Hey Friend!

In today’s episode, I am sharing an interview I did on my friend and prior client, Brooke Jefferson’s Book More Clients Photography Podcast. We dive into having a God-Centered Business and answer the questions, What does it really mean to have faith at the forefront of your success? How can you be successful without falling prey to the world? Are you letting your feelings lead you away from God’s Path for Your Business?

We also delve into how our feelings often lead us astray and pull us from God’s path for our businesses. I share how I still work to overcome these and go through how growth often means new challenges and new levels of revelation about things we need to change within our own hearts.

If you’re a business owner and you truly want to walk out God’s plan for your calling, this episode is a must-listen.

I pray this blesses you.

FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPTION:

(00:00):
Hi, sister! Welcome to another episode of the podcast! Today, I have a special treat for you. This is actually an interview that I did on a prior client and dear friend of mine, Brooke Jefferson’s podcast. She has the Book More Clients Podcast for photographers.

(00:16):
And Brooke and I have a long history of working together, we have worked together in every capacity from student, her going through all of my courses, she went through my mastermind to private client-coach relationship for a few years now.

(00:31):
So it’s just so incredible to see Brooke flourish in her own business and most importantly, flourish in her faith. And Brooke asked me to come on her show to talk about what it means to partner your faith with your business.

(00:46):
And she asked me, what was the number one thing I wanted to talk about when it came to having a God-centered business and being a strong woman of faith who is also successful and what that looks like and how I got there and all of those pieces.

(01:01):
And so we ended up having, I think, truly an anointed conversation around not letting your feelings and the earthly ways of doing business lead you away from God’s path.

(01:14):
Because I truly, with all of my heart know that God’s positioned me right, where I am to have this show, to help all of you step into the purpose work that he has in store for your life and to serve the people that he has handpicked and prepared just for you to serve.

(01:34):
And I know that everything out there that the enemy can possibly position to come at me, to come against me, to speak lies over me is gonna come.

(01:45):
And so armoring myself against my own feelings or my own thoughts is supercritical to keep me on his path, pushing forward on your business plan that he planted.

(02:00):
He planted that dream and that design and the holy spirit nudge the moment that you said, I think I’m gonna do this thing, it’s still there.

We just allow ourselves to question it. We allow the world to come in and speak lies over what that truth really was and still is.

(02:19):
So we’re gonna talk all about that today. We’re really gonna dig deep. And we’re also gonna a lot about surrender today, surrendering your business.

What it means to surrender the way we do our business, how to surrender in our leadership in the way that we steward and shepherd the growth of our shows and of our offers, et cetera.

(02:37):
So you, guys, are gonna love this so much. I think that there’s gonna be a lot of wisdom for you, and I hope some revelation. I just pray that today’s conversation truly blesses you.

Now, if you have it on your heart to work with me in any capacity, you, guys, can head to stefaniegass.com. Learn all about that.

(02:57):
I do wanna let you know that next week we are going to be having a flash sale so you can start saving up for that. If you’ve had your eyes on any Stefanie Gass course, those will be 20% off Thursday and Friday of next week, a 48 hour.

It’s my time spring flash sale, just to bless you, to get you prepared and ready with everything that you need to do the things before the summer comes, and to hurry and get that podcast launched.

(03:28):
Because Podcast to Profit, my 90-day immersion mastermind for podcasters is starting April 14th. We are still accepting some applications, head to podcasttoprofitmastermind.com. You’re going to want to hurry and get that in.

(03:44):
We only have 30 spots and we do have a handful left. Maybe one of them has your name on it. If you’ve been praying for a way to make profit from your show to go from part-time and I’m kind of doing this too, I want Stefanie’s exact business model. I want to monetize my show.

(04:00):
I wanna show up on my podcast and then live my life. And I want it to bring me leads. And I wanna help people through my solutions, whether that’s coaching or courses or programs.

But I don’t know how to actually do that. I don’t know how to sell things. I don’t know how to scale this whole thing.

(04:15):
Come on. Let mama shepherd you. I am ready to show you the way, this is Podcast to Profit 2.0, it is so good. There is a training tutorial, template, and accountability for every single step. We have live coaching in there.

(04:34):
There is a group of kingdom women who are gonna run along beside you. We have a Facebook community. There is a back-office business blueprint.

(04:41):
That’s gonna help you take each step and show you how to implement it. It’s just so good. Head to podcasttoprofitmastermind.com and get your app in. Let’s jam into this convo with Brooke.

(05:54):
Hello, everyone, and thanks beautiful Brooke, for having me back on the show. I am Brook’s prior business coach and friend, and I’ve been part of her growth journey for the past couple of years.

(06:08):
And I just have to say, it’s been so cool to watch Brooke’s growth, not in her business, cuz Brooke has always been this woman of heart and God gives us these strengths on purpose for a purpose.

And one of Brooke’s strengths is pouring into the calling work that he has placed over her life.

(06:27):
And I’ve never wondered if Brooke would be successful. I’ve known that she will be successful at everything in her life, no matter what she chooses to do.

(06:34):
But what has been so awesome for me as a coach who focuses on partnering faith and business is watching her absolutely exponentially break down the worldly ways in which we’re called to build businesses and be so obedient.

(06:52):
And so surrendered to how God is asking Brooke to build her business. It’s been so cool to watch the transformation firsthand, and I’m just in awe of how much fruit comes through these hard seasons in our lives.

(07:09):
And just being able to see Brooke grow into who God is calling his daughter to be is such an honor. And I love it. So I’m so proud of you first of all.

And I know it’s the hardest thing in the world to surrender, and I know it’s the hardest thing in the world to be obedient.

(07:23):
And I know it’s the hardest thing in the world to lay things down that feel like they’re part of your identity and they feel like they’re part of who you are but all of that is a deception, which is what we’re gonna talk about today.

(07:35):
All of it is a deception to think that I need people or I need certain pieces of business or I need success or I need money in order to be worthy. So I’m just proud of you. So there’s that whole segue.

(07:48):
Well, first of all, thank you so much for that. I was actually thinking about you this morning and since you opened that up, I’ll just turn it right back on you.

You really are one of the reasons that I have leaned more into obedience, you’ve given me that confidence to really listen to what God says and to break down doing things that the world says to do and have a business that looks like the world.

(08:15):
And I mean, truly you have been, not just a business mentor, but a spiritual mentor. How cool is social media and podcasting where I can turn your voice on anytime I want to? And you are just encouraging me and uplifting me.

(08:32):
And so I will tell you, I don’t think that I would have been necessarily on either business or spiritual level I am now without having met you and followed you and worked with you.

And so I just wanna say thank you because you have impacted my life probably more than you’ll ever see this side of heaven. So I love you, Stefanie!

(08:53):
I love you too! So you’re welcome for that. You, guys, thanks for hanging out in our private conversation.

(08:59):
Yes.

(09:00):
So who am I? I am a business coach who is really focused on faith first. And what I do is I help women get clear on their calling so that they can start an online business God’s way.

And the way that I do that is I help them figure out what their thing is cuz we all have a thing. Every single one of you, you have a thing, and a lot of you it’s photography or some type of service-based business like that.

(09:23):
And your thing it’s a vocational call in your life that’s partnered with spiritual giftings and it’s partnered with your experiences and your trials and your triumphs. A

nd all of these things that God is pruning and fine-tuning in your life, all comes to one big culmination in your life of what you’re called to do and be.

(09:42):
And when we figure that thing out, we have two things, one – purpose, and our purpose in our lives is to glorify God through our gifts. And two – we have calling, which is to go do it well in the ways in which we are created and crafted to do it.

(09:57):
And that could be photography, a stay-at-home mom., being a life coach or that could be being a freelancer. It doesn’t matter. You have this gifting. And so people come to me often and they’re like, I’m so sick of social media.

(10:08):
I’m so sick of this and my whole point is you can build a business and still be free. And one of the biggest chains that we break in my house over here is the social media chain of building a business, those chains.

(10:21):
And the way I help women do it is through podcasting. As you’ve seen, Brooke has this podcast, she can be totally free of the triggers of social media. She can be totally free of all of that and show up with her voice and bless you, guys.

(10:34):
And then the third step is monetizing it with courses and coaching. As you know, with Brooke, she’s got her programs, she’s got coaching and all of those pieces, well that’s the Stef Gass business model. And that’s what I do.

(10:46):
And I’ve helped over 1500 people at this point, go through the courses and the programs. And it’s so fun and surreal to see God’s handwork, helping women be free from the ways the world told them to build a business. So that’s what I do.

(10:59):
I’m obviously married, have two little Turkey children, turkeys, minions, boys, crazy boys. And I drink too much coffee and I love LaCroix. So that’s me. I’m in my PJs always or my comfy.

(11:12):
I love it. That is so you. And one other thing to add to what you do and who you are is all of that being said and done really the fruit that I’ve seen in my life following your business model, your faith model, all those things is freedom.

(11:30):
The word freedom. I feel free to scale back, to show up when I want to., to cast all my worries and anxieties of tomorrow and just live in today. And so I think a lot of what you give that’s a byproduct of that is freedom.

(11:49):
And I think a lot of us lack that, we don’t have that space. And I think a lot of that comes with surrendering. So, this is gonna be such a fun/hard topic, I think, for a lot of us because you and I were very ambitious. Give us a 1, 2, 3, and we’re going.

(12:08):
But a lot of that is the world putting so much pressure on us to do things a certain way. And you like to teach the opposite. Let’s undo that. And let’s surrender our businesses to what God is calling us to do. And every season looks different.

(12:26):
And so I just wanna hear a little bit of how you surrendered your business and then what does that even mean to surrender your business?

(12:36):
Yeah, that’s good. So I think when we start out as an online business owner or a physical business owner, maybe you, guys, are a photographer today.

Or you do something tactical and tangible, we have this objective in our mind of we are not successful until we make blank amount of money.

(12:53):
Or I have a blank number of clients. And so we start out focused on an end result, an unseen end result of making X amount of money or X amount of whatever, a rank, whatever it is.

And that’s what the world has said. That’s what they’ve spoken over us, your successful win.

(13:09):
So I did that, built a top 1% network marketing business, didn’t consult God. I was far from God at that time in my life. And I did it. I made it. I have air quotes. You, guys, can’t see them.

(13:21):
And I hit the top 1% of that company and all the while, and now looking back, it’s so clear that the enemy was whispering in my ear the whole time, more, but when?

It’s for them, you know, guys, the enemy is a deceiver. He is not over here being scary and trying to show you who he is.

(13:40):
He’s hiding behind a facade of sweet whispers. He’s whispering sweet nothings into your ear and telling you that you’re doing everything for them and it’s worth it.

And so I believe those lies and because I didn’t invite God into the business, I was just straight up following the whispers of the enemy all the way up the success ladder until I fell off and it that ladder got pushed over and I had a full out breakdown.

Because I had built success at the expense of my marriage, the expense of my kids, the expense of everything. I was having anxiety attacks, the way I was treating my body was awful.

(14:21):
And why after having so much success and so much money was my life in shambles? Why was it all gone overnight? Just like this? Because I built it the world’s way, I hustled until I broke down.

And the truth is that when you hustle the world’s way, you’re always gonna be left broken, beaten, and lying on the floor going what did I do wrong? And you’re gonna think that you’re a failure.

(14:53):
That’s just the truth. And I have seen it in client after client. This is not a story that Stefanie Gass is the only person sharing. It’s a story that I hear every week. I made it, but I don’t feel more fulfilled. I’m not happier.

My marriage is in a worst place. My health is in a worst place. I thought this money would solve everything. And I know Brooke’s been here too.

(15:19):
So at that moment, at that breakdown moment, you have two choices. Choice one is I’m gonna get up and I’m gonna hustle again. I’m gonna get back what I lost.

And you partner with the enemy again, and you chase after social media likes and you chase after more money and you chase after the next rank.

(15:40):
And you just go after it again. And guys, this is so sad because you know so many people and maybe you’re one of ’em and it is okay. Cause there is freedom today from this, from this path.

Well, the other option as you get up and you say, I’m done, I’m gonna surrender the way in which I think I have to build.

I’m gonna surrender what I think is the outcome, cuz that’s what we think we need is to know the outcome. The truth is we’ll never know the outcome.

(16:05):
We only know the next step. God will only speak to you the next step often. And sometimes he gives you a vision, but he’s not gonna tell you you the outcome.

And I’ll tell you the full part about that in a minute, but we can get up and decide. So at this moment, I was fully, there was nothing left.

(16:21):
I was fully stripped down and I had a choice and I chose Jesus. And I said, Lord, I’ve been far from you. And for that, I repent and I love you. And I’m so sorry. And I need you.

I need you to be my friend, my counselor, my father, my boss, my CEO. I need you to be everything in my life because I am failing.

And it was the first time I’d ever acknowledged that I wasn’t enough on my own, cuz that was this crutch and this lie that the enemy kept telling me, is all you need is you, Stefanie.

(16:50):
So at that moment, I surrendered and I gave it all down. I just said I am undone for you. And it was about a year-long process, Brooke, of stripping me down to nothingness so that I could be rebuilt.

We had no money, borrowed money from my son’s savings account. My husband sold this Harley to pay the bills.

(17:10):
I didn’t have a job, a focus, felt such a failure in my life. And he just kept whispering you’re enough. It’s okay. And things would happen, we got money from this random place.

And somebody hired me to do this random thing and I’m like, wow, like God’s carrying us through this season.

(17:30):
So through that year, the hardest lesson I learned is sometimes the undoing is the recreation of your entire life. It’s the rebuilding of God’s plan for you, instead of your plan for you.

So that year was surrender. And tactically, what did it mean?

(17:47):
Well, number one, it meant, I don’t know the outcome, but I’m gonna ask God for the next step. It meant a lot of repentance and that is not a shameful thing. Let me say this if you’ve messed up and you’ve turned away from God’s plan for your life, he loves you. It’s okay.

(18:05):
If your kid messes up, do you slam the door on their face and say you’re such a failure and I hate you forever and feel shame? No, you say, come here, baby and you give him a big hug and you say, how do we fix this?

(18:17):
How do we make this better? That’s how God sees us. So there was a lot of that. There was a lot of me sobbing in the bathtub being like, Lord, what’s my purpose?

And so this like true partnership with him and then the other pieces where a lot of prayers, a lot of rest and laying down the busy, there was a lot of just heart work that took place.

(18:38):
A lot of scripture, getting to know his word, cuz like I literally didn’t know it. I didn’t know his word or what it meant to be surrendered in worship. I did not know.

Had no idea how to pray. And it was like a lot of exploring what it means to grow close to God. So that’s where it all began.

(18:53):
So many good things. I’m over here taking some notes because I was like, oh, I have feedback for that. So I guarantee you more people can relate to that story than not.

I also climbed my way up an MLM all the way to 1%. And it was like never enough.

(19:12):
The person above you is like, all right, let’s get to the next one. Let’s make more money. Let’s more, more, more.

And I think what a lot of us chase, no, I don’t think I know a lot of us chase to fill a void that nothing on this side of heaven is going to be able to fulfill.

(19:29):
And I have seen this over and over again. For me, my first place I run to when I’m broken is let’s work, head down. Let’s hustle. Let’s make money.

(19:38):
Just because I enjoy business, it’s not an ego thing, but you have already said, that’s one of my gifts is business. And that’s why I’m able to coach so many people in their photography business, but that’s where I run.

But the second thing is, I look at my life and I think, oh I don’t feel like I’m enough in business. I don’t feel like I’m enough in my marriage.

(20:01):
There’s a void there. I don’t feel like I’m enough in my motherhood. There’s a void there. And, guys, that void it’s God. That is that ache. And you will always have that.

So if you’re someone that chases after your identity and motherhood, you’re gonna come up with a void every single time. If you’re not going back into your relationship with God. This took me a decade to figure it out, guys.

(20:27):
A decade. And now, the void it’s filled, but it’s not like we can never get enough of God either, but that’s the whole point. The other thing that you said was the world does scream at us.

You are enough and guys, no, you’re not like we were not created to be enough.

(20:51):
First of all, we’re not created to be enough because God is our creator. He created us for relationships. And if we’re lacking that relationship, you’re going to feel like you’re not enough. It’s the void thing again.

(21:05):
And so the world is all about this self-love and put yourself first and you, you, you and quite honestly, that’s a big fat lie. That is deception at its finest and so pay attention.

If someone tells you that you can do it all by yourself, you can carry the weight of the world, run in the other direction as fast as you can.

(21:25):
And then the last thing that you said that really just sat with me was, sometimes the undoing is the recreating and I tried to real hard not to break down and cry when you said that.

Because before we started recording, I told you I’m in a season where I do feel like everything has been stripped and I’m like clean slate. We’re going to a new level.

(21:45):
A lot of what I was putting my eye identity in, who I was putting my identity in that kind of thing, my comfort zone completely stripped away. And I feel vulnerable. I feel naked if you will.

And oh wait, what are we doing here? And so I love that idea of where you might be if you’re in a season similar to me, is the undoing, is really the recreating and how it’s such a gift.

(22:12):
The Bible says that it is a gift when you go through trials and when you have to endure things, and I think surrendering is such a gift too because a lot of you are at the end of your rope, you’re even considering giving up.

Why do this anymore? It’s just been failure after failure. So what encouragement do you have for them?

(22:33):
When you talked about obedience right there, which is exactly what you’re doing, Brooke, you’re hearing this whisper of, daughter, you’re not this comfort zone and you’re not what this person says, and you’re not this identity and everything inside of us screams with discomfort.

(22:52):
No, I am, I have to be, I don’t know who I am without it. The constant, but quiet whisper is being obedient and trust me. It made me think of Jeremiah 7:23, ‘Obey My voice and I will be your God.

And you shall be my people and walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’ The promise here is clear, obey my command and it will be well with you. So there’s another side to this discomfort.

(23:25):
There’s another verse, it says ‘Experience discomfort for a little while. And then afterward you shall experience the fruits and the things and the things.’

And the point is like in every season, Brooke, where I felt that way and everything inside of me screamed to run back to the comfort zone of same for me, it was work.

But whatever, whoever you are on the other side of this speaker, you know what that is, is it to go back to the negative mindset?

(23:52):
Maybe it’s a thing you’re doing negatively in your marriage or maybe it is a friendship, an unhealthy friendship.

Maybe it’s idolatry of social media, digging into Facebook for three hours a day so that you can numb out whatever that thing is. God is whispering and he’s tugging at your heart, lay it down.

(24:12):
And through the obedience of you doing that, God does not ask you to give him something without having something bigger, better for you, but he’s waiting for you to be obedient to the thing.

And so Brookes saying, oh my gosh, I’m in this season, I’ve let all these things down.

(24:29):
And those of you going, should I quit my business? And it’s not working, I don’t know, I wanna run back to the safety net, don’t do it. Don’t run back to the safety net, to the idol. Do not do it.

(24:40):
Say I’m gonna stand steadfast right here with my Jesus and take his hand and say, give me the strength and the perseverance to pursue through this dark season and this dry season that I’m in Lord.

And I’m here and ready with excited anticipation of what is your glorious gift for me, for being super obedient through this hard season with you.

(25:01):
And he’s okay with that. He can handle you saying Lord, gimme some hope in this season. What am I waiting for? Because he always gives me something bigger and better.

What’s crazy about this, we’re talking about business today, is when I surrendered the business, it didn’t immediately become successful.

(25:23):
It was harder than ever before. It was, I still don’t what I’m supposed to be doing. And then I would hear a small whisper, just show up and do a live today. I’m like what? I have a newborn. I have spit up on my shirt. My hair is oily.

And I just heard, talk about fear or whatever I would hear. And it would be like this weird whisper that I’m like, who talking to me? Cuz I wasn’t close to God at this point.

(25:48):
And I just had a feeling. I could put my finger on it, like a feeling. So I’d go live. And then I’m like, I don’t think this is right. So then I was like, maybe it’s YouTube.

And so I kept trying things and it was kind of like still an identity crisis, but I was turned to him. My face was on the Lord.

(26:06):
Keep directing me, keep slamming doors if it’s not right, but I wasn’t making any money. So I’m like questioning God, you said to surrender to you, but it’s still not working, Lord.

Stay steadfast. It was this whisper of hold onto my promise, Stefanie, with white-knuckled ferocity, hold onto the promise and watch what I can do.

(26:30):
And little by little, I kept hearing small whispers, like Brooke was mentioning, get off social, stop using Instagram, let go of this, Stefanie, get out of this mastermind.

And I just kept coming back like Jeremiah 7:23, you said it will be well with me. I don’t feel that it’s well with me.

(26:52):
And God’s like daughter. He can handle us. And so what’s crazy though is trusting in his plan three and a half years later from the breakdown moment.

Three and a half years later, my business is so much more fruitful than anything I ever wrote on a vision board.

(27:13):
Anything I ever wrote down, we have 12 people on this team. My podcast is gonna be a million download show. What on actual earth? This was not my dream for my business cuz it’s too big.

This was God’s dream for my business. I’m more present in my marriage, my motherhood. I work 30 hours a week.

(27:31):
This couldn’t have happened without him, but it came with a couple of years of refining me. I wasn’t ready to steward this amount of money two years ago. I wasn’t ready to lead a team. My heart wasn’t exactly where he needed it to be.

(27:47):
I wasn’t in a mindset of tithing and giving in the way that I am prepared now. And so if you are not experiencing what you think, even after the obedience and the trust and the surrender, it’s because God’s doing a work in you and you’re not ready, but guess what? Trust him to prepare you.

(28:09):
And that season of reaping will come. You’re just in a season of pruning and weeding. And that is great. Be excited. What I’m saying is all of this to say, be excited about the hard season because it’s coming.

Faster and bigger and bitter than you have ever dreamed in your entire life and you have to be ready.

(28:33):
I’m so excited, God didn’t gimme this business two years ago cuz I would’ve crumbled under the pressure and now I’m good. God had prepared me for these things. So that’s that.

(28:46):
So the way that you described a lot of that, is blind faith. Isn’t that what faith is, right? You have to believe what you can’t see. And again, I go back to this, I guess this truth statement, we cannot rely on our feelings.

(29:04):
The way you feel about your business is not the reality. You have to look at the data and again, look back at the promise because your feelings are lying to you every single day. Ask me who I know, right?

(29:19):
Yes.

(29:19):
Can say one thing and then 30 seconds later get lost in a thought and a negative thought that has popped into my mind and go down a rabbit hole. And I feel I’m not impacting people. And then I have to look, that’s not true.

(29:37):
I just got a DM this morning saying that the little workshop that we’re doing has completely transformed their life, brought them closer to God. So it’s like actually, my feelings are lying to me.

(29:51):
The visual that I’ve always seen in my head for seasons like this or when there’s a decision I need to make, but I can’t quite see how it’s all gonna come together, it’s like walking or driving through the fog.

You can only see just a little bit in front of you and really quite honestly that’s how God is with us about our business.

(30:09):
We’re not, Stef talked about earlier, he’s not going to give you the complete map and show you for the rest of your life here’s everything you’re going through. Why?

Cuz you would never go down that path if you saw it. Cause we would be like, Nope, I’m good. Thank you, even though success comes with that.

(30:28):
Well, so do all the hardships. I think they go hand in hand. And so, and I have to say like the level of business, the level of my program, the level of how everything’s kind of panned out, I wasn’t ready either to your ago, one year ago.

And I have big dreams and goals for my business and there’s a few of those that I’m like, I’m not quite sure I really am ready for that.

(30:51):
And so I feel like that’s what a lot of this refining season is for me too, is preparing us. So with that major concept there, for someone that is like this is hard, but I do wanna be steadfast. I do wanna stay the course.

What can they practically do to, I guess, hold on to that promise so tight that they don’t let go of it even when it is hard. And even when maybe they have crickets in their inbox for the next couple of weeks, how do they keep going?

(31:22):
Yes. And I love that Brooke brought up feelings and emotions because here’s the truth. You’re gonna get off this podcast and be like, I’m here, Lord, refine me.

And then like five minutes later, like Brooke said, you’re gonna get something come up or you’re gonna see that crickets in the inbox.

(31:38):
And your feelings and your emotions and that quiet, whisper, whether it’s the enemy or just your thoughts or people in your life, where everything’s gonna come against you to say you’re a failure.

You can’t come back to the comfort zone or come back to the idol.

(31:55):
So you just have to put on the armor of God, first of all, and understand you’re not gonna just get this. It’s a daily battle. Brooke and I are still battling this every single day.

So you figured out how this works in your business, faith, surrendered, trust obedience.

(32:14):
Well, now all of a sudden I’m over here in my marriage, working on stuff where I have work to do.

Or in my motherhood or in friendships or with my being offended by stuff, we all have crap that’s gonna keep coming up. So every single day you grab your crap and you set it in front of you.

(32:32):
You just grab your crap, get your thoughts outta your head. Maybe you gotta journal it out. Maybe you’re gonna speak it, I don’t know. Put it in front of you. Get it out of your body. That’s a very important thing here.

When I harbor something inside, a feeling, a thought an emotion it festers, and then it starts to feed on itself and then I start to play into it. So the first thing I can do is get it out. So sometimes it’s to a friend or a godly mentor, sometimes it’s to the Lord, it’s journaling it.

(32:57):
Sometimes I’m saying it to no one. Wow, I’m offended by this thing right now.

And I set it in front of me and I go, Lord God, please smash that offense in the name of Jesus and help me to just live by your truth today. So I’m prayinging over the crap.

(33:18):
Then the best thing you can do is every day go find a scripture that will speak directly to that pile of stuff, thoughts, limiting, beliefs, idolatry, whatever you’re dealing with, and speak that scripture over and over that day.

(33:35):
And then the third thing is I want you to activate your prayer life. I want you to put a sticky note on your computer, on your phone, on your, wherever, in your kitchen, somewhere where you are all the time that just says pray, actively pray.

(33:51):
And this is weird when you’re getting started because you think, what do you mean? Don’t I have to like get dressed up for the Lord and be like, ah, heavenly father at night before I go to bed.

No, God is your best friend. He can handle you sitting there doing dishes, crying into the soapy water, being like, Lord, I’m so triggered by this thing. Please help me. He knows you.

(34:13):
He already knows that bundle of stuff that you said in front of him in the morning because he sees it and he wants to help you. But he’s waiting for you to ask.

He’s waiting for you to surrender it to him so that he can give you something in return, the resilience, the strength, the perspective, the scripture, the godly mentorship, whatever it is.

And so prayer needs to become a habit. You’ve gotta do until you don’t think about it anymore.

(34:43):
And this means every day, you have notes and reminders and you’re practicing and there’s no right or wrong way to pray.

And the more you do it, the more comfortable you’ll become, the more audacious you’ll become, and start seeking the Lord in everything. So that’s on a daily basis what you can do.

(35:02):
And then on a monthly basis, I would give yourself an hour to do a full inventory of your heart. And so the way this looks for me is I get out a sheet of paper and you can go in a prayer closet, which is literally a space.

Where’s your space to be alone with the Lord? Maybe it’s a corner and maybe it’s a closet. I have this little couch in a corner and it’s like my place. I’m coming, I’m just coming to hang out with you.

(35:29):
And I got my Bible and my coffee and I get out this sheet of paper and I just write what’s upsetting me. What’s hard for me right now. What’s weighing on me. Where am I hurting? Who am I not forgiving? Where do I feel triggered?

Where do I feel unseen? What hurt me this month? Or what’s hurting my heart? Or what fight did I have with my husband? Or where do I feel like I’m falling short? Where’s my guilt?

(35:55):
Because these emotions and these feelings that Brooke referred to earlier, you guys, those are mirrors into things that you need to hand the Lord, and maybe you need to do this weekly for a while. And it’s okay.

And it’s okay to have a whole lot of stuff on that piece of paper. And then what I do, on the next sheet of paper is I write all the blessings that correspond that emotion.

(36:19):
So for example, God’s been working in my marriage a lot. He’s working on me in my marriage.

And so I sat there when I did this, a couple weeks ago, at the start of February and I wrote down all the things I was annoyed, I’m resentful of this and I’m annoyed with this.

(36:34):
And when he said this and I wrote all the things on the left side. On the right side, I started to write all the blessings in this marriage and all the qualities in this man and all the things that God has done through this marriage.

And all the ways that he has worked and how I couldn’t even be who I am without him. That went on for four pages, I couldn’t stop writing.

And I was like, but God, if I hadn’t got those feelings out of my body onto the paper, God couldn’t have worked to show me the truth.

(37:05):
And I held onto those four pages. And then God spoke to me four words of how I was supposed to show up in my marriage in a different way. And it was all about me, not him. It was about me.

And I’m like, wow, if I hadn’t done that work, I would still will be over here, mad at the laundry when God’s like, look what I gave you, daughter, look at the gifts.

(37:29):
Don’t look at the small stuff. Don’t look at the little lies of the world telling you that he should, this isn’t about him. It’s about you. And I went, wow. And I was so excited.

I’m like, prune me, Lord fix this stuff, fix the pile poop, the crap. So that’s what you do, tactically tangibly every day, every week, every month.

(37:51):
I love that. That was really good validation for me that I’m on the right track. I have been doing almost all of that on a daily or multiple times a week basis. I start it a prayer journal really so I could look back cuz again, we’re gonna forget things naturally.

(38:08):
Another thing that I love and I know you use, is the Horatio planner and she really encourages you at the end of every month, what are the praise reports? Look back at what happened?

Don’t forget. Cause you’re gonna have a really bad month later on where you’re gonna have to remind yourself that goodness does come.

(38:26):
And so another thing too is I love finding scripture that speaks to you and guys, I am such a systems person that prayer and reading the Bible.

And all these things, I feel I have to put on a show, do follow a method, and God’s really undoing that for me.

(38:48):
I do have a process and a quiet time every morning where, yes, I do flip through, I read scripture and then I’m moving on to the prayer journal and then I move on to a devotional. So yes.

So like I have a process for that, but for me, it’s like going to Google and if you’re in a season of I don’t trust people then literally say scriptures on trust.

(39:10):
You do not have to be proper. Go to Google. I used Google yesterday, specifically I felt like the Lord had whispered you’re not at rock bottom cuz I was saying, I feel like I’m at rock bottom.

And I felt like the Lord had whispered my pin road on my prayer journal.

(39:28):
You’re not at rock bottom. You’re in my hiding place. And so I was like, whoa, what the word? So I went to Google and I was like scripture on hiding place.

And then I found myself in Psalms 31 and I have never sobbed the way that I did when I read that because I was like, I could have wrote that. And so you Psalm 31.

(39:51):
Again, if you’re in a season where you feel forgotten, overlooked, betrayed, just surrender, really hurt all those things. I have chills in my body because I read it again this morning. I’m gonna read this every day until we are past this.

But you also said perspective. A lot of times that’s how God wants to do in you, is just show you a different perspective.

(40:15):
I’m fine to talk about this now, I wasn’t fine to talk about this a few months ago, but I had partnered up with another photographer and I wanted to learn the way that she did business.

And so I was in this little mastermind and everything about it was great, but I came into it as a leader and more of a teacher than a student.

(40:36):
And everything that I did, nothing was intentional if you will. It was just any hurt that I caused was a little unintentional. But anyway, all that to say I was in the middle of my hurt journey.

And having friendships dissolve and all of these things and I was too hurt to have a conversation She offered to hop on a FaceTime chat just so we could chat out.

(41:03):
She was like, I am not mad at you, you deserve a conversation. Let’s talk it out. And I wasn’t ready. And, we finally had this conversation two weeks ago.

It took me months, but I just remember God, just kind of like saying, I think now’s the time to have that conversation.

(41:17):
And what I got from that conversation were life lessons. It was perspective. It was things I never would’ve seen had I not just asked to see it in another way.

And she was like, everything that you did, there was no intentional harm in it. It’s just, there’s certain traits, there’s certain things that you said, but I wanna show you how you can do it better.

(41:38):
And, I mean, I will forever be grateful for that conversation. It was hard. I couldn’t have done that three, four months ago with the pride being all the way up here.

And so perspective, I think a lot of times you just need fresh perspective and sometimes you’re gonna get that through a mentor.

(41:53):
Sometimes you’re going to get that through reading your Bible. Sometimes you’re gonna get that through a song. I mean, it just depends but I think perspective is such a huge part of that.

So, that was a little bit of my feedback on all that you shared.

(42:06):
I love that. And you’re so right. I use Google all the time. I used Google before this conversation with you. And wrote down certain verses that God led me to.

And the other fun stuff is learning that there’s no right or wrong way to grow closer to God.

(42:20):
And one of the best things you can do is say, God, show me how to grow closer to you. I promise you, he has every answer. He’s just waiting for your ask.

And often, sometimes I’ll just sit and hold the Bible and I’ll open it and see what God wants to say to me through it and find the things that work and light you up.

Maybe you’re not a Bible study person. You’re a worship person. Great, put worship music on and sit in that. And maybe you are a conversation person.

(42:50):
So there’s lots of things for you to explore here. And there’s no right or wrong answer, but it truly just all comes back to trust.

And it comes back to surrender and obedience and Proverbs 3:5-6, you guys know this first, but it’s ‘do not lean on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, he’ll make your path straight.’

(43:09):
So choose to go on a winding road of hot mess express or choose to go on a straight path with the Lord, to the destination that he has already created for you.

And you are walking by blind faith, letting him lead. And I promise you it’s so worth it.

(43:25):
And it’s worth the hard stuff that comes with it because being on God’s path is going to be harder for you than being on the twisty path of the world. But the outcome is more fruitful.

The outcome is better, bigger, more amazing and you are gonna feel fulfilled and whole, and you’re gonna feel so different when you’re walking with him.