SPEAKER_01: Happy Mother's Day! Yay! Happy Mother's Day to you.
SPEAKER_01: Have you ever had someone show up for you in just the right moment in your life?
SPEAKER_01: I have.
SPEAKER_01: I had my first baby at 23 and I had no idea what I was doing.
SPEAKER_01: Completely clueless.
SPEAKER_01: Um, one of the things that I thought was that I needed to, like when I was putting my baby down to bed, I needed to nurse her and rock her and like slowly like tiptoe over to the crib and lay her down.
SPEAKER_01: But if she stirred or cried or did anything, I had to pick her back up and do the whole routine over again.
SPEAKER_01: And then I would tiptoe over and lay her down.
SPEAKER_01: And then she'd cry and I'd pick her up and do the whole routine over again.
SPEAKER_01: And it was like hours, and that turned into weeks and that turned into months, and I was so tired and I was so frustrated, not at my baby, but just at me.
SPEAKER_01: What am I doing wrong?
SPEAKER_01: Why can't I do this?
SPEAKER_01: And we were down in Decatur, Mark and I and baby Rachel and Jesus, which is four of us down there, and we had come up north to Mark's parents' house, and there was a party going on there, and these wonderful church people were there.
SPEAKER_01: And there was a woman named Susan Casternova who had from the Holy Spirit the unction to put a book in her purse that day and bring it to that party.
SPEAKER_01: And she saw me at that party, and I was ragged and tired and done.
SPEAKER_01: And she came over to me and she said, Kenzie, I really think you need this book.
SPEAKER_01: And she pulled out Baby Wise, and I didn't see the name.
SPEAKER_01: All I saw on the title was sleep training, and I started crying, and I was like, okay.
SPEAKER_01: And I took the book and I sat down the next day and I literally read it from cover to cover.
SPEAKER_01: And in one week, my baby was sleeping through the night, and it was glorious.
SPEAKER_01: And Susan Casanova was such a blessing to me in that moment.
SPEAKER_01: It was miraculous.
SPEAKER_01: She had showed up for me.
SPEAKER_01: And there are moments in life where someone shows up and it just changes everything, doesn't it?
SPEAKER_01: It's not that they fixed everything in the world, but maybe they brought you some extra strength or just a little comfort.
SPEAKER_01: Or maybe your life feels chaotic, and when they left your presence, you felt peace.
SPEAKER_01: Or maybe it was just simply their presence, them just sitting with you, just being with you because you just needed somebody nearby just to listen.
SPEAKER_01: As women, we have the opportunity to show up at just the right moment.
SPEAKER_01: When God created woman, one of the words that he used was a word that he often uses to describe himself.
SPEAKER_01: Let's look at it together.
SPEAKER_01: It's in Genesis 2.18.
SPEAKER_01: It says, Then the Lord God said, It is not good for man to be alone.
SPEAKER_01: So I will make a helper who is just right for him.
SPEAKER_01: A helper.
SPEAKER_01: Now, before some of us are like, uh what?
SPEAKER_01: A helper?
SPEAKER_01: That's it.
SPEAKER_01: We need to talk about what this word actually means because it does not mean subservant, it does not mean second class, it does not mean doormat in any way.
SPEAKER_01: In any way.
SPEAKER_01: The Lord uses this name for himself, for goodness sakes, right?
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
SPEAKER_01: So when God asks us to be a helper, he is asking us to literally mimic him.
SPEAKER_01: This word helper in Genesis 2.18 and in 21 other places in the Old Testament means either conegdo.
SPEAKER_01: And that means God sent life-saving help.
SPEAKER_01: God sent women.
SPEAKER_01: That means you are sent by God into every area of your life, every arena that you've set foot into, God sent you there.
SPEAKER_01: You are meant to be there.
SPEAKER_01: It means that you are a life-saver.
SPEAKER_01: You are not a doormat.
SPEAKER_01: You are a lifesaver.
SPEAKER_01: You are called into these life and death situations.
SPEAKER_01: They might all not be really literally life and death, but to someone, it means a lot that you are there, that you showed up, that your presence was there.
SPEAKER_01: You are a lifesaver and you are a helper, a God-given helper who brings strength and support to every area of your life.
SPEAKER_01: So God, God uses that Easer connecto 21 times, 19 times to describe himself, two times to describe women, just women.
SPEAKER_01: Easer connecto.
SPEAKER_01: And you don't need to be a wife or a mom to be an Easer.
SPEAKER_01: If you are a woman, you are an Easer.
SPEAKER_01: That is who you are.
SPEAKER_01: And your help is comparable to that of God the Father.
SPEAKER_01: And you are to improve every environment that you enter.
SPEAKER_01: What a privilege to step into this role as God's helper.
SPEAKER_01: It is a gift and a privilege, and we need to walk in it.
SPEAKER_01: So let's read some of these verses.
SPEAKER_01: Deuteronomy 33, 26, where he uses that word easer.
SPEAKER_01: There is no one like the God of Israel.
SPEAKER_01: He rides across the heavens to help you, across the skies in majestic splendor.
SPEAKER_01: Psalm 33, 20, he says, We put our hope in the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: He is our help.
SPEAKER_01: He is our easer and our shield.
SPEAKER_01: Psalm 70, verse 5.
SPEAKER_01: But as for me, I am poor and needy.
SPEAKER_01: Please hurry to my aid.
SPEAKER_01: Oh God, you are my helper.
SPEAKER_01: You are my easer and my savior.
SPEAKER_01: Oh Lord, do not delay.
SPEAKER_01: God is not optional, and neither was Eve.
SPEAKER_01: When God created woman, I was not optional.
SPEAKER_01: You are not optional.
SPEAKER_01: You are here on purpose.
SPEAKER_01: God has a plan and purpose for your life.
SPEAKER_01: So, y'all, I started thinking about women I love that remind me of what I think an easer is.
SPEAKER_01: Are you ready for this?
SPEAKER_01: I thought about Arwen.
SPEAKER_01: Okay, so Arwen from Lord of the Rings.
SPEAKER_01: Ah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01: So she is riding across the plains on her white horse carrying Frodo with her, and she is galloping so fast away from the Nazgul.
SPEAKER_01: And she gets across the stream and she looks at those Nazgul and she says, if you want him, you must claim him.
unknown: Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: And then she talks to the river and it all comes and floods them away.
SPEAKER_01: She's so cool.
SPEAKER_01: That's an easer.
SPEAKER_01: I also thought about Eowyn.
SPEAKER_01: You remember Eowyn from Lord of the Rings?
SPEAKER_01: She's fighting that Nazgul king, and he's like, No man can kill me.
SPEAKER_01: And she's like, I am no man.
SPEAKER_01: And she takes her sword and thrusts it into his face.
SPEAKER_01: And he shrivels up and dies, and it changes the whole course of the war.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: Okay?
SPEAKER_01: And then, then I think of Black Widow.
SPEAKER_01: She is my favorite Marvel character of all time.
SPEAKER_01: I love Black Widow.
SPEAKER_01: You know why?
SPEAKER_01: Because she's strong and she's brave and she loves so hard.
SPEAKER_01: She loves her family.
SPEAKER_01: She loves her Avenger family.
SPEAKER_01: She's sacrificial.
SPEAKER_01: She's so awesome.
SPEAKER_01: And then I think of Marmy from Little Women.
SPEAKER_01: I love Marmy so much.
SPEAKER_01: Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_01: The strength that she has for her girls, the way that she gives and she serves and she loves with all of her heart.
SPEAKER_01: She stands up for what is right and what is good.
SPEAKER_01: I love her.
SPEAKER_01: But most of all, most of all, I think of Wonder Woman.
SPEAKER_01: I think about the scene on No Man's Land where Steve, is that his name, Steve?
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
SPEAKER_01: Steve is talking to her, and he's like, we need to go.
SPEAKER_01: And she's like, there are people we need to help.
SPEAKER_01: And he's like, we are helping people.
SPEAKER_01: And she's like, I'm gonna help them.
SPEAKER_01: And she turns around and she becomes Wonder Woman.
SPEAKER_01: And then she climbs up the ladder.
SPEAKER_01: She starts to walk across the no man's land.
SPEAKER_01: And she starts to take fire with her, like gear.
SPEAKER_01: And then she raises up her shield and she takes the brunt of all the battle.
SPEAKER_01: And all these guys can go and battle.
SPEAKER_01: And then she jumps into the thing and she destroys everybody.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: Wonder Woman.
SPEAKER_01: I love her.
SPEAKER_01: She is an easer.
SPEAKER_01: And we are called to be easers.
SPEAKER_01: And when I think about these women, like Wonder Woman, I like when I watch that movie, or these, even these scenes, as I'm watching, I'm like, I want to be her.
SPEAKER_01: There's something that stirs up in me, like, especially when I see that scene, and there's something in my mind that goes, I am her.
SPEAKER_01: And I grab my sword and I'm like, I am Wonder Woman.
SPEAKER_01: And I can go into any arena, whether it's the hospital or my home or the grocery store.
SPEAKER_01: Watch out.
SPEAKER_01: I am Wonder Woman.
SPEAKER_01: But honestly, it's not just something we can put on.
SPEAKER_01: And it's not something we can just curate, this image.
SPEAKER_01: This needs to be cultivated within us.
SPEAKER_01: It is a character-building thing.
SPEAKER_01: We don't just become an easer, it needs to be cultivated within us.
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes we can fall into the trap that where we want to rescue others, but we haven't cultivated the character yet to truly help them.
SPEAKER_01: And it's too easy to cultivate an image and plaster it all over Instagram.
SPEAKER_01: It's too easy to cultivate something like that and to be something on the outside.
SPEAKER_01: But what we really need is for our characters to be cultivated.
SPEAKER_01: Because there's a certain amount of spiritual health that an easer needs and that we should be aiming at because we can't give what we don't have.
SPEAKER_01: And so some of us, maybe we're in a season right now where we're just so overwhelmed that we don't even know which way is up.
SPEAKER_01: Others of us are maybe dealing with some unforgiveness and we feel stunted because we can't get past it.
SPEAKER_01: Others of us might feel so, maybe we're grieving, so sad, so depressed.
SPEAKER_01: We're grieving over something that has happened in our lives, and we really just want to hide away.
SPEAKER_01: We don't want to be around anybody right now.
SPEAKER_01: And others of us maybe are just completely exhausted and worn.
SPEAKER_01: And we wear our busyness like a badge and a mantra, and we just feel like we can't do anything.
SPEAKER_01: And when we show up on the scene, we have an empty cup.
SPEAKER_01: Nothing to give.
SPEAKER_01: We may have the right heart, but we're not spiritually healthy.
SPEAKER_01: And we need to ask ourselves: are we in the word daily?
SPEAKER_01: Are we letting that word take root in us?
SPEAKER_01: So what comes out of us is something of consequence, not just our opinions, but the word, the word of God.
SPEAKER_01: Are we letting the Lord have that in us?
SPEAKER_01: And are we leaving our responses and our actions up to the way we're feeling in the moment?
SPEAKER_01: Or are we pushing through those feelings and actually walking in discipline and excellence for the Lord?
SPEAKER_01: Y'all, when I get to heaven, I'm gonna ask the Lord about all these feelings I have.
SPEAKER_01: Why do we have all these feelings as women?
SPEAKER_01: I don't know about you, but I have so many.
SPEAKER_01: And like now, TMI, sorry guys, this is a woman's message.
SPEAKER_01: I'm in perimenopause.
SPEAKER_01: See, I have more feelings than I have ever had in my whole life.
SPEAKER_01: I feel like I am on a roller coaster on steroids all day long.
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, I am learning to push the feelings away, though.
SPEAKER_01: Push them away.
SPEAKER_01: Lord Jesus, help me so that I can see you, so that I can hear you, so that I can remember your word, so that I can see your way through this.
SPEAKER_01: I need Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: God uses spiritually healthy women to bring life-saving help to others.
SPEAKER_01: So the other day, this week, my girls were my lifesavers.
SPEAKER_01: Let me give you the scene here.
SPEAKER_01: Thursday night.
SPEAKER_01: We were eating dinner and we decided to go see the Michael Jackson movie for the moment.
SPEAKER_01: It's so good, you guys.
SPEAKER_01: So we finished dinner.
SPEAKER_01: And before I started dinner, I had put in, I needed to wash the dishes.
SPEAKER_01: So I did not have any dishwasher tabs.
SPEAKER_01: And so lo and behold, in the very back of the cabinet, there was a bottle of dishwash soap.
SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, I don't remember buying that.
SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
SPEAKER_01: And so I just took it out and I poured it in, and then I shut the dishwasher door and we ate dinner and we left for the movie theater.
SPEAKER_01: And um, we left all the dishes too.
SPEAKER_01: So something you should know about me, by 8:30 p.m., I start to wilt and I get really tired and a little emotional, very emotional.
SPEAKER_01: And so we walk into the house, the kitchen is full of dishes, okay?
SPEAKER_01: And it's like we had spaghetti that night as part of our dinner.
SPEAKER_01: So the noodles are caked on to the colander.
SPEAKER_01: Okay, there's stuff everywhere, y'all know what I'm talking about.
SPEAKER_01: It's like everywhere.
SPEAKER_01: And then I open the dishwasher to start, and it is filled with soap suds.
SPEAKER_01: Filled with soap suds.
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, oh no.
SPEAKER_01: And I started in my mind to like fix it.
SPEAKER_01: We need to fix it.
SPEAKER_01: We need to go.
SPEAKER_01: What are we gonna do?
SPEAKER_01: Mark's on chat, GTP, and she's he's like, what do we do?
SPEAKER_01: And he's like, add vinegar and do the rinse cycle.
SPEAKER_01: There is no rinse cycle.
SPEAKER_01: What are we gonna do?
SPEAKER_01: And so my girls are like, we're fine, everything's fine, we're good, we're good, everything's fine.
SPEAKER_01: Like they are so cool and calm and collected.
SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, okay, breathe, push the feelings aside, breathe.
SPEAKER_01: I started to, we started to all, all of my girls and I pick up all the dishes out of there, rinse them dry, and we formed this assembly line and we got it all done, and it was beautiful, and they ministered to my heart so much in that moment, they saved my life in that moment as we joyously emptied that dishwasher.
SPEAKER_01: It was a blessing, and that is what God is calling us to be in those little moments, and we see this so depicted in the Proverbs 31 woman, this faithful woman who gives us a picture, not of perfection, but of growing spiritually with her God.
SPEAKER_01: And some of us, we sometimes want to push this Proverbs 31 woman away because she feels unattainable.
SPEAKER_01: She feels too perfect, and we're like, ah, I can't ever get there, so I don't want to even try.
SPEAKER_01: But I believe the Lord has put her there just to be an inspiration for us, that we can all be growing, we can all be growing in the Lord, and that's what He's calling us to do.
SPEAKER_01: And so let's read Proverbs 31, 10 through 12, and we're gonna kind of skip around today.
SPEAKER_01: So it says, Who can find a virtuous and capable wife?
SPEAKER_01: She is more precious than rubies, her husband can trust her, and she will greatly enrich his life.
SPEAKER_01: She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.
SPEAKER_01: I love that.
SPEAKER_01: She enriches her life.
SPEAKER_01: Ezers, we are called to enrich the lives around us.
SPEAKER_01: We are called to do good everywhere we go.
SPEAKER_01: We are called to do good.
SPEAKER_01: And I believe that she's getting the strength to do this from a different wellspring.
SPEAKER_01: I believe that she is getting it from the Lord Himself.
SPEAKER_01: And when I thought of this, I thought of John 15.
SPEAKER_01: And I thought about one of my life verses from John 15, and it says, Hold on, one second.
SPEAKER_01: I have to put on my glasses too, because now I can't see anymore.
SPEAKER_01: So hold on.
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
SPEAKER_01: As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless the Lord unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.
SPEAKER_01: I am the vine.
SPEAKER_01: You are the branches.
SPEAKER_01: Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit.
SPEAKER_01: For apart from me, you can do nothing.
SPEAKER_01: I believe the Proverbs 31 woman abides in the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: That presence, that staying with him, that remaining in Jesus, that is what is coming out of her.
SPEAKER_01: That is how she can enrich the lives around her.
SPEAKER_01: That is how she can do good.
SPEAKER_01: It's Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: It's Jesus through her, and it's Jesus through us while we abide in him because it's his power coming out of us.
SPEAKER_01: But not only that, at the end of the proverb in verses 30 through 31, it says, Charm is deceptive and beauty does not last.
SPEAKER_01: But the woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.
SPEAKER_01: Reward her for all she has done.
SPEAKER_01: Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.
SPEAKER_01: A woman who fears the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: This is not cowering in fear from the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: This is understanding who God is.
SPEAKER_01: He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
SPEAKER_01: He is God Almighty, the only one.
SPEAKER_01: He is fully in control and sovereign over all of our lives.
SPEAKER_01: He is the king and he is on the throne.
SPEAKER_01: And therefore, I look to him and I want to live my life for him.
SPEAKER_01: So not only is this coming out of me as I abide in him, but everything that this woman does and everything that we do, our actions, our words, our priorities all flow from this reverence to God.
SPEAKER_01: May my life glorify you when I go to work.
SPEAKER_01: May my life glorify you when I talk to my kids.
SPEAKER_01: May my life glorify you when I minister to my husband.
SPEAKER_01: May my life glorify you when I go to the grocery store or wherever you do and wherever you go.
SPEAKER_01: May I glorify you.
SPEAKER_01: This needs to be cultivated, though.
SPEAKER_01: It needs to be intentionally grown over time.
SPEAKER_01: And I believe that she is working on it and we are working on it.
SPEAKER_01: We are taking step by step in cultivating this.
SPEAKER_01: We need easers in our life.
SPEAKER_01: We have the Holy Spirit with us and He's helping us, but we need people too, y'all.
SPEAKER_01: I remember back in college, um, I had this mentor named Beth Holmes.
SPEAKER_01: Oh my gosh, she would take me out every Friday morning at 7 a.m.
SPEAKER_01: to McDonald's, and she would just buy me a cup of coffee and like a hash brown, and we would just talk, and she would just ask me questions, and I would ask her questions, and she would pray for me and encourage me.
SPEAKER_01: And then later on, she would bring me into her home and like I would just be there if she did life.
SPEAKER_01: Like she would come home with groceries and she'd be like, here's a chicken.
SPEAKER_01: You can do all these things with one chicken, you can save money.
SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, okay, like I didn't know that, right?
SPEAKER_01: And she just taught me and she homeschooled her kids, and she's like, I homeschool my kids.
SPEAKER_01: I also work at the university, but this is why we do this.
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, huh, okay.
SPEAKER_01: And I just watched her.
SPEAKER_01: And at the same time, I have another Easer, Tammy Chapman, who has been an Easer to me and is still today, to this day, this woman has done nothing but encouraged my life.
SPEAKER_01: She speaks life into me, she edifies me.
SPEAKER_01: Anytime I had a dream or a vision or anything I wanted to do, she was the one that was like, Yes, you should go do that.
SPEAKER_01: She's always been a life force behind me.
SPEAKER_01: And I'm so grateful for these people.
SPEAKER_01: My friends, we do have the Holy Spirit, but you don't have to do this alone.
SPEAKER_01: You don't have to, and we don't want to do this alone.
SPEAKER_01: So I'm gonna encourage you, ask someone who's maybe a little further down the road than you, ask them, hey, can we just get a cup of coffee?
SPEAKER_01: Can we just talk?
SPEAKER_01: Can you just share like what you do on a daily basis?
SPEAKER_01: Like, do it.
SPEAKER_01: Nine times out of ten, they're gonna say yes, and they're gonna feel so honored that you asked them.
SPEAKER_01: So just ask.
SPEAKER_01: So if we want to bring this God-sent life-saving help to everyone around us, we need to cultivate it.
SPEAKER_01: And it starts beneath the surface.
SPEAKER_01: So we're gonna talk about that today.
SPEAKER_01: A life-saving woman cultivates her understanding, she cultivates her understanding in order to do good.
SPEAKER_01: So a life-saving woman doesn't just react emotionally to life.
SPEAKER_01: That's hard, isn't it?
SPEAKER_01: She learns to think with wisdom and discernment and spiritual awareness.
SPEAKER_01: She thinks that she needs to learn things.
SPEAKER_01: We need to learn things, we need to stay teachable, we need to know that we probably don't know everything about this situation.
SPEAKER_01: So we most likely need to slow down and listen and ask questions and wait on the Lord and ask some more questions and wait on the Lord and pray because we probably don't see the whole picture yet.
SPEAKER_01: And so we wait and we're patient and we gain understanding as we do so.
SPEAKER_01: We make decisions slowly so we don't have magical thinking that everything's gonna turn out okay.
SPEAKER_01: Who else has magical thinking besides me?
SPEAKER_01: I have so much magical thinking, I am I have childlike faith up to the ceiling, but I also have magical thinking.
SPEAKER_01: It has gotten me in trouble, said chickens.
SPEAKER_01: But it's fine.
SPEAKER_01: They're fun, it's okay.
SPEAKER_01: Proverbs 31:16 says, She goes to inspect a field and buys it.
SPEAKER_01: And her earnings, she plants a vineyard.
SPEAKER_01: Notice how it doesn't say that she takes her earnings and buys a field.
SPEAKER_01: She goes first to inspect it.
SPEAKER_01: She does some research, she looks around, she decides is this the right time for this?
SPEAKER_01: Is this suitable for my family right now?
SPEAKER_01: Does this bless the people around me?
SPEAKER_01: Is this going to cause more hurt?
SPEAKER_01: Or is this going to be valuable to us?
SPEAKER_01: She takes her time.
SPEAKER_01: She starts asking, what kind of woman am I becoming?
SPEAKER_01: She knows that growing spiritually is more important than appearing impressive.
SPEAKER_01: I don't need to appear impressive.
SPEAKER_01: That's not helpful.
SPEAKER_01: She realizes that being helpful to people requires discernment, not just availability.
SPEAKER_01: So she prays before she meets with people.
SPEAKER_01: She prays before she answers questions.
SPEAKER_01: She waits on the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: You don't need to know everything to become wise, but you do need to stay teachable.
SPEAKER_01: You need to be ready to learn.
SPEAKER_01: Godly understanding can save you years and years of heartache.
SPEAKER_01: A long time ago, when my kids were still little and they were, I homeschooled my kids, and so they were in grade school, and I had the opportunity to start nursing school back at that time.
SPEAKER_01: And I had seen a program online, and it was like, you can do this and work full time too.
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, huh.
SPEAKER_01: And so Mark and I prayed about it, and I met with a woman from the school, and she asked me some questions.
SPEAKER_01: She said, Kenzie, tell me about your life because this is pretty intense.
SPEAKER_01: Giannis.
SPEAKER_01: And so she I told her, you know, I homeschool my kids and I'm pretty involved in my church.
SPEAKER_01: And um, like I'm pretty busy.
SPEAKER_01: And she, I'm so thankful for her.
SPEAKER_01: She said, Kenzie, I don't think this is the right season for this.
SPEAKER_01: I do not think you should go to nursing school right now.
SPEAKER_01: And she didn't know me from boo, but she said that to me.
SPEAKER_01: She could have just sold me because to make me money, you know, I don't know.
SPEAKER_01: But she didn't.
SPEAKER_01: And I was so grateful for the Lord because we took time to inspect that field.
SPEAKER_01: It was not the right time.
SPEAKER_01: And that would have caused so much heartache, so much time away from my kids.
SPEAKER_01: I'm so thankful that we didn't do that.
SPEAKER_01: We need to constantly be looking for wisdom, and we will become more and more wise and growing in our understanding.
SPEAKER_01: So, what can we do to do this in us?
SPEAKER_01: We can we can read the word first and foremost, maybe even read Proverbs because it's the book of wisdom.
SPEAKER_01: There's 31 chapters, reading a book a day, or even slowing it down and just reading and meditating on a verse and just rolling it over and over again.
SPEAKER_01: We can ask someone further down the road out to coffee and just ask them questions about their marriage, about their life, about the decisions they made, about how they made those decisions.
SPEAKER_01: We can ask people over for coffee.
SPEAKER_01: Y'all, I want to bring back coffee around the kitchen table again.
SPEAKER_01: I'm so tired of being busy.
SPEAKER_01: I don't want to be so busy anymore that we don't just like, hey, I put on a cup of coffee.
SPEAKER_01: Do you want to come over for an hour?
SPEAKER_01: It doesn't need to be all day, but just opening up your home again, having community again.
SPEAKER_01: Let's start asking, why am I reacting this way?
SPEAKER_01: When you are dealing with something, when you maybe have some suspicions or you're you're upset about something, ask why am I reacting this way?
SPEAKER_01: What is under the surface?
SPEAKER_01: What are the roots to that?
SPEAKER_01: Is it fear?
SPEAKER_01: Is it unbelief?
SPEAKER_01: What is it?
SPEAKER_01: Get understanding, which only comes from the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: So bring it before him and ask him.
SPEAKER_01: And before you make a major decision, whether it's financial or relational or anything, wait.
SPEAKER_01: Wait, pray, wait and ask the Lord, how do you want me to respond to this person?
SPEAKER_01: How do you want me to do this in this time?
SPEAKER_01: Do you want me to spend this money on this?
SPEAKER_01: Get understanding.
SPEAKER_01: Remember that you can watch the marriage conference for free if you want to.
SPEAKER_01: The parenting series is for free.
SPEAKER_01: And then there's some books.
SPEAKER_01: Mamas, I had some books that just bless my socks off when I was raising my littles.
SPEAKER_01: And there are newer books out there, I realize.
SPEAKER_01: And you could ask Elena or some others for some awesome, like newer books.
SPEAKER_01: But these were my favorite books, okay?
SPEAKER_01: The first one is Shepherding a Child's Heart by Ted Tripp.
SPEAKER_01: Oh, like learning how to shepherd your child's heart as they're growing up.
SPEAKER_01: So good.
SPEAKER_01: And then there's the Baby Wise series.
SPEAKER_01: Baby Wise One, Two, Toddler Wise, Childwise.
SPEAKER_01: These are practical books.
SPEAKER_01: And y'all, there's some controversy with it.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: These books are not the Bible, right?
SPEAKER_01: So you can take out what you don't want and read what you do, right?
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's good.
SPEAKER_01: And then the last book is this book.
SPEAKER_01: This is my absolute favorite book on the face of this earth from moming.
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
SPEAKER_01: It's called Finding Your Purpose as a Mom: How to Build Your Home on Holy Ground.
SPEAKER_01: It is my favorite book of all time for every season, for any mom.
SPEAKER_01: I would recommend this hands down as the best mothering book ever.
SPEAKER_01: It is so good.
SPEAKER_01: And it's older, it's by Donna Otto.
SPEAKER_01: It's so good, so refreshing, so edifying.
SPEAKER_01: So good.
SPEAKER_01: So let's get wisdom.
SPEAKER_01: But wisdom alone is not enough.
SPEAKER_01: Understanding is not enough to become this easier.
SPEAKER_01: We also need to cultivate a heart that people feel safe around.
SPEAKER_01: We want people to feel safe around us.
SPEAKER_01: And so a life-saving woman cultivates her heart.
SPEAKER_01: Proverbs 31, 26 says, When she speaks, her words are wise and she gives instructions with kindness.
SPEAKER_01: With kindness.
SPEAKER_01: The Proverbs 31 woman is strong, but her strength is not cruel.
SPEAKER_01: Her words are soft and compassionate.
SPEAKER_01: In a world where outrage is what gets attention, she remembers we are not powerful by becoming harsh.
SPEAKER_01: We are gentle.
SPEAKER_01: We are meek.
SPEAKER_01: We are warm.
SPEAKER_01: We are charitable like Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: You're like Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: So when you're thinking about someone or you have someone's name in your mouth, are you being charitable and warm and kind with them?
SPEAKER_01: Are we expressing ourselves online or to one another like Jesus?
SPEAKER_01: Warm and charitable and kind.
SPEAKER_01: Are we countercultural?
SPEAKER_01: What are we doing?
SPEAKER_01: Are we quick to give grace, to express tenderness?
SPEAKER_01: Our words can either heal insecurity or they can deepen it.
SPEAKER_01: Our words are so powerful, my friends.
SPEAKER_01: We do not join in on humiliating people online.
SPEAKER_01: Oh, I was on Instagram the other day, and there was the sweetest beautiful girl who was trying on two different dresses, and she was like, which one do you like?
SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, y'all look beautiful.
SPEAKER_01: And I decided to look at the comments, which I normally do not do.
SPEAKER_01: And y'all, I was appalled.
SPEAKER_01: I was like, my stomach turned.
SPEAKER_01: I just couldn't even believe that someone would say mean things like this to another human being.
SPEAKER_01: I just couldn't even handle it.
SPEAKER_01: I had to like shut my phone and pray.
SPEAKER_01: Like it was just so horrific.
SPEAKER_01: We need to start the kindness campaign.
SPEAKER_01: Like, we are gonna be kind.
SPEAKER_01: I don't even care.
SPEAKER_01: We are the light and love of the world.
SPEAKER_01: We are to mimic Jesus to the world.
SPEAKER_01: So I don't care what anybody else says, we are gonna be kind.
SPEAKER_01: We are gonna spread love of Jesus and the light of Jesus everywhere we go.
SPEAKER_01: That is our mission.
SPEAKER_01: That is what we are to do.
SPEAKER_01: She doesn't join in on that.
SPEAKER_01: She notices the lonely girl instead of always going to the popular one.
SPEAKER_01: And she reaches out to the needs of her family.
SPEAKER_01: And she reaches beyond the needs of her family and she practices that.
SPEAKER_01: I don't know about you, but for me, sometimes it's hard to leave home and to reach beyond because we're we're consumed with our families.
SPEAKER_01: We have a lot going on.
SPEAKER_01: But God is calling us to reach beyond our family to the people around us and the communities around us.
SPEAKER_01: Guys, I cry every time I go to work.
SPEAKER_01: You can ask Mark.
SPEAKER_01: Like every time I leave the house, I cry.
SPEAKER_01: Like it's very hard for me because my home is my safe place.
SPEAKER_01: My home is where I just feel so happy and loved and safe.
SPEAKER_01: And I just want to stay there.
SPEAKER_01: But God is calling us beyond our home to be the light and love of Jesus to everywhere we go and to fulfill our calling.
SPEAKER_01: And so He's calling us beyond that.
SPEAKER_01: So we can't just be efficient with people.
SPEAKER_01: We need to be compassionate towards them.
SPEAKER_01: We need to lead our employees, not micromanage them.
SPEAKER_01: We need to direct our children, not exacerbate them.
SPEAKER_01: We need to speak lovingly and affectionately to our husbands.
SPEAKER_01: We need to do good to them all the days of their life.
SPEAKER_01: We need to be in their corner and we need to not be taking shots at them, but believing them and edifying them.
SPEAKER_01: Because they are our men.
SPEAKER_01: Like that's your man.
SPEAKER_01: Why would you diss them?
SPEAKER_01: She remembers that her family needs your presence.
SPEAKER_01: Your family needs you.
SPEAKER_01: You your presence.
SPEAKER_01: I know there's so much to do, but your family needs you to join in on the fun, to run around, to listen to the laughter, to enjoy it all, to let the mess go for a minute.
SPEAKER_01: And we need to spend time with God in His Word so we know what people need, so we can be filled up with God so that we can give that and to keep our heart tender.
SPEAKER_01: We need to cultivate compassion, and cultivating compassion is really empathy.
SPEAKER_01: And empathy takes time.
SPEAKER_01: It means that we need to step into people's lives and feel just an ounce of what they're feeling.
SPEAKER_01: And so that takes time.
SPEAKER_01: There was a patient that I had that looked at me the other day and he said, What the heck is wrong with you?
SPEAKER_01: But he used other words.
SPEAKER_01: And he, I'm like, What?
SPEAKER_01: What?
SPEAKER_01: And he's like, You're so kind.
SPEAKER_01: Why are you so kind?
SPEAKER_01: Kindness is so fake.
SPEAKER_01: Why are you so kind?
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, Honestly, like, it's Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: I just really, really love you, and I just want to take care of you.
SPEAKER_01: And opening that door to this patient who was sometimes very irritable really opened the door for me to hear his whole story.
SPEAKER_01: I got to sit with him and hear about his life, about his job, about what he did, about his sickness, about all the things that have happened, about what's going on in his life right now and how hard it is.
SPEAKER_01: That compassion is what people need.
SPEAKER_01: It's kind of better than medicine.
SPEAKER_01: That's what people need in life.
SPEAKER_01: So not only are we we're understanding, we're being a safe place for people, cultivating our heart, but finally, a woman who brings God's help to others needs endurance, not just inspiration.
SPEAKER_01: A life-saving woman cultivates her grit.
SPEAKER_01: Her grit.
SPEAKER_01: So the Proverbs 31 woman is active, she's resilient, she is diligent, but not self-destructive.
SPEAKER_01: So Proverbs 31, 17 through 19, 22 and 24 say she is energetic and strong, a hard worker.
SPEAKER_01: She makes sure her dealings are profitable.
SPEAKER_01: Her lamp burns late into the night.
SPEAKER_01: Proverbs 31, 19 says, her hands are busy spinning thread, her fingers twisting fiber.
SPEAKER_01: She makes her own bedspreads.
SPEAKER_01: She dresses in fine linen and purple gowns.
SPEAKER_01: She makes belted garments and sashes to sell at the merchants.
SPEAKER_01: And maybe like me, you are like, I make no bread spreads.
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, me neither.
SPEAKER_01: I can't even sew.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, but I think we need to look underneath at what she's doing.
SPEAKER_01: Guys, she's after it.
SPEAKER_01: This woman is after it.
SPEAKER_01: She is not sitting idly by waiting for life to pass her by.
SPEAKER_01: She is doing what God has called her to do.
SPEAKER_01: Whatever that is, whatever time that is, she is going for it.
SPEAKER_01: What has God called you to do?
SPEAKER_01: Are you doing it?
SPEAKER_01: Get after it.
SPEAKER_01: And also, I don't wear purple gowns everywhere, right?
SPEAKER_01: But what that means is that fine linen represents the righteousness of Christ.
SPEAKER_01: And that purple gown represents strength and dignity.
SPEAKER_01: So are you walking around your world, your small little world, are you walking around in the righteousness of Christ and the strength and dignity of the Lord?
SPEAKER_01: Do you know who you are?
SPEAKER_01: Your princess of the living God walking around this earth, knowing who you are, investing in the lives around you, empowered by the living God.
SPEAKER_01: Yes, that's who you are.
SPEAKER_01: So she's active, energetic, steady, industrious, diligent.
SPEAKER_01: She becomes dependable in the small things.
SPEAKER_01: The things that she thinks nobody sees, God sees.
SPEAKER_01: So she is faithful with the small things.
SPEAKER_01: She stops waiting to feel motivated before she becomes responsible.
SPEAKER_01: Y'all, motivation only comes for 10 minutes after you drink a cup of coffee and then it's done.
SPEAKER_01: Okay, so you need to get up.
SPEAKER_01: You need to stir yourself up and say, We're going.
SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
SPEAKER_01: Come on, body, we're going, right?
SPEAKER_01: And get up and get after it.
SPEAKER_01: Discipline is not a punishment, it is training.
SPEAKER_01: Your future life is being built on your current habits.
SPEAKER_01: So we need to think about what are we doing?
SPEAKER_01: What are some habits we need to lay down?
SPEAKER_01: I've got some.
SPEAKER_01: What are some current habits we need to pick up?
SPEAKER_01: Ask the Lord to help you.
SPEAKER_01: Ask them, what are they?
SPEAKER_01: What do I need to start doing?
SPEAKER_01: It takes 30 days, right?
SPEAKER_01: People say.
SPEAKER_01: So we can start walking and doing those things and creating those habits.
SPEAKER_01: God often develops purpose through ordinary faithfulness.
SPEAKER_01: Just be faithful one step at a time.
SPEAKER_01: She develops rhythms instead of chaotic living, rhythms of life.
SPEAKER_01: What day we do the laundry?
SPEAKER_01: What day we clean this?
SPEAKER_01: What day we do this?
SPEAKER_01: There's just certain rhythms that we can form.
SPEAKER_01: They can be broken sometimes because we're free, but there's rhythms that we can walk.
SPEAKER_01: Elizabeth Elliot said, worship is not an experience, worship is an act, and this takes discipline.
SPEAKER_01: Everything we do is to be worship unto the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: And so we want to walk our days out in worship to Him.
SPEAKER_01: But she's after it, but she rests before she collapses.
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
SPEAKER_01: God will help us persevere in really hard seasons only temporarily, but He won't keep us in that fast season.
SPEAKER_01: God's women need rest.
SPEAKER_01: Proverbs 31 woman recognizes her soul has limits.
SPEAKER_01: There's only so much we can do.
SPEAKER_01: And if you don't take care of yourself, you will not be able to take care of anyone else.
SPEAKER_01: So she pays attention to the emotional warning lights before she crashes.
SPEAKER_01: Do you know what your emotional warning lights are?
SPEAKER_01: I do.
SPEAKER_01: It's headaches and fatigue, and like I want to run away.
SPEAKER_01: I'll bring my family, but I need to run away.
SPEAKER_01: Those are my emotional warning lights.
SPEAKER_01: She remembers that rest is stewardship, and we are to steward and take care of ourselves.
SPEAKER_01: We forget that.
SPEAKER_01: We think about everything else that we're stewarding, but we're supposed to be stewarding ourselves too.
SPEAKER_01: A woman can become so committed to rescuing everyone else that she quietly forgets strengthening her own inner self.
SPEAKER_01: We need Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: We need time.
SPEAKER_01: You cannot be a lifelong lifesaver without a neglected inner life.
SPEAKER_01: You need the word.
SPEAKER_01: You need time in the word.
SPEAKER_01: You need a Sabbath day.
SPEAKER_01: You need rest and you need Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Some women have normalized exhaustion so deeply that rest feels irresponsible.
SPEAKER_01: We start to feel that we have to keep it all going.
SPEAKER_01: All the plates that are spinning, that's our job.
SPEAKER_01: We need to make sure everything goes and stays perfectly going.
SPEAKER_01: But we are not the saver.
SPEAKER_01: We are the helper.
SPEAKER_01: We are not the saver.
SPEAKER_01: We are the helper.
SPEAKER_01: So let trusted people support you emotionally.
SPEAKER_01: Stop apologizing for needing rest.
SPEAKER_01: Schedule recovery time before you earn it.
SPEAKER_01: Talk, tell somebody when you are needing, when you're feeling that emotional overload so that you can talk to somebody through it.
SPEAKER_01: You can help and get help for it.
SPEAKER_01: And give yourself permission to heal instead of constantly trying to prove you're okay.
SPEAKER_01: We're not okay.
SPEAKER_01: We need healing.
SPEAKER_01: All of this sounds awesome.
SPEAKER_01: Being an Easer sounds awesome, but y'all, it's all too much to do on our own.
SPEAKER_01: The life-saving woman knows she needs help.
SPEAKER_01: It is dangerous to try to be a lifesaver on our own.
SPEAKER_01: Everything a life-saving woman does is by the grace of God.
SPEAKER_01: Every single thing.
SPEAKER_01: And the grace of God is God's kindness and mercy and help that we don't even deserve, but he gives it to us.
SPEAKER_01: And he gives us the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_01: In John 14, 16 through 17, it says, And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another helper to be with you forever.
SPEAKER_01: Even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him.
SPEAKER_01: But you know him, for he dwells in you and will be with you.
SPEAKER_01: The Holy Spirit is God's presence, literally living inside of you, guiding you, leading you.
SPEAKER_01: He will never ever leave you.
SPEAKER_01: He is with you in every decision, in every day, in every moment of your life.
SPEAKER_01: So at the end of the day, this message is not about becoming the Proverbs 31 woman right now or becoming a superhero like Wonder Woman.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible is reminding us that God loves to work through healthy, surrendered women who just make room for him.
SPEAKER_01: A life-saving woman cultivates her understanding, she cultivates her heart, she cultivates her grit, but she also remembers something critically important.
SPEAKER_01: She is not the savior.
SPEAKER_01: She's not the savior.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus is.
SPEAKER_01: Only Jesus is the savior.
SPEAKER_01: And that's why Jesus promised his followers another helper, the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_01: You do not have to carry your family, your pain, the pressures of life alone.
SPEAKER_01: The same God who calls you to help others will be your helper.
SPEAKER_01: He will be your helper.
SPEAKER_01: So the question today is: will you keep trying to carry all of this on your own?
SPEAKER_01: Or will you let Jesus strengthen you as your helper?
SPEAKER_01: Because you cannot give what you don't have.
SPEAKER_01: But ladies, what Jesus, when Jesus strengthens your soul, God can use our lives to bring God sent life-saving help to everywhere around us.
SPEAKER_01: Let's pray.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus, we just thank you so much that you've created us women.
SPEAKER_01: We thank you, God, that you've called us easers.
SPEAKER_01: God, we cannot do this on our own.
SPEAKER_01: God, we pray, Jesus, that you would come in like a flood in all of our lives.
SPEAKER_01: You know exactly the different pressures and feelings and different things that we're walking through.
SPEAKER_01: Some of them are really hard.
SPEAKER_01: And I pray, God, that you would enter in.
SPEAKER_01: You are our helper and you are our savior.
SPEAKER_01: We just surrender it all to you right now.
SPEAKER_01: God, we want to grow and cultivate in our hearts that understanding and that grit and that heart after you.
SPEAKER_01: We just submit it to you, Lord, and we praise you, God.
SPEAKER_01: In Jesus' name, amen.
SPEAKER_00: All right, folks, that's all the time we have, but thank you so much for listening to this sermon.
SPEAKER_00: If you got a lot out of this, feel free to share this with somebody who might need it.
SPEAKER_00: Also, there's a ton more content on our website, on our YouTube channel, on our Instagram channel, on our TikTok channel.
SPEAKER_00: Feel free to check all that kind of a thing out.
SPEAKER_00: Also, if you're interested in leadership type stuff, go ahead and check out another podcast or any other blogs or videos or anything over at BibleLeadership.com.
SPEAKER_00: And whatever else you do, make sure that you believe God for something big today.