April 25, 2024 • 37 mins
Have you ever felt the tug at your heart, urging you to step beyond the known and into a life of deeper faith? Join me, Lyvita and my guest Cecil Taylor as we traverse the path that takes us from the cozy confines of our comfort zones to the exhilarating trust zone where God's plan becomes our compass. Cecil, author of "From Comfort Zone to Trust Zone How Jesus Urges Us to Take Leaps of Faith for His Kingdom," imparts wisdom on how to quiet the anxieties that chain us to predictability and how to confidently say yes to the divine adventures set before us. His profound insights promise to guide you through the mental barriers that keep you from experiencing God's full potential for your life.
Resources Mentioned on the Episode and suggested reading & social media handles:
- CecilTaylorMinistries.com
- https://www.facebook.com/ceciltaylorministries
- Practical Faith Academy Podcast
- From Comfort Zone to Trust Zone by Cecil Taylor
- Lyvitabrooks.com/contact
- The Me Project Academy Email Newsletter: FREE
Calls to Action:
· Sign up for The Me Project Academy Newsletter for resources on decluttering your mind in order to grow in Christ, academy news and new releases of the podcast.
· Website: www.hangingoutwithjesuspodcast.com
· @themeprojectacademy (Pinterest)
· support@themeprojectacademy.com (for comments)
· YouTube Channel: Hanging Out With Jesus Podcast
Thanks for listening. I pray this episode was a blessing to you. Leave a comment or rate this episode . Then pass it on. Share this link: https://lyvitabrooks.com/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Lyvita (00:02):
Saints, have you ever been in a position where God is
telling you to do something butfear and anxiety have frozen you
up against a wall?
All you see are the problems,the failures, the broken safety
(00:25):
nets, the unfulfilled promisesand the pain of what ifs and the
lie of nothing's ever goodenough or awfulizing everything
like I can't do anything right.
These sentence starters canwreak havoc on your body, mind
and spirit, habit on your body,mind and spirit.
In this episode, I pray that myguest, cecil Taylor, and I can
(00:55):
equip and encourage you to comefrom out of your comfort zone
into the trusting of God's own.
So on to the intro.
Welcome to Hanging Out WithJesus podcast, the podcast that
helps you spend time with God,to declutter your mind
intentionally and daily, so youcan go and do what God's called
(01:16):
you to do.
This is episode 99.
It's all about jumping fromyour comfort zone into the trust
zone.
Saint, it's time for a newperspective on life, time to
take a risk.
Hey, thanks for listening inand welcome.
(01:36):
I'm Lyvita, founder of the MeProject Academy and your host.
Joining me in this discussionis Cecil Taylor.
I asked him to join us becausehe wrote another book, saints.
It just seems as if every bookhe's writing or has written I
can use.
It is so helpful.
(01:57):
But this book ties in with thepurpose of this podcast to build
up the brokenhearted, to breakthe chains of anxiety and unlock
the prisoners that are bound byfear.
So you, so we, can complete themission God called us to do
(02:21):
intentionally and daily.
Cecil's tarot book is calledFrom Comfort Zone to Trust Zone
how Jesus urges us to take leapsof faith for his kingdom
Together.
I pray this episode awakensyour senses to intentionally
(02:42):
making steps, to doing whatGod's called you to do.
Let's get started.
Welcome, cecil, to Hanging OutWith Jesus podcast for the third
time.
Cecil (02:59):
Yeah, number three, and it's episode 99.
I feel very honored to beepisode 99, I tell you hey, so I
just want to tell the sameseason.
Lyvita (03:09):
I was talking beforehand and I told him I am afraid to
find out what he's going towrite next, because it just
seems like every book he haswritten is.
It's something that I needyou'll be glad, levita.
Cecil (03:24):
My next book is how to Spend that $5 Million you Just
Won in the Lottery.
Oh, wow, I'm joking.
I'm joking.
That'd be nice, though, right?
Well, actually, one of thethings I'm looking at is a
sequel to the next thing that Ithink you would like quite a bit
(03:44):
.
So that may be a 2025 project,but we'll see.
I got my hands full right now.
Lyvita (03:51):
Cause you know that was my favorite book.
That just started the whole,our whole connection.
Cecil (03:58):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's, it's, uh, it's close to my heart
too, and I'm really excitedabout how the book still has a
life.
You know, even though it's beenout a couple of years, people
are still passing it around,they're still recognizing it in
awards and things like that, soit's really a blessing.
Lyvita (04:16):
That's right, Because Saints check out episode 80.
I got to tell you episode 80.
And you're right, it won theChristian Indie Publishing Award
and the Marketing Award, right.
Cecil (04:31):
Well, yeah, we'll see they're finalists.
It's a finalist, I'll put itthat way.
Yeah yeah, we'll find outactually a couple of days from
now, when, at the time this,this podcast, drops, we'll be
finding out right, right.
Lyvita (04:47):
What about the?
You received another award tooyeah, so it was.
Cecil (04:52):
It was honored with uh um , an award from the blue light
blue lake christian writersconference called the living
water award, uh, for non-fiction.
And so, uh, it's beenrecognized now twice and more
than that, to be honest, the joyof that book is hearing people
(05:12):
say this had a lot of meaningbecause it's a book about
dealing with crisis in personallife.
It's very raw, very vulnerable,really dips into some family
situations we had and peoplecome back and say they really
appreciate the vulnerabilitythat when say they're having a
book study and they read thatbook, they can open up and be
(05:34):
vulnerable themselves.
There are chaplains that usethis book, there are counselors
who use this book and to methat's the greatest joy, beyond
any kind of recognition, is justknowing it's making an impact
on people's lives.
Lyvita (05:48):
Yeah, yeah.
And then your second book wasLive Like You're Loved, and that
helped me in the sense that Ihad to change my view of how I
was seeing myself.
It really was a blessing.
But can you share a little bitabout that book?
Cecil (06:06):
Yeah, the thing about Live Like You're Loved is it
delves into kind of the dirtylittle secret we have as
Christians that we believe thatGod loves everybody, but we're
not sure that God loves me andthat God forgives me.
So I go through how God lovesyou, god forgives you, god sends
you every day and God wantseternal connection with you, and
then I show how to live likeyou're loved, live like you're
(06:30):
really forgiven, live likeyou're really sin, live like
you're really eternal.
That book has also been ablessing to a lot of people, I'm
happy to say.
I read some of the reviews onAmazon of people who've read it.
I read some of the reviews onAmazon of people who've read it
and it brings me to tears,levita, because there are people
(06:51):
who say you know, I fell awayfrom God and this book brought
me back, or this book touched myheart in a way I never realized
it would.
It really got into some thingswith me, and so those kinds of
things aren't just oh, yeah,it's a good book.
It's making a difference andthat's really why you and I do
the things we do.
It's to make a difference inpeople's lives.
Lyvita (07:09):
Yeah, yeah, and Saints, that is episode 81.
We're going from 80, 81 to 99.
So we to now, from comfort zoneto trust zone.
It's almost like we're beingled all the way from problem
(07:36):
looking at the problem,realizing that there's a next
step to changing our thoughtprocess, our self-talk, to
changing our thought process,our self-talk, realizing that
God truly loves us and he's inthe midst of everything.
He wants us to hear him, togoing into realizing that we've
(07:57):
been sitting in our comfort zoneof fear and anxiety and broken
heartedness.
We've been there, we've beenthere.
We've been there too long.
So now, how we get from thereto truly trusting God?
I think God has you on a pathhere.
(08:24):
But let's dive into this,because I want us all to get on
the same page of the comfortzone.
But I need.
Is it all right if I read page31, just that first paragraph?
Sure, because I had to say what.
Let me read it to you.
The common comfort zone is thatthese people all wanted Jesus
on their terms, for theirconvenience, as they could fit
(08:47):
him into their schedule If hewasn't too demanding or
challenging or weird, if hedidn't ask too much of them.
Seriously, you're trying totell me that we've been planning
and trying to put God inaccording to our convenience.
(09:09):
That makes me sit back and say,whoa, let me rethink.
Have am I scheduling right?
Am I, when I have a quiet time,I just sticking him in where I
want him in, or am I stickinghim in where he wants to be in?
Cecil (09:26):
Right.
Lyvita (09:26):
Talk to me a little bit, talk to us a little bit about
that, so we'll be on the samepage about this comfort zone.
Cecil (09:33):
Yeah, well, that's absolutely right, Levita, that
we want Jesus on our terms, noton the terms Jesus has for us.
So that paragraph is a goodparagraph, thank you.
It elaborates on that.
And what I actually do in thebook is I go through 12 stories
(09:53):
of Jesus, identifying people'scomfort zones and trying to
invite them, even push them outof those comfort zones and into
his trust zone, where they aretaking risks for him, where they
do something different for him,where they do things on his
terms, because he does want thatfor us, because he has a bigger
vision for us.
(10:14):
And when we do that we willfind we actually develop our
faith more, because we've walkedout on the wire, we have gotten
into a trust.
You, you are in trouble andyou're just so disoriented.
(10:49):
And yet, when we are on a glassfloor that Jesus is underneath
holding up, we are on the mostsolid ground we've ever been on,
even though it doesn't feellike it, it feels uncomfortable,
it doesn't feel right, butJesus is there and he's leading
us into some new kind ofpromised land for us and to
(11:11):
serve his kingdom.
Lyvita (11:14):
That is true.
So now that, so that's thecomfort zone, so the trust zone,
and I'm going to read aparagraph from page 30.
Trust zone, and I'm going toread a paragraph from page 31.
The trust zone, then, isaccepting Jesus on his terms and
his time, ready to drop whatwe're doing, plowing forward,
eager to do his will and to seewhat he has in store for us next
(11:39):
, going all in.
What you mean by going all in?
Cecil (11:50):
going all in.
What do you mean by going allin?
Yeah, I tell a story in thebook where I always thought,
levita, I mean I was apreacher's kid, I grew up in the
church, I was alwaysvolunteering, I was doing one
thing after another for Christand I got to a point in my life
I won't tell the whole story butbasically I got convicted by
the Holy Spirit that you knowwhat you're doing, a lot of
things and you're giving a lot.
But there's one thing you'venever given to me that I really
(12:12):
want, and that is your heart.
Wow, I thought God didn't knowthat.
Somehow I was holding backbecause I was afraid, if I
really give myself all over toGod, what is he going to ask me
to do?
I may not want to do that.
That's not on my terms.
I may not want to go all in.
(12:32):
I don't want to look weird.
I don't want to look strange tomy friends, you know.
And I had to get to a point ofsaying what does it mean to give
my heart to God?
So I kind of went on a journeywith that to learn, and I did a
lot of scripture reading.
Psalm 63 was my go-to for daysand days, and days and weeks,
(12:55):
and just really pondering Psalm63, which is really about giving
your heart to God, I feel like,and I finally got to a place
where I could say I'm all in, Iam with you, do with me what you
will, and I'll tell you whenyou say that he takes that
invitation and runs with it.
Lyvita (13:18):
Yes, he does.
Yes, he does, because you knowwhat?
That is one of the hardestthings I think believers have to
come to grips with when theysay, lord, I'm giving you my
heart.
When you first start yeah, youstart giving your heart.
And then you start listening toother people and you start
(13:39):
seeing things happening.
You said, oh God might send meto the mission field where they
don't have bathrooms.
Oh no, I can't, you know.
And then all this stuff startedcoming into your mind.
You start just getting all thisclutter and God, all God wants
you to do is love him the firstthing.
Just love him, you know.
(14:03):
But we'd have gotten all thisother stuff to clog our mind, to
stop us and put a shield.
God, you can go in all theseother parts of my heart, but not
right here.
I'm scared.
You're right, you're right.
That's why this book isimportant, because it does help
(14:25):
us to come to grips with.
Okay, I know where I am now.
I know I'm not at that pointwhere I'm truly giving my all to
God.
What do I need to do, cecil?
What do I need to do to get tothat point where I can just jump
(14:47):
over, because you got a personparachuting out of an airplane
on the front of the book?
Cecil (14:55):
That's right.
Lyvita (14:57):
Matter of fact, there is a part in here where you talk
about relinquishing certaintyand I believe you're talking
about that's a part of thecomfort zone and then embracing
I'm sorry, relinquishingcertainty and then embracing
(15:18):
uncertainty, and that's thetrusting zone part, am I right?
You're?
Cecil (15:22):
right.
The relinquishing uncertainty,relinquishing certainty is the
comfort zone that we have, andthis is the root of our comfort
zone, trust zone dilemma righthere.
We like certainty, we likecertainty, I like certainty.
You know, I've got a dailyroutine to-do lists.
I've got life planned out acertain way.
(15:43):
Everybody does that.
I'm going to do this by acertain age.
I'm going to take this trip.
God just kind of laughsknowingly at us.
I imagine we fight hard forcertainty, and there's a verse I
didn't use in the book, but Ithink it's a good example of
this the story of Martha andMary in Luke 10, when Jesus
comes to visit and Mary islistening to him and Martha is
(16:05):
scurrying around and doing herthing, and she comes to Jesus
and say make Mary help mebecause she's going, I'm off
schedule, I'm not in controlhere and my routine is disrupted
.
And even because she's going,I'm off schedule, I'm not in
control here and my routine isdisrupted.
And even though she's arguingabout Mary, in truth what
happened was Jesus disrupted herroutine and now she's trying to
(16:27):
get back control from Jesus, ifyou get down to it.
And so she wants that certainty.
She wants that control.
We all want certainty.
She wants that control.
We all want certainty, we allwant control.
But life first of all laughs atus as well, because things are
not certain.
So I think the strange phrasein there is embrace uncertainty.
(16:50):
How do we embrace and welcomeuncertainty?
And my favorite quote in thebook is in that chapter.
It's uncertainty is the soil inwhich faith grows.
Uncertainty is the soil inwhich faith grows.
Hebrews 11.1 says now, faith isconfidence in what we hope for
and assurance about what we donot see.
(17:10):
In other words, it's not faithif you can see it.
That's fulfillment of thepromise.
Faith is when we're just hoping.
We want what is not available.
We're hoping for it, we'rerelying on God for it.
And if you think about yourlife, most of the time the big
faith advances in your life Comein the hard times or when it's
(17:31):
uncomfortable, uncertain.
You don't know what's going tohappen.
That's when faith really doesgrow.
So the idea of this is let'sgive up the idea of control and
let's embrace what uncertaintyis, because we know we're going
to get something out of it.
It's uncomfortable but we'regoing to grow from it and we're
(17:56):
going to grow closer to Godthrough that uncertainty.
Lyvita (18:00):
Saints.
We will get back to the episode, but I wanted to share that.
Next month we will becelebrating our 100th episode
and the major transition thatoccurred in my life to propel me
into the trust zone a newseason, what we're talking about
now.
If you want to know what'shappening on future podcast
(18:23):
episodes, improve your self-talk, make sense of your heartaches
and declutter your mind so youcan go and do what God's called
you to do, then sign up for ouremail community.
It's free.
Links in the show notes.
Now back to the episode.
Okay so, cecil, so is thereanything like practical tips or
(18:49):
support or something that wecould do that will help us make
that jump from the comfort zoneto the trust zone?
Because you have this.
You have one chapter.
I just love the title.
It's called Leaving Safety forDanger, because in our heads,
(19:10):
that's what we're doing, becausewe don't know what's out there.
In our heads that's what we'redoing because we don't know
what's out there and it's likewe, as believers, we know what's
out there and that we know whatGod has done for us in the past
and we keep forgetting thatbecause we're looking at the
(19:42):
unknown again and we stoptrusting.
So what's?
Cecil (19:44):
something practical we can do to help us make this jump
from comfort to trust.
Well, that is the trick, isn'tit?
And I think with my own life,it has started with being open
and vulnerable to God.
It starts with that.
I think we need to listen forhow the Holy Spirit is moving us
In Live Like You're Loved.
I actually list seven ways inwhich that happens through
(20:07):
prayer, through conscience,through other people, through
the events of our lives shapingus, through our passions,
changing through those events ofour lives shaping us through
our passions, changing throughthose lightning moments when you
actually can hear the spirit'svoice.
And then multiplication, whichis when you see, once you've
(20:27):
gone down a path, that Godstarts multiplying it because
you brought those five loavesand two fish and things start
happening because you have madethe commitment.
So it really starts with, Ithink, listening to the Holy
Spirit and getting past the ideayou mentioned danger.
I mean danger is exposure, itmight be injury, it might be
pain, it might be loss.
(20:48):
It can be a lot of differentthings and we perceive danger in
a lot of different things andwe perceive danger in a lot of
different ways, even just youknow, like Mary and Martha, like
Martha perceived danger becauseit was different than what she
wanted.
So there's really big thingslike the you know going to that
mission field or whatever.
(21:09):
But there's a lot of subtlecomfort zones I talk about in
the book.
One of the things that peoplesay is I didn't know I had these
comfort zones.
There's comfort zones in therethat are like we have privilege
or we have abundance and we justthink that's normal, that's our
(21:32):
comfort zone and we don't shareit or leverage it to help
somebody else.
That's when you get into thetrust zone of saying I'm gonna,
I'm gonna give up this, at leasta portion, if not all, of my
privilege and my abundance, tohelp somebody else and and to
help the kingdom.
We might chase status or money.
You know I to watch out, Ican't get where I'm too wrapped
(21:55):
up in these awards we talkedabout earlier.
That's chasing somethingworldly at the end of the day.
But Jesus frequently stressedhow we need to be humble and
wash each other's feet so wecan't get caught up in status
seeking.
Even the disciples werejockeying for who's the best
disciple.
You know Jesus is going no, no,no.
(22:16):
You need to wash each other'sfeet.
We might be worshiping othergods without realizing it.
And I think in an election year, it's very easy to get caught
up in political solutions,political saviors, a lot of
things like that, when Jesus isour Savior.
And we need to make sure that wehave prioritized and balanced.
(22:37):
There's times to engage theworld and there's times to work
through government or politicsto achieve something.
But we can't make that our God,and I see a lot of people
making that their God these days, and that's a comfort zone that
you have to say.
You know what, whoever winsthat election, god is still my
(23:00):
leader and Jesus is still mysavior.
Come on.
That's what I have to follow in,whatever I live under.
You know, there's a great storyin the book.
I'm thinking about this.
That is about how the Pope wentbehind the Iron Curtain to
speak to people living undercommunism and he didn't tell
them you're there to overthrowcommunism.
(23:22):
He said you're there and theHoly Spirit is with you and
that's who you should followabove all else, no matter what
is atop that in the world,matter what is atop that you
know in the world.
So I think that there's this.
When we talk about making theleap, sometimes we need to know
where we're going from, to knowwhere we're going to.
(23:43):
So if we realize that we havehad these comfort zones and that
we have made other things tooimportant and what we're
following on our own terms, thenit's a little easier to be
clear, as the Spirit speaks tous about what we need to go to,
what we have to relinquish, whatwe have to let loose from our
(24:05):
hands in order to go where hewants us to go.
Lyvita (24:09):
Yeah, yeah.
So, saint, there's a tool thatyou can use that will help you
with getting an understanding ofwhere you are in this comfort
zone If you made the leap to thetrust zone and what's happening
in your life.
(24:29):
There's a tool that you can usethat we often overlook, and
that tool is journaling.
When you start writing downwhat's occurring in your life,
(24:53):
or writing down just thehighlights that God has shown
you for that day, writing downwhat you're grateful for for
that day, writing down thesurprises that God has, what God
has shown up.
These are things that you canuse to help you make a leap and
help you when you say, okay, god, I got to trust you again for
(25:14):
something else, but I just needto remember, okay, lord, I'm
going back in my journal.
I see that, oh, yeah, yeah, youdid that.
Okay, good, I remember when youdid oh, yes, lord, I really
remember that because I wascrying and crying and you just,
oh, thank you Lord.
So so, saints, remember, if youhave, if you don't journal,
(25:37):
please start.
I'm telling you that's ablessing and so there's enough.
Another thought that hit mymind was the blessing jar, and
that's also where you can writedown all the wonderful things
that God has said on a stickynote and you put it in a jar.
So whenever you're feeling bad,you just open up that blessing
(25:59):
jar, dump the stuff out and juststart oh yes, lord, I remember,
oh yeah, and that's another wayof just helping you to remember
how blessed you are and thatLeaving that comfort zone it's
okay Because you've done itbefore, you know, cecil, because
the next step isn't that goingfrom comfort to trust zone, the
(26:25):
next step.
Cecil (26:26):
It's the next thing right in front of us.
Well, you know, I have a friendwho just stuck this in my mind.
I've used it, I think, inmultiple books, but he talks
about how we get spiritualamnesia, get the great things
God has done in the past.
I mean, I get this attitudewhere I say, well, lord, you've
gotten me through a lot ofthings, but this one is too big
(26:47):
for you.
That's crazy.
He proves over and over that.
That's a crazy thing.
You know, I wrote a devotionrecently, actually, about how
there's a difference betweenpride and despair.
Pride is when you don't thinkyou need God in order to do
something I'm going to do thisone on my own, I don't need you
and despair is when you thinkGod can't do anything about the
(27:10):
situation and so you just fallinto depression because you know
it's hopeless.
We need to go right down thatmiddle path, the narrow path
between being prideful and beingdesperate, of knowing that the
situation is too big for us butit's not too big for God, and we
(27:30):
take leaps of faith because wehave the best support system
ever and we believe that we'reacting according to God's will.
Lyvita (27:38):
Yeah, yeah, we do.
We had the Holy Spirit, jesusand the Word of God.
That's right, yes, yes, wow.
Is there a specific quote or asection of the book that you'd
like to share with the listeners, or some last words?
Cecil (27:59):
You know one character, if you want to call it that,
because it's a person out of theBible, but one character in the
book that I just love the storybecause people don't know it is
the disciple Thaddeus, and hewas one of those who really
believed in a political solution.
He was one of the disciplesthere were four of them who were
(28:19):
zealots and they wanted tooverthrow the Romans and the
Herodians and they thought Jesuswas a political messiah that
they could hitch their wagon toand they go through everything
with him.
And it doesn't happen.
And at the Last Supper he askedJesus why are you not revealing
yourself as a powerfulpolitical messiah?
(28:40):
Why are you only makingyourself known to us?
Why aren't you coming out tothe world?
And Jesus gives him this reallycurious answer that basically
says the Father and I areprimarily interested in changing
hearts and living in hearts.
Like that, stuff isn't evenimportant to me, thaddeus.
And so Thaddeus must have stillbeen puzzled.
But after the resurrection,things started making sense to
(29:02):
him, and so, instead of findinganother political savior,
thaddeus went all in inestablishing his savior's new
church.
Instead of combating thegovernment any longer, thaddeus
was in charge of caring forwidows Instead of dying
gloriously for some revolution.
Thaddeus was martyred for thesake of Christ, and today
(29:24):
Thaddeus is known to us byanother name.
He went by Judas or Jude, saintJude yes, the hospital is named
after him, the patron saint oflost causes.
And Thaddeus lost his cause hispolitical cause, so to speak
and found a new cause as hefollowed his savior.
I just love that story and lovehow Thaddeus is this little
(29:49):
known disciple, but he goes on ajourney that we all should go
on known disciple.
Lyvita (29:57):
but he goes on a journey that we all should go on, yeah.
And then he found an adventurethat was something that he never
imagined and it gave him joy.
Cecil (30:03):
That's right.
Lyvita (30:05):
You know, saints, following Christ is not about
the glory.
It's about helping others andenjoying what you do.
We need each other, we need tohelp each other and I pray that
this episode is helping you seethe importance of coming out of
(30:28):
where you are so peacefully,happy and secure and, oh, I
can't move because, oh, I don'twant to change or, oh, I'm
scared to go.
I hope we're getting you toopen your eyes to see that when
you put your trust in Jesus,it's going to be glorious.
(30:51):
Glorious.
You're holding back somethingthat needs to come out of you.
That is just.
That is wonderful.
But you have no idea what it is.
But it's still waiting to justexplode, to explode.
(31:18):
Oh, I told you, I'm sorry.
I'm sorry, I told you, I toldyou in the beginning your books
are hitting home.
I love that they are.
I want you to tell thelisteners where they can find
you, and all that.
But before you do that, Inoticed that you put on the back
of the book a quote.
At the end you were saying thatyou were grateful for your
(31:42):
official reviewers and endorsers.
Cecil (31:49):
I am.
I was so blessed to have youand others who endorsed the book
and gave some credibility to itand said nice things about it.
Lyvita (32:08):
I really appreciate that .
Help people to come out of themuck and admire and join Jesus
in advancing the gospel.
You know I'm just praying.
A lot come out of you brother,thank you.
Cecil (32:27):
I feel a beam of sunshine when you say that.
Thank you so much.
Lyvita (32:31):
So where can everybody find you?
Cecil (32:34):
Yeah, the best place to start is
CecilTaylorMinistriescom.
Ceciltaylorministriescom, andon there you can find, first of
all, a lot of just free stuffthat'll help your day.
There's blogs.
I run a podcast also.
In fact, levita's going to beon it.
You can find her on there aswell as one of my guests.
(32:57):
But the other thing I havethere is where you can have a
jumping off place to get mybooks or even, if you want, to
go to Amazon and buy them overthere.
I also have videos.
That is really close to myheart, because these are for
small groups at your church orin your study in your home.
(33:19):
So every book comes with avideo also, or is done at the
same time as a video.
I should say it that way, andso you could watch the video and
discuss that and then afterwardbe able to have the book to
review it and remember it andreinforce it.
If you want to follow me onFacebook, you can find me there
(33:41):
at Cecil Taylor Ministries.
So I think it's facebookcomslash Cecil Taylor Ministries
you can find me.
I'm also on LinkedIn and I dothings on there as well.
If you look up Cecil Taylor onLinkedIn, those are the main on
there as well.
If you look up Cecil Taylor onLinkedIn, those are the main
places to find me, I guess.
Lyvita (34:00):
When is our episode coming out?
Cecil (34:02):
Well, actually the current podcast on my site, as
people are listening to thiswith Levita and she is the first
guest I have for a new seasonof my podcast called Practical
Faith Academy.
I wanted to bring on otherpeople alongside me because I'm
(34:24):
always talking about puttingyour faith into practice.
I wanted people's history,ideas and stories about putting
faith into practice, so I have anumber of people lined up.
I have some really interestingguests, including one that is
just your average common guythat had something happen that
made him go viral on Facebookand got him to a point of
(34:46):
talking about his faith, eventhough he's just a guy.
So it's a marvelous.
I've already recorded thepodcast that one's coming out in
June.
I'm really excited for thedifferent people who are coming
on, who are going to blesspeople with their stories, and
you can find those podcasts bygoing to
ceasletaylorministriescom slashfree dash content or you can
(35:11):
find the free content tab at thebeginning of the page and just
go from there.
There you can leap to yourfavorite platform at the
beginning of the page and itjust go from there and there you
can leap to your favoriteplatform like Odyssey or Apple
or wherever you get yourpodcasts.
Lyvita (35:21):
All right, I'm going to put that in the show notes as
well.
So, cecil, this has been ablessing.
I believe the Saints gotsomething from me.
Make your comments, support atTheMeProjectAcademycom how this
(35:43):
episode has truly blessed you.
Cecil, can you praise out?
Cecil (35:49):
I would love to LaVita.
Let's bow to God.
Lord, we praise you for yourplans for us and how you sent
your Holy Spirit to guide useach day.
Help us to listen so we canallow the Spirit to guide our
action and our inaction, ourtimes to leap into the trust
zone, our times when you want usto stay back longer in a
(36:11):
comfort zone before going.
We bow to your wisdom and askto be rich in spiritual
treasures that you bless us with.
Reveal to us when a comfortzone is damaging or limiting,
and inspire us to take risks foryour kingdom, as we rely on you
in the trust zone and just useus for your kingdom and for your
glory, wherever you put us atany point in our lives.
(36:34):
I want to ask your specialblessings on those who are
listening today, that somethinghappened today that they can
take away to follow you moreclosely and to find that soil in
which faith grows.
In your most precious name wepray.
Lyvita (37:10):
Amen.
Do what God's called you to do.
All this and more can be found,including my contact
information, onHangingOutWithJesusPodcastcom or
the show notes.
So until we meet again on theairwaves, intentionally and
(37:31):
daily hang out with Jesus Shalom.
Saints, have you ever been in a position where God is
telling you to do something butfear and anxiety have frozen you
up against a wall?
All you see are the problems,the failures, the broken safety
(00:25):
nets, the unfulfilled promisesand the pain of what ifs and the
lie of nothing's ever goodenough or awfulizing everything
like I can't do anything right.
These sentence starters canwreak havoc on your body, mind
and spirit, habit on your body,mind and spirit.
In this episode, I pray that myguest, cecil Taylor, and I can
(00:55):
equip and encourage you to comefrom out of your comfort zone
into the trusting of God's own.
So on to the intro.
Welcome to Hanging Out WithJesus podcast, the podcast that
helps you spend time with God,to declutter your mind
intentionally and daily, so youcan go and do what God's called
(01:16):
you to do.
This is episode 99.
It's all about jumping fromyour comfort zone into the trust
zone.
Saint, it's time for a newperspective on life, time to
take a risk.
Hey, thanks for listening inand welcome.
(01:36):
I'm Lyvita, founder of the MeProject Academy and your host.
Joining me in this discussionis Cecil Taylor.
I asked him to join us becausehe wrote another book, saints.
It just seems as if every bookhe's writing or has written I
can use.
It is so helpful.
(01:57):
But this book ties in with thepurpose of this podcast to build
up the brokenhearted, to breakthe chains of anxiety and unlock
the prisoners that are bound byfear.
So you, so we, can complete themission God called us to do
(02:21):
intentionally and daily.
Cecil's tarot book is calledFrom Comfort Zone to Trust Zone
how Jesus urges us to take leapsof faith for his kingdom
Together.
I pray this episode awakensyour senses to intentionally
(02:42):
making steps, to doing whatGod's called you to do.
Let's get started.
Welcome, cecil, to Hanging OutWith Jesus podcast for the third
time.
Cecil (02:59):
Yeah, number three, and it's episode 99.
I feel very honored to beepisode 99, I tell you hey, so I
just want to tell the sameseason.
Lyvita (03:09):
I was talking beforehand and I told him I am afraid to
find out what he's going towrite next, because it just
seems like every book he haswritten is.
It's something that I needyou'll be glad, levita.
Cecil (03:24):
My next book is how to Spend that $5 Million you Just
Won in the Lottery.
Oh, wow, I'm joking.
I'm joking.
That'd be nice, though, right?
Well, actually, one of thethings I'm looking at is a
sequel to the next thing that Ithink you would like quite a bit
(03:44):
.
So that may be a 2025 project,but we'll see.
I got my hands full right now.
Lyvita (03:51):
Cause you know that was my favorite book.
That just started the whole,our whole connection.
Cecil (03:58):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's, it's, uh, it's close to my heart
too, and I'm really excitedabout how the book still has a
life.
You know, even though it's beenout a couple of years, people
are still passing it around,they're still recognizing it in
awards and things like that, soit's really a blessing.
Lyvita (04:16):
That's right, Because Saints check out episode 80.
I got to tell you episode 80.
And you're right, it won theChristian Indie Publishing Award
and the Marketing Award, right.
Cecil (04:31):
Well, yeah, we'll see they're finalists.
It's a finalist, I'll put itthat way.
Yeah yeah, we'll find outactually a couple of days from
now, when, at the time this,this podcast, drops, we'll be
finding out right, right.
Lyvita (04:47):
What about the?
You received another award tooyeah, so it was.
Cecil (04:52):
It was honored with uh um , an award from the blue light
blue lake christian writersconference called the living
water award, uh, for non-fiction.
And so, uh, it's beenrecognized now twice and more
than that, to be honest, the joyof that book is hearing people
(05:12):
say this had a lot of meaningbecause it's a book about
dealing with crisis in personallife.
It's very raw, very vulnerable,really dips into some family
situations we had and peoplecome back and say they really
appreciate the vulnerabilitythat when say they're having a
book study and they read thatbook, they can open up and be
(05:34):
vulnerable themselves.
There are chaplains that usethis book, there are counselors
who use this book and to methat's the greatest joy, beyond
any kind of recognition, is justknowing it's making an impact
on people's lives.
Lyvita (05:48):
Yeah, yeah.
And then your second book wasLive Like You're Loved, and that
helped me in the sense that Ihad to change my view of how I
was seeing myself.
It really was a blessing.
But can you share a little bitabout that book?
Cecil (06:06):
Yeah, the thing about Live Like You're Loved is it
delves into kind of the dirtylittle secret we have as
Christians that we believe thatGod loves everybody, but we're
not sure that God loves me andthat God forgives me.
So I go through how God lovesyou, god forgives you, god sends
you every day and God wantseternal connection with you, and
then I show how to live likeyou're loved, live like you're
(06:30):
really forgiven, live likeyou're really sin, live like
you're really eternal.
That book has also been ablessing to a lot of people, I'm
happy to say.
I read some of the reviews onAmazon of people who've read it.
I read some of the reviews onAmazon of people who've read it
and it brings me to tears,levita, because there are people
(06:51):
who say you know, I fell awayfrom God and this book brought
me back, or this book touched myheart in a way I never realized
it would.
It really got into some thingswith me, and so those kinds of
things aren't just oh, yeah,it's a good book.
It's making a difference andthat's really why you and I do
the things we do.
It's to make a difference inpeople's lives.
Lyvita (07:09):
Yeah, yeah, and Saints, that is episode 81.
We're going from 80, 81 to 99.
So we to now, from comfort zoneto trust zone.
It's almost like we're beingled all the way from problem
(07:36):
looking at the problem,realizing that there's a next
step to changing our thoughtprocess, our self-talk, to
changing our thought process,our self-talk, realizing that
God truly loves us and he's inthe midst of everything.
He wants us to hear him, togoing into realizing that we've
(07:57):
been sitting in our comfort zoneof fear and anxiety and broken
heartedness.
We've been there, we've beenthere.
We've been there too long.
So now, how we get from thereto truly trusting God?
I think God has you on a pathhere.
(08:24):
But let's dive into this,because I want us all to get on
the same page of the comfortzone.
But I need.
Is it all right if I read page31, just that first paragraph?
Sure, because I had to say what.
Let me read it to you.
The common comfort zone is thatthese people all wanted Jesus
on their terms, for theirconvenience, as they could fit
(08:47):
him into their schedule If hewasn't too demanding or
challenging or weird, if hedidn't ask too much of them.
Seriously, you're trying totell me that we've been planning
and trying to put God inaccording to our convenience.
(09:09):
That makes me sit back and say,whoa, let me rethink.
Have am I scheduling right?
Am I, when I have a quiet time,I just sticking him in where I
want him in, or am I stickinghim in where he wants to be in?
Cecil (09:26):
Right.
Lyvita (09:26):
Talk to me a little bit, talk to us a little bit about
that, so we'll be on the samepage about this comfort zone.
Cecil (09:33):
Yeah, well, that's absolutely right, Levita, that
we want Jesus on our terms, noton the terms Jesus has for us.
So that paragraph is a goodparagraph, thank you.
It elaborates on that.
And what I actually do in thebook is I go through 12 stories
(09:53):
of Jesus, identifying people'scomfort zones and trying to
invite them, even push them outof those comfort zones and into
his trust zone, where they aretaking risks for him, where they
do something different for him,where they do things on his
terms, because he does want thatfor us, because he has a bigger
vision for us.
(10:14):
And when we do that we willfind we actually develop our
faith more, because we've walkedout on the wire, we have gotten
into a trust.
You, you are in trouble andyou're just so disoriented.
(10:49):
And yet, when we are on a glassfloor that Jesus is underneath
holding up, we are on the mostsolid ground we've ever been on,
even though it doesn't feellike it, it feels uncomfortable,
it doesn't feel right, butJesus is there and he's leading
us into some new kind ofpromised land for us and to
(11:11):
serve his kingdom.
Lyvita (11:14):
That is true.
So now that, so that's thecomfort zone, so the trust zone,
and I'm going to read aparagraph from page 30.
Trust zone, and I'm going toread a paragraph from page 31.
The trust zone, then, isaccepting Jesus on his terms and
his time, ready to drop whatwe're doing, plowing forward,
eager to do his will and to seewhat he has in store for us next
(11:39):
, going all in.
What you mean by going all in?
Cecil (11:50):
going all in.
What do you mean by going allin?
Yeah, I tell a story in thebook where I always thought,
levita, I mean I was apreacher's kid, I grew up in the
church, I was alwaysvolunteering, I was doing one
thing after another for Christand I got to a point in my life
I won't tell the whole story butbasically I got convicted by
the Holy Spirit that you knowwhat you're doing, a lot of
things and you're giving a lot.
But there's one thing you'venever given to me that I really
(12:12):
want, and that is your heart.
Wow, I thought God didn't knowthat.
Somehow I was holding backbecause I was afraid, if I
really give myself all over toGod, what is he going to ask me
to do?
I may not want to do that.
That's not on my terms.
I may not want to go all in.
(12:32):
I don't want to look weird.
I don't want to look strange tomy friends, you know.
And I had to get to a point ofsaying what does it mean to give
my heart to God?
So I kind of went on a journeywith that to learn, and I did a
lot of scripture reading.
Psalm 63 was my go-to for daysand days, and days and weeks,
(12:55):
and just really pondering Psalm63, which is really about giving
your heart to God, I feel like,and I finally got to a place
where I could say I'm all in, Iam with you, do with me what you
will, and I'll tell you whenyou say that he takes that
invitation and runs with it.
Lyvita (13:18):
Yes, he does.
Yes, he does, because you knowwhat?
That is one of the hardestthings I think believers have to
come to grips with when theysay, lord, I'm giving you my
heart.
When you first start yeah, youstart giving your heart.
And then you start listening toother people and you start
(13:39):
seeing things happening.
You said, oh God might send meto the mission field where they
don't have bathrooms.
Oh no, I can't, you know.
And then all this stuff startedcoming into your mind.
You start just getting all thisclutter and God, all God wants
you to do is love him the firstthing.
Just love him, you know.
(14:03):
But we'd have gotten all thisother stuff to clog our mind, to
stop us and put a shield.
God, you can go in all theseother parts of my heart, but not
right here.
I'm scared.
You're right, you're right.
That's why this book isimportant, because it does help
(14:25):
us to come to grips with.
Okay, I know where I am now.
I know I'm not at that pointwhere I'm truly giving my all to
God.
What do I need to do, cecil?
What do I need to do to get tothat point where I can just jump
(14:47):
over, because you got a personparachuting out of an airplane
on the front of the book?
Cecil (14:55):
That's right.
Lyvita (14:57):
Matter of fact, there is a part in here where you talk
about relinquishing certaintyand I believe you're talking
about that's a part of thecomfort zone and then embracing
I'm sorry, relinquishingcertainty and then embracing
(15:18):
uncertainty, and that's thetrusting zone part, am I right?
You're?
Cecil (15:22):
right.
The relinquishing uncertainty,relinquishing certainty is the
comfort zone that we have, andthis is the root of our comfort
zone, trust zone dilemma righthere.
We like certainty, we likecertainty, I like certainty.
You know, I've got a dailyroutine to-do lists.
I've got life planned out acertain way.
(15:43):
Everybody does that.
I'm going to do this by acertain age.
I'm going to take this trip.
God just kind of laughsknowingly at us.
I imagine we fight hard forcertainty, and there's a verse I
didn't use in the book, but Ithink it's a good example of
this the story of Martha andMary in Luke 10, when Jesus
comes to visit and Mary islistening to him and Martha is
(16:05):
scurrying around and doing herthing, and she comes to Jesus
and say make Mary help mebecause she's going, I'm off
schedule, I'm not in controlhere and my routine is disrupted
.
And even because she's going,I'm off schedule, I'm not in
control here and my routine isdisrupted.
And even though she's arguingabout Mary, in truth what
happened was Jesus disrupted herroutine and now she's trying to
(16:27):
get back control from Jesus, ifyou get down to it.
And so she wants that certainty.
She wants that control.
We all want certainty.
She wants that control.
We all want certainty, we allwant control.
But life first of all laughs atus as well, because things are
not certain.
So I think the strange phrasein there is embrace uncertainty.
(16:50):
How do we embrace and welcomeuncertainty?
And my favorite quote in thebook is in that chapter.
It's uncertainty is the soil inwhich faith grows.
Uncertainty is the soil inwhich faith grows.
Hebrews 11.1 says now, faith isconfidence in what we hope for
and assurance about what we donot see.
(17:10):
In other words, it's not faithif you can see it.
That's fulfillment of thepromise.
Faith is when we're just hoping.
We want what is not available.
We're hoping for it, we'rerelying on God for it.
And if you think about yourlife, most of the time the big
faith advances in your life Comein the hard times or when it's
(17:31):
uncomfortable, uncertain.
You don't know what's going tohappen.
That's when faith really doesgrow.
So the idea of this is let'sgive up the idea of control and
let's embrace what uncertaintyis, because we know we're going
to get something out of it.
It's uncomfortable but we'regoing to grow from it and we're
(17:56):
going to grow closer to Godthrough that uncertainty.
Lyvita (18:00):
Saints.
We will get back to the episode, but I wanted to share that.
Next month we will becelebrating our 100th episode
and the major transition thatoccurred in my life to propel me
into the trust zone a newseason, what we're talking about
now.
If you want to know what'shappening on future podcast
(18:23):
episodes, improve your self-talk, make sense of your heartaches
and declutter your mind so youcan go and do what God's called
you to do, then sign up for ouremail community.
It's free.
Links in the show notes.
Now back to the episode.
Okay so, cecil, so is thereanything like practical tips or
(18:49):
support or something that wecould do that will help us make
that jump from the comfort zoneto the trust zone?
Because you have this.
You have one chapter.
I just love the title.
It's called Leaving Safety forDanger, because in our heads,
(19:10):
that's what we're doing, becausewe don't know what's out there.
In our heads that's what we'redoing because we don't know
what's out there and it's likewe, as believers, we know what's
out there and that we know whatGod has done for us in the past
and we keep forgetting thatbecause we're looking at the
(19:42):
unknown again and we stoptrusting.
So what's?
Cecil (19:44):
something practical we can do to help us make this jump
from comfort to trust.
Well, that is the trick, isn'tit?
And I think with my own life,it has started with being open
and vulnerable to God.
It starts with that.
I think we need to listen forhow the Holy Spirit is moving us
In Live Like You're Loved.
I actually list seven ways inwhich that happens through
(20:07):
prayer, through conscience,through other people, through
the events of our lives shapingus, through our passions,
changing through those events ofour lives shaping us through
our passions, changing throughthose lightning moments when you
actually can hear the spirit'svoice.
And then multiplication, whichis when you see, once you've
(20:27):
gone down a path, that Godstarts multiplying it because
you brought those five loavesand two fish and things start
happening because you have madethe commitment.
So it really starts with, Ithink, listening to the Holy
Spirit and getting past the ideayou mentioned danger.
I mean danger is exposure, itmight be injury, it might be
pain, it might be loss.
(20:48):
It can be a lot of differentthings and we perceive danger in
a lot of different things andwe perceive danger in a lot of
different ways, even just youknow, like Mary and Martha, like
Martha perceived danger becauseit was different than what she
wanted.
So there's really big thingslike the you know going to that
mission field or whatever.
(21:09):
But there's a lot of subtlecomfort zones I talk about in
the book.
One of the things that peoplesay is I didn't know I had these
comfort zones.
There's comfort zones in therethat are like we have privilege
or we have abundance and we justthink that's normal, that's our
(21:32):
comfort zone and we don't shareit or leverage it to help
somebody else.
That's when you get into thetrust zone of saying I'm gonna,
I'm gonna give up this, at leasta portion, if not all, of my
privilege and my abundance, tohelp somebody else and and to
help the kingdom.
We might chase status or money.
You know I to watch out, Ican't get where I'm too wrapped
(21:55):
up in these awards we talkedabout earlier.
That's chasing somethingworldly at the end of the day.
But Jesus frequently stressedhow we need to be humble and
wash each other's feet so wecan't get caught up in status
seeking.
Even the disciples werejockeying for who's the best
disciple.
You know Jesus is going no, no,no.
(22:16):
You need to wash each other'sfeet.
We might be worshiping othergods without realizing it.
And I think in an election year, it's very easy to get caught
up in political solutions,political saviors, a lot of
things like that, when Jesus isour Savior.
And we need to make sure that wehave prioritized and balanced.
(22:37):
There's times to engage theworld and there's times to work
through government or politicsto achieve something.
But we can't make that our God,and I see a lot of people
making that their God these days, and that's a comfort zone that
you have to say.
You know what, whoever winsthat election, god is still my
(23:00):
leader and Jesus is still mysavior.
Come on.
That's what I have to follow in,whatever I live under.
You know, there's a great storyin the book.
I'm thinking about this.
That is about how the Pope wentbehind the Iron Curtain to
speak to people living undercommunism and he didn't tell
them you're there to overthrowcommunism.
(23:22):
He said you're there and theHoly Spirit is with you and
that's who you should followabove all else, no matter what
is atop that in the world,matter what is atop that you
know in the world.
So I think that there's this.
When we talk about making theleap, sometimes we need to know
where we're going from, to knowwhere we're going to.
(23:43):
So if we realize that we havehad these comfort zones and that
we have made other things tooimportant and what we're
following on our own terms, thenit's a little easier to be
clear, as the Spirit speaks tous about what we need to go to,
what we have to relinquish, whatwe have to let loose from our
(24:05):
hands in order to go where hewants us to go.
Lyvita (24:09):
Yeah, yeah.
So, saint, there's a tool thatyou can use that will help you
with getting an understanding ofwhere you are in this comfort
zone If you made the leap to thetrust zone and what's happening
in your life.
(24:29):
There's a tool that you can usethat we often overlook, and
that tool is journaling.
When you start writing downwhat's occurring in your life,
(24:53):
or writing down just thehighlights that God has shown
you for that day, writing downwhat you're grateful for for
that day, writing down thesurprises that God has, what God
has shown up.
These are things that you canuse to help you make a leap and
help you when you say, okay, god, I got to trust you again for
(25:14):
something else, but I just needto remember, okay, lord, I'm
going back in my journal.
I see that, oh, yeah, yeah, youdid that.
Okay, good, I remember when youdid oh, yes, lord, I really
remember that because I wascrying and crying and you just,
oh, thank you Lord.
So so, saints, remember, if youhave, if you don't journal,
(25:37):
please start.
I'm telling you that's ablessing and so there's enough.
Another thought that hit mymind was the blessing jar, and
that's also where you can writedown all the wonderful things
that God has said on a stickynote and you put it in a jar.
So whenever you're feeling bad,you just open up that blessing
(25:59):
jar, dump the stuff out and juststart oh yes, lord, I remember,
oh yeah, and that's another wayof just helping you to remember
how blessed you are and thatLeaving that comfort zone it's
okay Because you've done itbefore, you know, cecil, because
the next step isn't that goingfrom comfort to trust zone, the
(26:25):
next step.
Cecil (26:26):
It's the next thing right in front of us.
Well, you know, I have a friendwho just stuck this in my mind.
I've used it, I think, inmultiple books, but he talks
about how we get spiritualamnesia, get the great things
God has done in the past.
I mean, I get this attitudewhere I say, well, lord, you've
gotten me through a lot ofthings, but this one is too big
(26:47):
for you.
That's crazy.
He proves over and over that.
That's a crazy thing.
You know, I wrote a devotionrecently, actually, about how
there's a difference betweenpride and despair.
Pride is when you don't thinkyou need God in order to do
something I'm going to do thisone on my own, I don't need you
and despair is when you thinkGod can't do anything about the
(27:10):
situation and so you just fallinto depression because you know
it's hopeless.
We need to go right down thatmiddle path, the narrow path
between being prideful and beingdesperate, of knowing that the
situation is too big for us butit's not too big for God, and we
(27:30):
take leaps of faith because wehave the best support system
ever and we believe that we'reacting according to God's will.
Lyvita (27:38):
Yeah, yeah, we do.
We had the Holy Spirit, jesusand the Word of God.
That's right, yes, yes, wow.
Is there a specific quote or asection of the book that you'd
like to share with the listeners, or some last words?
Cecil (27:59):
You know one character, if you want to call it that,
because it's a person out of theBible, but one character in the
book that I just love the storybecause people don't know it is
the disciple Thaddeus, and hewas one of those who really
believed in a political solution.
He was one of the disciplesthere were four of them who were
(28:19):
zealots and they wanted tooverthrow the Romans and the
Herodians and they thought Jesuswas a political messiah that
they could hitch their wagon toand they go through everything
with him.
And it doesn't happen.
And at the Last Supper he askedJesus why are you not revealing
yourself as a powerfulpolitical messiah?
(28:40):
Why are you only makingyourself known to us?
Why aren't you coming out tothe world?
And Jesus gives him this reallycurious answer that basically
says the Father and I areprimarily interested in changing
hearts and living in hearts.
Like that, stuff isn't evenimportant to me, thaddeus.
And so Thaddeus must have stillbeen puzzled.
But after the resurrection,things started making sense to
(29:02):
him, and so, instead of findinganother political savior,
thaddeus went all in inestablishing his savior's new
church.
Instead of combating thegovernment any longer, thaddeus
was in charge of caring forwidows Instead of dying
gloriously for some revolution.
Thaddeus was martyred for thesake of Christ, and today
(29:24):
Thaddeus is known to us byanother name.
He went by Judas or Jude, saintJude yes, the hospital is named
after him, the patron saint oflost causes.
And Thaddeus lost his cause hispolitical cause, so to speak
and found a new cause as hefollowed his savior.
I just love that story and lovehow Thaddeus is this little
(29:49):
known disciple, but he goes on ajourney that we all should go
on known disciple.
Lyvita (29:57):
but he goes on a journey that we all should go on, yeah.
And then he found an adventurethat was something that he never
imagined and it gave him joy.
Cecil (30:03):
That's right.
Lyvita (30:05):
You know, saints, following Christ is not about
the glory.
It's about helping others andenjoying what you do.
We need each other, we need tohelp each other and I pray that
this episode is helping you seethe importance of coming out of
(30:28):
where you are so peacefully,happy and secure and, oh, I
can't move because, oh, I don'twant to change or, oh, I'm
scared to go.
I hope we're getting you toopen your eyes to see that when
you put your trust in Jesus,it's going to be glorious.
(30:51):
Glorious.
You're holding back somethingthat needs to come out of you.
That is just.
That is wonderful.
But you have no idea what it is.
But it's still waiting to justexplode, to explode.
(31:18):
Oh, I told you, I'm sorry.
I'm sorry, I told you, I toldyou in the beginning your books
are hitting home.
I love that they are.
I want you to tell thelisteners where they can find
you, and all that.
But before you do that, Inoticed that you put on the back
of the book a quote.
At the end you were saying thatyou were grateful for your
(31:42):
official reviewers and endorsers.
Cecil (31:49):
I am.
I was so blessed to have youand others who endorsed the book
and gave some credibility to itand said nice things about it.
Lyvita (32:08):
I really appreciate that .
Help people to come out of themuck and admire and join Jesus
in advancing the gospel.
You know I'm just praying.
A lot come out of you brother,thank you.
Cecil (32:27):
I feel a beam of sunshine when you say that.
Thank you so much.
Lyvita (32:31):
So where can everybody find you?
Cecil (32:34):
Yeah, the best place to start is
CecilTaylorMinistriescom.
Ceciltaylorministriescom, andon there you can find, first of
all, a lot of just free stuffthat'll help your day.
There's blogs.
I run a podcast also.
In fact, levita's going to beon it.
You can find her on there aswell as one of my guests.
(32:57):
But the other thing I havethere is where you can have a
jumping off place to get mybooks or even, if you want, to
go to Amazon and buy them overthere.
I also have videos.
That is really close to myheart, because these are for
small groups at your church orin your study in your home.
(33:19):
So every book comes with avideo also, or is done at the
same time as a video.
I should say it that way, andso you could watch the video and
discuss that and then afterwardbe able to have the book to
review it and remember it andreinforce it.
If you want to follow me onFacebook, you can find me there
(33:41):
at Cecil Taylor Ministries.
So I think it's facebookcomslash Cecil Taylor Ministries
you can find me.
I'm also on LinkedIn and I dothings on there as well.
If you look up Cecil Taylor onLinkedIn, those are the main on
there as well.
If you look up Cecil Taylor onLinkedIn, those are the main
places to find me, I guess.
Lyvita (34:00):
When is our episode coming out?
Cecil (34:02):
Well, actually the current podcast on my site, as
people are listening to thiswith Levita and she is the first
guest I have for a new seasonof my podcast called Practical
Faith Academy.
I wanted to bring on otherpeople alongside me because I'm
(34:24):
always talking about puttingyour faith into practice.
I wanted people's history,ideas and stories about putting
faith into practice, so I have anumber of people lined up.
I have some really interestingguests, including one that is
just your average common guythat had something happen that
made him go viral on Facebookand got him to a point of
(34:46):
talking about his faith, eventhough he's just a guy.
So it's a marvelous.
I've already recorded thepodcast that one's coming out in
June.
I'm really excited for thedifferent people who are coming
on, who are going to blesspeople with their stories, and
you can find those podcasts bygoing to
ceasletaylorministriescom slashfree dash content or you can
(35:11):
find the free content tab at thebeginning of the page and just
go from there.
There you can leap to yourfavorite platform at the
beginning of the page and itjust go from there and there you
can leap to your favoriteplatform like Odyssey or Apple
or wherever you get yourpodcasts.
Lyvita (35:21):
All right, I'm going to put that in the show notes as
well.
So, cecil, this has been ablessing.
I believe the Saints gotsomething from me.
Make your comments, support atTheMeProjectAcademycom how this
(35:43):
episode has truly blessed you.
Cecil, can you praise out?
Cecil (35:49):
I would love to LaVita.
Let's bow to God.
Lord, we praise you for yourplans for us and how you sent
your Holy Spirit to guide useach day.
Help us to listen so we canallow the Spirit to guide our
action and our inaction, ourtimes to leap into the trust
zone, our times when you want usto stay back longer in a
(36:11):
comfort zone before going.
We bow to your wisdom and askto be rich in spiritual
treasures that you bless us with.
Reveal to us when a comfortzone is damaging or limiting,
and inspire us to take risks foryour kingdom, as we rely on you
in the trust zone and just useus for your kingdom and for your
glory, wherever you put us atany point in our lives.
(36:34):
I want to ask your specialblessings on those who are
listening today, that somethinghappened today that they can
take away to follow you moreclosely and to find that soil in
which faith grows.
In your most precious name wepray.
Lyvita (37:10):
Amen.
Do what God's called you to do.
All this and more can be found,including my contact
information, onHangingOutWithJesusPodcastcom or
the show notes.
So until we meet again on theairwaves, intentionally and
(37:31):
daily hang out with Jesus Shalom.
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