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329-Elaine Mingus: Yesterday's Success Is Today's Baseline · Stuck No More Voices

• 0:00
  Theresa: She walks off the stage with a title and a sash, and no idea what to do with either one.
• 0:06
  Theresa: Our guest helps her turn that year into a voice, a platform, and doors that stay open.
• 0:13
  Theresa: You're going to want to hear this episode.
• 0:15
  Theresa: So welcome back to the Stuck No More Voices Podcast.
• 0:18
  Theresa: I'm Theresa Croft.
• 0:19
  Theresa: I'm a visibility strategist helping Christian women connect their calling to their story to a message for their ideal audience.
• 0:27
  Theresa: Hey, before we get started, do me a favor.
• 0:30
  Theresa: If you're watching this on YouTube, subscribe.
• 0:33
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• 0:34
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• 0:40
  Theresa: Just hel- appreciate that.
• 0:41
  Theresa: And it helps, really helps get the message out farther.
• 0:44
  Theresa: So this episode is a special feature with the Stuck No More Voices Podcast, the Calling Table Session.
• 0:51
  Theresa: It's a seat I keep for Christian women whose story deserves to be handled with care, and whose voice is ready to be heard.
• 1:00
  Theresa: So please welcome, help me welcome to the table Elaine Mingus.
• 1:05
  Theresa: Hello, Elaine.
• 1:06
  Elaine: Hi.
• 1:07
  Elaine: It's so, uh, such an honor to be on the podcast.
• 1:11
  Elaine: And I, I love your radio voice.
• 1:13
  Elaine: I love everything about it.
• 1:14
  Elaine: Um, so thank you so much.
• 1:16
  Theresa: You bet.
• 1:16
  Theresa: So you have an interesting, interesting...
• 1:20
  Theresa: You help, you help women in pageantry use their God-given story, their voice, and their platform to get visible.
• 1:29
  Theresa: Love that word, visible.
• 1:31
  Theresa: Land sponsors and get media attention, and create opportunities that outlast rooms.
• 1:36
  Theresa: But before I ask about that, like, do you have a story up to all this pageantry?
• 1:45
  Elaine: Absolutely.
• 1:46
  Elaine: So I grew up in Houston, Texas, and my dad decided, oh, we're gonna move them out of the big bad city into a small Texas town.
• 1:55
  Elaine: Yeah.
• 1:55
  Elaine: Started going to church there, and, uh, was, you know, my...
• 1:59
  Elaine: What my dad was trying to do is get us away from, from, uh, all the evil of the big bad city- and walk straight into the arms of a predator in the form- Oh of a youth pastor, who was grooming- Mm-hmm not only me, but multiple different girls in the youth group.
• 2:14
  Elaine: Oh,
• 2:14
  Theresa: so-
• 2:14
  Elaine: And yeah, and it was, and, and, and when it was found out, just, you know, add insult to injury, the main pastor, before we even sat down to tell him what had been going on, he said,"I know what's happened.
• 2:30
  Elaine: He's confessed, and we believe she seduced him."
• 2:33
  Theresa: Oh.
• 2:34
  Elaine: And so that's kinda what start, the catalyst of who I am today and why I do what I do.
• 2:40
  Theresa: Yeah.
• 2:41
  Elaine: And that led into the, a pageant journey, but there is so much more in between me- Right di- you know, experiencing trauma to me now triumphing and making sure that I, not only I share my story, but other women share their story.
• 2:54
  Theresa: Yeah,'cause I always believe you gotta speak from your scars, not your wounds, but those scars, you get to speak to the person you once were.
• 3:02
  Theresa: So that, how did you go from that journey?
• 3:05
  Theresa: How did the healing of the trauma take...
• 3:07
  Theresa: What was your journey in that?
• 3:10
  Elaine: So it was a very long journey.
• 3:11
  Elaine: It was about eight years that I dealt with the fallout of that.
• 3:16
  Elaine: I tried to bury it.
• 3:17
  Elaine: Mm-hmm.
• 3:17
  Elaine: Was very embarrassed that I had been blamed.
• 3:20
  Theresa: Oh.
• 3:20
  Elaine: My par- you know, of course, it was the'90s.
• 3:22
  Elaine: Yeah.
• 3:23
  Elaine: Therapy and stuff like that wasn't really talked about.
• 3:26
  Elaine: Neither was grooming.
• 3:26
  Elaine: Grooming really wasn't understood.
• 3:28
  Elaine: And so, you know, a lot of shame I internalized, and that shame turned into an eight-year-long battle with bulimia and an almost daily heroin addiction.
• 3:36
  Theresa: Yeah.
• 3:37
  Elaine: And so I, you know, dealt with that, and one day I walked into a church and I- Yeah saw the crucifix of Jesus, and I knew that all of my ans- all my-
• 3:47
  Theresa: Mm
• 3:47
  Elaine: all my questions had been answered, and things that I didn't even know that I was looking for, I found.
• 3:52
  Theresa: Wow.
• 3:52
  Theresa: That's just beautiful.
• 3:54
  Theresa: But it ha- it had to be a journey.
• 3:56
  Theresa: Um- Mm-hmm I mean, uh, drug addiction and all of this stuff.
• 4:00
  Theresa: But look at you now.
• 4:02
  Theresa: I mean, what a story.
• 4:05
  Theresa: What a story.
• 4:05
  Elaine: It's a, it's a ongoing story.
• 4:07
  Elaine: Jesus isn't done yet.
• 4:08
  Theresa: Amen.
• 4:09
  Theresa: Amen.
• 4:09
  Theresa: Now, you said something really interesting.
• 4:11
  Theresa: I like this.
• 4:12
  Theresa: The conversation you're most interested in isn't really about how to become ces- successful.
• 4:18
  Theresa: It's about what happens When you spent believing the next accomplishment will finally make you feel like you've arrived.
• 4:26
  Theresa: Whoa.
• 4:27
  Theresa: So many women don't feel like they're enough, so that is something to dive into.
• 4:31
  Theresa: So share us what you're, what you feel and what you're experiencing in that.
• 4:36
  Elaine: Yeah, and that is something that I've had to really dive so deep in, more deep than I wish I did.
• 4:42
  Elaine: Because I kept moving the goalpost.
• 4:44
  Elaine: Yeah.
• 4:44
  Elaine: And you know, one of the things that neuroscience teaches us is that yesterday's success becomes today's baseline.
• 4:52
  Theresa: Yep.
• 4:52
  Elaine: Yesterday's success becomes today's baseline.
• 4:55
  Elaine: And so we are constantly thinking that we have not achieved, and we forget to take a moment.
• 5:01
  Elaine: And they say it takes only 12 seconds of gratefulness, of remembering- Mm what God has done.
• 5:07
  Elaine: I think that's why the Israelites always were told to build altars,'cause when you- Yeah pass that altar, you say,"Wait, wait, wait.
• 5:14
  Elaine: Let's remember where we came from." That's so good.
• 5:16
  Elaine: You know, I once was, you know, 17, hanging outside of a 20-story w- window in New York City by a bedsheet, and now, you know, I am here with seven kids- and, and, and Mrs.
• 5:26
  Elaine: Texas.
• 5:27
  Elaine: But it, it's like you forget, like- Yeah where you came from.
• 5:32
  Elaine: Yes.
• 5:32
  Elaine: And you have to take a second and remember how far you've come and give yourself an, you know, a pat on the back, and thank you, Jesus, for getting me where I'm at, before you really can start appreciating s- That's good the success you have, and then God can build upon that.
• 5:48
  Theresa: So good.
• 5:48
  Theresa: I'm so into neuroscience.
• 5:50
  Theresa: It was that that saved me.
• 5:52
  Theresa: After 26 years of abuse in a marriage, it was hard on.
• 5:57
  Theresa: Neuroscience, uh, all the terms, I don't know if you know Dr.
• 6:00
  Theresa: Caroline Leaf, but I was with one of her lead strategists, so I appreciate you saying that.
• 6:05
  Theresa: And it's all about identity.
• 6:07
  Theresa: Mm-hmm.
• 6:07
  Theresa: Re- re- deconstructing the lies and reconstructing the truth so you come out a different identity.
• 6:16
  Elaine: Yeah, absolutely.
• 6:16
  Elaine: And me and my husband are actually going through what's called regeneration.
• 6:20
  Elaine: Okay.
• 6:21
  Elaine: And it's a recovery program, but, you know, in a lot of ways it's a, a root, a root-finding program.
• 6:27
  Elaine: Okay.
• 6:27
  Elaine: Because a lot of the, the actual activities of, like sinful activities have fallen away from my life, but there's still some of those things that hold onto your heart and your mind, that hold, that keep binding you.
• 6:40
  Elaine: And you don't even realize, like-
• 6:42
  Theresa: Yeah
• 6:42
  Elaine: when you're at the bottom level of it all, you think,"Oh, if I only got here," and then you realize, wait, there's still more layers to this onion to uncover.
• 6:49
  Theresa: Yeah.
• 6:49
  Elaine: And so going through that has really revealed still where my identity is not in Christ, and not rooted in the right thing- Wow and where I keep needing to, you know, I can't count this.
• 7:00
  Elaine: And I've realized that, you know, a lot of times I'm counting.
• 7:03
  Elaine: I'm, whether it's, you know, you're counting calories or counting the sc- Yeah you know, the, the number on the scale, or view counts, or insights, or skip rates, or, you know- Yeah whatever, money in the bank.
• 7:12
  Elaine: You know, how many time, how many hours did I ignore my kids versus how many hours did I spend with my kids?
• 7:16
  Elaine: You're always calculating-
• 7:18
  Theresa: Yes
• 7:18
  Elaine: based on what you've done or good or bad.
• 7:21
  Elaine: Yeah.
• 7:21
  Elaine: Instead of the preapproval of Jesus and what he did on the cross.
• 7:25
  Theresa: Amen.
• 7:25
  Theresa: And I think when you realize that, you're able to come into this rest.
• 7:28
  Theresa: You still may have lots to do, but it, it's like a rest- Yeah where it's like Sarah in Hebrews 11.
• 7:34
  Theresa: It said she embraced God's miracle working power, even though she's past the age of childbearing.
• 7:39
  Theresa: But the, her faith rested in the authority of the one who promised, and that's a daily identity check, a, a, a daily.
• 7:48
  Theresa: So I, I really s- say thank you for the fact that you're in this position now, and yet you're still, you're still checking your identity.
• 7:57
  Theresa: You're still going through the steps.
• 7:59
  Theresa: That's so powerful and so refreshing.
• 8:02
  Theresa: Thank you for sharing that.
• 8:03
  Theresa: 'Cause that's, that's, that's, you know, that's, that's real.
• 8:06
  Theresa: That's a story.
• 8:08
  Theresa: So y- Yeah.
• 8:09
  Theresa: It- You deal with women now.
• 8:11
  Theresa: Mm-hmm.
• 8:12
  Theresa: Um, so when you deal, are you dealing them from the pageantry world or just basically, you know, uh, mentoring them on their identity?
• 8:20
  Theresa: Or is it a combination?
• 8:23
  Elaine: So I, I chose pageantry as the, the niche I wanted to go into because pageant women are women that are already working on themselves.
• 8:32
  Elaine: They already- Yeah have a platform initiative.
• 8:35
  Elaine: Not only are they beautiful and they talk well, but they really do have a heart for serving people, and they're already in the public, the public atmosphere.
• 8:44
  Elaine: Sure.
• 8:44
  Elaine: Yeah.
• 8:44
  Elaine: And so there's a lot of things that I don't have to do because they are pageant women, and so it's allowed me to kind of get straight to what they need, which is visibility, like what you do.
• 8:55
  Theresa: Yeah.
• 8:55
  Elaine: And helping them understand that you don't have to have it all figured out to get that visibility.
• 9:02
  Elaine: You don't even have to have won a pageant to get on the news or the radio or a podcast or get sponsors.
• 9:10
  Elaine: You just have to know your story and how to share it effectively in a way that really connects with people- Yes so that they say,"Yes, I want to be on that train where she's going because it's the same train that- Yeah the same location and place and journey that I'm on right now."
• 9:24
  Theresa: That's so good.
• 9:24
  Theresa: I love that you said visibility is stewardship.
• 9:29
  Theresa: I, I almost think sometimes visibility is holy because it is the responsibility, but I love how you said it's sh- break down more how visibility is stewardship.
• 9:39
  Theresa: That is so beautiful.
• 9:41
  Elaine: So you are given a purpose.
• 9:43
  Elaine: One of my good friends, I feel like,'cause I don't know if she coined it, but she's always said,"Your purpose never changes, but your strategy does." Wow.
• 9:51
  Elaine: And so when you realize that you have a purpose that is outside of what you do-
• 9:57
  Theresa: Uh-huh
• 9:58
  Elaine: then it, all of the things that you are, that you are trying to do become part of a bigger and greater plan.
• 10:05
  Elaine: And so visibility just being one of those things in the toolkit that you use- Yeah to ensure that you get the thing that God has put you here on this earth done.
• 10:14
  Theresa: Yeah.
• 10:14
  Elaine: And so just using that as just like any other thing you steward, money- Yeah beauty, your body.
• 10:22
  Elaine: You know, it is something that you have to practice.
• 10:25
  Elaine: I mean, like, I go to the gym.
• 10:25
  Elaine: I have a trainer who teaches me how to work out so that, you know, I look svelte on stage.
• 10:31
  Elaine: And, you know, there are...
• 10:32
  Elaine: That's a tool.
• 10:34
  Elaine: Sure.
• 10:34
  Elaine: And visibility itself is a tool in that toolkit, and you have to steward it well.
• 10:38
  Elaine: You can't, you can't slack on the job.
• 10:40
  Elaine: I mean, yes, you can have a day off here and there.
• 10:41
  Theresa: Yeah.
• 10:42
  Elaine: But in general, you have to keep pressing in so that you can be visible in the way that you're meant to be visible.
• 10:48
  Theresa: So how do you do that and not get burned out?
• 10:52
  Elaine: Ah.
• 10:53
  Elaine: That's a question that we all struggle with.
• 10:56
  Elaine: Especially in 2026 when- Yeah you know, everything is available to us.
• 10:59
  Elaine: Yeah.
• 10:59
  Elaine: And everybody's saying,"Go, go, go," and God is saying,"Rest." And I think that's something that I've especially struggled with.
• 11:08
  Elaine: And but if the God of the universe had to rest, then how much more so do we have to rest?
• 11:14
  Theresa: Yeah.
• 11:15
  Elaine: And so making sure that we, you know, take note of- Yeah the place.
• 11:20
  Elaine: Not, I mean,'cause you can rest.
• 11:21
  Elaine: You can lay in bed all day long on a Sunday and really not be rested or resting in who you are.
• 11:28
  Elaine: And so it's more of a, it's less of a what to do, what not to do, as more of, like, where is your spirit and your, and your-
• 11:35
  Theresa: Ooh, so
• 11:35
  Elaine: good and your hope.
• 11:36
  Elaine: Yeah.
• 11:37
  Elaine: So that, like, when you are, like, all wound up, that you go,"Wait a second.
• 11:42
  Elaine: Like, I, I'm not responsible for the outcome.
• 11:44
  Elaine: I'm only responsible for the
• 11:46
  Theresa: action." So good.
• 11:48
  Theresa: So good.
• 11:48
  Theresa: So I am really excited reading this.
• 11:50
  Theresa: 25 years experience in storytelling, communications, digital media.
• 11:56
  Theresa: I love storytelling.
• 11:58
  Theresa: So tell me w- how does that, storytelling, I mean, I just love it.
• 12:03
  Theresa: I mean, how does that play a role in what you do?
• 12:05
  Theresa: Do you just ha- when you say 25 years experience in storytelling, have you had 25 years experience of learning to tell stories, or that's just your story, 25 years of sharing your story?
• 12:17
  Elaine: So 25 years is me sharing my story.
• 12:20
  Elaine: So I always wanted to be a storyteller.
• 12:23
  Elaine: So I'm 45, and I, you know, started- storytelling when I was, you know, in second grade.
• 12:28
  Elaine: Yeah.
• 12:28
  Elaine: But when I was I got saved, and- Mm-hmm I was 19, in 1999.
• 12:33
  Theresa: Okay.
• 12:33
  Elaine: And I, at that point, started getting on stages, doing storytelling in this form of spoken word-
• 12:41
  Theresa: I
• 12:41
  Elaine: love it and learning how to craft- Yeah craft the written word in a way that got attention, and- Mm-hmm sounded like something somebody wanted to hear.
• 12:51
  Elaine: And so now it is at the cornerstone of what I do- Mm with my business Pageantprenuer, where I help people share their story.
• 12:57
  Elaine: Mm.
• 12:57
  Elaine: Because story is what If you can get a sponsor to sponsor you because they heard your story, they not only will sponsor you for one pageant, they'll sponsor you for 12 pageants.
• 13:09
  Theresa: Yeah.
• 13:09
  Elaine: And if you can get a sponsor to give you money, it's so much more easy to get a judge to give you a crown, because that story is what carries it.
• 13:17
  Elaine: It's what It, it's what grows your social media.
• 13:19
  Elaine: It's what gets the media attention.
• 13:21
  Elaine: Yes.
• 13:22
  Elaine: It is how you present yourself, and what- Oof you're telling people to believe about you.
• 13:27
  Elaine: And so storytelling is literally at the center of all we do, and I always say that, you know, story is r- remembered seven times more than facts alone.
• 13:36
  Elaine: Mm-hmm, yes.
• 13:36
  Elaine: And that even when we sleep, our stor- story is so essential to who we are, that our- Yeah we dream in story form.
• 13:44
  Elaine: Yeah.
• 13:44
  Elaine: Because without it, we really literally will not, will have, you know, um, it'll in- decrease our hormones, it'll, it'll mess us up, um, mentally.
• 13:53
  Elaine: It'll get into depression if we won't dream.
• 13:56
  Theresa: Yeah.
• 13:56
  Elaine: So it's so important to who we are, and I w- and when we are born, we literally are born into a three-act play.
• 14:02
  Elaine: We, we're born, we live, we die.
• 14:05
  Theresa: Mm.
• 14:05
  Elaine: And so we, we experience our whole world through the eyes of story.
• 14:09
  Theresa: That's so good.
• 14:10
  Theresa: I just love that.
• 14:11
  Theresa: I haven't had anyone quite share it like that.
• 14:14
  Theresa: Um, and what I always say is tell a story.
• 14:16
  Theresa: You go searching, and then you're just talking about your features, and your No, they're gonna pass right by.
• 14:21
  Theresa: But if you tell a story, and you're speaking from your scars, not your wounds, I mean And what you were saying earlier about purpose, that's why I d- I c- d- it's in your y- it's your calling.
• 14:34
  Elaine: Mm-hmm.
• 14:35
  Theresa: I mean, Elaine, it's your calling.
• 14:37
  Theresa: And, and from the calling comes that, that power to go into learning how to tell stories that impact others, and you, you just embody that so well.
• 14:47
  Theresa: And I'm, so I'm, I gotta tell you, I'm personally very excited to hear you speak about that,'cause it's not every day I read someone's a storyteller, so.
• 14:55
  Theresa: So, uh, w- who are the, who are the women that come to you for help?
• 15:00
  Theresa: Mostly person tree?
• 15:02
  Elaine: Yeah, so they're usually women that are struggling with a practical problem, like- Okay getting sponsors, growing their social media.
• 15:10
  Elaine: Okay.
• 15:10
  Elaine: And so they come with, they come with this, like, I don't know what I'm doing type of attitude, and I help them tell m- I sit there and I literally say,"Tell me your story.
• 15:20
  Elaine: I was born on a dark summer, stormy night until this very moment you're sitting in front of me in front of the Zoom camera when we're on-" Wow coaching calls.
• 15:26
  Theresa: Yeah.
• 15:26
  Elaine: And they will sit there, and, you know, God has just given me the ability to listen to their story and find that thread- Yes that goes through the whole thing.
• 15:36
  Elaine: And so we build upon that particular one overarching story, and then we build our five signature stories that support that overarching s-um-
• 15:43
  Theresa: Oh, so good
• 15:43
  Elaine: message.
• 15:44
  Elaine: And so then when they go out and they're posting on social media- Right they go,"Oh, is this in line with one of my five signature stories-" So good"or my overarching message?" And then it just...
• 15:54
  Elaine: And because people are...
• 15:56
  Elaine: I sold, uh, I still sell vintage furniture.
• 15:59
  Elaine: People are very predictable.
• 16:01
  Elaine: They w- you want...
• 16:02
  Elaine: They...
• 16:02
  Elaine: You think that they want you to be constantly entertained by something new, but really what they want is predictability,'cause that gives them comfort.
• 16:09
  Elaine: Mm-hmm.
• 16:09
  Elaine: And so when you tell your story 500 times 500 different ways, it makes them know that when they come to your page, they know what they're gonna get, they know the encur- encouragement or information they're gonna get, and you're over here thinking,"Oh, I am just telling the same thing over and over." But the thing is is that when I sold vintage furniture, people just wanted brown furniture.
• 16:31
  Elaine: Like, they didn't want the ran- I mean, every once in a while they would, you would find a random piece, and it would be, take forever to sell, because that's not what people want.
• 16:38
  Elaine: People want predictable and something that really fits into their l- real life.
• 16:44
  Elaine: Like, we all love a, like a, a, you know, bright pink something or other, but it, when you think about your own house, it's very predictable.
• 16:51
  Elaine: And, and I think that that's what, you know, especially in this day and age when you think,"Oh, I've gotta, just gotta, like, reinvent the wheel constantly," but you don't.
• 16:58
  Elaine: You just have to say the same boring...
• 17:00
  Elaine: It's not boring, but it's the same thing over and over 100 different ways.
• 17:05
  Elaine: Um, and so Yeah, so just teaching them how to do that- Mm-hmm and they feel confident in that because it's a s- it's a system.
• 17:13
  Theresa: Yeah.
• 17:13
  Elaine: You lather, rinse, repeat, and it, it creates the same result.
• 17:16
  Elaine: It creates momentum, it creates followers, it creates sponsors, it creates crowns.
• 17:20
  Theresa: That is the truth.
• 17:22
  Theresa: When you said find the thread, I think that's the key.
• 17:25
  Theresa: 'Cause a lot of times you can find the, I believe, you can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you can find your thread to what did you like to do when you were a kid and play.
• 17:34
  Elaine: Yeah.
• 17:35
  Theresa: Cause, see, like in my mind, I think I s- climbed the steps and I preached, but I was Catholic.
• 17:39
  Theresa: I didn't want to be a priest, I just wanted to speak, and all that kind of...
• 17:42
  Theresa: I stepped on an apple cart later, and now every product I use is apple cart.
• 17:48
  Theresa: So i- but I, I appreciate you saying five different versions.
• 17:51
  Theresa: That's challenging to me because I tell people I, I don't want to tell the same story about being abused.
• 17:57
  Theresa: I have cancer last year, so that adds a couple more stories.
• 18:00
  Theresa: But I am trying.
• 18:02
  Theresa: I, I appreciate that you're challenging me to continue to find the parts of the story, and in, that's why I said sometimes I feel like I'm saying the same thing.
• 18:11
  Theresa: Well, you just said sometimes you're gonna feel that way, so that's very encouraging.
• 18:14
  Theresa: But find the parts that truly speak to the person you used to be,'cause that's- Mm-hmm what draws people in.
• 18:20
  Theresa: So I appreciate that.
• 18:21
  Theresa: You just gave me an i- you just helped me there.
• 18:24
  Elaine: Yeah,
• 18:25
  Theresa: yeah.
• 18:25
  Theresa: Five different stories.
• 18:26
  Theresa: Okay, I gotta ask you, how many kids do you have again?
• 18:30
  Elaine: I have seven kids.
• 18:32
  Theresa: How do you manage?
• 18:33
  Theresa: What are their ages?
• 18:34
  Theresa: First, I gotta know their ages.
• 18:35
  Theresa: What's their ages?
• 18:37
  Elaine: So they range from eight years old, that's my youngest, to 22, and me and my husband have been married for 23 years.
• 18:45
  Elaine: We just celebrated our 23rd anniversary.
• 18:48
  Elaine: Congratulations.
• 18:48
  Elaine: Thank you.
• 18:49
  Elaine: Wow.
• 18:49
  Elaine: Uh, he is the love of my life.
• 18:50
  Elaine: He is my- Mm knight in shining armor, and I am- Oh his constant damsel in distress.
• 18:54
  Elaine: Yeah.
• 18:55
  Elaine: And he rescues me all the time.
• 18:58
  Elaine: Uh, but we finally did figure out what caused it, and we got a TV in the bedroom- and we're, we're done having kids.
• 19:04
  Theresa: That's a lot, and congratulations.
• 19:06
  Theresa: You have some adults you have raised- I- so that's pretty awesome I do And do they- Yeah do they chill with what Mom's doing?
• 19:12
  Theresa: Do they think it's cool, or do, how, what's the...
• 19:14
  Theresa: I'm just curious.
• 19:15
  Theresa: I mean, we gotta talk family.
• 19:16
  Theresa: Yeah.
• 19:16
  Theresa: So how do they...
• 19:17
  Theresa: Is that,"Oh, my mom's hot," or,"My mom,
• 19:21
  Elaine: that's what my mom does"?
• 19:22
  Elaine: Yeah.
• 19:22
  Elaine: I mean, I do.
• 19:23
  Elaine: And my eight-year-old, he always comes up to me and he's like,"You're so beautiful." Oh.
• 19:27
  Elaine: And then he looked at me the other day and he said,"How is it that you're more beautiful without makeup than you are with makeup?" And I was just like,"You are smooth."
• 19:36
  Theresa: What do you want?
• 19:37
  Theresa: What do you want?
• 19:37
  Theresa: Uh, you got the world right now.
• 19:40
  Elaine: Oh.
• 19:40
  Elaine: Um, but you know, it's, it's been a journey, because we homeschooled for 15 years.
• 19:44
  Elaine: Oh.
• 19:44
  Elaine: And so my older kids have a different experience growing up than my younger kids are having, having.
• 19:50
  Elaine: Okay.
• 19:50
  Elaine: Okay.
• 19:50
  Elaine: And so that, you know, I was a very present mom.
• 19:54
  Elaine: I did work, I did blog, and- Yeah do some things like that.
• 19:59
  Elaine: But for the most part, like, I mean, I was, I was taking them to parks and stuff like that.
• 20:02
  Elaine: But as I've gotten older, and of course you get, you go through seasons yourself.
• 20:06
  Elaine: I'm in my 40s now, and so, you know, I'm ki- And, and my kids are old enough that I can kind of leave them at home, and so I'm experiencing freedom that I haven't.
• 20:14
  Elaine: So I'm- Yeah I'm having to learn the balance of still being a mom, but also still, you know, pursuing my dreams in a way that I was, I wanted to do it when they were little, but because, you know, finances and homeschool, I wasn't really capable of doing that, and figuring out the balance of that.
• 20:29
  Elaine: And, you know, it's not easy.
• 20:31
  Elaine: I'm not perfect at it.
• 20:32
  Elaine: I've definitely- Yeah like, been gone way too much and had to learn, okay, wait, that, that was not healthy for my family or my finances.
• 20:39
  Elaine: Okay.
• 20:39
  Theresa: Yeah.
• 20:39
  Elaine: And so, uh, it, it looks different, but, you know, and we're learning, and they think it's...
• 20:44
  Elaine: You know, I think some days they think it's really cool, and then some days they're like,"Mom, I wish you were home a little bit more." Oh.
• 20:49
  Elaine: "I wish you were like that, you know, park mom." Yeah.
• 20:52
  Elaine: So it, we're not at that season.
• 20:54
  Elaine: Yeah.
• 20:54
  Elaine: So you know, hindsight's 2020, and also, you know, you can't go back.
• 20:58
  Elaine: You can only go forward.
• 20:59
  Elaine: Yeah.
• 20:59
  Theresa: I think you said a key word, season.
• 21:01
  Theresa: You gotta know what season you're in as a mom.
• 21:04
  Theresa: Mm-hmm.
• 21:04
  Theresa: And like, like I was telling you about my friend, she, she's in a season with her kids home, where the other two of us, I'm 63, she's 50.
• 21:12
  Theresa: We've got, the kids are grown up.
• 21:14
  Theresa: You know, we don't have empty nest syndrome necessarily, but- I just think, I think we don't need to rush the season, especially if you're in this pursuit of the beauty pageant or the being seen.
• 21:25
  Theresa: Still, don't rush the season.
• 21:27
  Theresa: Yeah.
• 21:28
  Theresa: And I like the fact that you said, you know, you were present with your kids.
• 21:32
  Theresa: That, you know, I wasn't because I was surviving trauma.
• 21:35
  Theresa: But if there's ever one regret, is I wish I could be present with my kids more mentally, emotionally.
• 21:41
  Theresa: So wow, you're just giving me so much to think on.
• 21:44
  Theresa: So, so listen, listen, listen.
• 21:47
  Theresa: I want people to get to know you and find you, so what is the best way for them to connect with you?
• 21:54
  Elaine: Yeah.
• 21:55
  Elaine: So if you are interested in my pageant journey and my pageant business, it's Pageantpreneur.
• 22:00
  Elaine: It's, you know, pageantry mixed with the word entrepreneur.
• 22:03
  Elaine: Ah.
• 22:04
  Elaine: I love that.
• 22:04
  Elaine: And that is on Instagram.
• 22:06
  Elaine: And then if you want to just connect with me personally, I, it's@mrs.elaine.mingus, which has some periods in between, so mrs.elaine.mingus on Instagram as well.
• 22:16
  Elaine: Mostly on Instagram.
• 22:17
  Elaine: I do have the other sh- channels, but I have a, a virtual assistant that she helps me do that.
• 22:22
  Elaine: Oh, nice.
• 22:22
  Elaine: So, um, if you want me, I'll be on my, uh, I'm on Instagram.
• 22:26
  Theresa: That's what I was gonna say.
• 22:27
  Theresa: I bet you you're on Instagram.
• 22:29
  Theresa: Well, I can't tell you how thankful I am that you have just doused us with so much, uh, beauty and wisdom in such a powerful way, and I really mean that'cause I feel like, um, I feel like I got therapy from you.
• 22:46
  Theresa: No.
• 22:46
  Theresa: At least I got some good things.
• 22:47
  Theresa: So anyway, so I gotta tell you guys, get in touch with Elaine.
• 22:53
  Theresa: Let it enrich your life.
• 22:54
  Theresa: Let her discipline strengthen yours.
• 22:58
  Theresa: Let her vision and her calling maybe undergird what God's put in front of you'cause this is a gem.
• 23:05
  Theresa: So that is today's calling session with Elaine.
• 23:08
  Theresa: If her story moved you, do two things.
• 23:11
  Theresa: Follow her on Instagram, and share this episode with the woman who came to mind when you were, while you were listening.
• 23:19
  Theresa: Some stories are not for scrolling past.
• 23:23
  Theresa: This is definitely one of them.
• 23:25
  Theresa: So for the Stuck No More Voices podcast, I'm Theresa Croft.
• 23:28
  Theresa: I'll talk to you in the next episode.