Abraham & Sarah

As dawn breaks and the coffee brews, Kara R. Hunt and Cheri Swalwell are already deep in conversation, exploring how the world’s issues might just be a grand-scale sibling spat. Our whimsical musings suggest that maybe, just maybe, a simple snack and a nap could do the trick for global peace, drawing inspiration from the refreshment Elijah found in the biblical narrative. We invite you into our light-hearted banter that seamlessly weaves through spirituality, the comfort found in the changing seasons, and the notion that our shared humanity might hold the key to understanding each other a little better.

Venture with us as we traverse the lives of Abraham and Sarah, a couple whose story is bound by promises, patience, and faith. Their narrative, stretching from Genesis 12 through Genesis 25, is a rich tapestry highlighting the imperfections of God's chosen and the beauty that unfolds when divine timing takes the lead. It's a journey that speaks to the heart of every listener who has ever waited for a promise to be fulfilled or has doubted their place in God's plan. Through their episodes in Egypt and their long-awaited childbirth, we reflect on the ways fear and frailty are part of our spiritual growth.

We wrap up with an eye towards the horizon, teasing the tale of Isaac and Rebecca for our next episode. The generational dance of challenges and blessings beckons us to ponder the legacies we inherit and the stories we continue. As we close this chapter, we leave you with the reminder that the journey of faith is marked by endurance and 'holy fear'—a reverence for the divine that empowers us to stand steadfast amid life's storms. So, grab a cozy blanket and your favorite morning beverage, and join us for an episode that promises to stir your soul and tickle your funny bone with a divine perspective on the everyday.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:19

Hi and welcome to the Cheer Up Podcast. I am your host, kara R Hunt, and with me, as always, is the beautiful Sherry Swalwell. How are you doing this morning, sherry? I am doing really really good.

Speaker 2: 0:34

How about you?

Speaker 1: 0:36

I am doing, considering I woke up not too long ago. I'm doing great, you know. But you know what? I think it's a blessing and it works out because I'm a morning person and that I can oh, what's the word? Rally really good in the morning, even if I didn't have a lot of sleep, my mind is still, like you know, just on point on fire and everything else. Now I may crash about 12 or 1 o'clock, you know. My brain's like okay, we didn't already put forth a lot of energy already this morning, but I'm so glad that I'm a morning person. The sun rises the early morning, do you know? Right now we're not technically into spring, but you can see the transitioning tapping happening in the early mornings, right when you wake up, from the bare trees that used to be bare they used to just be brown sticks to now, just you know, maybe starting to get like a little budding on them. So how about you?

Speaker 2: 1:53

Well, I absolutely love how God he just he puts the right people together, because you and I are both morning people and I love that when I say to you, because we had a little bit of a snarfoo with phones coming out and then we had our electricity go out and so we are actually taping today on a different day than what we usually do. And when I suggested the early morning hour of taping, there was no hesitation from you and our youngest was like, oh my goodness, mom, do you realize how early you're asking her? And I said, I know, and she is so loving and kind because she didn't bat nine. She was like, yeah, sure, absolutely. So I just I love how he has knit us together as though we are just, honest to goodness, sisters, like biological sisters, even though we're states apart and there's no biology there, but there is the spiritual connection and I just absolutely adore that. I think that that can be stronger even than biology sometimes. Oh, are you sure?

Speaker 1: 3:07

there's no biology Because, as we've been finding out, as we've been discussing different biblical figures, they're all descended from the same people. That is true, that is true, thank you for that See.

Speaker 2: 3:23

I haven't had enough coffee yet today.

Speaker 1: 3:29

So somewhere down the line, I'm pretty sure someone came up with a fancy, fancy software and which already know they have a lot of them, and they put in Sherry Swalwell and Kara Hunt. Are there any bloodline connections? They're going to come up with some because we're all connected you are right.

Speaker 2: 3:47

I'm just glad that you said that you put an extra smile on my face today.

Speaker 1: 3:51

Yeah, there'll be blue lines connected everywhere. They'll be like oh yeah, well, this and that yeah and everything else, because it's just you know, and as believers, we know that we embrace that.

Speaker 1: 4:03

That's what we always call each other Sisters in Christ, brothers in Christ, my mom in Christ, my dad in Christ, you know, and things like that, and so we're that in Christ. But in reality we're all descended from the same people. There was no big bang theory, right, and a bunch of stuff falling into the sky and humans were created. So, yeah, there's that. I'm not going to get too much into that. We were descended from real people, not metal.

Speaker 2: 4:35

And that's why there's so much conflict in fighting in the world today, because it's all sibling rivalry, right.

Speaker 1: 4:42

That's exactly what it is, everybody's got to pay more attention to them right, right. It's like well, god, how come they, you know, and everything else? And he's just like oh, my goodness, my child, am I not showing you enough attention yet?

Speaker 2: 5:01

you know and everything. She has to repeat the quake she got the bigger house, she got the bigger, whatever, whatever.

Speaker 1: 5:08

Yeah, she got the fancy job and you know New York or wherever you know, and yeah. So, like you said, it's all sibling rivalry. We just having a hard time getting along with each other from time to time Maybe just need a nap. Yes, everyone just needs a snack and a nap. I mean everything will be okay. Exactly so time or time go to bed, take it out.

Speaker 2: 5:40

I'm just glad that we have solved the world's problems in twenty-six years.

Speaker 1: 5:44

I know right, sometimes it's the simple things you know. Now there are a few who need to get in a chair and a corner for time out. Okay, you know, I guess it's the wall, you know, but I think every the majority of people just need a nice little snack, a little, you know, healthy cookies, some healthy milk and a nap Like a two-hour nap. And there you go, world. We just solved the whole entire world's problems.

Speaker 1: 6:15

The whole entire world's problems. And, by the way, that's not an idea that Sherry and I came up with about taking having a snack and taking a nap. That actually happened to a biblical figure in the Bible Not the one we're talking about today, but it was Elijah. Was it Elijah or Elijah? It was Elijah, yep.

Speaker 2: 6:38

I said I'm talking about him in the future.

Speaker 1: 6:41

Yes, right, it was a wide judge. You know, he was feeling all despondent about something and kind of just upset, and you know and everything else, and God pretty much just said hey, dude, you know, here's some food. Go take a nap, you be, I ate, yeah yeah, that was the carrot translation.

Speaker 1: 6:59

Okay, it was the carrot translation, but that's pretty much how you know it was said. So again, everyone, thank you so much for joining us again this week on cheer nation. Excuse me for being a part of cheer nation and listening once again to the cheer up podcast. We love and we adore and we are so thankful for all of you. And if you're listening to us on a platform right now and you haven't downloaded this episode, please go ahead and do so and please don't forget to like and our heart you know the podcast, because that helps with the algorithm. It helps more people be able to know about the podcast. So, thank you so much for all of you, everyone who's doing that this morning.

Speaker 1: 7:46

Okay, now, speaking of our ancestors and our ancient siblings and everything, we're continuing our discussions on biblical figures in the Bible, and this week we are discussing Abraham and Sarah, also known as Abram and Sarai. I hope I'm pronouncing that right. You know so well. First they were Abram and Sarai and then they were renamed Abraham and Sarah. And what a wonderful story, what a wonderful couple, what a wonderful biblical figure Abraham is and pillar of the Old Testament that he is and he they're just both. Now no one's saying they're perfect, because if you've read the Bible for any amount of time and read through some of the main characters, the main figures and storylines throughout the Bible, you know that no one is perfect. We were talking about sibling rivalry earlier and there's another biblical figure, joseph. Well, my goodness, he was told to save flavor by his brothers.

Speaker 1: 9:03

You know so yeah, you know, sibling rivalry can be pretty intense at times, so, but today we are talking about Abraham and Sarah and Sherry. What is it that you'd like for us to know about those two?

Speaker 2: 9:20

Well, I, I love this story because it starts out in Genesis 12 and it goes through Genesis 22. So, if you want to, or actually goes through 25, it's Genesis 25. It overlaps with Isaac and Rebecca. Isaac is their son Spoiler alert Rebecca is his wife and so it overlaps. But Genesis 25 is where you'll find out that Abraham dies. He dies quite a few years after Sarah does.

Speaker 2: 9:53

But I love this story because I love how, in Genesis 12, it starts out, all the people back then used to live right next door to each other. Like their families grew up with each other. They added on to their houses or in. I think they had a nomadic life back then. I think Please do not quote me again. This is where I talked about last week that I'm just a Bible loving, Christ following woman who loves God and is just talking to you about Abraham and Sarah. I am by far not an expert, so I don't know what kind of houses or tents or whatever they lived in back then, but I know they all live together, so their families stayed together.

Speaker 2: 10:32

So in Genesis 12, when God talks to Abraham and he says to him, he says the Lord said to Abraham go from your country, your people and your father's household to the land. I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you. I will make your name great and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you I will curse, and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.

Speaker 2: 10:56

So Abraham was minding his own business and God came up to him one day and he said hey, I want you to move. I'm not telling you where, I'm just telling you that I want you to move. Are you willing to do it? Basically. And so, without even completely understanding or at least I get from the Bible, but he didn't completely understand he just had a direction and it was will you choose? Kind of like mission impossible with Tom Cruise, Will you choose to accept it? So here's your mission. Do you choose to accept it? And Abraham said yes, Okay, God, I'll do what you want me to do. So he took Sarah, his wife, who was also his half-sister, and his nephew, Lot, and he took a lot of his possessions, you know, paddle and camels and all of that good stuff, and they set off not really knowing where they were going. He was 75 years old when this happened.

Speaker 2: 11:50

So another thing that I find interesting in the Bible is that God doesn't necessarily always use young people so, like David, when we talked about David last month, he was petitioned or he was ordained, anointed to be king when he was young, but he didn't step into being a king until he was older. Joseph had dreamed at 17. His purpose and his plan and his anointing happened at 17, but he didn't step into the role that God had for him or he didn't step into his purpose until he was 33. Abraham he was 75 when God gave him this promise, but it wasn't until 25 later, 25 years later, when the promise actually happened. So I say all that to say don't give up and don't get discouraged if God gives you a vision or a purpose or a plan and it takes a while for it to happen. Because God is more interested in building our character and building the person inside of us and making sure that we're ready for the calling that he puts on our lives than he is for us to fulfill the calling. And he purposefully picks imperfect people, because everybody in this world is an imperfect person, so he's not going to pick just the people who seem to have it all together. He's going to pick the people who have a heart that want to be for God and to build the characters and the characteristics inside of us that God wants and that he knows we need in order to fulfill the purpose in the calling that he has for us. So that was a side note.

Speaker 2: 13:37

So Abram and Sarai and Lot take off and they go through Egypt, and I want to highlight this part of the story, this part of their journey, because it's very significant in my opinion. So here, Abram was just told by God I will bless those who bless you. I will curse those who curse you. You will. I will make your name great, you will be a blessing. And they get to Egypt and Abram gets scared. He thinks, because Sarai is beautiful, he thinks that if the Pharaoh knows that Sarai is his wife, he's going to off Abram, take Sarai as his own and that's going to be the end.

Speaker 2: 14:21

Well, first off, if we logically think about this, if God called you to go to a new nation to start over again, why logically would God not protect you from point A to point B? But Abram is human. Abram has fears, just like everybody else, and so his fears kicked in and he said Sarah, this is what I want you to do. Well being the fact that either A she loved him. Two, she trusted him. Three, he was the head of the household and she took that seriously. We are the all of the above. She agreed with him and she decided to go ahead and say that she was his sister and he was her brother, which was a half truth, because he was. She was his half sister, but she was also his wife. They failed to mention that part, and so she agreed to go with that.

Speaker 2: 15:16

Well, just like what Abram thought would happen, the Pharaoh took an interest in Sarah. I took him into her castle or his castle, Sorry and did not touch her, though God protected her, Did not touch her. But then serious diseases. The Bible says that serious diseases came on Pharaoh in his household because of his disobedience, Pharaoh's disobedience of taking Sarah as one of his concubines wives I'm not sure what. So Abram actually set Pharaoh up to fail by lying to him. But Abram didn't trust God enough that he would protect him. He felt like he had to do it himself. He felt like he had to lie about it in order to keep Sarah safe. So when Pharaoh found out from God that this was actually his wife. He called Abram in and said what are you doing? Why did you lie to me? Now look at what's happening to my household. Take your wife and go. I wouldn't have taken her if I'd known she was your wife.

Speaker 2: 16:19

So I bring that story up, or that part of the story up, because even after everything that God does for Abram, at the very end in Genesis 20, Abram lies again to King Abimelech the same thing he tells Sarah. I could tell King Abimelech I'm probably massacring his name. I apologize, but tell Sarah again. This time she's Sarah now and he's Abraham instead of Abram. And Sarah, Sarah, Sarah tell Sarah to lie again that he's her sister instead of his wife. So I don't know exactly how many years are in between these two, but he falls back on the same lie when he's afraid, despite all of the ways that God has shown himself faithful, all of the miracles and all of the blessings that God has done in his life. So are other people seeing this pattern that I'm trying to bring out?

Speaker 2: 17:25

Noah after the miracle of the flood and the saving of his family, he gets drunk. So something bad happens with Abraham and Sarah. God gives them a promise, when they're 75 years old, that you will be the father of many nations. And Abraham is like how is that even possible, because I have no children. Then there's a whole thing in there about Sarah and Hagar and Ishmael, and I'm not even going to go into that, I'm going to let you read that on your own. And so then the promise is fulfilled. They have a son named Isaac. But yet when, like I said, 25 years later, when Abram is 100 and Sarah is 90, they have a son, and then they still read that, the same lie that they did at the very, very beginning of the journey that God put them on.

Speaker 2: 18:21

So I think that for me, when I think about well, before I get to the the how it pertains to nowadays, I want to read two separate passages in the Bible, because regardless of how many times Abraham stumbled, regardless of how many times Abraham lied and wasn't perfect, God still called him friend. So in 2 Chronicles 20, verse seven, it says this is Jehoshaphat is defeating Moab and Ammon, Ammon at this time. So they're the ones that are talking, and Jehoshaphat is actually talking to the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the Lord, in front of the new courtyard and part of what he says to them is Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people, Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham, your friend? So, despite all of these disobedience and despite the non-perfect way that he fulfilled the calling that God gave him, God still called him friend. And then, in Hebrews 11, it says this is what Kara was talking about last week by faith, Noah, who warned when warned about things not yet seen in Holy fear, built an ark to save his family.

Speaker 2: 19:48

By his faith, he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith. By faith, Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive us as inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith, he made his home in the promise land. Like a stranger in a foreign country, he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise, For he was looking forward to the city with foundations whose architect and builder is God. And by faith, even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was unable to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made that promise. And so, from this one man, and as he as good as dead meaning he was super, super old became descendants of numerous of the stars in the sky and countless of the sand on the seashore.

Speaker 2: 20:38

And then, if you drop down a couple of extra verses, it says by faith, Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He, who had embraced the promise, was about to sacrifice his one and only son, Even though God had said to him it is true, Isaac, that your offspring will be reckoned For some reason, that God could even raise the dead and fill, in a manner of speaking, he did this to Isaac back from the dead. So I say all of that to say, first off, people have talked about one of the ways or one of the things that people talk about, and I feel like, if I ignore this in the podcast today, that people are going to think that I'm ignoring it or leaving it out on purpose. But people, one of the one of the arguments that people use that God is so cool is that why would he ask Abraham to sacrifice Isaac? I have heard, and I'm not really a biblical scholar, so it's something that I would suggest you one talk to God himself about, ask him the question and ask him to direct you to the answer, the correct answer.

Speaker 2: 21:43

But in that day and age where Abraham was living, the God Mollach people would Are you ready?

Speaker 2: 21:51

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, no-transcript.

Speaker 2: 21:53

Sacrifice their children to the God's mullet to pacify this fake God.

Speaker 2: 22:00

And so I have heard it said that God himself used this example and said Abraham, I want you to sacrifice your son Isaac, because he was showing the stark contrast between his love and the false God. He knew God knew that he wasn't going to ask Abraham to go through with it, he just wanted Abraham's faith. Abraham even knew. When you're reading in Hebrews 11 and read it for yourself, it's Hebrews 11, 17 and 18. It talks about how even Abraham knew that if, for some reason, God did go through with killing his son Isaac, he knew in faith that Isaac would either be raised from the dead but somehow the descendants is numerous of the stars the promise that God gave him 25 years earlier. Well, at this point it was even longer than that, because it was 25 years till the time that Isaac was born and the sacrificing didn't happen until Isaac was much, much older, definitely old enough to understand what was going on, but Abraham knew, and so was Isaac, and Isaac was old enough to understand too, right right.

Speaker 2: 23:12

So Abraham knew that God was not going to that somehow God would either raise him from the dead or he had a different plan, and that Isaac would not have to be sacrificed. So I wanted to make sure that I brought that part out so that people don't think that I'm avoiding that whole topic for fear of how do you explain a cruel God? Because he's not a cruel God. He's a God who loves us immensely, with unconditional love, and there's always a way. He always makes a way. But the part that Tara and I want to bring out is that if you have a calling on your life and if God give you a promise, it doesn't mean that you're not going to come up against obstacles. It doesn't mean that you're not going to have to wait a while for it to happen. God's timing is best and while God will always fulfill his purpose and his plan in this world, whether it's through you, if he invites you to do it and you accept or you say no, he will use somebody. But God cares more about our character and about the person that we become than he cares about us fulfilling the calling. That will get fulfilled one way or the other. So if it takes a little bit longer than what we think should happen. We need to thank God for that, and I for one.

Speaker 2: 24:42

There have been many different things in my life that I have felt like God has put on my heart to do, and I had a plan and I had a timetable, and all of those have come and gone and I was like God what are you doing? And it is just this year, so it's been well over a decade. I want to say it. Well, I don't want to say, but this journey for me started in 2011. It's now 2024. And this year is the year that I have honestly started saying to God thank you, thank you that you did not give me what I thought I wanted two years ago, in 2013. Which was 11 years ago, by the way, so it all started. It's been almost 15 years since I really felt like God put this purpose and this calling on my life and in my heart.

Speaker 2: 25:38

And I have said to Him thank you, lord, for not doing it my way, for not giving me what I thought I wanted in the timeframe that I wanted, because if that had happened, oh my goodness, it would have blown up in my face, I would have been a disgrace to you, I would have not had the maturity and the wisdom, you would not have been able to have refined me, you would not have been able to make me into the person that you're making me into today. Do I think that I'm ready yet? I don't know. So my prayer has changed from Lord. I want it and I want it now to Lord. I don't want it until you know that I'm ready and working me, breaking me down, refining me, making me the person that you want me to be, so that I can be the example for others that you want me to be. I don't want to mess this up. I don't want to shame you. I don't want to do something that will bring disgrace to your name, to my reputation, to the calling that you have put on my life. So if it's going to take a little bit longer, thank you. I'm okay with that, because I want to do it in your timing and your way, and I want it to look the way you want it to look, and that was not my prayer back in 2011.

Speaker 2: 27:01

My prayer back then was okay, in two years, this is going to happen, this is going to happen, this is going to happen, this is going to happen, and it's going to happen this way and this way and this way, and okay, thank you, you're my genie in a bottle. Here's my bill. No, no, no, no, no, no. I am learning that it's only doing it through his timing and his way and his will that it's going to be down the right way. And am I still going to do it perfect? Absolutely not, but that's okay, because God isn't asking for my perfection, but he is asking for my heart and he is asking for obedience. What do you want to say, kara?

Speaker 1: 27:43

A couple of things actually, but I just want to reiterate how God's timing is always perfect, right, it is. In a believer's life. It may seem like our journey is going a lot longer than we intended it to, but we have got to be in the right time, excuse me in the right space spiritually for Him to use us in the way that he has called us to be used. And it's funny in a way how not funny, ha ha, but funny, ironic in a way how sometimes as believers we're just like okay, Lord, it's been two years, Can we go now? Can I move to the next step? But in other areas of our life we don't quite expect that.

Speaker 1: 28:39

I mean, this is an Olympic year, right, no one goes up, get off their couch one day and decide, you know what I'm going to be in the Olympics this year, and they just go, they try out and then they make a USA team. Right, it doesn't work that way. They have been training, sometimes since before five years old in a lot of cases, you know, they have been training and had coaches and multiple coaches and all these other things and stuff and have won all these other small victories sports-wise, before they could even get to even think that they could qualify to be on an Olympic team. There's a lot of physical training that goes in there. There's a lot of mental training that goes into it. Now to mention and sharpening of the skills In our Christian journeys. It's the same way. Sometimes we're ready to go out there and say, okay, Lord, I'm ready to join the team.

Speaker 1: 29:38

I'm ready to do what you call me to do and he's like okay, but we got to work some things out first. Like spiritually, I need to refine you a little bit, I need to mature you on some of the things. There are some issues you're dealing with, for instance, like unforgiveness, like worship of money, like idolization, you know, and all these other things, some of those things I need to work out in you. And there are some things with your body. I need to get you physically fit. I need to get you ready, right, because what I'm calling for is going to take a lot of stamina, it's going to take a lot of energy. So for us to just automatically assume that we're ready to get there and get out there and our Christian journey, I think it's just our impatience, right, because we're so excited and we so inspired to want to do things for God, and he's like okay, but when you get there, I need you to be sustainable, right, I can't put you there and then you fall and you fall hard. Like Sherry was saying earlier, it's like I want you to get there and I want you to be sustainable, because I need you to do this for me and for the kingdom, and so it takes time and each person's journey is different. For some people it may take five years, others 15. Others 25. You just don't know. It just really really depends on what the Lord has called you to do and how he needs you to be physically and spiritually to be able to do that. So I just encourage you, like Sherry was saying, to not give up hope, not give up faith. He is refining us, he is doing all of that for a bigger purpose. So that was one of the things I really wanted to just re-enerate what you had said, sherry.

Speaker 1: 31:26

And the other thing is you were talking earlier about when you were reading. We were discussing Ruth and Boaz in one of the February episodes, and if you guys have not listened to that one yet, please go back and listen to it. It was in the month of February, where we were discussing love versus lust, but she was mentioning how she didn't realize that Naomi had told her daughters like you can go back to whoever you know, your family's and whatnot Like I have nothing to offer you. Well, sherry, you were just reading the scripture of Hebrew 11. I had never heard the. How many times have I read that scripture, or have you know, been taught that scripture or you know what not?

Speaker 1: 32:08

But when you read it, something popped out at me and it says due to a holy fear, holy fear. Due to a holy fear, noah did what he was able to do. And I'm going how am I just now hearing this? So now part of me wants to do like a subject study on the phrase holy fear in a Bible and I'm going that is just like so amazing because, as you talked about with Abraham, there were situations where he was afraid he was a feared right. That like, for instance, with Pharaoh oh, you're so beautiful, sarah, he is going to love you, he's going to want to take you and his wife and he's probably just going to you know, off of my head because he's going to want to be with you. And if you say you're my sister, right. So, just like Sherry talked about, he went, tried to do it in his own strength, right.

Speaker 1: 33:04

And I'm thinking, wow, like the story possibly could turn out so much different, especially for Pharaoh, if Abraham had that holy fear that Noah had right, which is more and again, I have to study more into this, but it sounds like to me in the way it was being read in Hebrews 11, that that's a fear of God more than a fear of man, and just have more of that holy fear of like Noah. I got to do this. I am going to be obedient because I know that, I know that, I know that I heard from the Lord and I don't even know what this rain thing is, but I know that I'm supposed to be building this Ark and I know I got to do it. There's exact dimensions and I know that I got to do this.

Speaker 1: 33:47

But the Holy Fear he could easily gave in to what the people were mocking him about, like what are you doing? You're so crazy, you're just so crazy. Man right, and everything else. He could easily gave in to that. But there was, like this Holy Fear, a fear of disappointing God, a fear of disobeying God that was way stronger than a fear, than his fear of man. Is that the way you read that part, sherry?

Speaker 2: 34:15

Yes, I think that you nailed it on the head and I think that you made it so crystal clear that that's the kind of the challenge that we need to do nowadays, as we in today, 2024 and beyond, we need to be not people pleasers, but we need to have more of a healthy fear of obeying God, no matter the cost, versus what are people going to think of me? Am I going to get canceled? Am I going to lose likes? Am I going to, you know, have to go find a different job or above horse, or do I trust God that, even if those things happen to me, that he's got it and he's got a better plan he's got. It's all part of his plan. It's not a plan B or a plan C, it's all part of his plan.

Speaker 2: 35:05

And I've always said, from the beginning, when God started me on this journey of writing I still don't consider myself a writer. I consider myself God's secretary. All mistakes are mine, all praise and all glory goes to him. And I never wanted to be a writer. I always wanted to be a child psychologist, I wanted to work with kids, I wanted to be a wife and a mother. I never once said I wanted to be a writer. I've written stories in my head since I was knee-high to a grasshopper, but I never wanted to be a writer and I have always said that if and when God is done with this phase of my life, that I will give it up, because I know he has something else for me. And so I hold it very loosely because it's not me, it's whatever he's choosing to do through me. And so I guess I kind of want to end today with that challenge of what is it that God has called you to do? Do you have a healthy fear, a holy fear of God versus man? And are you willing, if God says this part of your journey is over, and I want you to do this now instead, are you willing to hold it loosely and give it up and move on to the next phase, the next part of the journey, pick up your possessions and move to a new land, if that's what he's calling you to, or not? So those are kind of some of the questions that I want to leave with you today, and it all goes back to John 1633, that these things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace In the world. You will have tribulations. But be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. He doesn't promise us a peaky, clean, super easy, peaky life, but he does promise us peace. Peace if we have that holy fear of God instead of fear of man. Peace of doing it his way instead of allowing others' opinions to rattle us or to change the trajectory or the purpose that God has for our life.

Speaker 2: 37:26

So if you are interested in the resources that Kara has, head on over to her website, karaahuntcom. If you want to talk to us, if you need prayer or encouragement or you just want to share your thoughts about Abraham and Sarah, head over to the Cheer Up Podcast at gmailcom and you can start a conversation with us. Or you can start a community conversation in our Facebook group Cheer Up Podcast on Facebook. You can also head over to my website, charyswellwellcom.

Speaker 2: 37:56

We talked a little bit last week about the membership. If you are 62 and older, you can have the sweet senior discount. If you are 27 and younger, I went older than just like your normal young adult, simply because I know what this economy is and I just know how hard it is to start out. I really do, and you need a little bit longer than just a couple of years after high school to get going and get your feet under you and keep going. Some people get great jobs right out of high school Fantastic. Other people go to college and then they have the added debt of college. I just, I don't want anything to weigh you down or to hinder you from growing your relationship with God. So, 27 and younger, if you don't necessarily think that the membership is for you, but you would like to gift a membership to somebody else, email me at clswallwell c-l-s-w-a-l-w-e-l-l-99 at gmailcom and let me know that you want to gift a membership to somebody who needs it but maybe can't afford it. That would be one way that you can bless somebody else, and portions of the membership go to international and local ministries, charities. So you aren't just giving a gift of a membership to somebody, but you're also expanding and contributing to the kingdom through organizations that are both global, international and local.

Speaker 2: 39:40

So, having said all that, next week we're going to be talking about Isaac and Rebecca. So Isaac is the son that God told Abraham and Sarah that God would bless many, many nations through, and so let's find out what Isaac's life was like. He married Rebecca, and did he live a perfect life Did he? Was he the first one of all of them to get it right all the time, or did he have problems too? Did the different generational issues that Abraham faced? Did they linger and do the same thing? Did they get carried over into Isaac's generation as well? Well, if you come back next week, you'll find out. So have a great day, have a great week, and we will talk to you next week.