Embracing Your Sparkle- with Sparkle Netto

In this episode, Natalie and Sparkle engage in a heartfelt conversation about the multifaceted roles women play in life and how they can embrace their identities without being confined to societal expectations. Sparkle shares her journey from aspiring to be the first female president to finding her purpose in serving others through her experiences as a mother and a professional. They discuss the importance of rewriting negative scripts, the power of community, and how to navigate failure with resilience. The conversation emphasizes that women can pursue their dreams and support one another in a competitive world, ultimately encouraging listeners to live abundantly and authentically.

Transcript

Natalie (00:01.048)
Well, welcome back to the I don't even like women podcast. I have joining with me today in studio in person, a friend of mine, Sparkle. Now I'm gonna be honest with you guys. I have called her Sparkle since the day we met. And it's actually because I don't know that I know your last name because you're like Cher or like Whitney, right? Absolutely. So I'm just like, you know, this is Sparkle you guys. And we live in Kentucky. We go to church together.

and Sparkle has just become such a quick friend of mine since coming here. So thank you for being here with I'm so excited. Guys, listen, today we are going to have a candid conversation about women and how we can use all the different hats that we wear, all the different things that we do to bring glory to the Lord, but also to fully celebrate who he has made us to be without being pigeonholed and to stay at home mom, working.

woman, whatever it might be, that God has given us so many tools in our tool belt. And Sparkle is one who uses all of her tools. I do. And she uses them for the glory of the Lord. So I am going to just pass it off to Sparkle, let her introduce herself to you, and we're going to see what happens in this time together. That is exciting and terrifying at the same time. Yes, I am Sparkle. My last name is Neto. I do. Yeah, but like just call me Sparkle. I actually like that. Yeah, live in Kentucky, love Natalie.

Actually, the first time that I met you, think about this all the time. So the very first time you walked into the room, the green room, I'm like, who is this sparkly sequence person? And I looked like a complete bum because I was hiding. And I'm like, she's pretty cool, but I'm going to fill it out. And I think we were kind of the same, to see, like observe people first. And then the second time, you didn't say hardly anything to me. And I'm like, I'm just going to watch her.

the second time with the next rehearsal, I called you Rachel by accident. Do you remember? do. And I felt so bad I didn't sleep partly that night. But then the way you handled it, I was like, actually like her. And then instant, I'm like, she's my sister. Love her forever. Married to my amazing husband, three kids, a real estate agent, all the things. I feel like when I...

Natalie (02:11.15)
say all the things I do people are like you're lying but I do so many things so I don't even know if I should list all the No you should because look women we're like Dora the Explorer right like we got our backpack and we could be a scuba diver we could be a ballerina like the options are endless but take me back to little girl sparkle like what did you love what was a dream what did you journal about when you were

talking to the Lord. a pastor's kid as well. So you've been in this church world. Yeah, born into it. So tell me about Young Sparkle. So it's not going to come as surprising to people who know me. My dream was to become the first female president of the United States. It still happen. It can still happen. Really, that was my dream. I had this whole plan that I was going to go to NYU or Harvard or Yale for my

four year and then like law school and then I was gonna move definitely to New York City. I was gonna get a really cool loft. I was gonna become the assistant district attorney of New York City. Like I'm talking like nine years old like journaling this like dear God and then listing all my plans. And then I was gonna work my way up become a house representative, go to the house representative, become a senator, not sure what state I wanted to be in and then I was like I'm gonna run and I'm gonna win.

vote for Sparkle. This win, I'm going to win attitude. mean, that is something that from an early age, which would explain why you do bodybuilding and you do, you know, some of that. so as you're growing up, what did the Lord start to shift? When did that wanting to be president, when did that start shifting? So I feel like it's still there, but so pastors kid, and you know this.

is that I feel like when people who don't grow up in the church, right, they see this like nice family and they're going to church and doing all these things together and like the kids look put together like their life must be amazing and not so much. Like that just wasn't my story. Home was a little bit traumatizing sometimes. And I really.

Natalie (04:16.992)
valued that secret place with the Lord from a very, very young age because I often found myself in a room, my room by myself or somewhere in the woods by myself with the Lord. As young as I could, like eight years old. And so I quickly learned that that was my safe place and he was who I could always count on. He was going to be faithful.

I could say whatever I needed to say and he was never gonna judge me and I still as an adult say lots of crazy things and sometimes I get looks from people, not you because you just accept me as I am. But I know like that's relationship that I still have with the Lord. And so I just made up my mind that wherever God took me but hopefully he took me on my diary plan that I was gonna be taken care of. I couldn't explain it as a child. I just knew that I was going to be great.

and God was gonna be with me and I was going to have favor and whatever that looked like, I could do anything. And I had parents who were affirming, but I also had parents who had so much responsibility of all these churches, like internationally, that they were planting, we were moving all the time because we were also military, all of these kids, mean, so many siblings, and I was right in the middle. And so I often felt like the forgotten child, but I never felt forgotten by God, if that makes sense.

And so just like me and God, and we're just gonna figure this thing out, but I was gonna do everything. And so I remember being in high school and sitting down my junior year with the guidance counselor, and she's saying, what do wanna do? And so I gave her this great plan that I shared already. And I said, but also it would be really cool to have six kids. It would be really cool to travel the world and speak. At that time already, I was already preaching at youth convocations in Church of God in Christ.

And so my dad would be preaching and then if there was any kind of youth event or night service, they would have me be the preacher. So I'm like, I would be cool to be a communicator. I wanna be a motivational speaker. I wanna continue preaching. And I remember her looking at me after I said all these things and she said, you really need to like focus on that and stay in your lane. And that just did not resonate with me. Like it just didn't. It didn't sit well with my spirit even at that age.

Natalie (06:28.15)
And so I was just like, no, I'm not gonna do that. And I understand that what I am saying sounds crazy to the average person, but my mom told me something when I was in fourth grade that I tell my kids now. She said my pregnancy wasn't average, my labor and delivery wasn't average, and so there's nothing average about you. So I'm like, there's nothing average about me. I'm not gonna have an average life.

So I did, I went to college and then, you know, have the husband, I started a family, like all of the things. And my law school plans got put on hold because as you know, you would give God all of our plans and I think he entertains the plan, like you're so cute, like that's fine. Until he's like, but now really it's time to step into what I've called you for. So my oldest is 15 and.

had her December 21st and on the Christmas Eve she got really sick. So she's like three days old, got really, really sick. And I have this new mom, still recovering from labor and delivery and just green, wet behind the ears, don't know anything. And so we took her to a hospital. It was the wrong hospital. And they're like, we can't help your baby here. Go to the other children's hospital, went to that hospital and they're like, she's really sick. We need to go to the big children's hospital. So again, I am...

20 years old and I'm like, don't know what to do. And had the craziest experience there where like my newborn baby, and I feel like I was still a baby, like went lifeless in my arms at this hospital in the ultrasound room. And I just remember like, okay, God, you said that you are not just the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, you're my personal God. And so you're the God of this child. And so you've got to help me. And so I'm carrying this lifeless baby running down the halls of Children's Hospital screaming, help me.

Christmas Eve and a nurse grabs a baby. They take me to the trauma bay and we're just watching them work on our tiny little doll like baby. And they admitted us and there was a volunteer. They called him at the time, Jacob's volunteers. And I remember sitting there broken, just again, recovering from labor and delivery, just numb. I called my parents, asked them to come and this man who I never saw again, by the way, and they could not find him. Truly, I believe he was an angel from the Lord.

Natalie (08:49.102)
He came to me, he nailed down, he explained everything that they were gonna do with his child, with my child, and put his hand on my shoulder and he said, but I'm gonna stay here right here, the whole time. Anytime my parents would call, he would take the phone and he changed my life, like, changed my life and how I wanted to do something that I could serve people, that I wanted to do something where I could link arms with somebody and walk them through life and the hard times, not just the good times, I wanna walk them through the hard times and I want to be

the perfect stranger that that perfect stranger was to me. they, Jada's fine, she was released. They were like, we don't know. Anomaly. And I truly believe God allowed that to happen, to break something in me. So I can have that experience with this Jacobs volunteer. Because again, changed my perspective. I'm like, I don't need law school. I wanna love people. I wanna serve people. I wanna hold their hand and put my hand on their shoulder and say, you're not alone. And so I got a job at that hospital.

was there for about eight years. And I got to help people walk alongside them, change policies that allowed mothers to know that they weren't alone, that allowed parents to feel like all the things. It was beautiful. And I'm like, okay, God, so I need to help people. I learned that one of my human needs is significance and not significance building me up or edifying myself. It was significance that I was going to be in the presence somebody.

and how I talk to them, how I treated them was gonna change them for the better in that moment. I wanted to leave people better than I found them. And so everything I've done in my life since that moment has been towards that goal. I mean, that was a lot, but. No, it's so good. And I can attest to you guys that Sparkle is all of those things. Everybody who meets her, she's present, she's contact with the eyes. mean, she is such a nurturer.

at heart and you work with our youth and you're in worship. mean your heart is for people to feel exactly what you describe. Now you mentioned some old scripts that you you had spoken over you by your mom. You're not average. You're not just the everyday run-of-the-mill kid and that was a script that you probably have carried with you absolutely throughout your whole life and in this book we talk about scripts that are written for us over us by Hollywood by our teachers by our coaches.

Natalie (11:03.8)
by other women. Yeah. And you've worked hard to remember I'm not just average. I'm not just a one trick pony. I'm not just this thing that just produces, but I have purpose. have a plan for my life that is God's plan that I'm walking with him in. Let's talk about some of the new scripts that you've written over yourself. You went into bodybuilding. I did. Now what prompted this whole thing? So I love a challenge.

I love trying new things. Every year I try to pick one big thing. Drives my husband nuts. Absolutely nuts, but I think he expects it. He's like bracing himself every year like, no, it's that time of year again. So I owned a makeup company and favor of the Lord, like he just knows what he's doing, right? He just teed everything up. I met another makeup artist at church serving, doing makeup for our next gen, one of our biggest next gen night, Stranger Things. She was so kind, we instantly connected.

And I got a phone call a week later from somebody that she knows from the industry and saying, hey, there's an opening for a contract to do makeup for bodybuilding. And I'm like, what is that? And no, I don't think that's in my plan. But she ended up calling me that makeup artist and she said, listen, I was brought your name and I really think this is a great opportunity. I don't know why you were the first person I thought of. Again, she did not know me very well.

So I'm like, okay, I guess I will try. So bodybuilding makeup is like stage makeup. Like think of when you go see like cheer competition. It's just like so much, very dramatic. And I'm like, I will, I will try. I went, fell in love. I fell in love with not just the fast pace. I mean, I had 30 minutes. I woke up at 2.30 AM, first of all. And I had 30 minutes for each woman and I had to make them look like a queen for their very special moment, their one minute that they get on that stage.

So a lot of pressure, I love pressure, love it, I love the fast pace. And I love talking to the women and hearing their stories. These were mothers, some of them were stay at home moms, some of them were, I met an anesthesiologist, I met an author, I met someone who owned a daycare, like just their stories and the things that they did. I was like, these are not average women. They believe that they weren't average and they were going to change their life.

Natalie (13:23.95)
and they were going to do something that most people didn't understand and they were going to do it as mothers and as wives and these like busy career driven women. And I caught the bug, cause what I tell people, they inspired me so much and they put back in perspective that I'm not average. And so I get one life and I believe everyone that's like, you know, the YOLO you live, you only live once. And my kids get annoyed because when I hear someone say it, I'm like, yeah, but if you do it right, is enough.

And so I'm like, you're right, I only lived once. I need to try this thing, it's hard, it's gonna be crazy. And I did, and I fell in love. And it was, it's the loneliest sport you will ever do because nobody understands. You don't do dinners with friends, you don't go out with friends, you don't go out with your husband, you are packing weird food. I mean, I was like running the confidence monitor for a worship team with like my bland chicken and brown rice. It was like crazy.

But I went all in. When I do something, was raised at military side of my parents. You go all in. You do it. And you do it unto the Lord. And so I did. And I took a first place my first show. I took a third place. I tied. And then three months later, I did it again. And I became Miss Bikini Universe, running up like just crazy. And then I did another one three months later. it's like, so it was beautiful. And it was amazing.

I'm also the type of person so once I do those big things, I listen to not just my body, but I listen to the Lord and truly he was like, you did it, that's enough. Take what you learned.

and let's go do something else. And so I learned so much and I checked that off. I just checked that off and I moved on to something else. It's crazy too because it's like women can rewrite the script for each other without even saying a word. 100%. 100%. up and like seeing the stay at home mom at 2AM getting her makeup done for something that she probably didn't even think she could do. No. Or you know working with someone who has been wrestling with body image or whatever and saying today I'm putting it all out there. I've done the hard work.

Natalie (15:29.046)
Where do you personally get the holy hutzpahs, what we would call it? Like, guts. where does that come from at 35 years old when you're looking at 37? 36. Like, at 36, because we know at 40 something kind of magical happens in women. We're kind of like, yeah, I don't care. They call it the eagle. Have you heard that? It's incredible.

It's the most beautiful thing. I'm looking forward to it. think it already has happened to me. I think I was gonna say, I think you're early bloomer. Yeah, Everyone should be scared when I turn 40. What am I gonna do? I wanna see this. But I do think that there is something inside of every woman. I don't think it's just personality. Because I do think that introverts, extroverts, we all have a gutsy part of us.

What is it about you that you're like, is just what happened in my life, this was the shift, or what do you think, and this is maybe a dual question, why do you think some women are afraid to take their chances? I think because of the lies that have been spoken over them from even childhood, that you either go out into the workforce or you are this doting, loving, stay-at-home mom. And those are the only things that you do. And there's nothing in between and there's nothing outside of those things.

And that is a lie, because the God that I know, the God that I served does all things. And he told me that with him all things are possible. And so to me, that doesn't mean two things are possible for me. That literally means all things, anything, everything. And so I just believe that the Lord didn't come here. He did not die on a brutal cross for me to just pigeonhole myself. And so he wants me to live abundantly. And so he wants all of us to live abundantly.

And what that looks like is you may have a family, love your children, because I believe children are blessing, they are legacies, Bible calls them arrows. Like I believe all of those things. And God also cares for you as the woman, as the mother, and wants you to experience this abundant life. And it's so reminding yourself and doing a self check about how I'm living my life and how I'm seeing myself and the things that I want to do in my dreams and all that. Is it lining up according to the word of God?

Natalie (17:37.858)
who says that I can do all things and who wants me to have this abundant life. And I think that's really hard because we have like mom guilt, right? And I have definitely like wrestled with that, not so much anymore. It was like God did something in this bodybuilding thing. As a real estate agent now and I was like bodybuilding and I still own my makeup business and like all of these things, he did something in me. And I don't know, I can't explain what it is but.

I just don't, I know that's never gonna be my struggle again. Where I'm never going to feel like I have to stop what I am doing or not pursue something, of course, that God wants me to do because I don't believe that I should. Or because I'm not good enough or I'm not, it doesn't say that anywhere in the word that you have to be good enough to do something. So I think it's like the script you talk about, it's.

about believing those lies constantly or the narrative that there are two options for us women and that's it. And if you change, you can change options, you can do this move, but you can't do this. Because that makes you unstable. That makes you reckless. That makes you not reasonable. All of these things and that's a lie. It's just a lie. And so I just don't live my life like that. And the other big part is I'm a mother and that the things that I tell my children,

I don't want them to look back and be like my mother was a hypocrite. She told me I could do anything and all things through Christ Jesus. But my mom stayed in her box and just did not want to move. And I mean, I hate to say this, but I do believe, especially in Christian households, that Christian parents, especially moms sometimes, can be the first exposure to hypocrisy to our children. And

I couldn't let that be me. I witnessed that with my mom. And I couldn't let that be the same legacy that I was bringing over. Because if I tell my kids that they are more than conquerors and they can do all things and that they are more, like they're not average. You are somebody and God is going to use you for great things, big things. And then they see me and how I live my life. And as they're talking about me to their children, like my mom said these things, but she didn't.

Natalie (20:00.814)
She didn't live life to the fullest. She just did one thing and she turned down everything and she didn't want to live big. I don't want that to be my story. I just don't. Man, it's crazy, you guys, because, you know, as women, we can sit and hear these stories and we think, no, but I am living life to the fullest. I'm, you know, I'm just in a weird season. I'm just in a hard season. But guys, like, seasons don't mean that there's only one option for that season. Like, you might have a...

little kid at home and you can still, yes, compete in a bodybuilding contest. You can be a single woman and not be married and still greatly impact other women in your life through your journey and through what you're learning and everything. Let's talk about failure because here's something that we don't often talk about and that is this, that a man can fail. And I don't just mean this like make a mistake or

not do their job right. I'm talking moral failures, as pastors. And somehow they're all restored. It's like, we're going to put them through the restoration process. They'll be restored back into whatever this is. But for women, it's kind of like a one and done sometimes. There is this lie that we have to get it right the first time. And that if we mess up, we've ruined it. If we pee in the pool, man, we've ruined it for every woman who wants to get in that pool. So how do we deal with failure?

when we know we were made for greatness, when we know we're not average, what does failure look like for you? I'm human, so I fail. Because of my personality, I don't enjoy it. I don't like losing. I just don't. But I remind myself that I am human and that even in my weakness, like his strength is made perfect and that's okay. And I don't dwell on those failures. I...

My husband says that sometimes I'm optimistic to a fault because I will fail at something. I'm like, no, I didn't. That was a discovery. I like that. Yeah. It's a discovery. So I know not to do it that way next time. And I don't sit there in the failure and let it beat me down because then I feel like you're opening the door to shame and you start telling yourself all the lies that the enemy wants you to believe about yourself. And then you get stuck. Yes. You get stuck in that place of.

Natalie (22:21.528)
failure which we don't have to do that again like God did not do all the things he did for us out of love and his kindness and his faithfulness for us to be stuck. So those are discoveries and I again I've just been that way for a long time like you have to be resilient just like David you're gonna have to learn how to encourage yourself in the Lord and

It's a discovery. I know I can't do that that way next time. And I may have to take some time to dust myself off, tend to those wounds, because that's really important. But then do that, and then you try again. Absolutely. And this is the power of community too. Yes. Because then we have somebody to call to be like, that didn't go like I thought it was going to go. And that didn't pan out the way I thought it was going to pan out. Do you have any words or something? Talk to me about what community has meant.

for you as a woman in your 30s. How has that changed since your 20s? gosh, yeah. And what does that look like now? My community has gotten smaller. That trusted, beautiful community has gotten smaller on purpose. I think it's supposed to be that way. Because I am kind of more in the public eye with all the followers and things like that. I feel like you can probably attest to that. Lots of people feel like they're my community, which is great and wonderful. But my people...

who I know that when I have a failure or discovery or when I am down or I'm struggling to believe something true about myself or when I know I need that godly correction that I don't want to accept in that moment but I know that God will use another person to do it. That group is really small. It's very intentional. I call it my board of directors. I do.

I call my board of directors because what does the board of directors do? They all are aligned on the mission and a goal and their job is to see that through together. They're going to problem solve together. They're going to hold each other accountable. They are going to cast vision for the future for each other for whatever that mission is and they are unrelenting in that coming to fruition.

Natalie (24:33.004)
And so my board of directors used to be everybody and their mother in my 20s because you know how it is. I just wanna be popular. Everyone like me. And I don't care if someone doesn't like me anymore. What I care about is those people that I have prayed about. And then I have asked God, shut the door, close, slam it in my face of that person so they don't have access to me. And he has definitely answered those prayers. Cause I feel like God loves those prayers to show us who he sends and who the enemy sends.

Those are my people and they're small and I trust them. And it's funny because when I think about and tell me if this is true about you, when you think about those people, there's also like, ooh, they're gonna hold me accountable. Yes. You know that if you call them and tell them something, or if you sit down with them, tell them something, you are not always excited. No. If you are always excited to share with a person about something, especially deep things, they're.

probably not somebody who is trying to push you into greatness, who is wanting more for you, right? If you get that feeling, we tell a person like, they're not gonna be my yes man. That's probably somebody you should lean into more because I don't need my community to look like people are always going to pick me up and enable all of my behavior. All of us have some bad behavior at times.

That community needs to be somebody who does pick me up, link arms with me, praise over me, prophesies over me, holds me accountable for things. Making sure like, this was the goal, but it looks like the decisions you're making are going this direction. I need you to get back on track. But also we'll say, hey, that thing that you said you want to do, have you prayed about that? Can I pray with you for that? Because I want to make sure you're hearing from the Lord. Yeah. Yeah. So I'd ask you to carry that or are you just doing it? Yeah.

And this is the uncomfortable place of accountability. We want those core directors or that small friend group. I had a conversation yesterday where I was kind of bracing myself for like, I heard from the Lord? It's not my own year, but I didn't. And it's not a group of 25. It may not even be a group of five. It may be a group of three. But a quarter, three strands is not easily broken. That is something that we try to get. It's just a group of people that.

Natalie (26:56.578)
will be honest. Yeah. Let's talk about this though, because women are like kind of competitive. that group, that group of women have to really be almost like consecrated to each other. Yeah. Like we're not in competition with, but in collaboration. Yes. You're in a highly competitive market in real estate. Yes. And there are a lot of women. There's a lot of real estate agents in general. And there's a lot, there's only so many houses in a market. How do you foster healthy competition?

What is it? What does it look like for you to be competitive not just with other women but yourself? Yeah, and and how can we as women say look competitions a natural part of life? How do we still keep our salvation? that's good. That's a great witness Yeah in this competitive field that we might be in sales. Yeah, shoot motherhood is competitive single. my gosh. Yeah, they were both the best wife. Yeah

You know, so how do we, how do we like, yeah, be competitive without losing our salvation? Yeah, that's great question. So, bodybuilding. I'm competitive by nature, red personality through and through. I cannot help it. Like, do not play something with me if it's not like for real.

Like I'll flip an UNO table playing with my kids like they know. It's like, do not. I'm like, are you sure you're in the mood for this? So I can't help that. But what I learned in bodybuilding was that I had to get my eyes off of other people and what they're doing and their progress and their assignment and the favor that they were receiving. Because when I did that, that means my focus on me and what I had to do, my assignment, gone.

Like you cannot focus on two things at the same time in that way because then when your focus is there, everything goes to that. So I would spend days like, my gosh, her abs are amazing. Wow, she really built her quads so big. I'm never gonna do that. And then I'm like, what am I doing? Wait, I'm literally taking time away from building me and doing my assignment by focusing on what another woman's journey is. And so I told myself it is me versus me.

Natalie (29:09.154)
That's it, because what God has for me is for me, and I don't care who that person thinks they are, what they look like, who they say that they are, any of who they have around them, nothing and no one is going to stop what God has for me. And so I'm like, okay, it's me versus me, I need to keep my eyes on the prize. And the prize is getting me to where I'm supposed to be focused on my assignment, my task, and then trusting the Lord through that.

And I had, found peace in that. And then I found enjoyment. Yes. And what I was doing, I was like losing the enjoyment from what I was supposed to be doing because I was so focused on comparing myself to other women. It's a death trap. It is such a death trap. And we want joy in our assignments. We don't want to be looking over our shoulder like, well, who's close to me and who's halfway, you know, who's halfway to the finish line. And why am I where I am? Like we know the Lord has us for a purpose in the season that we're in.

on the lane that we're traveling on. And it isn't about who's running behind us or ahead of us, but who we get to run with. Yeah. I've seen you operate in beautiful collaboration, primarily in the church. I think this is something to be really, I think, really like honored is that you go into that church, into our church, into our local church and into the church that is our community. And you are very much inclusive. You are very much a

You invite people in they don't feel like they're being held at an arms distance What has that what has led you to that point where you just are kind of that invitational? Woman that is saying I see the need and I can and I can feel it I know you talked about Your daughter and what happened when you were 20, but there's got to be no there's more Yeah, so I believe that God uses the most painful things

in our childhood and our lives and turns them into beauty for ashes. He turns them into our ministry. And rejection was so big for me growing up. I felt it in so many ways. And we don't have time to go through my whole story, but it involved lots of parents' secrets coming out and me like, am I and identity issues. And so I never really felt like I had a place.

Natalie (31:19.662)
and I always felt like I was a black sheep, and I always felt like I couldn't fit in, and that people didn't want me around. And so I just made a decision that, one, I didn't want to feel that way, but I don't want to make another person feel that way, because I know how painful that is. And this woman who attends our, well, she used to attend our church years ago. I don't know, it was the Lord, but.

I don't know what this service was, but I was part of a choir for our church and it was a special service and I was getting ready to leave with my husband and she grabbed me by the arm, this older woman, so sweet, and she said, you don't know me, she said, but I can't let you leave here until I give you the word that the Holy Spirit spoke over me during the service for you. And she said, get ready, transformation is coming. And I said, oh, okay, oh my God, okay. You gotta love the prophetic words of the saints. yes.

And so she just said, I don't know what you're doing, but she said, I'm supposed to pray over your hands and I want to pray over your heart. And she said, we can talk later, but she said, I just want to be obedient in that moment. So she prayed over me. It was beautiful. At that time, I had started my makeup business, so she didn't know those things praying over my hands and it meant so much to me. A week later, she invited me to her house. She was having all of her friends over just for a women's brunch. And I didn't know this. It was a setup.

They wanted to pray over me and prophesy over me. They had been speaking about me apparently for that whole week. So I'm doing their makeup. And so when I had my makeup business, I was praying for the people in my chair. Like that was just my thing. I'm like, everything is a ministry. Do it unto the Lord. And we're disciples. If you're getting in my chair, that chair has been anointed. You don't know it has been anointed. But when your tail hits that chair, there's anointing oil and the oil is on you. So go into the world now. And so I was telling them about that.

And it was funny, they were like, well, get out of the chair. I want to get into that oil. And so I packed up and I was getting ready to leave. And they said, no, we actually need to pray over you. That's why we invited you here. And so they began praying over me and this beautiful moment. And the Holy Spirit descended into that little living room in Erlanger. And it was just so thick and heavy in the most like surreal way. And they began prophesying over me one by one. And I didn't know any of them. I only met her.

Natalie (33:40.558)
The other one's name in our church. And one of them said, when I see you in spirit, she said, I just see something coming off you. Everywhere you go, there's just things flying off you and you're moving and you're getting things everywhere. And then the other woman next to her said, and she said, that's glitter. That is the sparkle of the Lord. And she said, I just see this motion where you're just going through life and you are.

happy and you're just doing all the things you want to do and you feel called to do. She said, but you are making the most beautiful mess and getting whatever's on you and it's dripping on everything. And then the next woman said, this is heavy. And she held my hand and she said, you were not created for you or anyone else. She said, the Lord created you for everyone. And it makes me emotional because I had felt that for so long growing up, not having a place. And then for her,

now in my thirties for her to tell me the Lord created you for everyone. I felt that and it made sense to me in my spirit that everyone that I meet again, I want to leave you better than I found you. I want you to know that you're loved and I want to be able to you to know your love without me telling you. There needs to be evidence of that fruit that the Lord has done in me. And so I take it so seriously when I introduce myself to people, when I people come into my presence, I just tell myself, remind me of that prophetic word.

I was not made for me. I was made for everyone. And the sparkle, that oil is going to drip onto everyone that I meet because I want everyone to feel loved and appreciated and prayed over. And that's just how I live my life now. Well, it's a beautiful place for us to begin the wrap up of this, you guys, because I mean, that gets me emotional. And I think it actually, even though that was a word for you women, like I want you to hear like.

Let's rewrite that script and say we're meant for everyone. Like we're meant to love everyone. We're meant to serve everyone. Nobody is more special than anyone else. And so when we walk into a room, we all have something the Lord has given us to just exude over people, whether it's our kids teachers or our friends or our job or wherever it is. Like we're meant to just project the Holy Spirit and that joy that we have. But we have to believe.

Natalie (35:59.586)
that we believe who we are in Christ. And that takes this journey of honesty and community and vulnerability. And so I just hope you guys have just walked away from this being encouraged that you can be anything you want to when the Lord's in it. And that those scripts that have been written over you in the past, you can rewrite them. You can have other people help you rewrite them, but we need each other, women. We need to be those bodybuilding sisters that are modeling to us all that you can do anything when...

Christ is in it with you. that's really what I'm encouraged in today is that we're not one trick pony. no. Don't let the world box you in. Don't let your parents box you in. Like if God's called you to it, he'll equip you for it and then make a way for it. so Sparkle, I know that there's a lot of women listening who might run their own real estate companies or they may have their own businesses. Tell them where they can follow you on social media. So Sparkle Neto on Instagram, on Facebook, on TikTok.

I would love to connect. love meeting new people. Like people is my jam. Yeah. I love it. So yeah, follow me, DM me, let's talk, let's be friends. And I'll make sure those are all in the show notes, you guys. But again, thank you so much for hanging with us, Sparkle. Thank you for being here. Thank you for having me. We're going to close out now and I'm going to have Sparkle pray over everyone who is listening and then we'll see you next time on the I Don't Even Like Women podcast. The book comes out September 2nd and you can pre-order it now wherever books are sold. And if it's after September 2nd, you can go get it now.

Alright, Sparkle, praise out. Yeah, Lord, I just thank you so much for this beautiful time that we have spent together. Lord, I thank you that your word is just a beautiful love letter to us. One that just reminds us who we are, how you see us, one that wants to transform us from the inside out. One that just envelops us with your love, with your kindness. God, you are a faithful God. You are a good God.

You love each and every one of us and you have designed each and every one of us with beautiful divine purpose. Lord, I just ask you to be with each and every one of us and every listener on today. I ask you to remind them of what you say about them. And I ask you to just etch that into their hearts so that when the enemy comes in and whisper lies, that they quickly are reminded that the voice of their creator, the voice of their Lord, the voice of their Father in heaven has said no.

Natalie (38:15.842)
that they are beautifully and wonderfully made, that they were created for more, that they are more than conquerors. Lord, I just give you all of the honor and the praise for your heart, for who you are, for your glory. You are a mighty God and we just love you so very much. Lord, I ask you to just fill each and every one of us with a new spirit. Lord, that you begin to heal hearts on today, Lord. You begin to mend the hearts of the women who may have been told.

that they cannot do more, Lord, that you begin to remind them, God, that they were created for an abundant life. And so Lord, give them holy courage to tackle on that challenge, be with them Holy Spirit and comfort them through that. And God, I just love you so much and I praise you for all of the things that you are going to do in each and every one of their lives. In the mighty name of Jesus, I pray, amen. Amen.