September 11, 2025 • 22 mins
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Audrey (00:00):
Hello and welcome back to Grace For my Home.
I'm Audrey McCracken and I'm soglad to be back with you again
this week.
I hope that you're doing well.
We are doing great.
My oldest son turned 19yesterday and he had his first
college exam.
So he did not want to celebrate, he wanted to study and get
(00:21):
ready for that.
So this weekend we're going todo something with him.
When they were little I made abig deal out of birthdays, and
now everybody's so busy that itkind of came and went with not a
lot of fanfare, except fortelling him happy birthday and
letting him know we hadn'tforgotten.
But this weekend we'llcelebrate.
We'll go do something that hewants to do, and we told him he
(00:43):
could bring a friend or twoalong, and so we will celebrate.
But for a minute yesterday Ithought I'm a bad mom and then I
thought no, life is changing.
This is just how it is.
So I hope that you're doingwell.
We're doing great.
You know we're into footballnow it's football season and my
middle son is really intofootball and so every Friday
(01:05):
night that's where we are, andhe has actually gotten an
invitation to a college thisweek to go and tour their
facility because he wants toplay on the college level, and
so he's been out there, you know, just talking to people and
talking to coaches and that kindof thing.
So he's got his first collegevisit.
So we'll see, he's actually hada few offers and some of them
(01:30):
are far away, and so thiscollege that we're going to see
in the next few weeks is closeto home and close, I mean like
two and a half hours away, whichis awesome.
So we're praying about that andmy husband and I are going to
go down with him and check outthe college and just see, you
know, see what the Lord does.
This week.
I want to talk with you.
I want to share a short messagewith you about Proverbs 11.
(01:54):
I have been studying Proverbs11 this week.
I've been reading through it.
I'm not going to have timetoday to go into the whole
Proverbs 11, but it's a goodread.
If you have a moment this weekand are looking for something in
the Bible, I know how thatfeels.
Sometimes it's like where do Igo, lord?
Try Proverbs 11.
The whole proverb, the wholechapter, is about the contrast
(02:17):
between the upright and thewicked and how one prospers and
the other doesn't, and I thinkit's a wonderful reminder that
what we do every day matters.
How we live matters, the hiddenthings that we don't think
anybody sees and maybe theydon't see, but it still matters.
And everything in the kingdomis different.
(02:39):
It's different than the systemof the world, and when we are
born again, when we becomefollowers of Christ, we're born
into a kingdom, into a newkingdom that our eyes don't see
but that we see.
We see with spiritual eyes.
And Jesus is the king of thatkingdom.
He's our Lord and he teaches usthe ways of the kingdom.
(03:02):
And there's so much wisdom inthe book of Proverbs.
You know, the book of Proverbsis one of the books of wisdom in
the Bible and there's so muchwisdom.
For us today it seems like anancient book, but you know,
times change but people don'tchange and human nature has been
the same since the creation ofman.
I encourage you this week totake a look at Proverbs 11 and
(03:25):
see what God will speak to youthrough it.
But I want to concentrate onverses 24 and 27, and I'll read
them to you.
I'm going to read out of theNew American Standard Version,
but starting in verse 24 ofProverbs 11, this is what it
says.
It says this is what it says.
It says waters will himself bewatered.
(04:07):
He who withholds grain, thepeople will curse but blessings
will be on the head of him whosells it.
He who diligently seeks goodseeks favor.
But he who seeks evil, evilwill come to him.
And what I want to share withyou this week is what you do
matters.
Where you're scattering, whereyou're sowing, the way, the
(04:28):
intention, the heart behind whatyou do each day matters, and we
have, whether you feel like itor not, you have something to
give and the method that you useto give that out, the heart
that you use to distribute that.
It determines what comes backto you.
And I love this because youknow all human nature is that
(04:51):
we're going to.
You know we're going to hoardand we're going to gather to
ourselves enough so that in hardtimes you know we're taken care
of, we've got enough.
And there's nothing wrong withsaving.
There's nothing wrong withputting away things for times
when you're going to need it.
That's not what this verse istalking about.
What it's talking about is notgiving, is having that attitude
(05:16):
that it's mine, mine, mine andI'm going to keep everything to
myself and then I'll have whenthere's hard times, even when
others don't.
And I love what he's saying here, when he says scatter, because
that makes me think of the man.
You know, there's a famous,there's a famous painting of the
sower and he takes the seed outof his pocket, you know, out of
(05:39):
his big bag that he hasstrapped across his back, and he
scatters that seed, you know.
And he goes into a field and hescatters that seed.
And he goes into a field and hescatters that seed.
And there's an art to that.
There's an art of not havingtoo much and not having too
little and throwing it at justthe right amount and just the
right thickness around you.
And so this man, he goes outand he's not just scattering to
(06:04):
be scattering, but he's sowingseed.
And that can be us, you know,that can be us, as we take from
what God has given us and we goout and we sow it, we share it,
we're not throwing it, we're notthrowing it away, we're giving
it and it's not a waste, becauseit will bring forth a harvest
(06:25):
in the lives of others and inour lives.
And that's such a differentmentality than hoarding.
This week something happened tome in the shop and it reminded
me as I was reading this.
It was so funny how God linesthat up right.
You know, you read it, and thenyou go and live and you see it
and it's like if I hadn't readit.
I don't know if I would haverecognized that this was what I
(06:49):
read or that God is speaking tome in this situation.
But I recently released mysecond book.
It's called Seek First 31 QuietMoments with Jesus, and I had a
book signing last Saturday atmy shop.
It was a huge blessing.
I had so many people come outto support me and they purchased
books and I got a chance totalk with them and share my
(07:11):
story and why I wrote the bookand hear their stories.
That was probably my favoritepart is how God has either used
my book or other devotions andthings like that to encourage
them and to help them, you know,to keep serving Jesus, to grow
in their faith.
Well, later in the week I wasworking at the shop and a lady
(07:33):
came in, had never met beforeand she saw my books at the
counter and she said did youwrite these?
And I said, yes, yes, I did.
Those are my two books.
And she said well, I need totalk with you.
And she had something in herhand and she said do you have a
second?
And I did.
It wasn't that busy in the shopand there were two other people
(07:54):
there besides me, so I wentaround the counter and I started
talking to her.
Well, in her hand she had a bookand she had been trying to
publish this book, trying tomake this book available, and it
was a book of poems that shehad written, and she was
frustrated because she washaving a hard time, she was
trying to get it published, andso she just wanted to pick my
(08:17):
brain.
She just wanted to ask me howdid you do this?
And a friend of a friend hadtold her about me, and so she
came and found me on her day offof work and I sat down with her
and I got out my laptop and youknow, and I shared some things
with her that I had done andsome mistakes I had made in the
process, because I published mybooks myself.
(08:37):
I did them through Kindle, kdp,self-publishing, and she had
tried that, but she just kepthitting roadblocks, and so I was
able to share with her some ofthe things that I had found out
and some of the things I'dresearched.
And you know, I gave her mynumber and I gave her a couple
of websites to go to and and Itold her you know, if you need
(08:58):
help, just give me a call, I'dbe glad to help.
And she looked at me and shesaid you just don't know how
much this means.
She said I have, you know, Ifound people that would that.
Told me that you know theywould charge me to do this, but
I can't find anybody that wouldhelp me for free.
And guys, I want you tounderstand, I didn't teach a
class.
It wasn't that, it was not much.
(09:19):
I mean, it was like 15 minutesof this is what I did, but it
meant so much to her.
I did, but it meant so much toher.
And there's definitely nothingwrong with teaching a class and
teaching and charging somebodyto teach them how to write a
book.
I mean there's, I've beenthinking about taking one myself
, but there she was so blessedthat somebody took the time just
(09:39):
to show her something.
You know, something she didn'tknow, and I know very little, so
it was kind of like the blindleading the blind.
I just know enough that I gotmy books published and she
wanted help doing the same.
And then, you know, I hadalready read this scripture and
then when I came back to it, itlooked different and it was like
(09:59):
the Lord saying Audrey, give,give, give what you've been
given.
You know what you've learned,what you've experienced, what
God has taught you?
Don't hoard it.
People need it and you know,maybe maybe not the people
around you, you know, that's whyI started my podcast because
God had done so much in me inraising my children, like I was
(10:21):
a different person from beforekids to after kids, and when my
kids started growing up and theydidn't need me as much, I so
wanted to help other mothersbecause I knew God had done
something in me and I wish I hadknown so many things before
kids.
But you don't, you just can't.
And so one of the reasons Istarted the podcast was I wanted
(10:43):
to encourage those who were onthat path, but there was nobody
in my immediate church group, myimmediate friends, those who
were near me, that needed it.
They either had grown kids orkids my age and they'd kind of
gotten in their own rhythm andnobody really seemed to need
what I knew God had put insideof me, and so I thought, you
(11:06):
know what?
I will start a podcast and Iwill put it out there for
whoever does.
And so that's how Grace for myHome started, and that is
applicable to so many areas inlife.
God has put something in you Getit out.
You know, it doesn't have tolook like a podcast, it doesn't
(11:26):
have to look like a book.
It might just be you sittingdown with someone who's
struggling and sharing yourstory, like I was able to do
with this young lady this week.
When I read this proverb thisweek.
I wanted so much to share thatwith you.
You know, don't be one who holdsthings close and there's like a
(11:49):
delight, like oh, I've got allthis and nobody else does.
Don't be that person.
Be the one who scatters and itwill come back to you.
You know, like it says here inverse 25, the generous man will
be prosperous and he who waterswill himself be.
I know what it's like to bethirsty and you are so thankful
(12:11):
for those who quench your thirst.
If you will be that for someoneelse, if you will give, then
when you are in need, someoneelse will give to you and they
won't know you are in need,someone else will give to you,
and they won't know.
You know God will send them atthe right time because he is the
one who provides in the rightseason.
He knows what season we're inand he knows what we need.
(12:34):
And whatever you make happenfor someone else, god will make
happen for you.
That's the way the kingdom works.
It doesn't seem right.
You know, there's a paradox inthe kingdom.
So many things that we think inour minds are not necessarily
the way the kingdom works.
You know, often think about theservant leader.
You know, jesus even told hisdisciples in this world.
(12:57):
You know, the leader is not theleader is the one who tells
everybody what to do.
You know, the leader is the onewho is in charge, large and in
charge.
But it's not going to be so inmy kingdom.
Don't you love my paraphrase?
I'm used to teaching kids, butJesus said not so in my kingdom.
In my kingdom, the greatestperson is the servant, and so we
(13:21):
are servant leaders.
And that's different than theworld system where they see the
servant as less, than In God'skingdom.
The servant is the greatest,and so it is.
With sowing and reaping.
You know, to sow you have totake good seed, you have to take
a good harvest and you have toput it back in the ground.
(13:42):
You have to give it away.
You have to throw it out thereby faith and just believe that a
harvest will come.
And when we have things thatGod's given us, sometimes we
have to get those things out.
We have to share them so thatmore harvest will come.
And we may not directlyunderstand how God does that.
(14:03):
We may not understand exactlyhow God does that.
You know, we may not understandexactly how God does that, but
he promises to make it happen.
You know, whatever we will makehappen for someone else, he in
turn will make happen for us.
You know, treat people the wayyou want to be treated Sow and
you will reap.
Give and it will be given backto you.
Press down, shaken together andrunning over, he will cause men
(14:27):
to give into you.
And you know, guys, it's notabout name and incline, okay,
it's not that.
I'm not talking about aprosperity gospel.
I'm talking about a principlethat a generous person will be
taken care of, that you are notgoing to go broke by being
generous.
God will make sure that you aretaken care of when you live on
(14:49):
kingdom principles.
And it's a good reminderbecause sometimes, especially
when you get to my age and youstart thinking about retirement,
and what do I have, and how amI going to do this?
It's really easy to become thatperson that wants to hoard.
But God is saying to me in thisseason don't be that person.
(15:09):
Be the giver, be the sower, bethe scatterer, be the one who
shares these things that I'vegiven you, because there's
somebody out there that it'sfresh water for them.
For you it might be old hat,you know, it might be like well,
everybody knows that Everybodydoesn't, and they may not hear
my voice.
Do you know?
There are certain people thatwe can minister to or we can
(15:30):
encourage, and there's certainpeople we can't.
You know there are people thatthey just don't receive from me.
You know my voice, the way I am.
You know they just can'treceive from me, but they may be
able to receive from you.
But they may be able to receivefrom you and maybe, when I'm
sharing with you, god will blessyou and then you can bless
(15:50):
others with that.
And that's how the kingdomworks.
We give and we receive.
And if you read on in Proverbs,it says in verse 26, he who
withholds grain, the people willcurse him.
He who withholds grain, thepeople will curse him, but
blessing will be on the head ofhim who sells it.
(16:13):
And what it's talking about isfamine and times of famine when
there's a great need.
If we don't give, then peoplewill suffer.
But when we do, when we decideto sell what we have, when we
decide to let go of what we haveand make it available to other
people, then there's a blessing.
(16:35):
There's a blessing that comesupon us.
And last but not least, inverse 27, it says "he who
diligently seeks good" seeksfavor.
But he who seeks evil, evilwill come to him.
Do you know, we get what weexpect or what we're looking for
.
If we're always looking for thebad in people, we won't be
(16:57):
disappointed, because there'salways enough bad in there to
find right.
We've all got issues.
But if we are looking for thegood in people and we are
looking for good things, then wehave a tendency to find them,
because we find whatever we lookfor.
You know.
That's why God says think onthe good things, think on the
(17:18):
good things, and then you startto see the good things that are
around you.
But if we're always thinkingabout the negative and we're
always thinking about the badthings, then those things seem
to multiply.
It's not that they reallymultiply, it's just that we're
more aware of them because we'retuned into them.
And so whatever we're seeking,whatever we're pouring ourself
into, we're going to get more ofthat.
(17:40):
And so let's make sure it's thegood things, let's make sure
that we are thinking about thegood things and we're sowing the
good things, like joy and peaceand love and forgiveness and
hope.
Let's make sure that those arethe things where our mind is
tuned in so that we can receivemore of those things and we can
be more aware of God's blessingsin our lives.
(18:03):
And, guys, this is so important.
You know it's so easy to getstuck on the negativity train.
It's so easy.
So many people are on it andthey want us on it with them
because it makes them feelbetter.
Misery loves company, and thisweek I have had to decide.
I'm not going to be on thenegativity train, I think, even
if I have to go along, I thinkI'm going to get on the positive
(18:26):
train.
I think I'm going to get on thetrain where I'm thankful for
what I've been given, even ifit's not everything I wanted it
to be or everything I hoped itwould be.
I'm thankful for what God hasgiven me and as I become
thankful, as I decide topurposely be thankful for what
God has given me, then I'mamazed at how much I've been
(18:49):
given, because I'm more aware ofit and I want to share that.
I want to be the kind of personthat people want to be around,
because when they're around me,I'm scattering good things, I'm
scattering encouragement, I'mscattering joy, I'm scattering
thankfulness, and that'sattractive.
And I want people to want to bearound me because when they're
(19:10):
around me, they get a drink,they get filled up and they get
encouraged, and then they haveenough to go out there,
encourage their families andpeople that live in their home
and their friends, and that's agood testimony for Jesus.
You know, if we are the kind ofpeople that people want to be
around, what better testimony.
You know, there's just somethingabout her.
(19:30):
I like being around her.
When I'm around her, I feelencouraged, or, you know, she
makes me feel like I can do this.
She doesn't make me feel stupidor inadequate or that she's
better than me, and that makesus a wonderful testimony of
Jesus, because I believe that'swhat he's like.
You know, jesus has alwaysencouraged me.
(19:50):
He has never condemned me.
He has convicted me.
He has reminded me that thismay not be the path you want to
go down, audrey, but he alwaysdoes it in such a way that he
makes me want to do well.
When somebody believes in you,you want to please them, and
that's how Jesus has always beenfor me.
He's always made me want to dowell.
(20:13):
You know, not just I better dowell or I'm going to get
punished.
There's something in Jesus thatmakes you want to love him and
please him, and I want people tosee that in me, and I believe
you want that too, and so I hopethis has been encouraging for
you today.
I know it's been short, but itdoesn't have to be long to be
good, and I'd like to pray withyou before we go.
(20:36):
Father, I thank you for theselovely ladies who are listening
today.
I pray God for hope in theirheart.
I pray that hope would swell upand they would see
possibilities instead ofproblems, and, lord, that you
would help them to takewhatever's in their hand,
whatever you've blessed themwith, and scatter it to other
people and to be a blessing, andI pray that that blessing would
(20:59):
come back to them a hundredfoldIn Jesus' precious name.
Thank you, lord, amen.
Hello and welcome back to Grace For my Home.
I'm Audrey McCracken and I'm soglad to be back with you again
this week.
I hope that you're doing well.
We are doing great.
My oldest son turned 19yesterday and he had his first
college exam.
So he did not want to celebrate, he wanted to study and get
(00:21):
ready for that.
So this weekend we're going todo something with him.
When they were little I made abig deal out of birthdays, and
now everybody's so busy that itkind of came and went with not a
lot of fanfare, except fortelling him happy birthday and
letting him know we hadn'tforgotten.
But this weekend we'llcelebrate.
We'll go do something that hewants to do, and we told him he
(00:43):
could bring a friend or twoalong, and so we will celebrate.
But for a minute yesterday Ithought I'm a bad mom and then I
thought no, life is changing.
This is just how it is.
So I hope that you're doingwell.
We're doing great.
You know we're into footballnow it's football season and my
middle son is really intofootball and so every Friday
(01:05):
night that's where we are, andhe has actually gotten an
invitation to a college thisweek to go and tour their
facility because he wants toplay on the college level, and
so he's been out there, you know, just talking to people and
talking to coaches and that kindof thing.
So he's got his first collegevisit.
So we'll see, he's actually hada few offers and some of them
(01:30):
are far away, and so thiscollege that we're going to see
in the next few weeks is closeto home and close, I mean like
two and a half hours away, whichis awesome.
So we're praying about that andmy husband and I are going to
go down with him and check outthe college and just see, you
know, see what the Lord does.
This week.
I want to talk with you.
I want to share a short messagewith you about Proverbs 11.
(01:54):
I have been studying Proverbs11 this week.
I've been reading through it.
I'm not going to have timetoday to go into the whole
Proverbs 11, but it's a goodread.
If you have a moment this weekand are looking for something in
the Bible, I know how thatfeels.
Sometimes it's like where do Igo, lord?
Try Proverbs 11.
The whole proverb, the wholechapter, is about the contrast
(02:17):
between the upright and thewicked and how one prospers and
the other doesn't, and I thinkit's a wonderful reminder that
what we do every day matters.
How we live matters, the hiddenthings that we don't think
anybody sees and maybe theydon't see, but it still matters.
And everything in the kingdomis different.
(02:39):
It's different than the systemof the world, and when we are
born again, when we becomefollowers of Christ, we're born
into a kingdom, into a newkingdom that our eyes don't see
but that we see.
We see with spiritual eyes.
And Jesus is the king of thatkingdom.
He's our Lord and he teaches usthe ways of the kingdom.
(03:02):
And there's so much wisdom inthe book of Proverbs.
You know, the book of Proverbsis one of the books of wisdom in
the Bible and there's so muchwisdom.
For us today it seems like anancient book, but you know,
times change but people don'tchange and human nature has been
the same since the creation ofman.
I encourage you this week totake a look at Proverbs 11 and
(03:25):
see what God will speak to youthrough it.
But I want to concentrate onverses 24 and 27, and I'll read
them to you.
I'm going to read out of theNew American Standard Version,
but starting in verse 24 ofProverbs 11, this is what it
says.
It says this is what it says.
It says waters will himself bewatered.
(04:07):
He who withholds grain, thepeople will curse but blessings
will be on the head of him whosells it.
He who diligently seeks goodseeks favor.
But he who seeks evil, evilwill come to him.
And what I want to share withyou this week is what you do
matters.
Where you're scattering, whereyou're sowing, the way, the
(04:28):
intention, the heart behind whatyou do each day matters, and we
have, whether you feel like itor not, you have something to
give and the method that you useto give that out, the heart
that you use to distribute that.
It determines what comes backto you.
And I love this because youknow all human nature is that
(04:51):
we're going to.
You know we're going to hoardand we're going to gather to
ourselves enough so that in hardtimes you know we're taken care
of, we've got enough.
And there's nothing wrong withsaving.
There's nothing wrong withputting away things for times
when you're going to need it.
That's not what this verse istalking about.
What it's talking about is notgiving, is having that attitude
(05:16):
that it's mine, mine, mine andI'm going to keep everything to
myself and then I'll have whenthere's hard times, even when
others don't.
And I love what he's saying here, when he says scatter, because
that makes me think of the man.
You know, there's a famous,there's a famous painting of the
sower and he takes the seed outof his pocket, you know, out of
(05:39):
his big bag that he hasstrapped across his back, and he
scatters that seed, you know.
And he goes into a field and hescatters that seed.
And he goes into a field and hescatters that seed.
And there's an art to that.
There's an art of not havingtoo much and not having too
little and throwing it at justthe right amount and just the
right thickness around you.
And so this man, he goes outand he's not just scattering to
(06:04):
be scattering, but he's sowingseed.
And that can be us, you know,that can be us, as we take from
what God has given us and we goout and we sow it, we share it,
we're not throwing it, we're notthrowing it away, we're giving
it and it's not a waste, becauseit will bring forth a harvest
(06:25):
in the lives of others and inour lives.
And that's such a differentmentality than hoarding.
This week something happened tome in the shop and it reminded
me as I was reading this.
It was so funny how God linesthat up right.
You know, you read it, and thenyou go and live and you see it
and it's like if I hadn't readit.
I don't know if I would haverecognized that this was what I
(06:49):
read or that God is speaking tome in this situation.
But I recently released mysecond book.
It's called Seek First 31 QuietMoments with Jesus, and I had a
book signing last Saturday atmy shop.
It was a huge blessing.
I had so many people come outto support me and they purchased
books and I got a chance totalk with them and share my
(07:11):
story and why I wrote the bookand hear their stories.
That was probably my favoritepart is how God has either used
my book or other devotions andthings like that to encourage
them and to help them, you know,to keep serving Jesus, to grow
in their faith.
Well, later in the week I wasworking at the shop and a lady
(07:33):
came in, had never met beforeand she saw my books at the
counter and she said did youwrite these?
And I said, yes, yes, I did.
Those are my two books.
And she said well, I need totalk with you.
And she had something in herhand and she said do you have a
second?
And I did.
It wasn't that busy in the shopand there were two other people
(07:54):
there besides me, so I wentaround the counter and I started
talking to her.
Well, in her hand she had a bookand she had been trying to
publish this book, trying tomake this book available, and it
was a book of poems that shehad written, and she was
frustrated because she washaving a hard time, she was
trying to get it published, andso she just wanted to pick my
(08:17):
brain.
She just wanted to ask me howdid you do this?
And a friend of a friend hadtold her about me, and so she
came and found me on her day offof work and I sat down with her
and I got out my laptop and youknow, and I shared some things
with her that I had done andsome mistakes I had made in the
process, because I published mybooks myself.
(08:37):
I did them through Kindle, kdp,self-publishing, and she had
tried that, but she just kepthitting roadblocks, and so I was
able to share with her some ofthe things that I had found out
and some of the things I'dresearched.
And you know, I gave her mynumber and I gave her a couple
of websites to go to and and Itold her you know, if you need
(08:58):
help, just give me a call, I'dbe glad to help.
And she looked at me and shesaid you just don't know how
much this means.
She said I have, you know, Ifound people that would that.
Told me that you know theywould charge me to do this, but
I can't find anybody that wouldhelp me for free.
And guys, I want you tounderstand, I didn't teach a
class.
It wasn't that, it was not much.
(09:19):
I mean, it was like 15 minutesof this is what I did, but it
meant so much to her.
I did, but it meant so much toher.
And there's definitely nothingwrong with teaching a class and
teaching and charging somebodyto teach them how to write a
book.
I mean there's, I've beenthinking about taking one myself
, but there she was so blessedthat somebody took the time just
(09:39):
to show her something.
You know, something she didn'tknow, and I know very little, so
it was kind of like the blindleading the blind.
I just know enough that I gotmy books published and she
wanted help doing the same.
And then, you know, I hadalready read this scripture and
then when I came back to it, itlooked different and it was like
(09:59):
the Lord saying Audrey, give,give, give what you've been
given.
You know what you've learned,what you've experienced, what
God has taught you?
Don't hoard it.
People need it and you know,maybe maybe not the people
around you, you know, that's whyI started my podcast because
God had done so much in me inraising my children, like I was
(10:21):
a different person from beforekids to after kids, and when my
kids started growing up and theydidn't need me as much, I so
wanted to help other mothersbecause I knew God had done
something in me and I wish I hadknown so many things before
kids.
But you don't, you just can't.
And so one of the reasons Istarted the podcast was I wanted
(10:43):
to encourage those who were onthat path, but there was nobody
in my immediate church group, myimmediate friends, those who
were near me, that needed it.
They either had grown kids orkids my age and they'd kind of
gotten in their own rhythm andnobody really seemed to need
what I knew God had put insideof me, and so I thought, you
(11:06):
know what?
I will start a podcast and Iwill put it out there for
whoever does.
And so that's how Grace for myHome started, and that is
applicable to so many areas inlife.
God has put something in you Getit out.
You know, it doesn't have tolook like a podcast, it doesn't
(11:26):
have to look like a book.
It might just be you sittingdown with someone who's
struggling and sharing yourstory, like I was able to do
with this young lady this week.
When I read this proverb thisweek.
I wanted so much to share thatwith you.
You know, don't be one who holdsthings close and there's like a
(11:49):
delight, like oh, I've got allthis and nobody else does.
Don't be that person.
Be the one who scatters and itwill come back to you.
You know, like it says here inverse 25, the generous man will
be prosperous and he who waterswill himself be.
I know what it's like to bethirsty and you are so thankful
(12:11):
for those who quench your thirst.
If you will be that for someoneelse, if you will give, then
when you are in need, someoneelse will give to you and they
won't know you are in need,someone else will give to you,
and they won't know.
You know God will send them atthe right time because he is the
one who provides in the rightseason.
He knows what season we're inand he knows what we need.
(12:34):
And whatever you make happenfor someone else, god will make
happen for you.
That's the way the kingdom works.
It doesn't seem right.
You know, there's a paradox inthe kingdom.
So many things that we think inour minds are not necessarily
the way the kingdom works.
You know, often think about theservant leader.
You know, jesus even told hisdisciples in this world.
(12:57):
You know, the leader is not theleader is the one who tells
everybody what to do.
You know, the leader is the onewho is in charge, large and in
charge.
But it's not going to be so inmy kingdom.
Don't you love my paraphrase?
I'm used to teaching kids, butJesus said not so in my kingdom.
In my kingdom, the greatestperson is the servant, and so we
(13:21):
are servant leaders.
And that's different than theworld system where they see the
servant as less, than In God'skingdom.
The servant is the greatest,and so it is.
With sowing and reaping.
You know, to sow you have totake good seed, you have to take
a good harvest and you have toput it back in the ground.
(13:42):
You have to give it away.
You have to throw it out thereby faith and just believe that a
harvest will come.
And when we have things thatGod's given us, sometimes we
have to get those things out.
We have to share them so thatmore harvest will come.
And we may not directlyunderstand how God does that.
(14:03):
We may not understand exactlyhow God does that.
You know, we may not understandexactly how God does that, but
he promises to make it happen.
You know, whatever we will makehappen for someone else, he in
turn will make happen for us.
You know, treat people the wayyou want to be treated Sow and
you will reap.
Give and it will be given backto you.
Press down, shaken together andrunning over, he will cause men
(14:27):
to give into you.
And you know, guys, it's notabout name and incline, okay,
it's not that.
I'm not talking about aprosperity gospel.
I'm talking about a principlethat a generous person will be
taken care of, that you are notgoing to go broke by being
generous.
God will make sure that you aretaken care of when you live on
(14:49):
kingdom principles.
And it's a good reminderbecause sometimes, especially
when you get to my age and youstart thinking about retirement,
and what do I have, and how amI going to do this?
It's really easy to become thatperson that wants to hoard.
But God is saying to me in thisseason don't be that person.
(15:09):
Be the giver, be the sower, bethe scatterer, be the one who
shares these things that I'vegiven you, because there's
somebody out there that it'sfresh water for them.
For you it might be old hat,you know, it might be like well,
everybody knows that Everybodydoesn't, and they may not hear
my voice.
Do you know?
There are certain people thatwe can minister to or we can
(15:30):
encourage, and there's certainpeople we can't.
You know there are people thatthey just don't receive from me.
You know my voice, the way I am.
You know they just can'treceive from me, but they may be
able to receive from you.
But they may be able to receivefrom you and maybe, when I'm
sharing with you, god will blessyou and then you can bless
(15:50):
others with that.
And that's how the kingdomworks.
We give and we receive.
And if you read on in Proverbs,it says in verse 26, he who
withholds grain, the people willcurse him.
He who withholds grain, thepeople will curse him, but
blessing will be on the head ofhim who sells it.
(16:13):
And what it's talking about isfamine and times of famine when
there's a great need.
If we don't give, then peoplewill suffer.
But when we do, when we decideto sell what we have, when we
decide to let go of what we haveand make it available to other
people, then there's a blessing.
(16:35):
There's a blessing that comesupon us.
And last but not least, inverse 27, it says "he who
diligently seeks good" seeksfavor.
But he who seeks evil, evilwill come to him.
Do you know, we get what weexpect or what we're looking for
.
If we're always looking for thebad in people, we won't be
(16:57):
disappointed, because there'salways enough bad in there to
find right.
We've all got issues.
But if we are looking for thegood in people and we are
looking for good things, then wehave a tendency to find them,
because we find whatever we lookfor.
You know.
That's why God says think onthe good things, think on the
(17:18):
good things, and then you startto see the good things that are
around you.
But if we're always thinkingabout the negative and we're
always thinking about the badthings, then those things seem
to multiply.
It's not that they reallymultiply, it's just that we're
more aware of them because we'retuned into them.
And so whatever we're seeking,whatever we're pouring ourself
into, we're going to get more ofthat.
(17:40):
And so let's make sure it's thegood things, let's make sure
that we are thinking about thegood things and we're sowing the
good things, like joy and peaceand love and forgiveness and
hope.
Let's make sure that those arethe things where our mind is
tuned in so that we can receivemore of those things and we can
be more aware of God's blessingsin our lives.
(18:03):
And, guys, this is so important.
You know it's so easy to getstuck on the negativity train.
It's so easy.
So many people are on it andthey want us on it with them
because it makes them feelbetter.
Misery loves company, and thisweek I have had to decide.
I'm not going to be on thenegativity train, I think, even
if I have to go along, I thinkI'm going to get on the positive
(18:26):
train.
I think I'm going to get on thetrain where I'm thankful for
what I've been given, even ifit's not everything I wanted it
to be or everything I hoped itwould be.
I'm thankful for what God hasgiven me and as I become
thankful, as I decide topurposely be thankful for what
God has given me, then I'mamazed at how much I've been
(18:49):
given, because I'm more aware ofit and I want to share that.
I want to be the kind of personthat people want to be around,
because when they're around me,I'm scattering good things, I'm
scattering encouragement, I'mscattering joy, I'm scattering
thankfulness, and that'sattractive.
And I want people to want to bearound me because when they're
(19:10):
around me, they get a drink,they get filled up and they get
encouraged, and then they haveenough to go out there,
encourage their families andpeople that live in their home
and their friends, and that's agood testimony for Jesus.
You know, if we are the kind ofpeople that people want to be
around, what better testimony.
You know, there's just somethingabout her.
(19:30):
I like being around her.
When I'm around her, I feelencouraged, or, you know, she
makes me feel like I can do this.
She doesn't make me feel stupidor inadequate or that she's
better than me, and that makesus a wonderful testimony of
Jesus, because I believe that'swhat he's like.
You know, jesus has alwaysencouraged me.
(19:50):
He has never condemned me.
He has convicted me.
He has reminded me that thismay not be the path you want to
go down, audrey, but he alwaysdoes it in such a way that he
makes me want to do well.
When somebody believes in you,you want to please them, and
that's how Jesus has always beenfor me.
He's always made me want to dowell.
(20:13):
You know, not just I better dowell or I'm going to get
punished.
There's something in Jesus thatmakes you want to love him and
please him, and I want people tosee that in me, and I believe
you want that too, and so I hopethis has been encouraging for
you today.
I know it's been short, but itdoesn't have to be long to be
good, and I'd like to pray withyou before we go.
(20:36):
Father, I thank you for theselovely ladies who are listening
today.
I pray God for hope in theirheart.
I pray that hope would swell upand they would see
possibilities instead ofproblems, and, lord, that you
would help them to takewhatever's in their hand,
whatever you've blessed themwith, and scatter it to other
people and to be a blessing, andI pray that that blessing would
(20:59):
come back to them a hundredfoldIn Jesus' precious name.
Thank you, lord, amen.
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