October 25, 2024 • 46 mins
Join Amber and Lisa for a heartfelt and enlightening discussion with Leading Lady Lynne Reinstra, the author of 'Sacred Refuge: Finding Unexpected Shelter in Your Crisis.' This episode explores key moments from Lynne's life, including her mother's resilient mindset that influenced her feminist foundations, which led her to attend the prestigious Smith College (whose distinguished alumnae include Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan, Julia Child, and Sylvia Plath) and her faith journey that transformed her worldview. Discover practical tips for navigating crises, balancing ambition with well-being, and breaking free from societal pressures like the 'Superwoman Syndrome.' Tune in for inspiring stories, spiritual wisdom, and engaging conversation. Explore more of Lynne's insights and resources at BraveBeloved.com and LynneRienstra.com, and join the community on Faithia for exclusive content and engagement.
Thank you for taking the time to like, subscribe, share, and comment. Visit leadingladies.life to find out more. Also, follow @leadingladieslife on social. Amber & Lisa are authors of the multi-award-winning book, Leading Ladies: Discover Your God-Grown Strategy for Success, which dives into the power of community and empowering women of faith to rise up and make a difference, using our gifts and faith to shine brightly in the world. Watch the Facebook Live edition on our YouTube Channel @coffeechatladies .
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to another Codley Chat with Amber and Lisa.
And it's a lovely October day.
I cannot believe it's October.
How many weeks till Christmas?
Oh, my goodness, it is comingfast.
We've started football season,which is the most important, and
we started sweater and spicycandle season.
(00:22):
But look, I don't have it lit.
I should light it.
I have all forms of cozy aroundme and what you can't see is
right underneath the desk is alittle space heater, because
it's chilly in this house.
We have an amazing lady here,lynn Reinstra.
I don't know how to pronounceyour name.
I'm going to mispronounce it.
(00:43):
I am just going to go with amessy bun approach to your name
Reinstra, reinstra, reinstra.
Okay, ladies, I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
We just went over this rightbefore we went live.
Ladies, I think Amber needsmore caffeine.
Amber, when I met my husbandyears ago, it took me three
(01:05):
times to figure out how to saveit.
I said it took me three times.
Yeah, this gal is wifty andthen it stays.
Later he asked me to marry him.
So anyway, it took me threetimes.
You're allowed.
Yeah, it's all good.
Yeah, did you tell him you hadto get the pronunciation right
before you actually signed themarriage certificate?
(01:25):
She had or he should have, shewould have a clause somewhere.
You can have him Right.
Right, thank you, lynn forcoming to Copy Chat this morning
.
We love you.
You were a contributor toLeading Lady and wrote this
amazing letter to.
I just love this lady.
(01:47):
We met, actually, at an AUSAconference and I was at a Men's
Writers and Speakers Associationconference and I'm like I can't
believe I'm sending mix to thiswoman and I felt the same way
about you.
I kept making your covers.
I was like you're a massivelygifted woman.
I know you have a cover behindyou, but I have not only when
(02:09):
you're celebrating the releaseof your book.
Yet Sacred Refuge, I have a copythat I have yet to open.
Right here.
It is number one bestseller.
What is the category?
We got up to seven on thebroader categories of Christian
women's issues, but we got toone in Old Testament biography.
(02:32):
Six or seven women in this bookare OT.
They're Old Testament women.
Wonderful, I was going to sayto Amber.
I wanted to know why thatcategory.
That explains it.
Very cool, I'm doing some ASMRhere, trying to open Amazon back
.
It's real sweet.
I'm opening here.
There is no preparation here.
(02:57):
Okay, and if you guys need torelax.
We are pretty close.
Have you seen Elkvillian?
No, I have.
I'm just like I'm getting sobothered and they paint their
little fingernails and tap theirobjects, whatever it is in the
microphone.
I'm helping you get all weird.
(03:18):
I'm helping you relax.
At which?
The Sacred Refuge FindingUnexpected Shelter in your
Crisis.
What an amazing book.
It's the Kregel, wow.
Yeah, and is this your firstfull book?
You're looking at it, you'reholding it, sister?
Yes, the story is a God thing.
(03:44):
I was at the Gospel CoalitionConference in the end of 22.
And there was Samaritan's Purse.
I work for them.
I'm on a break, I'm walkingaround, I walk over to the
creedal table just looking attheir wares and I have one of
these.
Oh, just happened to start aconversation with a woman who
just happened to be on theacquisitions team and I was
working on a book.
I was working on book A ideaand all of a sudden I start
(04:05):
pitching without realizing anold book idea and she got onto
it.
Two weeks later she emails.
Who emails a person without aplatform and without an agent?
That doesn't happen and it'scritical.
Yeah, I know, that's amazing.
And they said we want theproposal.
They only asked for two samplechapters.
(04:25):
They were very gracious andthen they emailed me and said we
want your book.
That's amazing.
It's the same kind of divineappointment.
Sometimes you wonder why you goto certain events and such and
then something flies out of leftfield that you're totally wow.
(04:46):
That was why I was supposed tocome here.
And, lynn, I just want to knowa little bit.
We have talked about your gosh.
How much intelligence do youhave?
You were trained in English atSmith College.
You have a certificate inspiritual formation.
(05:07):
You're a pastor's wife.
We talked in the pre-show aboutthe people who went to your
college.
This is amazing.
And she also serves asSamaritan's Purse regional
director and has seen crisis upclose.
This is exactly where we areright now.
Not to mention, you're a wifeand a grandmother right, seen
(05:29):
crisis up close.
This is exactly where we areright now.
Not to mention, you're a wifeand a grandmother right.
You mentioned something in thepre-show about that college
experience and I think, becausewe speak to women and we speak
to women's issues, you mentionedthere was something different
about the university that youattended.
You mentioned there wassomething different about the
university that you attended.
(05:49):
Yes, yeah, and this really tiesin with Leading Ladies and why
it was such a joy to have asmall part in Leading Ladies.
So I grew up with a lot ofupheaval, dads coming and going,
really in a feminist household.
I would say my mom was a prettystrong feminist.
We're talking 60s and 70s,gloria Stein writing this
magazine.
That's the social context, andGod just graciously gave me the
(06:10):
ability to get a free ride to aSeven Sisters College.
Now I now live in Atlanta and myfamily roots are in Missouri.
Really, oh yeah, oh yeah.
I know Y'all are in Springfieldright, I'm in Kansas City area.
That was the KC.
Yeah, my father grew up inMarshall near City Island area
(06:31):
and my mom grew up in Branson.
Oh, dude, it was Branson, theBaldnobbers, and I remember one
night I had gone out there aftermy first year in college.
We'll get back to college andI'm working as a waitress at
(06:53):
Rock Lane Lodge where mygrandmother runs food service,
and literally they had a houseright behind Bald Knobbers.
I remember hearing the musicevery night.
Oh my goodness, all road fleetto Branson, that's all.
They all off the music everynight.
Oh, my goodness, all road fleetto Branson, that's all.
Or how about we all have alittle bit of hilly belly.
That's my family background.
(07:15):
I end up growing up because of adivorce and a move near Boston,
and so the whole New Englandthing opens up and I end up on a
full ride at a Seven SistersCollege.
It's the women's version of theIvy League.
Right.
Never, ever would have beenable to afford it.
God provided for alums to dothat.
Anyway, who has gone to thiscollege?
(07:35):
Margaret Mead, nancy Reagan,it's all over.
Oris Sainz, julia Child wentthere.
Betty Friedan, or a Sainz Sainz, julia Child went there.
What a child.
Betty Friedan, but verystrongly feminist college.
And I'm breathing that ideologyin while God is calling me to
himself through the word of God,through intervarsity.
(07:58):
And it was quite a push me,pull me.
But during the midst of that Ihad a lot of.
I had a lot of.
I heard a lot of the messageyou can be anything, do anything
and you can have it all.
Yeah Well, so with that message, and it just makes me, I like
(08:26):
the fact that you went to aschool like that and I am the
mother of.
It's funny.
I was raised with brothers I'mthe oldest and three brothers
under me, and then God thoughtit was funny to give me four
little girls to root for, andthey're all beautiful women.
But I have to admit that thereis a disconnect, a huge
disconnect, and we see it playout in society, between women
being able to stand in who theyare as women and lead and be
able to carry a load in theworkforce and often in our more
(08:51):
conservative lifestyle in thechurch.
We disconnect that and I thinkwe're just finally starting to,
in the church, start to standmore fully in what God intended
from the beginning as a female.
But that is a reallyinteresting split, because you
go to a school that's tellingyou can do it all.
(09:12):
Is that true?
Can you do it all as a female?
What was your experience?
Yeah, I actually, before I left, knew that we were being I
don't know how to say thisdelicately we were being said
some truth but wedded to lies,and I was the chapel intern at
the chapel at Smith College mysenior year and they allow you
(09:35):
to preach on the last Sundaybefore everybody graduates, and
I still remember the name of mysermon was Smashing the
Superwoman Syndrome.
I realized you know what that'sa trap.
You're going to either haveexhaustion right Faster than a
speeding van full of kids, morepower, able to jump from the
(09:56):
baby's room to the boardroom,blah, blah, blah.
You're going to die an earlydeath of exhaustion.
And the thing that got me, wasthe thing that helped me through
that process of growing up pastthe superwoman syndrome I
called it was understandingfinally who I was, in Christ, in
union with Christ.
Who does he say I am?
(10:17):
Does my value really come fromgetting to the corner office and
having 400 people in mydownline or you know that report
to me?
Is that really who I am?
Actually, it doesn't have athing to do with who God sees me
to be.
And once I saw that, there wastremendous freedom.
And I haven't always lived inthat.
I'll be honest.
I have struggled.
(10:37):
I remember working in corporateinsurance brokerage in Philly
in my 20s and staying up reallylate to finish reports and
saying this will please the boss.
So I didn't walk in thisconsistently, but it was placed
in me, it was rooted in methrough scripture and it was a
good gift.
It really did safeguard meagainst a lot of garbage.
(10:58):
The reality is that we all willcrash and burn if we run at that
.
It has nothing to do with weare weaker, mentally stamina,
wise.
We have our own tenacity.
That is innately in us, godgiven, and I think the lie is a
trap that you can do what willbe all, but it's a trap for all
(11:19):
of us, men and men.
Yeah, this and men, yeah.
I think what this came to mind,as you're saying the running gun
mindset is and I've thoughtthis about myself if I cannot
rise to the occasion that Iprove myself weak, and what is
(11:40):
really about?
Having the security and thesacredness of knowing God fills
up for what we don't havedoesn't mean we go in and we do
it.
It says you operate at a levelyou can operate on, you be
realistic about what you can do,and I come in and make up the
(12:02):
difference.
And we don't know what thatdifference looks like.
I used to think, oh, if I'moverweight, I can't be leading
people.
If my house is messy and we'vetalked about this before I can't
lead people.
If I am not making a certainamount of money, if my house
(12:27):
doesn't look like this, if I'mdriving and this doesn't look
like this, if everything isn'ttogether, then it does not mean
you're a success.
And I realized the person thatI need compassion to was myself,
right?
Yeah, you're one of the mostsuccessful people, I think,
think probably Lynn and I canboth say Nothing to do with
(12:49):
weakness.
In fact, I think and this istied to the message of the book
crisis is actually a gift.
Rogueness, right, it's whatwe're talking about.
Not being perfect is actually agift.
We'll run from it until weremember the gospel.
The gospel is not about doingmore, trying harder, keeping it
(13:10):
all together.
That is not the gospel.
The gospel is when you couldnot do for yourself, when you
fell short of God's glory.
He had compassion on you andpulled for you through Jesus
what you could never do foryourself.
So actually, the gift of crisisor brokenness or limitations in
(13:30):
a post-war world is a goodthing.
It actually brings us to theend of ourselves and to the
beginning of where God We'vesaid.
Psalm 84 says Blessed are thosewho have set their hearts on
pilgrimage.
That's that daily walk.
They go from strength tostrength, till age, of course,
before God is like and thestrength ain't my strength.
You know what I'm saying.
(13:50):
It's I cannot See.
There it is.
I've come to the end of myself,but I trust on, I lean on you,
lord.
I cannot, but you can God, andthat's the step-by-step
dependence that changeseverything.
That's the step-by-stepdependence that changes
everything you said about.
You were talking aboutcompassion and that sometimes
our lack of compassion forothers sometimes is generated
(14:12):
about from our lack ofcompassion for ourselves and who
God says we are.
In him, the strength that heprovides.
That I really admire.
I heard this one quote fromBrene Brown and she said what if
our mindset changed to thepeople we judge?
What if we said maybe they'redoing the best that they can,
(14:37):
maybe they're doing the bestthat they can and that will
change how we view people andhow we view need, and that will
change how we view people andhow we view need.
We go a step beyond.
Maybe we're doing the best theycan and recognize that everyone
sometimes we look down onpeople if they don't do what our
(14:58):
best would be.
We don't think their best to be.
So we need to recognize theymay.
Maybe they're doing the bestthey can, and their best and my
best don't have to look the same.
We oftentimes are are calledpositioned to a different best.
Oh, I love that.
(15:18):
A different best.
We don't have to.
We don't have to.
We don't have to have this.
We're all about everybodyrising to this level and the
reality is the level I'm calledto or the level I'm gifted, and
the level you're gifted.
It's not a matter of they'vegot more, I've got more.
It's a matter of we're alldifferent and the design at
(15:41):
hebrews 12 it's run the race.
Mark out for you, not thehoeing Sideways at her race.
We women are terrible atcompetition.
We are.
I'm not as skinny as she is,and my house is a mess and hers
is a mess.
We do that to ourselves all thetime and we end up going to
this cesspool.
If you have sex with a woman,I'm going to call it, but anyway
(16:04):
, I want to circle back tosomething else.
You said Lisa Excuse me, amber,I think said it about
compassion for yourself.
I think a lot of our issues andeven I'm going to call it what
it is self-hatred A lot of us,as women, carry self-hatred.
Can I get an amen?
I feel like it's an amen.
I don't think we realize that'swhat it is.
(16:25):
Yeah, but you know where thatcomes from, right, exactly Enemy
of our soul.
I think self-hatred will beginto crack and break off of us and
I think we will begin to havecompassion on ourselves.
When and if we begin to seeourselves through the lens that
the Father looks at us, doesthat make sense?
(16:46):
We become to see ourselves asthe Father sees us.
If we are in Christ, all thesin was paid for on the cross.
There's no condemnation leftfor us.
Right, we know this, romans 8.
But it's not just that.
It's not just do your best tokeep your nose clean until you
cross the finish line.
It's way above that.
Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5.21,.
(17:07):
God made him, who knew no sin,jesus, to be sin for us, that we
might become the righteousnessof God in him.
So that means when the Fatherlooks at me, at Lisa, at Amber,
at anyone listening in right now, he's looking at us through the
lens of Jesus.
Amen.
We are beautiful, yeah, law.
(17:28):
Beautiful, yeah, lawless, yeah,perfect in his sight, lacking
nothing.
Yeah, one of our other ladies,stacey Sanchez.
She said do you know that Godloves you as much as he loves
his son, james?
Here you go and we are asbeloved as him.
(17:49):
The heart of God.
And it's just like that realityjust sunk into me.
I'm like you see me as you seeyour son with this name loves,
and he was flawless and I just,it just melts everything in you.
(18:10):
If you can really come intoagreement with that that God has
for us.
We can't help but realize ourhumanity is only righteous by
(18:33):
the blood of Christ and how hecame into the picture and how
God allowed him to come into thepicture and I just I realized
that this bone and dirt isflawed, it's broken.
It's crazy.
But at the same time, god choseto breathe his breath into this
(18:56):
bones and dirt, knowing fullwell he probably knew full well
what the outcome might be.
I think so.
It also makes you think howvast and how big he is, because
it's like he's never ending.
(19:16):
There's no bottom to hisability to come in and take care
of all that we see as lack.
It's never ending.
It's always going for not justyou, amber, but for everyone.
It's a going for not just you,amber, but for everyone.
It's a crazy concept to wrapyour brain around.
I want to make sure we make timefor discussing in this book.
(19:37):
You have some tips.
I'm going to go through justreal briefly the title to make
sure people don't miss whatwe're talking about.
Sacred Refuge is the name ofthe book.
Finding Unexpected Shelter inyour Crisis.
When we say the word crisis, itdoesn't exactly feel like refuge
(19:57):
or sacred.
So, lynn, you said you havesome tips for us.
Can you start to share with uswhat those might be?
Sure, because we're all goingthrough crisis bottom line and
if we're not, we're going toright Exactly Effects of the
fall and living in a brokenworld.
So crisis is that sense ofoverwhelm, it's that sense that
(20:21):
the rug is getting pulled outfrom underneath you and I'll
share with you later, if youwant, what my crisis was last
year as I was writing the book,because you may or may not know
that and probably listenersdon't, but anyway.
So the rug gets pulled out fromunderneath us.
We just feel everything'sshaking.
I feel it shaking right now.
Do you all feel that?
Yeah, highly contested electioncoming up Highly.
(20:43):
Have we had one more contestedthan this?
In my memory, probably not.
Hurricane Helene just comes andwipes out people in Western
Carolina, right, all Florida, etcetera.
Then Milton comes and hitsFlorida again.
It's just one thing afteranother.
Wow, add to that, my husbandjust lost his job, says one
woman.
(21:03):
Or I just got the news that mychild is not identifying as a
Christian anymore.
Or there are some genderconfusion issues in my
grandchild, whatever it is.
So three steps I wouldn't callthem tips and I would actually
preface this by saying the bestway to walk through crisis is to
already be abiding deeply inthe Lord, scripture, prayer,
(21:27):
connection to a local church andother believers, et cetera.
Right, get that root systemdown deep and when the wind and
the storm comes, you're notgoing to get pushed over as
easily.
Okay, but let's face it by itsvery nature, crisis surprises us
.
So the first step is to get ourfeet under us in the shaking.
Get your feet under you, thatis to say, get your feet under
(21:50):
us in the shaking.
Get your feet under you, thatis to say, get your feet on the
foundation of Jesus.
We call him the rock of oursalvation.
I was thinking about thisrecently.
You could name any crisis inthe world, and we just named a
bunch of them, and there aremany other possibilities.
But the truth is that the worstcrisis any of us could face is
spending eternity apart from theGod who knows and loves us.
(22:11):
That would be the worst thing.
Right, and in sending Jesus,god has dealt with that worst
crisis.
Think about that.
That's the good news of thegospel that he had compassion on
us, that he sent Jesus to takeon flesh, become our sin on the
cross, and he kept the lawperfectly for us because we
couldn't.
That's imputed to our account.
We're now righteous in Christ.
(22:32):
We talked about it just a fewminutes ago.
That means the shaking can stop.
We can get our feet on thatsolid foundation.
Let them begin to navigate.
Second step after you get yourfeet under, you begin to
navigate the crisis step by step, on two truths.
I call them pavers.
(22:52):
Like you can put your fullweight on these scriptural
truths and walk forward and movethrough the crisis with that.
The first one is the scripturefrom Joshua, 1.8, matthew 28,.
God promising I will neverleave you nor forsake you.
Yeah, I'm with you, belovedright, I am with you.
And then make it personal Godis with me.
(23:14):
Step.
Second truth Paul says in Romans8, I'm convinced that nothing
can separate us from the love ofGod in Christ Jesus.
Right, and make it personal.
God loves me, not justtheological.
God is love.
God loves me, he is for me.
Second step Do you begin to seeit?
God is with me, god is for me,and you can move through any
(23:39):
crisis on solid ground withthose two truths.
That's amazing.
And then finally ask for help.
We keep thinking the gospel isabout trying harder.
That ain't no good.
That ain't no good news.
That's bad news, because Idon't have this much that I can
do, but God can do for me what Icannot do for myself.
(23:59):
So ask for help from God andfrom others, ask him for the
helpers.
They're there and he'll setyeah, I love this, they're there
and he'll say yeah, I love this.
And I love what you said aboutwalking through crisis, because
God put this word, two words, inmy head and whenever I start
getting anxiety ridden mentalpeople who watch this really
(24:21):
know I deal with mental healthissues, anxiety, anxiety,
bipolar and sometimes, when Iget that feeling, god just spoke
into my spirit and my heart andhe said remember when.
And sometimes that is the firstthing we need to think about is
(24:43):
remember when, and that is whatputs us up on the seat.
Remember when I did this.
I didn't change since thathappened.
Remember when I did this.
That doesn't change today.
So when you feel confounded ina situation and where your heart
(25:06):
is tied up so tightly and boundin pain, confusion, desperate,
I just close my eyes.
It's like, remember when?
Yeah, god, I remember when it'sgood, and I'm going to walk in
(25:27):
the mindset of remembering whenGod got me through this and
realizing he hasn't changed.
Even though my circumstances ofcrisis may have changed, god
doesn't change Elizabeth Elliot,after the death of her first
husband, jim Elliot.
You know that storyed aboutexperiencing God's everlasting
(25:52):
arms.
That's what you're talkingabout, amber, right?
He is saying yesterday, todayand tomorrow he is trustworthy,
he never changes and the lovingkindness of the Lord never fail,
right?
I think that's the thing thatmakes us different.
When you go through crisissomething that I had to learn
(26:12):
very you learn it the hard way,really when you go through those
really earth-shaking momentsfor me it was the loss of a
child when you go through thosemoments, you realize every woman
on the face of the earth hasthe potential to go through the
loss of a child, if they haveone.
We are not alone in that.
(26:33):
But what does make thedifference is recognizing just
exactly what you said that weare basically experiencing God's
love, his ability to comearound us and walk with us
through those moments.
That's the difference.
That's the difference.
You can be a person who walksthrough the crisis of life and
(26:57):
being shaken to your core andnot have that.
And we need to do everything wecan to help others recognize,
in this world we live in, mostpeople don't even recognize they
have a need, that there is.
Yes, the church is all around,but obviously they haven't all
(27:17):
got the message that truly thereis a God that loves us so much,
he is so compassionate towardsus that he can make the
difference and walk with usthrough it.
Yeah, I can't imagine goingwithout him.
I think the only stability thatwe have in this life positive
(27:39):
thoughts and that's a loadedbowl.
No, it really isn't.
It isn't about thinkingpositive.
It is about knowing theoriginator of all that is good,
all that is love.
(27:59):
Yeah, we don't have to wishthat, yes, no, that, yeah, and
we don't even, we don't evenhave to know where he picks up
and we drop off in the equation.
We don't even have to know thatpart of it at all Because, as
you were saying a moment ago,lisa, he is that near right.
He sent Jesus, emmanuel, god,with us.
(28:21):
He proved his love in sendingJesus.
But then Jesus said just beforehe left he goes.
It's good for me to go, but I'mnot going to leave you as
orphans.
It's good for me to go becauseI'm going to send you the best
helper.
And now the spirit of theliving God lives with that.
We are literally temples ofholy God.
He is as near as our nextbreath.
(28:43):
Yeah, amen, yeah.
And sometimes the greatestencouragement we can be to
people is simply sharing that.
This is not just my story.
Even I know that God caresabout people, that God cares
about people.
I'm convinced people, if theyreally look, can see how God
(29:06):
seeks after them and haspreserved them in this life, and
that's because he loves usbefore we even have a reality of
who he is.
And if we can just take that,if we realize those moments of
sharing how compassionate andbeing moved by his compassionate
(29:32):
spirit, and not only sharinghope and not only but being
activated in hope that we arehis angels, when skin that can
reach others to meet them wherethey are in their crisis.
(29:55):
Now, one of the things that Ihave a hard time with is when
you see somebody struggling onthe road.
I want to help the world.
It hurts me, but sometimes Ican't be the one.
But there's more than me andit's not that I'm usurping
(30:17):
responsibility for those.
I just have to realize that Godhasn't called me to reach
everyone, and that's why we arethe church.
It's impossible, yeah, it'simpossible.
And Ephesians 2.10 says oncePaul settles the question of how
(30:39):
we're saved through faith rightthrough works, then he says
your christ workmanship,creating christ jesus, to your
god's workmanship, creatingchrist jesus, to walk in good
works which he's prepared inadvance for you to walk in.
All we have to do each day issay, lord, show me my lane, show
me what good works you'retrying to me, and it takes the
(31:00):
guilt away.
I don't have to, I'd have tosolve world hunger.
I don't have to write all that,just be very aware and word
open my eyes and my heart towhatever you're putting in front
of me and then, at the end ofthe day, rest and rejoice in
what he put in front of you thatyou were able to respond to
with compassion.
(31:20):
Exactly so good, so good.
I know, lisa, you're the notetaker.
You are the note taker.
I do write notes because I liketo go back and write so much.
She's the teacher.
I just really think there's somuch value in hearing other
people's experiences and if wereally are seeking after God
(31:42):
wholeheartedly all the time.
I think, amber, you and I areso blessed to get to do this.
We have received the best,biggest blessing out of all of
it, because we get to just sitand take in the wisdom and the
influence of God in otherwomen's lives, other people's
lives, and so one thing that Ireally appreciate about this
(32:03):
conversation today is that itgives me faith and it gives me
hope because, as we said, we'reall walking through crisis.
It feels like the other shoe isdropping every five minutes.
It's dropping on a level, aninternational level, around the
(32:23):
world.
There's upheaval within ourcountry, within our families,
within our churches and justinternally.
The shoes are constantlydropping, and I love that.
You've brought us back to thetruth, the foundation, which is
ultimately just thisrelationship with God.
It makes all the difference.
(32:44):
The tips that you gave us arevery helpful Just get your feet
underneath you.
When crisis hits, you prefaceit by saying from the beginning
have an abiding relationshipwith the one who made you, have
a relationship with your God, sothat, when crisis hits, you can
(33:05):
get your feet underneath youand establish a foundation of
okay, I'm steady, now I've gotmy feet underneath me.
You mentioned navigate thecrisis on two pavers.
The first one you mentionednever.
He's never going to leave you,he's never going to forsake you.
You gave a scripture Joshua 1.8,and, of course, matthew 28.
(33:26):
You also said nothing canseparate us from him.
Just take us back to Romans 8.
And we need those reminders.
My goodness, those scripturesare impacted those of us that
walk with Jesus.
Those scriptures are always inthere.
But when we're in the midst ofcrisis, do we pull them out and
say, okay, wait a minute.
He says this.
(33:46):
That is a good reminder.
That's not dogmatic, that'sjust life-giving, that gives us
the breath that we need tobreathe deeply in assurance that
he is who he says he is.
And then you said ask for helpfrom God, ask him to send
helpers and don't be afraid toask for help with those helpers.
(34:08):
It's not about trying harder.
You said and I just love thatso much, and Amber even brought
up that remember when, for thoseof us that walk with God, there
is a pattern of God in our lifewhere he has shown his light on
us, worked through us, with us,carried us.
(34:32):
If we will just pull thosememories out when the going gets
really tough, remember hisfaithfulness, remember his
compassion towards us when wedidn't deserve it, that he was
there anyway.
His faithfulness.
Remember his compassion towardsus when we didn't deserve it,
but he was there anyway.
Remember how he's as an adultwoman now, with grown, adult
children.
I even look at how he answers.
It's so funny.
I'm like it's so cool to seeGod answer my prayers to provide
(34:56):
for my children, when thereality is they're praying their
own prayers now and God isanswering them.
That builds my faith.
So remember when, watch hisgoodness, watch the way he's
moved among us.
I just really think this hasbeen an amazing time together.
I love this.
(35:17):
I've loved it, one of thethings that I always.
I consult with a lot of authorsand speakers and we're always
trying to figure out missionstatements.
What do you do?
What do you hear?
What is your lane?
What is your lane?
And when we hone in on what thelane is, I have them write it
down and put it in front ofwhere they can see it all the
(35:38):
time.
I have them write it down andput it in front of where they
can see it all the time and say,okay, if I can see this, am I
out of my lane?
Not that everything in your dayis in your lane, because
goodness knows when everything'scrazy.
That wasn't your mission today.
(36:02):
For the dog to eat a bunch ofmarshmallows and get sick and
have to run to the vetAbsolutely that wasn't in the
mission of today.
But if you can pull yourselfback to, this is what, even
though statements up on yourwall like is my feet under me?
Is that happening right now?
Am I evaluating those, keepingthose core concepts in front of
(36:22):
you Right and moving in those inyour mind, even when you can't
move with them in your feet?
That's good, even when you'remeddling into the vet, yeah,
that's good, doesn't it starthere?
And then it migrates thatcritical 18 inches south to our
heart and then the body canfollow.
(36:44):
He's with me, he loves me, he'swith me, yeah, yeah.
Lynn, would you just take sometime here and let's pray for the
women that might be listening,the women that might be out
there right now hearing yourwords or maybe on the replay.
Would you take a minute andpray for them?
Because there's one thing wealways say, there's one thing we
(37:05):
can all count on death andtaxes.
We can all count on crisis.
We can all count on lifehappening.
Life be life, and hardsometimes, I have to remind
myself.
None of us get by withoutcoming right up against it.
So would you pray for thosewomen?
Now I would.
I'd like to, just before I pray, say this During the writing of
(37:27):
Sacred Refuge, I went throughbreast cancer, found out a year
ago, may.
Wow, in the moment when I getthe call from the radiologist,
god enveloped me in a piece thatI cannot explain in a tangible,
logical way Wait six weeks, gointo surgery, clean margins.
I believe he, just I think he'shealed me.
(37:48):
But it was like a livinglaboratory for the book right
Crisis.
This thing could get me out.
On the way home from surgery.
My husband's driving me home,somebody runs a stop sign, plows
into our car.
I was like neat because Ithought I might take a nap If
I'd been in the front seat.
I didn't want to think aboutwhat might have happened.
But again, in the moment ofimpact, god's saying I've got
(38:11):
you and all will be well.
This is love for us, hiscompassion for us, which we can
now pass on to others.
There's a story arc in SacredRefuge.
The first three chaptersfinding that's getting our feet
under us.
Finding Sacred Refuge themiddle is abiding.
Let's not just visit SacredRefuge the night our kid is in a
car accident, we go to the ER.
(38:31):
No, this is our inheritance inChrist.
We can live from this place.
And then the final part is whatwe've been also talking about
sharing Sacred Refuge withothers, with compassion.
Right, I'd love to pray.
Thank you, father.
You are a good daddy, you areour Abba.
It's amazing to us that the Godof the universe, elohim, the
(38:55):
Lord of hosts, jehovah, god,invites us to know and
experience him yourself as ourdaddy, god, and we come before
you right now and rest in yourpresence.
Thank you for the gift of beingable to cease striving and just
be still and know you.
(39:16):
And, father, you know who is onthis call today.
You know who will hear it onthe replay Each one, a precious
child in creation of yours.
Your compassion is upon yourpeople.
Your compassion is on each ofus and on each woman who's
listening to this now or in thereplay, and I pray that by the
(39:38):
power of your spirit, you wouldrelease that strong sense of
your compassion, your presence,your power to heal, to save, to
change, to lead through crisis.
God, I pray for women who'vejust gotten the same diagnosis I
did last year.
Who are afraid, who are sayingthis could be it, what's going
(40:00):
to happen?
Would you quell their fearsright now, in Jesus' name?
Would you fill them with theHoly Spirit who speaks peace to
the storm.
Peace be still to this anxiety.
We pray, lord, that you wouldspeak truth to them in the days
ahead.
God is with me, god is for me,god loves me.
(40:23):
God is for me, god loves me.
Father, we pray for those of uswho are learning how to comfort
others with the comfort we'vereceived.
The brokenness in our lives hasactually tenderized us and
softened us, tenderized ourhearts, so that we now look at
others' needs and want to help.
Would you show us where and howyou're calling us to express
(40:47):
your compassion for a brokenworld, whether it's the neighbor
across the street who just lostsomebody dear to them, whether
it's people who are in famine inSudan, whether it's folks who
got wiped out by these recenthurricanes, whatever it is,
father, show us and give us theability to say yes, lord, send
(41:07):
me, use me.
Father, I pray that Psalm 91would be true for all of us in
the days ahead, regardless ofwhat happens with the election,
regardless of the personalcrises we're walking through.
Would you give us the abilityto dwell in the shelter of the
Most High, in your shelter, toabide in the shadow of the
(41:28):
Almighty, in your shadow, helpus to say, with the psalmist I
will say to the Lord, my refugeand my fortress, my God, in whom
I trust.
Thank you for Jesus, who makesall of this possible, who
sheltered us under his wingsEven as he raised his arms out
(41:49):
on the cross.
He covered and sheltered us.
How grateful we are.
It's in Jesus' name we pray.
Amen, amen, amen.
Thank you, thank you so much.
Thank you, thank you so much.
And it was amazing that as youwere praying, I just realized I
need to get my mammogram.
(42:10):
It's Breast Cancer AwarenessMonth.
We need how mine was found,early detection right.
Yep, found it.
Yep, lynn, just tell everyonewhere they can find you, where
they can find Sacred Refuge.
Let us know where they canconnect.
(42:31):
Yes, so bravebelovedcom willtake them to the book and to my
ministry, lynnreinstracom Again,I spell it right, it's
L-Y-N-E-r-i-e-n-s-t-r-acom willtake them to my speaking and
some free resources that are onmy website.
Thank you so much for lettingme be here today.
(42:54):
Oh, we loved it.
Thank you so much.
You guys.
Just remember we're gonna be,we're gonna be back, but
remember we're over on Faithianow, our new in-faith app,
faithia.
You can find us over there.
All our live stream, everything.
We're also on streaming on allthe podcast networks.
(43:15):
We would love for you to like,subscribe and pass it on.
Share it with your friends.
Subscribe and pass it on.
Share it with your friend andLisa.
Anything else besides?
It's a reminder that if youhaven't picked up our Meeting
Ladies journal workbook to gowith your book, or if perhaps
you are interested in doing abook study, we are so excited
(43:39):
about the InFaithia app becausethere are some really cool
things that you can do therethat we can't do everywhere else
, and so we're going to be doingsome book studies and we're
going to be hitting you up tojoin us.
Yeah, so if you go to the appstore on your smartphone, it is
F-A-I-T-H-I-A and you can findLeading Ladies on Faithia, so we
(44:05):
want you to join us.
Welcome to another Codley Chat with Amber and Lisa.
And it's a lovely October day.
I cannot believe it's October.
How many weeks till Christmas?
Oh, my goodness, it is comingfast.
We've started football season,which is the most important, and
we started sweater and spicycandle season.
(00:22):
But look, I don't have it lit.
I should light it.
I have all forms of cozy aroundme and what you can't see is
right underneath the desk is alittle space heater, because
it's chilly in this house.
We have an amazing lady here,lynn Reinstra.
I don't know how to pronounceyour name.
I'm going to mispronounce it.
(00:43):
I am just going to go with amessy bun approach to your name
Reinstra, reinstra, reinstra.
Okay, ladies, I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
We just went over this rightbefore we went live.
Ladies, I think Amber needsmore caffeine.
Amber, when I met my husbandyears ago, it took me three
(01:05):
times to figure out how to saveit.
I said it took me three times.
Yeah, this gal is wifty andthen it stays.
Later he asked me to marry him.
So anyway, it took me threetimes.
You're allowed.
Yeah, it's all good.
Yeah, did you tell him you hadto get the pronunciation right
before you actually signed themarriage certificate?
(01:25):
She had or he should have, shewould have a clause somewhere.
You can have him Right.
Right, thank you, lynn forcoming to Copy Chat this morning
.
We love you.
You were a contributor toLeading Lady and wrote this
amazing letter to.
I just love this lady.
(01:47):
We met, actually, at an AUSAconference and I was at a Men's
Writers and Speakers Associationconference and I'm like I can't
believe I'm sending mix to thiswoman and I felt the same way
about you.
I kept making your covers.
I was like you're a massivelygifted woman.
I know you have a cover behindyou, but I have not only when
(02:09):
you're celebrating the releaseof your book.
Yet Sacred Refuge, I have a copythat I have yet to open.
Right here.
It is number one bestseller.
What is the category?
We got up to seven on thebroader categories of Christian
women's issues, but we got toone in Old Testament biography.
(02:32):
Six or seven women in this bookare OT.
They're Old Testament women.
Wonderful, I was going to sayto Amber.
I wanted to know why thatcategory.
That explains it.
Very cool, I'm doing some ASMRhere, trying to open Amazon back
.
It's real sweet.
I'm opening here.
There is no preparation here.
(02:57):
Okay, and if you guys need torelax.
We are pretty close.
Have you seen Elkvillian?
No, I have.
I'm just like I'm getting sobothered and they paint their
little fingernails and tap theirobjects, whatever it is in the
microphone.
I'm helping you get all weird.
(03:18):
I'm helping you relax.
At which?
The Sacred Refuge FindingUnexpected Shelter in your
Crisis.
What an amazing book.
It's the Kregel, wow.
Yeah, and is this your firstfull book?
You're looking at it, you'reholding it, sister?
Yes, the story is a God thing.
(03:44):
I was at the Gospel CoalitionConference in the end of 22.
And there was Samaritan's Purse.
I work for them.
I'm on a break, I'm walkingaround, I walk over to the
creedal table just looking attheir wares and I have one of
these.
Oh, just happened to start aconversation with a woman who
just happened to be on theacquisitions team and I was
working on a book.
I was working on book A ideaand all of a sudden I start
(04:05):
pitching without realizing anold book idea and she got onto
it.
Two weeks later she emails.
Who emails a person without aplatform and without an agent?
That doesn't happen and it'scritical.
Yeah, I know, that's amazing.
And they said we want theproposal.
They only asked for two samplechapters.
(04:25):
They were very gracious andthen they emailed me and said we
want your book.
That's amazing.
It's the same kind of divineappointment.
Sometimes you wonder why you goto certain events and such and
then something flies out of leftfield that you're totally wow.
(04:46):
That was why I was supposed tocome here.
And, lynn, I just want to knowa little bit.
We have talked about your gosh.
How much intelligence do youhave?
You were trained in English atSmith College.
You have a certificate inspiritual formation.
(05:07):
You're a pastor's wife.
We talked in the pre-show aboutthe people who went to your
college.
This is amazing.
And she also serves asSamaritan's Purse regional
director and has seen crisis upclose.
This is exactly where we areright now.
Not to mention, you're a wifeand a grandmother right, seen
(05:29):
crisis up close.
This is exactly where we areright now.
Not to mention, you're a wifeand a grandmother right.
You mentioned something in thepre-show about that college
experience and I think, becausewe speak to women and we speak
to women's issues, you mentionedthere was something different
about the university that youattended.
You mentioned there wassomething different about the
university that you attended.
(05:49):
Yes, yeah, and this really tiesin with Leading Ladies and why
it was such a joy to have asmall part in Leading Ladies.
So I grew up with a lot ofupheaval, dads coming and going,
really in a feminist household.
I would say my mom was a prettystrong feminist.
We're talking 60s and 70s,gloria Stein writing this
magazine.
That's the social context, andGod just graciously gave me the
(06:10):
ability to get a free ride to aSeven Sisters College.
Now I now live in Atlanta and myfamily roots are in Missouri.
Really, oh yeah, oh yeah.
I know Y'all are in Springfieldright, I'm in Kansas City area.
That was the KC.
Yeah, my father grew up inMarshall near City Island area
(06:31):
and my mom grew up in Branson.
Oh, dude, it was Branson, theBaldnobbers, and I remember one
night I had gone out there aftermy first year in college.
We'll get back to college andI'm working as a waitress at
(06:53):
Rock Lane Lodge where mygrandmother runs food service,
and literally they had a houseright behind Bald Knobbers.
I remember hearing the musicevery night.
Oh my goodness, all road fleetto Branson, that's all.
They all off the music everynight.
Oh, my goodness, all road fleetto Branson, that's all.
Or how about we all have alittle bit of hilly belly.
That's my family background.
(07:15):
I end up growing up because of adivorce and a move near Boston,
and so the whole New Englandthing opens up and I end up on a
full ride at a Seven SistersCollege.
It's the women's version of theIvy League.
Right.
Never, ever would have beenable to afford it.
God provided for alums to dothat.
Anyway, who has gone to thiscollege?
(07:35):
Margaret Mead, nancy Reagan,it's all over.
Oris Sainz, julia Child wentthere.
Betty Friedan, or a Sainz Sainz, julia Child went there.
What a child.
Betty Friedan, but verystrongly feminist college.
And I'm breathing that ideologyin while God is calling me to
himself through the word of God,through intervarsity.
(07:58):
And it was quite a push me,pull me.
But during the midst of that Ihad a lot of.
I had a lot of.
I heard a lot of the messageyou can be anything, do anything
and you can have it all.
Yeah Well, so with that message, and it just makes me, I like
(08:26):
the fact that you went to aschool like that and I am the
mother of.
It's funny.
I was raised with brothers I'mthe oldest and three brothers
under me, and then God thoughtit was funny to give me four
little girls to root for, andthey're all beautiful women.
But I have to admit that thereis a disconnect, a huge
disconnect, and we see it playout in society, between women
being able to stand in who theyare as women and lead and be
able to carry a load in theworkforce and often in our more
(08:51):
conservative lifestyle in thechurch.
We disconnect that and I thinkwe're just finally starting to,
in the church, start to standmore fully in what God intended
from the beginning as a female.
But that is a reallyinteresting split, because you
go to a school that's tellingyou can do it all.
(09:12):
Is that true?
Can you do it all as a female?
What was your experience?
Yeah, I actually, before I left, knew that we were being I
don't know how to say thisdelicately we were being said
some truth but wedded to lies,and I was the chapel intern at
the chapel at Smith College mysenior year and they allow you
(09:35):
to preach on the last Sundaybefore everybody graduates, and
I still remember the name of mysermon was Smashing the
Superwoman Syndrome.
I realized you know what that'sa trap.
You're going to either haveexhaustion right Faster than a
speeding van full of kids, morepower, able to jump from the
(09:56):
baby's room to the boardroom,blah, blah, blah.
You're going to die an earlydeath of exhaustion.
And the thing that got me, wasthe thing that helped me through
that process of growing up pastthe superwoman syndrome I
called it was understandingfinally who I was, in Christ, in
union with Christ.
Who does he say I am?
(10:17):
Does my value really come fromgetting to the corner office and
having 400 people in mydownline or you know that report
to me?
Is that really who I am?
Actually, it doesn't have athing to do with who God sees me
to be.
And once I saw that, there wastremendous freedom.
And I haven't always lived inthat.
I'll be honest.
I have struggled.
(10:37):
I remember working in corporateinsurance brokerage in Philly
in my 20s and staying up reallylate to finish reports and
saying this will please the boss.
So I didn't walk in thisconsistently, but it was placed
in me, it was rooted in methrough scripture and it was a
good gift.
It really did safeguard meagainst a lot of garbage.
(10:58):
The reality is that we all willcrash and burn if we run at that
.
It has nothing to do with weare weaker, mentally stamina,
wise.
We have our own tenacity.
That is innately in us, godgiven, and I think the lie is a
trap that you can do what willbe all, but it's a trap for all
(11:19):
of us, men and men.
Yeah, this and men, yeah.
I think what this came to mind,as you're saying the running gun
mindset is and I've thoughtthis about myself if I cannot
rise to the occasion that Iprove myself weak, and what is
(11:40):
really about?
Having the security and thesacredness of knowing God fills
up for what we don't havedoesn't mean we go in and we do
it.
It says you operate at a levelyou can operate on, you be
realistic about what you can do,and I come in and make up the
(12:02):
difference.
And we don't know what thatdifference looks like.
I used to think, oh, if I'moverweight, I can't be leading
people.
If my house is messy and we'vetalked about this before I can't
lead people.
If I am not making a certainamount of money, if my house
(12:27):
doesn't look like this, if I'mdriving and this doesn't look
like this, if everything isn'ttogether, then it does not mean
you're a success.
And I realized the person thatI need compassion to was myself,
right?
Yeah, you're one of the mostsuccessful people, I think,
think probably Lynn and I canboth say Nothing to do with
(12:49):
weakness.
In fact, I think and this istied to the message of the book
crisis is actually a gift.
Rogueness, right, it's whatwe're talking about.
Not being perfect is actually agift.
We'll run from it until weremember the gospel.
The gospel is not about doingmore, trying harder, keeping it
(13:10):
all together.
That is not the gospel.
The gospel is when you couldnot do for yourself, when you
fell short of God's glory.
He had compassion on you andpulled for you through Jesus
what you could never do foryourself.
So actually, the gift of crisisor brokenness or limitations in
(13:30):
a post-war world is a goodthing.
It actually brings us to theend of ourselves and to the
beginning of where God We'vesaid.
Psalm 84 says Blessed are thosewho have set their hearts on
pilgrimage.
That's that daily walk.
They go from strength tostrength, till age, of course,
before God is like and thestrength ain't my strength.
You know what I'm saying.
(13:50):
It's I cannot See.
There it is.
I've come to the end of myself,but I trust on, I lean on you,
lord.
I cannot, but you can God, andthat's the step-by-step
dependence that changeseverything.
That's the step-by-stepdependence that changes
everything you said about.
You were talking aboutcompassion and that sometimes
our lack of compassion forothers sometimes is generated
(14:12):
about from our lack ofcompassion for ourselves and who
God says we are.
In him, the strength that heprovides.
That I really admire.
I heard this one quote fromBrene Brown and she said what if
our mindset changed to thepeople we judge?
What if we said maybe they'redoing the best that they can,
(14:37):
maybe they're doing the bestthat they can and that will
change how we view people andhow we view need, and that will
change how we view people andhow we view need.
We go a step beyond.
Maybe we're doing the best theycan and recognize that everyone
sometimes we look down onpeople if they don't do what our
(14:58):
best would be.
We don't think their best to be.
So we need to recognize theymay.
Maybe they're doing the bestthey can, and their best and my
best don't have to look the same.
We oftentimes are are calledpositioned to a different best.
Oh, I love that.
(15:18):
A different best.
We don't have to.
We don't have to.
We don't have to have this.
We're all about everybodyrising to this level and the
reality is the level I'm calledto or the level I'm gifted, and
the level you're gifted.
It's not a matter of they'vegot more, I've got more.
It's a matter of we're alldifferent and the design at
(15:41):
hebrews 12 it's run the race.
Mark out for you, not thehoeing Sideways at her race.
We women are terrible atcompetition.
We are.
I'm not as skinny as she is,and my house is a mess and hers
is a mess.
We do that to ourselves all thetime and we end up going to
this cesspool.
If you have sex with a woman,I'm going to call it, but anyway
(16:04):
, I want to circle back tosomething else.
You said Lisa Excuse me, amber,I think said it about
compassion for yourself.
I think a lot of our issues andeven I'm going to call it what
it is self-hatred A lot of us,as women, carry self-hatred.
Can I get an amen?
I feel like it's an amen.
I don't think we realize that'swhat it is.
(16:25):
Yeah, but you know where thatcomes from, right, exactly Enemy
of our soul.
I think self-hatred will beginto crack and break off of us and
I think we will begin to havecompassion on ourselves.
When and if we begin to seeourselves through the lens that
the Father looks at us, doesthat make sense?
(16:46):
We become to see ourselves asthe Father sees us.
If we are in Christ, all thesin was paid for on the cross.
There's no condemnation leftfor us.
Right, we know this, romans 8.
But it's not just that.
It's not just do your best tokeep your nose clean until you
cross the finish line.
It's way above that.
Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5.21,.
(17:07):
God made him, who knew no sin,jesus, to be sin for us, that we
might become the righteousnessof God in him.
So that means when the Fatherlooks at me, at Lisa, at Amber,
at anyone listening in right now, he's looking at us through the
lens of Jesus.
Amen.
We are beautiful, yeah, law.
(17:28):
Beautiful, yeah, lawless, yeah,perfect in his sight, lacking
nothing.
Yeah, one of our other ladies,stacey Sanchez.
She said do you know that Godloves you as much as he loves
his son, james?
Here you go and we are asbeloved as him.
(17:49):
The heart of God.
And it's just like that realityjust sunk into me.
I'm like you see me as you seeyour son with this name loves,
and he was flawless and I just,it just melts everything in you.
(18:10):
If you can really come intoagreement with that that God has
for us.
We can't help but realize ourhumanity is only righteous by
(18:33):
the blood of Christ and how hecame into the picture and how
God allowed him to come into thepicture and I just I realized
that this bone and dirt isflawed, it's broken.
It's crazy.
But at the same time, god choseto breathe his breath into this
(18:56):
bones and dirt, knowing fullwell he probably knew full well
what the outcome might be.
I think so.
It also makes you think howvast and how big he is, because
it's like he's never ending.
(19:16):
There's no bottom to hisability to come in and take care
of all that we see as lack.
It's never ending.
It's always going for not justyou, amber, but for everyone.
It's a going for not just you,amber, but for everyone.
It's a crazy concept to wrapyour brain around.
I want to make sure we make timefor discussing in this book.
(19:37):
You have some tips.
I'm going to go through justreal briefly the title to make
sure people don't miss whatwe're talking about.
Sacred Refuge is the name ofthe book.
Finding Unexpected Shelter inyour Crisis.
When we say the word crisis, itdoesn't exactly feel like refuge
(19:57):
or sacred.
So, lynn, you said you havesome tips for us.
Can you start to share with uswhat those might be?
Sure, because we're all goingthrough crisis bottom line and
if we're not, we're going toright Exactly Effects of the
fall and living in a brokenworld.
So crisis is that sense ofoverwhelm, it's that sense that
(20:21):
the rug is getting pulled outfrom underneath you and I'll
share with you later, if youwant, what my crisis was last
year as I was writing the book,because you may or may not know
that and probably listenersdon't, but anyway.
So the rug gets pulled out fromunderneath us.
We just feel everything'sshaking.
I feel it shaking right now.
Do you all feel that?
Yeah, highly contested electioncoming up Highly.
(20:43):
Have we had one more contestedthan this?
In my memory, probably not.
Hurricane Helene just comes andwipes out people in Western
Carolina, right, all Florida, etcetera.
Then Milton comes and hitsFlorida again.
It's just one thing afteranother.
Wow, add to that, my husbandjust lost his job, says one
woman.
(21:03):
Or I just got the news that mychild is not identifying as a
Christian anymore.
Or there are some genderconfusion issues in my
grandchild, whatever it is.
So three steps I wouldn't callthem tips and I would actually
preface this by saying the bestway to walk through crisis is to
already be abiding deeply inthe Lord, scripture, prayer,
(21:27):
connection to a local church andother believers, et cetera.
Right, get that root systemdown deep and when the wind and
the storm comes, you're notgoing to get pushed over as
easily.
Okay, but let's face it by itsvery nature, crisis surprises us
.
So the first step is to get ourfeet under us in the shaking.
Get your feet under you, thatis to say, get your feet under
(21:50):
us in the shaking.
Get your feet under you, thatis to say, get your feet on the
foundation of Jesus.
We call him the rock of oursalvation.
I was thinking about thisrecently.
You could name any crisis inthe world, and we just named a
bunch of them, and there aremany other possibilities.
But the truth is that the worstcrisis any of us could face is
spending eternity apart from theGod who knows and loves us.
(22:11):
That would be the worst thing.
Right, and in sending Jesus,god has dealt with that worst
crisis.
Think about that.
That's the good news of thegospel that he had compassion on
us, that he sent Jesus to takeon flesh, become our sin on the
cross, and he kept the lawperfectly for us because we
couldn't.
That's imputed to our account.
We're now righteous in Christ.
(22:32):
We talked about it just a fewminutes ago.
That means the shaking can stop.
We can get our feet on thatsolid foundation.
Let them begin to navigate.
Second step after you get yourfeet under, you begin to
navigate the crisis step by step, on two truths.
I call them pavers.
(22:52):
Like you can put your fullweight on these scriptural
truths and walk forward and movethrough the crisis with that.
The first one is the scripturefrom Joshua, 1.8, matthew 28,.
God promising I will neverleave you nor forsake you.
Yeah, I'm with you, belovedright, I am with you.
And then make it personal Godis with me.
(23:14):
Step.
Second truth Paul says in Romans8, I'm convinced that nothing
can separate us from the love ofGod in Christ Jesus.
Right, and make it personal.
God loves me, not justtheological.
God is love.
God loves me, he is for me.
Second step Do you begin to seeit?
God is with me, god is for me,and you can move through any
(23:39):
crisis on solid ground withthose two truths.
That's amazing.
And then finally ask for help.
We keep thinking the gospel isabout trying harder.
That ain't no good.
That ain't no good news.
That's bad news, because Idon't have this much that I can
do, but God can do for me what Icannot do for myself.
(23:59):
So ask for help from God andfrom others, ask him for the
helpers.
They're there and he'll setyeah, I love this, they're there
and he'll say yeah, I love this.
And I love what you said aboutwalking through crisis, because
God put this word, two words, inmy head and whenever I start
getting anxiety ridden mentalpeople who watch this really
(24:21):
know I deal with mental healthissues, anxiety, anxiety,
bipolar and sometimes, when Iget that feeling, god just spoke
into my spirit and my heart andhe said remember when.
And sometimes that is the firstthing we need to think about is
(24:43):
remember when, and that is whatputs us up on the seat.
Remember when I did this.
I didn't change since thathappened.
Remember when I did this.
That doesn't change today.
So when you feel confounded ina situation and where your heart
(25:06):
is tied up so tightly and boundin pain, confusion, desperate,
I just close my eyes.
It's like, remember when?
Yeah, god, I remember when it'sgood, and I'm going to walk in
(25:27):
the mindset of remembering whenGod got me through this and
realizing he hasn't changed.
Even though my circumstances ofcrisis may have changed, god
doesn't change Elizabeth Elliot,after the death of her first
husband, jim Elliot.
You know that storyed aboutexperiencing God's everlasting
(25:52):
arms.
That's what you're talkingabout, amber, right?
He is saying yesterday, todayand tomorrow he is trustworthy,
he never changes and the lovingkindness of the Lord never fail,
right?
I think that's the thing thatmakes us different.
When you go through crisissomething that I had to learn
(26:12):
very you learn it the hard way,really when you go through those
really earth-shaking momentsfor me it was the loss of a
child when you go through thosemoments, you realize every woman
on the face of the earth hasthe potential to go through the
loss of a child, if they haveone.
We are not alone in that.
(26:33):
But what does make thedifference is recognizing just
exactly what you said that weare basically experiencing God's
love, his ability to comearound us and walk with us
through those moments.
That's the difference.
That's the difference.
You can be a person who walksthrough the crisis of life and
(26:57):
being shaken to your core andnot have that.
And we need to do everything wecan to help others recognize,
in this world we live in, mostpeople don't even recognize they
have a need, that there is.
Yes, the church is all around,but obviously they haven't all
(27:17):
got the message that truly thereis a God that loves us so much,
he is so compassionate towardsus that he can make the
difference and walk with usthrough it.
Yeah, I can't imagine goingwithout him.
I think the only stability thatwe have in this life positive
(27:39):
thoughts and that's a loadedbowl.
No, it really isn't.
It isn't about thinkingpositive.
It is about knowing theoriginator of all that is good,
all that is love.
(27:59):
Yeah, we don't have to wishthat, yes, no, that, yeah, and
we don't even, we don't evenhave to know where he picks up
and we drop off in the equation.
We don't even have to know thatpart of it at all Because, as
you were saying a moment ago,lisa, he is that near right.
He sent Jesus, emmanuel, god,with us.
(28:21):
He proved his love in sendingJesus.
But then Jesus said just beforehe left he goes.
It's good for me to go, but I'mnot going to leave you as
orphans.
It's good for me to go becauseI'm going to send you the best
helper.
And now the spirit of theliving God lives with that.
We are literally temples ofholy God.
He is as near as our nextbreath.
(28:43):
Yeah, amen, yeah.
And sometimes the greatestencouragement we can be to
people is simply sharing that.
This is not just my story.
Even I know that God caresabout people, that God cares
about people.
I'm convinced people, if theyreally look, can see how God
(29:06):
seeks after them and haspreserved them in this life, and
that's because he loves usbefore we even have a reality of
who he is.
And if we can just take that,if we realize those moments of
sharing how compassionate andbeing moved by his compassionate
(29:32):
spirit, and not only sharinghope and not only but being
activated in hope that we arehis angels, when skin that can
reach others to meet them wherethey are in their crisis.
(29:55):
Now, one of the things that Ihave a hard time with is when
you see somebody struggling onthe road.
I want to help the world.
It hurts me, but sometimes Ican't be the one.
But there's more than me andit's not that I'm usurping
(30:17):
responsibility for those.
I just have to realize that Godhasn't called me to reach
everyone, and that's why we arethe church.
It's impossible, yeah, it'simpossible.
And Ephesians 2.10 says oncePaul settles the question of how
(30:39):
we're saved through faith rightthrough works, then he says
your christ workmanship,creating christ jesus, to your
god's workmanship, creatingchrist jesus, to walk in good
works which he's prepared inadvance for you to walk in.
All we have to do each day issay, lord, show me my lane, show
me what good works you'retrying to me, and it takes the
(31:00):
guilt away.
I don't have to, I'd have tosolve world hunger.
I don't have to write all that,just be very aware and word
open my eyes and my heart towhatever you're putting in front
of me and then, at the end ofthe day, rest and rejoice in
what he put in front of you thatyou were able to respond to
with compassion.
(31:20):
Exactly so good, so good.
I know, lisa, you're the notetaker.
You are the note taker.
I do write notes because I liketo go back and write so much.
She's the teacher.
I just really think there's somuch value in hearing other
people's experiences and if wereally are seeking after God
(31:42):
wholeheartedly all the time.
I think, amber, you and I areso blessed to get to do this.
We have received the best,biggest blessing out of all of
it, because we get to just sitand take in the wisdom and the
influence of God in otherwomen's lives, other people's
lives, and so one thing that Ireally appreciate about this
(32:03):
conversation today is that itgives me faith and it gives me
hope because, as we said, we'reall walking through crisis.
It feels like the other shoe isdropping every five minutes.
It's dropping on a level, aninternational level, around the
(32:23):
world.
There's upheaval within ourcountry, within our families,
within our churches and justinternally.
The shoes are constantlydropping, and I love that.
You've brought us back to thetruth, the foundation, which is
ultimately just thisrelationship with God.
It makes all the difference.
(32:44):
The tips that you gave us arevery helpful Just get your feet
underneath you.
When crisis hits, you prefaceit by saying from the beginning
have an abiding relationshipwith the one who made you, have
a relationship with your God, sothat, when crisis hits, you can
(33:05):
get your feet underneath youand establish a foundation of
okay, I'm steady, now I've gotmy feet underneath me.
You mentioned navigate thecrisis on two pavers.
The first one you mentionednever.
He's never going to leave you,he's never going to forsake you.
You gave a scripture Joshua 1.8,and, of course, matthew 28.
(33:26):
You also said nothing canseparate us from him.
Just take us back to Romans 8.
And we need those reminders.
My goodness, those scripturesare impacted those of us that
walk with Jesus.
Those scriptures are always inthere.
But when we're in the midst ofcrisis, do we pull them out and
say, okay, wait a minute.
He says this.
(33:46):
That is a good reminder.
That's not dogmatic, that'sjust life-giving, that gives us
the breath that we need tobreathe deeply in assurance that
he is who he says he is.
And then you said ask for helpfrom God, ask him to send
helpers and don't be afraid toask for help with those helpers.
(34:08):
It's not about trying harder.
You said and I just love thatso much, and Amber even brought
up that remember when, for thoseof us that walk with God, there
is a pattern of God in our lifewhere he has shown his light on
us, worked through us, with us,carried us.
(34:32):
If we will just pull thosememories out when the going gets
really tough, remember hisfaithfulness, remember his
compassion towards us when wedidn't deserve it, that he was
there anyway.
His faithfulness.
Remember his compassion towardsus when we didn't deserve it,
but he was there anyway.
Remember how he's as an adultwoman now, with grown, adult
children.
I even look at how he answers.
It's so funny.
I'm like it's so cool to seeGod answer my prayers to provide
(34:56):
for my children, when thereality is they're praying their
own prayers now and God isanswering them.
That builds my faith.
So remember when, watch hisgoodness, watch the way he's
moved among us.
I just really think this hasbeen an amazing time together.
I love this.
(35:17):
I've loved it, one of thethings that I always.
I consult with a lot of authorsand speakers and we're always
trying to figure out missionstatements.
What do you do?
What do you hear?
What is your lane?
What is your lane?
And when we hone in on what thelane is, I have them write it
down and put it in front ofwhere they can see it all the
(35:38):
time.
I have them write it down andput it in front of where they
can see it all the time and say,okay, if I can see this, am I
out of my lane?
Not that everything in your dayis in your lane, because
goodness knows when everything'scrazy.
That wasn't your mission today.
(36:02):
For the dog to eat a bunch ofmarshmallows and get sick and
have to run to the vetAbsolutely that wasn't in the
mission of today.
But if you can pull yourselfback to, this is what, even
though statements up on yourwall like is my feet under me?
Is that happening right now?
Am I evaluating those, keepingthose core concepts in front of
(36:22):
you Right and moving in those inyour mind, even when you can't
move with them in your feet?
That's good, even when you'remeddling into the vet, yeah,
that's good, doesn't it starthere?
And then it migrates thatcritical 18 inches south to our
heart and then the body canfollow.
(36:44):
He's with me, he loves me, he'swith me, yeah, yeah.
Lynn, would you just take sometime here and let's pray for the
women that might be listening,the women that might be out
there right now hearing yourwords or maybe on the replay.
Would you take a minute andpray for them?
Because there's one thing wealways say, there's one thing we
(37:05):
can all count on death andtaxes.
We can all count on crisis.
We can all count on lifehappening.
Life be life, and hardsometimes, I have to remind
myself.
None of us get by withoutcoming right up against it.
So would you pray for thosewomen?
Now I would.
I'd like to, just before I pray, say this During the writing of
(37:27):
Sacred Refuge, I went throughbreast cancer, found out a year
ago, may.
Wow, in the moment when I getthe call from the radiologist,
god enveloped me in a piece thatI cannot explain in a tangible,
logical way Wait six weeks, gointo surgery, clean margins.
I believe he, just I think he'shealed me.
(37:48):
But it was like a livinglaboratory for the book right
Crisis.
This thing could get me out.
On the way home from surgery.
My husband's driving me home,somebody runs a stop sign, plows
into our car.
I was like neat because Ithought I might take a nap If
I'd been in the front seat.
I didn't want to think aboutwhat might have happened.
But again, in the moment ofimpact, god's saying I've got
(38:11):
you and all will be well.
This is love for us, hiscompassion for us, which we can
now pass on to others.
There's a story arc in SacredRefuge.
The first three chaptersfinding that's getting our feet
under us.
Finding Sacred Refuge themiddle is abiding.
Let's not just visit SacredRefuge the night our kid is in a
car accident, we go to the ER.
(38:31):
No, this is our inheritance inChrist.
We can live from this place.
And then the final part is whatwe've been also talking about
sharing Sacred Refuge withothers, with compassion.
Right, I'd love to pray.
Thank you, father.
You are a good daddy, you areour Abba.
It's amazing to us that the Godof the universe, elohim, the
(38:55):
Lord of hosts, jehovah, god,invites us to know and
experience him yourself as ourdaddy, god, and we come before
you right now and rest in yourpresence.
Thank you for the gift of beingable to cease striving and just
be still and know you.
(39:16):
And, father, you know who is onthis call today.
You know who will hear it onthe replay Each one, a precious
child in creation of yours.
Your compassion is upon yourpeople.
Your compassion is on each ofus and on each woman who's
listening to this now or in thereplay, and I pray that by the
(39:38):
power of your spirit, you wouldrelease that strong sense of
your compassion, your presence,your power to heal, to save, to
change, to lead through crisis.
God, I pray for women who'vejust gotten the same diagnosis I
did last year.
Who are afraid, who are sayingthis could be it, what's going
(40:00):
to happen?
Would you quell their fearsright now, in Jesus' name?
Would you fill them with theHoly Spirit who speaks peace to
the storm.
Peace be still to this anxiety.
We pray, lord, that you wouldspeak truth to them in the days
ahead.
God is with me, god is for me,god loves me.
(40:23):
God is for me, god loves me.
Father, we pray for those of uswho are learning how to comfort
others with the comfort we'vereceived.
The brokenness in our lives hasactually tenderized us and
softened us, tenderized ourhearts, so that we now look at
others' needs and want to help.
Would you show us where and howyou're calling us to express
(40:47):
your compassion for a brokenworld, whether it's the neighbor
across the street who just lostsomebody dear to them, whether
it's people who are in famine inSudan, whether it's folks who
got wiped out by these recenthurricanes, whatever it is,
father, show us and give us theability to say yes, lord, send
(41:07):
me, use me.
Father, I pray that Psalm 91would be true for all of us in
the days ahead, regardless ofwhat happens with the election,
regardless of the personalcrises we're walking through.
Would you give us the abilityto dwell in the shelter of the
Most High, in your shelter, toabide in the shadow of the
(41:28):
Almighty, in your shadow, helpus to say, with the psalmist I
will say to the Lord, my refugeand my fortress, my God, in whom
I trust.
Thank you for Jesus, who makesall of this possible, who
sheltered us under his wingsEven as he raised his arms out
(41:49):
on the cross.
He covered and sheltered us.
How grateful we are.
It's in Jesus' name we pray.
Amen, amen, amen.
Thank you, thank you so much.
Thank you, thank you so much.
And it was amazing that as youwere praying, I just realized I
need to get my mammogram.
(42:10):
It's Breast Cancer AwarenessMonth.
We need how mine was found,early detection right.
Yep, found it.
Yep, lynn, just tell everyonewhere they can find you, where
they can find Sacred Refuge.
Let us know where they canconnect.
(42:31):
Yes, so bravebelovedcom willtake them to the book and to my
ministry, lynnreinstracom Again,I spell it right, it's
L-Y-N-E-r-i-e-n-s-t-r-acom willtake them to my speaking and
some free resources that are onmy website.
Thank you so much for lettingme be here today.
(42:54):
Oh, we loved it.
Thank you so much.
You guys.
Just remember we're gonna be,we're gonna be back, but
remember we're over on Faithianow, our new in-faith app,
faithia.
You can find us over there.
All our live stream, everything.
We're also on streaming on allthe podcast networks.
(43:15):
We would love for you to like,subscribe and pass it on.
Share it with your friends.
Subscribe and pass it on.
Share it with your friend andLisa.
Anything else besides?
It's a reminder that if youhaven't picked up our Meeting
Ladies journal workbook to gowith your book, or if perhaps
you are interested in doing abook study, we are so excited
(43:39):
about the InFaithia app becausethere are some really cool
things that you can do therethat we can't do everywhere else
, and so we're going to be doingsome book studies and we're
going to be hitting you up tojoin us.
Yeah, so if you go to the appstore on your smartphone, it is
F-A-I-T-H-I-A and you can findLeading Ladies on Faithia, so we
(44:05):
want you to join us.
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