We recently connected with Christine Boersma Smith and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Christine thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the best or worst investment you’ve made (either in terms of time or money)? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice).

My worst investment became my best. I’d long dreamed of writing a book about the spiritual aspects of quiltmaking and textile art, the creative pastime that allowed me to experience Psalm 46:11: “Be still and know that I am God.” The book took initial form as a personal quilting memoir. To improve my skillset, I signed up for an expensive, weeklong writer’s workshop with a well-known author. I selected a chapter to share during a critique session, thinking of my writing craft and not content. I bombed: the story included our teenager’s pro-life choice, which triggered group disapproval. By the end of the workshop, devastated by “moral” criticisms, I switched from all personal stories to including stories representing the varied viewpoints of seven other fabric artists. My Introduction and conclusion still reflected my Christian point of view, so there was an inconsistency that became a promotional problem.

Without realizing that flaw, I allowed a hybrid publisher to convince me to print 5,000 copies at a cost of $25,000. I had national quilting credentials but neglected marketing, so book sales were disappointing. I ultimately destroyed most of the unsold copies. However, “Reap As You Sew: Spirit at Work in Quiltmaking” inspired many of its readers, and I was thrilled to have written it. A suicidal Christian reader in her 60s was healed after reading an older Jewish woman’s story in my book. It resonated with the reader, and she wrote to tell me her own story, concluding with, “Your book saved my life!” That wondrous outcome made the book my best investment: for what is the worth of a dream realized and a life saved?

Christine, we’d love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m a Baby Boomer. I took theology in college when TIME’s cover read, “Is God Dead?” My spiritual journey revived in my forties and uplifted me to greater intimacy with God in my early seventies. I now bring believers refreshing understanding and enthusiasm based on my writing, healing ministry, podcast, coaching, and spiritual direction training, empowering others toward Spirit-led transformation and Radiant Joy.

In my 40s and 50s, I tried to do it all. I strove to be a great mom, Brownie leader, swim team treasurer, church volunteer, wife, and daughter while practicing law and seeking both spiritual truth and worldly approval . . . often burning out and getting overwhelmed. Taking up quiltmaking brought me closer to God. In teaching Spirituality of Quilting classes and in my book, “Reap As You Sew: Spirit at Work in Quiltmaking,” I shared stories showing how creativity and spirituality work together. Workbook sections demonstrate how America’s 20 million quilters and other creatives can benefit from that spiritual-creativity connection.

My quilts have won numerous awards and netted thousands of dollars for charity. But my passion now is helping Christian women in the second half of life become their genuine selves and bear good fruit! I’m a Benedictine-trained Spiritual Director, and I believe every woman becomes the unique Godly woman she was created to be through inner work that heals!

I train and lead a team in Unbound Ministry, which puts on Freedom in Christ conferences, helping men and women find freedom from whatever holds them back. I minister to individuals, leading them with Jesus and the Holy Spirit to forgive effectively, break unhealthy habits, recognize and cast out lies and unclean spirits, and embrace the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

I have a blog and a podcast (From ‘Pretty Good’ to RADIANT JOY), and I’m writing two new books to help women be transformed and empowered to live life to the fullest. As I see it, the first 25 years of life prepare us for the next 25, but most women in the second half are living a life for which they were unprepared. I love helping Catholics and other Christians explore the blessings, surprises, and challenges of life over 50, equipping them to have more clarity and inner peace and to radiate joy, purpose, and vibrancy at any age.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I have found that providence is always on time. I trust that the resources I need arrive when my heart and mind are best prepared to receive them. Two transformative resources helped me when I needed them most, sparking a profound impact worth sharing in order to help others on their journeys of self-discovery—which I facilitate through prayer ministry and spiritual direction, writing, podcasting, speaking, and online transformational coaching groups.

First, Neal Lozano’s Unbound: A Practical Guide to Deliverance opened the gates to my prayer ministry, enabling me to partner with God in guiding individuals through liberation from long-held burdens — healing old wounds, releasing burdensome emotions, breaking free from curses, and dispelling the shackles of lifelong falsehoods. His Unbound book and training enriched my capacity to extend compassion and understanding to others and fostered my own healing, truth-seeking, and freedom.

The second resource addresses a common obstacle, the familiar and pervasive notion that you are not good enough and must earn love, approval, and worth by doing everything right. In Dr. Maxwell Maltz’s timeless work, “Psycho-Cybernetics,” he underscores a crucial truth: one’s self-image is the key to unlocking a fulfilling existence. Dr. Maltz explains the profound impact of our subconscious self-image on our life trajectory, dismantling the illusion of needing to prove self-worth through ceaseless toil and achievement. His book offers a practical pathway to cultivating a positive self-image, paving the way for a joyful, purposeful life.

These resources illuminate timeless principles: “Unbound” guides us towards forgiveness, inner clarity, and dispelling falsehoods, while “Psycho-Cybernetics” illustrates the profound impact that reshaping self-image beliefs that had hold us back can have on our lives. Equipped with new tools from Maltz’s and Lozano’s work, you and I — and those I support — can harness the power of positive past experiences and memories to bring growth, cultivate compassion, nurture self-respect, and envision a brighter future. This transformative journey outshines many other ways of striving for self-improvement and paves the way for a more vibrant and fulfilling presence, even as we move through the second half of life.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

My third-grade teacher introduced me to Spanish, and in high school, I studied French. So, imagine my shock when American Field Service sent me, at sixteen, on a summer exchange to a Portuguese-speaking family in Brazil. With only a crash course in Portuguese before my departure, Rio de Janeiro greeted me with a whirlwind of incomprehensible local slang and rapid-fire conversation. Initially, I felt eager but lost, although my Brazilian host mother’s fluency in French provided a thin lifeline. Yet, miscommunication followed me, with my perplexed eight-year-old “brother” repeatedly questioning my hearing (and intelligence) as my puzzled expressions met his enthusiastic chatter.

A turning point came four weeks into my adventure when the “sister” closest to my age returned home, fresh from her AFS year in the States, and narrated to the whole family her experience attending a “prom.” The familiar English term sparked recognition, signaling a tale of formal attire, pre-dance dinners, lively afterparties, and North Carolina beachside breakfast gatherings. The familiar subject and her Portuguese, slowed down by her time in the U.S., finally triggered my understanding.

Uplifted by this breakthrough, I boldly decided to speak, brushing off my many mistakes with newfound resolve. Six weeks later, as I bid the family farewell, I was fluent and confident enough to converse with anyone in well-pronounced though grammatically flawed Portuguese. My linguistic journey knit me into the unconditionally loving warmth of my host family, fostering bonds that still endure, spanning more than half a century of shared celebrations, next generational connections, and cherished visits.

Learning resilience and “going for it” without self-consciousness about mistakes helped me to execute market research in six countries and pivot into a successful career as a Realtor in my 20s, followed by tackling moot court in law school and California court proceedings in my 30s and 40s, then to venture into the world of quilt competitions in my 50s, and in my 60s, finding my voice through blogging and book publication. Now in my 70s, I’ve launched Radiant Joy, started podcasting, and am working on several literary works, all supported by that early life resilience of boldly embracing growth over perfection.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://radiantjoy.us
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/chrisradiantjoy/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/radiantjoychristine
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christine-boersma-smith-16b09179/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RadiantJoy

Image Credits
Credit to the best photos: Gregg Patrick Photography Thanks also to my husband: Toby Smith