Episode 1427: Interview with Lin Green About Advocacy and Faith

[00:00:00] Scott Maderer: Thanks for joining us on episode 1, 427 of the Inspired Stewardship Podcast.

[00:00:07] Lin Green: I'm Lin Green. I challenge you to invest in yourself, invest in others, develop your influence, and impact the world by using your time, your talent, and your treasures to live out your calling. Having the ability to recognize that you are called to a purpose is key.

[00:00:27] And one way to be inspired to do that is to listen to this, the Inspired Stewardship Podcast with my friend, Scott Maderer.

[00:00:42] And so my inspirational blog was born at that time, at a time in the COVID pandemic, where everyone was in crisis. I created a space where people could find relief. Where they could be feel seen and understood and more importantly where they didn't feel like they had to go through [00:01:00] life alone I feel like a lot of people felt that way during that time

[00:01:04] Scott Maderer: Welcome and thank you for joining us on the inspired stewardship podcast If you truly desire to become the person who God wants you to be Then you must learn to use your time, your talent, and your treasures for your true calling.

[00:01:19] In the Inspired Stewardship Podcast, you will learn to invest in yourself, invest in others, and develop your influence so that you can impact the world.

[00:01:37] In today's podcast episode, I interview Lin Green. I asked Lin to share with you her unique journey that led her to become an advocate for others. I also asked Lin to share how her faith journey positions her to live out her calling. And Lin also share how she's still on a journey to identify her calling in full.

[00:01:56] I've got a new book coming out called Inspired [00:02:00] Living. Assembling the puzzle of your call by mastering your time, your talent, and your treasures. You can find out more about it and sign up for getting more information over at InspiredStewardship. com, Inspired Living. That's InspiredStewardship. com, Inspired Living.

[00:02:20] Lin Green is a writer, advocate, blogger, and public speaker residing in Orlando, Florida. As a community advocate with a background in criminal justice, public administration, crisis intervention, and crisis counseling, Inspired Living. Lin currently holds a long standing position with a government agency spanning over 15 years, under which she's also served as a volunteer working with children overseen by the Department of Children and Families.

[00:02:45] As the creator of the inspirational site, Is a Lifestyle? by Lin Green, Lin serves to encourage and inspire its readers in real time by sharing advice, lifestyle topic blogs, and audience interaction connected through social media. Her [00:03:00] unique experience as a child survivor of domestic violence The daughter of an immigrant mother, a military law enforcement wife, and a community advocate, provides her with an expertise in cross-cultural, emotional, developmental, and economic disparities.

[00:03:15] Within the middle to lower class. She's also written a book Enough with the Secrets Mama and these experience coupled with her expertise in the field of social services and public service, make her an ideal representative to discuss lifestyle issue. Welcome to the show, Lin.

[00:03:33] Lin Green: Thank you. Thank you for having me.

[00:03:35] Scott Maderer: Absolutely. So I shared a little bit in the intro about some of the work you've done and the advocacy work that you do and also a little bit about the book that you've got out. And let's go a little deeper. Would you share a little bit more about your journey? What brought you to the point where this is the work you do and this is the message you put out in the world?[00:04:00]

[00:04:00] Lin Green: Yes. So I'd like to say that advocacy work chose me. After having been working with juveniles in the area of the case management and social work, the opportunity for an advocacy position within the agency in which I worked. And at that point, I felt that I had accomplished what I needed to with regard to working with youth in the youth intervention area.

[00:04:27] And when this position came open, I was told that it was the kind of position that rarely opened up. So my experiences and. advocating for families within the community already made it pretty certain for me that this is where I was called to be. I felt like I needed to do more like I had more work that was required of me and I could not do that within the confines of the four walls of my office.

[00:04:52] So even Though working in advocacy meant I had to sacrifice a lot of things like time with my family, my [00:05:00] sleep I knew that this is where God wanted me to be and I would be in turn gaining so much more in the process. So I was recently awarded with a recognition with Fox News Orlando. It's called the Care Force Award that's provided to people in the community that perform above and beyond their scope of the duty.

[00:05:20] So I, I'm, I know that this is where I'm supposed to be.

[00:05:25] Scott Maderer: And what made you decide to put out the book, Enough with the Secrets?

[00:05:31] Lin Green: Yes. Oh my goodness. It's where do I even begin? So as long as I can remember, I've always wanted to be two things, a public servant, and I wanted to be a writer. As early as middle school, I knew I wanted to serve.

[00:05:47] But even before then I had this little tug in my heart calling me to do more and be more. And so I'll tell you a funny story. I was actually drawn as a kid to [00:06:00] Oprah. And I was mesmerized by the stories that was shared on her show from people who were struggling with one issue or another. So that awoke within me a desire to help others.

[00:06:12] I ended up writing a research paper on multiple personality disorders in elementary school.

[00:06:19] Scott Maderer: Not the typical medical middle school topic. Having been a middle school teacher, I can tell you that's not the typical topic.

[00:06:28] Lin Green: Absolutely. I'm not sure what my teacher thought about that at the time, but I just couldn't shake this that I had seen.

[00:06:38] And so I envision myself being a journalist in much the same way as Oprah, but I wanted to make that kind of impact either with my service, with my writing or both. So fast forward through all this work that I've done with the community with working within local government, with having conversations with people and especially women [00:07:00] about their relationships with their mother.

[00:07:03] And I realized just how much it mirrored my relationship with my mother and the things that I had wrestled with. So I wanted to, I felt like in that moment I was being called to, to be transparent, to unveil myself, so to speak, to share, show those scars and share with people. That you can get through difficult circumstances.

[00:07:27] So that's how my book, Enough with the Secrets Mama was Born just as a way to to help others heal through those through those issues.

[00:07:40] Scott Maderer: So one of the things I'd like to highlight for people is how our faith journey and our life journey. Intersect and inform each other, because it's usually not it's not a simplistic interaction, if that makes sense.

[00:07:54] Would you share a bit about your faith journey and how that's informed your life journey and vice [00:08:00] versa?

[00:08:00] Lin Green: Yes. So this is a rather interesting testimony. I did not grow up in your typical Christian household. In fact, when we attended church, it was not with our parents. My mother was surrounded by faith based friendships, and she'd send us off to church with her friends.

[00:08:18] We've been in Baptist church, Pentecostal, So Catholic and the Kingdom Hall. In fact, I credit Jehovah's Witness community for the ability to read and write in Spanish. Because when we moved here from the Dominican Republic I had to read and learn to read and write in English. So though I had those experiences in my childhood, and it wasn't until I was in my mid twenties that I truly sought my Christian faith.

[00:08:44] In search of a new church home. I found that in the gathering place in Sanford, Florida. I'll forever credit pastor Sam Hinn for sowing into me. And I'm so very grateful for his written forward in my book, Enough for the Secrets Mama, which is out [00:09:00] for public release May 14th. But this time in my life was filled with so many transitions.

[00:09:05] I left my home with my mother. Now a single mother with three year old little boy starting a new job in an unknown city and looking. Forward to making a difference in the lives of troubled youth. The very thing I had so carefully penned in a middle school yearbook years before. So all the things I'd been feeling in my heart and in my soul and in my spirit as to the life I wanted to lead was all manifesting little by little after that move.

[00:09:36] Scott Maderer: So earlier you, you said that advocacy work chose you. When you think about what you were just sharing about your faith journey and the life journey and the relationship you had with your mother and moving and being an immigrant immigrant here, new community, all of these different factors that were in your life.

[00:09:58] How do you think, how do [00:10:00] you think that led you to being an advocate for others, but also doing all of the work you do, even beyond advocacy, speaking, advocating going out and sharing your own experiences. How did that really come to be?

[00:10:19] Lin Green: Yeah. So I've been working now in the fields of advocacy for 10 years, but I've been in law enforcement for a total of 17.

[00:10:29] And I worked for the department of juvenile justice for about seven years before that. I've come to see the many hurting people in our community. As I mentioned before, that little nudge I felt as a kid, that incessant desire to help those in need, I feel like that catapulted me into my purpose. And my writing followed me even in this space.

[00:10:54] I crafted reports for the juvenile justice system and for the county [00:11:00] courts painting a well rounded picture of the dynamics within each client's lives, and I feel like that's a skill that I would continue to build ultimately For use for the greater good. It became clear that not long after that, I had an even bigger task.

[00:11:15] Now I had to expand my reach beyond the local advocacy work and outreach I was doing. I knew I was being called to reach and impact the world as a whole. And so my inspirational blog was born. Born at that time at a time in the Covid Pandemic where everyone was in crisis. I created a space where people could find relief, where they could fe feel seen and understood, and more importantly, where they didn't feel like they had to go through life alone.

[00:11:45] I feel like a lot of people felt that way during that time. Through this blog, I've not only shared resources, but I've also shared my own personal experiences. And hence enough with the secret spammer was actually born post the [00:12:00] creation of my blog. So my prayer, ultimately. was thereafter.

[00:12:06] Lord, just fill me with the boldness to share my testimony for I was born for such a time as this is how I saw it and in much the same way as Esther was reluctant. So was I. This meant I had to be vulnerable and I had to be transparent. I'm a private person and I knew I had to unveil myself because I feel like that would be the only way that people could see that there was healing through fire.

[00:12:34] Scott Maderer: So I like to highlight for people how often we don't discover our purpose, our calling. It's never really this complete destination where we start at point A, we go to point B, then we go to C, we go to D. Instead it's, it tends to be indirect, it tends to be a process of discovery. How do you think what you're doing today and the journey you've been on.

[00:12:59] How [00:13:00] has it helped you uncover what you feel is your purpose and your calling? And then what else do you feel like there's even more out there?

[00:13:09] Lin Green: So I definitely feel like there's more. I definitely feel like God puts us in certain situations and plans us in certain spaces so that we can see some of what he sees.

[00:13:26] We can't see it all, right? So we can see some of what he sees because ultimately our job is to be stewards in this space and to make a difference and help lead and encourage other people. So I think in that space there's so much more to do. There's so much more to explore, so much more to share with others.

[00:13:52] So yeah, I definitely think there's more.

[00:13:57] Scott Maderer: So how did you get do you feel like [00:14:00] you've been on a journey to discover your purpose and calling and has it been a straight line for you or? How has that happened in the past ?

[00:14:08] Lin Green: Yeah, so it has definitely not been a straight line. But I looking back, I can definitely see how God has been working.

[00:14:18] I can see how he has been planting little seeds along the way and how he's not let me go. As far as that's concerned. So things like just the love for reading and writing. Even when I didn't fully speak the language when I first came here the people that he's placed in my life, like my elementary school teacher, my English teacher, who I dedicate my book to.

[00:14:46] because it is because of her who then turned into a pen pal when we moved from the state of Rhode Island that would continue to encourage me those examples, the people that would be placed in my path would [00:15:00] make it would make me veer back on path whenever I would. So it definitely was I am thankful for tho and opportunities and peo me back on the path when I think it's hard to do s gets in the way, right?

[00:15:22] U Come and that you have to readjust and you have to prioritize certain things over others. And it's easy to get lost in the shuffle when you're not focused and have the right frame of mind. So I'm just grateful that it all ultimately worked out. I feel like I've definitely found my purpose.

[00:15:47] I'm walking in and living in that purpose and I'm looking forward to all the amazing things that are to come.

[00:15:55] Scott Maderer: When you find yourself distracted by the shiny objects, you're pulled [00:16:00] in those other directions and things do you have anything that you tend to lean on to help you figure out, wait a minute is this something I'm supposed to be doing or is this a distraction?

[00:16:11] Or what do you do when you have that doubt or that that choice in your mind?

[00:16:18] Lin Green: Yes. So I have definitely had to learn to just be still, which is. Something that's been very hard for me to do. But I have definitely dug my nails into everything. That is the word of God.

[00:16:41] And just when the Bible speaks about renewing your mind, how important it is to continue to develop that skill to to build yourself up to that discipline. Because when now, when those things happen, it's easy for me to [00:17:00] recognize it. It's almost like that, that it's that little voice that everyone talks about listen to that little voice within you that's telling you, no, stop that is the voice that I vividly hear often when I'm in those spaces.

[00:17:14] And that reminds me to just be still. and surrender and let his plan play out. It's not necessarily about what I want. Which is it's hard to do because we're human, right? And the flesh, sometimes we want to control things. And we've learned quickly that it's really not within our control.

[00:17:37] Scott Maderer: Yeah, if you need any reminding of that, just wait around a few minutes, it'll happen. You'll get reminded that it's not really ultimately in your control. So before I ask you a few questions, I like to ask all of my guests, is there anything else about the advocacy work you do or your book that you'd like to share with the listener?

[00:17:58] Lin Green: Yes. So [00:18:00] my book is it's a memoir. It's a real life immigrant story of a Dominican woman and her daughters as they find their way in the land of opportunity and all the things that accompany them on the journey, all those shortfalls. So our family journeys from my mother's origins in the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico and through the east coast of the United States where we find our way ultimately in this country and the country that we've chosen to call home.

[00:18:28] I, the daughter of a difficult. yet self empowered matriarch in a family of many secrets, which is where enough of the secrets in the title comes in. I feel sandwiched between my drug addled brother and my free spirited sister. They both demand much of my mother's attention. And through that I develop also some additional traumas child molestation, sexual abuse, emotional abuse and I yearn for a close relationship with my mother.

[00:18:58] What I [00:19:00] do, which is where we're talking about the need to control is I developed this controlling personality as a child. I want to be the good child. I want to be perfect. I want to give her no worries. But as life circumstances get in the way, I fear I'll lose my grasp on that mother daughter relationship.

[00:19:19] Despite the tragic the things that have happened, the rejection, the trauma that I endured along the way, the twists and turns in my own life that motivated me to break those generational curses and set a new course for myself and my family. I want other people to see that. This book is ultimately for women who feel frustrated by self perceived emotional neglect.

[00:19:42] It can help spare you the grief that comes with developing detrimental relational habits, and it allows you to carve out your own destiny. So if there's anything that I want the the world or the country and everyone that's hearing to know is that I pray it heals and helps many [00:20:00] in similar circumstances.

[00:20:02] Scott Maderer: Absolutely. So my brand is inspired stewardship and I run things through that lens of stewardship. And yet I've discovered over the years that's one of those words that means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. So when you hear the word stewardship, what does that word mean to you?

[00:20:20] And what is the impact of that had on your life?

[00:20:24] Lin Green: Yeah. So stewardship to me is being able to carefully manage that, which We've been entrusted, right? Our spiritual gifts, if you will. So the diligent and impactful way that we carry out the responsibilities as public servants which we've been purpose for knowing that this merely just not merely a calling, but an obligation that we have to be kind to lead.

[00:20:54] to guide and encourage other people. So for me, it's been impactful to steward in [00:21:00] all my works. I see the difference it makes in the lives of others. Knowing that by the grace of God, I can carry out the role he set before me. It's ultimately, it's all for his glory and to leave a lasting influence in our world.

[00:21:15] Scott Maderer: So this is my favorite question that I like to ask everybody. Imagine for a moment that I invented this magic machine. And with the power of this machine, I was able to take you from where you are today and transport you into the future, maybe 150, maybe 250 years. And through the power of this machine, you were able to look back and see your entire life and see all of the connections, all of the ripples, all of the impacts you've left behind.

[00:21:42] What impact do you hope you've left in the world?

[00:21:46] Lin Green: Wow. That's a wonderful question. I think I would have had a major impact in the world. Just looking back and seeing at the many opportunities I had [00:22:00] in public speaking, reaching the masses through my words either in person or in writing and through my acts of service, I know for sure I would have left.

[00:22:10] a lasting impression in the hearts of many that they would carry out their lives knowing that God has a plan for them, that there are times when God will ask you to do things that are difficult, but he asked you to participate in his plans because it strengthens us, it strengthens our faith. So we may have uncertainty, failure, fear, suffering, as we try to fulfill God's plans for our lives, but that's okay.

[00:22:37] God is with us every step of the way. He's working all things for good for those who love him. I know he's got plans and so it's because of his plans that I can look back So many light years away and say, okay, I did exactly what he asked me to do.

[00:22:58] Scott Maderer: So what's on the roadmap? What's coming next for [00:23:00] you as you continue on this journey?

[00:23:04] Lin Green: Yeah. So I'm currently working on self publishing the Spanish version of the book enough of the secrets mama. which I hope to release around the same time as the English version which is May 15th. I'm putting myself out there in the world more and participating in speaking engagements and conferences as I spread the word of healing through my consulting firm, Green Consulting as well as partner with nonprofit organizations and businesses to share my expertise.

[00:23:36] Scott Maderer: Awesome. And of course you can find out more about Lin, about her book, and about the work she does over on her website at issalivestyle. com, and I'll have a link to that over in the show notes. Lin, is there anything else you'd like to share with the listener?

[00:23:53] Lin Green: Yes, as it relates to my book, I'm in full blown promo mode.

[00:23:58] I'm sure you can relate [00:24:00] and understand what that means. And so I've got opportunities like this where I get to speak to people around the country spreading the word for my work of love. And I'm grateful. Thank you so much for this opportunity. I have a local book signing at the Barnes and Nobles.

[00:24:20] here in Altamont Mall, May 14th at the Altamont Springs city of Altamont Springs in Florida. So if anyone is local to the Central Florida area, please come by and see me. I would love to see your faces. I have future women empowerment events that I am a part of. My current, my book is currently Available for pre order everywhere you buy books so you can grab your copies now and stay tuned to my social media pages for live updates and all the happenings on more to come You can find me as scott said at it's the lifestyle.

[00:24:55] It's a play on it's a lifestyle but it's spelled ISS [00:25:00] alive style on instagram and facebook I'm, also on linkedin under Lin green for those looking for business collaborative opportunities And that's what I've got going on right now.

[00:25:12] Scott Maderer: Awesome. Thanks so much. And of course I'll link up the book and your website and all of that in the show notes so folks can find it easily.

[00:25:19] Thanks so much for being here today.

[00:25:22] Lin Green: Thank you so much for having me. Truly a pleasure.

[00:25:31] Scott Maderer: Thanks so much for listening to the Inspired Stewardship Podcast. As a subscriber and listener, we challenge you to not just sit back and passively listen, but to but act on what you've heard and find a way to live your calling. If you enjoyed this episode please do us a favor. Go over to inspired stewardship.

[00:25:54] com slash iTunes rate, all one word. [00:26:00] iTunes rate. It'll take you through how to leave a rating and review and how to make sure you're subscribed to the podcast so that you can get every episode as it comes out in your feed. Until next time, invest your time, your talent, and your treasures, develop your influence, and impact the world.