Who Am I?

Posted on February 23, 2023

I know that in my intro blog I told you I’m a life coach, that I help people get the results they desire, and that I especially feel the call to coach those who are dealing with health-related issues in some way! That is the serious side of me that people outside of my friends and family might generally see. However, there is a lot more to me than just being a coach, so let me show you who I am in my entirety, goofiness and all.

For starters, I’m a child of God. I have been for as long as I can remember, but when the trials of 2020 hit my family, I was born again in Christ. Prior to that, I was a believer but didn’t really live in agreement with the Word. When I turned to God because I had nowhere else to go, my life started changing for the better. He showed me His greatness and blessed my family repeatedly. Now, to the astonishment of many, I don’t hide my strong faith but instead share it outwardly whenever I find an opportunity. I don’t care if people look at me like I’m weird or crazy. I believe we are here on this earth to give glory to God, so that’s my number one goal!

Besides my faith, many life experiences helped shape who I am. I grew up in a tiny town in central Wisconsin. For a while my family had a farm, and though I don’t remember a lot about it because I was quite young, I do remember sitting on the cows when they were in their stanchions in the barn. We also had other farm animals and horses which is where my love for equine came from. My oldest sister and I would occasionally compete in horse shows. One time we rode our horses all the way to a show (maybe 15 miles or so), competed and rode all the way back home because we couldn’t afford a horse trailer. I just remember loving it and not caring about the distance. Sometimes we would sit on the ponies backwards and make them buck, like our own little rodeo. My siblings and I also used to go down to our pond in the winter, shovel it off and ice skate until our feet froze. Then we’d have to walk home with cold, painful feet. It was so worth it though. There are so many memories that I could write a book. I'm a middle child with five brothers (one who passed when he was a baby) and three sisters. It can be a crazy upbringing, living with so many people in one household. It’s hard to know how my mom handled that many kids when I think about how difficult it is for moms today. I imagine she did like many of us do and just sacrificed her self-care and things she wanted in order to give us what we needed. Although we had a very full house, I wouldn’t trade all of my brothers and sisters for anything. We all love and respect each other and have lots of fun at family gatherings. Together, we made an abundance of memories. With this many kids, we’re also creating a new generation to carry on our family genes and traditions.

I met my husband, Kevin in high school, and we got married upon graduation. Heading into year 38, I can say that the biggest reasons we’ve made it this far, besides the fact that God put us together, include sharing a lot of laughter, respecting each other and setting both individual and shared goals. Because we always have something to look forward to and work on together, we try to focus on that instead of feeding into the negative facets of life.

We also share four children. We had Beth (32) and Christopher (28) ten years apart from Toby (18) and Sheyanne (14). It’s interesting to note that the first two and second two are four years apart respectively. People often think the first two are from a different marriage because of the time frame in between. On the contrary, God blessed us with them just as we had planned. We’re a very close family (including spouses and grandchildren), and our bond gets stronger every day.

You also may not know that we lived in Phoenix, Arizona for almost six years after college. We were hoping to move to Montana one day, but since we had family in Arizona, we thought we’d start there. We never did make Montana our home because we moved back to Wisconsin where we’ve lived ever since. Other than winter, I love this state, although Montana is where our hearts lie. While in Arizona, I worked with at-risk youth, a career that followed me to Wisconsin. Once back here, I managed a youth employment program for four counties until I felt the strong need to be home with my then toddler Toby. At that point, I went to Kevin and told him I wanted to run a boarding kennel (an occupation I had quite a bit of experience in), so in his usual supportive way, he said okay and that he’d build it. I am currently in my 17th year of running that kennel, and I’ve met many wonderful people and 4-legged friends over the years.

That is a brief history of my life, but that doesn’t necessarily tell you what I’m like as a person. I thought it would be interesting to ask my family what some little known facts about me are, and they were happy to respond. So, here I am giving you a peek into my secret side. First of all, I tend to talk out loud a lot, not particularly to other people but to my food, the laundry, appliances, and plants. I think I do it because when I talk out loud, I’m hearing myself and it has a greater impact on me. That’s why it’s important that I keep those conversations positive (haha). Sheyanne (who is also my talented editor) gets some good laughs over this. More recently, I find myself talking out loud to God which definitely helps diffuse stressful situations. I also giggle at my own jokes. I tend to think I’m pretty funny even if other people don’t. Usually when I laugh at myself, it makes other people laugh, so I feel good about that. I enjoy some wonderful belly laughs that take my breath away. Weird is not boring so I’m totally content being an oddball. I'm also very competitive when it comes to sports or games, especially word/board games. I’m not going to lie; I like to win. I think I get that from my mom. I’m not a good artist though. I did once draw a 4-legged chicken during Pictionary!

Another tidbit to share is my nickname. Growing up I didn’t have one for the longest time. My maternal grandpa gave all the kids a nickname, and when I told him I wanted one, he called me Martha. He is the only one who called me that though. Today, my oldest son teasingly calls me Marsha because my name is actually spelled Marcia (pronounced Mar-cee-ah). Since I grudgingly went through all of my school years being called Marsha, I removed the second “a”. My youngest daughter calls me Momwow! I think that’s a great name because mom’s do so much that people just say “Wow”! I love my nickname!

My favorite hobbies include horseback riding, playing piano, reading, hanging with my family and more recently, blogging. I think it’s very important to do some of the activities that we enjoy because they can relieve stress, and we are meant to relish life. Moreover, many of our hobbies require utilizing our skills, which are personal gifts from God, so we don’t want to squander them. Hobbies help us thrive!

Kevin tells me that I am always sacrificing for our family, and I know he’s right! It’s not something that makes me better than anyone else, but it is something that I think moms do just by virtue of being a mother. Moms tend to be the bedrock of the household, and it’s a huge, yet beautiful role that I wouldn’t trade for anything. I was chosen to be my childrens' mother and Kevin’s wife, and I continually strive to become the best version of those roles that I can.

My family also describes me as extremely disciplined. I tend to do what I say I’m going to do. I stuck with juicing with Kevin for two months so he didn’t have to go it alone. I maintain our healthy eating lifestyle even though it’s more expensive, homemade and takes much longer to prepare than the meals of old. I even own two businesses and run a household. I used to wonder what my gifts were until one day my coach helped me see that perseverance is a gift. It's helped me move through the most difficult times in my life. I am not one to ever give up; In fact, I try even harder when challenged. I have definite personal areas to improve upon, but my foundation is solid. I have such a strong faith and hope for the future, that joy is inevitable. This is who I am.

If any of this resonates with you, I would love for you to share your perspective.

Be authentic and always choose joy!

Ephesians 2:10 NLT

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.