RISE from Stuck | Trust God, Who Am I, Personal Development, Set Goals, Renew Your Mind, Be Strong and Courageous
Are you a single Christian woman who finds yourself perpetually stuck in a state of inaction or despair because you’re waiting for your soulmate? Are telling yourself you’re not in a relationship because: - You aren’t attractive - There is something wrong with you - You are struggling financially on your own? Are you telling yourself you’re not important because you are single? Then welcome to RISE from Stuck with Bonnie Jean Schaefer. I understand what it’s like to feel invisible, overlooked, unimportant, unattractive, and alone. I understand what it’s like to use those feelings as an excuse to stay small, ignore God’s call, and convince myself I can’t succeed in relationships or business because I don’t have: - The looks of a supermodel - A husband - Enough money - Enough talent - Enough connections - The right credentials or - A charismatic personality. ***But I’m learning to understand that my real problem is that when I don’t trust God with my whole heart, I fail to be who I know I should be and do what I know I should do because of my doubt-filled, excuse-riddled mindset.*** I’m also learning to understand that **seeking God first is the answer**. Embracing my identity in Him is the path to confidence, significance, and success, the kind of success that has nothing to do with being skinny, being married, or being wealthy. The kind of success that matters is being like Christ and getting results that glorify God. And you can’t produce those kind of results without relentless, purposeful action in the direction of your God-given dreams. **I’ve known this core truth all along. I’ve been a Christian since age four, earned my Bible degree in 1999, and published four novels so far, one as me and three as fantasy author DK Drake. But the internal war I describe in episode 30 between my competing desires to be married and to be an author entrepreneur has kept me small. Hidden. Insignificant. Until now. Now I have a firm foundation and framework for my life that honors God. Now I know I am can be both single and significant because I am in Christ. And I want to help you build that same foundation and framework for your life. I want you to feel significant. Important. Valuable. I want you to find your significance in Christ, not in your appearance, a relationship, or your net worth. I want you to RISE from Stuck and live a confident, significant life as a single Christian woman. If you happen to attract the man God has for you in the process, BONUS! That’s why the mission of this podcast is to help you build a foundation and framework for your life so that you can glorify God while living your dreams. On this podcast, you can expect episodes that cover the following topics: - Know God and understand His design - Know yourself and respect your strengths - Take consistent action toward goals that glorify God. In the process of knowing God, yourself, and taking action, my prayer is that you become the diligent, disciplined, passionate woman God designed you to become so that you can attempt great things for Him. If you happen to attract a man in the process, BONUS. But that is not the focus of this podcast. Here we focus on serving God to the best of our ability while trusting Him to provide whatever we need, including a mate. Ready to rise? Start by listening to episode 30, then taking the action I suggest at the end of the episode. This rise from stuck journey may be a bumpy ride, but as we learn to trust God, respect our strengths, and do the work God is calling us to do, we are going to build confidence, courage and consistency in the pursuit of God and our dreams regardless of our marital status. So strap into God’s word. Grab on to my hand. And let’s rise from stuck. Together.
Listen on:
Episodes
Monday Jan 30, 2023
Monday Jan 30, 2023
Hey, friend!
If you're feeling stuck and in need of direction, start by going to God and seeking Him.
That's what I do, and that's what I did on January 29, 2023.
Here's a snippet of that prayer. Tune in to listen to the full conversation with God.
Dear Father, You know that when I write books, I like to see the big picture and know where the story is going and how it ends before I start writing. You also know that I’m the same way when setting goals. I’m a big picture gal. I like to plan things and start with the end in mind.
But I’m not sure where this podcast is going. I don’t know what the finish line looks like. I just know that You want me to talk to You about You and me and dreams and work and writing. And I know You want me to share these prayers or conversations of ours through this podcast for the foreseeable future.
So instead of waiting to see the big picture and understand where You are taking me and my listeners, I’m starting. I’m obeying even though I don’t quite understand or have a grand and detailed plan.
What do You want this show to be? Why do you want me to document my journey from a stuck dreamer to a strong and courageous action taker? How can you speak through me to encourage others to get into writing action? How can You change me through these prayers and encourage me to get into both writing and teaching action?
Connect with me at www.BonnieJeanSchaefer.com.
Monday Jan 23, 2023
Monday Jan 23, 2023
When I started Rise from Stuck in May 2022, I was in a dark place career-wise. I liked the people I worked with, but working as a auto insurance claims adjuster did not play to my strengths. The workload was overwhelming. The phone calls were relentless. And it had sucked all creativity from my soul. I felt stuck in a deep, dark hole and didn’t know how to dig myself out.
On January 23, I start a new role on the operations side of the insurance company I work for, a role as a Business Process Consultant that will allow me to utilize my writing strengths.
I’m excited about this change, but I don’t want to be content with just changing jobs. It will be a welcome improvement in my circumstances, but it won’t complete my rise from stuck.
In order to truly rise, I need to rewire my brain. To change the way I think and thus behave. After all, God tells us in Romans that the way to be transformed is by the renewing of our minds.
Contrary to popular new age-type thinking, I can’t rewire my brain and renew my mind in my own power. I want God to be in charge of my transformation. I want Him to change the way I think.
So I’m wiping my mental slate clean and will rebuild the foundation and framework of my life. And I’m going to utilize this podcast to document my journey.
Tuesday Aug 23, 2022
Tuesday Aug 23, 2022
If you ever struggle to make progress on your book because you are busy with that full-time job and family and staying fit and all the things, then try implementing this one time management strategy to help you write with consistency.
Get your free Rise from Stuck starter kit here: https://bonniejeanschaefer.com/
Join my free community here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/risewithbonniejean
Snag your free D.K. Drake Starter Library here: https://authordkdrake.com/
Thursday Aug 11, 2022
Thursday Aug 11, 2022
Today we have our grand finale of our go to God series. This is my favorite of the five because the Bible records for us BOTH sides of the conversation between God and Moses, but it’s also the most convicting because it reminds me that I can’t excuse my way out of God’s calling on my life no matter how scared I may feel.
In this conversation, Moses holds nothing back. Neither does God as God has a solution for every perceived problem Moses brings up.
Technically, God came to Moses, and Moses wasn’t stuck in fear until God told Moses to do something that terrified him. God’s instructions paralyzed Moses with fear, though. He had his excuses ready, but to his credit, he voiced those fears. He didn’t stay stuck and let the fears eat away at his soul. He talked through them with God.
If God has placed a calling on your life that terrifies you, and that calling has rendered you stuck in fear, tune in as we learn from Moses how to rise when we feel stuck in fear.
Get your free Rise from Stuck starter kit here: https://bonniejeanschaefer.com/
Snag your free D.K. Drake Starter Library here: https://authordkdrake.com/
Tuesday Jul 26, 2022
Tuesday Jul 26, 2022
This episode is the fourth in our Go to God series, and it’s about how to ignite our rise when we are stuck in the midst of an identity crisis.
One of the main reasons we get stuck is because we fail to own our God-given identities.
It’s easier to own the circumstantial identities thrust upon us rather than consciously identify with the role God put us here to play.
In other words, it’s easy to say you are your job but when it comes to saying you are a writer, that’s tough. It’s hard to identify as a writer when that isn’t your full-time profession.
Why do we feel we have to sell a certain number of books or earn a certain level of income before we can call ourselves writers? Why do we feel we have to achieve anything in order to see ourselves as the person God put us here to be?
When we believe we have to achieve something before we can identify as our dream role in life, we get trapped in an identity crisis. We believe we are our job but can’t be a writer because writing isn’t our job. Since we don’t identify as a writer, we don’t write.
In Scripture, we read of a woman trapped in an identity crisis. Her role was that of a queen of a pagan nation, and she owned that identity. The one of her circumstances. But she suppressed her true identity as a Jew. Then her people were on the verge of annihilation, and if she didn’t own her true identity, she wouldn’t be able to help them.
But if she told her husband who she truly was—if she even approached him without an invitation—she risked death.
Queen Esther was stuck. So what did she do to ignite her rise from stuck? You guessed it. She turned to God.
In part four of our go to God series, we’re going to look at the importance of identity and how to go to God the way Esther did when we are stuck in an identity crisis.
Get your free Rise from Stuck starter kit here: https://bonniejeanschaefer.com/
Join my free community here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/risewithbonniejean
Snag your free D.K. Drake Starter Library here: https://authordkdrake.com/
Tuesday Jul 19, 2022
Tuesday Jul 19, 2022
As we discussed last week, having the ability to follow through with a challenge as well as enjoy life wherever you are amid whatever circumstances you find yourself in are important skills to cultivate in the rise from stuck journey.
Let’s practice enjoying life today. Here’s your adventure challenge:
Live PHONE-FREE for one hour a day, seven days in a row.
Do you dare?
Tuesday Jul 12, 2022
Tuesday Jul 12, 2022
Having the ability to follow through with a challenge as well as enjoy life wherever you are amid whatever circumstances you find yourself in are important skills to cultivate in the rise from stuck journey.
Let’s practice enjoying life today. Here’s your adventure challenge:
Within the next seven days, go for a hike at a park, mountain or field near you. Take a friend or two. Or venture out on your own so you have some quality time chatting with God about life while you hike. And here’s the catch: you can’t take any pictures or post anything online about your hiking adventure.
That’s right. NO pictures. Not one. And no social media posts. Ghost your online crew and experience the joy of experiencing the great outdoors.
Do you dare accept the challenge?
Tuesday Jul 05, 2022
Tuesday Jul 05, 2022
Welcome to part three of our five part Go to God series exploring the ways we feel stuck and the one thing that ignites our rise every time—talking to God.
How we approach God changes depending on the way we feel stuck, and we’re exploring examples from scripture to teach us how to approach God. From Jonah, we learned how to approach God when we feel stuck in the depths of despair. From Hannah, we learned how to approach God when we feel stuck in a state of hopelessness.
Today we’ll learn from David how to Go to God when we feel stuck in the sin of inaction. We'll explore why failing to take action we know to do is sin and how we ignite our rise by talking to God.
Get your free Rise from Stuck starter kit here: https://bonniejeanschaefer.com/
Join my free community here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/risewithbonniejean
Snag your free D.K. Drake Starter Library here: https://authordkdrake.com/
Rise from Stuck
The Challenge:
Turn from your excuse-riddled, doubt-filled, inconsistent ways and embrace an eternity-focused, passion-driven, faithful Christian lifestyle.
The Mission:
Design a lifestyle system that is grounded in God's truth, guided by God's values, and leads you toward your ultimate vision.