Joyce Meyer - The Art Of Living Amazed
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Ginger Stache: Hi, friends. We are so glad that you are here because this is Joyce Meyer's Talk It Out podcast, where Joyce teaches the Word of God, in her wonderful, practical, no-nonsense way. And my friends and I talk about the real stuff of living it, and we don't hold anything back. That's what makes it's so fun. I'm Ginger Stache with Jai, and Erin Cluley, three friends who are all in very different stages of life, but know the importance of having honest, loving women around you. And when we need a little extra help, which we do so very often, we our girl, Joyce, and she is always willing to help. We are going to talk about some really great stuff. So, consider yourself, one of us, and let's Talk It Out today. Hi girls! This is gonna be fun.
Erin Cluley: I'm excited.
Ginger Stache: I'm really excited about some of the new adventures that it's going to open up in many people's lives today. And I'm also excited to have our friend, Megan Rossman, here with us.
Ladies: Yay!
Ginger Stache: Yay, Megan! Megan is one of those important people in our life, who has been a great friend for a long time. She tried to move away for a while. We did not allow it.
Jai Williams: Emphasis on try.
Megan Rossman: A quick year and a half.
Ginger Stache: She's back and we're so glad to have her. She's single and sassy. So, if you want some more information...
Erin Cluley: Just contact me.
Jai Williams: We're taking applications, from eligible bachelors.
Ginger Stache: We were just hearing from a friend, our friend Harry, who works here, on the crew, about the ironman that he did this weekend. I don't know. It's incredible stuff. So, you swim lots and lots of miles, and then you ride bikes thousands of miles, and then you run several marathons.
Ginger Stache: It's incredible.
Jai Williams: Yeah, it's crazy. It's not one of my goals.
Ginger Stache: So, we came up with our own idea of...
Erin Cluley: Please share.
Ginger Stache: What we're gonna do.
Jai Williams: Let's say this first, that Erin and Megan are like, "Yeah, we're gonna do something too".
Megan Rossman: We are.
Erin Cluley: Ours is like a half marathon.
Megan Rossman: Just.
Erin Cluley: Just a half marathon. We didn't bike and swim.
Ginger Stache: Yeah, I'm happy for you. I'm happy for you, I think it's good.
Jai Williams: Ginger and I had a different idea.
Erin Cluley: Tell us what you're gonna do.
Ginger Stache: So we're gonna start by going out for ice cream.
Erin Cluley: Okay.
Ginger Stache: And then, we're gonna get a massage.
Erin Cluley: Okay.
Ginger Stache: And then, we're gonna do a 5k, which we'll probably walk and run.
Jai Williams: It's not one that we're gonna have to register for. We're gonna make it up. We're gonna walk wherever we wanna go. And we're gonna take lots of selfies.
Ginger Stache: Stopping for selfies along the way.
Erin Cluley: Basically, what you're saying to me, is you're gonna go get ice cream and a massage and walk like, from the car to the door and back.
Jai Williams: Basically, yeah.
Ginger Stache: Yeah, that's probably about it.
Jai Williams: That's about all I'm doing.
Erin Cluley: I wanna come.
Ginger Stache: You're more than welcome.
Jai Williams: Instead of ironman, it's called, "Fancy lady".
Ginger Stache: The fancy lady.
Jai Williams: Fancy lady.
Ginger Stache: And we're gonna have shirts.
Erin Cluley: I'm gonna puff paint them, if I may, if that's alright, I've already decided.
Jai Williams: You guys can join us after you do your really extensive, terrible one. You can join us, and have shirts like us, too.
Erin Cluley: Fancy lady marathon.
Jai Williams: Fancy lady marathon.
Ginger Stache: Fancy lady, we can't really call it a marathon. Let's just call it an event.
Jai Williams: How 'bout fancy lady adventure.
Ginger Stache: I love that! Because today, on the show, we are talking about something we all need, so much. Because, you know, in our lives, we tend to be over scheduled, overburdened, over stimulated with all these things that are coming at us. And yet, we're, too often, bored and dissatisfied, and lacking hope and joy in our lives. So, if any of that connects to you, today, we're talking about the art, the importance of living amazed in what God has for us. And creating adventure, and a sense of wonder in your life.
Jai Williams: Yeah, and I think it's really fun that even though we started this show like this, because that's one of things I love about you g. Like, I love the fact that you find adventure in everything. So, that's why I immediately like, you're like go to get ice cream with hot fudge on it, ha, of course! Adventure for you, and I've experienced it, and I know we'll talk about it even more on this episode. But, like, adventure for you, is in the small things too. It,like you've done some of the most amazing things, you know, that I've ever experienced. Going to your house is like going to an art museum because you have all these artifacts and like, non-touchable things from all over the world.
Ginger Stache: You can touch 'em, that's alright.
Jai Williams: I'm scared. There's like an ancient giraffe from the caverns of, I don't know, you know? And actually, like, some of the gifts that you've even gotten...
Ginger Stache: I have a real giraffe in my house.
Jai Williams: She has lots of things. And like,but Megan, even in your house, some of the, you know, gifts that Ginger's brought back to you, like, I like, was in your bathroom like sitting on the toilet, and I'm kinda touching it.
Megan Rossman: Admiring my stuff.
Jai Williams: I'm like, "Ooo! This is from Africa"!
Ginger Stache: That's where you keep the things, I've given you? In the bathroom!
Megan Rossman: I wanted them to have a room for themselves. An adventure room.
Jai Williams: It's an adventure room, it's so fun, I go in there a lot.
Ginger Stache: That's a whole different adventure for you.
Megan Rossman: They're not all in my bathroom.
Jai Williams: But you have several though. Like, the cute room that has the like, the little cutesy thingies.
Megan Rossman: The little giraffe and the trinket boxes.
Jai Williams: And I touched 'em, yeah. I went like this... "Ooo"! You're like, "That's from Ginger". I was like, "My bad".
Ginger Stache: Well, we are gonna talk about how important it is to find joy, and amazement, and wonder, and adventure in all of the different things that God has for us. And it's so clear in the Bible. I think that's what people don't understand. It's so clear, in the Bible, that God wants us to have a life that we love and enjoy. But even more than that, he wants us to see his goodness, and how much he has for us. So, we're gonna start, right now, with a little bit of a message from Joyce talking about this art of living amazed.
Joyce Meyer: See, I believe that if we will live amazed that we'll never be without hope. And the more hope we have, the more hope we can give to other people. And I want to tell you that we live in a society where people are desperate for hope, and we're about the only light that we're seeing. The world is getting darker and darker but the Bible teaches us that, in the midst of that, we should get brighter and brighter. So we need to turn the lights on. We need to shake things up a little bit tonight. We need to realize what we have and learn to live amazed. I mean, jaw-dropping, wide-eyed, "That was God". Come on, somebody give him praise. It sounds kind of ridiculous to say that we've gotten used to God, but we have so much available to us. There's churches on every corner and radio, iPods, iPads. I mean, we're just drowning in the word and, yet our world is in deeper trouble than what it's ever been in before. We spend more on entertainment than any generation ever and, yet as a whole, and that's not all of us, but as a whole, people are more miserable than ever. So, kind of seems to me like something that people are doing out in the world isn't working. And I know that God is in the midst of all this just thinking "If you'd just pay attention". Can I tell ya something? God works in all of our lives a lot more than what we realize that he does. There's no telling how many times, when you're driving in traffic, that God saves you from a disastrous accident. There's no telling how many times, in a year, God saves each one of our lives. We have his angels with us. We have the power of the Holy Spirit leading us and guiding us. How many times do you just kind of know that thing that you need to know about your kids and they don't know how you know but you know, and you don't know how you know, but you know. That's something special and we need to be amazed. We need to live amazed. And the more amazed we are, the happier we are, the more hopeful we are, the more joyful we are, and the more we can start a pandemic of hope out in the world.
Ginger Stache: That is great, start a new kind of pandemic out there, one of hope, out in the world. 'Cuz, you know, when Joyce taught this, she didn't know what we'd all be going through, right now, when we're listening to it, going through our own pandemic, where our lives have kind of been shut down. Where we've been isolated and kept away from so many good things in the world. But the good things of God have not stopped. And so, to be able to live amazed at what he's doing and to open our eyes and our lives to see those things, to be more aware, to celebrate them, it will change, not only us, but the people around us too.
Erin Cluley: Absolutely, I always think of,and even, when she was sharing that message about job, I will say this over and over again, how much I love that book in the Bible. But when God is talking about all the things he did, and he's telling job, basically, "Why are you worried? Because I've got this under control, but he's talking about how he keeps the sky where it belongs, and he keeps the water to stop where the sand starts. And he,like, all these, he stores the snow, and all these different things. And I've read that before, and thought, "Yeah, that's cool. God created all that. Awesome". But then, when you stop and you think about that, that is amazing. Like, the water knows where to stop. And that stuff doesn't just happen. When you flip your perspective a bit and you see those things, it kind of like, opens up the world a little bit.
Ginger Stache: Yeah, and I love where God took job, while he was sharing that with him. It was not only like, "I've got this under control. I'm a really big God," but it was, "You don't have to worry about it". You know, "Who are you questioning? I've got this for you". Which talk about amazing. That's huge.
Jai Williams: Yeah, I haven't been the hugest fan of this Book of Job.
Ginger Stache: I know, it's one of those things where you think, "I don't wanna go where job went".
Jai Williams: "I don't wanna be job".
Erin Cluley: I'm not recommending his life. But I love how God talks.
Jai Williams: I completely love what you're saying, but I do know, like, even those that don't, that have been in a season where you really don't like the situations you've been in, or you felt like, because of isolation, or you've been, you know, you've been quarantined, you've been, you know, working from home and you don't have a lot of exposure to things that you think are adventurous, like, I think it's good even in that moment of your job season, where you feel like things have been stripp away, that you do have that sense of hope to say like, even in a pandemic, "I can have a pandemic of hope, and I know that God's got things under control, and I can start shifting my perspective on how I look at things".
Ginger Stache: Yeah, I think that's great. Megan, I wanna ask you because you've made some big changes in your life recently. We just said, you just moved back to be here with us. That was really not the only reason, but we like to claim it. So, as a single woman and making those types of big changes and moves in your life, in the middle of a pandemic, how were you able to see, I guess, how God was moving in your life, and to have hope in all the things that have been happening? You're definitely on an adventure of your own.
Megan Rossman: Yeah, I think a big part of it was, I mean, any, something that I could be thankful out of 2020 was like, the change of pace. Because, I mean, if you know me, I keep a pretty busy schedule, and I'm a planner, and I like routine. And when something as big as a pandemic that affects the entire world, is completely out of our control, I mean, it just, it really had me look inward in those down times, in that slower pace of life, where you can't go out with friends, you can't do what you typically can,are used to doing. So, it really helped me to kind of turn my focus on God. And within that year, you know, that's when God started moving. And I didn't know that it was gonna be moving me back to st. Louis. But the word that I gave myself for 2020, or that I felt God was leading me to was the word "Wonder". And so, I just,
Erin Cluley: Cool.
Megan Rossman: Hit it was a huge. Yeah, 'cuz I'm thinking, "Okay," I'm living at home. At that time, things just didn't look the way that I thought it was going to. And I felt God put that word on my heart and I thought, "Okay". And then the pandemic hit, and I'm like, "Well, now, what am I supposed to do? Look, I'm at home all the time".
Ginger Stache: Yeah, where's that wonder coming from now?
Megan Rossman: But living away from my family for seven years, it was like, "Okay. Now, we got a lot of family time together," we're all at home with each other, all the time. But it really helped me to just shift my focus back on to the things of God, and what, where he was taking me, what he wanted to do my life.
Ginger Stache: Yeah. I like to call it "Chasing wonder". I think that's something that we all need to be doing is chasing after, making that decision to fully go after all that God has for us, to see him moving. Because, like you said, we can get blinders on, by this to-do list, and by where I have to be next, that we miss the wonder of God right in our own everyday lives, and some of those big adventures that are happening. And it's so beautiful, with what Joyce is saying about living amazed, completely blown away by what God can do in our lives. But we put a lot of things in his way. We don't always make it easy for him to do that.
Jai Williams: And if you, honestly, think about it, Megan, like, how we met even, you were taking a huge, you just kind of lived a life, like it's literally, like you've taken small steps to live a life, full of big, huge, wonderful adventure. Because how I met you, you had left your family in Ohio, to come serve at the dream center.
Megan Rossman: Yeah.
Jai Williams: Like, that's how we first met. She was one of the interns when I was on staff at the st. Louis dream center. And so,and I watched you, completely, leave your entire family, and move to the inner city of st. Louis, where, a lot of people don't like to be a part, like, people don't find that as an adventure, a lot of times. People find it as like, putting yourself in harm's way, potentially. But the way that the kids,like, and you,the way you embraced the kids and embraced, you know, the culture and just learned so much. This was early 2000s when I initially met you and did that, and just to see you, then, take a step and do something else, and take a step, it's kind of like, you've been really like, living a single life of like,of wonder. Where a lot of people look at the singleness and don't really, you know, they're kinda sad.
Ginger Stache: Waiting for the next thing.
Jai Williams: Yeah, waiting for the next thing. I've really seen you like, take like, I've always admired you for that. Like, how you just take life and just go for it. So, you've been preparing yourself for this. So, I just want to remind you: like, you've been doing this for, ever since I met you.
Megan Rossman: It's weird. Like, I mean, ever since I made the decision to follow Jesus and really gave my life to him, it was kind of one of those things of just surrender from the get-go. And so, it's kind of like, I don't know a life like, outside of just following him wholeheartedly, and being amazed at the little things, and allowing that to pour out to other people. I mean, of course, you know, like, we all do, I have moments of, you know, getting stuck in that routine and getting stuck in the busyness. Like, I was in target, a couple weeks ago, and just having a really rough day, and, you know, wanting to get in and get out. And I'm coming down this aisle, and there's this lady standing at the end of the aisle and she's just like staring at me. And I'm like, you know, at that time we could still have masks on, and I'm like, "I need like, glasses or something," like, "Why is this lady looking at me"? And I'm looking behind me, to see if she's trying to make eye contact with someone else. And she's like, "Girl, you look so cute today," and I just started crying. Like, I'm like, "Oh, my gosh, thank you". And she's like, "I didn't mean to make you cry". "That's ok, it's just a rough day". But it was like, just, you know, like little things like that, had I just been trying to get through my to-do list of shopping and getting my stuff done,but I slowed down, 'cuz, I was like, "Okay, maybe she wants to say something," made eye contact with her, smiled. And I thought, even just that like, smiling at a stranger that I don't know, and I was the one getting a compliment out of it. It was like God knew what I needed in that moment, like, it was just really sweet.
Ginger Stache: But you also notice that. Because, like you said, a lot of people would have kind of brush it off. Maybe thought that was really nice, but you knew that, that was a little encouragement gift from God. That he used that moment in your life to say, "I'm still here. I want to show you something amazing". And we all need to be aware of those things in our lives.
Jai Williams: It all comes, boils down, to me, to gratitude.
Ginger Stache: Oh yeah. You're so right.
Jai Williams: You know, like being grateful. Because we're so used to being in a hurry that we forget the small things. Even like, I stop now, and just sometimes just take a deep breath, you know. Like, the fact that I can do that. I struggled with asthma for a long time, you know. And so, the fact that I can take a deep breath, or, you know, just be aware of your breathing. Be aware that, like, I sit here, when I sit with you guys, I'm grateful. And I look at all, y'all, look at your nails, and I notice everything about, I'm just I'm grateful for it. And I think the older I get, the more grateful I get. And then, I find the wonder, and I find the adventure in every little thing, you know? And I don't,i just, even if it's like, like, today, I came in here with these.
Ginger Stache: Look at these, this is gorgeous.
Jai Williams: Fifteen feet braids, look. You wanna jump rope, anyone? But I find, like, adventure in that. It was just kind of like, "Why not"? I change my hair a lot. And that's one of the things that, that's a little, small thing that I do, that I find as adventure. Like, I know Ginger does a lot of shoes. Like, it's just,
Ginger Stache: I can't pull off these braids. Okay? I mean, it's not my adventure.
Erin Cluley: You find what works for you.
Ginger Stache: I would actually love to try. But no, we all have different things. Yeah, I love what you're saying.
Jai Williams: That's,it's just the smallest things, finding wonder in those small things. But also, challenging yourself and surrounding yourself with people that don't squelch your big dreams. That's why I love being around people like,these ladies are my real friends. Like, I love being around the adventures that you take with your kids, you know. The adventure,like, seeing your kids in like, costumes, almost every day for no reason.
Erin Cluley: That's our life. Because Tuesday at 4:00. Why not be superman?
Jai Williams: And they're usually playing in mud.
Erin Cluley: Yeah.
Jai Williams: That's an adventure and seeing you take those steps, you know, and doing things like, I love that. And then, seeing you, g, like jump out of planes, and seeing you like paragliding, and seeing you in huts. You take the most, like, extreme adventures, like that stuff, like gets me going. I like the big and the small.
Ginger Stache: We need the things that are specific to us. It's so easy to look at other people and compare and say, "I should be doing what they're doing," and instead, to be able to say, "Okay, God, it's you and me. I want to be amazed by you. Show me the wonder that you have for me, today". So we're gonna check back in with Joyce, because she's going to tell us what she believes is the most amazing thing about God, and then, we'll talk more about that.
Joyce Meyer: Do you know that right now, Hebrews 1:3 says that God is upholding, maintaining, guiding and propelling the universe by his mighty word of power? That means the sun stays there 'cause God tells it to. The moon stays there because God tells it to. The stars aren't gonna fall on our head tonight because God is holding them up with his word of power. The ocean doesn't go any further than the grains of sand because God commanded it to stay there. Amazing. And I've got more statistics and on and on. I mean, in the Andes mountain, there's a bat that's the size of a Raspberry. Ten thousand species of birds, nine-hundred thousand different kinds of insects in the world, and we just step on them. Three thousand different kinds of snakes, and most of us don't even like them. I mean, our God is so amazing. It's just so amazing, amazing, amazing. But, you know, just to end I was thinking, what would be the most amazing thing that I could talk about? And I thought, well, I guess we'd have to talk about amazing grace. If we were gonna talk about anything amazing, we'd have to talk about amazing grace. I guess the only way you can really define grace is amazing. It gives us everything and costs us nothing. Jesus paid for everything that we have. It's a free gift from God to people that don't deserve it. It forgives our sins no matter how many they are or how terrible they are. God, not only forgives our sins, he forgets them and remembers them no more. No more. Grace justifies us and makes us just as if we had never sinned. No matter what you've done, you stand before God tonight totally clean, just as if you had never sinned, only by the grace of God. "By grace, are you saved through faith. It is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast". No man can deserve the grace of God. There's nothing like it in the world. We can't even understand it. It takes our sins and gives us God's righteousness. It's God's power given to us as a gift, enabling us to do what we could never do, with ease. You know how many things that God enables you to do? And then sometimes we have the audacity to judge other people 'cause they can't do what we do? We better start saying, "God, thank you for your grace. Thank you for your grace". Grace makes us a joint heir with Christ. We get what he paid for. Grace meets us where we're at, but it never leaves us where it found us. Grace has always taken us somewhere in our life, always changing us.
Ginger Stache: That is so true. It really is God's amazing grace that breaks down all those things that we put between us and God. It's of course, it completely opened the door for our salvation. That's how grace works. It gives us everything that we don't deserve. But it also, helps us through those everyday things of hopelessness and distraction, you know, tedium, routine. But, also, the fears that hold us back. I mean, it's God's grace that can really help us walk through that. And it is incredibly amazing when you think about.
Erin Cluley: It is.
Jai Williams: Yeah, just thinking about the grace of God and how, you talk about how it covers a multitude of sin. 'Cuz we always think of grace when it comes to our transgressions and sins like that, which is awesome. Like, we need that. "Thank you for the grace". But when you just said that about the amazing grace that God has, that covers all of our fears. Our fears that stifle us from moving forward or doing those things that, you know, I have like, I think about that childlike faith. You know, what did you wanna be when you were little, you know? And,but what stopped you from dreaming? What's stopped you from pursuing those dreams and pursuing those adventures. And so, that's what I think about now. Like, with the grace piece.
Erin Cluley: Even to, I'm glad you said that, like talking to my kids and trying to explain, all sorts of things. But like, when you're talking to them about God, and stories from the Bible, and explaining some of that stuff, like they just accept it. And they do dream big, and I'm telling them to do that, and so, often I think, "Erin, do you believe what you're teaching them"?
Ginger Stache: Oh, wow, yeah.
Erin Cluley: Do you still, "Do you remember what you wanted to do as a kid"?
Ginger Stache: Yeah, do you still have the faith of a child?
Erin Cluley: Yeah, because, or even like if, we were praying for something. Somebody had an owie and I don't remember what the owie was but, they happen a lot. And so, caden said, "Well, we need to pray". And I said "Yeah, we sure do". And so they prayed for healing, and I thought, "Gosh, I really hope it happens". And so, I caught myself, I thought, "You know what? Like, that's between them and God".. And I believe that God can speak to my kids and they'll work all that out. But I'm not gonna tell them to not pray for that. I'm so glad that the first thing caden thought of was, "Let's go talk to God and pray for him," or pray for whatever that was.
Ginger Stache: And God'll do those things. I'll tell ya, the prayers of children are powerful because they do have that basic faith, no questions asked. And I love that, and I think we all need to wake up that childlike sense of wonder and that faith, because when we start with little steps, small steps, one at a time, it builds our trust in him. And that is where faith grows and that's where we can say, "I trusted God in this, and I saw him to be faithful. So, now, I'm gonna go a little bit further and trust him for this, as well". And our amazement grows and our adventures in life get bigger too.
Erin Cluley: So, I wanna brag on Ginger for just a minute. Because we've seen you take those small steps. Ugh, my emotions and my friends around me, it's too much today. Is my nose turning red here?
Megan Rossman: "There she goes again".
Erin Cluley: But sitting at a table, with Ginger a couple of years ago, and we were talking about, "What do you want to do? And what's something that you've never done before and that you want to do"? And so, Ginger told us, she wanted to write a book, one day. And so, Jai, too. I remember, you pushed her, you're good. You're good. "Well, let's do it".
Jai Williams: I'm a pusher.
Ginger Stache: Yeah, it's so great to have friends who push you, in a positive way, to the right places.
Erin Cluley: Yeah, they see the God in you, and the things that God is calling you to do. So, we watched you take a step that day. You took a small step because you knew it was something that you were called to do. And to watch you on this journey of writing and completing your first book ever, that was a really big deal. And it's been such an adventure for us to get to go with you on that journey. So, I wanna be like that.
Megan Rossman: Because within all those adventures that you share too, I loved everything that you like, open your heart about, that God taught you through it. You know, the discomfort of sleeping in tents and, you know, like it just it speaks volumes to those that will read it. Of then, them going out and taking those small steps and having that open heart and the open eyes to see, "Okay, what's God going to teach me in this"? Because there is, there's something that we can learn in everything.
Erin Cluley: That's really cool. You taking your step to an adventure affects other people. So, you wrote your book. I read your book, I needed the words in your book, because I needed to be a better mom. And so, reading that, sometimes life is hard, and sometimes it's monotonous, and sometimes, all I am doing is I'm going to work and then taking care of small children, and trying to keep it all together, and it's a lot, and it feels overwhelming. But maybe there's things in my day that I can have fun with my kids. So, the other day, we stood outside and we looked at a slug for solid 5 minutes and we named him, alex.
Ginger Stache: Alex, the slug, I love it.
Erin Cluley: Yeah, we have a lizard, named, Lizzie. But those small moments that are so magical to these kids: I needed to learn to stop and have patience and enjoy those with those kids. And had you not taken your steps to an adventure: I would have missed that, and I would be missing this adventure. So, I think it's so cool how our steps, if we follow God, he'll use it for somebody else, so they can get jump-started.
Ginger Stache: That's really true. I don't think there's anything that God does in our life, that he doesn't want it to spill out, in a good way, into someone else's life. And this is so much, what Joyce is talking about, what the word is saying about living amazed and chasing after wonder, it's so much about being filled to overflowing with God's joy. So that it's not just for you, but it's for your kids, and it's for the people you work with, and it's for the rest of your family, or whoever else you come in contact, so that joy's just splashing over. And we all need encouragement, we all need to know, everybody's asking, "What does God have for me? What is it specifically for me that I need to do"? And I think that's the most exciting thing is, there is something super specific, designed exactly, perfectly for who God made us and who we are. So, I don't know, just knowing that I think opens up at world of hope, that a pandemic of hope, that Joyce was talking about.
Jai Williams: The word says, that God came that we have might have life and that more abundantly. He wants us to have a full life. He wants us to live a life full of wonder. He doesn't want us to be, you know, stressed. He doesn't want us to be, you know, depressed, or, you know, like struggle with anything, honestly. If it's not good, it's not God. God wants all of those good things for us. And so, I just know though that because of like, life situations and things that happen, it can make you,
Ginger Stache: Yeah, he knows hard things come.
Jai Williams: He knows. And what does it say, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick". You know, and so, if your heart is sick, you do have hope though. Like that pandemic of hope, you can flip the switch to say, "Today, I'm going to go outside and look," like, that's an adventure I take, now. I go outside now, and look at trees that, I might have to pop a Zyrtec. They will make me have a puffy face and snotty nose, but it's okay, God made it, you know. But I find adventure in those small things, but I also, my 40th birthday is this year, and I'm planning on doing something fun, something, I don't know what it is. I made this year, my 39th year, my year of "Yes". And I'm like, "Well, who wants 15 inch,15 feet braids"? "Sure, why not? Yes"! So, you know, just, those small things, and also, big things, I think God is happy when we're living our lives to the fullest and taking advantage of all those moments.
Erin Cluley: That's good.
Ginger Stache: So, the key is that God has something for everyone, for all of our friends, who are listening, right now, for each one of you, something very specific. So, let's listen to what Joyce has to say about how God wants to show you his amazing wonder and to use you. And then, I've got some specific questions for each of the three of you.
Erin Cluley: Oh, fun!
Joyce Meyer: Let me ask you a question: how could we be hopeless? God uses some of the most unusual people. Grace chose Paul, who was a persecutor of the church, to preach the message of grace. He chose Peter as one of the greatest apostles, even though he denied Christ three times. He chose a half-out-of-her-mind, weird-voiced, odd-personalitied woman who'd been abused from Fenton, Missouri to preach the gospel by television to two-thirds of the world in 60 languages. Amazing? Amazing! Ha-ha! And he's chose you, and you, and you, and you, and you, and you and you. God has given singers, and painters, and dancers, and authors, and teachers, and inventors. I thought about all the inventions and the talent that God puts in people, to give us the medicines, and just, I mean, the more I think about it, the more I feel like I can't stay in my body. Doctors and nurses, and organizers, and then, my gosh, moms. Are moms not amazing? I mean, honestly, I think moms are some of the most amazing people in the world. And dads, aren't dads amazing? And I'll tell you something else that's amazing: grandmothers! Oh! Amazing! Grandmothers are amazing! God is amazing. And you know what? You and I can live amazed, absolutely live amazed if we'll start to remember what we should remember. Everybody say, "Amazing"!
Ladies: Amazing!
Erin Cluley: I remember when she taught that. I remember being in there when she spoke, and I just,like I just, like even now, I can feel what I felt then, and it's just joy in life.
Ginger Stache: Yeah, because God chooses each one of us, and when we get that in our spirit, there probably is nothing more amazing that: "I've been chosen. I've been fully loved. That I have a purpose and a plan, and I'm appreciated by God". So, what I want to ask all of you is, how do you see God working in amazing ways, the wonder of God, in different situations that you're all in. So, Erin, we've talked about this a little bit, but I just wanna talk to those moms of young kids, who are tired. It's tiring! You know, some days are long and hard. How have you seen God show himself to you through that?
Erin Cluley: I think, that's a really good question. I was actually, going to lay down and take a nap 'cuz I'm so tired. It's like I was saying, I think, earlier, that he showed me just to slow down and pay attention to those small things. Because, like Megan is, I'm a planner and I know the 10 things that we need to accomplish in the next hour, but he's really shown me to slow down and pay attention to the things that are exciting. So, as an example, I hate winter, to the core of my being. And so, I taught my kids, around March, like, start, looking for the flowers. They're coming. The leaves are gonna start turning green. So, every day on our way to school we're looking for 'em. And they're watching. And so, it occurred to me, one day, like that's a fun game and it's fun for them to learn that, but it's just slowing down and appreciating those things.
Ginger Stache: And then, you tie in a job that you have, that is very demanding. You know, because you care about it so much. And you're passionate about it, so you tie all those things together. And you feel like you're being pulled a few different directions, I'm sure.
Erin Cluley: Absolutely. Yeah. Someone asked me, just the other day, they said, "How do you do so many meetings in one day and still have joy? And we don't feel like we're getting like, the leftovers of you"?
Ginger Stache: That's a wonderful compliment.
Erin Cluley: That's what I said, "Thank you"! I said, "Part of it's my personality. But also, at the same time, like, I just really enjoy people. And I wanna hear what you have to say. And you don't know, you didn't come with me to the last seven meetings I've had. To you, this is the first time I've seen you today. And that's not fair to you". That's not always easy to do, but I want them to have a good experience too, and part of that is looking for the new things of the day.
Ginger Stache: Yeah, yeah. That's really good.
Erin Cluley: I don't know if that answered your question.
Ginger Stache: No, it did. I think that's great. It's giving people your best all the time.
Erin Cluley: Yeah, and not be fake.
Ginger Stache: It's not easy, exactly. But you do that very, very well.
Erin Cluley: Thank you. Thank you. It's really important to me, that people feel like they're valued and that they get the best of me, that they can. My kids included.
Ginger Stache: Yeah, Megan I want to ask you about being a single woman, making your way in the world, dealing, like you said, with the hard things of life. And you're not alone, you have people around you who love you. And yet, in a way, you know, you have that responsibility on your shoulders. How do you bring to life this word that God gave you, this year, "Wonder," through that?
Megan Rossman: I think a big part of it is slowing down and going back to that grace that "I can't do it all on my own". That though, my family is nine and a half hours away, I have family here. And I have great people that, you know, have really gone to bat for me. And I've always had close-knit friends and I'm so grateful for that. But, even, when I was living away, you know, you guys were going on with the podcast, I still felt so connected to you guys. And so, that's kind of how I've learned how to stay connected with my family. But I think I've taken a step back from that busy life that I was talking about before too, I've really,approaching this year in a slower pace, making time for myself, which I have never been very good at, whatsoever. It's been a lot of serving, and doing at my church, and working. And, you know, I love helping people. I would do anything for anyone. But there comes a point where God is like, you know, "I want a little bit of you to myself too". And so, taking a step back, and just, you know, allowing him to pour his love on me in different ways has really helped me to then open my eyes and see more of that wonder and the amazing things that he's doing of, going before me. And really trusting him with a lot of that stuff that's out of my control, and I've never been through before, and I'm learning so much. But really just letting him guide me.
Ginger Stache: Yeah. Alright Jai, it's your turn.
Jai Williams: Bring it on, sister.
Ginger Stache: We've all been walking through this with you, what you've been facing this past year, plus now. How do you see God's amazing hand, even in the midst of heartbreak and disappointment?
Jai Williams: I see him, now. At first, I didn't. At first, I was like, "You've abandoned me," you know? I really felt like that.
Ginger Stache: 'Cuz you had to be real.
Jai Williams: I had to be real. That's one of the things, during this season of, you know, finding out about the infidelity and then getting served with papers. Like, I felt,it reminded me of how Jesus must have felt, somewhat, on the cross when he was like, "Why have you forsaken me"? You know, so. But then, I have to keep reading even, that story, in the Bible, of course. That it's,he had to do that for a moment for the greater good of what was to come. And so, believing,choosing to believe that God has a plan for me, choosing to surround myself only with people that would speak those things over me. And, I mean, and of course, certain things come up. My mind still gets flashbacks of what happened, and what I'm learning to do, is identify when that, when I think of those things, but extract that from being an emotion, that lives in here. And I say, "God, this is yours," and I give it to him, and I'll let it float on by. I don't attach myself with it. I have to find the adventure in it. And like, one person said to me, "Imagine those moments, when you wanna feel sad and be reminded of those things that are negative that are happening in your life, don't internalize those things, give it to the Lord, and look at it like you're at the macy's day parade and watch those things just float on by. And eventually, that big, old, huge thing that looks like a huge float, that was hard, and you have emotions that are affiliated with it, but by the time you watch it, go all the way down, it's tiny". And so, like, you just got to let it go through the process, but keep a positive attitude, knowing that something goods coming on the way.
Erin Cluley: That's so good.
Ginger Stache: That is so good. My friends are amazing too. God is doing great things in all your lives.
Erin Cluley: Do we get to ask you? I have one fast one for you. I know it's probably time to finish up here. But answer really fast. How do you, as you've seen lots of hard, terrible, things in the world, on your travels, and you've experienced hard things in your life, how do you still have wonder, and find adventure in all that?
Ginger Stache: God has taught me so much through that, because I did not do it well, always, by any means. And traveling, and reaching out to people through our outreaches, I've seen, as many of us have, some really, really difficult things. And you see people who are suffering tremendously and living in terrible situations, human trafficking, children who are starving in their mothers arms. And I'm ashamed to say that often, my first initial reaction is: "God, where are you in this? Where is your wonder? How am I supposed to be amazed in this terrible situation"? And then, things in my personal life, as well. Like, you were talking about, Jai, we've all been there, in a different ways, where you're just hurting so much. You're questioning and crying out, it's just, "God, where are you"? And through all that, and being mad, and throwing my little fits, I've always found that when I am ready to come back to him, he's right there with his arms open waiting, and saying, "I'm so glad you're back. I've been waiting. And I have these amazing things for you". And even, in the midst of seeing terrible things around the world, looking for the glimpses of how God is working. 'Cuz he didn't want those things. It was never his plan from the beginning. But you know, choices and sin, and so many things come into the world, but you begin to see God working in those places. And I just have always asked that question, that I feel like God gave me, and that question is: "God, where is the beauty here"? 'cuz, I love finding beautiful things to be encouraged and inspired. And God began showing me beautiful things in terrible places. Whether it was the smile of a child that there's no physical reason they should be smiling, but God fills them with joy, or it's a woman who's been pulled out of sex trafficking and has a new lease on life, or it's an answer to prayer that I just did not know how on earth God was gonna do it. I didn't have that childlike faith that I thought I needed, but God showed me, "I'm here because I love you that much". So, there are so many things that God has taught me through all those different things. And I think the thing that really inspires me most is to remember God's love for me, as an individual, for each one of us. Because it's so great that he can take my anger, he can take my annoyance, he can take my disappointment, and still love me through all of it, and still say, "Okay, now that you're ready, let's go on a great adventure together". So, that's incredible.
Jai Williams: I love it.
Erin Cluley: Thank you for sharing that.
Ginger Stache: One verse that I would love to share with everyone, I think it's so great. In Luke, chapter 5, the disciples were first walking the earth with Jesus and he was doing these miracles, things they've never seen before, in front of their eyes. And they,the verse says that they were in awe and wonder, and they said, "We are seeing extraordinary things today". And that's my verse that I've been praying a lot lately. That "God, let us be in awe and wonder and see still, you're still walking beside us, doing these amazing things. Let us be so struck by your awesomeness that we're seeing the amazing things that you're doing today, in the situation, whatever it is". So, that's my prayer for everyone, right now. And we just encourage you with that. God has good things for you. Thank you so much. Girls, thank you all so much. It's been so fun.
Erin Cluley: Thanks for coming.
Megan Rossman: Thanks for having me.
Ginger Stache: And we hope that you will all go to: joycemeyer.Org/talkitout because there you can get our free resources, because we have a Bible study for you that will really help you through this today. It is called "Make every day count". It's an online study, absolutely free. I think you're gonna love it. Because one of the best ways to bring God's amazing work into our life, is to study his word every day. You can also, join our friend's list. Please, subscribe to the podcast, tell your friends about it. And we will see you, right back here, next time. Bye.
Ladies: Bye.