Episode 111: We Are All Worth It - with Biblical Counselor, Kimberly Johnson

Today I interviewed Kim Johnson, founder of Divine Identity Ministry.  Kim is a counselor, speaker, teacher, author and most importantly broken but beloved daughter of Jesus.  Her knowledge and experience come from not only the hundreds of stories she has heard, but from letting Jesus walk with her on her own path of healing from abuse and addiction.  

As a counselor, Kim is also an accountability coach, but just because she knows what to do and say to others, doesn’t mean she is able to follow through for herself.  She too, needed accountability.  One of the key elements of accountability is that we know someone is interested in helping us meet our goals and waiting to hear from us about how we are doing.  They are going to ask us questions and make us think about why we want to make changes and why we are struggling at this point in time.  Accountability is what helped Kim to break free from her struggles and it is the first thing she works on when she counsels people fighting addictions. 

 Emotional and physical childhood abuses led Kim to unhealthy addictions and lifelong struggles.  God intervened in her life and now she is free from those addictions.  She wants people to stop thinking that “advice and inspiration is perfect for someone else, but not me”. Many people feel that they can’t change because they don’t feel like they deserve it, maybe they have a hard background, are trying to break free from an addiction, or have other barriers.  Kim would stop them in their tracks and tell them that they are worth it and EVERYONE gets to have hope of change.

Some take-aways from today’s interview:

-When she is giving advice to clients, she feels God say to her “That is pretty good advice.  Why don’t you take it too?”

 -HALT:  Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired. If you are one of those things, stop and pay attention.  That is when you are prone to unhealthy behaviors.  Instead, talk to someone or practice self-soothing activities.   Reach out for accountability or distraction.

 Our life is a journey.  When we fail at something, we feel like we have to start back at the beginning.  This is not true.  We can stop, fix what needs to be fixed and keep going. 

 -It is better to go slowly in a straight line than quickly in circles.

-Everyone needs consistency, a plan and some type of accountability in their lives.  Those are non-negotiables.  The negotiables are how those things unfold.  

-We need to see the value in accountability, how it has helped and that it builds trust. Often people who struggle with food need nurturing.  We won’t be nurtured outside of a relationship with someone whether it is with God, ourselves or others.   Accountability is about relationships. 

Resources:

https://www.divineid.org/

www.facebook.com/houselifestyles

www.healthaccountabilitycoach.com