Have you ever wondered how to support a friend when distance separates you? In episode 119 of "Giving Your Best Life," I share the heartfelt journey of staying connected and providing meaningful support to loved ones who are far away.
Then switching gears, get ready to be inspired by an unforgettable trip to Montana, where personal growth met breathtaking landscapes. Accompanied by my husband and niece, I embarked on rigorous hikes in Glacier National Park, learned to fish, and embraced the beauty of nature. Stepping out of our comfort zones brought accountability, new skills, and deeper connections. This chapter is a testament to the joy of encouraging others and taking time to absorb the serene surroundings, even if it means wading through freezing glacier water for a perfect moment of tranquility.
Finally, let's talk about the importance of recognizing personal limits and the lessons that come from facing them head-on. During a challenging hike, I experienced heat exhaustion, leading to a profound realization about prioritizing safety over perseverance. Through this ordeal, I learned there’s no need to prove anything to anyone. Plus, hear a touching story about my husband's sudden illness before a significant event and the power of prayer and community support that helped us through. This episode is a powerful reminder how we can support friends and they can support us, embracing new adventures, taking risks, and understanding when to let go.
Note: NLT Reflections Bible (Hardcover Cloth, Ocean Blue): The Bible for Journaling Hardcover
Connect with Stephanie:
Get a free resource The 4G Method Journal here.
Shop Stephanie's books here.
Follow me on IG: @Giving_Gal or FB/GivingGal
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hey friends, it's Stephanie here with episode
number 119 of Giving your BestLife.
Oh, friends, I just I have somuch to share with you.
I'm going to take this podcastepisode in multiple directions
today.
So hang on.
The beginning's going to be Idon't want to say heavy, but you
know, heavy.
This might be an encouragementfor you, it might be
(00:24):
encouragement for someone else,it might be a gift that you can
give somebody else.
You might just say, hey, sharethis episode with them and let
them listen to it.
Also, I want to share a littlebit about a recent goal that I
accomplished and kind of how Iestablished those, and some
(00:45):
lessons learned as it relates tothat goal, and some travels and
really what I consider a smallmiracle that happened in the
last couple of days the power ofprayer being gratitude and
mindset.
So lots to share with you todayand I am going to jump right in
(01:05):
.
So the first thing that I wantto talk about is how do we
support people that we'refriends with, we love, may even
be family, that don't live nearus, that you can't be there with
all the time near us?
(01:26):
You know that you can't bethere with all the time.
You can't just pop in, go overto the house, make a meal, fill
in the blanks some of thosethings that you might do for
your neighbor or somebody thatlives close with you.
So I have a friend that isreally struggling right now and
she does not live around here,but what I love.
I am so proud of this friendand I would just encourage you,
(01:47):
if you are in her situation, todo what she has done.
So she reached out to me andjust said I am really struggling
, which I know how hard it is toreach out to somebody and let
them know that you're strugglingand I asked her what do you
(02:12):
need?
You know, how can I support you, how can I help you?
And she just said can you checkin on me?
Can you just check in on meevery day?
And I said, yes, I made thatcommitment and I have been
studying the book of Psalm andevery day, going through about
(02:33):
three chapters in Psalm.
If you've been listening to thispodcast, you know that right
now, to help me study, I'm usingThrough the Word app.
I love it Just really helps medeep dive and to learn more
about scripture.
And so a couple of days agogosh, probably a week ago now, I
(02:54):
was reading through the Psalmand got to Psalm 38, which I'm
not going to read the wholePsalm 38, but just know that the
Psalm is like hardship David isasking God to remember him.
(03:15):
It's like there is this glimmerof hope.
But I'm going through hardtimes and I got near the end of
Psalm 38 and it just jumped outin my spirit and I thought of my
friend and I, you know, justsent her a note, just saying
(03:39):
that I was checking in.
You know, let her know that Ihad been studying Psalms.
And this is part that stuck outto me.
And this is what it said I amon the verge of collapse, facing
constant pain.
But I confess my sins.
I am deeply sorry for what Ihave done.
(04:00):
I have many aggressive enemies.
They hate me without reason.
They repay me evil for good andoppose me for pursuing good.
Do not abandon me, o Lord.
Do not stand at a distance, myGod.
Come quickly to help me, o Lord, my Savior.
(04:24):
And I told her.
You know, I thought the lastcouple of verses sounded like a
great prayer.
You know, dear Father, dearHeavenly Father, I come to you
in the name of Jesus.
Do not abandon me.
O Lord, do not stand at adistance.
My God, come quickly to help me.
(04:50):
O Lord, do not stand at adistance.
My God, come quickly to help me.
Oh Lord, my Savior.
I, if you guys have read my bookor you know, I have a book,
uncommon Prayers, with my friendMike Bellini, and one of the
sections of the book talks aboutpraying scripture.
You know, a lot of times wedon't know what to pray, you may
not know how to pray is.
We can open the Bible and wecan pray scripture.
(05:12):
Um, and that's what a lot ofthe Psalms um to me are um, you
know their praise, their praises, their songs, but they can also
be prayer.
I was looking at some of theprevious notes that I had in the
margin of my Bible and I highlyrecommend I'll put it in the
(05:34):
show notes.
The Bible that I have and kindof transferred over to many
years ago was a journal Bible.
Many years ago was a journalBible and just what that means
is that it's the Bible, but thenit's a bit wider, so that on
each side so on the left and onthe right side, if you have it
(05:55):
open there's lines to take notes, and so if we ever met.
And you see my Bible.
I have a lot of notes in myBible and a lot of it is from if
I'm studying or maybe I readsomething I've noticed as of
late I wish I would have donethis more is I'll come across
(06:15):
and I put a date in there with alittle note, and that's just
something that you can do.
I don't have a lot of that inmy Bible because I use my thank
you notes to God, prayer andgratitude journal, so that's
where I tend to put a lot of mynotes and then you know I'm like
(06:36):
studying the Bible and then Ihave that as a companion.
But one thing I noticed in thejournal part of the Bible is it
said that be with others intheir waiting and that might be
waiting for healing, that mightbe waiting for an answer, that
might be waiting for fill in theblank, but just being with them
(07:02):
, walking alongside of them,being present.
When we can't alleviate theirpain, we can still be present.
We can look for ways to bepresent with people as they are
going through tough times, andso that's what I'm trying to do
with my friend, even though Ican't be physically present, is
(07:24):
I can be present, sendingscriptures, sending prayers.
You know, the other day therewas a praise and worship song
that's in my playlist and I justlike throughout the day, I just
kept playing that song over andover again and it just reminded
me of her and I'm like I'mgoing to send this.
It was a reckless love and Iwas like I'm just going to send
(07:47):
this to her.
You know, we have to buildourselves up when we're going
through difficult time, withprayer and with praise, being in
the word of God.
That is the foundation ofgiving your best.
Life is all of these things andthat is how we get through
tough times, but it's also howwe help other get through tough
(08:08):
times.
So I'm going to transition alittle bit and just talk about,
you know, a couple episodes agoI was talking about, like summer
adventures, having the summerdream list, and I returned.
I did a week trip in Montanaand I can't remember if on that
(08:31):
episode, but I set a goal yearsago to spend the night in all 50
states.
And many people have asked whydid you go to Montana?
And I said, well, I had threestates left that I hadn't spent
the night in Montana, southDakota and New Mexico.
But, friends, what I have foundof sometimes, when we set these
(08:53):
types of goals, that pushes usto go to places or to do things
that we might not ever do, or todo things that we might not
ever do, but really the onlyreason we do it is because we
have this goal.
We can experience some amazingadventures and we can be pushed
(09:15):
outside of our comfort zone.
And I got to say I've now spentthe night in 48 states.
I've traveled in the Caribbean,I've traveled over in Europe and
you know, right now, montana,outside of Florence, italy, and
I still want to return to Italy.
You know, montana is probablyone of my favorite places.
(09:37):
It was so beautiful, somajestic.
I just loved it and I encourageyou.
So, um, maybe I'll do a wholeepisode on, like, our itinerary
there.
But we stayed in Whitefish andthen we spent three days over at
Glacier National Park and hiked, um, and just did as much as we
(10:03):
could.
But I bring that up because Iwas thinking about some of the
lessons that I learned on thattrip.
And I did that trip with myhusband and my niece, who just
graduated high school.
Um, she loves national parksand so actually she's the one
that kind of pushed me to bookthe trip.
I had mentioned it to her andthen it was like, hey, when are
(10:24):
we going?
And I was like, oh, like you'reserious about this.
So sometimes we need thosepeople of when we say we're
going to do something to hold usaccountable and say, hey, when
are you going to do that?
But a couple of highlights, andI would have to go back.
I really didn't do muchjournaling on the trip.
It was as my niece told me, itwas not a vacation, it was a
(10:46):
trip because we were up everymorning very early, we were on
the road.
I think we hiked over 30 milesin those three days.
You know we late nights and alot of good food, laughs,
conversation, that sort of thing.
I learned to fish.
I had a lake house for fiveyears, we had a boat and I did
(11:09):
not throw one cast in the waterin the five years and my husband
and niece wanted to go fishingand I said okay, and my husband
really wanted me to try it out,like, please, just try.
And so I was like, okay, well,first I just had our guide.
He would do all the casting andI would just stand there with
(11:33):
my fishing pole.
I got to say I caught the firsttwo fish.
I reeled them in everything,but then I decided after about
an hour of being out there okay,teach me how to cast.
I want to do this myself and Idid great for like the last four
hours that we were on the water.
If you've listened before, Ialways have a goal to learn
(11:55):
something new every year.
I've actually done a couple ofthings and we're only halfway
through 2024, but I checked thatoff the boxes.
I learned how to fish while Iwas in Montana, so think about
maybe something you want tolearn.
I also looked at.
We had a guide one day at theparks.
(12:17):
We went up to many glacier andwas hiking, hiking up to
Grinnell Lake, and she was maybe30, a little 29, 30, something
like that, and just had a realopportunity as we were hiking.
I mean we were on the trail youknow 10 miles of hiking with
her and just to build her up andencourage her and I could tell
(12:40):
at times she struggled with herself-confidence and just by the
time we came off that trail we'dspent the whole day with her
and, man, I just loved her.
I wanted to stay connected withher.
I think I will.
You know she texted me thatnext day, and so I always think
is when we're, even if we're onvacation or we're on a trip, we
(13:02):
still have the opportunity topour in and to give and to see
people that we can lift up inour lives.
One of the other things tolessons that I had was really,
even though we had long days iswhen we were out on the trail,
(13:23):
we drove the going to the sunroad not once, but twice.
The full thing is we stopped alot.
We stopped a lot.
We were not in a rush, we werenot in a race.
For the most part we weren't onany time schedules.
Where we had to be.
I mean this literally was, youknow, like no schedules, and my
(13:50):
niece and I even talked aboutbecause it is hard when you're
hiking, you know I mean there'sso many ways.
I think I almost tripped twiceand face planted.
You know you really do have tolook down and pay attention of
your footing, which is whyyou've got to stop a lot If you
really want to see the beautyand the nature and the
wildflowers and the animals andthe lakes and just beautiful
(14:14):
trees and scenery and theglaciers, all that stuff that is
in Montana, especially aboutGlacier National Park, is
stopping looking up, lookingaround, take a slower pace.
We got to one of the hikes thatwe did.
We got back to Grinnell Lakeand the water is coming down.
(14:35):
I mean, it's freezing, coldglacier water, and we noticed
there was a ton of people thatwas up on the bank and then
there's all these rocks andwater flowing through almost
like this little creek.
And then, if you can walkthrough that creek, which is ice
, ice, cold water, get to theother side, is there sand and
(14:57):
there's nobody out there in thesand.
And then on the other side ofthat is the big lake.
And our guide really challengedus.
Like hey, there's a bunch ofpeople here.
You know it's going to bereally cold, we're going to have
to endure it, but then we cango over there and have literally
like this whole beachy area toourselves to sit down to have
(15:21):
our lunch, and so we all agreedthat we were going to do it.
We all took our shoes and socksoff, we rolled up our pants.
It was very cold, you know.
We walked over, overthrew it,and but it was like we got to
experience a whole other sceneryand view and pace.
(15:42):
And when we got over there, thisis what sometimes, when you get
outside your comfort zone andyou do the things that other
people are not willing to do,like I said, everybody else was
up on the bank.
They were not willing to dowhat we did.
So we got over there and therewas a pile of butterflies.
It was the craziest, mostrandom thing I don't want to say
(16:06):
I've ever seen, but it wasreally crazy and they were all
just like in the sand,fluttering their wings, and I
don't think I've ever seenanything like it and we would
have missed that if we had notdecided to get outside of our
comfort zones.
And if you've been following meI know I said that a couple of
(16:28):
times but, like if this is thefirst time you're listening, I
talk a lot about gettinguncomfortable, because that is
where we grow, that is how werely upon God, that is what puts
us to our knees, that's whatrequires us to cry out in prayer
(16:48):
, and I've got some things thatI'm going to be working on,
especially coming 2025.
And a couple of people thatI've shared it with it's like
their first comment is that'sgoing to be uncomfortable.
You know I don't know if I'mgoing to want to do that and
it's like don't limit yourselfbecause something is going to be
uncomfortable.
It's like it frustrates me somuch.
(17:11):
People miss out on so much oflife because they're stuck being
where it's comfortable, whereit's at, and God has so much
more for your life if you'rethat person that is just living
in comfort.
Another thing that a lesson thatI learned, is like take the
(17:34):
drive, do the whole thing.
Um, we saw so many people thatwere like turning around on the
going to the sun.
Um, we actually did the wholeroad and instead of turning
around, we took another drive,which I think may have been
scarier than that drive.
Uh, but we got to see a wholeother part of Montana that we
never would have gotten to see,and it ended up being a long day
(17:58):
.
But we're just like we are outhere.
We may never come back toMontana.
Let's do it, let's push, let'sdon't be like, oh, we got to go
back, why?
So we could, you know, be atour Airbnb and get to sleep a
little bit earlier.
So you know, there is thisbalance and I'm big, especially
now, after I dealt with burnoutfor so many years is we take
(18:22):
rest, but we also have to takethe opportunity to see and to do
um, because we get oneopportunity to live this life
that God has given us.
I will say, though, one of thebiggest lessons.
It was so humbling for me Icould tear up.
(18:45):
Actually, I am tearing up, butI will try not to cry, and you
might.
When I tell you this story,you're going to be like what the
heck are you crying for?
Stephanie, this isn't a bigdeal at all, but to me, for me,
for my personality, it is a bigdeal.
So we had decided we were tryingto find a certain trail that
(19:08):
took you around Lake McDonald,which is, I believe, the largest
lake.
We had already been at LakeMcDonald, but we wanted to get
on the trail that went around it, and by looking at the map, it
was like you had to go.
We thought, two differenttrails to get to that.
Well, we started it, and I Imean it probably wasn't safe.
(19:33):
We probably put ourselves in abad situation.
Praise the Lord that no grizzlybears came, no mountain lions,
no wolves, that none of us gotinjured, whatever.
But it ended up being muchlonger than what we thought it
was going to be and we kind ofkept pushing because it was like
, well, gosh, a sign would sayit's 0.4 miles, and then we
(19:54):
would track it.
And we're like, no, gosh, youknow, a sign would say it's 0.4
miles, and then we would trackit and we're like, no, it's not
0.4 miles.
And then you get up there andit's like something else and
anyways, it was a bit disastrous.
One thing I've struggled withsince I have had my health
issues is the heat.
I used to be able to toleratethe heat very well and for some
reason I just don't tolerate itas well, and so it's 95 degree
(20:18):
heat is very hot.
I was hydrated, I had beendrinking a lot, but it was just
like I got overheated and we gotto.
Actually, at one point I said Ithink we need to turn around.
But there's like this decisionof like we're so close, you know
, we're so close to gettingwhere we this trail we wanted to
(20:40):
get on, and so I just continueto push forward.
That was probably a mistakethere.
This is how people get introuble in the woods, but
anyways, we end up down on oneside of the lake, still not at
the trail, but we ended up and Iwas like I got to get in the
water and, um, I had like theserags, so like I got to get in
(21:04):
the water, you know, get thosewet, get them on me.
And then we still had to turnaround and had a 40 minute hike
back.
Um, and I was just so hot and Ihave never quit a race.
Um, I mean, I could tell youstory after story where I've had
(21:27):
severe injuries and wouldfinish a race.
I can remember in college wewere out doing a run.
I was clearly injured and mycoach was driving alongside me
in a van yelling at me to get inthe van, and I was like I'm not
getting in the van and so it'sjust like I just have this no
(21:52):
quit mentality to push it, justlike I just have this no quit
mentality to push it, to suck itup, to finish what you started
and I don't know if I'm justmature I say that tongue in
cheek is I was like I can't dothis.
(22:13):
I, I do not.
I think I'm going to put myselfin a really bad position.
I was going to put my niece andmy husband in a bad position if
there was going to have to be arescue to get the heck back on
that trail.
And so my husband said, told myniece to stay with me and he
said that he would go back.
But I did not feel comfortable.
You have to remember, you haveto be aware of your surroundings
.
And I did not feel comfortable,my husband being back on a
(22:37):
trail where there are grizzlybears.
I mean you enter every timethey tell you where you're
entering in the back country.
You know we had our bear sprayand all that.
But it was just like I knew Iwas safer down by the lake, even
though I didn't feel well.
There were quite a few peoplearound that if something
(22:59):
happened they would be able tohelp me, and so I sent them on
their way.
I stayed down at the lake, tookmy shoes, socks off and plopped
my butt on a limb that wassticking out from the tree and
every so often I would enter thewater, just get wet, just
really.
It took over an hour for me tocool myself off, but I had three
(23:24):
thoughts.
Is one don't be a hero.
I didn't need to be a hero.
There was no, like I don't know.
Sometimes we just think like wegot to be the hero in this
situation, even though it'sdetrimental to us, and it was
like no, that's a lie.
I think that's a lie from Satan.
I didn't need to be the hero.
(23:44):
Two is I had nothing to proveand I think I've always been one
of those people and we've gotto be people.
That self-reflect on ourselvesis like, especially
competitively.
I mean, in every race that I'verun, I've wanted to win, I
(24:04):
wanted to compete, I wanted tobe top.
You know that sort of thing.
I just have thatcompetitiveness in me.
And it was like I had nothingto prove that day and realizing
it and then at the end of theday, even thinking about to all
the racing and all that stuff Iused to do years ago, like at
(24:25):
the end of the day, none of itmatters, none of it matters.
And so maybe there's an area ofin your or maybe something's
gonna come up in the near futurewhere maybe it's something now
that you have to really reflectand say I don't need to be a
(24:47):
hero, I have nothing to proveand this doesn't matter and let
it go and walk away.
And I don't know what thatsituation is, but I feel like
there's somebody listening thatneeds to hear that, and so I'll
just that was kind of way morethan I wanted to talk about my
trip, but so many lessons, somany lessons, and so I just
(25:10):
encourage you to get out andhave adventures and go places
that you haven't been before andtake the risk of what if I
don't like it?
You know we'd never been outthere.
I planned the whole trip andeverything was just off of.
You know reading reviews andyou know going with the flow
every day, and so be willing todo that and see what the day
holds for you.
(25:32):
I said earlier at the beginning,is I was going to talk about
the power of prayer and what Ibelieve a little miracle that
happened.
My husband and I were inWashington DC.
My husband was receiving anaward from the White House for a
drug case he and his teamworked on.
Nine teams across the countrywere being awarded this award,
(25:54):
so I was very proud of him.
We had flown out the day beforethat night we went out to
dinner with his team and he wasup all night with severe food
poisoning.
He said he was up from 12 totwo.
I did not wake up until twoo'clock when I heard him puking
and I was like, dear Lord, wehave been married 21 years and I
(26:20):
have never heard my husbandpuke, and of all the nights,
literally the night before we'regoing to the White House to get
an award.
And so he got back in bed.
I had some stomach gut stuffthat I have been taking since I
had been sick, because you gotto heal your gut before you can
heal anything else.
So I gave him some of that.
(26:41):
He fell asleep and while I waslaying there I just laid my hand
on him and I just startedpraying.
I got up, I think at five orsix o'clock in the morning.
I knew my mom and my sisterwould be up and I sent them a
text like please pray for Mike.
Here's what's going on.
When it got to be, I think,around seven central time, I
(27:02):
sent a text to one of mygirlfriends that I knew would be
praying.
She immediately responded, senta prayer and I again laid hands
, prayed Mike, friends, I got tosay prayer works.
There is power in prayer.
Have those people in your lifewhen you're going through
something, that they can bepraying for you.
Because you know we walked amile over to the White House,
(27:25):
went through the whole ceremony,made it through, you know, an
hour, two hours after theceremony, the rest of the day,
the flight home, and not that hefelt well, but he never got
sick again and so I just have toshare that with you because
that's what you know.
(27:46):
If we are praying daily and incommunication with God and just
call and have that where it be,like your first response in
everything, in the good times,in the bad, but then also again,
I mean I started out this wholeconversation today about being
(28:11):
okay with reaching out to peopleand say, hey, I need a prayer
for this, I need you to pray,and having those people and know
who those people are, that says, yes, I've got you, I will be
praying, and so I think I'llwrap up there today.
(28:31):
Hopefully some of this, you know, episode was encouragement,
inspiring, maybe some funnytimes and at the end of the day,
you know I just talk about God,how it's the foundation of
giving your best life and itshould be in everything that we
do.
You know so many different waysthat we can give and encourage
(28:53):
others.
I'm so grateful for the peoplethat I can call upon and pray,
um, that can pray for me.
And then you know, the Montanatrip was a huge goal in some of
the things that we did there.
And all of these things,friends, are just another way to
get to giving your best life.
Hey friends, it's Stephanie here with episode
number 119 of Giving your BestLife.
Oh, friends, I just I have somuch to share with you.
I'm going to take this podcastepisode in multiple directions
today.
So hang on.
The beginning's going to be Idon't want to say heavy, but you
know, heavy.
This might be an encouragementfor you, it might be
(00:24):
encouragement for someone else,it might be a gift that you can
give somebody else.
You might just say, hey, sharethis episode with them and let
them listen to it.
Also, I want to share a littlebit about a recent goal that I
accomplished and kind of how Iestablished those, and some
(00:45):
lessons learned as it relates tothat goal, and some travels and
really what I consider a smallmiracle that happened in the
last couple of days the power ofprayer being gratitude and
mindset.
So lots to share with you todayand I am going to jump right in
(01:05):
.
So the first thing that I wantto talk about is how do we
support people that we'refriends with, we love, may even
be family, that don't live nearus, that you can't be there with
all the time near us?
(01:26):
You know that you can't bethere with all the time.
You can't just pop in, go overto the house, make a meal, fill
in the blanks some of thosethings that you might do for
your neighbor or somebody thatlives close with you.
So I have a friend that isreally struggling right now and
she does not live around here,but what I love.
I am so proud of this friendand I would just encourage you,
(01:47):
if you are in her situation, todo what she has done.
So she reached out to me andjust said I am really struggling
, which I know how hard it is toreach out to somebody and let
them know that you're strugglingand I asked her what do you
(02:12):
need?
You know, how can I support you, how can I help you?
And she just said can you checkin on me?
Can you just check in on meevery day?
And I said, yes, I made thatcommitment and I have been
studying the book of Psalm andevery day, going through about
(02:33):
three chapters in Psalm.
If you've been listening to thispodcast, you know that right
now, to help me study, I'm usingThrough the Word app.
I love it Just really helps medeep dive and to learn more
about scripture.
And so a couple of days agogosh, probably a week ago now, I
(02:54):
was reading through the Psalmand got to Psalm 38, which I'm
not going to read the wholePsalm 38, but just know that the
Psalm is like hardship David isasking God to remember him.
(03:15):
It's like there is this glimmerof hope.
But I'm going through hardtimes and I got near the end of
Psalm 38 and it just jumped outin my spirit and I thought of my
friend and I, you know, justsent her a note, just saying
(03:39):
that I was checking in.
You know, let her know that Ihad been studying Psalms.
And this is part that stuck outto me.
And this is what it said I amon the verge of collapse, facing
constant pain.
But I confess my sins.
I am deeply sorry for what Ihave done.
(04:00):
I have many aggressive enemies.
They hate me without reason.
They repay me evil for good andoppose me for pursuing good.
Do not abandon me, o Lord.
Do not stand at a distance, myGod.
Come quickly to help me, o Lord, my Savior.
(04:24):
And I told her.
You know, I thought the lastcouple of verses sounded like a
great prayer.
You know, dear Father, dearHeavenly Father, I come to you
in the name of Jesus.
Do not abandon me.
O Lord, do not stand at adistance.
My God, come quickly to help me.
(04:50):
O Lord, do not stand at adistance.
My God, come quickly to help me.
Oh Lord, my Savior.
I, if you guys have read my bookor you know, I have a book,
uncommon Prayers, with my friendMike Bellini, and one of the
sections of the book talks aboutpraying scripture.
You know, a lot of times wedon't know what to pray, you may
not know how to pray is.
We can open the Bible and wecan pray scripture.
(05:12):
Um, and that's what a lot ofthe Psalms um to me are um, you
know their praise, their praises, their songs, but they can also
be prayer.
I was looking at some of theprevious notes that I had in the
margin of my Bible and I highlyrecommend I'll put it in the
(05:34):
show notes.
The Bible that I have and kindof transferred over to many
years ago was a journal Bible.
Many years ago was a journalBible and just what that means
is that it's the Bible, but thenit's a bit wider, so that on
each side so on the left and onthe right side, if you have it
(05:55):
open there's lines to take notes, and so if we ever met.
And you see my Bible.
I have a lot of notes in myBible and a lot of it is from if
I'm studying or maybe I readsomething I've noticed as of
late I wish I would have donethis more is I'll come across
(06:15):
and I put a date in there with alittle note, and that's just
something that you can do.
I don't have a lot of that inmy Bible because I use my thank
you notes to God, prayer andgratitude journal, so that's
where I tend to put a lot of mynotes and then you know I'm like
(06:36):
studying the Bible and then Ihave that as a companion.
But one thing I noticed in thejournal part of the Bible is it
said that be with others intheir waiting and that might be
waiting for healing, that mightbe waiting for an answer, that
might be waiting for fill in theblank, but just being with them
(07:02):
, walking alongside of them,being present.
When we can't alleviate theirpain, we can still be present.
We can look for ways to bepresent with people as they are
going through tough times, andso that's what I'm trying to do
with my friend, even though Ican't be physically present, is
(07:24):
I can be present, sendingscriptures, sending prayers.
You know, the other day therewas a praise and worship song
that's in my playlist and I justlike throughout the day, I just
kept playing that song over andover again and it just reminded
me of her and I'm like I'mgoing to send this.
It was a reckless love and Iwas like I'm just going to send
(07:47):
this to her.
You know, we have to buildourselves up when we're going
through difficult time, withprayer and with praise, being in
the word of God.
That is the foundation ofgiving your best.
Life is all of these things andthat is how we get through
tough times, but it's also howwe help other get through tough
(08:08):
times.
So I'm going to transition alittle bit and just talk about,
you know, a couple episodes agoI was talking about, like summer
adventures, having the summerdream list, and I returned.
I did a week trip in Montanaand I can't remember if on that
(08:31):
episode, but I set a goal yearsago to spend the night in all 50
states.
And many people have asked whydid you go to Montana?
And I said, well, I had threestates left that I hadn't spent
the night in Montana, southDakota and New Mexico.
But, friends, what I have foundof sometimes, when we set these
(08:53):
types of goals, that pushes usto go to places or to do things
that we might not ever do, or todo things that we might not
ever do, but really the onlyreason we do it is because we
have this goal.
We can experience some amazingadventures and we can be pushed
(09:15):
outside of our comfort zone.
And I got to say I've now spentthe night in 48 states.
I've traveled in the Caribbean,I've traveled over in Europe and
you know, right now, montana,outside of Florence, italy, and
I still want to return to Italy.
You know, montana is probablyone of my favorite places.
(09:37):
It was so beautiful, somajestic.
I just loved it and I encourageyou.
So, um, maybe I'll do a wholeepisode on, like, our itinerary
there.
But we stayed in Whitefish andthen we spent three days over at
Glacier National Park and hiked, um, and just did as much as we
(10:03):
could.
But I bring that up because Iwas thinking about some of the
lessons that I learned on thattrip.
And I did that trip with myhusband and my niece, who just
graduated high school.
Um, she loves national parksand so actually she's the one
that kind of pushed me to bookthe trip.
I had mentioned it to her andthen it was like, hey, when are
(10:24):
we going?
And I was like, oh, like you'reserious about this.
So sometimes we need thosepeople of when we say we're
going to do something to hold usaccountable and say, hey, when
are you going to do that?
But a couple of highlights, andI would have to go back.
I really didn't do muchjournaling on the trip.
It was as my niece told me, itwas not a vacation, it was a
(10:46):
trip because we were up everymorning very early, we were on
the road.
I think we hiked over 30 milesin those three days.
You know we late nights and alot of good food, laughs,
conversation, that sort of thing.
I learned to fish.
I had a lake house for fiveyears, we had a boat and I did
(11:09):
not throw one cast in the waterin the five years and my husband
and niece wanted to go fishingand I said okay, and my husband
really wanted me to try it out,like, please, just try.
And so I was like, okay, well,first I just had our guide.
He would do all the casting andI would just stand there with
(11:33):
my fishing pole.
I got to say I caught the firsttwo fish.
I reeled them in everything,but then I decided after about
an hour of being out there okay,teach me how to cast.
I want to do this myself and Idid great for like the last four
hours that we were on the water.
If you've listened before, Ialways have a goal to learn
(11:55):
something new every year.
I've actually done a couple ofthings and we're only halfway
through 2024, but I checked thatoff the boxes.
I learned how to fish while Iwas in Montana, so think about
maybe something you want tolearn.
I also looked at.
We had a guide one day at theparks.
(12:17):
We went up to many glacier andwas hiking, hiking up to
Grinnell Lake, and she was maybe30, a little 29, 30, something
like that, and just had a realopportunity as we were hiking.
I mean we were on the trail youknow 10 miles of hiking with
her and just to build her up andencourage her and I could tell
(12:40):
at times she struggled with herself-confidence and just by the
time we came off that trail we'dspent the whole day with her
and, man, I just loved her.
I wanted to stay connected withher.
I think I will.
You know she texted me thatnext day, and so I always think
is when we're, even if we're onvacation or we're on a trip, we
(13:02):
still have the opportunity topour in and to give and to see
people that we can lift up inour lives.
One of the other things tolessons that I had was really,
even though we had long days iswhen we were out on the trail,
(13:23):
we drove the going to the sunroad not once, but twice.
The full thing is we stopped alot.
We stopped a lot.
We were not in a rush, we werenot in a race.
For the most part we weren't onany time schedules.
Where we had to be.
I mean this literally was, youknow, like no schedules, and my
(13:50):
niece and I even talked aboutbecause it is hard when you're
hiking, you know I mean there'sso many ways.
I think I almost tripped twiceand face planted.
You know you really do have tolook down and pay attention of
your footing, which is whyyou've got to stop a lot If you
really want to see the beautyand the nature and the
wildflowers and the animals andthe lakes and just beautiful
(14:14):
trees and scenery and theglaciers, all that stuff that is
in Montana, especially aboutGlacier National Park, is
stopping looking up, lookingaround, take a slower pace.
We got to one of the hikes thatwe did.
We got back to Grinnell Lakeand the water is coming down.
(14:35):
I mean, it's freezing, coldglacier water, and we noticed
there was a ton of people thatwas up on the bank and then
there's all these rocks andwater flowing through almost
like this little creek.
And then, if you can walkthrough that creek, which is ice
, ice, cold water, get to theother side, is there sand and
(14:57):
there's nobody out there in thesand.
And then on the other side ofthat is the big lake.
And our guide really challengedus.
Like hey, there's a bunch ofpeople here.
You know it's going to bereally cold, we're going to have
to endure it, but then we cango over there and have literally
like this whole beachy area toourselves to sit down to have
(15:21):
our lunch, and so we all agreedthat we were going to do it.
We all took our shoes and socksoff, we rolled up our pants.
It was very cold, you know.
We walked over, overthrew it,and but it was like we got to
experience a whole other sceneryand view and pace.
(15:42):
And when we got over there, thisis what sometimes, when you get
outside your comfort zone andyou do the things that other
people are not willing to do,like I said, everybody else was
up on the bank.
They were not willing to dowhat we did.
So we got over there and therewas a pile of butterflies.
It was the craziest, mostrandom thing I don't want to say
(16:06):
I've ever seen, but it wasreally crazy and they were all
just like in the sand,fluttering their wings, and I
don't think I've ever seenanything like it and we would
have missed that if we had notdecided to get outside of our
comfort zones.
And if you've been following meI know I said that a couple of
(16:28):
times but, like if this is thefirst time you're listening, I
talk a lot about gettinguncomfortable, because that is
where we grow, that is how werely upon God, that is what puts
us to our knees, that's whatrequires us to cry out in prayer
(16:48):
, and I've got some things thatI'm going to be working on,
especially coming 2025.
And a couple of people thatI've shared it with it's like
their first comment is that'sgoing to be uncomfortable.
You know I don't know if I'mgoing to want to do that and
it's like don't limit yourselfbecause something is going to be
uncomfortable.
It's like it frustrates me somuch.
(17:11):
People miss out on so much oflife because they're stuck being
where it's comfortable, whereit's at, and God has so much
more for your life if you'rethat person that is just living
in comfort.
Another thing that a lesson thatI learned, is like take the
(17:34):
drive, do the whole thing.
Um, we saw so many people thatwere like turning around on the
going to the sun.
Um, we actually did the wholeroad and instead of turning
around, we took another drive,which I think may have been
scarier than that drive.
Uh, but we got to see a wholeother part of Montana that we
never would have gotten to see,and it ended up being a long day
(17:58):
.
But we're just like we are outhere.
We may never come back toMontana.
Let's do it, let's push, let'sdon't be like, oh, we got to go
back, why?
So we could, you know, be atour Airbnb and get to sleep a
little bit earlier.
So you know, there is thisbalance and I'm big, especially
now, after I dealt with burnoutfor so many years is we take
(18:22):
rest, but we also have to takethe opportunity to see and to do
um, because we get oneopportunity to live this life
that God has given us.
I will say, though, one of thebiggest lessons.
It was so humbling for me Icould tear up.
(18:45):
Actually, I am tearing up, butI will try not to cry, and you
might.
When I tell you this story,you're going to be like what the
heck are you crying for?
Stephanie, this isn't a bigdeal at all, but to me, for me,
for my personality, it is a bigdeal.
So we had decided we were tryingto find a certain trail that
(19:08):
took you around Lake McDonald,which is, I believe, the largest
lake.
We had already been at LakeMcDonald, but we wanted to get
on the trail that went around it, and by looking at the map, it
was like you had to go.
We thought, two differenttrails to get to that.
Well, we started it, and I Imean it probably wasn't safe.
(19:33):
We probably put ourselves in abad situation.
Praise the Lord that no grizzlybears came, no mountain lions,
no wolves, that none of us gotinjured, whatever.
But it ended up being muchlonger than what we thought it
was going to be and we kind ofkept pushing because it was like
, well, gosh, a sign would sayit's 0.4 miles, and then we
(19:54):
would track it.
And we're like, no, gosh, youknow, a sign would say it's 0.4
miles, and then we would trackit and we're like, no, it's not
0.4 miles.
And then you get up there andit's like something else and
anyways, it was a bit disastrous.
One thing I've struggled withsince I have had my health
issues is the heat.
I used to be able to toleratethe heat very well and for some
reason I just don't tolerate itas well, and so it's 95 degree
(20:18):
heat is very hot.
I was hydrated, I had beendrinking a lot, but it was just
like I got overheated and we gotto.
Actually, at one point I said Ithink we need to turn around.
But there's like this decisionof like we're so close, you know
, we're so close to gettingwhere we this trail we wanted to
(20:40):
get on, and so I just continueto push forward.
That was probably a mistakethere.
This is how people get introuble in the woods, but
anyways, we end up down on oneside of the lake, still not at
the trail, but we ended up and Iwas like I got to get in the
water and, um, I had like theserags, so like I got to get in
(21:04):
the water, you know, get thosewet, get them on me.
And then we still had to turnaround and had a 40 minute hike
back.
Um, and I was just so hot and Ihave never quit a race.
Um, I mean, I could tell youstory after story where I've had
(21:27):
severe injuries and wouldfinish a race.
I can remember in college wewere out doing a run.
I was clearly injured and mycoach was driving alongside me
in a van yelling at me to get inthe van, and I was like I'm not
getting in the van and so it'sjust like I just have this no
(21:52):
quit mentality to push it, justlike I just have this no quit
mentality to push it, to suck itup, to finish what you started
and I don't know if I'm justmature I say that tongue in
cheek is I was like I can't dothis.
(22:13):
I, I do not.
I think I'm going to put myselfin a really bad position.
I was going to put my niece andmy husband in a bad position if
there was going to have to be arescue to get the heck back on
that trail.
And so my husband said, told myniece to stay with me and he
said that he would go back.
But I did not feel comfortable.
You have to remember, you haveto be aware of your surroundings
.
And I did not feel comfortable,my husband being back on a
(22:37):
trail where there are grizzlybears.
I mean you enter every timethey tell you where you're
entering in the back country.
You know we had our bear sprayand all that.
But it was just like I knew Iwas safer down by the lake, even
though I didn't feel well.
There were quite a few peoplearound that if something
(22:59):
happened they would be able tohelp me, and so I sent them on
their way.
I stayed down at the lake, tookmy shoes, socks off and plopped
my butt on a limb that wassticking out from the tree and
every so often I would enter thewater, just get wet, just
really.
It took over an hour for me tocool myself off, but I had three
(23:24):
thoughts.
Is one don't be a hero.
I didn't need to be a hero.
There was no, like I don't know.
Sometimes we just think like wegot to be the hero in this
situation, even though it'sdetrimental to us, and it was
like no, that's a lie.
I think that's a lie from Satan.
I didn't need to be the hero.
(23:44):
Two is I had nothing to proveand I think I've always been one
of those people and we've gotto be people.
That self-reflect on ourselvesis like, especially
competitively.
I mean, in every race that I'verun, I've wanted to win, I
(24:04):
wanted to compete, I wanted tobe top.
You know that sort of thing.
I just have thatcompetitiveness in me.
And it was like I had nothingto prove that day and realizing
it and then at the end of theday, even thinking about to all
the racing and all that stuff Iused to do years ago, like at
(24:25):
the end of the day, none of itmatters, none of it matters.
And so maybe there's an area ofin your or maybe something's
gonna come up in the near futurewhere maybe it's something now
that you have to really reflectand say I don't need to be a
(24:47):
hero, I have nothing to proveand this doesn't matter and let
it go and walk away.
And I don't know what thatsituation is, but I feel like
there's somebody listening thatneeds to hear that, and so I'll
just that was kind of way morethan I wanted to talk about my
trip, but so many lessons, somany lessons, and so I just
(25:10):
encourage you to get out andhave adventures and go places
that you haven't been before andtake the risk of what if I
don't like it?
You know we'd never been outthere.
I planned the whole trip andeverything was just off of.
You know reading reviews andyou know going with the flow
every day, and so be willing todo that and see what the day
holds for you.
(25:32):
I said earlier at the beginning,is I was going to talk about
the power of prayer and what Ibelieve a little miracle that
happened.
My husband and I were inWashington DC.
My husband was receiving anaward from the White House for a
drug case he and his teamworked on.
Nine teams across the countrywere being awarded this award,
(25:54):
so I was very proud of him.
We had flown out the day beforethat night we went out to
dinner with his team and he wasup all night with severe food
poisoning.
He said he was up from 12 totwo.
I did not wake up until twoo'clock when I heard him puking
and I was like, dear Lord, wehave been married 21 years and I
(26:20):
have never heard my husbandpuke, and of all the nights,
literally the night before we'regoing to the White House to get
an award.
And so he got back in bed.
I had some stomach gut stuffthat I have been taking since I
had been sick, because you gotto heal your gut before you can
heal anything else.
So I gave him some of that.
(26:41):
He fell asleep and while I waslaying there I just laid my hand
on him and I just startedpraying.
I got up, I think at five orsix o'clock in the morning.
I knew my mom and my sisterwould be up and I sent them a
text like please pray for Mike.
Here's what's going on.
When it got to be, I think,around seven central time, I
(27:02):
sent a text to one of mygirlfriends that I knew would be
praying.
She immediately responded, senta prayer and I again laid hands
, prayed Mike, friends, I got tosay prayer works.
There is power in prayer.
Have those people in your lifewhen you're going through
something, that they can bepraying for you.
Because you know we walked amile over to the White House,
(27:25):
went through the whole ceremony,made it through, you know, an
hour, two hours after theceremony, the rest of the day,
the flight home, and not that hefelt well, but he never got
sick again and so I just have toshare that with you because
that's what you know.
(27:46):
If we are praying daily and incommunication with God and just
call and have that where it be,like your first response in
everything, in the good times,in the bad, but then also again,
I mean I started out this wholeconversation today about being
(28:11):
okay with reaching out to peopleand say, hey, I need a prayer
for this, I need you to pray,and having those people and know
who those people are, that says, yes, I've got you, I will be
praying, and so I think I'llwrap up there today.
(28:31):
Hopefully some of this, you know, episode was encouragement,
inspiring, maybe some funnytimes and at the end of the day,
you know I just talk about God,how it's the foundation of
giving your best life and itshould be in everything that we
do.
You know so many different waysthat we can give and encourage
(28:53):
others.
I'm so grateful for the peoplethat I can call upon and pray,
um, that can pray for me.
And then you know, the Montanatrip was a huge goal in some of
the things that we did there.
And all of these things,friends, are just another way to
get to giving your best life.
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