These People Will Change Your Life in 2021

Ordinarily I write an end-of-the-year post about my discoveries in the previous year. Sometimes my “discoveries” reveal that I am a late bloomer or a late-to-the-party girl. The end of the year felt heavy a couple weeks ago but I’m ready to share some resources that will change your life.  It’s important to nourish our souls while grappling with the serious issues of our world. Here you go:

• Bernadette Joy Maulion became one of my new favorite people last year for so many reasons. She is the Brene Brown of personal finance with a goal to help women (and specifically women of color) build wealth.  Coming from a lifetime of little to zero financial savvy myself, Bernadette has made it fun to become financially stable and secure.  She teaches online classes here and you can join her Debt Crushers group here.  And you can hear part of her story here.  
• Jimmy Greene is a professional saxaphonist who is also known for other things.  I love his online presence.  I love his #HymnOnSunday each week. His words and music soothe the soul and not in a Hallmark card way.  He is married to Nelba Marquez-Greene who is a national treasure.  He is the father of Ana Grace and Isaiah.
• Nelba Marquez-Greene is one of the best human beings on the earth. She has deep faith in God and also sometimes wants to break things.  In other words, she is an authentic follower of Jesus. See above.
• Edgar Villenueva (the author not the Peruvian politician) wrote one of the best books I read last year: Decolonizing Wealth: Indigenous Wisdom to Heal Divides and Restore Balance. His N.C. roots caught my attention and his clear explanation of colonialism and its impact on philanthropy kept me engaged.  I literally see everything through a different lens because of this book.

If you have any life-changing resources you’d like to share, I invite you to do so in the comments or in a link to your own blog.  We need to be spiritually nourished in these days and I love it when a seemingly secular subject (e.g. finance, music, philanthropy) is reframed as a theological practice.

Have a wonderful Tuesday.

Image is an original painting by Ana Grace Marquez-Greene.