S3 Ep. 4: Wired for a Purpose — Stewarding Our Gifts, Talents, and Testimonies

God wired you on purpose for His purpose. Allen & Stacy Jo explore how to recognize your gifts, resist comparison, and share your testimony so others find freedom. Don’t bury what God entrusted—serve where you are, stay Spirit-led, and watch Him multiply surrendered “ordinary” into eternal impact.

What you’ll learn

• ✅ How to embrace your gifts and stop minimizing them
• ✅ The parable of the talents lens: faithful > flashy
• ✅ Why your testimony matters (and simple ways to share it)
• ✅ Practical steps: serve where you are, obey nudges, surrender results
• ✅ Moving from fear/scarcity to Spirit-led boldness

📖 Scriptures
1 Peter 4:10; Matthew 25:14–30; Romans 8:28; Revelation 12:10–11; Romans 8:6

✨ Takeaways

• Be faithful with your portion—God multiplies surrender.
• Comparison is a thief; obedience unlocks impact.
• Your story is a stewardship, not a secret.
• Start today: small, consistent, Spirit-led steps.

If this episode helped you

• 👉 Follow/Subscribe to Faithfully Invested
• ⭐ Leave a 5-star review so other faith-driven leaders can find the show
• 🔗 Share this episode with someone who needs courage to use their gifts

Transcript

0:01

Are you ready to build a life, business and legacy that truly lasts? Welcome to Faithfully Invested with Allen and Stacy Jo Thorne where Faith meets real talk. Biblical wisdom meets everyday life and leadership meets laughter. Together we will uncover God's blueprint for leadership, marriage, and mission, helping faith-driven leaders invest in what matters most. Each episode, we explore biblical wisdom, have real conversations, and of course, have some fun along the way because let's be real. Walking in faith is an adventure. It sure is. So pull up a seat, grab your coffee or your sweet tea, and join us as we steward our callings with intention, because when we invest in his kingdom, he brings the increase. Hey, welcome back to Faithfully Invested, where we explore God's blueprint for leadership, marriage, and mission. One Kingdom principle at a time. This season, we are focusing on experiential truth, on stewarding everything, everything, everything, stewarding everything that God's entrusted to us. That means our relationships, how to steward our relationships, how to steward our finances, our time, and our gifts. That's right. We are in season three, episode four at this point, and, but Oh, but first. I who we didn't introduce ourselves. Who are you? I'm Stacy Jo. And he's Allen Layne. I'm Allen Layne, that's right. I used your middle name. Yeah. Took her till the third season to use the name my mama gave me. But today's conversation is one, I think so many of us need to hear wired for his purpose, right? And we wanna talk about how God designed you intentionally. With gifts, talents, and even your story and how all of that is meant for impact. Let's go. Let's go. Impact. Every time I hear the word impact, I'm like, let's go. Right? Yeah. Friends, did you know that you are. Not a random accident. I'm so glad to know I was not a random accident. I'm definitely not a random accident. And you friends, none of you out there are random accidents. You're definitely also, you're definitely not meant to hide in the shadows. That's right. And every one of us. Has the Lord's purpose woven into us. That's right. We just have to decide to follow him on that journey to discover who we are and who we were created to be. Find our identity found only in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Yeah, but you know, here's the challenge. Too many of us don't really believe. Don't really believe that we've been created on purpose for his purpose. And I'm not saying for a purpose, but I'm talking for his purpose. Right. And we nod our heads, you know, when we hear it. But, but deep down, and I, I have experienced this firsthand. I have felt this firsthand. I wrestled with doubt and I would downplay my gifts. You know, I would say, oh, it's not a big deal. Lots of people can do what I do. Lots of people can do this or, or will hide our story because, right. Maybe shame of our past or fear of judgment, or how about the lie that we're not qualified. I've dealt with that too. I have dealt with it time and time again, and I still sometimes deal with it. Um, but sometimes we will bury even parts of our story because we think that those parts will disqualify us. But those very things that were tempted to hide, that I had been tempted to hide could actually be the testimony that sets someone else free. And I have seen that to be true. Exactly. Mm-hmm. Exactly. You know, you, you gotta share your story, right? Uh, sometimes, we'll, even by the lie, that our purpose gotta be big. It's gotta be big stuff. Gotta be hot shot. Yeah. Yeah. Maybe we think we gotta be standing on a stage or a big platform. Maybe we gotta write a book or a series of books. Maybe we gotta lead a huge ministry with the, uh, with the Lord. Uh, revealed to us is not to despise small beginnings. That's right. That's right. It doesn't have to be huge to be great. Mm-hmm. Uh, Peter doesn't say that it's got to, uh, that you're gonna get a platform. Peter, Peter doesn't go on to say, he doesn't say that. You know, everything's gotta be gigantic. He, he doesn't say that your name's gotta be up in lights. What he says. Um, and his first epistle is that each of you should use whatever gift you've received. We've all received a gift and Peter says that we should use the gift that we've received to serve others as faithful stewards of God's grace. And its various forms. Yeah. That means that your purpose doesn't have to look like someone else's. In fact, it probably won't look like someone else's because he's given them specific gifts to, uh, for, for them, you know, and he, and maybe he may have given you similar gifts. So as, as we, as we encounter that, we gotta be careful to not fall. Fall prey to the evil of comparison. Mm. Right. You know,'cause what I remember and, uh,'cause his god's grace shows up in various ways and through various gifts and comparison will have us comparing our gifts with someone else's. You know, and maybe, you know, and when he first started giving me the gifts of, of, of being able to write, uh, with, uh, effectiveness and. And efficiency and, and become more concise, which I'm not doing here very well. Um, but, and he's gave, and he gave me the gift of, of public speaking and speaking for his glory. Mm-hmm. You know, I, I, I, in the beginning I was like, man, I'm. I'm not quite as good as that guy, or I'm not, I'm not, you know? Mm-hmm. I'm not really good like that guy, but I don't need to be, I don't, I had a, I had a, a guy at the church I, I look up to, he is like, who do you, who do you, uh, who do you wanna be like, mm. Uh, and I was like, and I was like, I wanna be the best. And as, as I grew, I was like, I wanna be the best me that I can be. Mm-hmm. I want to be, I wanna be like me'cause that's the g he the gift he gave that he gave me. You know, I, we have an amazing p um, an amazing teacher and amazing pastor and pastor Todd Mao. Mm-hmm. But I don't wanna preach like Todd'cause Todd preaches like Todd. Right. And, uh, I just wanna, I just wanna. Carry God's glory and carry God's wisdom and, and with the gift that he gave me and do the best I can do with that. Yeah. I wanna go back for a minute though, because you, you talked about, um, where Peter said that each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, to be faithful stewards of God's grace and, you know, serving others, it, it can be as simple. As powerful. Yeah. And as, as maybe leading a Bible study for three women, maybe two women, maybe one woman, woman and women and woman right in your living room, you know, maybe it's teaching a child to read or cooking a meal for someone who is going through a hard time or maybe sharing your testimony. Work. Right. Even when it feels uncomfortable. And I understand that it can definitely feel uncomfortable to share your testimony when you're out in the corporate world or you're, you know, working for someone else. But, but those everyday moments are kingdom moments. Yeah. And they may not look flashy, but they certainly echo in eternity. Echo in eternity. Yeah. That is beautiful. And isn't that what we want? Don't we want our testimonies to echo? In eternity, those small deeds that we do for someone else. Yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm. It's not about, you know, it's not about me. Right. You know, and I know, I know you, I know you pretty well and it's not about you either, but the uh, the work that we do for the Kingdom, it is, it's about him. It's about advancing his kingdom. It's about helping others. Mm-hmm. It's about serving others. Uh, and you said even, uh, I would say especially when you don't want to. Oh, yeah. Yeah. So, yeah, true. We talked last episode about giving when it doesn't make sense. You know, same serve when you don't want to, and that's, that's challenging sometimes. Um, but yeah, another challenge is that, um, what do we believe? Mm-hmm. Do you believe that you've been created on purpose for his purpose? Uh. Do you wanna walk in that direction? Do you wanna walk so close to the savior Christ that the dust from a sandals kicks up on you? Mm-hmm. Uh, do you want that? Do you believe that, that he is leading you? Do you believe that he loves you more than you ever know? What, what do you believe? Do we believe that the Holy Spirit is with us? And that he was sent to us just the same as the the first century? Believing followers. He was sent to us as his 21st century believing followers. The Holy Spirit was sent to us to remind us all that Jesus said and taught. He was sent to counsel us into position according to God's purpose for each one of us. Right? Is, is Romans 8:28 just words on a page or, or do we know and believe?'cause what we believe is, is. How we'll respond or react, what we believe is where our thoughts and our emotions and our actions come from. So do we believe that what Peter wrote in, in, uh, Romans 8:28, that God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love him to? Those are called according to his purpose. Not our purpose. Mm-hmm. But those who are called according to his purpose, he will cause all things to work together for our good. Yeah. As we decide to follow him. So what do you believe, friends? What do you believe? Well, if you're asking me,'cause I'm your friend too. You're, you're my best friend and you're my best friend. But I, you know, I, I do believe that now, but I didn't always believe that necessarily, or I doubted that. Maybe I kind of knew it, but I doubted. But, you know, I. Remember a season where I, where I thought, who am I to lead anyone, you know, who am I to speak in front of people or to write a book or, or to do any of that? And I would scroll through social media. You know, one of the worst things that you can do. Yeah. But, or I would sit in a conference and going back to what you said, I would compare myself to others. I would compare myself to women who seemed so polished and so put together so confident. Right. And who seemed so much more gifted than me. Right. And I would look at what I had and think, uh, this isn't enough. Right. This. My gifts are so small, right, and way too simple to be used and someone else could do this so much better. And I remember thinking that with the Association of Christian Business Women, as we, uh, as I was starting that, you know, I thought, I have no business. I am not qualified, Lord. There is someone else who is so much more qualified to lead this than what I am. And that mindset. It kept me stuck for, for a long time. Um, and I was serving, but I was not stepping into the fullness of what God was calling me to do because I felt totally unqualified. Right. And I thought leadership and influence were for. Those other people. Right. You know, people with bigger platforms and, and more training or a different personality. Right. But you know, the Holy Spirit really, really did speak to me. Yeah. And whispered, he said, use what I've already given you. Yeah. Yeah. He's cool like that. Right. It's the truth. Use what I've already given you, not what I wished I had or not what I. Thought in my mind that I needed, but just what he had placed in my hands right then and that whisper. From the Holy Spirit shifted everything, and as I started to, you know, going back to ACBW Association of Christian Business Women, as I, as I started to get a little more bold and I started going out and asking women, is this something you might be interested in? I found out that yeah, there really was a need for this and there was a desire to come into community with other women. Have faith in business. Yeah. But I spent the longest time, as you know. Right. Struggling with that. Well, during that time you, you had some, we, we both had some stuff we had to work past. Mm-hmm. And, and we weren't fixing ourselves where Right. As his creations we're not capable of fixing ourselves. Right.'cause nobody repairs the creation. That's us, like the creator. And we had some junk to get past. Mm-hmm. And uh, and so we were caught because we had. Because we were burdened by the lie that we were believing the enemy could use that. That's one of his, the enemy's got nothing new. Right. It's been the same since the garden. Yeah. You know, but, uh, it is been the, you know, who do you think you are? Yeah. You know? Right. Yeah. You're, that's, that's never gonna work. Yeah. You know, you're No, that's, that's not for you. Yeah. Disqualified. You're disqualified. Yeah. Well, who knows out there that the Lord doesn't? He doesn't, uh, call the qualified. Mm-hmm. He qualifies the cold. Absolutely. You know, and I've, and I've been there, I've felt the same way. He wanted me to use my story, but I was like, my, the story is pretty graphic, Lord. And, uh, not as graphic as some, not as graphic as some, but, but yeah. You know, uh, near death experiences. Mm-hmm. You know, I don't want to get into, I don't want to get into it now, but it was, it was a pretty graphic story, but the lord, maybe one of these days we can do like the raw and real. The, and real, the raw and real season season. Yeah. Where we can really delve into maybe, maybe into our stories. I'm sure it's, I'm sure it's on down the line. Yeah. But you know, I had, so I got this graphic story, uh, and it wasn't that I was ashamed of. Where, where I came from, I wasn't ashamed of my story, uh, or that I, I wasn't even too concerned with, with that. People wouldn't respect me if they, if they knew the, the whole truth. Um, you know, because people can, people can think what they want to. You know, and they will. Right. You know, and, uh, I, I know that because, you know, I'm, I'm a person, but, uh, good to know. But, but that, that might have bothered me early in my beginning, uh, early at the beginning of my journey, my recovery journey and my, and my recovery journey and my journey with Christ are, are one, really one and the same.'cause that's my recovery out of. Uh, the pit of, of drugs and alcohol and the whole not good enough and this, that, and the other. Uh, that, that's been my, my journey with Christ. He's, he's led me through that. But along that journey, I, I quickly learned that what people think of me is none of my business. I love that. Yeah. And it didn't, and I remember one of my mentors, uh. Uh, I think it was, it was, it was either Steve or Jonathan. Uh, they said back in the day, Hey, man, don't let that get to you. What mm-hmm. What people say about you, what people think about you. That's none of your business, man. Mm-hmm. Discover who you are in Christ. That's right. Find your identity in Christ. And, and 12, a little over 12 years of sobriety. Uh, and it's not about the sobriety, it's about what I've learned along the way. It's, uh, I, I found my identity in Christ. I know that I know who I am, uh, who I was created to be, uh, what his purpose is, uh, what my purpose is for his kingdom. Yeah. Now I was able to discover that along the way, but. Got a little in the weeds there. Uh, but that's right. It was all relevant. It, it was, you know, thank you. But, but round about the same time, uh, the Lord was starting to show me my gifts of, of, uh, Hey, you can speak in, in public, you, and he, Hey, you can actually write halfway decently and let me show you how to do that better. And that just kind of came, you know, I didn't, and uh, then he called me. I remember. He, he called me into higher education in 2017, and I'm like, what? I'm not, I'm not, I'm in construction, man. I'm not going to school. He is like, yeah, you are. And I'm like, no, I'm not. And he's, he's like, yeah, you are. And so I, I went, uh. And all that. Yes. Yes, I was, and yes, I did. In 2018, uh, I, I got into school, graduated top of my class, just like you told me I would in 2022, not, not any, not, I'm not saying that for a claim to myself, but he, he. One, he walked me through that higher education journey to debunk a lie that I believed from second grade. Uh, when that gym teacher consistently told me I was stupid, he's like, see, I told you you weren't stupid. Mm-hmm. You know? Yeah. How's that? How's that 4.0 treating you? Right. You know, and it, and again, it's not about me, it's what? The teachable moment that's, he used that to show me. Yeah. Uh, this is, you're not stupid. You have this gift and you can share this experience with others. Right. You know, you're, you. So I was, I'm, I'm able to share my past challenges with others. Uh. For his glory. It's all about his glory. Uh, the enemy wanted to keep me silent. Of course, of course. You know,'cause I wasn't significant either. Right. And, and all along the way was, you know, who do you think you are? Mm-hmm. You know, I, I am, I'm Allen, and this is, this is my savior Christ. And he has defeated you. Mm-hmm. And he holds all the authority in heaven and on earth. And he says that I have. The authority to trample on the snakes and the scorpions and the demonic, and I have all the power I, I have the authority to stand against all the power of you, Satan. Yes. So. Preach babe. Preach. So, and that, but that's what Jesus says. That's what he told his first century disciples, his believing followers. And that stands true for us as his 21st century believing followers. We have the authority to trample on the demonic and stand against all the power of the enemy. And Jesus says, nothing will harm us. So, uh, uh, when he wanted to keep me silent, he wanted to keep me silent because he knows testimony shattered chains. Mm-hmm. But it doesn't matter what the enemy wants. Mm-hmm. You know, authority says, ignore that nonsensical valley who Yeah. You know, this is what I got for you. And the closer I became with, with Christ and the closer and the more I realize that this whole God thing is real and this, and Jesus is. Mm. Who he says he is. Uh, I learned that it, it just doesn't matter what the enemy wants, right? Because it says, the word says in Revelation. John wrote in Revelation 12 that the salvation, the power, God's kingdom and the authority of his Christ has come. Mm. And then, uh, revelation 12 goes on to say. That the accuser was thrown down and our brethren overcame the accuser by. The blood of the lamb and the word of the testimony, you gotta go back and you gotta check out that context. Everybody uses, uh, you over, we overcome by the blood of the lamb and the power of our testimony. Mm-hmm. But you gotta have those verses before that in 12 to understand that it's all about. Christ Authority all about, you know, who Christ is, so that we might overcome by his blood and the word of our testimony. Yeah. And the test, his test, our, our testimony comes from him. You know, it's not, it's not my testimony. I, I can say it was saying that in recovery that I want to keep this at I and me statements, but my statement comes, uh, or my, uh. I in me statement, my testimony is all about Christ. It reflects about Christ. It reflects Christ every step of the way. And, um. But, and, and just the same, they believe that Jesus was the son of God. Mm-hmm. And they overcame the enemy's attacks. I, when I came to believe, and I tried real hard not to believe, right. I tried real hard not to believe, but the, but when I came to believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God, I overcame the enemy's attacks. Mm. And, and I, and I gained the authority, uh, when I decided to follow. Jesus Christ and realize that he is the only one to justify me before the father. Yeah. Then that, and that's, that changed everything and once. Once I'm justified, then the spirit had open ground to sanctify me through the rest of my life. The sanctification, the, the cleansing of it from, from the inside out. And I know I got a little bit in the weeds there, but, but we are going into talking about stewarding gifts, talents, and testimonies, and we can't reference John's truth and revelation without that little context. So, and that context holds true today just as much as it did back then. Uh, like, uh, many of us. Many, many pastors, many preachers say the Bible wasn't written to us, but it certainly was written for us. Right. But I, everything you said though was, was totally relevant. I mean, it was. It was all important information and. You know, going back into scripture, you know, I love Matthew 25. Yeah. And that's where Jesus tells the parable of the talents. And if you don't know this story, go back and read Matthew 25. Right. But the master gives one servant five talents, he gives another two. Mm-hmm. And he gives another one of them, one each according to their ability. And the point wasn't how much they had. Right. The point was what they did with what the master gave them, and two of the servants invested and what they were given, you know, they invested what they were given and they doubled it. But the one who buried his gift out fear missed out. Yeah. Not because he didn't have enough, but because he didn't. Trust his master, right? He had no faith. He had no faith. He chose fear over faith, and that's right. That's a losing time. And how many of us are hiding, hiding our testimony? How many of us are burying the gifts and the talents that he has given us because we're afraid to step out? I was one. Yeah, I was one. That is how I felt. I wasn't stewarding my gifts because fear. Legitimately had me paralyzed, right? I buried what God had entrusted to me. And maybe that's where you are right now. Maybe you feel like what you have to offer isn't significant, so you're gonna shrink back. Mm. Maybe you've been comparing yourself to others. You know, going back to the whole comparison thing and deciding that, you know what, my voice isn't really needed. There's other people who can, who can speak out there, um, better than me. So I, my voice isn't needed. And maybe you're saying, you know, your story isn't powerful or your skills aren't enough. Right? But here's the truth. God does not expect you to steward what he hasn't given you. He's only asking you to be faithful with your portion. Yeah. Not anybody else's portion, just the portion that he gave you. And when you take that step of faith, and I speak from experience. When you use what's already in your hands, he multiplies it. And our challenges are real. I mean, we battle comparison. We all do it. We all battle comparison. It's, it's. Our flesh, sometimes we have to die to flesh daily to be able to overcome comparison. Right. We got it. We have to die to flesh daily. To be able to overcome fear. Yeah. And the temptation to believe that ordinary doesn't matter because you know what? In God's economy, the ordinary surrendered becomes extraordinary. That's it. That's it. And it's, uh, there is no ordinary in his kingdom. It's, it's flesh or spirit. And that's, that's our core verse. It's a very small verse, but a core verse of our unbound'cause un unbounds, our, our recovery ministry entirely. Uh, the, the spirit is the catalyst there. Mm-hmm. And what Romans eight six says is that to live, uh, by the flesh is death. Mm-hmm. But to live by the spirit is life and peace. Life. Yes. So what do you want? Yeah. Right here. So that, that's good stuff, babe. Thank you for that. Yeah. Wonderful. It's, and I've, uh, I've learned, uh, a lot along the way, but, uh, I've learned over time that God doesn't ever waste. A trial or a pain. I, I, if we're going through and one of my favorite, um, well, I only know one English prophet, a contemporary prophet. His name's Graham Cook. If you're not, if you're not familiar with Graham Cook's work, uh, go check him out on YouTube. Uh, but he says trial Yahoo. Yeah. I'll always let you know. We want to face. The trials because through every trial, and I've, and I've experienced this, uh, I've lived this out because we're, we're not, we're not talking from other people's experiences. We, we speak from our own experience. Mm-hmm. And every trial I've been through, there's been such a, when, when I'm willing to look for it, there's such a, a vast amount of teachable moments that's preparing us for the next trial.'cause life is a series of trials. And each trial prepares us for the next one. And God never wastes any of the trials. And he, and he always has teachable moments at the beginning and the middle and at the end of of that. And, uh, it's so good. So I wanna say though, he always takes us though, in those trials, he always takes us from victory to victory, right? From victory to victory. Yes. As we operate from victory. From victory. Right. Yeah. And, and the victory that we operate from is Christ's work. Mm-hmm. On the cross and the the exit. From the, from the tomb. Yeah. That's the victory that we, and that victory completely disarmed the enemy. Mm-hmm. So, so we encourage you as, as you're challenged, uh, I wouldn't say if you're challenged because we're all challenged by the enemy, uh, with, uh, most often doubt and despair. Know that. Jesus, the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, redeems all things. When we yield to Him and ba based on my experience, he reveals talents along the way through our story. He, uh, especially, especially the broken chapters, the more broken, the more, the deeper the learning experience can be and, and the, uh. The more vulnerable we have an opportunity to be with others, so, uh mm-hmm. To open up doors for, for their own vulnerability. Um, so it's the brokenness and the challenges is what God will use to keep us, keep us low, keep us humble and relatable so that he can reach others through us, because that's what it's all about. That's, that's, that's my purpose. So that to work, Lord, work through me, spirit work through me to reach others through. And if you can use my story, man. Wow. I'm, I'm all for it. Yeah. And, and it's not, again, not about me, but just you. That's, he wants to use my story and, uh, and keep me low in the process. Mm-hmm. So that he can reach others, and others know that you're not alone, you know, because, and, and, and these, in these challenges and life's challenges, sometimes the enemy will try to isolate us, man. And, and it's not a, it's isolation. Doesn't heal, community heals. Mm. And people need to know that they're not alone. And people need to know that, you know, uh, I, that, hey, I wasn't, I, I, I would, I don't know, get stumbling and stammering a bit here, kind of getting a little in the weeds, but, you know, compared to who I was, I'm pretty shiny now, but still not shiny. I don't consider myself shiny. There's no perfection here, I assure you. Uh, but, um, but it's, it's important for. Someone leading groups and someone leading, people coming out, uh, of addiction and through trials to be vulnerable. Uh, so the so the folks know that they're not alone. Yeah. Uh, and you know, going back to the gifts he's given, he's given us, and, and I just wanna say, and, and to see, I mean, to see where you were then to where you are now, people need to see that.'cause they need to see that you were this person. You know, 20 years ago, and now you are this person who's walking with the Lord, walking with the Lord. And so that's the difference is Christ all day, every day. Right. The D the difference is Christ. And you know, his ways are always higher and greater than always. Always. Yeah. I like to pull out those old pictures sometimes I, uh mm-hmm. And, uh, and they're like. Oh, wow. Yeah. Yeah. You were a mess. But, uh, so, so the question comes, comes down to, so how do we steward our gifts, talents, and testimonies? Well, how do we use them for his kingdom? And so of course we have some practical steps for you. Right. Um, and go ahead and share step one. I think step one, I, I would, um, you got, we have to embrace our gifts. Mm-hmm. You know, I was. And the enemies, the enemy will tell you, you know, nah, it's not for you. You shouldn't, you shouldn't talk about that. Yeah, that's, that's insignificant, but you know, it doesn't matter, right? The Lord, the Lord has given you a story, so the Lord has given you a gift. So embrace your gift and ask, ask the Lord if you don't know. Uh, if you're not quite there yet, ask him, Lord, what do you have for me? Mm-hmm. Uh, so, and sometimes, and I can certainly speak to this sometimes, others will see it more clearly than we do. So listen to when other people affirm you don't get caught up in that affirmation. Uh, and don't get caught up in that in, uh, those, yeah, all those attaboys, atta girls. But you know, sometimes I know, I know you saw. A lot of stuff in me that I didn't see in myself and way back in 1988, way back in the day. And, uh, but, uh, and then other people, you know, saw stuff in me. Mm-hmm. Saw, saw gifts in me that have come to fruition that I had no idea Yeah. About, you know? Yeah. And then step two, I would say stop hiding your story. You know, start with, maybe start with one trusted person. Right. Share how God has shown up in your life. Yeah. You'll be surprised how he will use your story when you open the doors, because again, there are people who need to see where you came from to where you are now. Yeah. For it to click with them that wow. I would've never thought that about them. Right. I would have never guessed. Right. And I say it often about people, I would've never guessed that they had gone through what they went through. Right. But your testimony can change the trajectory of someone else's life. Yeah. And I love to say that someone's blessing is on the other side of your obedience, so be obedient. If the Lord is telling you to share your testimony, be obedient in that and share that testimony. It's so important. Right. Moving on to step three is serve where you are. You know, that big platform that you're, you might be hoping for, it might not be in his plan, so don't wait for the platform to use your gifts, right? Uh, use your, use your personal blessings. Use what he's given you. Use it at home. Use it at work. Use it at church. Use it in the grocery store. Be that guy by the, in the cooler section, by the french fries, praying with that person, you know? Right. Uh, purpose. His purpose. And us purpose. Our purpose, our God-given purpose isn't about someday. It's about today. That's right. It's about today. It starts today. So what are you gonna do today? Yeah. Uh, and, and the, our mission field is everywhere, like I mentioned, home, work, church. Grocery store. Mm-hmm. Wherever you at. How do people, how do you want people to know you? You know, it's pretty cool that, you know, I'm, I'm, I'm a safety manager in the construction field and it's pretty cool that, and guys, guys know that, and if they need prayer, they don't hesitate to. To come up and check it out, you know, so well, and you're doing what Step four is, is staying spirit led, so the Holy Spirit will nudge you into those opportunities that you never saw coming. I'm sure there's times where you walk onto a job site and you didn't see it coming, that some guy's gonna come ask you for prayer. Yeah. Uh, yeah, and no, I don't. Yeah. Or. You know, you could walk onto a job site and just by the Holy Spirit recognize that somebody needs prayer. That somebody needs prayer and mm-hmm. And it was, it was pretty cool. One time, and this is, is similar, but uh, the guys know who I am. They know, they know who they know. I'm, I'm a Christ follower and whatnot. And they know I'm an author and a speaker. And it was, and this really moved me.'cause, you know, I. When, uh, I had a couple of guys on the same job site walk up and they, they had one of my books and they say, they're like, dude. Will you sign this for me? Right. That blew me away. Yeah. These guys I've known for 15 years, you know, coming to me and saying, Hey, so good. They actually went out and bought the book and that's so good. Yeah, it was pretty cool. Yeah, that was pretty cool. So, you know, the Holy Spirit might say to you, Hey, call that person, or, or pray for her or him. Offer your skills here, you know? Yeah. You offered your, offered the skills of prayer. Um, again, the key is obedient willingness, being willing to be obedient to the calling, to the prompting, to that still small voice of the Holy Spirit telling you what he wants you to do. Absolutely. And that plays right into, uh, step five, and that is surrender the results. Mm. One word here. Yield. Mm-hmm. Yield. This is something that we really, uh, really put on display and really emphasize, uh, in our unbound ministry, is we must yield to the Holy Spirit. We must yield to Jesus Christ in, in, in the Father, because God's perspective is always higher and greater than ours, and our part is to one. Is to believe and then to obediently follow. So we gotta yield to do that. Um, the outcome is always in his infinite hands. Absolutely. So here's your call today. Here's our call to you, is what I should say. Don't bury what God gave you, right? Don't bury your story. Don't bury your gifts, don't bury your talents. Use them, right? What, what the guy, the, the. That buried the talent and didn't mm-hmm. Make anything of it. Did he call him a wretched servant or something? Wicked servant? I'd have to, I'd he wasn't. Oh yeah. I think he wasn't, yeah, the master wasn't too happy with that.'cause you know, he was, yeah, I'd have to go back and I don't want to be, uh, I don't wanna be that guy when it comes up to, uh, once we get in into, once it's over and we've all. Gone up. I don't want to be that. I don't wanna be that, that wicked servant. I want to be, I wanna be that guy, you know? Yeah. Yeah. Well done. My good and faithful, faithful servant. Yeah. Right. So. So what are you gonna do this week? Make, we encourage you to make one move this week to steward your gifts, your talents, or your testimony. Maybe it's signing up to serve. Maybe it's increasing your commitment and consistency. Ah, I love those two words. You love commitment, consistency. Commitment and consistency. Mm-hmm. We might to, if we're going to honor. The Lord with the gifts that he's given us. If we're going to kick that glory back to him, we must commit and remain consistent with the gifts that he's given us. Or maybe it's sharing your story. I don't wanna say just sharing your story because sharing your story is a big deal. It's huge. Maybe it's sharing. Sharing your story with someone who benefit from them. And as you do that, let them know. And even as you share your story, you don't even have to say the words. You're letting them know that they're not alone in their challenges. Right? And remember first, 1 Peter 4:10 where it says, each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others. Allen said it earlier, to serve others as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms. That's you. You are a carrier of God's grace, right? Don't try to be someone else. No. Be the best person that he created you to be. Use the gifts that he created you to, to honor him. Mm-hmm. And to, to, uh, exemplify him. Yeah. Uh, so, and as you're doing that, show up boldly. Yeah, show, show up like, like you're following Christ. Like God is actually on your side because guess what? God is actually on your side. The world needs your obedience. Mm-hmm. Not your perfection. That's so right. That is so right. So thank you for joining us today. Un faithfully invested. If this has spoken to you, please take a moment and share it with someone else. Oh, and don't forget to download and subscribe and of course leave us a five star review.'cause it helps us to be able to spread God's word to a wider audience. Absolute. And we want to spread his word faithfully. Yes, absolutely. And as always, don't forget that when you are faithfully invested, God brings the increase. Yes, he does. God bless you. Until next week, bye-bye. Thanks for joining us on Faithfully Invested with Allen and Stacy Jo, if today's conversation encouraged you, challenged you, or helped you see your calling more clearly, don't keep it to yourself. That's right. Share it with a friend. Leave a five star review and keep leaning into God's blueprint for your life, your leadership, and your legacy. So until next time, remember, when you invest in his kingdom, he brings the increase.