a new "job"

In 2004 in a dusty village in Sonora, Mexico, I decided to become a Spanish teacher. Well, actually, I decided I wanted to be a missionary like Paul, but Spanish teacher seemed like a more reasonable college major. From that point on, I resigned myself to being poor for the rest of my life.

My feelings on money have usually been fairly indifferent. Of course I'm human, so there are definitely times when certain material possessions appeal to me (hello DSLR camera!), but for the most part, I'm not about the amassing of goods. I'm about using money as a tool to live the life I want. I don't want or need a lot of it - just enough to cover my basic needs and a little extra to get me from place to place.

What I didn't think about as a starry eyed teenager hoping to travel the world and share the Good News was student loans. Paul probably didn't have student loans, huh?

Since graduating from college, my husband and I have worked hard to get ahead on our student loans, pay off our cars, and live an increasingly frugal lifestyle. We made a mistake or two along the way, but we have course-corrected and are laser-beam focused on finishing off those loans.

Tough to do on one teacher's salary while I stay home with baby. Tough to do, but the lifestyle we chose.

Three months ago, for the very first time in our marriage, we had to make sure we had enough money in our account for all of our bills to go through. Taxes, plane tickets, and hospital bills all hit us at once. For the first time, money was actually something taking up space in my consciousness for realzies, and I. did. not. like. the. feeling.

After researching, and by that I mean Google searching the phrases "jobs for stay at home moms" and "night shift jobs in the twin cities," for two weeks, and coming up with nothing, I came to the realization that with my husband's schedule, there was no way for me to take a job outside the home, and I was not going to be a secret shopper or take shady surveys online.

I had seen a friend on Facebook posting about a company called Isagenix that produces a superfood nutrition program, and the financial freedom it had afforded her family, but had often scrolled right past, thinking it had nothing to do with me, and not even letting it register in my consciousness. As I prayed and prayed those two weeks for a better solution to pay off our student loans with more expediency, those Isagenix posts kept creeping into my mind.

My curiosity finally got the best of me, and with much doubt, trepidation, shaking hands, and a pit in my stomach, I messaged that friend. I had all but made up my mind that I would not be good at selling anything ever because (a) I'm as introverted as they come and (b) I hated all retail jobs I had worked in the past. The purpose of the message was truly to say I had "tried" everything and to confirm that this was not the right move for me.

But after conversing with this inspiring and normal friend, not a pushy salesperson, my mind was changed. With the support, nay excitement, of my husband, and more prayer, I overcame my fear and preconceived notions about this company, and we ordered our first products. I think the thing I was most nervous about was other people thinking I was weird for getting involved with network marketing. And then I realized I didn't really care what other people thought if it meant I could get out of debt and live a healthy lifestyle.

If I had any doubts left, they disappeared once Justin and I had been on the products for a few weeks. I am fitting into clothes I all but gave up on post-baby. Even Justin needs new shorts because the ones we just bought a few months ago are too big! And the general feeling of energy and well-being on these products has been a huge blessing with an increasingly active one-year-old.

It's easy to share something you believe in. These products are some of the best things I could be putting into my body with natural ingredients and super high-quality protein. The company has integrity and a generous compensation plan. It's easy to be excited about something that has changed your own life in a positive way. It's not about selling. It's about sharing and serving.

So I'm excited about where this company will take my family financially. I'm not in it for a bigger house and more stuff. I'm in it to be free from paying back half our paycheck each month to the government. I'm in it to have the freedom to give more money away. I'm in it to have the freedom to go wherever I want to go, support whatever missions I want to support, and experience other cultures and languages with my family.

Hey, even Paul was a tent-maker by trade to support himself as he spread the Good News. I'm hoping Isagenix will be our version of tent-making.