#30 - Kingdom Mothers Roundtable: Business, Ministry & Motherhood Collide (Kingdom Mothers & Business Series) Ft. Kristin Dronchi, Alyssa Rahn, Sabrina Hammonds

 In this special roundtable episode, Brandie is joined by three incredible Kingdom-minded women—Kristen, Alyssa, and Sabrina—for a powerful conversation on stewarding business, motherhood, and ministry in alignment with God’s calling. From corporate exits to spirit-led coaching, this episode dives into what it means to be a mother and entrepreneur in the Kingdom, while holding space for grace, growth, and God’s timing. 

Connect with Sabrina Hammonds:

https://kcpodcastagency.com/

https://www.facebook.com/KingdomConnectionsAgency

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kingdomconnectionspodcastandmediaagency/

https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/nyHfgcHl2zb

Connect with Kristin Dronchi:

 https://www.facebook.com/christianwomeninonlinebusiness

Connect with Alyssa Rahn:

https://www.facebook.com/vrable1

Transcript

13:35:17 All right. Welcome back, ladies, to another episode of Kingdom Mothers. I'm your host, Brandi Thomas, and today I'm so excited to have not one, but three special guests on the call with me. You guys heard me.
13:35:27 Uh, introduce them in our, uh, the intro for today's podcast, I've got Kristen.
13:35:33 Alyssa and Sabrina, before we dive into our topic of Kingdom Mothers and business.
13:35:38 I really want to just open us up and cover us in prayer. So, um, Father, we just thank you so much for the blessing of Sisterhood, the blessing of motherhood and business and ministry, and how you just allow us to be a vessel for so many things to bring heaven down to earth.
13:35:56 Father, I just ask your hedge of protection over our person, home, and property, as in our technology as we do this.
13:36:03 Conversation today. I just ask that it blesses those listening. I just ask that your words be….
13:36:05 Yeah.
13:36:10 Our words and your message be our message. Father, we're just willing vessels for you to speak through us, and we just hope that.
13:36:17 What you've taught us throughout our careers, our motherhood journey, Father, that we can just….
13:36:23 Um, share some of that wisdom with those listening. We just ask your favor to fall upon.
13:36:28 Um, all of us today, and for those who received this message, I pray this in your name, Jesus. Amen.
13:36:34 Amen.
13:36:34 Amen.
13:36:36 All right, ladies, let's dive in. Thank you guys so much for taking the time out. Um, let's kind of do a round robin and just do, like, a quick introduction, background, like, what are your businesses and ministries right now, and what are you doing? So, I'll just… I'll just call on you. So, Kristen, why don't you start us off, if you're okay with that?
13:36:54 Yeah, of course! Well, thank you for having me, it's such an honor to be here with all of you amazing ladies. So, I'm Kristen Duranti.
13:37:01 I am an X9-fiver and a…. Kingdom Business and Mindset Coach, so I help those kingdom-minded women who know that they are called to the online business space.
13:37:13 To create, build, and launch their powerful, profitable, and sustainable business, one that's by God's design and without being a slave to social media.
13:37:22 So, I have a little 4-year-old at home, so he may be making an appearance. He usually does, on and off. Um, and I have two stepkiddos who are in their mid-20s. So, yeah, I'm so grateful to be here.
13:37:37 Yep. Uh, my 5-year-old is…. Hanging out by himself, so we'll see what happens.
13:37:43 All right, Alyssa, uh, let's hear from you next.
13:37:47 Yeah, so this is the beautiful thing about all of us being moms, because my 3 kiddos are also here, and my babysitter was sick. So, we may just have a party today.
13:37:58 Um, but, uh, my name is Alyssa Ron. I am a coach, speaker, and host of the Revival Mom Podcast.
13:38:06 And I just equip moms to grow closer to God and lead their household spiritually while teaching their children just to have a relationship with Jesus.
13:38:17 And, uh, so that's just been an amazing journey, an amazing walk.
13:38:22 Uh, because when God asked me to do that, my husband was not a believer, and my children didn't want anything to do with God, even though they were so little.
13:38:32 Um, it was so interesting, and so it has just been absolutely beautiful.
13:38:37 To watch that unfold and just see revival literally sparked in my home.
13:38:42 Um, but again, I have, uh, my husband and I have been married for almost 14 years.
13:38:47 And I have 3 little boys, and so my house can be very loud, and a little bit chaotic and stinky at some points. So, you know, just pray for me, because they're still really little, and they're not teenagers yet, and that scares me a lot.
13:39:01 Oh, jeez, yes, that's gonna get more sticky as I become teenagers.
13:39:05 Yeah.
13:39:06 Oh my gosh, I love it! And you guys may recognize Alyssa, because she's actually been a previous podcast guest, so I… I do encourage you, if you haven't heard her episode, to go back, because that was….
13:39:16 Very amazing, um, content. All right, Sabrina, let's hear from you next, and then we'll dive into some questions.
13:39:23 All right, well, so I am Sabrina Hammonds. I am a wife. I've also been married almost 14 years. I didn't know that about you, Alyssa, so that's cool. Um, we have 4 kiddos, uh, ranging in ages from 26 all the way down to 7.
13:39:39 And so we've launched two kiddos out into the world, and then I homeschool our other two.
13:39:45 Who are almost 11 and 7. So, um, I'm also the founder and owner of Kingdom Connections, a podcast and media agency.
13:39:54 I get to partner with amazing transformational leaders who have. A culture-shifting message that God has called them to share.
13:40:05 And so I get to partner with them and connect them to podcasts, actually. Amazing podcasts like this one, where they can share their message, as well as.
13:40:15 Through other various media outlets. I get to help them share their message, and so the interesting thing, though, I find about this whole.
13:40:24 Topic is when the Lord called me to homeschool. I just assumed we were transitioning out of business and into, I'm just gonna be a… not just, but I'm going to be a full-time stay-at-home mom.
13:40:37 And I'm gonna lay the business aside. And so, I find it very interesting that I get to contribute today, because.
13:40:45 I just said, Lord, I have no idea what you're asking.
13:40:50 Of me. Are you sure? It's both. And so, I'm really excited to hear how the conversation goes when it comes to how to do both.
13:41:01 And I'm wanting to learn. From… from everyone that is in the room, I'm here, I'm gonna take notes.
13:41:05 Yes, I love it, and I'm so grateful for each of you, and I wanted to do a multi-guest podcast episode for this topic, because I think.
13:41:20 It's awesome to have… I could have had all of you on individually, but I just think, oh man, this is gonna be so rich to kind of bounce off each other.
13:41:27 And we're in different… we are in similar seasons of life, but also different seasons.
13:41:34 Um, or there's different…. Aspects. So, like, I just have a single kid, but she is spicy, and he is… it feels like I'm raising a household of children with him to just….
13:41:47 Emotionally, and… yeah, here's a whole other conversation. But you guys have multiple kids, and so, to me, there's, like, I've had tension.
13:41:57 I will say, over the last. Few months, the last past year, like, what Sabrina said.
13:42:03 Am I called to focus on motherhood? Because that is our… I think we all agree, like, that's our ministry, that's our main….
13:42:13 Uh-huh.
13:42:12 Kind of focus at, like, training businesses come and go, right? But, like, our children are the arrows we're shooting into the world. They are the kingdom impact, they're the generational legacy and impact.
13:42:23 And so, I think we all agree that our children are kind of our first priority, and so there's this tension sometimes of, like.
13:42:31 But I also feel God's called me to impact the world in the marketplace.
13:42:36 Yeah.
13:42:36 Ministry sphere, and how do I hold both things in my hands and steward them well when they're both important?
13:42:43 But they both kind of…. Don't always play well together, at least that's been my experience.
13:42:50 So I just wanted to bring this topic up, and I'm not saying we have all the answers, we… I'm hoping there's wisdom that we can share, like, this is how I've….
13:42:59 Navigated this space and dealt with the tension. And how I've picked things up or laid things down, so I'm excited to dive into that today. So.
13:43:07 I would love to hear… maybe share more of, like. Help us understand more of the season of life you're in. So, like, is your… are you starting a new business? Is your business… have you been in business for a while? And.
13:43:20 You're kind of in that place of, I think I've got it figured out right now, or you're in this place of tension where I've been.
13:43:29 Us sitting the last few months. So, Kristen, let's start with you again, and we'll just kind of go and keep going to the same order.
13:43:34 Yeah, alright. So…. I feel I need to kind of start at the beginning real quick, so I did what I was told to do, went to school, got good grades, got a great job that paid the bills, and I was a breadwinner of the family for 17 plus years, um, before I transitioned into.
13:43:50 Wow.
13:43:53 What I'm doing today. So, I was…. I was… I started my business, I think, back in 2018-19, and I struggled for quite a while. I was making some money here and there, but then all of a sudden, um, 2021 hit, and we found out we were expecting, with a surprise little blessing.
13:44:12 I went from, oh, yay, we're gonna be empty nesters, the kids, my stepkiddos, I love them to death, are out of the house, you know, I'm just planning for trips with my husband, and….
13:44:21 Yay, now we're gonna have a little one. So that's when, um, after I had him.
13:44:26 I was like, I'm not going back to work, I want to turn my resignation in, and I asked the Lord, you know, I want… I want to be home raising Him. I want to raise Him as a warrior for the kingdom, and I want to be in this position to help other women do the same. And I heard him say I would provide.
13:44:36 Yes.
13:44:41 And then, ever since then, um, you know, fearfully, and it was the hardest thing I ever did, is walk into my place of employment, uh, two weeks before I was supposed to return and say, hey, I'm….
13:45:01 Wow.
13:44:53 This is my two-week not resignation. I'm turning it in. Please take my letter to the board of directors, because I won't be returning. And he's provided ever since. So, for me, the seasons have always been.
13:45:07 Messy. Just been messy and trusting, and putting my blinders on and taking one faithful step forward, because my husband's also self-employed, he owns a painting business, so if he doesn't have paintwork coming in, we don't have income coming in if, you know, if we're not having clients, right? So, but the Lord has provided each and every time.
13:45:23 Yep.
13:45:28 Even when big bills came up, like, we had to replace our well, um, that's not expen… or that's not cheap out in the country. We just had to replace our water heater. Um, there's things like that that happen, but he has always provided. So, bringing it back to motherhood.
13:45:47 I knew I wanted to be home-raising him, and then God instilled that fire and the desire inside of me to help other mamas do the same, because with everything going on, and the indoctrination in our school systems, and.
13:46:09 Yes.
13:46:03 These generations that are lost because God has been taken out of schools, out of society, and we have daycares raising our kids instead of the moms. It was my mission to bring mamas home through entrepreneurship so they can be the one raising their warriors while making impact and income.
13:46:22 Those that are called to business. So, for me, it was just a mission from the beginning, and.
13:46:31 Um, I wanted… there was some other point that I wanted to make, I can't remember, but it's been….
13:46:37 It's been a faith-filled journey that has…. Strengthened my faith, but also….
13:46:45 Help me step into that bold woman that the Lord really created me to be, and reminded me of who I was before the world told me who and what I needed to do.
13:46:55 Be in what I needed to say. It allowed me to step back into the power that He's given each and every one of us as mothers to take back our kids and to change those future generations through what we're doing here with entrepreneurship.
13:47:10 Yes, oh my gosh, yeah. We're definitely all aligned. Okay, Alyssa….
13:47:15 I know you're gonna have some good stuff to say, because I already know what you and I are like.
13:47:19 Same-minded as well.
13:47:21 Oh, yes, I love this. Um…. So, for me, it's very interesting how I've been an entrepreneur since I was 22?
13:47:31 I opened my first fitness studio at 22, and um…. And so, for me, it was kind of a reversal of, like, being entrepreneur, being business-minded, to now I have kids.
13:47:45 And, oh my goodness, like, what do I do here? And I remember, uh, just a couple years ago.
13:47:53 I was sitting on the floor playing, uh, like, motorcycles or dirt bikes with my son, right? And I just remember all….
13:48:00 Constantly just saying, like, ugh, I wish I could be working on this thing, right? Like, I had this thing stirring in me.
13:48:06 And all I could think about was, I wish I could be doing that right now. I wish I could be doing that right now.
13:48:11 And it was taking me out of being in the present… being present with my children.
13:48:18 And it was at that moment where. I was like, okay, I can either grab on to this thing that is stirring with me, this dream, this vision.
13:48:28 And, um, do that in a honoring way with my family.
13:48:34 That way, I can be present here. Or I can sit here and continue just to wish that I was in a different season than what I'm actually in, and not be present, not taking it all in.
13:48:45 And so that's kind of when, um, I jumped into what I'm currently doing now.
13:48:50 There was so much, like, what am I doing? Lord, what have you called me to? What do you want me to do? What, you know, like, what are my strengths? I could do this, and I could do this, and….
13:48:59 All just very confusing, um, and then he gave me this, what I'm doing now.
13:49:05 And so now, I'm…. Thankfully, I was just reading my journal the other day. I opened up a journal randomly from 2 years ago, and it was talking… I was talking all about how I was so confused, and what is it that you want me to do, Lord, and where am I supposed to go, and….
13:49:22 And all these things, and just feeling frustrated, even saying, I wish.
13:49:28 That I could just be content. Being at home with my children and raising them.
13:49:33 And that brought about so much guilt. Um, in my heart and in my mind.
13:49:40 Um, but now fast forward to where I am now, and… and this season of growing what I… this….
13:49:47 The growing the message and getting the message out that God has given me, um.
13:49:52 And being able to do that. In pockets of time, right? I have a couple days where I have a babysitter come.
13:50:01 And she helps me, especially during the summer. She comes, she helps me, I get my work done then, and then it's off, and I'm done.
13:50:08 And what God showed me at the beginning of this year, because I was like, Lord, I really want to, like, you have this message, I want to get it out, I need to do this, and I need this, and I made a whole list of things that I need to be doing, or should be doing.
13:50:19 And he just said, Alyssa, what have I asked you to do?
13:50:23 What have I asked you to do? And it was in that moment, it was just two things. He asked me to start a podcast, he asked me to start something called Revival Mom Meetups.
13:50:32 And he said, that is your focus. Like, don't get lost in the weeds on everything else.
13:50:38 And, um, so yeah, now I'm just kind of in that season, like, with, you know, Kristen, when she was talking about just being in this faith-filled season of, like, okay.
13:50:47 Like, my business mindset. From before tells me I need to be doing this whole list of a thousand things.
13:50:54 But God, you're telling me to do these two things and to trust you with it.
13:50:57 So, that's kind of where… where I am right now.
13:50:53 That's so good, and I… that's, I think, where some of my attention comes, because I was an entrepreneur before Elijah came into my life, and I had these structures, and I had my time blocking, and I had all these beautiful, you know.
13:51:13 Morning and nighttime things that I could do, and then this….
13:51:17 Child comes in and it, like. Blows my Type A world apart.
13:51:21 Yeah.
13:51:23 And, uh, his name's, uh, this was a huge relish… uh, realization that God blessed me with this. His name's Elijah.
13:51:29 And just like the prophet Elijah, he's coming in and breaking down all my altars and idols.
13:51:36 In my world, um, and you can see this beautiful boy right here.
13:51:40 Say hi! I'm gone. Um, but I totally relate to that tantra of, okay, how do I now wrap my mind? Hold on, just a minute.
13:51:49 Yes. How do I wrap my mind around the tension, this new way of doing things, God? And so I love that you were, like.
13:51:58 God just told me to do this. So, um, Sabrina, I'm gonna let you….
13:52:04 Answer the question on where are you at in the season, and how are you kind of managing it?
13:52:10 Yeah, so the interesting thing is I never wanted to start a business.
13:52:17 So I was teaching, I had been teaching for 7 years at that point, and the last 2 years of my teaching career, um.
13:52:25 I was just praying and asking God for the opportunity to come home.
13:52:29 Because I… it was like I was…. Feeling the….
13:52:34 The kids are growing up really quickly. Like, that… it was a realization that I was having.
13:52:39 And our kids were at these…. And they're all… it's always a critical stage. I don't know, like… but, you know, sometimes you can feel like, wow, so this is a really….
13:52:52 Critical moment in their life. Like, I felt like all of our kids were at that point, and so….
13:52:57 I was asking God, like. Can I come home? And so for 2 years, I prayed, and at the end of that second year, I felt the Lord say, um.
13:53:05 2020, it was the beginning of that year, you're going to leave.
13:53:09 Uh, teaching, you're gonna submit your resignation, it's time, and I was just like….
13:53:13 Okay, this is really, like…. I don't know, I had a lot of mixed emotions because I had been praying, but now I'm like, this is gonna happen? How… what… wait, wait a minute.
13:53:24 And so, it was almost like, I'm ready, but I'm not, and so I turned in my resignation the spring of that year, and then we got a notice to stay home because COVID, right afterwards. And so, um….
13:53:36 God's timing was just…. Spot on, right? Um….
13:53:40 But then it was a few months after that that God said, you're going to start a business.
13:53:45 And immediately, I just said. I teach, like.
13:53:49 That's what I've been doing. I don't business, I teach. Like, what do you, you know, what do you… what is this?
13:53:55 And so, he led me to take this course to just launch a business, had no idea what I was gonna do, um, and so that kind of really evolved just over time.
13:54:06 Because I launched a business just based on, this is what I know how to do.
13:54:11 And my kids were still in school at that time, and so….
13:54:15 The idea of doing both, having them home, wasn't even in the realm of possibility. It was just….
13:54:21 I'm gonna do this one thing, and I remember even feeling like after being at home for several months.
13:54:27 I was very overwhelmed. Because I thought it was gonna be one way, and then it wasn't that way.
13:54:34 And so I've… I had this breakdown, I feel like, of….
13:54:38 God, I'm so…. Ashamed, because this is what I prayed for, and you answered my prayer, and now I'm complaining about it.
13:54:48 And so I couldn't even…. I had a hard time going to God, honestly, because I was like.
13:54:55 You answered my prayers. And I am complaining about being at home with these children.
13:55:00 Because it just wasn't what I thought it was. It wasn't… it didn't feel easy, it felt hard.
13:55:06 Um, it felt like everything didn't fall into place like I assumed it was going to, because I'm the answer to their prayers, too, right?
13:55:14 You know, that's… in my head, that's what I thought. I'm gonna come home.
13:55:18 Everything is gonna be so wonderful. It's gonna be so peaceful. They're gonna all be so glad that mom… you know, like, all of this.
13:55:27 And it wasn't. Um…. And so, fast forward, here we are, 5 years later, and now my kids are at home, and I'm homeschooling.
13:55:36 And just yesterday, I get in the office to record an episode, and outside the office.
13:55:42 Something is going on. Um, and I had to stop recording, shut everything down, and I had a meltdown of my own.
13:55:52 Because in that moment, I said, God, what am I doing?
13:55:55 Can I do this? 5 years in.
13:56:00 This should not be happening. And so I share that to say.
13:56:07 Whether it is yesterday you started it, or…. You're 5 years in.
13:56:13 It's never gonna be perfect. Um, and I don't have it figured out.
13:56:20 But it's like, every day. I'm just going to the Lord, asking Him.
13:56:25 To… can you illuminate a little bit more today than you did yesterday?
13:56:31 So that the things that have happened, or the mistakes, or what I would consider mistakes, I guess they're not, but, um….
13:56:39 Can you help me figure this out a little bit better today than I did yesterday?
13:56:42 And so when that happened yesterday. And I thought, I'm about to go on this podcast, Lord, tomorrow.
13:56:50 And I'm supposed to talk about. How are we doing this? And I'm like….
13:56:55 I don't know. So I… I had… I just was very honest with my kids. I was crying, because I felt like.
13:57:03 What was going on outside the door, they weren't valuing what I was doing inside.
13:57:07 Because, you know, they're 7 and 10, so I can talk to them, right? They're not 2.
13:57:13 Um, and so I'm telling them this, and I'm sharing this, like, I feel like you're not valuing what mom is doing in here in this office, and it hurt my feelings greatly.
13:57:23 You know, and I'm just crying! Like a baby, you know?
13:57:27 So I collected myself, and instead of working during that block of time that I really wanted to do it.
13:57:34 I did it in the evening instead, and it was fine.
13:57:38 So, I guess I say that, like, we have to give ourselves grace, and I know today.
13:57:45 It's both. God has called me to do both. I am equipped, I am qualified.
13:57:51 But it's not inside of a box that I thought it was.
13:57:55 And I think that's what I… the more I try to fit it into that box.
13:57:59 And think it has to look this one particular way, the more I feel like I'm failing miserably.
13:58:06 And God is like, it's not in the box. You… there's a flow.
13:58:12 You know, and I think we get into a rhythm where it goes better today than it did yesterday.
13:58:18 But… I want it to look this one certain way, and that's how I think it should look, because if you're in business.
13:58:26 It has to look this way. But actually, God is showing me, no, it doesn't.
13:58:31 And so…. Yeah, we have to give ourselves grace as we figure it out.
13:58:37 Yeah. Yeah.
13:58:38 That was so good. Sabrina. I don't know if you knew how good that was, but that was so good.
13:58:44 Oh, man, we're all… for those of you listening to the podcast.
13:58:47 Alyssa, Kristen, and I were, like, shaking our heads, like, that entire time, like, yes!
13:58:53 We feel that, we feel that tension, we feel like…. This is how I want it to look, and it's not looking that way.
14:00:45 It's all good. Thanks to God. Alright, I'm gonna hit record again.
14:00:43 Yeah.
14:00:52 All right, yes, that was so good, Sabrina. Thanks so much for sharing what was on your heart, because I think we can all relate to that.
14:00:59 And I've been there, I know for… I think that was where a lot of my attention came from, was I thought it was supposed to look this way, or I thought the fruit was gonna look this way, and the fruit wasn't, and I'm like, I don't know what I'm doing, like….
14:01:11 Am I being obedient? Am I being disobedient? Like, this doesn't look like anything.
14:01:16 I thought it would look like… it… for me, it just felt like there was more chaos, and….
14:01:25 Yeah.
14:01:22 Frustration, trying to be obedient. And I'm like, do I just need to burn it all down and just be a mom? And, like, is that the season for me? And I'm totally fine to do that, but then there's still this.
14:01:34 Desire in me to… to do…. More, and, like, show up in a different way, and so….
14:01:42 Yeah.
14:01:42 Oh, yeah, and that's kind of where I've been feeling that tension, and why I'm just like, we need to talk about this, because I know I'm not the only one that's, like.
14:01:50 I want to be an amazing mom, I want to train them up in the way they should go, but I also believe I have a ministry to these women in this online space, or, you know, where that's what it is for me, and.
14:02:02 How do I carry both? Um, and so I would love for us to talk through how….
14:02:09 Have you learned in your guys'… I know, and, like, we're… we're all learning, we're all growing, but, like, what have you found as you're stewarding your marriage, your motherhood, family.
14:02:20 Life and business, what are some anchors, maybe, that you have found.
14:02:26 That have worked well to help you steward them well. So, Kristen, we want to start with you again?
14:02:33 Yeah, well, when you said what are some of the anchors that's helped me steward them well, I think.
14:02:40 The number one thing that popped up for me was that anchor of, I'm showing my 4-year-old.
14:02:46 We… my husband and I both. Are showing my 4-year-old what it looks like to not be a slave to the system.
14:02:54 Yes.
14:02:53 And I'm getting teared up right now, like, not be a slave to the world. I remember every single day going into the 9-to-5, and my little stepson, you know, when he was, like, 10, would say, Dad, you know, when are you gonna go to work? He's like, well, when I want to.
14:03:06 Right? You know, are you moseying around, you know, 8.30, out the door. He's like, I chose this type of life.
14:03:13 So I could be home with you. And then, when I was able to choose that two, I mean, that's the anchors. Like, we're giving him….
14:03:23 A peace of mind, where he doesn't need to be indoctrinated by this world system and this hustle culture. He gets to see us in real time.
14:03:32 Be on our knees, and…. Pray when things get tight, and I get to show him and teach him what.
14:03:41 The world of entrepreneurship looks like. I think that, for me, that's my anchor, because.
14:03:47 We… children are a blessing, and besides our marriage. In our business, I do feel that they are our greatest calling, because….
14:03:58 Uh, I mean, we need to change the world. We need to bring God back into it, and we need these warriors in these end times that are going to.
14:04:06 Be those that stand bold and firm in the faith, and not.
14:04:12 Be deceived with what might be coming down the pipeline. And then, just, like, to steward….
14:04:18 Marriage, motherhood, and business, I think of it just really being in alignment.
14:04:22 There's never any balance, um, despite what the world wants to tell you.
14:04:28 Because balance suggests equal weight of times, and there's never equal weight.
14:04:32 And that just leaves us with unrealistic pressure and guilt. And being in alignment means that we're ordering our priorities under God's design.
14:04:43 For marriage, motherhood, and business. And when we can do that, then each role will flourish in its season.
14:04:51 And I always… one of the anchors I go back to is seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all things will be added onto you. And when I learn to start… I had to learn this, even though I grew up in a Christian home, I had to learn to put God's first and start with His order.
14:05:09 Because his order's there for a reason. Marriage. My husband comes first, right? Then the kiddos, then family, or whatever. Um, so he… our relationship, our marriage is always first, then my family, then business, and when I can do that and ask Holy Spirit, what do I need to be doing on a daily basis? What is it.
14:05:29 What do you want on my to-do list? You know what needs to be done, you see the beginning from the end, and when I can start with Holy Spirit wisdom and have Holy Spirit direct my steps, then that's when I can choose to operate.
14:05:44 From peace instead of pressure, when things might go haywire. You know, I just go back to Holy Spirit, like, alright, where did I miss it? Please let me know.
14:05:52 Um, and I found…. That if my marriage is suffering, my relationship with my husband's suffering, if….
14:05:59 Because we're two hard-headed people. We're still learning, right? Even after 16, 17 years, um, that when our relationship's suffering, everything else is.
14:06:11 So, when I can remind myself of that and put. Our relationship first, God first, our relationship, and bring everything back to alignment.
14:06:22 Then that's where things start to operate in peace. The fruit of.
14:06:27 The marriage, the fruit of being a mother, the fruit of the business will start to show. And then I'm constantly reminding myself, too, that.
14:06:37 There's a season for everything, you know, in Ecclesiastics. I grew up on a farm, so there's a season to plant, there's a season to pray for the rain, there's a season for that harvest, and when I think of my life in general of that, I mean, there's different seasons. There's gonna be seasons when I need to scale back and my little one needs.
14:06:55 Um, when we are going full into homeschooling. Right now, it's… he's 4. We're just doing it here and there, and he can count, he can do math in his head. I'm like, alright, great, you know your ABCs? Perfect, right? We're going by God's.
14:07:09 And where he wants him to be, not the world standards. And there's some times when I just need to reconnect with my husband, and there's times when they're cheering me on, and I'm all in on a launch. So.
14:07:21 Each season, I have to take a look, or each quarter, each month, I have to ask, okay, what season am I in? And what does that alignment look like right now so it can produce the fruit that we need it to produce?
14:07:36 That's so good. Thank you so much, Kristen, for sharing that. And you answered… I was gonna ask, what does it look like in your marriage to, like, put that first? And I feel like you kind of.
14:07:45 Answered that. Is there anything you want to add to what you said about, like.
14:07:49 Because you said, my marriage, if my… and I believe this too, like, if our marriage unit isn't….
14:07:54 Working than, like, everything else kind of crumbles. And so, what are some things that you're doing to….
14:08:01 Keep your marriage strong? Like, do you guys do Bible studies together? Do you pray together? Like, what does that look like for you and your husband?
14:08:07 Yeah, so we incorporate every other day devotions together, so the little one can see us doing devotions together. Is it perfect?
14:08:16 No. Um, we have date nights now that the little one… I mean, he's been home since he was born. No daycare, no nothing, so the only people he sees is Grandpa and Grandma and maybe some aunts and uncles here and there, so he's finally to the point of where we can leave him.
14:08:33 And he's okay with that, like, independent, like, I'm okay, go. So he sees us on date nights.
14:08:39 Like that. Um, we communicate… okay, I have a lot coming up. I mean, this in the beginning is where everything.
14:08:47 Crumbled, and I was asking the same thing I think Sabrina had mentioned, of, Laura, why is this so hard? This, I thought, was going to be easy, and it was crumbling all around me. I wasn't communicating with my husband, I was… I was upstairs in a launch, or upstairs recording a pod….
14:09:04 And he's like, what are you doing? Like, why are you in front of your computer 24-7? Why are you so….
14:09:11 Were stressed out, but if I would have just communicated and said, hey, I'm preparing for a 9-day live launch, or I'm doing this XYZ thing, it would get so much easier. Um, so the communication was something that we had to work on.
14:09:26 A lot in the first couple years. It's still not perfect, it's still sometimes I'm… I forget, or I just overlook some things, or I assume that he should know something, because it's the same process and the same thing, why don't you know this?
14:09:42 But, to alleviate the arguments, it's just, once again, extending each other grace.
14:09:48 Saying I'm sorry, ask for forgiveness. Has there been times when we storm out of the house and just, like, ugh, I need to get away because I can't deal with you right now?
14:09:57 Yep, yep, yep. It's happened, but when God's at the center, you know, we always go back to that, and our marriage is….
14:10:06 First, it needs to be strong, for the little one, right? That's what comes first. And then everything else, I think, is a byproduct of that and the fruit that we see from that.
14:10:09 Yes, I love that. Thanks for sharing, Kristen. Alright, Alyssa, tell us a little bit about how you're steering, especially with.
14:10:24 Your background with your husband, like, your husband and your kids, they weren't really in the same alignment with you, with your faith in business, and so how have you seen that transform them?
14:10:34 And actually, have you seen that just become…. Been able to steward that better as you've grown.
14:10:42 I'd love to hear that. Um, yeah, when I. A few years ago, um….
14:10:50 Really decided, like, put my faith first. You know, I had said that faith, you know, kind of like what Kristen was talking about with priorities. Like, I'm like, oh, Kristen, take everything! I don't need to say anything after her!
14:10:59 She's hitting it all, like, right where it is. Um, but priorities, thankfully, when I was younger, I had learned from a mentor, and she talked about priorities, and she was a spirit-filled business owner, and so she's like, God is for, you know, like, God is my first.
14:11:14 And, you know, then, like Kristen, I know Kristen feels that same way, and then it was marriage, and then it was, you know, family, and those things.
14:11:21 And, um…. So, I let my….
14:11:27 About 2 years ago is when I started to really let my husband see.
14:11:32 Um, my faith played out in our home. And, um, you know, praying over the kids, praying over him, telling him, you know, like, this is what I learned while reading the Bible today.
14:11:44 Alisa, this is what I'm praying for, this is what God has done.
14:11:47 And, um, you know, at first, there was tension in that.
14:11:53 Because he…. For one, you would have to know my full story and, like, the total, like, transformation that happened, like, almost over.
14:12:02 It left my husband in a place of…. Grief, almost.
14:12:07 Because he didn't picture our family looking that way. He had never wanted religion or God or anything in our home.
14:12:15 And so, when I started to do that, it left him in this place of grief, of, this isn't what I expected. Just like what Sabrina said, you know, like, this isn't what I expected it to look like.
14:12:26 That's the place that he was. It left him, and even myself.
14:12:31 In a place of insecurity, because he would think, oh, you're gonna go to church, and you're gonna find someone who believes the same thing you do, and you're going to leave me.
14:12:41 While I'm over here thinking, he's going to think I'm crazy and nuts, he's going to want to leave me because of how much I love God now.
14:12:49 And it was this…. Tension for months and months on end, and we even got into an argument one day.
14:12:58 And he just said, if there's just one thing I could change about you.
14:13:02 And then he stopped. And I said, what? What would it be?
14:13:06 And he said, I'm not gonna say it. And I said, my faith.
14:13:10 And he said, yes. And… it was in that moment where I was just like, everything was crumbling, right? I was like, Lord, I am being obedient to You. I am following you. You told me to do this.
14:13:24 You told me to step out in this faith. You told me to start speaking boldly, to start praying over my kids, to start praying over my husband, and this….
14:13:33 Like, you gotta take it, Lord. And so, I think one thing that you can do if you are listening, especially if you're in that place that I was.
14:14:02 So, if you are in that place. Of tension, and maybe it's not that your husband doesn't believe, but maybe he's not on board with your business right now.
14:14:12 Maybe, you know, he wants you to keep working, or whatever it might be.
14:14:18 There can be this place of tension, and it is just….
14:14:36 You're good.
14:14:35 All right, sorry about that. So when you're in that place, I really believe it's about surrendering it to the Lord.
14:14:44 Like, really surrendering it, because I had to tell God, like, listen, I'm going to follow you, I'm going to obey you.
14:14:49 But my husband, my marriage…. Like, you… you got that. Like, that's on you, you know? And….
14:14:57 He has proven faithful. He has, um…. He has showed up, and….
14:15:03 Gosh, my husband, just 2 months ago now, for the first time I ever heard him say, out of his mouth, I believe in God.
14:15:11 And I believe that Jesus is my Savior. I believe that He died for our sins. I believe in Him.
14:15:18 And then a couple weeks later, he said, I think I want to be baptized.
14:15:22 And it was through. That tension, that place of, like, wanting to turn back, that place of wanting to just be like, Lord, like, I can't do this anymore, and I think he kind of gets us to that point where he's like, I know, would you hand it to me now? You know? I think that's what he's like, he's like, yes, I know, I've been waiting. Like, just hand it over.
14:15:46 Um, and it goes… it's the same in… in…. In motherhood, in your marriage, in business, all of it at the same time, you just like, hand it to me.
14:15:56 Hand it to me. Watch me move. Do what I tell you to do. Say what I tell you to say. That's what Jesus did. Jesus said, I say what I hear my Father say, I do what I see my Father do.
14:16:09 And that's all he's saying. He's like, just do what I tell you to do. Say what I tell you to say, and watch me work with it.
14:14:43 That's so good. I want to follow up on a question. When you were talking about praying for your kids and your family, did you pray over them out loud in front of them, or was it more of, like, in your war room?
14:16:27 Your secret place.
14:16:28 I started with my children, because my children were still pretty young at that point.
14:16:34 Um, and I was just like, you know what? My husband hears this, right? Because I do it at nighttime when I was tucking them into bed, and at first, I did it quietly, so he wouldn't really hear me.
14:16:44 Um, but then, you know, God asked me to start being more bold, and so it started with my kids. I would pray over them, and I would also pray by myself, you know, like, declaring who God has called them to be, and especially with my husband.
14:16:58 I didn't pray over him, um, in the beginning. And, um, I believe that it was Holy Spirit-led as I started to do it, but I would, every single day, I would declare specific things over him.
14:17:12 You know, I would declare that he is a man after God's own heart, and he does will. He is a Father, or He is a friend to God, right? Just like Abraham. God called Abraham a friend.
14:17:23 So I would declare that over him. I would declare that he seeks the wisdom of the Lord. I would declare these things over him without Him ever knowing, but let me tell you that his….
14:17:33 He may not have known, but his spirit. It was encouraging his spirit. It was encouraging his spirit, bringing his spirit closer to God, and….
14:17:40 Having that life spoken over him, rather than any sort of death or words that he may have been hearing or beliefs that he was having.
14:17:49 Yes, oh my gosh, I'm so glad. And we talked about that, because that is so powerful. Our prayers, whether.
14:17:55 Spoken, like, to the person, or in our secret space, like, is….
14:18:00 Is powerful. We have the power of life and death in our tongue, and God's been revealing that to me, like, all the legal agreements that I… the death that I speak.
14:18:08 I, like, I feel like I'm in a season where I'm just repenting for that every night before I go to bed, I'm like, God, I mess up again with my math, like, please….
14:18:16 Change my heart so that this flows out of my mouth.
14:18:19 And I'm learning to speak declarations, and speak them over… I started with my son, too, but now also realizing I need to be.
14:18:29 Nobody's praying for my husband. I mean, his mom might be saying, I don't know, like, there's random… his grandma, you know, they might be seeing purse, but nobody's gonna war for him like his wife is.
14:18:40 And I need to take up that mantle and that responsibility and start.
14:18:44 Doing that, and, um, especially because he's not necessarily, like, the spiritual leader in our home, and, like, that is the man God has called him to be. And so I think that… I'm just so glad you did… you… we got on this topic, because it is so important for us to not only just be.
14:18:59 Praying over our businesses, and, like, the fruit comes, but it's, like, fruit in our children, the fruit in our marriage and our spouses, and like.
14:19:09 Actually speaking life and declaring them and speaking to their spirit, because you're right, like, the Spirit knows.
14:19:15 We can speak to our spirit, whether our children's spirits or our spouse's spirit, whether in the room or not. I don't… it's like this realm, it's….
14:19:23 I can't… I don't know that I have, like, the English words to speak it, but I just know that I know that I know, like.
14:19:28 It works, and that's how it works in the spiritual realm.
14:19:32 And so I'm glad we spoke about this, because I think this is a key….
14:19:35 Principle that we should be implementing. If we're not, like, not… don't just be praying and stewarding your business, but when we're stewarding our families and our….
14:19:45 Um, yeah, our marriages, like, we're praying and declaring and speaking life over them just as much as we're saying the affirmations over our businesses, that we're taught to do, right? And so, uh, so good.
14:19:56 Alright, Sabrina, what's coming up for you, girl?
14:20:00 Oh my gosh, there's so much. I feel like, you know, Kristen touched on….
14:20:05 Every area, right? And…. So much of what she said just resonated with me, um, as well, and then Alyssa.
14:20:14 I had not heard. That piece, in part of your story, and just….
14:20:24 How powerful, and…. And the tension, like, I can feel the tension of that, and I can imagine, like.
14:20:32 This is what God is calling you to do, so what? Like, what gives, right?
14:20:38 I don't understand. Um…. But, man, when I think of the anchor.
14:20:46 Um, it may sound like just a… like a cliche answer, you know, about God being the anchor.
14:20:52 But what I mean by that, though, is…. Um, the times when I have felt the most, um….
14:21:01 Peace and calm and secure. Is when I have spent time with the Lord.
14:21:09 You know, when I have made time to. Be still.
14:21:14 And I have heard from him. And so when I say, like, that has been my anchor.
14:21:19 So when I have felt like everything has been falling apart, or like.
14:21:25 I feel like a failure at the end of the day, because nothing went right, you know?
14:21:29 When I go back to the Lord, and I say. Or I ask him, and I've asked him so many times over the last several years, are you sure?
14:21:39 Am I still doing what you have called me to do? Like.
14:21:44 Is this still the way? And when he says. Yes.
14:21:48 This IS the way. Walk in it. Like, when I hear him say that.
14:21:54 So regardless of what has just happened. Throughout the day, if I know that I'm still going the right way, and I have heard him say, yes.
14:22:04 We're still going this way. It's like, I can take a deep breath.
14:22:10 And I can start again the next day. But if I compromise on my time with the Lord.
14:22:17 And, like, I cut corners, so to speak, like, okay, how can I carve out more time in the day? Well, I'll just….
14:22:24 Go ahead and get started with my day, you know. And I compromise on that time, because I have, you know, over the years.
14:22:32 I can feel it. And it's not because God is any less present.
14:22:37 It's not because he's done anything, it's because there's something so….
14:22:43 Anchoring. About that time, that secret place, that….
14:22:49 Free from…. Distractions, time.
14:22:54 That really does something to me on the inside and to us. Like, we all understand this, right?
14:22:59 And so that is the anchor. Um, but even, Kristen, as you were talking, I was getting so emotional because….
14:23:08 I was thinking about anchors, and…. Whew.
14:23:15 I have watched…. How my life has affected my kids.
14:23:24 And I… I feel like that's part of the anchoring. When I have been tempted to go back to teaching, and it's happened so many times over the last 5 years.
14:23:35 Because, like, we were at an income bracket, you know, that we have gotten used to.
14:23:40 And so we cut a lot of our expenses. Sold our house and moved.
14:23:45 Because I felt like God was saying, prepare for rain. I want you to be prepared. And so we did that.
14:23:53 Before God said, now is the time, because I just felt in my spirit, like.
14:23:58 Um, you know, how you plant the seeds, right? And you prepare as if there's going to be something happening, right? So in my spirit.
14:24:07 I just heard the Lord say, well, I want you to prepare for rain.
14:24:12 So I talked to my husband about it, and we… we made the decision to sell our first home that we ever built.
14:24:18 And we downsized, and all the things, so…. But I say that because….
14:24:25 I still have a teaching certification, and in recent past, like, I have been offered jobs without even going.
14:24:33 And so I've been tempted…. To, you know, just go back to work already.
14:24:38 And I've heard, you know, in my head, you realize if you just go back to teaching.
14:24:42 Y'all's income is going to double again. And your financial things, like.
14:24:46 You realize you could just literally solve that. So I think about it for, like, 30 seconds.
14:24:53 And I heard the Lord say, you're not gonna compromise. You're not going back. Because in my spirit, I feel that's a compromise.
14:25:01 Because I've watched and witnessed what has taken place. In my family, because of what has taken place in me.
14:25:10 And so, when I encountered and met Alyssa, like, and she's talking about….
14:25:16 Revival starts in the home, you know, and all of this, and I'm realizing that's what's been taking place in my life.
14:25:21 Because I was trying…. To… to teach my kids, you know, teach up your children, all the things, right? I was trying to do the devotions and all the things.
14:25:32 But God really convicted me in my heart and said, what about you?
14:25:38 What is your devotion life like? And I was like, oh my gosh.
14:25:44 Um, Lord, you write, like…. And I had just this check in my spirit.
14:25:50 I'm trying to give them something I don't even have. And so I… I really just had to let go of all of the perfect devotional times and all the things, and so….
14:26:02 Another anchor has been…. Look at what has happened to your children.
14:26:08 Um, look at how. What we do together, the Lord and I.
14:26:13 And how… it just has spilled. You know, out onto them.
14:26:18 And so…. Even when I don't think I'm doing anything right, I just have to go back to the Lord.
14:26:26 And be reminded, this is the way. And we're gonna keep walking in it. And I think if I keep going back to that.
14:26:36 And recognize there's never balance, like Kristen said, because I thought there was, too. So when I would feel the tension.
14:26:43 Yesterday, when I felt the tension, you know, this…. It's not about trying to give to even whatever, it's about recognizing, like she said, the season that you're in.
14:26:54 Is it a time where you're gonna need to devote more here?
14:26:58 Or here? Well, you have to pause and ask, like. And sit with the Lord.
14:27:06 And… and kind of understand, okay, where am I at? Because I'm 5 years in, and I… I think back and think, well.
14:27:13 Maybe I could be further along here than I am today, but one thing that I have been unwilling to compromise on is.
14:27:21 What God has given me first, and that's my family and my children, and my marriage.
14:27:27 And so, I could be working in the evenings and during the day.
14:27:32 I could, but I feel like that's a compromise, and so….
14:27:38 I've had to let some things go, and it's taking me longer to build.
14:27:42 And so, for somebody who might be building, and you're thinking, this is taking a long time.
14:27:50 I don't… I think our timeline is just different, right? Like, we won it yesterday, and I want to know that I'm stewarding well what God has entrusted to me.
14:27:59 Um, and that includes the business, but then it also includes.
14:28:02 The family, and my children, and so…. If my kid needs me.
14:28:08 And I can't get the episode out like I wanted to.
14:28:12 I just have to say, you know what? This is more important, and….
14:28:18 Lord, help me to…. Maybe understand the rhythms of business and family, and what that can look like.
14:28:26 Um, but right now. I know, like, the priorities. I recognize what are the priorities. Now, Lord, just help me to….
14:28:35 To flow in and out. Um, when they come in and they need me, and I'm literally recording something, um.
14:28:44 God, give grace. May they give grace on the other side.
14:28:48 Because this is who I am, I'm still mom right now in this moment, and I'm.
14:28:55 The podcast host, and I'm the business owner, all at the same time.
14:29:00 And so I… I'm not sure if that answers the question or not.
14:29:06 But there's, like, a rhythm and a flow. That God keeps bringing to mind.
14:29:13 I want to put it in boxes. I want to have time blocks that are strict and rigid.
14:29:20 Because that's where I have come from as a teacher. So when I transitioned to home.
14:29:26 It's like, God has been helping me to get untangled from what that looks like, and understand what this CAN look like.
14:29:34 Because I'm thinking it has to look like that, because that's all that I know.
14:29:40 And God is like. I never said that.
14:29:44 You're trying to make it fit, because that's what you think it should look like.
14:29:48 When in actuality, it's more of like a dance and a flow.
14:29:53 And it's not so rigid. Um, so maybe you should just let go of that.
14:29:59 So, I'm still trying to let go of that each and every day, um, so that.
14:30:06 God can teach me what the flow looks like. Yeah.
14:30:12 Oh, man, Sabrina. That was so good. Um….
14:30:16 I'm gonna start crying now. That was so good. Uh, if you guys have a few more minutes, I really would love to finish with this one question of.
14:30:24 How do you find the quiet time? Because it seems like that's my biggest source of tension.
14:30:32 Is carving out that time with God to hear Him. It's… and maybe it comes in seasons, and you guys can just validate me.
14:30:39 But it feels like getting that perfect coffee, Bible time uninterrupted is just, like.
14:30:46 Few and far between, like, this morning, I wanted to wake up at.
14:30:49 6.30, my son came in asking for food at 6.15. I'm like, no, we're not eating food, you need to get, and like.
14:30:55 I'm gonna make you fall back asleep, you can sleep with our bed. And I was able to still wake up, but it was, like, closer to 8, and so then it was, like, a whole hour later.
14:31:03 Um, and just, there's been times where it's like. The best I could do was just a verse on my Bible in the morning, first thing, to just say, hey, I want to give you my first, but it's… it's gonna look….
14:31:15 Kind of quote-unquote crappy right now, like, it's not, like, the best I want to give you.
14:31:21 So I would love for you guys to maybe… maybe validate me or convict me, I don't really care, but just share, like, how are you guys….
14:31:28 Working through that tension of actually. Carving out time to hear God when we're also in the midst of just life and chaos and children, and spiritual warfare, because I think that's part of it, is the enemy doesn't want you to have that quiet time, so he's gonna….
14:31:42 Bring stuff up. So, Kristen, you want to go first, and then we'll just round robin and close up after this?
14:31:49 Sure! So…. Once again, it looks different for every season. Um, I… I am a morning person, I love mornings, so even when I was working my 9 to 5, I did get up at….
14:32:01 At least 15-20 minutes earlier to do something, or I would listen to….
14:32:08 A teaching while I was getting ready for work, um, when the little one was a baby, I mean, it was so much easier to do.
14:32:13 Yeah.
14:32:13 Uh, now…. It… it goes day by day. How is it gonna turn out? I always try to do it in the morning. Well, let me… let me backtrack. I try to get up at least an hour to two hours earlier than.
14:32:30 Um, my little one, so he's… he usually gets up maybe, like, 8, 8.30, so I try to get up 5.36, depending on how, you know.
14:32:39 How things go. Um, and when I do get up early, that focus time is me working.
14:32:45 Like, I will come upstairs, I'll get the podcast done, I'll get client work done, and then when he gets up.
14:32:52 It's breakfast time, and while he's eating breakfast, we talk together, we do, um, I have a book of declarations, we do book declarations together.
14:33:02 And then, I will go outside while my husband gets up and spends time with the little one, and I'll read, and spend some time in the Word.
14:33:10 If he… sometimes he'll get up. Um, because he is in the same room we are sometimes, and in our beds sometimes, so….
14:33:18 If I'm not there, he'll get up and come upstairs, like, 15 minutes before, or after I got up, and I'm just starting to get into something, and I can feel my blood starting to boil when I hear him walking up the stairs. I'm like, Lord, please, no. But once again, I have to extend myself grace, and put my… put myself in check, my humanness in check, and my.
14:33:41 Flash and be like, alright, we're either gonna try to get him back to bed, or he's just getting up early today because he loves the morning too, and when that happens.
14:33:49 Coffee, outside, he knows that I'm doing coffee outside during the summer and the winter, obviously, I don't, but then, hey, you're gonna go play, and you're gonna have quiet time. So….
14:34:00 It's communicating with the kids. I only have one, but communicating with him and letting him know the expectations, and it's not gonna be perfect every day, and there's some times where I miss the mark.
14:34:12 And I go about my day, I'm like, oh, shoot, I never had that quiet time. So since I'm a stay-at-home mom, I do have that blessed opportunity to stop everything that I'm doing and be like, alright.
14:34:26 You can be in here, you can watch your Spanish learning your numbers in Spanish. That's what we're doing right now. Um, and I'm gonna go outside, so you're gonna be in front, you're gonna be learning some things, and I'm gonna be outside reading the words, so….
14:34:38 Just communicating. I think, even though he's 4, I mean, start young, they understand, they know, and when you can bring them in and have… do it with them, but also.
14:34:50 Have them see you doing it, that's… that's important, too. But yeah, it's… it's never perfect.
14:34:57 It's never at the same time, every day, and sometimes it's before I go to bed. But….
14:35:04 I do… I will, like, why I'm cooking them breakfast, or why I'm doing things, in my mind, in my spirit, I'm like, alright, Holy Spirit, what am I supposed to be doing next? I'm constantly, and I had to teach myself this, to constantly communicate and be talking to my heavenly board of directors. Alright, I'm not gonna have time to do this right now. You see what's going on. What is that next step for me?
14:35:27 And sometimes I miss the mark, and I… I don't want to toot my horn, because I've come a long way. I mean, there's been times where.
14:35:36 I was totally off track, but when we can constantly do that, I like to call it your exercising your Holy Spirit muscle, because it's a muscle that needs to grow in order for you to be in tune with Holy Spirit.
14:35:49 And I finally figured out how I hear, and what I need to do to take those steps forward to make sure that I'm in alignment and everything else is. So, practice.
14:36:02 Asking, listening, and give yourself grace, because it's not going to….
14:36:07 Be perfect. If you find someone that has a perfectly structured order day, please let me know. Send them to my house. I don't know, is it you, Alyssa, or Sabrina?
14:36:27 Time with the Lord throughout the day.
14:36:28 I love this, we're in good company, because I am also a morning person. I want to wake up, I want my first, you know, 15, 30, even an hour to be with the Lord. Like, I love putting on some worship, sitting there for 20 minutes, just worshiping the Lord, then reading and praying, you know, like….
14:36:45 Slowly getting into it, yeah. Um, not in that season right now, and haven't been for many years.
14:36:53 And so it really… I have it set, like, in the morning, right? It's like, like, Sabrina was talking about a flow.
14:37:00 It's okay, I may be getting started an hour later, because my 3-year-old ended up in bed with me, and he's on top of me, and if I move, he's gonna be woken up, right?
14:37:09 Um, so, but it's that flow, it's, okay, I know these are the things that I want to accomplish in the morning.
14:37:15 And so this is… I'm going to start… we're a little bit late, but I'm going to start it. On those days where I can't be as flexible, and I have things to do.
14:37:24 Then it's just kind of like, okay, where do I get to put this? And it is that priority. And even.
14:37:30 The other day, um, I was standing in my kitchen, and I hadn't had, like, a quiet time with the Lord, and my boys are making their eggs, they're learning how to make their own eggs.
14:37:39 So, they're over there getting the oven turned on and everything, and I hear crack.
14:37:44 Crack. Crack. But it was like a slow succession, and I heard them hitting the floor. It wasn't like them cracking the egg, it was like the crack on the floor.
14:37:53 And I heard them go like, oh no. And instantly, I felt my shoulders tense, I started to get, like, anxious and angry, because I'm like, oh, just another mess to clean up, right? Before I can get to my time with God.
14:38:07 Okay, so I go over, and I'm like, okay, Holy Spirit luckily interceded, right? And he's like, you got a choice here. What are you gonna do? So I was like, okay, buddy, it's fine, like, we'll clean it up. I bend over, I start cleaning it up.
14:38:20 And I heard, because now I know how to hear my Father in Heaven, I know how the Holy Spirit speaks to me. He says.
14:38:26 You never, um… Alyssa, you never trusted me with broken aches before.
14:38:32 And I was like, what do you mean? And this is all while I'm picking up the eggs, right? And he's like, the cracked eggs, it meant that there wasn't going to be… you weren't being faithful with the little things I'd given you. So now, of course, you know, you weren't going to receive the bigger things, because you weren't being a good steward. That's what you believed.
14:38:51 But the truth is that I see this cracked egg as a mistake, not as a lack of stewardship.
14:38:57 He said, you believed, because of past programming and the financial struggles that you and your husband went through, you believed and saw every broken egg with a dollar sign, and you did a trust me for the provision that would come after that.
14:39:13 And there was one other thing that he said to me, but it was all while I'm sitting there cleaning up.
14:39:19 This mess of eggs. And he says, you will never see a cracked egg the same way again.
14:39:25 And so when we allow Him, when we are open, when we are in tune, it….
14:39:31 Like, this is in the middle of the chaos of your day, but when you're saying, Lord, come into my day.
14:39:37 Comment by day, let me hear you, guide me, he will speak to you in the noisiest of moments. He will speak to you in the mess while you're on the floor, hands and knees, cleaning up this mess, right?
14:39:47 He will speak to you. And it is so beautiful to allow him to come into those moments with us. And like Kristen said, I wasn't perfect at this. I remember.
14:39:57 Two years ago, three years ago, praying, Lord, let me come to you first. Before I go to anyone else, before I go to my husband, before I get angry, before I… like, let me come to you and talk to you first, because I didn't do that.
14:40:09 And so it's a progression. It's a learning how does he speak to me? It's a learning how to invite him in, and being open to hearing him in those moments.
14:40:20 No.
14:40:19 And, you know, and then later that day, when there was a little bit of time, I was able to sit with him a little bit more in that.
14:40:26 And, you know, repent of having these false beliefs around what that cracked egg used to mean versus what it means now.
14:40:36 Right?
14:40:37 So good, yeah. I feel like I've learned so much about God in parenting situations, because I'll, like, say stuff, and it's like.
14:40:46 Same, same thing to you. We're like, oh…. Convicted.
14:40:52 Alright, Sabrina, let's wrap up with you, and then we'll close out.
14:40:49 Yep. So true.
14:40:56 Wow, this has been so good, um…. So much of what the both of you said, and just… I… I love the idea of, you know.
14:41:04 God is always so present, right? And it's bringing our awareness.
14:41:09 And inviting Him into our day, because, like. There's… it's not this perfect….
14:41:16 You know, uh, schedule or whatever. I am a morning person.
14:41:21 But I think that's happened over time, because with teaching, I had to get up at 5.
14:41:25 And we had to, you know, be out the door at a certain time, so, like.
14:41:28 I became a morning person because I had to be. But now, I'm grateful because I do get to get up in the morning.
14:41:35 But I also have one of the kiddos, she is also a morning person.
14:41:41 So what I have learned is that. Sometimes I just can't seem to get up early enough.
14:41:48 You know, and if she wants to be up too, like, there's nothing wrong with that. So I did begin to kind of have conversations with her.
14:41:54 Um, because I didn't want her to feel like it was wrong that she was awake early.
14:41:59 You know, because of maybe my frustrated look. You know, like, are you angry with me? So I… I had to realize, like, wait a minute, this is not a negative thing, so I just started talking to her.
14:42:11 And saying, I'm really glad that you want to get up early. Um….
14:42:15 You know, this is my time with Jesus. And so, I'm gonna be over here, and….
14:42:20 I'm gonna be spending time with Jesus, and, you know, this is a good time for you to open up the Bible, and you spend time with Jesus, too.
14:42:27 Um, this is the one that it's able to read. And so, um….
14:42:31 Sometimes that's really how it looks. But then sometimes I can get up.
14:42:35 And it is just me and the Lord in the Word. Um….
14:42:40 And so, those are rich times, too, but I think…. Like they said, it's… it's recognizing where you are, and our youngest is 7.
14:42:49 And she's not the morning person. So… so she'll usually sleep in, but even when she doesn't, and I'm in… maybe I'll be in the bed or something.
14:42:59 With my Bible, and she just crawls up there. And she'll just sit there, and I'm… I'm just gonna talk to the Lord, or I'm gonna keep reading, or I'm gonna keep writing.
14:43:08 And so it's like…. The more I try to, again.
14:43:12 Box things in, the more tense I feel. When I, you know, the Lord would just say, let her be there.
14:43:20 She can have devotion with you, you know? Like, why does it have to look this way? And this is just how God speaks to me, like, I don't know how He talks to you, but….
14:43:29 Just very matter-of-fact, like, chill out. It's not the end of the world, you know?
14:43:34 So… so I think that has really helped me. To not even feel guilty.
14:43:40 You know, because if at the end of the day, I didn't get 5 minutes of.
14:43:45 Stillness or quiet, like. The Lord was still very present, and I still got to experience Him and hear from Him. It just happened….
14:43:54 While I was doing the dishes, or while I was in the shower. I don't know about y'all, but I feel like something about the shower.
14:43:57 Yeah.
14:44:02 I'll be in the shower, not thinking about anything, and like, the Lord is just….
14:44:08 Speaking to me about all kinds of things, and I'm just like.
14:44:10 How is this happening? You know, so…. It might just be in the shower.
14:44:14 Um, it might be while you're doing the dishes. But I think just bringing our awareness.
14:44:21 You know, like, God is so present throughout the day, and just asking Him to….
14:44:27 You know, help me to see. Where you are, or what you're saying today.
14:44:33 Um, because he'll speak through the eggs. He'll speak through what, like, whatever situations and circumstances that we're in.
14:44:42 Um, and I think that's the coolest thing. It really is.
14:44:47 Yes, thank you guys so much for…. All the wisdom, and just being wrought and open. I loved this conversation, and I'm so glad we could just….
14:44:56 I know there's so much we could probably talk for 3 hours on business and kingdom motherhood and….
14:45:00 All the things, but I just appreciate you guys taking the time out of your day to meet with me, and just to share with the other Kingdom Other listeners.
14:45:07 Um, how are… how are just…. Living for the Lord, and showing up, and….
14:45:14 Putting one foot in front of the other and being obedient, and it's… it is grace-filled, and it is messy, and the God's in it. He's in all of it, and so thank you guys for just your stories and sharing your wisdom with us today. I just appreciate each one of you.
14:45:28 I'm grateful. This has been so rich.
14:45:31 Yes, thank you so much for having me. I have definitely enjoyed this.
14:45:32 Thank you. Yeah, it's been awesome.
14:45:38 Awesome. Well, thank you all for listening, and I'll see you back on the next episode of Kingdom Mothers.