Do you believe that you are a masterpiece?... that God is the author/the creator/the ARTIST of your life?
If so, Then there are no mistakes...you can have complete faith and confidence that there is something beautiful, PURPOSEFUL in the works...even as you are in PROGRESS.
In this episode, we talk about how God works ALL things for our good. BUT, at the same time, God can only use us if we are willing to be moved by Him.
Be encouraged to embrace the complexity of life; surrender more deeply; and get to work as God leads you.
LET’S STAY CONNECTED
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Michelle5Hiatt
Email: hello@nourishingmichelle.com
Full Episode Transcription:
0:03
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0:53
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1:33
Welcome back to The Nourishing Mompreneur Podcast, where we get encouraged and empowered as we pursue our greatest potential within the walls of our home. Hey Mama, my name is Michelle Hiatt, and I'm so thankful you're here. Do you feel like your life is good but something, in you feels unfulfilled? Do you feel stuck in the trenches of motherhood, exhausted and working so hard but feeling like you're getting nowhere? Do you have big dreams you hold in your heart, but you've been living small? Are you motivated for more, but don't have the clarity or the courage to do anything about it? Do you want to discover God's best and see if it's really possible to be an excellent wife, an intentional mother, and be successful in business, all for the glory of God? As a wife of 16 years, a homeschooling mom of five, and an entrepreneur, I know exactly how you feel. Every bit of it. I truly believe that the most important work you will ever do is within the walls of your home and that there is purpose in every season. If you are a fellow business-minded mama, with a heart for home and a love for Jesus, let's process this journey and grow together.
2:36
Hey Mama, today I want to talk to you about the idea, this concept, this reality, this truth really, that you can be both a masterpiece and a work in progress at the same time. The first time I understood this was about a year ago I was outside in the backyard and I just there was the most magnificent, beautiful scent like flowing in the wind all through the backyard and I was like where is this coming from? What in the world is this? Finally I realized that it was this whole massive bush in the back of magnolias.
3:09
So when I went to it to check it out, I got closer to it and I realized that there were all these beautiful white fragrant blooms all throughout the whole thing. But at the same time, there were brown dead blooms all throughout as well. It was almost like 50/50 like there was just as much you know, beautiful fragrant blooms as there were the dead ones. It just reminded me in a visual because I think sometimes even nature gives us the best lessons, but it reminded me of that principle and the concept that wow, like you can be beautiful and have beautiful fruit and beautiful aroma to your life.
3:48
Well, there's some things that just aren't bearing fruit or need to be pruned away. I was reminded about this again, just this past week when I took the kids blueberry picking. I was looking at it and the bushes aren't quite ripe yet so we were kind of on a hunt to find the right ones. But what I noticed that for each cluster there was about one ripe blueberry but as I looked closer I was like wow, this is so fascinating. It's the same tree, the same branch. There's a huge cluster full loaded with blueberries, but most of them are green. There's a few that are starting to change color and then there's maybe one or two that are actually blue and ripe and ready to be picked. It was so fascinating just to see how this is how life works and this is how things work together. When I was looking at it a little bit closer, it reminded me that the only difference between the green blueberry and the the purple one, the blue one that was ready to be picked was time was time growth takes time.
4:55
It is so important that we remember that life is a process and growth takes time. The day you plant the seed is not the day that you eat the fruit. So wherever you're at, keep sowing good seed, stay faithful with the little and your life, your littles whatever that looks like be faithful and if you're faithful and you're patient in the process, you will bear fruit, you will.
5:19
I love what Luke 8:15 says it says "As for the seed in the good soil, there are those who hearing the word hold it fast in an honest and good heart and bear fruit with patience."
5:30
So if you hear the word of the Lord, hold it fast with an honest and good heart and trust that you're going to bear fruit with patience. Patience is the key word. Patience is the hard part, but that gives us so much hope. I loved picking blueberries with my kids, and as I was reminded of this concept, this reality, I was able to share it with them so I just want to throw that out there to to remind new moms that the things that you're learning in your life, the things that are in process, they're not just for you. They're for your children, if you just commit your journey to learning and growing and pouring that into your children. Remember we are raising arrows and everything is for a purpose and even if it's not for other people, it's for your home and so don't take the lessons you learn and don't hold that treasure to yourself, pour into your children and let them learn and grow with you.
6:20
Two of my daughters are playing soccer right now so just recently, we went to a soccer game came home went to go in the house and I realized that we were locked out of the house. I don't know if I've ever done that probably have. So we're sitting in the van with the AC on because it's Florida and my husband. I'm waiting on him to get home to let us into the house. My daughter is over there drawing and sketching but I'm looking at her picture and she's just vigorously erasing, erasing her work. I'm like no, no, what are you doing? Stop stop. That's beautiful. And what she had drawn was a vase with flowers in it. It was a great drawing. And she said mom the pot is too big for the flowers. And my response to her was baby there are no mistakes in art, just adapt like all she had to do was just adapt the picture a little bit. Make bigger flowers.
7:09
Ephesians 2:10 says "For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago."
7:19
So my question for you is do you believe that you are God's masterpiece? Do you believe that God is the author, the creator, the artist of your life? If you do then you can remember and be sure that there are no mistakes. God makes no mistakes. You can have complete faith and competence that there is something beautiful something purposeful in the works. He works all things for our good. And I love this because it gives us so much hope because sometimes the things that we see with our eyes just don't make sense.
7:50
My daughter, my three year old she I am actually looking at it right now on my desk. I've got this picture here, her name, the date and her age. And she brought this picture to me just last week and she said Mom, don't ever ever, ever throw this away and to her it was like just this beautiful masterpiece and I'm looking at it. I'm like, Oh my gosh, what a mess. This hot mess. She used probably every color of the rainbow. She scribbled a little here a little there, like there's no rhyme or reason. I don't know what she was doing or trying to draw. But she knew she knew and there was a value and there was intention and she knew exactly what she was doing.
8:28
Even when the things that we see with our eyes don't make sense to us, the artist has intention what he's doing and we can trust that God has good intention for us. At the end of the day, we have to ask ourselves, are we going to trust his character or not?
8:43
There is purpose in every stroke of our lives because God only produces good art. He doesn't make mistakes. You are his masterpiece created for good works and we can just trust Him that even when life feels a little bit obscure or unexplainable, that there's there's something more than what meets the eye I was really reminded of this just this week, took the kids to on a field trip to an Art and History Museum and it was really cool.
9:10
Side note but as you set your goals Mom, don't forget to let your kids set goals for themselves too, they're gonna look different, let them create the things that they want to do and what they want to accomplish. But I have my kids always set some goals and some intentions and one of my daughters absolutely loves art and one of her goals was to go visit an art museum. So I was super excited at the opportunity this field trip to take her to an art gallery. I jumped all over that because we're not only just enjoying our time together, learning more having new experiences, but we're crushing goals at the same time and she can feel proud about that. It's an awesome feeling to accomplish something that you set out to do, even if it's small.
9:51
But as I was in there looking at the different art you know, I was just reminded that so much of art, it does seem very obscure, doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Art is often a mystery. The complete clarity is in the intention of the artist. It may seem to us it may seem obscure or vague or like it doesn't make sense, but God paints our life with intention when we partner with him.
10:17
I always pictured God as being the artist of our life and us being the canvas, like kind of the attitude of God, "Just do whatever you're going to do, You just move me and you know just You just do what you're going to do and I'm just here I'm available" and yes, that should be our attitude. We want to be vessels for him. We want to be in a place of complete surrender, but here's the thing, God can't use us if we don't partner with him. You can't just sit back and expect God to do something beautiful in your life. If you're unwilling to put in the work. You can't sit there and pray your way into a painting. You could be an artist, you could sit there all day long thinking about what you're going to draw, pray about it. Nothing's going to happen if you don't do something.
10:58
God is reminding me all the time that we are to come to Him like children. I just want to remind you that like we are daughters of the Most High King and so much of the way that we need to view ourselves is as his children as as we view our own children. So I think about my kids, if they were drawing a picture and they needed help, what would I do? I would hold their hand. I would help them make the strokes. I would guide them through but I can't do anything with them if they're gonna fight me if they're unwilling to pick up the paintbrush. But here's the point. Here's the point.
11:30
Life doesn't just happen. You actually have to do something. You have to pick up the paintbrush. You have to surrender to the process. You got to try something. You've got to dip it in this color. Brush it over here. You've got to dip it in another color. Try this over here. Try another color, blend it together. God can only use us if we're willing to be moved by him.
11:56
Let him guide you and surrender to His ways. But know that you've got to do work. You've got to partner with him. You got to let Him guide you, don't fight Him. You weren't created to be a showcase and just look pretty. You were created for good work. So I just feel like as moms guys, we've got to get to work. Let's be excellent in all that we do. Let's be faithful with the work of our hands.
12:19
So much of us is just pouring into our homes. But it's not just for our home and our children, but it's to make a greater impact in the world. We are raising arrows in our life. The seed that we sow is to bear fruit to be salt to be light for the world. We've heard this a million times but I love the the quote about "God creates a message from our mess."
12:45
There's so much more than meets the eye my friends. It may look like a mess to you but he's got a message he's got a purpose in it all. I love this quote too. This makes me laugh. I was talking to a friend about it this week. I used to go to the gym up in Nashville and there was this like it was like this grungy garage gym and the the owner of it the trainer he was was something special. He looked like Hulk Hogan he had long blonde hair and he was just wild and intense and I'm almost positive this is where I heard the quote and this is who said it because I can just hear him in my mind. He used to say when we were working out like "The juice is worth the squeeze."
13:22
The purpose is that the fruit that we bear, it's not just for us. It's for a greater purpose. There's purpose in the pressing there is juice to calm it's not just to bear fruit. It's to let God press us to use that fruit for a greater purpose. And so, just like the blueberries we can be sweet we can bear good fruit, while sour places remain places that they're just not ready yet. Just like the magnolias, we can be fragrant we can be beautiful, while having dead places while having places that we just need to prune and that need to fall away.
14:00
The most important thing is that you're surrendered to God in your process. Your process meaning don't compare yourself your life, your journey to anybody else. Don't compare your journey. Share your journey with others. That's cool, but remember that we each have our own walk. We each have our own experience and our own process. But when you surrender to God in that that is the key because you cannot fail. He's gonna make beauty from every situation. But the important thing is that you are determined to never give up and never stop growing.
14:33
Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him who have been called according to His purpose." That gives us so much hope my friends there is purpose in your mess in the things that don't make sense and your obscurity, in your little, whatever you're at whatever you see with your eyes know that there is a bigger picture and that when you partner with God, you can be confident that there is something beautiful in the works. There is something purposeful in the making.
15:05
Let me pray for you real quick before I go, Father God, I just thank you for the mom listening. Lord, I pray that you would just encourage her, lift her spirit, Lord, and may she look to You, Lord. In every situation in every part of her life that just doesn't make sense that she just doesn't understand, she doesn't know your intention, she may not have clarity, Lord, but that she would trust your character above all else. God, I pray that you would reveal to her the fruit in her life that she would savor that and she would give herself some credit today for all the good and all the progress and just for how far she's come God. But at the same time, Lord, I pray that you would just give her the clarity also on the areas of her life that need some time. They need some work, the areas that are in process that she would just embrace that and she would move into that and embrace the growth and grace the uncomfortable and just commit to the process of being more and more like you and all the things that she does, Lord. God, we just trust you and we thank you that you are a good artist that there is a bigger picture and that you have good good plans for us Lord. I just bless this mom in your name and I pray that she would just have an amazing day. Amen.
Hey Mama real quick, before you run off and do all the things, if you found value in today's conversation it would mean the world to me if you left a review on my podcast. I know you know how precious time is. The biggest thing that you can give me for taking the time to share on this podcast is to leave a written review. This helps me on my mission to encourage and empower others who are pursuing their greatest potential from home.
Head over to iTunes and scroll down to the bottom of The Nourishing Mompreneur Podcasts to rate and leave a super quick review to let me know what spoke to your heart. AND if you're feeling a little extra today, take a screenshot of today's episode and tag me on social. I value your time so much and appreciate you connecting with me, find me at NourishingMichelle.com/connect
