Episode 50
From Waiting to Winning with Kristen Campbell
In this powerful and deeply personal episode, I had the opportunity to reconnect with a longtime friend, Kristen Campbell - a collegiate volleyball player turned mentor, nonprofit leader, and now founder of her own business.
Kristen opens up about the highs and lows of her journey: from feeling on top of the world in her career, to walking through the heartbreak of infertility and burnout, and ultimately taking a bold leap of faith into entrepreneurship.
Kristen shares how her unshakable faith and gift of encouragement have guided her through seasons of waiting, disappointment, and transformation. Her "One Big Thing"? Keep moving forward—no matter where you are or what you're facing.
This episode isn't about having it all figured out—it's about embracing the process, showing up with palms-up obedience, and trusting that God will either fulfill the desire in your heart or lovingly replace it with something better. Kristen’s story will resonate with anyone navigating change, wrestling with uncertainty, or seeking clarity in chaos.
Whether you're a parent, a spouse, a professional in transition, or someone sitting in a quiet moment wondering what now?—This conversation is for you.
Key Takeaways:
- Why moving forward doesn’t always mean moving fast
- How to listen for God's voice in the stillness and discomfort
- Journaling and prayer as tools for discernment and surrender
- Redefining success through seasons of waiting and transformation
- The power of community, encouragement, and spiritual alignment
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Transcript
Welcome to the One Big Thing Podcast, where inspiration meets transformation.
Speaker A:I'm your host, Steve Campbell, and I'm excited to have you join me today.
Speaker A:I welcome guests from all walks of life to the show.
Speaker A:We're going to spend about 30 minutes getting into their story and sharing the One Big Thing that they want to share with all of you that can help you move the forward in your life.
Speaker A:So thank you for being my guest in the One Big Thing and enjoy this episode.
Speaker B:If you are feeling a bit of discouragement or a bit of confusion or unease, I just want to say that back to you again, that there's a purpose for your life, there's a plan for your life.
Speaker B: aying out the way they are in: Speaker A:Well, welcome to the One Big Thing podcast.
Speaker A:I'm your host, Steve Campbell.
Speaker A:Boy, when you have a.
Speaker A:A friend from the past, come back.
Speaker A:Podcasting is an incredible platform that lets you reconnect with old friends in a meaningful way.
Speaker A:And today I have Kristin Campbell.
Speaker A:Just to preface right at the beginning, this is not my wife.
Speaker A:You guys remember Stephanie Campbell.
Speaker A:Rocked episode one of the One Big Thing podcast.
Speaker A:Kristen, I used to know her by her maiden name, got married to a gentleman with the last name Campbell.
Speaker A:Now we share the last name.
Speaker A:So this is fun.
Speaker A:Kristen Campbell has been a dear friend of mine for over a decade.
Speaker A:We originally met years ago when we were just graduating college, which I'm going to tell you, I got my 20 year high school re and life is just taking off at a rapid pace I can't keep up with.
Speaker A:But when I graduated college, I was invited through Athletes in Action to attend a summer Christian leadership event in Fort Collins, Colorado, with other college athletes from across the country to grow in discipleship, to learn about Jesus and to really understand what is this platform and this audience of one that I've been given through sport to reach and connect with other people.
Speaker A:And Kristen was a volleyball player and we had the opportunity to meet and she was, outside of my friend Beth, just somebody, you know, even though she was a woman, we just immediately had the same sense of humor.
Speaker A:We became dear friends and really grew close together over that summer.
Speaker A:And then, who knew?
Speaker A:We've been kind of staying in contact through social media.
Speaker A:And it's kind of one of those things, you know, like a proud dad moment, but a proud friend where you watch somebody you know from the sideline, even though you're not talking, you're seeing what they're doing, and you just have this sense of pride, like, keep going.
Speaker A: And so one of my goals in: Speaker A:So Kristin Campbell was kind enough to come onto the show today.
Speaker A:So anybody that knows Kristen, welcome to the One Big Thing.
Speaker A:This is an interview style show where I take about 30 minutes or more if things are flowing, to talk with each individual to really encourage you.
Speaker A:Wherever you are in the season of life, if it seems like the longest season you've ever been and you are not alone, Kristen and I are right there with you.
Speaker A:But we want to give you one big thing, one big idea that you can implement from this episode and give you some real practical takeaways.
Speaker A:So it's not the podcast where we tell try harder, work better, show up early, leave late.
Speaker A:And you're like, I feel like I'm doing all that stuff.
Speaker A:So when I talk with Kristen today, she's got a very exciting one big thing we're going to go for.
Speaker A:But Kristen, for those that don't know you, what's a couple of things right here at the beginning you want to get out.
Speaker A:For those, just get to know you a little bit.
Speaker B:Appreciate that, my friend.
Speaker B:It is so good to be here.
Speaker B:And it's been 15 years since Holy smokes.
Speaker B:Since we were together in Colorado, the stories we could tell, and maybe we will.
Speaker B:We'll see where the day goes.
Speaker B:What I would love for people to know first and foremost is I'm a wife to Noah, not to Steve, to Noah, and a mom to two young boys, Max and Ty.
Speaker B:And my faith is central to everything that I do.
Speaker B:And so as you're listening to today's conversation, wherever you are on a faith journey, we believe that there is a message here for you.
Speaker B:But my faith is central to my story and what I would love to share with you today.
Speaker B:And I just really feel like God has place within me an encouraging spirit, and it has led me through the highs of highs and the lows of lows.
Speaker B:And it has come out in my professional work and what I get to do now to bless other people.
Speaker B:And so the one big thing that I would really want to leave people with today is really, no matter what you're walking through, no matter if you're in a waiting season, no matter if you're in acceleration season, just keep moving forward.
Speaker B:And we can certainly dive into that, especially as it relates to my story.
Speaker B:But keep moving forward is the one big thing that I want to share with people today.
Speaker A:Yeah, and it was funny when I came up with a tagline for the one big thing, it was let's move the ball forward together.
Speaker A:And whether that ball is family, whether it's your career, whether it's you as an individual, it's just progress is not waiting and doing nothing.
Speaker A:It's doing something, even if you fall flat on your face.
Speaker A:Because that's where the life lessons come.
Speaker A:And I think what's fun about our when we met 15 years ago, which is an even longer timeframe than I originally had set out, who knew?
Speaker A:Six kids later, the two you have, the four I have, there's people that I never met, Noah, but as I got to know you, I knew you're hard.
Speaker A:And so I know you married somebody that compliments you in so many ways.
Speaker A:And just I didn't know you as a mom as we were two, you know, 18, 19, 20 year olds figuring out life.
Speaker A:And now, you know, we're seasoned, we're salted, we've been through some things.
Speaker A:And mother, fatherhood will change you.
Speaker A:Marriage will change you sometimes, sometimes for the better.
Speaker A:Sometimes it reveals aspects that you never knew were there.
Speaker A:And you have to work through that.
Speaker A:And I just want to tell you right here at the beginning, if you find yourself being married or being a parent, it is some of the hardest callings you're ever going to deal with.
Speaker A:So if you came onto this podcast and your marriage is on the rocks, you feel like you are struggling as a parent.
Speaker A:I have been there.
Speaker A:Kristen, I don't want to speak for you, but life doesn't always make sense.
Speaker A:And I know you are an encourager.
Speaker A:And what I've experienced won't dive right into your one big thing.
Speaker A:I think when you ask God to show you what encouragement looks like, many times the opposite appears in your life discouragement.
Speaker A:Because you have to learn to work through that.
Speaker A:And so the ask is, God, show me what it looks like to encourage others.
Speaker A:And when I've made that prayer, it just feels like the array of dishonor that's thrown at me.
Speaker A:Whether it's the way people say things to me, the way they communicate, whatever.
Speaker A:I've found that through discouragement, I actually have to wrestle with those things.
Speaker A:Take those to the Lord and say, like, why is this happening?
Speaker A:And those have been some of the strongest incubators that I've had in my walk with Jesus where he's like, hey, learn how to package this and go out and encourage somebody else.
Speaker A:And that's where freedom comes from.
Speaker A:So we want to talk about moving things forward.
Speaker A:And you had mentioned whether you're in a season of waiting or acceleration, and those are two very different things.
Speaker A:How are you working through this one big thing?
Speaker A:How are you discovering it?
Speaker A:What led you you to have your one moment on a podcast with me to say, if I could champion anything from a microphone, it would be just keep moving forward.
Speaker A:Where did that come from?
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Speaker B:Well, I don't take this opportunity to be with you and your listeners lightly, Steve.
Speaker B:And as I was reflecting on my story several weeks ago and what prompted, I would say, Steve, reaching out, I put up on LinkedIn, what I'm doing now, I, at the end of the year, stepped down from leading a national mentoring and leadership development nonprofit to start my own business.
Speaker B:And 36 years old, mom of two, accelerating in a career and certainly with high goals and aspirations that was not on my vision board.
Speaker B:A huge step of faith, a leap of faith, I like to say, like a catapult of faith was not necessarily for that wasn't on my heart, that wasn't necessarily my desire.
Speaker B:And I have seen in my own story periods where I was excelling, where I was on that steep growth trajectory, where things were just kind of going right and where my identity could be wrapped up in school, in sports, in a career, and God used opportunities to get my attention.
Speaker B:And, you know, I think what's important for people to hear is, you know, last week I listened to your episode with Dave Barnes, and for people who haven't checked that out, certainly check it out.
Speaker B:It's a great episode.
Speaker B:But it can be so easy to compare ourselves to other people and their stories.
Speaker B:And I could have easily done that of, oh, gosh, I gotta follow Dave Barnes now.
Speaker B:Like, come on, why would Steve do this to me?
Speaker B:I thought we were better friends.
Speaker B:But the reality is, God has given each of us a unique story to be able to minister and encourage others.
Speaker B:And throughout my journey, whether it's been one of injury in sports, whether it's been one of starting in a career field and then completely having that desire and that aspiration of pursuing what I went to school for, just completely melt away, like it never even existed.
Speaker B:To working the NFL, working with professional cheerleaders in the NFL.
Speaker B:And I'm like, God, what the heck are you doing here?
Speaker B:This clearly is a misstep on my path.
Speaker B:I'm clearly just in a waiting season, and I might as well just kind of like, build a tent, make a fire, kind of, like, hunker down until this season.
Speaker B:This phase passes.
Speaker B:And what I didn't realize, unfortunately, until many years later, which is often how hindsight works, is it was in those moments in my early 20s to mid-20s, working with professional cheerleaders in my waiting season, that God was really working.
Speaker B:And I didn't pay attention enough because I felt like I had kind of given myself an out.
Speaker B:I had taken ownership and claim over.
Speaker B:I'm just in a season of waiting.
Speaker B:And oftentimes, at least in my life, waiting means not moving.
Speaker B:And it can, and we can.
Speaker B:I did justify that as well.
Speaker B:God's doing things over here, and he'll come back over to my story and allow it to make sense, because right now, it doesn't make sense.
Speaker B:But what was taking place, really, without me knowing it, was I was building relationships with women that, on the exterior, had a perfect package.
Speaker B:And as I began to just authentically get to know them and know their stories and know their goals and their aspirations, but also their struggles and their insecurities, I tapped into a new level of science that I didn't go to school for.
Speaker B:I went to school for physical sciences and sports medicine, and I started to see behavioral health and behavioral sciences really come into play.
Speaker B:And I thought, huh?
Speaker B:Okay, Lord, you are.
Speaker B:You are using me here, and you're using my husband to also speak to these women.
Speaker B:There may be something bigger here, and I think if I really tune into it, maybe I can see what you're doing.
Speaker B:And so that was my early 20s, and I left the cult shortly after that and started working in coaching, specifically with employers and employer groups, because I recognize people.
Speaker B:This is pre pandemic were spending the majority of their waking hours in the workplace.
Speaker B:And so how can we create environments for these people really to show up as their fullest, healthiest selves?
Speaker B:So I began coaching with people and hearing more of their stories and seeing more of the ways that I could step in and champion them or encourage them or equip them.
Speaker B:And as has been the case in my life, I started to, I would say, get really good at that.
Speaker B:And I started to kind of, you know, pat myself on the back and be like, wow, Kristin, all of this is going so well.
Speaker B:Kudos to you.
Speaker B:And I distinctly remember this, Steve.
Speaker B: It was October: Speaker B:The Cubs had just won the World Series, and I'm watching these young kids live out this lifelong dream, and I felt the Holy Spirit say, I have something better for you.
Speaker B:And that might sound really weird to a lot of people, but I just felt like, you have something better for me.
Speaker B:Things are already going so great.
Speaker B:What do you mean, you have something better for me?
Speaker B:And I resisted.
Speaker B:I resisted that for about six weeks until I had a panic attack.
Speaker B:And I thought, okay, Kristin, wake up.
Speaker B:There's something going on here, and you really need to be aware of what it is.
Speaker B:And so I went to my boss and I said, hey, this is not going to make sense to you, because truthfully, it doesn't make sense to me, but I think God is calling me to leave my job.
Speaker B:I don't know what's next.
Speaker B:And that's all I can really tell you.
Speaker B:And they were somewhat gracious, but also confused, and now scrambling at the end of the year for what to do.
Speaker B: was probably in beginning of: Speaker B:What is my value?
Speaker B:What is my worth?
Speaker B:What is my contribution to the world?
Speaker B:And really, that was a period of five months where I felt like it was kind of just getting back to the basics.
Speaker B:And what I recognized was my greatest influence in life might not come with a paycheck, and I need to keep moving forward and keep acting every single day, even when I don't know what the day or what the next day is going to bring or even what this I have something better for you is going to materialize into.
Speaker B:And so I just began to read.
Speaker B:I read my Bible.
Speaker B:I read books.
Speaker B:I began to start journaling because I thought, okay, I just need to get things out of my head.
Speaker B:I Need to get things out of my head.
Speaker B:I have to get it on paper.
Speaker B:I have to be able to have a way to look back on something and reflect.
Speaker B:And that was about five months where I really feel like it was doing a lot of refining, doing a lot of getting back to kind of the basics.
Speaker B:You know, Steve, we're both former athletes, and just kind of to have that athlete mentality.
Speaker B:I'll tell you, being on team sports, I know we were both on team sports.
Speaker B:It was always so nice when the coach would be like, here's our workout.
Speaker B:Here's our game plan.
Speaker B:Here's what we're doing.
Speaker B:Just go out and execute.
Speaker B:And I've lived so much of my life being like, okay, like, I'm gonna have a game plan, and I'm gonna go out and execute.
Speaker B:And this really was kind of the first time where it wasn't clear.
Speaker B:I might as well have just been looking at a whiteboard and thinking, what do I do now?
Speaker B:And thankfully, I had really great people in my life that could also pour into me, encourage me, pray on my behalf.
Speaker B:And so as the years progressed and I did go back and do more coaching and leadership development and working with people, but then my next hard season was coming.
Speaker B:My next hard season of burnout and infertility and depression was just shortly around the corner.
Speaker B:And what I.
Speaker B:What I recognized was, even if I don't know the next step, I can either champion people to pray on my behalf.
Speaker B:I can journal and pray and reflect, but I have to keep moving forward because being still is not doing anything for me either.
Speaker B:So I would say, you know, to kind of go back to your question of encouragement.
Speaker B:I think the Lord allows us to go through events so we can be able to encourage and speak to others.
Speaker B:And when my most recent season of change came, I had.
Speaker B: our second son at the end of: Speaker B:And so I just began to pray because, again, I'm like, God, I like a plan.
Speaker B:I like a plan.
Speaker B:I like to know what is next.
Speaker B:And I just began to say, God, you've put such an encouraging spirit in my heart.
Speaker B:How do you want me to use it?
Speaker B:And that's where I felt him say, you know, I'm not calling into a season of comfort.
Speaker B:I'm calling you to step out in faith and obedience and start your own business where you speak and you advise groups and you Consult.
Speaker B:And so I threw that out there to LinkedIn and let the whole world know what I was doing.
Speaker B:Because first and foremost, I really want to be a demonstration to my young sons of what's possible, especially as a woman, of what's possible.
Speaker B:I want their mom to model hard work and determination, and I also want them to see what obedience and persistence and faith looks like so much there.
Speaker A:Let me give you a little word of encouragement.
Speaker A:The great thing about podcasts is you record them and you can distribute them whenever you want.
Speaker A:You are not following.
Speaker A:Dave Barnes.
Speaker A:You got about a 5, 6 episode buffer where we're going to warm you up, stretch those hamstrings.
Speaker A:So by the time you hit this episode.
Speaker A:That's the cool thing about podcasts, they're evergreen content.
Speaker A:And so when you release it, I'm gonna believe that this will be released at exactly the right time for you as a listener, because you need to hear it.
Speaker A:So no fear.
Speaker A:Dave Barnes is just somebody we kind of both grew up listening to.
Speaker A:He's a very popular, famous musician out of Nashville, and I was graced enough to have 57 minutes with somebody I've looked up to and just tried not to screw it up.
Speaker A:So we had a lot of fun.
Speaker A:And what's cool is when this episode comes out, just, I always want to be sensitive because you had kind of talked about it, that when you become proficient or good at something, it's easy to autopilot, kick in.
Speaker A:And podcasting can become that way for me, where when you do enough of these, you know, there's lines that deliver, you know, there's transitions you want to hit, and you can begin to stage or manufacture an inauthentic conversation.
Speaker A:I don't think we've ever reached that point, but I've always just prayed, lord, I want to have the conversation that we need to have today.
Speaker A:And there's so many things that you just mentioned there in this last 10 plus minutes where I'm like, okay, where do we go from here?
Speaker A:Because, yes, I want to talk about moving the ball forward and making progress and doing something, but there's also so many things that you just, as somebody in their mid-30s, just hit on that can be lost in a podcast where it's about, we all want to show up and be our successful self.
Speaker A:We all want to be healthy moms and dads, we all want to be the best loving spouse, but life gets in the way.
Speaker A:And you and I didn't even talk about this, but one of the episodes that I recently had that will come out before you is with one of my wife's closest friends, Lisa, growing up, who has struggled with infertility and has never had the ability to have children.
Speaker A:And she and I cried for 40 minutes on a podcast just about life and how infertility doesn't define you.
Speaker A:And I think it's very easy in podcasting to come and get the sensational, be better, work harder.
Speaker A:But there's real life that happens, and you can be successful in your career but still struggle with, like, why can't I have children?
Speaker A:So praise God, that even though you went through a season of depression and infertility, you know, you've been able to have two beautiful boys now.
Speaker A:And for those that are out there, don't stop praying, don't stop giving up.
Speaker A:You know, allow.
Speaker A:If you're ever going through infertility, go back and listen to Lisa's episode.
Speaker A:Because again, there's the fun ones with Dave Barnes, where it's laughing for an hour, and then there's the realness.
Speaker A:I've done episodes on depression.
Speaker A:I've done episodes on addiction, on abuse.
Speaker A:And these are conversations that maybe is heavy.
Speaker A:You know, if you're in your car, driving around, you're like, how did I end up on this podcast?
Speaker A:A friend told me to listen to it.
Speaker A:But I gotta believe that some of the stuff you're sharing is really gonna help a lot of people.
Speaker A: thank God for social media in: Speaker A:Because if you grew up as a millennial kid, that's how when you were 14 years old, you got to know people.
Speaker A:And ASL was age, sex, and where do you live?
Speaker A:And it was fe female, Florida, 13.
Speaker A:And it was like, and we're off.
Speaker A:LinkedIn, at least now, is a platform where we can actually see what people are doing and make sense of it.
Speaker A:And so we've grown from AOL to MySpace to LinkedIn, and you've been crushing it.
Speaker A:And I didn't even know all of your story here.
Speaker A:And sometimes I think what's so hard is the setbacks in life don't always make sense.
Speaker A:And I think if you have followed Jesus or.
Speaker A:Faith is not something that is close in your life right now.
Speaker A:Maybe you identify with Kristen as a mother or as a spouse or just a female or a human being, whatever it may be.
Speaker A:I think trying to make sense of seasons that don't make a lot of sense.
Speaker A:And especially when on the surface, you worked really hard for something, but something seems to be missing.
Speaker A:And one of the things that you shared, which I think is interesting, because when people say, you know, the Holy Spirit told me there's more to be done, it's like, well, what does that mean?
Speaker A:Did Mufasa show up in your head and was like, kristen, everything the light touches.
Speaker A:And I think sometimes we assume hearing from God is a burning bush or, you know, talking through a donkey or James Earl Jones.
Speaker A:But many times it's your own inner voice.
Speaker A:And I think so many of us are trying to wrestle with, was that my conscience?
Speaker A:Was that me?
Speaker A:Was that like, in what I have found in my life?
Speaker A:And I'd love to hear from you, as long as it's not evil, explicit.
Speaker A:Many times it's Jesus because it doesn't make sense.
Speaker A:And I think many times it's God, I want you to use me, God, I want to turn the world upside down with my kids, with my spouse.
Speaker A:And then you get the prompt to do something that on paper doesn't make sense.
Speaker A:And so I wonder if we can encourage or speak to people out there that maybe they right now don't know what it is.
Speaker A:And it could be in any facet of their life, being married, being a parent, in their career, where maybe they've had this whisper in the background that they don't know where it comes from.
Speaker A:It's just.
Speaker A:It's random.
Speaker A:It's Tuesday morning in the car, it's Friday night when they're by themselves.
Speaker A:But it's a prompt to do something that doesn't make sense.
Speaker A:Like, how have you.
Speaker A:36 now, from where you and I were in Colorado years and years ago, I felt like we were pretty close to Jesus.
Speaker A:I mean, we were college kids that were on fire for Christ.
Speaker A:We would have said at that season of life, like, I listen to God, God tells me to do something, I go do it.
Speaker A:But now, almost 40, there's a sharpening that's happened with me where so much of getting to that point was me juxtapos, you know, positioning myself over God's voice and saying, God, I'm going to do this thing, just bless it.
Speaker A:And now it's almost like taking a full circle where I don't want to do anything without the Lord.
Speaker A:But I know many times there's a, like a fine tuning radio dial that if I'll really tune that thing, I'll hear clearly.
Speaker A:And that has evolved into fasting, getting alone with the Lord, turning social media off, turning technology off.
Speaker A:So I used to mask it when I was 18 as, like, I'm hearing from the Lord, but it was really me doing what I wanted to do and claiming it was God for you now, as a mom and your roles that you play, what does that look like when the Holy Spirit speaks to you?
Speaker A:Like, how do you work through that?
Speaker A:You had mentioned journaling, like, what are the.
Speaker A:Some of the things that you do to do?
Speaker A:You go to Noah and talk about things like, where do you go when you feel this prompting?
Speaker A:And you're like, where did this come from?
Speaker B:Yeah, well, it's certainly a process, and it's certainly a journey, and it's not one where I feel like I hear, I feel something, and I act immediately.
Speaker B: est son was born September of: Speaker B:So that next month that I went to Noah and I said, I feel like the Lord is planting seeds of change on my heart for my job.
Speaker B:He's like, what do you think that looks like?
Speaker B:What do you think that means?
Speaker B:I'm like, I don't know.
Speaker B:And so I think it's.
Speaker B:For me, it's sitting through the unknown and some of the discomfort and some of the uncertainty and journaling, saying, like, God, here's what I think I'm being prompted to do.
Speaker B:Does this align with your will?
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Is this my will?
Speaker B:Is this your will?
Speaker B:Is this my voice?
Speaker B:Or is this from you?
Speaker B:And if it's not from you, take it away.
Speaker B:Like, close a door, make it abundantly clear, and use.
Speaker B:Use people to speak into it.
Speaker B:I think there.
Speaker B:I can't tell you how many times in the past four months I've journaled something, something that I really haven't even shared.
Speaker B:And the exact verbatim of what I'm journaling will come up in the next conversation I have with somebody, and it's not prompted by me.
Speaker B:They say something and I'm like, did.
Speaker B:It's like, did you get a hold of my diary?
Speaker B:Did you get a hold of my journal?
Speaker B:I mean, how secretly, oh, are you good?
Speaker B:But I would say, you know, I have just.
Speaker B:I sit.
Speaker B:I pause, I sit through some of the discomfort I allow for God to use other people to speak into that.
Speaker B:I pray that.
Speaker B:I pray for wisdom and discernment.
Speaker B:I pray for peace and confirmation.
Speaker B:And I would say I have relinquished.
Speaker B:I've given up the desire to need it to make sense, because I serve a God that is all knowing, and I am not, and his ways far outseed mine.
Speaker B:And when I have tried to make certain situations make Sense.
Speaker B:I can't rationalize them.
Speaker B:I can't have them make sense.
Speaker B:And that can leave me frustrated.
Speaker B:It can leave me confused.
Speaker B:It could leave me angry.
Speaker B:It can leave me not my best self to the people that are in my care.
Speaker B:And I'll give you an example of this.
Speaker B:When we were walking through infertility, years of infertility, I was probably the furthest from God that I can remember in my adult life, because I felt like, God, you've placed this desire on my heart.
Speaker B:I'm seeing our friends that desire families, have a family.
Speaker B:I'm seeing people that don't necessarily desire families, have families.
Speaker B:And yet, when are you going to bless us?
Speaker B:And we went through fertility treatment, and month after month, whether it was going in to get treatment or taking a pregnancy test.
Speaker B:And seeing it not come back positive was really, really hard.
Speaker B:I don't even know if there are words in the language to describe how hard it was.
Speaker B:And it was during that season where I did share with a few people, my parents especially, just how isolating and lonely and hard and frustrating and just truly sad it was, and they were praying on our behalf.
Speaker B:But I still just felt like, God, there is tension here between you and me, because I believe you have placed this desire on my heart, and you will either fulfill it or you will replace it.
Speaker B:And I'm trying to make sense of the why.
Speaker B:I can't make sense of the why.
Speaker B:And our friends reached out one night and they said, hey, we have tickets to a Hillsong United concert.
Speaker B:We can't go.
Speaker B:It's in Indianapolis.
Speaker B:We can't go.
Speaker B:Do you want to go?
Speaker B:And any other time, any other point in my life, I've been stoked, been like, yes, please.
Speaker B:And I was like, I don't know.
Speaker B:Like, honestly, the last place I want to be is with, like, 10,000 people worshiping God.
Speaker B:Like, pass.
Speaker B:But we ran out of all excuses not to go, and so we went, and we're in this huge arena, and I think I was probably the only person that was sitting down.
Speaker B:Just because I'm like, God, not on good terms here, and I don't know what you're doing.
Speaker B:I'm trying to make sense out of what you're doing.
Speaker B:I can't see it.
Speaker B:And I'm just gonna need you to come through.
Speaker B:I'm gonna need you to come through tonight and remind me that you are still working, even when I can't see what you're doing, even when I can't make sense of it.
Speaker B:And Joel Houston is one of the singers for Hillsong United.
Speaker B:And right before he played a song, he said, I'm gonna say something that I don't normally say, but I feel like somebody needs to hear this tonight.
Speaker B:And he said, no matter what you're walking through, God loves you too much to keep you where you are.
Speaker B:And in a room of 10,000 people, he might as well like, been looking and speaking directly at me.
Speaker B:And it was in that moment where I said, you know what, God?
Speaker B:I don't understand what you're doing.
Speaker B:I don't understand.
Speaker B:I don't get the timing.
Speaker B:I can't see how this makes sense.
Speaker B:But I trust you.
Speaker B:And I don't know if I had fully said that in the years that we were walking through infertility.
Speaker B:And I don't know if I fully put my trust in something until I needed to literally just turn everything over.
Speaker B:And I said, I don't know.
Speaker B:I don't know what you're doing, and I don't know the timing.
Speaker B:I don't know how much longer we have to wait.
Speaker B:It's already been a really hard season.
Speaker B:But I trust that you have what's best for me.
Speaker B:I trust that you are working even when I can't feel it or can't see it.
Speaker B:And I trust that you love me too much to keep me where I am.
Speaker B:So however much longer we have to walk through this, I submit and I surrender to whatever you want to do.
Speaker B:And it was shortly after that we went home.
Speaker B:And then that next morning, I woke up and I took a pregnancy test and was positive.
Speaker B:And so what I would say with that is, I think sometimes we really are trying to make things make sense, and there are just certain things that we're just not going to be able to make sense of.
Speaker B:And I think if we try to give all of our power to having it fit inside our minds and with our limited and finite knowledge and understanding and language, one, we, I think, limit God for what he can truly do.
Speaker B:And two, I don't think it serves us.
Speaker B:I think it.
Speaker B:It also puts us in a really dangerous, tempting position to try to, you know, kind of play owner, if you will, over our life.
Speaker B:So I would say if you're in a season, one, God loves you too much to keep you where you are, no matter what you're walking through.
Speaker B:And I hope whoever needs to hear that today hears that message.
Speaker A:Man, you just dropped a theological truth bomb three, four minutes ago that you didn't probably even realize.
Speaker A:I don't know if you've ever said it before this should become your coined firm term.
Speaker A:God will either fulfill it or replace it.
Speaker A:And I wonder how many people out there today.
Speaker A:It's very easy to make good things idols, and we don't realize that we're doing it.
Speaker A:Children are a beautiful blessing, but if we're not careful, the pursuit of having children can become an idol that we hold God ransom to do what we asked him to do.
Speaker A:And it's easy to proclaim God, you're so good in areas of my life where I'm comfortable.
Speaker A:But then we can sing jireh in a church about God being a provider.
Speaker A:And then you financially have no money raising kids and fear sets in.
Speaker A:And it's, you know, not infertility.
Speaker A:But infertility is a very dark and lonely and isolating road that unless you've been through it.
Speaker A:I just have an empathetic heart because I've mentioned before on the show, my oldest brother and his wife, my sister in law Erin, they went through 11 years of infertility.
Speaker A:Some of the hardest moments of my life was getting pregnant when my brother couldn't and having to make a phone call and share a blessing with somebody who was wanting to sit down at a Hillsong concert.
Speaker A:And that was a very challenging season.
Speaker A:And as a encourager, it's very easy to want to speak a word of encouragement.
Speaker A:Sometimes I just have to be quiet and just wrestle with my own thoughts of this isn't fair.
Speaker A:And maybe infertility is something you've never gone through, but maybe you've gone through financial struggles or maybe your overarching family is broken in some degree, maybe mental health for you or a spouse.
Speaker A:It's one thing to go through something on your own and wrestle with it and confront it.
Speaker A:It's almost harder to watch someone you love go through something when you have no power to do anything.
Speaker A:And you know, when you have a spouse that's going through depression and it doesn't make sense, you can't say anything, you can't do anything that can get them to snap out of it.
Speaker A:If you have a child that's going through something, maybe a special needs, like that's something that unless you've gone through it, like you truthfully don't understand.
Speaker A:And so I think with all of us, if we're pursuing God many times what we're trying to do is take a supernatural creator and fit him into the natural part of our life and wonder why those two things don't collide.
Speaker A:And what we do is we take the packages.
Speaker A:I have a 9 to 5.
Speaker A:I have a retirement plan.
Speaker A:I have a paycheck.
Speaker A:I have children.
Speaker A:I have sports schedules.
Speaker A:God, like, come in from wherever you are and fit into all those things.
Speaker A:And God's like, no, like, I speak life, and life happens.
Speaker A:I don't need your job to change things.
Speaker A:I need you.
Speaker A:And I think for us, as you have children and you get married, the stakes get higher.
Speaker A:When you or I are 18 or 19, we're going to say, lord, use me wherever you want to go, because I don't have a spouse to think about.
Speaker A:I don't have children to think about.
Speaker A:I don't have to provide for anybody.
Speaker A:But now, in my late 30s, when God says something, there is a priority list that I go through.
Speaker A:When he speaks, like, well, what's Steph gonna think?
Speaker A:Like, I can't do that.
Speaker A:You know, like, how are we gonna provide for our kids or tuition or, you know, relocate, you know, My wife and I moved four years ago to a place where we knew nobody.
Speaker A:And same thing, like I had mentioned.
Speaker A:I one night heard a sermon.
Speaker A:What has God put in your hands?
Speaker A:And the next morning, I woke up going to bed, assuming, like, it was my children.
Speaker A:And like, God, you've given me my kids, so I'm going to use my kids to change the world.
Speaker A:And the next morning, it's always the weirdest places.
Speaker A:I was washing dishes, looking out the window.
Speaker A:It was 9:30 in the morning.
Speaker A:And I just felt this.
Speaker A:Sell your house.
Speaker A:Clear as day.
Speaker A:And I was like, what was that?
Speaker A:Pandora playing?
Speaker A:What was that?
Speaker A:And it was just like, yeah, no, that makes no sense.
Speaker A:And I just kept doing the dishes, didn't stop.
Speaker A:But it just wrecked me in a way that I was like, what does that even mean?
Speaker A:And I remember at the time, we only had Josh and Jordan, my two sons.
Speaker A:We now have four kids.
Speaker A:And I have identical twin girls that are Thing one and Thing two.
Speaker A:We were pushing the stroller and we were walking down the road and talking.
Speaker A:And whenever, like, you gotta bring something up to your spouse that's on your heart.
Speaker A:It's always like, where do I interject this?
Speaker A:Cause you're thinking about it, you're thinking it, you're thinking about it.
Speaker A:You're just, like, waiting for the, like, moment to share something big, right?
Speaker A:And, like, you want to make sure husbands.
Speaker A:You're, like, actually listening to what your spouse is saying.
Speaker A:And I was like, steph, I don't know how to say this because it doesn't make sense to me.
Speaker A:I really feel like we're supposed to sell our house.
Speaker A:And she just said, without hesitating, let's do it.
Speaker A:And, like, her answer threw me off because I was like, wait, what?
Speaker A:She was like, let's do it.
Speaker A:And not that Steph and I didn't see eye to eye all these years in marriage, but making big life decisions.
Speaker A:Like, there was usually tension.
Speaker A:And this was one of the few times where, like, we were completely in sync.
Speaker A:We don't even know what it's going to look like.
Speaker A:Like, this made no sense.
Speaker A:And so I wonder for you out there, driving in your car, whatever you're doing, working, listening, if you're at the gym, whatever, is there something that keeps coming back that you like, doesn't make sense in this season of life, but it's not evil, it's not malicious.
Speaker A:It's just really outside the bounds of what you're comfortable with.
Speaker A:But it keeps coming back.
Speaker A:Like, there's a difference between, hey, I think Jesus said something to me, and it was a fleeting, emotional thing that I tried to convince myself was Jesus because it's what I wanted to hear versus this, like, statement in my heart and in my mind that doesn't make sense that I journal about.
Speaker A:And to your point, there have been five or six moments in my life, clear as day, wrote it down in my journal, and it came to pass.
Speaker A:Exactly the timing, which we could probably keep talking for another hour.
Speaker A:The timing is usually not immediate.
Speaker A:But when we have really learned to start, maybe, am I making this thing right now an idol in my life that I want God to bless is maybe a good starting point and only you know the answer to that.
Speaker A:Are there things you're believing for in your career and in your marriage and with your kids or the pursuit of having children, whatever it may be?
Speaker A:Are there things that you are making an idol that you don't realize is a great place to start?
Speaker A:And if so, and if you're honest with yourself and it's like, yes, I make my body an idol or my fitness or whatever, it's just being honest with the Lord and saying, I'm sorry that I did this, and learning how to die to yourself in that area.
Speaker A:But then with that, you've been talking about doing something.
Speaker A:I think we sometimes believe that being patient and waiting on God is a virtue, and there are definitely times for that.
Speaker A:And I think of a story in the Bible when Moses was at the Red Sea and he was waiting, and God said, what are you doing?
Speaker A:And I believe Moses said, I'm here waiting for you to do something.
Speaker A:And God said, I've already told you what to do.
Speaker A:Go.
Speaker A:And he picked up the staff and the Red Sea parted.
Speaker A:And I think sometimes, though, we see different passages of the Bible where it seems like people waited and were blessed for it.
Speaker A:And then there was times that people ran ahead and were blessed for it.
Speaker A:And it's like, okay, where am I at in this season of my life?
Speaker A:Am I supposed to do something?
Speaker A:Am I not supposed to do something?
Speaker A:So even in the time that we have, Kristen, in your story, have there been times that you have tried to do something but forced it?
Speaker A:And you realized it really quickly?
Speaker A:Because we can only make sense of the filtering system through we and our human experiences have had.
Speaker A:The longer that you're a human being, you experience more things.
Speaker A:You experience God in different ways.
Speaker A:Because if you've never been sick, you don't know God as a healer.
Speaker A:If you've never been poor, you've never experienced God as a provider.
Speaker A:If you've never been infertile, you've never known God as a provider and a creator.
Speaker A:There are certain things that until you experience them, you will never have context for those aspects of God.
Speaker A:But even with those human experiences, we can still hear from the Lord about something which is truthfully him.
Speaker A:But then put our athleticism into it, our discipline into it, our can do attitude, and it's like, good, I heard from you.
Speaker A:Now I'm going to go manufacture everything that you've told me to do, because I'm going to make it happen.
Speaker A:Have there been moments of your life where, like, you've heard from the Lord, but the actual execution, you've gotten terribly wrong.
Speaker A:Cause you've done it in your own strength.
Speaker A:And like, how do you, how do you work through that when you know, like, shoot, I shouldn't.
Speaker A:I went too far.
Speaker A:Like, I wanted to move the ball forward and I kicked it out of the yard.
Speaker A:And now I'm like, shoot, Lord, where were you?
Speaker A:What does that look like for you?
Speaker A:What does moving the ball forward look like in this season?
Speaker A:And how do you know when it's in lockstep with the Lord and not Christians, like, slowly taking over the experience and just asking God to bless what you're doing?
Speaker B:Well, I would say for me, it's less of me taking action too soon and messing it up and more me sitting and sitting and sitting and sitting.
Speaker B:And, you know, oftentimes I.
Speaker B:Let's take that example with you and Steph where you're washing dishes and you feel, sell your house.
Speaker B:And then you're on a walk.
Speaker B:And you're like, I think we need to sell our house.
Speaker B:And she's like, let's do it.
Speaker B:Where you could be like, well, still need some more confirmation or still need to know where do we go and who's going to be the realtor for this house?
Speaker B:And I need, like, three more things to come into place, and then I'll feel more comfortable.
Speaker B:That's been more of my story of wanting the full plan and the full picture laid out for me because, again, I kind of operate from an athlete's mindset where give me the vision, tell me where we're going, tell me what I need to execute, and I will execute that.
Speaker B:And that's not been my story, because the God who made me knows that if I had the full picture, be like, thanks, God, see you later.
Speaker B:Instead, it's like, just enough, just enough, just enough.
Speaker B:Because truly, I think if I were to have the full picture, it would probably prevent me from going where I wanted and needed to go in the first place.
Speaker B:2024, I returned from maternity leave.
Speaker B:It was, when I look back at last year, a year of refinement.
Speaker B:Apart from going through infertility, it was probably one of the hardest years of my life.
Speaker B:In just the various roles I played within, serving on a board, to the organization I was leading, to my family.
Speaker B:And there were just so many competing priorities.
Speaker B:There was just so much at times, disappointment, hurt, betrayal, confusion, frustration.
Speaker B:And the more I think I tried to.
Speaker B:Well, the more I tried to take control and say, okay, God, clearly, clearly I need to get back in the driver's seat.
Speaker B:So I am going to spend more hours at work.
Speaker B:I am going to spend more time over here doing this thing.
Speaker B:I think you said it, Steve, earlier, more doesn't equal better.
Speaker B:More doesn't equal quality.
Speaker B:But in the times where I have felt needing to get back in control because so many things are outside of my control, I have just put in more effort.
Speaker B:And I have seen, especially now as my oldest son is getting close to five, him recognizing that and calling me out of, mom, are you working?
Speaker B:Do you have to do this again?
Speaker B:Why can't you spend time with us?
Speaker B:And so as I then look at, okay, God, you are in control.
Speaker B:How do I put you in the driver's seat?
Speaker B:I don't have the full picture.
Speaker B:And I recognize I don't need the full picture.
Speaker B:I don't want the full picture.
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:It looks like sharing what I am hearing from the Lord with people that know me and really, really being aware and sensitive and thoughtful and smart and intentional around who I share that with.
Speaker B:You know, my spouse being one, my parent, like, my family are amazing prayer warriors.
Speaker B:Even people that.
Speaker B:Honestly, I can't tell you how many first conversations I've had with people over the past couple months.
Speaker B:We've just been.
Speaker B:Our networks have connected us.
Speaker B:And, you know, when you meet somebody and you have a conversation, you're like, I feel like.
Speaker B:Like with you and Dave Barnes, like, I feel like we kind of just became best friends.
Speaker B:Like, I feel like there is kinship here.
Speaker B:You're welcome.
Speaker B:I feel like there's just kinship here.
Speaker B:And I'm just gonna share with them what I feel like God is placing on my heart.
Speaker B:Cause I feel like this is a safe person.
Speaker B:And also if it's not, we're probably not going to interact with each other again.
Speaker B:And the way that God has used that person to speak into my life.
Speaker B:So I would say I.
Speaker B:When I actually create margin in my schedule, when I actually create margin to.
Speaker B:To pray, to read the word, to hear from God, and when I sit with, like, God, what are you trying to say?
Speaker B:What are you trying to do?
Speaker B:Either give me peace.
Speaker B:And I feel like I am.
Speaker B:Well, I want to say this humbly, like, self aware enough to.
Speaker B:To have that peace or use other people to confirm this or to close this door, to really stop this from advancing.
Speaker B:That's when I really feel like I have had a bigger picture of what God is trying to do, where I have stopped trying to live a comfortable, predictable life.
Speaker B:The all American life that I grew up thinking was going to be so great.
Speaker B:And I've just allowed for some struggle to happen and for me not to know.
Speaker B:And truthfully, it's been really freeing.
Speaker B:But it comes back to the belief that I have that.
Speaker B:And you said, Steve, you're like, I don't know if you've ever said this out loud.
Speaker B:I say this all the time to people that God will either fulfill the desire that he has placed on your heart or he will replace it.
Speaker B:I say that all the time, especially in situations where somebody's in a waiting season that I have come out of and I want to be able to love and support and encourage them.
Speaker B:But I don't know what God's gonna do in their story.
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:And I don't want to give them false hope or false encouragement of it's gonna happen for you, because I don't know that.
Speaker B:But what I do believe is that if God has placed something on your heart, that he will either Fulfill it or he's going to replace it with something else.
Speaker B:So I would just encourage people to create space and margin for you to, if faith is not your thing, to just really sit with what you are wrestling with, share that with three to five to six people that know you.
Speaker B:That can be a good mirror for you.
Speaker B:And if you are a faith person, you know, certainly take this back to the Lord and be like, what do you want me to do with this?
Speaker B:We attended an event probably a month ago now and a man prayed for my husband and I and he said, you know, I feel like, I feel like the Lord is going to lay some things on you for the next season of your church.
Speaker B:And, and that might not be for you to do something with, that just might be for you to pray like God.
Speaker B:How do you want me to.
Speaker B:Now that you've given me this information, what do you want me to do with that?
Speaker B:Because it's not always to act.
Speaker B:I think like you said, it's maybe not necessarily to act right now or in this season, but okay, you have given me a glimpse into something.
Speaker B:Now I need to come back into my humanity and humble myself and say, I don't have the full picture.
Speaker B:I am not all knowing.
Speaker B:I don't see things the way that you do.
Speaker B:What do you want me to do with this?
Speaker B:And as I have just allowed for God to just refine me and to just burn out the impurities of my selfish nature of wanting to be in control, of wanting to excel and have all these accolades and to just say, like God, just use my story, use me to encourage others wherever I can.
Speaker B:Use me to just see people and, and to hear them and to make them feel valued and known and allow me just to be a demonstration to my boys of what obedience looks like.
Speaker B:It has honestly been the most life giving season.
Speaker B:It doesn't mean it's been easy.
Speaker B:I am now a business owner.
Speaker B:I do not have a reliable income.
Speaker B:I do not have a steady paycheck.
Speaker B:And yet as I've like tried to give this back over to the Lord of like God, I didn't.
Speaker B:This was not on my vision board to create a business.
Speaker B:If you want it back, feel free to take it.
Speaker B:It.
Speaker B:He's like, no, no, you're good because I haven't called you into a season of comfort yet.
Speaker B:I'm not gonna leave you again.
Speaker B:I love you too much to just abandon you.
Speaker B:I'm gonna walk through it.
Speaker B:But remember how you said years ago that you would trust me, continue to do that and I've got something far better than what you know.
Speaker B: here I'm watching The Cubs in: Speaker B:It could have been.
Speaker B:You know, where I am now and the demonstration that I am to my kids and just the obedience and just the palms up mentality that I have that the Lord might bless.
Speaker B:But it took me still moving forward and say, like, this doesn't make sense, but I'm still going to pray, I'm going to share it with people.
Speaker B:I'm going to try to seek discernment, I'm going to turn trust over.
Speaker B:I'm still going to connect with people.
Speaker B:Like, I'm still gonna try to move forward.
Speaker B:And my prayer has been like, God, if this, I'm gonna still try to make this connection.
Speaker B:I'm still gonna try to put these things in place.
Speaker B:And God, if this is me and this is not of you, kill it, squash it, don't let it advance.
Speaker B:Because I believe, like, prayer is powerful.
Speaker B:And so that would certainly be my encouragement for people.
Speaker A:So you had mentioned your 5 year old son pointing out, mom, you're gonna work.
Speaker A:Kids are funny for the thing they will remind you of that you're working on.
Speaker A:Steph was taking on juicing and working on, you know, putting the vegetables in and creating juice and wanted a healthier lifestyle.
Speaker A:And at dinner one night, she ate maybe the rest of like a grilled cheese sandwich for Joshua and he goes, mom, I thought you weren't juicing.
Speaker A:And she's like, well, yeah, Mommy took a break.
Speaker A:He's like, well, that's not juice.
Speaker A:And her response was like, dude, leave me alone.
Speaker A:Because it's like, now you're not living life by yourself anymore and you're like saying things to your kids and you don't realize you got these little people every day consuming what you're saying and now they're holding you accountable and you're like, this is accountability I never asked for.
Speaker A:But to that point, I don't think we talk about it enough on podcasts or mediums or anything, which is there's layers to all of us as people.
Speaker A:And so you are trying to discover who you are in Christ as a person.
Speaker A:And if you're married, that adds a layer of complexity because now it's not you alone.
Speaker A:And if you're a parent to one, to two, to three, to four, I mean, those are four more lives.
Speaker A:And if you are an employee or a business owner, then you have colleagues.
Speaker A:And if you're part of a church, you have all the members.
Speaker A:And if you're part of communities and sports teams.
Speaker A:And so none of us get to just walk out this life of faith by ourselves without a butterfly effect happening.
Speaker A:That if I do this, this will cause this to happen and cause this to happen.
Speaker A:And if it was every decision we made was an isolated, there's no one else dependent upon us.
Speaker A:Not that it would be easier.
Speaker A:We did that like we talked about when we first met in our 20s, but I think now it's like, okay, what do you do with the information you're hearing today?
Speaker A:You're listening to a podcast.
Speaker A:I would love if you listen to this podcast with your spouse.
Speaker A:No, we appreciate you, but many of us don't consume podcasts or resources with our significant other where we're both hearing.
Speaker A:I mean, we'll binge Netflix together at night and watch stuff that has no eternal value.
Speaker A:But when it comes to our own spiritual walk, we consume, we read on our own.
Speaker A:And then we are trying to transfer what we're learning to somebody else who hasn't been a part of that story or decision making.
Speaker A:And they're like, what are you talking about?
Speaker A:And then if you had children and that complexity, if you feel overwhelmed because you feel like God has put something on your heart that you know is not you, but it's him.
Speaker A:This is something that I think for all of us, it's, don't be afraid as to what other people that aren't a part of the journey with you, what they think.
Speaker A:And that doesn't mean don't be sensitive, don't stop, don't talk to people like you had said.
Speaker A:But if you feel like God is calling you to do something, have the conversations with the people you need to.
Speaker A:And one of the things I was thinking about is like, what are your non negotiables?
Speaker A:That's something for me, like, I've thought about.
Speaker A:And that's different for every one of us that are listening to this today.
Speaker A:What are the things you have to do every single day to make sure that you are in the best place possible?
Speaker A:And that's not circumventing what God's doing, but is it taking care of yourself?
Speaker A:Is it eating the right things?
Speaker A:Is it making your bed?
Speaker A:Is it showering first thing in the morning?
Speaker A:Is it spending journaling time with Jesus?
Speaker A:Like, what are the things you have to do every day to be in the right frame of mind?
Speaker A:So when God says move.
Speaker A:There's nothing that it's like, well, I don't feel like it because I ate like crap last night.
Speaker A:What are the things that you need to determine are the three to five things you got to do every day to be in the best position possible?
Speaker A:Knowing that at any moment that One of your two kids can break in the door at 4am in the morning, not feeling well, and that can throw off your day, or you get an email from a client that you weren't expecting who's firing you or hiring you or doing something, it's like there's gonna be things that are continuing to happen to you.
Speaker A:Like, what is it?
Speaker A:What is it that you need to do to put yourself in the best position?
Speaker A:And so in the couple minutes here, as I bring this to a close, you've been an amazing guest because you are figuring this out too.
Speaker A:You don't have this figured out and you're looking 30 back, 30 years back.
Speaker A:And I think for all of us in our 30s and 40s.
Speaker A:I was thinking about this as you were talking.
Speaker A:If I think about my dad in his 30s and 40s, from the pictures and VHS tapes that I seen, it's like really hard to believe.
Speaker A:Like my dad and I are the same age at this moment of time where I'm wearing a backwards trucker hat and I'm coaching baseball and sports and I'm on LinkedIn and on Instagram making reels.
Speaker A:And it's like, what was my dad doing?
Speaker A:My dad was rocking a fanny pack with a frigging camcorder on his shoulder.
Speaker A:And it seemed like my dad was so much more mature in his 30s than I am.
Speaker A:And it's like I'm having to work through.
Speaker A:Technology changes, the world evolving really fast, things being brought to the surface that our parents never dealt with.
Speaker A:You know, our parents had to deal with like smoking or non smoking.
Speaker A:Like that was the big life decision.
Speaker A:Ours is like, do I give my kids red dye 40?
Speaker A:Do I eat all organic?
Speaker A:Do I send my kids to private school?
Speaker A:Do I move to align my life with states that value what I value?
Speaker A:Do I get off tick tock?
Speaker A:Like, do I do these things?
Speaker A:And it's like, not that our parents didn't have things, but it's also like, then when you go to your parents to talk through what your experience, there is wisdom there, but there is also just an experience gap of like, if you feel overwhelmed, you may be exactly where you're supposed to be.
Speaker A:Being overwhelmed by God doesn't mean you're outside the bounds of what God's doing.
Speaker A:It might be that you're right in the center of it.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:But as long as you're not doing something evil or malicious because the enemy knows scripture too.
Speaker A:And so if we're not careful, it can be sensationalized that the scripture that you read can be used against you to fulfill the desire of your heart.
Speaker A:When in reality, what you've talked about is journaling, pausing, sitting, you know, chewing on things, talking to three to five people.
Speaker A:You know, if he's not going to fulfill it, he'll replace it.
Speaker A:Like these are all real tangible things.
Speaker A:So in the graciousness of I've told you guys, one of my desires with this show is to create an overflow or what's next?
Speaker A:And one of the things that I've had a desire to do is continue these one big thing masterclasses, which would be time with Kristen and myself live on a zoom call or something thing where if you guys want to call in and listen and ask questions, I don't want to take up too much of your time and I want to be sacred of the time you've given us today.
Speaker A:But we will put in the information, show notes, information for Kristen so you can get in touch with her, follow her journey, show her some love, get on this episode, leave a comment, leave a review, let her know how much it means to you.
Speaker A:But just know that Kristen and I, as dear friends do not have this thing figured out.
Speaker A:We are learning every day something new about ourselves, about Jesus, about our families, and it's just, what do we do with that information now that we're aware of it?
Speaker A:How do we wrestle with it?
Speaker A:And so if you feel like I don't know what I'm doing, you are not alone.
Speaker A:It's just you got to keep working through it.
Speaker A:You got to keep moving the ball forward.
Speaker A:You got to create those non negotiables.
Speaker A:So anything, my dear friend, that as we say goodbye for this episode that you want to leave a little.
Speaker B:I do.
Speaker B: , I had our oldest son May of: Speaker B:So right smack dab as things were getting real fun and interesting and either when I was very pregnant or shortly after.
Speaker B:I can't tell you the amount of people, typically older individuals that would come up to me and say, I'm so glad I'm not raising a child with this state of the world going on right now.
Speaker B:And the first couple times, you know, you just kind of like chuckle and you're like, oh, well.
Speaker B:And you Know, you just kind of like, move along.
Speaker B: repeated theme, especially as: Speaker B:And what I started saying to people and what I really felt like the Lord was placing in my heart was just this spirit of empowerment.
Speaker B:And I said, you know, God could have chosen any time for me to be born, and yet he chose me to be born in this exact moment in history.
Speaker B:And he could have chosen any time for me to become a parent.
Speaker B:And certainly I wanted that to happen a lot sooner than it did.
Speaker B:But yet he chose me to become a parent in this exact moment in history.
Speaker B:And God could have chosen any time for my children to be born, and he chose this exact moment for them to be born.
Speaker B:So I don't have all the answers, but it is by no coincidence that God is going to prepare us for the journey.
Speaker B:He has gone before us.
Speaker B:Us.
Speaker B:He's prepared the way, and he's gonna equip me for this journey because this isn't an accident to Him.
Speaker B:It's not like, oh, I.
Speaker B:Man, I knew I forgot to do something.
Speaker B:I was supposed to put Noah and Kristen and Max and Ty in my big plan, and I forgot, and there's a pandemic, and now the world is the way that it is.
Speaker B:No, I just.
Speaker B:I stepped into that, and I really started to own that and feel really empowered by that, that I.
Speaker B:I don't have all the answers, and I don't know how things are gonna go.
Speaker B:And, yeah, my son's going off to kindergarten in August, and that brings about a lot of emotions for all the things that you just said, Steve.
Speaker B:And yet I know that none of this, specifically my time and my place in the world is by accident, and God's gonna equip me for the journey, but I still need to just be, like, palms up and obedient of, like, God.
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:I don't know what we do in this situation.
Speaker B:This is a hard conversation, or we're gonna have to make a really tough decision.
Speaker B:And I don't necessarily know what to do.
Speaker B:And I believe that the Lord will come through and be faithful, but I just want to empower people in our final moments together.
Speaker B:If you are feeling a bit of discouragement or a bit of confusion or unease, I just want to say that back to you again, that there's a purpose for your life, there's a plan for your life.
Speaker B: aying out the way they are in: Speaker A:If I can summarize what you just said, it's what I inherited from my father, which is when I do something wrong, I go shoot.
Speaker A:God doesn't have a shoot.
Speaker A:And I think sometimes we chalk it up to God doesn't make mistakes.
Speaker A:He knows exactly what he's doing.
Speaker A:There's no I didn't see that coming.
Speaker A:And so this was a great conversation.
Speaker A:Kristen, catching up with you.
Speaker A:Obviously masterful job of speaking freely from your heart.
Speaker A:We've covered everything from, from marriage to infertility to children to careers to cheerleading, which I'll have to talk to you about at some point, how that happened.
Speaker A:But for those that know, Kristen, I hope you will check out other episodes of One Big Thing.
Speaker A:Obviously you'd mentioned the episode with Dave Barnes.
Speaker A:Go back and check that out.
Speaker A:But I try to title these and write the show notes in such a way that you can get a grasp before you ever hit play of what an episode is about.
Speaker A:And there may be episodes that just like songs, are gonna hit you in a different way in a different season of life.
Speaker A:And so if you're here for the first time, go back through the list of episodes, see the topics, see the guests, see what we talk about, because you may get more information that can help you move the ball forward in your life.
Speaker A:So, Kristen Campbell, thank you for being my guest on the One Big Thing podcast.
Speaker A:And folks, until next time, here's to moving the ball forward together.
Speaker B:Thanks, friend.
Speaker A:Thanks for checking out my show.
Speaker A:If you enjoyed this episode, I'd love for you to write a review or drop a comment wherever you're listening or watching.
Speaker A:And be sure to stay connected.
Speaker A:Did you know you can subscribe to my YouTube channel, which is Eve CampbellPR?
Speaker A:That's Steve Campbell PR and I'm a real person who's reachable.
Speaker A:You can find me on all my socials and connect with me.
Speaker A:If you have topics or guests you'd love to hear from, let me know.
Speaker A:But thanks for being a part of this journey with me.
Speaker A:And until next time, enjoy other episodes of the One Big Thing Podcast.
Speaker B:Sa.
