← Stay True with Madison Prewett Troutt
Stay True with Madison Prewett Troutt
The Power of a Quiet Life
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Welcome back to another episode of Stay True Podcast! In a culture that celebrates busyness, Madi reveals the power of a simple and quiet life. Although Jesus could have been the busiest person, He chose to be unhurried. He never let the chaos of life...
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Madison Pruitt Trout
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If you're depressed, stressed, struggling with a relationship, or if you want some counseling for you and your partner or just need a little extra one on one support, Talkspace is here for you. Plus, Talkspace works with most major insurers and most insured members have a $0 copay. No insurance, no problem. Now get $80 off of your first month with promo code space80 when you go to talkspace.com match with a licensed therapist today at talkspace.com, save $80 with code space80@talkspace.com how are you stewarding the time God has given you? I think that in all of that hustle and bustle and all of that doing and going, I'm totally missing the whole point. I want to be that person that people look at and say she has spent time with Jesus. I can do all of these things for God and totally miss God. And it was all in vain. If he never gives you another thing, if he never answers another prayer, if he never gives you another quote, unquote blessing, is being with him alone enough? We can feel so burdened, so broken and so bound. And we're wondering why. If you want the peace of God, then you've got to keep up with the pace of God. God wants to speak to you. God wants to quiet your mind. Are you listening? What's up guys? Welcome back to another episode of Stay True podcast. I'm your host, Madison Pruitt Trout, here in the Stay True studio and this is my first solo episode since season two, which is wild. I still can't believe we're already on season two. Still can't believe I live in Nashville, Tennessee, I have a child, and I'm in my new studio. It's all just been such a blur, you guys. These past, like, few months. I don't even know what today is, and I actually have a little bit of a cold. And so if you hear it in my voice. I'm so sorry. I was talking with my girl Leah over here earlier. She's helps make Stay True podcast possible. So shout out to Leah. And I was like, it kind of sounds like I could sing. Should I try singing? And I'm like, I don't think that's how it works. So we're not gonna. I'm not gonna scar you guys with my horrible singing voice, so we won't try that on the podcast today. But I do want to just preface that my voice sounds a little crazy, but I am so excited about today's conversation because it's actually, like, something I've been wanting to talk about for a while because it's something that the Lord has been teaching me. She. He's been teaching your girl. And the thing is, is it's the best to talk about something that you are currently walking through. Like, I am currently learning this myself, and so I will not be speaking from a place of having mastered this or figured this out. This is from a place of I am in the thick of it right now, learning it myself. And it's something that I do believe. This conversation is something that this generation really needs to hear. And so I'm so excited. We are going to be talking all about how to live a simple and quiet life. It's not what you think it is. That sounds like a very boring life, and I promise you that's not what it is. But I want to be talking about how we can still ourselves, how we can incorporate stillness back into our hearts and in our lives. I think we often, including myself, run at such a fast pace, and we have such a busy, busy mindset, and we almost crave busyness. It's like the. It's the vibe that is put out in our world today. Honestly. It's like, oh, busyness equals productivity. Busyness equals purpose. Busyness equals the norm. Like, you ask someone, how are you doing? And they're like, good. Just busy. That I feel like that's everyone's answer. Anytime I ask how someone's doing, that's the answer I'm typically getting. And so I've just had this heavy on my heart because I've shared, I think, on the podcast already, I think I can't remember it. Like I said, mom brain. But I think I've talked about how when I was pregnant and I was just praying through this coming up season of being a mom, how the Holy Spirit convicted my heart and laid on my heart that when I step into motherhood, I didn't want to be a mom who showed her daughter this busy, rushed, stressed life. I wanted to be a mom who showed her daughter what it looks like to sit at the feet of Jesus, to live a simple and content life, and to not be rushed or hurried, but to be so full of joy, to be present where I am, to be giving her my attention and for her to see me giving God and my husband full attention and to not see me overwhelmed and stressed and anxious and busy and do, do, do, and go, go, go. Because that's how I've lived most of my life, especially these last three or four years of my life since, kind of stepping into all of this, from speaking to podcasting, to writing books, all really good things. And just like, I'm sure you can look at your life and be like, but I'm doing so many good things. But I think a lot of times we substitute good things with God things and we confuse them and think that even in the name of God, oh, I'm doing all these things for God, yet they're taking away from our intimacy with God. And that's what I was seeing with my life was I was doing all of these quote unquote big things for God. I was doing all of these things, you know, for God, walking out my purpose, using the gifts he had given me, but yet I missed him. Like, I would just have moments of being, like, in the shower. God, I miss you. And he's like, I'm right here. You're. You're just choosing to miss me with focusing on the gifts that I've given you or focusing on what you can do for me. You're totally missing out with time, like on time with me. And I just felt so convicted of it. One day I was just sitting out on the porch and thinking about what I wanted to really model for my daughter and what I wanted to model for my child and how I want to be seen and remembered and from my friends, my closest friends. And not that it's about what other people see or what other people are getting from me, but I do want to be a good example. You know, it talks about in scripture that we should set an example for other believers. And so I want to Set an example for other believers, especially my daughter, who is who I'm called to disciple more than anyone, of what it looks like to just adore Jesus, what it looks like to just sit at the feet of Jesus, what it looks like to be truly content in his presence and to eliminate rush and busyness from my life. I don't want to live this super busy, go, go, go, do, do do life that I'm constantly. Because here was my struggle and here's what I'm seeing for so much of you guys in this generation, me included, is that we're constantly saying, I'm so anxious, I'm so overwhelmed. I'm so stressed. I feel weights that I'm carrying that I shouldn't be carrying. And we can feel so burdened, so broken and so bound. And we're wondering why. And it's because for so many of us, we're saying yes to too many things. And we're not saying yes to the to God. We're not saying yes to the most important thing, which is spending time with Jesus. Or if we are, we're doing it in a rushed way in the morning and then not spending time with him throughout the rest of our day. And don't get me wrong, there's some seasons that just naturally are going to be busier than others. There's going to be some seasons that require maybe a little bit more, like depending on the job that you have or depending on the season of life that you're in. For example, in this newborn season of having a newborn baby, it hasn't necessarily looked like me spending three hours in the Bible and just like, quite literally sitting at the feet of Jesus. It hasn't looked like that, but it has looked like me slowing my mind down and spending less time on social media and spending more time with my daughter. And when I'm feeding her or changing her or playing with her, praying over her or, you know, speaking scripture over her, or, you know, memorizing Scripture and then, you know, telling her, hey, these are the verses we're memorizing together, sweet girl. And, you know, taking those moments to just remember what's most important. And so I want this episode to be all about how we can eliminate stress and busyness in our life and get back to this simplicity of just enjoying Jesus, of just enjoying time with Jesus and what it looks like to live a simple and quiet life and not in a way that is boring and not in a way that is less than. For me. Often I thought that doing, like, being a Christian or Just being a, I guess, purposeful or driven person meant that I had to constantly be going, I had to do more, do more, do more. And that doing, quote, unquote, more for the Lord would make him proud, would make him pleased with me. And I think that that has become so tainted and twisted with being paired with culture's version of what more looks like. And so for me, I have tried to kind of fit this what pleases God in with what culture says is good. And what culture says is good, and what Christ says is good is very different, and it's not the same thing. And so for me, I've had to get back to this place of, what do you say is good, Lord? What actually pleases you? And how can I honor you with my life and with my time and with my mind and with my body and with my relationships? Because that's what I want ultimately, at the end of the day. And I just was, you know, continuously reminded throughout these past few months of just being in my little newborn bubble with baby girl, that man, at any point, Jesus could come back. At any point, he could choose to just take me home. And in that moment, I'm going to be face to face with him. And in that moment, I'm going to have to give an account for my life. And how quickly that could happen was just this. Like, I don't know, it just, like, it did something inside of me that I realized, man, I don't want to be face to face with Jesus and hear, hear disappointment in his voice because he's like, man, you follow the things of the world thinking that's what pleased me. But you missed it. Like, you chased doing all of these big things in my name, thinking that that's what gained my, you know, love and proudness of you. When you totally missed loving your neighbor, when you totally missed serving your husband, when you totally missed just sitting in my presence. And I just think that we're living in a time where it's become. Where we've almost grown bored with, like, sitting in silence or sitting in the presence of the Lord, unless we're getting something out of it. Like, unless he's giving us this revelation that we can post on Instagram or share on our podcast, you know, or whether it's. We want to get something from God. Like, God, if you answer my prayer, you know, or if you give me this gift or give me this thing, then I'll do this for you, or then I'll be happy, or then I'll be content. And we've Just missed out on the beauty of sitting with the Lord. And in Psalm 16 it says that in the presence of the Lord there is fullness of joy. There is fullness of joy. And Psalm 23 says that the Lord is our shepherd, we lack nothing. And all throughout scripture, it reminds us again and again and again that everything we need, everything we want, everything we desire is found in Him. Not in, not in even what he can give us, not even in, you know, what we can do for him, but just in being with Him. And so I want to challenge everyone listening to this podcast right now just to come back to this place where Jesus alone is enough. Like, if he never gives you another thing, if he never gives you, if he never answers another prayer, if he never gives you another quote, unquote, blessing, is being with him alone enough? Like, is that enough for you? And that's a challenge to me. Like I, I'm convicted even in sharing that because so often I, you know, acquaint his love for me or his goodness with what he can give me. It's like, God, you're so good because look at all the things you've given me. Look at how much you've blessed me. And the reality is I don't deserve any of it. I don't deserve anything else from the Lord. What he's done for me and who he is to me is so much more than what I deserve. Like he is. He has saved my soul. He has rescued me from death to life. He has dug me out of the pit of darkness and brought me into his marvelous light. He has not only saved me and traded my sin for his righteousness, but he also has given me a purpose and a reason to live on this planet and call me to, to do things in his name and for his glory. I mean, I don't deserve that. I don't deserve anything else from Him. And I think we can have such an entitled mindset sometimes with the Lord of God. I'm doing all of these things for you. And so you gotta bless me. Like, you gotta do these things for me. Like I'm. If I'm doing this for you, you gotta do for me. Like it's this rewards based system. And I just want to challenge us here on Stay True as I'm challenging myself. Like, it's just, it's not about that. And it's all about the heart. And the Lord is looking for those who are pure in heart. The Lord is looking for those he's searching to and fro. It says in scripture, for Those whose hearts are set on him, who are fully committed to him, who are. Who love him wholeheartedly and not love the things that he gives, not love the things of the world, not love the things that we can do for him, for him and for his name, that give us, you know, glory or that give us opportunity, but just love him and love being with him. And that's. He's searching for those people, to strengthen them, it says in Scripture, to protect them, to bless them, to give them, you know, all of these things that they, deep down, want and desire, which, if your heart is right, is Him. And so I just want to continue to challenge us on this podcast to stay in a humble posture and a pure posture that says, I don't need anything but you, Jesus, and you give and you take away, and you alone are enough. You are the gift. You are the prize. My eyes are set on you. And I am here for a short time. I am here for such a short time. And I know I don't deserve anything you've already given me. Yet I will praise you, and I will praise you. No matter the season that I'm in, whether it's good or bad, whether it's hard or I'm on the mountaintops, wherever you have me, I will praise you, and I will give it all back to you. Right before I started recording this episode, I just. I prayed and I was, like, reminded of the verse that talks about, for from him are all things, for him are all things, and through him all things are held together. And I'm just reminded by that that everything good I have in my life is from God, and everything good I have in my life is for God. And everything good I have in my life, I can only do through God. I can only honor him with my life, with the things he's given me through His Holy Spirit. And so we need him in all that we do, and we need him every step of the way. And what you feel called to do and how you love your neighbor and how you live your life, I mean, even just the daily little decisions that you make. And so keeping this posture of being poor and needy for him, keeping this posture of hungering for more of him is so important to how to live this simple and quiet life. And so when I say simple and quiet life, what I do not mean is that you should not pursue your dreams. What I don't mean is that you should silence your voice and that your voice is not to be used, that you should just, like, be this super quiet person and not leave your house, but just read your Bible all the time and, you know, stay in a little Christian bubble. That's not what I mean. Jesus marked out for us what it looks like to live a non hurried, non rushed, non busy, overwhelmed life. He showed us what it looked like to keep this posture of peace, of what it looks like to keep the pace of simplicity and of seeing people. Like he saw everyone that he encountered, like he saw them. He didn't just rush past them to get to the next thing because he was so consumed with his own life and schedule. He saw every single person that he encountered. He loved them. He, he, he discipled them, he gave them truth. He. He showed them grace. He loved them deeply. And in the same way as we're called to be followers of Jesus, we're called to not only, you know, walk out our purpose for the Lord, but we're also called to keep in step with the pace of the Lord. And I've heard it said time and time again that if you want the peace of God, then you've got to keep up with the pace of God. Which means look at the life of Jesus. And what was the pace that he set and showed us? He showed us that we are not to live this rushed, busy life. He showed us that we are to live an intentional life. An intentional life that spent time in solitude with the Father and that spent time constantly loving and seeing people that you encounter being intentional with the people that you're around. And so again, what I'm not saying is that you, you know, just like, don't do a podcast. Like clearly I'm on a podcast right now, okay? So I'm not saying like don't ever post on social media or don't ever get on a podcast or don't ever, you know, speak or do anything that you feel called to do or dream to do or want to do. What I am saying is find ways to still the noises. Find ways to get alone with the Lord. Find ways to seek solitude and silence. Find ways to serve people off, offline, off camera when no one's around. Find ways to connect with the Lord all throughout the days. Find, find ways to serve people locally and, and whether that's at your church, whether that's just like some nonprofit in your community, find ways to really seek that intentional, simple. Yeah, just like simple pace, slower pace life in your day to day. Again, this is not easy for me. I am a very activator person. I like to go, go, go. I like to do, do, do. And since the Lord has laid this on my heart. I've had to work extra, extra hard because every time I find myself having a free moment, especially now as a mom, my mind goes to work, my mind goes to social media. Let me jump on and see what everyone's doing, or let me put post something that, you know might be helpful for someone. And I'm not saying those things are bad. Those things are. Are not wrong. However, I've had to train my mind of as soon as I get s. Like, silence. As soon as I get alone time, let me not rush to do something. Let me sit in it, and let me invite the Holy Spirit into this moment. Let me close my eyes and sit in silence and ask, holy Spirit, speak to me. What do you want to say to me? I was just reading in First Kings, Second Kings. I don't even remember which one it was, but I was reading about Samuel and how he was called by God. He was a prophet in the Old Testament, and he was called by God, and he hadn't yet had this relational moment with God, yet. He was still a young little boy. And it says that God was calling him. And at first he thought that it was his. His, like, mentor, His. The guy he was training under and learning from, who was Eli. And he went to Eli and he said, yes, did you call for me? And Eli's like, no, son, go back. And he. This happened three or four times. And finally Eli realized, okay, this is God calling you. So next time when you hear a voice calling, you say, here I am. I'm your servant, and I'm listening. Speak to me. And it's been so convicting because I'm like, how often when I. When God's trying to speak to me, am I distracted by social media? Am I distracted by busyness? Am I distracted by even running to people before I run to God, just like Samuel did, honestly, like, he ran to Eli before he ran to God. And I think that's a picture of so many of us. And so it's been convicting. And I've just come back to this place where I'm like, okay, God, I want to sit in these moments, these mundane moments that don't feel glamorous. Like, I haven't washed my hair in six days. I have pimples on my face. I have spit up on my shirt. Hosanna probably is peed all over my pants. And I don't feel cute. I don't feel, you know, like, sharp in my mind. And I'm really exhausted, and I'm so Tempted to. When I have these moments, I want to take a nap or I want to turn on Netflix or I want to get on my phone and get on social media. And instead, I've really challenged myself to just sit and say, lord, speak to me, your servant is listening. And to just sit there and to not be quick to say, here's my prayers, God, will you do this for me? Will you answer this for me? Will you. This is what I'm believing for. Again, there's nothing wrong with that, but to just sit and say, here I am, Lord, your servant is listening. And I'm not always great at this. And there's been many moments where I've not done this, but it's something that I'm trying to work on right now in this season. And another thing that I'm doing is memorizing scripture again. And so right now, I'm memorizing Romans 12, and I'm like, okay, this is not what it looks like for my life before having a baby, where I got to spend three hours in the Word, and I got to just, like, soak up all of this beautiful time with the Lord and pace and pray out loud and just have these beautiful, alone, quiet time moments. Like now. It's. It's very rare that I get more than 20 minutes, you know, like, in the Word. And so oftentimes, what it looks like is I'm feeding Hosanna, and I have it, the Bible app pulled up on my phone, and I'm just, like, meditating on. And memorizing scripture, and I'm. I'm meditating on what the words say and what they mean, and. And I'm just seeing how beautiful this season is. I'm like, man, I thought this season was going to be so hard for me because I'm not recording podcasts and doing all these things and, you know, traveling and speaking and going and doing. And I still feel called to those things. But what I've learned is in this season, it has been so beautiful in the quiet moments alone with the Lord, to just say, speak, your servant is listening, and to just seek the face of God, not the hand of God, not what God can give me, but to just say, lord, I want to be with you. I want to be your daughter. I want to just sit at your feet. And I've talked about this on another one of the podcast episodes, but one of the stories that, you know, God laid on my heart as I was having this revelation and getting this word, as I was preparing for this podcast, was the Story of Mary and Martha in the Gospels. And I oftentimes find myself being Martha. And if you don't. If you're not familiar with the story of Mary and Martha, Martha was the one who was going and preparing the food for Jesus and the disciples. And she was running around cleaning the house, making the food and doing all the things. And then her sister Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus, listening to the words of Jesus as he was talking and sharing and teaching the disciples. And Mary was just sitting. Sitting there and just soaking it up and just worshiping the Lord. And Martha was getting so frustrated and was like, lord, why don't you tell her to help me? Like, why isn't she helping me? She. She needs to be making food with me and cleaning up with me and helping serve you. And Martha's confused and frustrated, like, lord, don't you see all that I'm doing for you? And Jesus looks at her and is like. I imagine this, like, look on his face of like, martha, Martha, Martha, you're doing so much for me, but you're missing the point. Mary. Mary is sitting at my feet and she's spending time with me. She wants me. She doesn't just want to do things for me. She wants me. And he tells Martha, he said, mary has chosen the better portion. Mary has chosen what is better. And it's been so convicting to me because I so often relate to Martha. I so often find myself operating with a Martha spirit. Like, I gotta do all of this for God. I gotta go, go, go. I gotta do, do, do. I gotta use the gifts God's given me, make the most of every opportunity. I gotta, you know, spend every moment of my day with purpose and intention and all of these things. And. And in my mind, that looks like, you know, constantly going and doing. But I just had this moment of realizing I don't think that's what actually makes God proud. And I think that in all of that hustle and bustle and in all of that doing and going, I'm totally missing the whole point, which is being in the presence of the Lord. And only in the presence of the Lord do I find what I'm looking for. Only in the presence of the Lord do I experience fullness of joy. Only in the presence of the Lord do I receive what I need to go out and to make disciples. Only in the presence of the Lord do I have what it takes to then go and be the wife. God has called me to be and be the mom. God has called me to be and Be the teacher God has called me to be only in the presence of the Lord. And I've had to get back to that place and realize, man, I, I I want to be that person that people look at and say, she has spent time with Jesus. She has been in the presence of the Lord. And then I want to take that, and I want to be a carrier of God's presence. I want everyone who comes into my presence to experience his presence, because I'm carrying it, because I've spent so much time on my face and on my knees worshiping the Lord that I've received from him what is good, and that then I can go out and give that to other people. And I've just been so moved by that of getting back to this place. I made my word this year. I do like a word every year, and I made my word this year, true worship. And I didn't really know what that meant. I was like, I don't really know. I don't sing. I'm not a singer. And so I'm like, what does worship mean? And why is that my word? And I didn't really know, like, what that was gonna look like. But as I prayed about it more, I was reminded of Romans 12:1, and that my life and the way that I live my life and how I live my life is how I worship the Lord. Worship is not just song. It's not just music. It's how I honor God with my body. It's how I honor God with my time. It's how I honor God with my relationships. And so what does that look like for you? How are you stewarding the time God has given you? How are you stewarding the relationships God has given you? How are you stewarding the thoughts that you're thinking, the feelings that you're feeling, the decisions that you're making? Is it a reflection that you've spent time with the Lord, and is it worship to Him? Would you consider the decisions that you're making, the thoughts that you're thinking, and the feelings you're feeling? Worship to the Lord. If you really think about it like that, it's like, oh, I've had some thoughts that I don't think that was worship to the Lord, you know, and it's like, oh, I've had some feelings today that I don't think that was worship to the Lord. And if you're feeling that right now, then that's okay. Same, you know, and we've all been there, but I. It is such a good reminder of that is why we are to take captive every thought. That is why it says after that, Romans 12, one verse that says, offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, for this is your true and proper worship. It then goes on to say, do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. And so part of worship and part of being set apart and part of this Christian life is honoring God, is worshiping God with our mind, with our thoughts, and with then our actions. Because what we think about will lead to what we feel, and what we feel will lead to what we do and how we live and how we treat people. I mean, it just. It starts in the mind, but it doesn't stop there. And so what you ruminate on, what you allow to stay in your mind is going to affect who you're becoming and what you do and how you live. And so it's so important that we start every single day saying, lord, I give you my body as a living sacrifice. I give you my mind, Lord, take my mind. I want the mind of Christ, Lord, I want to think thoughts that are holy and pure and. And worship to you. So, Lord, renew my mind. You know, take out the junk, clean out the lies. You know, we have to rebuke those lies, the lies that so easily entangle and get into our. Our minds that we start to believe that then become the truth that we live out. We have to go back to, this is what God's word says, and this is what is true. And so therefore, I'm going to set my mind on what is true. We can't always stop a thought from coming, but we can decide where it goes from there. And so once the thought enters our mind, okay, okay, that's not God. That's not of God, that's not from God. Therefore, I'm gonna reject it and I'm gonna replace it with the truth of God's word. And so each day, that's how I like to start my day and start my mornings is just. That's how I worship. I'm like, lord, I give you my body, I give you my mind. I give you my heart, I give you my hands, I give you my feet. And now in having a daughter, I've started doing that for her. I'm like, lord, bless Hosanna's mind, Lord. Fill her mind with things that are holy and pure and lovely and admirable and trustworthy, like it talks about in Philippians. Help her to set her mind on things above, like it talks about in, in Colossians 3, and not on earthly things. Lord, give her the mind of Christ. And I, and I go through each part of her little precious body. Lord, give her, her, Give her feet that are fitted with the gospel of peace. Lord, let her be a person of peace. Let her walk in the ways of righteousness and on the path of life and help her to keep in step with the spirit. And I just go through each of her little body parts and I give it to God as a sacrifice. And then one day, as she's old enough, I pray that she prays that same prayer. And I think that's such a practical prayer that every single one of us can pray daily. That keeps us in this posture of worship, that keeps us in this posture of holiness. And that has been something that I've just been really like, leaning into in this more simple kind of like what I'm seeking, like this simple life. And I am now like back into work and I've, I've left maternity leave and, and it's something that I'm fighting for now that I've entered back into work again. And even though I'm, I'm working less and I'm, I'm kind of like part time working and part time stay at home momming, I am still fighting really, really, really hard to keep my mind just quiet, to keep my mind set on things above, to keep my mind set on eternity. There are a lot of things that I, I ask God, does this truly honor you? Does this really make you proud? You know, I, I wonder if we're going to get to heaven one day and, and it's like we were taught in culture and in this world that the things that are good and the things that make God things in his name, like starting a podcast and speaking on stages and doing these big glamorous things. And I just don't know that that's what actually honors God. I, maybe I hope I'm doing it. So I'm like, I really hope so, and I pray so, and I pray that my heart is pure in it. But I, I do know, like, what I know makes God proud, as it talks about in James, one is loving on the orphan and the widow. I know what makes God proud is living a holy life and giving God our bodies and to not let ourself be, you know, to conform to the rest of the world, you know, to follow in the rest of the ways of the world. Like, I know that those are things that honor God. And so it's like I have to continue to train my mind of, okay, Lord, it's not just about doing these big things for you. How am I loving the person in front of me? The. Or is there anyone around me that doesn't know you? The lost people in my life. How am I testifying to them about yout good news? How am I sharing love with them? Not just like, hey, go watch my podcast. Hey, go. Go look at my Instagram reel. How am I showing them the love of Jesus and how I serve them and how I live my life off, offline? And it's just. It's so convicting because it's so easy, I think, in today's culture and world to just focus on the big things. And I just wonder that if in chasing after the crowd and in chasing after the fame and in chasing after the followers, if we're missing loving our neighbor, if we're missing loving the person in front of us, and if that is coming at a cost of actually making disciples around you. And so I want to talk about some really practical ways that you and I can continue to fight off this, you know, chase for the big things, and also how we can fight off having busyness and this overwhelmed, stressed weight that so many of us carry that God never intended for us to carry. You know, Jesus modeled for us. Jesus did big things. Like, are you kidding? Jesus did the biggest things that anybody could ever do. Like, he's Jesus, right? But then you look at his life. He was never rushed. He was never in a hurry. He always made time. He was. He was interruptible. Like, anytime he was interrupted, quote unquote, he stopped. He saw the person and he met their need. He loved them well. And I think we're. We don't live an interruptible life. We don't live. I'm always available for however God wants to use me life. I think we constantly live a life that's focused on our own agendas and plans. And it's like, God, I'm gonna do these things because it gives me satisfaction, and it's what I want to do. And if you want to move in, that. That would be great. And I think that's how, if we're honest, we operate a lot of our. Our life. But Jesus showed us that he was constantly. He was faithful. He. He withdrew and got in these silencing and solitude moments. No one around. He got alone with the. With the Father, and he would spend time in prayer, and he would spend time just connecting with God. And then he was constantly looking for the people around that he could heal, that he could encourage, that he could speak truth to, that he could show grace to. And in the same way, that is how we are called to live our life. Not in this. Like, here's my to do list. I gotta do this, I gotta do this, I gotta do this. And I am someone that I really love goals, I really love habits, and I really love getting things done and checking things off. You know, I am the most, like, planner. Here's a. Here's a checklist of things we need to do. Let's get it done. You can ask Grant, you can ask my friends and people around me. Like, I love to be able to check something off. I love to be able to get things done and to look back and be like, wow, I accomplished all that. Like, I'm proud of myself. And I just learned, like, man, I can do all of that and miss God. And it was all in vain. Like, I can do all of these things for God and totally miss God. And it was all in vain. Because if the anointing of God is not on it, if the presence of God is not in it, then it. It doesn't mean any. It's not for anything. It can't. It can't actually bear fruit if God is not attached to it. And so for me, I don't want anything. Just like Moses prayed in Exodus 33, God, do not send me unless your presence goes with me. I don't want it unless you are in it. And I think that's a very practical prayer for all of us to pray. And the only way we get there is by every single day creating and cultivating these moments where we can silence the noise, where we get alone with the Lord, and where we quiet our souls. It says in, in psalms, be still and know that I am God. How? We can't know that he is God unless we still ourselves. The only way that we can know God, the things of God, the word of God, is if we still ourselves, if we sit with him. How are you going to know the word of God if you're not spending time with God? And that is what is so important, is sitting at the feet of Jesus, spending time in his Word, letting it change and convict and rebuke you, letting it correct you, letting it encourage you, letting it train you up in righteousness. And sitting with him is so important. And that is what is going to create a deeper intimacy with him. That is what is going to create more affection for him. That is what is going to create more knowledge about who he is and what his will for your life is. Be still and know that I am God. We have to still the thoughts in our mind. We have to still the voices around us. We have to still the busyness and the rush of our life. And so I even want to challenge you. Next time someone asks you, like, how are you doing? Don't respond, good, but busy, please. I'm working on this too, because I'm the same way. I'm like, good, but crazy. It's a crazy season. Good, but my life is busy right now. I'm trying to, you know what? God is good. This has been such a sweet season because this is how God is moving in my life. And just use that as an opportunity to speak and show gratitude for what God is doing. Use that as an opportunity to testify to what God is teaching me. Use that as an opportunity to bless the person who asked me and flip it back on them, but also encourage them with such joy in a way of, look what God is doing. Like, God is so good and he's still moving and he's still speaking. And he's not just the God of, of yesterday and back then and of Isaac and Jacob. He's the God of today and right now and of today and tomorrow and the next day. Use that as an opportunity to point to God's goodness. Like, that is something that I've been so convicted of. And so next time someone asks you that, just don't be quick to say, good, but busy. And challenge your own self not to constantly be filling your mind all the time. I got to do more. I got to go. I got to do. And instead, next time you feel yourself feeling that way, just pause, take a second, and say, holy Spirit, I need you. Lord, speak to me. Your servant is listening. And invite the Lord into every moment. You may have a busy season, but as you're headed into that meeting, say, lord, I need you. Speak to me. Your servant is listening. And then ask him, how do you want to use me? How do you want to use me? To encourage them and love them. Help me to see people the way that you see them. Before you come home from work and you're about to see your spouse before you head into class and you're about to see those classmates before whatever it may be like, every time you're about to step into something, just pray a short little prayer. Lord, I need you. Show up. I invite you into this moment. Speak to me. Use me. And as you start your day, don't just go, go, go. Let me read the Word. And so then I can highlight this. And here's the revelation I got. Now let me share it with everyone else. Just sit with the Lord. Before you even, before you even open up your Bible, before you even start journaling, before you even start praying out loud, just sit, sit in silence, say, holy Spirit, speak to me, your servant is listening. And just invite the Lord into that moment. Invite the Holy Spirit into that moment and just watch. It's gonna, it's gonna blow your mind. He's gonna begin to give you then revelation. He's gonna begin to then stir something in your heart. He's gonna begin to open your eyes to things that you never even thought you didn't even know was possible because you invited him into it. Because you took time to actually still yourself to hear him, to listen. So often we're like, God, speak, God, speak, God, speak. And he's like, I'm always speaking. You're not listening. You're not taking time to listen. And so I challenge you. Are you listening? Because God is speaking. He's always speaking. He's speaking through His Word, he's speaking through people. He'll speak in your quiet time and, and prayer filled moments. He'll speak when you serve that person that he calls you to serve or share the gospel with that person he calls you to share the gospel with. He will speak. But are you listening? Are you listening? And it takes that stillness, it takes that quietness in order to hear Him. And it talks about, in John 10, Jesus is saying, as he's teaching, he says, my sheep know me, they know my voice. They know me, they know my voice. And the only way you know his voice is if you spend time with him. The only way you know his voice is. And you're able to differentiate that between your own thoughts, the lies of the enemy, or the temptations of the whatever. Because I hear that all the time. It's like, how do I know it's God and not. And you know, the way you know is you spend time with him. You spend time with him, you listen to him, you spend time in His Word, you meditate on His Word. That's how I've gotten to this place where I know the voice of my father. I know the voice of my dad because I spin time with him. And truly. And David said this in Psalms, he said this, only do I seek, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. David is saying, this is my greatest desire. This is the only thing that I seek, or the thing that I seek above everything, that I may dwell in the presence of the Lord all the days of my life. And man, that is the posture that I want to keep in a world that says, go, go, go. Do, do, do. I want to say, lord, this only do I seek, that I may dwell in your presence, that I may find true contentment in your presence, because that is where fullness of joy is found. And it says in Matthew 6:33, Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all of these things will be added unto you. So many of us are worried about the things, and we're chasing after the things, but he's saying, seek me first. The things will then be added to you. But we are just called to seek him first. Seek him first. Seek him above all else and seek him first. May it be the first thing that you do is to get in the presence of the Lord. And may it be your favorite thing to do is to get in the presence of the Lord. That's my prayer for you all. That's my prayer for me. That's my prayer for my daughter, for all those that I care about around me. And it's something we have to fight for. We. We live in such a culture that, again, the messaging is, is go and do and be and create and start. And none of those things are bad. But just. We don't want to miss just enjoying God. We don't want to miss hearing from God. We don't want to miss. Because I. I do think it's so easy now to start all of these things and do all of these things in the name of God. And then it's like after we do them, we're like, God, can you show up? And God, can you bless it? And God, can you make it go viral? And God, can you make it this, like, really big, amazing thing? And we never even heard from God in the first place. And it's not even like what he had for us. He's like, I'm not going to bless it because this isn't what I called you to do. But you did this for your name's sake, and therefore it's going to fail. But when we do it for his name's sake, it will prevail through all seasons, through all circumstances, through all challenges, through all obstacles, because it's for his name's sake. And when he's the one receiving the glory, when he's the one getting all of the attention and all of the praise, it will be blessed. Because if it's of God and from God, it will prevail. If it's not of God and it's not from God, it will fail every time. If you try to manipulate something or, you know, control something or create something for your own sake, it will eventually fail or it will bear no fruit. It will have no true, lasting, eternal fruit. And for me, I want everything and anything that I do, I want it to bear fruit. And so Grant and I are talking all the time. We're constantly challenging each other because, I mean, just as you guys know, a lot of my life, it is some of these things. It's. It's social media, it's podcasting, it's, you know, and it's like I have to make sure that as much as I'm doing that I am doing as much or way more of the simple, quiet, mundane, offline, local, everyday things, which is discipling my daughter, which is memorizing scripture, which is taking someone to coffee and challenging them and encouraging them in their faith, which is sharing the gospel with the coffee barista, which is, you know, talking about Jesus on the plane to the person next to me, which is serving at my local church, which is giving to those in need and not telling, not posting about it on social media, which is, you know, like, those are the things that matter to God so much. And if we're only doing those things online, you know, Jesus rebukes that. Jesus says, if you're only doing those things for other people to see, then it's not genuine. It's not true. It's not. It's not out of genuine devotion to me, and I reject it because it's not out of the overflow of God. I want to give you all of me and I want to love your people well from a place of purity. But it's actually, I'm going to do these things so that other people see it and so that I get something from it. And that is never going to be blessed, and that is never going to have eternal, lasting fruit, and it's not going to make God proud. And so as believers, we are called to make sure that we are seeking that solitude. And so just some practical things of how you can eliminate hurry, how you can eliminate rush in your life, and how you can cultivate this pure, simple, quiet life. Starting number one is make sure that you have solitude alone, quiet time moments with Jesus. Make sure that every single day, you are silencing the noise around you, you are turning off your phone, you are getting off social media, you are getting alone with God, whether that's in your car, in the shower, in a prayer closet, in your room, in the living room, wherever that is for you. And you get alone with the Lord, and it's not about what you can get from it. It's not about, you know, taking a video of it to share it on social media. It's not about any of those things. It's about getting alone with Jesus and saying, here I am. Your servant is listening. Speak to me. And it's also about worshiping Him. Here's my body. I give it back to you. Hey, here's everything you've. You've. You've blessed me with and given me. I give it back to youo. And I worship you. And I worship you with. With gratitude. And I worship you with. With joy and with thanksgiving because you are so good and I'm so undeserving of these things. And we take time to get in those solitude moments, and we silence the noise around us, and we begin to see who God is. That's how it says in. In Psalm 46, be still and know that I am God. It's in those moments that we're able to really see the true character of God, and we're able to really have these deep, intimate moments with the Lord. And so for me, I'm not just relying on sermons or on other podcasts or on my husband's faith or on my friend's faith or on, you know, I don't know what I see on social media. Like, what gives me life. What keeps me going is getting alone with Jesus and saying, I am nothing apart from you. You, you are God. I am not. I need you. I am poor and needy. I am desperate for you. I am hungry for you. I am hungry, and I thirst for righteousness. I want more of you and less of me. I want you to increase and I want to decrease. I humble myself before you, Lord, and I lift up your name. You are holy. You are good. You are on the throne. Not only are you on the throne of this whole world, but I put you on the throne of my heart. I make you the Lord of my life, and may there be no other God before me. If there's idols in my heart, Lord, remove them. And I have these moments of just getting honest with the Lord. I then begin to confess, Lord, I repent. I repent of my sin. I repent of the idols I've put on my heart. I repent of the moments that I turn to social media or to a person or to something else to look for what only you can give me. And I have those moments with the Lord and it just, man, it sets up for the rest of my day. And then all throughout the day, I'm looking for little connection moments to stay connected to him and so seek him first in the morning and seek out those solitude mornings first with him, but then also all throughout your day, find those moments where you can silence the noise and maybe that's, you know, in your car and where you'd be tempted to, you know, blast some Taylor Swift music or where, where you'd maybe be tempted, and this is where I get convicted, to send a hundred voice memos or listen to voice memos. I want to challenge you that even if it's for five minutes, take those five minutes and just sit in silence and ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you. Take those five, ten minutes and just. And visualize that you are sitting across from Jesus. What. What is he saying to you? Take those five, ten minutes and, and, and thank the Lord. Thank Him. Just not, not even like the, the gifts, but like, just thank him for who he is. Say, thank you, Jesus, that you are Savior. Thank you, Jesus, that you are provider. Thank you, Jesus, that you are peace. Thank you, Jesus, that you are shepherd, that you lead me, that you guide me, that you point to me where I am to go. Thank you, Jesus, that you are victory that in you I have victory. And you just begin to thank him and, and, and out of overflow, you. You just begin to worship. And it's in those five, ten moments that's not, that's not any, any crazy thing. That's not like you even had to. To do anything crazy different in your day. It's just, okay, those five minutes in the shower that you had, instead of, you know, again, blaring music or taking that time to get anxious about your day, instead take that time to just meditate on scripture, thank Jesus, or sit in silence as you're in the car and you're driving instead of calling that friend, you know, and you still can, but maybe take the first five minutes of the drive to just worship Jesus. And so finding things that you're already doing but incorporating more of Jesus into it is how I want to challenge you to live this simple, you know, not rushed, not hurried. Life is like, okay, as you're, as you're at work and you're about to head into a meeting instead of spending. Or as you're about to take a test, you know, instead of spending those 5, 10 minutes before to cram all of these, this knowledge you know, into your brain right before you take that test. I used to do that all the time. I'm like, okay, I've studied for four days, but somehow I feel the need to, like, go over everything in five minutes, as if that five minutes is going to somehow, like, you know, just change my testing ability. It's not. Instead, like, take that five minutes and just pray. Take that five minutes and just invite the Lord into that moment of taking the test. Take five minutes to invite the Lord into that moment of meeting that friend for coffee. Take five minutes to invite the Lord into, you know, going into that meeting or into headed home to see your spouse for the first time after coming back from work. Whatever it is, just invite the Holy Spirit into it. And it just. Just find those little moments and pockets all throughout your day to just invite the Holy Spirit in. And. And then I just lastly would say, limit your time on social media and limit your time on just all things media, whether that's Netflix, whether that's social media, whether that's YouTube, whether, you know, that's video games. I don't know what it is for you, but take time to. To get off the screens and take time to get in the scriptures, like, get off of the media and get in the message, like, God, what do you want to speak to me? And how do you want to use me? And let me just enjoy being in your presence. And that has been so huge for me. Like, limiting that time on social media gives me the opportunity and. And there's even moments where I'll delete, Literally delete the app off my phone. And it's so funny how I'm so quick to, like, go to the app, and instead what I'll see is, oh, okay, I can't click on Instagram, so instead I'm gonna open up the Bible. Like, I don't know, I don't have anywhere else to scroll, so I'm gonna scroll through Scripture, you know, and I'm like, okay, God, like, let me just meditate on your word, then I'm not gonna scroll on Instagram. So let me scroll through Romans 12, and let me start to memorize that, and let me start to think on that, and let me start to speak that over my daughter and over my life. And that is just one simple way that you can begin to start incorporating more of the Lord into your everyday life and how you can start to quiet and still your mind before the Lord. And this isn't necessarily a practical thing, but something to just challenge, you know, all of us with is we're so quick to, to worry about many things. As I was talking about Martha earlier, you know, and the story of Mary and Martha, we can get so caught up in all of these things that really don't matter or that we place above God and we've missed God in the midst of it. And I just want to challenge everyone listening that instead of worrying, let's choose to worship. Instead of worrying about all of these things, let's just choose to worship the one who's in full control instead of worrying about God. How am I going to do this and what am I going to do next? And what, what do you have for my life? What's your will for my life? And how am I going to start this thing and how am I going to balance this with this, with this. And instead, let's just say, God, you are in control. God, I entrust my life to you. God, you are on the throne. God, I trust you with all things. I submit this to you. And instead of focusing on the problems, I'm going to focus on your promises. Instead of focusing on what I can't control, I'm going to focus on the fact that you are in control. And we get to choose whether we worry or whether we worship. And I want to challenge you again. Another way that you can live this, you know, non rushed, non busy life is Lord, I'm going to choose to set my eyes on things above, not on earthly things. And I'm going to choose to focus on worshiping you instead of worrying about the things around me. And that's my encouragement to you and I hope this was like, practical and also encouraging to whatever season of life you guys find yourself in because again, whether it is a busy season or whether you find yourself in maybe a more wilderness or waiting or hidden season, these are really good, challenging practices because when I find myself in a busy season, I'm like, these things I really need and I need to, you know, be reminded of and be convicted of. But then when I'm in this like wilderness, hidden, which is kind of where I've been in the last few months, season, it's so beautiful to not waste that season and to not, you know, wait to just get out of that season so that then I can just go and do and, you know, and that's what I found myself feeling right at the beginning when I started my maternity leave was like, man, I'm spending all of this time changing dirty diapers and I'm spending all of this time, you know, breastfeeding and, you know, just only spending time with Hosanna, and that is such a gift. But, man, wow. Before, I was traveling and speaking and I was doing all these things and, like, sorry, God, I wish I could still. And he was like. He was like, maddie, what are you talking about? Like, what. Where you are right now, where I have you right now, and what I have you doing is the most important thing. Don't waste it wishing you were somewhere else. Don't waste the season that you're in and that I've called you to be in, wishing you were in another season. And I just want to encourage someone with that. If you are in a waiting season or a wilderness season, don't waste your season wishing that you were somewhere else, because God wants to use you exactly where you are. God wants to spe something to you exactly where you are. And if you neglect where you currently are because you want to be somewhere else, you're going to miss what God wants to speak to you and what God wants to do through you. In this season and in this season of being on maternity leave, God has done so much in my heart. God has given me such a love for building a. A. A home, you know, building a life where I model for my daughter. What it looks like to sit at the feet of J and to worship instead of worry and to dwell in the presence of the Lord and make that my. My greatest desire. What it looks like to memorize scripture and know scripture. She's seeing her mama, you know, speak scripture over her without the Bible open, but just because she has it memorized. And I'm not saying this to toot my own horn. I'm saying this because I've had a lot of, you know, mundane moments where I'm just changing diapers and washing dishes, and I'm like, this is an opportunity for me to memorize scripture. This is an opportunity for me to meditate on the word of God. And if I can do it, you can do it. And so no matter the season that you're in, whether it's a season of you're in the mountaintop or you're in the valley, whether it's a season where your. Your life feels very chaotic and overwhelming, or it feels like you're in the waiting in the wilderness and you're waiting for God to do something, no matter where you're at, God wants to speak to you. God wants to quiet your mind. God wants your heart to be still before him and fixated on him. And so right now, I. I honestly, I just Want you to take a second and just close your eyes and just invite the Holy Spirit and just say what I've said multiple times on this podcast already. Holy Spirit, like, truly say it out loud with me. Holy Spirit, speak to me. Your servant is listening. And just listen. What is he saying to you? What is he speaking to you? What is he revealing to you? And just notice how, like, even in just these pauses and in these moments, I mean, I have tears in my eyes. It's crazy what happens when we just quiet and we just still ourselves before the Lord. And I know when I do that, even in my prayer time and even in conversations with people, like, I'll probably make people feel so awkward because they'll start telling me things and hey, will you pray for me in this and pray for me in that? And I'm like, yeah, let's do it right now. Let's pray. And I'll have a moment in this prayer time where I'll just get quiet and I'll just talk slow and I'll just let the Holy Spirit move. Because that's what we need. That's what we need. And that's what I want you guys to continue to incorporate in your day to day, every day. And notice how you start experiencing the peace that you've been looking for. Notice how you start experiencing the intimacy with the Lord that you've been longing for. Notice how you start feeling more joyful and alive and purposeful in where you are and in what he's called you to right now. Not next, but right now. And that's my encouragement to you guys. I'm in it with you. I am learning this so much and I do not have it figured out. We're on this journey together, but let's continue to fight the busyness all around us and let's continue to eliminate the hurry in our minds and in our hearts and in our lives. And let's rush to get at the feet of Jesus and sit and just abide and just listen. And that is. That is where we find everything we want and everything that we need. And I love you guys so much and I wish I could sit with you guys for hours in person and just. And just talk about all that God is doing and how he's moving in your life. But one way that you can do that is you can dm stay true and follow us on Instagram, let us know what God is doing in your life. We want to hear, we want to know. We want to know how we can be praying for you guys. We want to know what you want to hear about next and who you want to see on the podcast next. And so be sure to give us a follow on social media dms, let us know. And if you are not already subscribed to YouTube or to Spotify, Apple Music, however, however, you are not Apple Music, Apple Podcast, whatever it's called. However you listen to podcasts, be sure to subscribe and like review this podcast. If you review this podcast, truly guys, it's such a blessing because it helps get the word out to more people. That's how I guess Spotify does it and Apple Podcast does it. 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