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
Thursday Jun 30, 2022
Thursday Jun 30, 2022
Today we’re continuing our Go to God series.
In part one, we learned that when you’re stuck in the depths of despair, the way to ignite that rise is to Go to God like Jonah did.
In part two, we’re talking about what to do when you’re stuck in hopelessness.
Hopelessness is the despair you feel when you want something you don’t have and believe that desire is possible for you, but the logical chance of that dream actually coming true is one below zero.
What do you do when you’re stuck in such a state?
How do you break free from that hopeless feeling that the book you want to write will forever be stuck in your head?
How do you overcome the hopelessness of knowing what to write but not having the time to get the words out and finish your book?
How do you keep writing when the idea of being able to sell your books seems hopeless?
You go to God like Hannah did in I Samuel.
No, Hannah wasn’t a writer. But she was a woman with a desperate desire who was stuck in a state of hopelessness. She found her way out, and we can too when we follow her example.
Tune in now for part two of our Go to God series.
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/
Saturday Jun 25, 2022
Saturday Jun 25, 2022
It’s fantasy fiction Friday…one day late. I had this episode recorded but debated about publishing it as this week has been filled with lots of prayer and recalibration. Which is also why I didn’t publish a regular episode earlier this week.
There is one part of me who wants to help my fellow female authors and entrepreneurs get out of dreaming/learning/planning mode and into confident consistent action toward our God-honoring dreams.
Then there’s the DK side of me who wants to entertain you with my books and share background stories and other insider information that will make the books come to life in a richer way.
I thought I could do both effectively through this show, but God has been leading me to do something a bit unorthodox by letting DK launch her own show.
The Escape Break with Author DK Drake show (title pending) will be my creative outlet for people who just want to be entertained with fun tales of fantasy fiction.
Rise from Stuck with Bonnie Jean Schaefer will then narrow in to focus on helping Christian authors write with consistency so we start and finish book after book after book.
The consistent writing journey depends on building a solid faith foundation and framework for our lives, then executing the systems that allow us to be productive in the pursuit of our writing dreams while thriving spiritually, physically, mentally and emotionally in every area of our lives. So those are the things we’ll be discussing in this show.
DK will pop in from time to time to share about her journey on this path of developing consistent writing routines, but today will be the final fantasy fiction Friday episode. You’ll be able to continue to listen to her read the Dragon Collector when her show launches next month, so for now, enjoy chapters four and five of The Dragon Collector.
In these chapters, Javan gets to fly on a dragon and learns that the portal to the dragon dimension is real.
Snag your free D.K. Drake Starter Library here: https://authordkdrake.com/
Friday Jun 17, 2022
Friday Jun 17, 2022
It's fantasy fiction Friday!
Author DK Drake is here in her usual guest host spot to read the first three chapters of The Dragon Collector, book one of The Dragon Stalker Bloodlines Saga.
In these chapters, Javan discovers his heritage as the chosen one from the Collector Bloodline. Which comes as a bit of a shock...as does the news that DRAGONS ARE REAL.
Enjoy!
Want to download the entire book for FREE? It's part of your the D.K. Drake Starter Library only at: https://authordkdrake.com/
Or you can buy it for a buck on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B097L1SQY4
Wednesday Jun 15, 2022
Wednesday Jun 15, 2022
Greetings, Rise from Stuck Warrior!
Today we’re starting a five part series that reveals the one secret to rising from stuck whether you find yourself stuck in despair, hopelessness, sin, an identity crisis or straight up fear. These emotions can cripple us and keep us from moving forward, but there is always one thing we can do no matter what kind of emotional state of stuck we are in to ignite our rise.
If you guessed “go to God,” you are right!
This is thus our Go to God series. In it, we’ll look at five people from the Bible and their Go to God prayers to help us learn how to go to God and seek His guidance in our quest to rise from stuck.
Today we start with despair.
When you’re stuck in the depths of despair, it’s easier to wallow in your misery and spin stories that make your misery multiply than it is to stop the spiral, seek God, and take some sort of forward action.
So what can you do when you’re drowning in despair, feeling as though you’ve been swallowed up by the woes of life and can see no way out in the midst of the darkness?
You go to God like Jonah did. The way he turned to God in the midst of his darkness is the kind of action that sparks lasting change.
I had to go to God like Jonah did just last week when the woes of my job crushed me in a way I’ve never been crushed before. It was a dark and scary place, and I didn’t like being there.
If you don’t like being in your state of stuck, listen in. I’ll share my story as well as Jonah’s to help you find your way out as well.
Get your 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/
Friday Jun 10, 2022
Friday Jun 10, 2022
It's Fantasy Fiction Friday! Time for an escape break with Author D.K. Drake.
Today you'll hear the prologue of The Dragon Collector, book one of the Dragon Stalker Bloodlines Saga.
In The Dragon Collector, fifteen-year-old Javan believes he is simply an ordinary orphan abandoned by his mother at birth--until he is whisked away to another dimension and his destiny as the chose one from the Collector Bloodline is revealed.
Armed only with an ancient weapon, a trio of old advisors, and his determination to win, Javan is soon caught up in a dangerous Battle for the Throne.
Now his choices could save--or destroy--the people and dragons of Zandador, including the mother he just met.
In the prologue, you'll meet some familiar characters if you listened to the short story in episode three (and you'll learn how Kenton and his dragons ended up on earth!).
So sit back, relax, and enjoy. You are now entering the Land of Zandador...
Connect with me at 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/
Sunday Jun 05, 2022
Sunday Jun 05, 2022
Greetings, Rise from Stuck Warrior!
It’s Seek God Sunday. This is the part of the show where we strengthen our faith foundation as it relates to knowing God, knowing ourselves in light of who God is, and knowing what we want and why in light of who God is and who He created us to be.
Do you know what you believe about who God is, what core roles He fills in relation to you, and why He gets to be exalted above all?
Knowing God is where our rise begins.
Being clear about His absolute truth and the beliefs we will not compromise is the anchor our soul needs to keep us grounded in our faith and connected to our Savior regardless of our circumstances.
So you need to know what your core convictions are, and you need to pray through them daily.
And that’s today’s strategy: pray through your core convictions daily.
That’s one way you can remain grounded in your faith and connected to God.
To that end, I wrote a prayer that defines my core convictions at the outset of 2022 that I’ve been praying daily. In today’s short but mighty episode, I’ll share that prayer with you.
Does it define everything I believe that I will not compromise? No. I have a detailed doctrinal statement complete with scripture references for that.
This prayer condenses those beliefs to the critical few that I need to be reminded of most often so that my heart and mind remain loyal to God.
In future episodes, we’ll break it down and explore the scripture these beliefs are derived from, but today I want to let you hear the prayer from beginning end.
You can snag a written copy of it at bonniejeanschaefer.com, and I invite you to pray with me today.
Get your 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/
Saturday May 28, 2022
Saturday May 28, 2022
Rise from Stuck Warrior,
I’ve got author DK Drake here with me today. It’s really easy to have her on the show because, well, she is me. D.K. Drake is my pen name, and the short story I’m about to share is the origin of that pen name.
Why do I use a pen name? Several reasons. One, to humble my pride. I don’t want to be obsessed with seeing my name on the cover of a book. And two, DK Drake is a lot easier to say and spell than Bonnie Jean Schaefer, plus it sounds more like a fantasy author than my given name.
So what does DK stand for? Darcy Kimberly.
So why Darcy Kimberly? Well, I needed to come up with the name of the main character for the story I’m sharing today. My older, bolder sister’s name is Marcy, and I wanted my character to be bold like my sister, so I replaced the M with the D and named her Darcy.
As for the K, my boss at the time was also a graphic designer, and she designed the first cover of the first fantasy novel I wrote. Her name is Kimberly, and I threw the K in there to honor her part in the genesis of my fantasy writing career. Then I threw Drake in the mix to bring out the alliteration of the D and the K.
And at the time I wrote the story, I had only published one novel that was a complete flop. I thus wanted to get into the head of a successful novelist, so I made the main character a bestselling author in search of an idea for her next book.
Notice in the story that she doesn’t have a last name. All I knew at the time was that her name was Darcy. After readers enjoyed the story, I decided to write a fantasy series based on the dragon stalker concept I created for the story, and that’s when I added the K and Drake. I wanted to let her be the author of the series.
Now I wrote the story at the prompting of friends who kept harassing me to write a story about cops and a story about dragons. To make both of those friends happy, I wrote Cops, Robbers…and Dragons? If you want to read along as I read, you can snag a copy as part of the DK Drake starter library at AuthorDKDrake.com.
Get your free Rise from Stuck Starter Kit here: https://bonniejeanschaefer.com
Engage with me here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/risewithbonniejean
Snag your free D.K. Drake Starter Library here: https://authordkdrake.com
Saturday May 28, 2022
Saturday May 28, 2022
Rise from Stuck Warrior,
Today we’re going to face our fears, own our excuses and voice our doubts. We’re going to whine. We’re going to complain. We’re going to vent our frustrations. But not to ourselves. Not to a friend. To God.
As uncomfortable as it may make us feel, we’re going to take our woes to God.
I’ll share five questions to ponder to prepare for this prayer followed by a series of prayer prompts to help you structure the conversation with God in a way that will bring clarity to your problem. I’ll also share snippets of my prayer as an example of how this process works.
The purpose of this prayer is to seek God’s help in recognizing what is keeping us stuck. If we don’t clearly understand the mental and emotional barriers to our struggles, we’re never going to make true, lasting progress. This recognition process is step one in allowing God to renew our minds in order to transform our lives.
Besides, God has the solutions we are looking for, and He wants to share them with us. We first have to recognize the problem and ask for help solving it.
Before we begin, pick one specific are of life where you are feeling the most stuck. Got it? Good. Let’s dive in.
Get your free Rise from Stuck Starter Kit here: https://bonniejeanschaefer.com
Engage with me 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.