Latest / Arise Women of God / Heeding the Divine Whisper: Women Stepping into Their Callings

Transcript

Heeding the Divine Whisper: Women Stepping into Their Callings · Arise Women of God

• 0:00
  Have you ever felt God calling you to do something?
• 0:05
  Maybe it's something fun.
• 0:07
  Maybe you felt impressed to do something that stretches you a little bit or maybe you're like, I don't know, maybe.
• 0:14
  We're going to talk about that today and we're going to also give some very, very big news about this podcast.
• 0:19
  So stay tuned.
• 0:20
  It's exciting.
• 0:23
  Welcome to Bible Women in Bathrobes, the podcast where faith meets comfort.
• 0:30
  Join us Tuesday morning as the gals from Women warriors of Light and their guests don bathrobes and dive into the inspiring stories of women in the Bible and the teachings of Jesus Christ.
• 0:42
  From Esther's bravery to the Sermon on the Mount, we explore it all with warmth, laughter, sisterhood and maybe even a few sleepy eyed moments.
• 0:53
  Tune in live or at your leisure as we learn lessons from Scripture which empower women today.
• 1:05
  Hello.
• 1:06
  Welcome to Bible Women and Bathrobes.
• 1:08
  I'm your host, Tamara K.
• 1:10
  Anderson and joining me is the wonderful Wendi Christensen, co founder of Women warriors of Light.
• 1:15
  Wendi, thanks for joining me today.
• 1:17
  Thank you.
• 1:17
  I'm so happy to be here today.
• 1:20
  Awesome.
• 1:21
  Guys.
• 1:21
  We have some super big news.
• 1:23
  We have felt the last few months with Women Warriors of Light that we needed to pivot a little bit more and talk about women being stepping into their callings.
• 1:35
  And we've been pivoting that on our website slowly but surely and on our social media and feel that our podcast now needs to reflect that as well.
• 1:46
  And so we are going to be changing the title of this podcast.
• 1:50
  Stay tuned.
• 1:51
  We're going to announce it next week.
• 1:52
  We're going to do a big poll this week and we're going to announce it next week.
• 1:57
  So if you want to help vote for the new title, you can do that.
• 2:01
  But we thought today we would talk a little bit about feeling called--Feeling God calling you.
• 2:09
  We see women and men throughout Scripture doing and acting and stepping into things that probably were very, very difficult and scary for them.
• 2:22
  And, and we see a lot of modern women warriors doing the same thing.
• 2:28
  And, and so we're going to be talking a little bit about being culled and I thought we would kick it off in First Samuel.
• 2:36
  I know this is not an example of a woman, but I love that it's an example of a child.
• 2:43
  So Samuel was Hannah's son.
• 2:45
  We did a great series on Hannah last year and he was given to Eli the priest and he worked there at the tabernacle.
• 2:58
  And Samuel, when he was young, he had this beautiful experience in 1st Samuel, chapter 3 and they were asleep and it says in verse 4, and that the Lord called Samuel, and he answered, here am I.
• 3:14
  And he ran unto Eli and said, here I am, for thou calledst me.
• 3:18
  And he said, I called not lie down again.
• 3:21
  And he went and lay down.
• 3:22
  And the Lord called yet again Samuel.
• 3:24
  And Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, here am I, for thou didst call me.
• 3:29
  And he answered, I called not my son lie down again.
• 3:32
  Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto him.
• 3:39
  And the Lord called Samuel again, the third time, and he arose and went to Eli and said, here am I, for thou didst call me.
• 3:47
  And Eli perceived that the Lord had called the child.
• 3:51
  Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, go, lie down.
• 3:55
  And it shall be, if he shall call thee, thou shalt say, speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth.
• 4:02
  So Samuel went down, went and lay down in his place.
• 4:05
  And the Lord came and stood and called, as at other times, Samuel, Samuel.
• 4:11
  And Samuel answered, speak, for thy servant heareth."
• 4:14
  And then the Lord gives him this beautiful assignment that was beautiful and hard because he knew that Eli needed to change some things, and if he didn't, that was not going to be good.
• 4:28
  But so many times, I don't know about you, Wendi, but we may feel like a little whisper in our mind or in our heart, and we're like, what is that?
• 4:38
  Do you know what I mean?
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  And I think like.
• 4:40
  Like I can identify with Samuel going, what's going on?
• 4:45
  Like, did you say something?
• 4:46
  Yeah, I know.
• 4:47
  Yeah.
• 4:47
  Did you say something?
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  Are you trying to talk to me?
• 4:50
  Are you trying to get my attention here?
• 4:52
  Thoughts in my head, that's just me.
• 4:56
  And so I thought I'd kind of open that story up and just ask for your thoughts.
• 5:03
  Oh, how many times have I questioned myself and thought, was that the Lord talking to me?
• 5:07
  Was that just me?
• 5:08
  I think those might have just been my thoughts.
• 5:10
  And I.
• 5:10
  I can so relate to Samuel in that story of it was just my thoughts.
• 5:15
  I think it was.
• 5:17
  But then when he kept hearing them, you know, obviously it gets to a point where he realizes, oh, it's the Lord speaking.
• 5:24
  And I think sometimes we get to that space, right?
• 5:27
  We get to that point where we know it's just, no, that's the Lord speaking to you.
• 5:32
  Or even if it's.
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  Even if it's not, but it's something good.
• 5:35
  It's probably the Lord speaking to you anyways.
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  So take it at face value.
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  And then what are you going to do?
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  Are you going to act on it or Are you going to, Are you going to do something about it?
• 5:47
  And I feel like calling more and more women nowadays.
• 5:51
  Yeah.
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  And I, I, we see this a lot with our group, Women Warriors of Light.
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  We see women called to do so different things.
• 6:00
  It's.
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  Maybe it's to write or blog, start a podcast, write a book, stand up and speak, you know, and it's so interesting because we each come from such unique backgrounds.
• 6:13
  We're being called to step in, to do something unique to us.
• 6:19
  And so it's like, God knows our perfect talents, and he is going to ask us to do something that's going to stretch us a little bit.
• 6:27
  But he's asked for, often asking us to be a light to others who have been through hard things, perhaps similar and usually similar to whatever we've been through in our life.
• 6:38
  Don't you find that to be true, Wendi?
• 6:40
  Oh, so many times that he takes your experiences that you have gone through and he says, hey, I want you to help others.
• 6:49
  And I also think it's common.
• 6:52
  You know, I used to think in, in first feeling the call to do something, like, for example, I felt called to do a book, which I'm still finishing, right.
• 7:01
  And I remember when I was first called to that.
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  I remember thinking, there's other people out there that write books.
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  Like, no, he doesn't need me to write, but, like, I don't have anything to contribute.
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  There's.
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  I know there's other people that can do that.
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  That's not something that I can do.
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  I'm not an author or me or I'm not a speaker.
• 7:19
  Right.
• 7:20
  But then he was like, no, you do have specific experiences.
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  You do have specific gifts or talents or things you've been through that I've seen in your life that you can speak to or you can write about.
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  And he does want you to share your personal experience because it's personal and you can touch people in ways that maybe somebody else can't.
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  Like, every single one of us has the ability to touch another person's life.
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  We just don't always see that.
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  But it is, it's that light that he wants us to share.
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  And he knows that each one of us has that capability.
• 7:58
  And if we're feeling called.
• 7:59
  Yeah, we need to step into it.
• 8:02
  Yeah.
• 8:02
  Yeah.
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  I think part of the scariness of it is feeling like, oh, I've got to put myself out there in front of the whole world.
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  And people out there aren't always very nice.
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  You know, it is.
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  It's very, very intimidating.
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  And because it's judgment.
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  It's that fear of being mocked.
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  Right.
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  And being judged and not seen as you really are.
• 8:28
  Yeah, absolutely.
• 8:30
  And so I think, like Samuel, sometimes we need people to point out, hey, God is really talking to you.
• 8:38
  Ask what do you want me to do?
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  But ask with the intent of, I'm going to do it, which is sometimes scary.
• 8:49
  I remember having the conversation several times.
• 8:52
  And.
• 8:53
  And here is another important piece that I found to be so true.
• 8:58
  When you feel God answering you and saying, this is what I want you to do, go and write it down right away.
• 9:04
  And the reason I say that is because almost immediately doubts come and because Satan doesn't want you to step up and do what God is asking you to do.
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  Because he knows if you step up and testify and teach and bring light to the world, you are going to be impacting so many people for good.
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  And he doesn't want them impacted for good.
• 9:30
  He doesn't want them uplifted and motivated, and he wants to drag them down in their trials.
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  And so I love that we have this beautiful opportunity when God asks us to step up and do it.
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  But write it down so you can remember how you felt.
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  Write down what he's asking you to do.
• 9:48
  Write down how you feel about it, and then find people that can help you.
• 9:54
  He's not calling you to do it alone.
• 9:56
  I really, really want to impress upon you he's not calling you to do this all by yourself.
• 10:03
  When I first got the impression mine started also that I needed to write a book, I.
• 10:08
  I had a little bit done, but it wasn't very much.
• 10:12
  And I remember I knew I needed to find an editor because I was 60 pages in and I had no idea what else to say.
• 10:18
  I'm like, well, that's about all I can write.
• 10:23
  Shows you how where I started.
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  I mean, it.
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  It's.
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  You start where you start.
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  And God loves the people who are trying, right?
• 10:35
  And so trying to find an editor on my own was super stressful.
• 10:39
  And there were so many choices and there's so many suggestions.
• 10:43
  And I even tried a couple.
• 10:45
  Some people said it was like dating, you'd have to find the right one.
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  And I sent, like my first chapter out to several editors, just saying, hey, give me a quick edit just so I can see if our styles even jive or anything like that.
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  And it was a complete failure.
• 10:59
  I'm just gonna say it outright, like, I was so discouraged after just doing that much.
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  I'm just like, so I had a really frank conversation with God at that point.
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  This is how he and I talk.
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  It went something like this.
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  Dear God, you asked me to do this and I need you to open the right door.
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  Because I've tried and I've obviously failed.
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  This is not working out.
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  So you need to open the right door.
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  And I know that's really probably direct, but that's the kind of relationship God I had.
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  I was kind of at that point, I'm like, hey, you asked, you got to help me out here.
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  Because I knew that God would open the right door.
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  And I was trying, I was pushing so hard and it just wasn't working.
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  And I'm just like, oh, come on.
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  And the beautiful thing is he did.
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  He did.
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  Like within the next week, I was scrolling through social media.
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  I happened to see a very, very well known author, was doing an author training.
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  It happened to be an hour and a half from my home.
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  I'm like, whoa, can't beat that.
• 11:59
  No.
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  And it was like God was saying, and here's your door.
• 12:02
  Do you know what I mean?
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  And so I was super thankful to know that, okay, he's going to call me and he's going to let me do it my way, but when I get stuck, he'll open the right door for me.
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  And so I love that pattern that as we keep turning to him and saying, okay, what's next?
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  What's the next step?
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  He opens the right way.
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  He opens the way because there are other people out there that he will help inspire you to connect with, that will help move you forward along the path towards accomplishing your goal.
• 12:36
  It's beautiful, Wendi.
• 12:38
  And, you know, I think it's interesting, and you just shared this, Tamara, that even when he calls you, sometimes we think, well, I have to be perfect.
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  Like, I have to be completely, 100% perfect in this now that he's calling me.
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  And what's interesting is it the, the Lord brings you there, right?
• 12:57
  Like he brought you there.
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  You were like, oh, I tried this and I tried this and it didn't work.
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  And I had to take this path and kind of tweak this or do this.
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  But he brought you there to where now you are an author and you've written some beautiful things, more than one.
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  And so he took you and brought you where you needed to be.
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  And that's the thing I found too is I'm not ready when he calls me, necessarily.
• 13:21
  But he gives me the tools and he helps me to become through the process.
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  Like, even in my book, sometimes I get frustrated or how it's taken so long and should have been done here or done then.
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  And.
• 13:34
  But then I look back and I'm like, oh, but he has grown me so much through this process to where it's now.
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  It's going to come.
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  It's going to be what it needed to be because I got to grow and develop myself through that whole entire process.
• 13:50
  And.
• 13:51
  And it becomes this beautiful thing now because not only do I will I have this item, whether again, whether it's speaking or podcasting or writing, whatever it is you feel called to do, God will grow you and help
• 14:04
  you through the process because he's called you and he knows you're capable.
• 14:09
  And that's what you have to remember sometimes is, ah, I'm capable.
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  Okay, bring me those tools.
• 14:14
  Help me to know where to go now, because you see me as capable, so what do I need to do?
• 14:18
  Right?
• 14:18
  And giving you that step forward.
• 14:20
  Yeah, absolutely.
• 14:23
  There was another verse that I really wanted to share with you guys that I think goes along with all this.
• 14:29
  And.
• 14:30
  And I'm going to just tie in that we are at this point in the history of the world where we are preparing for Jesus's Second Coming and we need to be prepared to meet him and be voices of
• 14:42
  light.
• 14:42
  It's like Satan knows we're in that final inning, and he is doing all he can to discourage and distract and to bring people down.
• 14:53
  And so I think God is calling not only men, but women, and that's who we feel called to minister to, to step up and be voices of light in this, in these dark times.
• 15:05
  Right?
• 15:06
  And one phrase that always comes to mind is the story of Esther, and we will be covering Esther sometime in the next year.
• 15:14
  But I love the phrase from Esther that she was called for such a time as this.
• 15:19
  And I really feel that that is our role as women, that God sent women to earth at this time who have had some really broken experiences.
• 15:33
  But because you have had these experiences and have now healed with his help, or at least started healing with his help, you're at a place where you can point people who are at that broken place you were 10,
• 15:46
  15, 20 years.
• 15:49
  And you can help inspire them to keep moving and keep moving forward, to keep.
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  Keep God in their sights, to allow him in, to heal them as well, that there is hope and healing again.
• 16:02
  I know as I look back on the mother that I was 20 years ago, very, very broken, so, so overwhelmed, lacking in sleep.
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  Two kids on the autism spectrum, you know, four kids, seven and under, only one of them could communicate with me verbally.
• 16:20
  I was very Very tired, very, very broken.
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  My self esteem was in the pot.
• 16:26
  I didn't feel I was doing enough.
• 16:27
  I didn't feel I was enough.
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  And it just seemed like a repetitive cycle that I would never, ever, ever get out of.
• 16:38
  And I, I weep and mourn for that version of Tamara because I did feel very alone.
• 16:44
  And I felt like nobody understood.
• 16:46
  I mean, I kind of, I knew God understood.
• 16:48
  And I spent a lot of time on my knees in prayer, sometimes very angry at God, let's be honest.
• 16:54
  But also trying to figure out, how am I supposed to do this?
• 16:57
  I don't even know.
• 16:59
  And can I tell you what a balm to my soul it would have been if somebody would have come in and said, hey, Tamara, it's not always going to be this way.
• 17:09
  You are going to progress and grow and your children are going to progress and grow.
• 17:14
  You're not going to stay stuck like this forever in what feels like a never ending loop.
• 17:19
  It's going to get better.
• 17:21
  There is hope and light and joy and happiness ahead.
• 17:25
  Just hang in there, you know, that would have meant the world to me.
• 17:31
  And so that's part of why I feel God has called me to this point.
• 17:35
  I'm at a so much better place now than I was then.
• 17:39
  And God is using that pain to give me purpose, to help others who have felt down and discouraged and distraught and all that thing and all those things.
• 17:51
  And now I feel called to help other women.
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  Hey, it's time for us to step up and speak out and inspire and motivate and be a light that is lifting the whole whole world.
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  And don't worry if you only reach, reach a few people, think what a difference it will make to those few people anyway.
• 18:10
  It's kind of like as you're going to pull up that scripture, as you're saying that, and us being a light, it's like, you know, we, we live in this world of darkness.
• 18:18
  And it reminded me of a concert.
• 18:20
  I don't know if you've ever been at a concert where the lights are dark, right?
• 18:23
  And there's not.
• 18:24
  It, it's, it's pretty dark in the whole arena.
• 18:27
  Then somebody gets out their flashlight on their phone and they hold it up and then pretty soon another person holds up another phone and another, and another and another.
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  And they're all kind of swaying their phones to the song.
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  And it's.
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  The whole entire arena is lit up by people's cell phones.
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  And they're all individuals.
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  They're these individuals with their little flashlight that doesn't radiate super far, but it's enough around them.
• 18:52
  But when you put all of those flashlights together, it becomes this beautiful sea of light that lights up the whole arena.
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  And that's what we can do.
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  We may be just an individual little flashlight on our phone, but combined with the light of those around us and shining your light, it brings light to a dark world.
• 19:11
  Oh, I love that so much.
• 19:14
  Okay, this is a great scripture that we can kind of start wrapping things up with.
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  It's found in second Timothy, chapter one.
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  And I love this.
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  This is Paul speaking to Timothy.
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  He said at the very beginning of verse eight.
• 19:27
  And then I'm going to read verse nine.
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  "Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord."
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  And then verse nine, "who hath saved us and called us with unholy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given in.
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  Given us in Christ Jesus before the world began."
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  Oh, he's calling us because we have a testimony.
• 19:58
  He's calling us not because our works are perfect, but according to his own purpose and grace, because God knew us, because Jesus knew us before we came.
• 20:10
  He knew we were going to go through hard things, but he also knew that he could help us use those hard things to help and bless and lighten others.
• 20:20
  Loads.
• 20:22
  Any thoughts on that verse, those verses, Wendi?
• 20:26
  Well, I think it again is just a reminder that he lightens our load.
• 20:33
  And as our load becomes lighter through his, we get to turn and serve and bless other people.
• 20:39
  And I feel like it's the great commandment, Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, right might mind and strength.
• 20:45
  And then we're to love ourselves as others.
• 20:49
  Then it fulfills all three of those.
• 20:50
  We get to love God, we learn to love ourselves, and then we serve and bless and love others.
• 20:57
  And.
• 20:57
  And through that, it's the pattern of happiness, I think.
• 21:01
  And what a beautiful opportunity that the Lord is calling.
• 21:05
  Like you said, so many women, and I see it every day, women who.
• 21:09
  They feel called to do something.
• 21:11
  They feel called to a purpose.
• 21:13
  I feel like women are God's secret weapon, that he's kind of had them in his back pocket all these years and now.
• 21:23
  And I mean, there's been many that have come, you know, beautiful, like Esther.
• 21:26
  Right.
• 21:26
  But it's kind of like he's whipping out this secret weapon, saying, okay, ladies, I need you now, I need you to step in to this, this war, this battleground that we're faced with all around us, of forgetting who
• 21:41
  we are and so many Difficulties that we face.
• 21:44
  And he's like, okay, now's the time.
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  I need you to step up because you really are women warriors of Light, and I need you to share your life with the world.
• 21:54
  And this is how we're going to share with the world.
• 21:56
  Yeah.
• 21:57
  Oh, that is so beautiful.
• 22:00
  Oh, well, thank you for coming on this episode with me, Wendi, and thank you for joining us.
• 22:06
  If you are feeling that call, I invite you to act on it, to write it.
• 22:12
  Write down your thoughts, write down your feelings.
• 22:14
  Spend some time like Samuel did, talking and listening to the Lord and recording those things.
• 22:21
  And also, if you need an accountability group, we're happy to.
• 22:25
  We have started specializing in accountability groups for women who feel called and don't worry about you not making progress.
• 22:33
  One of my favorite questions that we felt inspired to ask the women every week is, what did God inspire you to do this week?
• 22:39
  And sometimes it has something to do with your calling, and sometimes it has something to do with your family or extended family or inspiration with your work.
• 22:47
  It has been so fascinating to see how God slowly starts moving us forward.
• 22:52
  It is fascinating.
• 22:54
  Love, love, love this so much.
• 22:56
  Anyway, Wendi, quick final take a little close.
• 23:00
  I was just gonna say it can be really scary.
• 23:03
  You feel called.
• 23:04
  Right.
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  God wants you to do something, and it's scary to do it on your own.
• 23:07
  That's what I love about women warriors of Light.
• 23:09
  You get to pair up with these beautiful.
• 23:11
  And they are.
• 23:12
  They're so beautiful.
• 23:13
  Beautiful women who all feel a call.
• 23:16
  You feel tugged.
• 23:17
  They feel like.
• 23:17
  And some of them don't know.
• 23:18
  Some of them are in the process of.
• 23:20
  I'm not quite sure.
• 23:20
  I'm refining it.
• 23:21
  And others are in a stage where they're, hey, I know what it is and I want to do it.
• 23:25
  And we're here to help with all of that.
• 23:27
  We're here to be by your side and to strengthen you.
• 23:29
  And that accountability group is so fun.
• 23:31
  I love it every week being able to talk about the things that we feel prompted to do that week and to follow through on it and to get it done.
• 23:38
  It's such a great blessing.
• 23:40
  It really, really is.
• 23:43
  Yeah.
• 23:43
  Come join us.
• 23:44
  You can try it for two weeks for free.
• 23:46
  So just go to the Women warriors of Light website and come find out a little bit more about our accountability group.
• 23:53
  See if they work for you.
• 23:54
  All right.
• 23:55
  My wonderful, faith filled woman, you are called, you are chosen.
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  God knows you, you are enough.
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  And he can make you who he needs you to become.
• 24:07
  As long as you're listening and relying on him.
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  So we love you.
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  We believe in you.
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  You can do it.
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  And we'll see you next week.
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  Thanks for tuning in to Bible Women and Bathrobes, hosted by Women warriors of Light.
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  We've loved exploring the stories of remarkable women or the teachings of the Savior today with you.
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  If today's episode brought someone special to mind, be sure to spread the word.
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  And don't forget to hit that subscribe button so you never miss a moment of inspiration and sisterhood.
• 24:40
  Just a friendly reminder.
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  All opinions we share are entirely personal, as we are trying to decipher and apply Bible teachings, just like you are.
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  Until next time, stay faithful and may your journey be blessed and illuminated by God's love.