Welcome!
Do you frequently experience self-doubts, discouragement, and overwhelm?
Do you long for more peace of mind and clarity about your purpose and dreams?
Do you sometimes feel stuck?
These feelings are common to most of us and can hijack our joy and keep us stuck in a spiderweb of emotions! They sure have done this to me at various stages of my journey.
Wouldn’t it be great to be encouraged, empowered, and equipped for the journey ahead? We know that life is full of ups and downs and we often stay in a rut without even knowing it. A pause here and there for reflection and wonder can often jump-start buried dreams and generate new ones!
I am excited that you stopped by The Shared Journey (TSJ)!
My vision and hope are for you to join us here at TSJ on the journey to become encouraged, empowered, and equipped through blogs and/or coaching.
You are invited to stroll through some info below to check out what may resonate with you. You will learn why the shepherding theme is personal to me when you meet Solomon (my muse) as you scroll down.
The Shared Journey (TSJ) blog letters are written informally and for free for family, friends, and subscribers to provide stories and reflections that will help you:
◊ be comforted, encouraged, and inspired
◊ receive bite-sized practical wisdom. (Often called “wooly wisdom”) here.
◊ be equipped with new perspectives, strategies, and information about human growth and development.
And what you learn on your journey will often inspire you to help shepherd others on their journeys!
Whether whimsical or quizzical or wise and profound, I hope these blog articles will cast new light on familiar challenges to restore your soul and renew your vigor.
Solomon tries to keep it light as he specializes in stories and metaphors – often revealing wit, wonder, and some downright “wooly” wisdom from the grit and grime of life in the pastures!
I look forward to celebrating the “future you,” filled with joy in achieving things you worried were not possible for you!
Finally, from the TSJ “headquarters” (as Solomon calls my office), I wish you happy days ahead playing with new and used ideas while grazing in “green pastures” of renewal and resting by “still waters.” (From Psalm 23) Be sure to meet Solomon below.
Meet Me
My name is Margaret (or “Margie”) and I am a life coach. I like to call myself an “encouragement coach.” More recently as I have aged, I realize I am like a “shepherd of hearts and minds.” Coaching or shepherding at TSJ means helping you be your best self without apology! But many of us languish with unfulfilled longings and the sharp pangs of self-criticism! Sometimes we need comfort, courage, and confidence to try again ….and again! That is why I am here.
How I Became a Life Coach
Perplexed at a time of life transition into retirement (around 2010), but still filled with a passion for working with parents and teachers and people in general, I “happened” one grey morning to pick up a magazine with an article that captured my imagination.
The article recounted one man’s personal story that ultimately led him to pursue a coaching practice designed for executives and leaders. The cover picture caught my attention. How I wish I had saved it. It was a silhouette of a man on a hill facing a grand vista, with arms spread wide and high toward the skies inviting one to be free to dream and do. I was hooked.
The Shared Journey (TSJ) coaching was midwifed with one person’s story! It inspired, informed, and empowered me to transform my private counseling practice into a life coaching practice. It was a perfect fit for part-time retirement work! I did some research and enrolled in an excellent certification program. I cannot express how grateful I am to have read an article that jumpstarted my dreams and taught me the power of sharing the journey with others. Words and experiences are my primary tools to help others discover their dreams and gifts.
A Glimpse of Professional History:
Simply put, I am a former school teacher (elementary through middle school), and mental health counselor in a community clinic setting and for my private practice. In midlife, I became a school psychologist (MS/CAS) for middle and high schoolers and pursued coaching after retirement. I earned my certification as a Life Coach through the Institute for Life Coach Training.
Miscellaneous Fun Facts:
I grew up in the country on a lovely farm and in a family of love, faith, and triumphs and failures. With wise spiritual and psychological counseling and maturing through the years, I have grown to deeply appreciate the “both / and” nature of life, love, and shepherding (or caregiving.) Life is filled with both trials and triumphs. My own story has shaped, informed, and inspired my work.
Along with farming (dairy and poultry) where nature and animals bring out the best (and sometimes the worst) in us, my greatest teachers have been children. I am a ”seasoned” (older!) mom with four delightful adult children (an adopted son, biological son, stepson, and stepdaughter), and I am blessed also by five grandchildren. My “training wheels” for this parenting adventure came from being the oldest sister with younger siblings (twin brother and sister) and youngest brother – all 8 and 10 years younger than I – and a brother two years my senior who also taught me a whole lot. The five of us have enough “stories’ to share and you may “hear” some of them here!
I love God, family, people, and nature in all forms and I love to laugh. Things that delight me are reading, dark chocolate, cheese, soft ice cream, long walks, and open-hearted conversations and journaling.
Finally, I moved TSJ’s “headquarters” (my office) to a new home after my late husband Tom Cole died in 2014. His love of life and playfulness live on in many of your hearts as well as mine. I was also blessed to meet and marry John, a widower, from our church whose late wife, Judy, passed two months after Tom. The years have flown by! John is my daily encourager here at TSJ – along with Solomon. But who or what is this Solomon?
Read on and feel free to join us for free blogs and occasional updates.
Meet My Muse - Solomon
To be clear, Solomon is a stuffed sheep with a sewn-on smile and eyes that glisten in the light. He sits in my office and makes many people smile. He frequently turns frowns upside down!
He was midwifed from my imagination (story below). He represents the “stuff” of ordinary life and practical, “wooly wisdom.” You see, sheep have to contend with all kinds of grit and grime that gets stuck in their wool. This can often cause discomfort and even disease, making shearing essential! And shearing can be unpleasant for them!
So one bleak day in my life, Solomon arrived in the mail. My late and loving husband, Tom, had ordered him online after he saw me looking for a sheep to represent my Shared Journey parent/coaching or “shepherding” practice. (I thought it would be great fun to have a symbol for my business.) And Tom always embraced play and humor. And Solomon was the only thing he ever ordered online!
You might imagine the joy I felt the day this large, soft stuffed sheep arrived! When I opened the box I laughed out loud with pure delight. I hugged him tightly. It was love at first sight!
Clearly, the child in me showed up!
I named him Solomon after King Solomon of Biblical fame for seeing wisdom. King David, Solomon’s father had been a shepherd before he became king. So our muse Solomon knows the landscape and care his father and grandfather would have used in the fields.
Now you know why TSJ muse, Solomon, sits in my office reminding us the “Lord is our Shepherd.” (Psalm 23). He represents a well-cared-for sheep who casts a ray of peace in his state of contentment and the knowledge of being cared for.
Solomon reminds us we are created to play in God’s green pastures and let the child in us light up the world around us.
Remember, we invite you to join us on the adventure and become a subscriber for our free blogs and occasional updates! You can easily unsubscribe should you wish.
Come take a walk with me!
My purpose and vision for TSJ coaching are to shepherd hearts and minds to become encouraged, empowered, and equipped for travels through our valleys of hurts to vistas of hope!
Again, you are invited to sign up to receive free blogs in your email. You just might find comfort, courage, and confidence as you put one foot ahead of the other and get a lift out of discouragement or glean a bit of wisdom to jump-start or restart your dreams. I hope that some of the blogs will inspire, guide, and empower you to carry on with faith and hope amid life’s challenges!
Wednesday Wisdom
Solomon and I warmly invite you to become a TSJ subscriber. As a subscriber, you will receive blog posts – usually about one or two a month. They may show up on Wednesdays as Wednesday Wisdom or randomly as “Wooly Wisdom” primarily to keep in touch with family and friends and TSJ fans. You are welcome to join us on the Shared Journey adventures.
We all have those days when we face tough times and need extra strength and wisdom or a simple story to touch our hearts. Muse Solomon is always nudging me to give you ideas and updates of what happens at TSJ.
But remember, Solomon does not come without being invited! Wisdom seeks respect…not coercion or intrusion. And remember you can always unsubscribe with ease.