Await & Arise Interview with She Glows Author and Mentor Kaylee Phillips

Our lives are made up of transitions and changes and plans we thought we had figured out only to hiccup and there we are headed east when we thought for sure we would be headed west.  
But God is in control, if we ask him to be.  
James 4:13 says, "Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”

How true, our life is but a mist that is here for a little while and then vanishes, shouldn't we be so focused on what God has for us ready to be obedient as He calls so we can experience the best of life through Him.  Well Kaylee and Angela visit about how life's transitions and changes can lead to better places than we ever expected if only we drop our own expectations and obey God's call.  

Thanks for being here.  Please Like and Subscribe if this has blessed you!  

If you want to know more about Community Bible Study check out: https://www.communitybiblestudy.org/

To know more about Ang check out these sites:
https://angelaraber.com/
https://www.facebook.com/awaitandarise/
https://www.instagram.com/awaitandarise/

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:01

Hi, welcome back. So, this episode is a fun one that I've been so looking forward to putting out. Kaylee Phillips joins me and we talk about transitions and how God just works through those transitions in our life, just continually bringing us closer to him and also just walking us in his will as we seek after him in obedience, to know his will, to know what he has for us. Sometimes life seems really unpredictable. We think that we have a plan, we kind of have it figured out, and then it changes. The course changes, the road jogs to the left, and we thought we were going right, whatever it might be, but transitions happen. And so I really hope that you enjoy this talk that Kaylee and I had about transitions in her life and how she has just clinged on to God and studied his word and just been obedient to his voice and how that has brought about these changes in where she is today. I hope that you'll be encouraged and edified. I hope that as you walk through transitions in your life, you're doing the same thing, that you're opening your Bible, that you are spending time in his word, that you are seeking him out for his will, and that you are just enjoying the newness of every day and the new mercies that he brings to you in all of the things that he has you walk through. Thanks for being here. Enjoy. Welcome to another episode of A Wait and a Rise. Join me as we dive into scripture and just pause in awe of our good God and as we give our souls just a moment of rest and refresh. Well, dear Heavenly Father, we just thank you so much for this time together. And Lord, we thank you for Kaylee. Lord, we just thank you for her life. We thank you for the way that you have called her to step into new adventures and new things and just brought her home and really embracing mom life and also boss life. And just Lord, you're just showing her all sorts of things. And we just pray that as we visit about the transitions that she's walked through and how you have guided her, Lord, that we would just be able to offer that light to the world from this. So thank you, Lord, for this conversation. And may it be your words that flow through us, Lord, that give you glory for the good in our lives. Amen. Thank you. All right. Well, pivots. We've been talking about pivoting. So let me see here. I wanted to start with this first, Ecclesiastes 3.1. So Ecclesiastes is a great book of the Bible. It's written by Solomon, and Solomon is at the end of his life and he's like followers. He's had everything. He had a million concubines and the whole thing, right? And he gets to the end and he's like, Oh, wait a minute, all of these things weren't worth it. But really, what's worth it is just God, right? And he says, to everything, there is a time for every purpose under heaven. And I think what a golden nugget that is for us to cling to as we walk through seasons and realize just like you might adjust today, but we're going to adjust a lot, Emily.

SPEAKER_00 3:20

It's going to make me want to adjust a lot.

SPEAKER_01 3:22

Right.

SPEAKER_00 3:23

But yes, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 3:24

And that's life, it's adjusting. So I have here transitions have a way of interrupting everything we thought was certain. And sometimes they're chosen and sometimes they're forced. But either way, they ask something of us.

SPEAKER_00 3:37

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 3:38

So today we're going to talk about those moments when life turns, when the old chapter closes, and uh we're left standing between what's next and what has been, and we pivot into God instead of into the world and what that looks like. So we're visiting today. I am honored to be joined with by Kaylee Phillips and just to hear her story of how God has worked and moved and pivoted her in her life in the transition.

SPEAKER_00 4:05

Thank you so much for having me.

SPEAKER_01 4:07

Oh, of course. I'm so excited to have you.

SPEAKER_00 4:10

So happy to be here. I love the schoolhouse.

SPEAKER_01 4:13

Yes, schoolhouse.

SPEAKER_00 4:15

And I just love being around you. So I su I sure appreciate it.

SPEAKER_01 4:20

Well, likewise, I love being around you. That was so sweet. Thank you. So before we dive in, how would you describe the season of life that you're in currently?

SPEAKER_00 4:31

To give a couple of words to describe it. I would say my life feels very intentional and peaceful right now.

SPEAKER_01 4:38

That's really good.

SPEAKER_00 4:39

I'm gonna adjust. Let me get cozy. Very intentional and peaceful right now, which is very different than where I was.

SPEAKER_01 4:50

So take me back there. Take me back to a moment when you turned. What was happening and how did you know something was shifting? Yeah. How long ago was it?

SPEAKER_00 5:02

Let's see. I want to say three and a half. Well, three and a half years ago. All right, to give some backstory. I was a boutique owner for probably not eight years because I did continue in the fashion world after I closed my boutique, my storefront.

SPEAKER_01 5:19

Right.

SPEAKER_00 5:20

I started that when I was 24 before marriage. Well, I was actually planning my wedding and my grand opening at the same time.

SPEAKER_01 5:27

Which was more important. No, just kidding.

SPEAKER_00 5:28

Who does that? And so I was 24. We had moved to the area, just graduated college, and I had worked retail my entire like my college career. And my original plan was I was a dancer all growing up. And I came from a family who knew this is what I'm really great at, and so I'm gonna make a career out of this. And so I wanted to do that myself. And I was like, dance comes really naturally to me, and I think this will be my career. I worked backwards and I decided what do I need to do to make this my reality when I get older. So I danced for 15 years. I went into college for dance. I uh went to a D1 college at first and I was on the competition dance team. And then I uh decided this college is not for me. This atmosphere here, it doesn't feel good anymore. And I wanted to be closer to home. So I applied for the Casper College and ended up getting a scholarship to dance there. And so my whole plan was I'm going to open a dance school and teach traditional dance. And because I always felt like I wasn't given the opportunity to really learn dance the way I wanted to because I came from such a small town and I knew I was lacking in certain techniques, and I wanted to provide that to these young dancers. Right. This proper form and technique so that they could go on and do what they want with dance. So that was my mission. I wanted to give that to young girls, and through college working retail, I found that my passion was shifting. I finished out a management position in a chain boutique store, and then my husband and I decided to move closer to my family. At that time, I was still planning, I'm gonna open my dance school. So I started looking at spaces. I built my website, did all of the paperwork and everything. And I remember the meeting I had with the realtor to look at the space. After that, I felt the nudge that this is not it. And I was like, Dant, because I had worked all those years from third grade on to be a dancer and a dance teacher. And I remember I was excited. The feeling of making that decision, it felt good and it felt peaceful. So I knew that that was the right direction for me at that time. Right. When I told my family they were slightly confused because they had watched me work so hard at something for so many years and go to college and graduate in this thing. And I was like, I miss retail. And we moved to a town at the time that didn't have a ton of shopping either. So I was like, where am I gonna shop? And I'm a 24-year-old who doesn't have kids yet, and I have this all this time on my hands to pursue something. So I said, you know what, I'm gonna open a boutique. So I did. And I had that for the seven, eight years.

SPEAKER_01 8:43

And look what you inspired.

unknown 8:45

I know.

SPEAKER_00 8:46

I feel like I need to take a real big deep breath now because that was a a lot, but gosh, I wouldn't be who I am today without that right decision and without following that nudge. And I'm so grateful for that. The boutique was amazing, it was it grew quickly, and the community embraced me, and I had so many amazing loyal shoppers, and I got to build all of these beautiful relationships with these women, and I saw them all the time, and it was so fun to have those connections.

SPEAKER_01 9:18

It really did inspire others to start up similar businesses a lot.

SPEAKER_00 9:22

Many people told me that, and so that was always nice to hear you are inspiring to me. I'm gonna also pursue this path.

SPEAKER_01 9:30

It's the highest form of flattery, right?

SPEAKER_00 9:32

Absolutely, and year seven hits, and I had in that window of time, I had had one child, my daughter, who came to work with me every day. And because I work Monday through Saturday. I was obsessed with this place. This was my whole heart. I loved it. It was a baby, it was my baby, one of them. And then I had my first real baby and human baby, right? And I I was like, well, this just makes sense. I'll just have her own little space in the back and we'll do this thing together. And we did, and that was also so special. Now I'm gonna get emotional because it's bringing up all of those memories that you have, laying her down for her nap and turning on the music on my computer in the office, and her little toy basket in the back. So, yes, year seven. I am pregnant with our second, and I'm a boss babe at this time. I'm the hustle queen. I am getting after it. I am put your head down a work girl. You're gonna go to the top, you're gonna build this empire, and I had a lot on my plate. A team of employees I had to look after and help, and my loyal shoppers, they missed me because it was getting to the point where I had to be mainly in the back of the business, making it run and shipping all the packages and handling the website and whatnot. And so I was at a place where I love this so much, but I was burnt out because I had been working so hard and so fast, it feels like. Yeah. Because you're constantly told that I was neglecting my inner self and distracted from what really mattered in life when you do become a mom and you are a wife, you have your household and God. I was distracted from all of those things, and I was finding that I was feeling disconnected from my work, which was making me very sad because I, of course, poured my whole heart into what I did and I loved it. But I think you can love something and still feel disconnected from it. And I just remember I was folding laundry one night really late, which is super stressful. So really I had some silly show on just because I wanted to not think about anything. But my lights were dim. And I had this overwhelming feeling out of the blue, it felt like to basically the Lord was nudging me. It's time to move on, it's time to close the store.

SPEAKER_01 11:59

Time to come home.

SPEAKER_00 12:00

You've done what you were supposed to do here, and I have more for you. Yeah, so I am also something that I've always been I'm a very decisive human, and I like to say impulsive, but intentional.

SPEAKER_01 12:14

If you make a decision, you're always done. I'm done.

SPEAKER_00 12:16

I'm same and I think it's a gift. You work that way. So where I'm going with that is the next day. Actually, let me backtrack because I forgot to mention this, and this is important my breakdown moment, my cry to God. I can't skip that. So, like I had said, I was distracted and I was disconnected from the Lord. I wasn't spending time with Him. I've always been a Christian, and I was raised going to church, and my parents taught me that foundation, right? I think as an adult, you have to choose it for yourself. I don't think it that's just how it is. You can have the foundation and thank God for my family for instilling that in me, but I didn't choose it for myself until I had the breakdown moment.

SPEAKER_01 12:59

Right.

SPEAKER_00 13:00

So was just in my bathroom one night one day alone. I had a moment alone, don't remember why, but my kids weren't with me, and I just was crying and sitting and sobbing. What do you want from me, Lord? Where do you see me going from here? What am I supposed to be doing with my life? Because that's what I want. I want to surrender my life to you. That's exactly what that breakdown moment was for me. It was my cry out to the Lord. That was the moment I surrendered. That was the moment I reconnected with him.

SPEAKER_01 13:33

And look how much you could do through your own strength. Now let me come in here and see what you can do with mice.

SPEAKER_00 13:41

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Right? I just got chills. And that's the thing. The Lord is going to make you rely on him to have your wake-up call moment.

SPEAKER_01 13:50

But he's such a gentleman. He's not going to push himself on you. Of course. He's just there waiting, leading you and drawing you back to himself, saying, I can make it even better if you just lean into me.

SPEAKER_00 14:04

So, 31-year-old, that's when I decided I'm surrendering.

SPEAKER_01 14:07

I'm kind of settling down and acknowledging, all right, this is who I am. And it's so great when you acknowledge who you are and then who God is.

SPEAKER_00 14:16

And so that was my moment. I love that. That was my moment. That's where I was at. That's when it all started to pivot.

SPEAKER_01 14:23

Transition to Isaiah 43, 19 that says, see, I am doing a new thing. Now it springs up, do you not perceive it? And so was the transition something you chose or something that chose you? And I would say that that chose me. I was like, I got a new thing in that. Isn't that the best?

SPEAKER_00 14:44

I was I was given a direction and I chose to obey. And I could have I could have been prideful and no, I built this from the ground up. I am not leaving. I could have, but I guess I had to get to that point in my life where I felt like if he's involved, if I'm in a partnership with the Lord, it's gonna be all in alignment. And my home life, my mothering, me as a wife, and my business, they're all gonna feel really good. Nothing's gonna feel messy or chaotic or overwhelming if he's in partnership with me. So that's what I chose.

SPEAKER_01 15:21

So true. Here we go. What emotions were most present at that start? Fear, relief, grief, excitement. All of them.

SPEAKER_00 15:29

All probably all of them. Like I said, relief and peace at first, but then you have to make the announcement to all your people. So it was this feeling of close this door. You've done this, let's move on. And so I decided to transition into something that would allow me more time to be all the things and take care of myself at the same time, which was Suede and Koi, which was a fashion label. And I had a showroom in town and I had appointment-based shopping where I could really help women. And that's one thing the Lord did place on me was He wanted me in some way to help women on a deeper level, not just through clothing, because that's just a band-aid that makes them feel confident for a moment. That doesn't give them genuine confidence. Right. And the world will make us believe that our exterior gif is how you find your true self and your true confidence. If you look good and if you're aging well and if you're objecting yourself, which no offense to anyone who does things, but it's all about the exterior, and uh that's worldly pressures.

SPEAKER_02 16:32

For sure.

SPEAKER_00 16:32

It's so real and relatable because women, we are so hard on ourselves. Why do I look this way? Why can't I be as confident as you or her and look this way in this outfit? I don't like this part of me. And it was so negative and emotional, and I'm just what do I do with all of that? I I'm an empath, first of all. So that's emotional for me to hear that you're picking it all up. And so I did feel like he was asking me to help them on a deeper level, and so that's why I transitioned into something quieter, and that felt more of a safe space for them to come and just work with me one-on-one. Where maybe we could have a moment to just have an honest conversation while we also shop. I don't know. That was like the thought. The Lord didn't say open suede and koi. He doesn't do that, he's not gonna say, Here's this map and follow it. He's gonna ask you to do something and it it may be just one thing. And if you obey him, he's like, Thank you. I'm so proud of you. Now do this. And so Swain and Koi lasted for maybe a year. And then in that year, I had so much time. I was working out, I was working on my nutrition, I was well, first of all, I went back to the Bible and was in the word every morning before the kids woke up. I would do that, do my prayer time, journaling, gratitude, and meditate on his word. So it started with building my relationship with him. Right. Then it became layers of growth and creating space for myself and my own life so that I could show up for everyone as my best version. Right. And that's what they deserve as a mom and a wife. And that's what you deserve. Until I was like, No, just go all in. He's asking you to go all in, so just go all in. And then I completely retired from the fashion industry, and that led me to where I am now.

SPEAKER_01 18:25

Nice. I love that. Thank you. That was really good. So Psalm 13, one through two says, How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? So in that in-between season, where your tiny little baby steps out, what was your relationship with God's honest version? Baby steps out. Well hey, but hold on. I'm gonna pause this so it's not the biggest, longest chunk. Yep.

SPEAKER_00 18:51

It was gradually just in the maturing stage, right? Growing. Because I didn't up until this point, I'll be honest, I did not necessarily have my own individual relationship with the Lord. Like I said, it wasn't until my moment, my breakdown, where I chose I'm gonna have a relationship with you. And so from that point on, it was me learning who he is, what that looks like in my own life, and who is he going to be to me. For me, it's different for everyone. Right. And everyone has to have their own unique relationship with him. And I think that's what's so beautiful about it.

SPEAKER_01 19:29

It's absolutely for you and him, and you spend time in his word, and that's how you get to know him. And you start to hear his spirit even louder and louder, and ignore it, and you're like, all right. It was like it ever gets that way. I know you said let go. I'm going to eventually have a pinky on it.

unknown 19:47

I know.

SPEAKER_01 19:48

I know. I always do the open hands. You have to hold everything lightly, but there's some times where I'm like, I've got my pinkies, like just all of it.

SPEAKER_00 19:56

It's like you met a new friend and you have to build that relationship. Perfect. Exactly. That's what it was in that time, and it felt like a waiting moment. It felt like a rest moment. Because I have yeah, I can breathe now.

SPEAKER_01 20:08

And you had labels too at home.

SPEAKER_00 20:10

And I need to say, I think this goes without saying, this was not all just, oh, this is the easy path, and this is awesome and relaxing. And no, it was highly emotional.

SPEAKER_01 20:20

Well, I imagine you're an achiever. Yes. Like you, and probably I know for me, what's the word now? I'm blanking on the word, but I'm positivity communicator, actually the other way around, communicator, positivity. And then I'm a oh my gosh, it's a starter basically, and an achiever. And so I imagine you're somewhat like that too, where you're like start something, but I also need to achieve it. I have to finish it. I'm not sure.

SPEAKER_02 20:49

Definitely.

SPEAKER_01 20:49

And then you can be your own worst critic in that. For sure. So if you're not starting something and you're not in something, finishing it, you're like, what are we doing here? So how long was that? And how was that journey with God? While you're getting to know him, but you're also like, I don't see it clearly yet.

SPEAKER_00 21:06

So it was a lot of just conversation with him. So I chose to grow in layers, and what I mean by that is just adding more things to my me time, so the Bible. Then gratitude walks became a must for me. I love nature, I love being outside. I feel closest to him if I am outside, and I think probably a lot of people do. We live in a country, beautiful view. I just love it. Like you're in your beautiful land, but it's so quiet. So a lot of time was spent with him on my gratitude walks during this transition time in my life. And I would just have conversations with him instead of just and a lot of it was just talking and not so much tell me what I need to do request. It was just living in the gratitude of the abundance that I already have and noticing the abundance around me, just being Thankful. I really want people to allow their whole body to have that experience of thankfulness and just see what fruit comes from that. So it was conversations, and I was okay with the weight. I think it was just because I was so exhausted. You needed it. I have to do this because I am so exhausted.

SPEAKER_01 22:19

And it's a different kind of exhaustion. It's not like I'm tired because I didn't sleep well last night. My soul is tired. Exactly. And I think that that comes because I'm the same way. I I'm very empathic and so or empathetic. So oops. So I do the same thing. I think that it becomes overwhelming because you're feeling not just your fatigue of soul, but everybody's. And it's God gave us these places that are out of town and away from people so that we can go. We need to breathe for a minute and just feel what God has for me and just let the world be the world for a minute and just be out of it. Just seek Him. I think that that's how you feel when you finally surrender your life to God is home relief. And then for me, anyways, it quickly goes into what next?

SPEAKER_00 23:10

What's my to-do list today?

SPEAKER_01 23:11

Okay, I rested for five minutes.

SPEAKER_00 23:13

What now? Right, because the responsibilities don't end. Right. The obligations as a wife and a mother, they're not obligations. That sounds bad. You know what I mean? The responsibilities of it. There's a lot to do.

SPEAKER_01 23:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:25

Take care of everybody.

SPEAKER_01 23:26

Yeah. And it changes as they grow because the responsibilities of the to-do list now becomes the responsibilities of how I'm helping this person build their character.

SPEAKER_00 23:35

Right. It's a highly important duty. The most important job that we have is perhaps that's why I'm so grateful that I did close at such a young age in there. You're so fresh, freshly young. I got to see it. But was there a version? What I was gonna go with that was real quick. I learned how to navigate motherhood, being a wife, running the household. I learned how to navigate it with a lot more intention and peace rather than always feeling like I need to be over here folding these clothes, cleaning this, being a mom, feeling guilty because I'm not sitting down and playing with my kids. They really want me to play, but I gotta make these beds and because that's how my brain used to work as the mom when I was in the business the boss babe era. Right. So when I had the quiet time, it was me learning how to be in all of the roles with peace and navigating it that way. And that's where I'm at. That's what my life feels like right now. Even though I have a lot going on, life is intentional and peaceful. It can be that way for everyone.

SPEAKER_01 24:37

I agree 100%. You can choose that. Still get people saying to me, You're so busy all the time, or you're so and I'm like, I don't feel that way. That's the art of it. If I can be like a million ideas, I know for me, when the ideas stop flowing, then I am in a place of too much labor and overwhelm. And because if I can't be creative and think of the next visionary thing, then there's something I'm striving in something that I shouldn't be striving in. I am not giving something to the Lord that should be his to have. And then when I come out of that and I really relinquish it to him, I get the next vision of something. And so I look like I'm just scatterbrained all over the place. But really, it's just like that's just my brain. This is gonna be great. Or whatever. Jump to whatever is going on next. And or not jump, right, but like execute. I've also really appreciated, and I think you do this well too, the work on something in the quiet. And then when you put it out there, I had a friend say to me, You just just thought of that and then jumped. And I was like, Nope, you just didn't see me back here doing all of these things because I didn't put it on social media until it was ready to be there. Right. And so doing things in the quiet, not letting everybody know what's going on all the time.

SPEAKER_00 26:03

That's highly important. So important for your own peace. It's well, and it's very important who you take advice from, or even just who you have a conversation with, because subconsciously the things that they say, it could affect you. And we might not even realize it. Right. It might instill fear in us, doubt, right, and then we might not end up executing that project, like if we just would have trusted God in ourselves. So I think it's sacred to protect your project till it's the right time for sure to reveal it. Right.

SPEAKER_01 26:40

Did you have a verse as you were going through this surrender time and the great gratitude box?

SPEAKER_00 26:46

Did you have a verse that carried you through or a couple verses or anything? Honestly, not to be honest, no. And I feel bad saying no. But it was just the word. It was just the Bible and Jesus, my relationship with him. And so I feel I'm still so fresh in my relationship with the Lord and learning the Bible, which is why I wanted to go to CBS and really dissect the word and learn it. I am just not there yet. I'm not at the point of I have these memorized, and it was it was just I want a relationship with him, and how do I learn that who he is? I read the Bible. So I'm still so fresh in learning as an adult the Bible.

SPEAKER_01 27:23

But hang on to that because we are forever fresh in learning it. Right. You know, it's never a debilitator, and it's always so good to remind us we're humble. It's one of my favorite verses is Psalm 104, 13. I think I'm gonna get it wrong, but anyways, Psalm 104, something. But it's you are but dust. But it's such a good verse because it just reminds me I am dust. And to God, that means He has the big matters taken care of. He knows the size of me, and he will not overwhelm me or overburden me or put too much on me because he sees me for who I am, and he knows I have a purpose, and he loves me for who I am. He made me exactly the way I am, but I'm the one that I'm like, I'm bigger than this, and he's like, You are but dust. And I will carry you and I will show you what is perfect for you because I know you better than you. I love that. Thank you. Romans 8 28. And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. So looking back now, how did the transition prepare you for the role that you're feeling called into today?

SPEAKER_00 28:47

So looking back, all of those women well, and I that I think my life has just been transitioned. I think that's life. I think so too.

SPEAKER_01 28:55

But I might be like the kettle, whatever the black thing.

SPEAKER_00 28:58

So looking back, started in dance, thinking, what did that teach me? I think dance it taught me confidence in my in my my abilities and to dream and to pursue something that I cared about, right? And then then retail taught me it gave me connection to women and it revealed to me the very thing I'm supposed to help women through now, where I'm at now, right? And then I would not have, this is important, I would not have been able to help women heal, become their best version, learn how to live intentionally and peacefully if I did not first go through a dark period of my life, which was my breakdown. And a dark moment is different for everybody, right? It's more intense for others, but that was my dark moment, and that was my moment of opportunity to grow and to choose to grow and allow him to do his work in me. And so, with all of that being said, where I am today, I wouldn't have had the tools I need to help these women who are a part of my now She Glows studios and who are now going to. I wrote the book, She Glows From Within, to guide women. It's a mentorship journal, is really what it is. It's not something you just read. Yeah, it's not something you just read and put back on the shelf, it's something that walks with you as you do the growth journey that I actually went on, that God led me on. But I just wouldn't have grown into the woman he needed me to be to help the women I'm supposed to help, if I wouldn't have chosen him. Right at my breakdown moment.

SPEAKER_01 30:40

Right. Oh, that's so beautiful. And it's it and it is like as you tell your story, I can see the stepping stones of him building you and putting you in this place, and we don't always see those stepping stones, right?

SPEAKER_00 30:52

Or even you give yourself a hard time. I have him, but also I went through it myself. There's so many mentors who want to teach this certain thing, but they haven't actually walked through it themselves.

SPEAKER_01 31:03

Right.

SPEAKER_00 31:04

And that's not the case with me. I've been there.

SPEAKER_01 31:08

I walked through it. All right, well, that's good. So then we're moving on to wisdom. So Psalm 27, 14. Wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart, and wait for the Lord. So for someone listening who feels stuck between chapters, what would you want them to know?

SPEAKER_00 31:28

Well, first, being stuck feels it could be a lot of things, right? And so I think a lot of women don't exactly know how to identify what that is in their own life. So maybe they're just feeling overwhelmed, they're feeling like I'm just surviving the day at this point, and I'm gonna wake up tomorrow and survive a new day. Right. It's not gonna feel any different. I'm just still gonna feel that mess, the chaos, or you literally feel stuck. And whether that's in your career, your home life, relationships, right? So I want them to be able to identify that. What does that look like in your own life? Right. But then I just pray that they know where to go. Right. The very first step is always, in my opinion, gonna be seek the Lord, right? That's the truth. So step number one is seek the Lord. And how are you gonna get unstuck? That's the first step, right? And nothing's gonna change. Really the only step, nothing's gonna change, right? Unless you make a change. That sounds so silly, and Cliche, but that's the truth. Right. So insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. And so if you feel stuck in that moment and you unfortunately, it's only you who can get yourself out of the moment of that feeling. And yes, there's different circumstances where maybe someone has really hurt you and done you wrong. And I'm not saying it's all your fault that you're there, right? I guess is what I'm trying to say. And I understand that, and I've helped women who actually had horrible things happen to them, and that's why they got there. But it's you that has to take the lead in creating the change. And so start seek the Lord, and then he'll reveal the rest.

SPEAKER_01 33:12

Seek ye first. That's right. So, what's one thing you wish you had trusted God with sooner?

SPEAKER_00 33:18

I don't know. Should I have trusted him with anything sooner? It feels like it was perfectly laid out, right? I do wish had a relationship with him, an intimate one sooner, earlier on in my life. Because um, like who knows what would have happened because of that. And I think this is something I wanted to touch on because I think it is so important and relatable is marriage. I have been married for 10 years this year. Congratulations. What? Thank you. But marriage is so hard. Marriage is so hard, parenting is so hard, it's also hard. But if you as the woman are not taking care of yourself, right, it makes it so much harder. And if I am not healed internally, I'm not gonna handle the situation in my marriage the right way, that would create that team effort and resolve things a lot sooner. And so my journey, what I have witnessed in my marriage as a wife is I'm a lot less selfish. And it's not so much about me anymore. I d I'm more of a service, heart-led wife and mother and friend. It just naturally happened because I have a relationship with the Lord and I'm striving to be the woman and the wife that my husband and by doing that, he's also doing it for me. It honestly came together.

SPEAKER_01 34:39

But you have to choose to put God first in that specific relationship.

SPEAKER_00 34:43

Also.

SPEAKER_01 34:44

And it makes it a lot easier if your husband does it too.

SPEAKER_00 34:46

Wait for it. That's the prayer, and I do have a husband who he's a Christian man and he's a wonderful man. Yeah. But when he noticed the changes in me, and it wasn't even talked about. It's not like he sat sat me down and was like, I can see you. My my husband, he doesn't talk a lot. He is a quiet.

SPEAKER_01 35:04

We have very similar husbands. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 35:07

Very quiet man with a very good heart.

SPEAKER_01 35:09

Hard worker, but diligent, loyal, all the great things. All the good things.

SPEAKER_00 35:13

Communication was always just like for every so many married couples. Communication was always our worst thing.

SPEAKER_01 35:18

So if your communication is number one and his is like number five or ten or twenty-five.

SPEAKER_00 35:24

But uh when he witnessed the change in me, I think that's when he started to open the word every day. And it was almost like I inspired him and he inspired me, and that's how it's supposed to work. And then when that is happening in a home, everything else gets better.

SPEAKER_01 35:41

Everything else changes.

SPEAKER_00 35:42

And I'm just really grateful. I learned that at such a young age, I guess.

SPEAKER_01 35:46

Quick fire question. Transitions teach us blank about God. Okay. I love that. That was great.

SPEAKER_00 35:55

The hardest part of pivoting was the uncomfortable feeling of it. The stretching and it felt a little confusing at times. But uncomfort means we're growing.

SPEAKER_01 36:09

It does.

SPEAKER_00 36:10

And growth is good.

SPEAKER_01 36:11

Absolutely. We tell our kids all the time struggle is important. Struggle builds character. Struggle means you're growing.

SPEAKER_00 36:19

And my kids don't like struggle. No, and who does? But there's so many people who think I'm I'm this old, so I think I'm where I'm I'm just gonna stay here. I'm here now, so I'm just gonna stay here. Whereas I want to just always learn and grow, be better. Absolutely. I agree. I knew God was leading me when life fell apart. Life felt so overwhelming, and I had nowhere else to go except to follow his lead. That beckoning. Come by me. Come this way because your way is not working. It was for a while. And good job. But now you now you need me.

SPEAKER_01 37:02

So come on. It'll be so much better here. Not necessarily easier. No, not easier. Absolutely not. But definitely better. Reward is better. What I thought was an ending became.

SPEAKER_00 37:15

That one I might not really have an answer for because I always knew something was coming after.

SPEAKER_01 37:23

So to anyone listening in the middle of a pivot, you are not late. You are not lost. You're not forgotten. You're just becoming. And I think the truth to the becoming is the trust in your savior. Seeking him or his direction, his will in your life. He knows you better than you know yourself. Trusting him and having God meet us in our transitions and walk with us through them. Thank you so much for being with me, Katie. Thank you so much for having me. This was fun. Thanks, everybody. Bye guys. Thanks for joining me today. If your soul was refreshed by this pause in the word, then I hope that you'll continue to join me weekly for these await and arise meditations. My hope is that this podcast space will be a retrieve for you to just take a pause away from the world, to be refreshed in the word, and to await in the presence of a good God. What's a good comment and like a word or a scripture? I really love to see how God is working in all of our lives. And my desire grows as a concept of people who come together and encourage each other in the word. I want to see them working in all of us. It's just such a quick reminder that we are all in this together. And God keep those before us. So until next time, I'm talking about podcasts are available on all podcasts. Or go to my website at the com. And you can find the podcast and I'll put a third box. I would click on that.