The Collapse, the Calling, the Comeback — a Journey of Identity & Faith with Dr. Josephine Ellis

In this episode, family physician and integrative medicine practitioner Dr. Josephine Ellis shares how a moment of collapse became the doorway to clarity, identity, and renewed purpose. We talk about redemption, surrender, whole-person healing, and how God meets us when our plans fall apart. If you’ve been navigating transition, uncertainty, or the feeling of “starting over,” this conversation offers language for your journey and fresh hope for what’s ahead.

Dr. Josephine's contact info:

Website - https://www.drjosephineellis.com/

Email - drjosephineellis@gmail.com 

🎙️Hope Unlocked Listener Exclusive! Feeling stirred but not sure what to do next? Book a 45-minute Holy Spirit-led 1:1 coaching session w/ Hope Unlocked host Kristin Kurtz, founder of New Wings Coaching. This powerful conversation will help you move from stirred to activated—with peace, clarity, & a Spirit-led next step. Book your call HERE now–special pricing to listeners!

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome And Guest Introduction
• 1:44 Josephine’s Early Life And Marriage
• 4:12 Wilmington Beach Encounter With God
• 7:55 Arranged Marriage Realities And Choices
• 11:10 Identity, Justice, And Surrender
• 17:14 Learning To Hear God’s Voice
• 20:44 Community, Mentors, And Prophetic Church
• 24:54 From Transactional Faith To Transformation
• 29:04 Name, Calling, And Redemption Identity
• 33:49 Medicine Meets Spirit, Soul, And Body
• 39:54 Root Cause Thinking And Patient Stories
• 45:14 Parallel Paths In Healthcare And Hope
• 49:04 Vision For Integrative Coaching
• 53:54 Mindset, Weight, And Food Freedom
• 59:24 Simple Habits, Spices, And Meal Ideas

Transcript

SPEAKER_03: 0:16

Welcome to the Hope Unlock Podcast. I'm your host, Kristen Kurtz, and I'm also the founder of New Wings Coaching. I help and empower wild-hearted and adventurous women of faith feeling caged and stuck, unlock their true purpose and potential, break free from limitations, and thrive with confidence, courage, and hope. If you're curious to learn more about coaching with me, head to newwinkscoaching.net and be sure to explore the show notes for ways to connect with me further. Get ready to dive in as we uncover empowering keys and insights in this episode. So tune in and let's unlock hope together. Welcome to the Hope Unlocked Podcast. I'm Kristen Kurtz, your host. I pray this episode is like a holy IV of hope for your soul. Please help me welcome my new friend, Josephine Ellis, to the show. She is a mutual connection of our friend Jennifer Reyes, and I think that's how I say her last name, Reyes. Yeah. And I'm so excited to have Josephine on today. I know that she has such an amazing testimony, first of all, and just even the places that she's been walking in lately. She is a pioneer and a trailblazer. So I cannot wait for her to share more about herself. So would you tell us a little bit about yourself before we get into your story?

SPEAKER_01: 1:29

Thank you, Kristen. It's my privilege to be here. I've been so looking forward to this. I've enjoyed listening to your podcast with all the wonderful women that have been on here. Um so I grew up in India, um, moved to the States, got married. I'm a family practice physician. And then my, you know, I had plans for my life. Yeah, but had different plans. Um, and that's kind of where things went. You know, I thought I um, you know, I got into the school of my dreams back in India, got married to someone that was in a wonderful job. It was like we were set to be the power couple, everything was going great, and I thought, oh, I'm coming to the land of milk and honey. Here we are in the States, life's gonna be good. Um, didn't go quite the way that I thought it would. Um, things fell apart after I came here. Um, the marriage did not last, and it left me like I felt like I was flying high. And then, you know, like when you play snake and ladders, I felt like I got bit by the snake and I was back down to square one. Found myself after two children, residency in a completely foreign country, not knowing a lot of people, and I my life was not what I envisioned. And um, when I, you know, when somewhere about like when I was a few years into all of this, and I was seeking the Lord and praying, um, he really met me on this beach in Wilmington, North Carolina. Okay. I was on the beach by myself for two, three days, and I was just crying out to the Lord at the edge of the water with a Bible, um, and Chip Ingram's book, which is Where's uh God as He Longs for You to See Him. And that was a major milestone in my life, where the Lord really spoke to me and He gave me um, you know, what I felt I needed to hear for the moment to move forward because I felt I had completely failed in my life. Um, my marriage fell apart, I had two young kids, and my career was okay, but I was still I still wasn't happy with where I was in life, and I didn't feel complete, and I needed some answers from the Lord, and that was the point where God became real to me. Wow, wow.

SPEAKER_03: 3:59

Now, at that point, like I would love to back up just a little bit. Like, what did your faith journey like look like when you're growing up? Like, was it did you come to Christ when you're older as a child? Like, what did that look like for you?

SPEAKER_01: 4:13

So I was born in India, I grew up there, um, lived there for the first 25 years of my life. I went to a Christian school, so I knew the Lord. I mean, we were Christian in our family, we went to church. Um, there's a huge Christian community. I don't think people realize that because there are billions of people, and even if that's a minority, there's still millions of people that know the Lord there. So I did scripture reading. I I was I knew off the Lord, but I didn't really engage with the Lord as much. I mean, I grew up in a very secure um family. My my mom, my dad, my sister, and I. I'm the oldest. It was a very loving family, life was good. I just went to the Lord when I needed something. He was like the genie there. I would go right. I just need this Lord. It was very transactional, and that was the end of it. I didn't really have a relationship. Um, I didn't, I had I struggled a little to get into med school. There's a lot of backstory. I med school was my dream. I got into my the college of my dreams a year after I wanted to, and that was like a big setback. That was the first time I'm like, okay, I can't do everything. There's a God that you know I need to go to. Um, there are forces in the world that I didn't understand. That was my first experience with that. Um, and then the second experience was my marriage. Um, we I had an arranged marriage. I did not, you know, get to, we just spoke on the phone for several days. That is the culture in most of the world. Um, I met my uh then husband just the day before I got married, moved to the US, um, you know, within a week of getting married, and everything fell apart here. And that's where I really started seeking the Lord because on the one hand, I had everything. I thought, okay, I'm a doctor, I'm pretty sad, I'm doing well, but there were things coming against me that nobody could fix. Um, you know, they I felt powerless. And I think that really was my journey to the Lord. Because I I think that's true of most people. I think if we found a different way to fix things, we could.

SPEAKER_03: 6:35

Right, right. Well, can I ask you a question? And I've often thought of this, but I maybe haven't had an opportunity to ask this question before. You're you're coming into an arranged marriage. Did any did anything in you say, I don't want to do this? Like, what would happen if you said no? Like, could you have said no? Does that make sense?

SPEAKER_01: 6:59

Yeah, yeah. And there were people I said no to. So it's it's very different.

SPEAKER_03: 7:06

Like culturally, like, is it it's not not it's not like you can like hear, like, I'm not really interested. Like, I'm just curious, like how that all pans out.

SPEAKER_01: 7:18

Yeah, it's almost like a job interview when this happened before. Like, I mean, you know, the world is different now, so many years later, but then it would be we would just have like a um, we would have like um like a bio that you would give to an agency, and then the bride side would do that, the groom side would do that, and then people would get together and say, Okay, should we move forward? And then they talk. And if the parents are okay, then the bride and groom get together. It's very different than here, and there is no like emotions or you know, falling in love. You fall in love after you get married. Okay, it's it's completely wild.

SPEAKER_03: 8:00

Now, obviously, like your parents they would did they have an arranged marriage as well? Yeah, and they're still together now.

SPEAKER_01: 8:08

Yeah, they are yeah, they've been married for 52 years and going strong.

SPEAKER_03: 8:12

Wow. Have you found that I know I'm asking some questions that I'm I'm just curious about. Like, have you found many people that um have had arranged marriages that have worked out, like truly worked out?

SPEAKER_01: 8:27

Um, a lot of people do. I don't know the truly worked out part. I think the more you know the Lord and the more you walk with the Lord, the more the less likely you are to accept certain things because you have been set free. And I think that makes the difference. Um I think there are a lot of people that do settle down where they're at, and they just realize either I don't have the fight in me or I'm just gonna compromise. Um and I think the journey ends there, but yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 9:04

Yeah, it's such a it's so thank you for sharing more because I I have wondered and I haven't met anybody that had an arranged marriage before. Um, and I'm so thankful to hear that like it sounds like you had this moment in Wilmington that was like was that a catalyst for you, you know, really experiencing true freedom then.

SPEAKER_01: 9:25

Oh, totally, yeah. I I basically felt like I had a chip on my shoulder, and I said, Lord, what did I ever do to deserve this? Like lots of people get married and they don't end up having a broken marriage. And you know, the culture I grew up in, it's a culture that celebrates um success. Um, divorce is not success. A marriage that is broken is not success. Um, it's a very Greek culture, like you know, it is like how well are you doing in your career, and you know, how high are you flying in terms of life? Like, and so that was like it felt like I was a failure. But on that beach, the Lord really spoke to my heart because I had to figure out if this is if this God is true, then there should be justice. And this doesn't look like justice to me, but God's justice and our justice really the way we understand things don't mesh together like that. Uh, God had to give me an understanding of identity and purpose and what his plans were for my life. Um, I think the biggest thing was that I had a plan for my life that really didn't flow with where God wanted me to go. This was his way of saying, Josephine, pay attention to me. Um and I I I think he knew exactly what I needed um to get my attention, and that's really what happened. I think um, I think if I had had a different kind of marriage, I would have settled in. I would not have pushed deeper, I would not have had um the fire that I had. I think the situation that I was in, because God knew what he put in me when he made me, and the circumstances of my life forced me to come up higher and give me the fire for the Lord because I I wouldn't settle in. Yeah, I couldn't make peace with where I was at. And I I just needed more. And really that was it. That was what drew me to the Lord. That's so amazing.

SPEAKER_03: 11:39

And was it like, did you feel like you like heard his voice prior to that moment, or was that like a a really like how do you like how did you hear his voice that day, or or was it like an impression? Or I know people might be wondering, like, well, how how did she know on that particular day? Like, what did you hear specifically?

SPEAKER_01: 13:13

It was like a journey over several years, right? I think. Um, so growing up, I did know some scriptures, I memorized them, I just didn't apply a whole lot of it. God was very distant. I had this image of almost like the school principal where you get punished if you do something wrong. He was never the loving father that I know him now as. Um, it was a completely different relationship. So through the years, as circumstances like as I adulted, yeah, had different things that happened to me. Um, you know, that I came to a foreign country. Initially, I had a lot of visa issues, my marriage was falling apart, my job was tough, I had two kids that I had to take care of. There was a lot of things that I really needed to listen to the Lord for because there was my issues could not be fixed by people around me. So I had to press into the Lord. And that's when I started hearing him, because I'd get up in the morning and spend time with him, read the word, and he'd start speaking to me. And the scriptures would jump out at me, and the Lord will start speaking to me when I heard somebody preach, or I heard a song and it was speaking to my spirit. I think the more I invested in my spirit, the more I heard the Lord. I could hear him clearly. Um, and then there were things in my soul, which is the mind, will, and emotions that uh needed healing, but I had to get my spirit right first with the Lord. And then that brought about the healing in the soul and then my physical body.

SPEAKER_03: 14:45

Yes, that's so good. I I just love just even how you're explaining this, because I I think sometimes people are like, Well, I don't hear him. I don't, I just don't hear him. Have you heard that from people before?

SPEAKER_01: 14:57

Oh, totally. I I've definitely heard that. And I was in this church before where they did this exercise that I still remember all these years later, um, there was this lady who basically had her eyes closed and all of us had to go speak. And she could tell who was talking. And the only reason she could tell was because she had a relationship with them, she knew who it was. And that is the key. I mean, if you take make the time and sit down with the Lord, he will speak to you. You will know it.

SPEAKER_03: 15:31

Yeah. It's it's building that relationship. One thing that you said I really want to kind of jump back to a little bit. There were things in your life that, you know, basically couldn't be solved by another person. But during that time of, you know, a lot of trauma and turmoil, did you have people that you could talk to? Did you have people that um weren't necessarily going to solve the problem, but did you have community around you that you could talk to about what you're walking through?

SPEAKER_01: 15:58

Oh, totally. Yeah. The Lord, I I think when I look back and on where my life has been, it's amazing to me how the Lord knew what I would need and he had those people at every step of the way. Like my parents, the way they raised me to be strong and confident and the love that they had, have, continue to have for me, the way they raised me. I think that was so crucial in the years of like how I was growing up that it kept me strong through the years of where things were very difficult. And then my uncle is my spiritual father. He, when I went through a lot of stuff, I remember I was at my uncle's house and I was listening to this preacher from India. He was teaching about Elroy, the God that sees you, and about how uh Hagar and Ishmael and how Hagar cries out to the Lord, and he makes a way for her and for Ishmael. And I remember it broke me when I listened to that because I was in a similar place in my life where I felt nobody could take care of things. And I'm like, Lord, if you can take care of her, surely you see me. And that's how that was one of my first interactions with the Lord. And my uncle and my aunt spent hours pouring into me. Um, I got connected with a church that was very prophetic. I got my feet wet, where we get into these worship uh sessions where the spirit of the Lord would move amazingly, and I would feel the Lord speak to me. I remember at the first church service I went to, I cried like a baby. And I hated when the when the preacher said, Oh, everybody get up and greet each other. I'm like, I don't want to greet anyone. Not yet.

SPEAKER_03: 17:42

I'm like crying. My makeup's all messy. I don't want to do this. Let me transition a little bit. Oh, wow. I mean, have you noticed that though? Like you're you're having this moment with the Lord, and it's really hard to transition from like, okay, we we can't move from this moment yet. Like you're in that moment. It's like, okay, now move on to the next thing.

SPEAKER_01: 18:06

You're like, wait, wait. Yeah, totally, totally.

SPEAKER_03: 18:11

So you had um, is your uncle in the states then?

SPEAKER_01: 18:15

Yes, he's in the states and he's in California, he's a full-time minister.

SPEAKER_00: 18:19

Oh, wow.

SPEAKER_01: 18:20

Was all all around the world preaching, and yeah, he led me to the Lord powerfully. I knew of the Lord, but his impact was great in my life. Um I wouldn't be where I am without all the hours that they spent. That's so amazing. Praying me through.

SPEAKER_03: 18:37

Yeah. So what age did you like when when did you have that like um you know, moment, I would say, like that really started to change the trajectory of your life?

SPEAKER_01: 18:49

So I was 25 when I came to the States, and um, I was just married, had a child like a year or so later. I was trying to navigate the healthcare system here. So through those years, it was like between 25 and 30, that's when I started really pressing into the Lord because life was getting harder for me. And I needed to hear him clearly. By the time I was 30, I think um it was things were at its worst. Um, my second child, my son, was born in the middle of residency. Um I really, really needed to hear the Lord. And a year after that, my marriage fell apart. So that as my world was breaking down around me, my spirit was going growing stronger with the Lord. Um, and that that's the stark contrast, right? Because you think you're going down with everything that's happening around you, but the Lord is building you up the right way.

SPEAKER_03: 19:47

Yes, that's so true. Can you can you say that again? I feel like somebody really needs to grab onto that.

SPEAKER_01: 19:53

Well, no matter how it looks around you in the physical, the Lord is building your spirit up, even in the midst of all the chaos that you see. And that's what he did for me. And I'm sure he's gonna do it for whoever's listening to this.

SPEAKER_03: 20:06

Yes, yes. We mentioned, like we were talking a little bit before we got started, and you mentioned your your lifeline verse. Was that something that came during that season?

SPEAKER_01: 20:19

Yeah, I was seeking the Lord for my marriage. Um, we went to a counselor, I was fasting and praying, and I will I was desperately hoping the marriage would be restored. And at that time, the verse that came to me was Isaiah 43:19 Behold, I do a new thing. Um, do you not perceive it? Uh, I will make roadways in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. And at that time, I thought it would be the restoration of my marriage because that's what I wanted desperately. I wanted things to work out so I could go back to my life. I had a plan. Right. And it didn't quite work out that way. And it truly was a new thing that the Lord was doing in each season in my life. Um, the while the marriage fell apart, and there was a season of where I had to work on myself, I had to go through a lot of healing. Um, Lord helped me actually know who I am. I think identity is key. In preparation for what he would want me to speak on today, I was I was seeking the Lord, and it's that same chapter in Isaiah, um, Isaiah 43, the first verse talks about Jacob, how Jacob was formed, um, but Israel was created. And I feel like when I was born, I had an identity. My parents named me, had a plan for me. I had a plan for myself. But when I came to the end of myself, and there was a moment where I had to ask the Lord, who am I, Lord? Why am I going through these things? What is my purpose here? That's when I feel um I was transformed and he was creating me to be who I'm supposed to be, giving me glimpses of that. Um, so Jacob the deceiver becomes Israel, um, you know, who then has all the 12 tribes that come out of him. That story is so beautiful about how he goes from that. And I had to laugh. I was reading it this morning because when Jacob first interacts with the Lord, it's also transactional. Well, he says, Oh, you do all this for me, Lord, and I'll do this for you. Like you can do things. And I was that, I was totally that. I'd be telling the Lord, oh, you do this for me, and I'll do this for you, and we're good.

SPEAKER_03: 22:39

Yeah, yes. Well, and I just, you know, based on like everything you're sharing, I think so many people maybe are even in that season right now where um this journey of you know, surrender and like I do talk to a lot of people that are like, I don't really know my identity, like his identity for me. I don't really know his purpose for me. So based on like, I would love to hear based on, you know, as you're growing up, like who did you think you were and who did he now show you you are? Like who who's Josephine compared to who you were before and what did he create you for? That contrast.

SPEAKER_01: 23:20

So when I was growing up, I my goal was to be a doctor, and then I got married um to an engineer when I first moved here. And so my view of who I was was different. Um, and Josephine literally means the Lord will increase. Wow. I I had no idea what that was. My life certainly didn't look like anything was increasing when I, you know, um started getting serious with the Lord. My world was falling apart, my marriage was broken, um, I wasn't doing well. I had, you know, I had visa issues, I had things that were totally mind-blowing for me. And I thought, where is the increase, Lord? Right. But as the Lord rebuilt me to be who I am, I'm not defined by the failures that happened in my life. Um, you know, there were things I did that were not right, and there were things that uh my my husband then did that were not right. Um, but God takes all those broken pieces where you make a mess of things and he redeems you. And I think that is the story. My the identity I have in the Lord is my story of redemption. That what wherever I was, I am a daughter of the king and I am not destroyed by my past. Um the Lord has rebuilt me to be somebody that can be um that can give hope to people like me. Like, I mean, if you were flying high, or even if you weren't, if you've had major failures in your life, God can take every broken piece and put it together like you can't believe it. And that story of redemption is our identity. I mean, the Jesus coming to the world to redeem the world that Adam destroyed, and that that is all the gospel is about. I mean, knowing who we are and taking back what the enemy has stolen. Um, whether it's your health or whether it's your life in you know, in all of that. I my other favorite scripture is John 10:10.

SPEAKER_02: 25:28

Um, yes.

SPEAKER_01: 25:30

It the abundant life, that's what we're called to live. My identity and all of our identity that know the Lord is in the abundant life. But I feel most of our journey, wherever we start, is walking towards that identity. And once you know who you are in the Lord, then your purpose becomes very clear. Um, but getting to that identity, that is a challenge. Yes.

SPEAKER_03: 25:55

So, you know, speaking of even just the work that you do, like as a physician, I would say like a healer. Um, and now he's been um, you know, showing you more about your identity and the ways that he's created you. Um, have you realized anything on this journey that um, you know, in the work that you're doing, has he shown you anything since you've had this like awakening, I guess you could say?

SPEAKER_01: 26:21

Mm-hmm. So when I started becoming a part of the church, it was it was fascinating to me that people really didn't want what I was offering. I most people didn't want the medications. They'd be like, nope, I'm good. Uh give me something else. So I started looking at other alternatives, and that's how I got into lifestyle medicine, um, which is food as medicine, but that didn't quite cut it. And then I started looking at integrative medicine, which looks as the at the body as a whole, um the spirit, soul, and body piece. And I found that some the church does very good with the spirit and soul part, not so good with the body part. And the secular world does really good with the body part, they don't focus on the spirit and soul as much, but you need all of it. Yeah, if your spirit is not right, it doesn't matter how many pills I give you or how many miles you run, uh, you definitely wouldn't thrive like you should. And that's what I see a lot in the healthcare system. We, you know, we're limited by what we can do. We can't really heal the whole person like that, um, where you touch the spirit, soul, and body parts.

SPEAKER_03: 27:32

Yes, that is I I can imagine how challenging it would be because I I I was in you know the healthcare system for quite some time. And I just love um even since I was young, I've always been into like health and wellness and just love researching everything. And then I had kind of an awakening moment years ago where you know there was different things, and I was being kind of flung around the system, told I couldn't have kids, and I have two, you know, young men, and just realizing that there was um like root cause. Like, what why are you giving me a medicine? Like I started questioning because I was like, well, I didn't go to school to be a doctor. This was my my process for a long time. Like, I didn't go to school for a doctor, and I just am gonna trust that somebody is knowing what the best case scenario is for me. And then unfortunately with medicine, it's like, okay, well, one medicine has a side effect, so then you need another medicine for the side effect, and then it just kind of becomes this domino effect. And I just did a lot of research, and I just love I call it the supernatural side of wellness, where literally it's supernatural, but it's also supernatural. Where I learned even through um, you know, a diagnosis of Hashimoto's that you can help reverse things with foods and different lifestyle things. And I was just fascinated. Um, what I guess what would be something that you've learned along the way? Kind of you you've got a very um interesting perspective because you're literally in, you know, what I'm saying, like what has been the most um fascinating piece that you've learned along the way um since kind of learning more about the integrative side.

SPEAKER_01: 29:28

Um so the challenge I see now for where we're at is that we're in the age of information. There is like so much information. Like, I mean, you could literally ask Chat GPT anything, and it's mind-blowing the answers it gives you. You could search out anything, but I don't think we are made to just have that information, but that information has to become revelation for you. How does that apply to you? Um, that personalized medicine, right? Like, okay, in general, if somebody comes in, like um, you know, they have migraines or acid reflux, and they're I'm giving them medication for that. And I would just give them medication before, but now I ask people a lot more like, what's your life like? What do you eat? What stresses are you dealing with? Um, so the medicine will take care of the symptom, but where is the source of everything coming? Um, and that I think is key. I think where we're moving forward, understanding um that there is like the root of some of everything you may be dealing with maybe somewhere else. I think that for me as someone that diagnoses and treats, that's very fascinating to me. It's like peeling the layers of an onion. That people come in with a complaint, and then I start digging. Okay, so let's do this, you know, let's like fatigue. I see people all the time, brain fog fatigue. So we go down blood work, we do sleep study, you know, we look at are you depressed? Are you anxious? And there's a lot of things that come out in that process. And sometimes there's people that have like a thyroid issue. Or they're anemic, or you know, there's a reason for the fatigue, or they have sleep apnea where they're not sleeping good and they're tired the next day. But sometimes it's something deeper. They're just not satisfied. Your spirit is not at peace. And there is a soul sickness because there are things, there have been things that have happened to you in your life that no medicine is going to fix. You, you know, like, and if you don't take care of it earlier in life, then you definitely see it later on, where people struggle with who they are and they can't even verbalize it. And that to me is the most fascinating part of medicine, trying to solve that puzzle. Is it a physical piece? Is it a soul, is it a spirit piece? And then how do we fix it?

SPEAKER_03: 31:59

Yeah, absolutely. Well, I love that you know, you have you've you go deeper with people. Um, I don't know. I've I've been I've always just been really fascinated and so thankful if you find like a physician or a physician's assistant or somebody who's willing to like sit down with you longer. Um, my son has an eye doctor, and I try to make the appointment in the morning right away because she'll just like talk with you and ask more questions and want to know more. Um, you know, for example, you know, my physician's assistant, she sits longer, will ask questions, dig deeper, because she she's she's got the you know, Western medicine, but she also has that integrative side, which I'm so thankful for because that's where the healing happens, I believe.

SPEAKER_01: 32:51

Totally. Would you say? I yeah, um, I think it was eye-opening for me doing integrative medicine and um getting a taste of different um ways of medicine, like Ayurvedic or homeopathic, or it's interesting how different fields of medicine look at how the body is and how they integrate everything. And I feel like we're we're kind of very narrow when it comes to us here. We just focus on a few things, and we definitely have to expand beyond that um and look at the bigger picture. I feel that's where medicine is going. And for that, I'm excited.

SPEAKER_03: 33:31

Yes, I do too. Like I just keep, I just keep having this vision of like parallel systems coming up, even like a parallel system of health insurance. Like I had somebody, a friend of mine, she said, I don't I don't have health insurance. I have health assurance from the Lord. I'm like, that is a word right there.

SPEAKER_01: 33:51

It is, it is. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_03: 33:53

Um, you know, just even something that would maybe reward you for, you know, having you know, lifestyle of you know working out and eating well and not having to pay like thousands of dollars each month for you know what I mean? Wouldn't that be great?

SPEAKER_01: 34:10

That would be great. That would be great. I would love that. Yeah, it's hard to even envision that world. I know, considering where we are, but yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 34:21

So what are you looking most forward to? Like as you because how much longer do you have in school?

SPEAKER_01: 34:28

Um, so I'm doing my fellowship. I graduate in uh January. Um and after that I'll be able to incorporate more of that. Um I still plan to be in family practice doing my regular job, but I'm branching into coaching with integrative medicine so I can talk about you know the other aspects that I don't get to talk in the in the clinic. Um, so I have, yeah, I'm almost at the end. So it's been very interesting.

SPEAKER_03: 35:00

And there's like there's no problem with you doing your own coaching and your own business outside of that, right? Correct. Yeah, which is amazing. So, how about your vision for that?

SPEAKER_01: 35:10

So, my vision for that is um spending time with people and trying to figure out, you know, what why you're stuck where you're stuck. So I've had an issue with my weight most of my life. Um, I've dropped the weight, gained the weight. I never could like keep it off. But a lot of what I was dealing with, and I had to go really deep into like I would do everything they're telling me to do in seasons. You know, I had my moments where I wouldn't do stuff, um, but tracking your calories, doing weight watchers, exercising, taking medication, and still not seeing the scale budge at all. But a lot of it for me was the way I viewed food. I had a very unhealthy relationship with food, and I had some limiting beliefs of how I needed to eat three times a day, or you know, like was from growing up, that's the way I was. I had to eat, or if I something bad would happen, and I would literally get like hangry if I don't eat. I had to dig deeper and figure that part out, and I think that really was liberating for me. So for me, it was um it was the emotional part of it, it was identifying the specific triggers and then realizing you're not going to die if you don't eat the meal, and actually figuring out my hunger cues and bringing those back. So I eat when I'm hungry, I don't have to eat three meals a day. I nourish my body with good things, not just things that make me um feel good for the moment, but then I'm gonna regret later. It was a whole mindset shift that that helped me the most. And so I'm very interested in helping other people that maybe are stuck because I can relate to people that struggle with a lot of things, and they may not even know what's really holding them back because they may not have processed through that. Um, that that's the fun part of medicine. That's exciting.

SPEAKER_03: 37:07

Like, so you've seen a lot of breakthrough just even in your own body, like releasing the weight. Is that kind of what's happened now?

SPEAKER_01: 37:16

Yes, yeah. I've been working at it. Um, and it is really the mindset for me. And there's always this fear of Lord, am I gonna have a bad day? But it's okay to have a bad day and come right back. Yeah, it's not gonna be perfect, right?

SPEAKER_03: 37:32

But what would be a bad day? Like what can constitutes a bad day?

SPEAKER_01: 37:36

Where I don't have any control and I eat the things that I want to eat that don't make me feel good. Like I, you know, Indian cooking is very much carb-heavy. Um, it's not, I mean, you can balance the stuff. So I have a taste for certain things. So finding those things here and making the meal that would be um more nutritionally balanced is a challenge. And with my life being busy, I have to prep ahead of time. Um, so if I'm if you're really like set in how you're going to eat and what you're going to eat, sometimes that's a challenge. So I have to prep I have to be flexible and give myself some grace on days when it doesn't go so well, and then I'll start the next day. So where I'm like eating, you know, whatever leftover I have because that's all I have. Yeah, all the time I have for that.

SPEAKER_03: 38:25

Yeah. Well, I'm just kind of curious since you do have you know a fuller lifestyle and you're going to school, you you're, you know, a doctor, and you're I don't know how old are your kids now?

SPEAKER_01: 38:37

Um, they're my daughter will be, she was born in 2001. So she'll be 24 this year, and my son is he'll be 21 next year. Okay.

SPEAKER_03: 38:50

So you're not like having to really take care of them at this point anymore.

SPEAKER_01: 38:53

Well, okay. They're young adults, which is a beautiful thing, right? So my husband fends for himself for a lot of days, so I'm not forced to cook, which also takes the burden away from what am I gonna cook for dinner? What am I gonna eat for lunch?

SPEAKER_03: 39:08

Right, right. So, how do you like you mentioned kind of getting yourself prepped for, you know, I don't know how long you're at at work, but um, what would you recommend to somebody who, you know, I'm just thinking of somebody who's like, I don't have time to eat healthy. I just don't, I don't have time to eat healthy, I don't I don't even know what to make, I don't know what to do. You know, our our grocery stores kind of bombard you with package convenience frozen foods. How would you help somebody to like kind of view things in a different light?

SPEAKER_01: 39:42

Yeah, so I have come to realize that the way that you were raised and how you view things plays a huge part in that. So I'm not going to shift somebody right away. So you pick one thing and you work on it little by little. So for me, it has to taste good and I have to be able to get it really quick. Yeah. If those two things are not there, I'm probably not gonna keep doing it. So I have decided for me, I'm gonna work on the three to five fruits and vegetables in a day. Some days that's a smoothie, some days that's the raw vegetables and fruits. So then I don't have to do a whole lot. It's easy. I shop over the weekend and I just take that, and then I'll figure out what I'm gonna do for the lunch and dinner. Um, I also work on my eight cups of water. I don't think any of us know how much water we need, but at least that. Yeah, those healthy habits like that, and I try not to eat processed. I'm very, very uh sensitive to sugar. Um, you know, it it's not good, and sugar isn't everything. Um you really do have to be careful, but then I won't give up my coffee. I love my coffee. I have to be careful. So I don't put sugar, I just have like uh cream in it. Um, so it's like you know, letting my taste buds getting used to something else and seeing how I like that. It's giving yourself grace and just picking one thing and working on that for however long it takes to master it, and then picking a new goal. Um, it works great if you have like an accountability partner or somebody that's you know there for you, then you tend to do it much better, but you could do it alone just by yourself, you depending on how motivated you are.

SPEAKER_03: 41:32

Yeah, well, I love that, like just the grace over it as well, and then and just this reminder to people like it takes time, right? It's not an overnight, like what I'm hearing you say is don't try to like go into your kitchen and your refrigerator and like throw everything away and start like just go to the grocery store and overhaul everything. Like, there's a process to this, right? Kind of this pace of grace, okay. One thing at a time, master that. I would agree. Like, I kind of went through that myself years ago. Um, I I don't like a lot of like out there the dye, like diet, like spell dye tea. Like, no, I don't I don't really want to like just eat plain boring food. Like it, like you said, it has to taste good. And you can make food that is extremely nourishing for your body. And wouldn't you say it, it takes at least for me. I ended up buying a bunch of spices. I never really used spices when I first like started cooking and got married and started finding recipes. I'm like, oh my gosh, it needs a spice. Yeah, salt and pepper.

SPEAKER_01: 42:48

Let's do something about that. Would you say too? Oh, totally. Growing up in India, we had spices galore. My food has a ton of spices in it, ginger, garlic, turmeric, everything that decreases inflammation, that's great for your body. Um, so I grew up on that, I love that. But those formative years where you're growing up, how you view food, what your family ate, that is like ingrained in you. So if you're going to go different than how you were raised, it's going to take a lot. And I think that's the part that sometimes people don't understand and they think they fail, but you will get there. It's just going to take time to get to where you want to be. It's definitely not happening overnight. And it shouldn't set unrealistic goals.

SPEAKER_03: 43:36

Yes. Well, what would be this is a question because I love I love Indian food. Um, what would be like a favorite recipe that you've put together that is really nourishing for your body? That you've maybe kind of like taken something that was one thing, but you kind of flipped it to be really nourishing and delicious and also you know helpful to your body?

SPEAKER_01: 43:59

So I love eating a lot of vegetables. Um I grew up in South India. We had very different spices. We use like tamarind, which has this tangy taste. I there is it's not so there's things I like that are not nourishing, but that are more like soul food on rice that are bad. And then there are things that I have turned into really good things that are balanced. So um, around Thanksgiving, I don't, I'm not a huge fan of turkey, but I can do ground turkey. So I make this one pot meal of ground turkey, which has ginger, garlic, turmeric, um, and onions, and every spice that I can think of, like coriander and cumin. Um, and you put a bunch of um veggies in it and the ground turmeric, and you know, find the best meat that you are comfortable with. And that's a one-pot meal that you can do with either bread or rice that I would feel good about eating because it has all the veggies in it, it has your protein in it, and it has the spices in it. And it's simple to make and it tastes great.

SPEAKER_03: 45:05

I love it. Um, and it sounds pretty simple too. It is, it's how long, how long does it take you to make it, would you say?

SPEAKER_01: 45:12

Not long, 20-25 minutes. If the turkey is, you know, like the ground turkey is thought out and stuff, then it doesn't take long at all.

SPEAKER_03: 45:19

Yeah. I mean, would you say people are like, I don't have time for that? I just don't have time for that.

SPEAKER_01: 45:24

Um, sure, but um, I like I tell people the biggest investment is you. Yes. You have to invest in you. Um, like I tell my patients all the time, I mean, I can give you all these medications to sustain you, but you're not really thriving. And you have to make time for those things that matter. And you don't have to take a lot of time. Maybe you can't do the ground turkey. Can you throw things in a blender and do a smoothie? Um, can you do it on the weekends so you have at least one meal you're going to do good with? Like, you know, what do you like eating that's good and fresh that you can put together that maybe for a month you just work on one meal a day and then you figure out other things that you can get right? So you just have to pick what works for you, your taste buds, and your lifestyle, but you can't bypass investing in you. You have to make time for you. That's such a word. Say that again. Um, you can't bypass investing in you, you have to make time for you.

SPEAKER_03: 46:27

Yeah. And I want to stress, you have to make time. Like make time. Literally, you have to set aside the time. We all have time. Look at, I mean, I remember somebody was like, go look at your phone and see like how many hours you're spending on YouTube or social media, or I mean, because that that's really that that's our world right now, right? We're kind of like sucked into the phone. Pull yourself away. Um, what did you say? Like, we we actually have time.

SPEAKER_01: 46:59

We do. I and I have had to put the do not disturb, um, you know, the focus. I have to set the focus where I don't get any notifications at work because it's very distracting. And I can't tell you how many people come thinking they have ADD because they can't shut the phone off. Um and it's crazy to me. But they would go on a medication and you know, go that route rather than actually. Now, some people definitely have an issue and they need to be on medications, but not everyone. I feel like if there's alternatives to medicine, then you want to go that route first. Um, so that is one of the ways I have to shut that down. Like, I think whatever your personality is, for me, I remember there was one time where I was so busy, I had to literally put do laundry instead of time on it because I couldn't get to it. I I actually do that. That is pretty bad. I that was like a I mean, that's that's good that if you get to it, but that was just not getting done in my life at that season to do that. So I have to make time, unless I put time down and say, I'm gonna do this in this place on this day, it never happens. Like I show up at work and they get you know so many hours with me. Um, I have to make time on my schedule and say, I'm gonna do this for me until you get to that place, you're not quite ready to make the change. So that's going to be harder.

SPEAKER_03: 48:27

Yes. Well, being that you're doing all the work that you're doing and you're you're helping so many people, how how do you rest in your life? What does that look like for you?

SPEAKER_01: 48:39

My favorite thing to do is spending time with the Lord. I think that that makes me happy in a place that I can't even begin to describe. Um, you know, like just getting quiet with the Lord and um letting him love on you. Um that nourishes my spirit and reading scriptures or you know, like the promises that he's given me through the years or difficult seasons that I have been through where he's come through for me, you know, like how David after Ziklag had to strengthen himself in the Lord. He had to go back and remember the things the Lord did. I love doing that for my spirit. Um, for my soul, which is my mind, will, and emotions, I have to process things out with the Lord when something bad happens, or I didn't, I don't always like the way the Lord does things. I'll come right out and say that. I understand, yes. Sometimes they don't make sense, right?

SPEAKER_03: 49:39

No, it doesn't in our in our playbook.

SPEAKER_01: 49:42

Yeah, totally. I agree with that. I I have to sit down with the Lord and say, I really didn't like the way that went. I felt like, like even you know, my marriage that fell apart for years I would have dreams of me being like naked and exposed before people because that's how I felt. I felt like I wasn't in a good place, like I was exposed with what happened to me in my life. But that I had to process that through with the Lord. There is, you know, like those things were allowed to happen for a purpose in my life, some of which are still being revealed. And I had to get to the place where I was not bitter or angry about it and accepted that God knows best. So that process, like I I have had to work through where I just want to go worship because my soul is like stuck and I'm angry with the Lord. But then I started processing. Okay, if I don't talk to him, it's not going to get better. So I will definitely say I'm much better than I used to be, where I just there there are seasons like there was a season where like two or three people died that I did not like around COVID. It totally broke me. And I the those seasons of processing and worshiping with the Lord was just tears. All I did was just cry in his presence. And you know, there was a season I had to walk through that, and then I got better. And then I I love for the physical um body part, I love just taking walks. It's a beautiful time of the year, the leaves are turning, it's crisp but not cold yet, like that. Um, and there's you know, fall everywhere. I I it's taken me a long journey to enjoy the season that I'm in because I used to dread fall before. So I just have different things I try to do. Um, but a lot of it I being out of nature makes me very aware of the Lord and the seasons that we're in. So I just have to find different things to nourish my spirit, soul, and body. That's what I like doing.

SPEAKER_03: 51:45

That's beautiful. I love how you like even have it, you know, it's not just kind of a covering, but you're like narrowing it down to each like the spirit, soul, body. That's beautiful because we we're we're different aspects, different aspects need different things, right? Surely, yes. Yeah, right. So, what is um, I don't know, I feel like just asking you like, what is your favorite worship song lately that you've had on repeat?

SPEAKER_01: 52:11

Oh, every season the Lord wakes me up with a different song. Um you know, my mom had surgery not that long ago, and there was a song, it's an Indian song, that he gave me in my spirit, which is about you know the seasons of life that we're in. A few years ago, my dad had surgery, and there was a song for that season. Lately, I've been the song that's been coming to me a lot is um No Longer a Slave to Fear.

SPEAKER_02: 52:39

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 52:40

That is so powerful. And I think it's Zach Meredith, I think that's who it is. He sings it in a prison. And I feel like that uh is the season, it really resonates with me, like the season where slaves are set free, where oppressed are like coming to a different realization of who they really are, not bound by the circumstances that you're in, but really seeing yourself through the eyes of the Lord and the fantastic future that exists for you, like Ephesians 3.20, we were talking about before.

SPEAKER_03: 53:15

Absolutely. And then this, like when I was telling you about like Amos 9:13, I feel like we're in the season of like specifically in the message version, it's like things are gonna happen so fast your head's gonna swim. Like blessings upon blessings, and you know, things that maybe you've been waiting for for like for me, and in kind of I'm in the middle of a miracle, and I've been waiting for for something for a couple decades, and all of a sudden, you know, it's just like this, all of a sudden, like you said, it's like I I couldn't make this up. And and you know, just even kind of going into the question that I I would ask sometimes over the years of like, why, like, why me? You know, like why me? And I'm sure all of you who are listening have had those questions, and Josephine has had those questions, but ultimately when you've asked God that question of why me, how has he responded to you?

SPEAKER_01: 54:10

Um, different answers in different seasons. Um, I think when I was really broken in my marriage, I remember crying out to the Lord and saying, I see all these people around me that have great marriages and they don't even know you. How am I? Why am I going through this? And you won't believe it. 20 years later, I ran into the same person that I had talked to the Lord about. Marriage really wasn't doing well. And not that, you know, so I'm not saying that um that there's anything to celebrate in that, but you look at life, you can't just look at one moment in your life and question it. God knows the beginning and the end. And it's a journey, right? I mean, if you look at somebody like Joseph, you take one moment of his life, there he is, his dad's favorite, his brothers hate him. The next minute he's like in some place where he's falsely accused, and then more people that betray him, the baker, and um, you know, like moving on. So it your life is a masterpiece, and you can't just look at one point in your life. And through the through my walk with the Lord, what I have understood is that He's always there for me, and there's a bigger picture, there's a bigger purpose. There's a purpose bigger than myself. There's a kingdom uh reason I'm here on the earth. Um, and even medical studies show that people that have that kind of belief system that they tend to do better in their health, they live longer, um, thrive when you look at it like that. So um, why me in different seasons of my life has been different things? Um, right now I feel like he's putting the whole integrative spirit, soul, body piece. So if there are people that are where I was in life, where you felt like a failure and the future looked bleak, um, it is the season to bring everything to the Lord and watch him redeem it for you. Um the season of redemption, it's a season of acceleration, it's the season. If you've been sowing, this is the season of harvest. You're gonna see everything come to them.

SPEAKER_03: 56:32

Yes, I've been like contemplating and just like sitting on that for like the last two months for sure. I'm like, okay, like this is actually like we're actually in that time for sure. Um, well, I would love for you to share. Um, what how can people get in touch with you? First of all, for those who are interested in working with you and coaching, like what would be the best way for them to reach out to you?

SPEAKER_01: 56:57

So you can email me at uh lifewithdoctorelis at gmail.com. I believe I shared that with you. It should be in your show notes. And then there's my website um with the same um lifewithdoctorlis.com. But email would be the best way to get a hold of me.

SPEAKER_03: 57:18

Okay, sounds great. Well, I am so excited for you and your journey, and thank you so much for sharing like everything you've shared today. I know it has not been, you know, an easy journey, but I do believe that um, you know, those of us who've walked through so much, we have an opportunity to turn around and help others through, right? As kind of the trailblazers, we've been cut up a little bit along the way, but we get to clear a path for others that are coming behind us. So thank you for doing that. Thank you for your yes. Um, it has generational implications that you probably have no idea about yet, right? Yeah. Um, so I would love for you to share. Um, as I've mentioned before, those of you who listen to the show, I do this for the one, and obviously I believe there's others who are listening besides one. But could you just get in mind that one who's listening in today? And did you have anything else that you'd want to share with them? Um, any words of encouragement or wisdom that you'd just like to speak over them today? And then would you pray us out?

SPEAKER_01: 58:20

Yes. Um first of all, it's been a privilege, Kristen. Thank you. What a joy you are to um the kingdom and what you do for women that listen in and everybody, right? I mean, it's it's such a joy to hear your story and the story of all your guests. Um when I look back at my life, I see how the Lord carried me. And um, one of my favorite scriptures is um, I carried you on eagle's wings and brought you to myself. So if you're going through a difficult season in your life, could it be that the Lord is carrying you and you're just not seeing it? And I my prayer for people that are listening in today is to have God's perspective on their situation and not what they see with naturalized, but what God's spirit is showing you, despite what you see in the natural, um, to see yourself as God sees you. Um, and and to nobody but the Lord Himself who made you can tell you who you are and what your purpose is in life. And I pray that people press in and are able to hear the Lord's voice loud and clear so they can unlock their destiny and their purpose. Amen. So good.

SPEAKER_03: 59:50

Will you pray us out? Thank you.

SPEAKER_01: 59:53

Happy to. Thank you, Lord. What an amazing time we had. Lord, I pray a blessing over Kristen and over her podcast and everyone that is listening to the sound of our voice. What an honor and a privilege to be your daughters to share what you have done in our lives, Lord, to other people that maybe are just peeking in, trying to decide if this is for them. I pray, Lord, that everybody that hears this would hear you in a way that they have never heard you before. Um, that they would be, that there would be an impartation, Lord, not with the words that we spoke, not just knowledge that maybe they got or something that they heard, but a real deep revelation that speaks into their spirit, Lord, that something rises up in them, that they would come up to a higher level, that they would fulfill their destiny and their calling, Lord. And we pray a special blessing over all the people that are listening. And we thank you, Lord, that you cure us and are always there for us. It is a privilege to be called your daughters and to serve in your kingdom. In Jesus' name. Amen.

SPEAKER_03: 1:01:04

Amen. Well, thank you for being a brave voice who's setting so many free. Um, I'm going to close with the Hope Unlocked anchoring verse, which is May the God of hope fill you with all joy. Joy and peace and believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. And that's Romans 15, 13. So thank you again, Josephine. I will be sure to add all of her contact information in the show notes. Be sure to reach out to her, follow her on socials. She's amazing. And I will be back with another episode next week. Bye, listeners.