Navigating Faith Transitions: Insights from Kingdom Life Coach Megan Nilsen
The salient point of this podcast episode revolves around the transformative journey of faith and personal alignment, as articulated by Megan Nilsen, a Kingdom life coach. Megan, based in Colorado Springs, specializes in Christ-centered coaching aimed at helping individuals navigate transitional seasons in their faith, relationships, and vocational callings. Throughout our discussion, she emphasizes the importance of understanding one's identity in Christ and the profound impact of listening to God's voice. She shares her own experiences, including the pivotal moment that inspired her to launch her coaching business in 2020, and the vital role of mentors in her life. Ultimately, Megan encourages listeners to engage in introspection and seek guidance from God as they pursue their unique paths, underscoring the idea that there are no small contributions within the Kingdom.
The discussion centers on the profound impact of faith in one's personal and professional journey, as articulated by Megan Nilsen, a Kingdom life coach. Megan elucidates her experiences and insights regarding aligning one's life with God's purpose, particularly during transitional phases. She emphasizes that love transcends a zero-sum mentality in the context of faith, suggesting that one's journey should focus on mutual growth rather than competition. This perspective is crucial for individuals navigating challenges in their relationships or vocational paths, as it fosters a mindset of collaboration and abundance. Moreover, the episode delves into the significance of mentorship, with Meghan reflecting on the influential figures in her life, including her husband and spiritual leaders, who have guided her toward a deeper understanding of her calling. These relationships have been instrumental in shaping her approach to coaching and have inspired her to empower others to listen to God's voice and embrace their unique destinies.
Takeaways:
- Megan Nilsen emphasizes the importance of aligning one's life with God's voice, especially during transitional seasons.
- In coaching, it is essential to guide individuals toward recognizing their inherent worth and identity as beloved children of God.
- The concept of kingdom alignment involves living in accordance with God's will, fostering peace, love, and fulfillment in one's life.
- Nielsen's personal journey through motherhood and adoption led her to profound realizations about identity and purpose, shaping her coaching philosophy.
- The coaching process is a collaborative journey that encourages individuals to explore their dreams and aspirations while overcoming fears and doubts.
- Megan advocates for community and support in discovering one's calling and navigating life's challenges.
Transcript
My guest today is Meghan Nielsen.
Speaker A:She is a Kingdom life coach, host of Kingdom Life Coaching podcast, author and retreat speaker who lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Speaker A:She offers Christ centered coaching for those seeking Kingdom alignment and strategy during a transitional season in faith relationships or vocational calling.
Speaker A:She loves discovering and extracting from what God has placed in the hearts of women to help them walk in greater confidence, fulfillment and purpose.
Speaker A: ched her coaching business in: Speaker A:You can find her enjoying a Broadway musical, a downhill skiing in Colorado with her hubby and friends, or traveling around the country to visit her young adult children.
Speaker A:We welcome Megan to the pod.
Speaker A:Well, Megan, welcome to the podcast.
Speaker A:How you doing today?
Speaker B:I'm doing great, thank you.
Speaker B:I'm excited to be here.
Speaker A:Good to have you on.
Speaker A:I'm going to ask you my favorite question.
Speaker A:Every guest has to answer before we go any further.
Speaker A:And that is, what's the best piece of advice you've ever received?
Speaker B:I've listened to a few episodes, I was like, okay, I better be ready.
Speaker B:You know, the thing that came to me when I was pondering this is that love is not a zero sum game.
Speaker B:And especially think, you know, biblical love and kingdom life is not a zero sum game.
Speaker B:I feel like I learned this most prominently in parenthood.
Speaker B:So after my husband and I were married four or five years and had our first baby and you know, those babies, they come in and they kind of turn your life upside down in the best and hardest way.
Speaker B:And I realized I was getting really frustrated with, well, I'm doing this and you're, you get to do that and what, you know, it felt like a very much like a keeping score mentality.
Speaker B:And I was really convicted just by a mentor.
Speaker B:And I was just talking about this and of course, lovingly they was listening to me, but they said, you know, life is not a zero sum game.
Speaker B:So the more you want to keep score and I win and you lose, you will forever be frustrated and you'll be frustrated in your relationships and you'll be feeling like you're banging your head against the wall.
Speaker B:But if you can understand that love is not I win and you lose.
Speaker B:How can we, how can we both win?
Speaker B:That has really changed my life from that point forward.
Speaker A:Oh, I love that.
Speaker A:That's really, that's insightful.
Speaker A:I always tell my guests, when you share your best piece of advice, it may appear later on on other things that, you know, after the first time, I'll give you credit.
Speaker A:Third time, it's like, as I've always said.
Speaker B:Right, right.
Speaker B:I've been living this for a while now, and it comes back to me, that scorecard, you know, that scorecard likes to pop up in my head from time to time, but yeah, it does.
Speaker B:It's not helpful.
Speaker B:It's not helpful.
Speaker A:No, it really isn't.
Speaker A:You know, I'm always curious to people like yourself who have accomplished a lot of things in life.
Speaker A:We don't ever get where we are without some people along the way who appear in our lives sometimes just momentarily.
Speaker A:But who are some people that may be a mentor for you or inspired you on your journey?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Is it fair to say my husband?
Speaker A:Sure.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I am really, really blessed to be married to an incredible guy.
Speaker B:I feel like we've grown up together.
Speaker B:We were married when we were 22 years old.
Speaker B:And I'm really thankful that God has grown us in the same direction.
Speaker B:But I really feel like mentor wise and cheerleader wise.
Speaker B:He's always pushing me to just be a better version of myself and try some new things and go for it, invest here and take that risk.
Speaker B:And so that, I mean, his support and his encouragement has really helped me.
Speaker B:And then I think outside of family, just Bible study leaders, I've been, you know, in.
Speaker B:In some sort of parachurch ministry or church ministry for a very long time.
Speaker B:And there have been several women maybe, you know, two to three decades older than me that just are living a life filled with Christ.
Speaker B:And I look at them and they've just encouraged me.
Speaker B:And I think I want to be like her.
Speaker B:And I think that the main thing that I've noticed with all these women is that they spend a lot of time with the Lord.
Speaker B:They spend a lot of time in the Word, and they spend a lot of time listening to God's voice.
Speaker B:And so I have tried to.
Speaker B:To follow and walk in their shoes as best I can because I.
Speaker B:I see the difference.
Speaker B:I see the fruit that.
Speaker B:That has harvested over all those years.
Speaker A:That's awesome.
Speaker A:I love that.
Speaker A:And those people are so special in our lives, too.
Speaker A: your own coaching business in: Speaker B:Oh, goodness, I'm chuckling.
Speaker B:Because, you know, it's always the long version, right?
Speaker B:It's always a convergence of all the.
Speaker B:All the seeds that God has dropped along the way and grown and watered.
Speaker B:But I think the.
Speaker B: tory in our family changed in: Speaker B:So we have two biological children.
Speaker B:They were in grade school at the time, maybe third and fifth grade.
Speaker B:And we adopted our two younger kids.
Speaker B:They were five and seven from Ethiopia.
Speaker B:And we had been really praying about our family growth and felt really called into this journey of adoption.
Speaker B:And when the kids came home, it was very, very difficult.
Speaker B:And this is not an uncommon story.
Speaker B:I think many of you and your listeners know that inherent in adoption and blended family is trauma, right?
Speaker B:So there's a lot of brokenness and abandonment and all the things that come along with that.
Speaker B:And while we were prepared sort of in our head through quote, unquote training, nothing can train you for the experience of living it in your home and just seeing the brokenness of the kids.
Speaker B:And I really began to think, what are we doing?
Speaker B:I can't mother these kids.
Speaker B:I'm doing a horrible job.
Speaker B:I think we might have messed up everybody's lives.
Speaker B:Maybe they should have stayed there.
Speaker B:And we didn't.
Speaker B:We didn't do the right thing.
Speaker B:We didn't do the right thing because this is really, really hard.
Speaker B:And I don't see the light.
Speaker B:But we thought, God, we thought you were calling us into this.
Speaker B:And so there was a moment in there where I was just really kind of at the bottom and really despairing and overwhelmed.
Speaker B:And my husband, again, back to the mentor, I mean it in the best way.
Speaker B:He's like, I think you need to see somebody.
Speaker B:Because I was just a mess and really, really hard.
Speaker B:And he said, I think you need to talk to somebody.
Speaker B:I think you need to see a counselor.
Speaker B:So I went to a counselor and I sat on the couch and I just kind of boo hooed through the first 30 minutes, right?
Speaker B:This is so hard.
Speaker B:I don't know what to do.
Speaker B:I think I can't Im sustaining life like this.
Speaker B:And she listened.
Speaker B:And then after I was finished, she looked at me just straight in the eyes and she said, you know, motherhood's not your highest and greatest calling, right?
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker B:And I said, no, I know.
Speaker B:I didn't know that because guess what?
Speaker B:Not only I had two kids, I got four kids.
Speaker B:Like, this is my big calling.
Speaker B:This is all I'm doing 24, seven, you know, 365 days a year.
Speaker B:What?
Speaker B:What do you mean?
Speaker B:And she said, yes, of course, it's an amazing, incredible calling to be a mother.
Speaker B:But when you make motherhood or insert the thing in your life, when you make this your soul identity, you will be frustrated because it's.
Speaker B:You're working from your flesh and you're working from your expectations and the world's expectations.
Speaker B:She said, it's not until you understand your highest calling is to be a daughter of the King, to be filled up with the love of Christ and really walking by the peace of the Spirit, that you will understand that everything can flow from there.
Speaker B:Your primary and anchored identity is in the Lord.
Speaker B:And then when you get your cup filled up with his love and his grace and his forgiveness and his peace, then your marriage, your parenting, your vocation, everything, your friendships come from the overflow of that place.
Speaker B:So I tell this story over and over again because it is a moment in time in my life where I feel like the Holy Spirit through this counselor, this.
Speaker B:You know, she didn't pull any punches.
Speaker B:I mean, she was very direct and clear with me, but I just felt like it was like the loving conviction of the Lord to say, there's a.
Speaker B:You have a turning point.
Speaker B:Do you want to truly surrender to me and get filled up with my peace?
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And then I will guide you.
Speaker B:It doesn't mean life's going to get easier.
Speaker B:Life did not get easier that day.
Speaker B:I mean, it's still parenthood, it's still messy.
Speaker B:It's kids, it's all the things.
Speaker B:But my perspective shifted.
Speaker B:And so from that time, it's been, you know, 12 or more years now.
Speaker B:I have been on this sort of insatiable quest.
Speaker B:What does it look like to walk by the Spirit instead of by the flesh?
Speaker B:And the Lord has really lovingly highlighted and shown me some of the things of control and anxiety and expectation and people pleasing that I was just so familiar with and so comfortable with.
Speaker B:And so to answer your question, how did life coaching start?
Speaker B:I feel like in the spiritual formation vein, my growth was so dynamic that I thought, oh, my goodness, I would love to help other people kind of walk in this, uncover this for themselves.
Speaker B:And I had been previously, before kids, a school counselor.
Speaker B:And so it was kind of taking that.
Speaker B:That guidance and mentoring and school counselor bent and talent and overlaying it with the spiritual growth that I was.
Speaker B: ng and started my coaching in: Speaker B:That's another testimony of how it became a business.
Speaker B:But that is started my writing, coaching, podcasting, everything has kind of grown out of that space.
Speaker A:That's amazing.
Speaker A:And I love the fact that you talk.
Speaker A:You talk about how you want to help people kind of un.
Speaker A:Reveal how God is going to bless them through their life with your coaching.
Speaker A:So kind of how has.
Speaker A:How do you Infuse faith into coaching because I've done coaching with special professional church workers and it's always harder because sometimes the coaching is like you said, you, you thought this was your highest calling.
Speaker A:You thought this was what God had in mind for you to do.
Speaker A:And there are sometimes at a point where this wasn't what they should be doing going forward.
Speaker A:Now they have to re identify what is that thing that God wants them to do.
Speaker A:And it may not be pastoral ministry or teaching, it may be something else.
Speaker A:And how do you help them see that?
Speaker A:Just because this is not what you hoped it was going to be, doesn't mean that God's done using you.
Speaker A:So how do you infuse faith into what you do with life coaching?
Speaker B:Well, I think that the first question that comes to mind when working with anybody who wants to come at it from a faith based perspective is how do you hear God's voice?
Speaker B:What does that look like for you?
Speaker B:Do you, do you feel like you're hearing him?
Speaker B:I start laying the foundation of that confirmation because I don't know the answer to what your next step is.
Speaker B:I don't know where God's calling you.
Speaker B:I mean, we know love God and love people.
Speaker B:These are universal commandments for everybody, right?
Speaker B:So that's, that's for all of us.
Speaker B:But when it comes to the unique path and what he's positioned you to do on the earth, very uniquely and individually, I don't know the answer to that.
Speaker B:But I think the first question is, when you sit in the quiet of your spirit and when you are praying or listening, what are you sensing?
Speaker B:What are you hearing?
Speaker B:And one answer could be, well, that's a good question because I actually don't sit and I don't pray and I'm not and I can't hear God.
Speaker B:Okay, well then what does it look like for you to listen?
Speaker B:We begin to craft some of those practices of silence and solitude and, you know, rhythms.
Speaker B:But some people already have an inkling of, well, I do think I might have heard this from the Lord.
Speaker B:I'm sensing this.
Speaker B:Okay, let's talk about that.
Speaker B:So I feel like the faith based coaching that I'm bringing, honestly, it's pretty simple.
Speaker B:It's a safe container.
Speaker B:It's a safe space for someone to sit just like we're talking and say what's really on their mind.
Speaker B:I think what happens, and maybe you have encountered this in the church world is there are so many outside expectations or perceived expectations that have been overlaid and are kind of like blanketing or covering what this, what this person is truly sensing in their spirit.
Speaker B:So a lot of times, again, it's like the layers of the onion, you kind of got to peel it back and just like onions make you cry when you peel them.
Speaker B:That sometimes happens when you start peeling back the layers, people start to get emotional and then you're like, why are you getting emotional?
Speaker B:So I think the faith based stuff is how are you hearing God's voice and then connecting the dots with what are you sensing and feeling in your spirit?
Speaker B:Sometimes we're so disconnected from our actual bodies and our feelings that, that we just, they're, they're very separate and siloed.
Speaker B:And so I try to bring all of that back into congruency, back into alignment, connected, so that we can begin to see the pieces of the puzzle and what, you know, what is their next step?
Speaker B:What could it be?
Speaker A:When you have someone who maybe they've been distant from God for a while and you ask that question, how do you hear God's voice?
Speaker A:And they go, I really don't have any idea what, how do you lead them to begin to discover or reconnect so they can hear the voice of God?
Speaker B:That's a good question.
Speaker B:Because it happened.
Speaker B:It definitely happens.
Speaker B:It's actually not uncommon.
Speaker B:So really I think the first thing is to just start with some silence and just.
Speaker B:I will pray for them.
Speaker B:I will pray for them and I will ask the Lord to begin to remind them that he loves them and remind them that he's speaking to them.
Speaker B:And we'll sit in silence for a minute and I'll say something like, lord, what do you want this person to know about how you see, how you see him, how you've designed him?
Speaker B:What's a word that you want to share with him about his calling or who he is?
Speaker B:And we just sit and then I'll say, did you hear anything?
Speaker B:Oh, I don't know.
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:Well, maybe, maybe I did.
Speaker B:Okay, what did you maybe hear?
Speaker B:Well, I heard like leader.
Speaker B:Okay, so it's just beginning to create the space to practice and we just do it right then and there.
Speaker B:I don't think they have to go away and do all these, you know, these things, these steps to get there.
Speaker B:We can start just listening.
Speaker B:And I think the biggest thing is building trust again.
Speaker B:So many people have, they think they don't hear God because they have experienced so many difficulties or there's been so much, so many things coming at them that have eroded their own self trust.
Speaker B:They don't Trust themselves.
Speaker B:They don't think they can make good decisions.
Speaker B:They don't.
Speaker B:And so a lot of it's building back the trust that you are beloved, God does speak to you.
Speaker B:You can trust what he's putting in your soul.
Speaker B:But then once they hear something, this is the very nuanced and I think tricky dynamic with hearing God's voice and being in the church is that I think it's been so abused and twisted.
Speaker B:And I am the first person to say, I am not God, I am not God's voice in your life.
Speaker B:And so it is.
Speaker B:It's tricky.
Speaker B:And I feel like I'm walking in eggshells a little bit every time I do it.
Speaker B:But I'm like, I know that God, he says in his word, the shepherd speaks to his sheep, the sheep know his voice.
Speaker B:Okay, what does his voice sound like?
Speaker B:And really getting that congruent with, with.
Speaker B:With the Bible, with scripture, with the character of God and starting to really parse out those nuances.
Speaker B:So in some ways it's a simple answer.
Speaker B:But then also I feel the complicated nature of it because it's so mysterious and confusing and it has been twisted and abused in many, many ways.
Speaker A:I completely agree with you.
Speaker A:And I think it's interesting because when we try to reconnect with God, even though God hasn't moved from us, we're often the ones who tune God out.
Speaker A:Is hard sometimes to get back on track.
Speaker A:I love the fact that there's a term you talk about kingdom alignment.
Speaker A:I sometimes think that sometimes our separation from God is when we do hear the voice of God clearly.
Speaker A:But we don't really want to go on the path that God has for us.
Speaker A:So it's easier for us to pull like an Elijah and go, I'm going to go the opposite direction, or a Jonah, I'm going to go run to Nineveh.
Speaker A:And I don't.
Speaker A:If I go there, I don't have to hear God's voice.
Speaker A:And whatever the scary thing God work.
Speaker B:Out for that guy.
Speaker A:Whatever that scary thing is you have in mind for me to do God, I could just not do that in this and find my own path.
Speaker A:And I wonder, how do you help someone who you realize that what's going on in their life is a kingdom alignment issue?
Speaker A:How do you coach them to figure out what that thing is God is leading them to do?
Speaker B:Well, first of all, you can.
Speaker B:There is a.
Speaker B:You have a choice.
Speaker B:I mean, Jonah had a choice.
Speaker B:So when I'm coaching people in kingdom alignment, I just, I constantly Remind them, like, God is not forcing himself on you.
Speaker B:He has died for you.
Speaker B:He loves you.
Speaker B:He's given you the kingdom, but you don't have to choose it.
Speaker B:And if you don't choose it, what are you experiencing?
Speaker B:Because I think truly the fruit comes.
Speaker B:The fruit of the spirit comes from following the Lord, from living in the kingdom.
Speaker B:You.
Speaker B:You feeling love, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentle stuff.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:So if you can line up with those things, then I would say this is kingdom alignment.
Speaker B:There is fruit coming by the peace and the love of God and the Holy Spirit.
Speaker B:There's.
Speaker B:There.
Speaker B:There are nine, you know, adjectives, adjectives, verbs.
Speaker B:Wait, what?
Speaker B:All of a sudden, I got stuck with the grammar, but there are nine words right there that we can focus in on.
Speaker B:Are you experiencing these things?
Speaker B:Yes or no.
Speaker B:And it doesn't mean like, I always feel love and I always feel peace.
Speaker B:But when we are listening to God's voice and we are following His.
Speaker B:His invitation, it will lead us toward the peace and the love and the kindness and gentleness.
Speaker B:If you out of alignment, you're out of alignment because you're feeling the opposite of those things.
Speaker B:And if you go into Galatians 5.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:It talks very much.
Speaker B:Galatians 5, I think, is the whole.
Speaker B:The fruit of the spirit.
Speaker B:Okay, thanks, Reverend Doctor.
Speaker B:I was like, I was sweating over here.
Speaker B:But there's a.
Speaker B:There's a very key list.
Speaker B:This is what it looks like to be out of alignment.
Speaker B:It is.
Speaker B:It is dark and it is treacherous and it is heavy.
Speaker B:This is what it looks like to be in alignment.
Speaker B:And so really, right there on the pages of Scripture, Paul is giving us a fantastic template for what is kingdom alignment.
Speaker B:And then the way that plays out in your relationship in your home with the.
Speaker B:With where God has you in the world, that's the coaching part.
Speaker B:That's the part where it's like, okay, you know, here's my marriage and my parenting and where I'm living, are these things moving in the trajectory toward the fruit of the Spirit?
Speaker B:When you play this out, this decision, can you see a harvest that would bring this kind of tree, this kind of fruit?
Speaker B:Or when you play out this decision, do you see yourself in the belly of a whale?
Speaker B:It's pretty dark over there, you know, so kingdom alignment, to me, like, that's a fantastic template in Galatians 5 to think, what's the difference?
Speaker A:So one of the things you do is you help women to discover exactly what God has put on their hearts.
Speaker A:So maybe give us one of your clients for not Their name, just maybe their story of how you help them find that kingdom alignment in their life.
Speaker B:I love this.
Speaker B:There's so many different nuances here.
Speaker B:I think one thing, like one client I'm actually working with right now is she came to me because she's in a job that she feels overworked and underpaid.
Speaker B:She has a three kids that she is, you know, mothering and wants to really take care of her kids.
Speaker B:And she says, and I want to follow God's plan with, With.
Speaker B:With my life and my job.
Speaker B:Should I stay in this job?
Speaker B:But I don't know if I can hear his voice.
Speaker B:So she kind of brought the trifecta of.
Speaker B:Of things.
Speaker B:It is.
Speaker B:It is wanting to hear God's voice.
Speaker B:It is wanting to follow his plan.
Speaker B:And the way that this is presenting is I am burned out.
Speaker B:I'm absolutely, from top to bottom, exhausted.
Speaker B:And I don't know if I should keep doing this.
Speaker B:So we've been working together for a few months and really uncovering some core issues that need to be realized and addressed in a really safe space.
Speaker B:Everything from kind of money mindset, like, what does it mean to.
Speaker B:To make money?
Speaker B:What do you need for your lifestyle?
Speaker B:And money is one of those things, when I'm coaching, especially Christian women, that gets.
Speaker B:It can get kind of confusing because there have been some understandings in the church about, you know, that money is evil.
Speaker B:Okay, we all know the love of money is evil.
Speaker B:Money itself is an evil.
Speaker B:Money is how we get from here to there and how we put eggs in our refrigerator.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:Like, it's so.
Speaker B:So we've been uncovering some money stuff that she's needed to talk to her husband about and figure out, like, do I really need to be working?
Speaker B:If I need to be working, how much money do I need to make?
Speaker B:That's a huge thing.
Speaker B:And then secondarily, the calling of teaching.
Speaker B:So, you know, a lot of teachers feel overworked and underpaid.
Speaker B:But as we have been kind of pulling at these threads, she's coming to this place where she's thinking, okay, maybe it isn't that I.
Speaker B:That I need to leave teaching.
Speaker B:Is it the school?
Speaker B:Is it the vocation?
Speaker B:What else could I be doing?
Speaker B:So it's just beginning to create a space where you can dream and imagine what your life could be like.
Speaker B:And really helping people understand some of those root issues that are keeping them really bound and stuck.
Speaker B:And then who do they need to talk to about this?
Speaker B:A lot of times it's with their spouse.
Speaker B:So we uncover a lot of conversations that they've actually never talked about with their spouse.
Speaker B:They've never shared with their spouse.
Speaker B:They've never shared the dreams with their spouse.
Speaker B:I talked to one woman the other day who's considering coaching with me.
Speaker B:She wants to start a business.
Speaker B:She's been working for somebody else.
Speaker B:She has this dream of a business of organizing and helping people as a personal organizer.
Speaker B:And I said, well, what does your husband think?
Speaker B:And she said, he doesn't know.
Speaker B:I said, you're.
Speaker B:He doesn't know.
Speaker B:I said, how about.
Speaker B:That's the first thing you do, is just share your.
Speaker B:Why haven't you shared your dream with him?
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:Because it feels vulnerable.
Speaker B:It feels real.
Speaker B:I don't know if it's real.
Speaker B:So it's.
Speaker B:It's fascinating where we start there, but it's really, really fun to dig for some dreams and really uncover some of the.
Speaker B:The things that God's put in people's spirit and some passions that he's put there that they.
Speaker B:For one reason or another, it's out of fear that they haven't walked in it.
Speaker B:So, yeah, it's a lot of fun.
Speaker B:Take some time.
Speaker B:It can take some time to.
Speaker B:To get.
Speaker B:To get moving in the right direction, but ultimately, it's really great.
Speaker A:So you've also started a podcast along with the same, like Kingdom Life Coaching.
Speaker A:Tell us about your podcast and what kind of topics do you cover on it.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Oh, my gosh.
Speaker B:I love it.
Speaker B:And I love being a guest on your podcast.
Speaker B:Just talking, talking, talking.
Speaker B:I started the podcast.
Speaker B:I just hit my hundredth episode, by the way.
Speaker B:Congratulations.
Speaker B:Thank you.
Speaker B:I heard that 4% of podcasts reached 100 episodes, so I don't know what episode you're on, but 360.
Speaker B:There we go.
Speaker B:So you're way ahead of me, but I feel like into 100 felt like, you know, climbing that mountain.
Speaker A:It was.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:So I think the main thing to say about Kingdom Life Coaching is really helping.
Speaker B:I do solo episodes where I'm.
Speaker B:I'm teaching or sharing what the Lord has revealed to me in scripture or through life, or interviewing people such as people like yourself, and saying, how do you hear God's voice?
Speaker B:Talk to me about your testimony.
Speaker B:How do you know it was him?
Speaker B:And what's that look like?
Speaker B:So we really get anchored in our identity in Christ.
Speaker B:So that kind of going back to my conversion story of identity and then aligning with God's voice, what does it look like to hear Him?
Speaker B:How do we know if it's his voice or my voice, like, what's the difference?
Speaker B:And then ultimately, really sharing ways and compelling ways to get activated.
Speaker B:Like, what would it look like for you to take your next bold step of faith?
Speaker B:What does that mean?
Speaker B:Does that mean apologizing to someone in your life, or does that mean quitting your job and starting something new?
Speaker B:It can be all kinds of things.
Speaker B:What does it look like for you?
Speaker B:So constantly taking it back to the personal invitation.
Speaker A:So let's dig deeper into that.
Speaker A:So what are some strategies you use when you're helping people discover that kingdom?
Speaker A:Alignment.
Speaker B:Strategies?
Speaker B:You'd be surprised, Dr.
Speaker B:Keith, not Reverend Doctor.
Speaker B:People just need a place to talk.
Speaker B:I mean, honestly, that is a strategy, is to just be a safe enough person that someone feels like they can share the honest truth with you.
Speaker B:Call it a strategy.
Speaker B:I don't know what.
Speaker B:But when I can come and be.
Speaker B:I say, I say to people, I say, I am a.
Speaker B:I'm a neutral zone.
Speaker B:I am not anybody in your life that has an agenda for you.
Speaker B:I'm not your mom, I'm not your sister.
Speaker B:I'm not your daughter or your husband.
Speaker B:Like, I don't have an agenda.
Speaker B:I am neutral.
Speaker B:The only thing that I have an agenda about is that you understand that you are loved by the God of the universe and he has a plan for your life.
Speaker B:I am not.
Speaker B:That is not up for debate.
Speaker B:Everything else is on the table.
Speaker B:So one strategy is to say if you could take your life and just put all the.
Speaker B:All the cards on the table and you ask God, okay, show me what's going on in my life.
Speaker B:What do I see happening in my relationships and my vocation where I live?
Speaker B:Okay, what needs to go?
Speaker B:What is in a past season that, if you're really honest with yourself, is not for today.
Speaker B:You know that it's time.
Speaker B:It's old wine skin.
Speaker B:It's time to go.
Speaker B:How.
Speaker B:How could you lovingly and gently release those things in those spaces?
Speaker B:Then what is he asking you to pick back up?
Speaker B:Which cards would he ask you to pick back up?
Speaker B:And maybe he's saying, hey, draw from the pile.
Speaker B:There is a new card coming your way.
Speaker B:And so I don't know if you resonate with this metaphor or not.
Speaker B:The other thing I say would be like pausing the.
Speaker B:The screen of your.
Speaker B:The movie of your life.
Speaker B:If you could pause the movie of your life for a minute and just look at the scene, what is happening?
Speaker B:What do you notice?
Speaker B:What are the things that are really out of whack and if you were watching your own life, you'd be like, no, don't do that.
Speaker B:Don't go down in the basement in the dark.
Speaker B:There's.
Speaker B:You know what I mean?
Speaker B:Like those horror movies, you're like, why are you doing that?
Speaker B:Why are you going down there?
Speaker B:Like, if you were watching your life, are there things where you think, why are you doing that?
Speaker B:And then are you.
Speaker B:Things that you think, that's really, really beautiful.
Speaker B:How could we grow that?
Speaker B:So when you say strategies, I think that is the first thing.
Speaker B:And it's an incredible place to start because it just.
Speaker B:People open up.
Speaker B:I just don't.
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:For you specifically, I'd be curious, when's the last time you just sat and talked and dreamed and felt like anything was possible?
Speaker B:But a lot of people don't do that because life is busy and you're already in, you know, on this train track.
Speaker B:And so what would it look like to hop tracks?
Speaker B:And I hear a lot of people say, I wish I could do this, I wish I could do that, but I can't.
Speaker B:And so my first question is, why can't you?
Speaker B:Well, ABC Money time, this and that.
Speaker B:Okay, but what if you could?
Speaker B:So I think getting.
Speaker B:Getting curious, getting honest, and then starting to imagine possibilities.
Speaker B:That's where I usually start.
Speaker B:If you want to consider this a strategy.
Speaker A:No, I used to do.
Speaker A:And I haven't done this in a while.
Speaker A:It made me think about it when talking to you, actually, was.
Speaker A:I would take one day a month, I would go to my favorite Greek restaurant, this was in Milwaukee, and I would get a cup of coffee and a breakfast, and I'd take a legal pad along with my pen, and I would just sit in silence and just go, okay, what.
Speaker A:What should I be doing next?
Speaker A:What.
Speaker A:What.
Speaker A:What vision does God have for me to pursue next?
Speaker A:And then I would go back and just spend the morning doing that.
Speaker A:And I go back to work.
Speaker A:And I feel energized because I just took time to just like, I'm not.
Speaker A:The pad's empty.
Speaker A:There's nothing.
Speaker A:There's no agenda.
Speaker A:There's no squares on it.
Speaker A:You fill it out.
Speaker A:And sometimes there was some.
Speaker A:Some amazing things that I hadn't thought or imagined or envisioned and walked away with a clear plan for what's next.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I love it.
Speaker B:One of my very favorite verses is Habakkuk Tutu.
Speaker B:You know, write the vision, make it plain so that he who reads it may run with it.
Speaker B:Like, how.
Speaker B:How can you continue to go back and create A vision for your life.
Speaker B:And, you know, I think the other side of that coin is I can't, I can't.
Speaker B:I don't have a vision.
Speaker B:Are you kidding me?
Speaker B:I'm taking care of my aging parents and I'm taking care of my kids, and I have to go to work every day.
Speaker B:Okay, but how can you still create the vision for how God's using you in those space?
Speaker B:Because, you know, there are negotiables and non negotiables in our life.
Speaker B:Sometimes we're in a space in a place where we are the person to take care of that thing, but sometimes we just assume that we're the person that has to take care of that thing.
Speaker B:And coaching helps you really discern.
Speaker B:Yep, it's me.
Speaker B:This is my colleagues, where I need to be, or maybe I can actually step out of that, bring somebody else in.
Speaker B:So, you know, you just got to get people thinking outside the box.
Speaker B:And I need coaches myself because I get stuck in the same line of thinking.
Speaker A:So here's a vision question for you.
Speaker A:What do you envision?
Speaker A:How do you envision expanding your impact and reaching more women in the future?
Speaker B:Why you go do that to me?
Speaker B:What you're asking me to be vulnerable?
Speaker B:What's my vision?
Speaker A:It's just you and I on the podcast.
Speaker A:No one else is gonna.
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:I know I can only see you, so it's great.
Speaker B:Gosh, I think you can see me squirming over here.
Speaker B:You know, as a content creator, like, I feel like if I'm truly honest, because God has.
Speaker B:God speaks to me and he.
Speaker B:He gives me messages that I want to write about, I want to talk about in my podcast or coaching.
Speaker B:And so the constant kind of invitation, faith over fear for me is.
Speaker B:Is to put myself out there.
Speaker B:Like, if I could get.
Speaker B:I wrote a book, Untangled Faith, about hearing God's voice and journaling with him in a companion journal.
Speaker B:Like, my vision would be, could that get into churches?
Speaker B:Could that become a Bible study or a book study that more people have access to?
Speaker B:And it's tricky because, you know, when you're not, when you don't have thousands and millions of followers and you haven't gone viral and this and that, Like, I think that's where the narrative of the world is.
Speaker B:That's never going to be a possibility for you because you're not, you know, fill in the blank with some Christian superstar, celebrity influencer.
Speaker B:And I think, okay, that's true.
Speaker B:But if God has purpose for it, and it can have more impact if My podcast can grow and share with more people or I can have Kingdom collaborations with you.
Speaker B:Then the vision is getting more of God's life and love into the world.
Speaker B:And I don't know always how to do that, but I'm constantly asking God, who do I need to meet?
Speaker B:How can we collaborate?
Speaker B:Where do I need to invest to do this?
Speaker B:Because I could easily just kind of shut it down and be like, well, that's enough.
Speaker B:But I don't, I don't, I don't think it is.
Speaker B:So I envision growing and having bigger impact that way.
Speaker A:That's awesome.
Speaker A:I love that.
Speaker A:So here's my second favorite question.
Speaker A:If you were listening to podcast, you know this was coming too.
Speaker B:Uh oh.
Speaker A:What do you want your legacy to be?
Speaker B:Mm, I think I want my legacy to be.
Speaker B:She, she pointed me to Jesus.
Speaker B:It sounds simple, but I want, I want anybody that, that, that knows me or knew me or reads my stuff to think she helped me know myself and know God better.
Speaker B:And I'm thankful for that.
Speaker B:So however that moves out through the generations, I would love that.
Speaker A:Where can people connect with you and follow your podcast?
Speaker B:Yeah, the simplest way is go to my website, Megan b as in boy nilson n I l s e n.com Megan bnilson.com and you can see my books and studies and things like that.
Speaker B:Of course, hop over to Kingdom Life Coaching Podcast and find me over there.
Speaker B:Just talking week after week, sharing testimonies and God's vision.
Speaker B:And I have some freebies on my website too.
Speaker B:I have something called, you know, how do you know if what you're hearing is God's voice or your voice?
Speaker B:That's a fun.
Speaker B:That's the five questions that help.
Speaker B:You know that.
Speaker B:And then I've got another thing over there, so.
Speaker B:Meganilson.com resources about discovering your God sized dream.
Speaker B:I talk a lot about God sized dreams and how would someone know if they have one, what it is and what they could potentially do to walk in that.
Speaker B:So I'm on socials, Facebook, Instagram.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker A:So as you wrap up this great conversation, what key takeaways do you want to leave with the audience from our talk today?
Speaker B:I think what I am sensing is whoever is listening to just not be afraid to get real and create that vision and ask God what is that vision for your life and for your family in the context of where you live and what you're doing, what he's called you to do.
Speaker B:There are no small things in the kingdom.
Speaker B:So figure out what keeps you energized and aligned and connected with God and with people and go do that.
Speaker B:What do you need to do to go do that?
Speaker B:If you're listening to this and you're like, I know what it is, I'm ready to go do it and you're a self starter, go do it.
Speaker B:But I think for a lot of us it's like, I kind of know what that is, but I have a lot of questions and I'm not sure what needs to go and what needs to stay or what needs to be added.
Speaker B:Then figure out who do you need to talk to?
Speaker B:Who is God providing for you that will help you on that journey?
Speaker B:Because most of us, we, we need, we need each other.
Speaker B:We need help.
Speaker B:So go find what that is for you, who is that for you and connect well.
Speaker A:I appreciate it.
Speaker A:Well, Megan, thanks so much for coming on and sharing what you do and getting us to think about how we can make sure we are kingdom aligned with God and, and listening to his voice and, and being open to his direction in our life.
Speaker A:So thank you for what you do.
Speaker B:It's, it's my honor.
Speaker B:So I'm, I'm working it out just like everybody else.
Speaker B:So thanks.
Speaker A:You have a blessed day.
Speaker B:Thanks, you too.
