Woman Wednesday: Celeste


Q and A with
Celeste from St. Louis, Missouri, living in Smyrna, Georgia

“…resilience, faith, and perseverance can transform pain into purpose.”


Q: What are you passionate about? 

A: I am passionate about helping people heal, rediscover their purpose, and understand that their story still has value no matter what they have been through. As an ordained minister, life and grief coach, author, and community advocate, much of my work centers around supporting people through life’s difficult transitions, including grief, trauma, incarceration, family challenges, and personal reinvention.

Currently, I am developing faith-based resources, devotionals, grief support materials, coaching programs, and community initiatives that help individuals find hope, healing, and direction. I am especially passionate about supporting women, families, and individuals rebuilding their lives after setbacks.

Q: What were your younger years like?

A: My younger years were shaped by both challenges and valuable life lessons. Growing up, I learned early that life does not always follow the path we imagine. Family responsibilities, personal struggles, and unexpected circumstances taught me resilience at a young age.

Education came both inside and outside the classroom. Some of my greatest lessons came through life experiences, relationships, faith, and overcoming adversity. Looking back, I can see how every obstacle helped develop my compassion for others and strengthened my desire to serve and encourage people who are navigating difficult seasons.


Q: What is something valuable you’d like others to know?

A: One of the most valuable lessons I have learned is that your past does not have the final say over your future.

If people learn anything from my story, I hope they learn that resilience, faith, and perseverance can transform pain into purpose. What you survive can become the very thing that helps someone else heal.


Q: What does feminism mean to you?

A: To me, feminism means recognizing the inherent worth, dignity, and God-given value of women. It means supporting opportunities for women to grow, lead, learn, serve, and use their gifts without unnecessary barriers.

I am especially passionate about supporting women through healing, personal growth, leadership development, and life transitions so they can live fully and confidently in who they were created to be.


MORE ABOUT CELESTE: At the heart of everything I do is a commitment to service. Whether through ministry, coaching, writing, mentoring, or community outreach, my goal is to leave people better than I found them.

My life’s work is helping people discover that purpose and giving them the tools, encouragement, and support they need to walk in it.

I am a transplant from St. Louis, Missouri, but live in Smyrna, Georgia, (20+ years) a city just outside Atlanta, Georgia. Community involvement and ministry work have allowed me to serve people throughout the metro Atlanta area and beyond, helping individuals and families navigate life’s challenges while building stronger, healthier futures.

Contact Information

Podcast: “Confidently Speaking” anchor.fm/celeste-houston
Facebook: www.facebook.com/celicacoaching
ministry
Linkedin:https://www.linkedin.com/in/celestehouston 

website:https://www.purposefullylivingnotperfect.com

Book Resources:

Purposefully Living Not Perfect: [https://a.co/d/7lroDfo]

  – Coloring Through Clouds of Loss: [https://a.co/d/azUaVKs]

  – Coloring Your Way Through Grief: [https://a.co/d/iVdf60T]
  

Woman Wednesday: Denise


Q and A with Denise from Portland, OR

“The programming that I had from early childhood is that you are supposed to get a good job, get married, and have kids, but following that path didn’t make me happy.”


Q: What are you passionate about? 

A: I’m passionate about helping people develop a better understanding of themselves and their animals through intuitive guidance. My purpose in life is to make lives easier and more enjoyable for people and animals. I started studying metaphysical topics to learn to trust my intuition and found that I knew things that other people don’t know. I have always wanted to work with animals, so I focused on animal communication and have been able to learn so much from talking to them.


Q: What were your younger years like?

A: The programming that I had from early childhood is that you are supposed to get a good job, get married, and have kids, but following that path didn’t make me happy. I had to release and heal from that old programming and forge my own path. I learned to care less about what other people think and design my own life.


Q: What is something valuable you’d like others to know?

A: Anything is possible. I had no idea my life could be what it is now. I found my purpose by exploring and trying new things. When I was interested in something, I took a class or read about it. What I have learned is that you don’t have to know where you are going to take the first step. Try something, join a group, ask a question, it can take you places you never imagined.


Q: What does feminism mean to you? 

A: Feminism to me means owning your truth and being who you really are. We are taught to conform, but if we can love ourselves and live our truth, we can help spread love to the world.


Thank you for reading!

I offer animal communication, intuitive sessions for people, and teach intuition classes. Learn more on my website: www.intuitivedenise.com

Woman Wednesday: Gina


Q and A with
Gina from Harford County, Maryland

“Some of the most important changes happen internally, in ways no one else can seeI’m drawn to the spaces people don’t always talk about—the quiet, the complicated, and the deeply human.”


Q: What are you passionate about? 

A: I’m passionate about storytelling—both the kind that comforts and the kind that unsettles.

Writing became that space for me during a difficult six-year period of my life.

I started writing letters to myself as a way to process what I was going through, and over time, I realized those words weren’t just mine.

That’s how Letters to Women Like Me came to life—out of a need to create something honest for women who feel deeply but don’t always have a place to put it.

Right now, I’m continuing to build both sides of my work—growing the Chalk Drawings series while also creating more reflective writing for women. For me, it’s not about choosing one path or the other. It’s about telling the full story of what it means to be human—both the light and the shadow.

Q: What were your younger years like?

A: My younger years were fairly grounded and shaped by a strong sense of responsibility early on.

I graduated high school and went on to attend college for a time, but life began to take me in a different direction, and I didn’t complete my degree.

While that wasn’t the path I originally planned, it taught me that growth doesn’t always follow a straight line—and that experience itself can be just as valuable as formal education.

Looking back, I realize that my upbringing and experiences gave me a strong sense of resilience and independence.

They taught me how to navigate challenges, adapt, and keep moving forward even when things didn’t go as expected. Those lessons have stayed with me and continue to influence not only the work I do, but the stories I tell.


Q: What is something valuable you’d like others to know?

A: One of the most valuable things I’ve learned is that not everything in life needs to be figured out right away.

For a long time, I thought strength meant having answers, pushing through, and holding everything together. But I’ve come to understand that real strength is quieter—it’s allowing yourself to feel, to pause, and to be honest about what you’re carrying.

I would want others to know that it’s okay if your path doesn’t look the way you thought it would.

Growth isn’t always obvious, and healing doesn’t happen on a timeline.

Some of the most important changes happen internally, in ways no one else can see.

If there’s anything I hope people take from my story, it’s this: you’re not alone in what you’re feeling, even if it seems that way.

There is value in your experiences, even the difficult ones, and there is strength in continuing forward—at your own pace, in your own way.


Q: What does feminism mean to you?

A: Feminism, to me, is about recognizing the unseen weight women carry and creating space for them to feel, speak, and exist without having to prove their strength.


Thank you for reading!

Let’s connect!

Comment below.

Check out my psychological thriller here: Chalk Drawings

Check out my letters-to-self book for women here: Letters to Women Like Me

Woman Wednesday: Sabrina C.


Q and A with
Sabrina C. from Nassau, Bahamas

“… if you give your body proper nutrition, your body can heal itself.”


Q: What are you passionate about? 

A: I am a shareholder in a hardware company and, because I invested early in life, I was able to retire at the age of 36.

I’m passionate about building a legacy with my Ardysslife business, helping families thrive through a healthier lifestyle, and to building a strong team for a wealthier lifestyle.

I’m interested in building a large clientele with getting them into nutrition, [products] made from fruits and vegetables to help the body heal itself. I also help them reshape their body without diet pills exercise or surgery, instead getting them to wear the reshaping garments made by an orthopedic surgeon.

I am currently working on getting a store front in my country so my team and customers won’t have to pay for shipping and have easy access like having the package shipped to their doors.

Q: What were your younger years like?

A: I grew up in the tropical Nassau, Bahamas, with family and faith.


Q: What is something valuable you’d like others to know?

A: Something valuable I have learned if you invest in a positive and lucrative business, it pays off.

I also learned that if you give your body proper nutrition, your body can heal itself. I was diagnosed with high cholesterol and within two weeks of being on the products, I didn’t have to be put on medication.


Q: What does feminism mean to you?

A: Feminism means alot to me. I believe gender-based discrimination needs to be eliminated.

I feel there should be social, economic, and political equality between women and men; women should have the same rights as men especially if a man wants a woman to go fifty-fifty with the bills in the home.


Thank you for reading!

Let’s connect!

Comment below.

ARDYSSLife

Woman Wednesday: Annemarie


Q and A with Annemarie from Germany

“Travel can be eye-opening


Q: What are you passionate about? 

A: I am passionate about travel and video. Both kinda blended so well together throughout my career that I never really imagined I could actually turn them into my job.

The first time I went abroad (without my parents) was on a trip to England and I caught the travel bug so bad, it made me study English, study abroad, volunteer in international organizations, take an internship abroad, go on a working holiday, and then I kinda stumbled into freelancing through video creation, photography, and my passion for sharing travel tips.

Still to this day, I could talk for hours about all the ridiculous and exciting experiences I’ve had over the seven years I’ve lived out of my suitcase (before a certain pandemic-you-know-what hit), all the cool video shoots I have set up (many of them spontaneously, aided by the trusty wigs I carried). And I cannot wait to return to a semi-nomadic work lifestyle again.

Q: What were your younger years like?

A: In my childhood, I was the classic type A: overachieving, people-pleasing “good girl.” I tried to fit in so badly, but I truly lost myself and am still unlearning a lot.

What impacted and shocked me awake the most, however, was travel. And I realize that it’s a skill in itself, that it truly teases out excitement in my soul and challenges me in all kinds of different ways.

I remember having to do a quiz while on my school trip in England and despite being the shyest person, I absolutely loved chatting up random strangers on the street and making up stories to fill into the quiz. I won. And I honestly didn’t recognize this person even at the time. Who was she? I was impressed. Travel can be eye-opening like that.

Q: What is something valuable you’d like others to know?

A: Everyone (and girls/women in particular) SHOULD go on a solo travel trip at least once in their lives. Yes, it’s utterly uncomfortable the first time. It will feel lonely, awkward, confusing, etc. But bear with it for the first few days, follow your gut, stroll aimlessly, talk to fellow solo travelers (hostels are great for that; you can get a single room if you don’t like dorms), take yourself out to dinner/museums/shows, etc., and really treat yourself like you would want to be treated. It will change your life. And if you realize it’s not for you, that’s totally ok. But it helps gain clarity if you ask me.

Q: What does feminism mean to you? 

A: Feminism means dismantling a lot of the toxic structures, institutions, beliefs, and systems that societies have taught us over the past centuries. To see people as equal and treat them in a way that uplifts everyone. To include everyone. To be intersectional, to question everything and do better, to take responsibility, and actively (un)learn. This includes all genders because no society can fully thrive if it keeps discriminating and placing shame.

My passion for video developed parallel to my growth as a freelancer and traveling the world.

A friend challenged me once to package “all that” (I talk very animatedly) into videos because text and photos just didn’t cut it. Videos help portray multidimensionality, they can tell stories so succinctly, with so much emotion, and to me, they are just a huge playground. I can be whoever I want. Editing, framing a shot, and arranging clips all have such a huge effect on the end result, which is why I pivoted more towards helping fellow female entrepreneurs with their video endeavors rather than talking solely about empowerment through travel.

Videos do the same and you have so much control here. It’s perfect for introverts like me. It’s like sending out a clone into the world as a stand-in for all the digital introductions. Have a video explaining yourself and your business and those people that like your vibe, will stick with it. Those that don’t, will leave. Perfect! So, I now direct, edit, and film videos for entrepreneurs. Because video is its own language and little world.

Thank you for reading!

You can contact me and find video examples on my portfolio website:

annemariestrehl.com/