The Lioness and the Ladies: Ep. 5: The Lioness Rests: Finding Strength in Stillness

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Family, thank you for spending time with me today.

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To every woman listening who has ever felt hidden, overlooked,

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or pushed aside, hear me clearly.

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God has not forgotten you, and neither have I.

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Now let's go before the Lord and close this out with a word from God.

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Because someone out there needs this reminder today.

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Jeremiah 29, 11, verses 11 through 14. For I know the plans I have for you,

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declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

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plans to give you hope and a future.

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Then when you call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you,

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you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

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I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and bring you back from captivity.

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Father God, we thank you for your word, that it is true, that it is living, that it is for us.

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You said you know the plans you have for us, plans to prosper us and not to

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harm us, plans to give us hope and a future.

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So today we receive that, not just in our minds, but in our hearts.

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When we feel overlooked, remind us you still see us.

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When we feel forgotten, remind us you still have a plan. And when we feel hidden,

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remind us you are still working.

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Your word says that when we call on you, you will listen. So we call on you now. Hear us.

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Strengthen us. Guide us. Help us to seek you with our whole heart,

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not halfway, not sometimes, but fully.

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And as we seek you, let us find you in every season, in every place.

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Even the hidden one. Restore what was lost, renew what feels broken,

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and remind us that nothing in our lives is wasted in your hand.

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Lord, we trust you, we believe you, and we stand on your word. In Jesus' name, amen.

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This is Diary of a Black Woman podcast, and I'm your host, Connie Morris,

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and I'll see you on the next episode.

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Hello, welcome back to Diary of a Black Woman podcast. I'm your host Connie

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Morris, and I'd like to thank you for joining me for day five,

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The Lioness and the Ladies.

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Today's topic, we're going to cover the lioness knows when to rest,

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strength includes stillness, and our spiritual focus today will be on rest, trust, and peace.

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And as we read through the Proverbs 31 verses 10 through 30,

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I'm just going to show you some places where the virtuous woman finds rest.

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And you know us either busy bees, but strong women who goes forth and can conquer the world.

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And they wonder, when do you guys sit still? When do you really get rest?

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And the things that causes the lioness and the ladies to rest is to know first who they are.

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Second, whom they belong to, and then third, who is truly the provider in all of this.

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So let's start at verse 10.

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It says, who can find a virtuous woman for prices far above rubies?

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And I wonder what makes her so valuable.

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The first part that makes her valuable is found in verse 11.

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The heart of her husband does safely trust in her so that he should have no need of spoil.

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So she has a husband who trusts in her.

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And that means that when you have a secure man who allows the woman to just

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be themselves and do what they need to do, that's a rest. You're not fighting.

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About getting things done or fighting to maybe work out the household or do

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anything. You have a man in your life that's at rest because you are happy.

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You're doing what pleases you.

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Verse 12, she will do him good, not evil, all of the days of her life.

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Why would she do him good? because he's allowing her to be herself.

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Not saying that adultery or affairs are part of that insecurity that carries

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into those relationships, but I want to talk about the virtuous woman.

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We each have our own story.

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And so first of all, she has her husband's heart.

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Second, her mind is made up that she won't do him any harm. Let's go to 13, verse 13.

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She seeketh wool and flax and worketh willingly with her hands.

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She is like the merchant's ships.

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She brings food from afar.

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Fifteen, she rises also while it is yet night and giveth meat to her household

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and a portion to her maiden.

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She's never tired of taking care of what supports her.

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Her maiden supports her. Her husband supports her.

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Her family supports her. She probably have friends that support her.

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And so that is what gives her rest when she has people she can trust in and rely on.

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And that gives her opportunity to be creative, right?

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You know, you're loved by your family. And so all your energy is not going into

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sleep this night, worrying about anything. It's going into creativity.

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Let me know what you think about that. When we are rested.

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When we are still, we're able to be creative.

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Let's go to verse 16. She considers the field and buyeth it,

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and the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.

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She girded her loins with strength and strengthens her arms.

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I like this part because it shows me here that she is not lounging around,

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that even though she's busy, she'd still find time to get in shape,

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to stay in shape, to stay healthy.

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7 verse 18, she perceives that her merchandise is good. Her cattle goeth not out by night.

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She lays her hand in the spindle and her hands hold the distaff.

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So she's not bossing people around.

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Yes, she's creative. She uses her creativity and she gets to work.

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So she's probably designing, designing outfits, designing how different colors flow, you know.

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So she's not just the boss lady. She's also working.

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That gives her rest because she's not paying out her, you know,

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she's able to be creative under the rest.

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And it's good if you have money to pay for people, you hire people to work and

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you walk around and you tell them what you want.

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But you ever have to hire somebody for something, you pay them good money,

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and then when you find out what they did, you're like, I could have did that myself.

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And this just came to my mind. I got this smart camera on my door,

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and it wasn't working properly.

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I paid $100 for this man to come out.

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Take it off, put a battery in and close it back up. And now it's working.

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And I'm like, okay, if I would have just read the instructions,

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if I would have just took time out to figure this out, I would have saved a hundred dollars.

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I paid him a hundred dollars for about 15 minutes of work.

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And I just, cause I watched what he did. I said, oh my gosh,

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I won't be calling you again. I'm going to actually figure this out myself.

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And I did. My door went out again and I said, oh, I remember how to do this.

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And I took it apart, put it back together.

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And so I love that sometimes we have to use our creative ability to fix things.

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Now, if you had a husband, that would be cool. But if you're a single person

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and you can't figure it out, try to figure it out. Don't pay all that money.

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Let's keep going so you can rest. That $100 could have went for something else.

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Let's go to verse 20.

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How does she rest? She stretches out her hand to the poor and she reaches forth her hand to the needy.

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So she can rest because she's not greedy.

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She gives to the needy. So when we able to have an overflow of something and

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not trying to make, you can make money off of is that your desire,

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but how about we bless somebody? How about we do that?

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Give it to the needy, not the greedy. And I share the story about what I did for a lady.

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I won't go into that story right now. But I always go through my closet.

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When I buy new outfits or something new, I go in my closet and see what can I give away.

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You know, because my whole job, my whole deal is to keep a current wardrobe.

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And sometimes you got to do it in parts.

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But sometimes you look in your closet, you haven't worn that outfit in about

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10 years. It's still new. It looks good.

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You can't fit it, but you're not going to give it away. Somebody could use that

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for a job interview or something.

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Let's talk about verse 21. She's not afraid of snow for her household,

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for all her household are clothed with scarlet.

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If you live in the Northwest, like I do, guess what?

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I live in the Midwest. Midwest, you know it's going to snow. So how do you prepare?

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How do you prepare your family? How do you prepare yourself for the snow?

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How do you prepare your children for the snow? And so you're not afraid of the

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snow. I love snowstorms. I love thunderstorms.

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I love all storms, right? Only because I trust God in the storm.

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Even if you hide, you do the safety factor, don't get me wrong,

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but you see people die in their basement.

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You know, when it's time for you to go, you go. But you can trust that God will protect you.

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You know, you don't do anything stupid, but, you know, follow the rules,

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but also add that God factor in your life.

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And I think that this is the whole story about her, the virtuous woman,

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is because she does the work, but she's not doing it in her own strength.

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She's doing it in the strength of the Lord God Almighty. Let's continue.

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Verse 22, she maketh herself coverings of tapestry. Her clothing is silk and purple.

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Purple in the biblical days were expensive. That dye was very expensive.

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So she's making the finest clothes.

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She's not making some, nothing wrong with how you, whatever you decide to sew, but guess what?

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She's not playing around. She is an artist. She has tapestry.

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She is very wise in how she does her fabric.

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If you can't sew and you're not creative, you're not going to take your most

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expensive fabric and try to cut something up. She knows what she is doing.

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Number 23, how can she rest? Her husband is known in the gates when he sits

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among the elders of the land.

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You can rest when your man got a good job.

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And so it's not dependent on your income to support the house.

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Can I just get an amen out there?

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So your man has a good job, you know, and you can dress up, drive in a fancy

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car, but yet you are, maybe have a side business you do and you're helping to

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support the family, but it's not mandatory.

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That's how you can rest. 24. She makes fine linen and sells it and delivers

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girdles unto the merchants.

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Look at her. She can do silk. She can do purple, she can do fine linen,

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and she can do girdles. This lady is skillful.

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Girdles are made out of that lasting material, so you have to be great at sewing,

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otherwise you're gonna mess some things up.

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She's also using her wisdom. She's not just sticking with one thing.

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She's very, very creative.

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Let's continue. Verse 25, strength and honor are her clothing,

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and she shall rejoice in time to come.

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When we think of strength and honor, it reminds us of a song that praises God

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for his strength and his honor.

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And so when you connect it with the source, that source can rub off on you and

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you can become just like Jesus, strong, honorable, right?

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Strength. Why? Because Jesus relied on the Father. You relied on Jesus.

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I mean, it's like a connection of energy.

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Number 26, she opens her mouth with wisdom and her tongue is a law of kindness.

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So she's not out there cussing up a storm.

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And we know that when we curse, we curse ourself first because it comes right

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out of our mouth into the earth. So they had to go through all that to get out.

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And so guess who gets it first? It's you.

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But she knows how to talk. She knows how to be kind, not nice,

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kind. Kind comes from the heart.

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She, 27, she looks well to the ways of her household and eateth not of the bread of idleness.

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She's not hanging at the club. She's not sitting around doing nothing.

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She is not going to probably let any dust grow on her because she's always about the business.

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And I want to share this with you. When you pray and you have a connection with

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God, you are always not going to be idle because God's got stuff to do and he

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wants you to do it. And so there's no idle moment.

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I'm just thinking like, wow, Lord, there's no idle moments with me.

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You know, when I get tired, I go to bed.

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But when I'm up, I'm up and I'm moving around.

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Why? Because God got things for us to do. We don't have time to sit around.

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That's how she's restful because she is not lounging.

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You ever been, you ever had a lazy day and you didn't do anything and yet you were tired anyway.

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Think about that. So think about being busy and then getting some things done.

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That's the reason for exhaustion, for tiredness.

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27, she looks well to the ways of her household and eateth not of the bread of idleness.

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Verse 28, her children rise up and call her blessed.

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Her husband also, and he praises her. And this is what he says to her.

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He says, many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excels them all.

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Think about that. He's just so proud of her.

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You can rest when someone actually honors what you do, whatever that is.

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If you're a stay-at-home mom and you take care of the kids and your husband

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tells you, wow, you are the excellence of them all.

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That's satisfactory. You can rest in that. And in verse 30, it says,

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favor is deceitful and beauty is vain.

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That's what he's telling her, her husband is telling her, but a woman that fears

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the Lord, she should be praised.

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So when you are a woman who fears the Lord, not afraid of him,

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but honor him, honor him with your work, honor him with your money,

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honor him with your time, honor him with your voice,

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honor him with your presence.

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You know, the way you dress, the way you keep your house clean,

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the way you keep your car clean, you know, the way you look,

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you know, the way you care about your presence.

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And a lot of times, the way we even care enough not to alter it so much.

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You know, like when you're young, people are getting tattoos all over their whole body.

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It is a piece of artwork, but dang, Won't you grow weary of that tattoo?

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When you look in the mirror, you got a tattoo on your face, on your nose, on your ear.

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People have got their lips done, their butt done, breasts done, everything done.

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They're no longer their self. Nothing wrong with a little vanity.

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But when you get older, what is that going to look like on your body?

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It was interesting because there was an image of a tattoo when you're like 21

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and how that tattoo just kind of morphosize as you get older.

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And you're like, why did I put that on my skin? Because remember,

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the skin's going to start drying out. It's going to be wrinkled.

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It's not going to be that plump flower that you have. It's just going to be

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kind of a flower that whittling without water, you know, but right to their own.

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And this is about being a lady.

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What does it take to be a lady? What does it take to be a virtuous woman?

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There is a kind of strength that's always moving, always doing, always caring.

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It feels responsible. It feels necessary. But over time, it can feel like the

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only way to live, like when you're so used to being busy or so used to being tired.

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But in contrast, movement is not always a strength. Sometimes it's a strain.

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There are moments when stopping feels unfamiliar, when rest feels undeserved,

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when stillness feels unproductive.

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And yet, without it, everything begins to wear down.

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Even Psalms 23.2 tells us how God desires us.

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He tells us, he maketh me to lie down in the green pastures.

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He leadeth me beside the still waters.

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We see here that he maketh us to rest.

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He maketh us to go by still waters. You ever been by still waters?

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It's just beautiful. It's just a chance. You can just sit there all day because

00:17:55.677 --> 00:17:59.977
you can hear the water flowing, but it's just a nice, restful place.

00:17:59.977 --> 00:18:04.737
So when he lays us down in green pastures, not weeded pastures,

00:18:04.897 --> 00:18:09.637
not the dirt, but something soft, something pretty, something luscious.

00:18:10.117 --> 00:18:14.617
And he asks us to rest. Can you wait here until I come?

00:18:15.457 --> 00:18:20.537
There's a place in God that brings stillness. It's not to slow you down without

00:18:20.537 --> 00:18:24.137
reason, but to restore what has been depleted.

00:18:24.557 --> 00:18:31.517
Rest is not weakness. It's part of his leading. and also as part of your healing.

00:18:31.957 --> 00:18:41.837
When we rest, our body get a chance to sit still and just begin to heal those places.

00:18:42.117 --> 00:18:46.317
And it's interesting because this whole week, I usually get up at three like

00:18:46.317 --> 00:18:50.017
I told you, but lately the Lord had me, I was sleeping at about 4,

00:18:50.137 --> 00:18:52.777
4.30 and then didn't realize that,

00:18:53.370 --> 00:18:57.010
you know, I was like, why I need to pray? And Lord, you can tell the Lord,

00:18:57.170 --> 00:19:00.050
like, close your eyes and put you back to sleep. And I'm like, okay.

00:19:00.790 --> 00:19:05.470
I get up, I pray. The whole week, this whole week has been so different for

00:19:05.470 --> 00:19:11.610
me because of the resting, you know, the resting, because I had a little kink in my lower back.

00:19:11.930 --> 00:19:15.770
And since I've been resting, right, I don't have it anymore.

00:19:16.290 --> 00:19:21.150
You know, since I've been resting, I'm not hungry all the time.

00:19:21.610 --> 00:19:24.850
I'm not having, you know, you have a little hungry attitude.

00:19:25.850 --> 00:19:32.490
And so when God begins to shift your life, the first thing he does is gets you to rest.

00:19:33.520 --> 00:19:38.100
Keep rest, just sitting and resting. I'll go lay down and think I'm just going

00:19:38.100 --> 00:19:40.620
to listen to, because I listen to my own podcast.

00:19:40.820 --> 00:19:44.700
I think I'm going to listen to my podcast and I set it for about 30, 45 minutes.

00:19:44.960 --> 00:19:50.460
And next thing I know, I wake up the next morning and just feeling really restful.

00:19:51.000 --> 00:19:58.460
It was a part I remember sharing with you guys about turning off the YouTubes and the social media.

00:19:58.780 --> 00:20:03.680
And just taking that time in the evening and in the morning to just rest.

00:20:03.880 --> 00:20:06.300
The job I have, I can't take my phone inside.

00:20:06.620 --> 00:20:11.820
And so it's slowly taking away that phone addiction where you got to check it every five minutes.

00:20:12.240 --> 00:20:15.880
My phone could be in the other room, which it is. And I'm like,

00:20:15.960 --> 00:20:19.220
I don't need it like I used to because I don't have it all day.

00:20:19.340 --> 00:20:24.680
And I realized that since I'm not on my phone all day, the emails have stopped.

00:20:24.860 --> 00:20:27.540
A lot of the emails, you get a lot of spam emails and stuff,

00:20:27.720 --> 00:20:33.880
it'll slow down because the phone is not on all the time. Isn't that interesting?

00:20:34.300 --> 00:20:39.000
And so that's why I said I feel like a shift is happening because I'm taking

00:20:39.000 --> 00:20:44.100
time out instead of listening, spending that time on your YouTube,

00:20:44.100 --> 00:20:45.740
just listening to all that drama.

00:20:45.760 --> 00:20:48.360
I just turn that off. I don't really go there.

00:20:48.680 --> 00:20:53.240
By turning on, I go, okay, you become less tolerant of it.

00:20:53.829 --> 00:20:59.169
You know, so remember that stillness is what God does just to slow you down

00:20:59.169 --> 00:21:02.489
just a little bit, but just so you can be restored.

00:21:02.809 --> 00:21:05.529
I know we need to be restored. We got a long ways to go.

00:21:05.989 --> 00:21:10.189
Jesus, he might come tomorrow. He might not come until like maybe 10 years from

00:21:10.189 --> 00:21:11.969
now. Are we ready for the wait?

00:21:12.349 --> 00:21:16.029
Are we going to have our oil? Are we going to be the wise version?

00:21:16.109 --> 00:21:17.349
Are we going to be the foolish version?

00:21:17.669 --> 00:21:21.709
We want to stay prepared. The Bible tells us in Matthew 11, 28,

00:21:21.829 --> 00:21:30.769
it says, Come ye, come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

00:21:31.129 --> 00:21:36.749
This is an invitation to lay down when it becomes heavy, a chance to take that

00:21:36.749 --> 00:21:39.969
load off and give it to God.

00:21:40.229 --> 00:21:45.149
Not everything is meant to be carried without pause. Not everything is meant

00:21:45.149 --> 00:21:46.729
to be held without release.

00:21:47.429 --> 00:21:51.649
And like I shared with you before, I am the HOA president.

00:21:51.669 --> 00:21:57.029
And for the last month, two months or so, it's just been a lot of drama.

00:21:57.880 --> 00:22:02.820
And I remember getting into prayer and I said, Lord, I got to give this to you.

00:22:03.140 --> 00:22:05.260
I have to release this to you.

00:22:05.740 --> 00:22:09.860
And I remember releasing it to him. It was heavy because I, you know.

00:22:10.600 --> 00:22:11.640
I'm thinking I'm going to quit.

00:22:11.740 --> 00:22:15.360
I'm done all this, you know, because we get overwhelmed. First thing we do is quit.

00:22:15.760 --> 00:22:20.880
But sometimes we just need to take a pause and then ask God, what's the next steps?

00:22:21.100 --> 00:22:26.020
And I remember the next steps was this. It was like, I want you to write a letter.

00:22:26.740 --> 00:22:31.200
And the letter is to the board, also to the management company,

00:22:31.320 --> 00:22:32.860
and also to the community.

00:22:33.080 --> 00:22:37.600
And it was a nice, nice letter. But one story that he had me put,

00:22:37.700 --> 00:22:42.620
because it's a lot of drama, and I don't really do drama, and it was the story

00:22:42.620 --> 00:22:45.480
of the lady they found in adultery, right?

00:22:45.740 --> 00:22:49.220
So, and remember, there was a man that dragged her out.

00:22:49.400 --> 00:22:52.660
And then Jesus said, he was drawn on the sand. And Jesus said,

00:22:52.820 --> 00:22:57.900
if anyone of you have not sinned, if you are like, if you're so perfect, you're so good.

00:22:58.020 --> 00:23:02.020
But he said, you have not sinned. I want you to throw the first stone.

00:23:02.620 --> 00:23:08.800
And yet, slowly, slowly, each man took that stone and they set it down and they went away.

00:23:09.020 --> 00:23:13.860
And that's what I shared with the community. It's like no one here is perfect.

00:23:14.200 --> 00:23:19.800
But yet we want to always pick up the stone and stone the person bringing the news.

00:23:20.360 --> 00:23:24.180
Right? And I just let that rest. I didn't finish that. I said,

00:23:24.580 --> 00:23:27.080
I let them let that marinate on them.

00:23:27.380 --> 00:23:32.960
This is a time for us to come together, not to be divisive, but if you have

00:23:32.960 --> 00:23:35.020
not sinned, I want you to throw the first stone.

00:23:35.240 --> 00:23:40.680
And I just wrote that and I sent it. And I get home that evening and someone

00:23:40.680 --> 00:23:44.620
put flowers on my doorstep with a card.

00:23:45.660 --> 00:23:48.900
And this is powerful because once we let it go,

00:23:49.716 --> 00:23:54.556
then God can work. When we hold on to it, you're not getting any rest.

00:23:54.696 --> 00:23:55.696
You're not getting any sleep.

00:23:55.956 --> 00:23:59.856
You're just tense and angry about nothing.

00:24:00.156 --> 00:24:04.336
Because if God says you have the victory, if he said you won,

00:24:04.436 --> 00:24:09.116
that you are more than a conqueror, then what are we doing? Why are we always fighting?

00:24:09.376 --> 00:24:14.156
Why do we have to even have the last word? So go Exodus 14, 14 is powerful.

00:24:14.156 --> 00:24:16.816
It brings it right to what I'm talking about.

00:24:17.036 --> 00:24:21.556
It says the Lord shall fight for you and you shall hold your peace.

00:24:21.716 --> 00:24:25.156
I want to fight for you, but I need you to chill out.

00:24:25.336 --> 00:24:29.416
And I said, I'll do that. I'm going to chill out. And I'm going to tell you

00:24:29.416 --> 00:24:31.796
something that the phone hasn't rang.

00:24:32.096 --> 00:24:37.896
There's not a lot of crazy things said on Facebook, the security community page

00:24:37.896 --> 00:24:44.456
that I'm administrator of, it's just been quiet because I remember in that prayer, I said, Lord.

00:24:45.276 --> 00:24:49.276
Isaiah 41 says, it asks for help. I'm going to help you.

00:24:49.796 --> 00:24:53.856
I'm going to strengthen you. And I'm going to uphold you with my righteous right hand.

00:24:54.216 --> 00:24:57.656
Lord, I need some help. Help is not going to come. It's going to come,

00:24:57.796 --> 00:25:01.016
but there'll be something you're required to do. Let it go.

00:25:01.516 --> 00:25:05.696
Whatever that is that you're holding on to, you have to let it go.

00:25:05.876 --> 00:25:08.456
Otherwise you won't see God at work. He said, If you got it,

00:25:08.516 --> 00:25:09.696
I don't have to hold on to it.

00:25:10.286 --> 00:25:14.966
I don't have to hold on to it. Some battles do not require striving.

00:25:15.266 --> 00:25:19.246
There are moments when stillness is not avoidance, it's trust.

00:25:19.706 --> 00:25:24.206
The lioness is not frantic. She moves when it's time to move,

00:25:24.346 --> 00:25:29.186
but she also rests when it's time to rest. So be still.

00:25:29.586 --> 00:25:34.186
There is no panic in her rhythm. There is no constant urgency.

00:25:34.506 --> 00:25:41.726
There's just balance. And sometimes it's not that you have not allowed yourself to rest.

00:25:41.946 --> 00:25:47.166
Wow, sometimes we muscle through things. I know I'm guilty of that.

00:25:47.586 --> 00:25:52.266
We muscle, we muscle through it. We only let any, God's not even in it.

00:25:52.426 --> 00:25:54.646
We're muscling through it. We're exhausted.

00:25:54.926 --> 00:25:58.326
And we'll tell our friends we're exhausted. We're sick and tired of being sick

00:25:58.326 --> 00:26:01.946
and tired. But you never let God in.

00:26:02.586 --> 00:26:08.046
You never let the Lord who said, I'll fight for you, but I need you to hold your peace.

00:26:08.186 --> 00:26:10.706
And that scripture comes from Exodus 14.

00:26:10.966 --> 00:26:14.826
It was a time they were getting ready to cross the Red Sea. And they were all

00:26:14.826 --> 00:26:18.646
in a panic because the Pharaoh and his army was closing in on them.

00:26:19.369 --> 00:26:23.349
And then, so Moses got nervous too. So Moses, Moses like, what are we going

00:26:23.349 --> 00:26:24.469
to do, Lord? What are we going to do?

00:26:24.629 --> 00:26:27.489
He says, the Lord will fight for you.

00:26:27.769 --> 00:26:32.329
You should hold your peace. Like stop panicking, stop being uneasy,

00:26:32.769 --> 00:26:34.889
fretful, just chill out.

00:26:35.009 --> 00:26:38.549
I got this, but I need you to get a hold of yourself.

00:26:38.869 --> 00:26:42.109
I'm going to do this for you. Like, I don't want you frantic.

00:26:42.389 --> 00:26:45.349
I want you to take a deep breath and I want you to relax.

00:26:45.649 --> 00:26:50.249
But we have to learn to trust God. We have to learn that if he said he's going

00:26:50.249 --> 00:26:51.789
to fight for us, then we need to what?

00:26:52.229 --> 00:26:57.689
Get out the way. We need to get out the way. Let's go to John 19.30.

00:26:57.909 --> 00:27:02.189
We're going to talk about the Lion of Judah, the rest that restores.

00:27:02.389 --> 00:27:05.389
John 19.30 tells us that it is finished.

00:27:05.689 --> 00:27:09.569
There is a rest that comes from knowing that the work is complete in him.

00:27:09.929 --> 00:27:15.129
Jesus did not leave everything undone. He did not leave you to strive endlessly

00:27:15.129 --> 00:27:19.249
to prove, to earn, or to carry what he's already settled.

00:27:19.649 --> 00:27:24.349
What he finished allows you to rest in what he's already secured.

00:27:25.518 --> 00:27:30.458
Here's my favorite verse, John 14, 27. He says, peace I leave with you.

00:27:31.038 --> 00:27:38.118
My peace I give unto you. I want to read that whole scripture. Let's go to John 14, 27.

00:27:38.378 --> 00:27:40.818
This is more to it than that.

00:27:41.538 --> 00:27:46.198
John 14, 27. All right. It's all in red print too.

00:27:47.198 --> 00:27:51.718
Verse seven, Jesus is speaking and he says, peace I leave with you.

00:27:51.718 --> 00:27:57.418
My peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you.

00:27:57.618 --> 00:28:01.858
Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

00:28:02.258 --> 00:28:06.678
You have heard how I said unto you, I go away and come again unto you.

00:28:06.878 --> 00:28:12.178
If you love me, you will rejoice, because I said I go unto the Father,

00:28:12.378 --> 00:28:15.178
for my Father is greater than I.

00:28:15.178 --> 00:28:22.358
And now I have told you before it come to pass that when it come to pass, you might believe it.

00:28:22.798 --> 00:28:25.698
I love it. He says, the peace I leave with you.

00:28:26.058 --> 00:28:31.638
Jesus was going to go back to heaven. But what he left us in this earth is peace.

00:28:31.858 --> 00:28:36.318
That peace is his present. That peace is the Holy Spirit.

00:28:36.798 --> 00:28:40.178
This is not the kind of peace that depends on a circumstance.

00:28:40.638 --> 00:28:45.778
It's not a temporary. It's not fragile. it remains even when things around you don't.

00:28:46.376 --> 00:28:50.736
When rest is missing, everything feels urgent. When rest is present,

00:28:50.956 --> 00:28:54.136
everything begins to settle into peace.

00:28:54.376 --> 00:28:58.096
The lioness rests because she knows when it's time.

00:28:58.516 --> 00:29:02.316
The lady rests because she trusts in the one who leads her.

00:29:02.676 --> 00:29:07.756
There is a difference between stopping and trusting, between being still out

00:29:07.756 --> 00:29:11.356
of exhaustion or being still in peace.

00:29:12.076 --> 00:29:15.796
In Christ, rest is not an escape, it's restoration.

00:29:16.376 --> 00:29:20.076
I want you ladies not to be afraid to take a moment to rest.

00:29:20.496 --> 00:29:25.296
Come home from work one day, kick off your high heels, put on your PJs,

00:29:25.436 --> 00:29:29.136
get in your pajamas, maybe eating, get breakfast or whatever you want to do

00:29:29.136 --> 00:29:31.756
before you go to bed, before you settle in.

00:29:31.936 --> 00:29:36.416
And I want you to sit in silence and allow that peace of God to fill you.

00:29:36.956 --> 00:29:40.396
You're going to want to do something because it's a little uncomfortable.

00:29:40.596 --> 00:29:45.176
But if you get in the habit of coming home and just sitting in that rest,

00:29:45.216 --> 00:29:48.256
because sometimes We're so busy up until we go to bed.

00:29:48.456 --> 00:29:51.876
So I purposely plan my bedtime around 7 o'clock.

00:29:52.496 --> 00:29:56.916
I'll get in that bed at 7 o'clock, brush my face, brush my teeth,

00:29:57.036 --> 00:30:01.096
put on my PJs, and I'm in the bed. My goal is not to fall asleep.

00:30:01.416 --> 00:30:03.576
My goal is to sit in peace.

00:30:04.291 --> 00:30:08.551
But you know how peace kind of covers you, that you close your eyes and next

00:30:08.551 --> 00:30:10.151
thing you know, it's this morning time.

00:30:10.531 --> 00:30:12.531
And you're like, I didn't, I needed that.

00:30:13.091 --> 00:30:17.411
And God gives you a sweet dream. Let's pray. Father God, in the name of Jesus,

00:30:17.871 --> 00:30:19.151
teach me how to rest in you.

00:30:19.471 --> 00:30:23.951
Help me to release what I have been carrying that you have already handled.

00:30:24.491 --> 00:30:29.051
Quiet what is restless within me and lead me into the stillness that restores.

00:30:29.051 --> 00:30:35.191
Let me trust you in the moments when I do not need to strive.

00:30:35.531 --> 00:30:40.931
And remind me, Lord, that you are working, even when I'm still,

00:30:41.251 --> 00:30:46.951
that you are fighting, even when I'm scared and don't know what to do.

00:30:47.071 --> 00:30:52.271
Even, Lord God, when things are moving fast, you are not in a rush.

00:30:52.411 --> 00:30:54.371
You know exactly where you want to put us.

00:30:55.091 --> 00:31:00.971
And so I thank you, Lord God, that I will be still and know that you are God.

00:31:01.331 --> 00:31:03.411
And I pray this in Jesus' name.

00:31:03.871 --> 00:31:09.371
Amen. This is your host, Connie Morris. This is the Diary of a Black Woman podcast.

00:31:09.931 --> 00:31:14.331
So glad you joined me. And I'll see you on the next episode.

00:31:26.167 --> 00:31:30.847
Thank you for spending time with me today. To every woman listening who has

00:31:30.847 --> 00:31:35.127
ever felt hidden, overlooked, or pushed aside, hear me clearly.

00:31:35.407 --> 00:31:39.947
God has not forgotten you, and neither have I.

00:31:40.187 --> 00:31:45.187
Now let's go before the Lord and close this out with a word from God,

00:31:45.547 --> 00:31:49.907
because someone out there need this reminder today.

00:31:50.427 --> 00:31:54.227
Jeremiah 29, 11, verses 11 through 14.

00:31:54.527 --> 00:31:59.587
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you

00:31:59.587 --> 00:32:03.427
and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

00:32:03.707 --> 00:32:08.527
Then when you call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you,

00:32:08.707 --> 00:32:13.987
you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

00:32:14.107 --> 00:32:20.067
I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and bring you back from captivity.

00:32:20.347 --> 00:32:26.447
Father God, we thank you for your word, that it is true, that it is living, that it is for us.

00:32:26.607 --> 00:32:31.767
You said you know the plans you have for us, plans to prosper us and not to

00:32:31.767 --> 00:32:34.547
harm us, plans to give us hope and a future.

00:32:34.827 --> 00:32:39.167
So today we receive that, not just in our minds, but in our hearts.

00:32:39.307 --> 00:32:44.587
When we feel overlooked, remind us you still see us. When we feel forgotten,

00:32:45.047 --> 00:32:47.087
remind us you still have a plan.

00:32:47.287 --> 00:32:51.107
And when we feel hidden, remind us you are still working.

00:32:51.527 --> 00:32:57.167
Your word says that when we call on you, you will listen. So we call on you now. Hear us.

00:32:57.507 --> 00:33:01.607
Strengthen us. Guide us. Help us to seek you with our whole heart,

00:33:01.927 --> 00:33:04.867
not halfway, not sometimes, but fully.

00:33:05.047 --> 00:33:09.467
And as we seek you, let us find you in every season, in every place.

00:33:10.080 --> 00:33:15.280
Even the hidden one. Restore what was lost, renew what feels broken,

00:33:15.460 --> 00:33:20.060
and remind us that nothing in our lives is wasted in your hand.

00:33:20.280 --> 00:33:26.400
Lord, we trust you, we believe you, and we stand on your word. In Jesus' name, amen.

00:33:26.940 --> 00:33:30.940
This is Diary of a Black Woman Podcast, and I'm your host, Connie Morris,

00:33:31.140 --> 00:33:34.020
and I'll see you on the next episode.