Grab your coffee, tea, latte or water and take a seat. I’d like to share a few things with you. Don’t skim over the paragraphs because you may miss that ONE thing that you need.
I want to encourage you to view pouring into yourself — into your personal, spiritual, professional and relational development is not wrong to do. I came up in a culture/a time where the thought of women “doing for themselves” was considered selfish. I remember the early years of motherhood, ministry and working full-time. It was frowned upon to admit you were tired, that you needed a moment to yourself, or that you’d really like to buy that particular item for yourself. Some women wore it as a badge of honor to say, “I put myself on the back burner”. I was one of those women. It wasn’t because we wanted to be pitied. We didn’t want people to feel sorry for us. We thought it meant we were being good wives and mothers. In my younger years, we were told that you put God, your husband and your children ahead of yourself, always. I agree as a woman of faith to put God first at all times because He guides every area of my life when I do, but it took a number of years for me to realize that if I didn’t take care of Lisa, then I couldn’t give my best care to my husband and children or to my other responsibilities. I didn’t want them to have an exhausted, cranky, depleted, overwhelmed, overworked wife/mother. I wanted them to have me at my best.
One day I took Lisa off the backburner. It took a long time to do that. I started putting some boundaries in my life. I didn’t go to bed at 1:00 am thinking that after everyone was sleep I could work more, do laundry, clean the house and so on but rather, after getting the girls to bed, I spent time with hubby and we went to bed at the same time. I changed the way I did several things at home to be more efficient for family time and personal time. I started investing more in the areas where I wanted to enhance spiritually, my strengths, giftings, skill set, etc. What I like to call personal development. By this time, I had one in 3rd grade and the other a teen. See how long it took me to understand that investing in Lisa was not only OK to do but necessary to do? It made me a better person for myself, my family, work, ministry and more! Some of the investing was just making adjustments with what I did and how I did it. Other investments in bettering myself came through diving even more deeply into the Word and in some cases, it was through reading more books by authors that I respected who was living what they were teaching/writing. I also invested in myself in ways that cost money. I needed to get out of my own way. Was I entirely comfortable with spending money on myself outside of what I deemed to be necessities? No, I wasn’t until I realized that bettering myself was a necessity.
I started counseling women as far back as childhood. Yes, that’s right. Ask my 9th grade Spanish teacher. She was the first adult I counseled. Shocking right? I had the privilge of helping her to drop her abusive boyfriend. Before her, I was deemed “recess counselor” in the schoolyard and girls bathroom in middle school. If you are not sure what your purpose is look back over your life and I bet you’ll SEE it. Then in the 90’s I began to di biblically based counseling for women and married couples (husbands/wives), and by 2002 I was coaching them. Over those years I’ve evolved even more through additional training, leadership skills, personal development, certification, working with individuals, non-profits, etc. and I have my own coaching business: LisaShawCares, LLC which serves individuals, non-profits and small businesses.
Why did I share a small portion and a very brief overview of my life with you? Because I believe that had I not been willing to say YES, even when it met an investment of time, resources and working the plan of action, then I wouldn’t be where I am now on the way to where I’m going. You see, I believe God’s plans for our lives consists of consistent growth if we want it. I don’t believe it ends at a certain age. Underneath all that I have the privilege to be and to do, the bottom line is I’m a Teacher by God’s design and as such, I believe a good teacher is FIRST a good student — ever learning; being challenged to grow – challenged to soar!
So how about you? Is it time to take yourself off the back burner of your life? Is it time to make yourself a priority so that you are better for those around you and so that you feel better about yourself? You have the courage within you to do it! There’s nothing wrong with that. But remember, this is not about perfection. So don’t look for that. None of us are perfect. It’s about purpose. Don’t be afraid to take the leap. Contact me so we can discuss how I can work with you on the areas of importance to you! Before I started coaching in 2002 I experienced a coach. I paid for a few sessions and realized that not only was it helpful to me, it opened up another possibility — another part of my purpose in how I serve women and help them to live the LIFE they envision!
Let’s do it. I’m looking forward to hearing from you. Contact me HERE or via Email: Lisa@LisaShawCares.com.
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