Through It
Through It is a Christian podcast hosted by Ariana and Kimberly - two women who love Jesus and have been through it. Join them for real, faith-filled conversations on how to talk through it, walk through it, pray through it, and get through it.
Through It
Sugar, Spice, And Everything Irritated
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
If little girls are made of sugar, spice, and everything nice, what happens when you grow up and find yourself wrestling with annoyance, impatience, and irritability? In this episode, we reflect on the tension between cultural ideals of womanhood and the biblical call to be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.
Follow us and send us your prayer request on Instagram at @throughitpodcast
I know we just gave um gosh, I keep wanting to call Bear Bo, because that was our old dog's name. We took him to the vet and then I had to collect a stool sample. That was fun because he just had a loose stool and we had to run like check if he had parasites. But we also gave him the bordatella shot for like kennel cough just in case. And at first I didn't want to, but I'm like, then I read on it, I'm like, okay, we'll just do it. It's like the flu shot almost, but for pets, yeah, maybe a little more.
SPEAKER_03I think for puppies it's kennel cough is pretty bad. Yeah. So other dogs especially. Yeah, most of them can come back from it.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_03I feel like she just is gonna have the smoker's cough forever. But we've x-rayed her lungs three times and they're like it's clear, she's okay.
SPEAKER_02It was funny when I took the stool sample though, and I put it in a doggy bag and then I put it in a brown paper bag, and Kendrick was like, What is that? I'm like, it's it's poop. What? Like, I'm gonna give it to the doctor. Why does she want that?
SPEAKER_03You remember, and you ever see that movie Billy Madison? Adam Sandler? Do you remember in the beginning where they light a bag of poop on fire? So yeah, and the man screams, it's poop again.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. I uh that movie, I don't remember much of it, but there's like moments of it. You know what I watched last night? Okay, Little Rascals. I love that movie.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I feel like I could recite that whole movie. Oh my gosh. That was my personality as a child was that movie.
SPEAKER_02It's so funny.
SPEAKER_03It's so good. Does Kendrick like it?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, he's like, I love the little rascals. He watched it for the first time, but I was thinking, like, oh my goodness, these kids are so young.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and that they just act like that, yeah.
SPEAKER_02So perfectly, they were so articulate, too. I'm like, that isn't because they're much younger than Kendrick. Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_03Even the little blonde one, like the one in I can't remember his name, the one, the rich one with the glasses on his side.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. The one that looks like Richie Rich. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03I watched Richie Rich last week.
SPEAKER_02Did you?
SPEAKER_03I forgot what a good movie that was.
SPEAKER_02Okay, maybe we need to watch that next. We've been kind of watching like the just like 90s like family movies with Kendrick. Um, we watched, like he's seen Sandlot. Um, we watched, I've never seen it, but it's called The Big Green.
SPEAKER_03It's like a soccer movie with ham from the Sandlot.
SPEAKER_02Yes, and also Alfalfa.
SPEAKER_03Oh, really?
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Did you know that he is um a Christian that lives off the grid now?
SPEAKER_02Alfalfa?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, his name's Bug.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, Bug Hall. Yeah. I had to look it up. Yeah. Interesting.
SPEAKER_03He has him and his family live like in the mountains somewhere, like just completely taken away from the world. I know.
SPEAKER_02I and the only reason why I looked him up, because I'm like, is that kid the same kid from the big green, alfalfa? I'm like, that looks like the same kid, and it it was him. I didn't know that. Yeah. He so in the big green, he is the smallest kid on the team. Like they just needed another player, and so they recruited the young kid in the overalls. He's a tiny, tiny one. Yeah, that's alfalfa.
SPEAKER_03I don't even remember that movie at all.
SPEAKER_02I know. Well, to be fair, I hadn't seen it as a kid, but I rem I only remember seeing the cover of like the VHS. You know, I remember that poster. Um, but yeah, Little Roscals is like so cute.
SPEAKER_03Man, there's something in the air because we've been doing the same thing. Like, I watched Richie Rich and that was kind of a fluke because um it's on YouTube for free. And I was watching, yeah, I was watching something and it just started after whatever I was watching, and I was like, oh, I used to love this movie. So I sat and watched the whole thing, it was so good. Yeah. And then that day or the day after Frankie and I watched Look Who's Talking. Oh my goodness. I love that movie. Wow. Probably not something for Kendrick yet. Yeah. But we had a good time. Now I want to watch the second one and the third one.
SPEAKER_02We watched um Honey I Shrunk the Kids. We didn't finish it. I think Kendrick was not as into it. And I I'm like, well, this is kind of silly.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02But I remember watching that as a kid.
SPEAKER_03What is his name? Rick Moranis. I'm so bad with names. I think that's this guy from Honey I Shrunk the Kids.
SPEAKER_02The dad?
SPEAKER_03Yes. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02I would have. He's kind of hard for me to watch sometimes. Yeah. Yeah. I couldn't get into the movie either, but it was that's just like another movie of that era. Um, and we were gonna watch Beethoven. That's actually how we found Little Rascals.
SPEAKER_03That's a good idea.
SPEAKER_02Just because we got a dog now, so we'll probably watch that.
SPEAKER_03I haven't seen Beethoven in so long.
SPEAKER_02Since I was a kid. Oh my gosh, this is so nostalgic. We gotta just go down memory lane and like look up some of the 90s family movies.
SPEAKER_03We'll have to text each other when we remember once.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Fun. I know because I like watching movies with Kendrick that like I also want to watch, you know?
SPEAKER_03Especially when they're like things from your childhood. Yeah. Like when I had Allie here and I um she she picked the silliest movies, honestly. The first time we were here, or first night she was here, she wanted to watch Father of the Bride, which is one of my favorites. I I love like old 90s. Father of the Bride. Which one is that? Is it Cameron Diaz in it? No, Steve Martin. Okay. Steve is that the they're both Steves are in it, but I can't remember if I'm saying his name right. Diane Keaton and his daughter comes back from college from studying abroad and is engaged and gets married. It's oh yeah. Yeah, yeah. And there's a number two where they're her and her mom are pregnant at the same time. Yeah. So that's what Allie wanted to watch. And then she wanted to watch Cars after that. And I tried to get her to watch. My mom was like, tell her, oh, this is something that I used to watch when I was little and have her watch like Ferngully. And it was like, she won't care. Yeah. She won't be interested in the things that I used to watch. But there is like a, I don't know, it's like a certain brand of nostalgia when you get to share that.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I know. Um, cars is like too new for it to be nostalgic for us. But I mean like Ferngoli, yeah. Um, there's a lot. What was your favorite Disney movie as a kid?
SPEAKER_03That's a good question. I watched movie. I had like an epic movie collection, like VHS.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Or like what was the movie, if there was one, that you watched like over and over and over again? Ferngoli. It was okay.
SPEAKER_03And I don't think Ferngoli's Disney. I watched Ferngoli a lot. I watched All Dogs Go to Heaven a lot. Oh, I should watch that with Kendra. I watched Rockadoodle a lot. Do you remember Rockadoodle? Oh, I loved Rockadoodle.
SPEAKER_02I don't think I've ever even heard of Rockadoodle.
SPEAKER_03I call Frankie Chanteclair because of Rockadoodle. It's about um Is it animated? It's animated. The main character is or the Chanticlair is uh like this Elvis rooster. So sometimes Frankie's hair is like pumped up, and I'm like, you look like Chantaclair. Rock a doodle. There's another good one that's not Disney called Freddy the Frog. I watched a lot of like Peter Rabbit.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Yeah, I have not seen this. There's a lot of um, because I grew up overseas, a lot of like what some people would call classic movies that just never came across my radar ever. Like maybe it just never crossed the Pacific. Who knows? Um, that I'm like, I've never heard of that.
SPEAKER_03Like well, all of I think everything I just told you was pretty obscure.
SPEAKER_02It's not like I'm like, this doesn't even look familiar. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Um what did you what was your favorite? What did you watch on the time?
SPEAKER_02I don't know if it was my favorite, but the ones that I remember the most, like Land Before Time, um, Ninja Turtles, like the old Ninja Turtles ones. Um I used to love watching Home Alone. Just like the first two. Yeah. And then when my dad would rent movies, so just down the street from the house that we lived in, there there was a video store, a tiny video store. And my dad would always get like Lethal Weapon, he'd get Bruce Willis movies, um like a family favorite was like Jackie Chan movies. But and then there were certain ones that like he would make me go to bed because I wasn't allowed to watch it.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. So my dad did the same did the same thing. Yeah. I remember my parents making me go to bed so that I didn't watch pulp fiction. That stands out. But you know, those movies that you're talking about, I was such a weird child. I I don't know if I um was overly emotional or what, but um I couldn't watch Home Alone because I was so sad that he was essentially abandoned by his parents.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_03I couldn't watch Lion King because his dad dies. Bambi because his mom.
SPEAKER_02You're naming all the ones that I used to watch a lot. Lion King was another one.
SPEAKER_03I would hide them. Like homeward bound. I was all too sad for me. These these animals are alone. I could not handle it.
SPEAKER_02That's precious, actually.
SPEAKER_03I don't know what was wrong with me.
SPEAKER_02That's I would literally put them.
SPEAKER_03I had this bookcase in my closet that had all the VHS, and I would put them in the back so that nobody else would see them and like suggest to watch.
SPEAKER_02Wow. I just remembered Indian in the cupboard. Oh my gosh, yes. So the VHS cover, so it's like the hard plastic cases, that specific one came with like the side of that case. There was a keyhole, and then it came with like a little tiny, tiny, tiny plastic key. To like open it up. I would always act like I was opening it.
SPEAKER_03I forgot about Indian in the cupboard.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that wasn't a very popular one, but I liked the case.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. I I remember that being pretty popular. I went to French immersion school for one year and um I'd already seen Indian in the cupboard, but we I remember watching it in French in class in first grade. Delta's face. Delta, why do you always do that when the camera's on you?
SPEAKER_02Oh, she just turns her head. Sorry, I was listening. I got distracted because Delta's like looking at me like this.
SPEAKER_03I love when she gets it. When she looks so cynical, like anytime you take her outside, she squints like that. So funny. Okay, we're already well in. But I had this question I thought of earlier, and I mean it in a lighthearted way, but I think it could also be taken more seriously. But well, just take it, do with it what you want. Think about it as long as you want, or make it as simple as you want.
SPEAKER_02Okay.
SPEAKER_03But what what came to me, the question that came to my head and I don't maybe from the Holy Spirit, I don't know, was if the disciples, the apostles, the twelve specifically that were with Jesus had social media, how do you think they would use it? To evangelize, like do you think that they would post consistently to reach people? Or do you think that they would have this thought of social media is bad or evil or we should stay off of it, or would they look at it as a way to purely like a blessing to spread the word so easy because they were out walking across countries?
SPEAKER_02I uh love this question. First of all, how random.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, weird, yeah.
SPEAKER_02But I love no, this is well, this is this is real life right now. Yeah, and maybe it'll it'll cause you to pause with how we all use social media because although they are the original 12 disciples, we are still disciples. Yes, and so then it makes you think, how how should you in the times of Jesus, how how do you think he would call you to use this tool of communication? So I feel like the disciples would not take many selfies, yes, they would post consistently because I think that they would want to use like it's inevitable. You cannot avoid it, really. You know, you could choose to be like, I'm not gonna use it for a little bit, but if you are a part of really any kind of organization, it's usually active.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Whether you're a student, whether you're an employee somewhere, a lot of times it's used because it's like if the tool is there, why not take advantage of it and use it for good, right? So I do think it can be yeah, very much. Um, but I also think this I think that they would consistently Sabbath and rest from it.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. That's good. That's a good way to think of it. I um had lunch with one of our friends this week and I was talking about how much I um hate posting on social media. Like it makes me feel um embarrassed just to po like just posting is embarrassing. I don't know why. And the only stuff I post is like stuff about um like through it and then now Delta, and sometimes my husband. But then I I'm thinking about it from that that way since this morning of like if the apostles had it, how would they use it? I see, and they wouldn't be quiet, I don't think they would be. All right, I know so much. I'm being convicted to use it more and I mean to glorify God.
SPEAKER_02Is that cheesy? No, are you kidding me? I actually really love this. Like, okay, so outside of social media, let's think about other ways that we communicate, you know, or even just like being out and about with people. That's a platform, that's like a channel, that's a a way to share the gospel. I mean, like, why not? And like you think about the power of social media and the reach that it has. I feel like this is actually like a healthy conviction or and a holy conviction.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Because the number of people you could reach by just like coming in physical contact with them or walking, like the disciples had to do, versus how quickly word could spread like fire through something like the internet.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02So, like, why not? And so I think how like money is not evil, but in the way that it controls you, it could be evil. Social media is, I think, not innately evil, but how it could control you, it could make it evil. And so I think, you know, what is what is your motive? What is the source behind it? Like what is feeding it type of thing. Yeah, I think that's cool. I've actually taken a break from social media for the last like two weeks or more.
SPEAKER_03I had a feeling because I keep sending you things.
SPEAKER_02Oh, see, I don't even know you're sending me anything because I turned off my notifications. Yeah. And I think I'm gonna, I'm gonna do it through July, maybe. I'm not sure. But um, it's you know what's been cool though? Is I people that I don't see, I don't really know what's going on with them, people I don't talk to, right? So that's cool, just less noise in my head, and then people that I am friends with, when I do talk to them, I'm getting like live updates from them that I don't already know about. And that's really cool.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, it is.
SPEAKER_02So it's been a breath of fresh air, and I don't think I'm missing anything. Although there are certain things where I'm like, I would like to check. I don't know if that's even the right word. I don't know. I actually don't know what I'm missing. Yeah, I've been posting on through and that's it.
SPEAKER_03I had a yeah, I had a strong feeling. I don't know why. I think because we engage so much on social media, so you always show up the quickest and I haven't seen anything from you, and then I don't even think about when I send things to you. I just see something and like let's make me think gimps and then I send it to you. But I also I don't have my notifications on, I haven't for years. I I have texts and that I think maybe the Bible app I to I turn everything else off. That's great. It takes I mean it does make me later to getting back to people, but just not that type of feeling of like I have to check that or I have to get to that. It's good to keep them off forever.
SPEAKER_02I actually think that's so great that you have your notifications off because that's like that's why people habitually pick up their phone. Yeah, because it's calling to them, yeah, and they're seeing what notifications, and so by not even expecting a notification, then you don't just so without thoughts pick up for your phone all the time. I'm still picking it up, yeah.
SPEAKER_03Do you I'm I'm still picking it up, but it's not the same as like I don't know there it there's less distractions, especially like if you do post and like people react to it, like you don't get a notification every time that happens. Or um, I feel like specifically Instagram too just notifies you on like um obscure things just because they want you on the app.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. You know what? I'm actually so refreshed to hear that you said that because it's not like you're not on social media, you just that's just the you that's how you've always done it. So I think when I get back on social, I'm gonna leave my notifications off.
SPEAKER_03I 10 out of 10 recommend.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Only have your notifications on for like emergency things because everything else is just trying to get you to be on your phone.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_03And you're still you'll still be on your phone. Yeah. This has nothing to do with what we're talking about today. I know, I don't even think we said hi to anyone. Welcome to through it.
SPEAKER_0220 minutes in.
SPEAKER_03This is Ariana. No, we are three minutes. Are we? That was a great guess. Almost exactly. And this is what we do, we talk. But you know that because you're here. And if you don't know that, this is what we do. We talk. Um as is the nature of a podcast. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02So welcome back. Thanks for tuning in. I will, I think, forever be flattered and humbled that anyone listens in on us talking. I know.
SPEAKER_03Like so strange to me. I also was thinking today, I don't know why, but in how much I have learned since we started this.
SPEAKER_02I was reflecting on that too.
SPEAKER_03And just already the I don't feel embarrassed. I I want my flesh wants to feel embarrassed, but then I really have subdued it in how how much I've learned in however many months we've done this, and how many incorrect things I have said, and really even just like the the like energesis I put into the scripture.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. That's great. I was reflecting on I think today's topic. And I even think I don't know, just like I was I had the thought of just this internal growth that we've had and wondering how it's being translated outwardly, like externally, through conversations, even like we're not trying to like directly express what's changed, but just through the conversations alone that we're having. Um, I was thinking about that like just yesterday, actually, or maybe it was even this morning.
SPEAKER_03It's interesting how um God is so outside of time. You know, so like nothing the time means nothing to him. So whether it's been six months or six days or six years, and like just the way I feel like it's been a really fast change or amount of growth. But I mean, praise God.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. Let's see where this goes. This topic, I'll let you introduce it.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I think this is the this was a pretty good accidental segue. So um I I wanted to talk about well start with I wanna I want to talk about James chapter one, um, verses 19 and 20, and I'm gonna read it from uh the amplified classic. Yay. It says, Understand this, my beloved brethren. Let every man be quick to hear, a ready listener, slow to speak, slow to take offense, and to get angry. And um the point of this, or what I guess what uh inspired this, and speaking of like the change is um I was and can sometimes be still prone to anger and a hundred percent prone to irritability. And um I hold the concept of generational curses with an open hand. Um I'm I'm not sure if it if they exist, if they don't exist.
SPEAKER_02I think sometimes it's even just a matter of semantics.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Like sometimes people will explain what they do believe in generationally, even if it's like patterns. Yeah. And then some people call it like, well, you're just explaining it that a generational curse. And some people are saying, like, well, I don't believe in curses, but I believe in generational like strongholds. Strong, you know, so it's just semantics. And so I think even breaking down like how we define that, because I very much believe in it, but in the sense of um, nothing has changed generationally, so it's gonna carry on.
SPEAKER_03That's a good way to look at it.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Cause I I I'm meaning to say, like, I believe I inherited this irritability and this anger from my parents. There we go. Shout out to them. I love them. That but they and they I think would both agree. My dad for sure. My mom would get angry. Just kidding. Sorry, mom. But that that we're just angrier people. I don't know. Some people would say spicy, some people would say it has to do with being Latin. I I don't know, but they are not shy to voice anger and irritability. And it was something that I was um even, I feel like such my personality at some point. Like I was just so aware of it and okay with it, and just like I just am unenthused, unimpressed, and irritable. And that was just Ariana. And um I agree. Yeah, I just, you know, I I speak often about how Jesus changed me and changed my heart and how and how the word of God continues to change me. And I got really like stuck thinking about this verse with like what James was saying and how he was saying, um, let every man be quick to hear, a ready listener, slow to speak, and slow to take offense, and slow to get angry. And and there's some other other scriptures I want to get into, um, you know, in terms of like the cross-references about it, but um yeah, I think that you can change, God can change you, more importantly. Yeah, and if the word of God tells us to be quick to hear, slow to speak, that's what I want to do, not be quick to anger, right?
SPEAKER_02I think that there is wisdom that comes with being slow to speak. I think that anyone that is, I don't know if this is a fair assessment, but I want to say anyone that is quick at the mouth usually because they don't know better. Um, but saying that to say I have a tendency to be quick at the mouth too. And so maybe that is just exposing of kind of where I am. And gosh, I like I really love everything that you said because I will confess, and I think that's why even like this topic is making me I feel like super exposed and vulnerable. I was gonna say uncomfortable, but I don't think that's the right word. But I think it's because it is such a work in progress. It's almost like one of those things where I feel like, wow, all eyes are on me, you know. Like I feel like when you're speaking on something that is still kind of like I don't know, it feels like a wound. Yeah, you know, like it hasn't healed all the way. Because it's yeah, like we're I'm like, I'm not a laid-back person. Yeah. And I think we both have to give grace to ourselves, though, because I think it's the same, like we said, tendencies where it is a strength, it is like God's design and how he has purposed us to be and how he has called us to carry out a specific assignment that nobody else can that is uniquely for us. And so I think that there is an element that we need to carry into that. But there's a difference when you have no self-control.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02You know, like our nature is God's design, but how we can nurture that and how we can use it and apply it needs to come with gentleness and wisdom.
SPEAKER_03It's interesting what you said with like self-control and and gentleness, and like those are those are fruits of the spirit, right? And so fruits of the spirit, we we bear these fruit as evidence that the Holy Spirit is working in us, right? Which would lead me to believe and correct me if I'm wrong, that you can't do it alone. That the only way to really like to to demonstrate that to bear that fruit in in a in a righteous or holy way would be through the Holy Spirit working through you. That's great. Through submission and surrender.
SPEAKER_02I heard Joyce Meyer say, you can be given instruction, but the Holy Spirit needs to help you.
SPEAKER_03Yes.
SPEAKER_02And so it's one thing to know what is right and wrong, but like, praise God that we have a helper. Because if we're like be slow to speak and slow to anger, that's great instruction. But Holy Spirit, I actually need you to help me execute that.
SPEAKER_03Yes, there you go.
SPEAKER_02And so I kind of going back to like man, this feels like vulnerable. Going back to our last episode when I was talking about joy, it's like I'm in this season to be very transparent on this mic publicly. Like, I feel like I was walking around angry and I didn't know it. Wow. Honestly, I didn't know it. And then I just recently ran into things that was like very exposing of that, and that is God's grace because I didn't know it. That's like when you're in sin and you don't know, I feel like that is such a dangerous place to be. That's the worst place to be, actually.
SPEAKER_03It is, it is the worst place to be, to be blind to sin.
SPEAKER_02And so I think that I just got into I got to a place where like not that anger is a sin. Right.
SPEAKER_03Well, it I don't think that it is.
SPEAKER_02Well, it says be angry and do not sin. So God allows us, we're human and we have emotions, but in the way that like how is it now dictating your actions and your speech and your desires and things like that that that leads to sin? But it's like I had this realization that I was like, I said last episode that I was like carrying around a weight and I just didn't even know it. And so, like that same thing kind of with like anger, like I was holding a tension within me that I didn't know need to be needed to be released. And I think it was just a matter of like having some um knowledge, like having some feedback given to me and Holy Spirit like really opening up my eyes. And it's like once I realize it, I was able to throw it away. Yeah, I didn't know that there was like this trash attached to me.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, that's good, you know, and I I literally like you've been carrying around this bag that you didn't realize, like when people leave the bathroom and they have toilet paper stuck to their shoe and nobody knows. Yeah, and then like now like the Holy Spirit came to you and was like, Kim, there's toilet paper on your shoe. Yeah, and he threw it away, left it there.
SPEAKER_02And that's what it feels supernatural. Like I it like it got Holy Spirit really showed me, and I and I was able to like, I mean, it was hard to receive, but thank God it didn't incite more anger, and it didn't, I don't know. I don't know. I think the simplest way I could put it is like I just realized it was attached and I just needed to throw it away and I feel like it's thrown away and uh God has been just like helping me.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Um how many times have we said even here publicly, like, and even 10 to 100 times more privately, just to each other, that we have said, like, if I'm out of the will of God, tell me. If I'm doing something and I don't realize it, tell me. And I think for myself, I do mean that wholeheartedly. Yeah. Because I do want to be told, but I do still wonder if I was told, how would I take it?
SPEAKER_02Okay, I feel like no, honestly, if there was a time when I'm like I pointed something out to you that was like kind of still like hot, I honestly think that you would receive it. And do you know why I think that? Because I know for a fact the Holy Spirit is within you. And I know if it was in alignment with God's word, you would receive it.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I really do think that. Yeah, I think that it would it depends on I think who's coming, who's bringing it, right? Who's bringing the correction? Um, and then like and how? Yeah, and how.
SPEAKER_02Um but if it's given also with the Holy Spirit breathed on it, because that's one thing to come at someone.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02No one's coming at anyone that won't be received. But if you come with a spirit of gentleness, like we talked about the fruit of the spirit, and like you could sense that the spirit is breathing on it, I do legitimately think that you would receive it.
SPEAKER_03That it would be received, you know.
SPEAKER_02Like I've had some hard seasons here, and it's like the way that people have been telling me something that is so opposed to my flesh, but I'm like, I know that's not you telling me, I know that's God telling me. Yeah, and that changes everything.
SPEAKER_03That what you just said is a big that's a big thing.
SPEAKER_02It changes everything.
SPEAKER_03Or um we talk about the church we go to often. We go to 116 church in in Kirkland and our pastor uh Billy Huffman, who's great, he said recently that to trust God through people. And I I have like pondered this since he said that a few times. And he gave a few examples of people telling him things that he didn't. I think he said like he wanted to drop out of college and his dad told him no, and he wanted to fight his dad on it. But he said that he he had to trust God through his dad, like take that correction, and not just I don't think just because it was his father, maybe, but trusting God through people and then all and trusting God like in spite of people also, like wow, that's good. Being like understanding that like the Holy Spirit will use vessels, it's not always gonna be this like still small voice that comes to you in your secret time.
SPEAKER_02You know what? Cause I think deep down when someone comes to you something with something that is in alignment with God's will, I think deep down you know.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I I would say so.
SPEAKER_02Even if you're rejecting it on the outside, deep down you know what the right and wrong thing to do is. Like what is and isn't obedience.
SPEAKER_03And I think the only way to know that is to know God's character.
SPEAKER_02Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_03To be to be filled with the spirit and know his character.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_03To recognize it.
SPEAKER_02You know, another thing about so we touched on anger a little bit, but another thing about irritability and how you were saying that, like, okay, some people could call it like, okay, a little you're a little spicy. Is it because of your like cultural background, all these things? And I feel like I could say the same thing for myself. And what I have kind of chewed on recently is because I could also say I'm a very particular person with strong preferences.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And I don't think that's I can say the same thing about myself. Right. But I'll say this too. Um I I do, I feel like I could humbly say I heavily take other people into consideration, and I really try to.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And so I think there's a layer to that, but also with the whole irritability thing is I feel like because I've always said this about myself, like this is Kimberly, um, I'm particular, that I've always I've almost made that a norm.
SPEAKER_03Like you've perpetuated it. Yeah, it's a self-fulfilling prophecy.
SPEAKER_02Exactly. Yeah, I've almost made it a norm. And to be like tolerant of that of myself, like I'm and what that is, is I'm tolerating my own flesh to be like this is who I am.
SPEAKER_03That's so like double tap, retweet, like, whatever we can do to say that, like on repeat and loud. Because tolerating your flesh.
SPEAKER_02You are, and it's like to use the excuse of like this is just my personality, is does that sound Christian? Yeah, it doesn't sound Christian. Yeah, we have to constantly kill our flesh, we have to constantly wash ourselves over, like we talked about last time with his word. And the fact is, you had mentioned to me first Corinthians 13 kind of recently, but I was reading this and I'm like, oh my goodness, that is not me. Yeah, and that's not good. If you read something and that does is not a mirror of how you are being, if you want to call it your personality, it doesn't matter if it's your personality, you have to change.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Bottom line. And so it says, Love is patient and kind, love does not envy or boast, it is not arrogant or rude, it does not insist on its own way, it is not irritable or resentful. And then it goes on and on and on. And I'm like, okay, love is patient and kind. I feel like I could be kind. I'm not patient. Love does not envy or boast. I can humbly, I want to say, I really try my best to not boast. I don't think that I do. I'm sure that I have from the outset, but I don't feel like that's something that is like uh pulls at me. It is not arrogant or rude. I could be rude, you know. It does not insist on its own way. I definitely insist on my own way a lot of times. And this part got me. It is not irritable or resentful. I am irritable and resentful. And when I read that, I'm like, Kim, the word of God is saying this is what love is. And I think that was part of throwing away the trash. Yeah. Being like, stop saying it's your personality, stop doing that.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, that's, I mean, so mature, such a testament to how rooted you are to be able to do that.
SPEAKER_02How many times have we read that?
SPEAKER_03This is like well, that's the thing. Like, you know, how many times have you heard that read at a wedding? So much. And I think that because of that, we attribute this to love with our spouse. And yes, I think it's we probably I think our spouse gets the best and worst versions of us. Absolutely. But that type of love, it I don't think it says anywhere contextually that that's only for your spouse. That's in general. It's relationship with people, in yeah, the way you exist in the world. So while your your husband your husband or your wife gets the best or the worst of you, probably because of like time and proximity, but everybody else should, and also I'm gonna asterisk this. And this is my this is my opinion, so so please feel free to correct me with scripture, but um, you can't fake it. Don't manufacture it. And I I think for myself, being uh also a naturally, very naturally, naturally inclined to anger and irritability, um I will try to like kind of fake through it, and it feels so gross. It feels almost worse than just being that like angry. Submit. Ask God to change you, repent, yeah, ask for forgiveness for that. Yeah. So that it comes naturally, it's a natural flow from the spirit, to not like, okay, I read this, now I'm gonna walk outside and just do this, even though on the inside my heart says something different.
SPEAKER_02This is so good. I'm like, I'm getting so stirred up. I because you're right, you cannot manufacture it. And I think that's been weighing heavy on me too. It's like, okay, is this like a phase, you know? But the reason why I know that it's not is because I just know, like, when God is moving your heart and moving your spirit, you just know it.
SPEAKER_03You feel it, you know it's supernatural.
SPEAKER_02And like, I don't even want to say too many things about it because I feel like it'll come across as like I just can't explain it. But I am thinking about the woman's gathering when you had shared and you and you spoke on Deuteronomy, is it chapter 31? Chapter 30, yeah. Chapter 30, and just the circumcision of your heart. That is very much what it is. Like the throwing away of the trash, it's the circumcision of your heart. Yeah, and it's the cutting away of the things that don't serve you, and it's the cutting away of the things that don't reflect Christ. And again, I'm just gonna emphasize this again. It's not what people are saying, and it's not just mere worldly instruction, it is a commandment from God. And when you filter everything of God said so, it changes everything. I give it no second thought. Yeah, period.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, because you're I mean, if you love the Lord, and I do, and we do, and you know his love for you, it is at least for me, uh so much easier to do something for him than another human.
SPEAKER_02It stops me in my tracks. If I know it is from God, it stops me in my tracks.
SPEAKER_03I mean, we should praise him just for that.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, because I will admit, like, there are times if like if a family member or even my husband says something, and then again, it's like the irritability, right? But it's like, no, that is not Christ-like. You need to stop it. Just stop it now, and just no more excuses. And this does not mean that we will never have a day where we don't get irritated. But I do think this that when you have your eyes open in the spirit and it happens again, you're not at square one. No, you're not at square one, and it's not starting over, and it's not like okay, here we go. No, it's it's um when your eyes are open, you cannot unsee the truth.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. It's like that washing of the bucket story if I'm last like that. Bucket is is clean on the inside, and it doesn't automatically get dirty again the next time, or you know, after one day of being left out. Like it it takes time.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_03The um just to add some add some color, the definition of irritability is the tendency to get annoyed, frustrated, or impatient easily. So, like annoyed, frustrated, and impatient are not fruits of the spirit. We know that. But I wanted to break it down like even more. I don't know why I thought this was so interesting interesting, just to like I when I was doing this, I kept thinking like remove all subjectivity. Remove all subjectivity so it is so easily digestible. Because I think when we think of the the things of of irritability and even just everyday language, we have a certain capacity that we almost assume or put on everybody else. So we think like when I say the color yellow, Kim knows exactly what color I'm talking about, exactly the shade, the whatever fruit, when it's different person to person. So the a tendency is a likelihood to think or act a certain way. The definition of annoyed is slightly angered or bothered. That's great. Slightly angered. So you can't be like, I'm not angry. You're annoyed. Frustrated, the definition is helpless because your goal or desires are being blocked. Wow, that's great. Was moving to me. That's great. Helpless, like the frustration. We'd I don't think I do. I don't think of it in terms of feeling helpless because my own desires are being blocked. Frustrated because you're blocked. Yeah. That's that's great. Impatience, unwilling to wait, restless, easily annoyed by delays, obstacles, or the actions of others. Wow. It's also self-driven. Wow. So it made me think of this. You're the this is what it is. Like to sum it up in a sentence of you're you're not acting or responding in the way I believe is correct in this current or specific situation or circumstance. And that's what irritability is and annoyance. You're not acting the way I think you should be acting.
SPEAKER_02That's crazy. And you know what I just wrote? I wrote off my notebook here pride.
SPEAKER_03It's all pride. Anger is a secondary emotion, and it can come from sadness, being scared. I think for me, nine out of ten times when I'm angry, it comes from pride, if not 10 out of 10.
SPEAKER_02Wow. You know what I've learned about myself recently. That my anger, I've kind of I've I've never um divvied up the different causes of like why I get angry. I think for me part of it is pride because anytime you want to do something because you have an expectation, that's pride, right? The other part that I didn't realize was um danger. Because I never I I never I'm never directly thinking that I'm in danger in the like the obvious way of like danger as in like um your life is being threatened, kind of danger, but danger in the sense of like you're putting up your guard because something might happen.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Right. And so I've learned that, for example, if someone is raising their voice with me, I will snap back really quick. Not because of like, um, wow, Kim, like you're so angry, like you're so quick to get no, but I think on the inside it's because like I felt like I'm in danger.
SPEAKER_03It's defense.
SPEAKER_02And so it becomes like a defense, like a coping mechanism in that way. Yeah. But all you see on the outside is dang is um anger. And so to like peel back the layers, and I think we could we could um, for one, the person needs to be held accountable, like you need to take ownership, but also on the flip side, people also need to be compassionate and maybe have an awareness of um what is causing this person to react like this? And not to say that you have to tolerate it, you know, but I think that we could all do better with just learning and being compassionate with grace and having grace. Yeah. Um, but again, to highlight to not tolerate it per se, but having compassion and grace is very different than tolerance.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. For ourselves or for others?
SPEAKER_02Both. Yeah, mostly for others, I think when I'm speaking of that. Um, and there's just certain things too. If you're someone that's listening, where you've always described yourself as just being like spicy, or and you know what? When you say that, it's almost like you're taking pride in your temper. Because it almost sounds like it's a good thing. Oh, I'm just spicy. You know, like I know I've said that in the past. Like Koreans are just spicy. Yeah. Kind of true, but it's almost like there's a level of pride. But it's like you actually need to take that up with the Holy Spirit and take it up to God and be like, why am I like this? Why do I respond like this? Why do I feel like this? Where is this coming from? And ask the Lord to reveal that to you because things just click differently once you have a true shift in your spirit and a revelation on that. Um, but yeah, I think a lot of it is is pride to your point.
SPEAKER_03It's it's self-idolatry, it's me centered instead of Christ-centered. Yeah. So another um, another scripture, which actually comes before where I started, in so the first scripture we read was uh James chapter one, verses 19 and 20. But stay in James, stay in chapter one, and go to the beginning, verse two, and the ESV says, Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds. And I got to thinking about this, and especially in like how he said that first before like being slow to to anger. When you count it all joy when you um when you meet trials of various kinds, I would think trials like catastrophic problems, right? We think of like um, I think I even made notes here, like a loss or a major injustice, yeah, an obvious attack or persecution. But I think even just being annoyed is a trial because he says various kinds.
SPEAKER_02That's great.
SPEAKER_03And so count it all joy. So even count like praise him and count it joy that you're annoyed. Because you're giv you're you're experiencing a trial, yeah.
SPEAKER_02And and even maybe another way to look about look at trial is that it is a testing, and it's it's really a a testing of your character and it's exposing how we often say, like, tell me if I'm doing something, can you tell me? So when you have those moments of testing, it is exposing the thing that you need to work on. And so if there's something that irritates you, or there's something that angers you, or something that just causes you to lose joy, that is the area of weakness that you need to work on. And it's so much easier said than done. So I'm like, it's not like you can just tell someone, like, don't be irritated, that's your weakness, work on that. But I mean, I do think that there's a real deep dive that you need to do in terms of where that's coming from. And I again, I just have no other words other than like the Holy Spirit just needs to like reveal that to you. You just have to have a personal revelation because to just tell someone to not be irritated is not necessarily gonna work.
SPEAKER_03It's not gonna fix that.
SPEAKER_02That's instruction. You need the help from the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I think what you said a second ago is actually really, really perfect and profound in in the way of like asking in your prayer, like, why do I feel this way? What is making me feel this way? Where does it come from? Because maybe your that feeling, you know, whatever drives that feeling is just slightly off from the will of God. And maybe he doesn't want to take away all of that from you. Because I can't imagine a world where you or I are um and you God is limitless, and I I cannot speak for him because if he wants to do this, he can, and I I would be happy, but I can't imagine where you and I aren't um I don't know. I uh what's the word I want to look for? Like demure. I think that's kind of a garbage word, but um, you know, like um I don't just soft spoken. Um, I don't even know if any of this is doing it justice. I j I just think that there are these pieces that were given to us that were meant to do kingdom work.
SPEAKER_02Meek.
SPEAKER_03But even I think even meek has been the definition of meek is has been um like taken by the world and made some made like it's like something that that's bad. Then it's not the same with like submissive, because I almost wanted to use submissive when like I think that's those aren't bad things. Like we're always going to have a spice, I guess you can say, an edge, a boldness. I would I don't say that I like a contrarian, but I can be pretty good at being a contrarian.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and I do think that's a gift to your point. I like bringing it there. There is, and I think maybe the distinction is is the not being quick to speak part. That's so good. It's the not being reactive, yeah. Because when you're being reactive, your mouth is being faster than your mind. And by your mind, I mean your soul and your spirit.
SPEAKER_03Yes.
SPEAKER_02So don't let your tongue be quicker than your soul and spirit.
SPEAKER_03So the um there are so many proverbs that can really be summed up in like just shut your mouth. Like just stop talking. And I when I was looking up the cross references for the um James in verse 19, it's so many of these proverbs. It's you know, Proverbs 17, 27, whoever restrains his words as knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.
SPEAKER_02I just love cool spirits so much. I love that so much. In first Peter, it mentions a calm and gentle spirit, and I have been like feasting on that, and it feels really good to be in that place.
SPEAKER_03I think there's a a correlation there too, because you can still have the boldness, the sharpness, the tenacity with a cool and gentle spirit.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely. That is so, so, so good. Because really, what it comes down to is that zeal, that boldness, that fierceness, and that edge, what is it for? Yeah, is it out of your flesh or is it for the things of God? Right.
SPEAKER_03What where is your fear placed?
SPEAKER_02Are you are you being um are you being fierce, like fierce out of your flesh as in like no one's gonna mess with me?
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Or are you being fierce like in the sense of like I love the Lord so much and I'm not gonna shrink over this matter?
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02That's the difference. Same nature, but for different motive.
SPEAKER_03It it feels similar to the tension of knowing, like, I'm so worthy that God assumed flesh and died a terrible death and then rose again for me so that I could be with him. So worthy, but also equally such a so worthless. Yeah. You know, that's it's the same type of tension, like with you know, that dichotomy is like very real. Yeah, having like you have a cool, gentle spirit, but you have the zeal and the boldness to proclaim like your daughter of the most high king. It gives Paul, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Very much. I am the least among you.
SPEAKER_03You know what Paul means? Um, I got on a a kick this week and looked up everybody's names, my whole family. And you have a Paul in your family? Well, both my dad and my brother are John Paul. Oh, John Paul, yeah. Yeah. Paul means small.
SPEAKER_02I love that. Small. I'm sure they would not appreciate that as men that are in bodybuilding.
SPEAKER_03Just kidding. Small, humble, yeah, whatever. But I thought that was I thought it was beautiful. Yeah. I didn't look up Saul, what the meaning of Saul was, but I thought it was so great that Paul, after all of like, you know, everything that he went, everything that he did as as Saul of Tarsus and um killing Christians, and then being changed on the road to Damascus, and Jesus changing his name to Paul, that he changes his name to the word that means small. Wow. And then he refers to himself as the least of these.
SPEAKER_02Wow, that's so great. He calls himself a servant and a prisoner of Christ constantly, right? Um I don't know where I was going with that. What did I say before that?
SPEAKER_03I don't know. I cut you off talking about names. No, that's good.
SPEAKER_02Well, I and I just looked up what Saul means. So biblically, the name Saul comes from the Hebrew root word meaning asked for or prayed for.
SPEAKER_03Oh, poor girl. I think I squeezed her line. Oh, did you? Are you all right? Get it out, get it out, get it out. This is what happens when you smoke for so many years in Mississippi. I know. But even more Proverbs like 21-23. Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble. Proverbs 10 19. When my words are many, trans transgressions are not lacking. But whoever restrains his lips is prudent. Proverbs 18, 13. If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame. Just so many different, so much, and Proverbs is a wisdom book, right? Is that correct? Yeah. So many different pieces of wisdom that basically say like, stop talking as we have a podcast. And continuously talk about how we like to talk. But that slow to speak and quick to listen, that is something that I think is gonna be, you know, when we talk about sanctification being a daily process and a lifelong process. Yeah, something that I have to be reminded of every single day.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, as I'm scrolling through these cross-references too, and also just FYI for you guys listening. If you're ever wanting to look up cross-references, you just you could simply go to Google and just type in, so in this case, James 119, and then type in James 119 space cross-reference, and you will get some search results there. Um, this one's on open bible.info, and you'll get a list of cross-references, and it's just really fun to study and go down that rabbit hole. But yeah, as I'm going through all of this, it's just like it, you're like the list is endless in terms of being slow to speak. And it doesn't mean don't speak. Hello, we don't want that either, please. But it just means slow to speak, give God a moment to speak to you before you speak. Let the Holy Spirit breathe a little and don't be so quick to jump to what you want to say and allow him to speak to you, to breathe some wisdom to you. I think in that same in James it says, speaking about um, is it in James? Let me see. Yes, James 1.5. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. Just ask, just ask. Without reproach, God will give you wisdom generously if you simply ask, he wants to pour wisdom into you. If you just chill for a second and just hold your tongue for a second, ask God for wisdom. And that verse following, but let him ask in faith with no doubting. And I have zero doubts that God would that God is one to withhold wisdom from us.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. So good.
SPEAKER_02Just let that marinate for a second.
SPEAKER_03Just like the faith that God's not going to withhold wisdom for us. And how he speaks about it, you know, biblically, how just how wisdom is regarded. It's not in the same way that the world does. It's the that's great. God's perspective of wisdom is different than the earthly or fleshly perspective of what it is. I think that all of all good godly wisdom comes from the source.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_03From being revealed by the whole to the from the Holy Spirit, not by like sitting in a library and reading, unless you're reading the Bible.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I um, and there's something about too when you confide in God and you ask Him to give you wisdom, even before you have a conversation with someone, there's just something about the way that words flow when you know that God is helping you. And then when you're done, it's like that wasn't even me. Wow.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Where did that even come from?
SPEAKER_03I didn't even know any of those words. Yeah, it is it's wild. It's really cool.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it's the best thing. And I will say too, like sometimes words are not even needed. Sometimes you just don't even need the words, you just need a calm and gentle spirit, and sometimes that speaks for itself. And so knowing when to speak, knowing when to be, this is like the wisdom that we're asking God for. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Of when to speak, when to move, all things. Might as well ask him what to wear today, what to eat today, when to eat. Couldn't hurt any any last thoughts.
SPEAKER_02I think this topic is great. Um, I think redefining things as we've talked about a lot in the last few weeks, redefining things is so imperative that we begin to define things through the lens of the Bible, through the lens of scripture. And so saying that to say like how we define what our individual nature is, try to sift through that and try to pluck out the things that are not Christ-like, and don't chalk it up to it's your personality.
SPEAKER_03And so and don't let your pride block you from growing spiritually, yeah, yeah, because it's not this is just how I am, God is calling us higher.
SPEAKER_02This is a sanctification, a process of becoming more Christ-like. And if we know that we're imperfect, that means is that that there's a lot to that still needs to change. There's a lot of forming that still needs to happen. And so God is so, so, so gracious that, and he is so um in the way that he is Elohim, and he has created us the way that he has, hold on to God's divine design over you and pray over that. I've been praying that over myself a lot recently of just God, anything that is exalting, any imagination that is exalting itself above your will, your design, and your knowledge, I bring that down.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And I declare that it will be obedient to Christ, yeah, to your original design. Hold on to the whatever your divine design is. But anything again that needs to be cut off that is not a reflection of Christ's design over you, that is what you need to let go. And I'm like, whatever that looks like for everyone, it's gonna be beautiful. And it's all worth it. Do the hard work, do the hard work, yeah, because it's worth it.
SPEAKER_03I heard somebody say this this week. I don't remember where, but whatever the price is to get to heaven, pay it. Whatever it is, every day, pay it.
SPEAKER_02And don't hear what she didn't say. Jesus has paid the price in full, but it means do the work.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Pay like that sacrifice, you know, like what sacrifice do you have to make? Pay that. Like, what what is the sacrifice that is going to make you holier? What is the thing that you have to lay down that feels like it has a grip on you? What is the thing that you need to not let irritate you?
SPEAKER_03What is taking you away further from God? Ask Him to show you and then get it out the house.
SPEAKER_02Well, cool. Um, and we hope that you receiving this, that there's a shift in your heart and your spirit, and that it also blesses the people that are around you anytime you get irritated. Because we're all gonna learn just to be better and just to let the joy of the Lord truly abound. Like I want us to all just exude his love and for that to be noticeable regardless of words.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02So, and you will feel lighter. You, I mean, who wants to walk around with a weighted vest?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, you know, and I think that it becomes super obvious. I know I know that even recently I've called out to told people like I can see your reborn spirit, like you can see it on people, you can see when they're filled with the Holy Spirit and when things are different, and when their heart is being circumcised. And I think that's a daily thing too. It doesn't happen just once. Your heart is being changed daily, but hopefully, pray to God it is.
SPEAKER_02But that's a whole nother thing. Honestly, it just took my brain a whole nother place because I was also thinking about I want to say it's in First Peter where it says the devil comes like a um is it a lurking lion, a roaring lion?
SPEAKER_03Like a lion, I don't remember. Ready to devour. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02But um basically saying like you have to be vigilant, you have to be sober minded, and you have to resist.
SPEAKER_03Awake, yes.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, be awake. Like how you said it's a it's a daily thing, it's true. Yes, victory has been won, and Jesus has paid the price in full, yes, but the enemy is also still real, and you do actively have to resist and walk in step with the spirit. Soon as you not to say that you have to keep such a tight grip, because I feel like that feels like striving and that you're doing the work, but to be intentionally in God's presence.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And that's what the resisting is is to intentionally choose Jesus every day.
SPEAKER_03Well, the scripture is, and I don't know the address off the top of my head, but resist the devil and he will flee. Right. Is that in James? Maybe. Probably. I don't know.
SPEAKER_02James is great, guys. Just read the whole thing.
SPEAKER_03Just read the whole book. But just like Kim was saying, resist every day. Resist him and he will flee. He runs away if you resist him. So it's not even like it's that hard of a situation. But in James, excuse me, in John, John 10, 10, the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. And I came that you might have life and have it abundantly. So the the enemy, the thief, the accuser is going to try to steal, kill, and destroy. But Jesus came so that you can have abundant life, abundant, more than you are aware of, more than you can think.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Eternally. Not just here.
SPEAKER_02So don't let the enemy steal your time. Don't let the enemy steal your joy. Don't let the enemy steal God's glory. Don't let him kill opportunity because you can't keep your mouth shut. The steal, kill, and destroy is very real and it applies in so many different ways.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. So all right. Thank you. Beautiful. I'm gonna pray us out. And um yeah, and we'll wrap up. All right. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Father. Lord, thank you. Thank you for your presence. Thank you for bringing your spirit here, Father. I pray that thank you. Um that the words we said came from your Holy Spirit, Father, and that we said them intentionally for somebody to hear them intentionally, Lord Jesus. I pray that that the ears that were meant to hear them, hear them, that um you have given them ears to hear and eyes to see, Father. I thank you for your word, Father, and just the the manual you gave us on how to live this life in a way that brings you glory and brings us blessing on this earth and for eternity, Father. I thank you that you're so gracious that you are predictable because you are consistent and you never change, Lord. I just I thank you for the safety that comes with your predictability and who you are, Father. I pray that that all of all of these words landed on the ears to to bless individuals and not to make them feel condemned, but to make them pray the prayer to search their heart, that we find anything that is keeping us far from you, Lord, and that we surrender it to you and ask you to prune it off of us, Father. We want to be in your perfect will always, Father. I pray that everybody who hears this, myself included, Father, me first and foremost, that you give me the strength to be um slow to speak and quick to hear, Father. Always quick to hear and hear, quick to hear from you first, Lord Jesus. Protect our mouths, protect our our um hearts, and protect our minds, Father. Protect everybody who's listening to this wherever they are. And I pray that everybody has a blessed day and they feel your presence in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_02Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_03Amen.