August 13, 2025 • 40 mins
Are you serving with joy—or running on empty? In this episode of Faithfully Invested, Allen and Stacy Jo Thorne share practical, biblical strategies for avoiding burnout, setting healthy boundaries, and serving from overflow rather than obligation.
Drawing from Mark 10:45, Galatians 6:9, and other key scriptures, they unpack why even Jesus modeled rest, how to exercise your “no” muscle, and why a sustainable servant’s heart begins with intimacy with the Father. You’ll hear real-life stories, honest confessions, and five practical steps to refuel your spirit—without the guilt.
Whether you’re leading at church, in business, or at home, you’ll learn how to:
✅ Recognize the warning signs of burnout
✅ Build rhythms of rest and Sabbath
✅ Delegate without shame
✅ Receive help as an act of humility
✅ Serve from presence, not performance
If you’ve ever felt stretched too thin while doing “good” things, this conversation will remind you that faithfulness doesn’t mean serving until you drop—it means walking closely with Jesus.
📖 Key Scriptures: Mark 10:45 • John 6:15 • Galatians 6:9 • Luke 10:38-42 • Exodus 18:17-23 • Proverbs 4:23 • Matthew 6:33 • Mark 6:31
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
Are you ready to build a life,business and legacy that truly
lasts?
Welcome to Faithfully Investedwith Allen and Stacy Jo Thorne,
where Faith meets real talk.
Biblical wisdom meets everydaylife and leadership meets
laughter.
Together we will uncover God'sblueprint for leadership,
marriage, and mission, helpingfaith-driven leaders invest in
(00:21):
what matters most.
Each episode, we explorebiblical wisdom, have real
conversations, and of course,have some fun along the way
because let's be real.
Walking in faith is anadventure.
It sure is.
So pull up a seat, grab yourcoffee or your sweet tea, and
join us as we steward ourcallings with intention, because
(00:42):
when we invest in his kingdom,he brings the increase.
Hey friends.
Welcome to Faithfully Invested,the podcast where we explore
God's blueprint for leadership,marriage, and mission, one
Kingdom Principle at a time.
(01:02):
I'm Stacy Jo, and that makes me,Allen.
I guess it would.
We're glad that you're heretoday to discuss the cost of
serving and avoiding burnout.
Yeah.
Today's episode is for anyonewho's ever said yes with a
smile.
But felt stretched too thinunderneath, and I can tell you
(01:23):
all about that.
Yeah.
So if your coffee's gone cold,your to-do list is holy but
exhausting and you're startingto feel like your servant's
heart is slipping intobitterness or burnout, pull up a
chair.
Yeah.
Like I said, I have been there.
I have often taken on more thanI could handle and stepped into
(01:44):
things that, I mean, Allen willtell you I've stepped into
things that God didn't actuallycall me to do.
Are you breathing All right overthere?
Deep breaths.
Take a deep breath.
Sit down and take a deep breath.
Yes, yes.
Anyway, you know, even though I,you know, we do things for the
Lord, sometimes we get depletedand resentful.
(02:08):
Honestly, I mean, I can speakfor myself.
I wasn't very joyful to bearound.
Yeah, okay.
You don't have to take it so faranyway, I've never experienced
that.
But anyway, uh, yeah.
You've experienced it, it allseriousness, I recall back in
(02:30):
the day, in the early days.
Mm-hmm.
You know, I fancied selfie.
The volunteer teams.
Yes, man.
Right.
You got it.
I'm your man.
Right.
Uh, but I, uh, it just wasn't asustainable schedule.
It sure looked good, but itended up not being good.
Uh, when, when I became a Mr.
(02:53):
Mr.
Mean Mc Judgy Pants, Mr.
Mean Mc judgy, I, that's was it.
I was Mr.
I was too much.
You know, I was taking on toomuch and, and it, and it wasn't
good.
It just wasn't good.
And I, and I was Mr.
Mean Mc Judgey pants.
And um, and that was, uh, youknow, when others didn't meet my
(03:15):
ridiculous expectations that Iput on myself.
Because if I'm gonna do allthis, why aren't you doing all
this right, Mr.
Mean McJudgey pants.
Anyway, moving on.
Well, what we're learning overand over.
And over and over.
Right.
Is that nurturing a servant'sheart isn't about doing more,
(03:37):
it's about staying connected tothe heart of Jesus.
Yeah.
And in Mark 10:45, uh, tells usthat Jesus came not to be served
but to serve.
Yeah.
But even that, Jesus withdrew tobe with the Father.
And we have talked about that onepisodes, uh, prior to this one,
John six 15 says that hewithdrew again to the mountain
(04:01):
by himself alone.
And that word again means it wasa rhythm, not, not a rare
retreat.
It wasn't a one time thing thathe decided, oh, I'm gonna, I'm
gonna go up and, and spend timewith the, with my father.
Was With the father.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It was a regular practice.
It was a, it was a regularpractice, right?
Yeah.
You know.
Uh, Jesus modeled service.
Yeah, absolutely.
(04:22):
And, and volunteer teams willuse part of that verse.
Mm-hmm.
And they, you know, Jesus, hedidn't come to be served but to
serve, but they forget.
You know, that, you know, healso took time to, to sit with
the father, you know, and Jesuswasn't interested in burnout,
you know?
Right.
He knew the plan and he only didwhat the father, uh, told him to
(04:44):
do.
He only came to fulfill thefather's plan, but, um, so he
modeled service really well.
He modeled everything Right.
Really well.
Yeah.
You think?
Anyway, what a great example.
Thank you Jesus.
Um.
But he also modeled stillness.
Mm-hmm.
Uh, and that's where, uh,sustainability in a true
(05:06):
servant's heart begins, is our,our stillness and our silence
and solitude with the father,with Jesus, with the Holy
Spirit.
Yeah.
Uh, gaining, uh, gaining that.
Mm-hmm.
You know, there's so much togain from that, that stillness,
that quiet time together with'em.
Um, so every.
I recall hearing someone saidback in the day that, uh,
(05:30):
mankind has got to know theirlimitations.
And this statement, uh,certainly holds true for us as
we conduct kingdom service.
Yeah.
Uh, service is, uh, is good andall, but not at the sacrifice of
personal relations.
Um, I wanna say that again,service is good and we should
serve, but not so much that itcost us.
(05:54):
Personal relations, right, thatwere not serving from a grateful
heart.
Um, I've made myself so stupidbusy that, uh, my tank was
running on fumes and, and I wasnot leading from a joyful heart
because I wasn't taking time torest or meet with the Lord.
I was doing all the things, butI wasn't doing the thing.
(06:15):
I wasn't, you know.
Meeting with him.
I wasn't taking that time andsilence and solitude and, um, it
just wasn't good.
I wasn't in a good, it wasn't agood place to be for, for myself
or, or anyone around me.
Right.
Um, and, and I learned a solidlesson there though of, of what
not to do.
You know, uh, sometimes the mostChristian and I, I've, I've, uh,
(06:37):
said this before, sometimes themost Christian thing I can do
is, is have a sandwich and, andtake a nap.
But also, um.
One of the most Christian thingsthat any of us can do is
exercise our no muscle.
Oh yeah.
Exercise our no muscle.
That was something I gainedearly, uh, from my, my sponsor
at the time.
Now, my, my, uh, dear brotherwho I, uh, I miss, I haven't
(07:02):
seen him in a while, but, uh,he's so, he's like, man, you
gotta learn how to exercise yourno muscle.
Yes, man.
Uh, so if we don't.
Uh, if we don't exercise our nomuscle, then we, we welcome in.
We invite exhaustion, we inviteresentment and mm, invite
emotional detachment, and nobodywants to serve with that guy.
(07:24):
Mm, yeah, yeah, yeah.
That hits hard.
And, and it's true.
You know, Paul gives usencouragement in Galatians 6:9
not to grow weary in doing good.
Yeah.
But catch this, he says, if.
We don't grow weary.
Meaning it is very, it's a veryreal possibility.
(07:45):
Well, it's a possibility.
He's not dismissing the weightof service.
Right.
He's actually acknowledging it.
He's accentuating the weight ofservice.
Right.
You know, and I think Paul knew,I mean, exhausted people don't
represent Jesus very well.
Right.
So, so let's be honest friends,when we are serving out of guilt
instead of God's prompting, thenour Yes.
(08:06):
Becomes a survival skill insteadof spirit led obedience.
Yeah.
Um, we're heading towardsburnout.
Yeah.
And often that burnout will growinto bitterness, and I've seen
that happen in my own life.
Yeah.
So if you're finding yourselfsnapping at people you used to
love serving or, or feelinginvisible while doing all the
(08:30):
things, uh, it's time to take apause.
Yeah.
It's time to step back.
Mm-hmm.
It's time to take that breath,breathe deep from the belly.
That's, uh, because that, that,uh, that frustration and that
the potential resentment,that's, that's not where, that's
(08:51):
not the heart that Jesus iscalling us to serve from.
Right.
Faithfulness does not mean serveuntil you drop.
Oh, that's good.
Yeah, that's good because I knowthere are some, I'm just gonna
say, I'm gonna call it out.
There are some churches whoexpect you to serve until you
drop.
Yeah.
And it just can't be donebecause then it creates, like we
(09:15):
said, bitterness.
Right.
And resentment.
Yeah.
We have to steward our teamswell.
We have to steward our teamswell.
Yeah.
Steward ourselves well.
Yeah.
So.
So I think, um.
I think we have to consider ourentire schedule when we're
deciding where to serve and whoto serve and what.
Mm-hmm.
And what to do and how we'regonna serve in and through the
(09:37):
kingdom.
I think we have to take ourentire schedules into, into
consideration because serviceisn't just about, uh, what we do
inside the four walls of thechurch.
Right.
Um, as I look at our lives now,um, regardless of where we are.
We're serving someone.
Right.
You know, whether I'm at home,whether I'm at work, whether I'm
(09:59):
at church, I'm, I'm serving.
Mm-hmm.
Because that's who he calls usto be.
He calls us.
Yeah.
To, he, he's, he's really, Iwould say he, he blessed me.
Uh, we're a servant's heart.
Mm-hmm.
And, and that's who we're calledto be.
Um, so regardless of where we'reat, we're serving someone.
So whether it be at home, work,or in ministry when considering
(10:20):
to serve or to not to serve, toserve.
Or not to serve?
That is the question.
We gotta, we gotta look at ourarrest ratio to service.
Oh yeah.
So if we fail to consider that,uh, if we fail to consider our
arrest to service ratio, thensomeone eventually is gonna get
(10:42):
the ugly side of fatigue andfrustration.
Mm-hmm.
And again, no one wants to servewith that person.
No.
And no one deserves that.
Right.
Especially from.
A Christ follower, right?
Uh, no.
We don't want to be that person,and no one wants to serve with
that person, and no one deservesto, to, no one deserves that.
(11:06):
That backlash, that fatigue andfrustration bring, um.
Just because I decided to killmy margins and take on too much,
you know, it's not their fault.
Right.
You know, that was my poordecision.
Um, so we gotta take a stepback.
Mm-hmm.
It's important to take a stepback and, and consider the
(11:27):
bigger picture before we take onthat, that one more thing.
So honestly, right now I'm not.
I'm not taking on anything else.
I, um, I'm full up and, and Iknow me well enough to know
that, uh, uh, that I don't, Idon't ever want to be that
(11:48):
smiling on the outside.
'cause I used to be that guythat mm-hmm.
On the, the smiling on theoutside, crying on the inside,
uh, sort of guy.
And, uh, but I was, uh, yeah.
I just, I don't wanna be thatguy and I, I don't want people.
I don't wanna be that guy.
Uh, I know what that guy lookslike and I know how that guy
acts, and that's just not who,uh, Christ, uh, created me to
(12:12):
be.
God created me to be that guy.
Uh, he's not beneficial.
Uh, to himself.
He is not beneficial to hisfamily.
He is not beneficial to anyone.
And he doesn't carry his mantletoo well.
You know, if you're, if you're,if you, if we, you, if you've
been given a mantle to carry, wegotta make sure that we carry
that mantle well.
Yeah.
We can't leave our mantle dragon the ground behind our
(12:33):
fatigued selves.
Right.
And I've, and I've started tocut things out as well and I'm
not taking on anything else neweither.
You know, I think the bottomline is that we have to reframe
our definition of service.
Hmm.
One of the biggest mindsetshifts in nurturing a servant's
heart, which is that's the endin our invested Yeah.
(12:55):
Framework is knowing thatservice is not about constantly
doing Right.
But it's about constantlybecoming, becoming more like,
like Jesus, becoming moretender.
Right.
Becoming more obedient.
More dependent on the father.
Mm.
And that means sometimes yourgreatest act of service might
(13:17):
not be a task at all, right?
It might be choosing rest.
Yeah.
It might be listening to yourspouse or your child.
It might be saying no.
So that someone else can sayyes, that's right.
I mean, if we say yes toeverything, we're robbing
someone else of the opportunity.
Yeah.
So that's why we have to be surethat what we are doing is what
God has intended for us to do.
(13:40):
Absolutely.
You know, Martha was, we talkedabout Mary versus Martha before
and, you know, and Luke 10:38,um, through 42, I think, um, you
know, it talks about Martha.
Being distracted with muchservice and Jesus gently
correcting her.
You know, Jesus cares more aboutour being with him than our
(14:02):
doing for him.
Right?
And again.
If we continue to do and do anddo, not only are we gonna face
burnout, but like I just said,we are going to rob someone else
of the opportunity to serve andthe capacity in which God has
called them.
Right.
Right.
And, and it's important tounderstand that he, he didn't
(14:23):
chastise Martha.
Right.
He, he loved Mary, Mary andMartha equally.
Mm-hmm.
He loved them both.
Yeah.
Uh, they were dear friends ofhim.
Mm-hmm.
Of his And, uh, but, uh.
But he gently, uh, correctedher.
Yeah.
And that, so, and you know, if,if we wanna nurture a
sustainable servant's heart, notone that burns bright and
(14:46):
fizzles fast, but we have tomodel our serving after Jesus,
not after the expectations we orothers place on us.
Right.
Jesus didn't serve frompressure.
Yeah.
He didn't serve from pressure.
He served from intimacy with thefather.
Yeah.
Um.
He says, or Mark 6:31 says, comewith me by yourselves to a quiet
(15:10):
place and get some rest.
Jesus tells his disciples, andthis invitation wasn't a reward
after service.
Right.
It came after intense ministryand Jesus was telling his
disciples, don't go pour outagain until you come away with
me first.
Just as he would go away withhis father.
Right.
And that's the blueprint.
(15:30):
Right.
And there was a, I want to stepin on this.
When there was a, there, therewere, they were servants, they
were his disciples.
Mm-hmm.
But this, this statement, uh,where he says, come, come and
rest with me.
That, yeah.
John, um.
John the Baptist was justbeheaded.
Mm-hmm.
And they were mourning as well.
(15:50):
Right.
And so they were, they werepouring out.
They had just lost John theBaptist.
They were distraught.
And, and Jesus, and Jesus wasdistraught.
I mean, John the Baptist was hiscousin.
Right.
So he is like, he's like, guys.
Mm-hmm.
Come on, man.
Yeah.
I, I get, I understand.
I, I, I'm, I too.
Um, let's take a break.
(16:11):
Yeah.
Let's go over here.
Yeah.
Let's chill out for a while.
Yeah.
All right, so let's work throughthis together.
Yeah, so I would say that's,that's the blueprint is we serve
from presence, not performance,which we've talked about before.
Yeah.
We serve from overflow, notobligation, and we serve from
worship and not weariness.
(16:31):
Serve from worship, notwariness.
I like that.
It's important.
I'm very nice.
How can we, how can we.
Serve from weariness wheneverything that we No, we're
certainly not gonna serve well.
When?
When, right.
And when.
Everything that we do issupposed to be to honor the
Lord.
Yeah.
And to worship the Lord.
Yeah.
So we can't do it from a placeof weariness.
(16:53):
That's a blammo moment, youknow?
Yeah.
I got another blammo.
Wow.
Lamo.
Alright, so, so, uh, you knowhow I, uh, um, I like practical.
I do.
I am the, uh.
The doctor of pragmatism.
You got a PhD in pragmatism.
Oh, wow.
So let's talk a, uh, a, let'stalk really practical for a
(17:15):
minute.
A servant's heart withouthealthy boundaries becomes
bitter.
Mm-hmm.
I'm gonna say that again.
Write this down.
A servant's heart.
And not if you're drivingthough, right?
If you're driving, save it forlater.
Listen to this again later.
Then write it down.
All right.
A servant's heart.
Without healthy boundariesbecomes bitter.
(17:35):
Mm-hmm.
Uh, that's not a, maybe that's aguarantee.
Yeah.
If we keep going and going andgoing, it's, it's, we're gonna
be get bitter.
Right.
We're gonna burn out.
Yeah.
Uh, some folks may disagree withthat, but, but boundaries are
biblical.
Yeah.
Uh, Proverbs, uh, 4:23 says, uh,watch over your heart with all
(17:59):
diligence.
Mm-hmm.
For.
It flows.
The springs of life.
Yes.
For from your heart flows, thesprings of life.
Um, that means it's yourresponsibility.
It's our responsibility mm-hmm.
To steward our emotional andspiritual reserves.
Yeah.
Not to pour'em out to we're bonedry.
(18:22):
Uh, I recall a, um, a littlerecovery trick, um, that goes,
uh, it's a little trick thatgoes a long way.
Uh, and it's important becauseit's important to recognize.
Uh, patterns in ourselves.
Uh, and a good way to do thatis, uh, called heart check.
H-E-A-R-T I remember that.
(18:43):
Heart check.
Yeah.
Uh, before we increaseinteractions, we should ask
ourselves, are we hurting?
Uh, or in my case, and maybeyours, are you hungry?
You know, don't serve hungry.
No.
Uh, um, but, uh, are youhurting?
Are you exhausted?
Are you angry?
Are you resentful?
Are you.
Are you tense?
(19:04):
Mm.
Uh, and if you are, then uh,then we do well to ask why and
address our own why.
Why are we any of these thingsbefore we go and take on that
next big thing or that littlething before we take on one more
thing.
Anything, let's address that.
Why?
Yeah.
You know, why are.
Why are we out of sorts?
(19:24):
Why are we not, why is ourgrateful heart not in line, uh,
with our, with Christ?
That's good, babe.
I totally forgot about theheart.
Check that, that's so good.
But also, can we just normalizesaying no without guilt?
Hmm.
Can we just normalize thatplease?
Because a spirit led no issometimes the most powerful Yes.
(19:46):
To peace to family.
Oh yeah.
To intimacy with the Lord.
Let's just normalize saying no.
Yeah.
But we have a few practicpractical ways to refill your
spirit when you feel like you'renearing burnout.
Right?
And we all know how Allen lovespractical.
He tells us in every episode howpractical he is.
(20:09):
Right?
So I'm gonna say the first oneis time with God first.
Matthew 6:33.
You know, go to that.
Go to that verse if yourcalendar is full.
But your prayer life is empty.
You need to pause, right?
That means you're too, if thatmeans you're too busy for Jesus,
and that's never a place wherewe wanna be, that's a tough
(20:32):
place to be.
You're too busy with for Jesus.
You're too busy without him.
I'm gonna say that again.
If you're too busy for Jesus,you are too busy without him,
right?
So before you fill yourschedule, fill your spirit, and
that's where clarity comes from.
Hmm.
You know, spend that time withGod the first, your first time
(20:55):
in the morning.
Spend it with him.
Yeah.
You'll thank yourself.
Yeah.
You really will.
Yeah.
I've been known for getting, uh,getting busy before checking in
or, or, or spending time withthe Lord.
Mm-hmm.
Uh, and I've had to check myselfseveral times on that.
Uh, by day and when I, when I,when I got too busy, when I,
(21:17):
when I didn't pray into the daywhen I didn't mm-hmm.
Uh, sit with the Lord first whenI didn't take, take, uh, the
word in first, uh, then my daycertainly reflected that
negligence Right?
Uh, uh, days.
Uh.
They, because from, from Genesisto Revelation, God says me
first.
Right.
(21:37):
And you know, he's, he's God.
Yeah.
So it's, it's a good idea to,uh, always a good idea to make,
it's a command, it's to make himfirst and because he brings
order into chaos.
Yeah.
Um, so, and when I neglected todo that, my days were chaotic.
Uh, and they were, I wasreactive and I was distracted
(21:58):
and.
Uh, but when I adjusted mynon-negotiables and, uh, my
mindset shifted as well, and myfirst non-negotiable for any
Christ follower should be, youknow, sitting with, sitting with
him first.
Mm-hmm.
Uh, getting into the word first,uh, starting our days off like
that.
Yeah.
Uh, it's funny how that works,but you know, again, our quiet
(22:22):
time with him is vital.
It's absolutely.
Mm-hmm.
Crucial for accomplishmentsexcellence.
Yeah.
Because he is our excellence.
Absolutely.
So, so what's number two then?
So give us number two.
I'll give us number two.
Yeah.
Give us number two.
So number two is, uh, Sabbathrhythm.
Mm-hmm.
(22:42):
So Exodus the Sabbath, veryclear.
And, uh, in Exodus 20, uh, uh, Ithink verse eight, uh, remember
the Sabbath and keep it holy.
Right.
Uh, the Sabbath isn't just alaw, it's a gift.
Absolutely.
Yes.
The Sabbath Yes.
(23:04):
Is a gift.
Yeah.
Uh, a rhythm of rest built forcreation.
Yeah.
He built it right into thecreation.
He did.
You know, our creator rested.
Yeah.
Uh, I mean.
We're not meant to.
We're grinding is good and youknow, and we don't want it, like
I said, uh, in another episode,we don't wanna demonize hustle.
(23:26):
It's good to go, but it's notgood to go to the point of
burnout and you know, if Right.
Uh, it's good.
It's good to grind, but not 247.
Yeah.
Uh, not to the point where wecan't grind.
Right.
Uh, anymore.
Uh.
We gotta remember, even ourcreator, even God rested on the
(23:46):
seventh day.
Yeah.
So it's important to, to recallthe Sabbath.
Mm-hmm.
Keep it holding.
That's right.
And Gary said, amen.
Yes.
And, and let me say this, toevery high achieving, high
achieving kingdom builder woman,and even men, but I, I wanna
specifically talk to the womenright now because that's who I
(24:06):
deal with a lot with theAssociation of Christian
Business women.
Yep.
So.
Go for all of you Kingdombuilding women that are
listening right now, I want youto know rest is not laziness.
It's wisdom you'll never regrettaking one day to breathe, be
still, and be with God.
Right.
You will never regret it.
(24:28):
And I tell you from experience,yeah.
That when we do that, when wetake that time, everything else
comes into line to alignment somuch.
He gives us back the time.
Yeah.
That we've spent and things getdone so much better and so much
quicker.
And I've seen it time and timeagain on the days that I, I jump
(24:50):
up and I don't rest, and I don'ttake that time to be with him
first.
Nothing seems to align properly,but when I take time with him or
when I take my rest with him.
He makes up the time.
Yeah.
And it's so good.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
(25:11):
So number three is delegatewithout Shame.
And I know from firsthand thatdelegating can sometimes be very
difficult because we can be suchcontrol, especially got a lot of
people who were runningbusinesses.
Gotta let it go.
(25:32):
Yeah.
We can be in such control, evenin, even in our homes.
But you know, even Moses, helloMoses.
You know, he tried to do it alluntil his father-in-law, Jethro,
right?
Called him up.
And in a nutshell, Jethro said,what you're doing is not good,
okay?
You're gonna wear yourself out.
(25:53):
This work is too heavy for you,right?
You can't handle it alone.
So we have to delegate.
And not be shameful about it.
Okay.
I've had to delegate work in mybusiness.
Yeah.
We've had to delegate work inour home.
Yeah.
And there's absolutely nothingwrong with that.
(26:13):
Yeah.
And when you delegate, you'regiving somebody else the
opportunity to serve.
Yeah.
You're giving someone else theopportunity to do that's good,
what they've been called to do.
Right.
Maybe you're hiring ahousekeeper.
I'm gonna tell you, that was oneof the first things that, that
we needed to delegate and, and.
Didn't, uh, see eye to eye on itinitially.
Yeah.
(26:34):
Um, I wanted to do it.
Now was a long word for you.
Allen was like, no.
So I just kept praying, Lord,let him see that we need to
delegate this.
You're, you're going down arabbit trail.
I'm not really, because in all,because it all comes back to the
fact that when, when we did hiresomeone to, to come in and clean
our house every couple weeks, itgave them an opportunity to earn
(26:56):
money.
Yeah.
It gave them an opportunity toserve and do what God has called
them to do.
Yeah.
And it freed up some time hereand it freed up the time for us
to do what God has called us todo.
Right.
So don't ever be afraid todelegate.
Yeah.
So, and go back and read Exodus18:17-23 about Moses.
(27:17):
Yeah.
Because I mean.
Again, Jethro called him out onit.
He did.
You cannot.
I think the, what really hit methere is you cannot handle it
alone.
Mm.
That work is too heavy for you.
You're not gonna do it alone.
Ah, that's good advice.
(27:38):
Yeah.
Um, that, that hit me good.
Yeah, because I, I needed, Ineeded to hear that, I needed to
read, that I needed to seethat's, that, that's biblical.
Um, but God wasn't asking Mosesto, to do everything right.
You know, he was asking Moses tolead well.
Amen.
He was asking him to lead wellbecause he's just,'cause he saw
(28:03):
something in Moses that Mosesdidn't know about Moses.
Mm-hmm.
And he just, he and Godempowered him to lead well.
Yeah.
Uh, but it, good leadersunderstand that delegation is an
essential part of leadership.
And that was a hard lesson forme to learn.
I've been, I've been inleadership most of my life and
for the, the early half of mylife, I was doing it wrong, very
(28:29):
wrong.
But, uh, as I, as I learned howto do it better and how to
improve on it, I discovered thatdelegation is an essential part
of leadership.
Yeah.
So if you've bearing, if you'vebeen carrying too much, if
you're, if you're holding, yougotta.
You gotta let it go.
Let it go.
It gotta release it.
(28:49):
And that's why, that's why wetrain others.
That's why we hire people forthe right reasons.
Yeah.
Uh, so, so if you're carryingtoo much, breathe easy.
Yeah.
From the belly, from thediaphragm, from the, from the
belly.
It's funnier.
From the belly.
Anyway, step back and, andassess how you can share the
(29:13):
load with your family or yourteam.
It's biblical to share the load.
Yeah.
I mean, even Galatians 6:2 says,carry each other's burdens and
in this way you will fulfill thelaw of Christ.
Right.
You know, sometimes much mostspiritual thing you can do is
admit I'm tired.
Yeah.
I mean, you've said before, eata sandwich and, and take a nap.
(29:36):
But, you know, admit I'm tired.
Find your people.
Yeah.
Your safe circle.
Yeah.
Uh, confess your exhaustion.
Right.
Cry if you need to.
I've done that on numerousoccasions.
But don't isolate under, uh,don't isolate yourself under the
weight of kingdom work.
Right.
Right.
(29:56):
No man's an island exactly's.
Man's an island.
You know, don't be so, yeah.
Don't, don't isolate isolationor we're, we're built for
community.
Yeah.
So if, uh mm-hmm.
If we're isolate, and then we'reprobably in a tough spot and we
need to reach out to someone.
Yeah.
A brother or or a sister.
Exactly.
So, so talk it out.
Talk it out.
Talk it out.
(30:16):
Um, practice receiving help.
John four, I mean, let's notforget that.
Chief, chief, are we on four orfive?
Practical?
I think that's number five.
Well, well, that's number five.
Number five.
Practice receiving help isnumber five because it kind of
goes along with, um.
Delegation delegating.
But yeah, we gotta receive thathelp.
But you do have to receive it.
(30:38):
And you know Jesus, let's goback to Jesus sitting at the
well and ask the Samaritan womanfor water, oh, he received that
water from a Samaritan woman,from a Samaritan woman.
And if Jesus can allow someoneelse to serve him.
Yeah.
We can too.
You know, you don't have to, asAllen said, you don't have to
carry everything.
Right.
You weren't designed to carryeverything.
(31:00):
That's right.
That's right.
Yeah.
Honestly, receiving help, uh,used to feel like weakness to
me.
Mm-hmm.
Because I can do it.
I got this.
Right, right.
Yeah.
You know, too much of I got thisleads to, whew, I ain't got this
so truth.
But, uh, um, uh.
(31:22):
So it seemed like weakness tome, but in, uh, as I discovered
and I, I started to embracevulnerability in discovering,
uh, better leadership qualities.
Yeah.
Uh, I was able to see it as aleadership strength.
Yes.
You know, so think about it,think about this.
Um, is pride at the root of youwanting to do it all?
(31:47):
Because I was, it, it was forme.
'cause I was convinced thatnobody could do it as, as well
as I could.
Yeah.
But, uh, I go, it turns out thatthere's several people.
That can in, in my reach, thatcan do it as well as I, I can
actually train them to do it aswell as, as I do.
Mm-hmm.
You know, and to, to meet my,uh, sometimes ridiculous
(32:10):
expectations and the way reelingit back in.
Um, so it, it takes humility.
Yeah.
Uh, so be careful with the prideyou can remember, you know?
Pride comes before the fall.
Yes, it does.
Duh duh.
Humility invites community.
Mm-hmm.
Uh, humility invites community,which we were built for
(32:32):
community.
And uh, it settles our soul andit keeps pride in check.
Yeah.
And, and I, we can't be pridefuland humble in the same.
And the same one.
We can't, uh, we can't worry,same as we can't worry and, uh,
have faith, uh, at the sametime.
So pride comes before the fall.
I just think, you know, ifyou're prideful and you're gonna
(32:53):
hold it all hurt, hold onto allof it and you're gonna do it all
yourself.
Eventually you are gonna gonnafall.
Fall, you're gonna fall out andyou're gonna, there is be
exhausted.
You're just gonna fall out.
Deductively speaking, of course.
Yes, yes.
Yeah.
So as we're, uh, as we'restarting to wind down here, um,
here's a question that we wantto leave you with today.
(33:14):
Are you serving from a place ofoverflow or obligation?
Take a breath, another breath.
Be honest with yourself.
Yeah, because your answermatters.
Mm.
Your honest answer.
To yourself matters.
Not just for your health, butfor the health of those that
(33:35):
you're called to love and lead.
Yeah.
And if your answer isn't whatyou hoped it would be, there's
grace.
Give yourself grace.
'cause today's a good day torealign with Jesus.
Absolutely.
He's not looking forover-functioning Christians.
He's looking for surrenderedhearts.
Yeah.
So here's your challenge thisweek.
(33:56):
Say no to something, say no tosomething that feels like
pressure but isn't Purpose.
Don't, don't become trapped inpurpose.
Right.
I'm sorry.
Don't become trapped inpressure.
Become trapped in purpose.
Yes.
Right.
Yeah.
We, we want to be in ourpurpose.
Yes.
So say no to something thatfeels like pressure but isn't
(34:18):
purpose.
And say yes to intentional timewith God.
Even if it's just 10 minutes ofquiet time with your Bible, the
Holy Spirit and your coffee oryour sweet tea.
You know, either one, right?
And then unsweet tea with alime.
Or unsweet tea with a lime.
That'll work too.
Now you know what we drink?
(34:39):
Yeah.
And, and journal through thisprompt.
Okay.
Write this prompt down again,not if you're driving, but go
back and listen to this.
Yeah.
Lord.
What does nurturing a servant'sheart look like in the season of
my life?
Wow.
That's a good question.
Go journal through that.
Right.
See what the Holy Spirit tellsyou.
(34:59):
Right.
And I like that.
See what the Holy Spirit tellsyou.
Yeah.
Because it, it, it might startwith what we think.
Mm-hmm.
But, you know, and then.
Maybe we start with what wethink and we write it down
there.
What, what do we think anurture, uh, uh, nurturing a
servant, a heart look like?
And then ask the Lord what hehas to say about that.
Yeah.
You know, it might start withus, but it shouldn't end with
(35:20):
us.
That's right.
Right.
So, and if you don't know if, ifyou don't know how to hear.
From the Holy Spirit.
I'm, I'm gonna urge you to goback to, I don't know which
episode it was, two or three.
We should know that before wethrow that out there.
Well, I'm just gonna say goback, put some back and listen
to our earlier episodes.
Yeah.
Because we talk about that inour first season about hearing
(35:41):
the word of God.
We do, yeah.
And next time we'll be moreprecise and we could put some
guidelines in the show notes.
So Yes, we can, we can put thatin the show notes for you.
Right.
Um, so, or maybe.
You just need to reach out tosomeone maybe, and don't
hesitate to pick up that phoneor make that call.
(36:02):
You know, call a trusted friend,call a mentor.
Mm-hmm.
And just say, Hey, I think thatI'm coming pretty close to
running on empty.
Yeah.
It's important to be honest withourselves and it's important to
have that accountability circle.
Um.
Some guys call it a, a foxholeand, uh, Kyle Thompson calls it
our foxhole friends.
(36:24):
Mm.
You know that those guys we cancall at 3:00 AM mm-hmm.
You know, and say, Hey man, Ineed some help, man.
Yeah.
And, uh, it's important to havethose guys, uh, or gals.
Or gals.
Right, right.
I have those gals too.
Right.
I just told someone the otherday, I said, I'm, I'm gonna
guys, gals with gals.
Right.
Gender specific here.
Yes.
Right.
I just told one of my girls theother day, I said.
(36:45):
Sister, I am your, I am your3:00 AM sister.
You can call me at 3:00 AM Thatis good.
If you need me to come get you,I will come get you.
That is good.
Yeah, that is good.
And just remember, you know,we're, we're not alone.
It's so important in this dayand age, and in any day and age
to remember that we are notalone and the enemy of our souls
(37:05):
works in isolation.
Mm-hmm.
He wants, he works best inisolation, but freedom lives in
community's light.
Yes.
So, so let's wrap.
Wrap this up with this truth onemore time from Galatians 6:9.
One more time.
One more time.
Let us not grill weary in doinggood for in due season.
(37:30):
We will reap if we do not giveup.
That's it.
You don't have to strive.
You don't have to hustle forGod's approval.
He already sees you.
He already loves you.
Yeah.
And he invites you to rest withhim before you serve for him?
Absolutely.
Because nurturing a, a servant'sheart isn't about running
(37:54):
harder.
Right.
It's about walking closer withhim.
Mm.
Uh, so, so be honest withyourself and recognize when you
need to retreat to refill andrealign with his joyful renewal.
Yeah.
I'm gonna say that again.
We have to recognize when weneed to retreat to refill and
(38:20):
realign to his joyful renewal.
We gotta be honest withourselves so that we're so that
we're beneficial for thekingdom.
'cause if we're burned out.
We of no benefit to ourselves,that's right.
To our family, to our teams, uh,to the ministry or for the
kingdom.
So we were created.
We were not created to burnunder pressure, but to bask in
(38:43):
his glory as he leads us throughhis purposeful plan.
So sit, take time.
Mm-hmm.
Stillness.
Take time to be still and knowto sit and listen.
Before you rise and run.
Oh, that's good.
Take time to sit and listenbefore you rise and run.
(39:07):
Mm-hmm.
Be still and know that he isGod.
Yes.
Alright folks.
Well that wraps up this episodeand next week we're talking
about, we're still sticking withnurturing.
We're still in season two.
That's nurturing, nurturing theservant's heart.
That's, that's it.
Um, but next week we're talkingabout the joy of serving in
secret.
(39:27):
Oh yeah.
Yes, I like it.
I can't wait.
And until then, stay faithfullyinvested and believe that God
brings the increase.
He certainly does.
God bless you.
We'll see you next time.
Bye-bye.
Thanks for joining us onFaithfully Invested with Allen
and Stacy Jo, if today'sconversation encouraged you,
(39:50):
challenged you, or helped yousee your calling more clearly,
don't keep it to yourself.
That's right.
Share it with a friend.
Leave a five star review andkeep leaning into God's
blueprint for your life, yourleadership, and your legacy.
So until next time, remember,when you invest in his kingdom,
he brings the increase.
Are you ready to build a life,business and legacy that truly
lasts?
Welcome to Faithfully Investedwith Allen and Stacy Jo Thorne,
where Faith meets real talk.
Biblical wisdom meets everydaylife and leadership meets
laughter.
Together we will uncover God'sblueprint for leadership,
marriage, and mission, helpingfaith-driven leaders invest in
(00:21):
what matters most.
Each episode, we explorebiblical wisdom, have real
conversations, and of course,have some fun along the way
because let's be real.
Walking in faith is anadventure.
It sure is.
So pull up a seat, grab yourcoffee or your sweet tea, and
join us as we steward ourcallings with intention, because
(00:42):
when we invest in his kingdom,he brings the increase.
Hey friends.
Welcome to Faithfully Invested,the podcast where we explore
God's blueprint for leadership,marriage, and mission, one
Kingdom Principle at a time.
(01:02):
I'm Stacy Jo, and that makes me,Allen.
I guess it would.
We're glad that you're heretoday to discuss the cost of
serving and avoiding burnout.
Yeah.
Today's episode is for anyonewho's ever said yes with a
smile.
But felt stretched too thinunderneath, and I can tell you
(01:23):
all about that.
Yeah.
So if your coffee's gone cold,your to-do list is holy but
exhausting and you're startingto feel like your servant's
heart is slipping intobitterness or burnout, pull up a
chair.
Yeah.
Like I said, I have been there.
I have often taken on more thanI could handle and stepped into
(01:44):
things that, I mean, Allen willtell you I've stepped into
things that God didn't actuallycall me to do.
Are you breathing All right overthere?
Deep breaths.
Take a deep breath.
Sit down and take a deep breath.
Yes, yes.
Anyway, you know, even though I,you know, we do things for the
Lord, sometimes we get depletedand resentful.
(02:08):
Honestly, I mean, I can speakfor myself.
I wasn't very joyful to bearound.
Yeah, okay.
You don't have to take it so faranyway, I've never experienced
that.
But anyway, uh, yeah.
You've experienced it, it allseriousness, I recall back in
(02:30):
the day, in the early days.
Mm-hmm.
You know, I fancied selfie.
The volunteer teams.
Yes, man.
Right.
You got it.
I'm your man.
Right.
Uh, but I, uh, it just wasn't asustainable schedule.
It sure looked good, but itended up not being good.
Uh, when, when I became a Mr.
(02:53):
Mr.
Mean Mc Judgy Pants, Mr.
Mean Mc judgy, I, that's was it.
I was Mr.
I was too much.
You know, I was taking on toomuch and, and it, and it wasn't
good.
It just wasn't good.
And I, and I was Mr.
Mean Mc Judgey pants.
And um, and that was, uh, youknow, when others didn't meet my
(03:15):
ridiculous expectations that Iput on myself.
Because if I'm gonna do allthis, why aren't you doing all
this right, Mr.
Mean McJudgey pants.
Anyway, moving on.
Well, what we're learning overand over.
And over and over.
Right.
Is that nurturing a servant'sheart isn't about doing more,
(03:37):
it's about staying connected tothe heart of Jesus.
Yeah.
And in Mark 10:45, uh, tells usthat Jesus came not to be served
but to serve.
Yeah.
But even that, Jesus withdrew tobe with the Father.
And we have talked about that onepisodes, uh, prior to this one,
John six 15 says that hewithdrew again to the mountain
(04:01):
by himself alone.
And that word again means it wasa rhythm, not, not a rare
retreat.
It wasn't a one time thing thathe decided, oh, I'm gonna, I'm
gonna go up and, and spend timewith the, with my father.
Was With the father.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It was a regular practice.
It was a, it was a regularpractice, right?
Yeah.
You know.
Uh, Jesus modeled service.
Yeah, absolutely.
(04:22):
And, and volunteer teams willuse part of that verse.
Mm-hmm.
And they, you know, Jesus, hedidn't come to be served but to
serve, but they forget.
You know, that, you know, healso took time to, to sit with
the father, you know, and Jesuswasn't interested in burnout,
you know?
Right.
He knew the plan and he only didwhat the father, uh, told him to
(04:44):
do.
He only came to fulfill thefather's plan, but, um, so he
modeled service really well.
He modeled everything Right.
Really well.
Yeah.
You think?
Anyway, what a great example.
Thank you Jesus.
Um.
But he also modeled stillness.
Mm-hmm.
Uh, and that's where, uh,sustainability in a true
(05:06):
servant's heart begins, is our,our stillness and our silence
and solitude with the father,with Jesus, with the Holy
Spirit.
Yeah.
Uh, gaining, uh, gaining that.
Mm-hmm.
You know, there's so much togain from that, that stillness,
that quiet time together with'em.
Um, so every.
I recall hearing someone saidback in the day that, uh,
(05:30):
mankind has got to know theirlimitations.
And this statement, uh,certainly holds true for us as
we conduct kingdom service.
Yeah.
Uh, service is, uh, is good andall, but not at the sacrifice of
personal relations.
Um, I wanna say that again,service is good and we should
serve, but not so much that itcost us.
(05:54):
Personal relations, right, thatwere not serving from a grateful
heart.
Um, I've made myself so stupidbusy that, uh, my tank was
running on fumes and, and I wasnot leading from a joyful heart
because I wasn't taking time torest or meet with the Lord.
I was doing all the things, butI wasn't doing the thing.
(06:15):
I wasn't, you know.
Meeting with him.
I wasn't taking that time andsilence and solitude and, um, it
just wasn't good.
I wasn't in a good, it wasn't agood place to be for, for myself
or, or anyone around me.
Right.
Um, and, and I learned a solidlesson there though of, of what
not to do.
You know, uh, sometimes the mostChristian and I, I've, I've, uh,
(06:37):
said this before, sometimes themost Christian thing I can do
is, is have a sandwich and, andtake a nap.
But also, um.
One of the most Christian thingsthat any of us can do is
exercise our no muscle.
Oh yeah.
Exercise our no muscle.
That was something I gainedearly, uh, from my, my sponsor
at the time.
Now, my, my, uh, dear brotherwho I, uh, I miss, I haven't
(07:02):
seen him in a while, but, uh,he's so, he's like, man, you
gotta learn how to exercise yourno muscle.
Yes, man.
Uh, so if we don't.
Uh, if we don't exercise our nomuscle, then we, we welcome in.
We invite exhaustion, we inviteresentment and mm, invite
emotional detachment, and nobodywants to serve with that guy.
(07:24):
Mm, yeah, yeah, yeah.
That hits hard.
And, and it's true.
You know, Paul gives usencouragement in Galatians 6:9
not to grow weary in doing good.
Yeah.
But catch this, he says, if.
We don't grow weary.
Meaning it is very, it's a veryreal possibility.
(07:45):
Well, it's a possibility.
He's not dismissing the weightof service.
Right.
He's actually acknowledging it.
He's accentuating the weight ofservice.
Right.
You know, and I think Paul knew,I mean, exhausted people don't
represent Jesus very well.
Right.
So, so let's be honest friends,when we are serving out of guilt
instead of God's prompting, thenour Yes.
(08:06):
Becomes a survival skill insteadof spirit led obedience.
Yeah.
Um, we're heading towardsburnout.
Yeah.
And often that burnout will growinto bitterness, and I've seen
that happen in my own life.
Yeah.
So if you're finding yourselfsnapping at people you used to
love serving or, or feelinginvisible while doing all the
(08:30):
things, uh, it's time to take apause.
Yeah.
It's time to step back.
Mm-hmm.
It's time to take that breath,breathe deep from the belly.
That's, uh, because that, that,uh, that frustration and that
the potential resentment,that's, that's not where, that's
(08:51):
not the heart that Jesus iscalling us to serve from.
Right.
Faithfulness does not mean serveuntil you drop.
Oh, that's good.
Yeah, that's good because I knowthere are some, I'm just gonna
say, I'm gonna call it out.
There are some churches whoexpect you to serve until you
drop.
Yeah.
And it just can't be donebecause then it creates, like we
(09:15):
said, bitterness.
Right.
And resentment.
Yeah.
We have to steward our teamswell.
We have to steward our teamswell.
Yeah.
Steward ourselves well.
Yeah.
So.
So I think, um.
I think we have to consider ourentire schedule when we're
deciding where to serve and whoto serve and what.
Mm-hmm.
And what to do and how we'regonna serve in and through the
(09:37):
kingdom.
I think we have to take ourentire schedules into, into
consideration because serviceisn't just about, uh, what we do
inside the four walls of thechurch.
Right.
Um, as I look at our lives now,um, regardless of where we are.
We're serving someone.
Right.
You know, whether I'm at home,whether I'm at work, whether I'm
(09:59):
at church, I'm, I'm serving.
Mm-hmm.
Because that's who he calls usto be.
He calls us.
Yeah.
To, he, he's, he's really, Iwould say he, he blessed me.
Uh, we're a servant's heart.
Mm-hmm.
And, and that's who we're calledto be.
Um, so regardless of where we'reat, we're serving someone.
So whether it be at home, work,or in ministry when considering
(10:20):
to serve or to not to serve, toserve.
Or not to serve?
That is the question.
We gotta, we gotta look at ourarrest ratio to service.
Oh yeah.
So if we fail to consider that,uh, if we fail to consider our
arrest to service ratio, thensomeone eventually is gonna get
(10:42):
the ugly side of fatigue andfrustration.
Mm-hmm.
And again, no one wants to servewith that person.
No.
And no one deserves that.
Right.
Especially from.
A Christ follower, right?
Uh, no.
We don't want to be that person,and no one wants to serve with
that person, and no one deservesto, to, no one deserves that.
(11:06):
That backlash, that fatigue andfrustration bring, um.
Just because I decided to killmy margins and take on too much,
you know, it's not their fault.
Right.
You know, that was my poordecision.
Um, so we gotta take a stepback.
Mm-hmm.
It's important to take a stepback and, and consider the
(11:27):
bigger picture before we take onthat, that one more thing.
So honestly, right now I'm not.
I'm not taking on anything else.
I, um, I'm full up and, and Iknow me well enough to know
that, uh, uh, that I don't, Idon't ever want to be that
(11:48):
smiling on the outside.
'cause I used to be that guythat mm-hmm.
On the, the smiling on theoutside, crying on the inside,
uh, sort of guy.
And, uh, but I was, uh, yeah.
I just, I don't wanna be thatguy and I, I don't want people.
I don't wanna be that guy.
Uh, I know what that guy lookslike and I know how that guy
acts, and that's just not who,uh, Christ, uh, created me to
(12:12):
be.
God created me to be that guy.
Uh, he's not beneficial.
Uh, to himself.
He is not beneficial to hisfamily.
He is not beneficial to anyone.
And he doesn't carry his mantletoo well.
You know, if you're, if you're,if you, if we, you, if you've
been given a mantle to carry, wegotta make sure that we carry
that mantle well.
Yeah.
We can't leave our mantle dragon the ground behind our
(12:33):
fatigued selves.
Right.
And I've, and I've started tocut things out as well and I'm
not taking on anything else neweither.
You know, I think the bottomline is that we have to reframe
our definition of service.
Hmm.
One of the biggest mindsetshifts in nurturing a servant's
heart, which is that's the endin our invested Yeah.
(12:55):
Framework is knowing thatservice is not about constantly
doing Right.
But it's about constantlybecoming, becoming more like,
like Jesus, becoming moretender.
Right.
Becoming more obedient.
More dependent on the father.
Mm.
And that means sometimes yourgreatest act of service might
(13:17):
not be a task at all, right?
It might be choosing rest.
Yeah.
It might be listening to yourspouse or your child.
It might be saying no.
So that someone else can sayyes, that's right.
I mean, if we say yes toeverything, we're robbing
someone else of the opportunity.
Yeah.
So that's why we have to be surethat what we are doing is what
God has intended for us to do.
(13:40):
Absolutely.
You know, Martha was, we talkedabout Mary versus Martha before
and, you know, and Luke 10:38,um, through 42, I think, um, you
know, it talks about Martha.
Being distracted with muchservice and Jesus gently
correcting her.
You know, Jesus cares more aboutour being with him than our
(14:02):
doing for him.
Right?
And again.
If we continue to do and do anddo, not only are we gonna face
burnout, but like I just said,we are going to rob someone else
of the opportunity to serve andthe capacity in which God has
called them.
Right.
Right.
And, and it's important tounderstand that he, he didn't
(14:23):
chastise Martha.
Right.
He, he loved Mary, Mary andMartha equally.
Mm-hmm.
He loved them both.
Yeah.
Uh, they were dear friends ofhim.
Mm-hmm.
Of his And, uh, but, uh.
But he gently, uh, correctedher.
Yeah.
And that, so, and you know, if,if we wanna nurture a
sustainable servant's heart, notone that burns bright and
(14:46):
fizzles fast, but we have tomodel our serving after Jesus,
not after the expectations we orothers place on us.
Right.
Jesus didn't serve frompressure.
Yeah.
He didn't serve from pressure.
He served from intimacy with thefather.
Yeah.
Um.
He says, or Mark 6:31 says, comewith me by yourselves to a quiet
(15:10):
place and get some rest.
Jesus tells his disciples, andthis invitation wasn't a reward
after service.
Right.
It came after intense ministryand Jesus was telling his
disciples, don't go pour outagain until you come away with
me first.
Just as he would go away withhis father.
Right.
And that's the blueprint.
(15:30):
Right.
And there was a, I want to stepin on this.
When there was a, there, therewere, they were servants, they
were his disciples.
Mm-hmm.
But this, this statement, uh,where he says, come, come and
rest with me.
That, yeah.
John, um.
John the Baptist was justbeheaded.
Mm-hmm.
And they were mourning as well.
(15:50):
Right.
And so they were, they werepouring out.
They had just lost John theBaptist.
They were distraught.
And, and Jesus, and Jesus wasdistraught.
I mean, John the Baptist was hiscousin.
Right.
So he is like, he's like, guys.
Mm-hmm.
Come on, man.
Yeah.
I, I get, I understand.
I, I, I'm, I too.
Um, let's take a break.
(16:11):
Yeah.
Let's go over here.
Yeah.
Let's chill out for a while.
Yeah.
All right, so let's work throughthis together.
Yeah, so I would say that's,that's the blueprint is we serve
from presence, not performance,which we've talked about before.
Yeah.
We serve from overflow, notobligation, and we serve from
worship and not weariness.
(16:31):
Serve from worship, notwariness.
I like that.
It's important.
I'm very nice.
How can we, how can we.
Serve from weariness wheneverything that we No, we're
certainly not gonna serve well.
When?
When, right.
And when.
Everything that we do issupposed to be to honor the
Lord.
Yeah.
And to worship the Lord.
Yeah.
So we can't do it from a placeof weariness.
(16:53):
That's a blammo moment, youknow?
Yeah.
I got another blammo.
Wow.
Lamo.
Alright, so, so, uh, you knowhow I, uh, um, I like practical.
I do.
I am the, uh.
The doctor of pragmatism.
You got a PhD in pragmatism.
Oh, wow.
So let's talk a, uh, a, let'stalk really practical for a
(17:15):
minute.
A servant's heart withouthealthy boundaries becomes
bitter.
Mm-hmm.
I'm gonna say that again.
Write this down.
A servant's heart.
And not if you're drivingthough, right?
If you're driving, save it forlater.
Listen to this again later.
Then write it down.
All right.
A servant's heart.
Without healthy boundariesbecomes bitter.
(17:35):
Mm-hmm.
Uh, that's not a, maybe that's aguarantee.
Yeah.
If we keep going and going andgoing, it's, it's, we're gonna
be get bitter.
Right.
We're gonna burn out.
Yeah.
Uh, some folks may disagree withthat, but, but boundaries are
biblical.
Yeah.
Uh, Proverbs, uh, 4:23 says, uh,watch over your heart with all
(17:59):
diligence.
Mm-hmm.
For.
It flows.
The springs of life.
Yes.
For from your heart flows, thesprings of life.
Um, that means it's yourresponsibility.
It's our responsibility mm-hmm.
To steward our emotional andspiritual reserves.
Yeah.
Not to pour'em out to we're bonedry.
(18:22):
Uh, I recall a, um, a littlerecovery trick, um, that goes,
uh, it's a little trick thatgoes a long way.
Uh, and it's important becauseit's important to recognize.
Uh, patterns in ourselves.
Uh, and a good way to do thatis, uh, called heart check.
H-E-A-R-T I remember that.
(18:43):
Heart check.
Yeah.
Uh, before we increaseinteractions, we should ask
ourselves, are we hurting?
Uh, or in my case, and maybeyours, are you hungry?
You know, don't serve hungry.
No.
Uh, um, but, uh, are youhurting?
Are you exhausted?
Are you angry?
Are you resentful?
Are you.
Are you tense?
(19:04):
Mm.
Uh, and if you are, then uh,then we do well to ask why and
address our own why.
Why are we any of these thingsbefore we go and take on that
next big thing or that littlething before we take on one more
thing.
Anything, let's address that.
Why?
Yeah.
You know, why are.
Why are we out of sorts?
(19:24):
Why are we not, why is ourgrateful heart not in line, uh,
with our, with Christ?
That's good, babe.
I totally forgot about theheart.
Check that, that's so good.
But also, can we just normalizesaying no without guilt?
Hmm.
Can we just normalize thatplease?
Because a spirit led no issometimes the most powerful Yes.
(19:46):
To peace to family.
Oh yeah.
To intimacy with the Lord.
Let's just normalize saying no.
Yeah.
But we have a few practicpractical ways to refill your
spirit when you feel like you'renearing burnout.
Right?
And we all know how Allen lovespractical.
He tells us in every episode howpractical he is.
(20:09):
Right?
So I'm gonna say the first oneis time with God first.
Matthew 6:33.
You know, go to that.
Go to that verse if yourcalendar is full.
But your prayer life is empty.
You need to pause, right?
That means you're too, if thatmeans you're too busy for Jesus,
and that's never a place wherewe wanna be, that's a tough
(20:32):
place to be.
You're too busy with for Jesus.
You're too busy without him.
I'm gonna say that again.
If you're too busy for Jesus,you are too busy without him,
right?
So before you fill yourschedule, fill your spirit, and
that's where clarity comes from.
Hmm.
You know, spend that time withGod the first, your first time
(20:55):
in the morning.
Spend it with him.
Yeah.
You'll thank yourself.
Yeah.
You really will.
Yeah.
I've been known for getting, uh,getting busy before checking in
or, or, or spending time withthe Lord.
Mm-hmm.
Uh, and I've had to check myselfseveral times on that.
Uh, by day and when I, when I,when I got too busy, when I,
(21:17):
when I didn't pray into the daywhen I didn't mm-hmm.
Uh, sit with the Lord first whenI didn't take, take, uh, the
word in first, uh, then my daycertainly reflected that
negligence Right?
Uh, uh, days.
Uh.
They, because from, from Genesisto Revelation, God says me
first.
Right.
(21:37):
And you know, he's, he's God.
Yeah.
So it's, it's a good idea to,uh, always a good idea to make,
it's a command, it's to make himfirst and because he brings
order into chaos.
Yeah.
Um, so, and when I neglected todo that, my days were chaotic.
Uh, and they were, I wasreactive and I was distracted
(21:58):
and.
Uh, but when I adjusted mynon-negotiables and, uh, my
mindset shifted as well, and myfirst non-negotiable for any
Christ follower should be, youknow, sitting with, sitting with
him first.
Mm-hmm.
Uh, getting into the word first,uh, starting our days off like
that.
Yeah.
Uh, it's funny how that works,but you know, again, our quiet
(22:22):
time with him is vital.
It's absolutely.
Mm-hmm.
Crucial for accomplishmentsexcellence.
Yeah.
Because he is our excellence.
Absolutely.
So, so what's number two then?
So give us number two.
I'll give us number two.
Yeah.
Give us number two.
So number two is, uh, Sabbathrhythm.
Mm-hmm.
(22:42):
So Exodus the Sabbath, veryclear.
And, uh, in Exodus 20, uh, uh, Ithink verse eight, uh, remember
the Sabbath and keep it holy.
Right.
Uh, the Sabbath isn't just alaw, it's a gift.
Absolutely.
Yes.
The Sabbath Yes.
(23:04):
Is a gift.
Yeah.
Uh, a rhythm of rest built forcreation.
Yeah.
He built it right into thecreation.
He did.
You know, our creator rested.
Yeah.
Uh, I mean.
We're not meant to.
We're grinding is good and youknow, and we don't want it, like
I said, uh, in another episode,we don't wanna demonize hustle.
(23:26):
It's good to go, but it's notgood to go to the point of
burnout and you know, if Right.
Uh, it's good.
It's good to grind, but not 247.
Yeah.
Uh, not to the point where wecan't grind.
Right.
Uh, anymore.
Uh.
We gotta remember, even ourcreator, even God rested on the
(23:46):
seventh day.
Yeah.
So it's important to, to recallthe Sabbath.
Mm-hmm.
Keep it holding.
That's right.
And Gary said, amen.
Yes.
And, and let me say this, toevery high achieving, high
achieving kingdom builder woman,and even men, but I, I wanna
specifically talk to the womenright now because that's who I
(24:06):
deal with a lot with theAssociation of Christian
Business women.
Yep.
So.
Go for all of you Kingdombuilding women that are
listening right now, I want youto know rest is not laziness.
It's wisdom you'll never regrettaking one day to breathe, be
still, and be with God.
Right.
You will never regret it.
(24:28):
And I tell you from experience,yeah.
That when we do that, when wetake that time, everything else
comes into line to alignment somuch.
He gives us back the time.
Yeah.
That we've spent and things getdone so much better and so much
quicker.
And I've seen it time and timeagain on the days that I, I jump
(24:50):
up and I don't rest, and I don'ttake that time to be with him
first.
Nothing seems to align properly,but when I take time with him or
when I take my rest with him.
He makes up the time.
Yeah.
And it's so good.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
(25:11):
So number three is delegatewithout Shame.
And I know from firsthand thatdelegating can sometimes be very
difficult because we can be suchcontrol, especially got a lot of
people who were runningbusinesses.
Gotta let it go.
(25:32):
Yeah.
We can be in such control, evenin, even in our homes.
But you know, even Moses, helloMoses.
You know, he tried to do it alluntil his father-in-law, Jethro,
right?
Called him up.
And in a nutshell, Jethro said,what you're doing is not good,
okay?
You're gonna wear yourself out.
(25:53):
This work is too heavy for you,right?
You can't handle it alone.
So we have to delegate.
And not be shameful about it.
Okay.
I've had to delegate work in mybusiness.
Yeah.
We've had to delegate work inour home.
Yeah.
And there's absolutely nothingwrong with that.
(26:13):
Yeah.
And when you delegate, you'regiving somebody else the
opportunity to serve.
Yeah.
You're giving someone else theopportunity to do that's good,
what they've been called to do.
Right.
Maybe you're hiring ahousekeeper.
I'm gonna tell you, that was oneof the first things that, that
we needed to delegate and, and.
Didn't, uh, see eye to eye on itinitially.
Yeah.
(26:34):
Um, I wanted to do it.
Now was a long word for you.
Allen was like, no.
So I just kept praying, Lord,let him see that we need to
delegate this.
You're, you're going down arabbit trail.
I'm not really, because in all,because it all comes back to the
fact that when, when we did hiresomeone to, to come in and clean
our house every couple weeks, itgave them an opportunity to earn
(26:56):
money.
Yeah.
It gave them an opportunity toserve and do what God has called
them to do.
Yeah.
And it freed up some time hereand it freed up the time for us
to do what God has called us todo.
Right.
So don't ever be afraid todelegate.
Yeah.
So, and go back and read Exodus18:17-23 about Moses.
(27:17):
Yeah.
Because I mean.
Again, Jethro called him out onit.
He did.
You cannot.
I think the, what really hit methere is you cannot handle it
alone.
Mm.
That work is too heavy for you.
You're not gonna do it alone.
Ah, that's good advice.
(27:38):
Yeah.
Um, that, that hit me good.
Yeah, because I, I needed, Ineeded to hear that, I needed to
read, that I needed to seethat's, that, that's biblical.
Um, but God wasn't asking Mosesto, to do everything right.
You know, he was asking Moses tolead well.
Amen.
He was asking him to lead wellbecause he's just,'cause he saw
(28:03):
something in Moses that Mosesdidn't know about Moses.
Mm-hmm.
And he just, he and Godempowered him to lead well.
Yeah.
Uh, but it, good leadersunderstand that delegation is an
essential part of leadership.
And that was a hard lesson forme to learn.
I've been, I've been inleadership most of my life and
for the, the early half of mylife, I was doing it wrong, very
(28:29):
wrong.
But, uh, as I, as I learned howto do it better and how to
improve on it, I discovered thatdelegation is an essential part
of leadership.
Yeah.
So if you've bearing, if you'vebeen carrying too much, if
you're, if you're holding, yougotta.
You gotta let it go.
Let it go.
It gotta release it.
(28:49):
And that's why, that's why wetrain others.
That's why we hire people forthe right reasons.
Yeah.
Uh, so, so if you're carryingtoo much, breathe easy.
Yeah.
From the belly, from thediaphragm, from the, from the
belly.
It's funnier.
From the belly.
Anyway, step back and, andassess how you can share the
(29:13):
load with your family or yourteam.
It's biblical to share the load.
Yeah.
I mean, even Galatians 6:2 says,carry each other's burdens and
in this way you will fulfill thelaw of Christ.
Right.
You know, sometimes much mostspiritual thing you can do is
admit I'm tired.
Yeah.
I mean, you've said before, eata sandwich and, and take a nap.
(29:36):
But, you know, admit I'm tired.
Find your people.
Yeah.
Your safe circle.
Yeah.
Uh, confess your exhaustion.
Right.
Cry if you need to.
I've done that on numerousoccasions.
But don't isolate under, uh,don't isolate yourself under the
weight of kingdom work.
Right.
Right.
(29:56):
No man's an island exactly's.
Man's an island.
You know, don't be so, yeah.
Don't, don't isolate isolationor we're, we're built for
community.
Yeah.
So if, uh mm-hmm.
If we're isolate, and then we'reprobably in a tough spot and we
need to reach out to someone.
Yeah.
A brother or or a sister.
Exactly.
So, so talk it out.
Talk it out.
Talk it out.
(30:16):
Um, practice receiving help.
John four, I mean, let's notforget that.
Chief, chief, are we on four orfive?
Practical?
I think that's number five.
Well, well, that's number five.
Number five.
Practice receiving help isnumber five because it kind of
goes along with, um.
Delegation delegating.
But yeah, we gotta receive thathelp.
But you do have to receive it.
(30:38):
And you know Jesus, let's goback to Jesus sitting at the
well and ask the Samaritan womanfor water, oh, he received that
water from a Samaritan woman,from a Samaritan woman.
And if Jesus can allow someoneelse to serve him.
Yeah.
We can too.
You know, you don't have to, asAllen said, you don't have to
carry everything.
Right.
You weren't designed to carryeverything.
(31:00):
That's right.
That's right.
Yeah.
Honestly, receiving help, uh,used to feel like weakness to
me.
Mm-hmm.
Because I can do it.
I got this.
Right, right.
Yeah.
You know, too much of I got thisleads to, whew, I ain't got this
so truth.
But, uh, um, uh.
(31:22):
So it seemed like weakness tome, but in, uh, as I discovered
and I, I started to embracevulnerability in discovering,
uh, better leadership qualities.
Yeah.
Uh, I was able to see it as aleadership strength.
Yes.
You know, so think about it,think about this.
Um, is pride at the root of youwanting to do it all?
(31:47):
Because I was, it, it was forme.
'cause I was convinced thatnobody could do it as, as well
as I could.
Yeah.
But, uh, I go, it turns out thatthere's several people.
That can in, in my reach, thatcan do it as well as I, I can
actually train them to do it aswell as, as I do.
Mm-hmm.
You know, and to, to meet my,uh, sometimes ridiculous
(32:10):
expectations and the way reelingit back in.
Um, so it, it takes humility.
Yeah.
Uh, so be careful with the prideyou can remember, you know?
Pride comes before the fall.
Yes, it does.
Duh duh.
Humility invites community.
Mm-hmm.
Uh, humility invites community,which we were built for
(32:32):
community.
And uh, it settles our soul andit keeps pride in check.
Yeah.
And, and I, we can't be pridefuland humble in the same.
And the same one.
We can't, uh, we can't worry,same as we can't worry and, uh,
have faith, uh, at the sametime.
So pride comes before the fall.
I just think, you know, ifyou're prideful and you're gonna
(32:53):
hold it all hurt, hold onto allof it and you're gonna do it all
yourself.
Eventually you are gonna gonnafall.
Fall, you're gonna fall out andyou're gonna, there is be
exhausted.
You're just gonna fall out.
Deductively speaking, of course.
Yes, yes.
Yeah.
So as we're, uh, as we'restarting to wind down here, um,
here's a question that we wantto leave you with today.
(33:14):
Are you serving from a place ofoverflow or obligation?
Take a breath, another breath.
Be honest with yourself.
Yeah, because your answermatters.
Mm.
Your honest answer.
To yourself matters.
Not just for your health, butfor the health of those that
(33:35):
you're called to love and lead.
Yeah.
And if your answer isn't whatyou hoped it would be, there's
grace.
Give yourself grace.
'cause today's a good day torealign with Jesus.
Absolutely.
He's not looking forover-functioning Christians.
He's looking for surrenderedhearts.
Yeah.
So here's your challenge thisweek.
(33:56):
Say no to something, say no tosomething that feels like
pressure but isn't Purpose.
Don't, don't become trapped inpurpose.
Right.
I'm sorry.
Don't become trapped inpressure.
Become trapped in purpose.
Yes.
Right.
Yeah.
We, we want to be in ourpurpose.
Yes.
So say no to something thatfeels like pressure but isn't
(34:18):
purpose.
And say yes to intentional timewith God.
Even if it's just 10 minutes ofquiet time with your Bible, the
Holy Spirit and your coffee oryour sweet tea.
You know, either one, right?
And then unsweet tea with alime.
Or unsweet tea with a lime.
That'll work too.
Now you know what we drink?
(34:39):
Yeah.
And, and journal through thisprompt.
Okay.
Write this prompt down again,not if you're driving, but go
back and listen to this.
Yeah.
Lord.
What does nurturing a servant'sheart look like in the season of
my life?
Wow.
That's a good question.
Go journal through that.
Right.
See what the Holy Spirit tellsyou.
(34:59):
Right.
And I like that.
See what the Holy Spirit tellsyou.
Yeah.
Because it, it, it might startwith what we think.
Mm-hmm.
But, you know, and then.
Maybe we start with what wethink and we write it down
there.
What, what do we think anurture, uh, uh, nurturing a
servant, a heart look like?
And then ask the Lord what hehas to say about that.
Yeah.
You know, it might start withus, but it shouldn't end with
(35:20):
us.
That's right.
Right.
So, and if you don't know if, ifyou don't know how to hear.
From the Holy Spirit.
I'm, I'm gonna urge you to goback to, I don't know which
episode it was, two or three.
We should know that before wethrow that out there.
Well, I'm just gonna say goback, put some back and listen
to our earlier episodes.
Yeah.
Because we talk about that inour first season about hearing
(35:41):
the word of God.
We do, yeah.
And next time we'll be moreprecise and we could put some
guidelines in the show notes.
So Yes, we can, we can put thatin the show notes for you.
Right.
Um, so, or maybe.
You just need to reach out tosomeone maybe, and don't
hesitate to pick up that phoneor make that call.
(36:02):
You know, call a trusted friend,call a mentor.
Mm-hmm.
And just say, Hey, I think thatI'm coming pretty close to
running on empty.
Yeah.
It's important to be honest withourselves and it's important to
have that accountability circle.
Um.
Some guys call it a, a foxholeand, uh, Kyle Thompson calls it
our foxhole friends.
(36:24):
Mm.
You know that those guys we cancall at 3:00 AM mm-hmm.
You know, and say, Hey man, Ineed some help, man.
Yeah.
And, uh, it's important to havethose guys, uh, or gals.
Or gals.
Right, right.
I have those gals too.
Right.
I just told someone the otherday, I said, I'm, I'm gonna
guys, gals with gals.
Right.
Gender specific here.
Yes.
Right.
I just told one of my girls theother day, I said.
(36:45):
Sister, I am your, I am your3:00 AM sister.
You can call me at 3:00 AM Thatis good.
If you need me to come get you,I will come get you.
That is good.
Yeah, that is good.
And just remember, you know,we're, we're not alone.
It's so important in this dayand age, and in any day and age
to remember that we are notalone and the enemy of our souls
(37:05):
works in isolation.
Mm-hmm.
He wants, he works best inisolation, but freedom lives in
community's light.
Yes.
So, so let's wrap.
Wrap this up with this truth onemore time from Galatians 6:9.
One more time.
One more time.
Let us not grill weary in doinggood for in due season.
(37:30):
We will reap if we do not giveup.
That's it.
You don't have to strive.
You don't have to hustle forGod's approval.
He already sees you.
He already loves you.
Yeah.
And he invites you to rest withhim before you serve for him?
Absolutely.
Because nurturing a, a servant'sheart isn't about running
(37:54):
harder.
Right.
It's about walking closer withhim.
Mm.
Uh, so, so be honest withyourself and recognize when you
need to retreat to refill andrealign with his joyful renewal.
Yeah.
I'm gonna say that again.
We have to recognize when weneed to retreat to refill and
(38:20):
realign to his joyful renewal.
We gotta be honest withourselves so that we're so that
we're beneficial for thekingdom.
'cause if we're burned out.
We of no benefit to ourselves,that's right.
To our family, to our teams, uh,to the ministry or for the
kingdom.
So we were created.
We were not created to burnunder pressure, but to bask in
(38:43):
his glory as he leads us throughhis purposeful plan.
So sit, take time.
Mm-hmm.
Stillness.
Take time to be still and knowto sit and listen.
Before you rise and run.
Oh, that's good.
Take time to sit and listenbefore you rise and run.
(39:07):
Mm-hmm.
Be still and know that he isGod.
Yes.
Alright folks.
Well that wraps up this episodeand next week we're talking
about, we're still sticking withnurturing.
We're still in season two.
That's nurturing, nurturing theservant's heart.
That's, that's it.
Um, but next week we're talkingabout the joy of serving in
secret.
(39:27):
Oh yeah.
Yes, I like it.
I can't wait.
And until then, stay faithfullyinvested and believe that God
brings the increase.
He certainly does.
God bless you.
We'll see you next time.
Bye-bye.
Thanks for joining us onFaithfully Invested with Allen
and Stacy Jo, if today'sconversation encouraged you,
(39:50):
challenged you, or helped yousee your calling more clearly,
don't keep it to yourself.
That's right.
Share it with a friend.
Leave a five star review andkeep leaning into God's
blueprint for your life, yourleadership, and your legacy.
So until next time, remember,when you invest in his kingdom,
he brings the increase.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.