Video Sep 13 2023, 2 37 05 PM

The speaker is excited about the theme of the event, "Fanning the Flame," and encourages the audience to be ignited and stirred. She talks about feeling discouraged and worn out, and encourages them not to settle. She mentions the story of Terah in Genesis 11 who started a journey but settled in a land called Haran. She emphasizes the importance of not settling in personal and professional life and encourages the audience to dig deeper with God, community, and in finding what brings them joy. She shares a story about the Chinese bamboo tree that takes years to grow but suddenly shoots up three feet in 24 hours, encouraging the audience not to settle and reminding them that they may be on the brink of breakthrough. Hey, ladies. I am so excited to be with you. I love the theme of this event, Fanning the Flame. As soon as I heard it, I was thinking, man, that is so right on time. When I looked at the word fanning the flame, it was just to ignite and to stir. How many of you are right here today going, man, that's what I need? I need to be ignited. I need to be stirred. The reality is, is for many of us right now, we're wrestling with feeling discouraged. Wrestling with feeling worn out. Finding out the busy and being busy, chasing after a dream, being busy with all that to do with. Busy is often the opposite of being effective. I want us to take a little bit of time. I want to encourage you out there today that if you're in need of being ignited, if you're like, man, I just can't stir it up anymore, title of my message today is, hey, sis, don't you settle. I was flipping through my Bible and just praying through some things. I was kind of stumbled over Genesis 11. I don't know if any of you read in there, and if you get a chance at some point, I want you to go into it because it was so interesting to me where Abraham, we always hear about Abraham and how God sent him out and he brought the Israelites into the land that God had promised for them. He was known as the man of faith. But what was interesting to me was that there was someone who actually came before Abraham. There was someone who I had never even heard of. And it's just so interesting because in verse 31, and I'm just going to paraphrase it for you, but basically, Abraham, who we always hear about this great man of faith, who, like many of you out there, he felt called to do great things right before him, his father actually was the one who God had said, I want you to send them. I want you to take them into Canaan. But it says in verse 31, go and look at it sometime, Genesis 11, it says that Terah, he took his whole family together. And I thought that was interesting because he started out on a journey. How many of you can relate to that? Right now you're in a moment where you're like, okay, I started on this journey, but where am I now? Besides worn out, tired, maybe disillusioned, questioning, maybe I should just lower the bar and settle. Hey, sis, this is not the time for you to settle. Terah, it actually says he packed up his family. He heard God speak something to him, and he set out, but then he stopped in a land called Haran, and he settled there. How many of you out there right now can maybe relate to Genesis 11, verse 31? Maybe you're living in a moment right now where you are in need of something being stirred up because you stopped to settle. Maybe in your personal life, you're stopping and settling. Maybe in your professional life with your dreams and your goals. Sis, I get it. But I believe the Lord is saying to you today, hey, don't you settle, I got you, I got you. These obstacles are nothing to me. Don't you stop and settle. Let me pray real quick. Jesus, I just thank you for this word. I thank you, God, for your plans for us. I thank you, God, that even in the midst of it all, all the changing, all the people coming out of COVID and coming out of all the different things with financial challenges, health challenges, even going back in to go, God, what is it that you've called me to do? I pray that this word today will encourage us. I pray that even, Lord, that many who, they might relate to Terah, where he started something, but then he took a pause that ended up being an ending place for him. I thank you, God, that this is in our ending place. I thank you, God, that you've given us examples that, Lord, God, we can pick up our cross and follow you. And that you have plans, not for us just to ignite ourselves, but that it's your desire to ignite us. So speak to us today. Encourage us as we hear from you. In Jesus' name, amen, amen. You know, recently, I was going over this and just thinking, God, there are so many that are just really beginning to lower the bar relationally. They're beginning to go, man, maybe I just can just kind of lower the bar even on this dream that you've given me with a non-profit or with this book or with these dreams inside of me. And I feel like God is wooing us and saying, baby, just come dig deeper with me. Just dig deeper with me. And so for you, maybe digging deeper is getting in the word more. I've got to be honest, most of the time when I'm either coaching somebody or encouraging someone, most of the time, if we are wrestling with our faith, God, what is it that you really even said? Should I just stop here and settle? Most of the time, if we'll just press in a little bit more, whether it's into worship, whether it's just into chewing on the word, whether it's God, let me just pause and listen to you. You know, a few years ago, I wrote a book, God Took a Day Off, Why Can't I? And it was because of a lot of leaders that I found who were running after a dream and then they forgot about them. They forgot about how God had wired them. They forgot about the fact that God had put this inside of them and he was faithful to complete it. Some of you are in there and God's saying, I want you to dig deeper in me. You're hungering for something that only I can meet. Whether it's through worship, whether it's through the word, if I'm going to be honest, ladies, I've noticed even during this last season of my life, the Lord's allowed me and you might be there too, where things just are not working out. You just don't feel satisfied. And as I began to dig in deeper with the word of God, through just sitting and pausing with him, God began to shift things in my heart where he began to righteously fulfill things that I was looking to people, positions, and power or prosperity or blessings or whatever, abundance to fulfill. Are you in that place now where God's saying, I want you to dig in deeper with me. There's others of you that are out here now and God's saying, it's time to draw in closer. I love WMPA because it's an incredible community. Are you in need of taller trees? Sis, this is not a time for you to settle. You need people that can see the blind spots. You need people that can kind of come and be there with you, but it may require you extending your faith with God and allowing him to let you pour into others. And from that, you begin to build something. It's time for us to dig deeper. Another way, outside of God, outside of community, I wanted to encourage you because this was really interesting to me and it may be interesting, maybe you can even put it in the chat if this resonates with you, but during this last season, I just turned 52 and I realized, man, I don't really know what's fun for me anymore. Can you relate to that where you're going out and you're doing all these different things and you're starting to settle on you? You're starting to settle on what maybe is amazing for you to do and God's going, I want you to dig deeper roots with me. Don't settle. Don't settle. It's amazing to be doing all these great things for others. It's amazing to be going out and fulfilling a call, but God also wants us to enjoy the journey. And so during this last season, I know it's crazy, but let me tell you, for some of you, what's going to ignite you and stir you is you going, what is it that stirs me? God's put some things inside of you. And during this last season, I literally got my phone out and I was like, what is fun to me? And I just started to journal. What's fun to me? And it was so interesting to me to hear what came up, since I wonder, what's fun to you during this time? I believe that maybe just like me, one of the things that's going to relight that fire inside of you is you digging deeper with God, with community, but also just with fun in life, healthy fun. What fills your cup so you can begin to live out of an overflow? You know, recently I have seen so many beginning to give up on their dreams. And sis, God's not finished with you. He's not lowering the bar. Don't you lower the bar. He's inviting you in, but let's take some time and listen to the Holy Spirit. What is one way he is inviting you to go deeper with him? Sis, this isn't a time to settle. You know, I want to close with this. I don't know if you've ever heard this before, but it was amazing to me because I think some of us are in this place right now, right? No matter what it is God's calling you to do, no matter the season, I remember hearing something that kind of went along with this whole idea of digging in deeper and not settling because, you know what I mean, because, your because might be, because I've tried, because nobody believes in me, because I haven't gotten the funding. Don't you settle, baby. Don't you settle. Link arms with God. Link arms with others. Let yourself get reignited. But a few years ago, I heard this thing, I don't know if you've ever heard it, about the Chinese bamboo tree. It was amazing to me. It was amazing. They literally will go and plant a seed for a bamboo tree that for three, four years, nothing will spring up. Nothing. Nothing. And I'm thinking, wait a minute, if there's nothing springing up, they must mark the ground so they even know where to go back to it. How many of us in this moment are going, God, where do I even begin? Where was it that I, what was even the goal? Maybe you can relate to this, but guess what happens that fourth year? Within 24 hours, that bamboo tree springs up three feet. Within 24 years, baby girl, don't settle. Don't settle. You never know what God is preparing for you. I would dare to say that for many of you, you are on the brink of breakthrough, because some of the greatest pressures come right before the greatest promises. What I love with this bamboo tree, and I want to say it to you, so if you haven't been listening up until this point, I want you to listen to this close, because I'm believing God is wanting you to dig deeper. God is wanting to ignite something, not just because you're stirring it up, but because you're connecting with him. You're connecting in community like this, but you're also finding out, God, what fills my cup to overflowing? Within six weeks of that bamboo tree going from nothing in the ground to all of a sudden three feet tall, within six weeks, it will shoot up 90 feet. 90 feet, y'all. I wonder who is listening today that God's going, I want you just to come and enjoy me. What do you enjoy? Extend your faith with me. Remember what I've said. If you don't remember and you're not clear, get a coach, get someone, go and sit quietly with Jesus. Do whatever you've got to do to remember, but dig deeper with him. He's preparing to do miracles in your life. I'm so excited about what God has to come. I'm so excited about what he is doing. We can all feel it in the spirit, but maybe just like that bamboo tree, you might not be seeing what you know God's put inside of you, but in a moment it could begin, and then in a moment it could shoot up for not just you, but for you to leave a legacy that will live on beyond you. Look, I love you. Choose to be brave. Choose to live it out, but choose to enjoy. Sis, don't you settle. Dig in deeper. I believe God is going to blow us away. Take care. God bless you, and let's let him ignite and fan the flame. Take care.