Empowered for Purpose by Unique Strengths | Jenni Schubring

In this episode:

Are you using your strengths and abilities in a way that is uniquely aligned to your best life? This week, life coach Jenni Schubring talks about the CliftonStrengths assessment and how fulfilling life can be when we stop trying to be someone else.

About Jenni Schubring:

Jenni Schubring is a Certified Gallup Strength Coach and owner of Embrace Your Story Coaching. Jenni wants everyone to experience the freedom and empowerment that comes with knowing who they are in Christ. Along with her 1:1 clients, she works with teams, speaks at conferences, and facilitates an online community. Jenni helps people understand their strengths, identify their values, and dig into their story so they can embrace the beauty God created in themselves. Jenni has been married to her best friend for almost 23 years and is mom to 5 not so little kids.

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Quotes to Remember from Jenni Schubring

  • 10:15 I remember going it coming around the circle, and we were supposed to come up with like, two or three things that we could see this going in 10 years. And I could not get there. I just, and I was starting to panic, and I seriously was getting nauseous. … And so when it came to me, I was able to, to instead of being like, "oh my gosh, I have to figure this out," I was able to release it and say, "This is not where I'm strong in. And so I'm going to pass and I will whatever you guys decide to put up on that board for the 10-year, I will support it. And I will do the best I possibly can to make that happen."
  • 13:47 "Is this it? Is this what I this is my calling right now? Really, like it is changing diapers and getting spit up on and, you know, cleaning and all of those things? Is that really what my calling is? And can I be okay with that? And like all those like purpose things right?"....The answer was yes that it was my calling.
  • 14:00 He was in the Navy. So everything has a place. You know you can see the direct line of our bedroom where his space is, and mine is just kind of like, if you saw my desk right now like I have stuff all over. That's how I did life with my kids, and I just went through this whole, like, goodness, what am I supposed to be doing with this?
  • 19:20 It really, it made me start to truly believe that I was uniquely gifted, that God really truly cared about the details of how he made me. And so this idea of that I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I started to see it and believe it and not just head knowledge. I've always known that. Right? But that heart knowledge the truly believe I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
  • 23:00 You know, God has fully equipped you to do the things that he's calling you to do.
  • 23:30 Because people always think they're not enough. I mean, how often do we see that we see that in our Christian world, we see that in the secular world, this whole idea of not being enough. And I think the strengths actually show you. Yes, you're enough.
  • 27:50 You can be in a job that maybe you're not utilizing your strengths. But when you are aware of what your strengths are, you might be able to shift your mindset and find a way to use the strengths so that it does come more naturally. And it's not drudgery.
  • 29:11 I think one of the biggest surprises that people experience when they do the strength is to recognize just because it comes easy for me, does not mean that it will come easy for somebody else.
  • 37:00 When you look at how you're wired and what invigorates you, that's what you get to focus on. And when you show up like that, that's really how you learn how to love people well, and that's what God calls us to do...He calls us to love him and love others. When you show up with how he created you, you will do just that.

Scriptures Referenced

  •  1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
  • Psalm 139:14 “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

Resources

Extra reading: Now, Discover Your Strengths (book by Gallup)

Promo Spot

 Write-to-Publish writers’ conference: Chicago in mid-June

Transcript

Michelle Rayburn 00:05
Have you ever been serving in a role, maybe it's a job or a volunteer role, and wondered if you were really equipped for what you were doing? I can totally relate to that. There have been times I've said yes to something. And my gifts and abilities were not uniquely aligned for what I was doing. My guest this week is Jenni Schubring. And she has a passion for helping people figure that out, and really playing into where their strengths are. She's a certified life coach. She's also certified with Clifton Strengths, and we're going to be talking about what that assessment is. It's something that's actually helped me in the last eight years with figuring out really how God has uniquely equipped me to serve him in the body of Christ. It is not a Christian tool, but Jenni has done a marvelous job of dovetailing it with the idea of using spiritual gifts. So I encourage you to come along today as you discover your purpose.

Michelle Rayburn 01:03
You're listening to Life Repurposed, where you'll find practical biblical wisdom for everyday living, creative inspiration, and helpful resources. Grow your faith, improve your relationships, discover your purpose, and reach your goals with topics to encourage you to find hope amid the trashy stuff of life. Thanks for joining me today. I'm your host Michelle Rayburn.

Michelle Rayburn 01:28
In this episode, I'd like to introduce you to Jenni Schubring. She is a certified Gallup strength coach and owner of embrace your story coaching. Jenni wants everyone to experience the freedom and empowerment that comes with knowing who you are in Christ. Along with her one on one clients. Jenni works with teams, she speaks at conferences, and she facilitates an online community called embracing your story. The sanctuary. Jenni helps people understand their strengths, identify their values, and dig into their stories so they can embrace the beauty God created in themselves. Jenni has been married to her best friend for almost 23 years. And as a mom to five not so little kids. I hope you enjoy hearing Jenni's life repurpose story. And I hope you're inspired as she shares her heart with all of us.

Michelle Rayburn 02:21
Jenni, thank you so much for being here today.

Jenni Schubring 02:23
I'm so excited to be here. Michelle, thank you for inviting me.

Michelle Rayburn 02:27
We met through social media. And I'd love to learn a little bit more about you. I found out that we live only a few hours from each other in Wisconsin. So I'm wondering if you've always been a Wisconsin girl?

Jenni Schubring 02:37
I have except for a few dark years. Years when I first got married, but yeah, I grew up just north of Milwaukee. And then been in quite a few areas throughout throughout Wisconsin. And then like for, like I said, for that short stint. Shortly after I got married for about, I guess it was like four years, and then we moved back to Wisconsin.

Michelle Rayburn 03:04
It's always fun when I look on social media and see the person I've just connected with is from Wisconsin kids 'cause pretty rare.

Jenni Schubring 03:10
Right?

Michelle Rayburn 03:12
Always that little sisterhood there. So I'm wondering, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Jenni Schubring 03:18
Well, I think I wanted to do the things that, honestly, it's part of my story is like the good Christian girl wanted to do would be to be a good teacher in a Christian school. That was always like the underlying thing. And I don't know if it was actually desire of mine, or just something that I expected of myself. And then but you know, a singer, I'd love to be like Amy Grant. Just travel and sing everywhere. So those are probably my two big things like the big dream. And then the, this is what I probably will end up doing, which, you know, that's how that...

Michelle Rayburn 03:57
How did that work after high school? Did you end up pursuing something close to what you're thinking?

Jenni Schubring 04:03
No, actually, I was all set to go to school in Minnesota, which is our church's teaching school in New Ulm, Minnesota, and then three weeks before school started, I decided to go to Wisconsin Lutheran College in Milwaukee, and started the teaching thing. But my real love is camp. And so I wanted to do that. So I ended up at WLC for three years but then went to UW La Crosse, so over close to you. And I got my degree in recreation management so that I could come back and work at the camp that I grew up at.

Michelle Rayburn 04:49
My life has taken a lot of twists and turns, so if I look at where I am now and where I was 20 years ago, it's nothing like I thought it would go. I imagined yours is maybe like that?

Jenni Schubring 04:58
That would be accurate. I'm married to somebody who is spontaneous and has changed his career a few times, and I kind of just go with the flow and where he takes me and where God wants me to be. And I've learned a lot about myself in the process and that I actually am good at being good where I'm at. That took some time to figure that out. But that was for sure. Something that I've learned, like, hey, I can, I can, wherever you take me God, I will find a spot for whatever it is you want me to do in that place.

Michelle Rayburn 05:39
One of the things that drew me to you when I saw you commenting on a mutual group that we're in on Facebook, was the fact that you mentioned that you're a CliftonStrengths expert. And we're gonna come back in a minute to how you got to be that. But before I get talking about CliftonStrengths too much, I want people to know what that is, because a lot of my listeners are probably going I don't know what you say, or what you mean, when you say CliftonStrengths. So tell us just a little bit about that.

Jenni Schubring 06:04
So it used to be called StrengthsFinder. And it's pretty recent, that they changed it to CliftonStrengths. So I will apologize ahead of time, if I say it incorrectly.

Michelle Rayburn 06:17
Me too, I know I'm gonna do it.

Jenni Schubring 06:19
So basically, Gallup put out a assessment that you take, and it gives you it's, well, you can do a couple of things, you can pay a little bit more money and get your 34 strengths, or you can pay a smaller amount of money and get your top five strengths. And so Gallup put together this assessment, it spits out 34 strengths is kind of how they have it labeled. And I actually strongly, strongly encourage people to just go with the top five at the beginning. Because the way that we work, and how we I don't know if you are like this, but you know, growing up, there's always things that you know you should be doing better, you could be doing better. And so we've gotten into this mindset that if you have a list of 34 strengths, we will tend to look at the bottom and try to fix those. Instead of recognizing this is what I'm good at. Why don't I totally maximize this? And one of my favorite examples about that whole process is, you know, if you were to write your name, and I told you, Michelle, go ahead and like write down your first and middle name. And then I told you to write your last name with your non-dominant hand. What would you notice about the differences?

Michelle Rayburn 07:58
Oh, yeah, one would be pretty and the other one would be almost impossible to read.

Jenni Schubring 08:03
Right? And how much effort would you have to put into the first one.

Michelle Rayburn 08:06
Right. A lot more.

Jenni Schubring 08:09
Right. And yet, we live in a culture that says, "I see what you do with your dominant hand. But I really think you should spend time working on your non-dominant hand and make it look better, like your dominant." And so this idea of the strengths is to really be able to identify them and see how you show up in your world. And then once you're aware of them, you can be so much more intentional, and using it the way that God intended you to use the things that he's given you.

Michelle Rayburn 08:42
This was first introduced to me eight years ago when I was applying for a job in a marketing firm. And every employee that comes into that location has to do the StrengthsFinder. Oh, I said it. The Clifton Strengths. And they they do just the top five. I had, they actually gave me (I'm holding it up, the listeners can't see but) they had somebody do calligraphy and put the strengths on a card, and we could each put that on our desk. It helped me because I wasn't aware. Like you said, that you know, these top five are things that in some, some situations actually might be considered not so welcome. For example, I'm an achiever, and people who aren't used to achievers might think I'm just a little bit too much. And ideation strategic learner and input are my other top five. So sometimes in certain circles, we don't always welcome one another's strengths, and I've learned how they all fit together, and how I work with you because your top strength is adaptability and that's really low on mine.

Jenni Schubring 09:49
Well, I will tell you, achiever is number 34 on mine so...

Michelle Rayburn 09:53
So we would be really great working together as a team.

Jenni Schubring 09:59
Yes. Yes.

Michelle Rayburn 10:01
But that's not always the way people see things. Sometimes we look for the person who's just like us. If every person on my team is an ideator, I've found that none of us get anything done. So we have to have that balance.

Jenni Schubring 10:15
Yes. Yes. And I think it's such a beautiful picture of, of the body of Christ. And being able to see that this is what I'm contributing. And I don't have to contribute in all these other areas. I can specifically remember a meeting I was in, I was on a steering committee for a thing in our church. And we were doing this whole vision meeting, which actually makes me nauseous, the thought of thinking about it, and I remember going it coming around the circle, and we were supposed to come up with like, two or three things that we could see this going in 10 years. And I could not get there. I just, and I was starting to panic, and I seriously was getting nauseous. And then I remembered, I actually went into my—while I was waiting and feeling nauseous—I quick scanned my assessment results. And futuristic was number 31. And so when it came to me, I was able to, to instead of being like, "oh my gosh, I have to figure this out," I was able to release it and say, "This is not where I'm strong in. And so I'm going to pass and I will whatever you guys decide to put up on that board for the 10-year, I will support it. And I will do the best I possibly can to make that happen." And it was so funny, because the very next person was one of my pastors who's in charge of this whole process. And he couldn't wait to get up there. And he had like five ideas right off the bat. And so if I were to have gotten caught up, which I did initially, but it getting caught up in what I couldn't do, I was able to release it, and then let the next guy have his space, which is it's one of his top five. So like he was in his space, and I could let him and step back, nothing was lost by the fact that I couldn't didn't have anything to share in that moment.

Michelle Rayburn 12:33
I'd like to rewind a little bit than now because you've shared where you're at now. So I'd like to go back 10 years get a little backstory here on before you discovered this assessment tool. And were really strong in looking at your strengths versus weaknesses. What was going on in your life leading up to when you first discovered CliftonStrengths?

Jenni Schubring 12:54
That's a great question. So I had four little kids at home. And for sure was in that place of like, is this everything? Right, like, I feel like I had I had this a lot. So you know, I mentioned camp, and at camp I was one of the directors, and I had all this influence on all these people and, and I was in my zone, like I loved it. And I felt like I was deeply impacting people. And then I got married and had kids. And we moved to Green Bay, and I didn't know a ton of people. I was literally I had my fourth child three weeks after we moved. So it was like in that chaotic mode.

Jenni Schubring 13:46
And I did a lot of like, "Is this it? Is this what I this is my calling right now? Really, like it is changing diapers and getting spit up on and, you know, cleaning and all of those things? Is that really what my calling is? And can I be okay with that? And like all those like purpose things right?" And, um, and I learned that yes. The answer was yes that it was my calling. And, and yet, like I just felt like I was all over the place. I felt like my husband and I laugh because he he was from the Navy. He was in the Navy. So everything has a place. You know you can see the direct line of our bedroom where his space is, and mine is just kind of like, if you saw my desk right now like I have stuff all over. That's how I did life with my kids, and I just went through this whole, like, goodness, what am I supposed to be doing with this?

Jenni Schubring 15:03
And along with that, right around that time, so is actually like 11 years ago, our church came up with this process...They got a grant and presented this process called transformational discipleship. Mark Friar was one of the designers of this process. And he got up in front of our church and talked for like, I don't know, it was like, maybe two minutes. And in that I was like, whatever this is, I want in. And so this is where I started. That process is where the CliftonStrengths at that time, the StrengthsFinder, came into play. And it was about six months into the process that—transformational discipleship is an 18-month process. So it's a commitment—and about six months in, we did the CliftonStrengths. And I saw on paper, how I showed up in my world. And it changed my perspective on everything, because it was no longer—

Jenni Schubring 16:15
I think we just are so good at finding the negatives, right? So you talk about adaptability, and it looks like I'm a chaotic mess sometimes. And what I recognize is that, that chaotic mess, also meant that I don't have to have everything in place in order to function, I was able to function in the midst of the chaos of all my children, I was able to function in the midst, my husband was the youth minister at our church. So there, there was all sorts of things going at different times. And that would—some people that would just make people absolutely nuts. And I was able to be able to thrive in it. But it was like a change of perspective in my own head. Once I saw adaptability as a strength, and not just as something that I tolerated.

Michelle Rayburn 17:06
Was there anything that surprised you in your assessment?

Jenni Schubring 17:09
Um, so funny is belief is in my... Well, it was. So I retook this the assessment when I got certified. And so there's way if you take it, so it was like 10 years later, there was some movement, but not much. But belief was number three, and now it's number six. What surprised me about belief. In the moment, when I first saw it, I took a great pride in my beliefs. And I remember I was actually doing sharing our strengths with another, another pastor, and he did not have belief in his top five. And I was like, "What?! One of our pastors doesn't have belief in his top five?" Like that was what was going on in my head, I was like, and as I started to get to know, my belief, I realized how, as much pride as I was putting into it, how detrimental that has been in my relationships, I was starting to see where the shadows are the they come shadows or blind spots. It was getting in my way because of that very initial thought this. So belief is really, really powerful, until you step outside of my belief, and now I that's where I had to tap into my adaptability.

Michelle Rayburn 18:41
And in the context of CliftonStrengths, belief isn't the same as what we think of it in terms of like, faith.

Jenni Schubring 18:49
Yeah, correct. So like, the very basic thing would be like, honoring your values in keeps you on course, like, you know, I have people who come to my office that are are not faith-based at all, but they have belief in their top five, right? So yes, it's not the same type of thing, which again, that was a learning curve for me when I first right yeah, I was first introduced. So

Michelle Rayburn 19:15
Yeah, how did this then transform your life?

Jenni Schubring 19:20
It really, it made me start to truly believe that I was uniquely gifted, that God really truly cared about the details of how he made me. And so this idea of that I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I started to see it and believe it and not just head knowledge. I've always known that. Right? But that heart knowledge the truly believe I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Michelle Rayburn 20:06
I know there's a listener who needs to hear that today to somebody who's wondering, like are maybe focusing on weaknesses and questioning whether she is fearfully and wonderfully made. And we want your listener to know that today that this isn't just for Jenni and for me. This is good news for all of us.

Jenni Schubring 20:25
Yes, yes. And it's a truth. Right? It is. It is a truth, a capital T truth that we are fearfully and wonderfully made.

Michelle Rayburn 20:38
Amen. One of the cool things about this is that this is a business tool. Really, it's a personality inventory, that I just want listeners to know this is not a faith-based program. This is Gallup that created CliftonStrengths. But Jenni, you and others have done such a wonderful job of dovetailing this with our identity in Christ. And it really shows us how, in addition to the spiritual gifts we're given, there are things about our personality that make that I guess dovetail is the only word I can think of, because it just meshes together with our spiritual gifts. So how have you then started to teach and coach others like in this process of understanding how it isn't just a personality thing, but it's like how God created you in his image?

Jenni Schubring 21:25
Well, it's fascinating. First of all, when when you get the report, so you take the assessment, it spits out some reports. So they have two reports that they give you. One is the theme report. So it gives you your top five, and then this beautiful description about each one of these strengths. And then they give you the insight report. This is the one that I absolutely love, because it's unique to you. So for example, my husband and I share two strengths, our write-ups are different. So much so that for somebody that have the same top five with the same description, is one in 33 million. 33 million people haven't seen it yet. So that's why I love this assessment. So when you get that, it's always fascinating for me to have the person in that room, listen to how they show up. Because over and over, they're like, "Oh, my goodness, yes, I do that, yes, I do that." So it empowers them. It empowered me, it empowers them, to recognize that this is good, just as you are you are uniquely gifted right now, there is nothing you have to work on, or improve.

Jenni Schubring 23:00
You know, God has fully equipped you to do the things that that he's calling you to do. And this is just another tool for you to see how that is. And so being able to recognize those strengths, and then be able to leverage them into the ministry that he's called you. And when I say ministry, it is whatever you go, it might be right under your own roof, it's when you step out of your home, it is not necessarily some higher calling thing that we'd like to put into it. It's your ministry is your world. That's where you are right now. And so being able to take how you do life, and use them for what God's calling you to do is so great. Because people always think they're not enough. I mean, how often do we see that we see that in our Christian world, we see that in the secular world, this whole idea of not being enough. And I think the strengths actually show you. Yes, you're enough. And here's how. Click right here, it's right on this paper.

Michelle Rayburn 24:14
That also shows you how you might have stepped into a role or pursued a career that really wasn't a good fit. Sometimes we go in a direction because somebody else sees something they think "you should do this." So we do it. And then you realize actually this is not fully using my strengths. I'm trying to be like somebody else. I think back to the beginning of our conversation when you were talking about what you wanted to be when you grew up. You know, it's like, I love to sing too. But I've realized that I don't have what it takes to be a recording artist like Amy Grant, when you mentioned her, and it isn't even the abilities so much as it's can my personality handle all that comes with that being out on the road or you know, all the things that come? So have you made career changes now based on having your strengths assessed?

Jenni Schubring 25:06
I think I don't know that I would say career changes, but I didn't even know what a life coach was, you know, 15 years ago, I'd never heard of that term. I, again, I think, has to do with a lot of my adaptability is like, where is this leading? And where could this go? So for sure. My strengths definitely equipped me to do the coaching. And so, yes, like, I think when this started showing itself, and God started revealing this, to me, like this could be a thing for you, it was easy for me to see how my strengths play into what I do. That being said, having my own business, it's a completely different story. But and this is why I feel it's so strongly about going only with your top five for a while. So I took this back in 2012. And I didn't open my 34. Until, like, 2018, I waited a long time, and I'm so grateful I did because if you were to look at what strengths you would think you would need to run a bit business, those are all very low in my 34. Like discipline, consistency achiever, like those are like really, you're gonna run your own businesses, you're gonna want, right. And so what I was able to do, though, is then reframe it. So belief is up there, if I can start changing my perception of like, okay, I may not be very consistent. Okay? I am not consistent. By nature, I am not consistent, but I can leverage my belief, I believe that what I'm doing is going to impact lives. I know that it is.

Jenni Schubring 27:06
And so that is what drives me to do the consistency piece, it's not consistency on its own, it has to be redirected through other strengths that do come naturally for me. So what I as much as there's a direction, but there's also a reframing you can do where you can use the top strengths to do the things you need to do even when you don't, arn't good at it. So even like writing with your non-dominant hand, you still can do it. Maybe a little more painful, but slow. But you still can do it. And sometimes you just need to reframe it too. So there's definitely— You can be in a job that maybe you're not utilizing your strengths. But when you are aware of what your strengths are, you might be able to shift your mindset and find a way to use the strengths so that it does come more naturally. And it's not drudgery.

Michelle Rayburn 28:15
When I look back, I actually think this assessment is what led me to become a freelancer and eventually leave that career that gave me the assessment, ironically, because I would see these little this list on my desk sometimes and realize that in the particular job role I was in, I was only using half of my strongest abilities. And I was having to adapt a lot because of the environment. And adaptability is really low for me, that made that job not very satisfying then. But being a freelancer where I can completely direct everything and come up with the ideas. So for me, it actually did, I think lead to an ultimate career change. It also gave me an appreciation of other people. So it helped me to learn how to relate to somebody else. Have you found that to be true as well?

Jenni Schubring 29:11
Yes, in a couple of things. I think one of the biggest surprises that people experience when they do the strength is to recognize just because it comes easy for me, does not mean that it will come easy for somebody else. So my husband, I laugh about this all the time, because adaptability is not anywhere near his top. And so he'll often say okay, I need to tap into your adaptability right now because I'm about to go nuts, you know. So recognizing that. I think so often we think because it's easy for us, it must be easy for everybody. And so there's this grace that we are able to give other people when we're like, Oh, that is challenging, you know, and that they aren't really working, they don't, they're not wired that same way, this is going to this is going to motivate them because of something completely different than what motivates me. So there's this understanding, and then also, again, being able to leverage that like, so that's where my husband's like, okay, I have communication. So when he needs to send an email, he'll have me overlook the email, because I will make sure that it's worded in a way that's not going to be taken in a wrong way. So being able to, you know, again, that body of Christ, right? Being able to use that. You don't have to be everything for everybody. Use the people that are in your circle, use the people that are on your team, because then they feel empowered, and they feel, you know, like, "Hey, I have a purpose." And that can be such a blessing when you're working with a team of people.

Michelle Rayburn 30:54
It really does fit with that scripture about the body of Christ, when like you said, because that passage talks about with the hand or something like that, say, I'm not a foot and then cut me off, like, no, we need all of the functions. It does give you an appreciation then for other people for the things that I might have looked down on somebody else for thinking it's a weakness, but it's their strength. So learning to maybe communicate in a different way, or learning how to build somebody up, instead of making it seem as if you're not like me, therefore, we just can't work well together.

Jenni Schubring 31:31
Right, Right. Yeah, if we could have that mindset of like, let's just collaborate and get as much differentiation going on like that can just, you end up reaching just so many more people to because what I attract is going to be different than what you attract, when you start thinking about working for God's kingdom. And the more people you can have in that circle doing the same thing just differently, right? Oh, it's so it's so powerful.

Michelle Rayburn 32:05
Can you imagine if we were putting together strategy, like you mentioned, vision planning thing, and everybody had to do CliftonStrengths first? And everybody had to put their top five in front of them on the table. And then we start looking at all the roles we need for this particular vision that we're trying to put forth. And then we look for the people who are the ideal leaders, or I can't even think of all of them because I only have my five laying here, but the strategic people, the adapters, what are some of your other ones, you said belief? So our top five...

Jenni Schubring 32:36
Yep. My top five are adaptability, connectedness, maximizer, communication, and arranger.

Michelle Rayburn 32:45
So imagine those strengths put together with specific roles on a team. I just, I love all of how that works together. And I think it would make so much of what we do more effective. And even if it wasn't CliftonStrengths, there are other tools out there. But I feel like I'm selling this one today because because it is the one that I really connected with. I've taken spiritual gifts assessments, and they always come out—they seem accurate. I've done the Myers Briggs, which actually confirms a lot of what was in CliftonStrengths for me. I've you know, actually, as an achiever, you could be an introvert or an extrovert. So that would change that up a little bit. I've done the Enneagram. And I know where I fall on that I'm a one, maybe that doesn't surprise you if I'm an achiever. So it all does, like kind of conclude almost the same thing. But this one is so diverse, and there's so many different areas of assessment and you have to do it fast. You're not supposed to think about it.

Jenni Schubring 33:46
Right.

Michelle Rayburn 33:46
Which is why I think it's the more accurate like, okay, that's the one I think. Like, there's a time limit, I think, isn't there?

Jenni Schubring 33:55
In a questionm you have 20 seconds.

Michelle Rayburn 33:57
Yeah, it's like, okay, I gotta pick one. Yeah. So what would you say to the listener who's struggling with figuring out their purpose? What what could you say directly to that person that would encourage them in that moment today?

Jenni Schubring 34:11
I think the beautiful thing about being a daughter of our King, is that we have a purpose. That is a truth. We have a purpose. We're on this earth for a reason. And I love going back to I always get the wrong passage. But basically, God says, there's three things this is his will for you. Right? And so in 1 Thessalonians 5, Paul says to "rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you." Like we always think like God's will, for us must be this grand, huge thing. And it comes down to these three things. And so I truly believe that he has uniquely wired you to be right where you are right now. And even if it's a hard season—that little kids season is a hard season—you might be going through grief, and that's a hard season. And some of your seasons are going to be long, some of them are going to be short. But God has uniquely gifted you right here right now for this purpose. And your circle of influence might be one other person, it might be 3000 people, but you get to be who you are. And when you get, that's what I love about the CliftonStrengths is that it just puts on paper, how you show up who you are, and how God has working through you and how, when you're you're working for his Kingdom, these things show up like, it's like blaring. And once you've seen it, you can't unsee it, which I just love.

Michelle Rayburn 35:58
Yeah, I love that, too. So you are a one-on-one coach. Now you've turned this into actually, you're a certified CliftonStrengths coach. So you've pursued that? Where can people connect with you on the internet? If they want to learn more about your coaching?

Jenni Schubring 36:14
The best place would be my website, which is JenniSchubring.com.

Michelle Rayburn 36:18
All right, I'll link to that in the show notes. You have a spiritual growth tab there that I've been on. And you have some of these resources there as well. And I think, do you have some blog posts?

Jenni Schubring 36:27
I do. Yes. Probably not as many as consistent as I would like it to be.

Michelle Rayburn 36:33
Yeah. So I will link to JenniSchubring.com. In the show notes there. As we wrap up today, Jenni, do you have any last thoughts?

Jenni Schubring 36:41
I just want to encourage you to just how you show up is enough. That you doing the things that come naturally too, that invigorate you, that you get excited about. That is what you can focus on, instead of working on the things that are hard. And I'm not saying that that means you don't have to do things sometimes that you don't want to do. But you really do. I don't like cleaning either, either. But you, you still have to do some of those things. But really, when you look at how you're wired and what invigorates you, that's what you get to focus on. And when you show up like that, that's really how you learn how to love people well, and that's what God calls us to do. Right. He calls us to love Him and love others. When you show up with how He created you, you will do just that.

Michelle Rayburn 37:39
Thank you so much for sharing today. I could talk to you for a long time. I'm glad that we got to meet on social media and have this conversation.

Jenni Schubring 37:46
Well, I'm so glad to be here. Michelle, thank you so much.

Michelle Rayburn 37:50
Jenni has a special offer for Life Repurposed listeners. So if you're listening today, and you'd like to book a one-on-one appointment with Jenni, either in person in her office, or online, Jenni is offering your first session free if you mention Life Repurposed. So you can mention that when you're booking with her, you will also find the link to the show notes for this episode at Michelle rayburn.com/ 138. There, you'll have links to the things we've talked about today, the Bible passages we've talked about and some of the quotes from Jenni as we chatted, so you want to look that up in the show notes.

Michelle Rayburn 38:25
The last thing that I want to mention today is that if you are in the Chicago area, or within driving distance or flying distance—that would be all of you—and you are looking for a great Christian writers conference to attend, I would like to encourage you to consider Write-to-Publish. You'll find that at writetopublish.com. I'll link to that in the show notes as well. I'll be leading worship teaching a couple of sessions at that conference and also doing one session on podcasting, how to start a podcast. So if you're looking for getting a writing career launched or just exploring the idea of writing, I really encourage you to go to this conference. It's where I got my start 20 years ago, and there are editors, agents, and all kinds of people who are ready and willing to help you in getting that launched. So check that out.

Michelle Rayburn 39:09
Thank you so much for listening today and I will see you in two weeks. You've been listening to Life Repurposed with Michelle Rayburn. Check out tips, resources, and inspiration at Michellerayburn.com (and to get the show notes for this episode). Each week, I share links to everything mentioned in the episode, graphics you can share, and guest quotes. I also invite you to join the Life Repurposed Facebook community for weekly conversation with others on the journey of discovering the repurposed life before you go. Which friend needs to hear this episode? Share a link with a note to invite them to listen. And thank you for listening too!

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