Ep 40 - Drowning Out the Noise & Fixing My Eyes on Him

Life has been loud lately… and not just in the world around me, but in my mind, my circumstances, and honestly, my heart too.

In this week’s episode of Messy but Motivated, I’m getting real about what it looks like to live in the middle of chaos, between sickness, life updates, and even the unexpected stress of animal chaos (because… of course 😅). It’s been one of those seasons where everything feels overwhelming, and the noise just won’t stop.

But in the middle of all that, God has been reminding me of something simple, but powerful:

you don’t need less noise, you need a stronger focus.

I talk about how easy it is to feel like Peter, stepping out in faith but quickly getting distracted by the wind and waves… and how the only way to stay above it all is to keep our eyes locked on Jesus.

If you’ve been feeling distracted, discouraged, or just spiritually drained, this episode is for you. It’s a reminder that even in the mess, even in the noise, His voice is still there, you just have to tune back in.

Let’s quiet the chaos together and refocus where it matters most.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome back to Messy But Motivated. Hi guys, how is it going? I am back. Oh, it feels good. I'm back. I'm back. I I uh had some uh medical stuff. Ugh, I think it was the last time I was on here. It started when I was in on vacation. So the beginning of um what March? The beginning of March. It was like the second week of March. I started having feelings like I was starting a UTI. I know I said I that was like way TMI, but I feel like we're all family here. So um then it just would not go away. So I did three antibiotics um week after week and nothing was happening, and ended up getting like uh you know you you know your body. You're just like all right, and then like my aura ring was like seek medical attention, and I was just like, ugh, I don't want to do this, but I guess I have to go to the hospital. Um, ended up going and getting answers. Basically, I had an infection that had like, okay, it left the urinary tract and it was just going up. So um I was in it and it was not good. So I have been, I have not been myself, what, since the beginning of March. So uh please just I apologize that I haven't really been keeping up with my podcast. I mean, I haven't been keeping up with life. So my apologies for all of that, but I was putting myself first because I was listening to the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit's like, listen, girl, um, that podcast is still gonna be here. Um, but it's not gonna be here if you don't take care of yourself. So I was like, all right, all right, all right, all right, I'm taking a step back. So I started to rest and doing all that. But let me tell you something. I was like going and acting like nothing, okay, for a while. I was just like taking the meds, doing all the things, felt like nothing. Um, and I was like, all right, this is great. Um, all the things. And then all of a sudden, I give it attention. I felt like once I gave it attention, then it got worse. I know that sounds crazy. You guys, I know that sounds crazy, but I felt like once I gave it the attention it wanted, it it got worse. So once I stopped doing the housework, once I stopped, like I just started laying down, then it got worse. So I was just like, what the heck? So I texted my husband, I was like, hey, I know this is gonna sound crazy, but I think I'm gonna go on a walk and do all the things, like act normal, because I feel like my body is just my body's like, hey, move me, like all the things. So I ended up doing that. Now I'm not making this up because I know a lot of us it's important to rest, okay? It's important to rest. Actually, we're commanded to rest. But I then I started feeling better. I'm not kidding you. I started feeling better. Like I went for a walk, I started doing all the things again. So I laid down for three days and it was just getting worse. And I was like, you know what? I'm gonna start. I'm gonna, I'm just gonna get up and start doing things. So I started doing housework, started doing all the things, making dinner. Um, all of a sudden, I'm feeling good again. So I'm just gonna keep moving my body and obviously listen to my body. Like yesterday, I wanted a nap. I went and took a nap, like an hour and a half nap. So I'm just gonna listen to my body, but I'm also gonna not take the time to just lay in bed. And um, I think rest to some people is you know, it's it's different for others. So my rest is gonna be um maybe getting up and going for a walk and then coming home and taking a nap, and uh, you know, maybe not doing four loads of laundry, maybe doing one, all those things because I feel like my body needs to needs to be doing all the things. But I'm feeling so much better. I'm about 80% right now. So praise God. Um, praise God. I was I was in it for a little bit, but uh prayers, oh the power of prayer is amazing. The power of prayer is amazing. I'll tell you how how amazing it is, actually, because um I haven't even shared this with anybody, honestly. I went to the hospital now three days prior, I did a urine sample. Um, and my urine it had gotten worse than the first one. So I go in and I do this one one more at the ER, and there was nothing in my urine. I couldn't catch nothing. And I'm like, okay, because I had all these people praying for me. Um God is good. So power of prayer is amazing. Um I can't say enough about the power of prayer. I never really used to um pray. I would always say I'd pray, and then I didn't pray, but now I am when I tell you I'm gonna pray for you, I'm gonna stop right then and there, and I'm gonna pray for you. But um then I okay, so I started feeling better. And then I don't know, I think I've told you guys, maybe I haven't. Our dog, she's 10, maybe, yeah, she's 10. She'll be 11 in July. And um, she is she's our lab, she's she's an old, she's an old lady, okay. Um, the times of her running around playing catch all day, uh, they are done, okay. And we have noticed within the last two months that she's been panting a lot. So we're like, okay, like I'm keeping an eye on that. Like, you know, changes in your dog, like you're like, okay, well, um, this is changing or that is changing. And so I noticed that that was all changing with her. So I had told Mike, I'm like, I think I'm gonna take her to that, just see what was going on. Ended up taking her, and they're like, Oh, yeah, she just has a lot of back pain, she's getting old, you know, she's a lot of lot of arthritis. They give her pain pills to use like every day. Um, and then it was working for about three or four days. And then after that, it had gotten, I mean, she's she was just actually getting worse. And I'm like, well, something's gotta happen here because um, I mean, I just felt so bad for her. Sorry guys, I'm having mic difficulties today, anyways. Um, so it felt like um it was just getting worse, like she was panting a lot more, all the things. So I ended up taking her back, and they did more tests on her and everything, and they're like, Yeah, she's just in a lot of pain. She must have tweaked her back or something from running or whatever the case made might have been. So they ended up giving her more pain meds, like on top of the other pain meds. Um, and she got a shot for her arthritis that's supposed to last a month. So, I mean, and she's pre-diabetic. I didn't even know dogs can be diabetic. I I don't know, she's gotta go in for more testing for that. They were like, listen, I don't think this has anything to do with it. They ran a bunch of tests on her, they're like, so let's just keep an eye on it. Um, and that's what we're gonna do. So today she's oh she's miserable again, and so I'm just keeping her drugged up. They said the best thing right now is to keep her drugged up because what she's doing is she's hurting her back more because she's just walking around and panting and throwing herself down and she's miserable, gets right back up. So we need her to rest. So I'm just making sure that I'm keeping up on her meds, and so far it's working, but man, it's uh it's just hard. Oh man, and my sister lost her dog, you guys. Um, he had passed away, I want to say two days ago now, and I'm just like, oh, I'm in the fields. Sometimes I wonder why do we do this to ourselves? But then it's all worth it, you know, it's all worth it. I look back and I'm like, okay, because they love us unconditionally, and man, it's just hard. It's hard, especially with dogs, because you don't know. You're playing the guessing game. You're taking them to the vet and they're trying to guess because they can't talk, you know. So all the things. But one thing that is um, I don't know if some of y'all follow me on my social medias. If you don't, uh Mrs. Motivated 2025 on TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram. And there is a lot of the longer videos, I just want to let you know, is on TikTok because um I only put the shorter ones on Facebook and Instagram. So if you want to see the longer form ones, go to uh go to TikTok for sure. But my cat. My cat. Okay, y'all know I had been dealing with my cat pissing all the time. Like we didn't know what was going on. Come to find out, he just wanted outside. Okay, he just wanted outside. That's all he wanted. He wanted outside. So we ended up uh we took him outside or let him go outside. So he's been an outside inside cat just living his best life, okay? Besides the winter, he wasn't about it, he stayed inside. Um, well, he hasn't been coming home till late at night, and it's to the point where like I'm worried, okay? Because I know we have some fox and some coyotes, and I'm like, okay, um, like, what's going on? All right, because my son's getting all panicked. He's out there shaking treats. I'm shaking treats. I'm yelling, I'm meowing, I'm meowing for what? I'm out there meowing. I don't know. I'm I don't know. It's worked before, so I figured it would work. Um, and I'm finally like, okay, well, we can't do this again because one night he came home at 10:30 at night, and it was just listen, I was already in bed, but it was a blessing because I had been praying. Um, but he came home, and so I was like, I gotta put like something on him because we need to be able to track him because I need to make sure to show Carson, like, hey, see, your cat's still moving, he's just out there having a good old time. And um, so I ended up, I got one, and you guys, you guys, this cat, okay. First, I want to let you guys know he is so cute. Okay, he is a cute cat. Everybody that sees him, they're like, dude, he is so cute. I'm like, oh yeah, he's a cute cat. And I think he's using it to his advantage. I'm pretty sure he at this point he has three families, okay? I see him because he doesn't stay for breakfast no more. Mm-mm. When Mike gets up at six, he opens up that door and he's out, okay? So he doesn't stick around for breakfast no more. So I looked, he stays at this house, and I'm meaning like at this house, like this house has a fenced in yard and everything. He's in their house, like it's showing his dot in their house, okay? So he must be over there getting some food, snackies, all the things, loving on them. He stays there for about three to four hours. Then he leaves there and he goes over to this apartment building. And I'm pretty sure he it's the same apartment every time. Same apartment every time. He's over there for a few hours, and then finally at night he will come home. And so, yeah, he's living his best life. He is living, and I'm pretty positive when they've seen that collar go on him, they're like, Oh, he isn't astray. No, he just looks like it. He's got burrs all in him. I have to chop those things out all the time. Um, he's just he's wild. He is wild. Oh, he's wild. Uh, seminary's still doing good. Seminary's it's doing great. I am really in it. This uh quarter we're talking or semester. I don't know, what do you call those? I don't know. Whatever. I'm in classes right now. Last last time it was discipleship. This this time we're talking about evangelism, and uh, we're in the thick of it. And let me tell you, I never looked at evangelism like I do now. Oh my gosh, I never looked at it like I do now. It is so crazy, you guys. I didn't realize how you can bring people to Jesus and not even know you're bringing people to Jesus. I can have people in my life right now who have just seen my trans my transformation and how God's changed my life, and it's likely changing their life because they're like, wait, why does she look so happy? How come she's not depressed anymore? Why doesn't she have anxiety? Why isn't she cursing all the time? Why isn't she doing drugs all the time? Why isn't she drinking all the time? And all of these things, and it's changing their life as well because they're like, hold on, maybe, maybe there is something to this. Um, and it isn't even that, it can be me just doing kind things for people, kind things like, oh, you need me to do this. Yes, I can do that. It's not even uh no, I don't want money for it. Let me do it, please, out of the goodness of my heart. Like, I'm the handsome feet for Jesus, let me do it. And it's little things like that that people don't realize can literally change somebody's life. It can, it can take them from not knowing Jesus to having a relationship with Jesus just from being a kind person and being the hands and feet for Jesus. A lot of people think evangelism is me walking up to you and being like, Can I tell you about Jesus? That's not necessarily what it is. It is not what it is. It's it's it starts with there's a huge percentage that says it starts with um relationships. It starts with me being your friend, it starts with you trusting me with your secrets. It's trust or it starts with me like um watching your kids for you whenever you're not feeling good, making you dinner um whenever like you you're just having a rough time, somebody passes away in your family. I bring you some cookies, I bring you some dinner. Like it that's where it starts. That's where it starts. And people make it harder than it is. They make it harder than it is, and now learning so much about it is just I want to just I just want to tell everybody. I want to be like, you guys don't understand. You're making it harder than it is, which I'm guilty of. I'm guilty of. I thought I needed to walk up to people and be like, not saying I did this because you know I'm still I'm I'm not doing this quite yet. Um, and I don't think I'm ever gonna be this type of person, to be honest with you, but um and and and that's a blessing because I think we need different types of people for different of to bring attract other people to Christ. I don't think we need all these people that are, hey, um, can have you been saved yet? I don't think I need to be like that. I think my my personality is a gift from the Lord. I truly believe that because I've been told that so many times that I'm just easy to get along with. I'm um just you know, I make people laugh, just very relatable, all those things. I believe that the Lord is using my personality to attract people to Christ. And that's how I'm gonna keep it. That's that's firmly how I believe um he's working. So I'm still gonna be their friend. I'm still going to be myself and um never, never dumb down my faith, like never act like my faith doesn't come first because it always does. But also in in that whole cycle, I'm hoping that I bring people to Christ just by my actions um in that glow that I have because I see it. I know others see it, they mention it. So um just being a kind person and being the hands and feet for Jesus, I pray that um I will guide people and I will not point to myself because it's not about me, it's about him. So that's that's the main thing, and that's what I try to do in all of this. I know there's a lot of people out there that are like, look at me, look at me. Um, and I used to be one of those people on social media, and now I'm like, please don't look at me. I'm just telling you about this guy, and he's amazing, and he's our Lord, and he's our savior, and he died on the cross for you. Look at him. So I pray every day. Um that that's what I'm I'm showing people is um, don't look at me, look at him. So um, today's episode though, I'm excited to talk about this because I feel like um it's it's life right now, and I'm not the only one. I've talked to other people, especially just in everyday life, who are like, you know what, like social media and this, everything is so loud right now. The outside noise is so loud. It is so loud right now. I'm talking like social media. Social media is obviously loud. It's it's it's there in what comes with social media comparison. Um, you know, you see somebody who's on that vacation and now you want to go on a vacation. Why did they go on vacations all the time? Blah blah blah blah. Um, why do they have that uh suburban? Now I should just go get an extra job so that I can get a suburban um in and all the things and the pressure, the pressure of all of it, um, and the expectations. So I wanted to get into that today because I have been working on myself. And I'm like, if you are working on yourself and you are um seeing improvement, why not share it with everybody else so that maybe it'll help all of you as well. Um, and that's what I want to be here for. I want you guys to be able to listen to this podcast and be like, man, not only do I see the transformation, but also she's giving, she's giving the little nuggets that are gonna help me in my transformation. So um I pray that this helps somebody, and um that's that's really all I can really hope for is that it it helps somebody. We have to understand that everybody in our lives has an opinion on how we should live our lives. Am I right? It's so true. Like you will have um and I'm not saying this happens in my life, but you'll have your mom saying, Well, maybe you should do it this way. You'll have your husband saying, Well, I think we should do this, and then you have uh maybe, you know, um somebody, co-workers at work saying, This is, you know, everybody has an opinion. That's one thing about life. People love to give their opinions, they love to give their opinions, and that's just human nature. But the thing about it is, is it's constant, okay? Um, and it's hard to turn off, and we have to know when to turn it off. I have learned that the outside noise and people's opinions, so a lot of you are like, well, what's the outside noise? Uh, the the outside noise can be uh opinions that people are doing, uh, comparison on social media, uh, fear, doubt, insecurity, all these things. That's outside stuff. That is outside stuff. And um I want to tell you that there have been so many times in my life that I was listening to the outside noise because I was part of the world. I was living as part of the world because I hadn't repented at that time. I haven't turned to my faith. I haven't, I wasn't following Jesus. And I, those things made me depressed, they made me anxious. Um, you know, I like that shirt that girl's wearing in that Instagram post. Oh, where did she get it? Next thing you know, I'm screenshotting that. I'm putting it into Amazon, I'm buying the shirt. Um, just things like that that didn't matter. Those things, it was it was great in the moment. You got that dopamine hit because you just made that purchase, but then now that shirt didn't even look as good at as good on you because guess what? That girl was tan, she had all, you know, whatever, and now it doesn't look as good on you, and now you're just hanging it up, it's in your closet until yard sales season next year. And that is not a life that anybody wants to live. It is not a life that anybody wants to live. We have to understand that we were called to live differently, and differently means we have to mute the outside noises. We have to understand that every voice does not deserve access to our decisions. Did you hear that or do I need to repeat that? Not every voice deserves access to your decisions. Okay. And that's why I think it's really, really important to have your three people. And I know I've I've spoken about this before, and I keep speaking on it because it's literally changed my life. Um, I used to be the person where I'm gonna go ask this person, this person, this person, that one. No, immediately no. No, no, no. I believe that you need three people that you need to be asking questions. Okay. First off, if you have a spouse, um, definitely, definitely your spouse should be one of the people that you go to. Um, I say it's your number one person you should go to because I feel like um connection and um making sure that that person's always on the same page as you. Um, no secrets, none of that. If something's on your mind, it should be on their mind too. Um always going to them. Secondly, a mentor, a spiritual mentor. Okay. I'm talking somebody who um is in their Bibles. Somebody, it could be somebody in the church, it could be a friend who's who just literally they know their word, they're in their word, um, and they rely on faith and they follow Jesus and they don't just say that they're a Christian, they actually act like a Christian. Um, you can see their fruit. Definitely have somebody like that. So, and then the other one, it's just a somebody who you can go to to ask advice. Now, this can be, I I always like to say, oh, it's somebody who um, you know, a professional mentor, uh life mentor, somebody like that. But it's honestly needs to be somebody that you would trust your kids with. Somebody who you have seen their, it's not somebody that you're like, oh, if I leave my checkbook out, I don't know if I can trust them. It needs to be somebody who you wholeheartedly can say, you know what, if they told me um that this need that I I'm not um I'm not exceeding in this department, and that's you know, they're seeing me uh lack in this department or this, this, that, or the other, whatever it is, that you are you're taking it that to heart because you're like, whoa, that person's that person's opinion actually means something to me. Um, it's not somebody that you're gonna hang out at the bar with and then all you guys do is gossip. It's not somebody that a coworker that you guys are gonna sit there and you're both complaining about your pay all the time. It's not somebody like that. It is somebody who wholeheartedly you know they want what's best for you. They're gonna give you the advice whether it's gonna hurt your feelings or not. And it's going, it's it, it's not fun, I can tell you that. Um, I have one and I'm like, okay, all right. Um, but it's something where you uh if you can find that person that's also a Christian, go clap on yes. But if not, um that's okay too. That's okay too. Um, but just remember that we always go back to the Bible. So make sure it's biblical. Um, the advice they give you. And basically, you get the common denominator there, and you say, Okay, what are they saying? What are the pros and cons? Get out a notebook, get out a notebook. I know that sounds crazy, but I love writing. I am that girl. Even in seminary right now, people are like, Why are you writing your because I do. I do, I like writing my notes. I like writing them. Um, but write it down. What do you think you should do? You need to make this big life uh career change. Um, and you ask those. Three people, what was the common denominator there? What was everybody saying? Um, and then you know, peel it back, try to figure it all out. And if you need one more, um, you know, go to somebody else. But make sure these are people that you can trust, not just somebody like I say, you aren't going to go to somebody about your marriage who has never been married, you're not gonna go to somebody about your finances who has uh filed bankruptcy. So make sure it's people that you can say, you know what, I really value their opinion. And one of those really needs to be a spiritual mentor. Um, I believe everybody needs a spiritual mentor because that person's always gonna point back to the Bible because sometimes in life, when we're going some through some things, we are totally like over here, over there. And I mean, just mentally not, you know, because we want something so bad that we think, okay, well, God would want this, God would want this. But we need the outside person being like, hey, does God really want that? We need them to tell us, like, is this something that I should be doing? Now, granted, it might not be what you want to hear. And I and I'm just gonna refer this back like to um our house. For instance, we're selling our house right now. Um, we're in the process of it, and we put our house up for sale, and um, we've gotten offers in, and they're just not where we want to be. And a part of us was like, okay, let's bend, let's bend. But then I'm like, wait, wait, wait, pump the brakes. We told God in the beginning of this that we are going to listen to him. If he wants us to move, then we're gonna move. But if he doesn't want us to move, then we're not gonna do it. And we're pretty much saying, okay, well, God, um, we understand that you had this person offer this, and um it's way below the number that we said that we would agree on. So um we're just gonna do it. And and and he's like, wait, hold on a minute. Um, I had them offer that because I knew that you weren't gonna take it because now is not the time to move or whatever it shall be. So we set a number. That number is in our head. And if this house is not sold within six months, because that's our contract with our realtor um for that number, then guess what? That's God telling us, no, now is not the time and you are not gonna leave. We don't know why, we don't know why, but one day we will. One day we will. It might be my mom might get sick, it might be that um uh something financially, it might be that my husband gets sick, it might be that just our children would be totally different children if we moved there. It might be um we're gonna need family. It might be that um he's like, hey, I have given you this amazing community. I've built it and and you've helped me and we've done this together, and now you're leaving it. What are you doing? Like you're not ready yet. Stay there. So we're just whole like wholeheartedly giving it to giving it to God. And as much as we wanted to be like, no, we're gonna do this. Um, we're listening to him and we understand that we have to keep our eyes on him and he's gonna guide us in to the right decision. So will it suck? Because then we have to tell everybody, oh yeah, we're not moving. Uh, yeah, but honestly, I think that'd be a test from the Lord too. I think he's gonna say, put your pride behind. Yeah, that's kind of embarrassing that you're telling people you're not moving now. But all in all, like you're a gift to these people as well. Like, that's a blessing to be left behind, like to stay there. And you don't know how many people are praying behind the scenes that you're actually not gonna move. So um, as much as you are like, oh, that'd be embarrassing to say, because I do feel like that would be a little bit embarrassing to be like, okay, well, now we're not moving. Um, I also think that it would be an answer to a lot of people's prayers. So one thing I want to point out though is to not listen to the wrong voice. Um, I know especially in times where we're, and I only speak from experience. I want you guys to realize that because life right now for me is pretty hectic. There's a lot of things, a lot of things weighing me down. Um, my health, um, the move, uh, just family things on Mike's side, like there's just a lot. And um, school, like just life. Life is life, and is what I like to say. And I have to remember that I have to keep, I have to quiet all those other voices and and keep my eyes on his. Because his, we have to remember that his, if I do not and I focus on every all the other noise, it's going to delay my obedience in life. And my number one thing that I need to be doing right now is I need to be obedient. I don't need to, because that's gonna guide me to where I need to be. If I'm over here and I'm like, I don't care what he says, um, I'm gonna accept that offer, and then all these things, I get there and all these things start, you know, and then it's just like, well, it's because he didn't want me to be here in the first place. So I have to remember every noise that I'm hearing right now. I have to like turn down the volume, I have to turn it down, and I have to raise up his volume and say, okay, I need to listen to you. Um, because his voice, I can't confuse his voice with anybody else's. His voice is um it's it's calm, it's never chaotic. Remember that. His his voice is calm and never chaotic. Okay, I have to keep reminding myself of that. I take myself back to when Peter was walking on the water in Matthew 14, 29 and 30. Um, and what was happening there? Peter was walking on the water and he would look and he would focus his eyes on Jesus. And when he did that, he would walk and he was walking on water. When he looked away and looked at the thunderstorm and the noise and uh how scared and all that everything was around him, all the other noise, what happens? He began to drown, he began to sink. So, just like that, I have got to, and some of you need to remember this, you have got to turn down that other noise, and you have to keep your focus on him. He is the focus, he's gonna make sure that you can walk on the water, he's gonna make sure that your path, it's it's the right path and not the path that's gonna lead you to destruction. And that's where I take you to this. We need to be intentional about the voices that we allow in our lives. And this even goes with music. I can tell you my life has completely changed just by changing the music that I listen to. Um, now, now I'm not gonna lie to you. I I still like country music, okay? I still turn on some Zach Bryan, um some Morgan Wallen. Like if I'm in the mood to I'll listen to those things. Absolutely, I do. I'm not saying I'm over here just listening to worship music because I would be lying to you. I love me some Noah Khan. I love, listen, listen. Um, but what do I mainly listen to? I mainly listen to Christian worship music. Um, and it's changed my life. I used to only listen to country um and and music that honestly now I look back on and I'm like, wow, whoa, if we only knew what we were singing and what we were putting out, um uh what we were saying that was attracting things that were not good. They were attracting things, and we were actually like, when they talk about uh how you manifest things, when we were seeing things, we were manifesting things and not even realizing it. So I have completely changed the music I listen to. Um, and I believe that it's it's made my mind go a completely different way. Um, I'm not listening to sad songs all the time. I'm not doing all that, that's gonna make me depressed, anxious, all those kind of things. No, not immediately, no. You need to focus on who you follow. Um, I've been doing that a lot. Every now and then I just go down. I'm like, if I have 10 minutes, I'm gonna 10 minutes, I'm going to delete people that I don't need to be following. This is an everyday life, and this is on on your social medias, you guys. This is so important. You do not need to be following people whom you are you have a jealous spirit towards. Don't follow them. Do not follow them. Do you hear me? Delete, unfollow, whatever you gotta do. You do not need to do that. That's double's work. He is Satan, Satan has his foothold and he's like, hey, well, she keeps looking and now um she's going negative in her bank account for that's a pair of good American jeans and um this, this, that, and the other. So be sure you guys, I I beg of you, go through your following list. Who are you following? Unfollow some people, unfollow them. And that's sometimes people in life. That's people that you may see. Um maybe that neighbor, maybe that neighbor who um you really like each other. You guys have been friends for so long, but you notice that every time you're around, um, hey, do you want some wine? And the next thing you know, you're drinking wine, even though you told your husband a week ago that you wanted to stop drinking wine. Who you let in is going to affect who you are. So you're not gonna hang out with people. I tried to explain this to my niece the other day. You why hang out with people that you know um are not good, not good people. You know, you don't see their fruit. Now, now, don't get me wrong. I believe that all of us should be evangelizing, and I believe we should be hanging out with people who are um not Christians, but that doesn't mean we're hanging out with them every day. We're putting a wall up. We're put we're building a little wall, okay? Now that wall we can jump over, that wall we have a gate, we can access to them, but we aren't giving them access to us at all times. And once I learn that, I'm like, oh, so the lever's on my side, it's not on theirs. I can open the gate whenever I want and I can say, hey, um, you know, do you guys want to come over for game night? Do you guys want to do this? But also you're having that protection up because I promise you guys, I promise you, those people are going to start changing. They are gonna start changing. If your your relationship is authentic and they love you and and things are, you know, they have that bond with you, they're gonna see the change in you and they're gonna start changing because they don't want to lose what you guys have. So just remember that your influence on people is always, always working. So make sure that if you are hanging out with people, that they're people that you can honestly be like, you know what? Yes, these people are making me better and they're not making me worse. They're getting me closer to God and not further from him. Because that's the main thing. I think about that a lot now. When I hang out with people, I'm like, okay, are these people uh for, like, are they getting me closer to him? Or are these people like if I said uh praise God, they're gonna look at me and be like, girl, get get out of here. Because those are the kind of people I don't want in my life. Those are the kind of people that we're gonna keep on the other side of that gate and I'm gonna have the little lever and I'm gonna go in and out as I please, but they're not allowed to come in. Um, so just remember that. That's that has changed my life so much. Um, just by knowing the boundaries. Boundaries are so important, and I know that many of you know that. So um I pray that after you have listened to this, you're like, no, you're right. I I have the lever on my side of the fence. And um they they need, I need to work on me. And hopefully one day that gate can be can be completely open because they're gonna see, you know what, um, Melinda's different. Um, I'm not gonna ask her anymore, hey, do you want to drink a bottle of wine tonight? Uh instead, I'm gonna be like, hey girl, what you doing tonight? Oh, well, she's doing this. Okay, hey, can I join you? Um, and all that. And I'm saying that because it's one of those things where we can't expect that everybody's gonna stay the same forever. And if you guys expected that, you guys are silly. You guys are silly. And looking back on my life with my friends, I'm like, I was silly to think that we were never gonna change because we're very smart people. We are very smart people. I'm not trying to toot our horns, but me and my friends are very smart people and we something had to change. We weren't gonna just let it be the way it was. Um, we weren't gonna let that happen. And so our relationships will never be the same again. I hope they're not, because we're not the people we used to be. I think our relationships will only be better from here. Um, I think that there was a rough spot in my in some of my relationships, and now we're finally getting out of that because we're all discovering our new selves. And now it's I have to discover her, she's got to discover me. It's like a new friendship all over again, but it's a better friendship than it was before. And with that being said, I open my Bible, you guys, um, to Proverbs 423. And I want to read you this because everything that I ever am like really thinking of, I'm like, you know what, let's take it back to the Bible because we should be living by the Bible. In Proverbs 423 says, Above all else, guard your heart for everything you do flows from it. Guard your heart, you guys. Um, that means logging off. Um, that means uh uh making sure that um your friends' list is is not people aren't getting access to your heart and and changing you in a way that isn't godly. Um, it's supposed to get you closer to the Lord, not away from him. And guard your heart. Did you guys see that? He says, guard your heart for everything you do flows from it. We have got to guard our hearts, and sometimes that's hard boundaries. Sometimes that's um I'm I have to change who I'm hanging out with, um, I have to um not work at this job anymore because it's it's bad for me. It's uh, you know, it's changing the way I think about things. The money's great, but is it worth it? Is it worth my mental health? Um, all of that you need to take into consideration. And you need to think about this. I'm gonna leave you with this. What voices are too loud? What voices are are are so loud in your life right now? It could be social media, it could be um a podcast you're listening to, it could be you're listening to too much true crime and you're always anxious and you're always depressed, and all of this because, well, your body is consuming all of this true crime, and I mean you're always in that fight or flight because that's what you're and I'm saying this because that was me. And if you guys have been here, you know that I used to listen and watch true crime like it was my job. Um, still do it and just not to the extent I used to. Um, I'm talking maybe Friday nights, watch an episode. Um, but not listening to the podcast all day, not reading the books at night and all the things. So um, like, what is it? Is there something that's loud that you need to turn down and you need to turn up God's word? Um, so think about it. I know this that's that's a hard one to really think about. And honestly, it might convict a lot of you. You guys might feel convicted right now. You might be like, oh my gosh, you are so right. Like, I do have that friend that I do want to get closer to Jesus, but then every time I want to go to church on Sunday, they say, No, it's Sunday, fun day. Instead, we go get margaritas. Um, I don't know what it is. Um, and it could even be somebody that's very close to you. And I want you to know the power of prayer is so amazing. It is so amazing, you guys. Um, we're really diving into that in seminary right now. Um, people don't understand how how beautiful the power of prayer is. And because before I even evangelize to you, I'm praying for you. Um, because I need the Holy Spirit to start working, and I need to, I need the Lord to prepare you for me um to start evangelizing. So um just remember that. Uh prayer is amazing and the power of prayer is amazing. So if you need prayer, always reach out to somebody, um your church or even me, you can reach out to me. You guys know um I'm not hard to get a hold of. The main thing I want you to take away today is the voices that you're listening to louder than God because if so, something needs to change. Something's gotta change. If those voices out there are are taking precedence over him, something has got to change. It's got to change. And I know that's that's hard for a lot of people to hear because they're like, wait, I I I do allow that. And um, my mom or my mother-in-law is very toxic, or my sister's very toxic, or um, you know, I've been talking about going to church for so long. I've been wanting to buy a Bible, I've been wanting to do this, but you know, um, uh it's just I get made fun of, or people are always this, or people, you know, whatever it is. Um, just remember that he knows, he knows the struggle you're going through. He understands because this is hard. This is hard, but he never promised it was gonna be hard. He just promised you a spot in heaven. And so we have to, you already have the spot. Just remember that you already have the spot. But um part of the great commission is we need to make disciples of all nations. So it is your job. It is your job to go out and and evangelize. It is your job to be kind to people, it is your job to look like Jesus, um, act like Jesus, to I somebody will look at you and be like, I'm gonna use it, for instance, uh, at the hospital uh the other day, the you could tell the doctor was very overwhelmed with things and he was kind of being short. He was a younger, a younger doctor, and he was just like, Okay, so what are you here for? And you know, all the nurse was so sweet um and all that. And I killed him with kindness. I I activated Jesus mode completely. I was like, Oh, sir, I you know, and he's younger than me. And I'm like, sir, so here's what's been going on. Um, you know, and just being very kind, and even when he was being rude, I was like, okay. And then at the end, when he was doing my um, you know, basically my brief to get out of there, um, I left him with all right, thank you so much. God bless you. Um, I I truly appreciate everything you did for me today. Now, I didn't have to do that. I didn't have to do that, but I did it because I was like, no, this is your moment. Because remember, we're our job is to plant all these little seeds everywhere. He was probably thinking to himself, man, I was super rude to her. And then she just said, God bless you. Um, and she was so nice to me. And and wow, I feel kind of, and then maybe he's an extra to the next person. So um just remember, it's little things in life, and it's our job to evangelize, it's our job to make disciples of all nations, and that means that we need to spread the gospel, and that's all we're here doing is being the hands and feet for Jesus. So, all right, you guys, I love you so much, and I know I tell you that all the time, but I I I do, I appreciate you. Um, you don't have to be here listening to me, and you are, and I am so thankful for it. I I truly am and I can't thank you enough. Um, I will keep showing up, even on the the, you know, the during the rough times, because you guys know it's been really rough this past month, but I'm going to continue to show up for you. Um, might not be on time, but I promise I'm always going to show up. I love you guys, and I hope you have a blessed rest of the week.