Today we’d like to introduce you to Laurie Roberts.
Hi LoLo, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
I founded Grateful Gratitude in 2018 to show my gratitude for others and become a motivational speaker focusing on gratitude. A month after beginning my journey, I was asked to sit with a victim of a violent crime. The police department was not able to pray over victims, and there was one advocate who felt this was remiss in helping victims heal. She called me and asked me to sit with this person, offer her a gratitude heart, and pray for her. This encounter made me understand that my path would not be corporate speaking engagements but offering HOPE to those who needed someone to bridge the gap. (see Ezekiel 22 in the Bible).
In the past five and a half years, my ministry became a 501c3 nonprofit, and this occurred because donors wanted to help offset the costs I was incurring by helping others in times of crisis. This was a Godsend because my agreement with my husband to serve in Grateful Gratitude and quit my job was that we couldn’t fund the nonprofit. We haven’t had to; God has brought many loving donors.
I serve many communities of people, including the homeless and food insecure, single moms, victims of violent crime, and low-income senior citizens. I bridge the gap in need by partnering with other nonprofits and city crime advocates. I wake up every day asking God to take me where He needs me and allow me to see the need. No two days are the same.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My road has been smooth because I walk with God and allow Him to lead the best I can. I have learned great information in these last years and partnered with great nonprofits that always answer their texts when I am in need to help someone. I qualify the people I help based on trust with my partners in the community. I know there is an immediate need if someone is texting me from an agency or nonprofit. I don’t ask them to qualify the person in need because if they ask for my help, they are already qualified. I am blessed to be a conduit of sorts. I mean that God somehow always gives me the right opportunities to be the best help. I seem good at connecting people in need with someone who can help them. Having God guiding me and great partners allows us to have great success.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My work is based on my faith. I don’t accept any money, like a salary, for what I do personally. I do what I do daily to serve God and be the hands and feet of Jesus here on earth. I learned that I sleep better at night when I spend my day helping bridge the gap for those in need. I once needed the gap bridged when I was a single mom at Christmas and only had $37 to buy my daughter’s gifts and groceries. A neighbor stepped up and helped make that a very special Christmas for us, empowering me to pay it forward. I know that money comes and goes, and all belongs to God. I no longer hold tightly to it but instead, share it as needed. My husband’s job provided for our expenses, and we live frugally by choice.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc.?
I have a blog and YouTube channel that helps me share my personal experiences. I also am a vegan, so the content I usually seek out is healthy Christianity. LOL.
Books: How Not to Die by Dr. Michael Gregor, Rebranding Christianity by Jeff Jones, and The Hidden Power of Kindness by Lawrence C. Lovasik
Podcasts/YouTube Channels: Theology in the Raw with Preston Sprinkle, The Exam Room Podcast with Chuck Carroll, Above Inspiration
Contact Info:
- Website: gratefulgratitude11.com Blog: gratefulgratitude.net
- Instagram: gratefulgratitude
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gratefulgratitude
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9BxOHEmeBRRUoRGISeu-QQ
