Hi! It’s Liz….remember me? I would like to take a moment and address my Stella and Dot Peeps for a minute. I know that I’ve been pretty absent lately and I think it’s about time that I address why. If you think for a minute that I am about to tell you about how I’ve fallen out of love with Stella and Dot or any aspect of this gig…you will be quite disappointed. Not only do I still love this company and the values and support that her leaders embody, I have never been more excited about a collection as I am about the Holiday collection that was just released. More on that later though. There are so many exciting things happening at Stella and Dot and I cannot wait to share some of them with you. However, there is a giant 3 month old elephant in the room and I would love to share with you what that’s all about. Actually, I don’t love to share it with you but I feel like I need to do so…

Several months ago, I had the opportunity to travel to Las Vegas with some of the most inspiring women I’ve ever met. (You can read about all that here: HOOPLA) I came back inspired and motivated to lead my business into a successful and empowering life change. I made to do lists and even started reaching out to some of you. But then something happened. I couldn’t tell you what exactly but basically I hit a wall. I hit a wall in my life, in my business, my marriage, household and especially my confidence. It felt like the world suddenly hated me and the following months were just kick after kick in the gut. Like suddenly a bubble of negativity surrounded me and I just couldn’t pop it. I went day to day trying to get myself out of the funk but life just kept getting in it’s punches.

So, there I was, stuck in a personal rut and then all of the sudden, I’m watching the world burn and there is nothing I could do about it. Disasters struck, violence erupted and stupidity continued to pour from the people leading our country. As an empathic person who‘s heart literally aches for her city, her country and her people…to not be in a place timewise, physically or financially able to help those who need it most, is heartbreaking. So, while I was ‘faking it til I made it’, the fog just rolled right into that bubble. I’ve neglected my business, my home, my health, my friends and most importantly my family. I couldn’t even feel sorry for myself! When I did wallow, I’d be reminded of all the people hurting who no longer have homes, or businesses or families to neglect and my guilt would thicken the bubble of failure. I did the bare minimum to keep going and it showed as if I was waiting for someone to notice and fix it all for me.

So, that’s how I’ve been. I gave into that voice telling me I’m not good enough or strong enough and I will always be a failure. Instead of hearing God’s truth…I let Satan turn me into a glorified vegetable.

So, why am I here now? Funny you should ask. 😉 A couple weeks ago, I got to go to our church’s amazing marriage retreat in Branson where the incredible Dan Seaborn (along with his wife Jane) spent the day reminding us how to be better spouses. There were a lot of gut wrenching moments but one of the sessions was dedicated to trying to just shut up and listen to God. Jeremy and I both appreciated that and realized that this funk we are in is bigger than us. We cannot pop this bubble and make things better, we can only let go and let God take care of it. What a weight off my shoulders. So, here I am, letting Jesus take the wheel and telling Satan to shut the hell up so I can hear where God is leading me.

And God is leading me to sell jewelry!!! Just kidding! Jesus don’t care about what’s in my ears or on my neck! BUT He does care about what’s in my heart. With His help, I am opening my heart to listen for guidance and letting the Lord do his work on our lives. No, he didn’t tell me to get my Stella spirit back and sell some bling. The thing He helped me  realize most is that…I’m the only one who can get me out of this rut. There’s no magical way to fix everything that’s wrong with my life. God’s not going to hand me a check for $10,000 and make our lives a little less stressful. (But if He is…now’s the time to prove me wrong. ;P) However, he’s not going to do anything for me while I’m braless on the couch crying into my pumpkin spiced goods watching This is Us feeling sorry for myself. (BTW That is absolutely my plan for this evening…minus the feeling sorry part). He’s telling me to get off my rump and in the immortal words of Ms. Spears he’s challenging me like…

“I see you lookin’ at me

Like I’m some kind of freak

Get up out of your seat

Why don’t you do somethin’?”

So, I decided to do exactly that! I’m doing somethin’! We’ve got a long road ahead of us as we move forward as a family but we’ve got God on our side and doubt in the rearview mirror fading behind us. Part of that process is realizing how much Stella and Dot has done for my confidence and my quality of life. I made a decision to jump feet first into this business and here I am, ready to jump again. So, I would love nothing more than to  share my Stella joy with you so stick around and joing me on the journey. 🙂