Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Speaker A: Hey, friend. Welcome to Perspectives into Practice, a place where life's stories meet practical wisdom. Together, we'll explore how faith filled perspectives can transform the way we live, love, and grow.
So grab a seat, settle in, and join us on this journey to turn inspiration into action.
Let's dive in foreign.
Welcome back to Perspectives into Practice. I am so glad that you're here with us today, because today we are diving into a conversation that I think so many of us need to hear. We're talking about uncomfortable obedience, what it's like to follow God when you're. When all eyes are on you, whether you're in ministry or even just openly following Jesus online. You feel, feel it. The pressure, the criticism, the constant awareness that someone is watching you and waiting to judge what you say. And then the Holy Spirit gives you a word to share. And you know that it's going to step on some toes. And your flesh wants to stay quiet, but your spirit says to obey. The world hollers loud and the Holy Spirit whispers, obey. Well, my friend Kelsey is here. Knows exactly what that tension feels like. She's the host of the Lace with Grace podcast. She's a writer and a woman with a heart for helping others know and love Jesus. And she can drop a truth bomb if you've ever heard one. She's here to share her own story today of her obedience. Welcome, Kelsey.
[00:01:37] Speaker B: So glad to be here. I'm so blessed and honored that you've asked me to be here, dear.
[00:01:41] Speaker A: I'm so glad that you are. So before we dive in, I always love to share a fun fact about my guests so we can kind of get to know them in a different way. And your fun fact is that you are training and running your very first marathon run in October, and that's huge.
That's amazing.
What got you to there?
[00:02:03] Speaker B: So I've been a runner off and on for years, and I have ran multiple half marathons, and I absolutely love that distance. It's challenging, it's difficult, but I never in a million years thought that I'd have an itch to run a foal. I even had people ask me that, do you think you'll ever run a foal? And I'm like, nope, my body says no to that. That's not happening.
Yeah.
And with having my three knee surgeries, I just, after running my last one, I've had a running coach now for a while, and she's just been super helpful on helping me gain strength and helping me gain that confidence that that would be something that I could do. And she didn't push it either. I came to her and was like, sis, I think that I'm having the itch. And she's like, for a marathon? I'm like, yes.
So I just. I listened to that because I kind of felt like that was the Holy Spirit. Like, listen, I want to show you that I can do this. We can do this together. So, yeah, really excited about that. A little bit nervous, but we'll see how it goes.
[00:02:59] Speaker A: Oh, my gosh. That is exciting. And, you know, it sounds so much like what we go through in life is you're planning for it and you having your coach as, like, the Holy Spirit in life.
[00:03:10] Speaker B: Right.
[00:03:11] Speaker A: He's, like, right there with you. You can do hard things. You can do these things, but you have to listen to me. You have to stay close. And I love that you have that coach and that you're listening to her, but you're also listening to your body to know, hey, I want to do more. And, oh, man, I can't wait. I love watching your journey through social media. Right. Seeing you doing these longer runs or doing the shorter runs and taking care of your body and fueling it well. And it's. It's. It's very inspiring for those of us that don't run, and I'm sure for those that do run, to know that you can do this even after injuries. And that's. I'm so excited for you.
[00:03:51] Speaker B: Oh, thank you. I mean, so much.
[00:03:53] Speaker A: Yes. Yeah. As we are talking today about obedience and how it is hard, can you share a time when God was asking you to speak or post about something, but you knew that it wouldn't be popular?
[00:04:07] Speaker B: So there's been. There's been many different times where I have struggled. And I don't know if you've seen me or heard me say this exact phrase, and this may offend some people, but, you know, I'm just gonna be real. I'm being me. Okay.
That's it. The Christian Karen. Sometimes, like, they. We say that. We say that we're Christians, but the moment someone says or does something that we don't perfectly align with, we kind of nitpick and we grab it. Something that we can bring them down, you know, like. And it may sound like I'm bringing them down right now, but I'm just. I'm just trying to explain that kind of community that at times, I've shared some things where it's not. It's not, you know, perfectly said or it's not exactly by the Books, per se. But I'm coming in a way that the Spirit is wanting to speak through my heart. And it's not necessarily going to be perfect, and it's not necessarily going to align with religion, but it is going to align with my relationship with Christ. And so there has been times where I'm either wearing a certain something that they may not agree with. And I've even thought to myself beforehand, am I questioning myself right now because the Spirit of Christ is convicting me, or am I questioning myself because of what other people will say? And I think that's really. It's really important to make sure we discern that there's a very big difference. If you have a sweet friend or a sweet sister in Christ that comes to you and is like, hey, I don't know if this is in your best interest. I don't know if this is gonna, you know, bless you or bless others. Like, I think maybe we're going down the wrong path here. If they come to you out of love, that is completely different. Right? But if they come to you out of. Out of condemnation or they're coming to you out of negativity and just wanting to cut you down, that's completely different thing. So, yeah, there's been many times where I've posted something or shared something where I'm like, this is a bit blunt, or this is a bit, like, this is gonna step on some toes. And I've definitely gotten fl.
And the biggest thing would be caring for our temple and exercising and using that to worship Christ. You wouldn't believe how many, even Christians and even believers are like, we need to stop utilizing fitness as an idol. We need to stop utilizing nutrition as an idol. And as I agree with that, these same people are people that are not caring for themselves. And it's very obvious.
And so that just breaks my heart that we come, that we can sometimes as humans come at it like that, you know, yes, the Lord does not care what we look like on the outside. He does. He does not. He does not look at that. He looks at our heart. He looks at our intention. He looks at, you know, how we love, how we treat others. And like, that is what he's looking at. But that doesn't mean he wants us to completely let ourselves go. That doesn't mean he wants our health to decline. Because when that happens, our vessel for him that is supposed to be, you know, worshiping him and going out there and creating more disciples and being strong in that and strong in our faith, I believe it's all interconnected. And it's really important to feel good in that vessel, to feel strong, to feel like we have the energy to do so. So that's one thing, though, that I. And that's the whole. I mean, you follow me on social, that's a big thing for. Why I have my social is. Is making sure people realize that our body is a temple and it is a gift and we need to care for it, especially as believers. It's not really talked about a lot in the church. It's just. I feel like. I mean, in my church personally, it hasn't been talked about all through growing up, and I just got a really, like, big fire in my belly and in my heart that that was something the Lord wanted me to share and teach about. And some don't like that.
[00:07:39] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:07:40] Speaker B: Well.
[00:07:40] Speaker A: And a lot of those, I feel like they are jealous of what they see.
And so I. And in my experience, it's been a lot of jealousy and a lot of conviction. It is a jealousy and a conviction on their end of.
I can't be like that because I'm choosing to do something else. And they're convicted from what we're saying, which is truth, Whether it comes in a pretty little religious package or it comes in, you know, hey, this is the truth. I love you, and this is it. But that conviction that they get on the other end, I. I feel like that's where the little fingers go typing and they're like, I don't know if you should have said that. Well, maybe you should check yourself.
I mean, you know, and it's hard.
[00:08:32] Speaker B: And people don't realize a lot of times what I post about are things that I'm convicted of myself. Like, the Lord has convicted me. And so I'm like, listen, this is not just a message for y'. All. This is for me is me too. Like, I'm not coming at you hot. The Lord's came at me hot. So, yeah, I'm trying to get that message out to you, too.
[00:08:48] Speaker A: Yes. And I love that about you. I love that you share so many deeply personal things, but also it touches the masses because that's what the Lord wants when we're sharing his truth. Like, it, yes, it's going to touch us, but it's also going to touch a lot of other people. And I appreciate your honesty and your realness and your.
I mean, you.
[00:09:11] Speaker B: You.
[00:09:11] Speaker A: You share a lot of truth bombs. And I just want to applaud you because that the things that you say are not always easy. And I know that you feel that on your side, but just know that there are those of us that are you, and we are here for you. And all of those truth bombs, even when they hurt us, because we know that we need them. And that's like a best friend or a, you know, a great big sister, is that they're able to tell you those truths and you're able to take it because you know that it's in your best interest and they love you. It's not to shame you. It's not to condemn you. It's not to do any of these negative things. It really is just to say, hey, I love you and your thing, sister. Like, I love you, and I need you to know this period, like, put it down and walk the other way.
[00:10:02] Speaker B: You kind. You kind of shared. You kind of shared, too, that I. That I share some really, like, deep things. And there have been many times that I fought with the Lord about that because there's a fine line, you know, like, you don't want to share. You know, you don't want to open up your dirty laundry and put it all over the Internet. But at the same time, people need to know that you're a real person. They need to know that they are having the same struggles that you may be having, and you're there for them, and you can pray for them. And there's been times where the Lord's like, hey, I need you to share this today. I'm like, no.
Yeah, no, no, thanks. But then it keeps coming back, and then eventually I do get that courage and that strength, and he works through me in that way, and then I do share it. So. Yeah, but it is a fine line, for sure. And it can sometimes be scary because that's. It's hard to be vulnerable, especially to the Internet, because the Internet's not so nice.
[00:10:46] Speaker A: Yes. Yes. How do you personally recognize that difference between the flesh wanting to protect you from discomfor and the spirit actually prompting you to obey in that.
[00:10:58] Speaker B: Well, I can kind of share, like, how it's gotten easier, because obviously at first doing that, it's not. But how it's gotten easier is every time I do that, honestly, I have at least. I don't care if it's just one person.
I know that there's tons of people on social and the Internet. Everyone sees lots of things. But if it's one person that reaches out to me and says, you have no idea how much I needed to hear that right now.
And someone. Someone that has no idea who I truly Am or I don't know them. And they. It's beautiful. They just completely open up and share some of the most. Sometimes some of the most horrific things, sometimes some of the hardest things that I cannot even express or imagine or share right here. But it's the fact that they feel like this is a safe place now. They feel like I'm someone that they can come to and I can pray with them. And they know that God is in their corner because I'm rooting for them and I'm loving them and I'm speaking to them, like through what he ever. He's wanting me to share with them. It just. It's so crazy and cool. Like, I don't even know how to fully explain that. But even if it's just one person, after I share something like that, it gets easier and easier because I know that there is someone that the Lord wants me to get that message to. It doesn't matter if it's five, doesn't matter if it's a thousand. There's one every time. It literally happens almost every time. And it just continues to get easier then. So it's just beautiful. I love how he works.
[00:12:17] Speaker A: Yeah. Oh, he. He is so beautiful. And, and that's the thing with obedience is that lot of times it we. He is not asking us to be obedient for ourselves. He's asking us to be obedient for someone else. And, you know, we don't always get an answer of why we needed to share whatever or why we needed to do such and such or why we needed to start, blah, blah. But we know that like you were saying, like, over time it's gotten easier. And we know that when we are obedient to. When the Lord leads us to these things and to share it does. There is a fruit that is planted, there are seed that is planted and a fruit that will come up from that. And we don'. Always get to see the fruit, but that's okay because we're being obedient. And that's what the Lord has asked us to do. It's a. It. It is. It is a hard.
A hard place to be. But it is so wonderful when you get those little, like, Confirmation.
[00:13:09] Speaker B: Yes, it's a confirmation. Sometimes it's a whisper, sometimes it's a nudge. Sometimes it's that gut feeling that the Holy Spirit just keeps bringing back. And you're like, okay, I got it.
[00:13:19] Speaker A: Okay, okay, fine. Yes.
[00:13:22] Speaker B: And the other thing I wanted to share is you. You said, you know, somet it can just Be so hard to be obedient, especially when you don't see the fruit initially. There are seasons that I struggle with depression off and on, and typically summer is a really good time for me. But I'm not gonna lie, this has been a really hard summer for me mentally. And I. I do believe the enemy is hard at work because there are so many conversations I've had with so many other mamas, so many other women that are like, I don't know what it is about this summer, but I'm struggling mentally, and I'm a girl, trust me. Me too. I've got some personal stuff going on, and it is hard to show up and be a.
To show up and have a smile on and, like, I want to be real, but I also don't want all my funk and all my junk to come out into my ministry all the time, you know, so.
[00:14:07] Speaker A: Right.
[00:14:07] Speaker B: It's. It's praying through it and being like, lord, I know I have to show up today for you, and I know this is not about me. This is about others that are listening. Others hearts, others minds, others struggles. And you're trying to use me, and I get that, but I just. I need your strength today because I don't have it on my own.
It's not there.
[00:14:24] Speaker A: How. How do you. How would you say that you prepare your heart for that criticism? Because you're saying that you. You share these things, knowing that these religious Karens are going to come at you, but how do you prepare your heart for that? And is that just something that over time has gotten easier as well?
[00:14:40] Speaker B: At first, I became very offended, which is never a good sign, right? Nothing happens out of the fence. Like, everyone gets offended here and there. And I get that. But, like, you can't have a heart of offense.
I started to pray about it and I started to be like, okay, this is not about me. The Lord told me it's not about me. This is something going on with them. And I need to have some mercy and I need to have some grace, and I need to somehow have some kind of conversation back, or not arguing, not being offensive in my replies, but just coming with love, coming with grace every time. And you know what's funny about that is the Lord has utilized that in more than one way, and he has created conversation. And those. Some of those people have even came back and been like, listen, I totally had you wrong. I'm so sorry. Like, you're filled with love and grace and mercy, and I can just see Jesus all over you. And, like, I'M like, okay, Lord, I get it now. Like, yeah. And really, a lot of those people that, that come at us, that those of us that are on this space or in, in these platforms. Yeah, it's really nothing about you. They're hurting. There's something going on in their life where they need to see or feel some kind of love or grace, so they're not getting somewhere else. And that's an opportunity for God to use you right then and there.
[00:15:54] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:15:55] Speaker B: And that can happen. That can happen off of the Internet, too. Like, there's many times where there's probably conflicts or certain conversations that happen in person and you're like, man, like, what was that all about? Pray for them. There's something going on. You know, like, they need something. And you could be a vessel right then and there for the Lord and share your love and grace and mercy with them.
[00:16:14] Speaker A: That's exactly right. Well, and if they're on your page commenting, right, that means they're watching.
Even if they're saying negative things, they're still watching and that's still going in. And so you continue to be obedient, you continue to share and, you know, give them those, those grace nuggets.
Because you don't know how. Like you said, you don't know what they're struggling with on their side. And you don't know how.
I mean, the world wants us to just come back with the same venom that they spew at you, but that's not what we're called to do. And, you know, we have to lay down our own flesh and just ask the Lord it is. And I can't imagine, especially because you put like, your whole, your body and your temple and like, all of that out there for everyone. And, you know, and you do share a lot of personal things and how much comes back because you, you post a lot, which is, I'm honestly like, girl, I don't know how you do that, but you post a lot. And so that, that's a lot of opportunities to not only share what you've got, but also to, to receive that criticism.
[00:17:27] Speaker B: And honestly, not only like just in this space and in ministry and in our families, being obedient and even when it's difficult and sharing the Lord, but like, like, there's lots of times where I have conversations with women and a lot of my pages about utilizing Christ in your fitness journey, and they're like, I don't know how to do that. What do you mean by that? And then once they do grasp it, there are still Some times where that's really hard. That can be really hard to say. I'm relying on Christ today for these reps. I'm relying on Christ today in my, you know, in my run. I'm praying, I'm using this time as worship. I'm using this time as gratitude. I'm using this time just to connect with him and talk and just making sure that I'm honoring this body that he's given me and realizing it's a gift. And it can sometimes be hard to be obedient in that because we want, as humans, we want instant gratification. We want to just look at the outward appearance. We want to beat ourselves up when the scale doesn't go up or down the way we want it to. We want to look in the mirror and just beat ourselves to crud. Right, like, and just pick apart every little thing. And being obedient in Christ, in that is sometimes very difficult for us because as humans, we don't want to always do that. We want to do what us humans want to do, not what the Spirit wants.
[00:18:35] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:18:36] Speaker B: It can be utilized in so, so many things. Our mothering, our wifing, our relationships, our friendships, our work, our fitness journey. Being obedient to Christ. It is definitely hard at times. There is not always. They didn't say it was going to be easy.
[00:18:51] Speaker A: No, it never says that. And, and I hate it when, when those that you know are new feel like that's what it's supposed to be. When you come to Christ, you're like, well, everything's just going to be rainbow and sunshines. Well, in a sense, yes, but no, there is going to be hardships. And so what would you say to someone who knows that they're supposed to speak the truth? Maybe they're a new Christian. Maybe they have a platform. Maybe they're just, you know, posting on their, their social media, but they feel paralyzed by that. Feel fear of what people will say if they post.
[00:19:26] Speaker B: One thing that is always in the back of my mind, if I ever had that fear come in and that I would tell someone else.
How would you feel one day? And I actually posted on this. How would you feel one day if you were up in heaven and someone was at the gates and they were like, I wish you would have just told me. I wish you would have just told me. And they didn't come get to join you?
Yeah, I visualize that. Because that is way more important than my comfort. That is way more important. And the fact that I would allow my uncomfortableness in that moment, that's temporary, mind you, to not help someone in need. When it comes to knowing Jesus, I mean, that's, I, I can't, I can't live with myself with that. Like maybe others could, but I personally cannot. So that's a really good way. And just visual. I know that's deep and heavy. I'm sorry if that was a little bit too deep. No, but I, I think it's a good way to get over that fear is because like, that's literally someone that could have a chance to know Jesus just simply because you've shared one small thing that you may think is insignificant.
But at the end of the day it could plant seeds or it could grow something that you have no idea what God is going to do with.
[00:20:32] Speaker A: That's exactly right. And that we have to keep that in the forefront of our mind when we are, when we feel that draw to, to share something, whether it's in a grocery store or if it's online or just to a friend having coffee. Like we have to know that. I mean it's a, it's a life or death situation in some points. You know, it could be that one thing that you've shared that turns someone the other direction and it literally change the trajectory of their life just because you were obedient and like we said, you might not ever see the fruit of that, but you were obedient and you know that the Lord will use what you've shared. So how do you balance delivering this hard truth with love and gentleness in Christ? I know you talked about grace, but like, what does that look like? It, let's say in daily conversations and when you were saying in wifing and even just talking to yourself, how do you balance that?
[00:21:30] Speaker B: Well, it's definitely a struggle. And I'll be completely honest, right now the enemy is attacking me in ways that are not so kind towards myself. So I don't necessarily feel very strong in that right now, but there have been times where I have felt very strong in that and it's been a better season in that way.
The one thing I can say is being in the Word every morning for me is a big. Like, that's a non negotiable because it sets my heart up and it sets my mind up to be in that love and grace space and that, that Christ likeness love that sometimes we struggle with as humans. But being.
I've realized that the people, the people that are supposed to get the boldness and the, the conviction out of love from some of the things that I share, those are the people that get it, get it, and the people that don't, don't. It's still planting seeds. But those people that end up in my inbox then, and we do have those conversations, you can just tell they've understood that's all out of love.
[00:22:26] Speaker A: And.
[00:22:26] Speaker B: And then. And then having personal conversation with me back and forth, they're like, okay, yes, this was. You know, my feelings were right on this. This was out of love. And I appreciate her saying this or sharing that. I don't know, it just. It's beautiful the way that the Lord utilizes some of those moments where, yes, I am blunt, yes, I am kind of hard on y' all or hard on myself, but it's all out of love. And I feel like it just. It gets people's attention. And it's not that I'm wanting to get people's attention for the algorithm or get people's attention for. For a post to go viral. There's been many times where posts have done absolutely nothing. But guess what? I've got at least that one person that. That I've connected with in some way that needed that for the day. Like, and it's not even about me doing it. Christ is doing that, right? He's utilizing those posts and getting those to people. So it's just out of. Out of practice, like, balancing that. It's definitely hard, especially when you're struggling internally, yourself and enemies not being so kind to yourself. But I don't really seem to have an issue with loving others. I just sometimes have an issue with loving me and being a little bit easier on me and viewing myself as Christ does, or maybe even as others do in a positive light. But I really, truly think that's like a spiritual. Like, the enemy sees what's happening in the kingdom, sees what's happening through me with the Lord, and he don't like it.
[00:23:49] Speaker A: That's exactly right. So are there any scriptures that you go to that you. That you just hold dear that help you to remember to love yourself, to love others, to share that grace, you know, share these hard truths?
[00:24:05] Speaker B: So Romans 8, I think it's 28 or some. Somewhere right in Romans, I literally, for the longest time, it was probably about four or five years ago, like every day.
I just devoured Romans 8. And it talks a lot about, you know, nothing can separate you from the love of Christ.
And I do have lots of conversations with people that it. They say, you know, I just don't feel like I can go to him I'm not clean yet. I'm not. I don't have my act together yet. I'm not there yet. And I'm like. But that's like saying that you need to get clean before you get in the shower. Like. Yeah, that doesn't make sense. Sense. Yeah, he's gonna. He wants you. He. He wants you now. He wants you as you are. He doesn't want you to stay as you are. He loves you too much for that. But nothing's gonna separate that love. Nothing can. Nothing you've done, nothing in your past, nothing you're gonna do that he already knows you're gonna do, by the way, but he still wants you and he still loves you. So that's one that I've. I've held on to for a very, very long time and just absolutely love.
[00:25:05] Speaker A: I love that. And. And that is so true. Regardless of what you've done, what you are going to do, what you're doing now, he still wants to talk to you. He wants to have that relationship with you. He wants to hear from you. Just like you with your kids. Like, no matter what they've done, you still want them to come tell you. You still want them to say, hey, Mom, I love you. I'm sorry. You know, and that's. That's exactly what our relationship with our heavenly father should be like is.
I love that analogy. You don't clean yourself before the shower. That's. Yeah, that's very true.
[00:25:40] Speaker B: I mean, it's. It just makes. It just makes so much sense.
[00:25:43] Speaker A: It does, yes. However, some of us do clean before a house cleaner comes, so there's that.
Yeah, I've heard that a lot. They're like, oh, the house cleaner's coming. I gotta clean the house. And I'm like, but aren't you.
[00:25:57] Speaker B: Are you paying you?
[00:26:01] Speaker A: Do you. Boo.
Oh, my goodness. Well, Kelsey, I think what you've shared today is really going to help a lot of people. I know that it's re. Reaffirming things with me as well, hopefully that as they're listening, that they will step into their own obedience and have more courage. And I just want to make sure that our listeners, that they are just really clear and that they have a perspective to carry into their week. So a question I ask at the end of every single one of my podcasts is, what is one perspective that you would encourage listeners to apply today?
[00:26:34] Speaker B: That no matter how hard it may seem, how scary it may seem, it's not about you. It is not when it comes to Christ and When it comes to sharing him, when it comes to being obedient in what he's asking you to do, it is not always about you. Yes, it may affect you. It may affect you in a positive way. It may even affect you in a negative way at first. But there is going to be beauty that comes from that in some way, shape or form. There's going to be blessing that comes from that some way, shape or form. And like me and Jessica have shared, you may not see it right away and that may be frustrating. But you just have to have the faith and you have to realize that our God is bigger like than any fear that you have, any struggle that you may be going through, any doubt that you may have of sharing him or sharing his love or praying for someone. Or maybe you have that gut feeling in your stomach as a friend to just say something to a girlfriend that maybe you haven't said before, but it has to do with him and what you think that he's wanting you to share. Just do it.
[00:27:26] Speaker A: It.
[00:27:26] Speaker B: Just do it. And then pray through it and realize that he's going to do something with that. He's going to create beauty out of that. I promise you, every time. I promise that you won't regret it. You won't regret it.
[00:27:38] Speaker A: Yes.
Oh, Kelsey, thank you so much for sharing your heart today. Friends. I hope that you've been encouraged to lean into obedience, even when it's hard, even when the criticism is loud, and even when the path feels uncertain.
God sees you and he will use what you have to say. And remember, even small shifts in perspective can lead to big changes. Now go put those perspectives into practice. Talk to you next time.
