WHOA That's Good Podcast - Putting a STOP to Your Negative Self-Talk | Sadie Robertson Huff & Earl McClellan

Episode Date: November 6, 2024

Earl McClellan would be the first to admit he doesn't get things right all the time, but he tells Sadie how he's learned how to trust God and step out with confidence into what the Lord was calling him to do. And he's here to encourage us ALL how we can identify where we might shy away from following God's leading — whether it's with anxiety, worry, negative self-talk or fear — how can believers learn to do things afraid? As Earl says, "Do it and dont' wait for the fear to be gone!" and, "If it doesn't take faith, it's probably not from God!" Shouldn't we all want to step into our potential to glorify God in whatever it is we've been prompted to do? Get your copy of Earl's "Get Your Spirit Back" wherever you buy your books!  https://ariseforwomen.com — Get this 21-day video series from Covenant Eyes completely FREE! https://sadiepens.com — Stock up on Mr. Pen Bible journaling supplies today! https://drinkag1.com/whoa — Get a free gift with your first subscription plus the Welcome Kit with Vitamin D3+K2! - Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Happy Well That's Good Wednesday. I hope you're having a great week, but per usual, it's about to get so much better. And y'all, I mean that for real because we have such a fun guest on the podcast. This is No Stranger. He's actually been on the podcast before with his beautiful wife, Onika. We have Earl McClellan back on the podcast with a new book. Welcome Earl. Wow, hello, I'm happy to be here,

and you're right, my wife is so beautiful. I'm keeping her forever. She is, she is so beautiful, she is so amazing. I mean, I could rave about her all day long. When she was on the podcast, I was like, literally, can you come just write, like, Elo's Sisters whole, I guess, what would it be? Like, our mission statement, because you pretty,

everything you say, I'm like, that's what I want to carry. Like, it's just, she's so much wisdom, she's so beautiful, she's so fun, she's a friend to everyone. Everything. She's amazing. Full package. Full package. She has been like that since college, literally, the first time I met her, which I still remember and she does not remember,

but I remember seeing her for the very first time. Thought she was the most beautiful woman I've ever seen and she still looks like that. To this day, when I show pictures from college, I mean, we've been married a couple of decades now and she looks the same. I don't know how it's happening, but she just loves people, cares for people, kind, I mean, she's been with me for a couple of decades now. And she looks the same.

I don't know how it's happening, but she just loves people, cares for people, kind, compassionate. I mean, but she's very strong. Don't get it twisted. She's strong. She is very, very, very strong. And I love all of that about her.

She's absolutely amazing. She told me at conference, she was like, hey, I just want to let you know, I really pray for your family. And I said, you have no idea how much that means to me. And there was one time where she was in a group text. It was after we were in New York with you guys, and we were kind of all in a little group text about going to New York.

And that night, something happened, and I really need a prayer. So I texted that group. And Onika just so consistently kept up with that situation and kept praying. And I told her at conference how much that meant to me. She says, no, I really do pray. And so I have a little prayer team group text.

And I said, I'm gonna put you in there, Onika, if you don't mind. And I put her in there and she is such a strong prayer warrior and just such a consistent friend, speaks the word over you. This could be a whole episode of Shout Out Onika. And listen, I'm willing to do that too. Literally, people come to church on the weekends and I'm pouring out my heart in sermons. Onika has this part at the end where we do, we call

it the benediction, where she prays a prayer of blessing over everybody's week. So at the end of service, I'm like, hey, my beautiful wife's coming up, she's gonna pray a prayer of blessing. That's everyone's favorite part of the service. Here I am up there. I mean, I've been toiling and praying and trying to lay down my life. And my wife gets up there,

she just has a great connection with God. So I love her and I'm thankful for it. And I'm glad you love her too. We love your whole family. Y'all are a team for sure. And it speaks so much to who you are as a man in her life. I mean, you guys are just amazing and incredible couple. And if you haven't listened to the podcast,

Onika will take this time to say go back and listen. Because Onika just wrote a book as well as Earl writing a book, which I want to hear about that. Because as a couple writing books for the first time at the same time is it's kind of crazy But before I totally jump into that Earl's book is called get your spirit back And we're gonna talk a lot about this book today If you've never heard Earl's teaching first of all, I don't know where you've been second of all you need to get on that right now

I'm sending you down the best rabbit trail of your life because his teaching is so good and I'm so glad you decided to take You know your preaching and put it down on paper because it really is cool how timeless books are. Like, you preach a sermon and those can be, those can weigh the test of time too, because you can find it on YouTube now years later. But there's something about having it on paper that people can truly circle, underline, go back to,

have on their shelf year after year. And so I think it's just extremely powerful. So how did you and Onika get to the point of writing a book at the same time? Well, I don't know. Good question. My wife was the first one to write one. So I'm so proud of her.

She was taking the step to say, hey, I'm going to do this, honey. And I said, okay, you've got to. Your words, your heart, the way you live, everyone needs to hear that. She's like, honey, you need to write a book. And I'm like, no, I'm not writing a book. I don't want to do that. Honestly, I felt a lot of fear.

I think I felt a measure of insecurity. I feel like I would want it to be so perfect, so right. And then I was also thinking, there's nobody who's gonna wanna hear or read anything that I'm saying. Well, maybe my mom, my mom loves me. So my mom and my wife were the two people that were like, yes. But I continued to pray on it and I really, really felt impressed by God that I needed to take this step. And one, it was a step of obedience. And then number two, I felt like I wanted to do something that my kids could see and it would remove a lid off of their life. So I said, all right, I'm gonna take this step so that they at least know whatever God calls you to do,

take the step of faith. The results are up to Him. The success is in the obedience. So I took the step, wrote the book, and Onique and I were in it together. I read her whole book. I don't think she's yet to read my whole book. She's a skimmer. So, but I read her book word for word

and she's about to go through mine. And, but she's been such an encouragement. So incredibly life-giving as have, you know, so many other people have, you know, pushed me this direction, but I didn't want to do it for that. I really wanted to make sure it was something that the Lord was asking me to do.

So I did it, Sadie, I can't believe it. Put words on that. I really wanted to make sure it was something that the Lord was asking me to do. So I did it, Sadie, I can't believe it. Put words on paper, I did the audio book. I was reading it and I was crying at points of the book because I wrote every word, you know? And God bless, you know, ghost writers and all the different things that are out there. No problem with any of that at all.

But I just felt like I wanted to write every single word of this and put it all on paper. And it just came right from my soul. And I did not realize how much of it I had put on paper. I'm getting a little bit emotional now, even talking about it, because you're so vulnerable. It's kind of like speaking, you go speak and you kind of put yourself out there,

but I definitely did that with paper, on paper. So here we are, I can't believe it. So vulnerable, you know, it's kind of like speaking, you know, you go speak and you kind of put yourself out there. But I definitely did that with paper on paper. So here we are, I can't believe it. I'm glad to get to talk about it with you though, and all the friends on the podcast. It is a different level of vulnerability, I think, because speaking, you know, you can kind of, you can kind of filter your way through

whatever you're gonna share. You know, you think about it for a second, you say it. And then also you can tailor in the moment, but also it. And then also, you can tailor it in the moment. But also, it's like, OK, well, I said that, but maybe no one will remember that. It's just out there. OK, next sermon, next Sunday, or next thing. Or you can course write.

But when you write it down, it's like, OK, this is going to be in print. And this is going to be there 10 years from now. And is this really what I want to share, what I want to say? And there's something about overcoming it as you're writing it and going, you know what? This is now. I love Christine Kane said this on the podcast one time.

This was such good advice. She said, when she was talking actually about social media, not necessarily writing a book, but I think the same applies. She said, wait to share your story on social media until it becomes a testimony. And she said, because sometimes we share the struggle in the struggle. And that's OK to some degree, because you want

to be vulnerable and authentic. But she was saying, if sometimes you risk, if you share something in the midst of the struggle and it's not a testimony yet, then what happens is like you're getting man's, too much of man's opinion on social media, you know? You're not getting like your actual friends, your actual family members.

And so all of a sudden, like you have all this weighed into and she said, so many times when we do that, we begin to like identify with the struggle and we almost wanna stay there because we can create something out of it. She's like, but when you share it as a testimony, you're like, I'm walking past this, you know? And sometimes I think your testimony looks like

the middle of the struggle too. It's like, hey, I'm in this, I'm gonna be in this, but I've also, I'm not held by this and I wanna share this with you guys. You're not like looking for something else. And I think the same applies in a book. It's so cool as you're writing it and working through it, that it's really becoming a testimony for you

because you're like, God, you got me through this. Now I'm helping lead someone else through it. So it's really a beautiful process and a beautiful thing to do. And I love that you did. One question I have is, you've preached for a very long time. You pastor a church, you've done so many sermons. What was it about the story of Gideon that made you go like,

this is what I wanna write about, this is what like the book's gonna be about? That's a great question. Okay, this goes all the way back to when I was about 18 years old, my freshman, or maybe it was my sophomore year of college. My sophomore year of college, I came across the story of Gideon.

So this book has been, this man, Gideon, has been with me for years. I read his story when I was 18 years old, and I'm sure I had read it before then, you know, in high school at some point in time, but I came across his story and it struck me so deeply. I mean, it just hit me to my core. So go Judges chapter six, Judges chapter seven,

and then when he gets to Judges chapter eight, and you see this switch that has taken place on the inside of him. I had never seen that switch. I don't know if I'd ever read the whole story. It only kind of stayed in chapter six. But when you keep going through it, this man goes from hiding and afraid and scared

to I'm gonna kill you, which is really aggressive and I'm not encouraging anybody to kill anybody, obviously, but this is all Old Testament stuff. The guy's confidence goes through the roof and the way he approaches life is radically different from when we first see him introduced in the story. And I just saw this transformation take place

on the inside of him. I almost called the book like the switch or I had different things coming to my head, but get your spirit back is what just felt so right. Like who did Jesus call us to be? Who are we in him? And in Christ, we're not some defeated, broken down, tossed aside, forgotten people. No, we are the sons and daughters of Almighty God. And that does not mean our life is perfect.

Obviously it's not. It does not mean everything goes our way all the time. We know that's not the case. But it does mean that our spirit has been changed and transformed and we haven't been given a spirit of fear, but what a power, love and a sound mind. So there is this rejuvenation, revitalization, revival, this restoration that has taken place on the inside of us. But I think we are all too comfortable and content just going, you know what, now, just me,

ho hum, I'll be fine. You know, it is what it is. And it's like, no, it's not, it's not it is what it is. It's like, who has God called you to be? Let's step into that with all the humility, but also with all the confidence that God has called us to. So this story has been with me for a long, long time, Sadie, and he's pushed me forward. That's so good.

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Okay, so many people needed everything that you just said. And I love how you said, no, it's not just, it is what it is. Like we can't just settle for that complacency, especially whenever you read the Word and you really read the Word and you really understand who you are in Christ, it's like, no, that's so contrary

to what the whole story is about, about the story of your life, the story that was written for your life. And so I love that. One of the things that you are really, really good at, Anoneka, is speaking words of life. And you talk a lot about that in the book, is like the power of the words that you're speaking.

And you're already alluding to that by saying like, no, don't just say it is what it is. Don't just say it's fine. Don't just say, oh, it's just the way that I am. Like, no, like you are the sons and daughters of God. Like you begin to speak this life. Talk a little bit about the importance of speaking life and the importance of the words you're saying over yourself.

Cause that's actually something I'm already trying to teach Honey at three years old. It's crazy how fast and how soon in life negative self-talk begins. And it's wild to see it already in a three-year-old. She's a lot like Christian and I very hard on herself, very competitive already. We started her in gymnastics class,

and she wants to just do really well. She's three years old. Yeah, be perfect. Oh, yeah, be perfect. And yesterday, she came out of gymnastics, and I said, you did so good. And she said, no, I didn't. I didn't do so good.

And then she was like, I didn't do that good, Mommy. I said, you did really good. I mean, it's literally like the fourth class. She's three years old. She didn't think she did her cartwheel well. She didn't land on her feet. I was like, honey, you did amazing. And she said, no, I'm not good.

I said, honey, you're amazing. And I said, honey, you know, because she loves Simone Biles. And I said, do you think Simone Biles talks to herself like this? I'm like, no, she doesn't talk to herself like this. I said, she could never get up there and do those flips if she told herself she was not good. And I was like, in life, I was, and you know,

we're having a deep talk for a three-year-old, but you have to. And I said, like, honey, you know, we always say we're cheerleaders. I said, you have got to be your own cheerleader. You've got to encourage yourself. You've got to talk yourself, like say good things over yourself. And it was cool just to have, we literally had this conversation

yesterday and then I'm prepping for your book last night and this morning. And I do think it is so important to go ahead and even speak to over a three-year-old and hopefully by the time Honey's older, she'll do that. But not all of us at three years old had someone saying, be your biggest cheerleader. And I don't even know how beneficial, I think honey, just the human side of her might struggle with that regardless of what I say. I hope not, I pray not, but it might be true. So how do you learn to start speaking life over yourself

when you've lived a life of negative self-talk? Yeah, well, what a gift to have a mom like you and to your point, not everyone does, grow up in a home like that. A lot of us grew up with the exact opposite. A lot of us grew up in spaces where we were told we were less than, we didn't matter. And if we weren't told that explicitly,

we definitely felt it. And even we can feel it when it's not true. Sometimes like, honey, she did a great job, but she can feel something that might not actually be true. She could have done great. There are plenty of times I get done with whatever, whether it's a basketball game, shout out to my man Christian for that one,

or it could be speaking and I'm like, man, all right, God, I gave my best. I'm so sorry. Lord, I don't even know why you use me. You know, can you? We'll do it again next week, Lord. I'm so sorry. And Onique is like, no, that was so life-giving. That was so good.

And, but I'm just seeing just the little moments and places where I just did not say exactly how I wanted to say it. And so you grow up in an environment where you're not getting encouragement or you grow up in an environment where you are, but you don't actually receive it. I mean, there's so many nuances to how we're wired and the environments we're in and who our friends are

and what we're hearing. So there's all these variables. This is one of the reasons I love the Word of God. Consistent, steady, not changing, foundation, rock. You know, the Word of God, the Bible in our lives is a non-negotiable because it does not go up and down based on my behavior or based on my performance. It says what it says and it means, you know, what it says.

So with that being said, my wife, as we talked about earlier, is amazing. I have been in an incubator of encouragement from the time I basically met this woman. She has poured so much life and encouragement into me, and it's authentic. She does not have to manufacture words. They flow out of her so beautifully. So I have been in that environment for years and years and years. So I'm thankful for it.

My mom, when I was growing up, we grew up in the inner city. My dad was not around when I was growing up. So my single mom had my little sister at that time. It's me, my mom, my little sister. And we went to this church and my mom grabbed this statement from this pastor and she said, At that time, it's me, my mom, my little sister, and we went to this church and my mom grabbed this statement from this pastor. And the statement was,

don't let anybody else build your world for you, because if you do, they will build it too small. I mean, here's my mom in the inner city. At that time, she had not graduated from college. She's just grinding, doing the best she can. And here she is speaking those words of life. Now she also spoke some other words too. She had plenty of stress on her.

So there were some cuss words that definitely came flying through the house as well. But she was trying to do everything she could to keep on pushing me forward. I just say to everybody listening, everybody watching right now, the words that you have heard and the words that you have spoken

without a doubt have the ability to shape a life. But those aren't the final say on your life. If we can get back to scripture and go, let that be our starting point. And I wanna go from there. The truth is, someone's been told we're perfect our whole lives and you're not.

You're actually a little bit mean, a little bit selfish, and you need a little bit of God's word to go, hey, God gives grace to the humble. He resists the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. But we start there. But I've tried to, I've tried, and it's difficult. It's hard, Sadie, to keep on reminding yourself of what God's word is when you feel something different,

when you feel less than, when you feel like, oh, I made another mistake. Oh my gosh, I did that same thing again. Oh, I'm such an idiot. Okay, go get it together. And I gotta go, all right, am I gonna let my feelings and my behavior be the final say in my life? Or am I gonna let God's word be the final say in my life?

That's why I love being around you and Christian. You guys are so life-giving too. You just, you speak life, you guys speak words of hope and strength, and maybe you don't do it as much with yourself, but I know that's what you do for others. And if you and I and people like us could receive maybe a 10th of the encouragement that we give, I think we would be better

because you know, you're just trying to cross your T's, dot your I's, you want to be perfect in every scenario. And it's just not healthy, you know, honestly. I want to be the best, but I don't like that I'm measuring myself up against every mistake that I've made. It's just, it creates too much anxiety and fear. Yes.

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It's so much easier to do for everyone else and even for each other, for Christian and I, than with ourself. And we both just have that same drive, you know, for, you know, and it kind of goes back, like you mentioned basketball. So, you know, do you know how to play basketball? Mm-hmm, you're a Hooper.

Okay, yeah, Hooper, love basketball, very competitive in basketball. No, no, no, not that. No, Christian said you can beat him. Well, that's true. Listen, I always say the hype of, I guess the hype, I guess I should say, of my basketball career was like 13 years old and it ended there.

It was a high high. I was on Team USA Junior Olympics there. It was a high, high, I was on team USA, junior Olympics, so it was a high, high. Let's go. But then from that moment on, it just plummeted. So, you know, 13 was a peak. Anyways, what's so, it kind of does go back to basketball and I do think about this sometimes because

I wanted to make that team so bad, you know? I wanted to, and I really had a goal, and this is kind of sad, but this, like, it's a wanted to, and I really had a goal, and this is kind of sad, but it's a beautiful sad. But my great-grandpa, he was getting older, and we were really close, and he played basketball for the US Marines. And I just thought that was the coolest thing ever.

And so he was on Team USA as well. And so I really wanted to be on Team USA. And then I also wanted to play varsity when I was in middle school, because I wanted him to see me play, because he was getting older. So I worked really, really hard to do that. So I would go, just hold myself to a high level.

So I'd go outside every day, and I was not going in until I made 100 shots. I was making sure every, I would just hold myself to the standard. Well then, and even after practices, I would work hold myself to the standard. Well then, even after practices, I would work harder because I wanted to make this thing. Okay, well then my dad, my dad's amazing. My dad is an amazing, amazing dad,

but one side of my dad that is awesome, but also was frustrating when I was young, is that he is a coach. He actually, when he was in college, he graduated with a PE degree. Like literally, he was in college, he graduated with like a P.E. degree. Like literally like he was going to coach. And so he was kind of hard on me in sports in the sense of like, I would come home and I would be like, I would make however many points the game.

I'd be so proud of the points I made. And he'd be like, Hey, that one play you did this dribble and like, you got to stop doing that one dribble, pick up the ball, you need to go all the way to the goal. And I would be frustrated because it was like the one thing that he noticed was like the thing I did wrong. And so sometimes I think I've like, I brought that same energy that I did in basketball to my relationship with the Lord. And it's like, I do all these things to try to hold myself to the standard that like, God's not even putting on me. Like he hasn't even like asked of me. It's me and like my own strength and my own doing.

And then in this, in the one area I fail, I feel like I could have done better. I sometimes feel like that's from God, but it's not. That's so good. That is so, so good. And so one thing that's really helped me and over the past few years, and I've gotten way better at this,

is like after I get done speaking, because used to, I would like need to go get like affirmation from someone, like from like Christian or from my mom, like, what did you think of that? Well, what about when I said this? And like, I would talk out all my overthinking thoughts of like the one thing I did wrong and I would like get them to affirm it.

But now I don't do that. As soon as I get done speaking, I go get alone with the Lord, and I let Him speak into whatever message I just delivered. And there's not been one time that I have done that, that I've walked away from that feeling like I could have or should have done better, that there was something I should have said differently, because it's not about performance, it really is obedience.

And every time I've sat with the Lord, I have felt just the comfort, a love of the Father, like, great job, well done, you did what we planned, you delivered what I asked. That's so beautiful. And it's not a performance thing. Even if I did flop, even if I didn't deliver it well, it wasn't about the performance. So anyways, I feel like I had to share that part of my story because I'm sitting here like saying, oh, this is what people need. And I'm like, actually, hold up, this is what I need. Hold up, this is something I've been walking out the past few years. And so it's a...

Do you find your... This is really healthy because I have found that I used to see God as a coach. Yes. Yes. And then, so it was like, if I messed up, oh man, on the bench, because if you're in the game and you do something wrong, your coach is like, okay, get them out of there. Get them out of there. Earl, sit down. And I'll let you back in a little bit, but you're doing that dumb thing. I'm going to sit you down on this bench. And there's a lot of people that are probably listening to this that feel like that with God. And like, God has somehow pulled

them out of the game, put them at the end of the bench, shoot, made them the water boy, the water girl. And it's like, you know, if you sit here long enough, then I'll let you back in. And I just don't think it's the healthy mindset to have of God at all. Does God discipline those he loves? Of course, that's in the scriptures. But is God some cosmic coach that's on the sideline looking for every wrong dribble, wrong pass,

missed shot so he can pull you out of the game as quickly as possible. No, he called you for such a time as this. He's your father that loves you and is saying, hey, this is what I want you to do better next time. Hey, this is the adjustment you can make. That's why there are podcasts like this. This is why people ought to be in church. This is why you need your small group. This is why you got to have godly friends around you. It's because those are the people that keep reminding you prayerfully of who God has called you to be and what you're supposed to do. But I really had to break that mindset. Honestly, it still can creep up in me. I mean, to this day, even I wrote this book, I still battle some of the stuff

that Gideon battled. You know, it's not like you've all of a sudden arrived, but you can recognize, oh, that's a lie. I'm recognizing that lie. I better take that thought captive. And sometimes if you're tired enough or, you know, you've been through enough junk, you kind of let yourself go down that rabbit trail. But prayerfully, the Holy Spirit is able to arrest those thoughts a little bit quicker so we don't end up in a spot we don't wanna be in. That's so true. And I have totally wrestled with that.

And in my mind, I think sometimes the coach looks like, because like I mentioned, striving so hard to make the team, I think that in the past, when I first started doing ministry, I guess capacity, I'm doing it right now, just speaking on larger stages of stuff, obviously that's not the picture of ministry,

that's just a form of ministry. But as that started for me, and I was working so hard to prepare these messages and all this stuff, I almost felt like if I wasn't doing the extra work and the striving, then I would not make the team, quote unquote. Like I wasn't gonna be asked to speak at the places. And I felt like the Lord really corrected me on that.

Like, hey, it's not because you work so hard, you know? Like it's not, it's like my anointing, it's my spirit. It's you being in tune with that. It's not like how much you study, how much you read, how much you prepare, how much you write. Like it's not in your own strength. You got to stop the striving. And if you do it in your own strength, you are going to burn out and it will do what you're gifting and not the anointing of the Lord. And that was a good pump the brakes, you know, message from the Lord. But it's true because if you operate in that mindset, especially coming

from like an athletic background and you were a coach, sometimes you do put that same thing on God and that's just not, I don't think that's the way he works. No, it's not healthy at all. You're hitting the nail on the head and our daughter sometimes puts on Onika's clothes and it's so cute. She's nine and it's so, so cute. And she's got, you know, she still has on some earrings or puts on a shirt and she's downstairs and doing the fake YouTube stuff, you know, and it's so funny. And then everyone's like, oh, you look so beautiful.

You look so beautiful. Look at your earrings. And you know, everybody's celebrating her, but the earrings aren't hers. The clothes aren't hers. They're all borrowed from the closet. She's getting compliments because of something that belongs to somebody else.

And that's really all any of us have to offer. The anointing on our life, the giftings that we have. And some people are like, oh no, I worked hard for this. You may have worked hard for it, but God gave you the strength and the grace to even be able to work hard for it. And some people can sing and some people can speak and some people are great at accounting and some people are great with art and some people are great with design and I don't know, fill in the blank of whatever the gift is that a person has, understand, all these things are borrowed. This is God saying,

I'll let you wear this in your generation and wear it, wear it with confidence for sure, wear it with joy for sure, but just don't forget whose closet it came from. So when all the applause comes, I know, this belongs to my dad. This belongs to my mom. I appreciate what all you guys are saying right now, but I know where I shop.

I know whose closet I got this from and it brings a level of humility, but also a level of confidence. Cause God is like, yeah, I wanna clothe you in this. I wanna give you this. Hey, do wear it. Go to your job, wear it. Go to your university and wear what I gave you to wear.

Shine your light. Please do it. So they'll see your father and glorify him in heaven. That is so good and so relatable to my current moment because this weekend we went to the Auburn game and my outfit head to toe was my mother's and I got so many compliments and I was like, because this weekend we went to the Auburn game and my outfit head to toe was my mother's and I got so many compliments and I was like,

this is honestly all my mom's and people kept commenting on my Instagram, link the outfit, link the outfit. And I'm like, this is my mom's closet. And, but it does, it gives you one, yes, a humility because you really can't take the credit for your like, this actually is my mom's, but it does give you a confidence

because it's better than what you have yourself. And it's like, I went to my mom's closet because it's better than the clothes that I had and mine. And so, man, I love that. That's such a beautiful picture. Friends, the holidays are approaching and it is very hard to stay healthy this time of year. But that's why I rely on my AG1 and I have for the past three years.

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while supplies last. So we could talk about so many things and I do want to get back to the heart of the book, which so much of this is in the book, just you put it out so well. I feel like so much of what we've said ties back to it. But the story of Gideon. Okay, some of our listeners, probably a lot of our listeners

have never heard the story of Gideon. So I hate to like go too far without giving a short little recap. Can you give a little overview of like Gideon's story? A short recap, okay. Gideon is just like you and I. He is an Israelite. Well, you might not be an Israelite,

but he's a part of a family. He is in a community and his community is going through an incredibly difficult time. I mean, it is a very pressured situation that they are in. They are surrounded on every side. So again, maybe ours might not be an invasion per se, but that could be anxiety, the fear, the, I don't know what's going on in our family. You fill in the blank what your pressure situation might be, getting ready for grad school,

I don't know, trying to get a company off of the ground, navigating friendships and relationships that are changing. And he's hiding out, doing some things he needs to do, but he's hiding out as he's doing them. And God shows up to him and speaks, here we are again, hearing the power of words, God speaks to him something that Gideon does not believe about himself. He says some words to Gideon and Gideon goes, I don't think that can be true because look at where I am. So here you are Sadie, week in, week out on this podcast. And even when you go speak and you're speaking life over people and they're going,

I don't think this could be true. And the reason it can't be true is A, B, C, D, E, F and G. It can't be true because all my friends just left me. It can't be true because my bank account's not right. It can't be true because no guy is interested in me or no girl wants to date me or my relationships just fell apart. It can't be true for, I don't know, my dad wasn't there growing up, fill in the blank. And he pushes back on God and God pushes back and says, no, I've called you. I've got my hand on your life. You're somebody I've chosen. And Gideon gives some reasons that he thinks are utterly

legitimate. He thinks I'm about to win this argument with the Lord. And he thinks I've got the best closing argument ever. There's no way God can get around what I'm saying right here. And that's us. We're like, God, you can't use me. I lost my virginity at this age. God, you can't use me because I did not get into that school. God, you can't use me because my family doesn't look like this.

God, you can't use me because I'm not from this side of town or I'm from another part of the country or whatever. We use all these reasons why God can't do something with our lives. And eventually the Lord just really speaks so much strength into him from peace to encouragement to hope, but he asks him to do some very significant, I wouldn't say difficult things.

He has to deal with some things in his past. He has to deal with some mindsets that he has. He has to deal with some things in his past. He has to deal with some mindsets that he has. He has to deal with his own insecurities. He has to deal with his own fears. But as he confronts these things, he discovers that what God was saying about him is true and it releases him into a place of faith and strength that transforms an entire community." Wow.

So that's the high level story of Gideon, and I think we can all find ourselves in it in some way. So true. That was really beautifully done because I totally put you on the spot there. But one of my favorite things about your teachings are that you do preach out of the Old Testament often, at least from the ones that I've heard. And I don't go to your church every Sunday, but all the passion, the motion moments, and even in here, it's a lot of the Old Testament. But you make it so relatable. Like you pull it out to help us understand how that's us. Like we're in the same boat. It looks different. His situation is different than our situation,

but it's the same fears that would pop up. It's the same questions. It's the same insecurity. And you're really, really good at that. And so that's been really helpful for me listening to things like that. But I feel like you do a great job in this book. Gideon's actually been a story that I've gone back to

a few times just in my walk with fear. And I love that you talk a lot about fear in the book. One of the things I wanted to ask you, and this like sounds like a trick question, it's really not a trick question, so don't hear it like that, because I think that this is something that Gideon has actually taught me and you do a great job walking it out. You talk about, in the beginning of the book, you say, like, you're going to win the battle, but you're not going gonna win the battle with worry, which so true. And then later towards the end of the book,

you are talking about doing things afraid, like even though you're afraid doing it. And I wanted you to lay out the difference because the story of Gideon does this so well, the difference in like doing something and having a bunch of worry that's like unhealthy, and then like the natural fear that's gonna come cause you're human

and doing it afraid anyway. Can you kind of talk about the difference in like carrying worry and also carrying like maybe a little natural fear? Yeah, that's really an interesting question. You know, the worry is when I hear you ask that and when I hear you say that, the worry is, this is all on me. Yeah.

This is, I've got to make this happen. I got to do this. And it creates so much anxiety, because really it's idolatry, right? At the core, it's us saying, this does not stop and end with God, this stops and ends with me. And when I feel like it stops and ends with me, I don't think I have enough in and of myself. So I better just worry, I better, I gotta figure it out. I gotta pull everything together. And I think that's where that anxiety, I don't know if you saw Inside Out 2.

It's so good. It's so good. I watched that with our daughter too the other day and it's to see anxiety at the table, right? I've gotta think up every possible scenario and I've gotta make sure we win and I gotta put myself on the right spot and I gotta say the exact right thing.

And I mean, I'm worrying myself to death right now, even saying that, you know, you just begin to feel it's all on me. Right. Versus I'm facing something that's bigger than me, but I have someone with me who's bigger than it. Yep. And those are just two very, very different things. but I have someone with me who's bigger than it. And those are just two very, very different things. And it's okay to go, whoa, you want me to speak where, Lord?

You want me to talk to my whole sorority about Jesus? Wait, you want me to tell my whole family at Thanksgiving that I've given my heart to you? Wait, you want me to tell my whole family at Thanksgiving that I've given my heart to you? Like you want me to say that in front of everybody? That's bigger than me. But I've got somebody with me in Jesus who is saying, I'm bigger than it. I'm bigger than that moment.

So I gotta do it afraid. I gotta do it not waiting for the fear to be gone, not waiting for all my insecurities to be gone, but neither am I going to try to manipulate the situation to try to make it perfect for me so that I no longer have any fear. So then I'm like, I'm in control. I think God is wanting us to put us in spots where we're not in control. If it does not take faith, then it's probably not God. I'm not gonna say that for every situation, but a lot of them, that is true.

If God is putting something in front of you that you know you can do in and of yourself, it could just be training and small steps, but eventually, He's just trying to get you to trust His voice in these small things so that when the bigger thing comes, you go, yes, I trust you because I've seen you be faithful with the lion and the bear, as David said,

before he faced Goliath. So yeah, I'm big on all of this. I wish I had it all together, Sadie. I wish I'm talking right now and I wrote a book and it's like, oh, I'm big on all of this. I wish I had it all together, Sadie, I wish I'm talking right now and I wrote a book and it's like, oh, I'm married and I got kids and I got it all figured out. Oh yeah, listen to me everybody, because I'm doing it perfect.

I'm not doing it perfect, but I'm committed to living this life of surrender. I'm committed to staying on this path of Jesus. I'm committed to receiving on this path of Jesus. I'm committed to receiving His love for me every day and recognize it's not based on my performance. I'm committed to that. I'm committed to believing that the gospel is true. I'm committed that I'm forgiven not because of what I've done, but because of what Jesus has done for me. And I'm gonna keep on believing that truth all the way to the day that I go see Jesus face to face.

But in the meantime, I still battle. We still have our flesh to deal with. It's not going anywhere. So we're gonna have to navigate that worry versus the fear versus the humility versus am I being cocky versus the confidence versus versus the humility, versus am I being cocky, versus the confidence, versus all of that together. But I think that's part of the journey. I think that's what God is wanting for us to keep on learning how to rely on Him every day.

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And I love how honest you are and upfront you are because I think like whenever you're younger and maybe not everyone thinks this, but at least I did whenever I was younger. Like you see people who are older who are married and who do ministry or write books, and you think, man, they have got it figured out, and one day, hopefully I'll be like them.

And the more, just year after year, I realized, man, that's just not true. They're all human and are dependent on the hope of Jesus. And man, I was having a conversation with Lisa Harper after LO conference. I just love her. I adore her. And I was saying something to her that I was struggling with

and I was almost like embarrassed about it, kind of. I guess I was embarrassed about it. And she said, well, good Lord, Sadie, none of us are perfect. Do you not think I struggle with that? And I was like, you know, that's just so helpful to just hear someone like her be like, good Lord, do you think that I don't struggle with that too? We're human.

You have the power of words again. They're the power of words right there. Her speaking that life, being honest. Just honesty, upfrontness is so good. But I love how you just distinguish those two. I mean, you did that so well in the book, but I wanted to put those side by side because I do think people get confused by that.

And that's one of the things reading Gideon taught me and why I went to it years ago with fear, because it's interesting. I felt like, God, how are you gonna use me? My thing with the Lord was like, how are you gonna use me when I am such an anxious person? I don't know how I'm gonna overcome this. I am so afraid, I feel so anxious, I feel awkward,

like all the things. And I'm reading Gideon and God is calling someone who is anxious, who is afraid, but yeah, who is willing. And then later in the story, it's like whenever the Lord's kind of like weeding out the army and y'all had to go read this, but there's a story, it's like, whenever the Lord's kind of like weeding out the army and y'all had to go read this, but there's a part where it's like,

and don't bring anyone, it was like, whose knees are shaky or like, it was something about like, basically they're too afraid. And it was kind of interesting because I remember reading that for myself and this has been a while, so I'm not studied up. This is just what I remember taking from that.

There is a difference in like being so worried and anxious that you're unwilling to step into it and trust God for the next. And then God calling someone who like, I know you're afraid, but I know you're also willing and I know you'll step into it. And that actually then it kind of unlocked this whole thing of like, why did God say,

do not be afraid to all the people He kept calling things to? Because He knew they were gonna be afraid. Because He was about to say something that was intimidating. And He's like, don't be afraid. For I am with you. This is gonna be bigger than you. That's right.

That's so, so good. It's like the heads up. I know you're gonna be afraid of what I'm about to say. So I'm gonna start with, don't be afraid, because I'm going to be with you. But also I'm calling you afraid of what I'm about to say. So I'm gonna start with don't be afraid because I'm going to be with you. But also I'm calling you to go back to Egypt or I'm calling you to cross the Jordan and I'm calling you to, all of these things were scary.

So of course like we have to start with don't be afraid. So anyways. I love that beautiful, sorry, I didn't mean to cut you off but there's this, that beautiful dad in the New Testament. Oh man, I don't wanna say where the passage is because I feel like I'm gonna mess it up. But I believe it's in the gospel of Matthew for sure, where it says, Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.

So he's like, Jesus says to the dad, do you think I can do this? And the dad says, I believe, help my unbelief. I just love that. I feel like that's me. I just feel like, Lord, I believe. Can you just help me where I don't believe? Can you help me where I'm like unsure?

Can you help me where I feel incredibly insecure? Can you help me where I'm like, are you gonna come through on this? Cause I prayed for my grandma to be healed and it didn't happen the way, the healing didn't happen on this side of heaven. She's healed now cause she's in heaven, but it didn't happen on this side of heaven.

I prayed this other time for that job and it didn't work out. So I believe that you can totally do this thing in front of me, but help my unbelief. Cause I have these other things that are running through my head that are messing with me. But I think this is the beauty of the tension of being a follower of Jesus.

And we try to make it so clean so many times. We try to make everything so simple and so linear and there's no ups and downs and there's no problems. And you just say it like this and this is how it is. Maybe it's like that for some people. I don't like those people, but maybe it's like that for them. But for the vast majority of us, it's so beautifully messy and humbling and a stretch, but this is what's actually growing us. This is what's making us into who God has called us to be. This is the work of the Spirit in our lives to conform us to the image of Christ.

This is it. This is what we signed up for. Just like you with your kids, when you sign up to be a parent and everybody on here who's listening, who wants to be a parent one day, you're going to be a great parent, we're praying for you. But you are automatically signing up for sleepless nights and dirty diapers. It's part of it. You don't get to get around that, you know? I mean, I guess you can give it to somebody else to do if you want to, but that is part of being a parent.

Part of leading a teenager is, oh my goodness, what's going on with your emotions? don't know what you're talking about right now. That's just part of it. And part of being a follower of Jesus is, whoo, this is a whole lot bigger than I thought I could handle. Yep. Yep. Yes. That's what you signed up for.

You signed up for Jesus. You signed up for Jesus. You signed up for Jesus. You signed up for Jesus. You signed up for Jesus. You signed up for Jesus. You signed up for Jesus. You signed up for Jesus. You signed up for Jesus. You signed up for Jesus. You signed up for Jesus. This is a whole lot bigger than I thought I could handle. Yep.

Yep. Yes. That's what you signed up for. Cause it's a cross that we've been called to carry. It's not some little convenience store bag where we're just, you know, kind of shopping and picking and choosing what we wanna have along the journey.

But it's so worth it. Man, don't you feel alive, right? Don't you feel, I mean, it's hard at times, but you feel alive. I feel like I'm in church. I'm like, yes, preach. That is so good. I'm about to stand up and clap. That is so good and so true.

It's so true. It's like, you know, I think sometimes, you know, people fear like telling just the honest, hard truth, but like, hey, it is gonna be hard. Yeah, it's a cross to pick up, but there's so much freedom in just hearing it like it is because then it goes, man, okay, it's hard. And there's nothing wrong with that.

That's actually what was expected. That was what was, that Jesus actually said, it's gonna be hard. You're gonna have trials. Like, yeah, pick up your cross. But man. And it's gonna be filled with so much joy too, right? You know, like, I love that.

Yes, it's like, it's all of this together. This is what it is. And there's a beautiful hope for the future. And then there are some incredibly difficult valley times that you're like, what is going on? I thought, I thought, where's the sunshine here? You know, and I know He forgave me of my sins, but this hole is deep.

And how long am I gonna be down in this hole? But there He is right in there with us. Giving us the grace. And that's the joy, but there He is. You have the relationship, you have someone to do it with. Because whether you're a believer or not, if you go through life, life is hard. And the difference is you have a hope,

you have someone to do it with. I was reading a Psalms this morning, it was Psalm, I think 77. And it was so interesting to see the shift in this prayer. And I can't remember if it was David or who it was, you might know, but the beginning of it was kind of talking about like, where are you? You seem so far.

Are you ever gonna have mercy again? Are you ever gonna, because it just seemed like you're not doing what I'm praying for, you know, kind of what you were saying. And I wanna believe, but in the past, you didn't heal my grandma or you didn't come through on that.

And so he's struggling. And then there's this shift and he says, it's some word that I thought, that was a really cool shift how he did that. And then he started blessing God for what he actually has done in the past. He says, but I will praise you because you did do this and you did do this.

And it was just really cool because it's like, you're not doing it now and maybe you didn't do it then, but I cannot deny when you did this, this and this. And so for that, I'll worship you where I'm at. And I wrote down in my Bible, I said, what a shift in worship, you know, to be honest with the Lord on what is hard and what is real,

but also I can't deny what's also very real and very true of who you are. And that's so much more true and something I can anchor myself in than these things that are currently in my situation. So I'm just going to worship. I'm just going to praise you. That is powerful, Sadie. It was really cool. It was really powerful. I'm going to clap. I'm going to stand up and clap right now. That is so, so good.

Woohoo. I know. This is a woohoo podcast episode. But seriously, everything I could talk for so long, because there's so many points in this book, but I know we're out of time, which is great for the listeners, because now you can go get the book and read it all here, and not just hear it all on the podcast. You guys have so much to look forward to. You have to go get this book, get your spirit back. Also, go on a rabbit trail of listening to Earl's messages. You'll be so blessed, so encouraged, so strengthened in your faith and your walk with the Lord. Earl, thank you, one, for writing the book. Thank you for being obedient to that. And two, for coming on this podcast and talking about it.

This has been awesome. Thank you so, so much. Hey, we believe in you, love you so much. And to all the listeners, we are praying for you and asking for God's richest blessings in every area of your life. And even the times that are difficult, that you would see His strength. And even this podcast in this moment, that this would be the

answer to some of your prayers, that God is saying, you're not alone, because I brought you even this random podcast in this moment so you can know I have not forgotten about you. And may every single one of you have the grace and strength you need to be who God has called you to be and live your life for His glory. So good, that's so great. You know, this whole podcast is called, Whoa, That's Good, but there are certain episodes

that are just particularly, Whoa, That's Good. And this one has the, Whoa, That's Good stamp all over it. So thank you so much. Oh, you're so kind, thank you. I'm so glad I got to be a part of this. Appreciate you. We're praying for you. Thank you.

Right where I got you.