How are you?
I'm doing pretty good. Pretty good.
Good. I'm excited to be with you guys today.
Hello. Hello.
I'm excited to be with you guys.
Good.
I just sold my.
You know,
I went to the dealer to see what they would give me for it.
Cut a deal.
You know, whenever you go to a dealership, it's like, Oh man.
I never paperwork and paperwork.
Yeah. It's never, you always think, okay, it's almost done.
And then they bring out more.
Right.
Yeah. And they always give you a price, you know,
Looking off your $1,950.
I mean, 19,050.
I don't know. I don't remember.
Yeah.
They came back with 21,000 and something.
You know how they play that game.
Oh, yeah.
Did it when you bought a truck,
but I didn't know they did it when you sold the truck.
Oh, I bet. Yeah. No, we just bought a minivan.
I'm living my in my minivan era.
So we just had to recently do that.
And the grace and mercy to me was like,
Bruce did a lot of the stuff and then I just had to come and sign it.
It was still like an hour long of stuff,
but I was like, I'm going to do it.
I'm going to do it. I'm going to do it.
I'm going to do it.
I empathize with all of that.
For sure.
Well, I still had to write a check for a couple of grand.
Cause I had more on it than they gave me, but.
It still worked.
Yeah. Yeah. The truck is gone. So that's.
What I wanted.
Yeah, that's good.
All right. It's a, just a minute pass.
Yeah.
I've been in the minivan stage. It's great.
Minivans are life-changing.
Why have I waited this long?
I mean, oh yes.
I was so resistant.
And then I realized I want to do all the things and all the things
includes a minivan era.
It does.
I'm good. I had a couple things.
I'm doing well.
Good. Good.
Is there something on the horizon for you that you're really excited
about when it comes to your business?
Well, yes, but it has nothing to do with this stuff. I just,
I just purchased a piece of equipment that I'm very excited about.
Okay.
And I'm so excited about it. I just got off of a call to.
Learn how to use it. So I'm so excited about it.
And I think it's going to be, I mean,
you can use it for all different kinds of things for emotional
healing, for physical stuff.
For just healing from traumas and stuff like that.
I'm excited about it. I'm excited about it. I'm excited about it.
And I'm excited about it.
I've been using it for years and years and years.
And I finally got it.
That's huge. That's amazing.
That's an amazing one.
So I've done some work with Holly.
I've been a client of Holly and really believe in what she does,
because this is a son of God.
Daughter of God, son of God. I say son of God for both male and female,
but this is a son of God who is partnering with creation.
Like we talked about last time I was here about how, you know,
the glory in us is being revealed.
And we're not afraid to partner with the tools that are embedded in
creation.
And we're not afraid to partner with the tools that are embedded in
creation.
Because God doesn't give us purpose. We give purpose to creation.
So this is a son of God who is unafraid to partner with the tools that
are embedded within creation, things like sound and vibration and energy.
And that sounds very woo woo to people. And unfortunately,
I think religion.
Has cut us off and blocked us to the tools that God has embedded in
creation for.
Our enjoyment.
Well said.
Yeah.
Well, I'm, you know, I'm someone that, you know, exactly.
You're saying, can you share the link?
I'm someone that's experienced being able to work with you,
which has been awesome. And I understand the, the,
the hesitancy people have, because unfortunately.
Those who are pre-Christians who are spiritual seekers are very open to
this type of stuff, but it's not.
Centered in Christ.
Holly is someone who's centered in Christ.
So it's done in a safe way and it's done in a correct way.
But so many people right now who are seeking things spiritually,
They're seeking it outside of Christ.
You know, Jesus talks about those who jumped the gate.
They don't, they don't, they don't, they jumped the fence.
They don't go through the gate, which is Christ.
So they're experiencing some of the benefits of partnering with some
biblical principles, but because Christ is absent from their work,
it still leads to death.
It still leads to frustration.
But we know when we go through the gate of Jesus, it leads to life and life abundantly.
And so Holly is doing that.
And she's working with a lot of people who are not necessarily, they're pre-Christians themselves,
who are searching for answers, who are stuck in things like trauma and burnout and, you know, frustration,
as Romans 8 would call it.
And how cool that instead of them coming through, you know, through some like new age, whatever, you know,
they're coming to Holly, a son of God, who's going to lead them to Christ, which is super cool.
So what a mission field. That's awesome.
Amen. And I would share the link.
That's another issue I'm having is that I don't have a website right now.
And I know Bruce said we don't need a website, but I kind of do because of this.
Like people are going to read about it.
So I'm not really sure what to do about that.
You probably would need, and we can talk, and this is something maybe not on this call,
but on a coaching call or offline is a landing page.
I mean, on a full website, but a page that's kind of the salesperson, if you will,
the digital salesperson for this treatment.
That's what I need.
So I looked into a couple because I have active campaign, which is like an email thing,
and that works, but I'm on the basic plan and it doesn't include landing pages.
And to bump up to the next one, it's like $50 a month, and I didn't want to jump up to that.
So is there another way to do a landing page without paying $50 a month for it?
Potentially.
The thing with free anything is there's always going to be lack of ownership,
like even just meaning like your ability to do certain things.
So depending on what you're wanting to do, something free or low cost could definitely still work.
But, Macy, can you make a note of that?
Holly, because I know Bruce has like a list of resources for building landing pages.
We'll get that to you.
Thank you.
That would be very helpful.
Thank you.
And I see Cindy has jumped on the call.
And, Cindy, if you're able to unmute, Macy was bragging on you right before our call.
So, Macy, you can fill in some of the blanks.
But I would really like, Cindy, I want to hear kind of what the last week or two has been for you
because it sounds like there's been some discovery and some ahas and things like that around your who.
You want to go first, Macy?
You go right ahead.
Okay.
Yeah.
Well, for one thing, I found out while I was knowing my who, well, I should say,
I've been feeling the stirring in my heart for five years that my who is Gen Z, even though I'm a grandma.
That just is mind blowing for me.
Then I find out with working with Macy that she's a Gen Z.
So she's answering all these questions in our work session from that perspective.
So it was so incredibly helpful.
And I think my favorite comment she said was that they have the attention span of a goldfish.
I have the attention span of, like, an elephant.
Like, I could spend hours learning and, you know, whatever.
So that is altering for me as well.
So she's been incredibly helpful.
And then last week she just randomly says, hey, have you got TikTok on your phone?
I'm like, yeah.
She goes, well, click all these buttons.
And I've never looked at my analytics.
I don't know.
I don't know if you remember, but I was in your TikTok class three years ago.
Oh, I remember.
Yeah.
I posted ten videos.
They sat for three years.
I just started reposting.
I have a friend that's helping me and posted a couple videos.
And one was just an intro video.
So Macy's like, well, let's look at the analytics.
And I'm like, okay.
Just thinking it was just analytics.
And all of a sudden she took me right to the area where it shows the age.
And I had no idea what she was doing.
I was like, oh, my gosh.
I'm so sorry.
62%.
That watched that first video.
And there was like 700, over 700 views.
Was 17 to 24-year-olds.
3%.
55 and over.
And I was just like shocked.
Absolutely shocked.
There's some confirmation.
Yeah.
It's literally like confirmation.
And I'm kind of a numbers girl because I'm a bookkeeper.
But I thought it was interesting that I got 62%.
Gen Z and I'm 62 years old.
And I just thought that was funny.
As I'm watching.
You know.
God is so fun.
God does things with numbers and dates with me.
And he always has.
And I think that was just his way of saying.
You know.
That's awesome.
I told you.
I'm just super excited about that.
And just.
You know.
How she nonchalantly just brought me in there thinking.
good. I was just being learning how to see the analytics and it
was so cute how she just, well, look at that.
It's it's a new you mentioned, Cindy, like, oh, I've never
really looked at the analytics, like, to me looking at the
analytics feels at times like facing the fire. I don't really
want to do it. But it can be really telling, right? It can be
telling, like, Hey, are we on track? Yeah, what we think we're
doing? Or it can even just serve as a confirmation of like, Oh,
wow, like, yeah, I wasn't expecting but yeah, okay, like,
there's
the likes, but I've never paid attention or figured out how to
look at the analytics. And so it was just it was really cute how
she did.
And I bet if anyone else is like on tick tock, and you're like,
Oh, I need a little bit of a tutorial to look at the
analytics. Like I'm sure Macy could do like a little screen
share, you could throw it in the pioneers group. Yeah. Because I
think it would be good for everyone to benefit from just
being able to look behind the
curtain, if you will, of your accounts and just see, look at
those demographics. You can also tell things like which posts are
doing, you know, better than others. And that can give you
some ideas for more content or things like that. So it is
always very helpful. Yeah, Holly saying yes, please. I want that
too. Very helpful. It always feels a little bit for most
people, not all people. But for most people, if you're wired,
like me and Cindy, like, Oh, I kind of don't want to do that.
I'd rather not know. But it is like, you know, it's important
sometimes to face the fire and see like, what's okay, what's
going on so that we can either pivot if we need to, or it
furthers confirms we can do more of what we were doing, because
it's working. And we're not
one more thing. I'm also posting the same stuff on Instagram. And
hardly getting any engagement. Yeah. So tick tock is really
where I think my who is,
well, I would I would, I would say that's probably accurate,
especially for who is Gen Z. Yeah, there's a and I'm doing
YouTube as well. But I've only got one video on there. So. So
but I'm growing. Oh, that's awesome. Yeah, that's, we
always would say, I mean, that's what I did with my podcast is
like, if you're gonna go ahead and put the work in to do the
content, you might as well just cross post it. Yeah, see what's
working. And sometimes there has to be some, you know, pivoting
because not everything that works on Tick Tock might work on
Facebook, for instance, or something like that. But
especially with our short format content, it's still you know,
there's still YouTube shorts, there's still Instagram reels.
Now there's Facebook reels that wasn't happening, you know, a
couple years ago, Cindy, when you were jumping on Tick Tock
for the first time, you don't have to do it all. But maybe
multiply the effect a little bit and diversify the platforms that
you are on so that you're all your eggs aren't in necessarily
one basket, but knowing you kind of will know like, okay, there's
one that's standing out from the other for you. It's Tick Tock.
Yeah, for someone else, it could be YouTube. And I'm really
grateful that I put my stuff on YouTube, because I feel like
even, you know, after taking my hands off the steering wheel,
like as far as like, publishing stuff, a couple years ago, I'm
still getting hits and stuff on YouTube, it's more of a
lossless. So I so I would my advice to anyone, if you're
going to pick to like, make sure YouTube is one of them. Yeah,
because it's still pretty good about serving up content even
years later, because it's looking at the algorithm, and
it's more topical base than date based, like, oh, well,
this was posted a few years ago. Yeah. That's awesome. Thank you
for sharing, Cindy. So what did Macy say? That's what she said.
She said, you know, Cindy was having this conversation with
me. She and I'm sure you're okay, if I share this a little
bit, because it's a safe place, Cindy, but she was sharing how
there was a little bit of discouragement, because you felt
like you had the word five years ago from the Lord, to go ahead
and do this. And you're kind of having to pick it back up again
after a sabbatical from it, which I'm sure many of us can
relate to, at some point having to, you know, take a break or
not not work it not go as fast as we would like to, and picking
it back up again. And you had that confirmation from the Lord
that like, he held it. Yeah, he did. He held it. He really did.
That's a testimony for me. Because I feel like that was the
word from the Lord for me when I when I took a took a step back
from regular publishing that he would hold it. And he will.
That's awesome. Thank you. I want to talk a little bit more.
And I would hopefully I you know, I felt like last time I
talked a lot at you. I appreciate your letting me take
up the whole call and just teach. I hope that we can have a
little bit of dialogue today. On this topic of toil, I want to
talk a little bit more about it. Because I want to I just this
thing continues to stir in me, especially as an entrepreneur
myself as a business leader, as someone who is really feeling
called to continue to engage technology, and the digital
landscape to disciple nations that we have to think about work
differently. And the purpose of work because
There's a lot of talk right now about toil and rest, at least in my world, in my bubbles,
there's a lot of talk about that. But there's still some, I would think, I think people are
still having a hard time telling the difference between what rest really is, that it's not an
event, but it's a lifestyle that we're called into. And if that's the case, then how do we
work in rest? And just even re-engaging with a positive perspective on work itself,
I think is important. Going back to the garden, that the most pleasurable place that God first
created still had work in it. And it was a way of God communing and partnering with Adam and Eve.
But what happened was the curse was not the hard work or the effort or the productivity,
it was when toil entered into that work. And when toil attached itself to our lifestyle,
that work was a part of when things went really south. And so just a quick definition,
and I know that I'm working with all, everyone's mature here, so I don't think I have to do a
super deep dive on, okay, this is the Greek and all of that stuff. But I do want you to study
out for yourself. So if there's something that the Spirit's resonating, make sure you take note
and always bring it back to the group if you find something interesting yourself,
because I think that this is a continuous conversation and will be a continual conversation
as we're entering into even a new era, as far as being the church, the body, and every sphere of
influence and what that's going to look like. But toil is really characterized by doing things in
your own strength, the sweat of your own brow. And rest is about trust, it's about dependency
on God's power and grace, knowing that He's the one who is working in us and through us.
And a way I like to think about it, because so often we talk about, oh yeah, like, you know,
the Lord is my provider. He is, but He's also the provision. I feel like it's one step deeper.
So because when we talk about the Lord, our provider, sometimes we can still get this
image attached that it's something outside of ourselves, it's something external that we have
to grab for. It's a fruit, if you will, that we have to grab off the tree and partake of,
but He is the provision itself. He says in 2 Corinthians 12, 9, my grace is sufficient for
you. My power is made for you. When Jesus said, come to me, those who are weary and burdened. And
He says, I will give you rest. And then He says, take my yoke upon you and learn from me because
I'm gentle and humble at heart. So it's not going to crush you. You'll find rest for your souls.
And He says, my yoke is easy. My burden is light. And it's so interesting that even in what I would
consider one of the crown jewels of rest scripture, people use that often for Jesus, when you're
weary and you're loaded down, but there's still a work element attached to that. There's still
some work language attached, which is a yoke, which back in the day that Jesus was saying this,
people would have understood a yoke to be attached to something of partnership and of work, right?
And so it's not that there's an absence of work now in a place of rest, but there is a presence
of peace in you while you work. And so I would think that those were kind of how we can
differentiate toil and rest. Those are the two things. Am I doing this by the sweat of my own
brow or am I doing that, which is the self-dependency or am I doing this in partnership with the Lord
and being dependent on Him to be not just my provider, but the provision itself. Him being
the reward. So often we go into a project and we're very obsessed about the outcome of that
project. And we don't just rate the success of the project on the outcome. We usually rate the
success of ourselves on the outcome of that project. Does that resonate? So if this works out
and it's amazing, then I'm amazing. But if it doesn't work out the way I expected or it fails
completely, then I am not amazing or I am a failure. We begin to identify with an outcome
versus finding joy in the journey with the Lord and the trusting Him while we're producing
the project. Has anyone done that before? I have put my identity in,
rested all my identity into the outcome of a project and have felt like an utter failure
when it didn't work out the way that I was hoping or things were delayed or my expectations
were not met or someone did far exceedingly abundantly better than me. So then there's
comparison game, all those things. So that's why it's important that we place our dependency on
the Lord Himself and everything else flows from that dependency. So let's talk a little bit too
about
alt, and then I want to hear from you guys as well. How do we know? How do we know if toil has
attached itself to our work? I know what toil is, but how do I know if it's attached attached itself
to my work? And I'm sure there's maybe many different factors and I would love to hear from
you guys as well if you're like, oh this is this is a gauge that I've used in the past, but I think
like I want to simplify it because sometimes when things are hard they feel complex and then we
don't really kind of know, we get confused. The question I always ask myself to be able to tell
if toil's attached itself to my work is, is anxiety present? Because anxiety is a feeling, yes, but
it's a feeling that's rooted in a belief. So anxiety and I would say fear is very, you know,
we use we use different words, but I think fear would be kind of the biblical language
that a lot of us understand. Fear, yes, it's a feeling that we can feel in the depths of our soul
on emotional level, but we can also feel it physically. So this is where people get a little
bit confused because fear is a belief that then informs our entire being. So we, you know, the
sweaty palms, the jitters, the, you know, our nervous system not regulated, the pit in our
stomach, the nausea, the hammering in our chest, the heaviness, all of those things.
We think, oh my gosh, like it's a part of me. Sometimes it feels that way, it's a part of me,
but really it's a belief that can inform our entire being and then we feel it.
It's just an indicator that we're working from a place of toil because I believe that what fear
actually is, is it's a belief and it's specifically a belief around regarding our well-being.
Am I safe? Am I good? So that's why I think the fear of the Lord is so important
because it doesn't mean we're afraid of God. It means that we believe that we are,
that our well-being is secure in him.
So if there's anxiety present, which is a belief around our well-being,
it's informing our entire being and it's meaning often that there's toil attached to what we're
doing. I'm doing this by the sweat of my own brow and we're starting to feel the need to
prove ourselves. That's where we get stuck in the outcome of things. It's not that outcomes
are not important, but they're not primary. It's not the primary thing, whereas rest is producing
an inner peace and confidence in us despite what's going on because it's rooted in who we are
and who God is. Those things are actually pretty unshakable. They're very unshakable.
You think, well, I feel like I'm pretty shakable. I've been shaken up. Yes, Robin?
I kind of agree, but I have a little bit of a different reaction to toil.
I grew up in the era of if it is to be, it's up to me and positive thinking and Tony Robbins and
Zig Ziglar and all those kind of guys. So when I go out there and I'm doing stuff,
I just have a lot of energy and the glass is half full and I keep pushing and pushing and driving
and driving and driving. A lot of times it works, but sometimes I sit back and I don't get
the result of all my work. In other words, I worked really, really, really hard to get somewhere
and then I didn't quite get there or I ended up falling short. I get to a point where it's like
I get up and go, got up and went. It's just like, ah, this isn't fun anymore. I don't mind
going out and working. It's joy when I'm going out and doing something and producing something,
but if it just feels like I'm dragging a load behind me all the time, it does wear me out.
I have trouble making the transition from if it is to be, it's up to me to, hey, let's just rest
on the Lord, put everything on him. We go out and do our part, but it just doesn't motivate me,
I guess, to go out and do it or something. I don't know. I'm trying to verbalize something,
being a little transparent here about how I...
react to work and toil, because I think work is great. If it's fun, I love going out and like
building a tiny house or, yeah, it's fun, you know, it's work. And I, and I hit myself with a
hammer or I shoot myself in the knuckle with a nail gun or something like that. And it hurts,
but it's still good at the end of the day. You know what I mean?
Oh, yeah. No, and I'm so glad you brought this up, because everyone's motivated differently.
But I would think a lot of people on this call like work, otherwise we wouldn't be here.
So I'm really glad you brought that up. Yeah. So, and just because it's hard doesn't mean it's bad.
Like I, I believe we were designed for hard work. Like neurologically there's, you know,
dopamine and things that are released when we do hard things and there's achievement. Like the
Lord created us for that. So this is just because it's hard just because there's effort. I think
this is why I wanted to have the conversation because sometimes people confused rest with
inactivity and they think, well, it's just, if it's meant to be, it's just going to be,
if it's of God, it's going to be effortless. And that's not true. That's not true. But I see what
you're saying, Robin, you're saying the motivation wanes when there's not results, when there's no
longer the results of that hard work, when it feels like I've done the hard work, but I haven't
gotten the results that I wanted. And that's what I was trying to get at in the kind of the beginning
of the talk. Whereas we have to, we have to detach ourselves first from that outcome, which
feels very counterintuitive to any worldly wisdom. Right. Because it's like, well, if it's a good
thing, it's going to produce really amazing results. But how many of us have sown seeds
into something and then haven't reaped a harvest till years later? Like, not like your garden,
but like, yeah. So like, there's things that you've started, Cindy, like talking about like
five years ago, I started this. It kind of felt like a bust because I take my hands off the wheel
for a little bit. I'm picking it back up and I'm realizing, oh, I actually reached the people I was
trying to reach all along. And it's something I can pick up and continue on. And, and Cindy,
I don't know, you know, all that's happened over the last five years, but I bet there was a lot
that happened within you and within your relationship with the Lord in the fact in the
last five years, a lot of growth. And so, yeah. So Robin, it's like, what do we do
when the motivation wanes? Because we feel now like I've tried all these different things and
it's not working. And I'm feeling like I'm starting to identify. I think that's what happens,
even if we're not conscious of it. We start to identify with the failure of, okay, is it me?
Am I just, is it, am I missing something that like kind of fear missing out? Am I missing
something? Am I missing God, you know, to use church language? Here's where I'm at. I can only
share from my personal journey. I've had to get to the place of such deep dependency on the Lord
that I'm trusting him right now, that even if I'm missing it, he'll cover me.
Because he's that good. And it feels irresponsible. And how I know it, how I can kind of
keep myself in line, if you will, I think mentorship is really important. I don't think
this is an isolated journey. I think that's when things get really weird when it's just us and
Jesus and we're not having feedback. So I'm submitting this actively to trusted people
who are speaking into my life, right? So that's important. But also my, there's a purity of heart
where I'm not like trying to act out on purpose, right? I'm not trying to like just be lazy.
There's a very specific something that I'm now putting my hand to a different plow, a different
field, if you will, in this season. But it doesn't mean that, you know, so anyway, I don't want to
talk too much, but Robin, is there more to what you wanted? Is that helping kind of bring some
clarity? Or are you still very confused? Because I think this is a really important conversation.
No, I think that's, that's right, right on the challenges. You know, you feel like you heard
something from God, like, Cindy heard something from God, like, I felt like I heard something
from God. And so I go out and I try to do that thing. And it doesn't work. And so it's like,
okay, did I not hear you? Is the timing wrong? You know? And so now what do I do? I'm like, okay,
and so now what do I do? I'm like, okay, now what do I do? I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna
rest in you. I'm gonna trust you. But I got to do something, you know, whatsoever the hand finds to
do, do it with all your might. You know, I got to do something. I can't just sit around here.
And so just tell me which way to run and I'll go. Yeah. So this is, this is important too,
because it's kind of we get to a fork in the road a little bit when it comes to
walking by what, by the word, which is what we're supposed to be doing. So God said,
which is interesting.
Interesting you bring that up because going back to like when toil entered the
question was did God really say so I think it's important to like grapple
with that a little bit that when we go out on a faith journey based on a word
from the Lord and things aren't things don't go the way we think they're gonna
go kind of the first question in our minds is did God really say and it
manifests in different ways meaning it's not always we're saying that like oh did
God really say but it's like did I hear correctly that's sometimes what we say
or think did I hear correctly did I miss something did I not do it right and I
feel like that toil that fear that anxiety has to be eradicated in our
lives for us to enter into full rest because we're always bringing it back to
a question of did he say or did I hear correctly and the enemy likes to use
that to work a wedge in into our relationship and connection with the
Lord he can't there is no separation right but it's about perspective so the
enemy can't separate us from what we're in Christ we're in Christ he can't
separate us from Christ but our thoughts can sometimes build a perspective in us
that we feel separated and that we live separated so what I'm hearing from you
Robin and I don't want to put words in your mouth I just I can so relate so I
have a lot of compassion for this because like this has been the last 38
years of my life right you know did God really say did I hear correctly this
wasn't what I expected and I'm at a place in my walk with the Lord where I'm
having to eradicate that like not even have that conversation in order to live
in a place of total trust and dependency on him if if I'm wrong the
Lord will make sure because he's a good dad which some of us don't know what
that's like here on earth we don't know what it's like to be corrected in a
gentle way so we're used to like being hit over the head if we get it wrong or
we make one mistake I don't know if that was your experience Robin I'm not saying
it was your experience I'm saying this is what some people these people grapple
with like being led by a father they don't have that in their natural family
so they struggle to trust that the Lord will be actually good to them if they
quote-unquote miss it so we obsess in our journey with the Lord about missing
it which is toil because it's a it's a self-obsession of like I didn't hear
right I didn't do right I'm missing out and we miss out on the beauty and the
pleasure of the journey with the Lord and the growth he has for us and that's
that's where I'm that's where I'm growing in right now quite rapidly
because I've had to be this is something that had to be confronted in me you the
Lord said Linds you you don't trust me to cover you you're treating me as
something outside of yourself a provider that you have to hone in on and
grab a hold of and pick fruit from versus living as one on a journey
together and enjoying the pace of peace
well I think another thing happened in my life up until just a few years ago I
was raising a family I was you know struggling to make ends meet and working
long hours and try to have a home life too and you know it's just striving
striving and I got into this driving mode of just striving for success
whatever that means and then all of a sudden back in 2015 my rental houses
mortgages started getting paid off and now I'm looking I was looking at my life
and I said well I got a new car I got a nice house Bonnie's got a new car I got
money coming in I don't need anything now what's gonna motivate me because I
was motivated out of survival and now I'm not in survival mode and so that's
kind of what I'm I'm struggling with right now yeah and and I really
appreciate you Robin for being vulnerable and just sharing where you're
at like there's no condemnation there's no shame and just being on that journey
with the Lord I can definitely relate I'm sure there's others on the call that
can relate to that as well I personally think motivation is a poor master
because it only takes you so far and it always runs out it's not an unlimited
resource so this is why we go to the conferences and we get like super revved
up you mentioned like Tony Robbins and Zig Ziglar and you know you have
conferences and you're like I feel amazing I'm gonna change the world and
then you and you go and Monday
And it's like, wait, what did we talk about where, you know, where'd those notes go?
That's kind of an extreme example, but it's a, it's a relatable one, right?
Like we've done that at church services.
We've done that on Sunday mornings where it's like, you know, oh, you know, I'm, I'm so
revved up.
I'm going to talk to that cousin that doesn't know Christ.
You know, we're sitting in the pew on Sunday and they're talking about evangelism.
You're like, yes, I'm going to do it.
I'm going to call Steve.
And then you go to lunch and you're now you're a little tired and you don't have the words
And you're like, oh, maybe I'll do it next week sometime.
You know, like that's, to me, that's motivation in a lot of ways.
So like, there's a lot of different motivators for us.
Like you mentioned survival.
That's a, that's a big one that I think a lot of people are fueled by.
Like I got to survive.
My family has to eat.
Like I got to make money, right?
Like all those things.
They're not bad.
It's not, it's not bad.
It's just a poor master because it will run out.
And so I'm talking about a pivot of heart, like a new posture of finding our fuel.
Cause again, we're talking about a lifestyle here.
We're talking about being sustained.
Who is our sustainer?
Where are we finding that fuel from?
And it has to be, it can't be motivation.
It can't be survival.
And it can't even be something that feels holy and responsible.
Like my motivation is my family has to eat food.
That's a good one.
And I think, you know, people need to be attuned to that.
It just can't be the source of, it's not the life giving source.
It will run out.
And so for me, trust, which rest is trust, trust is rest.
That is like the bread in which we live off of.
We're eating from that bread of life, Christ himself.
He is our source.
He's our sustainer in all things.
Anybody else want to add to the conversation?
Is this, is this resonating?
Yeah, I'm seeing Xavier shaking.
He's always so polite.
Oh, let's make sure your sound on Xavier.
Let's get your sound on so we can hear you.
I can see you.
Yeah.
How about now?
Perfect.
Okay.
All right.
There we go.
Actually, I've been listening to what you said and what Robin said, both of which I
can absolutely positively relate to.
And the last five years of my life, the Lord has been really being, been bringing me into
total dependence on him for everything.
And the 10 years before that was lining up to put me in a position to learn total dependence
on him.
And so I have to, there are times I still kind of have to remember.
And so I try to work with him in all things.
And it becomes toll for me when I start obsessing or worrying about the outcome.
And when I've learned to just work from a place of rest, then I get a whole lot more
done.
Most recently, my thing with God, it's like, okay, I've got all this to do.
And if you don't bend time, I'm never going to get it done.
And the reality is, is that when I work from that position, then, you know, time goes,
and I don't know how, but by the time that pile of stuff is done, I can't believe it's
gotten done.
And it's just been 45 minutes, something that I expected to take four hours.
And yet here it all is.
And it's a lesson.
And I'm pretty stubborn.
It's still hard for me to approach that every single day and every single time I tend to
forget.
And I find myself obsessing and toiling and going at it.
And then finally stepping back and go, okay, I'm sorry, Lord, I need to engage you with
everything.
And God is really good about that.
And the things that I do accomplish and the things that I have done that have come directly
from him, I mean, I could spend an hour just giving testimony, but the reality is, is that
I'm learning that that's the place that I have to work from.
And what he's teaching me is I also have to grow to a place for the work that he set before
me.
I've got to be that person and, you know, our desire, my desire is to be that person
right now.
And I'm not there yet.
And so all of this that I'm going through is really kind of is.
growing me spiritually and maturing me,
so that when I am there, then I am that person
that God has called to do this thing or that thing
or whatever it happens to be.
So, you know, we go through,
there are just seasons in life that we go through
where it's all about growth.
Yeah, and what I'm hearing from you is
what's made a difference for you
is the expectation of expansion in who you are, right?
So I'm becoming that person
and the perspective shift, I'm sure,
has made the work and the partnership much more pleasurable
because even though if it's hard and it takes effort,
there's an expectation that you are expanding,
like, versus the condemnation that can sometimes creep in
where I'm not this person, I'll never be this person,
and I'm not enough,
and God is really disappointed in me because of that.
Right, these are the lives sometimes
that we can sometimes feast on
when the results aren't there
to necessarily externally prove
what's internally happening.
That is very, very true,
and I come from that position and have grown out of that,
but I had to grow out of that
because that was very deeply ingrained, you know,
and that's not what he's called us for,
but there is still an expectation.
And there are some things that God does
that take 20 years.
Yeah, but you can bend time to your point.
Right.
He's not bound by time.
You know, time's not our master either.
And not for him,
but I just mean for me to grow to that,
to a particular point.
Yeah, but there's no condemnation.
I'm glad you brought that up
because that is a lie.
The lie of time being our master is one that,
I mean, I heard it this week,
Macy, I went to a wonderful women's retreat
that Macy helped her mom lead,
and it was amazing.
And I, you know, it was multi-generational.
So there's people there in a certain age bracket
that are having to contend with the lie
that they missed it
because it's taken them this long
to discover this truth or this revelation.
And again, the revelation itself is still not your source.
That's right.
Absolutely.
He is your source.
He is reward.
But we see this,
we see this sometimes in different circles
where it's like, oh, if that's the thing,
that revelation,
or, you know, and this is where denominations form
ministry movements.
And it's like, you know,
I've been on this journey ministry-wise
where it was like, you know,
back in 2009, discovered the grace message
for the first time and thought, this is it.
Grace, grace, grace, grace.
Later coming down the road,
discovering more of the, you know,
mystical union with Christ
and the oneness with Christ and the new creation theology.
And I'm like, no, this is it.
This is it, right?
But the problem with that
is that the revelation is not my Christ.
I mean, Christ has always been there.
That's right.
And I don't have more of God now.
I might have a greater awareness of some things,
which is awesome,
but I don't necessarily have more of God now
than I did back then.
He's always been my all in all.
I think that alone is so beautiful
and is a point that really needs to be made about,
you know, because I had God when I was a child, okay?
But I understood him in a very childlike, you know, manner,
but it was still real.
And God is, I have grown in God throughout my entire life.
Okay, I never really stepped away from that.
But the point that you just made,
I don't have more of God now, okay, than I had back then.
I have more understanding, okay?
I have more truth and purity.
You have a greater awareness, but not greater access.
No, no.
To your point, you had the same access to God as a child.
That's right.
You have the same access to God as a Baptist,
as a Methodist.
That's true.
As a Democrat, as a Republican,
you have the same access to God.
Because your identity is not founded in those things.
You're a son.
That's right.
And this journey is about becoming even more aware,
expanding into who you already are.
I like to think of it as remembering
what I always knew to be true.
This is a spirit led life.
Holly, were you raising your hand?
I think I was just agreeing with what you were saying.
I did want to chime in whenever it's okay to do that.
So this is all really good,
especially the part about letting go of the outcome.
And I think, because I had the last two weeks,
we had a bunch of the end of the school year things,
and then I went out of town.
So I wasn't doing any of my regular work.
And so it's interesting when you step back for a little bit,
you can kind of get a fresh perspective.
But I started to realize, or God was revealing to me,
that the anxiety, or maybe the toil,
I don't know if it's, I guess it's toil,
because there's anxiety,
is,
expansion, like, I've been a mom for so long. And I know you
understand this, because now you have two kids. And I, like
everything has, you know, extended myself for the family
for so long. And now that they're older, I'm not totally
there anymore. But when I think about like showing up
consistently putting myself out there, and the expansion starts
to happen, because it happens fast, like once you start doing
that, it starts to happen really fast, I've noticed. And then I
find I want to pull back because it's like, wait, I don't know if
I can do all that. Like, I don't know if I can handle an
expansion. Because I don't know if I'll be able to. I don't
know, it might, I might just get too overwhelmed, it might take
away from, you know, what if I need to go to San Diego, because
it's parents weekend in my daughter's college, and I can't
because I have this group that I already saw, you know, I just
started thinking about all these things. And I'm like, I don't
know if I could expand and keep it going. So then I feel like
that's anxiety. And so I kind of hold back and pull back a
little bit. But even that is still kind of not letting go of
the outcome, because I'm thinking the outcome is going to
be too much for me. And I don't know why. But yeah, I just maybe
it's like, I doubt that I'll be able to stay organized and keep
it all going. And you know, I don't know. That's the anxiety
for me.
I can definitely relate, because I like to do things in
excellence. And I like margin. Yeah. And margin is not always
given when there's a rapid expansion taking place. Yes,
yes. And what has been required is a deeper level of trust in
the Lord, not my own ability. And the way that manifests
because I don't want to be vague, because that's not
helpful. It's like, no, you just you should just really trust the
Lord and like be okay with it. It's like, what does that look
like? Well, for me, it's looked like several different things.
When expansions taken place, wisdom has come for how to
delegate the right things, or a person has come with a certain
skill set that I don't necessarily have to be able to
like handle that level of, you know, expansion, right? A
greater I sometimes I've discovered I have skills I
didn't know I had, because there's been a stretching and a
press on things that have caused me to rise up in a certain area.
And I'm like, Oh, wow, I'm actually really good at that. I
didn't know that I was right. You bring on a really good. I
want to talk a little bit really quick about the difference
between peace and relief. Because I think that we often
confuse peace and relief. And so when we talk about following
peace, the world will say follow your peace, which is really
messy, because that's an ever changing scale. But we'll talk
about peace, right, the person of Jesus peace, follow peace. We
sometimes confuse that with relief, and we're looking for
the thing that gives us relief. So let's talk about a few things
that I didn't make a list of this, because I thought it might
come up. Peace, we know comes from the Holy Spirit. Relief
comes from circumstantial escape. So how often have we
been in a circumstance? And we thought if we if this thing just
ends, and I'll feel peace again, well, you'll feel relief. But
you can feel peace in the midst of a really hard circumstance.
I know we've all been there where you're like, I shouldn't
be feeling this is peace beyond my understanding, right? It's
Philippians four talks about something crazy is going on, and
you just feel at peace. That's peace. But relief is like, get
me out of this, and then I'll feel better. And we sometimes
confuse that with peace. And I say we I'm not picking on you,
Holly, I'm me, I have done this. Peace stays rooted in the truth
even when it's hard. So again, going back to that question, did
God really say? A lot of us are living prophetically led lives,
we get a word from the Lord. And we're like, I'm going to do
this, I'm going to move to the state, I'm going to start this
business, right? And we know that we know that we know, and
then things get hard. And we're like, did God really say? Or did
I really hear? Or did I make take all the steps I was
supposed to? Peace stays rooted in the truth, even when it's
hard. I'm living this a little bit right now just be vulnerable
like being in Franklin, Tennessee, I want to be by the
sea. I want to be by the water. I want to be in your family,
like extended family. But the Lord has called us to Franklin,
Tennessee. And I've had that tested a couple times this year
because I've been by the sea. I've been back to my hometown.
I'm like, come back to Franklin and feeling a little bit like
community is a little dry right now because I've been out of
commission just, you know, haven't been able to leave the
house as much and make friends and all that stuff. And I'm like,
Lord, this doesn't really feel like I'm flourishing here. But I
know that I know that I know that the Lord said we're
supposed to be here. I don't know why. But I trust. I trust
him. And I trust that he'll cover me if I got it wrong. I
don't think I did. Right. But I don't have to live in this weird
sick cycle of self doubt and self condemnation until
something changes. I can stay steady and like the heart of
like the unknown. That's peace.
Relief is driven by discomfort avoidance.
Just whatever feels uncomfortable,
I step back from, oh, that feels peaceful.
No, you're feeling relief.
It's just relief, and it's temporary.
Peace stays steady in the storm.
Relief fades, like I said, when things get hard.
Peace will call you into obedience and confrontation,
which sometimes feels very hard.
But relief will call you into a path of least resistance,
and that's not always the most rewarding.
It's never the most rewarding,
the path of least resistance.
Peace builds endurance and stamina in you.
Like you can walk out of hard situations.
You can walk out of hard season not depleted.
That's peace.
Relief will often delay growth and decision-making.
And sometimes call that waiting on God,
if you want to spiritualize it.
So there's a difference.
I think about Jesus in the garden in Matthew 26.
He's like, my soul is overwhelmed with sorrow
to the point of death.
That's heavy.
That's agony.
That's stress that I don't know that I can relate to.
Like my life has been really hard.
I don't know if I've been so overwhelmed
with sorrow to the point of death.
But then what does he say?
In a place of peace and confidence,
not my will, but yours be done.
And I'll even go a step further,
not to add words to Jesus,
but just knowing the life that he lived
and the things that he said over and over in the gospels,
my will is your will, Lord.
My will is your will.
There's such an intermingling in the desires
of our hearts with the Lord.
Like, do you believe that?
If not, why?
Maybe because there's a little bit of religion
that's crept in and said,
it's all Jesus and none of you.
That's not the gospel.
So that's the difference between relief and peace
and something that I think that's a really great conversation
to start having with the Holy Spirit this week.
Are there places in my life
where I'm seeking relief instead of peace?
And also asking him to highlight the growth,
like Xavier said, where am I walking in peace now
that I did not realize before?
Like, help me identify those places,
because sometimes we're just trekking on, trekking on,
we don't take time to stop and really celebrate the growth.
Like, there's things, I'll use motherhood
because we were talking about that, Holly,
there's things that three years ago
would have probably taken me out
in this motherhood journey,
but there's been a lot of growth and expansion
in the last three years,
that there's places that used to be like,
places of frustration and toil and anxiety and fear
that I stand so steady in now,
even with it multiplied, even with two kids, you know?
And I'm sure there's things in your journey as well
where you think, oh, the things 20 years ago
that I just thought, oh, I'll never,
and you're like, oh, you know?
And not only that,
but you're probably encouraging other mothers right now,
like, hey, you can do it,
because that's the beauty of being more than a conqueror
is it just overflows.
And we begin to help others overcome
and identify their strengths
and going glory to glory.
So peace is not always comfortable.
Often it's costly at first,
because it feels maybe sometimes
it's the irresponsible thing,
it's the uncomfortable thing,
it's the hard thing,
it's the countercultural thing to do,
but it will always bring clarity and confidence,
and that's the spirit-led life.
Let's see, I know Macy has a hard stop at three today,
and I did wanna say,
because this is gonna, I mean, ongoing conversation,
and I'll be jumping back in here
and we'll continue this conversation.
I think it's a really important one.
I don't think it's like a conversation.
I think it's like a continual,
something that the Lord is wanting to build in us all,
and a clarity and a peace around this,
because we're gonna be coaching other people
to disengage with toil in their own lives as well.
If there's things that come up during the week,
like, oh, I thought about this,
or I found this in scripture,
or I have a question about this,
go ahead and put it in the Pioneers group.
I'll be in there and we can continue the conversation.
I would really like to use that group more and more
for the conversation in between the Zoom calls, if you will.
So please do that, and I'm committing
to getting back in there and checking on it,
because I definitely, you can tag me and stuff,
but I'd love to continue that conversation.
So, I'd love to pray for us all
as we're going off to have some really fun,
hopefully, conversations with the Holy Spirit.
To illuminate, He guides us in the truth,
so we can trust Him.
If you use the absence of pressure with the presence of peace.
I think we're looking for a depressurized life and sometimes the pressure is a helpful
indicator of something, right?
So is there places of pressure in our lives?
That's something to ask the Holy Spirit like, what does that mean?
I think about birth, like pressure's a good thing.
Helps us get the baby out.
Helps us birth the thing, right?
So many people want to bypass that pressure and the body's not actually made for that.
So unless there's like an emergency, you actually want to work with the pressure of childbirth.
That's just an example.
Sorry to the guys, but the women will probably understand that.
We're a little bit more in tune with those types of things, but there's several things.
We talk about working out.
You have to have pressure to build that muscle, right?
You got to lift the weight to build the muscle.
It's not a good thing if you never lift weight.
Your muscles like die off if that happens.
It's a really, it's a really bad thing.
So where is the pressure in my life?
Am I thinking about it correctly?
Do I have the right perspective on that pressure?
So Holy Spirit, we love you.
We thank you that you are our advocate.
You are our comforter.
So that's what's so interesting is that we're not called to live a comfortable life, but
we are called to live a life that requires some comfort, and we have it in you.
We have it in you.
So we thank you for that.
You're our counselor.
You're our comforter.
You're our helper.
You're our advocate.
I pray that you'd be with these pioneers this week, and I know you're with them, but I pray
that there would be lots of dialogue this week, that you would give us ears to hear
and eyes to see.
The scriptures say both of those things are gifts from God, eyes to hear and ears to see
what you're doing.
So we welcome that gift.
We receive it.
I pray that there would be a healing balm over everyone's hearts and minds for past
disappointment, past perceived failure.
I pray that there would be a re-identification of places in our lives where we've misidentified,
whether that's been with something someone said over us, something we've said over ourselves,
a failure, a missed result, a missed expectation, a disappointment, a discouragement.
We lay it all at your feet, Jesus.
We lay it all at your feet.
We don't wear those things as crowns.
They're not over us.
They're under us.
They're under your feet.
They're under our feet.
So we pray that there would just be a healing balm to those places and spaces in our hearts
and our minds and our memories that may right now be informing the actions that we're taking
or maybe informing us to not take actions that we should be taking.
Jesus, we thank you that we are one with you, that we are seated in heavenly places, that
we are above, not beneath, that we are triumphant, we are victorious in the here and now, and
that as we behold you, the scripture says, as we behold you because the veil is now lifted,
we become more like you and we go from glory to glory.
So we declare we are going from glory to glory.
I pray that our speech and our thoughts and our actions and our attitudes will be aligned
with the heart of the Father towards us, that we would have a deeper understanding and awareness
and perspective of who Father God is, how he loves us, how he cares for us, that we
would have a greater perspective of the dreams and the callings and the giftings on our destiny
scrolls, and I call those destinies forth right now.
I thank you that we have things in creation like technology and time that are just tools
in our hands as sons of God.
They're not lorded over us.
They're not our masters.
We do not serve it.
They serve us.
Holy Spirit, give us a greater revelation and wisdom.
Give us wisdom on how to wield those tools properly.
It's for your glory, Lord, your honor, and your kingdom to be advanced here on earth.
I also pray for the pre-Christians that we will come across this week, Lord, that there
would be a boldness and a courage and a greater stamina to welcome those people in our lives
and in our conversations, and that you would give us the words to say in the moment, that
we don't have to strive or stress over those interactions, but you will inform us.
You will inform us, and we will partner with you in those moments.
And I pray all these things with the authority that Jesus has given me.
Amen.
All right, please keep the dialogue going.
Here's group questions, aha moments,
fun things you found or discovered this week,
and I look forward to talking to you guys soon.
Bye.