Intentional Living | with Lauren Adams

This week, I sit down with Sis. Lauren Adams of Heritage Church in Southaven, MS, for a real and refreshing conversation on what it means to live intentionally in every season. From years of pastoring alongside her husband to balancing family life and caring for herself, Sis. Adamas shares the heart behind the calling. This episode is full of wisdom, honesty, and encouragement for anyone navigating ministry, motherhood, or simply trying to do life with purpose.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:03

Hello everyone. Welcome to the Honey and Grace Podcast. I'm your host, Veronica Waldrum, and I pray that we can taste and see a little bit of God's goodness through today's episode together. Let's do it.

SPEAKER_02 0:21

Welcome back to the Honey and Grace Podcast. I'm so glad that you are listening today, and I pray that today's episode will bless you and your day wherever you're listening to this. And I'm super excited for today's episode because I do have a special guest with me. I'm so excited and honored to have her on. So thank you so much, Sister Adams, for taking the time to be on here with me. I'm super excited to hear more about you and your life and everything you have to say. So if you would just take a second and you can just introduce yourself to the listeners and just tell us whatever you want us to know about you.

SPEAKER_03 0:58

Well, thank you, Veronica, for having me on today. And uh my name is Lauren Adams, and I've got three kids Gabriel, Noah, and Juliana Adams, 17, 12, and 10 years old. And um, let's see, my husband pastors Heritage Church in South Haven. So we're neighbors. Yes. Your dad pastors. Victory Church and Olive Branch. Olive Branch. So we're like 20 minutes away from each other, I guess. But yeah, we pastor Heritage Church. We've been here since 2020. Took the church. I think we were here for four weekends and then COVID hit. And so we got to know our church family through Zoom during the shutdown. Oh my. And then when we got back into the flow of life after the pandemic, then we got to know everybody. So it's been a we had a bumpy start, but things are great. We love Heritage Church. And uh my hobbies, well, I love to travel, I love to shop, I love being with friends, and I love to ski. My husband and my kids, we um we go snow skiing. That's so good winter. And Colorado is one of my favorite places in the world.

SPEAKER_02 2:11

That's awesome. I've never been to Colorado, but I can definitely relate. I love to shop, and I love to travel too. There's so many places I want to go, which I think I saw that you and Pastor Adams went somewhere out of the country recently. Actually, one of my friends, Jana, told me that y'all were over there before the war or some things. How did that go?

SPEAKER_03 2:34

Yeah, so we went to visit the shepherds in Jordan and the Azars in Lebanon. That's so cool. And I think we got home and two days later the U.S. bombed. That's so crazy. And then then our friends, shortly after we came home to the U.S., our friends followed us shortly after that too, because they had to get out of there. That is so crazy. We got out just in the nick of time and made some fun memories.

SPEAKER_02 3:00

Yeah, yeah, that's awesome. That's so cool. I'd love to go visit there one day. Um, I hear so much amazing, crazy things about it, but I'd love to visit. That's awesome. You mentioned that you and Pastor Adams do pastor here in South Haven at Heritage, and you I didn't know that it was right before COVID and everything that y'all came here. But when did y'all um when did y'all get to come into your new building? Like how when did that happen? Because I'm not really for sure, but it was when y'all were here, right?

SPEAKER_03 3:32

Yeah, so we uh during 2020, we're in our old location, and then I hate to tell you what year because my mind is blank right now, but I think man, maybe 22 or 23, we purchased um the whole property. And little by little we remodeled each building. Yeah, it's so pretty.

SPEAKER_02 3:57

Oh, yeah, for sure. It's beautiful. I love it. Every single time we come by, or like I'm like bringing somebody by, I'm like, that's Heritage Church. And they're like, oh my gosh, it's so pretty. And I'm like, I know it is beautiful.

SPEAKER_03 4:10

Yeah, I tell you what we did. So my husband during 2020, so all these churches start shutting down. And he noticed this church here that there was a big sign in the yard that said for lease. So he was thinking like all of the facilities were for lease, but it was just this front, the big building, the sanctuary building. And uh anyway, leaving out a bunch of details, but we would drive by this building, me and my kids, and we wanted to be here. And so I taught my kids every time we drove by to point at the building and say it, do it, Lord. And then so throughout the whole fine uh, you know, the going back and forth negotiating process with the sellers, we would drive by and say, do it, Lord. And then he did it. And so every time we would drive by at that point, we'd say, Thank you, Lord, especially with the kids.

SPEAKER_02 4:58

Yeah, that's awesome. Y'all really speaking that into existence. I love that. It's so awesome. Yes, this place is beautiful, and um, I remember when y'all moved here, I remember like that whole thing happening, but I didn't realize it was so recent. It still feels like very recent. I bet it doesn't feel like y'all have been here that long at all.

SPEAKER_03 5:18

It doesn't. We're still working on it.

SPEAKER_02 5:20

Yeah, that's awesome. I love that. Well, I did want to ask you, Sister Adams, because I even told you before, I don't really know much about you, to be honest. I've only heard amazing things from my friends, Allie specifically. She's always told me to get you on the podcast. She's always told me I need to get you on, and so I'm really excited about this. But it is pretty cool because we are doing this podcast like the week before Mother's Day. So happy Mother's Day to you. And I can't wait to talk about that in just a second. But since we are on the topic of being a pastor, pastor's wife, if we just wanted to dive right in, I guess. I was gonna ask you, as a pastor's wife, maybe what are some challenges that you might have faced over the years? And I know that's a very broad question because I'm a PK and I know that pastors and their wives go through a lot of different things. So you can just give us a little snippet or however you want to talk about that. And how has this helped you grow spiritually? And how maybe later would you encourage someone else that's in the same season?

SPEAKER_03 6:27

Yeah. So that's a big question. Um, but what stands out to me the most is um I'll try to make this short. But in 2009, my husband and I were living in North Little Rock and attending Brother Holmes um first Pentecostal church in our NLR. Back then it was FPC. But anyway, we were going to church there and we were youth leaders, and I just had a baby, Gabriel, and life was good. We had friends, we had family, we had a hustling, bustling social life. And um even financially things were looking up. My husband had just gotten a really good job. It was very promising. Anyway, long story short, God called us to a small town in northwest Arkansas to pastor. And I think I was, let's just say we were in our very early 20s. We'd only been married, I think, uh four years. And um, we went from being youth leaders to being what basically a pastor overnight. And uh we were used to a bigger city and coffee shops and shopping and friends, and overnight all of that changed and we moved to a very small, small town. And that was quite the that was very difficult because I was a city girl through and through.

SPEAKER_00 7:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 7:48

And uh anyway, so you know, during that time period, not only did was it a major transition going from big town to small town, but it was going from a very large church to a very small church. And also overnight I became a music director. Me, me and my three songs. That is very real. So yeah, um, I remember Bishop Holmes. He asked my husband, he said, Does your wife sing and play? He said, Well, she does, but she doesn't like to. He said, Well, she's gonna learn to, and I cannot tell you the amount of tears I cried kicking and screaming, literally kicking and screaming, because I did not want to get up there on the platform and make a fool out of myself. But God helped me, and I'm not necessarily an accomplished musician, but we had music and the Holy Ghost moved and people got um we had revival, and so we made it work. Yeah, and I learned more than three songs. Amen. But anyway, um, we were in that small town for a good while, and um, we had some ups and some very low lows. Yeah, we just we faced we faced a lot of hard times and even battled depression during all of that. It was a major, major transition. But God helped us, and we had some amazing things happen, and one of the memories that always stands out to me because when you're in a small church and you're starting from what seems like scratch, you know, you're you're clawing your way through all of this. But I remember one service that the Holy Ghost was moving, and this is just a special moment. But this lady, she had her hands in the air and she started crying, and my husband reaches over, lays his hand over on her, and she starts speaking in tongues. Well, then he looks and there's this man completely unrelated to her that is sitting on the same pew as her. He sees her crying, and so he just starts bawling, this big old, rough, tough man. He starts bawling his eyes out, and my husband reaches over and puts his hand on his head and he starts speaking in tongues. And for whatever reason, that moment was just forever etched in my mind because small town, small church, like you have to work very hard to have these moments. You know, as your church grows and you become a more seasoned church, the more people that's in the church, the more people that come to the church, the more visitors that come. But that was a special moment. So we definitely had some mountaintops, but we also had the valleys. God, through all of that, he broke me and he broke my husband. We talk about how when we went to that town, we went to the university, God's university, and that's where he taught us so much spiritually. That's where everything that I am today is because of that time, that season in my life. And uh there were some wonderful, wonderful people in that church that I I hold dear to my heart even today. And um, so I would say that, you know, what that's taught me is that God's plan, it's not always easy. I think about Jonah. Jonah didn't want to go to Nineveh, and um he kicked and screamed, and just like Lauren Adams did. He kicked and screamed and screamed, and he tried to be stubborn and do things his own way, and um he ended up going anyway. And he ended up going with a bad attitude and preaching to Nineveh. I guess what I'm trying to say is I feel like I was Jonah, and I had fought the plan of God initially, and once I finally gave in, it was such a beautiful moment in my life. Giving in to the will of God. And I think a lot of times people think, oh, if you're in the will of God, you are going to be happy. And that is not always true. It can be true, it's not always true. That sometimes God sends you to the hard knocks of life because he's got to get some things out of you. And um, that season there were some things that God had to work out of my spirit, and I learned so much in that time period, and those beautiful, wonderful people in that church, they taught me so much, and they taught me how to garden and maybe made me a little bit of a country girl for a season. And um anyway, so there was some awesome men, uh, some awesome memories there. But you know, when I look back, I wouldn't trade those years. We were there for 10 and a half years, and I wouldn't trade any of that. And uh every blessing that I have today, every blessing that I have today, I look back and I see that as a result of us being obedient to the call we didn't want to go there. That was not comfortable. I felt like a fish out of water. I was a city girl. God called us there. Because of that, there's so many blessings that I have today. Um, and uh I'm thankful for that time period.

SPEAKER_02 12:42

And I mean, y'all are really young, so that's crazy to me when I think about that because I'm about to I'm about to turn 20 next week. Yeah. So it makes me think about my life, like not saying that that would happen to me in the next few years, but y'all were very young, and that could be very intimidating. So, how how did you ever like battle with thoughts like, I don't know if I can be a pastor's wife right now?

SPEAKER_03 13:05

For many, many, many, many, many years. But you know, the Bible, the not the Bible doesn't say it. People say it, but God doesn't call the qualified, but he qualifies the cult. And so when God anoints you, he gives you those tools to get through it. Doesn't mean it's always easy. I mean, there were many times that I felt like I couldn't even drag myself across the floor because the weight was so heavy, but God gets you through it. There's no comfort and a peace that comes from knowing you're in the will of God. It may be uncomfortable to be in the will of God and not be happy, but there's a peace there because you're submitted and you're in alignment. And um, I would just encourage someone, and maybe not even a minister's wife, but if God's got you in a season right now that's not comfortable, just trust the process. All things work together for the good of them that love him and called.

SPEAKER_02 13:56

Amen. That's so good. Everything you've already shared. I I did not know that about y'all's story. So that's so crazy. You know, I know all about the small church life. So how is it like where so y'all were there for 10 and a half years? Um, how did it go for you like transitioning to a smaller church to something more established? Was that was that kind of hard for you? Or like I've heard people kind of talk about that. What did that look like for you?

SPEAKER_03 14:26

It was finding myself because in the smaller church where I was, I was the music director, the choir leader, the Sunday school teacher or a Sunday school teacher. I was everything except whatever you needed to be, except the preacher. Well, I did a little preaching at home, you know. I was home missions at home. That's so funny. But um yeah, so I think the biggest transition was moving here and trying to find my new identity here.

SPEAKER_01 14:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 14:56

And uh my brother-in-law, Caleb Adams, he told me, he said, Lauren, you're gonna have an identity crisis when you get to heritage. And that is so true because I was used to doing so much. And then when we moved to Heritage, there was a Sunday school department and there was all the teachers, and there was a, you know, someone that was over the department, and then there was the music leader in the music department. Everybody had, you know, there was this structure there. And I honestly, for the first several months, I really enjoyed not being on the platform and just sitting. I learned so much more about music by just listening to the music instead of me being the one like hammering it out, you know. But that was the biggest transition. And my husband told me, he said, You've got a new place here, and what you need to focus on is not so much working, which I still work, you know, behind the scenes, right? But you need to focus on people and loving people and caring for people, which I loved and cared for people in Ozark. Right, right, but it was just a different role, and so it's taken me many years to try to figure all of that out.

SPEAKER_02 16:04

Oh yeah, I believe it. I can't imagine, honestly, that's I think about like myself because we're a hub missions church, and so everybody kind of is very hands-on, whatever they need to do. Like you said, you kind of see a need, feel a need, and so that puts you like in uncomfortable spots. Like you saying that you went to a church and become the music director with three songs is like very real to us because that's how it happened for my mom, too. But I think about like if I every time I go to a bigger church, like I love visiting churches because I get to get like poured into so when I see but when I see that I'm like, man, it would be crazy if like I didn't have to do everything, you know what I mean? But it's a blessing, that's so cool. It really is a blessing, and in the grand scheme of things that the Lord calls people to do those things, and we don't all we don't have to do everything all the time, but that God has placed that burden on their hearts or or whatever it is. So I love that. That's awesome. I didn't know that, so that's very interesting of me. Um, I wanted to ask you because you are not just a pastor's wife, but you're a mom to three. So I did want to ask you a little bit about that. Now, whenever I ask this question, it says, How do you find balance in motherhood ministry? I know for sure I'm not a mom, but I've had a few mothers on the podcast, and they always tell me you can never balance being a mom. And I completely understand that. But in the best way I can ask the question is like, how do you find that? Like, do you have certain boundaries that you feel like you've set when it comes to the ministry, but also being a mom to your kids? And what are some things that that have helped you in that and in your family as well?

SPEAKER_03 17:52

Yeah, so this may not pertain so much to motherhood, but I would say just to our family, my husband and my kids is we try to protect our family time. We're very intentional about taking date nights, and uh that can get expensive, but it's worth the investment to pay a babysitter, which our kids are getting older now, so we don't have to get babysitters now, but for a time, but just being very intentional about family time. Another thing, and I think this goes into something else we were gonna talk about, but my husband tries really hard to not schedule like any type of counseling sessions in the evenings. That's that's a protected time for our family. Obviously, there's times that it can get wonky during our BAM conference. There's no family time and no date nights that week. Right. You know, so there's this give and take. But I think the main thing is when you're having balance, is that it just means that it's it's intentional and it's ever present in your mind of okay, I've got to make sure and spend time with my husband. We've gotta spend time with the kids. We need to have dinner at home. So that's my best answer for that. Balance any part of life, being balanced and anything is is a challenge.

SPEAKER_02 19:15

Right, right. I agree. I think that's so good though. Not a lot of people actually take the time to do that. So I think that's a blessing. My parents and have always kind of prioritized that. And so whenever I tell people that, which not like you mentioned, not every night is the same for us because sometimes I'm busy doing a podcast or working or something. But when I tell people that we still have dinner tonight at the table, they literally are so shocked. They're like, Are you serious? Like, there's no way y'all do that. And I'm like, Yes, my parents have always done that. And and I really do appreciate it. There was times when I was a little younger that I didn't, and I would be like, Why do we have to do this? Because I'd see everybody else going out to eat do it. Yeah, not not really have that family time. But now that I look back and even still now, I appreciate it so much because I see how much of a difference it has made. And and even like when I tell people that my parents still go on dates, like it's so funny that I love that y'all do too. Like when sometimes when I tell people that, they're like, Really? Like, my parents never do that. So I think that it's it's such a blessing when you really do take that time to prioritize, especially when you're in ministry, because ministry can easily just overtake like everything and and be and God did call us to do it, but at the same time, it can be it can make you tired and it can make you, you know, weary, and and sometimes you need that time just with your family. And so I really appreciate that my parents have done that. I'm sure that your children appreciate it, and if they don't, they will.

SPEAKER_03 20:56

I will say we don't eat dinner at home every night. So kudos to your mom. Yeah, yeah, because that is a major undertaking. Yeah, on the weekdays, on the weekdays, but I think it's just being intentional and just realizing because ministry, it is wonderful and it's very fulfilling and rewarding. But if you're not careful, there can be a lot of demands from you know, so many people sometimes, and I don't mean for this to sound um in a negative connotation, but sometimes the dog that's barking the loudest is not the one that's the most uh at you know the most need. The ones that many times need you the most are suffering in silence. And so I want to be intentional to take care of our church family, but then also um, you know, taking care of my children, taking care of my family.

SPEAKER_02 21:48

Right, right. That is such a blessing, and it really does make a difference. And then it kind of shows them or like it's shown me how important that is, like family time. And sometimes there's there There will be times where I'm super busy and I have this going on and this and and I kind of realize I haven't really spent time with my family recently or enough. And you know, I'm in a different season of life. So I still live at home and I know one day I won't have all that time with them. So I really do appreciate things like little things like that. And I think that it makes a difference. Like I've talked to a couple other pastors that that really stress the importance of like family time. And even not everyone is financially able to do it. So I understand that. But just like little things like that you do together, that kind of gets everybody's mind off of things like what if you go out, uh go shopping or whatever your hobby is. Like you guys might like to go skiing or something. Do you have a trip, a family trip, like all those things? I think that it definitely helps. And and sometimes you need that when you're a ministry family, because the PKs go through it too.

SPEAKER_03 22:57

So yeah, it's definitely all so actually what you just mentioned is my heartbeat is being intentional about taking care of yourself, taking care of your person. Um so if it's okay, I'm just gonna like get on my candy stick really quick to get on my soapbox. But um, you know, it's really in fact, this morning in um our school chapel, I spoke to the kids about having boundaries, boundaries in our relationships with one another. But as far as ministry goes, especially um pastoring, is that you've got to set boundaries that you don't let um you know too much of your time get allotted to, you know, the church, but that you're also taking care of your family. Okay, but we've already discussed that. But another thing is that you take time to fill your cup because if you don't take care of yourself, how can you be healthy enough to take care of someone else? You can't pour from an empty cup.

SPEAKER_02 24:01

If you could speak to another's another pastor's wife that might be listening, or just a minister's wife in general that might be going through a rough season or just a dry season, a drought right now, what would you say to encourage them if you had the chance?

SPEAKER_03 24:18

Okay, so first of all, the most important thing is you know what I'm gonna say. It's prayer. Having that special time and devotion with God where you're pouring your heart out. Don't try to hold it in, don't try to bottle it up, but but pour it out to God. That's the most important. Secondly, I would say make sure that you surround yourself. Always surround yourself with good people, friends, people that can pour into you, and people that I have a friend that's really good at at um slapping my hand every once in a while and keeping me on track. Having friends like that, there's no price tag you can put on a good friend that will be there for you. But this is my candy stick of all candy sticks. I preach this sermon all the time to my husband. But we've got to make sure, whether you're in a drought or not in a drought, you've got to make sure that you do things that fill your cup. And there's no way that you can effectively minister to someone and pour into their life when you're empty. And so for me, like tomorrow, I'm taking a girl's day with Sister Rachel Boswell and Sister Shepard from Jordan. And we're gonna go out and we're gonna shop and drink coffee and drink coffee. And so that's something that's gonna fill my cup. I'll be a better mama when I come home tomorrow night because my cup's full. And um, so I think it's really, really important that you do things that even is completely separate from the church. If you're a pastor's wife, you need to do things. Maybe you like to garden, maybe you like to shop, maybe you're into art and you like to paint, but do something that feeds your person. And so that's one of my biggest, that would be my answer, is just making sure that you take care of yourself. Don't be a martyr and feel like I've got to give, give, give. I think it's Paul that said, I spend and I'm spent, and we've all been there. And you're gonna, every one of us are gonna be there at some point, but you have to fill yourself up in prayer especially, but also just taking care of yourself. You need to have self-care, whether that's for the women that's listening, whether that's taking a bubble bath or that's going for a walk, you need to take care of yourself. Yes, and there's no shame in that. Yes. And so I think that if we can, I feel like that as a pastor's wife, if I show people that I'm taking care of my person, that that's gonna make them healthier. They're gonna start taking care of themselves. Right. Well, Sister Adams does A, B, C, and D, so it must be okay. Yeah, it's okay. Yeah, take care of yourself. And if you will take care of yourself, you're gonna be a better wife to your husband. But if you're giving, giving, giving so much that you're a frazzled mess, then what kind of wife is my husband gonna come home to a grouch?

SPEAKER_02 27:05

Yeah, that's so good. I love everything you said from first of all, like you said, prayer. Prayer is something that's genuinely like finding a prayer life has been something that has changed my life completely because I've grown up in church and I know there's a lot of people that have, and I feel like everybody kind of has that moment where you really finally sell out to God, whether you've grown up in church or not, but then you also have to find your relationship with God, and that comes through prayer and reading the word and all those things. And when you finally like find that that longing, and you're praying to where it's not just you pray because you you feel like you have to, but you really do gain strength from that, and so that's such a blessing, and like you said about friendships. Always I love talking about God sent friends because there's been many times in my life, just as a young girl, where I was very lonely, and you know, being a P like for all the PKs out there, sometimes you just feel different and you just feel isolated, and that was me. Right, right. And I I would pray for friends, like godly friends, and God has blessed me. And like you said, I have friends that sharpen me. I have friends that tell me what I need to hear and that also laugh with me, and so that's so important. And I love I love everything you said about Girls' Day, all of that. I do think it is important. Um, I have a uh somebody in my life that always tells me to you can't pour out of an empty cup, you just can't do it. And if you do, it's gonna, you're gonna be empty and it's not gonna be good. And so I love everything you said, and I'm sure someone needed to hear that today. Someone needed to hear that it's okay.

SPEAKER_03 28:50

Yeah, to do something.

SPEAKER_02 28:51

Yes, it's okay to have your coffee. You don't have to be so hard on yourself all the time. Um, and I do think that that God, I don't think it's God's will for us to be stressed out and weary and tired all the time. I think that um there is seasons of drought and there is seasons that we have to go through. But I do think that God also knows our desires. And so he wants us to live joyful and and happily. He wants us to enjoy this life he's given us. And so we can't do that if we're not ever doing anything that we enjoy.

SPEAKER_03 29:25

Yeah, so I um I think about this a lot. You need to be aware, self-aware of your body and how you're feeling that tension. You know, why am I so critical right now? Why am I seeing everything through a negative lens? Okay, well, you're probably wore out. You need sleep, you need to fill your cup. And and I think about Jesus, uh, you read this multiple times in the New Testament where he's just surrounded by crowds of people and they're thronging him. And what does he do? I love this. He disappears out of their midst, like poof, Jesus is gone. And he's getting in a boat and he's going to the other side, like, come on, boys, we got to get out of here. And that is there's times that you have just got to disconnect and go rest. So, case in point, I knew that BAM conference was coming, and that is such a pouring out, a a week, a week, a full week of pouring out, little sleep, so forth and so on. And so I just randomly decided that I was gonna go on a girls' trip. I have not been on a girl's trip in many, many, many, many years. And so my sister-in-law and another minister's wife, we packed up and we went to Nashville and had the time of our lives, rented an Airbnb. And I did that because sometimes rest is not just sleep, but I needed to do something to bring my mind at ease because I knew that the following week was BAM conference, and I needed to be in a good spot. I was already tired and I needed to get untired before BAM. Yeah. So that was kind of like Jesus saying, Come on, boys, let's get out of here. Let's go to the other side. I was like, We're going to Nashville. We're gonna go shop. I love that. That's so funny. You can't, you know, money doesn't always work out where you can go shop, but you can call up a friend and y'all go for a walk or do something.

SPEAKER_02 31:20

I was gonna say walking is like my best friend. I go on a walk every day because whenever things get stressful, it's just like it clears my mind, and it can just be little things like that. You said not always can you go on a trip, but maybe you can go have lunch with your spouse or a friend, or like just little things like that. I think makes such a difference. And I know it makes a difference in my everyday, so I think that it can definitely put a small thing.

SPEAKER_03 31:47

I saw a thing on um, and I may have I may have it wrong a little bit, but it said that walking outside does more for your body than taking an antidepressant or going through therapy. Oh my goodness. So it's a cheap, free thing to do that can help your mind. And so this morning I was feeling a little frazzled, and so I put my walking shoes on, I went to the walking trail, and I just walked. And I can't even begin to tell you how much that cleared my mind. So you don't always need therapy, you don't always need a girl's trip, just maybe going for a walk and getting some fresh air and moving your body.

SPEAKER_02 32:25

Yes, yes, I think that's so important. Everything you've said has been so good, and I know that um it it seems like it seems like a simple cheat code, but it's like so important. And there's so many people that I'm sure would be so blessed if they would just go for a walk, or if they would just go, you know, let themselves live a little bit and just get away from some things. I know that it's it's definitely blessed me and my family a little bit to just have that time to get away or to have that time to spend together, whatever it is. It really helps you rekindle that that fire and that wanting.

SPEAKER_03 33:05

And when you're wore out, that affects you not just physically but spiritually. Right. And I see that in people sometimes. I'm like, they have just worked and worked and worked, and you've got to give your body rest. Yeah, because your the physical is connected to the natural.

SPEAKER_00 33:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 33:21

And so we've got to make sure that we have rest. Jesus rested, God rested, he created the world, and then on the seventh day, yeah, he rested.

SPEAKER_00 33:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 33:29

What makes us think that we're right, and that's something that you're like preaching straight to me because I need to rest. I need to rest more. And my friend tells me that all the time because she'll be like, Well, the Lord rested, you're not better than him. I'm like, I know I'm not, but I do need to rest. Yeah, go get in a boat and go to the other side. I love that so much. Everything you've said is so great. I do have one more question. I asked this to everyone that I have on the podcast, and it seems very general, again, seems very broad. But the reason why I asked this question is because when I started this podcast, I've always kind of had like a love for young people like my generation or even younger, because like I when we started home mission church, I kind of got thrown into being the youth leader, and I literally needed a youth leader, so it kind of happens. And so this podcast has always been, I think multiple people listen to it, but I've always wanted to encourage somebody with it. So, what's a general piece of advice that you would leave with a young person that might be listening today? And if you, if I could put this any sort of way, like if you could see your younger self right now and you would talk to her, what's something maybe you needed to hear, or what's something that would encourage you when you were younger, something like that?

SPEAKER_03 34:50

So the best, the best advice that I can give is that you would submit yourself to God and to your spiritual leader and sell out completely because his ways are higher than our ways, and God has a plan and a purpose for every single person. And my journey looks different than your journey. And so don't compare yourself to others. Well, you know, they got married when they were such and such age, and here I am, I'm still single. Yeah, but you're on a different path than they are. And so submit yourself to the plan of God and the purpose of God and submit yourself to your pastor and stay close to your pastor, seek counsel before you make a major decision because God's given that pastor, he's given him wisdom, and he's given him, he can see further down the road than you can. We get caught up in our emotions and what's here and now in front of us. But stay close to someone like your pastor that is emotionally detached from your situation and can see clearly the path you need to take. You know, God has great things in store for every person, but the problem is is we want to rush the process. You know, when we were, you know, it's funny because looking back, you know, when God called us to that area, I really wanted to be in Nashville or, you know, some big bustling city. But God had a different plan and a different purpose. And and he sends us down these roads to work things out of us and to make us better. And had I never gone through some hard knocks, I wouldn't appreciate the things I have today. I'd be a spoiled brat. I wouldn't be a good pastor's wife because I wouldn't appreciate the people and the help that we had because for so long I had to do things with a limited amount of help. And now that we've got lots of help. But it's taught me to appreciate people. So trust the path that God's put you on. Trust the season that you're in to everything. There is a season and a purpose under the sun. And so God puts us in these seasons for a reason and don't rush the season. Seasons don't last forever. Springtime's coming, it's not always gonna be winter. Just hang tight. God's got a plan for all of it. And if you're in alignment with God, if you're living right, you're doing right, you don't have anything to worry about, you don't have anything to fear because you're in his perfect will and alignment. Now, that doesn't mean it's comfortable. Like I said, sometimes you're in the will of God and it's very uncomfortable. But there is a peace that comes from being in his will. So stay in your season and just take a chill pill. It won't be like that forever.

SPEAKER_02 37:35

Amen. That's so good. Once again, I feel like you're talking straight to me. I love doing podcasts with people because half the time I just feel like this was literally just for me. That makes me feel yes. Everything you've said has been so good, and I know that somebody needs to hear that. Um, I needed to hear that, even if you're not, you know, considered you're in your young years or whatever. But like you said, there's a season for everything. So wherever you are in life right now, maybe you're going through something, but it won't be forever. Right. And sometimes when you're in the midst of it, you feel like it'll be forever. You're like, what in the world, God, what is happening?

SPEAKER_03 38:16

And you know what? I look back, I know this was we're supposed to be ending now. I look back on some of those times that were so hard. And I'm telling you, there's this, uh, it's sweet to me. Those hard times, I look back and there's just like, I don't know, this little sweet spot in my heart. I'm like, God, thank you for letting me go through that. Thank you for the tears that I cried, and thank you for those moments of loneliness because that's when I leaned on you all the more. And that's when I found that closeness with God. And so we can look back on our trials and our hard times and and say, you know, those were sweet times because that's when I got to know him. And so, how can you know he's a healer if you're not sick? How can you know he'll be a provider unless you're broke? That's right. We've got to go through hard times.

SPEAKER_02 39:08

Yeah, yeah. That's so good. I love that. And very, it's very needed and very timely, I feel like, for anybody because there's a lot of things going on in the world. Maybe there's a lot of things going on in your life. And I was talking to someone the other day, and I was like, you know, we're about to go into like May, and it's about to be like summertime. We're about to just, it's gonna be crazy, you know, summer conferences, all these different things. But it's also like the half half of the year mark kind of. And I was thinking to myself, like, a lot of times this is around the time where people see everything they wanted to do this year, and like maybe they said things they wanted to do, or they were praying for certain things, and maybe they haven't seen it, or maybe they have found themselves going back in the same cycles, and maybe they're just not accomplishing what they wanted to do. And I was thinking about that, but you know, there's still who are we to think that we can control all those things when God is able to do whatever he wants to, and most of the time, he doesn't like to do it in our timeline, he doesn't like to do it in our little box of thinking that he's gonna do it when we want him to, but usually he does it unexpectedly and he'll put us through things, and then he'll show us that he is the one that's gonna bring that blessing or or you know, whatever it is that you're praying for. And maybe that hasn't planned out exactly for you yet. But and it's about this time people maybe you'll start getting discouraged because it hasn't happened yet, or maybe it's just not gonna happen. But God still sees you where you are, and and He can turn any situation around.

SPEAKER_03 40:49

Yeah, and just because you don't see him working doesn't mean he's not working, right? He's always working, right? And um, I've got something that I'm praying about. I've been praying about it for as long as I can remember. And uh, you know, I've got my dad is not in church, he's not been in church my whole life.

SPEAKER_00 41:07

Right.

SPEAKER_03 41:07

And uh there's been some circumstances that okay, maybe this is gonna, this will be the moment he gets he gets his life right. No, then something else comes, okay, that this right here, this is gonna be the thing that just brings him to his knees, and oh, God's gonna turn this around and it's gonna be a major victory. Yeah. No, it didn't turn him. And I don't know, but it was a few services back that I just felt that so strongly. Even when I can't see him, he's working. And so I'm believing that God, I don't I don't see any results right now. I have no reason, based off of what I'm seeing right now, to think, oh, I see a little light at the end of the tunnel. No, if if I can be honest, I feel like it's getting a little bit worse. Yeah, which is funny because I think to myself, well, it's getting worse. That means it must be about to get better. Right. Because I hear people say, Oh, it always gets worse before it gets better. I'm like, well, it's kind of getting a little bit worse. So maybe that's that's my light at the end of the tunnel, it's getting worse.

SPEAKER_02 42:09

That's so good. Well, that's good though. That's so good because like you're not even really testifying about something that has happened yet, but you're still having faith about something you haven't seen. And I feel like we find ourselves in that situation a lot. We just have to speak it anyway. And even if we don't see it, he's still working, like you said. And and if you get anything from this podcast today, just hear Sister Adams. She's full of wisdom. Say in your season, and God is still working things out, even if you don't see it. I truly believe that. And I believe I'm a big advocate on speaking live. So personally, I don't have any time for negative thoughts. Whenever I whenever I start to feel myself thinking negative, I tell people all the time, I'm like, I probably look like I'm crazy because I will talk out loud. I'll be in my car and I'll be like, nope.

SPEAKER_03 43:04

I've literally patted myself on the hand before and said, It's gonna be okay. Like, calm down.

unknown 43:10

It's gonna be all right.

SPEAKER_02 43:11

That's so money. That's literally me. I'll talk to myself, unfortunately. I have to, the Bible says we have to cast down imagination. So if you were to start thinking that, you know, God doesn't see you, or or this is gonna be how your story goes, I just don't believe that. And I don't believe that that's God's will for his children. So, so everything you've said not beneath. Amen. Amen. Amen. That's so good. Everything you've said is in so good and so encouraging. Um, it's definitely encouraged me and lifted me up so I know that it will someone else. Um, I don't want to cut you off if you had anything else that you wanted to say. I've exhausted my wisdom for the day. Awesome. She's poured out tomorrow. She's gonna have a girl's day. I'm thankful. Well, thank you so much, Sister Adams, for being on the podcast. I really appreciate your time and it's been my honor to have you on. I pray that this will bless someone and that somebody will really take this word that you've poured out to us. Thank you.