May 20, 2025 • 27 mins
An honest convo about what's on Teresa's heart these days:
• Finding our identity
• Lament (yet again)
• The significance of our small lives
• The power (and pain) of pruning
• Why I'm taking a “summer sabbath”
• Bonus journaling hack
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
So typically on the podcast we go from series to
series, but there are times whenI just want to sit down and
have a conversation with you.
Actually, better yet, I wouldlove for you and I to take a
long walk on the beach and talkabout all the things, but all
those things don't always fitinto a podcast series and so
(00:20):
once in a while I like to dothese episodes called Stuff I
Want to Tell you, and today Ihave five things I want to tell
you.
Hi, friend, you're listening toFind Hope here.
I'm your host, teresa Whiting.
Author, speaker, ministryleader, friend and fellow
(00:41):
struggler.
This is a podcast about themessy, complicated, painful
parts of life, but also thebeautiful, joy-filled hope that
Jesus promises.
Each week we dig deep intoGod's Word together and talk
about how His truth impacts oureveryday lives.
(01:01):
I'm not going to ask you to sitwith me and have coffee,
because I seem to have my bestconversations while I'm just
doing life.
So I'd love to hang out withyou as you walk or fold laundry
or drive to work.
You're invited to join me inpursuing the hope God promises,
no matter where you are or whereyou've been.
I pray you always find hopehere.
(01:25):
Let's jump in to today'sepisode.
One of the ways I typicallyfigure out what I want to talk
about on the podcast is I gothrough my journals and I look
at the things that I've beenwrestling with and struggling
with and I think, well, if I'mstruggling with these things,
maybe you are too.
(01:45):
But before I jump into thethings that I wanted to talk to
you about, I wanted to give youa journaling hack, and this is
something I figured out a fewyears ago.
When I get a new journal, Ileave the first two pages blank
and then, as I fill out myjournal throughout the year, I
use that to create a table ofcontents.
So when I write something, I'llput the date and what I wrote
(02:08):
about and then, when I get tothe end of the year, I can look
back and I can find all thethings that I have written about
.
I don't know if you've alreadydone that, but to me it was like
, oh, what a great idea.
So I thought I'd share thatwith you.
So, having said journal tableof contents, I see themes that
come up over and over againthroughout the year.
(02:30):
I'll look through my journalsand I'll be like, wow, I keep
writing about lament, or I keepseeing this theme pop up in my
life, and so some of the thingsthat I would talk to you about
if we were on a good beach walkis some of the thoughts that
keep coming back over and overin my mind, and one of those
(02:50):
things is the theme of identity,like that question of what
defines me, what defines you,what are the things that we seek
out to feel like we're doingthe right thing or gaining the
approval that we're seeking, orbeing the person that God wants
us to be.
Well, I'm going to share withyou a short journal entry that I
(03:14):
wrote back in November, but,trust me, this theme has come up
over and over.
I am not the sum of myaccomplishments.
I am not the sum of myaccomplishments.
I am not my subtitles.
I am not defined by how manyboxes I check or how many tasks
I complete.
My value does not lie in stats,downloads, audience size or
(03:36):
speaking engagements.
My worth doesn't rise and fallbased on the number, on the
scale the size of my jeans, theclarity of my skin, the length
of my hair, the beauty I do ordon't possess.
My life is not measured by thisworld's metrics.
If it were, I'd always be foundlacking.
(03:56):
More they cry Bigger, better,faster, thinner, prettier.
You need to have this and dothis, and buy this, and
accomplish this and be this, andthen you'll be enough.
But it's never enough.
The bar is always moving, thestandard is always changing, and
(04:17):
we are so weary of striving.
What defines me, then?
This truth?
I have been called friend byGod Most High.
I've been invited intorelationship with the creator of
the universe and by the shedblood of his son, jesus Christ.
(04:37):
I am now a co-heir in God'skingdom.
I am God's daughter, christ'sfriend and the dwelling place of
the Holy Spirit.
I am chosen, purchased,redeemed and held fast by God's
righteous right hand.
I'm hidden under the shadow ofhis wings, held close to his
heart, protected by his faithful, perfect love.
(04:59):
I'm in the palm of his hand andI can't be snatched out of it.
God is for me and I aminseparable from his love.
Nothing this world throws at me, demands of me or forces upon
me can separate me from thislove.
What was broken is beingrestored.
What pushed me down cannot holdme there.
(05:20):
I have weapons this world can'tsee, and I live by faith and
not by sight.
God rides across the heavens tomy help, chases me down with
steadfast love and faithfulness,restores my soul, strengthens
my weak hands and collects mytears in his bottle.
His love is more powerful thanmy fear.
(05:42):
His strength is perfected in myweakness.
His light shines in my darkness.
His righteousness covers my sin.
His forgiveness purchases myfreedom.
As a branch tightly connectedto the vine.
His life pulses through me.
His righteousness is mine.
His easy yoke and light burdenfree me from the oppressive
(06:05):
demands of the world.
This is who I am and it's whoseI am.
I am his and he is mine, andthat is enough.
I don't know if you everstruggle with where your
identity comes from, but if youdo, I hope that those reminders
(06:27):
from scripture are something youcan tether your heart to.
The second thing that keepscoming up in my journals and I
have actually podcasted on thisin the past but is this idea of
lament.
You know, when you get a newcar and all of a sudden it looks
like everybody on the road isdriving your car.
Well, that's how it's been forme in Lament Ever since God has
(06:51):
brought this new language to myattention.
I just see it cropping upeverywhere, over and over, and I
see it in Scripture, as I'vebeen reading through Scripture
this year.
I'm actually in the Psalmsright now, as I've been reading
through scripture this year.
I'm actually in the Psalmsright now and I'm just getting
to see the freedom that Godgives us to express our pain and
our grief to him.
And the other thing I'mnoticing is it seems like
(07:14):
everyone I know has something tolament about, whether it's in
their personal life or somethingabout the state of our country
or something in their extendedfamily.
There's just so much griefgoing around, and so if you're
in a season of lament, I wantyou to know you are not alone.
God sees you, he hears you.
(07:37):
I want to encourage you tocontinue to allow yourself to
feel those hard feelings and letthem out.
Give yourself permission togrieve, to cry, to scream, to
pound the floor, whatever it isthat you need to do Now.
I don't want to keep talkingabout this because, as I
mentioned, I've done a couplepodcast episodes already, which
(07:57):
I will link in the show notes.
I'll be speaking about lamentat the Life Conference this June
and, as a follow-up to that, myfriend Brenda and I are going
to be hosting a lament workshop.
It was supposed to be held acouple months ago but we had to
postpone it.
But I want you to know that itis coming June 28th from 10 am
(08:19):
to noon.
It will be a virtual workshop,but I'll have links to all this
stuff in the show notes.
Okay, the third thing that Iwant to share with you, and this
is kind of connected to thatidea of identity, but it's being
small.
This keeps coming up over andover again in my journal because
the world is shouting at usconstantly, especially now in
(08:43):
our social media obsessedculture, that being small equals
being insignificant.
But when I look at Jesus, hewas content with small
gatherings and mountainsideconversations.
He found value in everyfaithful act, no matter how
quote-unquote insignificant itseemed to other people.
(09:07):
Often when he preached heturned people away rather than
drawing crowds to himself.
But I think most of us want, wecrave being big over small.
We want more over less.
We want to be epic, notordinary.
But let the record show thatthe word of God always flips
(09:29):
this script on its head.
I noticed, as I've been readingthrough scripture this year,
this theme coming up over andover again, when God
commissioned Moses and said Iwant you to lead the people out
of Israel.
Moses was like whoa, hey, notme.
Who am I?
I'm nobody.
When God called Gideon todefeat the Midianites, he said,
and I quote I'm the weakest inManasseh.
(09:52):
I'm the least in my family.
When Saul was told by Samuelthat he was going to be the king
of Israel, he said why me?
I'm the least of all the tribesand I'm the smallest in Israel.
And in almost every case, theLord came back to those guys
with reassurance.
He didn't give them a pep talk,he didn't tell them how awesome
(10:15):
they are, he didn't even givethem a list of positive
affirmations that they couldrecite every morning.
He told them all the same thingI will be with you.
The secret to their success wasnot who they were, it was the
fact that God would be with them.
It's all about presence, andJesus continues this theme in
(10:38):
the New Testament.
He said to his disciples I amthe vine, you are the branches.
If you remain in me and I inyou, you will bear much fruit,
for apart from me, you can donothing.
And he also said whoever isleast among you is the greatest.
I think about the apostle Paul,who called himself the least of
(11:01):
all the apostles, and he says Iwill boast all the more gladly
in my weaknesses so that thepower of Christ may rest on me.
That is why, for the sake ofChrist, I delight in weaknesses,
in insults, in hardships, inpersecutions and in difficulties
, for when I am weak, then I amstrong.
(11:22):
So when we feel small, when wefeel insignificant, when we feel
like we're not making a bigenough impact, I want us to
remember the beauty that Godcalls the small.
He uses the insignificant.
He doesn't need our numbers,our statistics or our platforms.
(11:45):
He longs to be with us, workingthrough us, in all of our
smallness, to show his might andhis glory.
Okay, fourth thing is Sabbath,and this is a theme that keeps
coming up for several years now,and this idea of rest, of
(12:05):
putting things down, of puttingaside all the striving and the
hustle.
The other day I was readingscripture and I came back to
Matthew 11, 28 to 30, which isone of my favorite passages.
It says Come to me all who areweary and burdened, and I will
give you rest.
(12:25):
Take my yoke upon you and learnfrom me, for I am gentle and
humble in heart, and you willfind rest for your souls, for my
yoke is easy and my burden islight.
If you can identify with someof the things that I've been
talking about already, thisinvitation from Jesus is
(12:46):
probably like a breath of freshair.
It's like a drink of cool water, because he is saying the same
thing to you.
He's saying come to me, let merest you to me, let me rest you.
Let's just put down thestriving and the hustle and the
(13:06):
feeling like we need to do itall and just be with me, just
abide in me.
And you know how I love wordstudies, so I dug in a little
bit to that word weary inMatthew 11, 28, and it is used
to describe so interesting thelabor involved in ministry and
the Christian life, emphasizingdedication and effort required
(13:29):
to spread the gospel and liveaccording to God's word.
So we, you and I, we areseeking to serve God.
I mean you're listening to thispodcast because you're a person
whose heart longs to walk withGod.
You want to serve God.
I mean you're listening to thispodcast because you're a person
whose heart longs to walk withGod.
You want to serve him and youare with your family, with your
job, with your ministry.
I don't know in what capacityexactly, but God is saying you
(13:53):
know what that can be tiring,that can be exhausting.
And when your ministry makesyou weary, come to me.
It makes me think of a seasonseveral years ago when Greg and
I were going through some stuffat a church that we were at and
we had just come back fromvacation and I remember I was
(14:16):
literally unpacking my clothes.
I should have been reallyrefreshed, I should have been
feeling great.
And Greg was telling me aboutsome drama and I said, oh, I am
just so weary.
And you know, in that momentGod wasn't like hey, buck up,
you just came back from vacation, you should be fine, stop
(14:38):
complaining.
I literally felt like Jesuswhispered to me right in that
moment Teresa, come to me, youwho are weary and burdened, and
just let me rest you.
And it's so beautiful that Godextends that invitation to us.
He doesn't put a whip to ourback and say keep going, keep
(15:09):
producing, keep striving.
He says rest, step off thecrazy train, give yourself a
minute and just hang out with me.
Oh, my goodness, I have to tellyou about a new song.
I know this seems kind ofrandom, but it just came into my
head.
There is a song that I justdiscovered by Jess Rae, called
Lilies and Sparrows.
I'll link it in the show notesbecause I have been playing this
song on repeat.
It's so beautiful and soothingand calming.
(15:29):
But a line from her song sayslook at the birds they do not
sow or reap.
Look at the flowers they nevertoil or spin.
That's a quote right out ofMatthew, chapter six, and it's
like God wants to remind us overand over.
What really matters is not allyour wheel spinning, all your
(15:50):
toiling, all your striving.
It's being with me.
Okay, the fourth thing, and Ican't believe, it's already May.
We're like five months into theyear and I think I just
realized that I never told youmy word of the year, which is
less, and that seems like kindof a weird word to choose.
(16:11):
But when I said less, this iskind of the things that I had in
mind.
I want this year to be a yearof less clutter, more open space
, less busy, more freedom, lessfear, more trust, less stuff,
more simplicity, less digitalnoise, more white space, less
(16:35):
distraction, more focus.
And when it comes to havingless or doing less or being less
, there's a word that scriptureuses and the word is pruning.
Now, that's a gardening term and, as you may or may not know, I
am not a gardener.
I'm having a hard time evengrowing this sweet little basil
(16:58):
plant that my friend gave me.
I asked her the other day I'mlike, do you have big leaves or
little leaves?
And she's like big ones.
I'm like well, why are myleaves so small and scrawny?
Okay, I digress, let's get backto pruning.
Pruning is when a gardener willcut back their plant.
By the way, I do prune my basil, so I'm not sure what's
(17:21):
happening with it, but they cutback to make room for more.
Well, as I entered 2025, I feltlike my life was an overgrown
tree.
It just felt like there wasenergy shooting out in every
different direction and it feltvery chaotic.
And I want to tell you about avisual that I had In our last
(17:44):
house.
We had this big water oak inour front yard Huge, tons of
branches, tons of stuff going on.
Our neighbors had two wateroaks in their front yard and one
day this crew came and theytrimmed their water oaks, so
they cut all these branches offand when it was all done, you
(18:06):
could stand back and you couldlook at my tree in my yard and
be like, wow, that tree has alot going on.
And then you would look acrossthe street at my neighbor's
pruned trees and you'd be like,oh, now that's what a healthy
tree looks like.
It was so calm and beautifuland peaceful.
(18:29):
Meanwhile my tree that had allthis leaves and branches
everywhere was less healthy,less attractive, less fruitful.
It was completely overgrown.
And we know that pruning iswhat makes a tree healthy.
But here's the thing Pruning isjust a nice word for cutting and
(18:52):
cutting hurts.
We don't like to cut things, wedon't like to be hurt, and it
costs.
Okay, if you're talking about atree, it costs money to hire an
arborist.
But if we're talking about ourlives, it means cutting back,
cutting out, saying nodisappointing people maybe and
that hurts, we don't want to.
(19:13):
So sometimes we let our treesand our lives grow wildly out of
control.
Maybe we think we're just beingproductive or responsible for
everything and everyone, ormaybe we don't have the guts to
cut things, or maybe we're justtoo lazy or pain avoidant and
(19:35):
yikes.
Now I feel like I'm stepping onmy own toes.
I don't know if any of thisresonates with you, but this
year I have had to look long andhard at the things I'm involved
in and say what stays and whatgoes.
And honestly I have beenpraying about this all year,
lord, what stays, what goes?
(19:55):
What do I say yes to?
What's my best yes and what aremy sure no's.
And here's the other thingabout pruning is it's scary.
We don't want to let things go,we don't want to cut things out
, because what if they don'tcome back?
But I was reminded way back whenwe lived in Ohio, we had this
(20:17):
hydrangea bush in front of ourhouse and one year I don't know
why you guys don't ask me, I'mnot a gardener I cut that thing
down to the nubs.
It was like fall maybe, and Ijust was tired of it.
It was leaving all theseflowers all over the place and
it was dried out and I was likeI'm done.
I'm done with this thing.
(20:37):
I cut it down so small, like itwas about probably my height,
and I just cut it down to myankles.
I was like I'm done with thisthing.
The next year that hydrangeareached our second story window.
It was crazy.
I was like what is happeningright now?
(20:59):
It was cutting it and paring itdown that made room for that
tree to explode.
So there's a lesson for me whenI'm, and for you when we're
scared of like, oh, but if I cutthings out, everything's going
to disappear, but maybe when wecut things out, we're actually
(21:20):
making room for growth.
Okay, that leads to the fifththing that I want to tell you
Now.
As you know, I ammulti-passionate, right?
I love doing this podcast, Ilove speaking and writing Bible
studies and studying scriptureand leading women's ministry and
I have just been trained onbeing a trauma-informed life
(21:42):
coach and all the things.
I hope you're getting a pictureof an overgrown tree in your
head right now, because that'skind of what I feel like my life
has looked like.
So, to stick with this pruningmetaphor, that's what I feel
like.
So this is what God has reallybeen impressing on my heart and
(22:04):
guys, it's scary, but I amthinking about taking a summer
Sabbath from the podcast.
I am not in any way ending thepodcast.
I am not saying no to thepodcast, but I am saying yes to
pulling back and pruning for thesummer only, and I don't even
(22:26):
know what that means exactly yet.
So it may mean like no newepisodes coming out.
It may mean really simpleepisodes coming out.
It may mean one coming out justonly once a month.
I'm not sure We'll see.
I'm not one of those people whohas, like my next six months
planned out oh my goodness, I'mjealous of those people.
Has, like, my next six monthsplanned out oh my goodness, I'm
(22:47):
jealous of those people.
Again, I digress, but I havetried to think of different ways
.
I can take a summer Sabbathwithout pruning and I just can't
.
But I have to make room for thething that God is really been
getting me super excited about,and that is I am starting and
working through my next Biblestudy.
(23:08):
I have my outline complete, Ihave a couple chapters rough
drafted, but I am shootingenergy in too many different
directions, and when you arewriting a study, you need to
focus.
You need that energy, you needthe time, you need a lot of
white space and the ability todo deep work, and I love doing
(23:31):
this podcast so much, but ittakes up a lot of brain space,
and so, in order to serve youbetter, I have to step away for
a short time so that I candevote that time and energy into
the next Bible study.
And also, my plan is to comeback in the fall and similar to
(23:52):
what I did with Grace.
So I don't know if you realizethis, but this podcast started
because I wrote a Bible studycalled Grace how God Redeems and
Restores the Broken, and, likethe first 20 episodes, was an
introduction to that study.
I shared the woman's story anda Psalm and then I interviewed
somebody who whose storyresonated with that woman in the
(24:15):
study.
Well, this Bible study is goingto have six more women in
scripture and it's going to be adifferent theme than graced was
, um, but I am planning to dothe same thing.
So there will be, in the fall,a whole new podcast series based
on the new Bible study that'scoming out.
So I will be sharing six morestories of women in scripture,
(24:39):
six different Psalms and six newwomen that I'm going to
interview that their storieswould resonate with the women in
scripture.
In order to make space toprepare all of that, to write
the study, to have theinterviews, to record the
podcast, I have to kind of takea little break from what I've
been doing, which is week byweek, you know, cranking out
(25:01):
content.
So what does this mean for you?
It means this summer content.
So what does this mean for you?
It means this summer I will notbe sending a weekly podcast
update.
It may mean that things getpretty quiet around here on Find
Hope here, but good news is Ihave over 115 episodes so you
can go back and listen to theones that you've missed or go
(25:24):
back and listen to yourfavorites.
I will continue to write mymonthly email.
So if you are not on my emaillist, if you want to get on that
ASAP, there is a link to joinmy email list in the show notes,
along with everything else thatI keep saying.
I'm so excited about this nextstudy.
I feel like God is bringingtogether the women whose stories
(25:45):
are going to resonate withyours and mine.
I want to tell you who they are, but I don't know if I should
let you in on that yet.
But if you want to be in theloop, I am looking for prayer
partners and I'm looking forbeta readers.
If you would like to be on myprayer team and if you would
(26:07):
like to be a beta reader, I willput a link in the show notes
for you to sign up for thesethings.
And then, finally, I just wantto say thank you.
I feel like we should have oncea year like a celebrating you.
Episode where I just spend thewhole time thanking you for
showing up for listening.
Episode where I just spend thewhole time thanking you for
(26:28):
showing up, for listening, forsharing Find Hope here with your
friends, for rating andreviewing the podcast, which
wink, wink.
If you haven't done that yet,please I'm begging you, get on
Apple Podcasts.
Leave a five-star rating and areview, because that is what
helps Apple to tell people aboutFind Hope here.
Well, I hope you enjoyed thatwalk on the beach as much as I
(26:51):
did.
I love just getting to talkwith you and share with you the
things that God has been layingon my heart recently, and I
appreciate you listening to them, as always.
Thanks for hanging out with metoday on Find Hope here.
To find everything that Imentioned on the episode, go to
TeresaWhitingcom slash listen,which is where you can find all
(27:14):
the show notes.
Also, I will have links toeverything that I mentioned in
the condensed show notesunderneath this episode.
In closing, I want to leave youwith this prayer from Romans 15
13.
May the God of hope fill youwith all joy and peace in
believing, so that, by the powerof the Holy Spirit, you may
(27:38):
abound in hope.
So typically on the podcast we go from series to
series, but there are times whenI just want to sit down and
have a conversation with you.
Actually, better yet, I wouldlove for you and I to take a
long walk on the beach and talkabout all the things, but all
those things don't always fitinto a podcast series and so
(00:20):
once in a while I like to dothese episodes called Stuff I
Want to Tell you, and today Ihave five things I want to tell
you.
Hi, friend, you're listening toFind Hope here.
I'm your host, teresa Whiting.
Author, speaker, ministryleader, friend and fellow
(00:41):
struggler.
This is a podcast about themessy, complicated, painful
parts of life, but also thebeautiful, joy-filled hope that
Jesus promises.
Each week we dig deep intoGod's Word together and talk
about how His truth impacts oureveryday lives.
(01:01):
I'm not going to ask you to sitwith me and have coffee,
because I seem to have my bestconversations while I'm just
doing life.
So I'd love to hang out withyou as you walk or fold laundry
or drive to work.
You're invited to join me inpursuing the hope God promises,
no matter where you are or whereyou've been.
I pray you always find hopehere.
(01:25):
Let's jump in to today'sepisode.
One of the ways I typicallyfigure out what I want to talk
about on the podcast is I gothrough my journals and I look
at the things that I've beenwrestling with and struggling
with and I think, well, if I'mstruggling with these things,
maybe you are too.
(01:45):
But before I jump into thethings that I wanted to talk to
you about, I wanted to give youa journaling hack, and this is
something I figured out a fewyears ago.
When I get a new journal, Ileave the first two pages blank
and then, as I fill out myjournal throughout the year, I
use that to create a table ofcontents.
So when I write something, I'llput the date and what I wrote
(02:08):
about and then, when I get tothe end of the year, I can look
back and I can find all thethings that I have written about
.
I don't know if you've alreadydone that, but to me it was like
, oh, what a great idea.
So I thought I'd share thatwith you.
So, having said journal tableof contents, I see themes that
come up over and over againthroughout the year.
(02:30):
I'll look through my journalsand I'll be like, wow, I keep
writing about lament, or I keepseeing this theme pop up in my
life, and so some of the thingsthat I would talk to you about
if we were on a good beach walkis some of the thoughts that
keep coming back over and overin my mind, and one of those
(02:50):
things is the theme of identity,like that question of what
defines me, what defines you,what are the things that we seek
out to feel like we're doingthe right thing or gaining the
approval that we're seeking, orbeing the person that God wants
us to be.
Well, I'm going to share withyou a short journal entry that I
(03:14):
wrote back in November, but,trust me, this theme has come up
over and over.
I am not the sum of myaccomplishments.
I am not the sum of myaccomplishments.
I am not my subtitles.
I am not defined by how manyboxes I check or how many tasks
I complete.
My value does not lie in stats,downloads, audience size or
(03:36):
speaking engagements.
My worth doesn't rise and fallbased on the number, on the
scale the size of my jeans, theclarity of my skin, the length
of my hair, the beauty I do ordon't possess.
My life is not measured by thisworld's metrics.
If it were, I'd always be foundlacking.
(03:56):
More they cry Bigger, better,faster, thinner, prettier.
You need to have this and dothis, and buy this, and
accomplish this and be this, andthen you'll be enough.
But it's never enough.
The bar is always moving, thestandard is always changing, and
(04:17):
we are so weary of striving.
What defines me, then?
This truth?
I have been called friend byGod Most High.
I've been invited intorelationship with the creator of
the universe and by the shedblood of his son, jesus Christ.
(04:37):
I am now a co-heir in God'skingdom.
I am God's daughter, christ'sfriend and the dwelling place of
the Holy Spirit.
I am chosen, purchased,redeemed and held fast by God's
righteous right hand.
I'm hidden under the shadow ofhis wings, held close to his
heart, protected by his faithful, perfect love.
(04:59):
I'm in the palm of his hand andI can't be snatched out of it.
God is for me and I aminseparable from his love.
Nothing this world throws at me, demands of me or forces upon
me can separate me from thislove.
What was broken is beingrestored.
What pushed me down cannot holdme there.
(05:20):
I have weapons this world can'tsee, and I live by faith and
not by sight.
God rides across the heavens tomy help, chases me down with
steadfast love and faithfulness,restores my soul, strengthens
my weak hands and collects mytears in his bottle.
His love is more powerful thanmy fear.
(05:42):
His strength is perfected in myweakness.
His light shines in my darkness.
His righteousness covers my sin.
His forgiveness purchases myfreedom.
As a branch tightly connectedto the vine.
His life pulses through me.
His righteousness is mine.
His easy yoke and light burdenfree me from the oppressive
(06:05):
demands of the world.
This is who I am and it's whoseI am.
I am his and he is mine, andthat is enough.
I don't know if you everstruggle with where your
identity comes from, but if youdo, I hope that those reminders
(06:27):
from scripture are something youcan tether your heart to.
The second thing that keepscoming up in my journals and I
have actually podcasted on thisin the past but is this idea of
lament.
You know, when you get a newcar and all of a sudden it looks
like everybody on the road isdriving your car.
Well, that's how it's been forme in Lament Ever since God has
(06:51):
brought this new language to myattention.
I just see it cropping upeverywhere, over and over, and I
see it in Scripture, as I'vebeen reading through Scripture
this year.
I'm actually in the Psalmsright now, as I've been reading
through scripture this year.
I'm actually in the Psalmsright now and I'm just getting
to see the freedom that Godgives us to express our pain and
our grief to him.
And the other thing I'mnoticing is it seems like
(07:14):
everyone I know has something tolament about, whether it's in
their personal life or somethingabout the state of our country
or something in their extendedfamily.
There's just so much griefgoing around, and so if you're
in a season of lament, I wantyou to know you are not alone.
God sees you, he hears you.
(07:37):
I want to encourage you tocontinue to allow yourself to
feel those hard feelings and letthem out.
Give yourself permission togrieve, to cry, to scream, to
pound the floor, whatever it isthat you need to do Now.
I don't want to keep talkingabout this because, as I
mentioned, I've done a couplepodcast episodes already, which
(07:57):
I will link in the show notes.
I'll be speaking about lamentat the Life Conference this June
and, as a follow-up to that, myfriend Brenda and I are going
to be hosting a lament workshop.
It was supposed to be held acouple months ago but we had to
postpone it.
But I want you to know that itis coming June 28th from 10 am
(08:19):
to noon.
It will be a virtual workshop,but I'll have links to all this
stuff in the show notes.
Okay, the third thing that Iwant to share with you, and this
is kind of connected to thatidea of identity, but it's being
small.
This keeps coming up over andover again in my journal because
the world is shouting at usconstantly, especially now in
(08:43):
our social media obsessedculture, that being small equals
being insignificant.
But when I look at Jesus, hewas content with small
gatherings and mountainsideconversations.
He found value in everyfaithful act, no matter how
quote-unquote insignificant itseemed to other people.
(09:07):
Often when he preached heturned people away rather than
drawing crowds to himself.
But I think most of us want, wecrave being big over small.
We want more over less.
We want to be epic, notordinary.
But let the record show thatthe word of God always flips
(09:29):
this script on its head.
I noticed, as I've been readingthrough scripture this year,
this theme coming up over andover again, when God
commissioned Moses and said Iwant you to lead the people out
of Israel.
Moses was like whoa, hey, notme.
Who am I?
I'm nobody.
When God called Gideon todefeat the Midianites, he said,
and I quote I'm the weakest inManasseh.
(09:52):
I'm the least in my family.
When Saul was told by Samuelthat he was going to be the king
of Israel, he said why me?
I'm the least of all the tribesand I'm the smallest in Israel.
And in almost every case, theLord came back to those guys
with reassurance.
He didn't give them a pep talk,he didn't tell them how awesome
(10:15):
they are, he didn't even givethem a list of positive
affirmations that they couldrecite every morning.
He told them all the same thingI will be with you.
The secret to their success wasnot who they were, it was the
fact that God would be with them.
It's all about presence, andJesus continues this theme in
(10:38):
the New Testament.
He said to his disciples I amthe vine, you are the branches.
If you remain in me and I inyou, you will bear much fruit,
for apart from me, you can donothing.
And he also said whoever isleast among you is the greatest.
I think about the apostle Paul,who called himself the least of
(11:01):
all the apostles, and he says Iwill boast all the more gladly
in my weaknesses so that thepower of Christ may rest on me.
That is why, for the sake ofChrist, I delight in weaknesses,
in insults, in hardships, inpersecutions and in difficulties
, for when I am weak, then I amstrong.
(11:22):
So when we feel small, when wefeel insignificant, when we feel
like we're not making a bigenough impact, I want us to
remember the beauty that Godcalls the small.
He uses the insignificant.
He doesn't need our numbers,our statistics or our platforms.
(11:45):
He longs to be with us, workingthrough us, in all of our
smallness, to show his might andhis glory.
Okay, fourth thing is Sabbath,and this is a theme that keeps
coming up for several years now,and this idea of rest, of
(12:05):
putting things down, of puttingaside all the striving and the
hustle.
The other day I was readingscripture and I came back to
Matthew 11, 28 to 30, which isone of my favorite passages.
It says Come to me all who areweary and burdened, and I will
give you rest.
(12:25):
Take my yoke upon you and learnfrom me, for I am gentle and
humble in heart, and you willfind rest for your souls, for my
yoke is easy and my burden islight.
If you can identify with someof the things that I've been
talking about already, thisinvitation from Jesus is
(12:46):
probably like a breath of freshair.
It's like a drink of cool water, because he is saying the same
thing to you.
He's saying come to me, let merest you to me, let me rest you.
Let's just put down thestriving and the hustle and the
(13:06):
feeling like we need to do itall and just be with me, just
abide in me.
And you know how I love wordstudies, so I dug in a little
bit to that word weary inMatthew 11, 28, and it is used
to describe so interesting thelabor involved in ministry and
the Christian life, emphasizingdedication and effort required
(13:29):
to spread the gospel and liveaccording to God's word.
So we, you and I, we areseeking to serve God.
I mean you're listening to thispodcast because you're a person
whose heart longs to walk withGod.
You want to serve God.
I mean you're listening to thispodcast because you're a person
whose heart longs to walk withGod.
You want to serve him and youare with your family, with your
job, with your ministry.
I don't know in what capacityexactly, but God is saying you
(13:53):
know what that can be tiring,that can be exhausting.
And when your ministry makesyou weary, come to me.
It makes me think of a seasonseveral years ago when Greg and
I were going through some stuffat a church that we were at and
we had just come back fromvacation and I remember I was
(14:16):
literally unpacking my clothes.
I should have been reallyrefreshed, I should have been
feeling great.
And Greg was telling me aboutsome drama and I said, oh, I am
just so weary.
And you know, in that momentGod wasn't like hey, buck up,
you just came back from vacation, you should be fine, stop
(14:38):
complaining.
I literally felt like Jesuswhispered to me right in that
moment Teresa, come to me, youwho are weary and burdened, and
just let me rest you.
And it's so beautiful that Godextends that invitation to us.
He doesn't put a whip to ourback and say keep going, keep
(15:09):
producing, keep striving.
He says rest, step off thecrazy train, give yourself a
minute and just hang out with me.
Oh, my goodness, I have to tellyou about a new song.
I know this seems kind ofrandom, but it just came into my
head.
There is a song that I justdiscovered by Jess Rae, called
Lilies and Sparrows.
I'll link it in the show notesbecause I have been playing this
song on repeat.
It's so beautiful and soothingand calming.
(15:29):
But a line from her song sayslook at the birds they do not
sow or reap.
Look at the flowers they nevertoil or spin.
That's a quote right out ofMatthew, chapter six, and it's
like God wants to remind us overand over.
What really matters is not allyour wheel spinning, all your
(15:50):
toiling, all your striving.
It's being with me.
Okay, the fourth thing, and Ican't believe, it's already May.
We're like five months into theyear and I think I just
realized that I never told youmy word of the year, which is
less, and that seems like kindof a weird word to choose.
(16:11):
But when I said less, this iskind of the things that I had in
mind.
I want this year to be a yearof less clutter, more open space
, less busy, more freedom, lessfear, more trust, less stuff,
more simplicity, less digitalnoise, more white space, less
(16:35):
distraction, more focus.
And when it comes to havingless or doing less or being less
, there's a word that scriptureuses and the word is pruning.
Now, that's a gardening term and, as you may or may not know, I
am not a gardener.
I'm having a hard time evengrowing this sweet little basil
(16:58):
plant that my friend gave me.
I asked her the other day I'mlike, do you have big leaves or
little leaves?
And she's like big ones.
I'm like well, why are myleaves so small and scrawny?
Okay, I digress, let's get backto pruning.
Pruning is when a gardener willcut back their plant.
By the way, I do prune my basil, so I'm not sure what's
(17:21):
happening with it, but they cutback to make room for more.
Well, as I entered 2025, I feltlike my life was an overgrown
tree.
It just felt like there wasenergy shooting out in every
different direction and it feltvery chaotic.
And I want to tell you about avisual that I had In our last
(17:44):
house.
We had this big water oak inour front yard Huge, tons of
branches, tons of stuff going on.
Our neighbors had two wateroaks in their front yard and one
day this crew came and theytrimmed their water oaks, so
they cut all these branches offand when it was all done, you
(18:06):
could stand back and you couldlook at my tree in my yard and
be like, wow, that tree has alot going on.
And then you would look acrossthe street at my neighbor's
pruned trees and you'd be like,oh, now that's what a healthy
tree looks like.
It was so calm and beautifuland peaceful.
(18:29):
Meanwhile my tree that had allthis leaves and branches
everywhere was less healthy,less attractive, less fruitful.
It was completely overgrown.
And we know that pruning iswhat makes a tree healthy.
But here's the thing Pruning isjust a nice word for cutting and
(18:52):
cutting hurts.
We don't like to cut things, wedon't like to be hurt, and it
costs.
Okay, if you're talking about atree, it costs money to hire an
arborist.
But if we're talking about ourlives, it means cutting back,
cutting out, saying nodisappointing people maybe and
that hurts, we don't want to.
(19:13):
So sometimes we let our treesand our lives grow wildly out of
control.
Maybe we think we're just beingproductive or responsible for
everything and everyone, ormaybe we don't have the guts to
cut things, or maybe we're justtoo lazy or pain avoidant and
(19:35):
yikes.
Now I feel like I'm stepping onmy own toes.
I don't know if any of thisresonates with you, but this
year I have had to look long andhard at the things I'm involved
in and say what stays and whatgoes.
And honestly I have beenpraying about this all year,
lord, what stays, what goes?
(19:55):
What do I say yes to?
What's my best yes and what aremy sure no's.
And here's the other thingabout pruning is it's scary.
We don't want to let things go,we don't want to cut things out
, because what if they don'tcome back?
But I was reminded way back whenwe lived in Ohio, we had this
(20:17):
hydrangea bush in front of ourhouse and one year I don't know
why you guys don't ask me, I'mnot a gardener I cut that thing
down to the nubs.
It was like fall maybe, and Ijust was tired of it.
It was leaving all theseflowers all over the place and
it was dried out and I was likeI'm done.
I'm done with this thing.
(20:37):
I cut it down so small, like itwas about probably my height,
and I just cut it down to myankles.
I was like I'm done with thisthing.
The next year that hydrangeareached our second story window.
It was crazy.
I was like what is happeningright now?
(20:59):
It was cutting it and paring itdown that made room for that
tree to explode.
So there's a lesson for me whenI'm, and for you when we're
scared of like, oh, but if I cutthings out, everything's going
to disappear, but maybe when wecut things out, we're actually
(21:20):
making room for growth.
Okay, that leads to the fifththing that I want to tell you
Now.
As you know, I ammulti-passionate, right?
I love doing this podcast, Ilove speaking and writing Bible
studies and studying scriptureand leading women's ministry and
I have just been trained onbeing a trauma-informed life
(21:42):
coach and all the things.
I hope you're getting a pictureof an overgrown tree in your
head right now, because that'skind of what I feel like my life
has looked like.
So, to stick with this pruningmetaphor, that's what I feel
like.
So this is what God has reallybeen impressing on my heart and
(22:04):
guys, it's scary, but I amthinking about taking a summer
Sabbath from the podcast.
I am not in any way ending thepodcast.
I am not saying no to thepodcast, but I am saying yes to
pulling back and pruning for thesummer only, and I don't even
(22:26):
know what that means exactly yet.
So it may mean like no newepisodes coming out.
It may mean really simpleepisodes coming out.
It may mean one coming out justonly once a month.
I'm not sure We'll see.
I'm not one of those people whohas, like my next six months
planned out oh my goodness, I'mjealous of those people.
Has, like, my next six monthsplanned out oh my goodness, I'm
(22:47):
jealous of those people.
Again, I digress, but I havetried to think of different ways
.
I can take a summer Sabbathwithout pruning and I just can't
.
But I have to make room for thething that God is really been
getting me super excited about,and that is I am starting and
working through my next Biblestudy.
(23:08):
I have my outline complete, Ihave a couple chapters rough
drafted, but I am shootingenergy in too many different
directions, and when you arewriting a study, you need to
focus.
You need that energy, you needthe time, you need a lot of
white space and the ability todo deep work, and I love doing
(23:31):
this podcast so much, but ittakes up a lot of brain space,
and so, in order to serve youbetter, I have to step away for
a short time so that I candevote that time and energy into
the next Bible study.
And also, my plan is to comeback in the fall and similar to
(23:52):
what I did with Grace.
So I don't know if you realizethis, but this podcast started
because I wrote a Bible studycalled Grace how God Redeems and
Restores the Broken, and, likethe first 20 episodes, was an
introduction to that study.
I shared the woman's story anda Psalm and then I interviewed
somebody who whose storyresonated with that woman in the
(24:15):
study.
Well, this Bible study is goingto have six more women in
scripture and it's going to be adifferent theme than graced was
, um, but I am planning to dothe same thing.
So there will be, in the fall,a whole new podcast series based
on the new Bible study that'scoming out.
So I will be sharing six morestories of women in scripture,
(24:39):
six different Psalms and six newwomen that I'm going to
interview that their storieswould resonate with the women in
scripture.
In order to make space toprepare all of that, to write
the study, to have theinterviews, to record the
podcast, I have to kind of takea little break from what I've
been doing, which is week byweek, you know, cranking out
(25:01):
content.
So what does this mean for you?
It means this summer content.
So what does this mean for you?
It means this summer I will notbe sending a weekly podcast
update.
It may mean that things getpretty quiet around here on Find
Hope here, but good news is Ihave over 115 episodes so you
can go back and listen to theones that you've missed or go
(25:24):
back and listen to yourfavorites.
I will continue to write mymonthly email.
So if you are not on my emaillist, if you want to get on that
ASAP, there is a link to joinmy email list in the show notes,
along with everything else thatI keep saying.
I'm so excited about this nextstudy.
I feel like God is bringingtogether the women whose stories
(25:45):
are going to resonate withyours and mine.
I want to tell you who they are, but I don't know if I should
let you in on that yet.
But if you want to be in theloop, I am looking for prayer
partners and I'm looking forbeta readers.
If you would like to be on myprayer team and if you would
(26:07):
like to be a beta reader, I willput a link in the show notes
for you to sign up for thesethings.
And then, finally, I just wantto say thank you.
I feel like we should have oncea year like a celebrating you.
Episode where I just spend thewhole time thanking you for
showing up for listening.
Episode where I just spend thewhole time thanking you for
(26:28):
showing up, for listening, forsharing Find Hope here with your
friends, for rating andreviewing the podcast, which
wink, wink.
If you haven't done that yet,please I'm begging you, get on
Apple Podcasts.
Leave a five-star rating and areview, because that is what
helps Apple to tell people aboutFind Hope here.
Well, I hope you enjoyed thatwalk on the beach as much as I
(26:51):
did.
I love just getting to talkwith you and share with you the
things that God has been layingon my heart recently, and I
appreciate you listening to them, as always.
Thanks for hanging out with metoday on Find Hope here.
To find everything that Imentioned on the episode, go to
TeresaWhitingcom slash listen,which is where you can find all
(27:14):
the show notes.
Also, I will have links toeverything that I mentioned in
the condensed show notesunderneath this episode.
In closing, I want to leave youwith this prayer from Romans 15
13.
May the God of hope fill youwith all joy and peace in
believing, so that, by the powerof the Holy Spirit, you may
(27:38):
abound in hope.
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