Temptations of an Idle Mind

The human mind is a powerful entity, capable of great creativity and ingenuity. However, when left idle, it can become a fertile ground for deceptive thoughts and spiritual dangers. In our latest podcast episode, we delve into this intriguing concept by continuing to explore the spiritual depths of the timeless classic, The Screwtape Letters, penned by C.S. Lewis.

Chapters

• 0:19 Discussion on the Screwtape Letters
• 17:07 Effects of Mental Idleness and Manipulation
• 31:25 Encouraging Intentional Conversations With God
• 39:24 Encouraging Connection With Kara and God

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:19

Hi and welcome to the Cheer Up Podcast. I am your host, kara Hunt, and with me is the beautiful and extraordinarily talented Sherry Swarwell. How are you today, sherry?

Speaker 2: 0:33

I am doing great, I am loving life and I have really this summer just kind of taken the stance of intentionality, so being present and intentional with what I'm doing when I'm doing it and not you know that sounds terrible, because it sounds like kind of bad if I say not worrying about the future, but I mean that in a good way like not thinking about what I have to do two months from now or you know any of that, but instead just being thankful for where God has placed me and making sure that I take advantage of and enjoy the opportunities that he gives me. And one of my favorite opportunities is when I get to spend the morning with you.

Speaker 1: 1:18

Aww, you're so sweet.

Speaker 2: 1:21

Aww, I'm so grateful.

Speaker 1: 1:25

I you know, for some of our listeners. Sherry and I have been friends for like over a decade now and it is not abnormal. We didn't stop ourselves. We could like be on the phone for 24 hours, you know, and still have stuff left to chit-chat about. But yeah, and it's just awesome that God has brought us together, gave us the same vision for this podcast and for those of you who are just tuning in, we just want to say welcome to the Cheer Up podcast, which is based on the verses of the scripture, john 1633, and Sherry will be explaining more about that at the end of the podcast. But we want to say welcome and thank you so much for joining in.

Speaker 1: 2:19

This month we are continuing our discussion on the topics of the book the Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis and, for those who just may be joining in, it is a piece of classic literature originally written, I believe, in 1940s, 1941, I think. Then I think it was published again in 1960. So it's definitely considered a part of classic literature. We are not. We are discussing the topics of the book. We're not necessarily going to be reading huge passages from the book. I may read like one or two passages from the book, but we're mostly discussing the topics of the book, because even though the book was written in the 1940s, a lot of the topics have not changed because of what it's dealing, how it's talking about how Satan deals with humans, basically. So a lot of that has not changed and I believe that's one of the reasons why it's just always been one of the books that Christians like to read, because it kind of gives you an insight view, a kind of behind the curtain look of how things works.

Speaker 1: 3:41

Regarding that, for those of you who would like the book, it's available almost anywhere. I do know the Unabridged version is available on audiobook for free if you have Audible, if you have like Hindu Audible and I do think it's like under, I think, $10 in some cases on Amazon or something like that if you like digital. But, of course, if you want the paperback copy or the hard copies of the book, those I think are available as well. Let me say paperback. I don't know if hardback is available, but it's definitely one of those books that are very, very easy to find and you could be able to find it and locate it at any of those places I mentioned, or you could put it in a request at your local bookstore as well. So I'm all for supporting local bookstores. I just wanted to give that a plug real quick.

Speaker 1: 4:41

So, however, the book the Screwtape Letters is about two demons communicating with each other. They are sending Screwtape. The name of the book is the Screwtape Letters and it's basically because he's writing letters. Screwtape is a higher demon, he's a higher a demon and a higher archie. He's a higher demon, he's a higher level demon, and his nephew is a novice, a new demon, so to speak. So the title of the book, the Screwtape Letters, refers to the letters that Uncle Screwtape is writing to his nephew Wormwood on how to handle Wormwood's newly assigned Christian for humans. So that's what that's about and our summer series, because we have been covering these letters starting in June, you know, and it is now. We have covered letters one through eleven. So this month, for this month, we will be discussing letters twelve through twenty-one, I believe. So make sure you tune in every week this month, you know, as we continue to discuss all the letters. We have 21 letters in the entire book. So we'll be wrapping this up sometime in September, so we won't go on forever. We're calling it the Summer Series. Technicute should be the Summer Fall Series, but right now we're just going to call it the Screwtape Letters. This is what we're doing, discussing during this time frame and, um, oh, I was going to say some oh, oh, oh oh. Okay, now I know what I was going to say For those of you who are listening, and if you would like to have a more deeper discussion about the Screwtape letters, then let us know, send us an email at chairupicast at gmailcom and say hey, you know we would like to.

Speaker 1: 6:43

I've got the book, I purchased the book, I read the book or I knew to the book, but I would like to discuss some of the topics further. I have some things I'd like to share, some thoughts and comments and commentary. Then let us know, send us an email at chairupicast at gmailcom and say, hey, yes, we would like to be able to discuss this with you, know, you and Sherry, something like that. We will open up a Twitter space to do so. If we get at least 10 people who would be interested in doing something like that, then just send us an email and say, yes, I would be interested in joining you guys at a Twitter space and then, once we get at least 10 people.

Speaker 1: 7:19

We will share a time and a date. For that to happen, we would need at least well, we would need at least 10, but at least 10 would be ideal because, for those of you who are familiar with Twitter spaces, you're allowed 10 people are allowed to speak at one time, but you can have as many as a million people in the space, but only 10 are allowed to speak at one time. But we would love to hear your input on the series, we would love to hear your thoughts on the book, and if you guys are interested in an open discussion, then just shoot us an email chairupicastatgmailcom and we will go ahead and we will get that started and scheduled. So, is there anything you wanted to add, sherry, before we get started?

Speaker 2: 8:01

No, I think you covered it all. I'm excited for you know. You've really made the Screwtaped Letters exciting for me. I have always been intimidated by Lake, shakespeare and the older classics, and so I tended to avoid them in my life, and you've just really made this series exciting for me. So if you can do that for me, then I know that there are lots and lots of people who love the classics who I hope, have found the podcast and are enjoying it just as much.

Speaker 1: 8:34

Well, thank you, and I honestly wish I could take the credit for that. But I think you know you mentioned something my classic literature was definitely written a lot different than like the stuff we read today. Right, the language is different, the words they choose to use are different, you know, and different things like that. And especially when, like Shakespeare well, at least CF Lewis I know he's not American, I believe he's British English or something like that but and then they use a different type of words as well. But classic literature was definitely written in different ways.

Speaker 1: 9:15

A lot of people find it hard or difficult to read because it just I don't think it quite blows as well as it does with these. But CF Lewis did such a great book Actually all of his books, I believe. You know he's just an awesome author. He was an awesome author so that he just had just a beautiful, beautiful gift of writing and he's run, written lots of novels and fiction and nonfiction books and he was just really, really great at what he did. And I think what just makes this book in particular so exciting is because it just is ageless and it's very hard to write something to. You know, that's ageless, meaning that what was, excuse me, just as in reverent, relevant back in the 1940s, was relevant way before the end, 2000 years prior, and relevant still today, and I think that's what just makes him a master at writing. So and I remember when I read this book, maybe a decade or so ago, when I first read the book, I just I found it so exciting, but it was also kind of scary, you know, at the same time, to know that sometimes we are being manipulated without even knowing that we're being manipulated spiritually and yeah, you know, and it was very eye-opening and because of today's culture and things that are going on now and, like I said, it doesn't even matter, it's just an ageless book, but anyway, it's in letters 12 and 13, which we're going to be talking about in this episode.

Speaker 1: 11:00

Screw tape as always, uncle screw tape, because he's the uncle writing the letters to his novice nephew Wormwood the new devil demon, excuse me and he, as always, uncle screw tape, is just like very agitated and annoyed and frustrated and disappointed in his nephew Wormwood, because he's just never happy. Nothing Wormwood does is enough or good enough or anything, and so he's just always kind of disappointed that he doesn't take something further enough with his assigned human who happens to be a new Christian, new to the faith, or he missed an opportunity, and in letters 12 through 21 that we'll be covering this month, it's the same thing. He's just very, very upset with him, you know, because you know he's just never doing anything right. But you know what that just comes with part of the territory, right, sherry, when you're working for someone who really doesn't have your best interest at heart at all.

Speaker 2: 12:11

Absolutely, absolutely. Every time you talk about wormwood and screw tape, that's what I think about. I think how there's that lie in there, that there's that deception that they're for you. Evil is for you. Evil is good, but you will never make evil happy and you will never please evil, and there's nothing even remotely associated with love, with evil.

Speaker 1: 12:39

Yes, and it's right. And so it's like when you get into association with people or things like that. Now, in this case it's spiritual. So if wormwood was a person before he died, like screw tape's actual nephew, and he died, went to hell I mean, his bed is made for him right now. It's nothing he can do. He can do about it, right, and he's there, but it just goes to show you that you know people who would always say, oh, heaven is boring, I'd rather go to hell. There's a lot of stuff going on down there. Well, just don't think it's going to be anything different. You're just going to be tortured and lied to and still being manipulated. Probably you know. So you know, you eventually start keeping company with those people you hang around. And so in this case, from uncle to nephew, uncle screw tape to nephew wormwood, nothing, it's the same thing, right?

Speaker 1: 13:36

And in letter 12, which is titled, which is really just the topic is about nothing, uncle screw tape, nothing. As in uncle screw tape wants his nephew wormwood to teach his human about the art of nothing. You know, it's like he's new. Uncle screw tape is telling wormwood your human is new to the Christian faith. You're already about that to happen, you know, and everything else. So now we got to go about fixing that to make sure that we keep him on a straight path to hell, you know, and everything else. And so he keep. But he tells screw tape. Screw tape tells his nephew wormwood that to just keep it slow and steady is that he wants him to do that by doing nothing in quotation marks and having the Christian, his new male Christian, who I think is in about his 30s to focus on absolutely nothing, to get his mind to think about nothing, and that that that is what his letter to wormwood is about. And just a small quote from there. He just says this is screw tape, uncle, screw tape, to his nephew wormwood, both human demons and they're referring to wormwood's newly assigned Christian and screw tape says nothing is nothing.

Speaker 1: 15:10

The word nothing, nothing, is very strong. It is strong enough to steal away a man best years not in sweet sins, but in a dreary flickering of the mind over it, knows not what and knows not why, and the gratification of curiosity so feeble that the man is only half aware of them, and drumming of fingers and kicking up heels and whistling tunes that he does not like, or in a long, dim labyrinth of reveries that have not even lust or ambition to give them a relish, but which, once chance association has started them, the creature is too weak and fuddled to shake off. You will say, wormwood, that these are very small sins, and doubtless they are like all young tempters. You're anxious to be able to report spectacular wickedness. But remember the only thing that matters is the extent to which you separate the man from God. It does not matter how small the sins are, provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the light and out into nothing. When you do this, murder is no better than cards, if cards can do the trick. Indeed, the safest road to hell is the gradual one, the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.

Speaker 1: 16:26

Your affectionate uncle's screw tape.

Speaker 1: 16:29

So I hope that makes sense.

Speaker 1: 16:31

I had to switch a few things around in there so that it wouldn't be, as I'm sharing part of the book on the other podcast, that you won't get confused, because I had to change the word enemy to God in there, because that's literally who he's talking about, because you have to remember he uncle screw tape is a demon.

Speaker 1: 16:50

So when he first did enemy he's really burning to God, so that it wouldn't be confusing. You know, to listen to the podcast I was having to switch you know a few words around or whatnot, just to make it clear. It's a lot clearer when you read it, but not so much when you listen to it if you haven't read the book before. But what I find interesting there is how he talks about how, if one would get his newly assigned Christian's mind to think about nothing, how strong that is, and how I could flick away a man's best years, not necessarily in sense, but just in the dreariness of thinking of nothing, just having them drum their nails on the table or kicking their heels or just whistling a tune, how that is like ample fertile ground for Satan to place thoughts in a Christian's mind. What do you think about that, sherry?

Speaker 2: 17:45

I think that it's very telling, kind of like you said when you started reading this book when you were younger, that it scared you. There's a lot of truth in just a few words. Not that playing cards is wrong, but when you are, not, that you know like it's not supposed to be taken from a legalistic point of view or a legalistic standpoint. When earrings isn't wrong, having your hair done isn't wrong, those types of things. But when you drink the drink of idleness, it does open you up to different thoughts that can become sin, different ideas when you sit there and you allow. See, there's a difference for me between nothing and sitting in quiet with God when you're oh that's not what Screwtape was talking about, though.

Speaker 1: 18:53

Yeah, oh right, exactly that's what.

Speaker 2: 18:55

I mean when you focus on the Heavenly Father and when you focus on worship and when you focus on just spending time with your Creator. That can still be quiet but, it's not nothing that allows the Holy Spirit to speak into your life, but when you sit there with a blank slate, then you're allowing either the Holy Spirit or the enemy to put thoughts into plant thoughts and lies in your head, and that's when it gets into the dangerous ground.

Speaker 1: 19:31

Absolutely, and thank you. I remember growing up I would get chest eyes sometimes like about that. I can't remember which family member would do it, but I was a child and it was like you know, I guess maybe I was staring off into space or something. I have no idea. It's highly possible I was one of those kids that just was staring out the window or something, and I can't remember which family member was older family member.

Speaker 1: 20:05

Oh, you know, you need to do something. Don't let your mind just be empty. I don't know if this is the devil's playground or the devil's workshop or things like that. And as a child you don't really think much about it, right? You're like, oh, here goes these older people again with all these things you know and everything else. But as you get older you do realize that if your mind is not focused on God or godly things, then it is so easy for the enemy to plant something in your mind. It is.

Speaker 1: 20:34

You know, you could just be sitting there and you could just be tired. You could just come home from work and you could just have just plopped down on the couch and you're like I don't want to think about anything. I am so mentally tired, my brain is tired, and you'd be surprised all of a sudden, something that when your co-workers say it, but earlier that day, just starts to grate on you. It didn't bother you too much at the time, but once you came home and you plopped on the couch and kind of laid your head back against it and you're just thinking, you're like you know what?

Speaker 1: 21:08

Did she say? What I just think she said. I didn't pay attention to it earlier, but now that I think about it I'm really getting upset about it. Like she didn't have to say that, she didn't have to do that. He didn't have to put it to me that way. Or did she snatch that paper from my hand when I handed her that file? Do you see what I mean? It's like all of a sudden you're like I don't want to think about nothing, but then all these little things that you previously didn't give any credence to they start playing back in your mind. Have you ever had that happen to you, sherry?

Speaker 2: 21:38

Absolutely. In fact, there's nothing I think that Satan loves more than when you're having a disagreement with somebody or a conflict of some kind and I know this used to happen to me a lot until I really learned how to take my thought captive. But I would do washing the dishes or I would be cleaning the house Something that is mindless, baking those types of things and I would replay conversations over and over and over in my head and I would stew on them and I would get madder and madder and I would feel more and more justified that I was right and they were wrong. And how dare they?

Speaker 2: 22:19

And yeah, I think that Satan looks at those things and says, oh my gosh, how easy this person made it so, how easy Sherry made it, so that I can manipulate her mind and I can help her plant seeds of bitterness or plant seeds of unforgiveness, or help her learn how to hold a grudge, all of those different things. And so I have learned for myself that when I'm going to do something mindless, that especially baking like baking is my relaxation, my go-to, my enjoyment, and if I'm going to do something like that, I will put on worship music so that when my mind wanders, it's wandering to good things, and it's a time that I'm inviting the Holy Spirit to speak to me instead of simply letting my mind go where it wants to go, because, as a human, it's nine times out of 10 going to go places that it shouldn't go, and I don't want to be that person. I don't want to give Satan a foothold and I don't want to give him the satisfaction that he's got me.

Speaker 1: 23:37

Yes, and that actually leads into letter 13. I'm sorry, letter 12, which, no, I'm right, letter 13. Sorry, letter 12 was just about nothing, mindless, nothing, and exactly what Sherry was talking about. But you could be doing something simple as washing dishes and just having those things replay in your mind and things like that. And then in letter 13, he is. I'm sorry, yeah, letter 13,.

Speaker 1: 24:06

He screw tape is like upset now with Wormwood again, because he's always upset with his novice nephew, you know, because he's like right, you just don't get it Because somehow now Uncle Screwtape has found out that the human, the Christian, the human that was assigned to Wormwood, who's a Christian, has now realized his mental idleness in a way right, and he's kind of repented of it and he's just like, okay, wait, what, what was I doing, you know? So he started like Wormwood kind of lost his grip on the patient because, excuse me, in the book it first was the patient, but it's his new Christian human that he's been assigned to. And he's just like, wait, what? Like how did you let him become aware of his you know spiritual adriftness and how you were leading him adrift of what he was supposed to be doing? And now somehow he's awakened from that. He's kind of repented from that and everything else, like how, how in the world did you let this happen? But all is not lost, right?

Speaker 1: 25:16

This is what Uncle Screwtape is telling his nephew Wormwood. All is not lost, all these little simple pleasures that he now has found, that he's just trying to to find out, you know, and his new feelings and everything is, and him just taking little personal pleasures like looking at the birds or whatever. It's basically what he's, you know, talking about. But he's like you know, all is not lost because we can still keep him from acting on his new feelings of like true repentance, you know, and excuse me, of repentance and being aware of that his mind was just drifting Anything good at this point. Uncle Screwtape wants anything good and that the man finds pleasurable, no matter how small it is. Uncle Screwtape wants his nephew Wormwood to eradicate them from the new Christian human he's been assigned to. He just wants him to start having a sour taste in his mouth. He just wants it to be like you know what is the matter Like I used to just enjoy going for a walk now.

Speaker 1: 26:30

I don't want to. I feel thoughtful about it. It's raining out, the sky isn't as bright as it used to be, the sun's night is shining, the flower's on is pretty, you know. He just wants him to be, I guess, a little bit more critical of the things that he used to find pleasurable. And when I think back over my life, I'm like you know what.

Speaker 1: 26:52

There's many times where I think I have a lot that have to happen, where it's something that I found just pure joy in pure, clean joy. In All of a sudden it's like, yeah, I don't care for that anymore and I didn't really know why, and I was shrugged off right and not knowing that that could just be a tactic of the enemy to steal away those beautiful little things, those gifts that God gives us every day in nature or, you know, in our life, to just say, hey, look what I did for you, or hey, I'm winking at you, I just want you to see these beautiful sunrise or things like that. And then, or something as simple as a walk, right, and or even something as simple as rain. You know, I think we need to go back like we were when we were kids Well, some of us, you know, when we were kids and it would rain and we saw this opportunity to go outside and play, we didn't care about getting wet.

Speaker 1: 27:46

right, it was yay, water, rain from the sky, you know, natural, uh, waterfall or whatever. And you just go outside, you play, you make mud pies, you know and everything and you know. But then you come as an adult, you're like ah, it's raining, I don't want to go outside. Has anything ever like that ever happened to you?

Speaker 2: 28:06

Sherry, absolutely, and I think that's kind of what I was talking about when we first started the episode today, and that is staying intentional, staying present, looking around and being grateful for what I have, and I have lived so much. I think we talked about this last month I don't remember exactly which episode it was but we were talking about how I used to live with the attitude of, well, I'm going to get to the promised land and when I get there it's going to be milk and honey and I'm going to sit and drink my coffee and life is going to be fantastic. Well then, god woke me up and grew me up and matured me up, and that's not the way that life goes, and so I've had to kind of like step back, take off the polyanac glasses and just say you know what? There is a lot of joy and a lot of good to be found, even as I'm wandering the desert.

Speaker 2: 29:00

I don't want to be wandering the desert, so I want to do everything I can to get out of the desert as fast as I can, but there's joy in the journey and he literally had to take years to teach me that and I hate to admit it, but there have been seasons in my life, even recently, where I've forgotten that truth that there's joy to be found no matter what season I'm in.

Speaker 2: 29:21

And this summer I kind of just tried to be more intentional. And you know, last summer I had experienced burnout and so I was kind of like doing less and trying to just be present with God more. And I noticed that, like my youngest and I were used to take walks every single morning, and especially in June, looking back, I noticed that June was the most enjoyable because it was cooler temperatures, the humidity hadn't set in, the mosquitoes hadn't arrived, the corn and the crops hadn't grown to the point where we couldn't see the little animals anymore.

Speaker 2: 30:06

You had the big expanses of the field, so you could see possums, you could see fox, you could see raccoons, you could see the deer, and then, as the corn and the crops grew, those got more hidden. But even the sounds of the birds, the music, I mean, like I noticed so many different sounds and so many different colors of the birds. And so this year, going into it, I had that the joy from last year, and I was like, oh, we're going to walk every single day and we're going to do this and we're going to do that, and it's just going to be amazing, just like it was. Well, this summer didn't quite turn out the way that last summer did. There were more health issues, there were more. The schedule was a little different. So we didn't get to walk five days a week like I wanted to. We didn't do as much of a. I should say it looked different than it looked last year and you know what? It has been just as enjoyable.

Speaker 2: 31:01

I have found that I'm not like, okay, I'm a failure because I didn't walk five days this week. No, I'm not a failure, I walked three days this week. It was intentional and I loved every single minute of it, you know. So it's just little things like that. But I think that if we just make that little mind shift, that little shift in our thinking, it makes such a huge difference. And God is an out there with a I don't know Like a sword, I don't know what you want to even call it, but God's not out there waiting to punish us. He's not out there saying you didn't thank me today for the indigo bunting that I brought into your yard. No, he's like ah, she missed that indigo bunny today. I wonder if I can give it to her tomorrow. I wonder if she'll see it tomorrow. You know, he, he, he gives us so many different opportunities to praise him, so I think I want to encourage people with that today, kara.

Speaker 2: 31:58

People like me, will sometimes put a little too much pressure on themselves. But why don't you today, or take this month, since it's the beginning of of August, why don't we take this month and just invite God into our everyday, all day conversation? Just say, hey God, good morning, thank you for waking me up today. What do you want to show me today? Open my eyes and draw my attention to the gifts and the blessings that you want to give me. Do that indigo bunting. And if you don't know what they are, they're beautiful.

Speaker 2: 32:31

I did not know my bird until our youngest educated me and I got to tell you this year, this summer, he has shown me they're called dick sizzles. They are beautiful, oh my gosh. They're like yellow with either gray or like a greenish color. I can't remember exactly. Beautiful birds, oh, beautiful, no-transcript birding. And we were going down this road and we could hear them. Like he showed me what the sound was or he had me listen to the sound and so I knew I could. I couldn't hear him, I could pick him out and knew that they were there, but we couldn't see any. Turned my head and it was right on the fence post, right next to my side of the car. I mean like plain as day right there just like a picture and I was like thank you, God.

Speaker 1: 33:19

And so he was able to fix that.

Speaker 2: 33:21

So, just like little things like that, just I encourage you and I want to I want to not challenge, I want to encourage people this month to just start a running conversation with God and say what is it, God, that you want to show me today? How do you want me to be intentional and what do you want to show me? And maybe you hate birds, Maybe birds are not your thing. Maybe you love cars, Maybe God wants to show you a car today that that you know it's really awesome. I don't know, Hemmy car, I don't know even what, what kind of car things there are. But maybe, God, maybe you love cars. But whatever it is, I just know that we have a God who loves us so much and is so personal that he wants to have that relationship with you in the way that speaks loudest to you. So that's my encouragement to people today. Kara, do you have anything that you want to say before we wrap it up?

Speaker 1: 34:15

No, well, I always say no and then I add something. But as you were talking about this month and just being grateful at the things that God shows us in with his wonderful creatures, just yesterday my husband came in and he was talking about how he saw a huge gopher. He was in a backyard, I believe he saw a huge gopher and immediately I just kind of went into panic mode because and please don't laugh, okay, I assume I in my mind I don't know the difference Um, I, I get confused a gopher and a mole. So when he said huge gopher, I was thinking, oh my goodness, you know, that's that mole that digs holes or tunnels in your yard and you know there's so hard to get rid of. And I just panic and I'm thinking, you know? And then when he corrected me on it, he's like but no, a gopher is not a mole. So thank you all for not laughing, but uh, it's still. I was just like ew ick, a gopher, you know.

Speaker 1: 35:14

And I'm thinking why would I say that? Why would I do that about God's creatures, you know? And I'm like what? What I should do is learn more about golfers and just see how God has created them to bless us Cause I put everything that God has created. There's a reason for it, and so I just want to be thankful for this. I'm glad that you mentioned that, instead of having that factor regarding it, just be like God. Why, why did you create golfers? What did I pour you know how do they bless you, know humanity and everything like that. So that's a great idea, sherry.

Speaker 2: 35:47

Well, I love that care that you brought it even fuller circle, because, yes, I have a tendency to have that um need jerk reaction and I say ew a lot more like ew, not um, a lot more than I want to, and that's another thing that I'm really working on that, instead of allowing that, that first one time gut reaction, I need to stop and say, okay, what is it about this? Ew is not the right response, so let me let me have a better response. So, god, what do you want to teach me through this? I love that. Yes, as Carol was saying, the podcast um centers around the verse John 16 33 and it's Jesus talking and he says these things I have spoken to you that in me you may have peace In the world. You will have tribulation or gopher or spiders or six. Yes, yes, yes, the year I have overcome the world. What encouragement and what um assurance that we have. But there is nothing that we face that God isn't in charge of, that God is not in control of, and that we don't have to worry.

Speaker 2: 37:01

He has really been teaching me lately that, even when I don't get the answer that I want, I can trust him with the answer that I get because he's working all things out for good in the background and I may not see him working, but that doesn't mean he isn't in. That all goes back to that intentionality of living intentionally and live, living in the present and being grateful for the stage, the season, the circumstances that I'm in right now. That doesn't mean that I have to be thankful for pain or thankful for grief or thankful for tough. Necessarily. There are things in this world that we face that are not things that you would normally say. I'm thankful for this, but I am thankful that when I'm going through them, that I know that God is right there with me, and then he has promised that he will never leave me or forsake me, and I can take that to the bank. I can have that assurance that he is working all things out and I may not see the answers here this side of heaven, but he's working all things out. He is the exact opposite of screw tape. He loves us, he wants the best for us, he encourages us, he inspires us, he comforts us and he helps us, guiding us to to make the right decisions and the right choices for a life that is that will have more peace and have more joy because we'll be making the choices that are ones that will better our life instead of worse than our life.

Speaker 2: 38:41

So, if that makes sense, I hope that that's an encouragement, but I really truly want to encourage people to just start being intentional and just start having that running conversation with God, if you've never done it before. God, what do you want me to see today? What blessing are you going to bring into my life and open my eyes so that I can see it? If you want more information about how to see Jesus in the everyday, you can head over to my website, sherryclawlawcom, and I have a membership that you could check out. It's called Jesus in the Everyday Monthly Membership, and you will get 365 days of encouragement and ways to draw closer to God.

Speaker 2: 39:24

Go over to Kara's website, karaahuntcom, and you can find out all about her Habacic series, as well as lots of other wonderful things that she has on her website.

Speaker 2: 39:37

Most importantly, kara and I just want to continue to encourage people to point themselves towards God, towards the one who has the answers, towards the one who encourages, towards the one who desires that relationship with us above all else.

Speaker 2: 39:54

If you have any questions or prayer requests, head over to cheeruppodcastcom, drop us a line and we would love to write back to you. We would love to connect with you and just let you know that you're not alone. So anyway, if you're interested in a Twitter space, joining Kara and I on a Twitter space, either hop over to the Facebook group, let us know over there, send us an email at cheeruppodcastgmailcom or contact us through our website. Either way, we would love to get it going, but we need to have at least 10 people. So keep that in mind, think about it and until then, come back. Next week. We're going to be talking about humility, then the past, present, future and eternity. I am really excited to see where that conversation is going to go. Have a great rest of your day today, have a wonderful start to August, and we will talk to you next week.