Israel & Rachel Campbell " SOUP" Podcast Episode 30 "Write a new chapter"

Israel & Rachel Campbell " SOUP" Podcast Episode 30 "Write a new chapter"

In this podcast, the Campbell's talk about launching a new church in California while dealing with bad chapters in their life. They discuss the difficulty of moving from bad news to good news and how God can help us write a new chapter. They mention Joseph's story in the Bible and how he prospered even in prison because of his attitude and perspective. The hosts also talk about how optimism is a decision and a muscle memory that requires practice and gratitude. Israel & Rachel encourage listeners to respond to hope and trust in God's ability to do exceedingly abundantly above all.

Transcript

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[Music] Hey Rachel, we are back but we are recording in Denver not sunny California but sunny on location. All around we are. We have been traveling but we don't ever want to miss these moments because we absolutely love the Israel and Rachel Campbell suit podcast so welcome and we just want to give a shout out to everybody that has been giving us little shout outs on Instagram and telling us, sharing with friends and all of that is so important. If you listen to this podcast and you really love it, then share it with somebody, share it with the coworker, a friend, a family member, and then it just helps us really be again to see where we are supposed to be talking about and what things are really resonating and all that. So it's good. Can you guys see the mountains behind us? They are gorgeous. I hope you can see them but it's a beautiful sunny day. I don't think it's going to snow but you never know here. You never know in Denver. You never know. Hey, so one of the things that we wanted to talk about this week and I know we always kind of have like a podcast theme or title and it really is, help me articulate it Rachel but really how do you rewrite or write the next chapter in your life? Yeah, we've been talking about kind of how easy it is and I'm sure all of you can kind of identify with this as well but it's so easy to get into ruts and Israel, I remember when you wrote your first book and you had a writing coach which is so cool because we hired this girl to coach him on how to write and she didn't have you start on chapter one, right? She had to start on chapter five and she said the reason why is because people usually stop reading books about chapter five because it stops being fresh and in our human nature we do that in life maybe not writing an actual book but we want to talk about how to start a new chapter, how to end a chapter that maybe you're sick of the same old same old and some practical and spiritual ways to start a new chapter in your life. And sometimes it's not even a matter of you not wanting a new chapter, sometimes the chapters in our life, I remember the moment the time in like a period of five years you lost both of your parents, three of your sisters and you also lost your grandparents and so those were really tough, hard chapters but there was a new thing we were launching a church in California so we were trying to in the middle of bad chapters write a new healthy chapter, good chapter and that can be difficult. It can be difficult but with God it's very possible and when I was young I, our family just had a lot of tragedy, a lot of trauma, it felt to me like bad news on top of bad news a lot and I remember when I came back to the Lord and there were still hard things happening, there were still cycles maybe and I remember just reading that scripture verse about from glory to glory, the God works from glory to glory and I'm like, you know sometimes I felt like in my life I was from bad news to bad news and I started looking forward to bad news because that was a way to guard my own heart and I think that we can do that. We can hear so much disappointments, so much bad news on the news or whatever's going on that we can actually start being conditioned to just being okay with living a life full of bad news and when's the other shoe going to drop? You know nothing ever good, when am I going to get my break and all of those things and that's what we want to speak to today. Yeah I love that and just to encourage you you can by God's grace write a new chapter. Yes, yes, and you do not have to repeat and the God that we serve is so great because I love what Joseph says. Joseph says after some bad chapters in a row, getting sold into slavery, Potiphar's wife accusing them of something that he didn't do, getting thrown into prison, he begins to write a new chapter. The Bible says they can actually begin to prosper in prison. Whoa, so he couldn't change a lot of his narrative, but the part he could, he took a hold of and then eventually we know the story where he is reconciled with his family and he says what you meant to do to harm me, God turned to good and that had everything to do with his attitude, that had everything to do with his perspective, that had everything to do with this is not. This chapter is a chapter, but it's not going to define the whole book. And so many books have, in fact a good book has a tragedy in the chapter. I mean it's boring if it doesn't. It's so boring. And so I think we're, our life is a good book because it would be boring if it didn't. And Israel, I was thinking about, you know, I think every single podcast that we do, we talk about this subject, a happy aspect of hope is the most important thing. It's a happy, happy, happy, happy, happy. He learned through the word of God and also different areas in our life where we learn the right chapter. Should we just talk about it? Yeah, okay. So you know, I'm thinking about just the optimism and having, is a decision and it really is a muscle memory thing that as Christians we have the promise of, we have the promise of hope. It says, the Bible says, in Galatians, it's Christ in you, the hope of hope. And so really hope doesn't have to be something man made in our lives when we're believers. It's something that we grasp a hold of. And so I read a really cool quote and I'll probably get it wrong. So I'm just going to kind of reiterate it. If you say it is your own, then it's not wrong. But it wasn't my idea. I just want to say this. I read it. But you know, it said something along the lines of perpetual optimism is possible if you can practice gratitude. Gratitude causes you to have perpetual optimism. And Israel and I are really optimistic people. And it's not because we have really easy lives. Right now, right now, we're in the middle of three really hard things. We're in the middle of a betrayal. We're in the middle of some things that are going to affect our future that we have no control over by someone else's decisions. And we're also in the middle of just, you know, the normal pressure of ministry life, work life, church life, and family life. And all of us, that's not like all the violin, but it's true, right? Israel and, but we're optimistic. And some people will kind of mock us for that. Like, you guys are always just so optimistic. That's just who you are. You always have a smile. And you want to just say, no, this smile costs me money. This cost, this smile cost me a lot. It was a decision that I had to begin to develop just as much as being negative and sad is a decision you develop. Yeah. And I love that that you mentioned it. Hope really has to do with muscle memory because what you just said, it's we have the choice to respond. And if you always respond negative, you're not just one day going to be positive. It is a muscle that we go, we respond to hope, we respond to what God is able to do. And I always joke with, you know, anytime I preach our congregation, but that scripture that says exceedingly abundantly above all. And so what it is zero times one, you know, what is zero times a hundred? Well, the whole point of that is zero times a million. If there is no hope, it's like God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all. But what about if you finish that because that's what makes it makes that so. So if we're not thinking or thinking with hope, then there's nothing it's almost like time, the hands of God because he's able to do exceedingly abundantly above. But what is he exceedingly abundantly above what we are exercising our muscle of hope in and Christianity, it really is everything about Christianity is actually based on some hope that Jesus is coming back, that Jesus is sacrifice was enough that the resurrection was hope. And so if we don't exercise that, then we're really not much different than people in the world. Exactly. And I love that analogy. I remember when you said that, it was like wow, you know, easy mathematics, zero times anything is still zero. And when we don't ask, when we don't stir up hope, it still is going to be zero. But we have the opportunity to ask. And I just love that. So I think about the, I think that's something we've conditioned in our heart is we have an ongoing list of thankfulness. Like if God could do that, he could do this. And that's how God worked even in the Old Testament, he would say like, I pulled you up. I put you on this. I set you up. I brought you out, you know, all of these things and he wanted his people to recite because it builds our faith and gives us confidence. And as Christians, we have to have a confidence that's not confident in our banking systems because they, they could fail not confidence in our homes because they could, they could crumble, but confidence in who God is and what he says about his people. And when we get that revelation, we live at a different level. Yeah, and it's so funny because it is the trendy thing right now is, you know, gratitude journals, anything in the planning, you know, gratitude. And it's like, yeah, that's a good, it's obviously absolutely right. But it's a godly principle that now, ungodly people are realizing, oh gosh, it's really important to begin to be thankful even in the darkest season, the darkest chapter. And I'm, we're not saying that cliche. We're not trying to say that like, we don't know real pain, but it is a development now so that in the darkest pain, it really does. It's still hard. It's still difficult, but it is muscle memory. I know how to do this. I'm going to find something in this season to be grateful for. I am going to find something in this and we learn to do that. Somebody, you know, something to do with a church building or something to do with a church staff person and it seemed like betrayal or it seems like our, we will find a positive in it. We will just like, no, we understand the power in that. The power in it and you and I, right, the new chapter. Yeah. And it doesn't mean the chapter is going to be the win the lottery chapter. It's not going to come on. I want to write that chapter. The romance novel. Well, you should, but I was talking about the ones with Fabio here. You could write the whole thing and the background on a horse. I mean, it's not that it's going to be perfect, but you and I can start changing the narrative. And I was telling you when we were talking about this beforehand, it was like, I just read a book and it was the weirdest book. It was great, but it had 180 chapters. I think most chapters, maybe 30 chapters would be average. And this was like 180 chapters. And I was just kind of like, what the fuck? The chapter was different. Well, but why would you have that many? It's like, you know what? I want to have that many. I don't want to try as hard as I can. Let's start a new chapter. And if that chapter doesn't work, come on. Let's write another chapter. And so those chapters of, you know, maybe the last 10 chapters of your life, that theology of it sucks. That's okay. That actually makes a great book. It makes a great life. It makes a great story if that's part of it, but let's not let that be the whole book. Because then it's a tragedy and it's not a novel with some movie in it. Yeah. And one of the things that your editor just wrote back. He just got an edit on a book that he's worked on. It's going to be so good. It is going to be good. She was hurtful. She was not kind. She was saying something that were like, wow, basically your book sucks and I can make it better by doing every day. You can keep the title and maybe the first page, but the rest were trashy. Oh, what do you want? She said because this book is going to be so good. But she did take kind of the whole idea of the entire, how Israel wrote the book. It's a children's book. And she was like that. You know, what you didn't have to say that that part because they could have thought it was a great novel. And then you're like saying, oh, it's a children's book and it still wasn't here. You're going to love it. You're going to love it when it comes out for all the kids in your world. I love it. But this book actually was based off of Israel used to. Can I tell you what it's about? No, no, no, no, no, no. But he would always tell the kids Bible stories with this one character that would go through all the Bible stories and it is so cute. And he's writing the first edition of this, the first Bible story. And then he's going to continue. It's going to be great. But right now we're in the brutal part where they tell you the truth so that the book will be good. And I was like, well, Israel, you created it this way. You told it to the kids this way, the way that you wanted to write the book. But honestly, what she's saying hurts, but it might be true, right? Yeah. And that's the thing is that they are an expert. They have actually outside looking outside looking in and then have this plethora of books that they have published. And then a whole nother list of books that they have helped people publish versus me who would be like never have done this. And so it's so good. We were talking about some different perspective because we can say that we could actually say this is really good or we could actually say that this is not very good. And you know, just think it's terrible and getting some other perspective. Yeah. And the thing is I think we do that in life, don't we? Maybe we're not writing a book, but somebody gives us an outside perspective that actually someone who really cares about us. You know, you got to know the difference first of all between a critic that just is competitive with you or someone that's for you and is a friend like the proverb says, faithful or the wounds of a friend. And there we have to in order to write a new chapter that's different than our old chapters. We've got to bring in people that are willing to speak into our blind spots. And when we get into ruts or maybe when we're from a certain family and this is what our family is always experienced, then that becomes our normal. And God will use people from the outside that you can trust to go, no, that's not normal. That's not God's best for you. And there are people that love you enough to tell you the harsh truth. But then there's this responsibility on us. Are we going to take that truth? And are we going to listen to the quiet to become successful and write this new chapter that has new wording that is saying that different things and have some new outcome. You know, I just think about even my marriage to Israel. I'm so thankful I didn't marry one of those guys who would have just kind of like catered to whatever. But you have been like these speed bumps in my life where you go, yeah, but I don't feel like that's God's best for us. And it's not in a controlling jerky way, but it's out of love. Rachel, there might be some things that God has a better way that you haven't seen yet. And in order to write a new chapter, we have to be vulnerable enough and thick skinned enough to take other people's guiding words and help us. And I was thinking of that like to write a new chapter. Maybe it's time to pick up a thessaurus and actually get new words. You use new words because something you can say the same thing, but one way is negative and one way is positive. Are you taking my, this was my point and you just go ahead and take it. I like it. I like it. It's the thing. Sometimes we need to keep our words inside. Maybe that's what it is. Israel's turn. No, I love. It's so true. It's like picking up new words. The words of I can't. The words of it's always this way. The words of victim. You know, all these different words and we have to begin to not self-help, but out of God's words start getting the words that say, no, I'm an overcomeor. Come on, the words that even if you just meant this too shall pass. We begin to speak. Our future is blessed. We're blessed in the city, blessed in the field, you know, changing it like no matter where we go, things are. And so it's good to begin to get a new chapter with new words. And I think that it's really good to do some exercises where you're training yourself to see the good in a situation that others might see bad. And so I think that we should do a little funding. I'm going to say a situation and I want you to turn it into something positive. You're actually the best at this. I think it's good exercise for everybody watching to see "On the Cup." Okay. This hotel sucks. And what am I supposed to do? You're supposed to make it into something positive instead of something bad. This hotel has such a bad pool. Oh yes, but the pool is so cold, but it's refreshing. And sometimes I don't want a hot tub. I want a... I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. Okay, I use something negative to me. Okay. The good exercise to do is to do it. I'm so not negative. I know you're fine. I'm going to say... Well, you don't say anything about my hair. I would never. Okay. This podcast, I'm squinting a lot. I know, but Israel, we're in Denver in the sunshine. Last time we were here, it was so windy that we were inside. And when you came out, you almost had to put stuff on your face to not get wind burned from the freezing cold. So we're enjoying the sun. And squinting. And squinting. We're working on our laugh lines. But just... But we do this. Those are dumb little things. But if you can begin to start doing exercises where you take something... Okay, a perfect example is... We're too busy. I mean, like, I can't do all our family life and our work life. We are so blessed to be doing what we prayed for in our 20s. Right. That is changing it too. No, let's write a new chapter. Actually, we're living out the prayers that we ask God to use us to do. But it can be so easy and then He comes in and wants us to start complaining about the blessing and making it our burden. But they're blessings. Yeah. And I think that it's so important again, as we were talking earlier, it's like to make a new chapter. You have to be resolute enough to know. You can't necessarily fix the old one. And I think that sometimes we are like, you know, well, if I could just fix my in-laws or if I could just fix my boss, then this next chapter is going to be better. Sometimes you cannot fix people. And so that places or situations and tragedies. So you just have to go. So, you know, that was a chapter. Let's start a new one. And I think some people never start a new chapter because they're too busy trying to fix the old chapter. And honey, they're not going to like you in the new chapter. Yeah. They didn't like you in your chapter. They don't want us to change for the good. Yeah. And it's sometimes it's like it's not you. It's them. Their pain is that, you know, they're going to bring that into their new chapter. But we don't have to bring that along with us. We can highlight a different thing. And I like some of those books that like, you know, they'll be telling the story and then it'll say, and then a new date and a new place and a new location. And you're like, you're catching up with the story like, oh, this is somewhere else. And we have the ability to shift some of those things. Yeah. So how can you write a new chapter if the situation isn't going to change? You know, we were living in a house that was in Redondo Beach. We had, I think it was eight blocks down to the ocean. And we still found a way to complain because the bathrooms are really old. It was an old 50s house and it'd never been renovated. And it's like, oh, I can't stand that this bathroom is disgusting like this looks like a dorm room. And we certainly, but we can walk every night to the beach's sunset. So then we started calling that house the beach house. And it was like, beach houses don't need nice bathrooms. Their beach houses. Yeah. And you just reframe and start going, God, what kind of story can I write if I let go of my expectations of this situation? If that situation can't change, God can still move and we can still be blessed and happy. And so that's what can I read a scripture verse? Yeah. Okay. It is Malachi. It's usually used during tides and offerings. Malachi 310 says, bring the whole tithe into the storehouse. That there may be food in my house. Test me in this says the Lord Almighty and see. If I will not throw open the windows of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there'll be no room for you to contain it. I love that scripture verse. And I think it's exactly what we're talking about. When we're writing a new story, first of all, if you want to change what's been happening, number one is you've got to make sure you're in covenant with God. That's massive, isn't it? If we're not in covenant with God, we're going to write the same chapter over and over because there's no overflow of blessing. But when we come to the Lord and we place our lives under His protection and we say, God, I'm in covenant. Everything that I have is yours. And I'm going to prove that. But I'm going to start giving 10% of my finances because that is my livelihood. It's how I survive here on earth until I get to heaven. And I'm going to trust you with 10% that's what you've asked me for. And I'm going to say, God, have it. This is my worship to you, right? This isn't a giving message, but it's so important because we can't write new chapters by just doing good things. It's covenantal. And so we've got to make sure that we're our relationship between us and God. That covenant is clean, pure, and we're holding up to our end of the covenant. You know, I cannot be a good husband, but I can hold up to the half of the covenant, which is me as a wife. I can love Him and cherish Him in sickness and health. And it's the same in our relationship with God is God wants to bless us. He is a good God, but we have to hold up to our side of the covenant. And that is to trust Him with our life and our livelihood. Or stop on that just for a second because I think that that is so good what you're saying. And it's the tide, obviously, but the tide is actually represents surrender. It's really the number one thing that we usually the last thing that we give to God. It's hard. And it's hard because when we tide, you guys think or somebody could think, well, that's just a money or a message or what. No, no, no, no, it's really a surrender. And it's saying nothing is mine. It's all yours. And so that helps with the covenant because you're not holding on to something saying, well, God, I want everything, but I don't want to give you everything to go ahead. And I hear this all the time as like, oh, well, you know those churches that tell you to give so you can get. Yeah. Yeah. I give God my 10% so I can get his protection and covering. And I'm in covenant. And it's not like I'm trying to manipulate God, but his word says that when I trust him with all that he will bless me. So that's a huge side we could do it. We could do three weeks on that, right? So yes, we get when we give because we're connected to God, but then it says this, it says see that I won't open up the windows of heaven and pour you out so much blessing. There won't be room to contain it. That is mind blowing because I think we're always looking for the next door. And we've talked about doors and the Bible talks about doors, but I love this that it says windows because it's a different way. And it's a way that people don't usually enter into a house or exit out of a house, but it says that if you come into covenant with me, I'll open up windows, which are other ways. It's a way that maybe you don't expect God to bless you, an idea, an invention, a new way to write your story. And what's a window for a window is to see outside? Yeah. It's to get a view. If you lived in a house with four walls with only a door and a whole... Yeah, with only walls, you wouldn't see. And so when he opens up a window, it's like opening up a new view, opening up a window. It's breaking our cycles, right? Letting us see what's out of the next chapter. I love that. There's a world outside your window. I love that song too. Is that song? Yeah. I don't know how it goes, but it says that's a line. There's a world outside your window, but isn't it true that there is a world outside of our windows? And all of us live in these houses that light has built for us. And it tells us that every chapter is going to look like this. There's more bad news coming. But God says, "No, I have created you, called you by name, you are mine. Even if you do walk through waters, you will not drown." And even if you walk through fire, you'll not smell like smoke. And so we've got to have windows and we've got to be in covenant with God and go, "This is a new chapter. This is a new day." And it's time to start speaking that. Yeah, as we wrap up, we just want to encourage you. It really is difficult when life has been tough chapter after tough chapter. So we're not saying this with no empathy. We're not saying this with actually no knowledge of that. We have had bad chapters, but we want to prophetically speak into your spirit, speak into your life, and declare the next chapter can change. The next chapter by God's grace, the Holy Spirit's power can be completely different. And we just want to pray with you, Rich. Can you just kind of maybe just pray as we close this podcast. And really we are praying for your next chapter to be your best chapter. Amen. Miracle stories. And I was just thinking about when we were talking about gratitude. And the world best gratitude in Israel was talking about. You can buy a gratitude book, but it's different when we're believers what we're having gratitude for. And I just want to encourage all of us. The world teaches gratitude in the small things. I saw a leaf, a little thing, making everything small. And I just want to say, maybe practice big gratitude. Because of the blood of Jesus, he's made me eternal. I'll never die. Because of his finished work on the cross, I am no longer slave to my sin. Let's have some big gratitude that will cause us to have small hope. Amen. Amen. God, we just thank you for today. Thank you that Israel and I even get to be here in Denver. Yeah. And being with our pastor friends, God, thank you for all that you've done. Lord, we even give you the chapters that have been disappointing. The chapters that have felt like ruts. God, I just pray over every person that is listening to this podcast. That their faith will begin to rise up. That they'll lift their eyes back onto you. Yes, yes. You're our hope. You are our future. And you have good things in store for us. I pray that you teach us how to see things well and write this next chapter with great expectation for what our God is going to do. We just bless every person in Jesus name. Amen. We hope this podcast was helpful to you. Hey, why won't you do us a favor and share it. Click the like button and let you know send it to somebody and say, hey, this might really help you in the chapter that you're in. And of course, we always love any kind of feedback. You know, of course, the encouraging feedback or also, hey, can you touch on this subject feedback too? So we love you and we'll see you next week.[Music]