This year was full of unexpected twists, challenges, and incredible moments that stretched me in ways I never saw coming. Along the way, God revealed powerful truths that shifted my perspective, deepened my faith, and prepared me for what’s ahead.
In this episode, I’m sharing personal stories, lessons learned, and a fresh perspective on how God moves in ways we often don’t expect. If you’ve ever wondered how to find purpose in the everyday, joy in serving others, or strength you didn’t know you had, this episode is for you.
How does God show up in the everyday? How do you move forward when you feel overwhelmed or stretched beyond your capacity? And what happens when you dare to trust Him more than ever before?
✨ Intrigued? There’s more to the story. Press play to uncover the lessons that could change the way you approach your next season.
Join me, Edna Harding, on a journey through spiritual growth, personal development, and entrepreneurial insight, where Timeless Wisdom meets Timely Methods in every episode.
Show Transcript
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Welcome to Estherpreneur, a podcast for
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entrepreneurs and leaders doing business
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and life God's way. Each week we
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discuss biblical and practical tips to
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improve your mind, business, spirit,
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relationships, and finances. Listen
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along as I speak with special guests on
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how to thrive in all aspects of life.
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Hi, I'm Edna. Like many of you, I
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wear many hats. I'm a military wife,
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mother, author, certified John Maxwell
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business and executive coach, trainer and
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founder of Favor and Wealth, where we
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help the good guys win. So tune in as
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we bring on the light.
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Well, good morning, everyone. Good
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afternoon. Good evening. Thank you for
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tuning in for another episode of the
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Estrepreneur Podcast. My name
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is Edna Harding and if it sounds like I'm
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whispering, it's because I'm recording
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this early in the morning
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before the family gets up. Kids are home
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for Christmas break and
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so I definitely wanted to get this out to
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you guys in the midst of this busy
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season. I am glad you
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guys are here and tuning in and as we
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wrap up 2024, could you guys believe it?
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I can't believe it's the end of the year.
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As we wrap up 20 Twenty-four, I wanted
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to take this episode to reflect on the
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most meaningful lessons God has taught me
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this year. And so I'm
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excited to share
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these with you because I know that God is
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going to speak to you even
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during this last
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week or last few days of 20
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Twenty-four. And so let me just begin.
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By saying that these are not just lessons
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for me, but ones I hope will encourage
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and inspire you in your own journey.
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Today's episode is anchored in Proverbs
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3/5 and six, which is a very common
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verse, and that is trust in the Lord with
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all of your heart and lean not on your
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own understanding in all your ways.
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Acknowledge Him and He will direct your
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path. So let's go ahead and dive into
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these lessons. Starting with something
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really close to my heart, and that is my
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children. This year I
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had a moment that made me stop in awe of
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God. OK?My
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daughter Alayah said something that
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filled me with so much joy. I
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remember I was looking for Anaya's
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backpack and I was telling Alayah to
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help me and she was like
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looking everywhere and just like she went
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upstairs and she came back down. And
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then she grabbed it. She showed me the
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backpack and she said to me, she's like,
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the Holy Spirit told me Anaya's backpack
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was upstairs in Daddy's man cave.
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And then I was shocked
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and I was trying not to, like, freak out,
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like in a good way. But I was just like,
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OK And she said,
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you know, Mommy, she said the Holy Spirit
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always speaks to me. She's like, he
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always speaks to me in her right ear.
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But why does he always
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whisper?I was
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dumbfounded. I was like,
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what?He speaks to
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you. And then he's like, yes, God always
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speaks to me, but he always whispers. I
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have to really be quiet to hear him.
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Oh my gosh. Like that brought so much
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joy. I mean, I I wish I could like speak
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louder so so you could feel the
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excitement in my voice.
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But I can't even imagine,
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you know, I can't even begin right to
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explain how much that touched me.
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And like to see my
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children continue to grow and their walk
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with the Lord and really seek great and
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mighty things like kill the sick, cast
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out demons doing those things like.
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That really touched my heart, because
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that's exactly what I've been praying for
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all this time. I've been asking God to
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give my children discernment, to hear his
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voice clearly, even at a young age.
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So, you know, what this
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moment taught me was that our children
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are always watching and listening. They
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see how we live out our faith, how we
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respond to challenges, and how we trust
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in God. And they even notice the big
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things as well, the small things, right?
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And those observations shape their own
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walk with him. And so, you
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know, in Proverbs 22, six, it says train
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up a child in the way we should go, he
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should go. And when he is hold, he would
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not depart from it. Parents, I want
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to encourage you guys today, be
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intentional and living out your faith.
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Speak about God's goodness. Pray in front
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of your children. This is something that
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I do not because. I'm trying to be
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religious, but sometimes I pray for
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strength, especially dealing with them
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cause they're in that stage where they
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like to push mommy's buttons and
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then also let them see what trusting him
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looks like. You know, when there are
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challenges, cause trust us, we've gone
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through challenges this year,
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especially just just a lot of
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things that are going out of your
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control. I praise God in front of them.
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I sing to him. You know, when I'm
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frustrated, when I'm mad, I cry to the
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Lord in in in praise and worship.
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And they see that. They notice that. I
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mean, sometimes I would see them looking
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at me like, you know, or I would pray in
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the spirit and they're like, why?Like
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they're laughing at me when I'm praying
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in the spirit. But you know, it is what
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it is. I do what I need to do in order
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for me to not lose my
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sanity, right?
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So I wanted to end with this. You may
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think they're not paying attention, but
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trust me, they are. All right, let's go
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to the next lesson. The
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next lesson is be fruitful
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even in the mundane. You know, I'll be
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honest. There were seasons where I felt
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like nothing was happening. I was putting
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in the work, staying faithful, but it
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felt like I was in a barren season.
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Now, as I look back, I realize God was
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using all those things to prepare me for
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this extremely busy. And fruitful
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season I'm experiencing now. Every
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small task, every late night, every
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moment of obedience was planting seeds
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that are now flourishing. You know, in
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Galatians 69 it says that is
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not go weary in doing good, for at the
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proper time we will reap a reward if we
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do not give
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up. And you know, that's easier said than
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done, but I want to. Speak to
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those who are in a season who feels like
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your efforts are unnoticed or
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unimportant. I'm here to
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encourage you on the other side to keep
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going. God sees your faithfulness, and
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he's using even the mundane to fulfill
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his promises. The scripture says don't
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despise small beginnings because he's
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working behind the scenes, right?So I'm
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telling you, speaking from the other
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side, if I didn't do those mundane
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things, if I didn't obey. Every single
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time he told me to create some sort of
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worksheet, to create some sort of
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template, to create some sort of action
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plan. Basically everything that I'm doing
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to serve my clients now that I
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did, that I'm doing, that I did to serve
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my clients now, even though at that time
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I didn't have the clients, it's all
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making sense. And I'm so glad I listened
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because it's making my
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ability to really
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serve my clients well this season.
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So much easier because I've done the work
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and now it's just like kind of falling
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into place, if that makes sense. All
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right. OK, let's move on. I'm
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getting the sniffles here, so don't mind
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me. The third
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lesson I wanted to share about is finding
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joy in serving others. This year, I've
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seen so many of my clients hit their
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goals. Experience breakthroughs and make
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real progress. And if you're one of my
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clients, you know this, right?This has
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been like a year where a lot of my
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clients are starting to see
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traction and seeing results
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based on the on the strategies
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that God gave me. Especially those who
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are, who didn't quit, who are, who kept
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going, and who believe God no
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matter what it looked like in the
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natural. You know, watching her joy and
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excitement has brought me more happiness
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than even my own accomplishments. And
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the reason I'm sharing this is this
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season, God has been reminding me that my
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reward comes from him, not from people.
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You know, there were times when I felt
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like I'm not charging what I should be
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charging. Trust me, I know, because I
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know what my peers are charging and I
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know what I'm charging and I know I can
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deliver same or even
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actually thank Holy Spirit. I'm not even
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going to be humble about this, like
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better results because I've hired those
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people just to learn what the world is
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teaching. And I'm like, this is horrible.
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Like I could do better than this. And
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it's really like. It's hard sometimes
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cause I'm like, this is so sad. Like I'm
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working with people who can't
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really afford me, but I want to bless
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them. But I know this is where God called
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me and I'm like, but I could be working
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with people who can afford me, but that's
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not who God called me to. Does that make
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sense?And so it was a very tough
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season because I know, you
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know, financially where I could be
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versus where I am, where I am and
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where I was these past years.
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But the Lord really showed to me that
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my reward is him, not through
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the people that I serve. And that was a
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mind shifter for me. I hope you hear me
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by way of the Spirit, you know, cause I I
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know that I know what my market value
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is. Obviously I'm a marketing and sales
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strategist. I know what it is. I've done
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my research, right?But the Lord has
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been clear with me that being a blessing
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to his body is more important than money,
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OK?And I know this is
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not what you guys want to hear, and this
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is not what I wanted to hear, but it is
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more blessed to give than to receive,
