#124 Redirected, Not Rejected: With Tricia Bullard

What do you do when a door closes that you were sure God opened?

In this powerful and honest conversation, Leslie sits down with Tricia Bullard to talk about the tension between calling and confusion, and how what feels like rejection may actually be God’s redirection.

Tricia shares her deeply personal journey of encountering God in one of her darkest seasons, only to later walk through unexpected disappointment, misunderstanding, and closed doors… especially within the very place she believed she was called to serve.

But what unfolded next reveals something so important:

God’s redirection is never random, and it’s never wasted.

🙌 A Word for You:

If you’re in a season where things don’t make sense…
If a door closed and you’re questioning everything…

This episode is your reminder:

God is still working.
God still sees you.
And your story is not over.

✨ About Tricia Bullard

Tricia Bullard is a passionate follower of Jesus, speaker, author, and co-host of the Ministry with Coffee Podcast. With a background as an Executive Vice President in banking, she brings both practical leadership experience and deep spiritual insight to her work.

After a life-changing encounter with God in one of her darkest seasons, Tricia now helps women grow in their identity, calling, and spiritual authority through discipleship, teaching, and mentorship. She is the founder of Unshakable Women of Faith and the author of multiple books, including her newest release, Redirected, Not Rejected.

Through her ministry, Tricia encourages women to trust God in every season, especially when life doesn’t unfold the way they expected.

🔗 Connect with Tricia:

Website: https://www.ministrywithcoffee.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bullard.tricia/
Podcast: https://www.ministrywithcoffee.com/podcast

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Transcript

Welcome And The Rejection Question

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hey friend, welcome back to your Joyful Order podcast. I'm your host, Leslie Martinez, and I am so grateful to be here with you today. Today's conversation is for the woman who has ever felt overlooked, misunderstood, or like a door closed that you were just sure God had opened. What if what felt like rejection was actually God's protection and redirection for you? I have such a powerful guest joining me today. Her name is Trisha Billard. She is a speaker and co-host of the Ministry with Coffee podcast. She's also the founder of Unshakable Woman of Faith, where she equips women to grow in identity, calling, and spiritual authority. She has a new book releasing called Redirected, Not Rejected. And today we're going to dive into her message. So stay tuned. Hey everyone, I'm Leslie Martina, and you're listening to your Joyful Order podcast. Each week I will bring you joyful stories that will motivate and inspire you, but at the same time, bring order to your everyday life. Let's just say this show will be a mixture of 135 with a kick of motivation from your girl here. Welcome to your Joyful Order Podcast. Hey friends, welcome back. I am here with Trisha Verlard. And Trish, welcome to the podcast. I am so excited to have you here with me today. I'm so glad to be here. Thanks for having me. Now, Trish, we are on this topic of rejection. It is, it's a hard conversation to have. And you have a new book coming out called Redirected, Not Rejected. And I really just want to, um, before we get too much into your book, I want to get a little bit into your backstory. Now, for those that are meeting you for the first time, how would you describe who you are and what God has you walking in right now?

SPEAKER_01 1:59

Okay, so um, you know, for the first part of my life, I felt like I knew God. I walked with God. I was raised in church. I had a great parents that took us to church every time the doors were open. So we were definitely in church. But I did walk away from God for a season, made some bad choices, like some people do. And I ended up in a relationship that was not healthy for me. It was an abusive marriage, unfortunately. But it but and that kind of broke me. I ended up in a place that was dark. And then during that time, God met me there. And so once he met me there, I was about 38. And, you know, that we might not have time to go into all of that story. But the cool thing about that time is that when God touched me, he changed me instantly. And that doesn't happen with everyone. I was really blessed to have that encounter. But God just poured a love inside of me that was unbelievable. It's not human love, it's not a love that you get from a parent or a spouse. It's a love that truly surpasses our understanding as human beings. We just do not know how to love like this. And it changed everything in me. It changed the direction of how I'm going. And so, in a nutshell, Trisha is on fire for Jesus. And she wants to share Jesus with everyone. And that's kind of where I am, and that's who I am. And it's all because that happened um 23 years ago. And so 23 years, I've been on fire for the Lord, living by his spirit and by his word, and just chasing him every chance and bringing everybody with me. I'm gonna bring you all with me. You're gonna go with me.

The Darkest Season And God’s Voice

SPEAKER_00 3:35

So that's who I am. I love it. I think, you know, it's funny because I I think we all kind of go through that season. Like I grew up in the church too. My mama was the one that drug me to church every Sunday, whether I wanted to go or not. She's like, No, you're going to church. And then once I became an adult and I was able to make my own choices, it was only two years for me that I wasn't actively going to church. And I I knew the God, I knew the Lord. I knew that He was there. I never turned away from Him. I just, you know, kind of went and did my own thing too for a little bit and you know, maybe got into a little bit of some things that I shouldn't have been. Um, but thank God for you know praying mamas, right? Like that get you back in. So I I think there's a point that we all kind of uh have that. And then when we came back in, we just for the past 25 years now, I've been completely dedicated to um serving God. Now, can you take us back to that life-changing encounter that you had with God um during one of the darkest seasons in your life? And that's something that you had kind of shared about in your uh testimony.

SPEAKER_01 4:41

Yeah, so um I ended up in a facility, I checked myself in because I no longer wanted to live. I had that that's how dark it got. Um, I was, like I said, in an abusive marriage for over 20 years, and he didn't have a job. I I was ended up being the provider of the family, and I met him when I was 17. I married him when I was 17. So I had a lot of responsibility. And through that, it just eventually broke. You know, um, there was a lot of he was a womanizer, he had gambling problems, he had alcohol problems, drug problems. There's just a lot of history there. But I just couldn't seem to get out of it. I think every time I took us 10 steps forward, he would take us like 20 steps back. And so when I landed in that pit, I I was praying for him to, for God to take his life. I know that sounds terrible, but I was. And when that didn't work, I started praying that God would take my life. And so when I got into that despair part, and I was kind of medicating myself with like alcohol and like different types of pills when I could go to sleep. Just I wanted to go to sleep. And so for like three days I was in bed, three to four days I was in bed just sleeping with either wine or pills. And I finally realized I needed to get help. I was gonna lose my job. And I had a great career in banking, and so I knew I couldn't because I was the the provider for our family. And that was where God met me, is in a hospital, and he met me there, and it was a dark season for me, but his voice was clear. And I remember kneeling beside the bed, which I had done my whole life too. I mean, I never walked away from God completely. I always prayed, I always read my word. I just didn't quite go to church and do the thing. And when I heard his voice, that was the first time I heard it audible. And that was unbelievable to me. And he just said, Trisha, I love you. And I have a plan and purpose for your life in your mind. And in that instant, I was instantly changed. I checked myself out the next day, and I've never been the same. I've never experienced joy like that. I mean, to the point where people were going, Why are you so happy? Why are you so happy? And I'm and I just want to share that that's who Jesus really is. That's who our Lord is. And I think that because I was raised maybe in a church that didn't teach, they taught more of the rules instead of the love. And if we could teach people how much Jesus really, really loves them, and I know it it's not Jesus loves me, this is a different thing. If they could really receive that, it changed their whole life.

When Believers Doubt Your Encounter

SPEAKER_00 7:23

I love that. So good, Trish. Yes. Now I can ask so many questions just from that little, that little bit there. Okay, so Trish, you had said in your um book that encounters are only the beginning. And during your darkest time is when you, you know, encountered God. So what did that journey look like basically after that? You said God brought you so much joy and you know, people could see the change in you, but I'm certain there were more challenges just coming out of that. So can you just kind of explain a little bit about that journey after your encounter with God? Oh, yes, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 8:02

Um, the thing is that people don't receive it, you know, because when you tell something like that, unless they experience it, it tends to be hard to get people to understand that this is real and this this really happens. It seems like the believers of God that are spirit-led more than um maybe the the church kind of scene. I don't know when I don't really want to call it that, but you know what I'm saying? It's just that they don't seem to receive it as well. The ones that know the Bible so well have a harder time believing that than the ones that are led by the spirit of God and that have a relationship with the Lord. There's a difference, you know. And so the scholars maybe not so much. And so I had a challenge with that. And and that even, and that's been an ongoing challenge. And that book that you're talking about was due to a church hurt because I retired about three years ago, it'll be three years in July. And when I retired, I was in banking for 34 years. I was an executive. It was great. I had a great career. But as soon as I retired, I thought, oh, the church is gonna love me. I'm gonna get into ministry. They're all excited about me coming on board, and they're all telling me they can't wait for me to be in their department. And then when it happened, there was nothing. There was no place to go. There really was no seat at the table. What they were saying didn't match what actually happened. And that's where that rejection came in that we're gonna be talking about today. And and I realized that they didn't have a place for me. And I didn't have a seat at the table. So so that was part of the encounter. That was a new thing for me, the difference between what I experienced. The church is us and it's the people.

Church Leadership Conflict And Closed Doors

SPEAKER_00 9:46

So there is a difference there. Yeah, wow. And you know, so my episode that I um recorded for the listeners, if you go back to episode um 123, um, I kind of ended it with a a verse from um the Bible, and I don't have it up in front of me right now as we're talking um the exact scripture, but I ended the scripture with uh Jesus talking to the disciples and telling them basically, if you're gonna take up your cross to walk with me, expect others to hate you the way they hate me. Um and that's all paraphrased. But you talking about rejection from the church within. I think we're seeing a lot of that right now unfold in our world, unfortunately. Um people are, you know, looking to the laws of the book rather than living spirit-filled of how Jesus came to, you know, show us. And it's very difficult when you feel rejection from inside a church, um, the church walls of where you thought, God, this is where you're taking me, you know. So walk, walk us through that moment when you realize that the door that God was opening for you was really not.

SPEAKER_01 11:03

So um, it's funny because I ended up having like some church meetings because I was just ready to get going and I had some church meetings with some leadership, and I realized that they didn't really want um the women's ministry in the and the way that I saw women's ministry and the way that they saw ministry was totally different. And I believe that women can be in leadership. I believe that women have a place. Um, my husband has always been good about saying that, Tricia, you came from my side, you didn't come from the bottom of my foot. And so he says we we partner together, you know, we are one together, which means I need you and you need me. And together we make this perfect, you know, image of Christ, you know, because what you bring to the table, I don't bring. And so so they they have a different, you know, um, approach to that. There was um some squabbling between the women in the church with the pastor's wives. And so they kind of decided they weren't kind of going in that direction. They were gonna go in a different kind of direction, where um just more careful about um letting just women come in. And I think they they just I was a very strong woman. I'm um was an executive, so I have an opinion and I have have ideas and I wanted to share those things. And one of the things I wanted to share was a women's leadership class, and that was asked that that would be done by someone else that they had chosen and and not me. And so I had to respect that. Yeah, and um, and so I wait, was that other person a woman or a man? It was a woman, it was, you know, and so and so and so I had to go, okay, you know, then then I've overstepped my bounds and I had to to go, okay, I'm in the wrong lane. This is not my lane, this is this is not what they want me to do. So I had to back up. And my husband was so sweet, you know, when that happened. Um, there was a lot more to it. There was a uh, and we probably won't have time to get into all of that, but um, but my husband was really sweet and he said, Tricia, you know, when when we go into new houses where we get invited to dinner, he said, Do you go and change all the furniture? And I go, No, I don't go in the house and change all the furniture. He said, Of course not. He said, So you can't go into someone else's church and start changing the furniture and thinking they're all gonna go, oh, this looks so much better. I I wish I would have done this so much sooner. And I and once he said that to me, I was like, Yep, I need to get out. But unfortunately, yeah, it was a great way to do it. And but and I did step out, but unfortunately, there was a lot of other stuff that came from that, a lot of meetings of um, you know, I'm taking my toys and playing, going to play somewhere else. I was accused of being manipulative and conniving and that my ambition was here and my character was down here. And so there was a lot of hurt feelings that came at me because they started attacking me as an individual instead of instead of what I was trying to do, even though I had already backed out of that situation and I had stepped down and said, No, I need to to step down and step back. And and so what that did is created a lot of tension within that church, and we still attend that church. God told me I couldn't leave that church. Wow. You know, and so and so we still attend that church, and he told me to bless and to love, to be kind, and to be who he created me to be in front of them. And so he was redirecting me. Now I can look back and go, if that wouldn't have happened, there wouldn't be a ministry with coffee. There wouldn't be a discipleship program that I started that I have 50 women going through. You know, there wouldn't be another women's class that I'm teaching that has another 50 women going through it. And you know, so you know, I mean, God had fruit for me, but it's outside the church instead of within.

SPEAKER_00 15:09

Yes. And you know, I'll I'll never forget um this you know, I come from a church background also, and uh there was lots of reasons why I had left the church too. For me, it was more that my identity had become wrapped in the role that I was doing, and I had become more of a Martha than a Mary. Um, I was about doing and performing for the Lore rather than sitting at his feet. So God needed to remove me out of that role that was identifying who I was and teach me to learn to be more like Mary and just sit at his feet, you know, and be like, Leslie, it's okay to be still. Um, but with that, there is uh kind of some wrestling that goes on, right? Like, you know, we we wrestle the whole term of like I wrestled with God. So did you in that ever like wrestle or wonder, did I hear God wrong?

Wilderness Healing And Idol Detox

SPEAKER_01 16:07

Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. You know, when when the the leadership said those words to me, you know, I kind of said them lightly, but those were devastating, crushing words for me. You know, um, because when you've been touched by the Lord and all you want to do is serve and love people and to like just show them your Jesus, show them what He's done for you and disciple them and so that they can go out and go make disciples and you're on fire and you just want to just keep, let's just keep going. Let's all keep going. And and then you hear those words that they said to me, they crushed me. And I don't want to just skim over that because it took me 12 months to get through that. You know, that 12 months of crying, 12 months of in the wilderness, 12 months of God, did I hear right? God did I miss it? God am I? Am I those things they said about me? You know, that was shown me, revealed to me. Is that who I am? And he had to walk me through all of that hurt to take me right back to where I was before that happened, but much better, much, much better, you know, because then it was like he said, you know what, there was still some stuff in you that needed approval from men. And now you don't. Wow. And and and I didn't realize it, Leslie, but they were idols to me. I had pastors as idols for me, and I didn't even realize that I had put them in a place of authority. I put them in place of Jesus. Wow. They cannot be in place of Jesus. What he taught me was he took that, it was like I was refined. I mean, I was being purified. He was making me into gold. And though it was painful, it sucked.

SPEAKER_00 18:01

Yeah. I mean, let's be real. I've been there. I know.

SPEAKER_01 18:05

It's terrible. And and you know, in one of the meetings that they they I had, they called it a squeeze meeting. They said we're gonna squeeze me to see what would come out of me. Wow. And that and that process, it was exactly what happened in that 12 months. I was being squeezed, not so much by them, but by the words they said to me. And I had to wrestle with those words for a while before I finally came out to the other side and I went, No, that's a lie from the enemy. Yeah. The enemy was using them to discourage me against the call that God had on me. But the good news is that God used it for good and he redirected me. And so that's why that book came out. It was like, I'm not rejected, I'm just redirected because God has a better plan for me and he wants my eyes on him and not leaders. They're not my shepherd. Jesus is my shepherd. And I think sometimes we give the permission and authority to people that we shouldn't give authority and permission to.

Surrender While Staying In The Room

SPEAKER_00 19:09

That's so good. So good. Um, wow, Trish, I can relate so much to all of that. Um, creating idols, like all of that, the the same thing. Uh, here I was full-time in the church. And I allowed the role um to absorb me. Um, and looking at those that I worked with, that I was getting all the answers from them. Um, and I felt just because I was at a church and I was doing the Lord's work that I since I was always doing God's work, you know, I was children's director, so I wrote Bible, you know, lessons for all the kids every weekend. I I every weekend I had my nose in the Bible, but to take that Bible lesson and teach it to a three-year-old, I wasn't taking that Bible lesson to apply it to my life, you know. So I never looked at spending additional time with God at his feet. Like, and and that's where the whole Mary and Martha story just kept coming up all the time. And God just kept telling me, you're being like Martha, you're being like Martha, you're just doing, doing, doing. And he had to take me out of that. Um, and I had to learn to surrender. And with that, what did what did surrender look like for you in that season, like of you leaving, um, feeling the rejection and feeling, you know, then kind of realizing, you know, this is more of redirection, but you had to surrender to that. So, what did that look like for you?

SPEAKER_01 20:45

That looked like my face planted on the carpet in my bedroom floor with the tears coming down my face and the snot and everything. Um, because it was ugly. It was ugly, ugly. But it was so needed. Yes. It was so needed and so purifying. You know, I'm of course I'm on the other side of it now, so I can go, oh, it's so good. It's so good but but during the time of it, it was not good. It was ugly. And um, when that happens and you're rejected by the staff and the pastors of the church, you know, they they had open and honest communication within their church. They called it open and honest communication. So that means that they could talk about situations or a member or whatever. And um, and it and then they could discuss it like it. So if I was a topic, they could discuss me that there's been some issues with with Trish. So, you know, and so what happens when that happened? I was shunned. And so when we would attend church for the first Oh goodness, probably six months, I would see other people that worked for the church that would actually turn the other direction when they would see me coming. And so, and then God wouldn't let me leave. Wow. God told me to say that, church. And so, and and I'm thankful I did because it really did change a lot of things within side of me. And I think that that God is always working on us, right? You know, he's not saying, Trisha, what about so and so and so and so and so and so. He's always saying, What about you? How can I, how can we get you better so you can go out and do more and do what I've asked you to do and answer the assignments that I've called you to answer. And so he's always looking for ways to get us better so that we can reach more. And but it was a really, it was a really ugly, ugly season, I will tell you. Um, rejection is is not easy, but when it comes from the place that you thought you would be loved the most, the place that you thought would champion your desire to serve the Lord the most, the ones that you thought would partner with you, that would cheer you on, and and but they but they didn't. It's really hard. And and so I I don't want to put that as light because that's not because um I know that there's a lot of people, and I will tell you that it seems like everybody that got hurt from church has contacted me. Like they go, Well, we saw, we heard, we heard what happened to you. Well, that happened to me, or this a similar story happened to me. And so I was able to to listen to their stories as well. And so it was it was healing in that point that I wasn't alone, that I wasn't the only one. Yeah. They were trying to make me be accountable, and I don't know really what to be accountable about.

SPEAKER_00 23:51

Yeah. You know, it's just it's so eye-opening when God um puts you in those types of positions where you do feel like you're being uh rejected, right? And it and it's humbling, and you're you look back and you reflect, okay, what can I take from this? What can what character traits do I maybe need to change? How can I humble myself? What lessons can I learn from this? And you begin to see that, okay, this was redirec redirection. So for me, that's where again going back to the whole Mary and Martha, but it wasn't until after I'd left that I realized, like I knew that my identity was wrapped around it. And there was, there was, I mean, a ton of other reasons why I left also. Um, but I started to like or God started to reveal to me of this is why I I removed you. You know, you you need to learn to be at my feet like Mary and serve me wholeheartedly, not get wrapped around in your role. Um, but it wasn't until after I had left and I I was similar with you in that God still had me stay at the church. Now, mine was very different in how I left. Like it was all, you know, my choice. And um, we stayed very connected to the church for for years after. But that redirection at the time was um it just totally felt like um I I don't want to say rejection because I wasn't rejected from from the church necessarily. It was it was my choice. Um, but I felt like I was rejected from God because then I was like, God, did I not do this your way? Did did I like I almost felt like God was rejecting me from the role that I felt that He had called me to, right? So for you, this was a little bit different. You know, you felt a little bit of rejection from the church, but when did you believe or or let me rephrase that? When did you start to see that it wasn't rejection, but it was redirection of the path where God was leading you?

Redirection Into Ministry Outside Church

SPEAKER_01 26:00

Okay, that's a good question. Um, so what happened is I ended up, I did there's there's so there's several pastors at this church, but one pastor in particular, his wife reached out to me and we were talking and she said, let's go have some coffee. And so we sat down at coffee and I told her that, you know, even though I couldn't teach that leadership class that I really wanted to teach, you know, and we had stepped down too, we were also leaders of the emptiness group that we had, and we had a big, huge group because it's a big church. It's like 6,000 people at this church. So it's a big church, so we had a big group. Me and my husband also stepped down from that because we felt like it, you know, there was just some stuff. So we just felt like, you know, maybe this is time for us to just get out of everything and not just kind of serve like not serve anywhere for a while. We didn't serve anywhere for like six or eight months and then ask God to redirect us on where he wants us to go. And so during this time of seeking God, of where do you want us to go? Or it are we, you know, have we stepped in places we're not supposed to step? Are you leading us here? We're seeking him, we're asking him, you know, where did I get it wrong? You know, you know, did I hear you wrong? Did I hear that voice wrong? You know, so that kind of stuff. And so I only met with her and we did, and we had coffee, and I said, you know, this is what I still want to do. I still want to teach that leadership class for women. And she said, Tricia, she said you should, because if God called you to it, you need to do it. She said, So I want you to picture yourself with our blessing on the outside of the church with your back up against the wall and going out like the disciples into the world and discipling people. And like the 70, when when they sent the 70 out to go out and disciple people, she said, So you're gonna go out. We want you to go out and you have our full support and our blessing. And we love you. We want you to go out and do what God has called you to do. And so that's what I started doing. She said, But start small. And so, and so we started ministry with coffee. And I said, you know what? I'll do a podcast and see this is this is something that was on my heart before. And so I started the podcast, and then I just started seeing what God was doing, and he was opening doors right and left. And so then I knew I was on the right track. You know, there's one thing that I learned from God early on in my walk, and this was through corporate, not so much in this situation, that when you knock on a door and you knock on a door and you try to open the door and you try to bang on the door, it's better that it doesn't open and that you don't force it. You know, like if you're wanting a promotion at work or you've been waiting for that, you know, whatever, that next step on the corporate ladder. If you just wait for God to open that door, it's just easy. It's just there's so much ease to it. But when you start knocking and trying to make it open, it does not work. And so I learned that in corporate. And I knew that also in this with this situation. I knew that I didn't need a bang on the church door. You know, that's why I was backing out way early on because I knew not to do that because I had already learned that in corporate wise. Well, so with this, when I walked out and started it, everything fell into place. The door was wide open. Yeah. And so when I did the cover of this book that that we're gonna that we've been talking about, the the book has two doors on each side closed, but then the door in front of me is wide open. And it's beautiful, and it's like walking into heaven. And that's exactly what God wants us to do. When he redirects us, it's because he has something far greater for us behind the next door. And we're ready. He's prepared like that wilderness and that surrender time and that purifying and go, that was all preparation to get me where he wanted me to go and to prepare me to not look at people to be their my idols and to get my focus on back on him instead of a church. I was looking in the wrong direction. Yeah, I can't say that enough because you're preaching, you're preaching, Trish. Yeah, when you're when you have your eyes on people, places, and things, that's not where your help comes from. You know, God had to get that out of me, you know. In corporate, I had already had that squeezed out of me. Yeah. But in the church, I had not experienced it yet. This was a new area for me. So I had to be taught that lesson again in the church. It's just, it's just the same lesson, it's just in a different environment.

Ministry Beyond The Salt Shaker

Who The Book Is For

SPEAKER_00 30:48

Wow. You know, I as you're as you're sharing all of this right now, um, kind of going back, uh, one of the things that I remember that God kind of showed me during my time when I was like figuring out, am I really going to step away? God, is this really what you're calling me to? You know, but God, I I felt that you called me to ministry, that you called me to do this. And I was so naive and like narrow-minded, thinking that ministry can only happen in the church. And I'll never forget um we had at our church, we have like a little bookstore and a little cafe. And I was in there getting um my drink, my tea or something. I remember standing in in line at the cafe when I was working. And and I don't exactly remember if it was a book or maybe like a series that Christine Kane was doing. And there was a little picture on the counter, and I almost want to say it was one of her books. And it and I remember her message because she had came to our church and spoke and had shared this message about being the salt shaker. And it's it was a picture, blue background. I'm totally remembering this all right now, blue background, and it was a salt shaker and it was being poured out, and you could see like all the salt. And her message was that many times that people think that ministry looks like it's in the church, like it stays in the salt shaker. But God has called us to be the salt of the earth. Like we need to get out of the church to go and do ministry. We need to remove ourselves from the walls that we feel that ministry needs to always be in. No, God called us to the world. And I remember looking at that during this transition time, and that was like a sign and a confirmation from God that He did call me to ministry, but it doesn't just fit inside this church. Ministry, we are called to be the salt and and you know, to the in the light to the earth and all of that. And we're not confined to the salt shaker. We need to get out of the salt shaker. And that's where I think you sharing all of that, it reminded me of that message and of someone's listening right now. And you maybe, maybe you're feeling, you know, like similar to um Trish, where you felt called to minister and you felt that it had to be in the church and you encountered some rejection, what you felt and how Trish turned it into that redirection. So, with that, let's get a little bit into um more talking about your book. You kind of, you know, talk the title of redirected, not uh rejected. So who is this book for, Trish?

SPEAKER_01 33:29

This book is for exactly what happened to me, you know, is for to let people know that when God has called you, no man or person will stop it. He might redo redirect you, but no man or woman will stop it. And I believe that that's where I really want them to understand is that God is gonna work through that. It's a process and you're gonna go through it. But when God has called you to something, he will open the door. We need a wait for him to open those doors. That doesn't mean we're just sitting around twiddling our thumbs, not doing things. The thing that God taught me to do is like pour into other people that are doing ministry outside of the church, start pouring into them, start speaking life into them. Tithing is what he would call it, is like Trisha, tithe into them, bless their ministries, serve them, learn from them, sit underneath them and watch what they're doing, and then go out and try it, you know. And so I think that that's that's something that people need to understand. I think if and we can't receive that rejection, we can't we have to cast off those words, those words that are not from him. You know, even the leadership can be used by the enemy just as well as we your eye can be used by the enemy. So we have to understand that that was the enemy coming in to discourage me and God used it to redirect me, but it could have kept me completely down. If I would have been a young believer, the damage that could have done, you and I both know it could have done a lot of damage. And so, and so I I I write this book because I just hope that it gets in the right hands of people that were maybe a Christian of one or two years that didn't have the experience that I had with the Lord to be able to see clearly or have that relationship where he's speaking to them and they know his voice and that they could get through that. So I want them to have hope that that God has not forgotten them, that he sees them in the pit and that he sees them in the wilderness and that he is going to get them to the next there's a mountain ahead. You're about to climb it, and it's gonna be great. It's gonna be amazing, and God's gonna be with you. He hasn't left you.

Be Unoffendable When Doors Slam

SPEAKER_00 35:43

Yeah, I love that. And you bring up such a good point, uh, Trisha, about a new Christian that is dealing with rejection, especially within the church, too. Um, I've seen it firsthand. Um, having been in ministry for well like 25 years now, uh, there are a lot of people that have gotten rejected within the church. And for the people that I know that basically kind of turned their back on the church after that rejection, uh, they were fairly new believers early in their walk that got rejected and then just took that as a complete rejection from God. And it is important, and even us as um, you know, uh women in faith and in ministry, that it's important that we are very diligent with our words and the people that God has entrusted us with and how we bring them up. And um, you know, the enemy can use both you and I also to say and speak something. So it's constantly putting on that armor of God every single day. And that's why, you know, for my listeners, um, I I think I've shared this before. I pray over every podcast before we go. And if it's a solo podcast, I pray. Um, I got to pray with Trish before we hit record. I pray because I want our words to speak life into people and not allow the enemy to seep in and say things that could hurt people where they feel that rejection, you know. Um, so it's really being diligent of the gift that God gives us, the calling that he gives us, uh, but being guarded up, I think, uh, or I should say armored up, really, to guard our hearts from even just a little, little crack where the enemy can come in. You know, we're we're not perfect though. I I am not perfect. I will fumble my words so many times when God called me to do this podcast. I'm like, God, are you sure? I fought him for like a a year on it. I know, I know. I'm not your girl. I'm not your girl. Very much like you, how you said you're really, you know, strong-minded and opinionated that I'm right there with you. Um, and I'm like, you want to give me a mic? Are you sure about that, God? But that's where, you know, God uses us in that way. So um, Trish, as we begin to kind of wrap up here, I just like what would you say to the woman who just feels like a door was just slammed in their face?

SPEAKER_01 38:28

I would say rejoice. Rejoice. Because God has something even better for you. Because I think that we just have to realize that God loves us so much that if he closes a door, there's just something better. And then I would also say to her, try to be unoffendable. You know, because a look can make you offended, a word can make you offended. But if you can learn to be unoffendable by what people say, our actions, you've won the war.

SPEAKER_00 39:07

Yeah. Oh, I love that. I love that be unoffendable. I think I'm gonna have to quote you on that, Trish. I'm gonna use that now. You have to learn to be unoffendable.

SPEAKER_01 39:19

Absolutely, because if you can, I mean, that's where the hurt comes from, right? If we take offense, if you take offense from somebody that said something to you at church or didn't say something to you at church or whatever, or if they ignored you or they whatever, turned their back against you, then that's on you. Yeah, that's so yeah. But if you know who you are in Christ, guess what? You're unoffendable.

SPEAKER_00 39:48

Yeah, that's your that's your armor, girl. Yes. I mean, we can go back to Jesus. Jesus was never offended by the haters, right? He just kept going. He, the naysayers, the haters, I mean, so much that you know they persecuted him and you know, nailed him to the cross.

SPEAKER_01 40:10

He knew who he was, he knew he was God's son. Yeah. If we really know we're daughters of the Lord God Almighty, yeah, no one can offend us.

SPEAKER_00 40:20

And and and even thinking like when Jesus was nailed to the cross, I mean, he could have cursed all of them out, right? Really, he he could have. And but his his last words were Lord, forgive them, for they do not know what they have done. And he was completely unoffendable. He he did not get offended by what they did to him.

SPEAKER_01 40:44

And he's the only one that has a right to be offended, right? We don't even have a right to be offended. He was the only one that was perfect, and so yeah. So you can see why I choose that because that word after all of this hurt and through that book, that word unoffendable is what saved my life.

Rejection Versus Redirection Mindset

SPEAKER_00 41:04

Yeah. Wow, I love it. And you know, I really, I really want to end there, but I actually have one more question that I want you to answer as I'm as I'm kind of going through my questions here. And I think this is an important one, and I want you to address this because I I don't think that we touched upon how we can tell like our listener that is listening right now how to discern between rejection and redirection. And I I think that's important in this topic here, and I really want the listener to understand what how to discern between the two. Right.

SPEAKER_01 41:44

It's really your attitude. I think it's your attitude. Um, we can receive, we can ex, we can call it rejection, you know, because that's the name that we put on things, whether someone has ignored us or they don't speak to us, or they're no longer our friends, or they don't like our ideas or our suggestions. We call it rejection. We don't have to name it. Let's just rename it redirection instead. And so instead of naming those negative things as rejection, let's change the name. Let's choose our different attitude and say it's not rejection. I'm gonna label it redirection instead. I love it.

SPEAKER_00 42:30

And that's where you named your book, right? That's fine.

SPEAKER_01 42:34

That's when I named my book that exactly. Right there, right there.

Book Details And Where To Connect

SPEAKER_00 42:38

Uh so Trish, tell us about your book. Like when does it come out? When can we get our hands on it?

SPEAKER_01 42:45

So we're hoping it will come out at the beginning of May of 2026. So we were super excited. It's um, it's in the final stages right now. So we believe it will be ready at the first of May, and we hope that everyone reads it. And if you have a friend that feels like they've been rejected, that maybe really they're just redirected, I want you to get this book because it's not just about a church hurt. This is any hurt. This is any situation where you didn't quite fit in, or maybe a door closed. This happens corporate just the same, where you're thinking that you're supposed to have a promotion. You've worked there your whole life, and or maybe you worked there for years in that position and you didn't get it, the next title. So just know that this is for anyone. Love it. And where can listeners uh purchase your book? They can get it on Amazon or they can also get it on my website, which is ministrywithcoffee.com.

SPEAKER_00 43:41

Okay, awesome. And you have a podcast also. So uh besides grabbing your book, share with the listeners where they can connect with you also.

SPEAKER_01 43:51

Yes, if y'all go on ministrywithcoffee.com, you can see our podcast. We're on YouTube, we're on Facebook, we're just we're everywhere like you are, everywhere. You know, so um, and hopefully we'll have Leslie on the show soon.

Closing Prayer And Final Charge

SPEAKER_00 44:04

Oh, thank you. Thank you. Now, Trish, I'm gonna kind of throw a little sidebar here to you because I don't think I I prepared you for this, but I know you're ready for this. I actually just felt led to ask you to guide us in a little closing prayer for the listener. Would you mind doing that for us? And then we'll and then we'll we'll kind of wrap up after. But um just this topic of rejection is just it's so heavy. And I know that there are women out there that are listening that um are in the thick of it right now and maybe are struggling with really changing that language of this is redirection. So I just want to ask them you just say a quick little prayer for them. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 44:47

Let's do that. Okay. So, Father God, we just come to you in the name of Jesus. And I just thank you for the listeners that are listening to this program today. And I want you to reveal to them how much you truly love them, and that your love is so pure and so good, and that what seems to feel like rejection, no matter what form or shape, that it is not, because you are with them and you would never let them be rejected. You have never rejected them. Your hands are open wide for them, and so you will redirect them. And that, Father God, the closed doors are not closed doors. Those are people and places and things that cannot take this person to the next level that they need to go. Father God, you have a higher level for that person. If they feel rejected and you're redirecting them, it's because you have more for them. You're bringing them up higher and that you have a bigger call on their lives. Don't let them believe the lie of the enemy, that you have no purpose for them because that's a lie you do. And just because people, places, and things don't see it doesn't mean you don't see it. So let them see through your eyes what all that you have for them. Encourage them, send them people in their lives that will speak life over them instead of death. And we pray this in the powerful name of your son Jesus. Amen. Amen.

SPEAKER_00 46:19

Oh, thank you so much, Trish. I think I needed that prayer too. Me too. Yes. Well, Trish, thank you so much for being here and for sharing your story just so openly. I know this conversation is gonna bless so many people. And to the listeners, if this episode spoke to you, please share it with a friend and just with someone who really needs that reminder today, especially that closing prayer. And don't forget to leave a review here for the podcast. Go and follow Trish. All of her information is in the show notes. And if more women can find these resources of these conversations, just imagine how uplifting it will be for them. So what feels like rejection is actually God's free direction. Go and get that at Trish's book. And until we see you next time, friends, continue to chase joy. Bye.