oLet me be real. I may delete this later. Why, you ask? It takes a certain person to lay it all out there; hanging it all out to dry; feeling a certain level of vulnerability. It also takes a certain person to say, "Okay, God. I will." 

I've had this desire in me for months now to blog again and to post this but when I asked God what He wanted me to say, he said ALL of it and I said... "oh, okay, maybe later." It's later. 

Let me introduce myself to you. 
Kim, 51. Native Austinite/Dripping Springer. Mamma to two beautiful women and step mom to three (insert adjectives depending on the day) teen boys who live with us. I like coffee and I like clean wine and on top of coaching, I also sell both because it brings me joy; just like coaching you does. I have two dogs whom I quite possibly make more comfortable than I do myself on any given day. I love spin class, boxing, weights and walking my dogs. My husband teaches me more about myself  than all of my years of college and grad school ever did (thanks MP). We are and always will be a work in progress but we strive to be parents that our kids look up to and we strive to be a blessing to one another through patience, love and understanding with a certain element of humor that comes with blending our families and raising our kids. 

The UGLY
Three time Anorexia survivor with a bill of health so bad, I simply shouldn't be alive starting at 13.
Four treatment centers to get well which involved very painful goodbyes time and time again. 
More medication to "fix" whatever was wrong with me than anyone should've ever been on and more shame, pain and guilt than anyone should ever burden themselves with. 
Treatments centers to detox from the meds and more painful goodbyes and shame.
Darkness so great it nearly took me out, three times starting at age 18. Queue the shame.
A significant and life altering loss for my daughters and myself during a season of having to be apart. The pain seemed insurmountable and the betrayal during that time felt like daggers to the soul while I tried to believe in myself and my worth and to fight.
Losing a son in the third trimester with 8 weeks to go and never being able to hold him. I love you Jacob Christian. 
A time so painful watching my oldest battle addiction, and months turning into years where it was all I could do to keep breathing as I waited and prayed in a way I never knew I could. 
Losing my sis to cancer when so much more needed to be said and shared and laughed about. 
Witnessing my baggage spill over into my relationships.


The BEAUTIFUL
Loving myself, no scales, and an Eating Disorder that has been quiet for two decades.
Founding "Saving Eve" to help other women find freedom from their own Eating Disorder.
Starting a jail ministry to pray for the hurting women with addiction while incarcerated.
Leading fellow parents on their path of understanding addiction.
Deliverance three times with a women I met during my darkest days.
Becoming a certified and trained Life Coach. 
Holding the door open at church each Sunday on the same property where I grew up.
Writing and publishing a romance novel and having my children see me accomplish a goal.
Regaining years that the enemy took away and watching life restored.
Learning how to battle and pray and meeting those that taught me on the way.
War rooms where my greatest hurts turned into my greatest triumphs.
Realizing the Holy Spirit snuck in and took over.
My passion for singing worship songs loud and pretending I'm on stage. 
The opportunity to raise not one, but three stepsons (two of whom would've been the same age as Jake).
Watching the oldest thrive and find herself and kick ass all the way while helping others and doing exactly what she wants to be doing. 
Watching my youngest daughter rise up and navigate despite what she's seen and endured and seeing her bad ass  self with a servants heart living her best life. 
Finding a certain acceptance and love for myself through my own healing transformation.
Being on the receiving end of my clients calls, texts and tears because they know I get it.

This is the Hallmark version but I just want you to know that whatever it is that brings you to me, please know I see your heart. I do get it. You are a rising up warrior too and I'll help equip you with that beautiful battle gear HE has for you. I focus on YOU, my client, when we meet but I do feel the need to share this so you know who I am and what I'm made of. I will encourage you but I will also challenge you. I will listen but I will ask you to act. This is your adventure; your one beautiful life. Let's go get it, shall we? 

Welcome to the first blog of the season. I am so happy to be back with you all.

I am so proud of you for getting through everything that has been thrown your way since we last met. You are here. You are okay. You are enough. You are worthy. 

We've all had our journeys to date, haven't we? May the words you read today reach something within you that needs to be heard, healed, and acknowledged.

Today we said goodbye to a home I thought would be our forever home. How silly, dear me. My forever home is with my Father in Heaven, not here on Earth but as humans, it's natural to find that "perfect home" to put our roots down; to feel planted; to grow as people; to craft memories; to share laughter and tears and yes, to mark the laundry room wall with our children's heights as they grow. It was an unexpected move. It was an unwanted move. It was a hard move. I listened to calming, soul finding apps on my phone. I sought counsel from warrior women in my little circle whom I treasure and respect. I cried. I trusted.  I listened to God and I asked him day after day to let me hear Him and I did. My "hearing" doesn't come in loud, booming words saying "hey Kim, this is God speaking" (wouldn't that be nice) but they do come in forms of a calm something that overcomes me.  Not only did I hear to trust him and wait for July 15th before we pulled the plug, but we had competing offers come in out of nowhere on exactly that day. We move in two weeks to our new home and despite my tears of saying goodbye, He's got this and therefore, I find peace. 

Through the move and through the "Hallmark" version of why we left, I've been in a rental home with my step children while my husband packed and sorted through our things getting ready for the move.  I honored the part of me that knew it was too much and I am thankful for my husband for carrying that burden when I couldn't. The rental house made my heart hurt but I knew to keep trusting and I knew I could get through it.  Let me get to the point.

Day seven of our rental home journey, I was with my pups in the backyard and I reminded myself to look for something beautiful despite the hurt and to be grateful.  I found a beautiful flourishing fig tree in the corner of the dilapidated fence and memories of my grandfathers backyard flooded me with happy memories and my taste buds remembered what those fresh figs tasted like so long ago.  I reached for the fig, touched it's velvet skin and smelled the familiar smell.  I decided to wait to pick any of the figs from the tree because I wasn't really in the mood to find beauty.  I never really thought of the tree again.  Two months passed and I found myself today of all days, looking for the figs.  They were gone.  No sign of a stem or half eaten skin. I looked on the ground, I touched the dried leaves. I searched around in the branches. I missed the beauty. Ouch.

I made a promise to myself to take the time to nourish the dry and parched part of myself right now so that my "beauty" and what I have to offer doesn't wither away and perish even in the drought. Next time I see those figs, I will pick them, I will taste them, I will serve them up on the best  darn charcuterie board the world has ever seen. 

What is within your reach that you might be taking for granted? What might you need to water, to nourish, to care for and pay attention to to keep it alive? Is it your spirit? Is it self love? Is it serving to find joy? Don't let yourself wither away and disappear. You are worth far more than that. Are you neglecting yourself on purpose? Are lies from the enemy sneaking in to keep you unfed, unwatered, unnoticed? It's okay to turn that around. Let me help. 

Welcome back friends. I am here for you. 

Coach Kim

I can't imagine what has brought you to my blog, to my social media, or to a presence in my life right now. 

Are you shattering? 
Are you already shattered?
Do you feel frail, alone, broken, unloveable? 

Let me whisper a sweet and beautiful secret with you.  You are about to shine. 
This time, this pandemic, this pain.. whatever your "shattered" means to you, you are becoming brighter and brighter in your darkness. Will you commit to keep going amidst the dark clouds? Can you lean on Him with absolute fervent and determined intention? 

Ephesians 3:16 says "I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit."

I understand where you are.  I don't often go too into my personal situation but let me just say that I have  taken a long pause recently and worked with my own precious coach and mentor throughout a very very dark season.  I realize through the pain and darkness and feeling of being shattered that God is actually rebuilding a place and a moment of "shine" again.  I truly wish  the darkness wouldn't have happened but I believe it leads me to be an even more empathetic coach for you.  I will always be honest when I say that I understand.

If you choose to journey with me, what I honor it would be for me to use places of my own path, truth, authenticity and vulnerability to reach even more women. 

I know you may feel shattered right now, and maybe even tomorrow.. but your shine will rise, and so will you.

Let me help. 

I knew better.  I know better.  I did it anyway.  I went ten years without a scale in my home.  Every time I went to a doctor, I would turn around when it was time to be weighed and I would explain that I didn't need to see it.  Eating Disorders tried to rob me of joy in a very, very significant way for decades of my life.  Doctors, hospitals, specialists, heart monitors, long stay treatment centers and more pain than anyone needed to inflict upon themselves or their family was a daily lifestyle for me.  I learned early in my recovery that scales were a huge NO!  

I learned super early in life that I couldn't control much of anything that was hurting me.  I also learned super early that I could control my weight.  What I didn't realize, however, was that I was completely out of control.  By the Grace of God, my Eating Disorder had been fairly dormant for a very long time.  Little by little, that sneaky little voice started to creep back in.  I bought a scale, I joined a nutrition club, I bought a fit bit to track every single thing.  I would wake up and get excited to see just how much I weighed so I could determine just how much I could love (or withhold love from) myself depending on the number.  I felt I had a handle on it.  I asked God to forgive me for putting the scale before Him but I kept doing it telling myself once I lowered my weight to a certain number that I would stop.  

This morning, my better self knew what to do.  It was hard.  It was scary. I got a large black Sharpie and I wrote "I am SORRY" on one (Oh wait, did I forget to mention I would weigh myself on not one BUT two scales each morning??")  and "I am MORE" on the other one.  I took them both outside, got a hammer, and let loose!  

The "I am SORRY" was my apology to God for putting my weight and my obsession to lose above my desire to seek His approval and love for what I was doing first.  I didn't invite him to my crash diet.  I didn't ask him for guidance and help.  The apology was also to myself.  I was sorry for thinking I would only be okay and worthy at a certain number.  I was sorry for withholding joy and laughter and peace until I felt I deserved it with a certain number.  

The "I am MORE" was a reminder to myself to love gently, move forward wisely, and let go of placing my ability to love myself and find freedom and joy unless I got to a certain weight. 

I am not saying that I will stop eating right.  I am not saying that I will stop working out.  I am not saying that I will just sit here and be inactive because God wants me to love me for me.  That's not in my genes... but I am saying that I will do those things because I want to be fit and active and healthy and I do and always have liked a certain way I like to fit into my clothes and present myself but I don't need a daily check in to see my progress or to check in with the scale to determine my happiness for the day.  

Whatever your "weight" or burden is.. can you find some freedom in letting the way you may look at it go? 

I will always advocate for self love.  I believe those that are lost and hopeless suffer most from a lack of embracing self with a heart full of love and that, my sweet woman warrior, needs to change!

Woman, friend, sister, daughter .. this is for you today. 💗
—--
Today I was in my yard pulling weeds 🌱 and lots of them.  I came across my squash patch that is growing out of control, spilling over into my jalapeños and tomatoes 🍅 and it occurred to me that I don’t even like squash.  🤨 I’ve spent months tending to this squash patch watering it and weeding around it and training the vines away from what I really wanted.. the tomatoes 🍅 and jalapeños!  I kept watching the tomatoes and jalapeños get covered up by the unruly vines.  I kept navigating around the squash, clipping it back so that the other veggies 🌶 could see the light.   Instead of trying to hard to shed light and make space for what I really desired, I yanked that squash plant up.. I removed the vines tangled around the tomatoes 🍅 and I donated the root of  it to a neighbors garden who loves squash! Now I can focus on what I wanted to grow, not what was occupying my time and my garden.  
———-
What is occupying your efforts;your time; your space ? Do you even like what you are spending time on or is it habit; a sense of obligation; a thing that makes you (or your garden) look good but isn’t serving you?

These are just some of the pattens and mindsets we work on and through during our time together. 💗

We've all heard about it. We've all searched for it. We've all doubted it.  

PURPOSE..(New Oxford)  
The reason for which something is done or created.

I want to tell you a story..

My grandmother passed away when I was 6 weeks old so I never remembered her, sadly.  My grandfather took years to fall in love again but when he did, it was with his next door neighbor, Jeanette.  They shared a little gate between the two backyards to keep their relationship a special secret.  

Each Christmas, we (my sisters, myself and my cousins) would go caroling around my grandfather's neighborhood.  Our first stop was always Jeanette's house.  She would hand out handbells to have for the night to accompany our Christmas songs as we serenaded the homes.  As the youngest of all of the cousins, my turn sharing the bells never seemed to happen and I returned at the end of the night a little defeated and felt a little forgotten.  I didn't think Jeanette realized that I never got a turn with the bell and I never wanted to tell her in case it would hurt her feelings.  

We grew up, time passed on. We all got jobs, got married, had children and most of us probably never thought about those hand bells again.  When I was engaged to be married, I remember the  excitement of all of the wedding gifts arriving. Silver trays, a toaster and silverware amongst other things, started piling up around us.  I remember seeing a box arrive with the familiar Houston address as the sender. "Sweet Jeanette", I thought.  I opened the box to find a small, golden hand bell.  The card inside simply read:  "Congratulations.  I think it's about time you had a turn."  She had seen me, she had remembered, she had known, and she had picked the perfect time to "hand out" that bell to me.  

Jeanette worked for decades at a Department Store.  She often told me in her later years that she was a nobody; just an old lady selling things day in and day out; that she didn't have much of a purpose.  

Jeanette HAD a purpose and I'm certain that she touched more lives than just my own with her thoughtful gesture and her acknowledgement of me.

I want ya'll to STOP trying so hard to find your purpose.  I applaud you for searching, for trying and for seeking but I also want to remind you that it may not be as hard to find as you think.  

Social Media tells us that we need something beautiful and grandiose; unique and special; big and celebrated and acknowledged.

​Purpose our perhaps is a daily act, not a monumental achievement. 

Be well in spirit, soul and body.

Coach Kim 

🍃 🐛 A N Y O N E 🍃🐛 feeling like this beautiful girl today ? I was outside with my pups this afternoon and she caught my eye.  I feel like she’s literally grabbing on to what she thinks is the last limb of hope.. do you see that ? Those little hand thingys HOLDING on!  If I were a caterpillar whisperer this is what I would tell her .. cuz yep in my mind she’s a she 💗

Listen up sweet caterpillar.. I see you thinking this is the end , the darkness in that little shell or cocoon .. that your days of beauty are behind you.  I see you trying to remain hopeful and not quitting!!  I want to tell you that you are about to shed your old self, what you may have even thought was your best self .. and you’re about to renew your life .. restore your beauty and turn into a beautiful power house of a creature that flies and spreads her wings to share abundant joy to all who see you💗 I know that’s hard to believe right now but trust me if you can, keep keeping your strength up by eating that leaf 🍃 and holding on until the renewal is complete .. and one day maybe you’ll fly up next to me and sit a while as a thank you 😊 and I’ll simply say.. ahh, there you are .. and I told you so! 

​My whole life, I always wanted to fit in... to be someone.. to matter.. to shine.. to standout.  
My biggest regret is believing my role as a mamma wasn’t enough.  I took those two daughters of mine for granted a time or two assuming I had years before they grew up.  I was a good mamma to them and like to think I still am, however,  I had shortcomings for sure and it’s a pain I carry but I’ve learned to not let that pain dominate my soul. 

Even now, at a year shy of 50, I think to myself, what’s my purpose?  Am I enough? 

As I grow wiser, I am learning that all I truly care about is how I treat my children, my husband, my family, my friends, my dogs, my body, myself, my clients and my customers.   I don’t need to BE something spectacular or unique.  I don’t need to be the best or the “most special.” 

Two very significant times in the last few months alone, my daughters (20 and 22) both truly needed me during some individual rough patches on their own journey.  I was there for each of them sharing, what I hope was, guidance and knowledge and faith and I felt a surge of pride when I would see something special on their face or in there eyes as a thank you.  

I wish I could revisit some moments in life when I was asked what I do for a living. “I’m a mom to two amazing daughters and a step mom to three charismatic boys and I try to be a caring and loving wife” and I would walk away with my head up and I might even do a mic drop knowing that’s more than “enough.”

I love coaching .. absolutely love it. I love selling wine! I love helping at church and supporting local shops around me.. but my greatest role, the one that brings me the most light on any given day, will always be the one I was assigned to have the moment my first and then second daughter laid in my arms, followed by the opportunity to raise three boys.  I will always be enough just because of that and anything else I ever achieve or strive to become is simply a bonus. So to you, Kennedy and Ellie..William, Lucas and Owen, thank you. Mamma 

Almost a year ago, we moved into our new home in the Hill Country. Day one, the neighbor to my left greeted me in the driveway with a bottle of wine and a loaf of banana bread and our friendship has grown into daily conversations ever since (obviously)! The neighbor to my right is a different story.

Our homes out here in our neighborhood are on about 3 acres each. We can see one another's homes from our own but they are spaced about 50 yards or so apart. I have grown used to the lights, the comings and goings, the sounds of the dogs and the over the fence chats with our neighbor on the left. The neighbor on the right was, what I assumed, living in another city or something. I can think of one time where I saw a light on in her home. Her lawn was never kept up with. Sounds of life never drifted over to our home. A thought occurred to me a time or two to walk over and introduce myself but the word on the street was that she must've moved away so I never bothered. I regret that now.

A week ago, I got a knock on my door in the middle of the day. One look out the window seeing the Deputy in uniform terrified me, assuming something had happened to someone in my family. I quickly but hesitantly opened the door to many questions about the neighbor to my right. "Have you seen her lately?" "Have you seen any cars at her home." "Have you seen any lights on in the house?" I answered no to each of the questions but it was the last one that startled me the most: "Have you noticed any peculiar smells when you go outside?" After answering no yet again, I asked the Deputy what was going on. "Unfortunately, we have discovered that your neighbor has been deceased in her home for months." OH. MY. GOODNESS. Y'all... where do you have to be in life to be passed away for months and no one has noticed? After my jaw dropped and my heart ached for this woman, I began to wonder what her life must've been like. A few days of neighbors talking and stories developing led us all to understand that this 50 year old woman battled mental illness and a drinking problem. She was estranged from her adult children and husband and had apparently given up on life, friends, family and faith and just sort of existed alone in her battle until she either took her own life or simply faded away.

Even writing this brings me to tears because had I known someone was actually living there, I would've tried to help. I would've encouraged her to get help, to find a a tribe of women to support her, to remind her that dark times come but that the light also shines again.

Wherever you are right now, please make sure you have at least one person that knows you, that cares, that notices when you don't respond, that notices when you are down and alone. Find your person, your people, your strength in numbers and don't ever sit in the darkness for too long.

Be well. Reach out. xoxo. Coach Kim

When my daughters were little, we watched The Princess Diaries at least a gazillion times.  I remember hearing the above quote the very first time we watched it, and it has stayed with me over a decade and a half later! 

What about FEAR? Do you want to run away from it? Do you want to ignore it? Have you been told if you have fear you aren't a Christian?  Do you feel bad for feeling fear?  

Let's unpack this  a little bit.  Some fear may be irrational but if anything this pandemic has taught us, a lot of it simply isn't.  I am not telling you to go around and take on and accept all fears running around in your head.  I am not suggesting you give those fears any more power than they deserve.  I am telling you that it's okay.  Fear is okay.  I want to help you understand how to live with the fears that sneak up in your daily lives. I want to remind you of your tools to tackle those monsters as they arise instead of letting them take over; take control; grow bigger.

1) Acknowledge it.  "Hello Fear" (of snakes, of death, of loss, of heights, etc.)

2) Sit with it for a bit.  Set a timer. Accept it.  Honor it. 

3) Put your feet on the ground firmly. Feel where you are at this exact moment and ask yourself these things:

Am I currently in danger?
Is this an old wound arising up stirring up my current life or is it happening now?
How much time do I want to give this fear today? (hopefully your answer will be <30min)
Have I talked to God about this?
What can I do about it?  
How I can go forward without the Fear dominating my life?


I will tell you some stories about my own fears and I hope you are able to find some humor, laughter, tears for a second if you feel 'em, and some hope!

I hate snakes and I don't mean just a little. Snakes actually terrify me to the bone chilling core.  I decided to move to the Hill Country a year ago on land absolutely riddled with snakes of all kinds.  Smart move.  Days after we moved in and set up our home, I saw a coral snake cross my path in the BACKYARD (if you aren't familiar with these bad boys, go google them).  Now, I know from growing up in the country that these slinky things have to gnaw on you a while to be dangerous, but that doesn't stop the freak out in my soul. I have two pups whom I worry about and I only let them outside to play and do their business when I am with them. My reality is that my fear is real and substantiated but I choose to live here anyway.  I went online and ordered snake repellant granules as well as a dozen solar screechy siren things that go in the ground and emit bad vibes to the oncoming snakes.  I felt better. My fear was real but I found a solution and I was able to move on!  (Denial probably played a pretty big part in this process but I really felt like I solved something really big and that gave me peace. )  Um, this morning that same sneaky species of a snake crawled in my path again albeit 9 months later. My fear came back.  The snake paraphernalia tools I used to manage my emotions no longer work and now I have to sit right here realizing that the snake got away and crawled into a hole and underneath our house and my husband blocked the entrance with a rock ?! We called a pest control company who promises us that they can control the snake problem and you know what, I choose to believe it because doing something, anything, brings me greater peace than fear. 

Let's move on to a more "personal" topic; my oldest daughter.  We fear for our kids the second we find out we are pregnant don't we?  She has battled addiction for 9 years.  I feared the worst, the hospital call that came 6 months ago.  Luckily she survived but her battlefield is still large and her addiction is still loud and I live daily with the fear of yet another phone call. How on earth do you live with that sort of fear and yet still seek joy and peace?  I pray, I worship, I sing, I help other woman and I set a timer to cry and grieve and it's a gut wrenching pain I can't describe. Somehow, HE gives me the desire to not let it paralyze me. 

I lost my sister two months ago.  I used to fear the end. I literally held her peaceful hand as she passed onto Jesus and it wasn't as scary as I thought.  I have a bit more peace with the end than I did before. I still fear the end, but I have to live with that beautifully as we all do.  

What is haunting you? What is holding you back? Are you willing to maybe give those fears a little less power in your life today?  

How can I help you?

​xoxo Coach Kim 




(Alright, a lot of people are credited for this quote but I am going to go with Nelson Mandela).