Faith Matters Podcast

Strength in Disappointment

Faith Matters with Brian and Andi HaleBefore the Throne, a 5 day devotional on prayerMost of us have probably had people in our lives who were difficult and challenging. Let's look at Moses to see how he handled it.

A Definitive No

Breathing Room by Sandra StanleyAnd I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?”NEHEMIAH 6:3Every yes to please someone is also a no that may disappoint someone else. We give our time, our money, and our breathing room away until there is nothing but leftovers for the ones we love most.I admit it: I’m a people-pleaser. (You too?) I’ve realized there’s something incomplete about that title, though. Being a people-pleaser also means I’m a people-disappointer. Working late to please your boss means disappointing your workout buddy by skipping the gym. Joining the book club to please your friends means disappointing your spouse by missing family dinner. See? Every yes to please someone is also a no that may disappoint someone else.If you’re like me, you pay for this people pleasing by giving up your breathing room and trying to do it all. I’ll eat dinner at home and just be a few minutes late to book club! As we wrap up our look at breathing room, I want to share an Old Testament story—specifically one verse—that changed an entire season of my life.Hundreds of years before Jesus, the city of Jerusalem had been conquered and pretty much destroyed. Rebuilding the walls of the city was urgent, and Nehemiah was the guy leading the project. One day, he received an invitation, and his response became a defining verse for me. Nehemiah said, “…I am doing a great work, and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?”At the time I first heard this verse, I had three little kids at home, I was homeschooling the oldest, and my husband was launching a church. We had zero breathing room. And yet, it was so hard for me to turn down invitations and opportunities.What I found in Nehemiah’s statement was permission to prioritize the most important people in my life.Being a mom was my “great work.” I couldn’t “come down” to join that committee or to speak at that women’s event. Saying yes to these things would mean saying no to the “great work” of my family. Ladies, we can give ourselves, our time, our money, and our breathing room away until there is nothing but leftovers for the ones we love most. Instead, let’s bring back our breathing room by giving our loved ones first dibs. And to everything else, we can simply reply, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down.”

A Rainy Day Fund

Faith Matters with Brian and Andi HaleBreathing Room by Sandra StanleyHow you manage your money matters to God because the bottom line of your bank account may keep you from being able to say yes to what he’s calling you to do.

Time Is Limited

Faith Matters with Brian and Andi HaleReading Breathing Room by Sandra Stanley - Day 3Knowing that your time is limited forces you to limit what you do with your time.So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. PSALM 90:12

A Day Off

Faith Matterw with Brian and Andi HaleBreathing Room by Sandra StanleyTrusting God instead of gritting our teeth and pushing past our limits is the way to finally, permanently find breathing room. When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me? PSALM 56:3‭-‬4

Beyond Your Limits

Faith Matters with Brian and Andi HaleBreathing Room by Sandra StanleyThe Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.PSALM 23:1‭-‬3In the chaotic everyday pace of meetings, events, obligations, carpooling kids, caring for parents, serving others, finding “me time,” running errands, running across town, running myself ragged, and running out of energy . . . I sometimes want to literally “lie down in green pastures,” or sit “beside quiet waters.” (Though I’d settle for just a cup of coffee on the back porch. You too?)We need breathing room.Breathing room is the space between your pace and your limit.