When a lot of people are asked to tell their stories, they start at the beginning of their lives. Not Phyllis Jenkins. When she told us about her journey on an Eagles Monday Mentor call, she started with, “my story starts a little over 12 years ago when I heard these words, ‘Mrs. Jenkins, you are lucky to be alive. My patient in the other room is not going to make it.'” That was something a doctor said to her after she suffered a pulmonary embolism, or a blood clot in the lungs. She remembers thinking, “God, you took her, but you left me here. What more is there for me to do?”
I want to share Phyllis’s story with you today because she is someone who truly has pursued everything God has for her to do; she knows her purpose and she pursues it with unmatched passion. Phyllis is out there showing the world what being a 48 Days Eagle is all about. She has put her purpose and passion into action and done it in such a way as to bless and serve others intentionally. But that all had to start with first finding her purpose and passion.
How Phyllis Jenkins Found Her Purpose And Passion
For two years after her pulmonary embolism, she told us she, “went on a journey, looking for my purpose, my God assignment, only to discover that it was inside of me all the time.” She looked over her journals and diaries she had kept over the years, pouring over the stories of her life up until that point and discovered, as she told us, that, “I am a natural encourager.”
Having recognized that in herself, she decided that she could put it into action by helping other women tell their stories. She said, “I truly believe that you can turn your life’s challenging moments into a life-changing message, a message of hope, a message of inspiration, a message of encouragement, something that will go forth and be a blessing to others on their journey.”
This isn’t just an inspiring and noble mission for Phyllis; she’s turned it into a business that blends her purpose, passion, and heart for ministry. Her business, Powerful Journey, has a specific and important mission: “We exist to empower women to find their voice, focus on their strength, and flourish in their purpose.” Phyllis and Powerful Journey do this in many ways, and recently they have been working on an anthology of faith stories from the women she works with. This project not only allows these women to share their truth, but to share in a way that can bless and serve those who read it.
Passion and Purpose Lead To Success
This anthology”Telling Our Stories: An Anthology of Faith Volume I” sold 1001 copies on Amazon in just 16 days!
For Phyllis, this mission isn’t just about her work of getting stories out there but also teaching women how to tell their stories, how to put their truth into words. Her Author’s Academy brings together women from all over the world—even as far as Paris, France—to learn and grow together as they write their books. Over the nine-month course, they meet regularly, share their wins, hold each other accountable, and support everyone on their book-writing journey. As Phyllis told us, “it becomes like a sisterhood.”
She also has family and her husband Dave Jenkins, who is also an Eagle, by her side. Phyllis told us, “he is my number one cheerleader, my number one supporter. We’ve been married for 43 years. He was my college sweetheart. We have two daughters and I have three grandchildren who are also supporters, but I also have a core team that God has sent to me that have caught onto the vision that he’s given to me.”
That support system is key, and Phyllis has been fortunate to have it through her family, the Eagles, and the team that she’s brought together through Powerful Journey. Phyllis recommended for anyone who is working on putting their purpose and mission into action, to “surround yourself with those who will catch onto your vision” and to not “ask permission from anyone else to do what God has called you to do.”
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