The Courage Coalition

As I wrapped up this month of mental health conversations, I found myself unexpectedly raw—sitting in the weight of memories, moments, and truths that still catch in my throat. I didn’t want to end this series with stats or strategies. I wanted to end it with heart. Because for those of us walking beside someone we love who struggles with their mental health—whether as a parent, a partner, a frien...

This week on The Courage Coalition , I’m closing out May with a vulnerable solo episode that speaks to the quiet weight so many carry but few talk about — the loneliness of being the strong one. The caregiver. The anchor. The one who keeps showing up even when your heart is breaking. This episode isn’t about answers or fixes — it’s about recognition. It’s about saying, “I see you.” And if you’ve e...

In this powerful solo episode, I open up about two deeply connected and often misunderstood realities: foster care and mental health. May is both Foster Care Awareness Month and Mental Health Awareness Month, and what I’ve learned—after 13 years as a foster mom and a lifetime witnessing mental health struggles—is that we can’t separate the two. Especially not when we’re talking about children agin...

This month, I had the incredible honor of sitting down with my son, Koby, to have a raw, powerful, and deeply personal conversation about mental health. As part of our Courage Coalition podcast series for Mental Health Awareness Month, we talked about what it’s like to grow up with anxiety and depression, how it felt as a young man struggling with invisible battles, and how hard it can be to ask f...

When we talk about mental health, especially in marriage, the conversation isn’t easy — but it is necessary. After almost 30 years of marriage to Chad, I can say without a doubt that mental health has been a part of our story from the beginning. Chad knew what depression looked like because he had lived it long before I ever entered his life. I just didn’t have the words or understanding for it. I...

This week on The Courage Coalition , I sat down with someone I’ve shared 30+ years of life with—my husband, Chad—to talk openly about something so many people carry in silence: living with chronic mental health struggles as a man. This is a raw, honest, and deeply human conversation about what it means to appear "fine" on the outside while quietly unraveling inside. We talk about high-fu...

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, but in our home, mental health isn’t just a month—it’s a daily conversation, a lived experience, a journey that has shaped us in ways we never expected. It’s easy to talk about mental health in the abstract, but what happens when it enters your home? When it touches your children? When it shakes the very foundation of what you thought parenting would be? These...

This month on The Courage Coalition , we’re going where it counts — deep into the heart of foster care and mental health awareness . These two often-siloed topics are more connected than most people realize. As a former foster parent for 13 years and a fierce advocate for those aging out of the system, I’ve seen firsthand the cracks too many of our young adults fall through. When the system ends —...

One of the greatest acts of courage we can choose is questioning the life we've been told to live. Today, I want to invite you to really think about the difference between the life you're living and the life your soul is longing for. We are born with something so original inside of us, yet as we move through life, we are handed societal checklists that tell us what success should look li...

What does it mean to live an audacious life? For some, it’s bold and loud; for others, it’s slow and intentional. That’s what I love about this word—it’s personal. It’s about finding the courage to live as the fullest version of you . In my recent conversation with Erika, a powerhouse speaker, wellness entrepreneur, and civil engineer breaking barriers in a male-dominated field, we unpacked what i...

Coaching isn’t about fixing what’s broken. It’s about remembering what’s already inside you—and giving you the tools to activate it. When I talk about financial coaching, I’m not just talking about budgets and spreadsheets. I’m talking about digging into the beliefs you’ve carried since childhood, the values that fuel your decisions, and the freedom that comes when you finally say, “I get to choos...

Sometimes, we create something with the best of intentions, only to realize along the way that we’ve been following a blueprint that isn’t ours. That’s exactly what happened as Chrystal and I planned our women's retreat. The vision was clear: a deeply intimate, life-shifting experience for women who feel the nudge —the whisper that there’s something more. But somewhere along the way, we found...

Today, as I celebrate my 50th birthday, I’m reflecting on the one lesson that has changed my life more than any other: Courage doesn’t come when the fear goes away. It comes when we choose to move forward with the fear. Growth isn’t meant to be easy. It isn’t meant to feel comfortable. Growth demands that we step into places we’ve never been, ask questions we’ve never dared to ask, and believe in...

What does it mean to truly serve? To go beyond good intentions and step into the messy, unpredictable, life-altering work of making a difference? My conversation with Kim Johnson was nothing short of transformative. Kim and her husband, Jed, didn’t just see a need—they felt it in their bones. They didn’t wait for the perfect plan, the guaranteed roadmap, or the safety of certainty. They said yes t...

Talking about money with our kids isn’t always easy—but it’s necessary. In fact, it’s one of the most impactful conversations we can have, and yet it’s the one most often avoided. If our kids don’t learn about money in the safety of our homes, they’ll learn it in the noise of culture—where more is always better, and worth is measured by labels, spending, or access. That’s not the legacy I want to...

Entrepreneurship is a wild, exhilarating ride—one that often starts with passion, purpose, and a dream. But when it comes to money, many business owners find themselves feeling lost, overwhelmed, or downright intimidated. That’s where courage comes in. In my conversation with Serena Shoup , a corporate CPA turned entrepreneur and mentor for bookkeepers, we dug into the power of financial clarity a...

What if I told you money could be easy? That might feel laughable when you’re staring down debt, stuck in survival mode, or carrying around the weight of a story that says you’re not “good with money.” But here's the truth I’ve learned through experience, not textbooks: money is not just about numbers—it's about beliefs. Most of us inherited stories around money before we ever had a payc...

Money isn’t just about dollars and cents—it’s about behavior, confidence, and the choices we make daily . In my conversation with Dawn Dahlby , we unpacked a game-changing mindset shift: money should work for you, not control you . Too often, we grip onto scarcity, afraid to spend, invest, or even look at our finances. But real financial empowerment comes when we earn from our strengths, spend fro...

It’s easy to show up when everything is working—when success feels effortless, when relationships are flowing, when the path ahead is clear. But what about the days when it’s not? The days when you feel stuck, exhausted, or like nothing is going as planned? Those are the days that define us. In those moments, we have a choice: to sit in our comfort, to retreat into what feels safe, or to take even...

Growth isn’t meant to be linear. It isn’t meant to be predictable or comfortable. And yet, so often, we resist change because we’re afraid of what it will mean for those around us—our family, our partners, our friends. What happens when you start showing up differently? When you decide that you want more, not because you’re not grateful, but because you know deep down that growth is part of who yo...

Authenticity is a word we hear often—a badge of honor, a goal, a way of being. But what does it truly mean to be authentic? Is it simply stripping away the masks we wear for the world, or is it something deeper? Lately, I’ve been sitting with this question, not just as a passing thought but as an inquiry into my own life. The idea that our identity is shaped by others' perceptions is both uns...

Two years ago, I met Jennifer Lazarus without knowing the dream that was quietly forming in her heart. Today, she is the founder of Heart Expressions Micro School , a holistic, passion-based learning environment designed to integrate mind, body, and soul into academics. What started as a silent prayer, a whisper to the universe, has become a thriving space where children learn not just subjects, b...

Money isn’t just about numbers—it’s about alignment. It’s about how we use our financial resources to reflect what truly matters to us. That’s why I talk about spending in your values so often, because when we align our money with what we believe in, we create a life that feels right, abundant, and intentional. But let’s be real—money is also one of the biggest roadblocks that stops people in thei...

This was a raw conversation with Amberly that felt more like a heart-to-heart than a formal interview. We sat down and talked—really talked—about life’s brutal challenges, the kind that leave you reeling and questioning everything. Amberly shared how she navigated a near-fatal accident, 34 grueling surgeries, and the harsh sting of loss, yet still managed to find sparks of joy in everyday moments....

Endurance. Fear. Mindset. These words have been sitting heavy on my heart lately, and today, I want to invite you to look at them differently. Because here’s the truth: our journeys are full of roadblocks—the kind that cut us off at the knees, that make us feel like we’re sinking in quicksand, that whisper, “You’re not strong enough.” But I need you to know that every single obstacle, every single...