1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,760 All right, well we are in fill in the blank week of Blueprint series that we are in. 2 00:00:07,760 --> 00:00:14,360 It's nine weeks altogether and thank you for continuing through this discipleship plan 3 00:00:14,360 --> 00:00:15,360 with us. 4 00:00:15,360 --> 00:00:19,480 This is a plan that we put together all the way back in year one of the church when we 5 00:00:19,480 --> 00:00:21,720 started and this is the third time we're going through it. 6 00:00:21,720 --> 00:00:25,120 We did it the first time that we did it five years later and now we're doing it four years 7 00:00:25,120 --> 00:00:27,120 after that. 8 00:00:27,120 --> 00:00:30,480 We keep coming back to it because these are important things that we need to learn about 9 00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:31,480 how to follow God. 10 00:00:31,480 --> 00:00:36,720 There are things that need to be reminded and as I was looking forward when we were 11 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:40,880 putting together this version of it, as I was looking forward to this week and thinking 12 00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:42,880 okay how should we talk about that this week. 13 00:00:42,880 --> 00:00:49,280 I was like you know what I really want to talk about how to begin practicing or to trust 14 00:00:49,280 --> 00:00:54,600 God in stepping into practicing something that we know that He's instilled in us. 15 00:00:54,600 --> 00:00:58,000 We know that there's something that God has put in us and we just need to go I'm going 16 00:00:58,000 --> 00:00:59,360 to step out and I'm going to practice that. 17 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:04,360 I'm going to try that and there's going to be processes on how to improve and all. 18 00:01:04,360 --> 00:01:07,200 And then as I was just sitting thinking I was like you know what I need to ask someone 19 00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:09,640 else to talk about this. 20 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:14,740 And so I thought about my wife who is an author and a writer and a mother and a creative to 21 00:01:14,740 --> 00:01:19,000 her very core and I reached out I said hey you know like I reached out like we don't 22 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:21,240 live together but I did. 23 00:01:21,240 --> 00:01:25,680 I was at a coffee shop and I texted her and I said hey what do you think about this and 24 00:01:25,680 --> 00:01:29,920 we just she started thinking about it and then she said yeah I'll definitely do that. 25 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:34,960 And so I hope that you see the joy that comes out of her as she talks about this that that 26 00:01:34,960 --> 00:01:38,280 is something that God wants to be putting in you. 27 00:01:38,280 --> 00:01:43,000 That if you as you talk about something about creativity about how to practice your faith 28 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:46,720 in one way or another a sign remember last week we talked about wisdom we talked about 29 00:01:46,720 --> 00:01:48,480 peace of mind and heart. 30 00:01:48,480 --> 00:01:52,680 But when we start to practice the faith that God has us I believe that that peace of mind 31 00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:57,480 and heart is actually fertile soil for joy to come out of the things that he's wanting 32 00:01:57,480 --> 00:01:59,000 us to practice. 33 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:01,920 And so I hope that is something that we walk away with today. 34 00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:02,920 All right. 35 00:02:02,920 --> 00:02:04,280 Are you guys ready. 36 00:02:04,280 --> 00:02:07,880 And now Cindy Hampton. 37 00:02:07,880 --> 00:02:12,680 Good morning church. 38 00:02:12,680 --> 00:02:14,520 Oh my goodness. 39 00:02:14,520 --> 00:02:17,280 What an honor and blessing to stand here in front of you this morning. 40 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:21,180 I mean that from the bottom of my heart like every time I started to think about this this 41 00:02:21,180 --> 00:02:24,120 morning about getting up here and getting to talk to you guys I'm going to do it right 42 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:25,120 now. 43 00:02:25,120 --> 00:02:30,400 I got so emotional because I love you guys so much. 44 00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:35,160 And you've just become so dear in our lives and you've been on the same adventure with 45 00:02:35,160 --> 00:02:41,440 us a lot of you and I'm really really really thankful and grateful for this community that 46 00:02:41,440 --> 00:02:42,680 we have. 47 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:47,200 And yeah like I said just super huge honor to be able to stand up and share some stuff 48 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:49,800 with you this morning. 49 00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:52,040 Like I said we're in the sixth week of our blueprint six. 50 00:02:52,040 --> 00:02:59,400 We're in the sixth week of the blueprint and we've had so we've had five weeks before 51 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:04,000 this a blueprint comes with a lot of pages. 52 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:10,400 Our blueprint has eight pages or sometimes nine. 53 00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:12,360 And so far I just wanted to recap. 54 00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:14,920 We've gotten to learn together about rest. 55 00:03:14,920 --> 00:03:16,400 That was page one. 56 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:23,600 We went on to live and then page three was abide in prayer and then on for four pastor 57 00:03:23,600 --> 00:03:25,640 Chris talked to us about obeying God's word. 58 00:03:25,640 --> 00:03:29,320 And last week for page five we learned about listening to the spirit. 59 00:03:29,320 --> 00:03:34,920 And I know that's kind of a lot to recap of rest live abide in prayer obey God's word 60 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:36,840 listen to the spirit. 61 00:03:36,840 --> 00:03:41,360 But it's important because what we're going to be talking about today as we turn our blueprint 62 00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:48,280 to page six is the importance of it's important to know that material that came before us 63 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:53,440 because we're going to be focusing on practicing our faith. 64 00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:59,080 So as Pastor Greg mentioned this topic is uniquely relatable to writing and because 65 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:02,520 I'm a writer I'm going to do my best to walk you through that. 66 00:04:02,520 --> 00:04:06,360 I have been writing my whole life just a couple of weeks ago. 67 00:04:06,360 --> 00:04:13,160 In fact I found a piece of paper at my mom's house and it was a poem written in pencil 68 00:04:13,160 --> 00:04:18,640 on that like handwriting paper of like wide lines with dashes between. 69 00:04:18,640 --> 00:04:26,320 And it was written by little Cindy Hussey in 1989 I think was the date. 70 00:04:26,320 --> 00:04:31,640 But yeah I found this poem and it delighted me because I at first I was a little bit cringy 71 00:04:31,640 --> 00:04:33,640 like oh my gosh do I want to read this. 72 00:04:33,640 --> 00:04:38,040 What did my little heart come up with to like put on the page at age seven. 73 00:04:38,040 --> 00:04:41,080 But I was delighted because it was about Jesus. 74 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:44,280 It was a poem about Jesus that I wrote. 75 00:04:44,280 --> 00:04:49,320 And if you know me you know that it turns out I never really stopped writing poems about 76 00:04:49,320 --> 00:04:51,820 Jesus or writing for Jesus. 77 00:04:51,820 --> 00:04:55,800 My author identity was beaming when I found it. 78 00:04:55,800 --> 00:04:59,040 It was like yes I really am made for this. 79 00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:03,800 And in between that pencil Jesus poem and other poems and things that I've read in front 80 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:07,960 of thousands of people during conferences or Christmas Eve services there were also 81 00:05:07,960 --> 00:05:14,880 angsty poems and angry poems and novels started and short stories and children's books and 82 00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:15,880 angsty poems. 83 00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:17,080 Did I mention that. 84 00:05:17,080 --> 00:05:21,160 That was a big theme in my teenage years. 85 00:05:21,160 --> 00:05:27,920 And my mom has always said Cindy is words pictures and songs and she has been ever since 86 00:05:27,920 --> 00:05:29,360 she was little. 87 00:05:29,360 --> 00:05:33,360 So yeah I have been writing for a long time. 88 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:37,880 And as we established earlier writing is a great metaphor for practicing your faith because 89 00:05:37,880 --> 00:05:41,840 there is an initial idea and you spend time with it. 90 00:05:41,840 --> 00:05:49,520 And then there's editing and revising and editing and revising and editing and revising. 91 00:05:49,520 --> 00:05:51,520 You get the idea. 92 00:05:51,520 --> 00:05:54,960 And we do these exact same things in relation to our faith. 93 00:05:54,960 --> 00:05:58,120 So that's why I'm here this morning to share with you about that. 94 00:05:58,120 --> 00:06:00,680 I'm super excited and honored. 95 00:06:00,680 --> 00:06:02,160 And so yeah let's dig in. 96 00:06:02,160 --> 00:06:06,160 We have a tradition of beginning our time together discovering these truths and engaging 97 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:09,480 in God's word by reading some scriptures aloud. 98 00:06:09,480 --> 00:06:11,160 And so we're going to do that now. 99 00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:15,780 And as always at the house we try to do our best at giving the scriptures our full attention. 100 00:06:15,780 --> 00:06:18,360 So I invite you to help yourself do that however is best for you. 101 00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:22,320 You might sit and listen with your eyes closed or you're invited to stand and read along. 102 00:06:22,320 --> 00:06:23,440 You can open your Bible. 103 00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:25,480 You can open your app. 104 00:06:25,480 --> 00:06:29,760 But whatever you do and however you do it choose to do it in body and in spirit and 105 00:06:29,760 --> 00:06:34,640 really take a quick second right now to open yourself up to the spirit and allow yourself 106 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:36,360 to give these words your full attention. 107 00:06:36,360 --> 00:06:39,360 If you'd like to stand now you can. 108 00:06:39,360 --> 00:06:43,400 Oh I didn't even know that was happening. 109 00:06:43,400 --> 00:06:44,400 Thank you. 110 00:06:44,400 --> 00:06:47,000 We're going to start in Exodus chapter 31. 111 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:50,000 So we're going to be in the Old Testament and then we're going to start. 112 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:53,680 And then I'm also going to read from John 15 starting in verse 1 so you can feel free 113 00:06:53,680 --> 00:06:54,680 to join us there as well. 114 00:06:54,680 --> 00:06:58,640 But to start you can open to the Old Testament Exodus 31. 115 00:06:58,640 --> 00:07:02,640 We're in verses 3 through 6. 116 00:07:02,640 --> 00:07:08,080 I have filled him with the spirit of God with wisdom with understanding with knowledge and 117 00:07:08,080 --> 00:07:13,240 with all kinds of skills to make artistic designs for work in gold silver and bronze 118 00:07:13,240 --> 00:07:18,720 to cut and set stones to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of crafts. 119 00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:26,600 Moreover I have appointed Ohaliab son of Ahisamak of the tribe of Dan to help him. 120 00:07:26,600 --> 00:07:30,280 Also I have given ability to all the skilled workers to make everything I've commanded 121 00:07:30,280 --> 00:07:31,360 you. 122 00:07:31,360 --> 00:07:35,320 Now we're going to fast forward into the New Testament John 15. 123 00:07:35,320 --> 00:07:39,460 I am the true vine and my father is the gardener. 124 00:07:39,460 --> 00:07:43,560 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit while every branch that does bear 125 00:07:43,560 --> 00:07:46,960 fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 126 00:07:46,960 --> 00:07:51,320 You're already clean because of the word I have spoken to you remain in me as I also 127 00:07:51,320 --> 00:07:52,680 remain in you. 128 00:07:52,680 --> 00:07:54,560 No branch can bear fruit by itself. 129 00:07:54,560 --> 00:07:56,640 It must remain in the vine. 130 00:07:56,640 --> 00:08:00,880 Neither can your neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 131 00:08:00,880 --> 00:08:03,920 This last verse I'm going to read in the message translation. 132 00:08:03,920 --> 00:08:10,660 I am the vine you are the branches when you are joined with me and I with you the relation 133 00:08:10,660 --> 00:08:13,160 intimate and organic. 134 00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:15,640 The harvest is sure to be abundant. 135 00:08:15,640 --> 00:08:18,280 Separated you can't produce a thing. 136 00:08:18,280 --> 00:08:19,280 Let's pray. 137 00:08:19,280 --> 00:08:21,920 Good morning God. 138 00:08:21,920 --> 00:08:24,240 Heavenly Father thank you for your word. 139 00:08:24,240 --> 00:08:29,480 Thank you that you're a storyteller and that we are story formed people. 140 00:08:29,480 --> 00:08:36,240 I pray that as we explore how you as the author of life designed us to practice our faith 141 00:08:36,240 --> 00:08:40,240 we'll have a better understanding of our character that will be active in the plot 142 00:08:40,240 --> 00:08:43,720 arc that you have for us that will be open to stepping into that. 143 00:08:43,720 --> 00:08:48,280 Help us discover and use the gifts talents and abilities you've placed within each and 144 00:08:48,280 --> 00:08:52,920 every one of us to grow your kingdom on earth and bring the light and love of Jesus into 145 00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:55,920 everything we do. 146 00:08:55,920 --> 00:08:58,800 Amen. 147 00:08:58,800 --> 00:09:02,520 Okay. 148 00:09:02,520 --> 00:09:13,240 So, as I was thinking about practicing your faith I actually approached it in a very not-creative 149 00:09:13,240 --> 00:09:15,760 way which is kind of great. 150 00:09:15,760 --> 00:09:16,760 I turned 40 this year. 151 00:09:16,760 --> 00:09:19,360 I feel like I'm really starting to know who I am. 152 00:09:19,360 --> 00:09:25,440 I feel like I'm very much a creative person but at the same time I love systems and science 153 00:09:25,440 --> 00:09:28,800 and understanding how something works, right? 154 00:09:28,800 --> 00:09:35,720 And so I approached this with some critical thinking and logic and I went, okay, well, 155 00:09:35,720 --> 00:09:43,280 to have faith or you have to have faith to practice faith and to have faith you have 156 00:09:43,280 --> 00:09:50,600 to trust God and to trust him you have to know him and to know God you have to listen 157 00:09:50,600 --> 00:09:55,880 to him which is why the page before this in the blueprint is listen to the spirit. 158 00:09:55,880 --> 00:10:01,100 What better way to get to know someone than to spend time with them and listen, right? 159 00:10:01,100 --> 00:10:05,000 So the process of writing for me typically starts out with literally putting a pen to 160 00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:10,880 paper and writing good morning God because before I start working on any ideas I have 161 00:10:10,880 --> 00:10:13,800 I always involve the author of life. 162 00:10:13,800 --> 00:10:18,960 In fact for me I usually think of myself as more of a typist than an author. 163 00:10:18,960 --> 00:10:24,880 I ask God to tell his story through me and I pray that he'll give me ears to hear him, 164 00:10:24,880 --> 00:10:29,680 eyes to see him, divine inspiration throughout my regular day routine to write the story 165 00:10:29,680 --> 00:10:31,920 he wants to tell through me. 166 00:10:31,920 --> 00:10:36,040 Just last month I was able to go on a writing retreat and work on the manuscript that I'd 167 00:10:36,040 --> 00:10:41,300 like to finish this year and after having spent time with God and asking him those kinds 168 00:10:41,300 --> 00:10:46,480 of questions of what do you want so to be to be about this became my so to be prayer 169 00:10:46,480 --> 00:10:48,000 and I wrote it on the post-it. 170 00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:53,040 I pray that this story empowers and draws readers to press on, to find community. 171 00:10:53,040 --> 00:10:57,440 I pray it shows faith is met with your faithfulness and that if the answers had been easy to come 172 00:10:57,440 --> 00:11:02,480 by so many other important lessons and experiences would have been missed. 173 00:11:02,480 --> 00:11:03,480 Amen. 174 00:11:03,480 --> 00:11:09,080 And that's what I know that book is going to be about because I'm just taking dictation. 175 00:11:09,080 --> 00:11:11,400 I'm listening first. 176 00:11:11,400 --> 00:11:14,200 So that's where we're actually going to start as we break down this idea of how to practice 177 00:11:14,200 --> 00:11:15,200 your faith. 178 00:11:15,200 --> 00:11:19,780 First you listen because you need to know him. 179 00:11:19,780 --> 00:11:23,320 So going back to our verse in John, this is red letter stuff. 180 00:11:23,320 --> 00:11:27,840 Jesus is literally like, let me tell you a little bit about myself in the garden of life. 181 00:11:27,840 --> 00:11:29,680 I am the vine. 182 00:11:29,680 --> 00:11:32,200 My father, your heavenly father is the gardener. 183 00:11:32,200 --> 00:11:33,480 Okay, so here we are. 184 00:11:33,480 --> 00:11:34,600 We're beginning to know him. 185 00:11:34,600 --> 00:11:35,920 He's introducing himself. 186 00:11:35,920 --> 00:11:38,040 We're able to identify him. 187 00:11:38,040 --> 00:11:42,280 And what's going to happen next is we're going to be able to have a better awareness of our 188 00:11:42,280 --> 00:11:43,800 own identity in him. 189 00:11:43,800 --> 00:11:47,400 The next thing he says is you are the branch. 190 00:11:47,400 --> 00:11:52,280 It's a beautiful thing how when we begin to know God better, we begin to know ourselves 191 00:11:52,280 --> 00:11:53,980 better. 192 00:11:53,980 --> 00:11:55,880 The reason this is true is also found in scripture. 193 00:11:55,880 --> 00:12:00,680 It's one of the first things God's word shares with us at the very beginning, in the beginning. 194 00:12:00,680 --> 00:12:05,200 In fact, it's in the very first chapter of the very first book of God's word, Genesis 195 00:12:05,200 --> 00:12:06,200 126. 196 00:12:06,200 --> 00:12:10,920 Then God said, let us make people in our image to be like ourselves. 197 00:12:10,920 --> 00:12:11,920 Continuing on. 198 00:12:11,920 --> 00:12:14,780 So God created people in his own image. 199 00:12:14,780 --> 00:12:18,720 God patterned them after himself. 200 00:12:18,720 --> 00:12:23,600 So earlier I asked, raise your hand, did you say you were a naturally creative person? 201 00:12:23,600 --> 00:12:24,600 How many? 202 00:12:24,600 --> 00:12:28,240 Okay, okay, good, good, good. 203 00:12:28,240 --> 00:12:31,920 Sometimes when I meet people and they discover I'm a writer and an artist, they're like, 204 00:12:31,920 --> 00:12:34,320 wow, you're so creative. 205 00:12:34,320 --> 00:12:36,960 Or like, oh my gosh, you actually like draw and paint. 206 00:12:36,960 --> 00:12:38,560 You're like a real artist. 207 00:12:38,560 --> 00:12:40,960 Oh my gosh, that's so cool. 208 00:12:40,960 --> 00:12:42,420 You're so lucky. 209 00:12:42,420 --> 00:12:47,360 And almost inevitably after that like sentiment is shared, the next sentence is something 210 00:12:47,360 --> 00:12:49,520 like I could never do that. 211 00:12:49,520 --> 00:12:51,920 I don't have a creative bone in my body. 212 00:12:51,920 --> 00:12:52,920 Okay? 213 00:12:52,920 --> 00:12:56,640 But that's the beautiful thing about creativity. 214 00:12:56,640 --> 00:12:58,880 And that's why I wanted to read those verses from Exodus. 215 00:12:58,880 --> 00:13:03,920 Here's this great idea in the Bible that the wise and ever loving God gives his workers 216 00:13:03,920 --> 00:13:04,920 wisdom. 217 00:13:04,920 --> 00:13:08,920 And he gives them the skill sets needed to create something beautiful. 218 00:13:08,920 --> 00:13:13,380 This is the bridge between listening to the spirit and practicing our faith. 219 00:13:13,380 --> 00:13:17,800 Wisdom and God's character expressed through our creativity. 220 00:13:17,800 --> 00:13:24,720 God says I have given ability to all the skilled workers to make everything I command you. 221 00:13:24,720 --> 00:13:30,560 See, so you don't need stone or wood or bronze or a paintbrush or pen or word document to 222 00:13:30,560 --> 00:13:32,000 be creative. 223 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:36,400 Creativity is 100% accessible and applicable to every part of every single one of your 224 00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:39,600 lives whether you raised your hand earlier or not. 225 00:13:39,600 --> 00:13:41,520 And I'll tell you why. 226 00:13:41,520 --> 00:13:46,840 It's because you're created in the image of the heavenly father. 227 00:13:46,840 --> 00:13:53,160 And if we're made in his likeness, then we can have faith because he's faithful. 228 00:13:53,160 --> 00:13:57,120 And we can be creative because he's creator. 229 00:13:57,120 --> 00:14:01,760 And this is why I read that last verse from John as the message translation earlier. 230 00:14:01,760 --> 00:14:08,720 I get excited about words as a writer person because there's this perfect, exactly, wonderfully 231 00:14:08,720 --> 00:14:10,360 chosen word. 232 00:14:10,360 --> 00:14:15,440 The relation between the vine and the branch is intimate and organic. 233 00:14:15,440 --> 00:14:18,260 That word, organic, natural. 234 00:14:18,260 --> 00:14:24,240 You are naturally meant to find your identity in the father. 235 00:14:24,240 --> 00:14:27,480 And you are naturally creative. 236 00:14:27,480 --> 00:14:31,920 And these two things are what's going to make practicing your faith possible. 237 00:14:31,920 --> 00:14:36,040 As we begin to know God better, we can then begin to discover and understand our own identity 238 00:14:36,040 --> 00:14:40,260 as we're connected to him and we remain in him, which is important because the closer 239 00:14:40,260 --> 00:14:44,800 we get to the final step of practicing our faith, the more important it is to have an 240 00:14:44,800 --> 00:14:51,760 established understanding of exactly who you are. 241 00:14:51,760 --> 00:14:56,240 So then just like how in practicing your faith, the next step after listening is knowing him 242 00:14:56,240 --> 00:15:00,840 so you can know yourself, the same thing happens in my writing process. 243 00:15:00,840 --> 00:15:05,480 After listening, then I'm getting to know the main characters. 244 00:15:05,480 --> 00:15:08,760 When I started writing The Adventures of the Brothers Brave and Noble, I came to this moment, 245 00:15:08,760 --> 00:15:12,680 it was very, very early on, like really just the first couple of weeks that I decided I'm 246 00:15:12,680 --> 00:15:15,280 going to start writing this story down. 247 00:15:15,280 --> 00:15:20,640 And I began describing the dad of the main character and their relationship. 248 00:15:20,640 --> 00:15:24,680 And as I was writing, it was kind of coming out that the dad was maybe a workaholic and 249 00:15:24,680 --> 00:15:29,080 the son was bitter about it and their relationship was beginning to falter because of it. 250 00:15:29,080 --> 00:15:35,200 And I was like a page and a half, almost two pages into writing all of this when suddenly 251 00:15:35,200 --> 00:15:40,400 I just knew it was wrong because I knew him. 252 00:15:40,400 --> 00:15:44,640 I knew the kind of character he was and that he couldn't be that way and have this going 253 00:15:44,640 --> 00:15:46,000 on. 254 00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:49,400 Every story needs conflict, but this wasn't the conflict of this story. 255 00:15:49,400 --> 00:15:52,080 These were not the true characteristics of these people. 256 00:15:52,080 --> 00:15:53,920 I knew exactly who they were. 257 00:15:53,920 --> 00:15:59,120 And so to stay true to that, I had to shape the story differently. 258 00:15:59,120 --> 00:16:03,400 So far we've established we're going to listen and then we'll know God and then we'll know 259 00:16:03,400 --> 00:16:04,600 ourselves. 260 00:16:04,600 --> 00:16:07,760 And we have to do those things first because the next thing is the hardest part of both 261 00:16:07,760 --> 00:16:11,160 the writing process and the concept of practicing your faith. 262 00:16:11,160 --> 00:16:18,600 But it isn't as hard if you listen to him and you know him because it's trusting him. 263 00:16:18,600 --> 00:16:22,840 My published novel, The Adventures of the Brothers Brave and Noble, began a very long 264 00:16:22,840 --> 00:16:28,120 time ago when Brennan was probably three or four and Liam was like maybe one or two. 265 00:16:28,120 --> 00:16:32,080 And we lived in Georgia and I was telling Brennan a bedtime story before he went to 266 00:16:32,080 --> 00:16:33,080 bed. 267 00:16:33,080 --> 00:16:37,440 And because we're creative, story loving people, I always like to incorporate Brennan in that 268 00:16:37,440 --> 00:16:38,600 storytelling process. 269 00:16:38,600 --> 00:16:43,760 So on this night, like over 13 years ago, I looked out his bedroom window into the woods 270 00:16:43,760 --> 00:16:48,000 that met up to our backyard and I started telling Brennan about two big boys who were 271 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:50,560 brothers named Brave and Noble. 272 00:16:50,560 --> 00:16:54,700 For those of you who don't know, those are Brennan and Liam's middle names. 273 00:16:54,700 --> 00:16:56,960 And I began with simple little things. 274 00:16:56,960 --> 00:17:00,160 Brave and Noble wanted to go on an adventure in the woods behind their house. 275 00:17:00,160 --> 00:17:02,640 So they packed themselves a lunch. 276 00:17:02,640 --> 00:17:04,600 What did they put in their lunch, Brennan? 277 00:17:04,600 --> 00:17:08,600 And he'd say, peanut butter and jelly and Lightning McQueen fruit snacks. 278 00:17:08,600 --> 00:17:10,200 And I'd say, yeah. 279 00:17:10,200 --> 00:17:13,520 And then once they made it out to the creek, Brave couldn't believe his eyes. 280 00:17:13,520 --> 00:17:16,000 He saw, what did he see, Brennan? 281 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:17,600 And Brennan said, a golden horse. 282 00:17:17,600 --> 00:17:19,720 I said, that's right. 283 00:17:19,720 --> 00:17:23,520 Something right there in front of Brave and Noble was a radiant golden horse. 284 00:17:23,520 --> 00:17:26,920 And if they thought they were as shocked as they could be, they were wrong because then 285 00:17:26,920 --> 00:17:28,880 the horse spoke to them. 286 00:17:28,880 --> 00:17:33,680 He said, hello, my name is, what was his name, Brennan? 287 00:17:33,680 --> 00:17:34,680 And Brennan said, Demel. 288 00:17:34,680 --> 00:17:35,680 No, Finnick. 289 00:17:35,680 --> 00:17:37,640 And I said, you're right. 290 00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:41,080 He said, hello, my name is Demel Finnick. 291 00:17:41,080 --> 00:17:43,360 And it got really good from there, guys. 292 00:17:43,360 --> 00:17:45,280 Yeah, it did. 293 00:17:45,280 --> 00:17:49,000 But seriously, we really did, we fell in love with these boys that we were telling a story 294 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:50,900 about in their golden horse. 295 00:17:50,900 --> 00:17:53,000 And I decided, I think I want to start writing this down. 296 00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:54,320 So I did. 297 00:17:54,320 --> 00:17:55,920 And I kept asking Brennan questions. 298 00:17:55,920 --> 00:17:58,720 And I started asking Greg questions too. 299 00:17:58,720 --> 00:18:02,400 He was such a great sounding board and helped me come up with some of the best ideas that 300 00:18:02,400 --> 00:18:07,400 are in that book. 301 00:18:07,400 --> 00:18:11,480 So it was about two years later, I finished what became a book. 302 00:18:11,480 --> 00:18:15,240 And I had this massive, quite literally massive manuscript. 303 00:18:15,240 --> 00:18:20,560 It was, here today, I can say it was admittedly too long. 304 00:18:20,560 --> 00:18:26,280 There were too many words, way too many words, which is a typical problem to have when you're 305 00:18:26,280 --> 00:18:28,600 a first time writer. 306 00:18:28,600 --> 00:18:34,240 I gave it to some friends to read and one said, I could tell you really love words. 307 00:18:34,240 --> 00:18:39,080 Bless his heart, right? 308 00:18:39,080 --> 00:18:45,200 His like successful, professional, multi-published by publishing houses, real and actual novel, 309 00:18:45,200 --> 00:18:46,200 novelist heart. 310 00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:50,760 I could tell you really love words. 311 00:18:50,760 --> 00:18:54,120 Another friend told me it was good, but the word count needed to come down. 312 00:18:54,120 --> 00:18:58,160 And he had an editor he thought that would be a good fit for me. 313 00:18:58,160 --> 00:19:01,520 So I will tell you, these initial feedback moments, they didn't bother me too much. 314 00:19:01,520 --> 00:19:02,520 They were general. 315 00:19:02,520 --> 00:19:04,600 They didn't spend a lot of time with my manuscript. 316 00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:08,040 They read it through once, probably skimmed it because they knew it was too long. 317 00:19:08,040 --> 00:19:10,280 They told me what they thought and that was it. 318 00:19:10,280 --> 00:19:11,280 Great. 319 00:19:11,280 --> 00:19:16,480 So Greg and I decided, okay, yeah, no, let's have it professionally edited. 320 00:19:16,480 --> 00:19:17,520 And my friend was right. 321 00:19:17,520 --> 00:19:19,800 This editor was a good fit for me. 322 00:19:19,800 --> 00:19:23,960 Jamie would email me updates and tell me what she love, love, love, loved. 323 00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:26,360 And we just kind of became friends. 324 00:19:26,360 --> 00:19:29,160 We'd email, we'd keep up with each other on Facebook. 325 00:19:29,160 --> 00:19:31,000 We Skyped a couple of times. 326 00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:33,920 She absolutely became a friend. 327 00:19:33,920 --> 00:19:36,800 And I got Jamie's first pass on the manuscript back. 328 00:19:36,800 --> 00:19:38,320 It was awesome. 329 00:19:38,320 --> 00:19:41,300 She had a lot of changes and suggestions, but was very thorough. 330 00:19:41,300 --> 00:19:44,560 And I was excited that this was going to make my book better. 331 00:19:44,560 --> 00:19:48,080 I went through everything, doing my best with what she'd suggested and taught me. 332 00:19:48,080 --> 00:19:50,560 And I sent it back. 333 00:19:50,560 --> 00:19:56,840 When I got Jamie's second pass back, I did not take it as well. 334 00:19:56,840 --> 00:20:00,400 That first go, nothing massive was cut out. 335 00:20:00,400 --> 00:20:03,460 She wasn't asking for anything huge. 336 00:20:03,460 --> 00:20:05,420 Round two. 337 00:20:05,420 --> 00:20:14,760 She cut the entire first chapter, which was my favorite scene of the whole book. 338 00:20:14,760 --> 00:20:20,760 It was a scene which depicted this family exactly the precious and perfect way I wanted 339 00:20:20,760 --> 00:20:22,360 them to be received by the reader. 340 00:20:22,360 --> 00:20:27,920 I knew this was how I would introduce them to this book, to these precious people who 341 00:20:27,920 --> 00:20:30,000 did precious things. 342 00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:34,000 And she told me I had to get to the plot faster and that nobody cared about these precious 343 00:20:34,000 --> 00:20:39,840 people in the way that I cared about these precious people. 344 00:20:39,840 --> 00:20:49,200 And then she cut over 20,000 words and told me that we had to come up with a way to add 345 00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:54,760 an entirely new concept that would weave throughout the entire thing from beginning to end. 346 00:20:54,760 --> 00:20:57,320 I was devastated. 347 00:20:57,320 --> 00:20:58,320 Like legit. 348 00:20:58,320 --> 00:21:01,560 Had to take a moment outside by myself. 349 00:21:01,560 --> 00:21:02,680 Devastated. 350 00:21:02,680 --> 00:21:04,960 It was my baby. 351 00:21:04,960 --> 00:21:09,920 And she took a whole thing away. 352 00:21:09,920 --> 00:21:14,600 Greg came out and sat next to me out on the deck and we talked about Jamie, who we had 353 00:21:14,600 --> 00:21:17,200 come to know her to be. 354 00:21:17,200 --> 00:21:18,660 And we talked about the story. 355 00:21:18,660 --> 00:21:22,760 And we talked about me, who I am. 356 00:21:22,760 --> 00:21:27,160 And by the end of it, we decided she was probably right and I should try it. 357 00:21:27,160 --> 00:21:28,560 And we trusted her. 358 00:21:28,560 --> 00:21:30,280 But I'm not going to lie. 359 00:21:30,280 --> 00:21:32,320 I cried a lot. 360 00:21:32,320 --> 00:21:34,960 I cried a lot that night. 361 00:21:34,960 --> 00:21:41,520 And when I opened the document again, it was not the next day or the day after that. 362 00:21:41,520 --> 00:21:43,720 I needed a minute. 363 00:21:43,720 --> 00:21:48,580 I waited a full week before I even opened the document. 364 00:21:48,580 --> 00:21:54,840 But when I did, I saw again next to every change she made, there was this little bubble 365 00:21:54,840 --> 00:21:59,440 where she made a note of why she deleted this or moved that. 366 00:21:59,440 --> 00:22:05,440 She'd write the grammar rules and how to know which thing to use here or there. 367 00:22:05,440 --> 00:22:10,480 And sure, occasionally there was a note that was like, be more writerly. 368 00:22:10,480 --> 00:22:14,480 And at that time, it was very cryptic and it drove me nuts. 369 00:22:14,480 --> 00:22:19,080 But now that has become one of my most helpful and favorite things to keep in my mind when 370 00:22:19,080 --> 00:22:21,560 I write. 371 00:22:21,560 --> 00:22:25,960 And we ended up having three passes back and forth. 372 00:22:25,960 --> 00:22:27,280 The beginning changed. 373 00:22:27,280 --> 00:22:30,640 An entirely new element was added to it. 374 00:22:30,640 --> 00:22:33,600 And we ended up still using my favorite precious scene. 375 00:22:33,600 --> 00:22:35,320 Oh, bless her heart. 376 00:22:35,320 --> 00:22:43,280 And instead of the first chapter, which, you know, starts here, my favorite precious moment 377 00:22:43,280 --> 00:22:44,280 is here. 378 00:22:44,280 --> 00:22:45,280 It's still there. 379 00:22:45,280 --> 00:22:50,960 You just have to wait a minute to get there. 380 00:22:50,960 --> 00:22:52,680 And it was phenomenal. 381 00:22:52,680 --> 00:22:54,360 I listened to her. 382 00:22:54,360 --> 00:22:55,360 I knew her. 383 00:22:55,360 --> 00:22:56,920 I trusted her. 384 00:22:56,920 --> 00:22:58,440 She pruned me. 385 00:22:58,440 --> 00:23:00,480 I cried. 386 00:23:00,480 --> 00:23:05,560 I trusted her because I knew her and I knew she knew me. 387 00:23:05,560 --> 00:23:09,240 And I wrote that third draft in faith. 388 00:23:09,240 --> 00:23:14,860 I think back to the night on the back deck and how hurt and sad and angry and stubborn 389 00:23:14,860 --> 00:23:16,960 I wanted to be. 390 00:23:16,960 --> 00:23:21,560 And then I hold this book in my hand and I like literally just chuckle to myself because 391 00:23:21,560 --> 00:23:24,800 it's so much better. 392 00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:29,760 So much better, remarkably better than my first or second draft. 393 00:23:29,760 --> 00:23:30,760 I'm the vine. 394 00:23:30,760 --> 00:23:31,760 You are the branches. 395 00:23:31,760 --> 00:23:36,520 When you're joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest 396 00:23:36,520 --> 00:23:38,080 is sure to be abundant. 397 00:23:38,080 --> 00:23:41,680 Separated, you can't produce a thing. 398 00:23:41,680 --> 00:23:45,440 Faith yields abundant harvests. 399 00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:51,280 Having faith is like preparing a plan in your spirit and in the kingdom. 400 00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:55,660 When you know God and trust God and have faith in God, you'll be ready for that harvest at 401 00:23:55,660 --> 00:23:57,560 any moment. 402 00:23:57,560 --> 00:24:04,240 Have faith that God will use you if you'll be willing, if you'll practice the process. 403 00:24:04,240 --> 00:24:08,040 So I practiced the editing process a lot with that first manuscript. 404 00:24:08,040 --> 00:24:10,600 And when it was finished, we let it sit for a while. 405 00:24:10,600 --> 00:24:16,360 I always said that if all it ever was was a family treasure that we all worked together 406 00:24:16,360 --> 00:24:21,440 to create, that was pretty super cool and more than we could have ever asked for it 407 00:24:21,440 --> 00:24:22,440 to be. 408 00:24:22,440 --> 00:24:25,640 It was a really great story that I knew I could be proud of. 409 00:24:25,640 --> 00:24:29,400 So then a lot of life happened, like two or three years worth of life, actually. 410 00:24:29,400 --> 00:24:32,960 We were busy. 411 00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:36,720 And then one spring, I got a phone call from Greg. 412 00:24:36,720 --> 00:24:38,480 Hey, babe. 413 00:24:38,480 --> 00:24:39,480 Hi. 414 00:24:39,480 --> 00:24:42,840 I might have accidentally published your book. 415 00:24:42,840 --> 00:24:46,000 What? 416 00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:51,080 I accidentally self-published your book on Amazon. 417 00:24:51,080 --> 00:24:52,520 What? 418 00:24:52,520 --> 00:24:56,560 So come to find out. 419 00:24:56,560 --> 00:24:59,680 Greg wanted to surprise me for my birthday or Mother's Day that year. 420 00:24:59,680 --> 00:25:03,920 And so he wanted to have a copy of the book bound and printed for me. 421 00:25:03,920 --> 00:25:04,980 He designed a cover. 422 00:25:04,980 --> 00:25:09,700 He put the document in the CreateSpace website, service site, and he was going to have a copy 423 00:25:09,700 --> 00:25:11,800 of the book shipped to me. 424 00:25:11,800 --> 00:25:13,760 Super thoughtful gift, right? 425 00:25:13,760 --> 00:25:18,480 So he's telling our very own David Jenulus, who's serving in Treehouse right now because 426 00:25:18,480 --> 00:25:21,240 he's awesome. 427 00:25:21,240 --> 00:25:25,400 He was at Chipotle and they were having lunch and he's telling them about it or something 428 00:25:25,400 --> 00:25:27,400 like that. 429 00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:31,000 And David's like, she wrote a book. 430 00:25:31,000 --> 00:25:33,040 What's it called again? 431 00:25:33,040 --> 00:25:38,720 And while Greg's talking, David, unbeknownst to Greg, was searching on his phone on Amazon 432 00:25:38,720 --> 00:25:42,820 for the Adventures of the Brothers Brave and Noble by Cynthia L. Hampton. 433 00:25:42,820 --> 00:25:44,720 And so Greg's talking more about how it all works and stuff. 434 00:25:44,720 --> 00:25:49,440 And all of a sudden, David just holds up his phone and he shows Greg the screen that says, 435 00:25:49,440 --> 00:25:52,240 thank you for your purchase of the Adventures of the Brothers Brave and Noble by Cynthia 436 00:25:52,240 --> 00:25:53,240 L. Hampton. 437 00:25:53,240 --> 00:25:54,240 Yeah, that's it. 438 00:25:54,240 --> 00:25:55,240 How did you... 439 00:25:55,240 --> 00:25:56,240 What? 440 00:25:56,240 --> 00:26:00,520 And David's like, I just bought it. 441 00:26:00,520 --> 00:26:06,400 So Greg discovers when you use this print service, which is owned by Amazon, it automatically 442 00:26:06,400 --> 00:26:10,840 creates an ISBN for your book and it makes it searchable, discoverable, available to 443 00:26:10,840 --> 00:26:15,520 the universe by adding it to their gigantic online bookstore. 444 00:26:15,520 --> 00:26:19,360 So was I nervous about having the story out there? 445 00:26:19,360 --> 00:26:21,800 Yep, 100%. 446 00:26:21,800 --> 00:26:29,080 But at the same time, guys, I knew it was really as exactly right and as good as it 447 00:26:29,080 --> 00:26:30,080 could be. 448 00:26:30,080 --> 00:26:32,880 And I was ready when the time came for harvest. 449 00:26:32,880 --> 00:26:39,040 Yeah, because then David shares his purchase on Facebook. 450 00:26:39,040 --> 00:26:41,080 I just bought my friend's book. 451 00:26:41,080 --> 00:26:46,600 People are liking it, sharing it, tagging me, buying it. 452 00:26:46,600 --> 00:26:49,940 The harvest is sure to be abundant. 453 00:26:49,940 --> 00:26:55,400 And then most importantly of the process for both practicing your faith and writing is 454 00:26:55,400 --> 00:26:58,160 just keep writing, keep doing it. 455 00:26:58,160 --> 00:27:00,480 Anne Lamott is an author I really love. 456 00:27:00,480 --> 00:27:04,600 She writes about faith and life and writing and in her book, Bird by Bird, she encourages 457 00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:08,960 the writer to write every day, even if it's a grocery list, she says. 458 00:27:08,960 --> 00:27:10,880 Send to paper every single day. 459 00:27:10,880 --> 00:27:13,280 And that's the kind of challenge I can manage. 460 00:27:13,280 --> 00:27:17,260 The reason she encourages a writer to do that is because practicing your craft every single 461 00:27:17,260 --> 00:27:20,080 day makes you a better writer. 462 00:27:20,080 --> 00:27:22,240 Practicing our faith is no different. 463 00:27:22,240 --> 00:27:27,140 The best way to get better at it or to understand it is to employ the skill daily. 464 00:27:27,140 --> 00:27:28,600 So how do we do that? 465 00:27:28,600 --> 00:27:32,240 I've got some ideas. 466 00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:37,920 So we talked about that process of like to practice your faith, you have to have faith. 467 00:27:37,920 --> 00:27:43,240 To have faith, you have to know God and then you can trust him because you know him. 468 00:27:43,240 --> 00:27:48,960 So first off, are you listening for the story God's wanting to tell through your life? 469 00:27:48,960 --> 00:27:53,240 Pray and ask him to give you eyes to see and ears to hear and make time to listen. 470 00:27:53,240 --> 00:27:54,840 And then are you reading his word? 471 00:27:54,840 --> 00:28:00,700 In the writing world, we love to say to be a good writer, you have to be a good reader 472 00:28:00,700 --> 00:28:03,880 because you have to be reading good books to write good books. 473 00:28:03,880 --> 00:28:07,440 So are you reading his word and then really listening to it when you do and asking the 474 00:28:07,440 --> 00:28:10,640 spirit to speak to you through it. 475 00:28:10,640 --> 00:28:14,840 And then after that, we are listening, do you feel like you know God well enough and 476 00:28:14,840 --> 00:28:18,520 that you're confident in your identity in him? 477 00:28:18,520 --> 00:28:23,400 A more specific question might be, what are the characteristics of God you love that help 478 00:28:23,400 --> 00:28:25,920 you understand your own identity? 479 00:28:25,920 --> 00:28:29,620 This is something I love to do because I'm a writer, so I'm constantly like filtering 480 00:28:29,620 --> 00:28:33,920 through things through a character study lens, but I most often find myself enjoying the 481 00:28:33,920 --> 00:28:40,000 truth that God is faithful and that God is creator and that because he's faithful, I 482 00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:43,120 have faith and because he's creator, I'm creative. 483 00:28:43,120 --> 00:28:48,580 But how can understanding that help you practice your faith? 484 00:28:48,580 --> 00:28:51,320 And then think about, do you trust him? 485 00:28:51,320 --> 00:28:56,760 Sometimes it can be difficult to trust God in a situation and for me, I found how empowering 486 00:28:56,760 --> 00:29:01,960 it can be to remind yourself of the times when you trusted and he came through. 487 00:29:01,960 --> 00:29:09,320 Your testimony is a powerful motivator to your spirit and also to your human head. 488 00:29:09,320 --> 00:29:11,640 I talk about that a lot with myself and within our family. 489 00:29:11,640 --> 00:29:15,520 There's like your heart and what it might tell us at once and then there's our human 490 00:29:15,520 --> 00:29:20,080 head and it might tell us what it thinks is true, but there's the spirit and whatever 491 00:29:20,080 --> 00:29:24,120 the spirit wants is going to be what's best and you can always know that the spirit of 492 00:29:24,120 --> 00:29:26,660 God is true and trustable. 493 00:29:26,660 --> 00:29:30,600 So when you're having a hard time trusting God, think back on a time when you did and 494 00:29:30,600 --> 00:29:35,760 the outcome was so obviously better than anything you could have dreamed up initially or would 495 00:29:35,760 --> 00:29:39,760 have missed out on if you hadn't trusted him. 496 00:29:39,760 --> 00:29:43,680 And after you've done that, it's time to practice your faith. 497 00:29:43,680 --> 00:29:47,600 So something really cool that I realized just even in writing this, I hadn't really thought 498 00:29:47,600 --> 00:29:53,960 about it until I was looking through what I had down is that you can't forget you're 499 00:29:53,960 --> 00:29:55,600 not alone. 500 00:29:55,600 --> 00:29:59,160 Having faith and practicing your faith is easier when you have a support system around 501 00:29:59,160 --> 00:30:00,160 you. 502 00:30:00,160 --> 00:30:01,160 So I went to Exodus first. 503 00:30:01,160 --> 00:30:05,880 I appointed Ohaliab and Ahisemek of the tribe of Dan to help him. 504 00:30:05,880 --> 00:30:10,000 This is the person you ask to pray for you when you know you'll need it. 505 00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:14,200 It's the person you go to with a tough decision, a sounding board, a prayer partner, a faith 506 00:30:14,200 --> 00:30:15,200 backer upper. 507 00:30:15,200 --> 00:30:20,000 Remember when I was talking about the editing process with Jamie and even in my writing 508 00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:23,840 process, I was involving other people that were close to me every step of the way, Greg 509 00:30:23,840 --> 00:30:26,920 especially. 510 00:30:26,920 --> 00:30:32,320 And the other great thing that happens when you practice your faith that is encouraging 511 00:30:32,320 --> 00:30:37,000 and beautiful is that when you practice your faith, it makes everything else fall into 512 00:30:37,000 --> 00:30:41,200 place. 513 00:30:41,200 --> 00:30:45,440 Remember remaining in him and him within you, it's that intimate and organic. 514 00:30:45,440 --> 00:30:47,000 It's natural. 515 00:30:47,000 --> 00:30:50,160 It's what your spirit needs. 516 00:30:50,160 --> 00:30:55,320 You'll be amazed how it feels when that need is nurtured and met. 517 00:30:55,320 --> 00:30:58,040 How this plays out in my personal life is so fascinating to me. 518 00:30:58,040 --> 00:31:02,320 I've been writing my whole life, but it wasn't until after I had Brennan that I actually 519 00:31:02,320 --> 00:31:07,200 began to learn that my brain was a creative brain and it needed a creative outlet. 520 00:31:07,200 --> 00:31:12,160 I had really bad postpartum after I had Brennan and I went to see a counselor about it. 521 00:31:12,160 --> 00:31:14,960 And he was also a Christian and he told me, God made you very creative. 522 00:31:14,960 --> 00:31:17,960 Are you doing anything that lets you be creative now and then? 523 00:31:17,960 --> 00:31:21,480 And he got teary-eyed and I said, no. 524 00:31:21,480 --> 00:31:24,220 But I was also thinking, are you kidding me? 525 00:31:24,220 --> 00:31:28,680 He has colic and I'm so sleep-deprived, I'm hallucinating cockroaches everywhere. 526 00:31:28,680 --> 00:31:32,920 No, I have not drawn a picture lately. 527 00:31:32,920 --> 00:31:35,680 And he told me, you know, your brain really needs a creative outlet. 528 00:31:35,680 --> 00:31:36,820 And so that was super interesting. 529 00:31:36,820 --> 00:31:41,000 He started talking with me about the science and things of like, when you're a creative 530 00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:45,200 person and you allow your brain time to be used in a creative way, it calms down and 531 00:31:45,200 --> 00:31:47,560 you find the rest of your day isn't as difficult to get through. 532 00:31:47,560 --> 00:31:51,320 So I went home and I started working on some illustrations I had started for a children's 533 00:31:51,320 --> 00:31:52,520 book that I wrote. 534 00:31:52,520 --> 00:31:55,080 And that night and the next day, I felt amazing. 535 00:31:55,080 --> 00:31:58,040 I was still tired because Brennan didn't sleep through the night until after he was eight 536 00:31:58,040 --> 00:31:59,400 months old. 537 00:31:59,400 --> 00:32:04,860 But even then, sparingly, but I wasn't hopeless or unmotivated anymore. 538 00:32:04,860 --> 00:32:08,800 And then two years later, we moved to Georgia and I started writing on a very regular, nearly 539 00:32:08,800 --> 00:32:10,420 daily schedule. 540 00:32:10,420 --> 00:32:12,120 And I felt like unstoppable. 541 00:32:12,120 --> 00:32:14,440 Dishes were done, floors were mopped, laundry was done. 542 00:32:14,440 --> 00:32:19,440 I felt happy and focused when I practiced regularly, my entire life became easier and 543 00:32:19,440 --> 00:32:22,760 better because it was what my brain needed. 544 00:32:22,760 --> 00:32:23,760 Okay. 545 00:32:23,760 --> 00:32:25,280 So here we are. 546 00:32:25,280 --> 00:32:28,360 You're like, great, Cindy, I'm listening. 547 00:32:28,360 --> 00:32:31,900 I'm secure in him and my own identity. 548 00:32:31,900 --> 00:32:36,480 How do I get to be creative about the way I practice my faith? 549 00:32:36,480 --> 00:32:39,920 Well, the answer to this question is going to be different for everyone because we're 550 00:32:39,920 --> 00:32:44,100 all made differently, but the one who made us is the same. 551 00:32:44,100 --> 00:32:49,520 So think about how you answered those earlier questions I asked, the thoughts on listening 552 00:32:49,520 --> 00:32:53,440 and the characteristics that stick out to you about your heavenly father. 553 00:32:53,440 --> 00:32:59,420 And ask yourself if maybe that's because those might be the brightest divine attributes 554 00:32:59,420 --> 00:33:03,720 you shine just by being who he made you to be. 555 00:33:03,720 --> 00:33:06,960 He says, I have filled them with the spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with 556 00:33:06,960 --> 00:33:10,060 knowledge and with all kinds of skills. 557 00:33:10,060 --> 00:33:14,640 For me, I know that it is faithfulness and creativity and I know those are the characteristics 558 00:33:14,640 --> 00:33:19,720 of God I identify most with because they're my most natural way of connecting to and remaining 559 00:33:19,720 --> 00:33:21,040 in God. 560 00:33:21,040 --> 00:33:25,920 So for you, it could be wisdom or generosity or loving kindness. 561 00:33:25,920 --> 00:33:30,040 Maybe you just have a really huge heart and you love loving people and it's easy for you 562 00:33:30,040 --> 00:33:31,320 to do. 563 00:33:31,320 --> 00:33:37,020 Use that awareness of your identity to guide the path you practice your faith on. 564 00:33:37,020 --> 00:33:41,480 And then remember that nothing is too small or too anything for God to use. 565 00:33:41,480 --> 00:33:46,440 The potential in this room is epic because God takes every act of faith and he puts it 566 00:33:46,440 --> 00:33:47,440 to good use. 567 00:33:47,440 --> 00:33:52,400 The verse goes on to say, I have given ability to all the skilled workers to make everything 568 00:33:52,400 --> 00:33:53,960 I have commanded you. 569 00:33:53,960 --> 00:33:56,460 There's no moment too menial or fleeting. 570 00:33:56,460 --> 00:33:59,120 Maybe start just by looking at your day. 571 00:33:59,120 --> 00:34:01,440 What's something you do the same every single day? 572 00:34:01,440 --> 00:34:05,000 Do you always go to the same coffee shop or always have 15 minutes of time in the morning 573 00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:07,280 where the house is calm and quiet? 574 00:34:07,280 --> 00:34:11,520 One of my favorite ways of practicing my faith every day in my routine is when I drop off 575 00:34:11,520 --> 00:34:12,520 our kids. 576 00:34:12,520 --> 00:34:15,200 That's something I do every day, usually Monday through Friday. 577 00:34:15,200 --> 00:34:18,180 So on the way to school, Wallace and Adley take turns reading aloud from this book of 578 00:34:18,180 --> 00:34:21,120 scripture decrees specifically for kids. 579 00:34:21,120 --> 00:34:24,080 And we fill our car with words of encouragement and affirmation. 580 00:34:24,080 --> 00:34:29,220 And then when we get out, I feel I can just see the light and love of Jesus all over them. 581 00:34:29,220 --> 00:34:33,600 And I imagine it twinkling out of the car and following us along in this glittery trail 582 00:34:33,600 --> 00:34:38,520 up to the school and it kind of gets stuck on everybody that we go by. 583 00:34:38,520 --> 00:34:43,260 And I intentionally smile kindly at kids walking and at parents. 584 00:34:43,260 --> 00:34:45,920 And I look at them in the eye, say, good morning. 585 00:34:45,920 --> 00:34:48,760 Have a good day at school. 586 00:34:48,760 --> 00:34:53,640 Sometimes just daring to be kind in a mundane moment is the act of faith God is counting 587 00:34:53,640 --> 00:34:57,800 on to use in that child or that parent's day. 588 00:34:57,800 --> 00:35:03,280 So yeah, in the ordinary day to day, just like we sang this morning, maybe look at your 589 00:35:03,280 --> 00:35:07,120 day and decide when is the best time to listen and get to know God better. 590 00:35:07,120 --> 00:35:12,840 So I'm prepared for the time when practicing my faith is required. 591 00:35:12,840 --> 00:35:18,240 I also started spending more time in the morning daily. 592 00:35:18,240 --> 00:35:22,680 I would journal my prayers, just kind of stretch and do yoga and remind myself of who God is 593 00:35:22,680 --> 00:35:23,960 and who I am. 594 00:35:23,960 --> 00:35:25,600 And I still try to do that regularly. 595 00:35:25,600 --> 00:35:27,320 Do I succeed every day? 596 00:35:27,320 --> 00:35:29,200 No, but I'm trying. 597 00:35:29,200 --> 00:35:33,000 And I absolutely can sense and see the difference it makes in how my faith works out through 598 00:35:33,000 --> 00:35:34,920 the rest of my day. 599 00:35:34,920 --> 00:35:37,880 So what's going on in your life that you could look at it and go, yeah, I could give my time 600 00:35:37,880 --> 00:35:41,520 and attention at this moment, this car ride while I wait in line before everybody else 601 00:35:41,520 --> 00:35:42,720 wakes up. 602 00:35:42,720 --> 00:35:45,680 There are moments there if you seek them out. 603 00:35:45,680 --> 00:35:49,600 I pray that this has been meaningful and life giving to you. 604 00:35:49,600 --> 00:35:53,560 Something I've loved throughout this series is the way we've offered a practical and real 605 00:35:53,560 --> 00:35:58,000 moment of practice in connection to each of these ideas. 606 00:35:58,000 --> 00:35:58,960 Like think back to prayer. 607 00:35:58,960 --> 00:36:04,040 We all took time to do a breathing prayer, hands up, hands down, and then we went through 608 00:36:04,040 --> 00:36:05,880 a lectio divina together. 609 00:36:05,880 --> 00:36:07,840 And that was really cool. 610 00:36:07,840 --> 00:36:13,320 And so as I was talking with Greg about maybe what could the practical of this be, we talked 611 00:36:13,320 --> 00:36:18,120 about maybe should we get a bunch of notebooks and have everybody do a free write and then 612 00:36:18,120 --> 00:36:20,840 do an edit. 613 00:36:20,840 --> 00:36:24,520 But I was just thinking like this particular idea needs more than three minutes at the 614 00:36:24,520 --> 00:36:26,480 end of the sermon. 615 00:36:26,480 --> 00:36:32,800 So I asked Pastor Greg, okay, well, what if we email these like five journal prompts this 616 00:36:32,800 --> 00:36:33,800 week? 617 00:36:33,800 --> 00:36:37,160 So later he'll talk about the connection card, but make sure that we have your email 618 00:36:37,160 --> 00:36:39,400 because that's going to be our point of practice. 619 00:36:39,400 --> 00:36:45,640 And I just think that this concept, it fits so much better to practice more than once. 620 00:36:45,640 --> 00:36:48,160 Like we could do something at the end of the service here, but that's not the point. 621 00:36:48,160 --> 00:36:51,200 Like the point is you're going to keep doing it and that's why it's going to get easier 622 00:36:51,200 --> 00:36:54,640 or you're going to get good at it or you're going to be confident in it. 623 00:36:54,640 --> 00:37:03,120 And so we're going to email out those ideas and each, so there'll be five of them. 624 00:37:03,120 --> 00:37:04,120 You could do Monday through Friday. 625 00:37:04,120 --> 00:37:12,160 You could break it up if you want, but just kind of a way to get your mind going on. 626 00:37:12,160 --> 00:37:16,360 Do I have faith to practice faith? 627 00:37:16,360 --> 00:37:22,760 And do I trust God so that I can know God? 628 00:37:22,760 --> 00:37:26,680 And do I listen to him so that I can know him? 629 00:37:26,680 --> 00:37:30,960 And then kind of diving into the characteristics and deciding, okay, yeah, like I can see God 630 00:37:30,960 --> 00:37:32,560 in me in that area. 631 00:37:32,560 --> 00:37:37,440 And I think that if I were to then pursue that area, how would that grow God's kingdom 632 00:37:37,440 --> 00:37:40,800 on earth? 633 00:37:40,800 --> 00:37:42,120 I'm excited for you guys to do it. 634 00:37:42,120 --> 00:37:43,360 I hope that you will do it. 635 00:37:43,360 --> 00:37:48,480 It can be, self-reflection is great and I think you could learn a lot about yourself 636 00:37:48,480 --> 00:37:51,520 and I think that it could be a really wonderful thing for our community. 637 00:37:51,520 --> 00:37:54,880 I think it could really explode things in the kingdom. 638 00:37:54,880 --> 00:37:57,640 And yeah, I hope that you'll take it to heart. 639 00:37:57,640 --> 00:38:00,640 Let's pray. 640 00:38:00,640 --> 00:38:05,880 Heavenly Father, thank you so much for your word. 641 00:38:05,880 --> 00:38:10,280 Thank you for your character. 642 00:38:10,280 --> 00:38:13,200 Thank you that we can trust you and we can know you. 643 00:38:13,200 --> 00:38:19,320 Thank you that you're a God that is in relationship with us at every moment of every day. 644 00:38:19,320 --> 00:38:27,680 The fact that we can pause and listen and that the Holy Spirit can speak to us is fascinating, 645 00:38:27,680 --> 00:38:31,040 beautiful, incredible, humbling. 646 00:38:31,040 --> 00:38:38,220 And so I just pray that in the coming week, you will help us remember that practicing 647 00:38:38,220 --> 00:38:44,080 our faith maybe is more of an identity issue than anything else. 648 00:38:44,080 --> 00:38:49,280 And that in order to practice our faith, we just really need to know who you are and understand 649 00:38:49,280 --> 00:38:54,680 that we're made in your image and we're made in your likeness and that we are naturally 650 00:38:54,680 --> 00:39:01,660 meant to be connected to you and we are naturally meant to reflect you, that there are parts 651 00:39:01,660 --> 00:39:08,640 of you inside each and every one of us because we were made and patterned after yourself. 652 00:39:08,640 --> 00:39:12,920 Bless us in this coming week, God, and thank you for each and every one of these people. 653 00:39:12,920 --> 00:39:19,920 Amen.