5/1/24 - 2040: The Christian Woman Resource You've Been Waiting For

Jim: You've tuned in to iWork4Him, the voice of collaboration for the Faith and Work Movement.

Martha: We are your hosts, Jim and Martha Brangenberg, and our mission is to transform the workplace of every Christian into a mission field. What does that look like in your workplace? Let's find out right now.

Jim: You and I may not even realize it, but we try to put God in a box and label it sacred. The creator of the universe does not neatly fit into a compartment that we've made. How silly it is for us to even try, but we do. We call the compartment sacred, but the truth is God doesn't live in that box. He lives inside each one of us that have committed our lives to him, and we carry him around with us everywhere we go, whether people want him there or not.

All of life is sacred when God is involved, including, and especially our work, or should I say on this show, especially our work. Our guest today is Peggy Bodde, founder and author of Sacred Work, which released just a month ago. Peggy Bodde, Welcome to iWork4Him.

Peggy Bodde: Thank you, Jim and Martha. It's awesome to be here with you guys, especially because we've had time in person together. That makes a huge difference.

Jim: It's a rare thing for us to actually have in person time with a guest.

Martha: Especially before we do the interview. It's just great. And we are really excited to have you on the show today. We want to start with you just sharing with us your Jesus story.

Peggy Bodde: I would love to share that. I think it's the best part of my story. So I became a follower of Jesus against all odds. And I say that because as a baby, I was adopted into an abusive home where we went to church at least three times a week and both parents were involved in church.

So on the outside, we were a very typical middle class family, no drug or alcohol use. Everything was neat and tidy on the outside, but the inside was a different story. So as you can imagine, Christianity was very confusing to me as a kid. What I was learning in Sunday school didn't match what was happening inside our home.

And I even remember being in fourth grade and having this argument with my Sunday school teacher because she said, God is your protector and once you accept Jesus as your savior, he's never going to leave you. And I just said flat out did not believe her. So it's only by God's grace that I never doubted that he existed.

I just didn't trust him. And I didn't believe that he loved me. So my adoptive parents put me out when I was 13. And there was no foster care involved. But God made a safe way for me through different families until I finally ended up with Jim and Kathy Brown. And I saw Jesus in them in such a big way.

They unconditionally loved me. They accepted me. They believed me. And they had nothing to gain by taking me in. They already had five kids. Yeah, so obviously that made a huge impression on me, but I wasn't ready to surrender and trust Jesus just yet. So the years went on and I continued to have these conversations with God about my childhood and he just faithfully pursued me and healed me from my past and he loved me into a personal relationship with him. So it was a long, messy process, but. I think that's the beauty of grace.

Jim: It is the beauty of grace, and I appreciate you sharing that story. And we're grateful for the Browns because their impact on your life, that's why you're here today. Huge. Peggy, you spent many years in corporate America as a leader and as a single mom at the same time, which that's two full time jobs at the same time. Tell us about the tension you felt about your work and your faith, especially when you looked at other Christian working women.

Peggy Bodde: I think the tension I felt about my work and faith as a Christian woman can be summed up in one experience, which happened at a social event with people from my church years ago.

And that event is when that tension you were just talking about, Jim, reached its peak for me. So like you mentioned, I was a single mom, corporate leader. And at these social events, I always felt uncomfortable because I just felt like I didn't fit in. And, the men and women congregated in different areas and the men would talk about work.

I could overhear their conversations and the women were talking about what was important in their lives. So many were stay at home moms or they worked part time or they volunteered at the church or they homeschooled. So all of those things are wonderful but that was not the space that I lived in. So when they were talking about homeschool curriculum and the latest outreach programs at church, I was way more comfortable talking about hiring challenges and supply chain issues. So there I sat, feeling like a square peg in a round hole. And on this particular day, I received comments like, I'm really sorry you have to work and you can't stay at home with your daughter, or I hope your job slows down so you can volunteer at church more.

And then there was the big one, God gifted you as a leader. Why don't you do something that matters like working in ministry or missions? None of these women had any bad intentions. But Satan saw my vulnerability and so my doubts flared and I just felt less than, as a mom, as a Christian and as a leader and that insecurity just kept replaying those words over and over.

So I basically left early from that social event and I had these big question marks around all the important parts of my life. So that scene is when the faith and work tension I felt throughout a chunk of my career really came to a head.

Martha: So how did you go about overcoming those doubts, especially in the space of you being a leader, which you are?

Peggy Bodde: God used that scenario that I just described because not long after that, I was praying. I was laboring in prayer, over these doubts because I couldn't shake them. They had stacked up and that feeling of not being enough in all the big areas of my life just weighed on me. So I was praying and I said, God, I know you're disappointed in me and my career choice.

Maybe people were right. How can I possibly make a difference for you? As a leader in the workplace, maybe I've even misunderstood my calling as a leader and then suddenly the Holy Spirit interrupted me and he said, Who are you listening to? Because it's not me. And that was my turning point.

And that's when I realized, like you said at the beginning, Jim, that God doesn't live inside a compartment labeled sacred. He lives in us. And we carry the sacredness that comes from him everywhere we go, including the workplace.

Jim: It is amazing how many times we've heard people express that perspective, that why don't you take your giftings and go use it for God in a church or on the mission field?

And it's false theology that everybody's been preaching. In fact, we just found out that the United States of America and that kind of false theology has impacted the world. Because we were talking to friends in Pakistan who were like that's what we learned from the Western church, that the most sacred thing is to quit your job and go work on a church. No. No. God gave you those giftings to impact the marketplace so that people who don't know Jesus can meet Jesus

Okay, Peggy i'm gonna step back off that soapbox. Thank you. I could preach it but this is your show, not ours. Peggy just shared about her doubts as a leader and we can all have doubts about things in our lives, but Martha and I want to point you to a resource that can take away doubt, especially the doubt about our cyber security.

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Martha: Peggy, I am loving this journey as we just talk about how God has been intertwined in so many areas of your life. He led you to make a career change and actually then start a foundation. As a successful female leader, how did you handle that transition? Because that is a big one.

Peggy Bodde: That is a big one. And one of the things I love about God is that he doesn't waste any work experiences. He always builds on every one of those experiences to prepare us for the next big thing. So in my case, he gave me decades of business experience and opportunities to lead companies through big changes. So I was able to use those same skills and that same experience to change careers. And to start my foundation. So even though I was switching from corporate to entrepreneurship, the business basics, as you guys know, were the same. I followed a lot of the same steps, the basics like making a business plan, setting goals, establishing a budget.

And then to minimize risk, which is something I also learned about in corporate, I did freelance writing as a side gig for a year while I was still in corporate. And that was to make sure I could make a living at it. So God doesn't waste anything. He repurposes everything. So I was able to take those skills and experience from corporate and repurpose them to pivot careers and start my foundation.

Martha: So let's talk about that foundation. It's called Sacred Work. And what does that, what does Sacred Work even mean to you?

Peggy Bodde: To me, Sacred Work is a reminder that we are image bearers of a God Who works so of course our work matters to him. And I see us as a people set apart for his service and that service includes our work because God sees the whole picture and the whole person, and every part of us is important to him and used by him and that includes our work.

Jim: And that work is meant to bring about flourishing in our lives That's what the garden was all about.

We talk about this all the time, but the garden was about people physically flourishing the work that we got to do plus the eating that we got to do from all the trees. And then spiritually flourishing by walking with the Lord and the work brings fulfillment.

Peggy, when you meet people that don't, that aren't working, but they should be, do they seem satisfied to you? No, they seem just, they're a disaster! All right. So let's, okay. That was just a side little sermon right there again. So what's the role of the foundation that you're running?

Peggy Bodde: Sacred Word provides free leadership and career coaching for women. So unlike some organizations that have structured mentoring programs and curriculum, I help women deal with really specific problems and pain points that they're facing as leaders or in the workplace in general. So for example, a woman might come to me with a specific issue, like wanting to change careers like I did, or negotiating a raise, or she might be dealing with a difficult boss or coworker. So I help her get to the other side of that problem.

Martha: I love that, Peggy. With you as a writer, you are so concise, and you say things so beautifully, and I just, I love listening to you explain, because you really know what God has given you to go, to do, and walking out that lane.

When we met over two years ago, you were just headed to Moody Publishers to do a final pitch for your book. And I interviewed you for our podcast, sheWorks4Him, and we have really exciting news, because on April 2nd, your book, titled Sacred Work, was released. And Jim and I are both holding it up so anybody that's watching on YouTube can see the books.

So let's talk about that. Why did you write the book Sacred Work?

Peggy Bodde: So before I answer that question, I just want to thank you both for encouraging me through this book journey. You guys have been with me from the beginning, so I just want to say thank you. It means the world to me.

Martha: It's our pleasure and you have traveled that journey so beautifully. It's been fun to watch.

Peggy Bodde: Thank you again. And as far as why I wrote the book There is a pattern in my life where God calls me to be for others what was or is missing from my own life. So I remember seasons during my corporate career when I prayed so earnestly for Christian business mentors, specifically a woman who could understand my experiences at work, but also how it felt to be in the faith community as a female leader in the workplace.

So I kept praying about this, but there was no one. And I remember going to Barnes and Noble and asking the associate there for the section on Christian women in leadership. And the sales associate pointed me to this little tiny shelf with a few books on how to lead church ministries. So I went back and I said, okay, what about any books written by Christians on leadership?

So the sales associate took me back to a bigger row of books, all written by John Maxwell. I still have a lot of those in my collection. But as a Christian woman, business leader, I couldn't find myself in any bookstore, and over time that's changed, but progress has been really slow.

So when I had the chance to enter a book proposal contest three years ago, the Holy Spirit specifically called me to write the book I wish I would have had when I worked in corporate.

Jim: Oh, I like that. I like that a lot. That's good.

Martha: Knowing exactly that the Holy Spirit called you to do that. I love it. So it's exciting when we see a big project come to life. And God started working on the message of sacred work long before it ever became a book. You know that's much like it is with the products that we tell you about here on iWork4Him. Years ago, God started showing believers a need to do business differently than the world, and one of those resulted in Patriot Mobile. It's a cellular company dedicated to family, faith, and freedom.

We ourselves love Patriot Mobile, and I'm sure you will too, so just go to PatriotMobile. com Forward slash, iWork4Him and see how easy it is to switch your phones to a company that you can believe in and know that they are giving their profits to causes that you believe in, like iWork4Him.

It's simple. We made the switch and we have never looked back. That's PatriotMobile.com/iWork4Him.

Jim: Peggy, I want to go off track for a moment. .

Martha: Of course you do.

Jim: I do. Well, you're the one that said, Jim, I thought you were so serious. When we did that sheWorks4Him interview, I thought you were so serious. But I actually realized, yeah. All right. So there's a lot of women out there going, Peggy, that's my story. There's so many Christian working women out there who don't feel affirmed in their work, who feel like they're alone, who feel like, why do they hold all the women Bible studies at 10 o'clock on a Tuesday morning? I've got a job.

Martha: Do we sound like that?

Jim: Yeah. When you're frustrated. Yeah. When you're frustrated. Yeah.

Okay. So Peggy, this is something we need to help the church to understand. The church as a whole, the big C church. How have you done working with your local Body of Christ to help them understand what you do all day long?

Peggy Bodde: There's a couple of ways to, that I've approached that and one is what I was alluding to before in God calling me to be what's missing from my own life. So I have tried to be in a leadership position as far as Bible studies and speaking into the space of faith and work. For women. I think that's one of the things that can be tough, is that as women, it might be easy to sit back and say I wish the church would do something. I wish they would have a Bible study later. I wish they would do a Bible study that's about things that I'm interested in.

But what we have to do is we have to be pioneers. So what I've tried to do is step into that space and say, okay, this doesn't exist. What can we do to create it? How can we work together to serve the working women of the church? I would say that's my biggest recommendation. It's the one that takes women out of their comfort zone in a big way, but it's so worth it. Pray about it. And if it's missing and God wants you to fill that space, step up and fill it.

Martha: Such good challenge and encouragement. I want to talk about your book, Peggy, because I think the reader needs to, or the listener needs to become a reader of the book, but needs to understand a few things.

And one of the things that I want to highlight is I love your writing style. You are and I say this because it's so powerful, you are easy to read. Not that it's, not - it's deep, it's thoughtful, it has everything, but your style is just, I love it because it's not difficult to plow through and learn this stuff.

You also set your book up as a reference. I feel like it's you can go to the chapters and say, Oh man, there's a chapter called When You Fail. Okay. Wow. That sounds like something I need to read. So although reading the whole book is a very good idea, then later being able to go back and say, okay, what did Peggy say about, when I got passed over for a promotion? What can I go back to? So I love this. The way you've set it up, the way you've written it. Talk to the listener. Who did you write this for? Who are you hoping actually picks up the book and reads it and then keeps it on their shelf?

Peggy Bodde: Even though men have told me they benefited from reading the book, I wrote Sacred Work specifically for Christian working women and leaders.

And it's structured the way you described Martha, because I know that working women are pressed for time and that even though an in person mentor is ideal, that's not always available or accessible. So the book functions like a pocket sized mentor. It in those standalone chapters that you were just describing, they target the most challenging issues women face in the workplace.

So it mirrors what I do in the foundation. When a woman is faced with a challenge or problem, she can open up the table of contents and then flip to the issue she wants help with, She can go to the directly to that chapter. It saves her time. She can focus on solving the problem that she's facing at work right then.

Jim: I love it. I hope that this book inspires millions of christian working women out there to realize the significance of the work and that it's okay that they work and that their calling matters to the marketplace, that we need them out there living their faith out, at the same time being a mom, being a wife, whatever the situation may be. I'd like you to talk to these listeners, the ones that are listening to this interview, what's one thing you hope that they can hear from your heart today? And that they can hear from your heart inside the book sacred work?

Peggy Bodde: So, I want to speak specifically to the women, the working women who are listening, and say that even though people sometimes put us into categories and compartments, as our Creator, God does not need to do that. He sees you as a whole being created in His image and every part of you is valued by Him, including your work.

Jim: She does really good with those snippets, doesn't she?

Martha: She does. The sound bites. I've always said so. Little side note, Peggy writes textbooks, like that's her business. She is a writer for textbooks. And I've always said, if I could go back to school and know that I was going to get the textbooks that Peggy writes, that I probably would learn more.

Peggy Bodde: You guys are so kind. Thank you.

Jim: Peggy Bodde dot com. PeggyBodde.com. That's where you can find out more about Peggy. Probably, can you find out something about the book out there too, on PeggyBodde.com?

Peggy Bodde: Yes. Of course. There is information on the book on my website.

Jim: All right. Peggy Bodde, thanks for being on iWork4Him today. Thanks for sharing your story. Thanks for sharing your life with us and for being a friend. We're grateful. Thanks, Peggy.

You've been listening to iWork4Him with your host Jim and Martha Brangenberg. We're Christ followers. Our workplace, It's our mission field, but ultimately iWork4Him!