Anne: Hi everybody. It's Anne Duffy and I am so excited today to have a special guest on the Just Do It podcast. And I'm so glad that all of you are here. I have a new friend, that we're interviewing today, but we feel like old friends. And I hope that you will help me welcome Gina Parker. Hi, Gina.
Gina: Hi, it's great to be here, Anne. It's just a privilege to be on your program.
Anne: Oh, I'm so glad you're here. We could talk for hours. Everyone is known. I like to talk but Gina's story is so phenomenal and we're so honored because part of why doing this cast today is that she written a beautiful article that is going to be in our summer edition of Do Life.
It's going to print next week so you'll have to make sure that you get your copy. If you remember you get the digital soon and then just follow her and then Wait till you see the book that she's written. It's so beautiful. And I hope that you will get a copy and Gina, just so you know, before I read your bio, we can put this on our do life, website as well.
We just put a new book up there. We have a little book nook and it goes right to you, to your Amazon account. So want to make sure
that people. can read the beautiful goodness that you've put into this, because you've got the heart of gold. Let me tell you all a little bit about Gina.
Gina graduated from Baylor University with a BBA in 1983 and from Baylor Law School in 1986. She has been in private practice since 1991. In 2001, she founded Dental Creations with the vision to provide second chances, help women in crisis and support missions. Gina Parker is a leading voice in the conservative movement.
She served as the National Eagle Forum Chairman for Judicial Reform and is a past recipient of the National Outstanding Eagle Award for Texas for her support of the United States Constitution. Gina ministers for women's groups and churches in the United States and abroad. She also leads Hands of Hope international ministry.
Her heart is to encourage others to cry out to the Lord in times of brokenness. Gina, you and I, kindred spirits. Welcome to the Just Do It podcast.
Gina: Thank you again for having me. I'm so excited to be here and share my story and just to visit with you.
Anne: Well, It's so cool have you and to know your story. Tell me a little bit about your family and your life and, how you got to where you are today.
Gina: I grew up a little bit country here in the South, deep in the heart of Texas. think I wrote about this in my article. So, One of the things that we seem to be missing as a society is just. Real kindness for people. And so we have a little slogan we use sometimes at Dental Creations that says I've been bubbified.
Anne: I love it.
Gina: Very Texas, very country. it means is that we're going to be there for each other. We're there for you as a customer. We need to be there for each other as women, I think, especially, and really, support one another and be encouragers. And so that's my heart is to help others. My ministry logo is love God and love others.
And when we do that, we're going to find rich fulfillment in our lives.
Anne: I love that you just proclaim it. You know, There's no surprise here, no accident that I have my scarf on that I just got. And it's called, it says, Be Kind, in all different colors, but, you know, one of the things that's so cool and I've worked with Brittany for years, you guys came on board of a dental entrepreneur woman right from the beginning.
I had you at Hello. so often I have to sell, sell, sell, like, come on, you got to support us. Right away, Gina, you were right there. And I will never, ever forget you for doing that. And I'm so honored that you have seen that we had something to do with lifting women up.
But your story lends itself this and Dental Creations. I mean, I want to know, Yeah. how did you come up with dental creations? Because the story behind your company to me is just so beautiful. And I hope some other people will take note.
Gina: well, I started out practicing law. I'm an attorney and I did criminal defense work and I found that so many of my clients could not get jobs if they had a felony conviction. So we want people to change. We encourage them to stop committing criminal offenses, but then they didn't have a support system, especially 20 year plus years ago.
And so I was excited when I had the opportunity to start dental creations. Because as a service oriented industry, the law are say medicine. Sometimes you can duplicate yourself only so many times. So I became an investor in this company in order to give second chances to my clients and to people like my clients.
And also I saw a lot of women, that had been abused in my career and I wanted to help women in crisis have a second chance and give money to organizations that also help women. So it became a big part of my heart to have another way to create income. And to help others and support others. And so I see my law practice as a legal hospital and I see my life as a way of also extending compassion and helping people overcome, we all have challenges and we need a helping hand.
We need somebody to help us overcome adversity, bad mistakes. Sometimes we make mistakes. I've made a few we need to get back up on our feet again.
Anne: Yeah, I think that's so true. I think one thing that women love to know is that they're not alone. And that, somebody was just telling me the other day that they came to our first retreat and. To see the women up on the stage, and it was just, not a big stage, but it was a stage.
Share their stories that were so intimate and so, you know, really tough things that happened to them. And yet they're still standing. And if they could do it, maybe I could do it. Maybe I could get back on my feet. Tell me what led you to write the book? Because the book here, which is really lovely, The 828 Journey. I want you to talk a little bit about this because it's such a yummy book, and you're gonna laugh and you're gonna cry when you read this. Tell me what made you want to write it.
Gina: Romans 8 28 is my life scripture, and it says that all things work together for good to those who love God are recalled according to his purpose. The wonderful thing about that word purpose means an intentional design. Isn't that great that we know that God is looking? Over us that he sees what's happening in our lives.
It's not God that causes tragedy. We live in a sin soaked world And there's been chaos ever since But God is with us through everything that we go through and what I found whether it was in church or just And dealing with people outside of church, there's a lot of times people give up. they face tragedy.
They quit believing that God is good. They stopped believing in themselves. Even they stopped believing that they can overcome poverty or the abuse. And so I wanted to send a message to people, finish the journey.
Anne: Hmm.
Gina: Don't quit on God. Don't give up on your family and don't give up on yourself because.
Everything will work to good. You'll learn from it, and then you'll help someone else from what you've learned. There's so much that we can take from our pain and suffering that builds character in us. It also helps us help others in really difficult circumstances.
Anne: Yeah, I love that because I think something that's resonated with me recently, and as points to what you're saying is it doesn't happen. To us, it happens for us, and it's about getting up, and about having faith, and keeping hope. And sometimes we need people to hold our hand through that, and I think that's one of the things that, community, whether it be your church, or your neighbors, or your family, and some people don't have it.
I always say that's one of the things I think that resonates with you about DO, is that Everyone is welcome to sit at our table. if you're a woman and you happen to be in dentistry, you are welcome. And you may not want to stay, the whole time, but you always have a seat. You can always come back and find an open heart and warm arms to wrap around you, when you need it.
That's beautiful though, because we do lean on God. And so often what I admire about you, Gina, is that you are not afraid to profess your faith. And to profess your love for Jesus and for God and how it's, helped you so that it may help others. Tell us a little bit about your article.
Just give us a little taste for it because I really want everyone to go and read it in the magazine. And I know that you've got excerpts of this. in the book as well.
Gina: Absolutely, and I like the title of the article because it so captures do, what does love have to do with it, D E W, do with it, you know, I like, it's so who you are and do, and it's about supporting and loving each other. And so all through my life, whether I was practicing law or starting dental creations or writing a book and had to do.
With loving other people and I like to put in the article from Mother Teresa about, we have this pen and we can write our story and we can encourage other people. What a wonderful way to make a difference. We are the hands. And seat of Jesus. We are the heart of Jesus. you don't see him walking on the earth, but we see him.
I see him in your life, Ann. I see him in the life of my Christian friends and we make a difference when we really help others. One of the things that always disturbed me being, very involved politically is when people were very critical of women who had had abortions, but yet we didn't offer an alternative.
Where were we when they were in crisis? That's part of it. If someone is in a situation, and they're an unwed mother, and they have no income, they don't have emotional support, we need to be the hands, and we need to be the heart that says, hey, I'm going to stand by you, and I'm going to support an organization who will help you.
And so whatever it is we're doing, our values should be reflected in how we live. How we work, how we spend our money, what we say and do and think and so out of those values. That's how we love people. That's how we make a difference. And just see your organization is doing that. this is perfect.
You know, What does love have to do with it? Everything.
Anne: that's so beautiful. I mean, it's, oh my gosh, again, we're so aligned because when I started to, it was literally all about love. I wanted to bring love to dentistry and loving yourself is so important. whenever you're faced with that adversity of.
certainly the enormity of carrying a child, having a human, and to have no recourse and to be in such dire straits that you make decisions that you regret and that you don't feel like there's any way out. that's not the answer. there is a way out. And I believe that, being the hands, the feet, the eyes, and the ears, you know, of Christ bringing love to people no matter where they've been or what they've done.
Gina: yes,
Anne: he loves everybody. He, he liked the center. So, I mean, There always is hope, to come back and find the answer or find someone and you've done that. I mean, Just so beautiful with dental creations. we know people that have had records that could not get a job.
And it's how fair is that? Here they are wanting to work. And even in our society, you could work 40 hours a week and it's still not enough money to feed your family to have the clothes on your back to even get the job interview. in fact, do a little plug.
We're at the retreat. We're going to start up our do closet. We want to be able to give, an outfit. I mean, just yeah. Within the Duke community, we have so many women. You and I, we kind of like to shop, I think. I mean, I, I don't like shopping, but I love clothes. And I've got some things that I'm not going to wear, but they're really lovely.
And I think somebody could use that. And people think if you graduate from dental school, you're just making it and rolling in it. No, you are in dead up to your ear ball eyeballs. And there are a lot of them are on ramen noodles every night. these are things we make assumptions about people without listening to their hearts. and I think that's all with love, right? Is just to be open up with no agenda. how can I help you? What do you need? And I love that you mentioned Mother Teresa as well. we're dedicated this whole mission and movement to Mother Teresa.
And one of our mantras is to do small things with great love. it means so much when we do it together. So tell us a little bit more, like you Describe several tragedies in your life in the book certainly in the article and one of the things I so appreciate was the way you wrote about those in the very emotional times.
You didn't belabor the point or villainize the offender. So tell us a little bit about that. How did you get to that place in your life that you could actually forgive move forward with hope?
Gina: Well, That's a great question. One of the things I think that women that sometimes when we've experienced sexual abuse, which is what I experienced as a child, and then later I was date break for a team, then some of your audience may relate to this. I was also sexually harassed on the job that I loved and I left that job.
And that was, Very difficult. And so when we deal with sexual abuse issues or abuse on a job, I think there's a lot of shame. For some reason, I'd say almost everyone says, What did I do wrong? What's wrong with me? I must be a bad girl. And I can remember one day sitting on a bench and the Holy Spirit's just speaking to me and saying, you're not a bad girl, and I moved from being, this bad girl mindset and it wasn't, I was living bad.
I felt shame, you know, which is a very strong emotion to knowing that I belong to God, knowing that I was his and I was daddy's little princess. I have a lead that he's a little
princess and that brought such freedom to break out of that shame because we act out of our belief system. So if I feel shame, then it's a bondage, it's a trap.
but when I feel that love of God, I'm free to love someone else and to accept who God made me to be. I have to tell this story. know it will encourage someone. I've had on my mind that there are a lot of single women, Like you said, financially, it's hard right now, and I just wanted to put he period, his period, enough period, you know, on a Facebook post.
God is enough, and he does love us, you know, whatever we've been through, and I love this story about this lady who was a nun, and she had been severely sexually abused by her father, and one of my favorite authors is Brendan Manning. so she went to his meeting and she said, you know, I've been in the ministry all these years and I just don't feel the love of God.
So he told her, I want you to go home. And for 30 days during your quiet time, I want you to say, I belong to over and over again. I belong to Abba. I belong to Abba. Can you imagine how powerful that is? Or it was for her when she did that for 30 days. So she came back to him after she did this exercise and she said, And I was able to forgive my father for what he did to me. Now, that's very powerful because that forgiveness is not easy. I went through my first marriage with my husband committing adultery. faced some things like that. what did Jesus say to the woman caught in adultery? Where are your accusers?
think about the power of love. So when we know the love of God, and we know he loves and accepts us, and we are free from shame, then we're free to forgive. We can forgive our abusers. We can begin to love and help some other woman who's gone through the same tragedy. Because it does mark us in a very negative way.
But then God comes in, and he removes that mark. And we know, just like this lady did that was a nun, All the religion and going to church didn't make it better, but a personal encounter with Jesus and knowing she belonged to her Heavenly Father, that made the difference in her life. It's such a powerful story.
It's in my book.
Anne: That's a very powerful story. you never know who's going to touch you or who's going to be there to listen to you to say those words that are to make a difference. speaking of shame, so often things happen in our lives. We never tell anybody. Never tell anybody because you don't think nobody is going to notice this.
we're shamed. And I, really hope that, our listeners here, if you need somebody to talk to, Gina, I know they can reach out to you, they can reach out to me. Sometimes just knowing they're not alone and being able to say something in a confidential way where there's a vault to another woman is all they need to just get them.
Over the hump of never getting over the hump. you just have to take one baby step. know, just read your book. if you're listening and you've you need some courage. You need to know that, there's somebody that's walked in your shoes and look at you now, Gina.
I mean, you're just, all giving back. You're all love. You're making a difference in the world. you've risen above it because. The grit that you have, and the tether that you have to Abba, to your father, to our father, and that's how he uses us, doesn't he? Doesn't happen to us, it happens for us, so that we can make a difference in the world.
that's just, it's such a lovely thought. Was there anything else you want to share? We keep these a little bit short just because I know the people have what my goal is for them to read your story in our edition and then to go get that book. Go get your beautiful book. The 8 to 8 journey.
By Gina G. Parker. Any parting words, Gina for those that are listening right now and wondering maybe you're talking directly to me.
Gina: I just want to remind people what it says in the book of Isaiah, that he will give us beauty for ashes. In the oil of joy for mourning, isn't that a wonderful, wonderful thing to think? And, that the word beauty actually means a crown, a tiara. Isn't that great? He'll give us beauty for ashes.
They put ashes on their head when things were tragic and they were mourning. But God takes those ashes. And he gives you a crown and he crowns you with his love and his righteousness and just that there's hope and to never give up and finish your journey for them to finish their journey holding tight to the hand of Jesus.
Anne: It's so beautiful. And, just parting way in. It's so funny, Gina, because principle number nine is start and don't stop. Do's never retire. And you gave that principle number nine new meaning today and I thank you for that. And thank you for everything you're doing for us.
I'm goosebumped all over I feel the love. I mean, there's so much love and you know, women, we have it in our hearts and we're going to keep spreading it around. How's that sound?
Gina: love it.
Anne: Let's do it together, Gina. Let's do
it together. Amen. Amen, sister. Okay, you guys. So how, Gina, how do we find you?
How do we find your book? And how do we find you?
Gina: yes, dentalcreationslimited. com. And we're right here in Texas. And then if you want to find my book, it's ginagparker. com. And you can also buy it on Amazon. At Walmart, Barnes and Noble.
Anne: Beautiful. Beautiful. And I'm sure you're, are you in LinkedIn and all that kind of stuff,
Gina: Yes, I am. I'm on LinkedIn. And then you can reach me through Facebook as well. So, Any of those ways. And they can email me through my website also. And there's also a study guide for the book. If they want to have a Bible study in their church or with their friends, just finish that study guide.
It should be online in about two to three weeks.
Anne: That's pretty cool. I think we might be able to get a little study group going on, the do community. That sounds beautiful. Oh my gosh, Gina, thank you for your time today. You are just a light in this world and keep shining. All
Gina: Yes. Thank you. And you too.
Anne: I will. And all of you that are listening, remember you are very special.
So keep doing you. Thanks everybody for joining us. I'll see you the next time. Bye.
