Seeking God with Desperation: With Theresa Miller

Seeking God with Desperation with Theresa Miller

In this episode of Steps to Trusting, host Erin Michelle welcomes Teresa Miller to delve into profound discussions on trusting God and seeking Him with desperation. They explore the challenge of relinquishing control and placing full trust in God, admitting our need for Him. Key topics include the refinement that comes through suffering, the risk involved in trusting God wholeheartedly, and how to seek God with our whole hearts, using Bible verses such as Jeremiah 29:13 and Proverbs 2:1-4. Teresa shares personal stories and insights about her faith journey, especially relating to parenting and major life decisions, emphasizing the importance and difficulty of surrender. They also highlight the significance of abiding in God's word and maintaining a close relationship with Christ. Teresa speaks about her upcoming Bible study, 'The Posture of Victory,' and how it aims to deepen trust in Jesus.

You can connect with Theresa Miller at Theresammiller.com or on Instagram @Theresammillerauthor
You can connect with Erin at erinmichele.net
Don't forget to like and subscribe so you don't miss upcoming encouragement.  

00:00 Welcome to Steps to Trusting
00:54 Introducing Teresa Miller
01:09 Seeking God with Your Whole Heart
03:38 Trusting God in Desperation
07:17 Surrendering Control to God
08:54 Desperation in Parenting
12:20 God's Trustworthiness in Our Lives
17:46 The Power of Obedience and Faith
24:29 The Journey of Surrender and Abiding
31:16 Closing Thoughts and Prayer
34:18 Final Encouragement and Resources

Transcript

Seeking God with Desperation: With Theresa Miller

[00:00:00] You found yourself at Steps to Trusting. I'm Erin Michele, your host. At Steps to Trusting, it's my goal to meet you where you are in your faith journey and to encourage you as you continue to walk through the tension between wanting to follow God obediently and learning to trust God's enoughness, even in your lack.

[00:00:17] If you are like me and need to be reminded over and over that God is enough and you don't have to be, then this podcast is for you. 

[00:00:27] Erin: On this episode, we discussed topics like turning to God in our desperation, the risk that it is to trust God, and how we can be refined in our suffering. If you have felt the pull of desperation The challenge that it is to surrender that to the Lord. Feeling that though you may try, you can't fix, change, or control the situation that you're in. Then this podcast episode is for you. 

[00:00:54] We're about to jump in, but I wanted to tell you a little bit about Teresa.

[00:00:58] Teresa Miller is a wife, a mother of four, and a homeschool mom. 

[00:01:02] Erin: I'm here with Teresa Miller. Teresa, thanks for joining me. Thanks for having me. Glad that you could be here. And Teresa, I wanted to just start with a verse that you mentioned that really was hitting you right now. I was wondering if you could share that verse with us and how it seems to be speaking to you and affecting your life right now.

[00:01:22] Theresa: Yeah. So the verse was Jeremiah 29, 13, and it says, You will seek me. And find me when you seek me with your whole heart, Jeremiah 29, 13. And that resonates with me because I asked myself, what does it mean to seek him? With my whole heart and what does that look like and there's another verse that goes right along with that.

[00:01:53] It comes from Proverbs 2, 1 through 4 and this one actually struck me years ago. My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ears attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding, yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.

[00:02:24] When I think about what does it mean to seek God with my whole heart, I think about the time in my early, early marriage. I was probably early thirties and I had a pair of Eddie Bauer sunglasses, not a Big deal, but they were about 30 and it was the most I had ever spent on a pair of sunglasses.

[00:02:43] So I wanted to find those sunglasses. I searched high and low for those sunglasses, desperate to find them. And when I read that verse from Proverbs within that kind of same timeframe in my life, it just struck me how. Desperately, I wanted to find those and I had to ask the question, do I seek God? Do I seek scripture with the same desperation that I did?

[00:03:14] Those sunglasses and that has stayed with me for many, many years now. 

[00:03:21] Erin: I love that. I actually, even just this morning was, was seeking my, my earphones, just that like, Oh no, where are they? And I need to find them. And just like that, that need. I love. Yeah. How it's just hitting me now, that transferring of, do we seek God in that way?

[00:03:38] When you think about this verse and seeking God with all your heart, do you see a risk at seeking? 

[00:03:46] Theresa: Yeah, definitely. We want to take control. We want to have control over our situations over our scenarios we tend to put that trust in ourselves because we have this idea of what things ought to look like.

[00:04:02] And it's really hard to Place that somewhere else and then trust that God has our best in store. And a lot of times we only learn that through trial and error. And so in my life, I have definitely found that if we can trust him for the little things in our lives, if we can take those little risks and trust him with those, then we begin to learn that he is actually trustworthy.

[00:04:28] And then we can trust him. For the bigger things in our lives. And I've definitely seen that to be true in my own life with, yeah, just growing up and growing in my faith. 

[00:04:39] Erin: What would you say some characteristics of God that you've seen him show up that show him to be trustworthy, that it's worth taking that risk?

[00:04:50] Yes. 

[00:04:51] Theresa: Well, it's definitely come through life circumstances and story. I definitely have seen it. And just the time in my life where I believed in God, but didn't necessarily trust him with the choices in my life. So I was taking the reins in my own life and that really just led to, you know, disaster it, you know, one failed attempt after another in certain areas of my life.

[00:05:16] And I finally came to a point specifically in my relationships where I just said, God, I'm so done with this. It's not working, just came to a point of desperation and I finally surrendered that that was kind of a pivotal point in my life. It was a big surrender. Even as a Christian, I had to kind of make a full pivot and just said, you know what I Trust you with my decisions.

[00:05:41] I'm going to actually start doing things your way instead of my way. And that was huge. So that was a big way in my life, but I feel like that's been constant ever since then, it's been a daily waking up in the morning and surrendering my morning or a feeling of anxiety or. Defeat or when the enemy's lies start to trickle in, it's just little things like that.

[00:06:05] Am I going to kind of sit in that doubt, which I have many times, but I've learned and he's shown me as I've turned to him and turned to his word that we can go there together and we can explore what it is that that feeling or whatever that is that I'm believing is. And we can do that in a safe place with Christ.

[00:06:28] And then he leads me to it's true. And that is a very specific way that I have seen God show up and show that he is trustworthy because he will literally transform. My defeated feelings, my feelings of doubt and anxiety and worry. And I've seen that over and over again. So I know it's not, that doesn't always happen easily, but I think it is a practice, something that we can definitely grow in.

[00:06:55] Erin: I love how you're saying that there was moments of surrender that where you can point back to that it was like right here when it happened But also that it's like the longevity of how that grows in you too, right? There's these yeah, you decide but then there's also the moments of like it just continues to see who he is and how faithful 

[00:07:16] Theresa: Definitely.

[00:07:17] Erin: Yeah. One of the things that you said when you were talking, you were talking about it was in your desperation was really when it turns to him. It's not often in the moments where we have everything that we need, that we really dive in and realize that we need God. Even though he's providing all of the things that we need often, it's, it's in that place of desperation when we've like, we see that he's there, but we've.

[00:07:43] Turned and we're trusting ourselves. When we're in that place of desperation, it's very obvious that most of us don't want to be there, but how is it that feeling that desperation? How did that affect your walk with the Lord? 

[00:07:58] Theresa: I just think that it was essential to come to that place.

[00:08:02] There's no other way. I've been in tough places in my life and have Certainly been in that place where I cried out to God and still wasn't willing to let him take the reins. Still wasn't willing to trust him. So I would cry out to God. And ask for his help and his blessing and all of these things, but I wasn't willing to change my walk or where I was spending my time or where I was lying in my thoughts to go or where, wherever it was that I was kind of dwelling.

[00:08:41] And a lot of times when that takes place, it really does. Require that you have to get to that place of this isn't working. God is, I trust you. I need something. I need to. And again, that's kind of at the beginning stages of that, but I also feel places that desperation creep in when it comes to just things in my life, probably most likely with, as a mother, I think we have to be desperate for our children.

[00:09:12] Erin: Could you say more about what you mean by that just regarding like desperate on their behalf or what specifically do you mean when you say to be desperate for our children? 

[00:09:22] Theresa: I think it's the, I think what I mean by that is that it's what God has entrusted to us We have to come to a point of being willing to drop to our knees and give it back to him.

[00:09:34] And I think that's what really truly being desperate for them is, is realizing our limits, our own limits, and then putting that trust back in God, ultimately for what he is going to do in their lives. Like I can go to God and I can cry out, even when we're desperate, we just cry out. How do we say it? I I can't, I can't do this.

[00:09:56] I can't, I can't control this. I, I don't know what to do and I can only do so much. And then I, he just meets us in that place of desperation and comforts us and gives us peace and says, do not grow weary. Can you do what you're doing? I have the outcome. I have control and you can trust me. And that doesn't always mean we're gonna have the perfect outcome, but ultimately we can always trust him. And the only way that we can truly be desperate for them is to be on our knees and just trusting that our, that the Lord loves them more. Then we do. And so when we feel that worry rise up or lack of control, because, you know, parenting will humble you more than any, anything. And so there's so many things that we have to surrender.

[00:10:49] And I think that's another great example of what it feels like to just. to be desperate because you know that you actually don't have the control that you want over the lives of your children you can do the best you can and you can walk in and teach them his ways and all of these things but in the end it's going to be their decision and they're going to make their choices and and even just in regards to things that we just can't control, whether it's, you know, fear of danger or things happening, all of those things, we have to surrender over to Christ.

[00:11:24] And, and it's definitely a way that God refines us. It's, it's in those desperate moments that he really is able to work. And I also find that it's in those desperate moments that he responds and it's not that he's responding, but it might be the times that I'm actually paying attention to. showing up and meeting me, whereas I might be a little too distracted.

[00:11:46] Otherwise, 

[00:11:48] Erin: I relate to that a lot that that piece of he's probably already showing up. It's just I'm not acknowledging that he's showing up in those places. It's when We put our trust in other places and it's failing and we aren't really leaning on him that we see our need for him. 

[00:12:08] How do you think we protect against the temptation to trust ourselves or to trust even if it's not ourselves? It's just something that feels more comfortable. It doesn't feel like a risk.

[00:12:20] Theresa: So our tendency to control definitely keeps us in that really safe space and where we can kind of have a handle on all the things, but something that I have definitely found about God is that he is not a tame God. He's a wild God. And when we try to control things and kind of make things work according to our imaginations, limit what God has for us.

[00:12:46] And so my tendency to kind of play it safe and maybe I'm protecting myself somehow, or maybe I'm trying to protect the people in my life somehow by not releasing them. It just actually causes More damage potentially, I see how when I surrendered my relationships over to God, that he actually surpassed my imagination.

[00:13:19] I don't want to rely on my imagination for what all that God has for me, because it's so Limited. And when I look at my children and how they're growing sometimes, and I think I didn't do that, you know, there's something beautiful happening here with the relationship with Jesus. And I'm like, I didn't do that.

[00:13:36] Yes. I laid in a foundation for them with my husband and we've been an example to the best of our ability, but we've also messed up. We also didn't do enough. We also, you know, there's so many things that we could just. Condemn ourselves for, and yet God's grace is so abundant, but just continuing to entrust them to the Lord.

[00:13:59] Lord, you got them. This is a journey. I needed all this time to get to where I am. And look at my husband, look at what you have done in him. Look at his heart. So it's just so freeing to be able to just completely entrust the Lord with the things that we care most about. And that includes whatever calling that we have, whether it's, you know, another vocation, or maybe He has something so much bigger than we do 

[00:14:27] Erin: when you were talking, one of the things I was thinking about there, I remember a moment when my kids were young and you tuck them into bed and like walking around upstairs and praying for them.

[00:14:37] And I just remember this moment in my own desire to control, praying for all the things that life would go smoothly and their friends would always be kind, you know, just, just all this. ease of life and, and not necessarily praying for what I think it takes for us to like release our hands open and to pray for, like, God be known to them.

[00:15:01] You know, like, may they seek you. It takes a risk to release the people that you love to say, I desire your good for them, not that they have a great day at school and that there is no bully. You know, Yeah. And I just remember that change in my heart and how hard that was to say, like, you do love them more than I do.

[00:15:24] And I trust you again, the risk that it is. And I think coming back to this idea of this desperate need, like we want desperately for our kids to have good. And when we are short sighted and we look at like in the world, what good looks like as opposed to eternal good and God working deeply in them and relationship and, and for trust in themselves, you know, back, even just circling back to what you said about, it was you being in a desperate place when you really realized how you needed to pivot your life.

[00:15:59] We don't want those desperate moments for our kids. And yet we have that risk to trust. 

[00:16:05] Theresa: So important, like why, why do we, we, we try so hard to protect them from any kind of suffering or failure. And yet that is where we are oftentimes the most refined in our character, in our relationship with others.

[00:16:23] Jesus and none of us and I'm reading through first Peter right now and studying that it's a lot about suffering, but suffering precedes glory and none of us are escaping suffering in this world. And I, I don't think that, in the end, we should be so afraid of it. Because God definitely uses that.

[00:16:43] And so I think that's a good reminder for me when I wanted to protect my children from any kind of hardship. 

[00:16:51] Erin: Yeah. Yeah. And I guess I want to think about the way that we live that out. When we lean on control, we're also leaning on like, I have to be enough to make this happen. To be enough, whether it's disciple our, our kids, or I also think 

[00:17:08] it's easy to talk about kid relationships, right? But also to go into and say, like, I have to be a good enough friend for them to feel loved, or I have to say the right thing. So my husband knows that I love him or, you know, whatever, whatever the, like, we try to be enough in these places instead of taking that risk and opening our hands and saying, I'm going to faithfully walk this out.

[00:17:33] And yet. I don't have to be enough to bring about this change or this fulfillment or 

[00:17:41] The provision God is the only one who can work that in. 

[00:17:45] Theresa: Yeah. 

[00:17:46] Erin: I want to actually read this quote from an email you sent me when we were trying to figure out our topic for the conversation. And you said, We're fooling ourselves if we think we can be enough outside of Christ.

[00:17:58] The truth is, we need to stop striving to be enough and doing all the things if we are to recognize our need for Jesus. We have got to be desperate for Him, not desperate to have it all together. When I read that, my first reaction was, we often get confused that the needs that we have point to God. Do more, do it better when the reality is the needs that we have that, that desperate place points to Jesus and we're just confused.

[00:18:32] So what, what are your thoughts on that? 

[00:18:34] Theresa: That's definitely a work that the Lord has done in, in me over the years as well. Just releasing that. Need to do everything like we really underestimate what God is doing and can do in the situations in our lives with people in our lives. Sometimes he prompts us to do something, but he doesn't ask us to do it all.

[00:18:56] He doesn't ask us to make sure that that particular person comes to Christ before you leave that space. He may be asking us just to plant a seed with somebody, to come alongside them, to listen to them, to build relationship, to all of these things. We don't have to do it all. He actually works out. The rest, he has that outcome in his hands.

[00:19:21] I think it's a form of pride when we think we have to do it. We have to be responsible. We have to be able to tally up all the good things that we've done. No, it's in his mercy that we don't often know. The things, the ways that we have impacted people's lives, but he is calling us to be simply obedient and faithful to what he's asking us to do.

[00:19:45] And that is, in regards to our real life relationships, or whether it be in our creative pursuits or whatever that vocation may be, and he showed me through a pretty simple way. specific time when my grandfather in law was on his deathbed in a nursing home and everybody said their goodbyes. And I felt very uneasy, 

[00:20:13] and the next morning the Lord just really placed it on my heart to go. Visit him. I didn't know him that well, because my husband and I weren't even married. So to go all by myself seemed really awkward and uncomfortable and I didn't want to do it. I hopped in my car and then I'm like, I'm going to go to the YMCA and I'm going to get on the treadmill and try to clear my mind.

[00:20:31] And I wasn't on the treadmill more than five minutes before I got back off. And I headed toward that nursing home. I didn't know why I went. I had no idea what I was going to say. He was very surprised to see me. And at that point he was not doing well.

[00:20:44] So he could barely speak. And then I said, are you ready? Cause that's what really was on my heart. Are you, are you ready to go? I wasn't sure that if he wasn't, or if he was, what that meant. And he said, sort of, and that sort of wasn't enough. And so I just, I don't know, whatever came over me, I just, well, I just began to weep and I wept over him and, and then I kind of pulled it together and said, I'm, I'm sorry, I just want to know that I'm going to see you again and have him and he, in the words that came from his mouth from a man who you.

[00:21:20] Couldn't speak after that day were, thank you. And I asked if I could just hold his hand and he put his hand out. It was just a beautiful experience because he said thank you three different times. It was our last goodbye. He died a few days later and I went home and I found my husband's arms and I said, I didn't do enough.

[00:21:42] That was my first reaction. I didn't do enough. And he said, you did more than you know, you did. And what the Lord really showed me after , that time is I processed that is that I did what he asked me to do in the end. I just, I have to trust God with what he did with that experience. And that I have no idea why I wept and what a crazy person he was, the thought I was, but I think that he probably just saw the heart of Jesus, you know, That came from him.

[00:22:13] And, and that is another huge thing that has impacted my life because God isn't asking us to do all the things. He's just asking us to do the one thing that he has prompted us to do. 

[00:22:28] Erin: Thank you for sharing that. That's I think it's a hard story to, to share and to even just sitting on this side. We lost my father in law recently.

[00:22:39] Sorry. I'm sorry. You know, for you to, yeah, just, I think that we hit those points of saying like, did I do enough? That if we, that we put it in God's hands and, and I think there's so much peace, like you're saying in doing what he called you to do. And showing up in that way and, and even saying like, I don't know what I'm going to say or what I'm going to do, but I'm going to be obedient to the call that you have placed on my heart.

[00:23:07] And yeah, I think we could lift ourselves up often, even, you know, when we miss things and we say like, I didn't do it right or I didn't do enough, like God is so much bigger than if we do it right. He's enough when we aren't. God doesn't need us, but he uses us. Right. And the fact that he will, that he'll allow us to be part of his plan and to be used for his glory is, is hugely amazing.

[00:23:36] And it's like that we still do that with our limited abilities and need and time and space. Like we're so limited and yet God, God will use us. 

[00:23:50] Theresa: We just have to a lot, make ourselves available. And just be willing to say yes and take that risk wherever, wherever we may be with whomever we may be. 

[00:24:02] Erin: That really touched me though.

[00:24:03] That really touched me just your, your vulnerability and saying like, I didn't know what I was going to do. And that feeling of I didn't do enough, I think we feel that in so many places, and instead of trust God, even with our limitations, we just try to do more. And we tried better.

[00:24:22] And when we do that, we've so turned to trust ourselves and we've turned away from the Lord in those moments. So actually, so when we think about this idea of turning to trust ourselves, how do you think we discuss trying to fix this problem when we then want to put the pressure on ourselves to be like, okay, now I'm going to do enough.

[00:24:45] To fix it so that I trust God better, you know, even we, we can kind of put this pressure undue pressure. Yes. And I think just in this podcast, I call it steps to trusting, and as the more I started. talking about that, I'm like, we are taking faithful steps of obedience, but really it's, we need to surrender those and not pressure ourselves that I have to take all the right steps 

[00:25:15] how do we even discuss like taking a step of faith in trusting him, but not doing it by the way of putting pressure that we have to do it just right. 

[00:25:24] Theresa: Yeah. , the example that jumps in my mind is one of humility. Like when we try to be humble, we pretty much end up in a form of false humility because we just don't get it.

[00:25:40] We don't really understand, like you can't conjure up humility. It's not a character that is, that is in our nature that we have, like we do cannot be humble outside of Christ. We just will get it wrong and to be faithful and taking these steps in surrender, outside of Christ, we just are not capable.

[00:26:04] We can't do it without him. I think that in regards to the Christian faith, I think it is really simple. Just really difficult to do because this surrender requires us to die to ourselves. It requires us to lay down our will and trust in God. God's will, it requires just a daily surrender and choosing to work on that relationship with Jesus so that we're constantly abiding in him.

[00:26:35] You know, I'm not saying that there's a certain formula, but just when you think about a healthy relationship, what does that look like? And so spending time in his word and through prayer and, and actually listening and paying attention and bringing our hardships to him, bringing those anxieties. To him, not trying to run from all those awkward feelings that we don't want to admit that we have, or, but actually sitting down with them and trusting God with them and allowing him to redirect us to his truth.

[00:27:08] Surrender is not something that we can just in our minds say, I'm going to do this better. No, we have to submerge ourselves in The life of Christ and just continue to abide through prayer and his word meditation and praise and clinging to him and all those things that are only possible with him.

[00:27:30] Erin: I love that concept of, of surrender, how you just kind of tied it with abiding, right? Just thinking about. The attachment that happens in a surrender, that it's not just, I need to surrender better, but that is I'm surrendering to one who is worthy of my surrender. I'm just thinking of the verse about abiding in him and he is the vine, right?

[00:27:55] That he is the source of life, that he is all of that provision and good that we need. And I think sometimes as, as Christians, we talk about surrender as it's this like pretty Like sweet thing, like, Oh, I just had to surrender it to the Lord. And I think as you were describing it, and as I've also experienced it, when we actually surrender something, it's painful.

[00:28:19] It's giving up of something. It's like a hard thing to do. That dying to self is not an easy thing. And I had a friend tell me once that dying to self really hurts. But that. That concept of, you know, you just say, Oh, I'm going to surrender it to the Lord and you move on. And I think if we truly like dig it out and give over like our desires of something that we want, that's contrary to him, it, it hurts so deeply.

[00:28:49] And I think it hurts so deeply too, in this process of realizing that we can't be enough in some of these places. Right. That we, we can't do all the right things and be there for all the people that need us. And I mean, that's been a process of, of that specific thing that I've had to surrender and grieve before the Lord, because I want to be enough.

[00:29:10] I want to provide what all my people I love need and, and be there. And just that pain that comes in giving that up. But the peace that comes when you realize that it is connected with the abiding and it's connecting the gifts of who God is, that we don't have to be in those places. 

[00:29:31] Theresa: Surrender.

[00:29:33] It boils down to that abiding so that we know that if he's asking us to go, then we need to go. And if he's asking us to wait, then even if we have to wrestle, because I've been there too, we definitely go through these waiting periods where I'm like, I trust you, Lord, but I don't understand.

[00:29:49] I trust you, but this is a struggle for me. Or I trust you, but in the way I'm starting to look around and I'm starting to compare myself, but I'm starting to see what you're doing for other people. And, you know, so we just wrestle, wrestle, wrestle, and that's okay. I think that God gets that. I just, I think the biggest thing in the end is to realize what a good God we have.

[00:30:10] What a compassionate. Tender God, we have, he's definitely a guide to be feared, but also one of just great mercy because of Jesus Christ. We certainly don't have to be afraid just in awe of who he is. We can trust him with the deepest struggle in our lives. We can trust him with the small things. And he's so gracious that if we have something that's we're deeply wounded in some way, he's so gracious.

[00:30:42] peel back a layer of that onion. He's not going to just make that whole thing explode and be like, what do I do with this? It's like, he's so gracious to walk us through a healing process. So if we would just trust him, he'll, he'll guide us. We can trust him.

[00:30:57] We can trust him with the people we care about the most. We can trust them with our deepest hurt. We could trust him with the things that we don't like about ourselves or our life. We can trust him because he will redirect our hearts to just who he says we are and who he intends for us to be, who he is intended for us to be all along.

[00:31:15] I love that. Yeah. Thank you, 

[00:31:17] Erin: Teresa. I was just wondering if you would tell our guests where the places that they can find you, if they want to connect with you. Sure. 

[00:31:26] Theresa: I. I have a website. It's Teresa M. Miller com and I'm on Instagram at Teresa. M Miller author, so I normally will write devotions on my social media platforms and yeah.

[00:31:43] And I've just written a Bible study and that's going to be published next July. So that's pretty exciting. I titled it the posture of victory, finding a true peace in Mr. everyday battles. And it takes a look at, it actually uses Psalm 63 as the framework and what we see in Psalm 63 is how David.

[00:32:04] Ultimately trusted the Lord so beautifully. At the time that I actually needed it and sought the Lord. He brought me to the psalm 63. He showed me these different postures and, and that, why was I not.

[00:32:20] Walking in the victory that I knew was mine as a Christian, I started to see that, Oh, how am I living my everyday life? Like you still bring me back to, have you, have you surrendered all of your choices? Have you surrendered in these, in these ways? Do you fully trust me? So that's basically the study.

[00:32:38] It takes you through six different postures that. David exemplified, and it helps us to practice that as well with the goal and intention of just deepening our trust relationship with Jesus ultimately. That's beautiful. My website would be a great place to learn about that and when it's coming. And if you subscribe to my website, then you'll definitely get the updates as far as what's going on with the process.

[00:33:05] Erin: Yeah. Yeah. Congratulations on that. That's super. Thank you. Would you be comfortable with closing us in prayer? 

[00:33:11] Theresa: Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you, first of all, for Erin and her ministry. I just thank you for how you are working in her life and through her podcast and her just faithfulness in doing what you have called her to do.

[00:33:29] I thank you for those that are listening to this podcast. I pray that you would just bless them. I pray that if there was anything that resonated with them, that you would just continue to come alongside and bring them the peace and comfort and guidance that they may need. I thank you for the opportunity that we have to just speak about how good and faithful you are, Lord.

[00:33:57] We just so desire to bring hope to the world because you are good. So we just ask that you would go before each person today and just mightily bless them with your abundant grace in Jesus name. Amen. 

[00:34:12] Erin: Thank you, Teresa, for praying for us and for joining me. 

[00:34:15] Theresa: You're 

[00:34:15] Erin: welcome. Thank you for having 

[00:34:17] Theresa: me. 

[00:34:18] Erin: If this podcast episode encouraged you, please like, subscribe, and share with a friend. If you want to connect with me, the best place to do that is over at ErinMichele. net. That's Michele with one L. There you can find all my socials, as well as sign up and receive my free gift, What's My Next Step?

[00:34:36] a Bible journaling resource to help you explore God's word and see where he might be leading you. 

[00:34:43] I hope you join us back here next time, but until then, I wanted to leave you with this reminder from Ephesians 2. 10. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Friend, I'm praying for you as you keep on stepping.