WEBVTT - Thursday Therapy: Living Soulfully 0:00:01.920 --> 0:00:05.399 Wind Down with Janet Kramer and I'm Heeart radio podcast. 0:00:07.440 --> 0:00:10.600 This Thursday Therapy, We've got Farah Mason coming on. She's 0:00:10.600 --> 0:00:13.000 a mother of six children, a spiritual blogger, writer, and 0:00:13.039 --> 0:00:16.520 host of Soulful seven Conversations podcast. She's the author of 0:00:16.640 --> 0:00:20.680 two works of fiction. She has a book out called Soulful, 0:00:20.760 --> 0:00:24.840 a weekly devotional to nourish the mind, body, and spirit. Basically, 0:00:24.840 --> 0:00:26.799 the breakdown with that is are we truly living the 0:00:26.840 --> 0:00:29.200 life we want to live? Sometimes but not nearly enough. 0:00:29.320 --> 0:00:32.600 Our souls crave authentic experiences, but seeking them is a 0:00:32.680 --> 0:00:35.400 challenge in our committed world, where often we are more 0:00:35.440 --> 0:00:38.519 focused on making it through than on making it sacred. 0:00:38.720 --> 0:00:41.440 We need regular soul wake up calls and holy daily 0:00:41.680 --> 0:00:44.040 rhythms to live a life that feels good from the 0:00:44.040 --> 0:00:48.440 inside out, shines with meeting, and radiates joy. So let's 0:00:48.440 --> 0:00:52.200 get the wonderful Pharah Mason on Thursday Therapy. 0:00:53.040 --> 0:00:54.920 Hey, parareh Hi. 0:00:55.440 --> 0:00:58.080 I got your devotional book sent to me at the 0:00:58.120 --> 0:01:04.040 most amazing time because I was about to travel on 0:01:04.120 --> 0:01:06.920 my book tour and I was having all this anxiety 0:01:06.959 --> 0:01:09.400 where I almost in cat knows this because I text 0:01:09.440 --> 0:01:11.400 her was like, I don't think I can travel. I 0:01:11.440 --> 0:01:13.600 really don't, like, I do not think I can get 0:01:13.600 --> 0:01:15.479 on this airplane because I was just having so much 0:01:15.520 --> 0:01:18.560 anxiety and I just had gotten sick from like the 0:01:18.640 --> 0:01:21.080 kid this kidney infection, and I was like, I don't 0:01:21.080 --> 0:01:23.280 think I can do it. I really don't. And I 0:01:23.319 --> 0:01:25.959 had one of those moments where I was like can someone. 0:01:26.080 --> 0:01:27.240 I was like, God, can you just like give me 0:01:27.280 --> 0:01:30.240 a sign? Just a quick sign would be really great 0:01:30.280 --> 0:01:32.360 for me right now, just to say go do it, 0:01:32.560 --> 0:01:36.560 like just go, you know, go to New York, do 0:01:36.640 --> 0:01:39.760 the book tour or some do something really bad that 0:01:39.840 --> 0:01:41.920 I can't actually go to New York, right, So I'm 0:01:41.959 --> 0:01:43.720 like I need a sign left or right? And I 0:01:43.800 --> 0:01:46.200 was you know, I went to therapy because I was like, 0:01:46.200 --> 0:01:47.480 all right, I'm gonna go talk to my therapist. 0:01:47.480 --> 0:01:48.480 I'm gonna go talk to my doctor. 0:01:48.520 --> 0:01:50.600 I'm going to like, I'll let you know after I 0:01:50.680 --> 0:01:51.480 do X, Y and Z. 0:01:51.720 --> 0:01:51.920 Yeah. 0:01:52.040 --> 0:01:55.120 Seriously, I was like I literally need like give me 0:01:55.160 --> 0:01:57.760 a day to just like check it off. And then 0:01:57.800 --> 0:02:01.120 I come home from both of those places and I 0:02:01.160 --> 0:02:03.520 have a box waiting for me, and I opened it 0:02:03.600 --> 0:02:07.360 up and I was like, well shit, and then I 0:02:07.400 --> 0:02:10.840 read your sweet little card and that cross that you 0:02:10.880 --> 0:02:13.600 sent me, and I started to cry and I put 0:02:13.639 --> 0:02:15.440 it in my purse and I texted Catherine. I said 0:02:15.480 --> 0:02:17.280 I'm going because I was like, I'm not going to 0:02:17.320 --> 0:02:19.200 be alone if I take this with me. And it 0:02:19.280 --> 0:02:22.200 was just like this weird sense of just calm that 0:02:22.240 --> 0:02:24.280 came over me, and I was like, all right, I'm going. 0:02:24.639 --> 0:02:28.440 And I traveled with that cross and your book to 0:02:28.720 --> 0:02:30.840 the New York book tour, so thank you. 0:02:31.480 --> 0:02:34.600 Oh well that makes me happy. Yeah, I hope. You know. 0:02:35.040 --> 0:02:39.000 I was kind of stalking you because I was like, Margaret, 0:02:39.240 --> 0:02:43.920 just tell her. I'll bring her my muffins, I'll like 0:02:44.120 --> 0:02:49.320 my healing oils, I'll bring my ebs and salt lavender bath. 0:02:49.480 --> 0:02:51.720 I'll bring anything if she'll just let me go over 0:02:51.760 --> 0:02:52.680 and hold that baby. 0:02:53.240 --> 0:02:54.919 Oh well, yes you can. 0:02:55.760 --> 0:02:59.880 I'll hold that baby. I mean I just miss it. 0:03:00.080 --> 0:03:01.320 I miss it so much. 0:03:01.720 --> 0:03:02.800 Your youngest is six? 0:03:02.880 --> 0:03:03.079 Now? 0:03:03.440 --> 0:03:04.040 Is that correct? 0:03:04.160 --> 0:03:08.920 Seven fin the Grand Finale? Yes, I know. I have 0:03:09.080 --> 0:03:12.640 bove sections and on the fifth five five? 0:03:12.760 --> 0:03:14.639 Are you only supposed to technically have three? 0:03:15.160 --> 0:03:21.240 Yeah? I think so it's a fine. I was defiant, 0:03:21.360 --> 0:03:24.240 I think no. But I on the last one, my 0:03:24.480 --> 0:03:27.800 sweet ob who I adore. I would have kept having 0:03:27.880 --> 0:03:30.200 him so I could have just had him deliver them. 0:03:30.280 --> 0:03:33.520 But he peeked over the little you know screen that 0:03:33.560 --> 0:03:36.080 they put up, and he was like, and this is it, 0:03:38.000 --> 0:03:43.000 Like there's just nothing that, Like, the world can be crazy, 0:03:43.040 --> 0:03:45.080 but if you're sitting at home and you're holding that 0:03:45.160 --> 0:03:47.880 precious baby, it's like all is right in the world. 0:03:48.600 --> 0:03:52.400 Yeah, it's truly, and there's a there's so much that 0:03:52.760 --> 0:03:55.960 the feeling of just calling like forces you to slow down, right, 0:03:56.000 --> 0:03:58.160 Like you have to be peopful, you. 0:03:58.080 --> 0:04:00.280 Know, you have to just I mean, I'm not really 0:04:00.280 --> 0:04:03.480 good with sleep deprivation, so I don't miss that part 0:04:03.560 --> 0:04:06.920 of it. But I feel like as I got older, though, 0:04:06.960 --> 0:04:09.400 I handled it better. I don't know why. It's like 0:04:09.440 --> 0:04:12.480 when I was younger, it really really bothered me. And 0:04:12.480 --> 0:04:14.640 then I think as I got like the last three, 0:04:14.800 --> 0:04:17.400 I was a little more like this could be the 0:04:17.440 --> 0:04:19.520 last one, so I'm just gonna enjoy it. 0:04:19.720 --> 0:04:22.440 I think there's a deeper appreciation as you go on, though, 0:04:22.520 --> 0:04:24.280 and you get a little older with it. Like we 0:04:24.320 --> 0:04:28.120 just had our third five almost six months ago, and 0:04:28.200 --> 0:04:31.159 actually her tiny toes were reading alongside me this morning. 0:04:32.560 --> 0:04:34.640 And it was that calm and that. 0:04:34.600 --> 0:04:36.600 Peace, and I just kept thinking, like, I actually got 0:04:36.640 --> 0:04:38.960 a two hour nap this morning. Bless my husband, because 0:04:39.000 --> 0:04:41.720 I think it's finally catching up to me. Forty one 0:04:42.000 --> 0:04:44.960 sleep deprivation for six months is like exhausting. But you 0:04:45.000 --> 0:04:48.120 do appreciate it differently. I think as we go to 0:04:48.279 --> 0:04:51.240 like Cat's got three, Jana's got three, Oh my god, 0:04:51.240 --> 0:04:51.840 we all three. 0:04:52.000 --> 0:04:54.279 Yeah, welcome to the club, guys. 0:04:55.440 --> 0:04:58.159 Cats are pioneer of the group. So how old is 0:04:58.160 --> 0:04:58.760 your oldest? 0:04:59.440 --> 0:05:03.919 So charge is twenty one? Really really ages me? 0:05:04.080 --> 0:05:05.880 But I love that. 0:05:05.920 --> 0:05:07.719 But I had my last one when I was forty 0:05:07.760 --> 0:05:10.919 one too, So you just you do you feel like 0:05:11.000 --> 0:05:14.240 it's a sacred it's you're more relaxed. 0:05:14.760 --> 0:05:17.200 I think, yeah, and despite your biggest efforts, they still 0:05:17.200 --> 0:05:18.880 get big too fast, because that's where I'm at. 0:05:18.920 --> 0:05:20.479 I just settled into that yesterday. 0:05:21.080 --> 0:05:24.280 Yeah. Yeah. So, I mean everybody says it. You're like, oh, 0:05:24.320 --> 0:05:26.840 it's going to go buy so fast. And then when 0:05:26.880 --> 0:05:29.080 you actually I have two out of the house. So 0:05:29.360 --> 0:05:32.320 Charlie and Belle, you know, are both in college, and 0:05:32.360 --> 0:05:34.560 so they just came home for Thanksgiving and you just 0:05:34.680 --> 0:05:37.760 realize it, does it goes by so fast, and then 0:05:37.800 --> 0:05:40.200 you feel like, you know, when they came home, they 0:05:40.279 --> 0:05:41.919 let you know, got home from the airport. I was like, 0:05:42.279 --> 0:05:45.400 and you're not leaving the house. Everybody, we're in lockdown. 0:05:45.600 --> 0:05:49.640 Nobody's leaving. We're all together. Everyone's sitting around my table 0:05:49.720 --> 0:05:52.240 every single meal. We're going to be sitting around the fire. 0:05:52.400 --> 0:05:54.200 No one's leaving. And of course you know they're in 0:05:54.200 --> 0:05:56.960 college and they want to go see their friends. And yeah, 0:05:57.279 --> 0:05:58.080 in that book. 0:05:57.880 --> 0:06:00.240 You talk about building a nest, but you don't talk 0:06:00.240 --> 0:06:03.279 about keeping your eggs hostage. So do you want to 0:06:03.320 --> 0:06:07.800 talk about what it feels like to constructively build the nest? 0:06:08.839 --> 0:06:13.000 Well, yeah, so that that's kind of how the book starts. 0:06:13.120 --> 0:06:17.800 You know. I I started writing this book when I 0:06:17.839 --> 0:06:21.440 was sitting actually in the pew of the funeral for 0:06:21.480 --> 0:06:23.840 one of my dearest friends. She was forty years old, 0:06:23.920 --> 0:06:27.479 she had three young children, and she was married to 0:06:27.480 --> 0:06:32.080 her soulmate, and she she you know, fought a really 0:06:32.080 --> 0:06:35.839 courageous battle against colon cancer. And she kind of like 0:06:36.000 --> 0:06:39.360 sat with me and kind of you know, literally grabbed 0:06:39.360 --> 0:06:42.480 me by the collar and just said, fairual Mason, like 0:06:43.480 --> 0:06:46.239 you only get to do this once. Make it sacred. 0:06:47.040 --> 0:06:49.120 It's like the first part I can't handle at the moment, 0:06:50.400 --> 0:06:52.840 but it's so true, it's so short, you know. 0:06:52.960 --> 0:06:55.200 And so I found myself like, am I living the 0:06:55.279 --> 0:06:56.159 life I want to live? 0:06:56.279 --> 0:06:56.479 You know? 0:06:56.520 --> 0:06:59.920 At that time I had all six of them Russia 0:07:00.200 --> 0:07:03.120 here and there, and you know, working and writing and 0:07:03.200 --> 0:07:06.120 all those things that are so meaningful and make such 0:07:06.120 --> 0:07:09.960 a meaningful existence. But I realized, like, am I rushing 0:07:10.120 --> 0:07:13.000 through and not making it as sacred as it can be? 0:07:13.280 --> 0:07:16.160 Like what would it look like to really think about? 0:07:16.240 --> 0:07:19.360 Because my friend Izzy would do anything to be here, 0:07:20.040 --> 0:07:22.920 and she was given six months to live, and so 0:07:23.040 --> 0:07:26.200 that six months, you know, I think everyone that came 0:07:26.360 --> 0:07:29.320 in front of her, she was like, this is you 0:07:29.400 --> 0:07:32.800 get this life? You get this one precious life. You know, 0:07:32.840 --> 0:07:35.120 how are you going to live it? Please? You know, 0:07:35.200 --> 0:07:39.000 make it intentional, make it meaningful, make it full of joy. 0:07:39.720 --> 0:07:42.600 And so I can remember sitting there. I had sat 0:07:42.680 --> 0:07:45.680 down after saying my little piece in the funeral, and 0:07:45.720 --> 0:07:47.720 then I sat there and I was like, goodness, gracious, 0:07:47.880 --> 0:07:49.920 you know, am I living the life I want to live? 0:07:50.640 --> 0:07:55.720 And the answer in the book is sometime sometimes, but 0:07:55.880 --> 0:07:59.760 not enough. And so then the writing started happening like 0:08:00.040 --> 0:08:03.320 what it look like to live a deep and rich 0:08:03.520 --> 0:08:09.360 and meaningful and sacred and wildly and perfect because I mean, 0:08:09.560 --> 0:08:12.360 just imagine what it's like to live in a household 0:08:12.360 --> 0:08:15.920 of six kids, you know, dealing with teenagers to the 0:08:15.960 --> 0:08:17.880 seven year old that's trying to learn how to read. 0:08:17.960 --> 0:08:21.160 I mean, it's it's definitely grand central station over here. 0:08:21.720 --> 0:08:26.240 And but how can my life feel a little holier 0:08:26.440 --> 0:08:30.280 and more sacred so that if I'm given this little 0:08:30.360 --> 0:08:33.080 set amount of time that I feel good about it. 0:08:33.240 --> 0:08:35.679 You know, I feel good about the life that I'm leading. 0:08:36.400 --> 0:08:39.040 And so in the book I talk about that, you know, 0:08:39.080 --> 0:08:41.400 what does it look like to have a meaningful existence? 0:08:41.480 --> 0:08:44.920 And you know, for me, it starts with you know, 0:08:44.960 --> 0:08:47.319 I always talk about the container of your heart, and 0:08:48.080 --> 0:08:51.720 you know, you have to balance the sorrows and the 0:08:51.800 --> 0:08:57.000 challenges and the struggles and the imperfection with genuine beauty 0:08:57.240 --> 0:09:01.360 and love and a real fullness of life. And so 0:09:01.440 --> 0:09:05.320 you're constantly in that little container of your heart navigating that. 0:09:06.080 --> 0:09:10.040 And and for me personally, this last you know, eight months, 0:09:10.920 --> 0:09:13.720 there's been a lot of sorrow and a lot of heartbreak, 0:09:13.960 --> 0:09:17.640 and I mean just living here in Nashville with a 0:09:17.679 --> 0:09:20.559 covenant tragedy and it being a close friend who lost 0:09:20.559 --> 0:09:23.240 her child, and you know, and then another dear friend 0:09:23.320 --> 0:09:26.040 just lost her husband. So it's his constant sense of 0:09:29.240 --> 0:09:33.960 really investing intentionally and filling your heart with the good 0:09:34.000 --> 0:09:37.280 things and feeling no guilt about that. You know, I 0:09:37.320 --> 0:09:40.679 really believe God wants us to have joy and and 0:09:40.760 --> 0:09:43.319 so we have to we have to fill that heart 0:09:43.440 --> 0:09:46.000 with with those things too, which is you know, holding 0:09:46.000 --> 0:09:48.560 a beautiful baby. I mean, I say, you know, you 0:09:48.640 --> 0:09:51.160 need an inch of beauty every single day that it'll 0:09:51.240 --> 0:09:54.280 it'll save you. And so for me, that's like getting 0:09:54.280 --> 0:09:57.080 out of nature. I feel like I need to like 0:09:57.200 --> 0:10:00.040 move and I need to be in nature and that 0:10:00.040 --> 0:10:06.080 that's where I experience you know, for me, God, peace, beauty, 0:10:06.200 --> 0:10:08.680 and you know, then I also talk about, you know, 0:10:08.679 --> 0:10:12.080 when you're building your nest, how important it is, and 0:10:12.120 --> 0:10:14.080 you really as you get older, you see kind of 0:10:14.080 --> 0:10:16.320 how important this is when you go through hard things. 0:10:16.960 --> 0:10:19.679 Is who are the people that that you're building your 0:10:19.679 --> 0:10:22.960 meaningful life with, Like we get to choose who those 0:10:22.960 --> 0:10:25.880 people are that are going to show up for us, 0:10:26.000 --> 0:10:28.040 and A're gonna and we're going to show up for them, 0:10:28.360 --> 0:10:31.120 but also these people that bring joy into our life. 0:10:31.600 --> 0:10:35.959 And and as I get older, I'm more just more 0:10:36.000 --> 0:10:39.480 aware of I get to choose who I wanted my life. 0:10:39.640 --> 0:10:43.000 And so there are people that just you know, maybe 0:10:43.080 --> 0:10:45.800 aren't going to be and that woven into the fabric 0:10:46.800 --> 0:10:52.640 because they you know, they they they just they bring 0:10:52.720 --> 0:10:56.079 me down, you know, and they don't and they don't 0:10:56.080 --> 0:11:03.200 bring uh meaning and goodness and they don't allow me 0:11:03.240 --> 0:11:05.640 to be the best version of myself, which I think 0:11:05.720 --> 0:11:07.880 is what the world needs. My kids need that. And 0:11:07.920 --> 0:11:11.840 so I'm real intentional about who my people are. You know, 0:11:11.920 --> 0:11:15.680 who are these people that I'm surrounding myself, my soul, 0:11:16.000 --> 0:11:21.440 my family, And so that's super important. And then you know, 0:11:21.600 --> 0:11:29.520 for me, I need quiet. I really need to pray, 0:11:31.040 --> 0:11:34.320 and you know, I've had enough hardship to know that 0:11:34.400 --> 0:11:37.320 I can't do this human life on my own. That 0:11:37.400 --> 0:11:42.040 I need that which is larger than myself to lean 0:11:42.120 --> 0:11:45.480 into and so prayer. So I kind of hit that 0:11:45.800 --> 0:11:48.000 when I'm at Radner Lake here in Nashville, you know, 0:11:48.040 --> 0:11:50.280 because I can hit the nature of the beauty and God, 0:11:50.720 --> 0:11:55.760 all three of them like a one stop shop. And 0:11:55.800 --> 0:11:58.280 then I'm like sitting here and wish y'all could see it, 0:11:58.360 --> 0:12:00.320 like if you know, I'm not a decorator, but if 0:12:00.320 --> 0:12:03.160 a decorator walked into my house and they saw this table. 0:12:04.440 --> 0:12:08.719 I have this like ginormous table. It's ridiculous. I mean 0:12:08.760 --> 0:12:11.600 it's like the big you know, you can't even move 0:12:11.679 --> 0:12:14.240 around in this room because the table is so big. 0:12:14.840 --> 0:12:18.040 But it's it's super important to me what happens around 0:12:18.040 --> 0:12:22.480 the table, you know, food and people and and so 0:12:23.080 --> 0:12:25.040 you know, we sit around the table a lot here, 0:12:25.360 --> 0:12:27.800 and that's with my kids. I want them to feel 0:12:27.840 --> 0:12:30.920 that anchor of how important it is to sit around together, 0:12:31.559 --> 0:12:34.920 eat a healthy meal, yummy meal, and also you know, 0:12:35.080 --> 0:12:39.600 keep adding chairs for friends and family and strangers. I'd 0:12:39.640 --> 0:12:43.120 love for y'all to come over so that part of 0:12:43.160 --> 0:12:47.400 its super important you know to me too. And then 0:12:48.160 --> 0:12:51.439 you know, there's just something it's almost kind of selfish, 0:12:51.480 --> 0:12:54.199 but there's something really beautiful that happens when you're taking 0:12:54.200 --> 0:12:56.800 care of other people. You know, when you're trying to 0:12:56.800 --> 0:12:59.000 give a word of hope to somebody else and encourage 0:12:59.040 --> 0:13:14.120 them and tell them you know you can do this. Christ. 0:13:14.200 --> 0:13:17.120 And remember our therapist she said something about how we 0:13:17.120 --> 0:13:19.360 were kind of we were thinking a season of both 0:13:19.440 --> 0:13:21.240 being like, oh, then this is going wrong, this is 0:13:21.280 --> 0:13:23.040 going and she's like, I think you need to go serve. 0:13:25.160 --> 0:13:29.680 You know that's true, And especially in the nationaletrol, I 0:13:29.679 --> 0:13:34.840 think we lose touch sometimes with what can like we're 0:13:34.880 --> 0:13:38.800 all in the music industry and so you despite our 0:13:38.840 --> 0:13:42.080 best efforts, I think sometimes we lose the gravity of 0:13:42.240 --> 0:13:45.000 what is real in our world and what there is 0:13:45.040 --> 0:13:47.160 to be upset about. And not that any of us are. 0:13:47.600 --> 0:13:50.560 I think we're all very emotionally intelligent individuals, but it 0:13:50.679 --> 0:13:53.360 is hard because we're we're all living in such a 0:13:53.400 --> 0:13:57.040 really beautiful, full life in so many ways that there's 0:13:57.080 --> 0:13:59.880 times where it's like our problems are not really problem 0:14:00.040 --> 0:14:01.800 even though they but they are still right. It's like 0:14:01.800 --> 0:14:04.560 there still are But then you go, okay, big picture here, 0:14:05.000 --> 0:14:08.840 we're so incredibly blessed and this is it could be 0:14:08.920 --> 0:14:10.520 worse and I know you're not a sloped to measure 0:14:10.559 --> 0:14:12.760 pain and all those things, but it's still well. 0:14:12.760 --> 0:14:14.120 And turning it into a positive. 0:14:14.360 --> 0:14:17.480 I think serving no matter what you're going through, can 0:14:17.640 --> 0:14:21.600 really just change that outlook and it helps you to 0:14:21.680 --> 0:14:23.920 take the negative that's going on in your life and 0:14:23.960 --> 0:14:26.160 figure out a way to turn it positive at least 0:14:26.200 --> 0:14:26.800 I feel like that. 0:14:27.040 --> 0:14:31.160 Or again, it's putting yourself outside, like that one guy 0:14:31.200 --> 0:14:33.560 at that Apple store who basically was blind, and he's like, 0:14:33.600 --> 0:14:36.280 if you put everyone together in a circle, He's like, 0:14:36.640 --> 0:14:40.000 I would actually still want my life than anyone else's there, 0:14:40.480 --> 0:14:42.760 because everyone has their stuff perspective. 0:14:42.880 --> 0:14:45.720 Yeah, for sure. Well, and I mean it definitely feels 0:14:45.760 --> 0:14:49.160 like I mean, my little Rosebud who's in the seventh grade, 0:14:49.200 --> 0:14:51.240 you know, I could just sense she was feeling kind 0:14:51.280 --> 0:14:54.240 of anxious, and I mean there's just so much to 0:14:54.280 --> 0:14:56.520 be anxious about kind of in our world right now. 0:14:56.920 --> 0:15:00.600 And so I always say, because like I can't go 0:15:00.680 --> 0:15:02.760 into the Middle East right now, you know, and I 0:15:02.800 --> 0:15:07.760 get there's there's always say like love Rose, you should 0:15:07.840 --> 0:15:10.040 just love who and what is right in front of you. 0:15:10.480 --> 0:15:12.840 Mm hmm, like that that's the best thing I can 0:15:12.880 --> 0:15:17.640 tell you. And so you know, it's you love well, 0:15:18.240 --> 0:15:20.800 really well who and what is right in front of you. 0:15:20.920 --> 0:15:24.720 It's gonna be a domino effect, right It's gonna they're 0:15:24.720 --> 0:15:28.320 gonna roll and it's going to touch someone else and 0:15:28.320 --> 0:15:33.000 and it's going to like increase the goodness, which I think, 0:15:33.080 --> 0:15:35.800 you know, if we can increase goodness on our little 0:15:35.800 --> 0:15:40.800 square inch of of earth, that's a that's a beautiful thing. 0:15:41.320 --> 0:15:43.640 What's one movement that you'd go, Okay, this is what 0:15:43.680 --> 0:15:46.720 I would want people to go towards resilience. 0:15:47.360 --> 0:15:50.400 M So it's like I even think about your life, 0:15:51.600 --> 0:15:54.360 you know, you just I think we have a choice. 0:15:55.200 --> 0:15:58.160 You know, so bad things are going to happen to us. 0:15:58.400 --> 0:16:00.400 We're gonna get knocked at the knees, We're going to 0:16:00.440 --> 0:16:05.280 get our heart broken, We're gonna suffer loss, We're gonna 0:16:05.480 --> 0:16:09.720 we're gonna just really doubt, you know, either ourselves or 0:16:09.800 --> 0:16:14.000 doubt the world, doubt God. And and so we have 0:16:14.120 --> 0:16:17.000 this choice. We can either fold or I say, we 0:16:17.040 --> 0:16:21.400 can discover our wings. And you know, there's a there's 0:16:21.440 --> 0:16:25.440 a quote by the psychologist Elizabeth Kbler Ross and she says, 0:16:25.520 --> 0:16:30.080 beautiful people don't just happen. And and so I, you know, 0:16:30.120 --> 0:16:33.280 I say my book is an encyclopedia of hope, because 0:16:33.320 --> 0:16:39.080 I feel like, really that's what soulful living really is about. 0:16:39.200 --> 0:16:43.040 It's about getting back up. It's about rising when you've 0:16:43.080 --> 0:16:46.200 been knocked down. It's about opening your arms and your 0:16:46.240 --> 0:16:50.760 heart and saying I'm going forward, like I've like really 0:16:50.840 --> 0:16:55.200 just had my soul crushed, and I'm choosing to still 0:16:55.240 --> 0:16:58.520 open my arms and my heart to the world. You know, 0:16:58.560 --> 0:17:00.520 we're getting ready to go in the season of advent 0:17:00.960 --> 0:17:05.640 in you know, advents about this sense of hope and 0:17:05.760 --> 0:17:10.240 promise and like coming. And I feel like for me 0:17:10.400 --> 0:17:16.280 this year, hope is about like almost double downing and saying, 0:17:16.320 --> 0:17:19.560 you know what, like the world isn't perfect. I know 0:17:19.600 --> 0:17:21.359 I'm going to get my heart broken. I've had my 0:17:21.440 --> 0:17:24.960 heart broken, and I'm going to choose to still see 0:17:24.960 --> 0:17:28.679 what God has for me next. And one thing I 0:17:28.720 --> 0:17:32.119 can say in my own experience is God's imagination for 0:17:32.240 --> 0:17:35.440 my life is so much grander than anything I could 0:17:35.480 --> 0:17:39.560 have ever dreamed up for myself. And you know, I'm 0:17:39.600 --> 0:17:42.480 the oldest of six kids, so I'm like a little 0:17:42.480 --> 0:17:45.360 bit stubborn, like I'm like I can do this. I'm 0:17:45.520 --> 0:17:48.520 I'm like, I'm a powerhouse. I can make things happen. 0:17:49.160 --> 0:17:52.919 And what I realize is that, you know, God has 0:17:53.280 --> 0:17:56.480 much grander visions for my life that things that I 0:17:56.640 --> 0:17:59.040 never would have thought of. And so if I can 0:17:59.080 --> 0:18:02.080 be brave to get back up after I've been knocked down, 0:18:03.600 --> 0:18:06.320 I don't know, I just think that's a beautiful thing. 0:18:06.840 --> 0:18:09.640 And those are the people I'm drawn to. I'm drawn 0:18:09.720 --> 0:18:13.320 to people that, you know, it's like this radiance about them. 0:18:13.680 --> 0:18:17.240 You know, they've been broken and they're almost more beautiful 0:18:17.280 --> 0:18:18.280 for having been broken. 0:18:20.160 --> 0:18:23.439 You talk about soul wake ups in the book, but 0:18:23.520 --> 0:18:24.840 can you explain that a little bit. 0:18:26.560 --> 0:18:28.320 Well, yeah, I think it's kind of what you said 0:18:28.400 --> 0:18:33.160 that in our lives we can kind of get not complacent, 0:18:33.640 --> 0:18:39.440 but we just need these nudges, I think, to want 0:18:39.480 --> 0:18:42.200 more for our lives. You know, I think we need 0:18:42.200 --> 0:18:45.159 these wake up calls to say, oh my gosh, like 0:18:45.320 --> 0:18:51.000 open your eyes, feral, open your heart. I personally believe 0:18:51.000 --> 0:18:55.359 God is constantly sending us messages, giving us these little 0:18:55.440 --> 0:18:59.320 nudges through people, through experiences, even when I've like been 0:18:59.359 --> 0:19:01.600 shut down, the door has been slammed in my face, 0:19:02.080 --> 0:19:05.040 Like I feel like it's been a nudge. Well, Pharrell, 0:19:05.040 --> 0:19:07.480 You're gonna have to go this way. You know. It's 0:19:07.840 --> 0:19:10.439 this sense of you know, these experiences of beauty. Like 0:19:10.480 --> 0:19:14.800 I was jogging at Percy Warner Park yesterday and I 0:19:14.840 --> 0:19:17.879 mean literally there was an owl on the branch. I 0:19:17.880 --> 0:19:21.320 could have touched him, and I just feel like that's 0:19:21.440 --> 0:19:24.919 the sense of you know, God is with us, the 0:19:24.960 --> 0:19:29.000 world is a good place, people are good. It's a 0:19:29.119 --> 0:19:31.720 very sacred place, and sometimes we just need to be 0:19:32.119 --> 0:19:33.960 Our soul needs to be woken up to that. 0:19:34.640 --> 0:19:37.040 I think that's a really important message, especially right now, 0:19:37.080 --> 0:19:40.840 because it feels like what inundates us through social media 0:19:40.960 --> 0:19:45.040 and just the masses is this like negative and unsettled 0:19:45.119 --> 0:19:49.040 and all of the bad, bad, bad evil, And it's 0:19:49.119 --> 0:19:52.560 really important, I think, to remember that there is so 0:19:52.720 --> 0:19:56.439 much good right we forget and it's starting with I 0:19:56.480 --> 0:19:59.160 think sometimes stay at home moms especially have a lot 0:19:59.200 --> 0:20:03.399 of those really beautiful souls on Instagram, but they're like, 0:20:03.440 --> 0:20:05.040 what can I even do? And it's like, but we 0:20:05.119 --> 0:20:07.639 are doing. We're doing kingdom work and our own homes 0:20:07.680 --> 0:20:10.919 and our own raising and our own losing of our 0:20:10.960 --> 0:20:13.800 own tempers and then the redemption and saying I'm sorry 0:20:13.880 --> 0:20:16.919 to our kids and explaining the ups and downs. One 0:20:17.000 --> 0:20:19.320 of the things I really really really love about this 0:20:19.359 --> 0:20:23.040 devotional and it was actually gifted to me by Cassie Kelly, 0:20:23.080 --> 0:20:26.199 who is a roundabout fan of you that admires you. 0:20:27.760 --> 0:20:30.280 And it's interesting because Jana said she got your book 0:20:30.320 --> 0:20:32.760 gifted in a season when she needed it most, and 0:20:32.920 --> 0:20:35.359 Cassie and I are in a really sacred group together 0:20:35.400 --> 0:20:37.680 in Nashville. And then a few days later I got 0:20:37.680 --> 0:20:40.440 it and I thought, well, Cassie's just really a good 0:20:40.480 --> 0:20:44.560 gift giver. She's a pretty intentional person. But as I 0:20:44.560 --> 0:20:47.640 started reading it, it was the most scene I think 0:20:47.680 --> 0:20:52.560 I had felt in probably two years. Just so what 0:20:52.640 --> 0:20:55.399 you're doing in your kingdom work and intentionality is actually 0:20:55.520 --> 0:20:58.240 landing in the lapse of women exactly how it should, 0:20:58.880 --> 0:21:00.480 which is how I know you're on the right track 0:21:00.520 --> 0:21:03.240 and you have your pulse on the soul wake ups. 0:21:03.680 --> 0:21:05.679 But the thing that I really like about it is 0:21:05.720 --> 0:21:09.600 that it's a weekly devotional, which is pretty special because 0:21:09.600 --> 0:21:12.040 there's a lot of daily devotionals out there, but you've 0:21:12.119 --> 0:21:16.000 kind of made this digestible for the full life, right, 0:21:16.160 --> 0:21:18.399 so it's not like I have to sit every single day. 0:21:18.440 --> 0:21:22.080 I can revisit. But tell me why you picked to 0:21:22.160 --> 0:21:25.280 do a week devotional instead of every day. 0:21:26.560 --> 0:21:29.920 Well, it's funny because you know, when the book came out, 0:21:30.000 --> 0:21:32.760 you know, people would send me little messages and a 0:21:32.800 --> 0:21:36.040 lot of people like read it straight through, like I'm 0:21:36.080 --> 0:21:38.480 starting at the beginning, I'm just reading it straight through, 0:21:38.760 --> 0:21:41.440 and then other people have said, you know, I'm really 0:21:42.040 --> 0:21:47.159 just savoring it. I'm I'm reading one week, you know, 0:21:47.240 --> 0:21:50.639 one devotional because how the book is set up is 0:21:50.680 --> 0:21:53.080