God’s plan is not always our plan, and by staying in line with Him and continuing to grow my faith, my business grew too. It was a matter of Steps – stepping out in faith and trusting God day by day. Read more about my story below.
Prefer Video? Check this out.
My first business was teaching Spanish. It was a natural extension of my years as a teacher and my ability to speak the language. BUT, when God called me into Direct Sales (yes, He called me), I was out of my element and unsure about what to do or how to do it.
I hope you will relate and learn from my story about stepping out in faith and trusting God day by day.
Just Take The First Step
Let me back up with this story. I’m an educator. So, naturally, teaching is my first route when I think about making money. You may have heard the story before about how I got into Direct Sales. But here goes.
My husband and I had trained to be missionaries, but it was not happening. I had stopped for a year or so of teaching Spanish, but when it was apparent we would not be going to the foreign mission field, I got a job teaching. The job lasted two weeks.
On the way home in the car after that last day, I had something happen to me that had never happened before. I was exhausted, crying, and yelling at (I mean praying) to God. ‘Lord, what am I supposed to do now? I don’t want to teach Spanish anymore.’
And, in an almost audible voice, I heard. ‘Well, your sister does Blessings Unlimited.’ I stopped dead, well, in my head, not the car. And do you know what I said to God? ‘SO.’
God Sent Me Outside of My Comfort Zone
But God didn’t let me go. It actually took me four months to be obedient. Why?
Well, this is what was going on in my head. . .
Was I smart enough? Savvy enough? Out-going enough?
I had never been in sales. I knew nothing. I’ll admit, the company did an excellent job training its consultants. I learned a lot there. BUT, God also brought resources and people in front of me that taught me to do things His way.
By being out of my comfort zone, I had to rely on Him for my business to run well. I had to trust that the opportunities, books, training, and coaches He put in my path were for my good. I was stepping out in faith and trusting God while doing work in front of me (and it was a lot of work).
Stepping Out In Faith and Trusting God
How did I know what to do? How did my business grow? By deepening my faith. By aligning with God for my success.
Stepping into Faith with Mary and Martha
The company I signed up with is now called Mary & Martha. It’s a faith-based company, so it was easy to grow my faith, right? But, in a way, I wasn’t satisfied just ‘selling’ home décor and hospitality items that had scripture on them. I wanted my business, my work, to have more meaning, to make an impact.
I read all I could about Mary & Martha from the Bible and other texts. I learned about their differences and growth in their relationships with Jesus. I adopted the story of who they were, shared it at my ‘gatherings’ (a.k.a., parties), and realized that we are more balanced between these two women than we know. I even created a little quiz for the women at my gatherings to show them they were more of a balance than they thought. ?
I also discovered that Jesus never asked Martha to change her personality after He scolded her. He never told Mary to be more like her sister. By digging into their story, I was getting deeper into God’s character, reflected through Jesus.
A Teaching Opportunity To Grow In Faith
I stayed with Mary & Martha for six years. During my time there, I developed techniques for memorizing scripture, created a journaling workshop, and shared how to Pray in Color. My ‘parties’ turned into teaching opportunities (no surprise there).
By incorporating my own faith-growth practices into my business, I grew in my faith (because I had to study God’s Word) and was able to share it with others.
What are you studying right now from the Bible that you can directly incorporate into your business? How to show up with integrity? Learning to love unconditionally? Standing up for God’s side even if there are consequences?
Stepping into Business
As a purely selfish marketing technique (at least that is what I thought initially), I zeroed in on one group of women. I decided to market to Christian Businesswomen and Entrepreneurs. I was tired of having a party and women telling me they needed to call their husbands so they could spend $40. I figured these women had their own money, and it would be very practical of me to make them my niche market. (God saw the road ahead of me) I was already networking heavily in my local area, but I needed to attract these women to me.
So, I started a networking group specifically for Christian Businesswomen. This was a second business. It was a membership group with perks, networking and masterminding, and social events. This group went on for over eight years (even though I don’t sell Mary & Martha anymore). We had just gone online at the end of 2019 before the pandemic hit. Funny, right!
During the first few years of running the networking group, I served Christian Businesswomen with networking and mastermind meetings and workshops similar to what I started in my Direct Selling days. I even had a brick-and-mortar for a while where I held these meetings, facilitated workshops, and rented space.
Trusting God With The Next Step
But God had more plans for me, and not all business ventures work out how you plan. So when the Center closed, it opened the next thing God intended for me. Those stories that started with Mary & Martha blossomed into an entire book profiling twelve working women of the Bible and the business principles they teach.
I learned more about these Biblical mentors by researching and writing the book CLARIFY. I loved discovering these women in a new way, seeing the impact they made for God on their culture through their work. I learned that God has a place and a plan for me and for each one of us.
Has there ever been a time in your business adventure that God closed one thing that led to the next better thing? Tell me briefly in the comments. For example, I could say God closed the Business & Educational Center so I could have time and focus to write the Clarify Book.
His Ambassadors in the Marketplace
I know that connecting faith and business might be easy if you sell Christian products or coach Christian women, but God gave you this desire to do your business to be His ambassador in the marketplace. No matter what type of business you have, you are called to serve your clients. You are called to work with integrity and show God’s goodness to others.
God has called you and me into the work world. That’s where He expects us to serve Him. He has uniquely equipped us to bring solutions to our ideal clients. And, He provides resources, coaches, and mentors to help us grow in faith and grow in business.
So, are you ready for a growth spurt? Are you looking for a place where you can grow deeper in faith while growing your business bigger? Are you at a place in your business where you want more focus and clarity to have the impact you know you can have?
Get Clarity Around Your Calling
That’s where Calling Clarity can help you. It is what God called me into next. It is where I know I was supposed to land. When you can take all the pieces of your life, experiences, skills, talents, giftings, and ideas and create something impactful for the kingdom, you know you are aligned with what God wants you to do. I love it! I would love to talk to you about where you are on this journey. Please make an appointment with me for a Clarity Call. Together we can see if it is the right place for you.
Keep Stepping
And oh yeah, God keeps growing my faith as He asks me to take the next step. I used to be standing on the precipice, at the edge of a cliff, and see a vast canyon was open in front of me. This was so scary! I was not sure what God wanted from me. But, He had everything planned, and I just had to take the step.
Once I took that first step (remember, four months to start in Direct Sales) and realized God was providing the steppingstones for me to cross, I got bolder and bolder in what He asked me to do. I have gone from that woman who didn’t know if she could sell a plate . . . to a woman showing others how to put together their own plates, to serve their ideal clients, and to serve God through their work.
My work is exciting, and your work can be exciting too. So I want you to join me on the most incredible adventure of your life, serving God through your work, your business, and making an impact for Him on those you are called to serve.
Leave a Reply