6/30/22 - Working to Give: Erica Stidham, Mary & Martha

As a Christian working woman, you have many roles from your responsibility with family and friends to community and work. How do you connect all that you do with all that you are, and still have your faith shine through. It's a challenge, but you are up to it. The, sheWorks4Him, podcast it at the gathering place to empower Christian working women, to live out their calling at work by connecting them to God resources and each other through powerful faith stories from other working sisters in Christ. Welcome to sheWorks4Him.

Martha: You've tuned into, sheWorks4Him, where we connect Christian, working women to God resources and one another. I am your host today, Martha Brangenberg.

And I just wanna encourage you to check out our website, sheWorks4Him.com. She works the number four, him.com. You can also use that same spelling for Facebook and Instagram and our YouTube channel. She works, the number four, him, you know, I'm just excited because there, one of the things that we know and believe to be our mission at sheWorks4Him is to connect women to resources that can help us in our walk, in our faith, in our growth in our Lord, Jesus Christ.

And I believe that that is gonna be very evident in today's conversation. So I'm so glad that you're here with. And I just pray that you will be challenged as I know that I will be today. We have a special midweek bonus episode that I'm gonna share with you. I'm on location at the DaySpring headquarters in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, having spent 10 years in Christian retail, DaySpring is like a long time friend that I haven't seen in a while, but I've kept up with that ,they're, of what they're doing and love to tell other people about them.

An as an aspect of DaySpring that I want all of my friends and listeners for sheWorks4Him to learn about is Mary & Martha. You might remember last fall hearing about some special spots that we did for them. And today we are gonna talk firsthand about this wonderful business and how God is using it around the world.

As young girls, our worldview is shaped by what we experience and by those that have influence over. What, if you are raised to value the role of a stay at home mom, and yet you find yourself in direct conflict with that role through a series of events that are truly God-given. My guest today has such a testimony.

She literally signed up as a consultant for Mary & Martha to get a discount, not imagining that she might have a career with that company. She struggled to really know what God wanted for her. Now a decade later, she knows that God has allowed this journey for more than income, but to bring about a season of generosity and giving Erica Stidham joined the Mary & Martha opportunity to get the discount on her purchases, but had since built a marketplace ministry that has funded missions, adoptions, medical clinics, and so much mor.

Here's a quote from Erica. As we get set up for today's conversation. She says, we know you can't outgive God. And over the last nine years, we have had a front row seat to his amazing provision for others through my work with Mary & Martha, our family has been enriched by the friendships we have formed the encouragement we have received and the prayers that have been prayed on our behalf. I have watched God do more than I could have ever dreamed. And I am a big dreamer. Erica Stidham, welcome to sheWorks4Him.

Erica Stidham: Thank you. Thanks for having me.

Martha: Well, I am really excited to have you here today and to expose the listeners to the story that God has been writing in your life and how that lines up with the great resource of Mary & Martha and how it can be enriching to them and just a great resource to share. But before we talk anymore about your work, I want our listeners to get to know you a little better, and let's do that by you sharing with us, how you became a follower of Jesus.

Erica Stidham: I was blessed to grow up in a family where loving Jesus, following Jesus, serving Jesus was our every day. My parents took me to church and I remember sitting on the couch in my children's pastor's office and giving my life to Christ at the age of five years old.

So I have been following Christ for almost 40 years. Yikes. Wow. So that's how I came to know Christ. I saw that example in my parents and in their friends. I've known nothing other than to live my life, to serve him.

Martha: You know, that's such a precious thing to have in your childhood. And that, you know that from a very early age, God's been a part of your, your season of growth all along. You told me that you grew up really valuing the role of a stay at home mom. So tell me a little bit more about that journey that caused you to have some adjustments in what that your plans were for your life as a mom.

Erica Stidham: Sure. Well, I had a mom that stayed home and made life very exciting and fun. And I valued doing that for my own family. I worked as a teacher prior to having children, but I knew that once I had children, I would stay home with them and take care of them and take care of our home. And it was when I found Mary & Martha that the Lord shifted that for me. So I did discover this incredible company. I did not plan to make it a career.

However, my husband lost half of his income kind of overnight, and we really had to figure out what to do. So at the time we had two young daughters and I went on a prayer walk with the Lord and I just said, okay, Lord, I joined this business just for a discount, but if you wanna use this in our family's life to provide for our family in this season, I will make myself available, but I will not call anyone.

So you're gonna have to provide hostesses for me if this is something you want me to do. And within 24 hours, I had three unsolicited messages to me in Facebook. I had posted Mary & Martha products that I had received and loved on my Facebook. And people just asked, do you happen to have parties for these items?

And I said, well, as a matter of fact, I do. And so that was about nine years ago and the Lord just continued to provide party after party and hostess after hostess. And that completely changed and shifted from just me having a discount to me actually creating a business.

Martha: So with that business that God was creating through you was there. Did you know that God really cared about the work that you were doing and that your work really mattered to God?

Erica Stidham: Well, I I've always believed that whatever I do, I do it for God's glory. And so I did believe that what I was doing made a difference. I did not realize how much of a difference it made, because sometimes it can feel like, well, I'm just selling some things and I'm not really sure if it has an impact.

And so I did question that from time to time, is this really something that God's using? You know, through me into the lives of others, but what's been so incredible is when people send me a message or send me a card or, you know, post on my Facebook, you know, this particular product really blessed me for this reason.

Or we've been able to use some of these incredible pieces to be ministry opportunities for children, for seniors, for teen moms. That part has been really incredible to me. To see that it's not just about these pieces, but how they can be transformative in people's lives.

Martha: Mm. You know, that is an encouragement. When you actually hear back from somebody about how it has impacted them. I know that you recognize your work as a workplace, as a marketplace ministry. How has Mary & Martha as an organization helped you in that mission?

Erica Stidham: Well, I love that I have their support. So being part of the Mary & Martha family, I have that whole marketplace set up for me. So with Mary &, Martha, it is a direct sales company. So I have the support of our home office and it allows me to do the things that I'm gifted in. I'm not gifted at all of that part, but I'm really gifted at speaking to people and sharing these products and, and allowing the Lord to speak through me as I share them to others.

One of the things that I think about a lot is how can I leverage my reputation and my influence to plant seeds of truth that will grow the kingdom of God. And so these pieces that we have, they're really just tools to plant seeds of truth and hope and encouragement into people's lives. And so by having the Mary & Martha backing, they're creating these beautiful products. They're creating items that have value that are on trend that are beautiful. And then it's my job to go and put them out into the field and, and see how God grows that harvest as a result.

Martha: That's so great. And, and friends, if you are listening and you've just tuned in or whatever your situation might be, we're gonna be talking more about Mary & Martha. But there's so much more to all of our work than just the product that we sell. God is teaching us in every area of our lives. What our influence is, things that, how it affects us in our home. We have so much more that we're gonna talk about today, but we'll be right back. I'm talking with Erica Stidham. She is a consultant for Mary & Martha. And her website is Ericastidham.com. I'll have that in the show notes. So you know how to spell everything and you can just link on it. We'll be right back in just a moment.

Break: Did you know that God has a calling on your life? It's true. He's called you to bring Jesus to the world. For some that may look like a pulpit or a foreign mission field, but for most of us, it looks like a construction site, a cubicle, a hospital, or a classroom, wherever it is that you work, live, volunteer and invest. That is your mission field to learn more about integrating your faith into your work and retirement. Check out our books. iWork4Him. sheWorks4Him and iRetire4Him by going to iWork4Him.com/bookstore.

Martha: Welcome back to, sheWorks4Him with your host today. Martha Brangenberg, I am here with Erica Stidham, and she is a consultant for Mary & Martha and you know, Erica, one of the things that we love about, sheWorks4Him, what we talk about is we wanna connect Christian, working women to God resources and one another. And many of our listeners may not even know yet what Mary & Martha is. You know, we've kind of alluded to some things and, and how it's, how it works and everything. So take a moment here and tell us about Mary & Martha, for someone who's maybe never heard about it before.

Erica Stidham: Absolutely. I love that this company has this incredible mission, the mission of ministry, the method of business and the message of Jesus. So we are the direct sales division of DaySpring, and we know that DaySpring is the largest Christian card company in the world. So I kind of think of Mary & Martha as pottery barn or Magnolia market meets the Bible.

So we have these beautiful on trend treasures, I call them. So from pottery to giftware, to children's items, all with the message of Jesus. So the Bible has, we have scripture verses we have truths. We have hope and encouragement on every single piece that we have. So I, I love that. I get to be a part of Mary & Martha, which is just this combination of beautiful pieces with a business opportunity for women to go out and share their faith in a way that can produce.

Martha: And I'm kind of a nuts and bolts person. So I wanna know like what those next steps are. So if, if I just wanna go shopping and I wanna buy something from Mary & Martha, what website, like for you like to connect with you? What would that be?

Erica Stidham: So to, to shop with me, you would just go to EricaStidham.com. And then if you're like, I wanna know more about this business, you can go to the same place and click join, and you can learn more information. So you would click shop to shop and you would click join to, to just get more information about the opportunity.

Martha: Excellent. And, and truly, I mean, who, doesn't love a great place that you can shop, whether it's doing a home party or online, they are beautiful products. And for those that are watching our YouTube channel, right behind you, Erica, I'm guessing is a whole plethora of things that are Mary & Martha.

Erica Stidham: So it is, and I think what's really neat. Is that we do provide that Christian resource for our community. So unfortunately, many of our Christian stores, our Christian book stores have closed in recent years.

And so we have these christian bookstore, so to speak all over the United States. So you can go and get resources for graduations and birthdays and weddings and you know, Christmas and give a gift that's meaningful, significant, beautiful, high quality. You're not gonna find anything like it in the marketplace.

And so I love that. That's what Mary & Martha is. It's a Christian resource within communities all across the United States.

Martha: And very on trend and very much stuff that you would want to have sitting on your couch, whether it's a pillow or a blanket or something in your kitchen that you're serving, you know, your favorite food on. There's all kinds of gorgeous things. So I just really want people to understand that because it's not it's, you know, there's stuff that can be like more like tchotchkes, you know, or whatever. And it's not that at all. It's beautiful things that you'd wanna shop for every day. You have a special offer that you are willing to give a listener that will call in. Tell us about that.

Erica Stidham: Yes. So call in, I'm gonna be giving away a $50 gift certificate. You can go and shop and pick anything that you want. We have some sales going on, so that can really go a long way. And I would love to bless somebody with that today.

Martha: That's so great. So thank you for your generosity with that. You can call our listener line eight six six seven one three nine six seven five eight six six seven one three. Work is the phone number that will be in the show notes as well. And we'll have one person that will win that. I just wanted to camp on that just for a little bit, because I love Mary & Martha.

Of course, I have a sister, Mary. I'm, Martha, it kind of works. You know, we, we, it resonates with me anyway. But I love what you, the product that you're representing, but I wanna go deeper to the heart of the conversation at this point, Erica, because one of the things that you told me that was a surprise that has taken shape because of your work is your family's ability to increase its giving. You know, most people get a job like you, maybe at the beginning, when you went on your prayer walk and said, Lord, what am I supposed to do? My husband's income was cut. What should we do? And that might be, but you know, that was the launching into it and getting the income. How has your job though, your work with Mary & Martha made a difference in the generosity of your family?

Erica Stidham: That's probably my favorite thing to talk about because "no eye has seen, no ear has heard no mind has conceived what God has prepared in advance for those who love him." I could have never imagined what he would do through this opportunity.

We have had countless opportunities to share with others. So from the very beginning, the very first party I did was actually a fundraiser, cuz I had told my husband, I won't do any parties. Don't worry. And I had a friend that contacted me and said, would you do a fundraiser for a family that was going through some medical difficulties?

And so I did that. And then I, someone asked about doing one for an adoption. And then we did one of my favorite things we did was a thousand stuffed penguins for kids at Texas children's hospitals. So we raised support and we took all of these penguins over to Texas children's hospital. We've been able to help fund adoptions and we have just loved and loved and loved on some teen moms here in our local community.

We were sitting in church one day. It was a couple years into this journey. And the Lord had transitioned us from me having to work to me having the blessing of working. And there was a min, a missionary who came to our church and was talking about the need for a medical clinic in his home city of Liberia, his home country of Liberia.

And so he shared what the cost would be and we, as a family felt the Lord impress upon our heart that we were to do this. So I remember writing in my journal, can we do this? And I passed it over to my husband and he said, yes. And I thought it would take us a year or more to earn this amount of money. We thought we might have to get other friends and family members involved, but we presented that to the Lord.

And in three months we were able to earn the money to build this medical clinic in Liberia. And so we have just been able to see and show our daughters that our work is not just so that our family can live large and that we can go do fun, expensive things, which we've been able to do some fun things.

You know, we've gotten to go to Disney world or gotten to go to different, fun things as a family. But more than that, we are able to sponsor kids across the globe. We are able to provide for the needs of people here in our communities when needs arise. People know that our family is a family that can be counted on to step up and help.

And so that legacy of generosity is something that was passed on to me from my parents. And because of Mary & Martha, we are able to step in in those places. You know, my girls. No, that, that I work so that we can provide for other people. And so I love that that's become part of our family's story.

Martha: Hmm. That's such a great legacy. And who knows what the generational impact is gonna be on that for your kids. And, you know, I hope that the listeners right now are thinking in their own lives. You know, we all, we know we've been told by so many people that we are, we have so much more than so much of the world yet we take it for granted.

And are we really working for the day to day or where's that generosity that the Lord is calling us to give back. And, and I love that you are talking about that freely in your home. Because it's so important for your kids to understand why you do what you do. When we come back, I wanna touch on a few more things that God has just been showing up in your life.

Erica, I'm so grateful that we're having this conversation. I'll be right back after this message and you're listening to, sheWorks4Him. We'll be right back.

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Martha: Welcome back to sheWorks4Him. Today we are having this amazing conversation with Erica Stidham, and you can find her website in the show notes, ericastidham.com. Learn more about Mary & Martha, whether you wanna just go shopping, you're looking for an opportunity. You've been asking the Lord, what are some next steps for you? You might have a, you might be coming from any one of those, just different positions, but I just wanna encourage you to check it out for yourself and to see what the Lord has for you.

Erica, one of the things that I love about talking to you is just how God has really worked on your heart over the years in your role at Mary & Martha in so many different ways. And the story of Lydia from the Bible is one of the ways that God has really spoken to you. Why don't you share with me what that, how that impacted you?

Erica Stidham: Sure. Well, growing up, like I mentioned, my mom stayed home and so that was kind of ingrained in me that that's what I would do as a mom. I would stay home with my girls and I wouldn't have a career outside of our home. And when the Maria Martha opportunity came across my path, I struggled to know, is it okay for me as a woman, as a mom, as a wife to have a career outside of our home.

And I really wrestled with us a lot, and it was actually at a Mary & Martha conference. That we heard the story of Lydia. And of course I had heard the story of Lydia, but she was a seller of purple cloth. And I love how the Lord works. I actually teach second grade Sunday school and we had this lesson yesterday.

So I just think how perfect this is timing mm-hmm , but she was a seller of this purple cloth and she had great influence in her community because of that reputation that she had for working with excellence and using her resources to provide for those who were in need. And the Lord really used her story to free me of any guilt or shame that I had in working outside of our home.

I really kind of work in our home because it's an at home business, but having something outside an outside ministry, of course, my first ministry, my first priority is here in our home with my girls and my husband taking care of their needs, but then looking outside and seeing, okay, how has God gifted me? What skills and abilities do I have and how can I use those to further his kingdom? And that's kind of how the story of Lydia just really pushed me to think beyond what I assumed would be my role as a mom for those 18 years that my kids were home.

Martha: So speak directly to like you're younger you, 10 year ago, you, when you were starting out on this journey and really wrestling with those things, and I imagine that there's some women listening today that might be in that same or similar position. What did you need to hear that you could speak into them right now?

Erica Stidham: Sure. Well, when I started 10 years ago, I had young children, so I had an eight year old and a six year old. And then very soon after that, I became pregnant with our bonus blessing as we call her. And so I knew that my first priority was in our home.

But I also knew that God might want me to be a helpmate for my husband, especially in that time when we needed financial resources. And so, as long as I kept the perspective and the priority of, of God first, then my family, and then I scheduled my work around what worked for our family and had my husband's blessing in doing that.

I feel like God has honored that. He has abundantly blessed us. And what's what I love about the Mary Martha opportunity is that I can schedule it around what works for us. And I think what's been really amazing to me. I have three daughters. And so they have walked this journey with me. They, I rarely did a party or do parties without one of them in tow.

And so they have learned entrepreneurial skills. They've learned how to speak to a group of people. It's really incredible to me. My, my oldest has watched me do this for 10 years. And just the other day, she had the opportunity to share her faith and her testimony and a word of encouragement to over a hundred teenagers.

And I think that it's the practice that she had speaking to women at gatherings that encouraged her to do so. I, you know, as long as we are seeking the Lord in all things and working as a family, I know that he will bless what we're doing.

Martha: There's just so many great nuggets of things that you've shared today. And I am sure that it has touched the heart of many women that are listening and the ministry that God has given you in your home, recognizing. That that is your first ministry. And then he's given you a marketplace ministry as well. And teaching us that God uses those things to create generosity as well.

There's just so many great takeaways from today's conversation. Erica, just real quick, do you have a Bible verse that is speaking to you in this time that you maybe could share with us?

Erica Stidham: Sure. I love what we talk about with Mary & martha is bringing eternal hope and encouragement to hearts and homes. And so Romans 15:13 says this: may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace. So that, so that is the important part so that you overflow with hope by the power of the holy spirit. And so I just, I find. I wanna be filled up with him more and more and more of him, so that I'm able to share that with other people. So may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the holy spirit.

I pray that that blesses someone today because I love that versus. Because it tells us what we're supposed to do and why we're supposed to do it. And so we are to be filled up so that we can spill out on other people.

Martha: Erica Stidham, thank you so much for being my guest today on sheWorks4Him. You can find out more about Mary & Martha goods at Erica's website. EricaStidham.com. Again, that will be in the show notes. She has that great offering gift for somebody to call in our listener line (866) 713-9675, Erica. Thank you so much.

Erica Stidham: Thank you so much.

Martha: You've been listening to, sheWorks4Him with your host, Martha Brangenberg, we're Christian working women, helping other Christian working women to live out their calling at work as sheWorks4Him!

As Christian women. We have many roles from daughter, sister, friend, wife, and mother to analyst, accountant, executive or educator. Is it possible to balance our roles at work and home in a way that honors God? The answer is yes. And our new book, sheWorks4Him will help show you how.

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