Overcoming Burnout: Embracing Stillness, God's Love, and Purpose-Driven Business with Sabrina Hammonds

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the constant pressure to do more, only to realize you’re missing out on simply being? Sabrina Hammonds shares her transformative spiritual journey, highlighting a profound moment of connection with God during a moment of stillness in 2020. Her story vividly illustrates the immense power of surrendering to stillness and finding God's extravagant love.

Shifting our focus from relentless doing to embracing an authentic relationship with God, Sabrina and I explore the liberating experience of encountering God's love without strings attached. We discuss how church culture often prioritizes activity over personal connection and reflect on personal experiences that underscore the importance of being rather than doing. From spontaneous conversations with the Lord to the awe-inspiring impact of prophetic words, this episode emphasizes the beauty of a genuine, open relationship with God.

Lastly, we delve into how aligning business with God's calling can lead to meaningful relationships and exponential impact. Inspired by biblical stories, we discuss the significance of saying "yes" to God's call and prioritizing people over metrics in a numbers-driven world. With heartfelt testimonies and personal anecdotes, we underscore the uncomplicated journey of faith strengthening and the joy of abiding in His presence. Tune in for an episode filled with inspiration, divine guidance, and a heartfelt prayer to embrace an adventurous, joyful relationship with God.

Sabrina's contact info:
Website - www.kcpodcastagency.com
Facebook
LinkedIn

Chapters

• 0:16 Unlocking Hope Through Personal Story
• 8:54 Discovering a Deeper Relationship With God
• 26:21 Embracing Messy Relationship With God
• 36:10 Discovering God's Unconditional Love
• 42:43 Aligning Business With God's Calling
• 51:45 Building Quality Relationships for Kingdom Business
• 59:50 Uncomplicated Journey of Faith Strengthening

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:16

Hello and welcome to the Hope Unlocked podcast. I'm your host, kristen Kurtz, and I'm also the founder of New Wings Coaching, where I empower and unlock women to soar in their calling and roar with their voices. If you're curious to learn more about how coaching can help you unlock your potential, be sure to explore the show notes for ways to connect with me further. Get ready to dive in as we uncover empowering keys and insights in this episode. So tune in and let's unlock hope together. Welcome to the Hope Unlocked podcast. I'm Kristen Kurtz, your host. I pray this episode is like a holy IV of hope for your soul. Please help me welcome my friend Sabrina Hammons to the show. I'm so excited for her to be here today. I cannot wait for her to share her story where she's at, what she's doing in this season, because I know that many of you will eventually want to connect with her. So, sabrina, would you be open to sharing just a little bit about yourself?

Speaker 2: 1:13

Yes, thank you so much, kristen, for having me. When I think about my story, I feel like it began when I heard the Lord for the first time ever. Um, it's almost like you know I mean, we could talk about. You know all the things, you know pre before I met the Lord and all the things but I really feel like my life even began began when I heard him for the first time, after being a believer for a long time. I mean, gosh, I guess it wasn't 20 years at that point, but it felt like I had gone to church forever. I really thought I knew the Lord, and there was a moment, you know, that it was so still and so quiet in 2020. And there was a lot of things, you know, that happened in that same period of time, like in our family. You know, we lost somebody very close to us. But when I think about that time period, I thank God for it, because at the time, I was teaching and my husband and I were both teaching full-time, and so we were basically made to be at home just like everybody else.

Speaker 2: 2:51

But even in our profession, there was nothing we could do for work.

Speaker 2: 2:56

Some people were forced to be at home, but they were still working and they had deadlines and all the things, but, like for the first time, I think, in my entire life, since I started working at 14, I literally had nothing to do. I mean, we were trying to find things to do creatively, you know, and so I just decided one day that you know what, I'm going to get up early before anybody in the house gets up, and I'm just going to sit in the living room in the quiet by myself. We had three kids still living at home, two small ones and our teenage daughter, our oldest daughter. So generally, you know, our house wasn't super quiet, but I knew that I could get up before anybody else got up. And it was so quiet and I'll be honest, like I was tempted to do what I felt like I should do, which is grab my Bible, my journal, my phone, so I could, you know, play music. But I'm telling you there was something in me that said no, just sit here, which it felt so uncomfortable.

Speaker 1: 4:18

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 4:20

I don't think up to that point. I had ever done that before. Really, I don't think up to that point. I had ever done that before. Really, I don't think so. Like not to sit in the quiet with nothing to do, like if I was sitting and it was quiet and I was spending time with the Lord, I was reading, I was listening to music or worshiping, I was writing, I was writing, I was praying, but I mean just to literally just sit and there was nothing. It felt so awkward, but in that moment I'm sorry.

Speaker 2: 4:56

You feel kind of restless in a way like yes, like you're kind of like uh yes, you know like the, the, the urge to move or the urge to do or the urge to read um like it felt so unproductive yeah.

Speaker 1: 5:13

Unproductive. Yes.

Speaker 2: 5:14

Yes, mm-hmm, but so I, I, I had nothing, um, and as I just sat there though, though I didn't have like the questions to ask the Lord, but I, just I had this, this desire for whatever he had that I didn't know about yet, that's kind of what it felt like, like, ok, I'm sitting here, I got no questions to ask, there's no scripture or song that's come into my mind, but if there's something that you have for me that I don't know about, or that I'm, because I kind of felt like I was missing out on something, but I didn't know what it was on something, but I didn't know what it was, and so in that moment I'm just sitting there and the Lord says I love you and I've always been here.

Speaker 2: 6:30

And I just began to see these different clips of my life before I met the Lord, which was very significant, because I was definitely running for a period of time from the Lord, like I mean, it wasn't just I'm doing my own thing, but it was like I want nothing to do with you and I feel like it was a very rebellious like that's the only way I can describe it Like I'm going to do things my way. I got this, I'm going to figure it out.

Speaker 2: 6:51

And when people would try to pray for me, it was like nope Me in my rebellion that he was there, like and not that he was just there, but that he had this extravagant love for me that was there then and was there in that moment, like that same, like he was saying I couldn't love you any more then than I love you now it's like wild love yeah, unexplainable, extravagant, doesn't make sense but wrecks you in a completely crazy way and as I just sobbed and just it was like the love of God was washing over me in that moment and I feel like it was in that moment and I feel like it was in that moment that he just was inviting me to something that I didn't even know existed and all of a sudden it became—the only way I know to describe it is this incredibly uncomplicated version of the gospel.

Speaker 1: 8:32

Tell us a little more about uncomplicated version of the gospel. I think there's a key right there for somebody.

Speaker 2: 8:40

I do too. I feel like for so long I do too. I feel like for so long my version of the gospel really consisted of the things that God expects us to do. That was really, you know, it was more about. It felt like, I guess, very heavy. It's more about this burden that we bear Pick up your cross and it's something that feels heavy because it's all of the things that I believe God expects of me. And at the end of the day, I need to make sure that I'm tracking with these things, because this is the gospel right here.

Speaker 2: 9:23

And so I'm seeing, like this list, you know, in front of me and I think in that moment I just I wasn't thinking about anything.

Speaker 2: 9:34

And I think the thing that wrecked me the most is I had no Bible open, I had no journal, I had no worship music, I wasn't even inside the church building and yet I experienced God in a way that I had never experienced him before. And it's like all of a sudden, god's inviting me into this relationship that I saw no list. Like for the first time since I committed my life to Christ, I couldn't see the list. I wasn't hearing him telling me all of the things that I needed to do in order to receive his love, and I'm like, wait a minute. This doesn't even feel normal to me, like why are we not presenting this version of the gospel, the one where the Lord says I want you to come to me, I want you to come away with me. There are things that I want to share with you. I want to get to know you. I want to love on you. I don't know that I'd ever heard that before.

Speaker 1: 11:03

I don't know that I'd ever heard that before. Was there a moment that, as you're having this, it's an encounter. I would say, yeah, just a beautiful encounter of grace and love and mercy and just all of the things? If you could look back, do you feel like it was the church that was kind of pointing you to this, or was it like a combination of maybe other people in your life, wrong doctrine, reading the Bible and kind of interpreting it in a way that do you know what I'm saying? Like was there something that, like you flipped the switch and was like we need to take this back?

Speaker 2: 11:51

I think really it was even a combination of my own background, like as a doer, yeah, um, like I come from a home that you just really don't stop, like you just don't, even if you're sick, like you still go to work, and the idea of sitting and doing nothing has, you know, up to that point, been very like, not even a part of my life. I guess I had a very hard time being still. But then you, you couple that part of myself with I got plugged into a church at 23,. Um, immediately, you know, started serving and from that point forward, I don't think ever went to church and not like been in some kind of um, like, been in some kind of like a position or something where and and the. I feel like in every place that we ever went, it was the handful of people that were doing all of the things and and like serving is just something that you know that you just do. Like everywhere you go, you do serve. And not to say that that's not, you know that we're not that but it was the expectation that, okay, you come to church, you become a member and then you get.

Speaker 2: 13:13

You never really felt like like our family was priority, like time with my family and caring for my family. It didn't feel like a priority to me. It felt like this is just what you do, you need to be here and so, and every time the doors are open, you need to be here for that. And so I think it was the message, without it being the message spoken Like. That was just the understood things, that was expected, and so that's what we did. That was expected and so that's what we did. Um, but I just I felt like there was such a pureness in that moment with the Lord that none of that existed. Like I was not in the church meeting with the Lord, I was in my home.

Speaker 1: 14:23

Yes, and wouldn't you say a lot of? I don't know about you, but a lot of people. Even in that moment you know, 2020, 2021, um kind of had an awakening moment.

Speaker 2: 14:36

Oh my gosh.

Speaker 1: 14:38

Yes, yes, and I want to just preface we're not saying anything that the church is bad. You know, I'm not I know you're not your heart either.

Speaker 2: 14:48

So no, preface that no, nothing, nothing at all against um the church because, honestly, I feel like what we have done, like as a whole, as as a church body, is what we feel like is best, like I don't. I don't ever feel like there was manipulation or there was, um, you know me being made to do these things, or I feel like it was all from a place of. This is what we do for the Lord, this is, this is how we reach people. Um, our heart, our heart is for the Lord and for others, so that they may know Him. And so what do we do?

Speaker 2: 15:32

Well, I heard someone say this was a worship leader, and this has stuck with me, and what she said is we figured out or found what we believe works, and then we tried to replicate it.

Speaker 2: 15:53

So we, you know, perhaps we had this, this amazing service, or whatever, and and the Lord was so present and just moved in such a mighty way, and so it's almost like at that point, we're like, oh, this must be what the Lord likes, this must be what Holy Spirit likes, this is the atmosphere, this is the way we do things.

Speaker 2: 16:15

So let me continue to do it this way, so that God is pleased and people encounter the Lord, and I feel like maybe that's what we have done, is what we feel like we're supposed to do, in order to provide a place where people can encounter God. The way it has sent the message that these are the things that we do not. The Lord is inviting you into a relationship with Him, and let me share with you about what it can look like, because I can't recall a time and maybe there have been messages that I just can't recall but for someone to share with me. Do you know that the Lord wants to speak directly to you in order for you to get to know him and cultivate this relationship?

Speaker 1: 17:26

there's some very practical things that you should you know that you could do in your life in order to get to know him? Yeah Well, would you be open to sharing even some of those things? I'm guessing that somebody is listening saying well, what I don't? I don't hear him how does she what? What is she doing Like? And I actually want to reset, rather than saying redoing, to say rebeing yeah, renewing, yes, restilling, oh, he's still. Bestilling is that a word let's make it up today?

Speaker 2: 18:11

bestilling, yes I think the thing that has been instrumental is not doing so much that you have no time to be still. So, in that same year, the spring of 2020, is actually the last time that I was in the teaching profession. I left teaching that semester that year to come home and I'm not saying, you know, leave your job. You know, sell everything and leave everything, but what I did, the Lord had already. I felt the Lord really stirring me and just I had a peace about leaving the teaching profession at that time and so, as you can imagine, like I wasn't as busy and I had time, but even now, like I'm building a business from home and it's so easy to just fill my days with everything because there's always something to do. However, I think the thing that is most valuable is that quiet time, the time to just be still, and maybe it's not first thing in the morning, you know, for everyone, for me, that's it is first thing in the morning, but maybe it's in the evening when everybody else has gone to bed. You know, but just setting aside some time, a few minutes every day, and maybe you don't even have the words, because I didn't have the words to articulate, I didn't know the questions to ask. I was just like God, if there's more that I can grab a hold of or that you can share with me, like I want that.

Speaker 2: 20:21

So there was no eloquent scripture that came out.

Speaker 2: 20:25

There was no eloquent worship. I had nothing but just a desire in my heart to get to know the God that I felt like I was missing out on, and so I think it's coming to the Lord in all honesty, like God, I believe there's more for me than what I'm experiencing right now, and I am, on purpose, sitting here and I invite you to sit with me. I just invite you to sit with me. I just invite you to sit with me. And I don't know, I don't know the questions to ask, I don't know the prayer to pray because I don't know what I'm missing out on. But if there's something that you have for me that I'm not experiencing, that I invite you to be with me and I can promise you that God wants to spend time with you and you don't have to have the questions to ask or the Bible memorized in order for him to meet you in that moment, because he does want to get to know you Like he. He wants you to know that he knows you.

Speaker 1: 21:56

So beautiful. I hope you guys are catching this. There's a, there's a, it's a. It's a childlike faith, Truly.

Speaker 2: 22:09

Yeah, and the word even tells us to come to him out like a child, right, and I think it's, it's that combination of like the curiosity, because I think that's, it's like that's what the Lord unlocked. You know, like I'm wondering, I'm thinking, I'm wondering is there something more? Because I think there is, and being willing to like put aside all the things that maybe you think up to that point that that God is this, or God is that, or I got to do this, I got to do that. What about just inviting him into our space? And I don't know how, how you're going to, how you're going to show up, lord, but I just want to invite you to come into this space just as you are, because I want to get to know you just as you are. And I think from there, god is going to wreck you Because he is personal, like he will show up and speak to us in the exact way, with the words and and whatever. It is that that you need to hear in that moment.

Speaker 1: 23:38

I love and, if you guys are hearing it, there is a such a simplicity about this. It is literally making space, making time, making room, and he will meet you there every single time, every single time.

Speaker 2: 23:56

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 23:57

As you've been instilling instilling. I had a word years ago, I did a post about instilling stillness. So as you started instilling stillness into your life over these last four years, have you found him to speak to differently, even throughout your day. Rather, you know what it started with you stopping being still in your home Like has. Has he expanded on this? Has there been a more that you've experienced since then in how he speaks to you?

Speaker 2: 24:36

Hmm, yeah, I feel like it's all kinds of ways and sometimes in unexpected and just unique ways, but like I don't know if everyone is just a visual person or if it's just me, but I know I am very visual and so I feel like the Lord is always speaking to me in what I would call movies, not like actual movies that have been produced, but I see these movie clips, I guess, and visuals and through nature, like just be sitting out in our backyard and see something, like just be sitting out in our backyard and see something, and it's like here's something from the Lord that connects, you know, to the red bird that's sitting on the fence in front of me, you know. But I think the interesting thing is I've been able to hear my thoughts, versus before I don't know that I ever would have stopped to think about like the things I'm thinking about.

Speaker 1: 25:53

Right, cause you were moving so fast.

Speaker 2: 25:57

Yes, and I'm like, I have thoughts.

Speaker 1: 26:03

Um, like wild, like we cause I've walked a similar journey myself and and to actually go wow and truly. It's like the things that we often, you know, maybe wouldn't have thought about before. I don't know about you, I think I could have made that up, you know, like I could not have made that up, and I know that it's this partnering with him. He's giving us words like pathetic words for ourselves to receive, but also to release to others. Have you found even in your last few years.

Speaker 2: 26:45

Well, I feel like it's this ongoing conversation that's always happening, you know, and and it's not just this one one moment of the day, as as I'm sitting down with the Lord, you know, intentionally, but it's. It's learning how to just we're just in this constant conversation, like all the time, and it doesn't have to look this one way or this one way, but it's just. It's just the journey that we're on and and I think, for me, something that has really absolutely just blown my mind is in that same year, when I was really just starting to hear from the Lord and and I was connecting with different people online because I started a business in that same year that was online and um, I would connect with these different women, and, in particular, the first woman that I had worked for, and we would pray for one another. And, as I would just be praying or writing things down like for her and about her, like I didn't even really understand what was going on, but then I would share things with her and she would come back and she would say, like how did you know that? Like I don't know, I just I'm just praying, like I'm just praying for you, and or I would send her a prayer, you know, and so out loud I'm praying for her, you know, through a message or something, and then she would come back and she would share things. And I'm just like, lord, what exactly is going on here? How, like this isn't even possible, like how, I don't know how, this, you know.

Speaker 2: 28:36

So it was that just in the very beginning, and even now it just, it blows my mind that the creator of the universe would, would, give us something to share with someone else or pray something so specific on behalf of someone else's. He's choosing to use me, like to to do that. And and it wasn't because, like, I had done all these things, or I had studied prayer, or, um, uh, I I don't, yeah, I don't even know, like I'm at a loss for words, but and's the simplicity of the Lord. He's just like, if you'll just say, yes, I got things for you, it's not even about you, it's about those that I'm going to connect you with, or those that I'm going to have you to share a word with, because they need to hear from me, and not that they can't hear from me for themselves.

Speaker 2: 29:49

But there's something so powerful that happens when God sends you as a messenger to give a message to somebody else that has just prayed and asked God for something. And then you go to them and say I don't, I don't know why I'm feeling this, but I just have to, I just have to tell you this. And then, all of a sudden, it wrecks them because, even though you don't have a connection to them, because this has happened like no connection to that person, but I know God said go there and and and this is what I want you to do. And, even though it doesn't make sense, just do it.

Speaker 1: 30:28

And then they just realized that God sent somebody to give them a message for the very thing that they had been praying about, like yes, it reminds me of even this morning I was in Isaiah, reading Isaiah six specifically, it's six through let's see, I think six through nine. I'll just read it. Then I heard the Lord. I heard the voice of the Lord saying whom shall I send and who will look for us? And I said here I am, send me. He said go and tell this people be ever hearing but never understanding, be ever seeing but never perceiving. So it's that willingness like you have, that, as we can remember, as she started sharing. It started with that faith, like a child, open to receive, open to be poured into, open to pour out, open to listen and just like can you share a little bit more about even a, maybe a prophetic word somebody has given you that shifted everything for you that shifted everything for you.

Speaker 2: 31:51

You know, honestly, the thing that comes up is a testimony that I heard very early on in the journey in 2020, that really it unlocked something else on the inside of me, just to know that I can go to the Lord. And the testimony was really just all about this lady. It was her son, actually, and he was struggling with addiction and had for a long time, but she would tell me about how every Sunday he would run, like run to the altar, like he was running to God every chance he got, but at the same time, he was still struggling, like he was having these struggles, and it was like in real time. So it wasn't he didn't get cleaned up before, but he was running to the Lord in the middle of the mess, but he was running to the Lord in the middle of the mess. And when I heard that it just it gave me permission and I guess, even just helped me to see that I can go to God with everything as me, you know, because there were so many times and even now you know I joke or whatever you know about just being too much, like too emotional, or you know, like I'll just be, like I feel like I'm just too much, lord. You know, just be talking in real time or whatever to the Lord.

Speaker 2: 33:21

But at that particular time in my my life, though, I was going through a lot of like highs and lows and um, just still didn't didn't know like, okay, just how close can I get with the Lord? I don't because I was feeling like too much, but when I heard that testimony it was like it unlocked that place within me that was still kind of resistant, like even though I knew how personal that God was, like I mean, he spoke to me, I knew he was real, but it was like part of me was still kind of holding back a little bit because of my own my own thoughts about myself and and what God could handle and what he couldn't, you know as it relates to me. But I just began to go to the Lord like just as myself, um, just as who I am, and and in the messy, in the emotional, in the when I've been angry, I mean just, and I've just let it all hang out.

Speaker 1: 34:33

And.

Speaker 2: 34:33

I can't even tell you like the, not just the lines of communication, but just like the relationship, like God really wants us to come as we are, and it's not because he doesn't know who we are, but the more we go to him as we are, we begin to see ourselves as he sees us, and it's transformational I think that's the only way that I can put it so beautiful, and I I wish you guys could see sabrina's face, because, as I'm just hearing you talk, I I kept hearing radiance and I was reminded of psal 5, which is, those who look to him are radiant.

Speaker 1: 35:27

Their faces are never covered with shame.

Speaker 2: 35:35

And there's no shame. There is no shame. And I think, even on the days when I feel like man, I have messed up and even saying things to myself like am I going to get it right? Like ever, because, lord, we've been on this journey now for how long. And it's just like I. Just I can just hear the Lord. He's like it's OK. Yes, it's just like I. Just I can just hear the lord. He's like it's okay. Yes, it's it's okay.

Speaker 2: 36:10

You know just that I, I know, um, but it's just that it's like that friend that you didn't know you were missing out on, but you're so glad you found them, because they're willing to sit with you, just as you are, but they're not about to leave you that way, because they know there's something more that they have for you on the other side. You know like there's. So I think that's what it is. It's the friend that you didn't know you needed. But you're missing out if you don't have the friend. And it's the friend that will sit with you in all the messes, in all the ups, the downs, the highs, the lows, when you're at your best, when you're at your worst, and so gently and tenderly and lovingly take you by the hand and absolutely lead you where you would never go on your own. But he knows that's where you need to go.

Speaker 1: 37:19

I'm just reminded of the prodigal son. I mean just even I'm very visual myself and just being reminded of, you know, the prodigal son and the father was just waiting and through a period he came back and it's so beyond, like that extravagant. You know, love that's so beyond. Maybe some of you, you know, like myself, grew up in really, really challenging homes and it's maybe hard to trust the father. Would you maybe speak to that a little bit? Did you ever have times where it was challenging to trust him? You know, in this walk Maybe that hasn't been a thing for you, which is amazing, but I know for some it definitely has been and what would you say to them?

Speaker 2: 38:11

Yeah, I, I can relate for sure, um, like that feeling of at some point you're going to tap out, right, because I am a lot, um, you know, and just thinking about, you know, just past, our own past experiences, where maybe we've given all and it still wasn't enough, or the person left and just thinking and wondering at times. You know that the Lord is going to tap out and I've absolutely thought that because, you know, we get down on ourselves when we feel like we just can't get it right, or we know the Lord's called us to do something and we hesitate, and then we beat ourselves up because we hesitate or we didn't do the thing, but he never taps out, like he's never going to tap out. And, and I think too, we have to let go of the human version that we can make God out to be Like I have, you know, and and again, I'm very visual and so I see God is so real and so tangible. But then sometimes that can be a hindrance, because then I put all of these human-like things on Him that he's this way, that he's going to get burnout on me, and at some point he's going to just be like, no, she's not going to get it right. So I'm out. But he doesn't possess those things Right. He is fully God and encompasses this love that we can't even understand, and encompasses this love that we can't even understand.

Speaker 2: 40:05

And so I just encourage you to release God of those human, even father-like, earthly, father-like qualities or characteristics that we can put on Him, that cause us to feel a certain way about him, as if he is the embodiment of the father that let us down or the relationships that have not gone well.

Speaker 2: 40:37

And sometimes I think we cherry pick all these things, all the negatives about all the different relationships and father figures or mother figures, and then we put those on him in those moments where it's really hard and we're just assuming that he's going to respond in the same way that so-and-so did. But he's not. You got to release him of those things and you, you, and I think we have to again. God, I want to. I want to know you for who you really are and go back to that Like God, who are you really? Because I know that this is my experience, but you're God and this is not you. So help me to see you and know you and experience you as you really are, because that's going to shatter all of the other mess that we try to carry over.

Speaker 1: 41:42

Yes, I feel like that's really breaking off something in someone today. So, as you've been on this really beautiful, deeper journey these last four years, has there been like a guiding verse or passage for you? Has there been someone in the Bible that's just been really like pivotal in your life, that you look to as like, yeah, that's, that's my, my man, that's my woman and I'm like I so relate to them.

Speaker 2: 42:22

You know, sometimes I I think a lot about Esther. Honestly, just over the last few years, and I think part of it is I'm wondering if perhaps there's some Esther in me. But I also feel like God has called me to the Esthers, um, and and I think about how. She didn't necessarily she wasn't looking for an opportunity to go, but it was the uncle who said, hey, you're going to go. And I have felt like that, like I never asked for any of this, nor would I have ever found it, but God in His loving kindness and gentleness, gentleness led me to a life that I can't imagine doing, life any other way. Now, you know, but he called her for such a time and it wasn't even about her.

Speaker 2: 43:20

And a lot of times I think what trips me up is I make it about me. I get so all in my own head. You know, what if I sound like this? What if you know all the things? And again, it's always focused on me.

Speaker 2: 43:33

But when I think about her story, it was so not about her, it was all about the people that she was attached to, that if she didn't go, you know, maybe God would have sent somebody else, you know, out of the woodworks? I don't know, but the fact that she did go and entire people and generations and generations to come were impacted because of her, and the fact that she chose to go before the king, despite the fact that it could have been her very last moment, and I think about that, that sense of like our assignments and generations and eternity, like we're talking about an eternal impact. Um, forget about the next moment. What about those that that that are attached to our assignment, generations and generations to come? And the Lord is just asking us to show up as we are with what he's given us, with what's in our hands, and the idea of hesitating is like, oh my gosh, we just got to go, because it ain't even about us.

Speaker 1: 44:58

Amen, I'm so with you. She was she's definitely one of my, one of my gals too. She was she's definitely one of my, one of my gals too. Well, as you are sharing a little bit, we we haven't heard what he's called you into in this season. We know that you have a business, and you mentioned that a little while ago, so tell us a little bit more about this journey of him drawing you into something, and what is it drawing you into something and what is it?

Speaker 2: 45:24

Yeah, so, um, I have no business background, which I think is super, super comical. You know that the Lord would say start a business, Um. And I remember saying, like Lord, I teach that's what I do, Um. But he said, well, you're going to take what's in your hands and you're going to start a business. And so I started a consulting service back in 2020, thinking that I could just serve people as, like, a virtual assistant, and it was my first client for virtual assistant work.

Speaker 2: 45:58

That became my first client for podcast guesting and it was really the power and impact of her story that I just said hey, you know, can, can I help you share this, this message, Like, can I help you get this message out there? And at the time, I didn't know what a podcast was. I didn't even know, like, how people were speaking, Like, again, no background here. And I was like what did I just offer to do for her? Because I don't even like. It was almost like I I said it, I heard myself say it, but I'm like why did you say that? I know nothing about speaking? Um. But I look back and see now like that was the gentle leading of the Lord, Right Cause I never would have said yes to that. That was the gentle leading of the Lord, right, Because I never would have said yes to that because I had no idea what I was doing. But so I started helping her and then she shared with someone else. You know what I was doing for her, which was basically I started, you know, with a Google search and I'm just praying like Lord, what are we doing here? You got to, you got to open the doors. You got to, you got to help me, which he did, of course, just gently led me step by step, and so she shared with somebody else, who shared with somebody else. And that's when Kingdom Connections Podcast and Media Agency kind of just developed into what it is now, which just about serving.

Speaker 2: 47:29

I think it's interesting that you had prayed and you said women and men, which currently I've only been serving women, but I've had men that have come to me very recently and I've just been asking the Lord about that very thing. So I find that very interesting, but all about just helping them to get their message out. What is the message that God has given you to share? Maybe it's the message of your business, it's that thing that's interwoven, it's the heartbeat of your business, message of your business. It's that thing that's interwoven, it's the heartbeat of your business.

Speaker 2: 48:11

Maybe it's the message of the book that you have written and God is like okay, now it's time to steward the message. The book is out but we're not done so maybe it's you know the message of the book, but it's really about connecting people in the body together to get his message, Because I feel like at the core of all the messages, it's his message. We're just delivering it. I feel like in a little different way, based on the gifts and the talents and the stories, the journey that we have been on, talents and the stories, the journey that we have been on, and so it's about getting the message out there through podcast guesting and strategic connections and collaborations.

Speaker 1: 48:58

I love this so much. I hope you guys are listening to this intently too. I want to back it up a little bit.

Speaker 2: 49:06

No, no experience in business none Like this has just all been it's. It's a yes. So, whatever God is inviting you into, the answer is yes, Um, and you leave the rest up to him. Like just to be willing to go on the journey, be willing to embrace the uncomfortable, because it's going to get real uncomfortable. I'll just tell you.

Speaker 1: 49:37

I was going to ask you about some of those uncomfortables. Do you want to go there for a?

Speaker 2: 49:46

moment. I mean the most uncomfortable, like in the very beginning is when the first person came to me and said can I pay you to do this for me too? That was so uncomfortable because here I am, literally I've just started, I'm not making any money, but I'm. I'm literally just piecing this together as I go and the first person comes to me and is like, can I pay you to do this for me too? And I was super open because this was she was a friend at the time as well, so it wasn't just like out of nowhere somebody, but I was very honest and open and transparent.

Speaker 2: 50:25

I'm like, hey, I am building this as I go. I just want to let you know I don't have all the pieces in place, but God is opening doors on behalf of his children. That's all I can tell you. Like, I know that that this is a supernatural thing that's taking place here, because I don't have connections to these people, but as I'm reaching out, they're opening their doors and they're I'm booking this woman on these podcasts and so just know it's. It's like the Lord and I are doing this together and if you want to be part of it, yes, you can pay me and I'll do this for you too.

Speaker 1: 51:01

So amazing. So I do want to ask you because in business there's a lot of like gurus out there. There's a lot of people that tell you what you should do and shouldn't do, and have to do or not have to do what has kept you focused on just really staying in alignment with the Lord? Have you found that there's been a lot of good people that have come along your path to help you in business? Have you been open to that? What does that look like for you?

Speaker 2: 51:34

you in business. Have you been open to that? What does that look like for you? I so very early on.

Speaker 2: 51:46

The interesting thing is there was some women the first few women that became my clients, really like I was giving and offering a service, but I was receiving so much from them, like there would be moments where I would be like, how can I charge them for this? Because, as I'm like they're giving, I am receiving from their message like exponentially, and so I feel like that was very instrumental in the beginning because I mean, like I said, this was just a complete faith journey, like I'm just trusting God for the next step and I needed community. But I didn't know that I needed community. But they became like those people for me, um, and and one I'm still working for and and with all of them and closely connected with them.

Speaker 2: 52:38

But I feel like there was a couple of anchor things, though, in the very beginning that the Lord said we were to build in this way, and he said quality versus quantity, we're not going after numbers, we're going after people.

Speaker 2: 52:53

Not going after numbers, we're going after people. And I think that has been an anchor like seriously in the midst of what I feel like is a numbers game, like how many podcasts, how many can you know? I mean numbers, and and I've been so tempted many times to compromise because I just felt like if this is the way people are operating in podcast guesting, then how am I going to build a successful business? If you know so, I would be like, oh, can I Nope? And he'd be like I said we're going to build on quality, not quantity, and again, you are focused on relationships. This is not transactional, and so between the clients that he has sent me, that I feel like have all been divine connections, and that anchor in the very beginning has been so instrumental in just staying the course, the way that he has said to build.

Speaker 1: 54:03

I love that. I'm so with you with the numbers in this world. He actually showed me several years ago it's four to one, but there's going to be an exponential measure beyond that, because in the world, one times one is one and the world just sees one as minuscule, right. But he showed me in the kingdom one times one is exponential, like literally. I mean, if you look at each day, this is what I do, I think think all right being available that's one of my anchors. Being available, like going to the grocery store If I see somebody and I feel like God's calling me over to them that one word you say to somebody, one word to the one, could impact generations. And it's not us, it's not us getting the credit, it's us doing that thing. Send me, I will go.

Speaker 1: 55:00

It may not make sense and you know, in the business world, for those of you who are entrepreneurs, I really just encourage you to lean in and stay in alignment with the Lord. It might mean pulling back, sometimes like taking a break, maybe for an extended period of time. Yes, even in that, what does that look like for you in business? To rest Because you came out of a doing, being right, a being that was doing a lot. It's now being being and doing. You're doing and being, but what does that look like for you to stay in rest and business? What does it look like to be free and light in business?

Speaker 2: 55:54

I think it's been a process of learning how to abide, and rest doesn't necessarily mean, I mean, it could mean taking time off and shutting everything down, because I think that there's times when we need that Absolutely. But I think the thing that has been the most crucial is it's not that I've had so much off time where I've unplugged completely, but I'm learning to abide every day and and I'm learning how to surrender my schedule to the Lord, which, I'll be real honest, that is so hard. Um, because I'm someone who wants to get it all done yesterday, um, and and feeling accomplished, you know if, if I've done all of the things. Um, so it's setting the tone for the day in the very beginning, before I've checked my phone, before I've checked my emails. It's spending that time with the Lord and understanding that what I'm doing is not just work Like that, this is kingdom business. Like we advance in the kingdom here. Like that's kind of the way I hear it in my head. Like we're we advance in the kingdom here. Like that's kind of the way I hear it in my head. Like we doing real eternal stuff here.

Speaker 2: 57:21

Um, this isn't just a regular job, um, because sometimes, you know, you get caught up in the mundane. You know, like these are the things that I have to do Um, and and, and that's just part of it, right, but but it's all part of the bigger picture. You know that which god has called us to, um, and I'm just thinking about that. What you said, it just reminded me of the word catalyst, like you don't even know that the person that you are speaking to, the one like, are they a catalyst for something? Like what? What does God have for them? Because are you about to like water, the ground for somebody that's about to give up? And then, because of your words, like they literally go and I don't know, change the world. I mean that just one plus one does not equal one Um, because you don't know the impact of one, and I think that's why God keeps bringing me back to the quality over quantity, like the one is significant, so significant.

Speaker 1: 58:27

So significant? Yeah, speaking of that one, can you think of a one in your business that you've worked with that maybe you have a testimony that you'd be open to sharing that they maybe have openly shared, that we could share with the audience to maybe a little bit more of what somebody's experienced from their end?

Speaker 2: 58:51

Yes, so this is a testimony that is public. Yes, so this is a testimony that is public from a previous client, Susan, that I have worked with and she is just a very dear friend, but she had shared on a call that we had. It was like a client journey interview, so I was interviewing her about her experience and we get to talking about part of the journey that takes place in Voxer and it's really it's prayer, it's intercession, it's connecting to them and to Him and us together and it's via Voxer and to Him and us together and it's via Voxer. And she talks about that, about the experience of that and how sometimes, you know, or a lot of times, I guess I would come in on Voxer and the things that would be shared from the Lord. Again, this is just. I'm just like what you know, what do you want me to share? You know how can I pray for her and I'll just share whatever is on the Lord's heart for her and how that impacted her in such a way, because she knew that in that moment her father was so concerned about her that he had a special message for her in that moment that he wanted to share with her. And so not only, you know, were the connections good and the interviews good, but it was being reminded that her Heavenly Father is with her and and and even sometimes, the very things that that she would be praying about, you know, that morning, you know God would, would send a message directly to that which she was praying and talking to him about, which, to me, that, just again, our connection to him and the fact that he, he, wants to be so personal, and so the the journey is so much more than just podcast interviews and strategic connections.

Speaker 2: 1:01:06

But it's this journey that we go on with the Lord, where he gets to say I see exactly where you are. I know the message that I put on the inside of you. I want to open doors that are above and beyond all that you could ask, think or imagine. And then, along the way, I see you in those moments where you're feeling inadequate, where you're wondering can I even do this, Can I even show up for this? I am going to meet you right there, and so that's part of the journey, because I'm just asking along the way what do they need to hear today?

Speaker 2: 1:01:45

You know, I'm going to go in here and I'm going to pray for them for this interview that they have to go to, but the Lord will just show up and something else comes out that I didn't plan for. But God knew what they were struggling with on the other side and he needed them to know that he was there and that they are equipped, they are prepared, they will show up because God in them is so much greater than any opposition around them, and so I feel like that's something that has. I mean, yes, it's for them, but, oh my gosh, it's this thing that goes on between the three of us, Because, as I'm hearing from the Lord on their behalf, like I am just blown away because he's speaking, you know. So it's this, it's this beautiful faith strengthening walk that that we get to go on, because we're all listening and hearing and sharing.

Speaker 1: 1:02:56

Well, now I can really understand the word that I gave you before we started. You're sending home the message, girl.

Speaker 2: 1:03:04

Yes, yes, the messenger.

Speaker 1: 1:03:12

It's special for you, but, oh gosh, I am just so excited for your journey and so thankful for the ways that you have really, you know, shown up and you're walking with him. You're doing it, you know with him his way, you know it's not been, you know, a perfectly easy journey, and and that's why we all need each other, we need others in our corner that are willing to go the extra mile with us and remind us of our but God said, not about what ifs. So, as we're wrapping up today, I, I, I do this for the one. This podcast, or as he calls it, with me, a seed cast, is for the one, it's for the one. So, as you're just sitting here, you know envisioning that one who's been listening, um, is there anything else that you would want to say to her or him? We maybe have some hymns. It's usually hers, um, and also, would you be open to praying over her or him?

Speaker 2: 1:04:15

Yeah, absolutely. Um, I'm reminded of what we had shared earlier about the simplicity and the uncomplicated Um, and so I'm just going to pray um, because I believe that that is for somebody. Um, god, I thank you for those listening. I thank you that you are so near and so personal and you've taken the things that have been shared and they've been heard and received in a way that the hearer knows that God in heaven sees them, and I just want to encourage you to take the Lord up on the invitation for relationship, for a deep relationship with him that is uncomplicated, that is simple, yet will change your whole life. It's not full of list, but extravagant love that will leave you never the same love that will leave you never the same Lord.

Speaker 2: 1:05:41

I just pray that, if there be any barriers that would hinder them from just coming to you, I pray that you would break those down, that your love would penetrate to the very depths of who they are and they would know that you are extending an invitation for something that is beyond what their imagination can craft up.

Speaker 2: 1:06:07

And I just pray that they say yes in the most uncomplicated way. It's just a yes. Yes, lord, to whatever you're inviting me into because of the more that you have for them, and I just pray for this sense of excitement and joy and curiosity and child likeness would just begin to well up on the inside of them and that it would not be stifled out by what we might call the adulting, like the things that we have to do, but that they would look at it as an adventure. This is an adventure that God is inviting you into, and if you just say yes, you will never, never, look back, never look back, because it's so good and it's uncomplicated, and that is what the Lord is inviting you into. So give him your yes and prepare for an exciting adventure, and it's in Jesus' name that I pray.

Speaker 1: 1:07:39

Amen Amen.

Speaker 2: 1:07:42

Yes girl.

Speaker 1: 1:07:43

Thank you, Lord. Oh well done for sharing with us today. There's so many keys that Sabrina shared. You might need to listen to this a couple times to catch them all. I will be sure to share Sabrina's information, the show notes that you can get ahold of her. I'm sure she'd be open to chatting with you. She's a connector like me.

Speaker 1: 1:08:08

We both love connecting, so I'm going to close with the anchoring verse for Hope, unlocked it's. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, you may abound in hope, and that's Romans 15, 13. So thank you for being a brave voice that's setting others free and that generational thing is going way beyond you, girl. Thank you so much, kristen, for having me. Thank you. I will be back with another episode next week. See you later.