Darla: [00:00:00] Welcome to the Spiritually Minded Women podcast. I am thrilled to be here today with you as always. And I have a great guest for you today. Her name is Natalie Bogle, and I’m going to let her introduce herself to you, but Natalie, welcome to the podcast.
Natalie: [00:00:41] Thank you. I am so excited to be here. I have loved listening to your podcast and I am, feel privileged to be on an episode.
Darla: [00:00:50] Well, I’m excited to share what you’re going to share. It’s going to be really great. So can you just introduce yourself, tell me a little bit more about you.
Natalie: [00:00:58] Yes. So I am, I’ve lived in Arizona for 37 of my 38 years.
Darla: [00:01:06] What was the other year?
Natalie: [00:01:08] I was born and I was a Provo, BYU baby.
Darla: [00:01:11] Okay. That makes sense. I have one of those, too. So…
Natalie: [00:01:14] My dad moved here and he worked for Honeywell until he retired. So I have loved Arizona, but the funny thing is, is my husband is a native and he says, I am not a native.
Darla: [00:01:25] Because you weren’t born here.
I wasn’t born here. And
Natalie: [00:01:28] I’m always like, Oh, Oh my goodness. But yes, I love Arizona. I love the heat and I just love living here. So I have six kids. They are 16, 14, 11 boys, three boys in a row. And then I have three girls and they are 10, eight, and five all girls. So it’s funny because I always think Heavenly Father knew that I am a, I’m a math brain. I love things kind of organized and planned. And so He’s like, okay, we’ll give you three girls, three boys, and then we’ll do three girls. So we actually have, an adopted daughter. She is our nine-year-old and, she’s almost nine and she’s, she turns nine in March. And, I have been, I feel like I have always been an obedient daughter of God. I’ve just always been one that, and, and with my parents, like they tell me what to do and I can I listen. And I’ve just always been obedient and fostering was one of those things that Heavenly Father was like, okay, you need to do this. And never in my mind, did I think about adopting or any of that, but we have been blessed with an adopted daughter and it’s funny because Heavenly Father, so all my boys, their names end in E N and all of my girls, which we did not name her adopted daughter, all their names end in that uh sound, Hannah, Eliza, Arianna. It’s just funny.
Darla: [00:02:57] Oh, crazy how he works that altogether. Okay. Well, so we’re not even talking about that you’re fostering and adoption journey we’re talking about. So, so we could do, we could do a whole nother episode on that. I’m sure. I really, I really love hearing about your family and, three boys, three girls. That works great. I love that. Okay. So what we are going to talk about, and, what we’ve discussed before is talking about how your journey on the covenant path has involved creating businesses. And you’ve done this more than once, and you just feel like that is what God has always called you to do. And so I want to hear more about that. How did this start for you? You know, where were you at in your life when you started feeling this call to be a creator of a business?
Natalie: [00:03:40] I think, gosh, it’s, we’ve always kind of actually struggled with money and I have been one that’s like, okay, how can I help my husband provide for our family? I have a degree, a teaching degree. And so I did that for a few years, but then I really felt called to stay home with my kids because I had always wanted to be a mom. And, but as I was mothering, I was always pulled to these other things for awhile. I thought, Oh, I could do like subscription boxes. I never did that. Those were just thoughts coming through my mind. My sister-in-laws and I actually started a clothing boutique, which I it’s funny because I am, I’m not into clothes. My sister-in-law was luckily. And I just, like, I did all the spreadsheets of the inventory that we had and I did the books and I loved that and we had a great time. But while I was doing that heavenly father, you know, he said, you guys should do foster care. So we did foster care for seven years. He also said you should homeschool, which I never wanted to homeschool ever. It took me about six months to finally be like, okay, I will do it Heavenly Father. And so we started homeschooling actually a little bit before we started doing foster care. And so we did that for a long time and I was in the midst of homeschooling doing foster care. And we actually had just moved in with my father. The old place we were living at, wasn’t really working for our family. And heavenly father said, you should ask your dad if you can live with him. And I’m like, Oh, okay. And my dad lived out here in Maricopa and he had a large home. And thankfully he said, yes. And it was six months later or no, sorry. Two days later that Heavenly Father sent our adopted daughter’s brother to live with us. So it was crazy. And amongst all of that, it was, it was about six months later, Heavenly Father’s like, okay. You’re drowning. At least that’s how I felt homeschooling, fostering, um, you know, having, uh, adopted children. our adopted daughter’s autistic and ADHD. So just lots of appointments and things like that. And I was mentally drowning. I wasn’t really sure how to pick myself up. I had, there was just so many things going on in so many emotions. But Heavenly Father said you should start an online fitness coaching business.
Darla: [00:06:17] Okay. I want to pause here for a second because, there’s a theme of what you’re saying here. And in all of these steps, you’re just saying, Heavenly father said this, Heavenly Father said to do this. Like, what did that look like for you? I’m just curious, like, how was He speaking to you?
Natalie: [00:06:31] So at that time He speaks to me a little bit differently now, but at that time I would pray and then it was always in the shower. Always in the shower.
Darla: [00:06:41] You’re not the first guest to say that.That is a way the Spirit works, is in the shower, for sure.
Because it
Natalie: [00:06:46] was only time that I created to feel his guidance. My prayers back then were more just kneeling and saying help me and not really listening. But He knew that I was trying, and that was the place that He could connect with me was in the shower. I prayed and pleaded for a long time. Like with homeschooling, I didn’t want to do that. But I, the online fitness coaching, I was like, okay. I had a friend who did it. And I thought, okay, after six months I’m like, okay, I can, I can try this.
Darla: [00:07:21] So is this something that you had already been interested in or was it like Heavenly Father really saying like, this is what you should do?
Natalie: [00:07:27] It was more, I followed my friend on, you know, it was just my friend on Instagram and her friend on Instagram and I was just watching their journey and I enjoyed what they were sharing and what they were learning. And I was just praying to Heavenly Father, how can I better help myself mentally, physically? At that time, I, my daughter was six months old. And that is what He guided me to do. Now, from there, I learned that personal development was huge for my mental health, which I had never done that before, but the, to be an online fitness coach, they say, you need to be proof of the product, so exercising and eating healthy, which I learned that that’s great for our minds. And then also you had to do personal development 15 minutes every day. And it was through those two things that heavenly father was like, that my mind started to shift and my energy started to shift and He knew, He knows me that when I say I’m going to do something that I go full in. And, he knew that it needed to be a business, because I needed to not feel like I was in air quotes, “wasting my time”. Do you know what I mean? I needed to,
Darla: [00:08:48] I totally understand that.
Natalie: [00:08:49] Like I was connecting or I was contributing to family income. So that’s, that’s what I did. And I did it for about, two and a half years and I loved it, but I also, I learned so much from being online fitness coach, but it also was hard. I mean, running any kind of business is hard and then, homeschooling and fostering and doing all of those things. But what I took from that, was really just this huge learning growth, very quickly of how I could mentally and physically take care of myself. And it was just very interesting to me that Heavenly Father knew that it was through my business, that that’s how I needed to learn that, how to strengthen my own spirit. So amongst that, I went to, General Women’s Conference. I believe it was in October. It was in October and I went there and I’m taking notes and listening to the woman speak and the prophets speak. And I really get this impression that I need to not be an online fitness coach anymore.
And I was devastated.
Darla: [00:09:59] Yeah, I can see. I mean you’ve been guided to do this and then all of a sudden. It’s like, no, not anymore.
Natalie: [00:10:05] Not anymore. I’m like, what am I supposed to do now? Kind of thing. And so I remember I took my notebook and I drove myself to yogurt jungle. You know, you can get frozen yogurt. I went inside, I got frozen yogurt. I came out to my car and I’m sitting there writing and I’m just writing my thoughts. And I’m like, I don’t get this. I don’t understand. I’m not doing this. And I remember I pleaded and I begged and Heavenly Father’s finally like, okay, you can do it a little bit.
Darla: [00:10:39] So what did that look like?
Natalie: [00:10:41] So it looked like that I didn’t coach as many women and I didn’t run as many groups and I just remember thinking, wow. That I was like bargaining with Heavenly Father. So that was in October and in September, we had just bought a house. My, but then we had some crazy things happen in our family. I can’t remember the exact, order of everything. But, so we bought a house in September, in October my son, my oldest son, he got in an accident, off-roading vehicle accident and he broke both of his his femur and his, um, other bone. You can tell I’m not a doctor. He was in a serious accident. So, it’s actually taken him about two and a half years to be able to really fully use his leg again, it’s been a miracle. So that happened. And then literally the next week my husband lost his job and I was like, you want me to quit this business, which I was bringing in a little, it would definitely not support our family.
Darla: [00:11:52] Right.
Natalie: [00:11:53] But I felt completely like Heavenly Father, you’re taking all of this away. What am I supposed to do? What do you mean that I’m not supposed to do this anymore? And so I really just, was really praying. And this time I had my own house and I had my own closet, so I had a walk-in closet that I could go to and pray. And that became my sanctuary, my sanctuary, where I could actually listen to Heavenly Father. And that’s when I, started journaling a lot. And I really just started journaling my thoughts and my feelings and my questions for Heavenly Father. And He said, you need to create a planner. And I’m like, Oh, Okay. So as you have learned as I, I am obedient, I just am like, okay. If you really think that’s what I’m supposed to do, then I guess I will do that. So I let go of my online fitness coaching. And I dived into creating the anchor planner.
Darla: [00:12:56] I want to know, like, what was the first thing you did? Like, I don’t, it sounds like this wasn’t on your radar. Like you didn’t, you never had aspirations to create a planner and then God tells you to do it. Like, what was the first thing that you did?
Natalie: [00:13:07] So I have really learned how to write what He tells me. I just started writing. I really just started doing, He kind of prepared me because I had been using some other planners and journals and other things, and He basically said take everything you’ve learned from doing online fitness coaching and put it into a planner. And so, I knew I had been doing a journal that had gratitude. I knew that needed to be in there. I had been doing a journal that , where you wrote out your dreams every day, who you wanted to be. And I, I liked it, but I felt like there was something missing. I felt the connection between God was missing and Heavenly Father’s like, you need to put that connection of God in this planner. So I had also knew, that I needed to schedule my time. Like in order for me to actually get something done, I needed to plan my day out. And then the last thing that I learned from online fitness coaching was strengthening my mind, body and spirit needed to happen every single day. And so the anchor planner has all of those things in there. It was just Heavenly Father’s like, okay, I’ve prepared you. I had you homeschool because homeschooling is when I really learned that if we want to accomplish something right, we need to set a goal. And He’s like, I had you homeschool. I’ve had you do the online fitness coaching, and now you are here. These are all the things I’ve already taught you. You just need to put them in the planner. And so I just went to work and my kids at that time were in a private school. And so I took them, we drove 45 minutes. I took them there. I sat in the car for three hours and I just typed on my computer for months creating the anchor planner. And, it’s been two years since I’ve made, created the anchor planner and started selling it. And, it’s growing and I have loved seeing women use the planner and really dive into who God created them to be, because it starts out with, visualizing who you want to become and then creating what are called anchors. Now, anchors are statements of who you are becoming, but they’re written as if you’ve already become that person. So, you write seven of them. And, one that I’ve been writing for a long time is, I make meaningful daily connections with each of my children and cause that’s something I want to do every day. But I have a relationship one, Tom and I have a joyful marriage centered in Christ and writing those every single day really helps me hone in on who God created me to be. And then I take one and I write the actions I’m going to work on that day and schedule my time and then make sure I’m strengthening my mind, body and spirit every single day.
Darla: [00:15:52] I love it. I love all of this. So one of the, the things that I was thinking about when I was reading what you wrote to me, kind of preparing for this episode, and then what you’ve shared is it feels like, Heavenly Father has guided you to know what your purpose is. And so how do you use your planner to help other women know what their purpose is?
Natalie: [00:16:12] Yes. So, feel like as women, we struggle with that for a long time and it wasn’t really until these, until I’ve done created the planner that I really learned who God created me to be. And actually it’s that I speak His truth. Like I’ve just learned over and over that if I can just speak God’s truth, I am fulfilling my purpose. And I’m not sure if that’s in the planner, if it’s homeschooling, if it’s on this podcast, like it’s all of those things encompassed. And so the planner is really just connecting you with the spirit and being able to, give you time to listen, because that’s the hardest thing sometimes is just creating that time. And then bringing the spirit to connect you and finding your purpose. Now it’s funny because I have a 90 day challenge going right now, and I have women in there who are using the planner and we’re working on our anchors and trying to figure out out who God created us to be, who, He wants us to be working on right now. And I had lots of questions like, can I change my mind. The Spirit’s really calling me towards this other direction. And I’m like, yes, yes, because that is what God wants you to work on right now. But I feel like until we actually create the time to journal and plan, then we have to receive inspiration in the shower.
Darla: [00:17:40] We can progress beyond the shower. Right?
Natalie: [00:17:42] Right. Well, and we can progress more quickly. Because we created that time and, Heavenly Father can speak to us more quickly than every time we take a shower.
Darla: [00:17:54] I really, I love, I love thinking about your planner as a tool that someone can use to help them to grow in personal revelation and to know how God is speaking to them and to know how to use their time. And I just think, I think that is such a great thing. And it’s really interesting to hear how he prepared you. I mean, going years back, like He, every step of the way He was preparing you and, and who knows that maybe this planner is a way to prepare you for something else.
Natalie: [00:18:23] Right. Right. Well, and I’ve already, He needed me to create the planner first and to start the business first, I’ve noticed that just within the last two years, because I’ve been able to create a journal, that’s simply just connecting a prayer journal, connecting between you and God. And I’m working on a course and you know, just all of these things. And he wants me to do a podcast, but, I’m not quite there yet.
Darla: [00:18:47] You can do it. You can totally do it. I have no doubt you should. Yes. I will always advocate for that.
Natalie: [00:18:54] I’m hoping this year. We’ll see. But yes, he I’ve learned that if I can just say yes, it will never be easy. Adoption was hard and, and continues to be hard and homeschooling was hard. And I’m glad we’ve found a kind of in between we do micro schooling. And running a business is hard, but the growth that I’ve learned from all of those things has made me me and has brought me closer to who God created me to be. So,
Darla: [00:19:27] Okay, so what advice would you give to someone who’s like you in the shower, feeling these nudges, feeling like this is what God is telling me to do. You know, you said that you’re a very obedient person and you just kind of do it, but what advice would you give to someone who’s hesitant or feels afraid or, you know, doesn’t quite know, is this really God talking to me? What would you say to that woman who who’s just kind of where you were and on the cusp of, of starting something new and following what he wants them to do and their journey?
Natalie: [00:19:55] I would say act. I’ve learned that as I hear the spirit and I hear those thoughts over and over again. It’s not me, it’s the spirit. And so as I act, then He gives me more and I’m able to learn how the spirit speaks to me because I’m acting. This is a new thing that I’m doing lately. When I pray, I asked Heavenly Father, what is my next line? And the reason is because we learn line upon line, right? And so it’s like, Heavenly Father, just give me my next line. You know, and so as we hear that and we act on that line, then He’ll continue to give us more lines upon lines. And so it’s really just acting and yes, it’s hard to do that. I did not want to homeschool. I did not want to do foster care. I did not want to run a business. And, and even a business that talks about God is hard. But I love it. I love teaching and being able to share that connection with other women.
Darla: [00:20:56] Okay. I’ll just say a big amen to acting because that is something I feel so passionately about because for me, I was, I was one of these women that spent so many years just feeling called to do something and feeling the pull and just sitting there and just expecting God to drop it in my lap. And when I finally made the connection. Oh, I have to act. And I finally made that connection and I started acting that’s when I really, I always say when I act, I feel power. That’s when I felt God’s power come into my life. And, and so I love what you’re saying. And, you know, your, your example shows that it doesn’t have to be something huge to act, like you just started writing out, you know when you had the prompting to start your planner, you just started writing and trying to figure out what God was telling you and connecting the dots between what you’ve done in the past. And I just, I love that. So, so much like I’m so glad you brought that up because that is just key and it, it doesn’t have to be scary and hard. It can just be, you know, just do. Like you said the next line. I love that. I always think about what’s my next step. I pray that a lot. Um, but I love, I love how you’re bringing the scripture into that, that it’s line upon line. That is how we learn. So, so good, Natalie, this has been wonderful. I have loved learning from you and I do have one final question for you, and that is how have you seen and felt the Savior in your journey on the covenant path?
Natalie: [00:22:21] Yes, the Savior, He is my best friend. Right? It is through him that I am able to overcome my fear. I am able to, feel comforted when business is hard. It’s through him that I am able to have my connection through to God and being able to feel the spirit. And, I am forever grateful to be able to grow and change and repent and change, because of him and that Is, I love Him. And, I can’t wait to meet Him one day and thank Him and hug Him for all that he has given me so that I can progress to be like, like God, one day.
Darla: [00:23:09] Beautifully said, I love that. Thank you so much for being here, Natalie, if people want to find out more about you and about your anchor planner, where can they go to do that?
Natalie: [00:23:19] Yes. So I, anchorplanner.com is where you can order your planner. But I love to become friends and chat over on Instagram also. And it’s just @anchorplanner. You can find me there and, we will have a party.
Darla: [00:23:33] That is great. Well, I’ll link all that up in the show notes as well. So everyone can look there and go right to those links and I’m, I’m so excited to help share the message that you’re sharing. It’s it’s really great. And, and something that I know. So many women will benefit from, so thanks so much for being here.
Natalie: [00:23:49] Thank you for having me. It’s been a blast.
Darla: [00:23:53] And now for this week’s journal questions.
Natalie shared how she learned to hear God’s voice in her life by writing. Is writing a way that you connect with God? If you’re not sure. Try it out, open up a notebook and start writing what comes to your mind? Share your thoughts, feelings, and questions with God by writing them out. Notice if writing helps you connect more. If it does keep doing it. Maybe writing is a way you connect and maybe it isn’t, but you’ll never know until you try.
Natalie said her closet has become her sanctuary as a place she connects with God. Where is your sanctuary?
When can you carve out time to build your relationship with your Heavenly Parents?
What has God asked you to do that you haven’t said yes to yet?
How can you take the first step and act on what you feel He is prompting you to do?