Latest / Stuck No More Voices / 339-Yolanda Grey: It Was Never Partying. It Was Medicine.

Transcript

339-Yolanda Grey: It Was Never Partying. It Was Medicine. · Stuck No More Voices

• 0:00
  Theresa: You have dealt with life issues that have devastated you.
• 0:03
  Theresa: Is it possible to have the abundant life that God promised?
• 0:09
  Theresa: My guest is going to give you the keys to just do that.
• 0:13
  Theresa: Hey, welcome back to the Stuck No More Voices Podcast.
• 0:16
  Theresa: I'm Theresa Croft.
• 0:17
  Theresa: I'm a voice visibility str- uh, strategist.
• 0:20
  Theresa: I help Christian women go from their calling to their story to have a message for their ideal client.
• 0:28
  Theresa: Before we get started, do two things for me.
• 0:30
  Theresa: Subscribe to this channel on YouTube, and I think you're gonna wanna share this podcast with someone you know who needs it.
• 0:38
  Theresa: This episode is a special feature with the Stuck No More Voices Podcast.
• 0:42
  Theresa: It's called the Calling Table Sessions.
• 0:46
  Theresa: I'm so excited because it's a seat for Christian women whose story deserves to be handled with care and whose voice is ready to be heard.
• 0:55
  Theresa: So pull up a chair, help me welcome our guest, Yolanda Gray.
• 0:59
  Theresa: Yolanda, welcome.
• 1:01
  Yolanda: Thank you.
• 1:02
  Yolanda: Thank you.
• 1:02
  Theresa: You are a coach- Good to be here mentor to Christian women who are ready to take back their life for their God-designed destiny but don't know what that looks like.
• 1:11
  Theresa: Now, there has to be a story behind you being that kind of a coach.
• 1:15
  Theresa: Do you wanna share it?
• 1:17
  Yolanda: Sure.
• 1:18
  Yolanda: Uh, let's see.
• 1:20
  Yolanda: There's always a story, and if you're my age, you have several stories.
• 1:23
  Yolanda: So-
• 1:25
  Theresa: I get you, girl.
• 1:26
  Yolanda: Yeah, yeah.
• 1:28
  Yolanda: So, um, my, my whole entire life's been dedicated to helping others, and I j- I just was raised that way.
• 1:35
  Yolanda: I was the oldest of six girls in a-
• 1:37
  Theresa: Mm
• 1:37
  Yolanda: highly dysfunctional family, and, um- Wow and, um, I was the caregiver, you know, s- took care of mom, my sisters.
• 1:44
  Yolanda: And, and so it's a something that was in- I believe that it was, is in me to do.
• 1:50
  Yolanda: Right.
• 1:50
  Yolanda: And along with the gifts that God ha- uh, gives us as he, as we move through life, as we experience life, and he shows- Yeah us that nothing that happened to us was ever, uh, wasted.
• 2:02
  Yolanda: Mm.
• 2:02
  Yolanda: Yeah.
• 2:02
  Yolanda: It was never He knew, and-
• 2:04
  Theresa: Right
• 2:05
  Yolanda: and how we go through is what comes out on the other side.
• 2:09
  Yolanda: Yeah.
• 2:09
  Yolanda: So I, you know, I don't know, um, where you want to, to s- to start with that.
• 2:13
  Yolanda: Well, where Did
• 2:14
  Theresa: you have a battle that you overcame with any of these issues that you help others?
• 2:20
  Yolanda: Absolutely.
• 2:21
  Theresa: Okay.
• 2:21
  Yolanda: So the first one was, well, I was a teenage mama, so there's that.
• 2:25
  Yolanda: Oh, okay.
• 2:26
  Theresa: Yeah.
• 2:27
  Yolanda: Um, and, um, I was in a very difficult marriage, I'll just say it like that-
• 2:33
  Theresa: Mm.
• 2:33
  Theresa: That Yes.
• 2:33
  Theresa: Yeah
• 2:33
  Yolanda: for, um, almost 20 years.
• 2:37
  Yolanda: Sh- And yes.
• 2:38
  Yolanda: And, um, and what actually ha- what happened and how I was able to, even to walk away was- And you know this, um, from talking to other women, is that when we don't know who we are- Mm especially if we don't know who we are in Christ, our identity is, uh, attached to how everybody else looks at us, or the expectations they have of us.
• 3:05
  Yolanda: And if we don't have, and this is just my opinion right now, but if, uh, we don't have that relationship with Jesus, and we don't know what he s- says about us, and we don't know John 10:10- Right that he came to give us an abundant life, um, then we are not able to choose to take back- Ooh our lives.
• 3:24
  Theresa: Wow.
• 3:25
  Yolanda: And it is, um, from that I spent years, years, in alcoholism.
• 3:32
  Theresa: Okay.
• 3:33
  Yolanda: Raising children, trying to look good, s- working, going to school- Wow running my kids around.
• 3:40
  Theresa: Wow.
• 3:40
  Yolanda: My husband traveled a lot.
• 3:42
  Yolanda: My husband at the time, he traveled a lot, and, um, I was basically holding down the fort.
• 3:47
  Yolanda: And my alcohol was probably the equivalent of a bottle of Xanax or something that you would take- Sure, sure to quell that anxiety.
• 3:56
  Theresa: Yeah.
• 3:57
  Yolanda: You know, people talk about partying and alcoholism.
• 4:00
  Yolanda: It never did that for me.
• 4:02
  Theresa: No.
• 4:02
  Yolanda: I, m- for me, it was medicine.
• 4:04
  Yolanda: Oh.
• 4:04
  Yolanda: It was a medication.
• 4:05
  Yolanda: It was something I took after a long, hard day's work.
• 4:08
  Theresa: Totally get that.
• 4:09
  Theresa: Totally get that.
• 4:10
  Yolanda: And and if you, uh, if you remember the 24-Hour Woman, the Enjoli commercial?
• 4:16
  Theresa: I don't.
• 4:16
  Theresa: I'm not too
• 4:17
  Yolanda: young.
• 4:17
  Yolanda: Oh, you're too young.
• 4:20
  Theresa: But she, it said- Girl, I'm 63 years old.
• 4:22
  Theresa: Am I too young?
• 4:23
  Yolanda: You're too young.
• 4:24
  Theresa: Okay.
• 4:25
  Yolanda: Um, the commercial s- was a lady who, she, you know, we could do it all.
• 4:28
  Yolanda: That's what the tor- 24-Hour Woman is, I write about in my book.
• 4:32
  Yolanda: Yeah.
• 4:32
  Yolanda: Is like, you know, we can bring home the bacon, fry it up in the pan, and then she says,"And never let you forget you're a man."
• 4:40
  Theresa: Yeah, I have seen that.
• 4:41
  Theresa: That, that's familiar.
• 4:41
  Theresa: That, remember
• 4:42
  Yolanda: that
• 4:42
  Theresa: commercial?
• 4:43
  Theresa: Definitely, yeah.
• 4:43
  Theresa: Sure.
• 4:43
  Yolanda: Yeah, so I lived my life like that, and it's elusive.
• 4:47
  Yolanda: If, you know, so you chase and chase and chase, and if you're married to someone who's not on the same page as you, then-
• 4:53
  Theresa: Yeah.
• 4:54
  Theresa: And
• 4:54
  Yolanda: what, so what happened was I got sober.
• 4:56
  Yolanda: So I, I,
• 4:57
  Theresa: I got to- I was gonna say, there's got, there's a pivot there, right?
• 4:59
  Theresa: There's
• 4:59
  Yolanda: a pivot.
• 5:00
  Yolanda: 'Cause that's sober.
• 5:00
  Yolanda: I, yes.
• 5:01
  Yolanda: I got help.
• 5:02
  Theresa: Wow.
• 5:03
  Yolanda: And at seven years of sobriety, I decided that, uh, enough was...
• 5:09
  Yolanda: We were, now we're really going this way.
• 5:12
  Yolanda: Okay.
• 5:12
  Yolanda: And, um, and my life, uh, changed drastically.
• 5:16
  Yolanda: Now, before that, I was a, I was a Sunday school teacher.
• 5:21
  Yolanda: Mm-hmm.
• 5:21
  Yolanda: So I was in church- Mm-hmm hungover most of the time.
• 5:25
  Yolanda: Yeah,
• 5:25
  Theresa: yeah.
• 5:26
  Yolanda: And I, uh, when I came into, um, recovery, I basically walked away from the Lord f- for a while.
• 5:35
  Theresa: Mm-hmm.
• 5:36
  Yolanda: Not that I didn't believe, but I wasn't- Sure committed or surrendered.
• 5:39
  Yolanda: Yeah.
• 5:39
  Theresa: Sure.
• 5:40
  Yolanda: When I surrendered to the help, my life began to change.
• 5:45
  Yolanda: And, you know, we, when, we have to shift perspective.
• 5:48
  Yolanda: I mean-
• 5:49
  Theresa: Mm-hmm
• 5:49
  Yolanda: what our, our old battle wounds are, are built on false perspectives.
• 5:55
  Theresa: Yeah.
• 5:56
  Yolanda: That, you know- So true someone said we, we see life as we are, not as it is.
• 6:00
  Theresa: Yeah.
• 6:01
  Yolanda: And that, and I had to work through all of that.
• 6:05
  Theresa: Yeah.
• 6:06
  Yolanda: And all during that time, I, um- It's too long of a story, but I had a lot of careers.
• 6:15
  Theresa: Sure, sure.
• 6:16
  Yolanda: And ultimately, I ended up, um, in education.
• 6:21
  Yolanda: Wow.
• 6:21
  Yolanda: Which is where, what my heart was.
• 6:24
  Yolanda: Wow.
• 6:24
  Yolanda: You know, that's where I
• 6:24
  Theresa: wanted to be.
• 6:25
  Theresa: Okay.
• 6:25
  Theresa: Okay.
• 6:26
  Yolanda: And, um, in the meantime, I was leading retreats for, um, uh, for, uh, women in recovery from alcoholism.
• 6:34
  Yolanda: Uh-huh.
• 6:35
  Yolanda: I was, um, uh, mentoring women, I was, um, helping, uh, you know, during my college days with the younger women,'cause I, I, I didn't get my first degree till I was 50.
• 6:45
  Theresa: Wow.
• 6:46
  Yolanda: So- And my second degree was at
• 6:49
  Theresa: 54.
• 6:49
  Theresa: 'Cause that's...
• 6:50
  Theresa: Did, did, did you have anyone in the process of your own recovery?
• 6:54
  Theresa: Did you have someone help you or was this just you and Jesus?
• 6:58
  Yolanda: Oh, no, no.
• 6:59
  Yolanda: No, when you come into, uh, r- you know, recovery, you get a, you get a community.
• 7:05
  Theresa: Okay.
• 7:06
  Yolanda: And, and- That's wonderful within that community, w- I had mentor.
• 7:10
  Yolanda: I had mentor.
• 7:11
  Yolanda: I still have the same mentor I've had since 2012.
• 7:13
  Yolanda: I love that.
• 7:15
  Theresa: Oh, I love that.
• 7:15
  Theresa: I
• 7:15
  Yolanda: just talked to her yesterday.
• 7:16
  Theresa: I love that.
• 7:18
  Theresa: I s- you know, I'm seeing that in stories, and I have a mentor too that I've been with for th- through...
• 7:23
  Theresa: But what I'm seeing in women is making the choice, that that word's...
• 7:27
  Theresa: And they're getting help, so this is just beautiful for you to share that.
• 7:32
  Yolanda: There I tried for so many years- To not drink on my own
• 7:40
  Theresa: Oh, Jesus.
• 7:41
  Theresa: That's so hard
• 7:42
  Yolanda: Because of the shame.
• 7:44
  Theresa: Yeah.
• 7:45
  Yolanda: And I didn't want to tell people what was happening in my house either.
• 7:48
  Theresa: Oh, no.
• 7:49
  Theresa: That's a, that's a prison of your own making, yeah.
• 7:53
  Theresa: Bless you.
• 7:54
  Theresa: But you would never know it, which is so beautiful,'cause you're just a radiant woman of God.
• 7:59
  Yolanda: That's
• 7:59
  Theresa: the
• 7:59
  Yolanda: Lord.
• 8:00
  Theresa: But it's, but think of the story you have.
• 8:03
  Theresa: And so how do, how do you serve women?
• 8:05
  Theresa: I see that you're, you're a coach, you're a mentor, and I, I, I like what you said.
• 8:10
  Theresa: I live what I teach, and continue to learn to live.
• 8:14
  Theresa: So that's a beautiful way of continuing to be that mentor.
• 8:19
  Yolanda: Yes.
• 8:19
  Yolanda: I heard that from, um, a f- one of my favorite authors, and he, he said, um, he, he said that he's learning to live what he's been called to teach.
• 8:29
  Yolanda: And that really m- stuck with me because I think that for you a- and the work that you do, and the work that, um, the women I've, I've been so blessed to know, to come into my circle, my community, like you, um, we, that's what we're doing.
• 8:43
  Yolanda: Yeah.
• 8:44
  Yolanda: And we all have a story.
• 8:46
  Yolanda: Sure.
• 8:46
  Yolanda: And I shared with you earlier-
• 8:48
  Theresa: Yeah
• 8:48
  Yolanda: getting involved with storytellers- Ooh and learning to just tell your story, especially if there was a secret behind it.
• 8:57
  Theresa: Yeah.
• 8:58
  Yolanda: Um, the, very early on in recovery I heard our secrets keep us sick.
• 9:03
  Theresa: Wow.
• 9:05
  Yolanda: I- And when you tell that secret-
• 9:07
  Theresa: It's like, it's, there's really freedom.
• 9:10
  Theresa: I think storytelling and visibility is spiritual
• 9:15
  Yolanda: Absolutely
• 9:15
  Theresa: because you're, like right now you're talking and you're sharing, and you're speaking to the person you once were.
• 9:22
  Theresa: Live or record, well it's not live, but that's...
• 9:25
  Theresa: I mean, you have a powerful story.
• 9:27
  Theresa: I mean, just the alcoholism itself is a battle on the mind, and you have walked through it.
• 9:34
  Theresa: You are, that's just beautiful.
• 9:36
  Theresa: So when pe- when women come to you, you, you live what you have been helped, but do you...
• 9:41
  Theresa: I saw you don't have programs, so are you, like, helping them one-to-one?
• 9:45
  Theresa: Are you helping them in the community that you're, communities you're in?
• 9:49
  Yolanda: So, uh, i- in my work- Yeah uh, I, I do, uh, one-to-one coaching.
• 9:55
  Yolanda: I do group coaching.
• 9:56
  Theresa: Excellent
• 9:56
  Yolanda: And also, um, every year, pro- probably for almost 20 years, I, I was leading retreats.
• 10:01
  Theresa: Oh, so
• 10:02
  Yolanda: good.
• 10:02
  Yolanda: Wow.
• 10:02
  Yolanda: Um, and yeah.
• 10:03
  Yolanda: And, um, and what...
• 10:05
  Yolanda: So I, I moved far away from where I was hosting, moved to another state-
• 10:10
  Theresa: Yeah
• 10:11
  Yolanda: and decided to t- to, uh, finish my book.
• 10:14
  Yolanda: I wasn't going- Yeah, that's
• 10:14
  Theresa: what I was gonna ask you about that.
• 10:15
  Yolanda: Yeah.
• 10:15
  Theresa: Yeah.
• 10:16
  Yolanda: I wasn't going to, um, uh, you know, try to drive the five hours to the retreat that I- Yeah I loved and I was so missed it.
• 10:23
  Theresa: Yeah.
• 10:23
  Yolanda: But, you know, God, I'm telling you, all the stories that I have in my life, in 2025 I published my book.
• 10:37
  Theresa: What's
• 10:37
  Yolanda: it called?
• 10:37
  Yolanda: I had a soft launch.
• 10:38
  Theresa: What's
• 10:39
  Yolanda: it called?
• 10:39
  Yolanda: It's called T- it's called Take Back Your Life.
• 10:42
  Theresa: Wonderful.
• 10:43
  Yolanda: Yeah.
• 10:44
  Yolanda: And so I, I, um, I, um, decided I was going to launch, soft launch my book.
• 10:53
  Yolanda: I did it on a, on the internet, uh, in a web...
• 10:56
  Yolanda: I ha- I do have a community that follows me, and so I was, I, I invited them all in, and then I was gonna have this big grand scheme, you know, this big coaching program for the next, you know, three, six, nine months, however they do it.
• 11:09
  Yolanda: And on April 25th, April 27th, 2025, I got shingles.
• 11:16
  Theresa: Oh, wow.
• 11:17
  Theresa: What a...
• 11:18
  Theresa: Oh, I'm sorry.
• 11:20
  Yolanda: I am still s- battling the pain of the shingles-
• 11:25
  Theresa: Oh, I'm so sorry
• 11:25
  Yolanda: 15 months later.
• 11:27
  Theresa: Yeah.
• 11:28
  Yolanda: Mm-hmm.
• 11:28
  Yolanda: I'm so sorry.
• 11:28
  Yolanda: 'Cause when you get them older-
• 11:30
  Theresa: Yeah,
• 11:30
  Yolanda: it's- it, it's a little rougher, but-
• 11:32
  Theresa: It's a lot rougher, yeah
• 11:32
  Yolanda: that was probably, in all the things that have happened in my life, probably the worst thing
• 11:39
  Theresa: that
• 11:39
  Yolanda: could
• 11:39
  Theresa: happen.
• 11:39
  Theresa: Isn't that something?
• 11:40
  Theresa: So are- Is it- Do you, do you struggle?
• 11:42
  Theresa: Like, is it hard?
• 11:43
  Theresa: You wanna do things, but the pain is keeping you from because you gotta rest?
• 11:47
  Theresa: Is that kind of the situation?
• 11:50
  Yolanda: So God has been good because the healing's been slow, and it never stopped me because I still, I was still running, I still did my little, um, groups around my book.
• 11:59
  Theresa: Unbelievable.
• 12:00
  Yolanda: Um, they were small groups.
• 12:01
  Yolanda: Um- Yeah they were beta groups, and I did them- Yeah around my book.
• 12:05
  Yolanda: And, um, I would just pray,"God, uh, don't let me have a pain attack in the middle of it." Yes, yes.
• 12:11
  Yolanda: And I just kept going.
• 12:13
  Yolanda: But I'm gonna tell you, I had never had chronic pain like that, and I-
• 12:17
  Theresa: Mm-hmm
• 12:18
  Yolanda: have a new appreciation for people who have- Yeah that chronic pain.
• 12:22
  Theresa: Yeah.
• 12:22
  Yolanda: But all I heard in the middle of the night when I couldn't sleep and the pain was so great- And I said,"God, please heal me." Yeah.
• 12:32
  Yolanda: I mean, uh-
• 12:33
  Theresa: Yeah
• 12:33
  Yolanda: I'm not gonna lie.
• 12:34
  Yolanda: I wanna be healed.
• 12:35
  Theresa: Yeah,
• 12:35
  Yolanda: yeah.
• 12:36
  Yolanda: And, and he said,"My grace is sufficient for you." Mm.
• 12:41
  Theresa: Shoot.
• 12:42
  Yolanda: Until I got to the place where I could say, as Job said-
• 12:47
  Theresa: Yeah
• 12:48
  Yolanda: "Though you slay me, I will trust you." I will
• 12:49
  Theresa: trust you.
• 12:50
  Theresa: Yeah.
• 12:51
  Yolanda: And you see, I believe that everything that we've gone through, and we're not done yet,'cause- Yeah there's a lot of, you know, some life still there.
• 12:59
  Theresa: Yeah.
• 13:03
  Yolanda: We are tasked with what are we gonna do with it?
• 13:04
  Yolanda: Yeah.
• 13:05
  Yolanda: What are, what are we gonna do with it, and going through it, and then coming- Yeah out the other side.
• 13:10
  Yolanda: And so I think for me-
• 13:13
  Theresa: That's good.
• 13:13
  Yolanda: Yeah it was a, a test of my faith.
• 13:16
  Theresa: Yes.
• 13:17
  Theresa: Yes.
• 13:17
  Yolanda: And consequently got me to slow the roll,'cause that's why I got sick.
• 13:23
  Yolanda: Oh,
• 13:23
  Theresa: yes.
• 13:23
  Theresa: Yeah, I understand
• 13:23
  Yolanda: that.
• 13:23
  Yolanda: That's why I got sick.
• 13:25
  Yolanda: Uh, that's a, that's a 911 to anybody out there- That's a yeah.
• 13:29
  Yolanda: Yeah that, you know, is, uh-
• 13:29
  Theresa: Gather us
• 13:30
  Yolanda: stressed out.
• 13:31
  Yolanda: Yeah.
• 13:31
  Yolanda: That's what did it.
• 13:33
  Theresa: Yes.
• 13:33
  Yolanda: And yeah.
• 13:34
  Yolanda: And so-
• 13:36
  Theresa: You know, I gotta say something.
• 13:37
  Theresa: I was recovering from breast cancer last year.
• 13:40
  Yolanda: Oh, cancer.
• 13:41
  Theresa: And I'll never forget it.
• 13:43
  Theresa: I was getting restless, and I was doing a podcast from my blue chair.
• 13:48
  Theresa: That's just, it's in my blood.
• 13:49
  Theresa: But I remember I laid the mic down and I heard the Holy Spirit say,"Tee, if you don't learn to rest now, you're not gonna be able to handle what I have for you later on." So that's similar.
• 14:00
  Theresa: Y- yeah, I, I, you know, I was in pain.
• 14:03
  Theresa: Yeah.
• 14:04
  Theresa: But two breast cancer surgeries, it should only been one.
• 14:06
  Theresa: Oh my
• 14:07
  Yolanda: gosh,
• 14:07
  Theresa: yes.
• 14:07
  Theresa: But, but I just saying I relate to you and I wanna add that if someone's listening, sometimes the hardest thing to do is to rest, but this is what God gave you, your body.
• 14:17
  Theresa: We gotta take care of our body.
• 14:19
  Theresa: But it's not like, I mean, getting shingles, that didn't mean you weren't taking care of your bi- body.
• 14:23
  Theresa: That's sometimes just the ugliness of life.
• 14:26
  Theresa: So I'm not saying you weren't taking care.
• 14:29
  Theresa: That's a, that's a, that's attack.
• 14:31
  Yolanda: Yes.
• 14:32
  Yolanda: I wasn't taking care of it, and I mean, I, I really was, you know, you know, we heard, and you've been in business long enough, you hustle, you push through, you show up, you do, you know.
• 14:44
  Yolanda: We, I, I, I firm- I'm gonna say this out loud.
• 14:47
  Yolanda: Good.
• 14:47
  Yolanda: We got sold a bed of lies, you know?
• 14:50
  Theresa: You
• 14:50
  Yolanda: bet.
• 14:50
  Yolanda: Um, I've been, I've been doing this since 2014.
• 14:53
  Theresa: Yeah.
• 14:53
  Yolanda: And all this hustle and pivot and move and-
• 14:57
  Theresa: Thank you
• 14:58
  Yolanda: you know, um-
• 14:59
  Theresa: It's, it's a bunch- For
• 15:00
  Yolanda: what?
• 15:01
  Theresa: It's a bunch of mm, bull.
• 15:04
  Theresa: I, I- But- figured that out real quick.
• 15:06
  Theresa: Th- that's just, I, I, I don't even wanna read a book about hustle.
• 15:10
  Theresa: Let me go in the pace that God's given me.
• 15:13
  Theresa: Let me spend-
• 15:13
  Yolanda: Exactly
• 15:14
  Theresa: if that means an extra hour in the Word, then forgive me, but I'm going to spend that extra hour in the Word, so.
• 15:20
  Yolanda: Yes.
• 15:20
  Yolanda: Yeah.
• 15:20
  Theresa: Yeah, we're, we're, we're connecting on the same there.
• 15:23
  Theresa: That is awesome.
• 15:24
  Theresa: So now you're, you're still got some pain from shingles.
• 15:29
  Theresa: Is that correct?
• 15:31
  Yolanda: Yes.
• 15:32
  Yolanda: It is healing.
• 15:32
  Yolanda: Okay.
• 15:33
  Yolanda: It is not as bad as it was.
• 15:34
  Yolanda: Good.
• 15:34
  Yolanda: And every day I thank God for- Yes a little more healing.
• 15:37
  Yolanda: I, I don't know to- Yeah what extent, um, I- Yeah will be healed, but, uh, I'll put it to you like this.
• 15:43
  Yolanda: I can't wear my favorite pair of jeans right now.
• 15:45
  Theresa: Okay,'cause the
• 15:46
  Yolanda: pain's so bad.
• 15:46
  Yolanda: Because it was on my leg and, and on my
• 15:49
  Theresa: back and, yeah.
• 15:49
  Theresa: You know, can I te- just be an outsider testifying to you?
• 15:53
  Theresa: God has covered you with such grace.
• 15:55
  Theresa: Right w- when you popped on the screen, I was like, oh, this is a graceful woman.
• 16:00
  Theresa: So- Oh you're handling that so well, and I just wanna say thank you.
• 16:04
  Theresa: 'Cause it takes that inner fortitude, that inner being of strengthening to walk out like that, so.
• 16:10
  Theresa: So let's talk about your book.
• 16:13
  Theresa: Can we?
• 16:14
  Theresa: Yes.
• 16:15
  Theresa: Uh, Take Back Your Life.
• 16:16
  Theresa: Ooh, now, w- was that a process of writing that?
• 16:20
  Yolanda: Yes, it is a process of eight years- Wonderful of writing the book.
• 16:24
  Theresa: Wonderful.
• 16:24
  Yolanda: So God gave me an angel, uh, as he does, and, um, she was my next door neighbor, brilliant lady.
• 16:33
  Yolanda: She's still my friend, my very dear friend.
• 16:35
  Yolanda: A lot younger than me.
• 16:36
  Theresa: Okay.
• 16:36
  Yolanda: And a little go-getter, and she said,"You've got to write this book." And she ended up Actually, she's ends up helping me with everything.
• 16:44
  Yolanda: Um-
• 16:44
  Theresa: Oh,
• 16:44
  Yolanda: I
• 16:45
  Theresa: love that
• 16:45
  Yolanda: shout out to Nayeli, because-
• 16:47
  Theresa: Yeah
• 16:47
  Yolanda: she Actually, I dedicated the book to her.
• 16:50
  Theresa: Oh, that's so
• 16:50
  Yolanda: good.
• 16:50
  Yolanda: Because she said...
• 16:52
  Yolanda: And she would, she would guilt me, right?
• 16:54
  Yolanda: She'd say,"Women need to hear this."
• 16:56
  Theresa: Mm-hmm.
• 16:57
  Yolanda: You know,"God gave this to you.
• 16:58
  Yolanda: You have to put it out there." And so all of this that you see, and the insides, and all the design was her.
• 17:05
  Theresa: Awesome.
• 17:07
  Theresa: Yeah.
• 17:07
  Yolanda: And I concentrated on the writing of it.
• 17:10
  Yolanda: That's
• 17:10
  Theresa: good.
• 17:10
  Theresa: It
• 17:11
  Yolanda: was, it was never...
• 17:12
  Yolanda: It wasn't meant to be a full-blown novel.
• 17:15
  Yolanda: My story is interwoven-
• 17:18
  Theresa: Okay
• 17:19
  Yolanda: with some questions that you can answer.
• 17:22
  Theresa: Right.
• 17:23
  Theresa: Right.
• 17:23
  Theresa: Yeah.
• 17:23
  Yolanda: Um, and I called it, it's A Woman's Guide to her God Designed Destiny.
• 17:28
  Theresa: Oh, so good.
• 17:30
  Yolanda: Because, and you know this from the work you do, is that we guide, they take a step.
• 17:37
  Yolanda: Um, what I learned from having my own coaches, and I've had a coach for, you know, as long as I've been doing this, and a mentor, is that- A mentor um, we can't see what somebody else can see.
• 17:51
  Theresa: Right.
• 17:52
  Theresa: Right.
• 17:53
  Yolanda: We, you know- I, I can just listen to somebody, um I, I shared something.
• 17:58
  Yolanda: Uh, I just wanted to say this.
• 18:00
  Yolanda: I was talking to some, guiding a woman the other day, and she said something about that she wanted to, um, she wants to retire.
• 18:10
  Yolanda: She's worked for years and years, and she's I said,"Well, why aren't you?" And she said a whole bunch of things that were about other people, and not wanting to leave a company in the lurch, and blah, blah, blah.
• 18:22
  Yolanda: But she was done.
• 18:23
  Yolanda: She ge- Mm.
• 18:23
  Yolanda: She's burnt, is what she is.
• 18:25
  Theresa: What she said, yeah.
• 18:26
  Yolanda: Uh, and so, um, I said, you know And I wanted to tell her,"Do it.
• 18:31
  Yolanda: Just get Go in that office and Y- Yeah.
• 18:34
  Yolanda: But all I said was,"Why don't you ask the Lord to give you a date?"
• 18:39
  Theresa: Wow, that's good.
• 18:40
  Theresa: I like that.
• 18:41
  Yolanda: Now, now I say that.
• 18:42
  Yolanda: I'm half believing it.
• 18:44
  Theresa: Oh, okay.
• 18:45
  Theresa: Just ask.
• 18:45
  Theresa: Yeah, okay.
• 18:46
  Yolanda: Ask him to give you a date.
• 18:47
  Theresa: Okay.
• 18:48
  Yolanda: I got a message the other day, and she said,"God gave me a date, and I submitted my paperwork."
• 18:54
  Theresa: Oh, come on, guys.
• 18:55
  Theresa: Let's celebrate that for her.
• 18:57
  Yolanda: I love it.
• 18:58
  Yolanda: I loved it.
• 18:59
  Yolanda: I was so happy.
• 19:01
  Yolanda: And I mean, God called me to do this work, you know, however it looks, as messy it, as it is right now, because I'm in the midst of putting something together right now.
• 19:11
  Yolanda: Sure.
• 19:12
  Yolanda: Sure.
• 19:12
  Yolanda: So.
• 19:12
  Theresa: Yeah.
• 19:12
  Yolanda: Yeah.
• 19:12
  Yolanda: Uh, but it's always been around the, and the core message that what it meant to take back your life.
• 19:21
  Yolanda: And somebody asked me this, a Christian woman- Yeah asked me this.
• 19:24
  Yolanda: "Well, that seems sort of like you're doing something." Well, yes, because- Choosing, yeah we're the only ones that can make a choice.
• 19:32
  Yolanda: We're the only ones that can choose- Right to say,"Okay, I surrender.
• 19:36
  Yolanda: I'm doing it God's way."
• 19:38
  Theresa: So good.
• 19:39
  Yolanda: So- We're the only ones.
• 19:40
  Theresa: That word choose is so important for your brain.
• 19:44
  Theresa: So where can we get your book, Take Back Your Life?
• 19:46
  Theresa: Is it on Amazon, or on your website?
• 19:47
  Theresa: It
• 19:48
  Yolanda: is on Amazon.
• 19:49
  Theresa: Wonderful.
• 19:50
  Theresa: Take
• 19:50
  Yolanda: Back Your Life, Yolanda Gray.
• 19:51
  Yolanda: Yolanda Gray,
• 19:52
  Theresa: okay.
• 19:52
  Theresa: Take
• 19:52
  Yolanda: Back Your Life for the One God Created For You.
• 19:55
  Theresa: Okay.
• 19:56
  Theresa: And is there, are you in transition?
• 19:58
  Theresa: Is there a website, or is there a social that you- My
• 20:01
  Yolanda: website is up.
• 20:03
  Theresa: What's that?
• 20:03
  Yolanda: Um, and there is a place to contact me.
• 20:06
  Yolanda: Um-
• 20:06
  Theresa: Okay
• 20:07
  Yolanda: I'm, I'm always doing one-on-one coaching because, uh, some women want t- to be private.
• 20:15
  Yolanda: And that's really why I don't have a lot of testimonial, because a lot of the women-
• 20:20
  Theresa: Sure, I,
• 20:21
  Yolanda: that's- don't even want anyone to know that they're- That
• 20:22
  Theresa: happens.
• 20:23
  Theresa: I have the same thing happen.
• 20:24
  Theresa: Yeah.
• 20:24
  Theresa: So.
• 20:24
  Yolanda: Yeah.
• 20:25
  Theresa: And- So are you Yol- YolandaGray.com, or what's your website?
• 20:29
  Yolanda: YolandaGray.com.
• 20:31
  Theresa: And are you active on any of the socials?
• 20:35
  Yolanda: I'm active on Facebook.
• 20:36
  Yolanda: I have a group called, um,#TakeBackYourLife.
• 20:39
  Theresa: Oh, come on.
• 20:40
  Yolanda: Yeah.
• 20:41
  Yolanda: I'm on LinkedIn, Yolanda Gray.
• 20:43
  Yolanda: And, uh, I'm not a fan of Instagram.
• 20:46
  Theresa: That's
• 20:46
  Yolanda: fine.
• 20:46
  Yolanda: I'm thinking a lot about Substack, just wondering if women our age are on...
• 20:50
  Yolanda: Well, not your age, my age.
• 20:52
  Yolanda: I know I'm a lot older than you.
• 20:53
  Yolanda: Wait,
• 20:53
  Theresa: wait, wait, hold on.
• 20:54
  Theresa: Let's, let's get some real.
• 20:56
  Theresa: I'm 63 years old.
• 20:57
  Yolanda: Yeah.
• 20:58
  Theresa: You're still older than me?
• 21:00
  Yolanda: Yeah.
• 21:00
  Theresa: You
• 21:02
  Yolanda: look great.
• 21:02
  Yolanda: I'm 72.
• 21:02
  Theresa: You look so good.
• 21:04
  Yolanda: Thank you.
• 21:04
  Theresa: Can I just say that?
• 21:05
  Theresa: I'm not being weird, I'm just saying.
• 21:07
  Theresa: I know.
• 21:08
  Theresa: I know.
• 21:09
  Theresa: Thank you.
• 21:09
  Theresa: You radiate so much grace.
• 21:11
  Theresa: Oh.
• 21:11
  Theresa: I, I mean, right away when you came on.
• 21:12
  Theresa: So, you give me...
• 21:14
  Theresa: You know what I always say,'cause I had a delay for 26 years of marriage, I said,"Your...
• 21:20
  Theresa: No matter your age, your best years are ahead of you." You are proof.
• 21:24
  Theresa: Thank you for being proof.
• 21:25
  Yolanda: Thank you.
• 21:26
  Yolanda: Well, yeah, th- there's been a lesson in that too.
• 21:29
  Yolanda: But, um, yeah, so, uh, I, I'm also, um, I have a YouTube channel that I am putting together right now, and that was really what got stopped.
• 21:37
  Yolanda: I, I really want to, um...
• 21:39
  Yolanda: And you know, to any coaches out there, you know, I, I, I'm not gonna go try to be everywhere and everything to everybody.
• 21:46
  Theresa: You
• 21:46
  Yolanda: don't have to.
• 21:47
  Yolanda: And I never have.
• 21:48
  Yolanda: You don't, yeah.
• 21:49
  Yolanda: Because it's v- it's very unique.
• 21:49
  Yolanda: My, my clientele, um, the women I work with, are 50 plus.
• 21:54
  Theresa: Yeah.
• 21:54
  Yolanda: Sure.
• 21:54
  Yolanda: They're in transition.
• 21:56
  Yolanda: Right.
• 21:56
  Yolanda: And some of them, I mean, uh, uh, not the ones I work with, but there are still women out there who are, you know, my age and older, who are still struggling with addiction.
• 22:04
  Yolanda: Yes.
• 22:05
  Theresa: No, I...
• 22:05
  Theresa: Yeah.
• 22:06
  Yolanda: And it's, it's not pretty.
• 22:07
  Theresa: No, it's, it's very sad.
• 22:09
  Theresa: No, it's not.
• 22:09
  Theresa: Yeah.
• 22:09
  Yolanda: Yeah.
• 22:10
  Theresa: Thank God you're there.
• 22:11
  Theresa: So thank you so much, Yolanda.
• 22:15
  Theresa: And that's today's calling session with Yolanda Gray.
• 22:18
  Theresa: Now, listen, if her story moved you, do two things.
• 22:23
  Theresa: Go buy her book and follow her on one of these...
• 22:27
  Theresa: Go follow her, go check out her website, yolandagray.com.
• 22:32
  Theresa: Because she may very well have a story that's your rescue guide.
• 22:37
  Theresa: It's your rescue guide,'cause she's gone through the landmines, and now they have become landmarks for you to receive.
• 22:45
  Theresa: So share this episode with the woman who came to mind while you were listening.
• 22:50
  Theresa: Some stories are not for scrolling past.
• 22:53
  Theresa: I'm Theresa Croft.
• 22:54
  Theresa: I'll talk to you in the next edition of the Stuck No More Voices podcast.