#194: Following the Voice of God in Your Writing with Kellie Frazier

Welcome to the Author Audience show, the podcast that helps you reach more people with your message. Create a book, connect with your audience, change lives. Here's your host, Shelly Hitz.

Welcome to Author Audience, where I'm on a mission to help you reach more people with your message. It's time to let your light shine. Today I'm rolling out the red carpet and I'm inviting you to join me in this expert interview with Kelly Frazier. Welcome, Kelly.

Thank you. So happy to be here.

Yeah, Kelly and I, we just became fast friends and, you know, I was like, oh, I really want to have her on my podcast and really introduce all of you to her. Let me just share a little bit about Kelly and then I know she's going to have a lot of really great information to share with you on the podcast. Kelly Frazier is the founder of Connecting LLC and creator of the series so Start yout Faith Based Business, where you'll hear how leaders and entrepreneurs took their love for God and serving others and turned it into a successful faith based business. Her website is your faith based business dot com. So welcome, Kelly. I'm so excited to have you.

Thank you. I think this is awesome what you're doing. I think many, many authors need to have podcasts like this for sure.

Yeah. And, you know, I think it's so easy to consume a podcast, you know, when you're on the go, when you're exercising, even, like I've sometimes done it when I'm clean or doing something else. And so it's so great to get that encouragement and the information that we really need in such a portable format. You are an author, you're also a coach. You help people build their businesses. But tell us a little bit about how your journey started to publishing books.

Oh, my. Well, the first book that I ever published actually came in a dream and I was in Hawaii and, and it was 4 o' clock in the morning and I saw this image of the book cover and it didn't make any sense to me. And then I saw three chapters that were written in it. So I realized it was a small book. And every single chapter that was written I kept hearing, stop judging, stop judging, stop judging. And that was fascinating to me. So when I got up, I mentioned to my business partner at that time, I said, you know, it's so strange. I saw this dream and I had written a book and I saw the COVID and all this stuff and she goes, well, sounds to me like you need to write a book. So on the flight home from Hawaii to Michigan, where we lived. It took me 14 hours to get home. By the time I got home, the entire book was already written.

Wow.

That was my first book. And actually, that's the book right there. So Connecting Faith, Hope and Love became my first book. And that's how I entered the author world.

Yeah, and that's. I love that because, you know, it was brilliant. Birthed out of a dream from God. Birthed out of him. And you just took the time you had on the flame, the ideas, and it became a book. Sometimes I think we make it harder than it needs to be in that. You know, we see this big thing and this.

Oh, but it's a book.

And so tell us just a little bit, how has your book and your books, how has that helped your coaching business and vice versa? Like, what is the synergy you've seen with your books?

Well, that's a great question. I think primarily, the books that I have done have all come from these moments with God. I have not really said, I'm going to be an author. You know, this was something that just was birthed out of this relationship that I have, Lord. And so the more I gave over my willingness to do it, to do whatever God called me to do, the more books came out of me. And I found that they were so helpful to people. And, you know, Shelley, you know, I were talking earlier how you hear from people all around the world about how their relationship with God has just blossomed because of the book that they had read that you'd written. And that's what started to happen. And I started to notice that there was a consecutive consensus, I guess, that people were truly being transformed just by reading these books. And I know that it wasn't because of what Kelly Frazier put in there. I know that it was because of what God the Father put in there. And so I just had to kind of, like, sit back and say, okay, Lord, wherever you want this to go, I'm willing to go there. And again, you and I talked about being willing to just let it flow. And so every book that I've written has led people into something else. So either into working with me on a different level, it's opened their eyes to something that they now can move forward with. I mean, there's just all kinds of different ways. But for my coaching practice specifically, I think our books are pretty much a calling card. And if you know how to write a good book, that leads somebody someplace else. Here's a great example. You write a book that has a problem, and you solve that problem. But in the midst of that book, you create another problem that you need to have that solvable problem at the end of that book. And so therefore, people come to look for you and say, okay, I noticed at the end of the book there was another issue, and I'm really struggling with that issue. And because that's what the book did, it gave them that insight, saying, okay, I kind of was struggling with that myself, so how do I fix it? And so therefore, they come and look for you. So that is just like one. One way. I think that the whole book process has really allowed people to come to me through coaching that I never anticipated. But it was that whole process of, here's a problem, here's a solution, but here's another problem. And I can't give you all of that right now. But if you come through the coaching, then you'll understand how to resolve that, you know, so it definitely is more like a calling card, I think.

Yeah. And that's so good because even whether it's a free gift on your email list and lead magnet or it's a training or a webinar or something, I always say, you know, what is the problem that you're solving? And then how can you take them to the next step with the next thing that you have to offer? And so one thing I talk to writers and authors about a lot is, you know, diversifying their income through not only books, but also digital products and online programs and taking that same content from the book and making it into a program. But you were just telling me a little bit about how God kind of took you into a process of even just teaching how you've written your books and published them and so share just a little bit about that.

Yeah, this is kind of a wild story. And whenever I tell it, people are fascinated or they are looking at themselves going, I would never have done that.

So what happened was we were moving our daughter who had gone to the School of Hallmark, which I don't know if people are familiar with the School of Hallmark, but it's a professional photography school, and that was up in Massachusetts. And so we lived down south. So it took 17 hours to get there, drop her off, and then after the schooling was over, we were moving her back down south. So it took 17 hours to drive home. So we get into the driveway, it's 11 o' clock at night. And I heard that I was to set up my studio. When I say I heard that, it was just this voice inside that I heard to go set up my studio. And I Was like, I'm so tired. I just felt 17 hours. And sometimes I do find myself arguing with that still small voice inside. So I got inside the house and we were all getting ready to go to bed. And literally I was telling Shelly my hair was just. I just looked gnarly. Ok? My teeth were all kind of gross, and I just felt awful. But I heard the Lord say again, get to set up my studio.

This is your video studio, right?

Correct, correct. So I started setting up the lights and the camera and all this stuff. And my husband is just looking at me like, what are you doing? I know this seems crazy. I said, but I'm supposed to be recording right now. I just don't know what yet. So then I sat on the edge of my couch and I just waited. I'm like, okay, Lord, I obeyed you. Here's the studio. What do you want me to do? And that was when I heard to create this beginning publishing of books for people to help them understand how to get their message out. And I was like, really? Like, I don't even have the energy right now to do this. But okay, if that's truly what you want me to do. When I stood up, I cannot tell you the information that just came pouring out of me that I did not even know. I wasn't even aware that I knew this information.

Wow.

It was unbelievable. And it took two days, by the way. All I did was lay on the couch. When I got exhausted, I had my daughter, she brought me a couple things to eat, and that's primarily what I did. But let me tell you, it is probably that I am the scariest looking I think I had ever been on this program. But those who take it absolutely love it. So praise God for that, right?

Yeah. And so I just feel like there's this theme for you that following the voice of God and the promptings of God have led to these things that are impacting lives and bringing about change. And so talk to me a little bit about that. We have writers from all different backgrounds and faiths and different ways that they've been raised in the church. And, you know, for those that maybe feel like it's hard for them to sometimes hear those promptings or feel those. What would you say to them?

Such a good question. So there are different ways, different avenues that we all hear God speak, But what we do is we start doubting it. Okay. We call it gut feeling, we call it intuition, our sixth sense. We call it all kinds of things except the voice of God or the Holy Spirit. And So I learned a long time ago. And I'll share this story very briefly, although it's a long story, but it's a very brief story. When I, in the year 2007, I had lost my nephew to a drowning. His mom was my little sister. I lost her to cancer. I was traveling between Michigan and Vermont, where they lived, to try to go through her cancer and help her there and then through the funerals. And then when I traveled back home, my husband had tried to handle everything. I had started an investing company to help our sons learn a skill of rehabbing homes and that kind of thing. And so he was trying to handle all that by himself. So when I got home, he was like, I'm done. I want that business shut down. I'm just done. So here I'm thinking, okay, I've lost my nephew, I've lost my sister, I've lost my business because he didn't want anything more to do with it. I could lose my marriage if I'm not careful. And at the end of that year, because all that took place in a year, I ended up with a traumatic brain injury just from a minor accident that I had. So My youngest was 11 years old. And she took such good care of me because some days I would be a two year old, other days I would have nine or ten seizures a day. Sometimes I couldn't. Sometimes I was paralyzed on my right side. So six months after that accident, I remembered three words that had come out of just flying out of my mouth that I promise you I did not say. But as I was flying through the air, I remembered the three words. It was, Jesus saved me, and then, boom, that's when I hit. So my brain had moved to the move forward and to the right. And so I'm laying there and I'm remembering all of this in that moment. And I'm watching her walk out the door and I remember just feeling this anguish inside because my body was in pain all the time and this was no life for that little girl. So I remember saying, God, I know you can heal me. I don't know why you haven't, but I know you can. And if this is what it's going to be like tomorrow morning when I wake up and I'm thinking of her, I don't want to wake up now. I wasn't depressed, I wasn't suicidal, but I didn't. I just didn't want her life to be like this because this was six months of this. And she had no friends, she had nothing going on. Right. So the next morning, I did wake up to a light in my room. There was the most incredible peace and joy and love and unity. And those words, don't even touch it. Don't even come close to it. But when I sat up, there was no pain anywhere in my body. And that was when I had this attitude of gratitude. You talk about attitude of gratitude again. Just like those three words pouring out of me, I had no idea that all of this gratitude would have started to come out of my mouth. But that's what happened. And I don't know how long I sat there for. It could have been two minutes, could have been two hours, I don't know. But all this gratitude starts pouring out of me. And I remember this tiny little pencil sitting on my nightstand when I took a. Just pause for a moment, and I picked up the pencil, and I'm like, I'm human, grateful for this weird little pencil, right? And that was when I saw these visions start to come. There were three of them, and they came just like this. The first one, I saw myself as an author, and I had written tons of books, and I was handing them to people. The second one, I was a speaker on this massive stage with thousands of people whose lives were transformed. The third one, I saw myself helping people from all around the world. That was in 2008. Now I've written 10 books. I have a school in Uganda named Kelly Frazier School. I mean, there's so many different things that I could go on and on with you about that only God could have done. So to listen to the voice inside for me, is not difficult, because when I said the question after seeing those visions, I went, how is any of that supposed to happen? I heard inside two words that were so almost audible, and it was, trust me, Mom. And I sat there going, who wouldn't? Right in this moment, who wouldn't? Of course I will trust you. So I said, okay. And that was my vow to God that I would listen to his voice from that point forward. And there you have it.

Wow. That is powerful. Do you share that in one of your books?

I do. I do. Actually, the next book that's coming out has the entire story, and it's very, very powerful.

Yeah, so powerful. And I just. I just want to encourage all of you listening just to be encouraged and inspired by Kelly. We serve a limitless God. Like, there are no obstacles that are too big for him. No mountains too big. You just heard what she had went through, and then the traumatic brain injury. And my dad had a traumatic Brain injury. He was in a coma for almost eight weeks. And so I know about that. You know, that's not something just to take lightly. And yet I would have never guessed, you know, seeing you today, that you had had any problem. But look what God has done just by following his leading, his voice, his promptings. And so I want to encourage all of you, just like Kelly said, not to just dismiss it away or think of it as something else, but to really start pressing in and recognizing, okay, that's a prompting from God and believing it and not doubting and just watching what people, God, will do when you take those, those brave steps. And I know Kelly and I both have those testimonies of taking those brave steps where we didn't feel like we were qualified or able to do what God had called us to do. And he did it, you know, and so it's such a powerful testimony. So as we start kind of closing this interview, I mean, we could talk forever. But what is one little take action tip that you would leave our listeners with today?

Well, I would say that if you know that writing is your gifting, if you know that, spend some time in meditation. Here's one thing that I teach all of my clients, including my authors, to do is just sit and take a deep breath. When my sister had died and I was laying in my bed bawling my eyes out, I heard the Holy Spirit say, why are you crying? And I was right in the middle of this deep sob, right like this. And I heard it and then I held my breath and I was like, because of my sister. And immediately I heard, your sister's fine, right? So I knew that I was crying for myself. But what happened in that next moment was he taught me how to breathe. And he said, I breathed the breath of life into you. Why would you not think your breath is important? Because I was sobbing and it was just coming out, right? And they kept saying, breathe, breathe. And I was like, but I am breathing, right? So taking that slow, deep breath and holding that slow, deep breath and then releasing the breath, that allows you to just stop the constant anxiety and stress that's going on in your head. And until you actually can do that, can just listen to your breathing instead of everything else that's going off in your brain, you're not really going to know what direction to have. You're not going to understand the clarity that you need to have. Now, does that mean that I'm perfect at it and that I know to do it all the time? No. But I can promise you this. Every great thing that I've ever done in my life has come from those moments where I have just sat in the presence of God and just let go of the world and said, here I am. Just fill my hands because I know you want to, I want to know your heart. And when I know God's heart, it is so much easier to move forward. Whether you are writing a book, speaking on a stage, or creating a school in Uganda. That's what happens. So that would be the biggest, greatest thing that anybody could ever tell you, in my opinion.

That's powerful. You know, put that to practice and just see what God will do. I recently just shared in a podcast about King Hezekiah and he sought the Lord wholeheartedly and it said as a result, he was successful in everything he did. And God is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above what we can think or imagine. So I just encourage you to breathe, surrender, come and you know, meditate with him like Kelly said. And Kelly, if people have resonated with you and your story, how can they learn more about you?

Yeah, you know, there's two different things. I have my ministerial side of me is it's set free.info that they can go to where you will find anything and everything about me there. Then of course I have the your faith based business. If they want to get into more understanding about how to create a business for themselves, coaching, business, author, writer, whatever, they can go to your faith based business. So either one of those places they can find me.

Awesome. Well, thank you so much for joining us today. I know so many people just probably got a lot out of this inspired and I just appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us.

Absolutely. And thank you for allowing me to. I just wanted to mention one more thing if that's okay. I have 10 free tools on that setfree.info website. So if you do struggle with anxiety whatsoever, fear, stress, worry, anything, even as a parent, I have parenting information on there too. Just go and grab those 10 free tools. The very first tool I teach you how to do the breathing and it is so powerful. That's what most of the people respond to is that breathing. And I give you an audio with nice background music. So just take, take the opportunity to do that for yourself.

Yeah. And I what I've seen the biggest obstacle for most writers is fear. And so definitely go, go download that. Learn the breathing bre.

You know, breathe into all that God has for you and connect with Kelly further there. Thank you so much for being here. Kelly. Thank you all for listening in again. I'm so thankful for each one of you and I will see you next time. Bye Bye. Thank you so much for listening to this episode of Author Audience. I would like to invite you to attend one of my free trainings on three proven book writing formulas every nonfiction author needs to know. This is a fun and fast way to write a nonfiction book, but also a book that you're proud of. Plus, I will give you two free gifts just for attending. No credit card required. First, you'll get my 10 nonfiction book title templates and you'll also get my ebook titled Brilliant brainstorming. It's a 28 page ebook and both of these bonuses are yours at no time charge. Just for joining us for the training, you can sign up for my free training by going to shellyhits.com formulas. That's Shellyhitz S H E L L E Y h I t z.com formulas. This training and the two bonuses are free and I would love to help you write your next nonfiction book.

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