Embracing Abundance on Your Spiritual Journey

This week on the podcast, listen in on a conversation I had with fellow life coach Shelly Groom about faith and the journey to living authentic, abundant lives. Living a vibrant, abundant life starts with embracing your true self.

Here are 3 key takeaways:

Abundance is real: Faith can encourage us to live authentically and abundantly.

Community matters:  It is powerful to connect with others who see our potential and hold space for us to grow. Whether through group coaching, spiritual groups, or friendships-it is worth the time to find people to do life with.

Live Loved: Coaching communities can help all of us love, encourage, and “hold space” for others, helping them recognize and nurture their inner potential.

Links

• Join my free live group coaching calls
• Follow me on Instagram
•  Facebook or visit KellyTibbittts.com 
• Connect with Shelly

 Let's connect.

I am cheering for you!

Transcript

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Hey, friends. This week on the podcast, I'm sharing a conversation that I had with my friend Shelli Groom. In it, she asked me some questions about myself that I'm not sure I've ever shared before. If you've been wondering why I'm a life coach I hope that this podcast helps you to understand me a little bit better and maybe helps you notice I'm somebody you'd enjoy working with. If you're thinking of starting to partner with a life coach, I want you to know that I offer free group coaching so we can get to know each other and so I can create a community of people who are just as passionate as I am about living a brave, creative, purpose-filled life. You can find out more about it in my free skool community. It's linked at the bottom of this podcast. You can connect with me on Facebook or Instagram or head over to my website, kellytibbitts.com. I hope you enjoy this episode. Welcome to the Live a Vibrant Life podcast. I'm life coach Kelly Tibbits, and each week I'll be here to encourage and equip you with the tools you need to grow in self-awareness and invest your best energy in your dreams and your purpose. I believe self-awareness changes everything. Let's get started. So would you call yourself a Christian? I would call myself a follower of Christ. I find Christian nationalism to be the opposite of love. I grew up Catholic, And was in the fundamentalist world Protestant, And I changed my mind on a lot of things New version, new version, new version. Like how open can we be? for me, my faith system, in the book of Genesis, creator, word, spirit, God says "Let us make humans in our image." Yes. Male and female. Love and goodness, yes. The energy, right? The energy of abundance. "You have great energy." Mm-hmm. I kinda knew it to be true. Am I allowed to be this energetic- I was a female in the fundamentalist church. I wasn't sure if it was allowed. It took me being in Cathy's world to even be like, "Is abundance allowed?" I'm glad you're sharing some of the things that you discovered about yourself Oh, yes. As you were talking about the image of God, what do you believe? I like the Apostle's Creed. I believe- Yes there's God, a creator- Yes that made heaven and Earth, right? Yeah. I think- Yeah there was a big bang, because something- Yes happened. Yes. And the words in the English language say spoke, but- I'm not gonna put God in a human form. Yes. But something happened. Yes. And energy and light and love came. Yes. So yeah. I love Richard Rohr. He's a Catholic priest. Ooh. R-O-H-R. Okay. I also felt like we believe in the same God, and we believe that there is one God. anyone who's held a baby knows they are beloved. Yeah. One of the things that I think suppressed the goodness of God is telling people that from birth they're sinners in the hands of an angry God, right? Like, you're a sinner and you're broken. And the difference of a world in which all of us see each other as beloved versus all of us see each as sinners. And then making sinners mean something other than- an archery term meaning missed the mark. When you throw a dart and it doesn't hit exactly, that's all it means. Mm-hmm. It's like you were going in that direction, and you were tired, and you were hungry, and you were sad- Yeah and this happened, and you moved away from love. That's all. Like, why do we have to make it into, "And now there's shame," it's a perhaps patriarchal way. of keeping people small. And scaring them, right? Yes. So that they will do whatever benefits. But you always have to go back and be like, "But who, who benefits from this?" Yeah. Right? Right the heart of love. God sent Christ to put on flesh and dwell with us, it was to show what? love. Lo- yes. Not toxicity. Yeah. Right? Right. Right. 'Cause everything that was toxic, Jesus pushed against. Yeah. So, tell me about Jesus in your- Yeah through your lens. In Genesis, when it says we, I think it's speaking of the three. Creator, word, spirit He's the Word, and the Word was God, yes. Yeah. Yeah. Yes. And so then it says He put on flesh, it's like Cathy's always saying, like this, there's this other dimension that we just don't perceive. Yeah. And so you express that. Like, what a- Yeah beautiful part of being a human- What would you describe yourself as? Were you Catholic, formerly Protestant, still practicing? I would say Protestant, um, Christian. Definitely, um, growing up I was kind of a Christian n- nerd at school, to be honest, and I was in little Bible studies and things. And perhaps a little preachy even. Sure, same. Um- Yep it does. And to, you know, quote these lines from the Bible- Yeah and to know all these things. Um- Uh, I remember having a little bit of an awakening when I got to college because it's like, wow, so these beautiful Muslim ladies Yeah are all going to hell? Really? Right. Right. Is that- Right But if you hadn't left your home to meet them, that's almost an impossible thought. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Where are you attending church right now? Are you actively ministering or are you- so I grew up Catholic, and then we were Franciscan Catholic when I was 9, 10, 11. And I loved that. I love St. Francis. I love Franciscan theology. Yes. Very open, very loving, very Richard Rohr. Yes. Um, and so that was my favorite path. And then we became Assembly of God, which is very fundamentalist, kind of religion. Mm-hmm. And I went to their Bible college for two years I moved out and I went to a public college and got my teaching certificate. So I lived in Pennsylvania, and what happened there is I moved from my family of origin, so I had the opportunity to change. Right? I had the opportunity to meet different people and discover new things. Um, so I lived there for a bit, then I came back and I worked for a Baptist school. And Baptists and Assemblies of God actually don't agree anyway, it was just interesting. So I went to Assembly of God college and I worked at a Baptist school so I've always been okay- Just something about me- Yeah with being a little bit open-minded of maybe they could be right. Yes. Um- Yes, yes. So I did that, met my husband. He was Episcopalian. We got married- Right in the Episcopal Church, went there for a little bit. And then I dragged him into the Evangelical world, 'cause like you, my soul found connection in things like the music of the Evangelical church. What I didn't realize, like, I don't know if you like The Lumineers or Noah Kahan- Yeah, yes what we like is that vibration, right? Mumford Son's the newest album. The Song For My Son it's a two-part song, but the second part sounds just like an Evangelical, like, you know, where you're singing the same words over and over again, and then the, um, chord keeps going up, and you're like, "This feels like church." So there's something about us as humans, right, that connect. My girls, their eyes opened easier than mine did. The Trump thing happened. Yeah. We got m- even more awake, more awake. I was the lead pastor of my church for four years, and I didn't own that title. Wow. I was like, "I'm just a girl." But you gotta go through what you go through to learn who you are, right? Yes. That is true. But I preached, I did weddings, I did funerals, I did the whole thing, yeah. Wow. Yeah. And then they asked me, during COVID, to step down. I stayed until they brought the next person, and that person brought the person who's there now, and she's a female. And I'm so proud that I did my part to bringing female leadership into New England. Yes. And now I can look back and be like, "And I'm also thankful that it ended there," 'cause that wasn't my path. Mm-hmm. And I needed these years to become this version of me. So I found Cathy in 2021, joined to make money, I was like, "I'm gonna join this thing and I'm gonna be just like her and make a million dollars." Yes. Yes, yes. But what I got was What is abundance? Like- Yeah and just really truly met some of my favorite people in the whole world, even though I don't know them in person. Yeah of all the courses I've brought, that has been where, like, the best energy people that I have found. Um, same, and part of the journey that I am supposed to be on, You're already open, this whole part of you, this one in eight billion beloved of God is open to other people's energy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm a multi-passionate, multitasking, do things quickly. Do you know what people have said to me more than anything else my whole life? Slow down. Yeah, yeah. Don't be you. Yeah. It's so interesting- Yeah once we see this, right? Yeah. Like, we can not receive that anymore. The rhythm of capitalism is so contrary to your rhythm. I don't wanna do it the way everybody does. I don't know where that comes from, why isn't it okay for you to know that? That's where I think the power to this is, is to help people- Yes come to the table- Yeah and be like, "Of course I'm uh, 'cause what you're all saying, it's not that." Yeah. Yeah. So stop telling me,.. to do this, right? Yes. Yes. That's supposed to be it. Yeah. When people are like, "Just listen to your gut," well, not everyone has a defined sacral. They may not be able to do that. That's why we cannot tell people- Interesting how to do this. That's so yummy i'm getting goosebumps right now, honestly. That is- And I am too, and I love... That is, like whatever that fourth, fifth, sixth dimension is, right? That's like truth, God. Y- And my goodness The darkness that pushes against what women could be doing. Yeah. Yes. Right? Like, this is what we should be bringing forth. One of the most powerful days for me in all of my life, I was in Cathy's program the day the Ukraine war started. Oh. And we all stopped, and we all sent intentions of love and strength and peace, and I felt it more powerfully- Yeah than anything at church. Mm-hmm. And it was one of the things that changed me, because I think power of prayer, intention setting, whatever, is there is this unseen way of sending energy. Right? But It can be us across the country having a conversation where the light in me and the light in you are touching, and we both got the chills. So fun. It's so fun. Yeah. And it should be fun. It should be fun making these connections, and I mean, life should be- Right fun and joyful. For you to say, "I know what I'm bringing to the universe-" Mm-hmm was a download. Mm-hmm. It's here. Yeah. And my human way of walking the earth receives stuff energetically- Yes. Yes in a really big way. Yeah. Even though it's not my stuff. Yeah. When I was a young mom, my sister was getting divorced. One of my friends was going through something horrible. It was Christmas. My girls are little. And our church had what was called Stephen Ministry, which is people- Mm-hmm who would sit alongside you and walk through. Yeah. So I went to get a Stephen Ministry, and I filled out the paper. And it's like, "How are you doing?" "Oh, I'm fine." "How's your marriage?" "Great." "How are you financially?" "Really good." "How are your kids?" "I'm fine." Yeah. This is not me. Yeah. But I was receiving it. Interesting. The real big gift for me to be with you today is the wisdom that you have- all those books and all those courses and all the work- Yeah you've done, that's created your gift., There were probably some things that you're like, "Loved that, didn't like that." I do feel like I have some wisdom to share. If I look at the group that we're doing right now, I, I'm definitely wanting to hold space for everyone to feel seen and share their celebrations. Um, I feel like this is part of my gift, is making sure folks are sharing and we're kind of keeping it positive. And, um, I, I just, I have a knack for that. I've always had kind of a knack for keeping that kind of on track and going. All the books behind you are the and. Jen Sincero would say, "You know what? You're allowed to want money." Yes. It is a narrow road, but I think I'm more likely to to be lacking in my confidence than I am to be arrogant. Yeah. So your, the community people are saying, "I need that." Mm-hmm. To be seen and known and reminded. I, I really truly do honor you, because it was your sentence that helped me say out loud to the world, "I want this." Yeah. If Cathy was coming right now onto the call, right? Yeah. And, and she had to tell us a little bit, she'd be like, "You know, everything's energy." Right. And Brene Brown would be like, "It's worth noticing." Yes. Or maybe you're not sad. Yes. Maybe you're bittersweet. There's something that's your word. Wow, this is good. Ooh, look at you go. The f- folks that I've coached, my groups, They're able to connect with themselves and with their higher power Mm-hmm through our time together. Just now, Kel, about you ended up moving this way 'cause of something maybe that I said that I didn't realize I said. You did. On a Tuesday- when I was so low. You stepped in. Wow. And I was like, energetically knocked down, and I come on, and you're like, "What do you want?" And I was like, "Oh, I, I think I want to be with people again." Yeah. And it was like you allowed me to manifest. Wow. Oh. Because you're so deeply wise, people look up to. This is just so powerful for me because it, I feel a calling. And as the world's shifting, our role in kind of being the bridge between... And this kind of resonated with me, and I see this kind of in my groups, my p- as my move forward of helping folks get to this higher power, get to the source. I'm your girl next door. I'm... i've done some things and I've had some experiences, and just come on into this group and let's all work together to kind of make these connections so you can be who you want to be and live the life that you want to have. When you look at that person that you've just, "Come on in"- Mm-hmm, mm-hmm how do you see them? Potential. So much potential. Everyone has potential, I think that's one of your sweet spots is when someone's with you- Yeah, yes you're helping them like, you are full of potential. There's so much good in you. You're letting them discover it themselves. Yes, i, facilitate, offer, create a space for folks to discover it themselves. Whether it's just the act of us being together- Yes or whether it's someone else shares something in the group it doesn't have to be me. Um, I, I do appreciate you s- kind of talking about this wisdom because I feel like, even when I look at my 8:00 to 5:00 job, that there was- wisdom there that I would share in a very humble kind of way that I think impacted people that they didn't even know it impacted them. Yes. You know what I mean? I am perhaps a seed planter, and letting go of the outcome, that it's up to them to do, to water their seed and let it grow That's something to notice. You're looking to create a space where when people come, they start to believe there is a seed. Yes. And you can help them water and believe in it. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. And it's safe, and they feel like they can- Yes grow next to you. I think the other lens of all of this is- I have much love- And that's what's driving all of it Everybody who shows up and is in your presence knows that. That is why we lean in and come back. I've had to navigate this love feeling because sometimes it would become, very much trying to solve their problems and it's like, okay, no, I don't have to solve their problems. I just need to love them. At some point We'll look at enneagram there's just so much overlap- and nobody is teaching that right now. What's fun for me is the narrative that Jesus talks about for love, he said there's grace and there's truth, right? Mm-hmm. There are people in life who are very logical. Yes. There are people in life who are very reactive. Yeah. And there are people in life who are positive. Mm-hmm. You appear to be positive. you're honoring you're a one in eight billion expression of God- Yeah and let's use some wisdom here. Yes, yes. Right? Yes. If we can, uh, believe that all these dreams come from a God who lives outside of time- Yes, yeah we don't know when, but we know that we know. Have a beautiful day. I just adore you, Week. Thank you for joining the Live a Vibrant Life podcast. I hope our time together encouraged you and will equip you with the tools you need to move into the vibrant life you desire. I'm here to help you live a brave, creative, purpose-filled life. And if you'd like to learn more, you can follow me on Instagram or Facebook, Kelly Tibbits Life Coach, or visit my website, kellytibbitts.com. I look forward to connecting again soon