Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jessica Grier. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jessica, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What was your school or training experience like? Share an anecdote or two that you feel illustrate important aspects or the overall nature of your schooling/training experience.

My training as a professional counselor truly helped me get an understanding of how I could best integrate mental health and spirituality because I was able to learn the traditional methods and theories of counseling while also embracing my own spiritual growth. One class in particular, Spiritual Direction, helped me to see how counseling can be flexible. You don’t have to dress or speak in one way or another. You don’t have to fit in a box, you can allow the Holy Spirit to use you as you are and connect to your client on another level. That really set me on a path towards working through mental health and wellness concerns from the spiritual perspective.

Jessica, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

After teaching biblical studies classes for many years in my church and Bible study online, I knew there was a need to help people more personally with their spiritual growth. Having a deep understanding of psychology and mental health through my training as a Licensed Professional caused me to be privy to the spectrum of concerns that arise when overall wellness is neglected. I knew that this could be strongly addressed through faith. Through my own personal faith journey, God gave me a framework to operate from.

My business provides wellness consulting and coaching to clients who seek to become stronger in their Christian faith. I developed the theory of Kingdom Wellness that purports that for a Believer, wellness is centered around spiritual beliefs and understanding. Every area of your well-being- mental, emotional, physical, occupational, intellectual, financial, social, and environmental is taught biblically and should be influenced by your spiritual nature. In other words, your wellness is defined by spiritual standards so the stronger you are in your spiritual understanding, the better wellbeing you will experience.

I offer two resources to help Christians grow in their spiritual journey in addition to coaching and speaking engagements. My first book, Getting on Higher Ground, is a 365-day devotional that provides scripture and reflection for everyday of the year to help people learn to meditate and memorize the Word of God. My second book, Releasing Religion: How to Become a Better Christian, is an ebook providing Believers with practical insight on how to grow closer to God and let go of tradition for the sake of growth.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

Think and Grow Rich by Robert Kiyosaki was my first introduction to entrepreneurship and business. The exposure to his information helped me make the decision to have an interest in business as a wealth building and tax savings strategy and to really understand the potential it has to influence my community as well. It is such a game changer that I often still listen to the audiobook to make sure my mindset is in check.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Perfection and people- pleasing we’re my silent enemies and I was unaware of it for quite some time. The older I got and the more I took time to reflect on things, I realized that all my years of schooling had created a mentality that I needed to get everything right and should not make mistakes or disappoint others. The motives behind my actions were for the wrong reasons. I wanted to please people instead of God. I wanted an accolade or award to affirm my identity. The reality is that people are very impressed by superficial things and care more about how you make them look good than how you actually represent your whole self. By the time I hit my mid 20’s , I started to remove all of these invisible pressures and haven’t looked back since.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://highergroundconsulting.co
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/gettingonhigherground
• Linkedin: @gettingonhigherground
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@gettingonhigherground2997

Image Credits
Renisha Edwards