What I most love is to encourage others.  I just retired as a United Methodist minister after 30 years.  My husband and my two daughters, and our little dog Truffles all live in Cedar Falls, Iowa, USA.

 

My dream? To truly share Godiva’s story with you.  I’ve been to England twice now, met women there who really helped me learn her real story, and dug deep in archives and old books.  Yet, when I sit down and write, it’s like she is whispering in my ear.  It’s as if her voice and my love of encouraging women are coming together, to help women around the world face their fears and ride through with courage.  

 

You also need to know that I’m facing my own fear in writing this blog. I don’t know the first thing about it, and I’m terrified.  But, it’s that challenging nauseous feeling that signals me every time I’m stepping into my true self, my inner VickiJolene. Like when it was 1979 and I was pushed into large size modeling in Chicago.  A thrill to do it, but the advertising and clothing world were not so welcoming, it took courage, especially in the land of body shame. But when one "rides thru" such fears, there is sweet success, like walking the runway at the Apparel Center in downtown Chicago and being known as the "Gloria Vanderbilt Girl" when she first introduced large size jeans. (Large size models then were a 14/16 btw; not as diverse as it is now.)

 

I left that to work with youth groups, then ended up in Orlando Florida.  Again, a big nudge to step off the diving board into the deep end… to work with a television show.  I ended up writing for “Real to Reel,” a Catholic magazine show about ordinary people doing extraordinary things.  That was scary and fun.  Why?

 

My passion is learning people’s stories, asking them questions, finding out the “gold nugget” inside them that makes them shine.  It’s what is driving me now for Godiva’s story, but even more so for you. 

 

My greatest hope is that this blog will bring out the “gold nugget” that spark of the divine within you and all the “Divas” that join us to learn “The Secrets of Lady Godiva.”