Reforming with Purpose
Since entering the Church nearly 20 years ago, I have been deeply invested in the call to help women on their spiritual journey. I have participated in Bible studies since 2002, and I formally founded Walking With Purpose (WWP), a Catholic women's Bible study program, in 2008. While I have found great joy in helping so many women find deeper meaning in their lives through Scripture, participating in Reform Online was an opportunity for me to reclaim my own deeper purpose through my overall well-being.
In addition to being a nonprofit business owner and founder, I am a wife of 29 years, a mother of seven, and a grandmother of three. I face a lot of vocational demands each day on top of my work with WWP. For so many years, I believed I had no choice but to keep pressing the "dig deeper" button—as in forcing myself to scrape the bottom of a nearly empty tank and pushing myself to somehow do the impossible.
I found out about Reform Online through some of my Catholic friends and colleagues. I was intrigued; I saw their lives changing from afar, and admittedly, I knew I needed to do the same.
Rather than follow my current trajectory and continue to pour myself out from an empty cup, I decided to journey through Reform Online wholeheartedly.
Reform Online invited me to pause, re-evaluate my health in body and soul, and reclaim my well-being in, with, and through Christ. Each wellness pillar was pivotal to me, most especially stress management, play, space, and personal growth. Reform challenged me to make changes- big and small- and regardless of the size, they were significant in helping me live with more intentionality. I was continuously reminded to keep Christ at the center which helped me define my "why:" to be fully alive!
Reform not only gave me permission to remove things from my life that were preventing me from living the abundant life Jesus promises in the Gospel of John (Jn 10:10), but the Reform leaders taught me what should fill that vacated space: Christ, at my center. The results have truly been life-changing. My husband and children have seen the change in me, and they can't believe the increase in my joy and inner peace. I've learned what I need to protect at all costs, and I have tasted the difference that authentic wellness makes. I feel I have begun to take full ownership of my health, and I can't be satisfied with anything less. I don't know when I have ever had such a transformational experience.
Today, I'm glad that I can truly dig deeper—not simply surviving from a state of depletion but thriving with a new definition of health and establishing deeper roots in Christ. My heart is so full of gratitude for each of the Reform leaders and the community I had the opportunity to journey alongside. Reform has been a God-given gift in my life!
– Lisa Brennikmeyer
Lisa is the founder and chief purpose officer of Walking with Purpose, a Catholic women's Bible study program. Raised as an evangelical Protestant, she entered the Catholic Church in 1991. She speaks internationally on a variety of topics, mainly pertaining to women and their spiritual journey. Lisa has written ten Bible studies for adult women, six studies for young women, three devotionals and a program called Blaze for middle school girls. Brenninkmeyer’s first book, Walking with Purpose: Seven Priorities that Make Life Work, has sold over 80,000 copies. Lisa holds a B.A. in psychology from St. Olaf College and is pursuing her Master’s Degree in Theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville. She and her husband Leo have seven children and live in St. Augustine, Florida.
