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Are You Ready To Make Your Mark? · The Wholehearted Enneagram Podcast

0:04
SPEAKER_00: Hi, my name is Amy Wicks, and I love to talk about the gospel message your heart was created to hear and all things Enneagram while helping you be confident that you are the best mom for your kids.
0:17
SPEAKER_00: I'm a mountain mama who ended up somehow on a cul-de-sac in the Midwest.
0:22
SPEAKER_00: I was alone without family or community.
0:25
SPEAKER_00: But the Lord didn't let me stay there.
0:27
SPEAKER_00: He helped me turn my brokenhearted moment into a wholehearted decision to get intentional with my faith, my marriage, and my kids.
0:35
SPEAKER_00: I share my broken-hearted perspective and the whole-hearted purpose and plan so you can live a life full of confidence and abundance.
0:45
SPEAKER_00: Think of this as your on-the-go mom pal mixed with a little Enneagram coaching.
0:51
SPEAKER_00: So get to that pile of laundry or hit the treadmill or load up the kids in the car for that grocery run.
0:57
SPEAKER_00: Get ready to be encouraged and challenged while you listen.
1:02
SPEAKER_00: This is the Simply Wholehearted Podcast.
1:09
SPEAKER_00: Hey friends, I'm so glad you're back today for week number three of our three weeks to a wholehearted New Year's series.
1:17
SPEAKER_00: If this is your first time tuning in, welcome.
1:19
SPEAKER_00: We're so glad you're here.
1:21
SPEAKER_00: Now you can hop into this week really easily.
1:24
SPEAKER_00: You'll be able to keep up with all the information that I'm talking about in this episode.
1:28
SPEAKER_00: But when you're finished, you may want to go back and listen to episodes 136 with Katie Roselli and 137 with Sarah Higgerty after you're done here.
1:38
SPEAKER_00: For those of you who listen on a regular basis, I'm always so glad you're here.
1:43
SPEAKER_00: And by the way, did you notice the new intro?
1:46
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's this new thing I'm trying, so I love your feedback.
1:50
SPEAKER_00: I'm kind of excited about it and I think it's here to stay.
1:53
SPEAKER_00: But let me know.
1:55
SPEAKER_00: Also, if you listened last week and you listened to the very end of my episode, and you also get my weekly VIP emails, well, you might be expecting one of my favorite guests, Beth McCord.
2:09
SPEAKER_00: We've had it on the books to record for over a month, but sadly she had travel plans and I had other commitments, and while we just couldn't make it happen.
2:19
SPEAKER_00: It would have been so fun because I always enjoy talking to her, and I know you guys always enjoy listening to her.
2:26
SPEAKER_00: Finally I had to let it go, and I just decided the Lord must have something else in store for myself and for you.
2:33
SPEAKER_00: So just this morning, as I was taking Puppy on a very early and very snowy walk, I was talking with the Lord about what that message was because I didn't have a plan B.
2:46
SPEAKER_00: And I'm the kind of gal who likes to make a plan and stick to the plan.
2:50
SPEAKER_00: I was feeling a little bit nervous.
2:53
SPEAKER_00: But I continued walking, I continued asking, and as we trounced through the snow at daybreak, I heard these three phrases.
3:03
SPEAKER_00: Right for God, right for you, right for others.
3:08
SPEAKER_00: You know, when you hear things kind of in your mind and thoughts, it kind of sounds like your own thoughts, but they weren't your thoughts because you didn't think of them before.
3:16
SPEAKER_00: Well, that's kind of how it was.
3:17
SPEAKER_00: I I just heard those in my own voice, and I thought, ooh, that's kind of cool.
3:21
SPEAKER_00: Right for God, right for you, right for others.
3:24
SPEAKER_00: Yep, I think I have a few things to say about that.
3:27
SPEAKER_00: And as I walked, I got a few more stories and other information kind of began to shade in the rest.
3:33
SPEAKER_00: So here we go.
3:34
SPEAKER_00: I know you're gonna enjoy reflecting on your own stories as I share mine, and I'll dive right in, right after a word about today's sponsor.
3:49
SPEAKER_00: The Enneagram candles were created with you and mine.
3:53
SPEAKER_00: The customized fragrance and messages were handcrafted for each unique Enneagram type.
3:59
SPEAKER_00: You'll love using these candles in the morning or afternoon or even the evening when you need a little fun sprinkled in your day and a reminder of how you can continue good in the world around you.
4:12
SPEAKER_00: Hop on to easyineagram.com forward slash shop to get yours today.
4:25
SPEAKER_00: Now, before I continue, if this is your first three weeks to new year with us, then you may want to know a little bit more about this annual tradition.
4:34
SPEAKER_00: And a shout out to my good friends who joined me in sharing their wisdom way back in 2018.
4:40
SPEAKER_00: Okay, it wasn't that long ago, but somewhat feels a long time ago.
4:44
SPEAKER_00: So two years ago, Ashley Pittman, Jai Tracy, Paula Hayes, Bethany Riddle, Jodie Fry, and Annalise Higgins, well, they hopped onto Facebook with me, and every day we shared a little bit about this three weeks to a new year.
4:58
SPEAKER_00: I love that this dream that we had way back then has become what it is today and an annual tradition that I hope to carry on for many years to come.
5:08
SPEAKER_00: When I was in my late teens, I was part of a church that took the first few days of the new year to fast and pray for the year ahead.
5:14
SPEAKER_00: Of course, back then I really thought it was crazy and it was annoying, and I think I drank lots of chocolate soy milk because technically I was fasting.
5:23
SPEAKER_00: I didn't know I was allergic to soy back then.
5:25
SPEAKER_00: I know better now.
5:27
SPEAKER_00: But somewhere along the way it stuck and it morphed into 21 days of prayer and fasting for the year ahead.
5:34
SPEAKER_00: I'm actually kind of addicted to it, and I don't know what my year would be like without it.
5:39
SPEAKER_00: So instead of running at a full sprint the first of the year, which I tend to do as an Enneagram type three, I have learned to build this habit of waiting and watching to see what the Lord would reveal.
5:51
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes the pause is really hard.
5:53
SPEAKER_00: But in the end, I'm always really grateful for the Sela to get oriented to what is in store for the coming year.
5:59
SPEAKER_00: I've learned to focus on building wholehearted rhythms for the year ahead in these first three weeks.
6:06
SPEAKER_00: And I guess because I like things in threes, it's always been word, worship, and right.
6:12
SPEAKER_00: Well, at least for the third year, the last three years.
6:15
SPEAKER_00: Word, worship, and right are my anchors to this three weeks to a new year practice.
6:20
SPEAKER_00: Now, if you want to go back, episode 137 is with Katie Roselli.
6:25
SPEAKER_00: She shared the secrets to Wholehearted Year and her insights about getting into the Word of God more in 2020.
6:30
SPEAKER_00: It was really great.
6:31
SPEAKER_00: She shared some of her just say no secrets, uh as in just say no January.
6:37
SPEAKER_00: You'll have to check it out on our Instagram feed.
6:39
SPEAKER_00: She's got a ton of wisdom and some really helpful insight as you figure out how to just say no to the busyness in 2020.
6:48
SPEAKER_00: And in episode 138, Sarah Haggerty pulled back the curtain on some of the mindsets that may hold you back to your wholehearted rhythms.
6:56
SPEAKER_00: And she also had a ton of practical wisdom for more worship in your day.
7:00
SPEAKER_00: It was a great conversation, and I hope you'll listen to both of them if you haven't already.
7:05
SPEAKER_00: Now today, we're going to talk about write, because it is always a brave thing to make a mark.
7:12
SPEAKER_00: Did you hear that?
7:14
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
7:14
SPEAKER_00: It's always a brave thing to make a mark.
7:17
SPEAKER_00: And writing, it's the way us humans make our mark in this world.
7:22
SPEAKER_00: This doesn't mean you're going to publish the next great novel, though I do hope to do that someday.
7:28
SPEAKER_00: But it does mean that you can deepen your connection with God.
7:32
SPEAKER_00: You can deepen your connection with yourself and others through the power of the written word.
7:39
SPEAKER_00: Now, I remember my first journal.
7:41
SPEAKER_00: Do you?
7:42
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think it was blue.
7:44
SPEAKER_00: Pretty sure it had one of those cheap little locks, right?
7:48
SPEAKER_00: Had a matching pin to go with it that you lose right away because it doesn't fit in or together.
7:54
SPEAKER_00: Oh man, I think if I ran across it now, I would give a good chuckle.
7:59
SPEAKER_00: I probably wrote about reading babysitter club books, because that's what I did back then.
8:06
SPEAKER_00: I probably also wrote about my story ideas because I was always writing a mystery or trying to come up with a new one because that's what I wanted to write.
8:15
SPEAKER_00: And I'm sure I wrote about the crushes I had.
8:18
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, there were plenty.
8:19
SPEAKER_00: I don't remember them, but I am sure I wrote all about them and oh, if they just knew I was in love with them.
8:27
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
8:28
SPEAKER_00: I'm sure you have a few of those, right?
8:30
SPEAKER_00: I'm not the only one.
8:32
SPEAKER_00: If I ran across it now, I would probably just go ahead and toss it in the trash.
8:37
SPEAKER_00: Uh I'm hoping it's already there.
8:40
SPEAKER_00: But, you know, it was really helpful as, you know, my first written expression of thinking about my day or thinking about the past week and writing it down for, well, for myself.
8:52
SPEAKER_00: And then I am pretty sure I have a lot of notebooks that are are halfway done or journals that are halfway done.
9:00
SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm guessing that I'm also not the only one who does this.
9:04
SPEAKER_00: Where you you get this notebook, it's fresh and shiny, and I think it's kind of fun to buy notebooks.
9:10
SPEAKER_00: My daughter and I, well, my oldest daughter and I definitely share a love for new notebooks.
9:14
SPEAKER_00: Anyway, you start writing in it and then you forget it or it gets lost somewhere temporarily or it gets shelved and and you just don't do it.
9:23
SPEAKER_00: And you start another one and you move on.
9:25
SPEAKER_00: And then later on you come across it and you're like, oh yeah, I really liked that notebook.
9:29
SPEAKER_00: And oh yeah, I I wrote for part of the year, but I guess I didn't finish it.
9:34
SPEAKER_00: And then it seems kind of weird to, you know, five years later start writing in it.
9:38
SPEAKER_00: So you save it, but it's half used.
9:42
SPEAKER_00: And then I have a really fun story about a journal.
9:45
SPEAKER_00: And some of you may have a similar story, but my husband Spencer, well, he he wasn't one of those who wrote his whole life love notes to his future wife or anything like that, but he did after he met me.
9:59
SPEAKER_00: He knew pretty right away, like really fast right away, uh, that he was going to marry me.
10:06
SPEAKER_00: I it would have scared me at the time.
10:08
SPEAKER_00: As it was, it was really fast.
10:10
SPEAKER_00: But he kept that to himself and he got a journal, so sweet.
10:13
SPEAKER_00: I think it's the only journal he's ever owned, and he started writing our story in it.
10:17
SPEAKER_00: And then he started writing about his process of leading up to the engagement and who he was talking to, and when he bought the wing ring, and when we looked at rings and different fun stuff like that.
10:27
SPEAKER_00: And so once we got officially engaged, he gave me that journal that night and asked me to continue it.
10:34
SPEAKER_00: Well, now knowing his personality, I laugh because I think, oh yeah, he wouldn't have continued writing in it.
10:40
SPEAKER_00: And he handed it off to me, going, I did that.
10:43
SPEAKER_00: I'm so glad I did that, and now my job is done.
10:46
SPEAKER_00: So I got that journal, and I would love to say that I filled it with pages and pages of our wedding planning and our honeymoon and all that sort of stuff.
10:55
SPEAKER_00: But nope, I think I maybe wrote one or two pages in it.
10:59
SPEAKER_00: But Spencer did that momentous, memorable thing, and I love that we have that journal and those written words about that season of life that seem so long ago and so far away.
11:11
SPEAKER_00: Um, but it's right there at our hands when we won it.
11:14
SPEAKER_00: And then for me, I got the sweetest baby journals when my girls were born or for showers and stuff like that.
11:22
SPEAKER_00: And I, again, it was one of those things I was faithfully going to do.
11:26
SPEAKER_00: I was gonna write every day of their life.
11:28
SPEAKER_00: I was gonna write all the cute things that they were going to say.
11:32
SPEAKER_00: I was gonna save their hair.
11:34
SPEAKER_00: I was gonna take lots of pictures.
11:36
SPEAKER_00: You guys, I mean, we all have our things that we are good at, and that is just not one of them.
11:44
SPEAKER_00: I wish I was, and I still I have these journals, and a lot of them are through the years, and so I can go ahead and pick them up and I can write this memory or write a thing, even though they're 12 and 13 now.
11:57
SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah, they're still unfinished, but I do have them, and I I do look back at some of those moments, and my girls look back at them and they're like, Oh yeah, I didn't know that about me, or you didn't tell me that before.
12:08
SPEAKER_00: And so I'm so glad I wrote them.
12:10
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, they're unfinished, but I'm glad I started, and maybe one of these days I will, you know, finish it, or maybe the goal should at least be continuing it for the next few years that I have them in our home.
12:22
SPEAKER_00: Now I finally did figure out, I did learn that, and I started to doing do that faithfully.
12:29
SPEAKER_00: And but honestly, then I got married, and I don't know why marriage changed it, but it was just a new rhythm that I had never quite figured out what that would look like, and it was hit or miss and here or there, but not on a regular basis.
12:43
SPEAKER_00: And then, of course, you add kids, right?
12:46
SPEAKER_00: You're not getting any sleep and quiet time.
12:48
SPEAKER_00: What is that?
12:49
SPEAKER_00: You're hiding in the bathroom to try to even read some Bible.
12:53
SPEAKER_00: I mentioned that the other week on the podcast, and I didn't hear from any of you that you might do that too.
12:59
SPEAKER_00: But I know, I know there's someone else out there who used to hide in the bathroom so they could read their Bible.
13:05
SPEAKER_00: It's real people, sometimes that's the only quiet that you can get.
13:09
SPEAKER_00: Anyway, my sacred rhythm of writing.
13:13
SPEAKER_00: Yes, finally, it it took me a while, and I I would say I practice it in and out.
13:19
SPEAKER_00: And this was the gift in my college years of again, the church that I was a part of that did this fasting thing, they also really encouraged prayer, daily prayer, and and a time to sit and worship and write the word and write the word of God down, or write what you think the Lord was telling you through the word of God.
13:38
SPEAKER_00: So a sacred rhythm of writing, writing the word, writing my stories, writing the things that I think I'm hearing, writing all the stuff that's on my heart.
13:48
SPEAKER_00: Now, last week, and I I mentioned this already with Sarah, we we talked about this idea that adoration and worship is proclaiming truth about who God is, even when we can't see him work on our behalf, or when we we don't feel that he's there, or we don't sense that the outcome is full of goodness.
14:11
SPEAKER_00: So, so along those ideas of worship and adoration, I like to take it that this one step further, and that's to take the words that I'm using in my worship and adoration, and I write them down.
14:24
SPEAKER_00: I I write to remember truth, and I write to remember God's story, and I write to remember his goodness, and not only to remember them, but then to rewrite that truth in my heart and in my mind.
14:39
SPEAKER_00: There's such power of putting pen to paper, not only this idea of the power of pen to paper for our goals and and getting like our calendar figured out, but there's power to writing the truth.
14:51
SPEAKER_00: It does something in our spirit, mind, and body that can't really be explained, but I can testify to it the more I write his word and I'm the more I write to remember God's story, I can see the goodness and the and the stories of goodness throughout my life and and who he is.
15:09
SPEAKER_00: So my question for you today is what would writing for God look like for you?
15:16
SPEAKER_00: Is that writing the word?
15:17
SPEAKER_00: Is it writing God's story?
15:20
SPEAKER_00: Is it uh is it writing stories about um God's story?
15:25
SPEAKER_00: Is it writing goodness?
15:40
SPEAKER_00: Now, all of these big ideas to write for God also benefit you, right?
15:45
SPEAKER_00: So what do I mean when I say the next thing is to write for you?
15:51
SPEAKER_00: I think the pen to page can help us process.
15:56
SPEAKER_00: It's it's a really powerful thing.
15:58
SPEAKER_00: And I it surprises me.
16:00
SPEAKER_00: I I will go, you know, I could go for a week and not write anything, and I I I can feel it, I can tell, I I miss it.
16:06
SPEAKER_00: I I sort of ache for that that space, that safe space to process things.
16:11
SPEAKER_00: And so I'll, you know, pick up my pen and I'll, you know, I won't necessarily like catch up, but I'll write the things on my mind.
16:17
SPEAKER_00: And I love, I love, like I said, I love going back and and seeing God's story and faithfulness.
16:24
SPEAKER_00: And one of the things recently I was just looking back and kind of preparing for for this to share with you, but last month I had some really big decisions to make.
16:35
SPEAKER_00: And I did not know what the answers were supposed to be.
16:39
SPEAKER_00: I didn't know what my just say no January was yet.
16:43
SPEAKER_00: And I I just went before the Lord instead of just talking his ear off all the time, which I tend to do or thinking about it, you know, where I just get in that circular thinking and I can't seem to get off the track and get one way or another.
16:56
SPEAKER_00: I I started writing down my questions.
16:58
SPEAKER_00: Lord, I I think I should do this, but I think there's this.
17:01
SPEAKER_00: And what about this possibility and this option?
17:03
SPEAKER_00: And if I if I say yes to this, I'll have to say yes to that.
17:07
SPEAKER_00: If I say no to this, I'll have to say no to that.
17:09
SPEAKER_00: And there was so much back and forth.
17:11
SPEAKER_00: And when I finally got it on the page, I was able to have a ton of clarity.
17:16
SPEAKER_00: Like it, not only clarity, but it took this load off my heart in a way that just nothing else did.
17:24
SPEAKER_00: I it was stuff that I couldn't really talk over with friends, and and I was able to process pieces of it with people here and there, and and of course my husband, who's always a great listening ear, but but mostly it had to be between me and God.
17:38
SPEAKER_00: And it was just a way to process that verbally processing or mentally processing wasn't wasn't like doing its job.
17:46
SPEAKER_00: And so writing really, really helped me.
17:49
SPEAKER_00: And now this month I've noticed the pattern has been the new big ideas.
17:53
SPEAKER_00: Okay, I am doing these 21 days to a new year.
17:57
SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm right along with you.
17:58
SPEAKER_00: I am I'm in this.
18:00
SPEAKER_00: I still really have one more week to go before I'm gonna be like, okay, now it's go time.
18:04
SPEAKER_00: I want to take time to process this.
18:07
SPEAKER_00: And so I have a bunch of big ideas and have a lot of old ideas that are kind of coming together a little bit, or at least I can maybe put a little bit of order of order to them.
18:18
SPEAKER_00: So I'm writing a lot of that, and it's gonna be really fun, I think, in a year from now to look back and go, oh wow, those were the big ideas I had, or these were some of the inklings that I felt for 2020.
18:33
SPEAKER_00: And look what happened.
18:34
SPEAKER_00: And it's not a declaration, it's not not about saying, well, this is what I intend for this year.
18:39
SPEAKER_00: I'm not talking about that, but it's more like, what are all the things in my heart and my mind that really God has put there?
18:45
SPEAKER_00: And how does he want to sort them out?
18:47
SPEAKER_00: And putting my pen to paper really helps process that.
18:51
SPEAKER_00: So now I'm going to also be waiting for my word or words for the year.
18:55
SPEAKER_00: You know, this is about writing those things.
18:58
SPEAKER_00: Last year, one of my words was faith.
19:01
SPEAKER_00: And while I believe I learned a lot, there is still so much more for me.
19:05
SPEAKER_00: And in fact, just this month I've had further revelation.
19:08
SPEAKER_00: So writing down your word can really help you.
19:13
SPEAKER_00: I think the power of writing your word helps you also retrace last year's story.
19:20
SPEAKER_00: Because oftentimes I get these words for the year.
19:24
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes I just get one word, sometimes I get like two or three.
19:28
SPEAKER_00: But I really, in times past, I've done this wrong because I hear the word and I go, oh, I know what this year is going to be all about.
19:34
SPEAKER_00: And I'm so wrong.
19:37
SPEAKER_00: We have learned that I really have no clue how the Lord will actually unpack it for me.
19:42
SPEAKER_00: Um, so I think when you're looking to uncover what is your word for the year, don't be afraid to write it down and declare it.
19:51
SPEAKER_00: I think that's awesome.
19:52
SPEAKER_00: I think the power of writing it down helps you retrace what you learned about that year or how that year played out in the theme of your story in those last 12 months.
20:05
SPEAKER_00: So I have yet to be exactly right about the Lord's plans, at least as far as when I'm looking ahead, but I have learned that his intentions are always good.
20:15
SPEAKER_00: So the question I want you to ask is what does it look like to write for yourself?
20:21
SPEAKER_00: Do you need a pen and paper to process your thoughts?
20:24
SPEAKER_00: Maybe your big ideas?
20:25
SPEAKER_00: Are you going to write down your word this year?
20:28
SPEAKER_00: So when you get to 2021 and you're reflecting on 2020, you remember, oh yeah, I have that word.
20:35
SPEAKER_00: Flourish, thrive, grow, faith, whatever it was, and you can remember all the things that you learned along the way.
20:43
SPEAKER_00: Now, what does it look like to write for others?
20:47
SPEAKER_00: And what do I mean?
20:48
SPEAKER_00: Well, I think it's something like this.
20:51
SPEAKER_00: Well, let's at first talk about what I don't mean by that.
20:55
SPEAKER_00: I don't mean that everyone needs to be the next C.S.
21:00
SPEAKER_00: Lewis or Tozer or Alcott or Shakespeare or Jane Austen or anything like that.
21:04
SPEAKER_00: And we did benefit from their pins.
21:07
SPEAKER_00: But I think that you, yes, you I'm talking to you, you have words to write for someone else.
21:13
SPEAKER_00: It doesn't mean you have to become a blogger or a social media maven where you're just, you know, writing all these things.
21:20
SPEAKER_00: But I bet that there is something that you have to write that would benefit and bless someone else.
21:26
SPEAKER_00: Again, not the traditional publishing sense, but for that one person.
21:32
SPEAKER_00: I think I have a few good stories that might help remind you what that could look like.
21:37
SPEAKER_00: My mom turned 40 when I was 18.
21:40
SPEAKER_00: So I remember it really well.
21:42
SPEAKER_00: It's kind of hard for me to believe that.
21:44
SPEAKER_00: Wow, my mom was really young.
21:47
SPEAKER_00: And I had this idea.
21:49
SPEAKER_00: I'm sure someone gave it to me along the way, but I decided to collect notes.
21:54
SPEAKER_00: I reached out.
21:55
SPEAKER_00: Back then we didn't have email because that was 1998.
21:58
SPEAKER_00: So uh anyway.
22:00
SPEAKER_00: somehow I got in touch with all her old friends and teachers and family, and I asked them if they would write a note for her 40th birthday, not just wishing her a happy birthday, but kind of giving a blessing or an encouragement or a really special memory.
22:18
SPEAKER_00: The funny ones were really great.
22:19
SPEAKER_00: I enjoyed reading those.
22:21
SPEAKER_00: But a lot of people did, and I think we at least collected 40 letters.
22:25
SPEAKER_00: I remember that being my goal and made this album for her.
22:27
SPEAKER_00: It was awesome.
22:28
SPEAKER_00: Of course, I totally got the great cry that let me know, oh, I had scored well, I had created a great gift.
22:36
SPEAKER_00: It was super fun.
22:36
SPEAKER_00: And it was super fun to read those.
22:38
SPEAKER_00: I learned about things about my mom that I didn't know and got to see her through other people's eyes and was like, wow, I have a great mom.
22:44
SPEAKER_00: It's so awesome.
22:45
SPEAKER_00: And then for my birthday, my husband had the great idea of doing the same kind of thing.
22:52
SPEAKER_00: I just turned 40 last year here, and I'm not sure how many weeks ahead that he worked on this or anything, but he did reach out to friends and family.
23:01
SPEAKER_00: And for my birthday, I got to open up emails and I got to read letters, and my my sisters were printing things off, my mom was printing things off, and I just had this really great stack that I have in a special place that I've read over a couple times where these notes of encouragement of things that people saw in me that they thought was great.
23:23
SPEAKER_00: And it really blessed me.
23:25
SPEAKER_00: It was so powerful.
23:26
SPEAKER_00: The fact that people took the time to write those things, it's just amazing.
23:31
SPEAKER_00: It was such a huge gift.
23:33
SPEAKER_00: And another great example of the power of written words was uh just the other night, my daughter had a special 13th birthday blessing.
23:43
SPEAKER_00: Now she turned 13 back in December, but one of the things that we had talked about ahead of time, or I'd given her an option of, okay, what would you like to do for your 13th birthday?
23:52
SPEAKER_00: It's a big birthday.
23:53
SPEAKER_00: We want to make it special.
23:55
SPEAKER_00: One of the things that she chose was to invite just a small handful of women over who were older and wiser to give a blessing, to share some wisdom, and pray over her and pray over her teenage years that are ahead of her and just champion her on to who God has made her to be.
24:15
SPEAKER_00: It was amazing.
24:17
SPEAKER_00: It was amazing for her, of course.
24:20
SPEAKER_00: And she has, again, she has these notes that she can refer to when things get hard or when she feels lonely or when she can't remember who she is in the eyes of the Lord.
24:29
SPEAKER_00: She can look at that and she can, she can be reminded and she can walk out in new confidence, remembering those words that were spoken to her all those years ago, or maybe even just like a month ago, right?
24:41
SPEAKER_00: Those words are gonna be so powerful.
24:44
SPEAKER_00: Plus, it was a blessing to me to hear those words from other people's perspective and just look at my daughter through their eyes.
24:53
SPEAKER_00: It was really, really powerful.
24:55
SPEAKER_00: So this is the power of written words that I'm talking about.
24:58
SPEAKER_00: This is this is how you could write for others.
25:01
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you are called to write your story, maybe it's a memoir, maybe it's a nonfiction, maybe you're even called to write fiction and and you're gonna publish or your social media maven.
25:11
SPEAKER_00: Who knows what the Lord has in store for you?
25:13
SPEAKER_00: But I think what it really matters and the biggest impact we can have is when we're writing for that one, when we're using our our words, when we're using our pen to page to write a blessing that people can hang on to, that people can digest and can bless a person when they need it the most.
25:31
SPEAKER_00: I mean, the the days of snail mail seem over, but how great would it be if you made it a rhythm in the year ahead or the years ahead where you write a handwritten note every once in a while, say once a month or once every six months, and bless someone.
25:46
SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's a family member you know really well, but that the power of the written word can go really, really far.
25:54
SPEAKER_00: How might your words impact others' lives for good and even God's glory?
25:59
SPEAKER_00: Who can you encourage today?
26:02
SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's a text, maybe it's a direct message in Facebook, maybe it's responding to someone's story on Instagram, but that written word could make their day.
26:13
SPEAKER_00: Now, what story do you need to get down?
26:16
SPEAKER_00: Like get it down on paper so you can share and help someone through their own messy middle or help them realize they don't have to stay in their shame-based ending.
26:26
SPEAKER_00: I know that the Lord wants to use your story, no matter how hard it was or how insignificant you think it might be.
26:34
SPEAKER_00: It's important.
26:36
SPEAKER_00: These three weeks have been such a joy to do together once again.
26:40
SPEAKER_00: The three weeks to a new year is a gift to me.
26:44
SPEAKER_00: And I'm always amazed how each year it's different, and yet this rhythm really provides an anchor and a weight in January.
26:54
SPEAKER_00: When the days can feel really long and really dark, I actually have learned to look forward to this time of kind of tucking away, waiting and preparing for the year ahead.
27:05
SPEAKER_00: I hope you find the life-giving rhythm to getting more word in 2020 and have a better idea of what you need to say no to in order to say yes to the right things.
27:16
SPEAKER_00: And may you make the choice to overcome some of your objections or perceived limitations to make worship and adoration one of your wholehearted rhythms in 2020 so you can have your best year yet.
27:29
SPEAKER_00: And I'd love to see or hear how you write your way through 2020.
27:34
SPEAKER_00: Drop a note, right?
27:35
SPEAKER_00: Write me a little note what your word is or what you think you're gonna be writing in 2020.
27:41
SPEAKER_00: And stay tuned on the socials as we're gonna have a little bit more about this conversation during the week.
27:48
SPEAKER_00: Now, next week, we're gonna continue our conversation about wholeheartedness, right?
27:53
SPEAKER_00: Simply wholehearted, and we're gonna talk about wholehearted love.
27:57
SPEAKER_00: It'll be our theme for the month of February.
27:59
SPEAKER_00: I've got amazing guests lined up for the rest of the year, and even more episodes like this planned for you.
28:06
SPEAKER_00: I've also just started a new feature with you and mine.
28:09
SPEAKER_00: This is really gonna be fun.
28:10
SPEAKER_00: You now can call into the Simply Wholehearted podcast and you can leave a message like with your voice, a real live message with your questions.
28:20
SPEAKER_00: I would love to do a whole show or even a question every week, whether it's about the Enneagram, motherhood, or marriage questions.
28:28
SPEAKER_00: So there's just a link in the show notes and it'll connect you right away.
28:32
SPEAKER_00: You can, again, you leave it with your voice, you ask your question, and don't worry if you mess up or if you don't exactly like it.
28:39
SPEAKER_00: I'll go in, edit it, clean it up, it'll be just fine.
28:42
SPEAKER_00: And you can leave it anonymously, or you can leave your name, and we'll be happy to give you a shout out.
28:47
SPEAKER_00: I look forward to hearing those and answering them soon.
28:50
SPEAKER_00: I really hope you've enjoyed this episode as you continue to prepare for the year ahead.
28:55
SPEAKER_00: It would mean the world to me to have you share this podcast with your girlfriends and leave a rating with the review so others know what to expect and that they are welcome to join in the community.
29:06
SPEAKER_00: Remember, you can always email me, you can tag Simply Wholehearted on social media, or you can even send me a direct message if you have questions or just want to share some encouragement.
29:16
SPEAKER_00: So, until next time, let's invite others to join us to pursue perspective, purpose, and plans for a simply wholehearted life.