Season 1 Finale: Q&A with Sarah and Mary Beth

It's the final episode of Season 1 and we're answering your questions! Join us as we tackle a variety of inquiries and wrap up our first ever podcast season.

Resources:
The Gray Havens - See You Again
Desiring God by John Piper
John Mark Comer
Tim Keller
The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence 

@thisistrustworthy

trustworthypodcast.com 

 Email us listen@trustworthypodcast.com

Transcript

0.000000 2.500000 Is God trustworthy?
2.500000 5.000000 Hi, I'm Sarah.
5.000000 7.000000 And I'm Mary Beth.
7.000000 12.000000 Join us as we seek to answer this question through whole-hearted conversation.
12.000000 18.000000 Discover the wit and wisdom that comes from being anchored in Christ and connected to one another.
18.000000 21.000000 This is Trustworthy.
21.000000 34.000000 [Music]
34.000000 39.000000 On today's episode of Trustworthy,
39.000000 48.000000 it is more about building their relationship than doing a specific form of study.
48.000000 59.000000 Having someone approach the throne of grace on your behalf and pray for you is it is a privilege.
59.000000 70.000000 [Music]
70.000000 72.000000 Oh, hello there, Sarah.
72.000000 77.000000 Hi, Mary Beth. Welcome to Trustworthy Finale.
77.000000 79.000000 It's right, season one.
79.000000 82.000000 You've made it to the end, everyone.
82.000000 88.000000 You have as your reward for listening to all of our episodes, we're going to answer your questions.
88.000000 93.000000 Yes, thank you so much to those of you who sent us some questions to talk about.
93.000000 96.000000 And thanks for being a listener.
96.000000 99.000000 Sarah, we have listeners.
99.000000 103.000000 Oh, wait a minute, hold on. Can you say that word again?
103.000000 106.000000 Listeners plural.
106.000000 108.000000 Yippee there's more than one.
108.000000 112.000000 It's not just our husbands and our mothers.
112.000000 116.000000 Yeah, they're also listening very faithfully. Thank you.
116.000000 126.000000 But we do love you, whether you're related to us by blood, marriage, or not at all.
126.000000 129.000000 Well, we got some great questions.
129.000000 130.000000 We certainly did.
130.000000 131.000000 I'm going to dive into them.
131.000000 132.000000 Yes, we are.
132.000000 134.000000 How about I read the first question.
134.000000 135.000000 Mary Beth.
135.000000 141.000000 And Sarah, what has been the most difficult area of your life to trust God with?
141.000000 146.000000 And how are you trying to trust Him in that?
146.000000 151.000000 When I hear this question, I kind of interpret it maybe differently than it was written.
151.000000 157.000000 I hear area of life and my mind actually went to time of life.
157.000000 159.000000 Okay, well, this is our podcast.
159.000000 160.000000 That's right.
160.000000 161.000000 Just do whatever you want to.
161.000000 163.000000 Areas in the timeline of my life.
163.000000 165.000000 Yes.
165.000000 168.000000 I think about times of big change.
168.000000 172.000000 I'm not great with huge change in my life.
172.000000 177.000000 Although as we talked about on the last episode, I do have the strength of adaptability.
177.000000 181.000000 When it is major, life changes specifically a move.
181.000000 186.000000 I tend to get thrown off my game.
186.000000 198.000000 A couple years after college, I moved to Washington, DC without a job and lived on my sister's sofa and on her floor in her bedroom for several months while I was job hunting.
198.000000 207.000000 My natural tendency is to slip right into some form of depression during major life changes.
207.000000 215.000000 And especially when I had no job and kind of in my mind's eye, no purpose there.
215.000000 218.000000 I was like, what am I doing?
218.000000 220.000000 So it was a great time.
220.000000 227.000000 I think those changes are always really hard on me, but they are also very good times of me getting really real with God.
227.000000 230.000000 About what are the idols that I'm struggling with?
230.000000 233.000000 What am I looking for him to do?
233.000000 236.000000 Am I asking him the right questions?
236.000000 239.000000 Is my heart seeking the right things?
239.000000 245.000000 Or am I expecting him to be trustworthy and only in the ways that I want him to be?
245.000000 249.000000 So that's been good times of reckoning for me.
249.000000 253.000000 And to answer the second part of how am I trying to trust him?
253.000000 261.000000 It's a lot of prayer and a lot of, I mean, this sounds so churchy to say, but it's a lot of dying to self.
261.000000 276.000000 I don't know that's not a very specific practical answer, but it's the more that he, the more the Holy Spirit reveals what the difference is between who he is and who I am, it's kind of shedding that self.
276.000000 278.000000 Okay, Sarah, same question to you.
278.000000 286.000000 What has been the most difficult area of your life to trust God with and how are you trying to trust him?
286.000000 289.000000 That is an excellent question.
289.000000 296.000000 And we actually discussed this on our episode about trusting out with our work.
296.000000 308.000000 My identity as I guess just the whole thing really, my whole identity, which is caught up in that has been the area where it's been hardest for me to trust God.
308.000000 316.000000 And it's only in hindsight as we discussed, if you have not listened to episode two and three, please do that.
316.000000 323.000000 But in hindsight, I've realized that he has been faithful and I still struggle.
323.000000 331.000000 There's always ebbs and flows, ups and downs, times in life when things are going well, times when they're not.
331.000000 336.000000 I still want to have some advanced degree in a powerful career.
336.000000 341.000000 I just do, but I know that that's not what God has for me.
341.000000 351.000000 So I'm trusting him. Yeah, I'd like to have all these accomplishments under my belt or on my resume.
351.000000 357.000000 But what does it profit a man if he gains some world that loses his soul?
357.000000 367.000000 I'm just saying for me, if I've clearly had God's direction and call on my life to do the things I'm doing, I cannot walk away from that.
367.000000 373.000000 And it's still hard to trust him now. So how are you trying to trust him?
373.000000 377.000000 To recount in the Old Testament, it talks about how Israel sang.
377.000000 386.000000 I think it was Miriam's song, maybe they danced and they sang these verses about how God had gotten them out of Egypt, led them through the wilderness.
386.000000 391.000000 How God had been faithful. And so how would my continuing to try to trust him?
391.000000 395.000000 I just keep trying to remind myself what has he done?
395.000000 401.000000 What is he done? Where did the Ebenezers? What are those things that I can look to in my life as a signpost that proved to me?
401.000000 410.000000 And then I mean, hey, listen, we're on episode eight. I'm a podcaster. That's now a new identity for me.
410.000000 412.000000 Man, we started off very deep questions.
412.000000 415.000000 We did. We need to switch to something later.
415.000000 418.000000 All right. Here's the next question for you, Marybeth.
418.000000 425.000000 What is a profound spiritual question you have heard a child ask recently?
425.000000 429.000000 This is a great question. It's fun one.
429.000000 437.000000 Most recently, since I have two children in my house, we get a lot of spiritually profound questions.
437.000000 446.000000 I think the most recent one is when we've been reading from our children's Bible, for any of you who have read the Bible very much,
446.000000 451.000000 there are a lot of dark stories in the Bible and a lot of evil in a lot of these stories.
451.000000 458.000000 And so my five year old recently, we're reading about Cain and Abel and he just said, you know, why?
458.000000 463.000000 Why would he do that to his brother and was God okay with that?
463.000000 470.000000 So the big questions about evil and why it happens.
470.000000 473.000000 I'm not going to share my whole answer because I don't know that I got it right.
473.000000 477.000000 That was the question. That was the question. What about you?
477.000000 489.000000 Last week, my son and I, who was just turned 13, we were picking blueberries and he asked me, why did God give us a choice?
489.000000 493.000000 Why didn't he just make everybody love him?
493.000000 496.000000 I was like, wow, wow.
496.000000 499.000000 Let me just get that answer right out for you.
499.000000 516.000000 I've had that question before. We talked about how God has made us in his image and he seeks to have relationship with us just as he is in relationship with the Holy Spirit and his son Jesus and eternity.
516.000000 527.000000 He also wants to have relationship with us and ask myself, well, do you think it would be fun to be in a relationship with someone that was only there because they had to be?
527.000000 533.000000 And not because they wanted to be and he's like, no, I don't want somebody to love me because they have to.
533.000000 535.000000 I was like, well, that's how God feels too.
535.000000 539.000000 That was, I guess the best answer I had in that moment.
539.000000 547.000000 And I thought about that myself, but something about kids and the way they just sort of bust out really profound questions.
547.000000 549.000000 Yeah, they're great.
549.000000 550.000000 Yeah.
550.000000 559.000000 On to the next. What do you do when your trust or faith is lacking?
559.000000 563.000000 And is there any specific scripture that you lean on?
563.000000 564.000000 Hmm.
564.000000 568.000000 Well, it's a hard question, but in some ways it's an easy question.
568.000000 571.000000 What do I do when my trust in faith is lacking?
571.000000 574.000000 I wake up and realize that my trust in faith is lacking.
574.000000 581.000000 Because so often I'll be in a situation or I'll get frustrated or I'll get angry or I'll just start being like, why is it this way?
581.000000 584.000000 And I just can't, can't get over whatever it might be.
584.000000 587.000000 And like, oh, wait a minute, I'm not trusting God.
587.000000 592.000000 I think just acknowledging that my trust is lacking.
592.000000 603.000000 And I believe or I hope I pray that the more time I spend getting to know God, the quicker I am to realize when I'm not trusting Him.
603.000000 606.000000 In the moment or in the situation.
606.000000 619.000000 And as far as the Bible verse that I would turn to in that situation, I think of probably 35 and 6 in all your ways, acknowledge Him and He will direct the pass.
619.000000 622.000000 No, that's not so.
622.000000 629.000000 Lean not on your own understanding and all your ways, acknowledge Him and He will direct your past.
629.000000 632.000000 This is embarrassing.
632.000000 635.000000 Wow. Okay.
635.000000 638.000000 This is, we don't know what the Bible verse will be.
638.000000 641.000000 Yeah.
641.000000 646.000000 I do often think of he who began a good work and you will be faithful to complete it.
646.000000 649.000000 And then I go to the Psalms really.
649.000000 664.000000 And all the laments and David pouring his heart out, but then also saying, but you, oh God, you are my rock and you are my redeemer.
664.000000 669.000000 I feel that my answer to this question kind of bleeds into the next one.
669.000000 670.000000 Okay, go ahead.
670.000000 672.000000 So I'm going to read the next one and kind of answer both of them.
672.000000 673.000000 So, okay.
673.000000 674.000000 Yeah, absolutely.
674.000000 679.000000 Because as we talked about, we do what we want here on trustworthy.
679.000000 682.000000 There are no rules.
682.000000 683.000000 Okay.
683.000000 691.000000 What have been things in your life that sharpened your discernment in biblical world view over the years?
691.000000 695.000000 My thought on the previous question, what do you do when you're trust is lacking?
695.000000 700.000000 to me these are connected.
700.000000 709.000000 So my typical response, like Sarah mentioned, you first kind of have to acknowledge the problem, acknowledge that your trust and your faith is lacking.
709.000000 716.000000 There's no progress without that recognition and confession and sometimes repentance are necessary too.
716.000000 719.000000 But my typical responses.
719.000000 720.000000 Go to the Lord about it.
720.000000 721.000000 Go to scripture about it.
721.000000 724.000000 And then I always try to seek wise counsel and others.
724.000000 736.000000 So going to those who know me or at least I know know the Lord and they're good for me to talk to and bounce ideas off of and kind of seek some wisdom from.
736.000000 740.000000 And so the things in my life that have sharpened that discernment.
740.000000 743.000000 I mean, sometimes it's actual conversations with people.
743.000000 752.000000 Sometimes it's authors of books that I will go back to time and again to remind myself of this is a lesson I learned before.
752.000000 755.000000 Is it still true? Does it still hold up?
755.000000 759.000000 Let's remind myself, teach myself again, those things that I've learned in the past.
759.000000 766.000000 Some of those books for me have been John Piper's book, Desiring God, which is about Christian hedonism.
766.000000 768.000000 It's a great book.
768.000000 772.000000 Pretty much anything by Tim Keller that I pull off my bookshelf is always going to be helpful to me.
772.000000 776.000000 And most recently, I've mentioned him before on here, but John Mark Comer.
776.000000 783.000000 So those are some people that have written things that I will turn to that have helped define and shape my worldview.
783.000000 791.000000 But I think in my day to day life, it is friends, Bible study members, people have known me a long time, pastors, whoever that is.
791.000000 796.000000 And my kind of Christian community sphere that can point me to the truth?
796.000000 804.000000 I was thinking when you were talking about the things in your life that have sharpened your discernment.
804.000000 816.000000 It reminded me of another question that we also received, which was how has the encouragement of other Christian women in your life impacted you in your spiritual walk with Christ, which is an excellent question.
816.000000 831.000000 And one that is very close to my heart, because I think that there are women in my life that have nurtured me, have disabled me, have mentored me, have encouraged me, have prayed for me.
831.000000 836.000000 And they are the reason that I am who I am today.
836.000000 850.000000 Obviously, it's a part of God by having someone approach the throne of grace on your behalf and pray for you is, it is a privilege.
850.000000 856.000000 I had a very dear friend who I met when I moved to this area about seven years ago.
856.000000 865.000000 She became like a spiritual mom and me. She encouraged me and kept me humble.
865.000000 870.000000 And I'm sure she would love listening to this.
870.000000 873.000000 Poking fun at us.
873.000000 879.000000 She really made a big difference and it was a strange thing.
879.000000 886.000000 Like I knew she prayed for me, but when she died, I felt her prayers stop.
886.000000 890.000000 It sounds so weird, but I did.
890.000000 892.000000 And I quickly ran out right away.
892.000000 895.000000 Well, I didn't run out anywhere right away.
895.000000 901.000000 God brought another woman into my life that prays for me.
901.000000 904.000000 And I know you're listening to this.
904.000000 906.000000 And thank you very much.
906.000000 911.000000 I crave the prayers. My family craves the prayers. It makes such a difference for me.
911.000000 914.000000 Okay, can we blend all the questions together?
914.000000 915.000000 Sure.
915.000000 916.000000 Sure we can.
916.000000 917.000000 Because we do what we want.
917.000000 920.000000 What do you do when your trust or faith is lacking?
920.000000 927.000000 I call my prayer warrior or warrior's plural and ask them to pray for me.
927.000000 931.000000 And that is me the difference.
931.000000 934.000000 I have a fun story.
934.000000 939.000000 When I was a young teenager, I think towards the end of junior high,
939.000000 944.000000 I was in the grocery store with my mom and an elderly woman.
944.000000 946.000000 I think that's, I'm allowed to say that.
946.000000 947.000000 I think so.
947.000000 954.000000 She was in her 80s was on the same aisle as us and asked me if I could reach something that was up high on a shelf for her.
954.000000 961.000000 So I got it for and she struck up a conversation with us and just asked me a little bit about myself and asked me if she could pray for me.
961.000000 966.000000 And we said sure and we, you know, through the conversation and she figured out we were Christians as well.
966.000000 968.000000 We exchanged information.
968.000000 972.000000 She prayed for me until the day she died.
972.000000 974.000000 I mean, she was a complete stranger to us.
974.000000 981.000000 I went to her house a few times when I would come home from college and was visiting and would go see her and her husband.
981.000000 984.000000 And she would write me letters occasionally.
984.000000 993.000000 She would write me a letter and send me a letter and she would write me a letter and send me a letter.
1008.000000 1021.000000 Older women leading the younger women of just being bold with people and praying, of taking prayer very seriously and just being faithful to the Lord.
1021.000000 1022.000000 She was in her 80s.
1022.000000 1025.000000 She didn't have to start up this new ministry with some random teenage girl.
1025.000000 1029.000000 She met in the grocery store but come to find out this is what she did.
1029.000000 1031.000000 She had multiple people that she prayed for.
1031.000000 1032.000000 Wow.
1032.000000 1037.000000 That she would just meet and ask if she could pray for them and continue to do so very faithfully.
1037.000000 1041.000000 That was an amazing example to have in my life.
1041.000000 1050.000000 I have yet to emulate her but hopefully on some level someday after I finish praying my own children through.
1050.000000 1052.000000 I can do the same for others.
1052.000000 1057.000000 Yeah, I've thought about that before because I do not.
1057.000000 1061.000000 I just don't pray as much as I want to.
1061.000000 1064.000000 I just, I mean, I do pray.
1064.000000 1067.000000 I just don't have time.
1067.000000 1068.000000 Well, I shouldn't.
1068.000000 1072.000000 I feel like I can't even say that but maybe my life is just so full.
1072.000000 1074.000000 But you know what?
1074.000000 1079.000000 That's okay because there are people that that's what they are doing now.
1079.000000 1083.000000 And someday you and I, that's what we will be doing.
1083.000000 1086.000000 We will be going to the grocery store.
1086.000000 1093.000000 And who knows, meeting random strangers and encouraging them and praying for them.
1093.000000 1097.000000 And someday we will meet again.
1097.000000 1103.000000 Our lovely mentor Christian, they will mothers, bonus mothers promise.
1103.000000 1104.000000 Yeah.
1104.000000 1106.000000 Yeah.
1106.000000 1107.000000 All right.
1107.000000 1110.000000 This is a very, very serious question.
1110.000000 1112.000000 Very important.
1112.000000 1115.000000 Holds a lot of weight.
1115.000000 1120.000000 What is your favorite savory snack and why?
1120.000000 1123.000000 This is an easy question.
1123.000000 1127.000000 Any sort of chips and dip combo.
1127.000000 1130.000000 So salsa or guac or queso.
1130.000000 1133.000000 Any of those things are my favorite savory snack.
1133.000000 1141.000000 And the why is when I graduated college, I moved to Nashville.
1141.000000 1143.000000 Some friends that I was living with.
1143.000000 1147.000000 There was a great taco place about less than 10 minutes from our house.
1147.000000 1151.000000 I would go there all the time and it became my comfort food.
1151.000000 1153.000000 It was cheap, it was delicious.
1153.000000 1156.000000 And we'd always run into someone we knew there.
1156.000000 1165.000000 Therefore, my chicken tinga taco with black beans and salsa and cilantro.
1165.000000 1170.000000 And a fruit tea with chips and whatever side I decided that day.
1170.000000 1172.000000 queso guac or salsa.
1172.000000 1175.000000 Became my home comfort food when I was in Nashville.
1175.000000 1181.000000 I had a lot of chips and dip became my comfort snack.
1181.000000 1183.000000 What about you?
1183.000000 1187.000000 Well, there's a lot of savory snack items that I like.
1187.000000 1191.000000 Which is why this question carries a lot of weight.
1191.000000 1195.000000 I was waiting for you to pick that up from the introduction.
1195.000000 1202.000000 You have been saving that joke since you saw this question.
1202.000000 1208.000000 Okay.
1208.000000 1211.000000 I like cheese.
1211.000000 1213.000000 That's my favorite savory snack.
1213.000000 1214.000000 Which cheese?
1214.000000 1215.000000 There's so many.
1215.000000 1216.000000 Well, let's see if that's the problem.
1216.000000 1218.000000 I like them all.
1218.000000 1219.000000 Yeah.
1219.000000 1220.000000 There's some I like more than others.
1220.000000 1222.000000 Do you like the stinky cheeses?
1222.000000 1223.000000 Sometimes, yeah.
1223.000000 1225.000000 I mean, I've never eaten a lindberger.
1225.000000 1228.000000 I hear that's like the stinkiest cheese.
1228.000000 1231.000000 My son, when he was little, he called feta cheese, stinky cheese.
1231.000000 1233.000000 I guess it kind of is.
1233.000000 1234.000000 Yeah.
1234.000000 1236.000000 But I mean, Gorgonzola and blue cheese are my choice.
1236.000000 1237.000000 I like this.
1237.000000 1238.000000 What's the roquefort?
1238.000000 1239.000000 Roquefort?
1240.000000 1241.000000 Yeah.
1241.000000 1243.000000 That's the one that's cured in caves, I think.
1243.000000 1252.000000 But seriously, the first answer that came into my head was cream cheese and salsa with tortilla chips.
1252.000000 1253.000000 Okay.
1253.000000 1254.000000 We can snack together, Sarah.
1254.000000 1255.000000 We can.
1255.000000 1256.000000 Yeah.
1256.000000 1263.500000 And here is why when I was in between switching colleges, my aunt invited me to move into her house
1263.500000 1265.000000 for the summer.
1265.000000 1266.000000 Great.
1266.000000 1267.000000 I had to stay in the TV room.
1267.000000 1271.840000 So nobody got to watch TV for three months while I was there.
1271.840000 1276.320000 But I had come from a home where there was no television.
1276.320000 1277.440000 She had cable.
1277.440000 1281.160000 She had Nick at night and TCM.
1281.160000 1282.560000 That summer I was working in a restaurant.
1282.560000 1286.560000 So I would work till 2 a.m. at a restaurant bar in a college town.
1286.560000 1287.880000 Come home.
1287.880000 1295.160000 And I would get a bag of the herr's crispy rounds, their extra salty, their made here in
1295.160000 1296.880000 Chester County, they're delicious.
1296.880000 1297.880000 Anyway.
1297.880000 1298.880000 And cream cheese.
1298.880000 1301.560000 And you gotta warm up the cream cheese just a little bit.
1301.560000 1303.280000 And you put the salsa on top of it.
1303.280000 1305.560000 And then you just like, it's so delicious.
1305.560000 1306.560000 Yeah.
1306.560000 1310.400000 And I used to eat that every night because again, college didn't.
1310.400000 1311.400000 House poor.
1311.400000 1312.400000 That was my dinner.
1312.400000 1317.320000 I said there, I would stay up to all hours of the night watching classic movies, classic TV shows
1317.320000 1322.320000 and eating cream cheese, salsa and tortillas.
1322.320000 1326.480000 So when you eat that now, does it make you want to watch TV or when you watch TV?
1326.480000 1327.960000 Does it make you want to eat?
1327.960000 1328.960000 chips and salsa?
1328.960000 1329.960000 Yeah.
1329.960000 1330.960000 Or it does.
1330.960000 1331.960000 Yeah.
1331.960000 1334.960000 When I love that snack, it's so delicious.
1331.960000 1331.960000 It does.
1334.960000 1335.960000 All right.
1335.960000 1336.960000 That's a good one.
1336.960000 1338.440000 Well, this is good to know.
1338.440000 1339.440000 All right.
1339.440000 1347.040000 Here's another one as busy moms, working moms.
1347.040000 1354.000000 How do you balance never having a quiet moment and having a quote unquote quiet time with
1354.000000 1356.200000 the Lord?
1356.200000 1359.120000 An excellent question.
1359.120000 1364.680000 That is one that I have been struggling with the last couple of years.
1364.680000 1365.680000 Okay.
1365.680000 1367.800000 So this is why the school schedule.
1367.800000 1372.200000 So when my son was an elementary school, the bus came at 845.
1372.200000 1381.840000 And so I would get up at 7, have an entire hour of quiet time to myself reading the Bible,
1381.840000 1387.040000 meditating on scripture, sharing scripture with people, actually for years, I would send
1387.040000 1389.120000 scripture out to people.
1389.120000 1395.560000 And then middle school came and he got on the bus at 7 a.m.
1395.560000 1406.040000 And somehow after I start my day away from my quiet room and my chair, it's so hard to
1406.040000 1407.360000 go back.
1407.360000 1415.720000 And so I've been getting up earlier and that works, but I don't have that a solid 45 minutes
1415.720000 1417.760000 or an hour every morning.
1417.760000 1424.960000 And I just somehow getting up at like five something in order to fit it in.
1424.960000 1428.280000 And it doesn't seem to happen.
1428.280000 1429.280000 Yeah.
1429.280000 1437.280000 I've been trying to do it other ways, but the ways that I've been doing it are not consistent.
1437.280000 1442.400000 And then usually in the summer, the schedule just gets completely blown out of the water.
1442.400000 1443.400000 Yeah.
1443.400000 1444.800000 How about you?
1444.800000 1446.000000 I mean, I didn't answer the question.
1446.000000 1449.000000 I just told you I struggled with that.
1449.000000 1452.040000 That's how about you answer the question, Mary Beth?
1452.040000 1453.640000 Answer it for me and our listeners.
1453.640000 1454.640000 Right.
1454.640000 1460.560000 Well, schedules are great.
1460.560000 1467.680000 I'm a fan of them, but they also, at least in my life, never really go according to
1467.680000 1469.200000 plan.
1469.200000 1477.360000 So when my boys were babies and toddlers and very unpredictable with their sleep habits,
1477.360000 1480.880000 there was complete irregularity in any time.
1480.880000 1483.920000 I would try to set aside.
1483.920000 1490.240000 But if I'm being honest, before I had children, I was inconsistent with dedicating time each
1490.240000 1495.040000 day at the same time to spend time with the Lord, it would ebb and flow in seasons of life.
1495.040000 1497.720000 Sometimes it was very consistent.
1497.720000 1501.760000 Sometimes I was journaling five hours a week.
1501.760000 1506.280000 Other times I'd go a few months and I was like, wow, I've really just been like only listening
1506.280000 1509.960000 to the sermons at church and doing Bible study, but not having a thing.
1509.960000 1520.160000 So I mean, yes, it's difficult as a mom because your life is very much not your own, but I also
1520.160000 1526.960000 push back a little on the premise that that is an excuse for us not spending time with
1526.960000 1531.880000 the Lord because I don't think it has to be at the same time every day.
1531.880000 1533.600000 I don't think it has to look the same every day.
1533.600000 1536.040000 I think God tells us to pray continually.
1536.040000 1538.960000 He tells us he's with us at all times.
1538.960000 1547.960000 It is more about building the relationship than doing a specific form of study.
1547.960000 1549.440000 It's different at different times.
1549.440000 1550.440000 That's what I would say.
1550.440000 1555.200000 And I would say the times when I have not been as regular with it, it has been evident
1555.200000 1559.720000 in my life that I'm not spending as much time.
1559.720000 1560.720000 I will say this.
1560.720000 1566.280000 I do have some input into this question in all the different ways and in all my struggles.
1566.280000 1573.840000 One of the things that I have found to be consistent or works consistently for me, whether I do it
1573.840000 1579.480000 consistently, but it consistently works, is just creating the space mentally.
1579.480000 1585.320000 So we've probably some of you maybe have heard of Brother Lawrence.
1585.320000 1588.200000 He has written about practicing the presence of God.
1588.200000 1591.880000 So just being with God every minute of every day.
1591.880000 1598.160000 So sometimes I'll just talk to God while I'm washing the dishes or cooking or something like
1598.160000 1599.160000 that.
1599.160000 1603.760000 The other thing I find is the quiet does make a difference.
1603.760000 1610.480000 So if you're around crazy kids and things going up and down, whatever, as soon as you have
1610.480000 1616.200000 the ability, if you have five minutes, if your friend comes over and you can go outside
1616.200000 1620.920000 for five minutes or your spouse comes home, take the five minutes, I don't care if it's
1620.920000 1626.720000 five minutes, it's if you want to have an hour, maybe you can get that, but just take the
1626.720000 1628.480000 five.
1628.480000 1629.480000 God meets you there.
1629.480000 1630.480000 He really does.
1630.480000 1635.480000 I found the even when I've just created that mental space inside the task that I'm already
1635.480000 1641.800000 doing, if that makes sense, or then also just finding a quiet place for just a couple of
1641.800000 1643.120000 minutes.
1643.120000 1649.000000 For me personally, I meet God easily outside in nature.
1649.000000 1655.000000 And so that is a place that I often go to be quiet with him.
1655.000000 1662.080000 It's developing the rhythms and the habits that will help us do this.
1662.080000 1665.440000 And that doesn't mean that your schedule is going to look the same every day.
1665.440000 1672.800000 It means you're developing that internal pattern of like you're saying, making the space
1672.800000 1678.400000 to have a quiet moment, making the space to turn your thoughts toward the Lord.
1678.400000 1683.000000 I do it a lot when I'm cutting the grass because we have a riding lawnmower and so I put my
1683.000000 1688.640000 headphones in and I will listen to a podcast or a sermon or I will listen to music and
1688.640000 1689.640000 pray for people.
1689.640000 1693.520000 When I was a teenager, this is what I did during swim practice when I was swimming laps.
1693.520000 1695.640000 I would pray for a different person on each lap.
1695.640000 1697.040000 I was swimming till I killed the time.
1697.040000 1698.040000 That's impressive.
1698.040000 1699.040000 Sorry, I said that wrong.
1699.040000 1700.040000 Not to kill the time.
1700.040000 1702.840000 But to pray for them, to multitask is really what I was doing.
1702.840000 1707.280000 To not think about the pain and the agony of swimming all the laps, I would pray for
1707.280000 1708.280000 people.
1708.280000 1711.560000 I'm not saying that I'm this perfect person that does it all right.
1711.560000 1716.560000 But I think it's, don't beat yourself up about the, I didn't get up at 530 and do it because
1716.560000 1718.840000 I like sleep too.
1718.840000 1723.080000 But could you get up 10 minutes earlier and I'm preaching to myself here?
1723.080000 1724.080000 Oh, yeah.
1724.080000 1725.080000 Because I like to hit snooze.
1725.080000 1729.440000 Just say Paul David trip one of my favorite quotes from him is, "Let me never preach anything
1729.440000 1731.840000 that I don't desperately need to hear myself."
1731.840000 1732.840000 Yes.
1732.840000 1739.120000 I never think that I thought of and I didn't think of it as a response to this question, but
1739.120000 1740.640000 I really think it is.
1740.640000 1750.920000 I have for at least a year or more been trying, when we pray at mealtimes or when I pray with
1750.920000 1762.240000 people out loud, I usually take a deep breath and pause.
1762.240000 1770.600000 For just a couple of seconds, just to focus on the Lord and get my head right and then start
1770.600000 1771.600000 the prayer.
1771.600000 1773.800000 You get a busy dinner table, you could do this.
1773.800000 1780.660000 Okay, we're going to pray, bow your heads, take in a deep breath and just pause and just
1780.660000 1783.280000 feel the presence of God.
1783.280000 1787.360000 And I find that it's a lot easier than to know what to pray for.
1787.360000 1791.800000 Often what I thought I was going to pray about is not what I ended up praying.
1791.800000 1795.200000 Do we have time for one more?
1795.200000 1796.200000 I think we do.
1796.200000 1803.080000 We have time for one more question and do we preface this by saying who submitted it?
1803.080000 1804.320000 However you'd like to introduce it.
1804.320000 1808.400000 Let's just say that this question came from one of our husbands.
1808.400000 1811.080000 So here's a question.
1811.080000 1813.520000 Mary Beth.
1813.520000 1814.760000 This is for both of us.
1814.760000 1821.560000 If you were not talking about God's trustworthiness on the show, which aspect of his
1821.560000 1824.400000 character would you be most inclined to talk about?
1824.400000 1828.280000 I'm going to go with sovereignty.
1828.280000 1829.280000 Ooh.
1829.280000 1831.080000 What's your answer?
1831.080000 1837.120000 Well, I first thought of faithfulness, but I felt like that was awfully close to trustworthiness.
1837.120000 1839.600000 So I decided that I would go with provider.
1839.600000 1840.600000 Okay.
1840.600000 1841.600000 Yeah.
1841.600000 1847.440000 The thing about God is they all work together because in my mind right now, the wheels are turning
1847.440000 1851.000000 and sovereignty and provider or not contradictory.
1851.000000 1852.400000 Of course they're not contradictory.
1852.400000 1855.200000 They both ask the same aspects of God.
1855.200000 1862.440000 So what Sarah didn't say, the second part of this question was he wanted to hear us fight
1862.440000 1863.440000 it out basically.
1863.440000 1864.440000 Yeah.
1864.440000 1868.960000 And so I was literally trying to think of a way to fight about it and coming to the conclusion
1868.960000 1870.960000 that we just can't.
1870.960000 1873.920000 We can't because God is both those things.
1873.920000 1876.440000 Because we love each other so much.
1876.440000 1878.840000 Well, listen, I'm always up for a good debate.
1878.840000 1880.040000 I feel like you are.
1880.040000 1881.040000 Okay.
1881.040000 1887.520000 Well, if you're up for a good debate, then tell me why listing only one aspect of God is not
1887.520000 1888.520000 idolatry.
1888.520000 1889.520000 Okay.
1889.520000 1894.520000 Pastor of our church.
1894.520000 1895.520000 I will.
1895.520000 1896.520000 No, just kidding.
1896.520000 1899.080000 And by the way, I discussed this with him.
1899.080000 1900.080000 We had a good laugh.
1900.080000 1901.080000 Yeah.
1901.080000 1905.840000 The reason Sunday's sermon at our church was about that, not focusing too much on.
1905.840000 1906.840000 Only one aspect.
1906.840000 1911.160000 Well, it was about the Ten Commandments and they'll have no other gods before me.
1911.160000 1919.360000 And sometimes we can make God into something that he isn't or just focus on one of his attributes
1919.360000 1921.880000 to the exclusion of all the others.
1921.880000 1922.880000 Right.
1922.880000 1927.880000 And therefore, representative is something that is not actually who he is.
1927.880000 1937.880000 And I will say that this name, trustworthy, is one that we really were divinely inspired,
1937.880000 1940.160000 I think, to use.
1940.160000 1942.520000 But it's on our artwork.
1942.520000 1945.760000 You may notice that trustworthy is lowercase.
1945.760000 1949.080000 And there's a period after it for a very specific reason.
1949.080000 1952.320000 It is not the only attribute of God.
1952.320000 1957.360000 It is one at the end of the list of many.
1957.360000 1966.200000 To address your question of, I'm paraphrasing here, is it okay to just focus on one characteristic?
1966.200000 1969.200000 I mean, not all the time.
1969.200000 1971.720000 But for pointed conversation, I think it's fine.
1971.720000 1979.760000 I think it's also helpful when we may not understand what that attribute looks like or
1979.760000 1985.040000 means or we may not have seen it demonstrated in our lives as much.
1985.040000 1988.160000 It's helpful to talk about other people.
1988.160000 1994.520000 That's an interesting point that you make because sometimes people have trouble accepting
1994.520000 2000.800000 that God can be a loving father if they have not had a loving father.
2000.800000 2008.840000 Sometimes people can have trouble accepting the fact that God is able to provide to meet
2008.840000 2013.000000 all their needs when they may be grew up in a home where their needs were not met.
2013.000000 2016.920000 Or that he is just when the wicked are prospering.
2016.920000 2017.920000 Yes.
2017.920000 2023.120000 Or sometimes maybe some people have been the victims of miscarried justice.
2023.120000 2024.120000 Yeah.
2024.120000 2028.280000 I mean, yeah, if I was to just go around talking about God's sovereignty and that's all I
2028.280000 2032.320000 ever talked about about God and that's all I ever focused on, I agree with our pastor that
2032.320000 2033.320000 would be a problem.
2033.320000 2038.040000 Or if I just said, oh, he's a provider, he's a provider, look at my beautiful house.
2038.040000 2040.000000 Look at my beautiful car.
2040.000000 2041.840000 This is not my beautiful house.
2041.840000 2042.840000 Okay.
2042.840000 2043.840000 They're singing on the podcast.
2043.840000 2044.840000 I didn't sing.
2044.840000 2045.840000 I said it.
2045.840000 2046.840000 All right.
2046.840000 2048.800000 I have a question for you.
2048.800000 2052.640000 This is on a sticky note right behind.
2052.640000 2054.880000 Tell me about the last time your heart broke for someone else.
2054.880000 2055.880000 A while ago.
2055.880000 2056.880000 Yeah.
2056.880000 2061.840000 And on our first screen test, we never had to ask this.
2061.840000 2062.840000 Very bad.
2062.840000 2065.200000 I'm so nervous right now.
2065.200000 2066.520000 And this is a lightning round.
2066.520000 2067.520000 Okay.
2067.520000 2068.520000 Okay.
2068.520000 2071.440000 So I'm going to give you a scenario and then you just need to say the first thing that comes
2071.440000 2072.440000 to your mind.
2072.440000 2073.440000 Great.
2073.440000 2075.960000 Think about being 10 years old.
2075.960000 2076.960000 What comes to mind?
2076.960000 2082.400000 Oh, we moved right before I turned 10 to a new town and a new school.
2082.400000 2086.560000 I made new friends and my 10th birthday.
2086.560000 2089.400000 I got to invite some friends to go to the skating rink.
2089.400000 2091.840000 So that's what I think about.
2091.840000 2092.840000 That's awesome.
2092.840000 2094.840000 I can answer the same question.
2094.840000 2095.840000 Okay.
2095.840000 2096.840000 Go ahead.
2096.840000 2097.840000 I got a 10 speed.
2097.840000 2098.840000 Nice.
2098.840000 2106.280000 My 10th birthday and let me tell you what I was...around town.
2106.280000 2108.400000 And look now you're still biking.
2108.400000 2110.160000 Still biking to this day.
2110.160000 2111.160000 Okay.
2111.160000 2113.040000 Did we wrap that question up?
2113.040000 2114.040000 No.
2114.040000 2116.640000 But we probably should wrap the episode up.
2116.640000 2119.280000 I think there's a lot of things we should wrap up.
2119.280000 2122.000000 We'll be doing a lot of editing.
2122.000000 2123.480000 Very much.
2123.480000 2125.280000 Thank you.
2125.280000 2129.120000 And I really appreciate the time that you spent with me.
2129.120000 2130.120000 I'm going to miss you.
2130.120000 2131.120000 Yeah.
2131.120000 2132.120000 This has been fun.
2132.120000 2133.120000 Yeah.
2133.120000 2136.840000 Thanks for doing this and doing all the behind the scenes work.
2136.840000 2143.840000 Sarah has given herself a crash course in how to produce an edit and make a podcast.
2143.840000 2148.280000 And so we'll be back better and stronger and smarter in season two.
2148.280000 2149.280000 Yes.
2149.280000 2150.280000 And gosh darn it.
2150.280000 2151.280000 People like us.
2151.280000 2164.800000 Proverbs 3, 5 and 6.
2164.800000 2170.560000 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding and all
2170.560000 2176.080000 your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your past.
2176.080000 2177.080000 Hey everybody.
2177.080000 2179.080000 Thanks so much for listening.
2179.080000 2181.640000 I'm Mary Beth and I would love to hear from you.
2181.640000 2187.280000 Visit us at trustworthypodcast.com where you will find all sorts of information like our
2187.280000 2190.960000 email address and our Instagram handle.
2190.960000 2195.080000 Until season two, this is Trustworthy.
2195.080000 2210.080000 Hey y'all.
2210.080000 2211.560000 Mary Beth here.
2211.560000 2215.240000 Sarah and I are so glad that you chose to listen to our podcast.
2215.240000 2220.320000 And while we think that we're awesome friends to have, we just wanted to clarify that we are
2220.320000 2224.400000 not mental health professionals and want you to know that this podcast should not take the
2224.400000 2227.200000 place of any paid professional advice.