You're listening to Women Infused Radio, where women in the marketplace connect with purpose and spirit, where the conversation covers all things women, business, and fascinating faith. And now, your host, Christy Lynn Olson. Hello, and welcome to episode 26 of the Women Infused Radio podcast. I'm really glad you took the time to listen in today.
Women Infused is all about a community of women releasing their gifts out into the marketplace with purpose and spirit. We are mothers, daughters, girlfriends, sisters, wives, aunts, mentors, and the list goes on and on. But we are all here for a purpose, and my truest desire for you is that you release your gifts into the world and step into your highest calling as a daughter of the king. And my guest today, Erin Lynham, believes God is building an army to serve everywhere.
And in her words, that includes every home and business. She is so right on about that. I feel the same way. It's a new season, and God is ushering in his army of women to do business everywhere.
Erin also understands that soldiers can't serve if they aren't well. And she is a woman on a mission to give people hope and a healthier life and future. Her great passion is educating and inspiring individuals and families with simple tools and strategies for their health and vitality. This way, they can focus on pursuing and achieving their God-given calling.
Erin owns a Juice Plus virtual franchise, and her interest in health and wellness developed following a series of family health crises, through which she witnessed the amazing power of nutrition in the human body. Let's listen in to my interview with Erin and get a glimpse of how she has truly been walking by faith and not by sight as a woman of faith in the marketplace. Erin, I'm so glad that you could take some time out from your busy schedule and be with us today, and I just want to give you a warm welcome to Women Infused Radio. Thank you.
I'm glad to be here. You know, one of the questions that we ask, we've just released this series, We Walk by Faith and Not By Sight, Women of Faith in the Marketplace. And I love getting kind of an inside peek into who you are and how God has uniquely wired each of the women that we've met in this book. You know, what has, if you can think back to all the strengths and all the gifts that God has given you, can you identify for us maybe one or two that have really helped you either grow in your career or given you kind of an advantage in life that you could share with us?
Like, what has been that number one strength that keeps coming up that you know God has given you so you can overcome and just help you be successful? I think probably one of my strengths is looking on the bright side and having a positive attitude. And, you know, I think, you know, the tone of the home is the mama bear. And a lot of times it's how I respond to things in life that keeps the peace, not only in the home, but like we're talking about in the workplace.
And so I really think just my attitude, don't let the little things bother me. And really, you know, just helping other people when you're working with women. Sometimes we can get to complaining and, you know, looking at things differently. And so I really believe that being a good encourager and helping people see the good in all things has really been a strength of mine that's helped me.
Well, and I can hear that in your voice and I can see that encouraging is something that comes naturally to you. A lot of women in the workplace, and you mentioned this when we were speaking a little earlier about there are so many lies that we believe as women. So I would think as an encourager, that's a great position to be in. Can you share with us some of the lies that you see women believe that they kind of can get sucked into that vortex of either despair or frustration?
And how can you encourage them? Like, what kind of things you can do? What are some of the lies that women tend to believe that the enemy wants us to take hold on? Well, it's so funny because I was just talking with some girlfriends this morning about this.
And I think one of the lies is that we need to be at home and we don't need to be in the workplace and that we don't have anything to say. And I think that God has given us so many gifts and talents and the spirit of being a nurturer. And we need that out in the workplace and we need our voices out in the workplace. And so one of the things that we were just talking about was that, you know, some of the lies that we believe are actually some of our strengths.
And so if we thought the lie that we didn't have anything to say, we could actually turn that around and say we actually have a lot to say. And God is going to use that out in the workplace. So, yeah. And I also think that, you know, for me, getting out and I was a stay-at-home mom for years.
And so one of the lies that I believed about myself was that, you know, I shouldn't be pursuing a career outside of the home. And, you know, that's just not true. And we can have so much of an impact even with other moms in getting out to the workplace. And we're really at a time in our society when most people need to have two incomes.
And so to believe the lie that we're not supposed to be out in the workplace can be really devastating to women. And they can have so much guilt. Oh, you know, I should be at home. I'm supposed to be at home.
When really, you know, that's not necessarily true. Well, and I love the fact that you brought up this whole concept of guilt because I think you're right on about that. You know, guilt makes us feel like we're doing something wrong. And to believe that lie can have repercussions along other lines of things that we do as well.
So you've heard the concept of kind of mommy wars or how do we have this mommy guilt. And I love the fact that you're standing in a space that says, no, use your strengths, which is the opposite of the lie. And then don't feel guilty about it because that's where the Lord has placed you and he wants you there. And so what would you tell to a woman who may be struggling with feeling like she wants to stay at home, but she wants to earn income?
And how do you put those two things in balance? What has been your experience? Well, gosh, that's a good question. And balance is key.
And as women, you know, we want to be everything and everyone, I think, to be able to delegate. And, you know, gosh, our kids can do so much. So to delegate and give everybody a chance to help carry the load at home and also to pray and ask the Lord for favor and to help you to know what is true and to not believe the lie that, you know, you shouldn't go out and help. I mean, gosh, I just know how much of a benefit it has been for my husband for me to be out and helping our family's finances.
And so that's been great in helping my guilt because I see how much of a burden it's been, you know, lifted from him for me to go out and actually help support our family. And he's actually so old-fashioned that he was working three jobs when I was staying home because he didn't want me to work. And so after our children were grown and he actually got laid off and I said, I'm perfectly capable and willing and I think this is God's timing for me to go. And so what an amazing opportunity.
There's so many businesses now that you can work from home. And what a blessing that is for women who have that desire to be there for their kids and to be at all the school events and to do all the things that they want to do as a mom, but help contribute to the family. So it's a win-win when you can keep that balance and help kind of delegate. Absolutely.
You know, and you brought up a good point, too. We want to be out in the world and we want to help our spouses. One of the concepts that we talk about a lot as a spiritual foundation is we're called as Christians to be salt and light in the world. And, you know, that's been described in the past as, you know, bringing the best out in people.
That's what salt does. It brings out the best flavors. Yet also standing for truth and being a light. When things can appear really dark, when we live in a world that needs a lot of sprinkles of salt and light, someone that I interviewed earlier said, oh, I feel like a salt shaker and I just go and sprinkle salt and light.
You know, how have you been able to stand in God's truth, be out in the marketplace, and feel like you're sprinkling God's truth and light on a world filled in darkness? Well, I would love to tell the story that I actually wrote about in the book of how I was struggling with this concept. And I was praying and asking the Lord, I want it to be your hands and feet. I want to be the salt and light to the world.
But I felt so guilty because my business is in sales. And I just thought it was so unspiritual and just so not godly. And so I was sitting and I was praying and asking the Lord for wisdom to know what to do. And I was reading in 2 Kings, and the whole entire Bible just completely, like, sprung to life to me.
And I was reading 2 Kings, and it says, it's the story of the widow. And her husband has died, and they're devastated. And she's going to have to sell her kids into slavery. And Elijah comes and asks her, what's wrong?
What can I do to help? And she says, well, we're devastated. And I don't know what to do. All I have is this little jar of oil.
And he has them go out and collect jars and come back. I think we all love that story. And so she fills all those jars until they run out of jars, and that's when they run out of oil. And so the very next page, Elijah says to her to go and sell the oil.
And I remember I had been in prayer about how I could help her family and how I could go out to the workforce, but I didn't feel like sales was spiritual. And yet here is Elijah telling this woman to go and sell the oil. And then the next verse, he says, and live on the proceeds of that and provide for your family. And so to me, I feel like, you know, God's word says to whatever your hand finds to do, do it as if you're doing it for the Lord.
And so we can be salt and light in the workplace no matter what we're doing if our mindset is that we are. We are the salt no matter where we are. And that lifted this, I don't know what it is, but it lifted for me this idea that sales was unspiritual or working was. I had to be in church if I was going to be salt and light or had to be doing a Bible study or actually praying with someone.
But it's really the overflow of our heart when we're in our presence is salt in the workplace. And so I just love how that scripture showed me that, you know, selling can be salt and light to me. That scripture helped me so much to know that God is going to use me in the business that I was in to be his hands of feet and to be salt and light to the world. I love how you said that comes from the overflow of the heart because that really encapsulates everything you were sharing.
But it also reminds me that when we're faced with a difficult situation, one thing that sets us apart as believers is looking to scripture to find the truth of God's word and how he is alive and active today and how he will use that scripture to speak directly into our situation, speak directly into our life. And so I think you've really nailed it and you've given such a good explanation of that because a lot of women struggle with that. And in all the conversations I've been having with the co-authors of this book, we all find ourselves in situations where people are going to look to us to find that peace because they can see something that's different and they may not be brave enough to ask, but they're definitely watching. And so how we conduct ourselves, how we handle the tragedy, how we handle the frustration almost is the better picture than any word we can say.
You know, would you agree with that? Absolutely. Yes. Now, something we have to do as busy women is we have to learn how to structure our time.
And one of the things that you talked about, which talks to my heart, is this idea of core values. And every client I've ever worked with, we make them come up with a core values statement. Tell us if you could share some of the values that you and your family have come up with that are kind of your core values that no matter what, these are our non-negotiables. Well, our family is the Lord first and our family and then really being a light like we just talked about out in the world.
Also, exercise and our health are very strong values that we have and playing together. So actually in my planner, I actually have color-coded my time with the Lord, my time with the family, exercise, my work and play and personal development. So those are my, and as I color-coordinate that, I can look at my calendar really easily and see if there's any discrepancies or maybe I'm getting a little bit out of balance. And so, yeah, that's kind of how we balance our family and with our core values.
So when you get out of balance, first of all, it sounds like you can see that based on your color coding. But, you know, some of us will be like, oh, we're out of balance. We'll have to catch up next week. And you just kind of leave it.
Now two weeks have gone by. Now three weeks have gone by. How have you successfully navigated, like, bringing you back to balance or bringing you back to alignment? Do you have any strategies you can share that have worked for you?
That's a really good question. I think one is we take a day off. You know, we really take that Saturday off to rest. And I think that is something that God put in his word to help us stay centered and help us get from overcommitting.
And, you know, God didn't have a problem with time. He did not give us enough time. And he even in his word gave us a commandment to stop. Don't work this day.
Like, he loves us that much to say, you know what? I think it would be better for you if you took one day and you didn't work. And so I love that. And so that's something that we really – I mean, there are weekends where we have an event or we're traveling.
But that's really important to us. And then we schedule in our play and we schedule in our exercise and we schedule in those things that keep us from getting out of balance. And that's really helped as well. And that's something that we've learned over time.
We've been married 28 years. And so we've really had to learn how to not get overcommitted. We've learned the power of saying no. And when you keep good records and you keep your calendar in front of you, you can really help yourself from getting overcommitted.
Well, and I think that's the beauty of having a planner. And you're talking to a self-confessed planner addict. I mean, to put it bluntly, I think I've joined every Facebook group there is on planners because I'm obsessed with planners. And I don't know that I have created the perfect planner yet.
But I love the fact that you've said, but you have to keep it in front of you because you can have the prettiest, best planner ever. But if you don't open it and actually look at it, it's not going to help you. So do you have a favorite planner that you've used? I know this is getting us off track, but I think women, they're looking for tools.
And so if you could recommend a tool, what kind of planner has helped you the most? Oh, I absolutely love the Passion Planner. And the way it's laid out, it's just perfect. And then at the end of each month, she has you, she asks questions and you kind of review your month.
And that can also keep you centered like, okay, I did get a little out of balance last month. I'm going to put in some more family time this month. So thepassionplanner.com. And it was designed by a college student who was overwhelmed with all the schooling and all the activities that she had.
And so she created this planner to get through school. And so I absolutely love it. And that's where the idea of the color coordinating came. Oh, okay.
Yes, I haven't gone to the color coordinating yet because to me that sounds like a lot of work. But I can see the value in it. I don't know that I would maintain it. So I'm kind of quick and dirty.
How can I at least know where I'm going? I don't have to spend too much time. But thank you for sharing that because I think the more resources we can share with other people, it's going to work for them. That's definitely worth mentioning.
You know, you talk about, oh, go ahead. People that love color and like the scrapbookers, the right-brain people in the audience will love the colors. And, you know, some people just love to go get stickers and highlight and all that. So your right-brain audience members will love the passion planner and color coordinating.
And then the left-brainers can just down and dirty and get it in there. But I have an artist background. So the more color that I have in front of me, the happier I am. And so sometimes even when I'm watching TV or something, you know, I'm highlighting my calendar.
And it just makes me happy. I'm an organizing geek too with my calendar. Well, someday we'll have it figured out and then the world will come and we won't need it anymore. You know, you mentioned a little bit about how your family finds balance and a Sabbath rest.
One thing I always, I struggle with personally, I think a lot of women do, is we can sometimes find ways to rest our bodies or do some fun activities. But my mind is going 24-7. And I feel, I always say it's like this hamster wheel. And there's always the next good idea.
There's always the next person we want to meet. And we have a hard time shutting our mind off. What kind of strategies have you used to either quiet your mind or just even turn it off for a season so that we don't have to be stressed 24 hours a day? Well, you know, something that I've been doing is meditating.
And I think that a few years ago, even that word would have turned me off like that's too new agey or something. But really, I mean, the word even says to meditate on my word. And so I have really started meditating, even just for five minutes with some beautiful music or looking at the sunset and just breathing, you know, taking 10 slow breaths, sealing your mind. You know, the word says be still and know that I'm God.
And so practicing being still has really helped me along with, like I said. taking that weekly sabbath rest and really that day just be letting my sleeping in going outside laying in the sun all those things but incorporating meditation into my daily practice has also really helped still my mind and i tend to be really add and have every all these sticky notes and stuff all around me um and doing that one thing has really helped calm my insides calm my mind and keep me focused on what i'm you know what i want to do with my life so meditation would be good and i'm glad you mentioned that as a few years ago you may have really involved that term uh you know the biblical term in the psalms the hebrew is the word selah and that really means pause think on that meditate on that so we are that is such a biblical foundation thank you for sharing that because nothing like the word of god can soothe that aching mind or that aching soul and there's nothing new agey about it it is a command it is something that we have have in our little toolbox as believers so that's great advice hey it's christy again i so enjoyed this first part of my interview with erin it was insightful to hear her say that some of the lies we believe are actually the enemy zeroing in on our strengths and gifts trying to knock us off balance remember that next time you get discouraged listen to the voice of truth instead of the lie the enemy wants you to believe i invite you to listen in to the full interview i did with erin we talked more about what she's personally struggled with the most in her business how to gain confidence when you set out to do a new thing and we have a great discussion on thoughts about money network marketing and enlarging your territory it's definitely worth your time to listen in to what she has to say as a leader in her field the full interview is available exclusively on the women infused broadcast network which is a free app that streams our podcast radio show on demand so you can listen in wherever and whenever you enjoy listening to your favorite podcasts the app is available wherever you download apps for your apple or android mobile device we also have a variety of broadcasters who are all women of faith teaching you biblical principles on how to succeed in business and in life when you download the app register to log on the first time create a quick profile for yourself and then go to the channel icon on the bottom of your mobile device screen click on the women infused podcast channel to find episode 26 which is where you will find my interview with erin linem we also want to give you a free downloadable ebook devotional entitled love notes of encouragement for women of faith in the marketplace it is a companion devotional and journal that highlights personal inspiration and a note of encouragement to you from our co-authors of the published book series we walk by faith and not by sight women of faith in the marketplace it's our gift to you for downloading the app and becoming part of our community of women making an impact for the kingdom so go to women infused app.com for links on where to download the app and make sure you go to episode 26 to listen to the full interview and download your free devotional ebook join our community of spirit-filled women of faith and share your thoughts prayers and wisdom with us in the comment section on the women infused app broadcasts and remember this alone you are significant but together we are amazing this has been women infused radio connecting women around the globe with purpose and spirit and we want to connect with you get your free gift unveiled voices six things you need to do to define your value voice and vision for more information on the free gift and links to join the conversation on social media visit us at christylynnolson.com