Hello and welcome to another episode of the Arise Women of God podcast.
- 1:39I'm your host, Tamara K.
- 1:41Anderson, and I am so excited to have another woman warrior of light spotlight today, and I'm welcoming Angela Myers.
- 1:50Angela, thank you for being here.
- 1:52I am thrilled to be here.
- 1:53I'm so excited to be with you, my friend.
- 1:55This is gonna be.
- 1:56And you know what's great is I have actually known Angela for a couple of years, and we happened to see each other at a conference just this past weekend.
- 2:05And it was just fun to spend some time with her again.
- 2:08And so I think it's awesome that now we get to have this wonderful chat with you about what God has been calling Angela to do and some of the obstacles she's encountered, but how God has opened up the
- 2:22way for her.
- 2:23And so let me do a, like, a formal introduction so you know a little bit about her and her gifts and talents and.
- 2:28And then we'll dive into what she can teach us about this journey that she's been on.
- 2:34So Angela Myers is a national speaker, author, family life educator, and trainer with a B.S.
- 2:42in Psychology and an Ms.
- 2:44In Family Life Education.
- 2:48She recently completed three years of service as National Education Chairman for the American Mothers, Inc.
- 2:56Where she oversaw a nationwide virtual program supporting mothers through classes, speakers, and forums.
- 3:05She is the founder of Kudos for Families, a nonprofit that equips parents to move from default to intentional parenting by modeling God's example as a perfect parent.
- 3:19Angela is the mother of four adopted children with special needs and the grandmother of four.
- 3:27So, oh, my goodness, Angela, you have quite the bio here.
- 3:31And it's almost like, where do we even start there?
- 3:33But I do have a question.
- 3:36Tell me one of the things that you were most proud of with your service with American Mothers, because I know you were in it.
- 3:45In it from a national perspective and.
- 3:48And maybe maybe some of the struggles that you see parents facing today that you were able to help and address.
- 3:56Okay.
- 3:57Yes.
- 3:57I really enjoyed my time with American Mothers, and I was able to go in and part of their mission is to have education for moms, but they really hadn't focused on that for many, many years.
- 4:10And so I was brought in and given a position where I could have that.
- 4:14An impact on that type of thing.
- 4:16So.
- 4:16So I'm really happy that we were able to set up quite a few programs.
- 4:20They already had a podcast that was running.
- 4:22Our friend Deanne Taylor is running that.
- 4:24So the podcast was going and was going great.
- 4:26But then we brought in Facebook Lives, where we.
- 4:29I would interview someone every other week, a mother or another professional.
- 4:33But typically moms across America who are experts in their field who could come in and talk to us about things like postpartum depression or how to get your kids to be respectful, those type of topics.
- 4:46So we were able to take that national platform and use it to give moms tools that they could use in their lives.
- 4:52And I loved the idea that we could take other moms to teach.
- 4:56So we became moms who were supporting one another.
- 4:59And so I'm really happy about that.
- 5:00And we did other things, working on a video series for them and that type of thing, but the idea was supporting moms with information that is good.
- 5:10Sometimes you get a lot of information on the Internet that may not be as trustworthy.
- 5:14And so I was so grateful to be part of that.
- 5:17Oh, well, what a tremendous service.
- 5:20Thank you for getting that going.
- 5:23That's fantastic.
- 5:25Now we're going to pivot just slightly, but it's on the same topic.
- 5:28And that is, what have you felt God, tugging you to do with this season of your life?
- 5:37Yes.
- 5:38It's interesting because I didn't realize that the Season was upon me because thinking I am so busy.
- 5:45My mom and dad were living with us, and they're elderly, and I have a daughter with special needs, and I have another son with special needs.
- 5:52And so I was just like, oh, how am I going to even do anything else?
- 5:56I am at.
- 5:57I'm bursting at the seams with so much busyness and so much life and not things that I could choose to put aside, to set aside.
- 6:04I couldn't set aside family members who were having issues and struggles and difficulties.
- 6:08And so I just had put my family as my priority for years.
- 6:13I left my career, set it to the side.
- 6:16I did have a career because when we first got married, I was unable to get pregnant.
- 6:20And so we ended up adopting our children.
- 6:21But I had five years where I had my career, and so I had set that aside to raise my family.
- 6:25And I thought, okay, when everything's good and everything's settled and everything calms down, then I will turn back to my career and try to be helpful to people.
- 6:34But Heavenly Father had another idea, and that was, oh, you need to start something now.
- 6:39And I was just like, what, are you kidding me right now?
- 6:43How in the world am I supposed to fit anything in?
- 6:45And so I felt the call to.
- 6:48I felt an urgency within me to get back into parenting and to start making an impact and a difference.
- 6:54And through the years, technology had changed.
- 6:57Things were so different in the past.
- 6:59I was just teaching in the community.
- 7:01And so I felt like he was calling me to use the things I got my degree in and to help parents.
- 7:08My parenting was not perfect.
- 7:09I struggled, and I had the tools from my degrees and my career.
- 7:14I was supposed to know what I was doing.
- 7:15And I thought, this is so hard.
- 7:17How can I help myself?
- 7:18How can I help other people?
- 7:19And so I guess from that learning experience, he wanted me to get something out there for.
- 7:24For parents.
- 7:27Wow.
- 7:28So it was just this feeling like, angela, I need you to step up and do this.
- 7:35So once you got that feeling, what did that path look like?
- 7:39Because often I think when we get an inspiration or a thought from God, we're like, oh, he is just going to open up the way.
- 7:47It's going to be like this sunshiny path, and it doesn't typically play out like that.
- 7:55It does not.
- 7:57I was shocked because the thing that I thought he was calling me to do is not what I've ended up doing.
- 8:04It's still in parenting.
- 8:05But I remember back then, I had worked with my dad in parenting.
- 8:08He and I both kind of worked together.
- 8:10I got my degree, sent him all the information I got.
- 8:12He got a different degree in counseling, and I thought I was being called to get his stuff, his parenting back out there.
- 8:21And I guess that was the way heavenly father got me into it, because I'm thinking, okay, get dad's stuff out there.
- 8:26And that urgency within me was so strong.
- 8:28Do it now while he's still alive.
- 8:31But it turns out that he kept pivoting me and changing where I was going.
- 8:35And had I had any idea how difficult it was going to be, I would have turned and run.
- 8:42Because if I had known that I was going to have to create my own stuff, that I was going to have to get my face out there online, that I was going to have to do social media and
- 8:51marketing, which I can't stand, I would have turned and run.
- 8:54So I think he kind of eased me into it.
- 8:56Just get dad's stuff out there.
- 8:59And then things just kept happening, and he's changed me and pivoted me in so many different ways.
- 9:06Wow.
- 9:08So tell.
- 9:09Give me an example, perhaps, of an obstacle you encountered and how God helped you to navigate that.
- 9:17Because often when he calls us to do something, it is out of our comfort zone, right?
- 9:23Yes, totally.
- 9:25I guess I didn't really know what I was doing.
- 9:29I.
- 9:30You know, when I was in school, it was the first time I got on a computer and tried to do my master's thesis, and I lost it because I didn't know how to back it up.
- 9:38It was so new.
- 9:39I went to college using a typewriter, so it was very new.
- 9:43So all of this new technology was different for me, and I'd kept up through the years, But I think knowing how to market, doing the technology, um, that was something I really had to learn.
- 9:54And I didn't know what I was doing.
- 9:56And yet, as I prayed for help because I was struggling, I learned so much on my own about websites and things like that.
- 10:04But he put people in my life at the right time.
- 10:10That taught me the things that I needed, things I never wanted to learn, never knew I needed to learn.
- 10:15He somehow I got connected through my dad just going out there where I didn't think he should go, saying, there's this guy that does all this marketing.
- 10:23Let's go talk to him.
- 10:24And I said, dad, no, let's calm down.
- 10:26Let's not do that.
- 10:27He set up a meeting, and the guy talked about branding and marketing, and he was a wonderful man.
- 10:33And he said, you know, I charge people, like $50,000 to do this.
- 10:36And I said, we don't have that.
- 10:37We are a nonprofit.
- 10:38We are just starting out.
- 10:40And he said, well, this is what I would tell someone to do in your position.
- 10:43Said, take this information, see what you can do, and then let's meet in a week.
- 10:48And so I took everything that he gave me.
- 10:50I was dying, I was stressed out, I was working, I was worried.
- 10:54And I was able to take everything that he'd given to me and turn it into something worthwhile like us.
- 10:59Because when we went met with him, he said, I want to meet with you.
- 11:03I want to help you.
- 11:04And so he taught me all of these incredible things that changed things for me and connected me with different people.
- 11:11And then I have a beautiful friend, Connie, that's a mutual friend of ours that I went to a meeting that she taught at church.
- 11:17And I thought, this, what she's saying is, for me, I need this.
- 11:23And by connecting with her, I learned all kinds of things, like how to market, do the back end of the.
- 11:30Not the back end of the website, but the email funneling and those types of things, and how to do a podcast and how to write a book.
- 11:37And he's just put people in my path that have helped me.
- 11:42He's filled in the gaps.
- 11:43He's helped me to get the connections and the resources that I needed that I didn't have.
- 11:48I didn't have the money to go hire people.
- 11:50I didn't have the time to go take another college course and get a degree or whatever.
- 11:54But he put those people in my path.
- 11:56And I'm not going to say it was easy.
- 11:58So hard to learn those things, so hard to report in, so hard to get out of my comfort zone and just, you know how it is when you're on the computer and you have to do something and with
- 12:09a website or whatever, and you have no idea what you're doing.
- 12:10You're pulling your hair out for a couple of hours.
- 12:12There's been a lot of that, a lot of that.
- 12:16But he's put people in my path, and I think that's how he's helped me to overcome a lot of the obstacles.
- 12:21So, Wow.
- 12:23I love the miracle that you shared of, you know, we don't have that kind of money.
- 12:27And yet he ended up becoming a powerful mentor to you.
- 12:32Yes.
- 12:33And helping kind of navigate you through that.
- 12:35I mean, what a miracle.
- 12:37And I've seen the same thing be true for me that when I needed the right person and sometimes those prayers with God.
- 12:46I don't know about you, but for me, I'm like, okay, God, you want me to do this?
- 12:50You need to open the right door, right?
- 12:53You need to send the right person.
- 12:55You need to send some thing to help me figure this out or navigate that.
- 13:01I noticed I end up praying.
- 13:03There's times I pray for technology angels to be sent to help me because I am like, I know there's a way to do this.
- 13:14And I, for the life of me, can't figure it out.
- 13:16So I need technology angel.
- 13:18So it's like this very blunt and honest conversation happening with God because I'm trying to do what he wants me to do, but it's.
- 13:29It's stretching me.
- 13:31And, and I want to ask you this as kind of a follow up.
- 13:37How do you feel your confidence in God has moved or changed by going through this process?
- 13:46That's a great question.
- 13:49I don't want to cry.
- 13:50I just feel like I see my inadequacies and I know he sees my inadequacies, and yet he has faith in me.
- 14:00He has a mission for me, like he does for each one of us.
- 14:03It's not just me.
- 14:03It's not just you.
- 14:04He has a mission for every daughter of God, every one of his daughters, every one of his children, his sons.
- 14:10And when he asks us to do something, we can go to him and say, you've asked me to do this.
- 14:17I need your help.
- 14:19I need thy help.
- 14:19And yet sometimes I find that the answers don't necessarily come the way that I thought they would.
- 14:25I don't necessarily figure out that technology issue right away.
- 14:29It takes.
- 14:30And I think he wants me to struggle.
- 14:31He wants me to go through the hard time because then I grow and I become stronger.
- 14:35And when I struggle with that little problem, I really learn it, you know, So I feel as if he.
- 14:43He really is there for us.
- 14:45He really does know what our struggles are.
- 14:47He wants us to do the things he wants us to do.
- 14:50He won't always give us the answers the way we think we need them.
- 14:53And I think hindsight is huge.
- 14:55You're asking me these questions which are causing me to reflect over the past few years and ask myself, where was I?
- 15:03How did this happen?
- 15:04And I have reflected in the past, not just today, but I've reflected about how did I end up where I'm at.
- 15:10And I can see his hand moving in my life.
- 15:13Someone compared it to chess pieces.
- 15:15Is that you recently?
- 15:16Who was that?
- 15:17Anyway, the chess pieces that he's.
- 15:18He's making the moves and he's making the changes and we don't really see the big picture, but he sees the big picture.
- 15:23He knows how he can use us.
- 15:25He knows what impact and influence we can have.
- 15:27I'm not sure if I answered your question.
- 15:28I kind of just went on and on.
- 15:30But, yeah, you did perfect and great.
- 15:33And I've seen that same thing, that same pattern in my life, that he has opened the right doors, but I've seen myself grow.
- 15:43I mean, exponentially.
- 15:45I.
- 15:46I don't know how else to say it other than it was like, I would learn something.
- 15:52He's like, and now do this, and it's enough stretching and growth, period.
- 15:56And I'm like, oh, growing pains, growing pains.
- 16:01And.
- 16:02But you know, what I've noticed about myself is that through the process, I have learned to hear him better.
- 16:11Like, and I feel like I can trust him even when I'm like, I don't know what this next little bit of the path is going to look like, but I feel you pulling me in this direction, and I'm
- 16:24going to go.
- 16:25But I think it's also helped me grow in confidence, like, in myself and in my capacity.
- 16:31Like.
- 16:32Like.
- 16:33Like he can see who Tamara can become.
- 16:37And I'm thinking small, and he's thinking huge and big.
- 16:42And so as I do these hard things, I'm like, wow, look at what I did.
- 16:46With God's help.
- 16:47Yes.
- 16:48I don't know.
- 16:48Have you seen something?
- 16:49Absolutely.
- 16:50I so appreciate that because I've seen myself change as he's given me these struggles, as he's given me these opportunities, which are scary.
- 16:59A lot of times when someone asks you to step out on a stage and speak without notes for 50 minutes or whatever, and I just.
- 17:06I feel like he strengthens us and he gives us that confidence.
- 17:10He has us go through little steps and processes, and we learn how to do things, but then we're actually implementing them.
- 17:16We have to trust him, trust that he will make up the difference in all.
- 17:20And our weaknesses and our inadequacies.
- 17:23And I.
- 17:24I just look at the things that.
- 17:26All these little things, all these different areas, and I think I.
- 17:29I'm confident now.
- 17:30Sometimes I feel like an imposter.
- 17:32You know, we.
- 17:33We think we're, you know, that imposter syndrome.
- 17:35But in general, it's a matter of, he's given me this to do in this moment.
- 17:39I need to go to this meeting, and I need to present these ideas, or I need to step on the stage and I need to teach all of this.
- 17:45And so he gives the opportunity, and the fear is There.
- 17:48And yet he makes up the difference if we just are brave enough to get out there and do it.
- 17:53And then afterwards it's like I did that.
- 17:56He helped me through his grace, through his goodness.
- 18:00He's helped me.
- 18:01He's given me his spirit as I've taught and I felt that.
- 18:04So he gives us that confidence.
- 18:05And I love knowing that he's helped me grow and improve, so I am a better representative for him.
- 18:13But also that he makes up that difference and that is really, really huge.
- 18:17And trusting him, trusting him that I can get through it and trusting him that even if I fall flat on my face, it's okay.
- 18:23I was there on his mission and it's all right.
- 18:27It doesn't matter.
- 18:29Yeah, yeah.
- 18:31And, and I know we, I was talking with my accountability group earlier this week and we were talking about how even if we feel we're failing, as long as we are learning and moving forward, that we need to
- 18:48count it as a success.
- 18:49Yes.
- 18:50Because learning means that we're going to do some things right and we're going to do some things wrong.
- 18:56And it's a process of, okay, here we go.
- 19:02And stumbling and falling and getting back up.
- 19:04It's the getting back up part that.
- 19:06Yes, that's most important because we're all going to fall.
- 19:10Right.
- 19:10Just keep going.
- 19:12You know, you go to launch something and it doesn't work.
- 19:15Nobody shows up to your class online or whatever it is, you're doing a Facebook Live today.
- 19:21Nobody.
- 19:22And it's okay.
- 19:24And, and it's practice.
- 19:25And he, I think when he knows we're willing, where we are willing to risk our pride, when he knows we're willing to risk the scary feelings, that's when his magic happens.
- 19:38That's when his spirit comes in and swoops in and that's when we're blessed more.
- 19:41Because a lot of times I feel like I don't know what he wants from me next.
- 19:45I really don't know.
- 19:47And then I have.
- 19:48I realize, oh, something happened.
- 19:50That's a.
- 19:51He's guiding me.
- 19:52This fell into my lap.
- 19:53He must want me to do this, you know, and so, yeah, just.
- 19:58He's there for us every step of the way.
- 20:00He's aware of us.
- 20:01He knows, he knows the struggles, he knows how busy we are.
- 20:04He knows what we can fit in and what we can't.
- 20:06And I think he magnifies our time.
- 20:10I'm going to do a quick follow up question because I think this is something we really struggle with as women.
- 20:16You said he knows what we have time for.
- 20:19And talk me through the process of when you feel overwhelmed and feel like something needs to be removed or like I'm not juggling what I have very well right now.
- 20:31I'm kind of in overwhelm.
- 20:33How does God help you discern what's okay to let go of?
- 20:41That's such a good question.
- 20:44Because I do feel as if most of us, as women, start taking things on and taking things on until we get to the point where we're completely overwhelmed.
- 20:52And sometimes I feel like that's exactly when he gives me something else to do.
- 20:57And then I'm like, are you kidding me?
- 20:59No way.
- 21:00Are you kidding me?
- 21:01So, yeah, I feel like he walks us through things.
- 21:06He gives us things.
- 21:07And we do have to look and say what is most important, because I do have all of this.
- 21:12I have to take a step back.
- 21:14And it's usually when I'm stressed out and I'm crying and I'm having a meltdown, and I think, okay, obviously, this is too much.
- 21:20What can I cut back?
- 21:22And I think in prayer to him, asking him, what can I cut back?
- 21:26I can't cut out my children.
- 21:27I can't cut out my husband.
- 21:30And I have a lot of special needs in my family.
- 21:32So that's always something I can't.
- 21:34I can't cut that out, and I won't cut that out.
- 21:36But he tells me other things or other ways, or sometimes it's the things I really don't want to let go that he's telling me to let go.
- 21:42I mean, just recently with American Mothers, it was a lot of time and effort, took a lot away from my parenting and my nonprofit, and it was really hard for me to let that go.
- 21:51But I felt like he was saying, it's time.
- 21:54It's okay.
- 21:55I dropped this into your lap.
- 21:57I gave you this opportunity.
- 21:58You went in there, you did what I asked.
- 22:00You laid the foundation for a new program.
- 22:02It's okay to let someone else take it over.
- 22:04And I also had to say, it's okay to let go.
- 22:08And if it doesn't continue the way I set it up, it's okay.
- 22:12I did what he asked me to do.
- 22:13And it wasn't always just because I served them.
- 22:16It was what I became because of that process.
- 22:19And so that helps me a lot.
- 22:20And another thing, too, is that I know I need to stop saying I'm so busy, because we don't want to say that I have time for everything that I need to have time for.
- 22:30But I remember quite a Few years ago, when I had so many special needs with my kids and so many appointments going on, and.
- 22:36And he gave me a job at Heavenly Father through the church leaders, gave me a responsibility at church, and it was a very big responsibility.
- 22:43And I remember thinking, I can't do this.
- 22:44I can't do all of this.
- 22:45And yet you're asking this of me.
- 22:47And I felt.
- 22:47I always feel like what Heavenly Father gives me to do, that's where my priority is, my family and what he gives me to do.
- 22:54And so, you know, pta, that can be.
- 22:56I can stop that, or whatever.
- 22:57But I remember praying to him and saying, you've asked me to do this.
- 23:01How am I going to possibly even do this?
- 23:03And I said.
- 23:04I said specific prayers.
- 23:06I need you to magnify my time, meaning I need you to make it so that I can do all of this.
- 23:13And I remember specifically going to a grocery store or another.
- 23:17I don't think it was a grocery store.
- 23:18I think it was like, Target or Walmart or something.
- 23:20And I remember thinking, okay, this is why I'm here.
- 23:23These are the things I need to get.
- 23:24And I was going through the store.
- 23:26I felt inspiration to, like, add things to my cart that were going to help for certain things in the future.
- 23:31So even though I was focused on one area of my life, he was putting little thoughts into my head, okay, while you're here, add this, this, and this, or do this.
- 23:40And so he would make it so that my normal stuff that I was doing, he was magnifying that.
- 23:45I remember going to meetings and thinking, I'm here for my responsibility at church.
- 23:49But as I sat there in those meetings talking about Heavenly Father and God and how we could help other people of Christ, I remember thinking, oh, my gosh, I need this for my family.
- 24:00We're talking about how I can serve the people in our congregation.
- 24:04That what the speaker is saying, that so applies to me and how to help my child.
- 24:08So he comes in.
- 24:10So if we step back, get rid of what we can, and then we say to him, this is what's on my plate.
- 24:15Still, please help me.
- 24:17He will help us.
- 24:19He's got that grace and that mercy where he will help us to make it happen if he's requiring it of us.
- 24:26Wow, that is so wise.
- 24:28Thank you so much for sharing that.
- 24:31Because we women do say yes to so many things, and I think that's been one of the things.
- 24:38I've also learned that it's okay to ponder things and say no.
- 24:42Yes.
- 24:43And I have another friend that says, I am happy with what is on my plate right now.
- 24:47You know, that's the way she graciously says no.
- 24:51And I just thought, wow, that is such a nice way of saying that.
- 24:55Well, you mean like when other people say, well, you do something, she'll say, I'm happy with what's on my plate right now.
- 25:00Yes.
- 25:01I thought, that is beautiful.
- 25:04That's a really kind way of saying, no way, no how people instead of.
- 25:10Like going through the buffet line and just piling stuff on, I'm happy with what's on my plate.
- 25:16I'm going to remember that.
- 25:17I know, right?
- 25:18I'm like, it's good, but it's also.
- 25:21And I also love that you spoke to what God calls us to do.
- 25:25Shifts and chains.
- 25:26Often there's a beginning and there's an end.
- 25:29So just like your service with American mothers, there was a beginning and you were meant to be there for a certain amount of time.
- 25:35And then it became too much.
- 25:38And God's like, and it's okay for you to step away.
- 25:41It's almost, it's good to have that conversation so that you can leave without the guilt of, oh, I, I'm leaving because I failed.
- 25:49No, I'm leaving because I accomplished what God wanted me to do in this instance.
- 25:54Do you know what I mean?
- 25:55I do, yes.
- 25:56Knowing that we've fulfilled whatever small part he asked us to do in that moment and that he's going to ask us to do something else now or he's going to say, it's okay, take some time, Breathe.
- 26:06I want the breathe.
- 26:07I want the breathing time.
- 26:10I just always feel like it's something else.
- 26:11But no, yes, but it is that.
- 26:14And I feel really relieved.
- 26:15As hard as it was for me to leave, I feel such relief.
- 26:18I feel like I have been unburdened and that, that he's giving me some, some beautiful time now to refocus on what I, what I know he wants me to do.
- 26:28So in whatever way.
- 26:29I don't know specifics, but I know the general direction he's heading me right now.
- 26:33And I know I have some ideas, Some things I feel guilty about that I need to do, like marketing.
- 26:39I just need to say yes.
- 26:40Okay, so why don't you tell me a little bit about kudos for families.
- 26:45Since you're saying he's pointing you back to your non profit and doing this, tell me a little bit about what it is, what you do.
- 26:53Um, and, and how this not only changed your family, but has such potential to help so Many other people, sure.
- 27:04I'd be happy to.
- 27:06So I did feel like I needed to go back into parenting, and that's my area.
- 27:10And I felt like the most imperfect parent ever.
- 27:13And what do I have to say?
- 27:15Because I messed so many things up, and yet I remember long ago, when I mentioned this just a minute ago, that I thought, oh, my gosh, I have the degrees.
- 27:23I have experience.
- 27:23I taught parenting classes.
- 27:25I wrote parenting programs before I had children.
- 27:27That was my emphasis.
- 27:28And I thought one day I remember specifically where I was in California, where we lived.
- 27:33And I remember thinking, this is so hard.
- 27:36I can't keep track of everything for my kids.
- 27:39I cannot do everything.
- 27:40There's just too much to focus on.
- 27:42And that was before I even had my youngest daughter, who there's so many more things with her.
- 27:47And as I thought about that, I felt like I needed to come up with a system that would help me to help my kids.
- 27:53And so I came up with my Kudos for Family system.
- 27:55And then we use that in my family.
- 27:56My dad sold it to parents, but I just mostly just focused on my family.
- 28:00And then when I felt this urgency a few years ago that Heavenly Father wanted me to get back into parenting, I started my nonprofit, which is called Kudos for Families, because the program's Kudos for kids.
- 28:11In other words, giving good to the kids for the things that they do.
- 28:14It's helping parents to have a system so they don't have to think of everything.
- 28:18So this was Kudos for Families.
- 28:20And my goal was to get out there and help as many families as I could to learn the skills and principles which I believe are true principles.
- 28:29And I actually am going to rebrand and start my podcast, which is Divine Parenting, because I feel that one of the best things that we can do as parents, Christian parents, is to look at God and how he
- 28:41parents.
- 28:41What does he do when he has children that go astray?
- 28:45And I think, okay, things like, he has consequences.
- 28:47He gives us guidelines.
- 28:49He shows unconditional love.
- 28:51So if we focus in on Heavenly Father parent the way he parents, we will be more successful as parents in doing our job as parents.
- 28:58I'm not saying our kids will turn out perfect, his haven't, but that we will be able to.
- 29:04To be able to look at ourselves and say, I am being directed by Heavenly Father.
- 29:08I am trying to pattern my parenting after him.
- 29:10And there are principles in psychology, in the parenting field and family of education policies.
- 29:17Excuse, not policies, but principles that if we apply them, will really make a difference in our Families.
- 29:23So my goal with my nonprofit is to help parents learn these principles.
- 29:28You know, you'll hear all the time when you.
- 29:30When you have a child, you don't get the parenting manual.
- 29:32What are we supposed to do?
- 29:33And I have issues with that because I had to take a bunch of parenting classes in order to adopt.
- 29:39And I was like, okay, I pretty much know all this stuff, but yes, I'll go through the classes.
- 29:42Would you like me to teach them?
- 29:44You know, not being arrogant, but thinking, I really didn't learn a lot from the classes, but I went through the steps, and I remember thinking, you can go out and you can.
- 29:52You can't even cut hair unless you get a license.
- 29:54You can't work at Burger King unless you have a food permit or whatever.
- 29:59And so I feel like parents are searching.
- 30:02I.
- 30:02It's really hard to parent.
- 30:04You're in the middle of a situation and things are happening and you don't know what to do.
- 30:08So I.
- 30:08My goal is to help parents learn Heavenly Father's principles for parenting and be able to use those.
- 30:14Also, because we have so much from our past, we learn from our parents, good or bad, all day, every day, how to parent either poorly or well.
- 30:22So my goal is to help parents look at the parenting that they have learned from, decide what they want to keep and what they want to get rid of and give them the tools that they need to get
- 30:31past the overwhelm of parenting and actually enjoy parenting and feel like they are doing everything they need for their kids.
- 30:38So that's my goal, with kudos for families.
- 30:41Oh, that is so beautiful.
- 30:43I love what you've shared there.
- 30:44And it is.
- 30:46It is.
- 30:47Parenting is tough, and it changes with every stage.
- 30:50Now I now have all adult children, and in parenting, adult children is so different.
- 30:55Forever.
- 30:56Parenting, right?
- 30:57Never ends.
- 30:59Never ends.
- 31:00No.
- 31:00But thank goodness we can pray.
- 31:02And often those little prayers, at least one of my parenting hacks that I've learned, and I'm sure you could do 10,000 of these, is saying a prayer in those moment of I have no idea what to do.
- 31:15Yes.
- 31:17That is like, my favorite parenting hack, because often the things I find coming out of my mouth after that, I'm like, that was not me.
- 31:27I would not have been that patient.
- 31:29Yes, exactly that.
- 31:31Exactly that.
- 31:33Oh, my goodness.
- 31:34Well, let's wrap this up.
- 31:36Tell us where we can find you on social media, where we people can find out more about you and your program.
- 31:44And also, I know you have a quote that motivated you as you stepped into your journey.
- 31:49Would you Mind sharing that as well?
- 31:51Yes, I would love to share that so you can find me online.
- 31:54My website is kudosforfamilies.com and I have lots of resources there.
- 32:00I have a book I wrote called I'd be happy to how to get your kids to do what you ask the first time and with a smile.
- 32:07And I have my social media handles are kudos for families.
- 32:10So just spelling it out, all lowercase, no spaces or anything.
- 32:14And so come find me.
- 32:15I would love to chat with you anytime.
- 32:17If you have questions or concerns, if you and I do think there are a lot of great things out there that I can help with.
- 32:23But I also feel that you as a parent have a gut feeling sometimes of what's best for your child or your family and just relying on that is huge.
- 32:33And then like you said, praying to Heavenly Father and asking him.
- 32:37So I've got tools and resources to go along with that gut feeling that you have as parent.
- 32:43And what Heavenly Father is, is asking and telling.
- 32:46And yes, I do have a quote that helped me that's really been inspirational for me.
- 32:51There are so many little nuggets and quotes, but I love this one.
- 32:54This is by a religious leader, Russell M.
- 32:56Nelson, and he said we need women who know how to make important things happen by their faith, who are courageous defenders of morality and families in a sin sick world.
- 33:08We need women who are devoted to shepherding God's children.
- 33:12I think that's so beautiful.
- 33:13Women who know how to receive personal revelation.
- 33:16Women who know how to call upon the powers of heaven to protect and strengthen children and family, and women who teach fearlessly.
- 33:24And I just think this is an incredible quote because Heavenly Father needs us.
- 33:28We have a mission for Him.
- 33:30He has things he wants us to teach our children and our families.
- 33:34And he wants us to go outside of ourselves and shepherd others of his children.
- 33:38And so I love this.
- 33:39It's like Heavenly Father saying, this is your call, this is what I want.
- 33:43And it's not like you have to have somebody come out and say this is what I want you to do.
- 33:47You're going to get feelings in your heart about what Heavenly Father wants you to do and how you can best serve Him.
- 33:53And it'll be very different from, you know, your other, the other woman you see at church sitting next to you.
- 33:59We all have his.
- 34:01He has mission for each of us and we can find it if we ask Him.
- 34:05And then he'll guide us through it.
- 34:06He'll help us through the struggles, give us more, more than we want to struggle through.
- 34:12Oh well, thank you Angela so much for coming on.
- 34:15It has been an honor to have you on the show today.
- 34:18And for those of you who are wondering, is God truly calling me to do something?
- 34:23I would just echo what Angela says.
- 34:25Trust your gut feeling.
- 34:28Trust that he's going to baby step you into whatever your best mission is in mortality.
- 34:34And Angela, final question.
- 34:36Does what you're doing bring you joy?
- 34:40It does.
- 34:41It's hard, but it brings me joy because I.
- 34:44I feel that there's nothing more important in life than God and our families.
- 34:48And being out there helping families is huge for me.
- 34:53Because what do we take with us?
- 34:54Our family relationships, our relationship with God.
- 34:57And so yes, it brings me joy.
- 34:59Joy to know that I can somehow, in some small way, maybe say something that might help someone.
- 35:06Thanks for tuning in to the Arise Women of God podcast, brought to you by Women warriors of Light.
- 35:11If you're feeling unsure how to move forward in your calling or just tired of doing it alone, visit womenwarriorsoflight.com you'll find resources, accountability, and a community of women who get it.
- 35:27Sometimes the calling feels bigger than you.
- 35:30That's when you need steady reminders of the powerful God who called you.
- 35:35Subscribe now for weekly inspiration and the courage to keep going.
- 35:40Because with him, nothing is impossible.
- 35:44And you're not the only one God is calling that friend on your heart right now.
- 35:48Share this episode with her.
- 35:50Your small act of obedience could be the breakthrough she's been praying for.
- 35:55Until next time.
- 35:56Time may you arise, walk God's way and stand God strong.