Latest / Anchored by the Sword / Intentionally Designed: Ditching the Lies, Walking in Freedom, and Living as God’s Daughter with Hannah Castiaux!
Transcript
- 0:00Thank you for joining me on this episode of the Anchor by the
- 0:02Sword podcast. I pray that today's episode will
- 0:05leave you encouraged and also challenged in your faith.
- 0:08And I pray that you would take the stories that are talked
- 0:13about here today and share them with other people.
- 0:17Thank you so much for joining me and enjoy today's episode.
- 0:22Hey guys, welcome to this episode, the Anchor by the Store
- 0:24podcast. I am excited to introduce you
- 0:27guys to a new friend. This is Hannah Castillo.
- 0:30I was on her podcast and now she's on mine and she is coming
- 0:35today to talk about her book Intentionally Designed and also
- 0:39just talk about her freedom story, life and all of the
- 0:41things. So, Hannah, thank you for coming
- 0:43on today. Thank you so much for having me.
- 0:45I'm so excited to be here, Gina. Absolutely.
- 0:47Can you tell my listeners a little bit about yourself?
- 0:49Yeah, so I'm located in the Sierra Nevada foothills of
- 0:53California. My husband and I just recently
- 0:57moved out here. He accepted a role as a youth
- 1:00pastor, so we are a ministry family.
- 1:03I am obsessed with watermelon. I joke, but I am also serious
- 1:08that I know all the tricks to pick out the best one because
- 1:11watermelon is my favorite fruit and I'm always wearing pink and
- 1:16orange. It's kind of my thing.
- 1:18But yeah, I grew up in a Christian family, but didn't
- 1:24really have what you'd call like a relationship with Jesus
- 1:28probably until I was truly in 8th grade.
- 1:31Like I accepted him when I was about 5:00.
- 1:34But I really kind of went on this journey of actually getting
- 1:38to know him, and it's changed my life forever.
- 1:40And so now I can't help myself but talk about it.
- 1:44So he's so good, yeah. Absolutely.
- 1:47Amen. So let's dive a little bit
- 1:48deeper into your freedom story. Yeah, so it was in 4th grade and
- 1:56I was turning 10. It was my birthday.
- 1:59And at that point in my life, there was like this innocence in
- 2:03my brain where I'd never had thoughts about myself that were
- 2:06really necessarily even negative.
- 2:08Like, you know, as a kid, you're disciplined and your parents are
- 2:12teaching you, oh, you shouldn't do that.
- 2:13Don't touch this. But it was never something that
- 2:16had affected me in a way where all of a sudden I thought, oh,
- 2:20like, I'm like constantly thinking about what everybody
- 2:24else is thinking of me. But on that day, on my birthday,
- 2:27I had a girl who came up to me on the playground and instead of
- 2:31her telling me happy birthday, she told me I was chubby.
- 2:35And that started a vicious cycle in my life of people pleasing.
- 2:42All of a sudden I cared about what everybody thought of me.
- 2:46And it was this trap that I just felt like I could never get out
- 2:49of. And I lived in this trap for
- 2:52years of my life. I struggled with food.
- 2:56I struggled with exercise. I made my body a slave instead
- 3:01of actually realizing how God designed us in the garden, how
- 3:06he designed all this food for us, how he designed us for
- 3:08movement and work and all these things.
- 3:11And so I start seeing it very negatively.
- 3:15And unfortunately, like I honestly did struggle with some
- 3:18eating disorders growing up as well.
- 3:20But I remember at a certain point I was chatting with my
- 3:23mentor and she was like, who told you that you're chubby or
- 3:28who told you you had to live this way?
- 3:30Because I felt like she was one of the only people I could share
- 3:33with because I felt so much shame about it.
- 3:35And when she said that to me, I was like whoa, like where did
- 3:41this come from? Then Fast forward till I was
- 3:44about 18, I had way stronger relationship with the Lord.
- 3:49I heard another message where I was at the school YWAM and
- 3:55speaker Troy Sherman said, who told you that?
- 3:57And it was part of his message teaching to us.
- 4:01And, you know, the lady, my mentor had said it to me years
- 4:05ago, but I didn't really. I was like, oh, that's a good
- 4:08point. But I didn't feel comfortable
- 4:11really reliving the moment, you know, And so I went back and
- 4:18prayed and said, God, can you show me like where this started?
- 4:21Like who told me this? And the like memory came back
- 4:26because I think one thing the enemy tries to do is he tries to
- 4:29steal your memory because he wants to distort it and he wants
- 4:32you to it just be stuck in your brain.
- 4:34But if we actually can figure out where it comes from, then we
- 4:37can snip it at the root, you know?
- 4:40And so that was like a very big journey for me.
- 4:43So the thing was I would became a people pleaser very quickly,
- 4:48but I also tied with people pleasing felt like I had to
- 4:51achieve my worth from people. I had to win their approval.
- 4:55And I'm not someone who has a natural woo like those people.
- 4:58I'm like, God bless you, everybody loves you.
- 5:01I feel like I have to work so hard for somebody to like me and
- 5:05I had to unlearn that the Lord just loves me for me.
- 5:10That even though there are good works to be done, even though
- 5:13there are things to do, places to go, people to me, all the
- 5:19things. I am a daughter and that was the
- 5:23most freeing thing is when I truly learned this is who God
- 5:28says that I am, nothing more, nothing less.
- 5:32And walking from that place because I was so exhausted and I
- 5:38literally my brain would just spiral.
- 5:40My brain would make up stories in my head of what people think
- 5:43of me because I couldn't actually trust people because I
- 5:46felt like, oh, people don't actually love me or maybe God
- 5:50doesn't actually love me. It was like this whole thing.
- 5:53And so that is like a little snapshot of part of my freedom
- 5:59story. But yeah, it was it was a long
- 6:01journey. It wasn't just like, boom.
- 6:03But I wish when I was younger, I would have actually asked myself
- 6:08that question because I could have saved myself from years of
- 6:12doing that. But I didn't.
- 6:15And this is my story. And I don't know.
- 6:19And I'm free now. And so that's what matters.
- 6:21Amen. Absolutely.
- 6:23So how many years did you struggle?
- 6:25Oh, at least 18, but really my early 20s still, I had at least
- 6:32named it in my early, like when I turned 18, I had named it.
- 6:36But then by the time I was probably like freshly married, I
- 6:40was walking through some stuff and I had to really go like, oh,
- 6:47not everybody is like manipulative.
- 6:51Yeah. Like I can actually trust
- 6:53people. And so that was probably like
- 6:56232425 S yeah, like majority of my life.
- 7:05I know I had trouble for a long time trusting other females,
- 7:11like having girlfriends, you know, like I was always friends
- 7:14with the guys and I could handle guys.
- 7:17I was like, yeah, they're just idiots.
- 7:19I got this. Like, they're fine.
- 7:22They, they don't want to start up.
- 7:23No drama with me. They're trying to prevent me
- 7:25from just starting drama. Like girls were not that way,
- 7:28especially middle school and high school, middle school
- 7:31especially. But then I had a friend we had,
- 7:37we ended up having a falling out, which I didn't know we were
- 7:40having a falling out. And yeah, it was not a fun time.
- 7:46And then now I have this core group of women that I don't know
- 7:52what I'd do without. And it took me a while to
- 7:56realize like, I can just be mean with them.
- 7:59I don't have to front. I don't have to act like
- 8:03anything like, and I don't have to be leery of them, like
- 8:06question their motives for wanting to be friends with me.
- 8:10It's like they don't, you know, besides my time and everything,
- 8:13you ain't got like a financial gain or nothing by being friends
- 8:16with me. Like it's just by being friends.
- 8:19And that was something that took me a long time to get over.
- 8:24Yeah. So yeah, absolutely I can relate
- 8:27with you. And I know there's other people
- 8:28out there who could feel the same way because middle school
- 8:32is not not a great place. I'm mentoring 6th grade girls
- 8:35right now and when I talk with them I'm just like, Oh my gosh,
- 8:42guys. Like it'll all be OK eventually.
- 8:46But I had surgery. I told you that the when I did
- 8:50our interview together and I just talked with the girls this
- 8:54past Thursday before we're interviewing and I said, oh,
- 8:59something that makes me happy. And the girl said us.
- 9:03And I was like, actually you would be surprised.
- 9:06But yes, I was like, I look forward to hanging out with you
- 9:09guys every week for a little bit of time.
- 9:13And I said even when I said if you guys wouldn't have been out
- 9:17of school with a snow day the week after my surgery, I would
- 9:20have been on FaceTime with you guys just so I could be there.
- 9:24And, you know, they all kind of had these smiles on their faces
- 9:27because that's one thing I committed to.
- 9:29When I said I would do this mentorship, I was like, I will
- 9:31be there. Yeah.
- 9:33Unless literally I was under anesthesia, I would be there
- 9:38every other time with these girls and I was like, I will be
- 9:42consistent. So I was like because they
- 9:46didn't do that stuff when we were kids.
- 9:47And I really wish they would have.
- 9:49I wish they would have those programs 30-40 years ago.
- 9:53I wish they would have. Those programs, yeah, my
- 9:55favorite time of the week is being with our youth students, a
- 9:58youth group, because they just need someone.
- 10:00They need someone that's not their parent.
- 10:02Who says I'm for you, like, and I love you and I care about you
- 10:07and I'm willing to be honest with you.
- 10:09I'm willing to listen to you because I feel like right now
- 10:13part of the generation is like, they just don't feel heard.
- 10:17Like they want to feel heard. And so you can go, hey, I'm
- 10:19going to listen and then I'm going to help you point you to
- 10:24Jesus and all those things. And so.
- 10:27Yeah, that's the only that's the problem with the mentoring.
- 10:29Like, I can't outwardly say, like point everybody to Jesus,
- 10:34but I can encourage and I can encourage faith.
- 10:38I can, you know, encourage them to look to faith.
- 10:42I can, you know, all this kind of stuff.
- 10:43I can ask them about it but it's like I can't start preaching.
- 10:47Yeah. So because I'm not in a
- 10:49Christian School, so you just kind of feel out where you can
- 10:54and where you can't. And you know, God opens doors
- 10:57And when the girls had AI love Jesus sweatshirt on and I said I
- 11:02love your sweatshirt. Thanks.
- 11:05So you know little. Things.
- 11:07Yeah, exactly. So what Bible verse or verses
- 11:12have kept you anchored over the years?
- 11:16Well, my favorite is in Second Corinthians 12/9 and it says,
- 11:20but my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made
- 11:22perfect in weakness. Because for a long time, I
- 11:25thought my insecurities and I thought what people said about
- 11:29me disqualified me. I thought that I had an eating
- 11:32disorder disqualified me. I thought that I made past
- 11:35mistakes that disqualified me. And instead, I saw that God's
- 11:39grace is sufficient not just to save me from my sin, but to
- 11:44carry me and to help me keep going if I depend on Him.
- 11:48And I think a lot of us see it as liability, but really it's
- 11:53the location God wants to show up in our lives.
- 11:56And so for me, I went, OK, God, can we look back on that moment
- 12:00where, where were you in those moments when I was struggling,
- 12:03you know, and actually being willing for him to show you
- 12:06where he was. And it's scary sometimes because
- 12:09you have to almost relive those moments.
- 12:10But I see it now where I go, if I have a moment where like, yes,
- 12:17I can preach about identity and walking as children of God, and
- 12:20I can still have struggles here and there or have a day where
- 12:23you're just like, man, I just feel insecure all of a sudden.
- 12:26I can go, God, you know, this is what I'm feeling right now.
- 12:31I need you to show up in this spot of my life and I'm going to
- 12:34choose to trust you over what I'm feeling.
- 12:36I'm going to choose to trust you over the situation, the
- 12:38circumstance. And can you just help me?
- 12:41Like, I think we often want to be independent and strong and
- 12:48all these things that we preach to women all the time.
- 12:50And God, it's like, Hey, I actually created you to need me
- 12:52and and you can't like rely on other things to give you life,
- 12:58to give you strength that aren't him.
- 13:02And so yeah, I've been really like Second Corinthians 12/9 is
- 13:07mine. And sometimes I have to also
- 13:10guard my heart with it at 1st and not push limits because I am
- 13:15somebody who's just, I'm a go getter.
- 13:17And so I have to be like, OK, I know that God can show up and do
- 13:20this and like I believe in him so much.
- 13:24Sometimes I push myself a little too much and I have to go, OK,
- 13:27is this what you're asking me to do though?
- 13:29And so yeah, that's my verse that helps me all the time.
- 13:35It's so easy, especially being a recovering people pleaser and a
- 13:40recovering perfectionist or recovering, you know, whatever
- 13:45term you want to use. It can be so easy to fall back
- 13:47into those patterns. Yeah, if we're not focused on
- 13:50the right thing. Yeah, for sure, for sure.
- 13:54It's so easy. Like all it takes is like any,
- 13:58like as someone who's a go getter, all it takes is my
- 14:00adrenaline going up, like being like excited about something and
- 14:03I'm like visionary. I'm like, OK, let's make all the
- 14:07steps. Yep.
- 14:08And let's get there. And you know, like people used
- 14:11to joke and say not really joke, but kind of that I'm like a well
- 14:15oiled machine. Like I could just go, go, go.
- 14:18And so for the first time in my life, I'm really like stopping
- 14:21and being more still and trusting God and going like I
- 14:25put in the work and now my work there is done.
- 14:28Now tell me what you want me to do now.
- 14:30And so, but I have to, I have to go.
- 14:35God didn't create me to be a well oiled machine.
- 14:37He created me to. Be a daughter.
- 14:38Yeah. Well, that's good.
- 14:40You know, and so I have to go, OK, God, like, but he's so
- 14:44gentle, right? He's not like he's not just
- 14:49Hannah. Stop.
- 14:52Sometimes it's like, OK, I keep getting sick, maybe I need to
- 14:56stop. Like it's one of those things
- 14:57where he actually lets you use your brain a little bit and and
- 15:00your relationship with him to go, yeah, maybe this is how
- 15:03you're leading me. And sometimes we might get it
- 15:06wrong, but he's gracious enough to like, reroute us and show us
- 15:10the path. And.
- 15:11But I think some of us are so like almost rigid of like, oh,
- 15:15well, if I do this wrong, right? And it's like, no, because none
- 15:19of us are ever going to reach perfection.
- 15:21Like we are all being transformed and will look more
- 15:25and more like Jesus, but none of us will be Jesus.
- 15:28None of us are going to look exactly like him or we would
- 15:30have no need for him. And so it's like putting myself
- 15:35in my place and letting God be in his place and going.
- 15:37But we're A-Team and we're working together and I love you
- 15:41and you love me, OK? Like, please show me what to do.
- 15:45I'll let you lead because it's really easy for me to just be
- 15:48like, here we go. I'll do it.
- 15:50I got this 100%. I was having a conversation with
- 15:55one of my best friends earlier who's also on my ministry team,
- 15:58and we both have ADHD brains. And so we're talking about how
- 16:05other people can take advantage of us because we've got so many
- 16:11plates going at the same time that we can take on the job of
- 16:16like 3 different people because that's just the way our brains
- 16:19are. And then all of a sudden it's
- 16:22like, no, God help me to stop that.
- 16:25And, you know, focus on the one thing at a time.
- 16:28One thing, one thing. That's so good.
- 16:31And not 16. Yeah, that's a word.
- 16:34Because that's going to set somebody free.
- 16:37That's going to set me free because I'm like, oh, I can help
- 16:40everybody with everything. And then we don't always have
- 16:43good boundaries because we're like, not actually doing what
- 16:47God asked us to do because we're helping everybody else do their
- 16:51thing. Because yeah, when you said the
- 16:54juggling the plates, like that's my life sometimes where I'm
- 16:57like, OK, I got this and I will not let them drop.
- 17:00I will not. And then you're like, when's the
- 17:02point? It's going to drop?
- 17:03And I hope I don't drop too. Right, right.
- 17:08But yeah, that's really good. Yeah, even in ministry, like I
- 17:13have a team, they're all my they're all my best friends.
- 17:16They're like my ride or dies. But it's still difficult to, I'm
- 17:21AI can do delegation as a nurse. Like I could delegate all
- 17:25things, but when it's like the ministry stuff, it gets a little
- 17:28harder because you're like, you've got so many things
- 17:30boggling in your brain of like, what can do what can do what can
- 17:33do, what can do that then sometimes it's hard to translate
- 17:38from your brain to your mouth. Yep.
- 17:40Because you don't always know how to say what you need.
- 17:42Plus then the recovering people pleaser side is like, but I
- 17:46don't want anybody else to have to do anything.
- 17:48They've already got too much going on.
- 17:50Yep. And it's like, wait a minute,
- 17:52they volunteered, so you've got to let that go.
- 17:56Yep. That's so good.
- 17:57Yeah, that's so good. So your book, let's go ahead and
- 18:01talk about intentionally designed because we're kind of
- 18:03talking about we're on the lines of talking about how God designs
- 18:09us. So let's talk about your book
- 18:11and it's called Ditching the Lies and the Labels and Living
- 18:15Free in Christ. So let's talk.
- 18:18Yeah, So a lot of people would say, oh, yeah, I know my
- 18:23identity is a child of God. But we don't live like it.
- 18:27We are living for approval. We are trying to be perfect.
- 18:31We are at war with what we're supposed to do, who we're
- 18:35supposed to be, everything. The world is telling us
- 18:38everything, even good things that people tell us who we are.
- 18:41Example, I am a wife and I'm a mom.
- 18:45I'm a podcast host, I'm an author.
- 18:47All those things. Guess what?
- 18:49A circumstance could change and any of those things could be
- 18:51taken away from me. Yeah, my husband could die.
- 18:54We don't want him to die, but he could die.
- 18:57I could lose a child. I could die.
- 19:00I could have my book taken off Amazon.
- 19:03I could stop my podcast. All of that is temporary things.
- 19:07They're conditional things due to situations.
- 19:10Are they a part of my life? Yes.
- 19:11Do they shape part of my life? Absolutely.
- 19:14But my identity is a child of God because my identity doesn't
- 19:17change. And there's a lot of young women
- 19:20specifically, but also older women that are struggling with
- 19:25who am I supposed to be? The world is telling me I should
- 19:28go do this. They're telling me my career is
- 19:30who I am. They're telling me my
- 19:32accomplishments are who I am. They tell me if I have a degree,
- 19:35I'm more qualified. But in the Kingdom, it's not
- 19:39always that way. It's an upside down Kingdom.
- 19:41And so I wrote this book because it starts with belonging.
- 19:46It starts with belonging to the Lord and having a deeper
- 19:51realization of that, but also looking at, OK, are there lies
- 19:55in my life? Are there labels, even good
- 19:57ones, examples like I just shared of a wife, a mom,
- 20:00whatever. Am I living into that that that
- 20:03is my identity, or am I living just as a loved daughter of God
- 20:07and what he says because if what he said.
- 20:11In the Bible is true. Then when he said it is finished
- 20:14on the cross, that also meant every single thing that he wrote
- 20:17about you in the word of God was true and is true and will be
- 20:21true. And so many women are so
- 20:24exhausted because they're trying to walk towards their identity.
- 20:27They're like, I just have to become.
- 20:29I have to become become, become the next Proverbs 31 woman,
- 20:32Ruth, yada, yada, yada. And I'm going, you're not Ruth
- 20:36and you're not the Proverbs 31 woman.
- 20:38OK, those things can be good things.
- 20:41They can and have good character traits.
- 20:42I'm not saying any of that. But you are meant to be your
- 20:46name, child, daughter of God, or if you're a guy listening, a son
- 20:50of God. OK, like it is simply that.
- 20:54And when we live loved as kids, then we approach the Father
- 20:59differently and we live out our life differently and we walk
- 21:03into Our Calling secure. And this is who I am.
- 21:06So what I do, I'm going to work hard at it because also in the
- 21:09beginning, God did create us to work.
- 21:11There was a garden before there was the fall.
- 21:13We had to cultivate. We're still called to cultivate.
- 21:16We are given gifts, we are given rest.
- 21:20Like there's all these things. And so I see so many people
- 21:22struggle with all of these things.
- 21:24And so I was like, well, let's go back to the garden.
- 21:26Let's like make this super simple.
- 21:28So many people have read Genesis, but I'm going to read
- 21:31it. I think I've read the book of
- 21:33Genesis like the first six chapters, like a deep dive on
- 21:37that probably like 50 times just in the last couple of years
- 21:41because I'm like, what else can I get out of this story is that
- 21:45Eve is the perfect example. She was already created in the
- 21:50image of God and the enemy tricked her.
- 21:52If you reach and take this fruit, it's not going to kill
- 21:57you. It's going to make you more like
- 21:58God. But she was already made in the
- 22:00image of God. That is the closest to looking
- 22:03like God you can be is that you're made in his image.
- 22:06And she got to actually walk alongside him in the garden with
- 22:10so many of U.S. trade spending time with the Lord for trying to
- 22:14act and look like him by reaching for something else.
- 22:18And I was like, Oh my gosh, this is the first performance.
- 22:22This is the first part of shame. This is the first part of
- 22:25hiding. And then what she does is she
- 22:28has her husband eat it with her. And then they put on fig leaves
- 22:33and they hid. They put on something because
- 22:36God said everything in the garden that it was good.
- 22:41OK, I think they put on fig leaves because it looked good.
- 22:48It hid them. And so many of us are doing the
- 22:50same thing when we feel shame of our sin, of our mistakes.
- 22:55We messed up, we didn't do it perfectly.
- 22:56Whatever it is, we go, how can I mask up?
- 22:59How can I? You know, I'll start serving
- 23:01more, I'll pray for people more. And it can be even good things
- 23:06God calls us to do. But are we doing it to cover up
- 23:10our own sin or are we doing it because we're trying to hide?
- 23:18Like what is it that we're doing?
- 23:19And so I noticed that. And then here's the really cool
- 23:21thing, OK, the story of Jesus, I love him, He's amazing.
- 23:26There is a story in the gospel where he curses A fig tree.
- 23:31And my theory, this could be wrong, but my theory for part of
- 23:34why he curses the fig tree is because it was the fig leaves
- 23:37that they put on to hide. And God was Jesus is constantly
- 23:40reversing the curse. He's constantly going back to
- 23:43what happened to curse. Let me restore this
- 23:45relationship. Let me restore.
- 23:47Let me restore. And so sometimes I go, I wonder
- 23:50if it was a fig. I wonder if that was the fruit
- 23:52because I always joke it's the apple.
- 23:53Yeah, maybe it was a fig because the fig leaf was right there to
- 23:57put on. I don't know.
- 23:59But never thought of that that way.
- 24:01Yeah, and like, I'm not saying it was the fig that they ate,
- 24:04right? They did put on fig leaves and
- 24:05we know that, and we know that he cursed A fig tree, but I
- 24:07think he's trying to reverse the curse.
- 24:10Well, it's the same with Peter. You know, when Peter denies him
- 24:14three times and then Jesus asks him three times, do you love me
- 24:19after he's resurrected? And you know, seeing seeing that
- 24:24come to fulfillment and that erase what he had already done,
- 24:30because I don't know about you, but I can find myself being
- 24:32Peter multiple times. So for like, I don't know, I
- 24:35think he's the one I can relate to the most because one minute,
- 24:40Oh, I will walk out on the water.
- 24:41I believe you got, I believe you got.
- 24:44And the next minute, do you see what's happening?
- 24:46Here. Do you think that's a good idea?
- 24:48Right. Are you sure?
- 24:51Yep, like do I believe? You at this moment.
- 24:53Like, yeah, yeah, yeah. So I think, I think that's such
- 24:56a good alignment. I don't know if it is either.
- 24:59I mean, that's maybe a list of the questions that we'll ask God
- 25:02when we see him someday. My husband, I was just talking
- 25:04about that. I think the list is long.
- 25:07Yep. We may not even care though when
- 25:09we get there, so who knows? So in this book, what section
- 25:14was one of your favorite sections to write?
- 25:19That's a really good question. I often say chapter 2 because it
- 25:25was The Who told you that like we talked about earlier, but the
- 25:29other chapter that I, I feel like there's so many I loved
- 25:33writing. So I'm going to say two.
- 25:35OK, I loved talking about the cultivation chapter because God
- 25:42made this garden. It wasn't finished.
- 25:44Garden wasn't finished. There was still work to be done
- 25:47and we see garden imagery all throughout the Bible.
- 25:51And so it's in the beginning. It's also where he goes before
- 25:56he is crucified, and it's also where we see him.
- 26:00There's in the Gospel they miss, they like, they see Jesus.
- 26:05They don't think it's Jesus. They think he's a gardener just
- 26:09after his resurrection. He's just there gardening.
- 26:12I think it's just so awesome. But there's so much garden
- 26:16imagery. And so I love to talk about that
- 26:20chapter of cultivation, of talking a lot about like
- 26:22stewardship and discipline and all these kinds of things.
- 26:27And like, if we think of our life as what is the garden in
- 26:30front of me, I'm entrusted to cultivate, And that looks
- 26:35different. And there are seasons of gardens
- 26:37right there, spring and summer where it's maybe blooming, fall,
- 26:41things die away. Winter, there's the snowfall,
- 26:45they die off, but there's a lot of water getting down beneath
- 26:49the surface that's going to help it come back again.
- 26:51And so it's like that visual of his resurrection of garden
- 26:55imagery. I loved writing about that one.
- 26:58And I'm not really a green thumb gal.
- 27:00I, I grew a watermelon the size of the golf ball.
- 27:04So we're hoping I can do better. And then the other chapter I
- 27:09loved writing is Chapter 11. And it's a lot about the story
- 27:14of Esther. And so many people have heard
- 27:16that story, like you were creative for such a time as
- 27:18this. We know that, but a lot of us
- 27:20look at that word and we just think it's only empowerment.
- 27:23But I actually see it as a rebuke that it was like, Esther,
- 27:28you were created for such a time as this.
- 27:30You need to go do this or literally everybody's going to
- 27:32die. Like you need to go before the
- 27:34king. And so it was one of those
- 27:36things where I was just like, OK, this is actually kind of a
- 27:40rebuke. And some of us also need to
- 27:43like, I don't like telling people like get it together, but
- 27:47also like kind of get it together and like, what is it
- 27:51that you are called to do in this time?
- 27:54And you need to do it because there are people who still have
- 27:56not heard of Jesus around our world.
- 27:59There are people who need the hope and the story that you
- 28:03have. And it might be a unique way
- 28:05that you do it, but there are people's lives on the line that
- 28:08need to know the Lord. And so let's go, you know,
- 28:10buckle up. Let's go.
- 28:12So that was the other chapter that I was just like, I remember
- 28:15just reading that and I was like, I think I have to put a
- 28:18chapter about Esther. And then I like reread it and
- 28:20studied it. And I was like, whoa, OK, hold
- 28:22on. Well, yeah, and that's the
- 28:24thing. I love the book of Esther.
- 28:26And around the time I started going to the church that I'm
- 28:29going to now, they were actually on a series on Esther.
- 28:32OK. And you know, when you start, I
- 28:35mean, everybody wants to go to chapter 4, verse 14 and repeat
- 28:40that verse and repeat that first because it works really well for
- 28:42a cup or whatever it's on. But when you actually look at
- 28:48the context and see what was going on and see that what
- 28:53Esther was actually doing, what she was involved in, like it is
- 28:57not for the people who think that the Bible is something
- 29:00pretty and you tie it up like it, it's harsh.
- 29:04Like, you know, she was actually in a harem.
- 29:07Like, you know, God, God had her there to eventually get to the
- 29:14king and be the one to save the Jewish people.
- 29:17But in the meantime, she had to do some things that most of us
- 29:20would go, Nope. Like who wants to be a part of
- 29:24that? Right.
- 29:26Yeah, so you just, you just never know.
- 29:28And you know, I'm not telling everybody to go out and join a
- 29:30harem but or anything like that, but you just never know where
- 29:35God's got you and what he's got planned for you at that moment
- 29:38when he calls you out. And I've never actually thought
- 29:41of it as a rebuked style before. Like, I mean, her cousin was
- 29:45calling her out and up, but I never really thought of it as a
- 29:49rebuke type. And it can be seen that way
- 29:51definitely. But some of us need that.
- 29:54Like we get scared of rebuke. We think that's only what we do
- 29:58to the enemy, right? But there's also times, you
- 30:01know, the Bible is also to rebuke us.
- 30:04And I think that's part of why God had that chapter in the
- 30:08Bible. Is he or that book in the Bible.
- 30:10But specifically in that part, said that way is some of us need
- 30:14that rebuke of, hey, you were creative for this time.
- 30:19Like #1 God made you and decided when you would come on this
- 30:25earth, right? And there you are here literally
- 30:28for that time. But also like what the culture
- 30:31is going to be facing all those things.
- 30:33And that means your voice also matters.
- 30:36And it doesn't mean everybody's called to a microphone, a stage,
- 30:39a platform, whatever. But like, what is it right in
- 30:42front of you? Go back to the cultivation.
- 30:43What are you called to cultivate?
- 30:45Are you showing up and doing it? Are you expecting every
- 30:47everybody else to do it or are you seeing all these other
- 30:50people doing it? And so now you're playing the
- 30:52comparison game. Guess what, We're all on the
- 30:54same team. We are all on the same team in
- 30:56the Kingdom of God. So guess what, we can go, hey,
- 30:59do you know how many other people have written books about
- 31:02identity? I could have never written this
- 31:04book, but you know what? God had a slightly different
- 31:07part with my story to write for it.
- 31:09And guess what? All these books complement one
- 31:12another because they're pointing people to the Lord.
- 31:14We should be praising God for that instead of going, Oh my
- 31:17gosh, like nobody's going to read my book.
- 31:19Nobody's going to listen to this podcast.
- 31:21Nobody's going to show up and do what God asked you to do because
- 31:25He told you to do it. That's why we do it.
- 31:27We don't do it because for the affirmation, we don't do it
- 31:31because no one else is doing it and we need to fill a void.
- 31:34You just need to be obedient what God has asked you to do.
- 31:37Amen. Amen.
- 31:39I'm preaching. I love it.
- 31:41I love it because it's so, it's so true.
- 31:44It's so true. Like literally just do the next
- 31:48thing that you're called to do. Like even with the podcast, I
- 31:51wasn't sure I wanted to even do 1.
- 31:53I was like, who's going to want to listen to me talk?
- 31:55I'm in North Canton, OH, like I'm in a little closet.
- 31:59Like, and then it's just, you know, being able to come at
- 32:05things maybe a little differently, maybe give people a
- 32:07little bit of a diff different thing.
- 32:09But the whole justification for everything I do is so somebody,
- 32:14whoever's listening, will not feel alone.
- 32:17Yep. And if one person doesn't feel
- 32:19alone that day because of that episode, then I'm doing exactly
- 32:22what I'm supposed to do. So good.
- 32:24And same with you. Like if one person is affected
- 32:27by what you say on one episode, then you are doing what you're
- 32:30supposed to do. Yep, totally.
- 32:33And the. Comparison thing.
- 32:34The comparison thing, I mean, it can be a deadly thing.
- 32:38Oh yeah. Not put in perspective.
- 32:39Literally in the beginning, Cain and Abel, Yep, they compared the
- 32:47offering that they gave to the Lord and literally killed his
- 32:50brother over it because he and I'm like, that's comparison
- 32:54people. Yep.
- 32:56And everyone's like, oh, I just thought it was jealousy.
- 32:58I'm like, well, they can be hand in hand, but that is comparing
- 33:01that, oh, you were like praised for your offering that you gave.
- 33:06It kills comparison and kills. That's why that's the verses I
- 33:10always share when I'm like, no, it's true, OK.
- 33:14It is sensitive. Yeah.
- 33:16So, Hannah, I have loved getting to talk with you again.
- 33:19This time, you know, this side of it.
- 33:23So where can people find you and where can they get your book?
- 33:27Yes, so you can find me on Hannah Castillo official or
- 33:32God's glory in your story on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, all
- 33:36those places. And I also have my book
- 33:39available on Amazon, Books-a-million, walmart.com and
- 33:44Barnes and Noble. Or you can get it on my site
- 33:46www.godsglorynewstory.com. Awesome.
- 33:50I will put links to all of that in the show notes.
- 33:53And thank you again so much Hannah for coming on.
- 33:55This whole episode has been so encouraging and you guys go
- 34:00follow Hannah. Go get yourself a copy of
- 34:02Intentionally Designed and I will talk to you next episode.
- 34:06Thank you so much for joining me for this episode, The Anchor by
- 34:08the Sore podcast. I pray that the story that you
- 34:11heard today will encourage your faith, challenge your faith, and
- 34:15also help you as you walk in your daily life.
- 34:19If this episode has done that, please feel free to leave a five
- 34:22star rating and review wherever you listen to this podcast so
- 34:26that others can find it and grow as well.
- 34:28Have a blessed week and I'll talk to you next episode.