Meet Heather Martinez

We recently connected with Heather Martinez and have shared our conversation below.

Heather , so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

On November 26, 2017 I was a mentally ill, alcoholic on the verge of divorce and I attempted to take my life. I had hit rock bottom and dug a hole so deep for myself and the only way I saw out was to end my life. I was tired of the highs and lows and I was full of shame and guilt. I swallowed 60, 600mg tablets of lithium after a night of heavy binge drinking, along with several other pills I collected from our medicine cabinet. When I swallowed the last pill, I heard a voice that said, “What did you just do?” When I heard this it was as if the fog lifted and I could think clearly, and thought to myself, “what DID you just do?” I ran to the bathroom to attempt to regurgitate the pills, and no matter what I did, it didn’t work. I went to my husband and told him what I had done, and he took me to the ER. By the time we got there, it was too late to have my stomach pumped, so they gave me medicine to naturally release the pills I took They were also monitoring the lithium levels in my kidneys. At the very least, I should have needed dialysis and/or been affected neurologically, and I ended up stabilizing 24 hours later, which was a miracle! From there, I was admitted to a 9 day inpatient stay for mental illness, and then attended a 6 week dual diagnosis outpatient program, and started attending AA meetings. During this time, my husband made the decision to divorce me. It was at this point, just 6 weeks from the suicide attempt, that I knew that if I was going to survive a divorce without drinking, or wanting to die, that I needed God. I knew that the reason I was still living was because God saved my life. For me, there was no other explanation. It was a true miracle. So the day after my husband delivered that news to me, I attended church and surrendered my entire life to the Lord. In the next 3 weeks, my husband also went back to church, and he made the decision to forgive me and together, with the Lord, we started the healing process.
In the months to follow, I went to therapy, took my medicine, attended AA, and was water baptized. Together we went to counseling, attended church, got involved in the church, started reading the bible, praying and seeking the Lord. Five months after I surrendered to the Lord, and accepted Him as my Savior, I had a supernatural experience. I was going through another cycle of depression that was triggered by a life circumstance. While my husband and another couple were praying for me, I started trembling, and I felt everything leave my body. The best way I can explain it, is that it felt like I was wearing 100 weighted blankets, and someone came by and took them off of me. My pain and sadness left and was immediately replaced with a peace and joy I had NEVER felt before in my life. I knew that something happened, and that the Lord healed me. Two months later, I was off all mental illness medications, and I have not had any issues with mental illness, or needed medication again, and that was 6 years ago.
Since then, the Lord has taken me on a journey of inner healing. Identifying the trauma, and healing the wounds it caused me to have. I say ALL of that to say that through this perfectly imperfect journey, my purpose was revealed-to help others be set free from the effects of trauma/abuse through inner healing. This has been done in various ways. Through a course I created called Breaking Free, through a 30 day devotional I wrote, called “Starting with God: A 30 Day Devotional,” through Inner Healing Sessions, and more recently through connecting with people through my Sourdough Bread Business, called The Blessed Bread Co. The common denominator in all these modalities, is the Lord. Its through surrender, and relationship with Him that the healing can begin. I am a completely transformed person. I am no longer a mentally ill alcoholic on the verge of divorce. I am daughter of God who is saved, set free, healed, and delivered, in a restored, and loving marriage, who helps pull others out of the darkness, and I am so thankful!

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

Currently, I am focused on all things Sourdough! I have a cottage micro bakery called The Blessed Bread Co. that specializes in all things sourdough. I make artisan sourdough boules in many different flavors, as well as items that include sourdough, such as cinnamon rolls, chocolate chip cookies, waffles, and quick breads. I also sell fresh and dehydrated sourdough starter and hold classes in home to teach others about the benefits of sourdough, how to create and maintain their own sourdough starter, and make their own sourdough bread. It has been a wonderful way to connect with others and meet more people in my community. There have been opportunities for me to pour love into others and also, to pray for them. The wildest thing about this adventure is that I have never been much of a baker! I literally one day in November 2023, said to my husband, “I think I want to learn how to make sourdough bread.” I then set out to learn about it and I watched a ton of videos. After about 3 weeks, I created my own sourdough starter and 12 days later I made my first sourdough loaf. This sourdough journey has brought so much joy and healing to my life. It was birthed during a time of great loss and pain. My niece became quite ill at the end of January 2024, and passed away in February, about one year to the day of my brother passing away. There was so much grief, and I discovered that baking was very therapeutic, so I was making a lot of bread for my family, as many were flying into town to see her. It was during this time that many encouraged me to make this a business, and I stepped out in faith and made it an LLC. I started to post about it in my local community Facebook pages. A customer posted about bread she purchased from me, and to my surprise, her post went viral! I very suddenly received numerous friend requests, and messages from people wanting to buy my bread!! I created a business page on Facebook and was booked 3 weeks out! I only had one refrigerator at the time, so I could only do 7 loaves of bread a day. Eventually I was gifted a refrigerator from our church that they didn’t need. It was such a blessing! Baking continues to be my therapy. Its a time when I talk to God, and surrender all the things that might be worrying me and it truly brings me so much joy to see others enjoying the things I have made. I now have 2 pick up locations each week and I have implemented an online ordering system. In addition I will be creating and launching an All Things Sourdough E-Course. This journey has taught me that trying new things and stepping outside your comfort zone is so rewarding! If I wouldn’t have stepped out and tried making sourdough, I wouldn’t have this business that has been such a blessing!

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

In looking back, I definitely feel that courage, perseverance, and faith were things I was relying on, and maybe didn’t even realize it. In my past, I was a huge people pleaser, cared about what people thought, and had a fear of failure. It took courage to step out and 1) Try something new. 2 ) Share it with others. 3) Charge people for it, and 4) Actually make it a business! Perseverance (and patience) were also necessary in that, in many of the things I read and watched, they said I would have an active sourdough starter within 5-7 days, and mine took 12 days! I had no idea what I was doing, but I did not give up and kept pushing through. Even now, on weeks when sales are low, I keep posting, and make videos, and putting myself (and my bread) out there! Finally, it’s my faith in God, that He brought this precious gift of baking sourdough to my life and ordered my steps to this very thing in my life. I trust Him and I’m so thankful for everything He is doing in and through this business!
My advice to others who are early in their journey is to step out in faith and courage, and keep persevering! Do not give up and keep dreaming with the Lord. Keep learning and growing and putting yourself out there, without caring what people think. Push past the limitations you may have placed on yourself and put your hope and trust in the Lord, that He will make a way when there seems to be no way! For me, this is only the beginning and I am so excited to see what happens next!

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?

When I feel overwhelmed, I pause. I take care of any immediate responsibilities, and take time to be still. During this rest/stillness, I spend time with God and pray. I also take a look at everything I am doing and/or responsible for, and I reassess. In other words, I look at everything “on my plate,” and then I metaphorically smash the plate and everything on it. I then either take some things off of my plate, or reprioritize the things on my plate. This exercise takes some stress and pressure off of me and then allows me more time to spend on self care and doing things that bring more peace and joy, like spending more quality time with my family or going to the beach.
There is so much going on in this world and its so easy to feel overwhelmed, so the best advice I can offer is to stay close to Jesus and be intentional to do things that bring you peace and joy!

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