We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sonya Jacobs a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Sonya, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

As a teenager in the 90’s unsure of myself and my future, I took a life changing risk and said “yes” to my nineteen year old high school sweetheart when he asked for my hand in marriage in 1993. We were not sure of who we were, or what we were going to do for careers or who we were going to become as adults. We had no money, no degrees and wide open futures. However, we knew that we loved each other, were better together and wanted to get old together. The risk proved to be challenging as we grew up together and into adulthood. We finished our degrees, served on the mission field, struggled to start a family, moved away from our hometown and almost lost each other along the way. BUT, miracles still happen and in the tenth year of our marriage we experienced healing in ways we needed and a renewal in our relationship that changed everything. The reward from taking the risk has been a life full of life’s highs and lows with a relationship in tact that is better than ever and has stood the test of time to God be the glory. The passion is stronger than ever, the love is deeper than anything we could’ve imagined and the gift is 27 years worth of experiencing life with with a trustworthy ,best friend.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a wife, mother, co-founder of a relationship education organization, a pastoral counselor, and a pastor, I am 48 years 0ld and life has thrown some serious curve balls at me that ultimately created the desire in me to help others. I have been married for 27 years and have three children (19,16 and 11). I have a BA in Ministry and a Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling. I speak and teach solo as well as with my husband at events, workshops and conferences. Readers can check out the organization Enjoy Your Marriage on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/enjoy_your_marriage/) Facebook,(Enjoy Your Marriage@warrenandsonya)· as well as our website -https://enjoyyourmarriage.org/. One fun job I have is serving as a wedding officiant with Loving Celebrations (https://loving-celebrations.net/weddingofficiants/) in the Dallas area. and I also serve a local church community in Frisco as the full time, Marriage and Care Pastor. I have a deep passion to see people find peace, joy and health in their personal lives through emotional, mental, physical and spiritual growth and wellness. I love equipping couples with relationship tools and techniques to truly prepare for and enjoy their marriages. Life is a gift and it should be enjoyed! I am most proud of having a healthy marriage with my high school sweetheart, raising well adjusted, loving children and being able to serve my community as a woman in ministry. Helping couples learn to heal and reconcile after they have gone through a challenging season as well as teaching relationship education to those that want to learn brings me deep joy and satisfaction. I cannot believe that I GET to do what I do! I believe my skills, my passion and my personal life experiences set me apart and have helped me create life changing moments for those that I get to work with. It is an honor to serve people and help in anyway that I can.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I believe that what has built my reputation within the markets I serve in is old fashioned, word-of-mouth stories of life change and healing. When people attend a conference or workshop and learn how to enjoy their marriage in a new way or find hope in a place that they had previously felt hopeless, they will tell their family and friends about the experience. When people get married and love their ceremony experience, many of their friends and family get to experience alongside them at the wedding and then tell others. When people receive pastoral counseling that brings them freedom and peace where there had been pain and conflict, they tell their friends. People sharing stories of inspiration, healing and hope is how my reputation has been built more than any other kind of marketing.

Any advice for managing a team?

I have a large team of volunteers that serve in the marriage and care ministries that I lead and I adore them. We eat meals together, laugh together and occasionally cry together. We see each other as a community of servants here to help those with certain needs. The scale of work that is being done would not be possible without the team. I have the privilege of equipping them, supporting them, encouraging them, seeing the potential in them and giving them the opportunity to do what they feel called to do! I want them to have every opportunity to share what they’ve learned within their spheres of influence and to do so with equipped confidence. I want to cheer them on when it’s difficult, and care for them when they go through their own personal, challenging seasons. Setting them up for success is an absolute pleasure for me. There truly is no “I’ in team!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://enjoyyourmarriage.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/enjoy_your_marriage/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/warrenandsonya
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sonya-jacobs-191614158/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXXGuRQAPFw&list=PLpJXcNt1gWbQST8Lv6pD0dQiMmR-Im_RZ

Image Credits
@christiegarephotography