Latest / Why Not Today? with Leslie Kane / The Why Not Today? Podcast - Season 2 - Episode 19 with Tara Wall, Consider the Fields.

Transcript

The Why Not Today? Podcast - Season 2 - Episode 19 with Tara Wall, Consider the Fields. · Why Not Today? with Leslie Kane

• 0:00
  Hello, and welcome to the Why Not Today podcast.
• 0:05
  My name is Leslie, and I'm the host of the podcast.
• 0:07
  And this podcast was started to celebrate people who have been courageous and said,
• 0:11
  Why Not Today?
• 0:12
  I started this podcast in honor of my father, Patrick Kano, who often did say, Why Not Today?
• 0:17
  I am based in Reston, Virginia, a planned community right outside of Washington, DC, and thanks
• 0:21
  for joining us today.
• 0:23
  And I'm excited for my guest, Tara Wall.
• 0:26
  She's done all these cool things.
• 0:27
  And I love how we met.
• 0:29
  And I always talk about connections.
• 0:32
  And if you listen to any of the episodes, I spent a lot of time at Smith Mountain Lake,
• 0:35
  and I was there having coffee with a friend, and she had a really cute bracelet on.
• 0:39
  And I asked her where she got it.
• 0:41
  She told me this cute little store called Consider the Field.
• 0:44
  Never heard of it.
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  And it was one of those days that I need to take a break from work.
• 0:47
  And I just went in there.
• 0:48
  I met Tara and just started connecting with her and then met with her another day.
• 0:54
  And I just love all the things you're doing to help women, support women, women.
• 0:58
  So many causes that are dear to my heart and so many connections we had.
• 1:02
  So I'm super excited to have you on here to partner with you.
• 1:07
  And we'll talk about, as we go through the episode, some different ways you can give
• 1:11
  back and help them.
• 1:13
  As we're approaching the holiday season, it's always a good time to be able to make a difference.
• 1:18
  So Tara, why don't you introduce yourself?
• 1:21
  A little quick fact about you and a fun fact.
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  And the other kind of fun thing too is that we connected and figured out, if you know
• 1:30
  me at all, that I have this connection to Buffalo, New York.
• 1:33
  I was born there and I always meet people.
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  And Tara is from Batavia, New York, which is a planned community which my dad helped
• 1:43
  redevelop and I have a good friend from there.
• 1:45
  So small little world.
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  So go ahead.
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  Yeah, that was my fun fact.
• 1:48
  Oh, no.
• 1:49
  That's okay.
• 1:50
  Me too.
• 1:51
  Thank you so much for having me.
• 1:52
  Yeah, that was my fun fact.
• 1:57
  I have one of three girls raised in Western New York.
• 2:04
  And so my husband and I down here 10 days after we got married and that was over 22
• 2:10
  years ago.
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  And we thought we were only coming for like six months.
• 2:15
  We were going to Bible school and I was going to get all straight and out and go back to
• 2:19
  state college in New York and here I am finishing college at Liberty University online 22 years
• 2:25
  later.
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  So yes.
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  So and I know you are a busy woman and have a lot going on and we can kind of talk about
• 2:34
  that through the courage part.
• 2:36
  But let's start with what does courage mean to you?
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  What's your definition of courage?
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  I thought about this while I was reading through your notes and all I can phrase it as is just
• 2:46
  doing the next right thing that think that's the simplest easiest way to say just do the
• 2:50
  next right thing.
• 2:51
  I love that simple and easy and doesn't you don't have to think twice about it.
• 2:57
  So you've had an interesting life the parts I've heard and you've got a nonprofit.
• 3:03
  You have a store.
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  You have a ton of kids.
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  You've given back you.
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  You're going to school like you know they say if you need something done give it to
• 3:12
  a busy person.
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  You sure as heck is that busy or that busy person.
• 3:16
  So tell us you know some of the courage things you've done about the nonprofit the store how
• 3:22
  that evolved and yeah sure story.
• 3:27
  Well yeah I'll start from that part of our story in 2020 we ended up adopting two kids
• 3:32
  from foster care and our journey had started in 2017 and there is I wrote a blog post about
• 3:39
  it if you ever want to go back but I know this is only like a 30 minute podcast so I'll
• 3:43
  save you the whole story.
• 3:44
  What word do you find your blog post just so people know.
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  Consider the fields dot com.
• 3:49
  Yep.
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  There's a whole list of like our foster care journey and what we went through and how we
• 3:55
  experienced it really through.
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  Well well I wrote it in real time a lot of it and so I had four biological kids already
• 4:05
  so we have seven all together.
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  My husband had a daughter she's my bonus baby and then we have four together and so when
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  we started down this foster care journey I had already felt in my heart there were two
• 4:18
  kids that we needed to adopt.
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  I didn't know who they were I didn't know where they were and so we just needed to feel
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  safe and so we told the Lord will never foster and it'll never be local and within two weeks
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  we were signed up to be therapeutic foster parents and our yes was from the next closest
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  city Ronan.
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  Wow.
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  Of course.
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  You know so it makes me say I'll never do that I usually laugh at.
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  That's exactly what happened and so going through the system and trying to get those
• 4:49
  kids reunited and seeing addiction and abuse and a broken system it shattered our hearts
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  and that was our first experience hands on you know with that and so our kiddos that
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  we said well we said yes to our one little boy and he had a sister and she also needed
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  a home by the end of the two years we adopted both of them and that was 2020 and so we had
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  to close our home to foster care.
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  Our family was broken we were exhausted the trauma the pain that they we had all gone
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  through and so closing our home I knew it was the right thing to do but my heart was
• 5:30
  broken because you can't unsee the problem right.
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  So my answer to that was well what can we do and so I literally had a dream that I had
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  twins and the reason yeah this is after six kids and so I knew it was the Lord because
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  in in the dream I was happy that I found out I was and so I knew that was impossible but
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  I kept trying to convince everybody that no this is a good thing this is a good thing
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  and I came to understand that consider the fields and project hope were my my next babies
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  you know and so consider the fields as our store and we started as just an online t-shirt
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  club and we said hey listen we want to create a long term a faith based home for women to
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  be able to recover from addiction and abuse with their children if we can get those kids
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  back to them then we will not see families you know if we can help them make better choices
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  if we can see them unite if we can reunify them and give them the tools that they need
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  and option to make a better choice that's going to be our invitation that's going to
• 6:39
  be our goal and that's where project hope came from just healing opportunity purpose
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  and education and that's our goal for these women in the program to have those opportunities
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  and to and to get that start to have that safe place and get those kiddos back to them
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  whenever safely possible so those are my twins that's awesome well let's talk about consider
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  the fields it's such a fun store I really wish I lived more local come play there more
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  often and such a fun store that I actually have somebody on my team that was going through
• 7:17
  a rough time and there was a devotion I got there I was able to connect with you you said
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  she picked up the book I paid for it and it was a great way to give something to somebody
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  local I know you probably send it to but so your store has shirts earrings devotional
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  stickers baby it's got it's just like so much fun lots of cool stuff a lot of it Christian
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  base so and I love your t-shirt club and your earring club so talk about those two things
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  that you've done right so that was the invitation that we gave I had no idea how people would
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  like it but I always was like the t-shirt girl I thought like if our family went on
• 7:59
  a vacation I'd put my kids in t-shirts you know really so I could count them and find
• 8:04
  them but even for like our extended family if we would go on a vacation I just wanted
• 8:09
  to you know get that picture with everyone together and we have photos of our adoption
• 8:14
  day we all have like matching t-shirts on you know and like it takes a bit so that's
• 8:19
  where it started and I thought what if we just invite other people to partner with us
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  on this journey and so we started asking do you want to be a part of our t-shirt club
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  and so for $27 a month you get a new t-shirt is our t-shirt club always has a scripture
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  on it somewhere hidden in there or it might be the front it might be the whole thing like
• 8:39
  it's different every month but then we unpack it in a Bible study online you could even
• 8:44
  join that if you want and then we just added the earrings about 16 18 months ago so you
• 8:50
  could pick one or all three you could pick one or the other and so people were saying
• 8:55
  yes and that was our community that's our village you know the people that are supporting
• 9:00
  us month after month they get a new package in the mail that has a t-shirt and earrings
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  there's your outfit you know you pair it with jeans or a jacket and a cardigan and you're
• 9:09
  good to go and so it has really been our our sustainer as we got to store off the ground
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  and opening the brick and mortar that just happened last November we haven't even officially
• 9:22
  a year yet so we're so grateful for the local support and having a home base location but
• 9:29
  it's taking time to to to ramp that up especially in such a difficult economic and political
• 9:35
  season so the support from the community is amazing but it's really the t-shirt club that
• 9:41
  is in the earrings and our Bible study any one of those is sustaining us with that monthly
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  support and those people constantly coming in it's just really beautiful to watch we
• 9:51
  have people from Texas and Pennsylvania and a huge New York showing because of our family
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  at home that just wants to help but they can't be there with us you know so my sister's been
• 10:01
  in it since the beginning and you know she cuts her shirts every month and wears them
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  the volleyball and all the things like that and so it's just people showing up and doing
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  what they can and that's why we say everyone can do something and that's so true and just
• 10:19
  a little bit and people want to help and people you know I have been involved with lots of
• 10:23
  nonprofits and things and people always ask the question like how do I get involved how
• 10:27
  do I help and so it's knowing and people may not have time you know especially those moms
• 10:33
  like you that have all these kids and a lot's going on you don't physically have time but
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  you have funds and you have you know can I mean $27 a month and a cute t-shirt which
• 10:46
  I love and the earrings and so yeah I definitely need to get involved in the t-shirt or the
• 10:51
  month club and a full of fun facts just two months ago we actually have an option for
• 10:58
  the guys because some of our mom has wanted to be a part you know but then either the
• 11:02
  closet gets full or what if you're not a t-shirt person well you can buy for your kids now instead
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  so like you want to transfer yes and our guy shirts are phenomenal so hey I know you said
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  you're gonna help me with v-neck shirts because I prefer a v-neck so I know you do yes I've told
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  several people about that and I you know it's a great thing I was not a big t-shirt girl until
• 11:24
  probably COVID happened and then it's like you know you can really express people are more casual
• 11:29
  you can express things and I love you know we have t-shirts for why not today and so being able to
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  share that the other fun thing you did and I think you're doing it again next week and I'm so bummed
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  that I'm not there and I'm gonna beg you and twist your arm it's doing it when I'm gonna be there
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  it is your do-it-yourself t-shirt and earring event it's so much fun so you're not only selling stuff
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  supporting a cause but you're building community which I love yes in connections and you know what
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  I've really found especially women these days are just hurting they're lonely life is hard and we need
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  that community in connection so you've got the t-shirts the earrings and then the bible study
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  you can get involved with and go to your store it's like I loved going in there I felt like I was
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  just hanging out in the front oh I'm so glad our people are amazing I have some girls that work
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  for me and with me and they are just there to make it have my daughter Abby you know she's just
• 12:28
  starting out and she's learning so many things and just to support and the the goal is to serve
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  our people they understand that we're building relationship with people that God is sending
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  the people to our store and our job is just to serve them and that's probably the highest compliment
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  that I can get is when a customer comes in saying they just love being with us and they feel like
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  they're home and their family yeah it's just a very welcoming store and you guys are all welcoming
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  I love your daughter got to meet her and yeah it's just all the things you do in there it's just
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  very fun and welcoming and so your project hope so where your store is is actually a house
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  which I know there's a whole story behind that but that is that where you envision the project
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  hope women to be okay so these are our first steps that's a great question thank you so much and
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  you know what project hope has a website it's called project hope is here dot com if anybody
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  does want to go check that out and I'll share all those things on show notes too yeah yeah thank you
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  and that shows a little bit about you know our vision for for project hope and so because we
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  don't have the long-term home right now we have our eye on some land um the the bottom line is we
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  have been finishing the store and renovating it so as we open those front rooms so for like Thursday
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  night we're practicing right we're opening those doors to the front rooms where people can come in
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  and have that coffee and they're designing their shirts and we're pressing them on site we're creating
• 14:04
  earrings you can sit there with a friend you can come by yourself and make a friend um but the whole
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  point is we want to be getting those women in for because we don't have the the the home right now
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  we have connections with like Piedma and our local community where these women who are in the out
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  patient programs we want to be bringing them into the store at least one day a week and working with
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  them we want to be teaching them how to make the earrings how to make bath bombs how to
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  dress for a job you know it's got the full kitchen in there so we can be teaching them and
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  showing them how do you balance a checkbook how do you make macaroni and cheese for your kiddos
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  wherever the need is that's our intention of training these women and above all things letting
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  them know that they're not alone and somebody is rooting for them so our earring girl Christy
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  is phenomenal she just moved from Pennsylvania a couple years ago and her story is so beautiful
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  God just sent her here I'm so sure for me and so her job before COVID in Pennsylvania was
• 15:10
  taking mops into the women's prison and her heart is for these women and so she is just chomping
• 15:19
  at the bit to get these women in here just start talking because they have the mantra like busy
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  hands open heart you know if you can get somebody working on something their heart will open up I
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  know that really resonates with you and the way that you live and yeah so I love how we have all
• 15:36
  these common connections but those are the people that God is bringing to us to say like let's all
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  pitch in and use our gifts and talents to bring healing into our community yeah and so many things
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  you can do and lift up women and you know in crisis but also just in general you know
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  right lift up and help and teach women part of my mission is promote myself as a courage
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  hope coach you know through the podcast but also through my marik a business being able to help
• 16:08
  women give them courage and confidence and yeah feel better about themselves just a new lipstick
• 16:13
  or something just to make them feel good it makes a difference this is what God has been
• 16:18
  sharing with me about how multi-purpose he really is that I used to think like okay t-shirts you
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  know you really want me to do t-shirts I mean how spiritual is that and now I'm seeing like the
• 16:29
  difference that it makes t-shirts and earrings and Bible studies sure they encourage my heart
• 16:34
  they encourage your heart you know so many of the women are like this is exactly what I needed to hear
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  or how do you get the same the right shirt month after month and I'm like only the Lord would come
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  up with something that blesses you and me and also has a bigger purpose and a vision that's
• 16:51
  bringing hope and healing to community like that's the multi-purpose God that we serve and what it
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  and what it does is when you wear the shirt people notice it it's a conversation starter
• 17:01
  yeah talk about the mission and I love that you have a sheet the talk about project hope that
• 17:07
  the book that I bought it was the the bookmark bookmark for me yeah exactly and you have cool
• 17:13
  stickers and different things so yeah lots of cool stuff you're doing I'm excited about that so
• 17:20
  so any other courage stories you want to share things you've done or seen or and I definitely
• 17:26
  need to connect with Christy to talk about her story for the podcast yeah that's going to be so
• 17:31
  exciting um one thing I did want to encourage um anyone who's listening because I know that they
• 17:37
  don't know me very well or anything like that so I just wanted to share really quick um it was just
• 17:43
  over two years ago and I think we talked about this a little bit where I had gotten you know the
• 17:47
  dreadful C word and then I got pneumonia from that and I um almost uh did not recover like I just
• 17:56
  yeah and I have no no no issues no nothing and I'm 40 years old literally at this time with
• 18:02
  six kids at home struggling to to survive and so um that's why I get short of breath sometimes
• 18:09
  sorry I'm still working on that and notice it okay great look at it we're look how far we've come
• 18:15
  but um two months after that happened I um I lost over 85 percent of my hair within uh 40
• 18:23
  within within a month and um it was devastating so not only could I not breathe I could not um
• 18:32
  uh walk out of the house like I lived in beanie's and you know I had to get a hair piece and you
• 18:38
  know be brave for my kids and still try to recover when there were days I didn't even want to and so
• 18:44
  coming out of the woods of that and um looking back and seeing what the last two years have done
• 18:51
  I just felt in my heart to encourage who is ever listening that you can still do the next right
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  thing right there were days I I did not want to get out of bed and there are days that um it didn't
• 19:05
  even seem like it was worth it and some sometimes I still struggle with that when when I can't breathe
• 19:10
  and yes this is all my original hair now but it took me to grow it back right and so even in the
• 19:18
  darkness you know a lot of times the best thing we can do is turn around and serve somebody else
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  and and get our eyes off of our own problems and do the thing that I couldn't fix my hair
• 19:29
  and I couldn't fix my lungs but I could keep doing something and I could keep offering an invitation
• 19:36
  and and trying to keep growing this for somebody else that is so so true and I know that you know
• 19:42
  we don't always have uh days that are unicorn and roses and everything yes and we do even those of
• 19:49
  us that are positive and have a lot going on we have bad days um and being able to give back to
• 19:55
  somebody else and to serve and just little things I remember during that 2020 year that I had a really
• 20:02
  bad day you know and it was scary for me running my own business and what was I going to do but I
• 20:06
  remember one day in particular it was one of those days I got up and just wasn't feeling very good and
• 20:12
  and I was purposeful during that whole process to get up and do my hair and do my makeup and shower
• 20:18
  well this one day I just didn't feel like it wasn't feeling and so finally I was just in such a funk
• 20:23
  and I finally took a shower did my hair did my makeup put on some fun jewelry and went to the
• 20:28
  dollar store and it was in February so I remember I just went and bought a stack of valentine's cards
• 20:33
  and I just came home and just sent them all the people I knew and I'm just like you know who can
• 20:38
  I bless and you know what when you give back you feel better and you're gonna be blessed and you
• 20:44
  get out of your funk and you're making a difference for somebody else I was talking to that about this
• 20:48
  to somebody the other day that unfortunately it's just in a bad place I'm like who can you go give
• 20:53
  to who can you go what can you do you know and I think we need to be there you know for our friends
• 21:00
  and be watching out for you know people that are going through stuff like with you you know to have
• 21:07
  somebody to have dropped off food or just a little love or you know those little things we can do
• 21:14
  that don't need to cost you money and yeah they may take some time but you can even do a simple
• 21:19
  thing and send a card to someone you know in the mail with a fun sticker and a fun stamp and just
• 21:25
  make a difference I love that and you're doing all those things so I love it so I always ask you
• 21:31
  what would you say to encourage somebody anything other than just do the next best thing so yeah
• 21:39
  what was your question sorry I wrote so that's okay just to encourage somebody to be courageous
• 21:44
  yeah to me I thought about that story of where you know Jesus Jesus is out there with his disciples
• 21:51
  and they're in the storm and the boat is rocking and Peter wants to get out of the boat you know
• 21:57
  and he was like lord if this is you then that bid me to come to you and you know when we feel like
• 22:03
  those storms are coming what did Jesus say like come on get out on the on the water you know in
• 22:08
  the middle of the storm and Peter climbed out of that boat and so it's not going to be all it's
• 22:14
  never going to be you know smooth sailing and that that boats there's never going to be a perfect
• 22:20
  time but there always is this moment right you said why not today right that he climbed out of that
• 22:27
  boat and so I think a lot of times we talk ourselves out of it before we get there and that's why we
• 22:34
  say do the next great thing right and everyone can do some you don't have time okay fine join the
• 22:38
  t-shirt club you don't have you know the the effort to put in sign up one time and then you can just
• 22:44
  yeah and all do something yeah and it's just doing the thing just like and we're so bad it's like
• 22:50
  all right should I do this and ask 20 people and we ask the opinions people we don't even care about
• 22:55
  and yes we think about it and we pray about I'm like listen to the first voice that said do it
• 23:00
  and just do it count five four three two one and just do it yes we overthink it until we talk
• 23:07
  ourselves out of it and now what are we like going to do you know listen to the news a little bit
• 23:12
  longer or you know some more hardship no we don't need that we need action on the things we know
• 23:19
  that we should be doing absolutely well I always try to connect back to my dad and that was an easy
• 23:25
  peasy one from the very beginning um butavia connection and you know you're the second person
• 23:30
  I've met from butavia that's um and the other person I met who is a great friend of my now her
• 23:37
  father-in-law worked with my dad when he did the redevelopment of butavia so you know going back
• 23:42
  to that and yeah you've just got a big heart and my dad was an only child and hated it and so I am
• 23:51
  one of six kids and every other kid in we didn't we didn't adopt any they're all six biologic but
• 23:59
  every holiday if anybody didn't have a place to go they were always invited so our house
• 24:04
  always the open place and sounds like kind of consider the fields and I'm probably your
• 24:10
  personal home is the same way everybody can go and knock on the door and be there so well I'm
• 24:16
  excited with this episode coming out um and I'm gonna time in and we'll share on social media
• 24:24
  exactly I'm gonna come to the store and we are gonna have some why not today stuff so we've got
• 24:29
  today's t-shirts with their signature teal color yes and the logo on here for those listening
• 24:37
  and don't know this is my dad's logo he had an ipad on handlebar mustache so that's logoed with it
• 24:42
  and then we have cups that I'm gonna have there and some t some stickers so we're gonna have some
• 24:49
  cool things and one of the ideas I've had with why not today and I think this is a perfect time to
• 24:54
  kick it off is I am all about giving back and contributing so we are going to do anybody that
• 25:00
  buys a why not today t-shirt or cup any why not today swag from the debut of this podcast
• 25:08
  probably a month or maybe even through the holidays that a percentage is going to go back to
• 25:14
  um project hope so anybody that buys a t-shirt buys a cup we're going to give back and we're
• 25:19
  going to start a t-shirt club of our own with why not today t-shirts and every month have a new
• 25:24
  charity to be able to share so we're going to kick it off with you and yeah we'll find out exactly
• 25:29
  when I can be there because of course I'm not local um but then we will connect and we'll have some
• 25:35
  stuff there and I'll be in the store if anybody wants to come in and meet me and just love to meet
• 25:41
  some of your customers and friends and followers so yay all right well thank you for being my
• 25:47
  guest any closing remarks anything we missed oh I'm so grateful to be here thanks for letting me
• 25:52
  share my story are you welcome thank you for sharing it so you can find the why not today
• 25:57
  podcast at our website which is why not today podcast.com we're on Spotify and iTunes and
• 26:02
  Google and all the places so listen like it review it share it with a friend and as I always say just
• 26:09
  say why not today just do it all right thanks a lot for being my guest.