Joyce Meyer - What's Your Thing? - Part 2
- Watch
- Audio
- Donate
- How to know Jesus
Ginger Stache: Hi, friends. We are so glad that you’re joining us today on, «Enjoying Everyday Life». Let me ask you this. Is there something that God has put on your heart to do? Maybe it’s a gift that he’s given you or it feels like it’s a calling, but it’s just too scary to step out in faith, and do it? Well, today, Joyce shares why it’s so important to take that step. We’ll share our own stories, and we’ll hear from a mother who is responding to God’s call on her life to enlarge her family in a very special way. She will share her story with Joyce, Erin Cluley, and me. And I think in that, you’ll find a lot of inspiration for your own life. And I hope you’ll decide to do whatever it is God is calling you to do.
Erin Cluley: I wonder if some of the things that we can do to serve people isn’t even an option for us to say that that’s my calling or not. Like, if I am able to, and I have the resources to help somebody where I see a need, whether or not that’s my call and purpose in life, shouldn’t I just do it?
Joyce Meyer: Yes. Yeah. You don’t have to have a call from God. I always say you don’t have to have two angels appear to you and four prophecies to go do some, a long time ago, when I first started wanting to give even beyond my tithe, at that point, I wanted to, but I didn’t want to give up my money. And I felt like God wanted me to give somebody $10. And I was like, «Okay, God, if this is really you,» I mean, I wanted all this confirmation. «If this is really you». And I remember the Lord said, «You know, even if it’s not really me, I won’t get mad at you if you give somebody $10». And so, it’s kind of like what you’re talking about. It’s like, I don’t have to have a special word from God to help a little lady with her groceries, gettin' 'em to her car, if I can see that there’s a need there. «God, are you calling me to help her put those groceries away or not»? I mean, can you imagine how much different the world would be if everybody would just be kind to one another? Kindness isn’t a special calling from God. That’s what you do as a Christian.
Erin Cluley: Yeah.
Ginger Stache: Here’s a verse that I love. It’s 1 Peter chapter 4, beginning with verse 8. It says, «Above all love each other deeply because love covers over a multitude of sins». That’s good for all of us, right?
Ginger Stache: «Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling», ah, without grumbling. Yeah, that’s important. «Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do it as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do it with the strength God provides so that in all things, God may be praised through Jesus Christ». I mean, that’s a great example of all the different things, you know, I can speak, and I can serve and, you know, all of these different things. I can offer hospitality. And I need to try to do it without grumbling more often sometimes, you know, but these are just ways that are examples. And so, when people are asking, «Okay, I don’t know yet, maybe, what my 'thing' is,» start, like you said, start trying these things, start doing these things and see what happens.
Joyce Meyer: And just when a need is in front of you, ask yourself, «Can I meet that need»?
Ginger Stache: Yeah.
Joyce Meyer: You know, I was praying for somebody. One time they had a need, and I was praying for God to meet that need. And he said, «Will you stop asking me to do things that you could easily do and just don’t want to»?
Ginger Stache: Mmm, yeah.
Joyce Meyer: And how many times, you know, I remember hearing a story, here, at the ministry, it’s been years ago. But somebody said, «You know, so-and-so has been here a year now», I guess they moved from out of town «And they’re still sleeping on a mattress on their floor because they don’t have a bed and we’re praying for God to give her a bed». And I thought, «Now, how hard would it be for five of you to get together, and pool your money and buy that girl a bed»?
Ginger Stache: Make it happen.
Joyce Meyer: So, I think we won’t run out of ways to serve God if we just open our eyes and our ears and pay attention to what’s going on around us. I mean, you hear people all the time tell you what they need.
Ginger Stache: That’s so very true. And that leads us right into a guest that we want to introduce you to because she saw a need, it became heavier and heavier on her heart until she knew she needed to do something. So, before she comes on, we wanna ask this: are you a sheep or a goat? Let’s let Joyce explain, and then we’ll meet our guest.
Joyce Meyer: All right, Colossians 3:23 and 24: «Knowing [with all certainty] That it is from the Lord [and not from men] That you will receive the inheritance which is your [real] Reward». So when anything we do, if our heart attitude is, «God, I’m doing this unto you,» then God will reward you. I want you to get that. God will reward you. «[the one whom] You are actually serving [is] The Lord Christ (the Messiah)». Matthew chapter 25. And we’re gonna begin in verse 32. «All nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them [the people] From one another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats». So, we see that at the end of time there’s going to be two classes of people: sheep and goats. Now sheep and goats have totally different personalities. They have totally different temperaments. Sheep need to be led and they’re pretty easily led and they make this little sound that’s kind of sweet, «Baaa. Baaa». The way I sound when Dave asks me to do somethin' I don’t wanna do, «Baaa. Yes, honey». But goats, they’re always butting up against something. They’re always banging their head against a wall and bucking up against somethin'. And so goats say, «But, but, but, but, but, but, but, but». And so we have sheep people and goat people. And sheep people are easily led to do what God wants them to do but goat people always have an excuse and a reason why they can’t and are not gonna do what they should be doing. And especially when this is applied to helping other people. You know, we all love to be helped and we all love to have somebody do something for us. But we’re here to serve. I said, «We’re here to serve». And you know, we can either spend our life getting what we can get from people or we can make a complete turnaround today and we can start seeing what all we can do for other people and then we can find out what God can do for us. I don’t wanna be satisfied with just what I can get from a person. I wanna find out what God can do because he’s able to do, «Exceedingly, abundantly, above and beyond, all that we could ever dare to hope, ask, or think». Sadly, many people miss the rewards of God because they’re always only looking at what people can do for them. Forget about what somebody can do for you and set your mind on what you can do for somebody else. And trust me, if you start asking God and praying, «What can I do for somebody else»? It will not take him very long to show you. Thus why we probably don’t pray the prayer more often.
Ginger Stache: You know, I think that’s such a good point is there are so many excuses, so many reasons that we can give why we don’t do things. And we miss so many blessings because we let the excuses win out.
Joyce Meyer: One of the biggest excuses today is, «I’m busy».
Ginger Stache: Oh, yeah.
Erin Cluley: All the time.
Joyce Meyer: «I’m busy. I’m just busy».
Ginger Stache: Well, Kelly Bridges, welcome, Kelly!
Kelly Bridges: Thank you.
Ginger Stache: So nice to have you here.
Kelly Bridges: It’s great to be here. Thank you.
Ginger Stache: So, before 2020, let’s say, you definitely could have said, «I’m really busy». You had four kids.
Kelly Bridges: Yes.
Ginger Stache: You and your husband, Jamey, very busy people, you know, leading a church, everything going on.
Kelly Bridges: Yep.
Ginger Stache: But God began to put a need on your heart.
Kelly Bridges: Yeah.
Ginger Stache: And actually, he had been doing that for a long time…
Kelly Bridges: Yeah.
Ginger Stache: Right? And talking to you about stepping into this. Tell us what that need was and kind of how that burden began for you.
Kelly Bridges: Well, that would be stepping into the world of foster care. Which, at the time, we had four children. My youngest being 11, the oldest being 18. So, it was like that sweet spot in life, right? Where I can leave my kids at home and go do what I wanna do.
Ginger Stache: Yeah.
Kelly Bridges: Prior to that, probably as a young girl, really, is when that desire got birthed in my heart to adopt one day. Not necessarily foster care. I think, when I was young, foster care probably wasn’t really talked about as much as it would have been just adopting, internationally. Or we still had orphanages, in our country, at that time, which we don’t have that anymore. But God really birthed that in my heart as a young teenager. Now, I don’t think he really did with my husband, but that’s fine.
Kelly Bridges: That’s fine. And so, approaching that 2020, I heard of a ministry that takes kids in care and will give them a week, one week of camp for free. And I looked at my husband, this was probably 2016. I was like, «We are gonna do that. We’re definitely going to do that». And so, in 2017, we trained to do that. In 2018, we launched our first camp. Well, then you sit in that position where I can’t really ask people to serve and do things that I’m not willing to do myself. And so, it really then kind of transitioned into, well, we’re gonna have to walk, not going to have to. God is calling us to walk into the role of actively fostering children, not just taking kids to camp for one week of the year, and then, saying, «Bye, see you later,» to them. So, that’s really, kinda how it came about.
Ginger Stache: Talk about a sacrifice. I mean, that is a big decision to make as a family.
Kelly Bridges: Yes.
Ginger Stache: What were some of the barriers that you had to work through?
Kelly Bridges: Fear.
Ginger Stache: Yeah.
Kelly Bridges: Number one. Which I think that’s probably a lot for everyone. Fear, anything that God asks you to do. People always say a lot, which I kind of agree with, like, «If he’s asking you to do it and you’re not afraid, like, is it really God»? Like, there are things like that. Like helping someone with the groceries or giving $10, no one’s afraid of doing that. But like the big things that are gonna make an impact in the world around you are a little scary. So, just how it’s gonna change our dynamic in our household. What if, you know, there’s so many different fears to walk through when you’re gonna step into fostering children. So, that would be the biggest one.
Joyce Meyer: Well, I just wanna say, I think that’s one of the greatest things that people can do.
Erin Cluley: It is.
Joyce Meyer: We spent some time here, with our staff, just encouraging people. We actually had somebody come in from outside, who actively tries to get foster parents. And it’s amazing. I read that if one family out of each church in America would adopt one child, one family, that you could completely clear out the foster care system. That’s certainly being unselfish, and I commend you for doing that. And I think it’s tough for kids when they grow up in the foster care system and so many of them end up in trouble later on. And you know, love is pretty easy to give away, when you really make your mind up, you’re gonna do it.
Kelly Bridges: Yeah.
Ginger Stache: It’s one of those resources that God multiplies when we begin to offer little bits of it, like we were talking about with the talents, is, I’m sure you walked through some really hard times.
Joyce Meyer: Oh, I’m sure they’re many…
Ginger Stache: Really, really hard times.
Kelly Bridges: And it was 2020, on top of it.
Ginger Stache: What a great time to start something.
Kelly Bridges: It was fantastic, yeah.
Ginger Stache: Let’s start with what you said about a family agreeing on a decision like this. Like, you and jamey had to come to the place.
Kelly Bridges: Agreeing and pulling are two different things, but yeah.
Ginger Stache: So, that was just God working and making all of that come together eventually, correct?
Kelly Bridges: Yeah, for sure. And there’s something too…
Ginger Stache: And your kids, as well.
Kelly Bridges: I feel like a lot of times we can get caught up in like, «We’re not called to do it together,» which is right and wrong, right? So, my husband is called to do things that I am not called to do, and I am called to do things that he is not called to do. Obviously, fostering was bringing something into our home, so we both needed to be on board with it. I felt the calling strong, but he’s gonna have to walk beside me as a partner in that. And now, he would say he’d feel called too, but there was a little kicking and screaming involved, but that’s fine.
Erin Cluley: I think it’s interesting because sometimes we can use it as an excuse too.
Kelly Bridges: Totally.
Erin Cluley: «We just can’t help with that because we don’t both feel called to do it. So, we better not help you, but I’ll pray for you». But I know I can use that easily as an excuse because I’d rather just not touch it. It’s too messy, it’s too hard, it’s too whatever. So, if I check my own motives, it probably is a lot of that. And then, there’s wisdom. I mean, you guys had to use wisdom too because you’re bringing kids into your house, and it is your marriage that is impacted and your family. So, there’s wisdom too, but I just, I would like to ask my own self to be really honest about why I would say «No» to some things that maybe God’s asking.
Joyce Meyer: Some people in a situation like this, it wouldn’t be something they would be able to do.
Erin Cluley: Sure.
Joyce Meyer: It just would not be something that they could do.
Ginger Stache: Not everyone’s supposed to do it.
Joyce Meyer: I mean, like me trying to work in the nursery, I mean, the kids weren’t, I wasn’t happy and neither were the kids.
Joyce Meyer: It’s not my thing. But anybody who even has the slightest thought that that might be something God would want them to do, I really urge them to take the next steps and start looking into it. Because after we had the people here, at the ministry, we had some people that decided to do some fostering, and to do some other things. There’s other things you can do. You know, there’s needs that they have.
Kelly Bridges: I think that’s one of the greatest things in foster care is that everyone can do something. Not everyone has the capacity to bring children into their home. Not everyone should bring children into their home. So, if you can do that, that’s great. And step out and don’t be afraid. But there’s many other ways to serve fostering families. It takes a village. Like, that is a true statement, especially when it comes to kids and care. It takes a village to minister to those families that have said «Yes» and stepped into that.
Joyce Meyer: And so, here, you have a great example of what we’re talking about today. Okay, in many ways, you might say that the foster care system is like a hidden issue. It’s not something that you even hear that much about. You know, «Oh, you grew up in the foster care system,» and nobody even realizes what that’s like. But probably every church, once in a while, should encourage people to at least think about it, pray about it. Because sometimes people just don’t think about it because it’s not something that’s, you know, right here. And knowing what I know now about it, if I was younger and still raising children, I would very seriously think about bringing a child into our home. And it just might not be that hard to make room for one more child. So, I think it’s at least something that people could think about.
Erin Cluley: One thing, because I go to Kelly’s church and I have never told you this, but it has been really amazing to watch over the past four years as you and Jamey have decided that «This is what we are going to stand for, as a church. We’re going to stand up for people who are not seen or heard». To watch you guys, stand for that, what a domino effect that creates. There’s a multiplication that happens when you stand up for those who are not heard, and you serve, and you work for the kingdom, and you put people first, multiplication happens, because then people say, «Oh, I could probably do that». Or, «I can’t take a kid, but I can send a couple kids to camp for the summer». Or, «I can be respite care for them». And to watch a body of Christ come together and it multiply, it’s just, I mean, that impacts generations and all because a couple of people said «Yes». So, what else can we say «Yes» to and impact generations to come?
Kelly Bridges: Right.
Ginger Stache: Yeah, that’s really good. I’m sure that once you answered that call of God and you were all on the same page, everything went perfectly.
Kelly Bridges: Oh, awesome. Still.
Erin Cluley: Because that’s how life works.
Joyce Meyer: Totally no problem at all after that.
Kelly Bridges: Almost five years later, still, it’s just perfect. No, we had some really rough days because you do think, it sounds easy to bring a kid in to your home. Because I love kids. So, I’m like, «What’s another kid? We have four». Once you get past three, you might as well have twelve. Like, what’s a couple more? But it was a lot more challenging than I anticipated it being. And I even had really good friends say, «Listen, mourn the life you had, and move on to, now this is what you have». And that mourning period took a lot longer than I thought it would.
Ginger Stache: Yeah. That’s that sacrifice we’re talking about.
Kelly Bridges: Yeah. And it’s a lot. We’re talking about human beings, you know, they’re not puppies. So, it’s my heart connecting to their heart, but their heart is connecting to ours, too. It’s different. So, you have, I mean, our girls were little, but they still had been through a lot of trauma. And so, just walking through those steps even with that and just patiently waiting and saying, «Okay, God, I know you called us to do this». But the thing about God calling you to stuff, calling you to work… Work is still work. God calling you to do things is still work. He’s not promising you easy. He’s just promising that he’ll be there every step of the way.
Ginger Stache: Yeah. So, what have some of those joys been? Because now, you’ve adopted two beautiful girls.
Kelly Bridges: Our adoption is final. Yeah.
Ginger Stache: And how would you describe, you’ve talked about the hard stuff. How would you describe the payoff for the hard stuff?
Kelly Bridges: Just, you know how it is when you have toddlers, like you were talking about your daughter being two. And they’re so sweet, right? But they’re also so difficult.
Ginger Stache: Yes!
Kelly Bridges: But just those little joys of having little kids in our home again. And honestly, our next oldest is 16. So, there’s a 10-and-a-half-year gap there. But having the girls at home has kept us at home more. So, we get date nights at home because all the other people are gone besides the little ones. So, it has really been enriching for our marriage too, like during this season, where we thought having little ones again was so hard. There are a lot of like, good, sweet moments because of it. Because we can’t just go out anymore, you know.
Ginger Stache: So, some of those things that you were kind of mourning.
Kelly Bridges: Yes. Have paid off.
Ginger Stache: Yes. Wow.
Kelly Bridges: For sure.
Ginger Stache: Well, I think it’s beautiful the way that some of those things that God puts on our heart, that our first response may be, «How possibly could we do this»? And he makes a way, and he helps you through the hard things. And he helps other people through the process. So, you know, thank you for what you are doing. And because it’s not just with two girls, you’ve impacted so many lives, also helping other people with foster care and encouraging it. And whether it’s that, or it’s some other gift or talent that God has put in our lives, when we say «Yes» to him, there is that multiplying domino effect that it impacts so many other people. Joyce, what would you say to encourage people as we close this out to find that thing, whether it’s a simple little thing to do every day, or something big like foster care, that’s a life change?
Joyce Meyer: Well, I actually had something on my heart that I did wanna say just to end. Whatever it is that you feel like God is putting on your heart, but you’re afraid you can’t do it, do it afraid. Because if God put it on your heart, he will give you the grace and the strength to do it. Do yourself a favor. Get on your computer, and ask to see all the scriptures that say, «God will strengthen me». And there are just dozens of them. God will give you the strength that you need to do what he’s asking you to do, and you will be fulfilled.
Ginger Stache: Yeah. Well, I’m kind of excited to see what comes out of just this conversation that we’ve all had. Because I think there will be, I believe there will be some people who will look into foster parenting. And I believe there will be many others who look into what it is that God has put in them that they enjoy, that they could use for someone else’s good. So, I think there’s good things coming out of this. And we’re praying that for you. We’re praying that there’s something in your life that you don’t even see coming, that God is going to pull out of you and use for your good, and also to serve others for his kingdom in beautiful ways. We love you all. We’re so glad that you’re here with us talking it out today. And Kelly, thank you again.
Kelly Bridges: Thanks for having me.
Ginger Stache: We appreciate it very much. And we’ll see you all later. Bye-bye.