Stefanie (00:00.088)
Have you ever felt God calling you to something else, something different, something bigger, stepping into a new opportunity? And yet you have hesitated. You have held back because your mind starts whispering or maybe even screaming in resistance, these type of thoughts. What if I'm not good enough? At my age, can I really do this? What if I fail? What it will my family think? And before you even take one step forward, you've already convinced yourself
not to do anything. And it's not because of your circumstances, which we love to blame things on our circumstances, or I can't because I've got the kids or this, that, or the other. But it's never that. It's always what is coming up from within you. Your own resistance is based on the thoughts and the feelings that you have. And those thoughts and feelings are not letting you take action.
So here I've said, the thing that is holding you back are your thoughts and your feelings, but there is hope because the Bible tells us that we can take our thoughts the way that we think. We can take those captive. means to like, you think captive, you think hold hostage. Yes, take your thoughts and bring them under control. Whose control? Starting with your control and your control being under God's control.
So how does God encourage you to think? There's wisdom on that inside of scripture. First, we've got to be able to catch our thoughts. We've got to become aware of what we're thinking. We've got to take them under control and we've got to rewire them, reprogram them, redirect them in the way that we would like to achieve results versus getting the results that we don't want to get the results that we do want. And bring that all back to when do you feel the calling
from God to go and do something. When is there a change happening in your life? And you feel it and you know that you're meant for more. But there's something that's holding you back. It's your thoughts and feelings. How can you move past that? Whether that's doubt, resistance, hesitation, frustration, fear, anxiety, whatever it is that is coming up, you can reprogram that. So let's travel back.
Stefanie (02:16.96)
into the Old Testament and we're going to to Exodus and we're going to tap into when God calls Moses. We all know who Moses is. People who don't even read the Bible know who Moses is because his life was a living legacy. He made an impact that impacted thousands for generations to come. That's a big legacy. Whether you and I ever get to that level or not.
is going to be determined by if we're willing to even start, if we are even willing to move past our resistance and our hesitation and our doubt, to start to take action, to move into what God is calling us to do. Are you with me? And that is what shifted for me when I hit 40. I was already going through some transition, I'd say, well, based on the year, was 38 and 39 in the transition years.
And I thought at first taking a new job would make a difference because I was frustrated being at home. had taken in two children from foster care and the pressure of being home with them on top of being with my son. Like I'm telling you, I was at a breaking point and I wanted to run away. didn't know. I just, was craving an escape because my nervous system was out of whack. I was overwhelmed. I didn't yet know that my thoughts and my feelings were dictating the results I was getting in life.
I didn't know that the way that I was feeling, I could change that. I didn't know that the way that I was being called and what I was being asked to create to do, who I was becoming, was within my control, that I could change my, once again, my thoughts and my feelings. Instead, I was blaming things on how I was feeling based on my circumstances. And I was just like, I've taken in these kids and now this, and these challenges are facing us because of this da-da-da-da-da.
And now this pressure is here because of the, and I was just, I had all of the excuses. And I share that just so you know, like what I'm going through is just as real as anybody else is going through. It's just a matter of how we approach what we are doing, the control that we want to take, not from our own control, but with God's guiding his control in our lives. And that begins by us being able take our thoughts captive. And that for reference is out of 2 Corinthians. That's chapter 10 verse five.
Stefanie (04:37.514)
We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. That friend is your starting point. You've got to be able to get to the point where you can identify what it is that you're thinking, acknowledge it, become aware of it, know what it is that you're hearing. Because there were so many things that I was saying, for example, the reason I felt so miserable day in and day out, the reason I was struggling so hard is because I had a thought that was running on rinse and repeat day after day, no matter the circumstance. And I was like,
these kids are driving me crazy. These kids drive me crazy. You could ask me anything that was going on. I was like, the blame was always towards the children and how the kids were making me crazy. So I was losing my mind. And so I wasn't capable and I couldn't focus. I mean, the amount of excuses, the amount of pressure that was there to be at a level of perfection, to have things all figured out, to understand these mixed dynamics in family.
all these different things. And yet I was continually, instead of standing in the power that God can give me and seeking his help, I was daily starting off the day. Okay, here's another day I've got to face. This is an uphill battle from here on out. And getting out of bed felt heavy and exhausting because I was constantly thinking and fully believing that these kids are driving me crazy. I am crazy. I'm losing my mind. I am frustrated all of the things.
So I share that because I doubted what I was capable of. So I made the decision to put everybody into school or daycare and then be able to go to work and just give myself break. And at first it really did help because it was a relief. It was just a change in circumstances. But remember, it's not your circumstances that actually caused the root problem. It's the way you think and feel about these circumstances. And so all of this stuff started to come back up as I settled into my new job, into this new routine.
They were still the same pressures, the same challenges, and I was still the same person thinking the same thoughts, carrying around with me the excuse that I was blaming the kids. They were driving me crazy. And I bring all this up because so many times we can doubt what we're being called to do. We can doubt our ability and our capabilities, our experience and how it can be any impact to anybody else because of what we're going through and how we can only see it from our limited perspective. Instead,
Stefanie (07:00.756)
of seeing how God can use us and God can put us into action based on who we are. And so that's why I want to go travel back into Exodus real quick. And so let's take a look here in Exodus when God calls Moses, who was not perfect. He had that connection with God that he had found and here God is calling him into action and Moses questions. So let's take a look at that.
Picking up in verse 10 of chapter three in Exodus, it says, go for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must leave my people Israel out of Egypt. But Moses protested to God. Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt? Moses protested. He had doubt about his own abilities. He had the concern of like, how am gonna do this? Who am I, right? He had the fear that was growing inside of him.
all in his own ability, because he's looking at it from his perspective of who am I, who am I, Moses, to be able to do this instead. So that led him to question God. We can fall into the same patterning of protesting, questioning, objecting to, like denying, resisting, put in whatever word fits for you. When God calls you to do something and you're like, yeah, maybe not, maybe not me, God, maybe I'm not ready for this. Are you sure you got the right person?
And that's where I was feeling entering into my 40s and going, I'm struggling here and I'm going through so much. Who am I to start speaking out and sharing with other Christian women because I was looking for myself to be a perfect model of what it is to be a mother and a creator and doing all these different things in God's name. That's not what God's looking for. He's not looking for perfection. He's looking for obedience. He's looking for me to follow.
because he is perfect. And my job is not to be perfect, but to follow him in obedience and point others to him as the model, not me. I'm just coming along. I get to be in the journey. I get to be a part of the mission. I get to be the voice. And I take that with great honor, but it doesn't mean that I have to have it all figured out. And that's where I had to like back up and give myself some relief here. So let's look and see more at what Moses does.
Stefanie (09:20.938)
So picking up in verse 12, it says, answered, I will be with you. Friend, how amazing is that? No matter what you have to do, if you're willing to face a challenge, God will be with you. If you're willing to heed his calling, God will be with you. Don't forget that, God will be with you. So the next time you want to question, who am I to do this? Am I good enough to do this? Is this really what God is saying to me? Anytime you have those kinds of questions, I want to encourage you.
One, go back and get inspiration from what Moses went through. See how God works in him and how God equips him, how he changes and matures as he starts facing the calling and living into the calling that God has for him. Pray about it for yourself and get into it. Start journaling and finding and investigating for yourself. Where am I not answering the calling? What do I feel God nudging me towards? What is God directly speaking into me? What do I feel prompted to do? Like, however that is showing up for you.
What is it? Identify it and start praying about it and say, okay, God, how can I start to lean into this? How can I start to take action today? What is it that you would have me to do? And seek out His wisdom there. Find out what your next step is so that you can step into your calling. And check out the next video where we dive into how God is using your lived experience to fulfill your calling.
