How I'm Experimenting in my own Discernment
Sharing a bit of behind-the-scenes
Hello, readers!
It’s Thanksgiving week in America and I want to say that I am so thankful for you. It’s one thing for a writer to have all sorts of ideas swirling around in her head, and another to put them out into the world for others to think about and respond to. And I know everyone’s inbox is chock full of words, so thank you for taking the time to read mine.
Last week I wrote about how being experimental is key in discernment. But you know, I don’t just write about these topics, I also try to practice them in my own life! And sometimes it’s helpful to just hear about how someone else’s discernment is going, even if the circumstances are pretty dissimilar to our own. So, today I thought I would share a little bit more personally.
About My Work
I started Clarity Life Consulting in 2018, in part as an experiment: I didn’t have a huge, grand vision, but I did want to help people. I had a good sense of my own gifts — which could sound like bragging but it’s not! — and I also had a good sense of where a lot of people (especially women) were struggling.
I knew how I had struggled (to discern God’s voice, to make decisions, to figure out what I actually wanted after decades of people-pleasing), and I knew that some of the lessons I learned along the way might be of use to others. Over many years, I had also tried to cultivate the practice of asking good questions (the kind that make people pause and say, “oh! That’s a good question. Hmm.”, which happens now on almost every client call.)
Maybe you’ve heard that quote from Frederick Buechner: “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” I don’t think it’s always and only true, but Clarity does bring me a lot of joy, and I know it helps others who are keen to make sense of their lives.
1:1 Client Work
Over the years, I’ve seen my clients make changes, big and small: leaving jobs, starting new jobs, getting into the dating scene, getting out of the dating scene, growing in confidence, going deeper in prayer, being able to approach their finances peacefully instead of in a panic, knowing themselves better, accepting stewardship of their gifts, and choosing to shape their days around their well-discerned priorities.
As one client said:
“I received much clarity on the things that I wanted to “clear up”. There were also other areas of my life that changed to the positive - areas that I usually avoid out of discomfort- and that I hadn’t really thought of for a long time. Kerri helped me to take control over my life - all the different aspects of my life, to make my life much more manageable and holistic.”
Writing
1:1 consulting isn’t for everyone, though, and so I started writing as well. I started a blog on my website, and I began a newsletter with a handful of subscribers who had been to one of my in-person talks. (If you’re one of those early readers, thanks for sticking around!)
I experimented by doing all the things that the business-building entrepreneurial gurus told me to do, and honestly? They didn’t work. Or at least, they didn’t work in the way that the gurus promised me they would. Most of my clients come through word of mouth recommendations. If you’re a reader who has recommended me to others, thank you. I actually could not do this without you.
In 2023, I moved over to Substack. (Most of you get my posts by email, so you probably didn’t even notice a difference.) That meant that blogging and newsletter-ing got combined in one place, and the Notes feed [I don’t know how to describe it except kind of like Twitter/ X but smaller and nicer] meant that I could connect a bit more with others who might also be interested in talking about discernment, decision-making, and living a peaceful life.
In 2024, I shared how that Substack experiment was going.
It’s nearing the end of 2025, and I’m so delighted that now over 1,000 of you read this letter regularly, and many more view my writing online. You all [or, ‘all y’all’ in Texas] hail from 41 countries and 47 states. [If you know anyone in Maine, Vermont, or Hawaii, send them my way. ;)]
This year, I’ve also had more international 1:1 clients, which has been fun! One of the joys of running a business over the internet is that we don’t have to be sitting in the same room to talk.
I’m going to continue to experiment in 2026, and you, my readers, are the first to be hearing about it.
Upcoming Experiment #1: Raising Rates
I haven’t raised my rates since 2022 (and unfortunately inflation means that life is much more expensive since then.) I’m going to be raising my rates in early 2026.
This means that if you’ve been thinking about working with me 1:1, now is the time to sign up. There are third party payment plans (run by klarna and/or paypal, not by me), which mean you can space out payments if that works better for you.
Even if you book now, you don’t have to use all the sessions right away - we can space them throughout the first couple months of the new year.
Right now, every potential client gets a free 30 minute audio call with me to see whether working together is a good fit. This is not a sales call. (Those make me feel nauseated.) If it’s not a good fit for us to work together, I’ll be honest. Plus, I always try to recommend other helpful resources.
If you’re curious, now is the time to get in touch. Email me: info@claritylifeconsulting.com
Upcoming Experiment #2: Moving the Blog
Due to AI scraping (ugh ugh ugh), I’ve decided to take down quite a bit of my blog on the website. Right now, you can read everything for free, but that will probably be changing soon. So if you’ve never poked around on there, now is the time! I’m hoping to share a lot of that writing in other forms at some point, but it might take a while.
Being on this email list is the best way to keep up with my writing.
Upcoming Experiment #3: Other Resources
I’m also going to be experimenting with shifting my business model a little bit and hopefully offering some self-led resources for those of you who want to go a bit deeper than you can with just an article, but for whom 1:1 isn’t a good fit.
If you’ve never downloaded my free Journaling for Discernment workshop (or if you haven’t used it in ages), you can do so here. (Don’t worry - signing up for emails won’t send you double emails.)
Upcoming Experiment # 4: Writing Elsewhere
This is more of a ‘continuing’ experiment, but I’m planning to write about discernment and decision-making for some new-to-me external publications this year. We’ll see how it goes!
» Now I’d love to hear from you: What are you thinking about experimenting with? You can leave a comment or hit reply.
And just one last nudge to get in touch if you’d like to experiment with the idea of working together 1:1, before my rates go up. It’s really relaxed, it’s all audio calls, and sometimes people find it incredibly helpful just to say things out loud.
Grateful for this peak into your process, Kerri -- and that Buechner quote is great! Hope you got have a little Oxford Thanksgiving celebration nonetheless :)
I'm so happy for you Kerri!!
It's been years!
I continue to pray for your ministry and the people you help.
Our Loving Father has truly gifted you & blessed your work.
I will continue to keep you and your work in my prayers.
Paul H.