May 14, 2024 • 19 mins
As Stephanie wandered through the forest, the serenity of mushroom hunting became a profound metaphor for pursuing our calling. In this episode, Stephanie weaves together lessons from Proverbs 3:5-6 and Ephesians 6:11.
Our journey doesn't end with finding focus amidst life's distractions, it's also about the enduring virtues of patience and persistence. Stephanie shares anecdotes from the quiet underbrush of the forest and beyond, illustrating the incredible power of gratitude in transforming our daily experiences.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hey friends, it's Stephanie here with episode
number 110 of Giving your BestLife, and I came up with this
episode and I got to say I knowI've done two episodes on
distraction and I will get thethird one done, but I had to get
this one out because it wastimely.
It was on my mind and the lastcouple of years that I have went
(00:25):
out mushroom hunting, um, I'vehad similar thoughts of like, oh
, I should do a podcast on this,I should write a blog or
something.
And I never do.
And this year I've been out, Ithink, three or four times and
the same thought hits me.
So that is why I'm recordingthis episode on basically how
(00:45):
mushroom hunting is likefollowing God, and maybe that'll
give you a little chuckle.
I would love to hear from youif you go mushroom hunting, if
you'd love to eat the morelsthat people find.
But I'm going to have a coupleof verses and my first one just
kind of overarching one of myfavorite verses I know it's a
(01:06):
life verse for many is Proverbs3, 5 through 6, which is trust
in the Lord with all your heartand do not lean or rely on your
own understanding.
Acknowledge him in all yourways and he will make your path
straight.
Him in all your ways and hewill make your path straight.
(01:27):
I always think of this versewhen I'm outside, when I'm on a
trail, when I'm getting off of atrail.
You know there's, I just loveit.
So I wanted to start out withthat verse and I really
challenge you.
I know that I do this often,but chapter three is kind of
long and it goes 35 verses, butit is a great chapter, I know so
(01:50):
much.
We just focus on that three,five and six.
But today I went back up and Iread three through 12, which was
amazing and just so much wisdom, as always.
And if you go to 13 through 26,it's blessings of obtaining
wisdom.
And then 27 through 35, wisdomdemonstrated in relationships
(02:15):
with people.
So, anyways, just a goodchapter to read.
So just don't focus on the oneverse.
But okay, let's get to this.
I went out to mushroom hunt and,as I was preparing for this,
the first thing that I thoughtof is, whenever I go out to
(02:35):
mushroom hunt is I change myclothes because I want to have
long sleeves on long pants,there's sticker bushes, there's
ticks, and so I always change myclothes, which reminded me of
what Ephesians 6.10 says, oractually Ephesians 6.11.
(03:01):
And it's clothe yourself withthe full armor of God so that
you will be able to standagainst the schemes of the devil
.
And if we look at what that is,if you go to verse 14, and
again I encourage you to readthis whole section, it's 6, 10
(03:21):
through 20.
But 14 says stand firm,therefore, by fastening the belt
of truth around your waist, byputting on the breastplate of
righteousness, by fitting yourfeet with the preparation that
comes from the good news ofpeace and, in all this, by
taking up the shield of faithwith which you can extinguish
(03:42):
all the flaming arrows of theevil one, and take the helmet of
salvation and the sword of thespirit, which is the word of God
, with every prayer and petition.
Pray at all times in the spiritand, to this end, be alert with
all perseverance and petitionsfor all the saints.
(04:03):
I just love that.
So I love like thinking about,as we go out, as we pursue our
calling that God has on ourlives is making sure we're
putting on the armor of Godbecause the evil one is going to
try to attack us.
We are going to have resistanceand we wanna be reminded and be
clothed in that full armor ofGod so we can stand against the
(04:28):
evil one and we know where ourstrength and power comes from.
So that was like my first thing, before I even head out the
door, I change my clothes so I'mprepared for what I'm about,
ready to take on mushroomhunting.
The second thing is is before Ieven, like, get in the woods,
get in the trail, fear hits meand it's I see this so much,
(04:54):
either with clients I'm coachingor just people who I know who
want to do something whether itis the calling God has on their
life or a goal is fear willovertake them before they start.
So for me, if you've beenfollowing along, you know I got
bit by a spider that almostkilled me from an infection, but
(05:14):
even more than that is, I havebattled Lyme disease and ticks
so, and I had acute and chronicLyme, and so before I go out, I
just have this fear in the woodsof, well, what if?
And you know there's all thesewhat if?
Statements that come when we'repursuing our calling.
(05:34):
They're usually we're thinkingon the negative side.
What if I get bit by a tick?
And what if that tick has thebacteria that we would consider
or kind of fall in the scope ofLyme disease, which is multiple
bacterias.
So a lot of times, before weeven take a step of doing what
we think God is calling us to do, we start with excuses.
(05:55):
We start with fear.
Let's remember that in theBible, over 365 times, it says
do not be afraid, which is why Istarted with the armor of God,
because what does it tell us todo?
Verse 18, six, verse 18 inEphesians with every prayer and
petition, pray at all times inthe spirit.
(06:18):
So we want to pray as we'regoing through, as we're stepping
out in faith, and this is notjust praying once Lord, protect
me, lord, give me wisdom, lord,give me guidance, lord, take
away any fears.
I have any anxieties, anyworries.
We know that that is not of you, but we want to be doing that
(06:41):
every day, even multiple times aday, as we pursue our calling.
We want to be walking hand inhand with the Lord as we're
going down this path of ourcalling.
The other thing that I'mreminded is a lot of times, the
majority of times, our fears areunfounded.
Most of the things that we feardo not come true.
(07:03):
So I remind myself when I amout in the woods is that,
stephanie, you were in the woodsfor 40, some years, before you
had anything bad happen to you.
Now, obviously, I had a coupleof bad things happen in a short
span of time, like two years butI had to remember the majority,
(07:23):
overwhelming majority of thetime, the probably thousands of
times I've been in the woods,been hiking, whatever I'm doing,
nothing bad has happened.
So we always have to remember,you know, kind of put things in
context, in perspective.
The other thing now my husbandwill probably never listen to
this because I doubt he listensto the podcast, but when we're
(07:45):
out mushroom hunting my husbandis always going first.
He's usually ahead of me.
Sometimes I can see him,sometimes I can't.
He's making a way.
He's kind of going and findingwhere we need to go and I was
like well, that's like God, notthat my husband is God, but like
, isn't that?
(08:06):
Like?
Sometimes we feel like we cansee God and is very clear of
what he's calling us to do andwe're in lockstep.
He is clearing that path andthen other times you're like God
, I can't see you.
I'm not hearing from you, didyou turn a corner?
But what I know in being in thewoods with my husband is he's
(08:27):
always near me, he is alwaysclose and at any time I yell out
for him, he is immediatelythere and he responds.
And so it was just this greatpicture of walking out in the
woods, of like my husbandleading the way, and it's like,
oh, that's how God does in ourlife.
And even when I can't see him,he is always there.
(08:50):
He never leaves me in thatwoods by myself.
You know, oftentimes he'scoming back to get me, sometimes
he is encouraging me, you know,but I was like it's such a
great picture of God is, even ifwe can't see him, he is always
there.
He is always guiding andleading our path.
The other thing that I havelearned during mushroom hunting
(09:14):
and how it's like pursuing ourcalling is patience, patience,
patience, patience.
The other thing, when you'reout there is like you don't even
know if you're going to see anymushrooms.
You don't even know if you'relooking in the right spot.
So there's a lot of like whatis even going on here?
But you know you're like whereyou need to be, but it takes a
(09:36):
lot of patience.
It takes a lot of slowing downand just going.
Okay, I'm going to keep takingthat one step forward.
I'm going to keep searching andthat's how I feel it is with
our goals is, a lot of times,what I see is people want quick
(09:56):
results, or they want God toanswer them immediately, or they
want fill in the blank as itrelates to pursuing their
calling, and sometimes it ismonths, years, decades, as it
relates to us kind of finding orcoming to the point of like, oh
my gosh, we actually got tothis point of where we thought
(10:18):
God was calling us.
So remember that our callingrequires patience.
It oftentimes requiresperspective or changing our
perspective.
So a lot of times when I'mmushroom hunting is I will not
be able to see a mushroom if Iam standing up and walking.
A lot of times, again, this iswhere patience is.
(10:40):
I will have to change myperspective.
I'll squat down and look slowlyaround and oftentimes, by just
changing my perspective is whenI will see a mushroom, I will
find a mushroom.
And so I think that's a lot oftimes too is.
I heard this the other day in atalk and I don't have the notes
(11:02):
in front of me, but it just camewith me as it was, like a lot
of times, god gives you a visionand that vision is for your
calling and you're walking downthe path.
But then when you get, or whenyou're in, you know, like this
calling it looks very differentthan what you thought it was
(11:23):
going to look like, and that'show it is with mushroom hunting.
You have to change yourperspective and so just remember
, that is sometimes our callingdoesn't look like what we think
it's going to look like.
God might change it.
God often has a differentvision than what we originally
(11:45):
see or the path that weoriginally go after.
The big thing, too that I seewhen I'm out mushroom hunting
and it is 100% when you're goingafter your goal or you're
pursuing your calling isdistraction.
Now, you know that I'verecorded two episodes on
distraction, but when I'm outthere, I will see little flowers
(12:07):
, I will see deer tracks, I willsee deer paths that I want to
go to.
The other day we were out and Iwas like, oh, look at that deer
, it looks like a little tinyhouse but it's like a little
deer blind out there.
I was like, oh, I'd like to goover there.
There'll be holes that you haveto pay attention to, or you'll
like fall in and, you know,twist your ankle or whatever.
(12:32):
There's just like all thesedistractions and the whole time
it's like, well, I'll hear myhusband say, stephanie, just
focus, stephanie, focus, likewe're out here.
Or I'll even have to remindmyself Stephanie, focus, you're
out here to find mushrooms, notto look at flowers, not to go
down deer paths, and that's howour goal is, is when we're, you
know, going after.
(12:52):
That goal is we're constantlyhave to remind ourselves is what
are we doing?
Because there's so manydistractions, and distractions
is from the devil.
The devil does not want youdoing whatever it is you're
trying to accomplish, whetherit's I always like to use book
because I write books and I seehow that happens.
(13:13):
But let's say you're pursuing anew job opportunity or career,
or you want to go back tocollege, or there's a training
that you need, there's aministry that you want to start.
I have a friend right now whois trying to start a ministry
and it's just like she's notmaking much progress because
she's distracted by so manyother things.
So just think about thedistractions in your life.
(13:36):
What do you need to be focusingon?
What do you need to get out ofyour life?
The other thing is fear cancreep up along the way, so when
you're in the calling.
So at the beginning I said,fear can stop us from even
taking that first step, fromeven getting out the door.
But also fear comes up a lot inthe middle of us pursuing our
(13:59):
calling.
I'll give you an example WhileI was mushroom hunting a dog, my
neighbor's dog came out and hewas barking and he probably
wasn't going to do anything.
But if you didn't know, I have aphobia of dogs and so I hear
him barking.
I see him coming down the trail.
Now guess what happens?
What do I immediately do is Iyell for my husband, and that
(14:22):
was the right thing to do.
So think about when you havethis fear that overcomes you as
you're pursuing the calling.
Working on a goal is pause andpray, cry out to your father.
I'm scared, come, help me, come, be with me, come.
You know like my husband justcame and he, like, talked to the
(14:45):
dog, slowly, walked it back tothe house.
Neighbor came out, you know,but it was like that was a great
of fear creeps up when we'reout there, when we're doing the
work, and we just have to cryout to God and switch, because
we are not supposed to befearful.
That fear is not of God.
We can't have a fear of God,which that is like reverence and
(15:08):
respect, but we should not letfear prevent us from doing what
he has called us to do.
I talked about patience, butalso I noticed like sometimes we
will go out there, we don'tfind anything, and that might be
boring.
And accomplishing our goals orpursuing like it can be a long
journey, it can take a long time, but what I found is, as we
(15:31):
keep showing up, we keep showingup, we do the grind every day
and you just keep trotting along, trotting along.
Guess what happens is we alwaysfind a mushroom.
It may not be the first time,may not be the second time, but
we always find a mushroom.
Also is think about the toolsthat you will need.
The first like maybe two timeswe went out this season is there
(15:55):
were a ton of sticker bushesand I was like why do we keep
coming out here and dealing withthese sticker bushes?
So the third time we went outis I took clippers.
I took a tool with me that madeit easier, and so you might
think of God.
What is a tool that I need?
God and people can be tools forus.
(16:15):
God, maybe is there someonethat can help me, maybe
someone's been here and donethis and they might be able to
help me.
They could be a tool.
Maybe there's a training.
You guys know I do coaching, Ihave fabulous clients and I'm
walking alongside with them andI'm just a tool to help them
pursue and do what God hascalled them to do.
(16:37):
Did I say maybe a training, aclass, a course?
So, figure out, is there a toolthat I need to pursue the
calling that God has had on mylife?
I got to thinking about thisalso and, you know, while,
within the compass of this andyou know, part of giving your
(17:00):
best life is gratitude, withinthe compass of this, and you
know, part of giving your bestlife is gratitude, is I like to
to practice gratitude before Igo out.
Um, you know.
So I'll be grateful for theweather.
I'll be grateful that, um, notonly do we have our woods to
look at, but our neighbor allowsus to go on his property and
and look for mushrooms.
So, as you start your journey,if you're just in the beginning,
(17:21):
you haven't taken that firststep, maybe you're at the fear
stage and hopefully I've justlike helped you navigate the
fear stage is start withgratitude and whatever that is
for your situation If you're inthe middle of it.
So when I'm outside in themiddle of mushroom hunting, it's
I'm grateful for.
(17:42):
You know, sometimes it's Ididn't fall in a hole that I saw
.
It's grateful when we havesuccess.
You know, it's like when wefind that first one, oh, I'm
grateful.
I found one.
And we had a time that we justwent out once and we or we only
the whole time my husband wasout is he only found one and we
ended up giving it away.
So along the journey sometimesis it's not about you, it is
(18:04):
about what you can give to otherpeople and the gifts and how
God's using you to make someoneelse's day.
And you might be thinking,stephanie, you only gave that
person one mushroom.
Well, one, that's all we found,but two.
As an older gentleman, we'vegiven him in the past, we've
given him mushrooms.
But my friend was coming overand she's like you know, my
(18:26):
stepfather, he loves those.
So I was like, well, this isall we can find.
So at least we gave him one.
And then think about when we getmaybe to the end, or like for
me.
I know I'm always grateful whenI get to an end of a book or
maybe a class that I was takingor a training For me.
(18:47):
When I'm out there at the end,it's like I'm grateful for time
I got to spend with my husband,I'm grateful for being outside,
especially when we've beencooped up all winter time, and
I'm always grateful when I comein and I don't have a tick on me
.
So think about ways that youcan practice gratitude.
I hope maybe you found this funand you see the correlations of
mushroom hunting and followingthe path that God has you on,
(19:11):
and this is just another way tothink about how you get to
giving your best life.
Hey friends, it's Stephanie here with episode
number 110 of Giving your BestLife, and I came up with this
episode and I got to say I knowI've done two episodes on
distraction and I will get thethird one done, but I had to get
this one out because it wastimely.
It was on my mind and the lastcouple of years that I have went
(00:25):
out mushroom hunting, um, I'vehad similar thoughts of like, oh
, I should do a podcast on this,I should write a blog or
something.
And I never do.
And this year I've been out, Ithink, three or four times and
the same thought hits me.
So that is why I'm recordingthis episode on basically how
(00:45):
mushroom hunting is likefollowing God, and maybe that'll
give you a little chuckle.
I would love to hear from youif you go mushroom hunting, if
you'd love to eat the morelsthat people find.
But I'm going to have a coupleof verses and my first one just
kind of overarching one of myfavorite verses I know it's a
(01:06):
life verse for many is Proverbs3, 5 through 6, which is trust
in the Lord with all your heartand do not lean or rely on your
own understanding.
Acknowledge him in all yourways and he will make your path
straight.
Him in all your ways and hewill make your path straight.
(01:27):
I always think of this versewhen I'm outside, when I'm on a
trail, when I'm getting off of atrail.
You know there's, I just loveit.
So I wanted to start out withthat verse and I really
challenge you.
I know that I do this often,but chapter three is kind of
long and it goes 35 verses, butit is a great chapter, I know so
(01:50):
much.
We just focus on that three,five and six.
But today I went back up and Iread three through 12, which was
amazing and just so much wisdom, as always.
And if you go to 13 through 26,it's blessings of obtaining
wisdom.
And then 27 through 35, wisdomdemonstrated in relationships
(02:15):
with people.
So, anyways, just a goodchapter to read.
So just don't focus on the oneverse.
But okay, let's get to this.
I went out to mushroom hunt and,as I was preparing for this,
the first thing that I thoughtof is, whenever I go out to
(02:35):
mushroom hunt is I change myclothes because I want to have
long sleeves on long pants,there's sticker bushes, there's
ticks, and so I always change myclothes, which reminded me of
what Ephesians 6.10 says, oractually Ephesians 6.11.
(03:01):
And it's clothe yourself withthe full armor of God so that
you will be able to standagainst the schemes of the devil
.
And if we look at what that is,if you go to verse 14, and
again I encourage you to readthis whole section, it's 6, 10
(03:21):
through 20.
But 14 says stand firm,therefore, by fastening the belt
of truth around your waist, byputting on the breastplate of
righteousness, by fitting yourfeet with the preparation that
comes from the good news ofpeace and, in all this, by
taking up the shield of faithwith which you can extinguish
(03:42):
all the flaming arrows of theevil one, and take the helmet of
salvation and the sword of thespirit, which is the word of God
, with every prayer and petition.
Pray at all times in the spiritand, to this end, be alert with
all perseverance and petitionsfor all the saints.
(04:03):
I just love that.
So I love like thinking about,as we go out, as we pursue our
calling that God has on ourlives is making sure we're
putting on the armor of Godbecause the evil one is going to
try to attack us.
We are going to have resistanceand we wanna be reminded and be
clothed in that full armor ofGod so we can stand against the
(04:28):
evil one and we know where ourstrength and power comes from.
So that was like my first thing, before I even head out the
door, I change my clothes so I'mprepared for what I'm about,
ready to take on mushroomhunting.
The second thing is is before Ieven, like, get in the woods,
get in the trail, fear hits meand it's I see this so much,
(04:54):
either with clients I'm coachingor just people who I know who
want to do something whether itis the calling God has on their
life or a goal is fear willovertake them before they start.
So for me, if you've beenfollowing along, you know I got
bit by a spider that almostkilled me from an infection, but
(05:14):
even more than that is, I havebattled Lyme disease and ticks
so, and I had acute and chronicLyme, and so before I go out, I
just have this fear in the woodsof, well, what if?
And you know there's all thesewhat if?
Statements that come when we'repursuing our calling.
(05:34):
They're usually we're thinkingon the negative side.
What if I get bit by a tick?
And what if that tick has thebacteria that we would consider
or kind of fall in the scope ofLyme disease, which is multiple
bacterias.
So a lot of times, before weeven take a step of doing what
we think God is calling us to do, we start with excuses.
(05:55):
We start with fear.
Let's remember that in theBible, over 365 times, it says
do not be afraid, which is why Istarted with the armor of God,
because what does it tell us todo?
Verse 18, six, verse 18 inEphesians with every prayer and
petition, pray at all times inthe spirit.
(06:18):
So we want to pray as we'regoing through, as we're stepping
out in faith, and this is notjust praying once Lord, protect
me, lord, give me wisdom, lord,give me guidance, lord, take
away any fears.
I have any anxieties, anyworries.
We know that that is not of you, but we want to be doing that
(06:41):
every day, even multiple times aday, as we pursue our calling.
We want to be walking hand inhand with the Lord as we're
going down this path of ourcalling.
The other thing that I'mreminded is a lot of times, the
majority of times, our fears areunfounded.
Most of the things that we feardo not come true.
(07:03):
So I remind myself when I amout in the woods is that,
stephanie, you were in the woodsfor 40, some years, before you
had anything bad happen to you.
Now, obviously, I had a coupleof bad things happen in a short
span of time, like two years butI had to remember the majority,
(07:23):
overwhelming majority of thetime, the probably thousands of
times I've been in the woods,been hiking, whatever I'm doing,
nothing bad has happened.
So we always have to remember,you know, kind of put things in
context, in perspective.
The other thing now my husbandwill probably never listen to
this because I doubt he listensto the podcast, but when we're
(07:45):
out mushroom hunting my husbandis always going first.
He's usually ahead of me.
Sometimes I can see him,sometimes I can't.
He's making a way.
He's kind of going and findingwhere we need to go and I was
like well, that's like God, notthat my husband is God, but like
, isn't that?
(08:06):
Like?
Sometimes we feel like we cansee God and is very clear of
what he's calling us to do andwe're in lockstep.
He is clearing that path andthen other times you're like God
, I can't see you.
I'm not hearing from you, didyou turn a corner?
But what I know in being in thewoods with my husband is he's
(08:27):
always near me, he is alwaysclose and at any time I yell out
for him, he is immediatelythere and he responds.
And so it was just this greatpicture of walking out in the
woods, of like my husbandleading the way, and it's like,
oh, that's how God does in ourlife.
And even when I can't see him,he is always there.
(08:50):
He never leaves me in thatwoods by myself.
You know, oftentimes he'scoming back to get me, sometimes
he is encouraging me, you know,but I was like it's such a
great picture of God is, even ifwe can't see him, he is always
there.
He is always guiding andleading our path.
The other thing that I havelearned during mushroom hunting
(09:14):
and how it's like pursuing ourcalling is patience, patience,
patience, patience.
The other thing, when you'reout there is like you don't even
know if you're going to see anymushrooms.
You don't even know if you'relooking in the right spot.
So there's a lot of like whatis even going on here?
But you know you're like whereyou need to be, but it takes a
(09:36):
lot of patience.
It takes a lot of slowing downand just going.
Okay, I'm going to keep takingthat one step forward.
I'm going to keep searching andthat's how I feel it is with
our goals is, a lot of times,what I see is people want quick
(09:56):
results, or they want God toanswer them immediately, or they
want fill in the blank as itrelates to pursuing their
calling, and sometimes it ismonths, years, decades, as it
relates to us kind of finding orcoming to the point of like, oh
my gosh, we actually got tothis point of where we thought
(10:18):
God was calling us.
So remember that our callingrequires patience.
It oftentimes requiresperspective or changing our
perspective.
So a lot of times when I'mmushroom hunting is I will not
be able to see a mushroom if Iam standing up and walking.
A lot of times, again, this iswhere patience is.
(10:40):
I will have to change myperspective.
I'll squat down and look slowlyaround and oftentimes, by just
changing my perspective is whenI will see a mushroom, I will
find a mushroom.
And so I think that's a lot oftimes too is.
I heard this the other day in atalk and I don't have the notes
(11:02):
in front of me, but it just camewith me as it was, like a lot
of times, god gives you a visionand that vision is for your
calling and you're walking downthe path.
But then when you get, or whenyou're in, you know, like this
calling it looks very differentthan what you thought it was
(11:23):
going to look like, and that'show it is with mushroom hunting.
You have to change yourperspective and so just remember
, that is sometimes our callingdoesn't look like what we think
it's going to look like.
God might change it.
God often has a differentvision than what we originally
(11:45):
see or the path that weoriginally go after.
The big thing, too that I seewhen I'm out mushroom hunting
and it is 100% when you're goingafter your goal or you're
pursuing your calling isdistraction.
Now, you know that I'verecorded two episodes on
distraction, but when I'm outthere, I will see little flowers
(12:07):
, I will see deer tracks, I willsee deer paths that I want to
go to.
The other day we were out and Iwas like, oh, look at that deer
, it looks like a little tinyhouse but it's like a little
deer blind out there.
I was like, oh, I'd like to goover there.
There'll be holes that you haveto pay attention to, or you'll
like fall in and, you know,twist your ankle or whatever.
(12:32):
There's just like all thesedistractions and the whole time
it's like, well, I'll hear myhusband say, stephanie, just
focus, stephanie, focus, likewe're out here.
Or I'll even have to remindmyself Stephanie, focus, you're
out here to find mushrooms, notto look at flowers, not to go
down deer paths, and that's howour goal is, is when we're, you
know, going after.
(12:52):
That goal is we're constantlyhave to remind ourselves is what
are we doing?
Because there's so manydistractions, and distractions
is from the devil.
The devil does not want youdoing whatever it is you're
trying to accomplish, whetherit's I always like to use book
because I write books and I seehow that happens.
(13:13):
But let's say you're pursuing anew job opportunity or career,
or you want to go back tocollege, or there's a training
that you need, there's aministry that you want to start.
I have a friend right now whois trying to start a ministry
and it's just like she's notmaking much progress because
she's distracted by so manyother things.
So just think about thedistractions in your life.
(13:36):
What do you need to be focusingon?
What do you need to get out ofyour life?
The other thing is fear cancreep up along the way, so when
you're in the calling.
So at the beginning I said,fear can stop us from even
taking that first step, fromeven getting out the door.
But also fear comes up a lot inthe middle of us pursuing our
(13:59):
calling.
I'll give you an example WhileI was mushroom hunting a dog, my
neighbor's dog came out and hewas barking and he probably
wasn't going to do anything.
But if you didn't know, I have aphobia of dogs and so I hear
him barking.
I see him coming down the trail.
Now guess what happens?
What do I immediately do is Iyell for my husband, and that
(14:22):
was the right thing to do.
So think about when you havethis fear that overcomes you as
you're pursuing the calling.
Working on a goal is pause andpray, cry out to your father.
I'm scared, come, help me, come, be with me, come.
You know like my husband justcame and he, like, talked to the
(14:45):
dog, slowly, walked it back tothe house.
Neighbor came out, you know,but it was like that was a great
of fear creeps up when we'reout there, when we're doing the
work, and we just have to cryout to God and switch, because
we are not supposed to befearful.
That fear is not of God.
We can't have a fear of God,which that is like reverence and
(15:08):
respect, but we should not letfear prevent us from doing what
he has called us to do.
I talked about patience, butalso I noticed like sometimes we
will go out there, we don'tfind anything, and that might be
boring.
And accomplishing our goals orpursuing like it can be a long
journey, it can take a long time, but what I found is, as we
(15:31):
keep showing up, we keep showingup, we do the grind every day
and you just keep trotting along, trotting along.
Guess what happens is we alwaysfind a mushroom.
It may not be the first time,may not be the second time, but
we always find a mushroom.
Also is think about the toolsthat you will need.
The first like maybe two timeswe went out this season is there
(15:55):
were a ton of sticker bushesand I was like why do we keep
coming out here and dealing withthese sticker bushes?
So the third time we went outis I took clippers.
I took a tool with me that madeit easier, and so you might
think of God.
What is a tool that I need?
God and people can be tools forus.
(16:15):
God, maybe is there someonethat can help me, maybe
someone's been here and donethis and they might be able to
help me.
They could be a tool.
Maybe there's a training.
You guys know I do coaching, Ihave fabulous clients and I'm
walking alongside with them andI'm just a tool to help them
pursue and do what God hascalled them to do.
(16:37):
Did I say maybe a training, aclass, a course?
So, figure out, is there a toolthat I need to pursue the
calling that God has had on mylife?
I got to thinking about thisalso and, you know, while,
within the compass of this andyou know, part of giving your
(17:00):
best life is gratitude, withinthe compass of this, and you
know, part of giving your bestlife is gratitude, is I like to
to practice gratitude before Igo out.
Um, you know.
So I'll be grateful for theweather.
I'll be grateful that, um, notonly do we have our woods to
look at, but our neighbor allowsus to go on his property and
and look for mushrooms.
So, as you start your journey,if you're just in the beginning,
(17:21):
you haven't taken that firststep, maybe you're at the fear
stage and hopefully I've justlike helped you navigate the
fear stage is start withgratitude and whatever that is
for your situation If you're inthe middle of it.
So when I'm outside in themiddle of mushroom hunting, it's
I'm grateful for.
(17:42):
You know, sometimes it's Ididn't fall in a hole that I saw
.
It's grateful when we havesuccess.
You know, it's like when wefind that first one, oh, I'm
grateful.
I found one.
And we had a time that we justwent out once and we or we only
the whole time my husband wasout is he only found one and we
ended up giving it away.
So along the journey sometimesis it's not about you, it is
(18:04):
about what you can give to otherpeople and the gifts and how
God's using you to make someoneelse's day.
And you might be thinking,stephanie, you only gave that
person one mushroom.
Well, one, that's all we found,but two.
As an older gentleman, we'vegiven him in the past, we've
given him mushrooms.
But my friend was coming overand she's like you know, my
(18:26):
stepfather, he loves those.
So I was like, well, this isall we can find.
So at least we gave him one.
And then think about when we getmaybe to the end, or like for
me.
I know I'm always grateful whenI get to an end of a book or
maybe a class that I was takingor a training For me.
(18:47):
When I'm out there at the end,it's like I'm grateful for time
I got to spend with my husband,I'm grateful for being outside,
especially when we've beencooped up all winter time, and
I'm always grateful when I comein and I don't have a tick on me
.
So think about ways that youcan practice gratitude.
I hope maybe you found this funand you see the correlations of
mushroom hunting and followingthe path that God has you on,
(19:11):
and this is just another way tothink about how you get to
giving your best life.
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