Hi, I’m Melissa
I SEE YOU, STRUGGLING TO FIND YOUR WAY IN LIFE
I see you scared, knowing it’s time for a change but afraid it will come at great cost
I see you lost, lacking clarity, unsure which way is up or what path to follow
I see you lacking confidence, not believing you deserve more
I see you with deep stirrings in your heart, afraid what might happen if you let them have voice in your life
You know you have something to offer the world - you’re meant for MORE - but the future seems fuzzy and you’re not sure how to actually get from A to Z.
THERE IS A DIFFERENT WAY.
Oh hey there, I’m Melissa.
I’m a Certified Women’s Empowerment Coach & Spiritual Mentor for women who are deep thinkers and sensitive souls. A proud dog mom to beagle-mix Major Payne, I’m a former homeschool kid & religious fanatic, Chipotle obsessive, and recovering know-it-all.
My mission is to help women reignite their passions, reclaim their identities, and reshape their futures with confidence and purpose following life's tumultuous changes.
My calling in life is to coach soulful women, providing skillful guidance and support as they step into the next highest version of themselves and embrace a vibrant life filled with passion and purpose.
Few things light me up more than seeing women break through self-doubt, limiting beliefs and negative self-talk in order to find the truest parts of themselves. I love working with women who want MORE from their lives and are ready to make big changes in order to have the joy-filled life they’ve been dreaming of.
STEPPING BRAVELY AND CONFIDENTLY INTO THE LIFE THEY WERE MEANT TO BE LIVING.
You don’t have to spend another day feeling stuck in a life you don’t want.
But I completely understand where you’re at because not that long ago, I was stuck too…
My Story
I SPENT MOST OF MY LIFE TRYING TO PLEASE OTHERS
AT THE COST OF MY OWN JOY & FREEDOM.
“The wounded child inside many females is a girl who was taught from early childhood that she must become
something other than herself, deny her true feelings, in order to attract and please others.”
- Bell Hooks
Growing up, I was the good little Christian girl.
Never swore, never drank or did drugs, and I never even THOUGHT about doing things with boys. *GASP*
I was sure I wanted to make a difference in the world and decided I would become a missionary! So I went off to Christian university and majored in Bible & Theology.
Surely I would be rewarded eternally for my obedience? I worked SO hard to be “good”. But if I was so “good”, why did I always feel out of place? Like I didn’t belong? Like I was never good enough…
I WAS ON A PATH TO SAVE THE WORLD…BUT WHEN WAS I GOING TO SAVE MYSELF?
Post-college graduation, I was jobless and drowning in student debt. I decided to take a leap of faith and leave California for a sleepy town on the Oregon coast. For a Cali girl, it was quite the culture shock. They didn’t even have a Target for goodness sakes!
I eventually acclimated to the change and found the coast to be a place of healing from old childhood wounds.
I spent the next decade wholeheartedly devoted to helping others. Sacrificing my time and resources to my local church, mentoring young women, and building a nonprofit program serving the foster care community.
I was bouncing from one miserable job to another, living paycheck to paycheck and going deeper and deeper into debt…
I WAS HELPING SO MANY OTHERS…BUT WHEN WAS I GOING TO HELP MYSELF?
I desperately wanted out.
Out of the tiny coastal town. Out of mindless, unfulfilling jobs. Out of the cycle of burning bridges in my relationships due to my lack of healthy boundaries. Afraid to put myself out into the dating world for fear that I wasn’t perfect enough.
How would I ever get out and into a better life? It seemed an impossible task. I held the title of “Director” for a nonprofit program that I had built through blood, sweat, and tears. But I still wasn’t satisfied with my life.
I had respect and the “Dream Job”, but when do I get to have what I really want?
After 30 years of unwavering devotion to Evangelical Christianity…
I LEFT.
THEN CAME THE BIGGEST CHANGE OF ALL…
This religion promised freedom, but I felt like a captive. After years of witnessing endless harm and abuses of power in a fundamentalist cult-like church community, my anger bubbled into rage and I. Was. Done. I left and never looked back. Or so I thought…
I deconstructed my faith at lightening speed. A matter of weeks. My entire worldview laying in pieces around me. And I felt FREE.
I was quickly labeled as “lost”, “sinner”, “heathen”. Family and friends were disappointed, offended, and angry.
And while I was left feeling lonely and isolated from community. I continued to look inward, unlocking true and beautiful parts of myself that had been hidden for so long.
I FACED MY FEAR, TRUSTED MYSELF, AND FINALLY FOUND FREEDOM…I THOUGHT.
I lived in this place for a few years. Believing I had found the solution to church harm in Leftist and woke ideology. I was PASSIONATE about my new beliefs. Spewing them at any opportunity, shaming people who thought differently than me.
Until I realized something profound… I was repeating a pattern. I had just jumped from one extreme (the religious right) to the other (the liberal left).
Shit.
I wasn’t thinking for myself. I had just found another group of people to tell me how to think, act and feel.
TIME TO START AGAIN. DROPPING EVERYTHING I THOUGHT I KNEW AND STARTING AGAIN.
A year of “I Don’t Know”. No opinions. No debates. Only learning.
What I learned shocked me.
Religion and faith are actually vital for the thriving of human culture. Always has been. Sure there are serious problems, but does that mean we throw the baby out with the bathwater?
For me, the answer was “no”.
So if faith is a vital component of living a healthy, happy life, where did that leave me? Because I didn’t believe all that stuff anymore.
Thus my journey to RETURN began. Slowly. Gently.
Until I finally surrendered and God obliterated me with His love.
The most surprising part of it all? God was NOTHING like I thought He was.
And my Union with His is the sweetest, most precious thing to me.
FINALLY I WAS READY TO STEP INTO MY PURPOSE
During my deconstruction process, I had discovered the world of life coaching. Who were these glorious creatures spouting endless wisdom and knowledge? And why did my body hum when I thought about becoming one? Why was everything in me screaming “THIS IS THE THING WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING IN THE WORLD!”?
Make a positive impact in the world with a fulfilling career that I love? Surely I can’t have all this goodness. Not me.
During a week-long retreat for healing from spiritual wounds and trauma, I connected with myself more than I ever had before. I said yes to myself, giving permission to be who I was meant to be - a coach and mentor of women.
And walking alongside women as they learn to live boldly and confidently in their lives and relationships is the greatest honor.
I found solace and purpose in coaching. Here, I discovered a resonance, a passion that aligned with my innermost desires. I realized that helping women navigate tricky seasons of their lives was the calling of my life.
You too can find this clarity, freedom, and love for life like I did.
With support, guidance and the right tools,
the life you’ve always wanted will no longer be “just out of reach.”
It will be in the palm of your hand.
You can give voice to the deep stirrings within that scare you with their potential.
You can finally choose yourself.
And find a path forward into a life full of abundant goodness.
Some fun facts about me
My fur child, Major Payne!
Professional Bio
Melissa Hart is a Certified Life Coach and Spiritual Mentor for women ready to reignite their passions, reclaim their identities and reshape their futures with confidence and purpose following life’s tumultuous changes.
In 2019, after 30 years of unwavering devotion to Evangelical Christianity, Melissa underwent a full and total deconstruction of her faith. What followed was a season of living proudly on the other side of the aisle, fully immersed in woke ideology and hookup culture.
When God started calling her back, no one was more surprised than her. But the deep Union with God she found on the other side of that painful journey changed everything. And it’s one that can’t be put into any kind of box or defined with any religious or political label. A Third Way.
Melissa has a degree in Theology, 14 years of leadership experience and over 200 hours of mentoring women individually and in groups. She is the creator of the coaching program Authentic Return: Mentorship for women longing to restore relationship to God, self & others where she passionately coaches women to dig deep, dream big and step bravely into the next chapter of their life.
Melissa is a dog mom to my beagle mix Major Payne, a pilates & paddle boarding enthusiast and overall personal growth junkie.
Let’s do this!
Want to know if we would work well together?