Hey friend, have you ever started the New Year with grand goals only to feel doubt and confusion creeping in just a week later? You're not alone. Many of us set those lofty New Year's resolutions and quickly find ourselves wondering, "Can I really do this?"
This week on the Nourish to Bloom Podcast (episode 44, just saying!), I delved into a transformative perspective that might just shift the way you approach your goals. Spoiler alert: It's all about letting Jesus find you, even in those messy, doubt-filled moments.
Here's the thing that stood out to me the most...
I explored Heather Kim's Advent devotional, Encountering Emmanuel, and her unique take on the Parable of the Lost Sheep. Instead of just thinking about the lost sheep as a wayward soul, she invites us to consider those lost parts within ourselves – parts that need Jesus's healing touch.
Think about it – what if those parts of you that feel distant or doubting are just areas that haven't yet encountered the Lord's full love?
Here's a sneak peek at what you can expect to hear inside Episode 44 of the Nourish to Bloom Podcast 👀:
🌟 A new interpretation of the Parable of the Lost Sheep through Heather Kim's Advent devotional
🐑 Maybe it's your fear of failure, or the comparison game you play, or even a hidden dream you're scared to pursue.
🗺 How to identify parts of your life that feel distant from the Lord's love and bring them into His fold
🙏 Practical steps to invite Jesus into the hidden or fearful parts of your heart
🤗 How setting goals with God's guidance can transform your life
✏️ The importance of integrating faith into your New Year's resolutions for a holistic approach to wellness
Here's the key to a more joyful, peaceful and fulfilled life: By identifying these "lost sheep" within us and actively inviting Jesus into those spaces, we experience His transformative love. This isn't just about setting goals; it's about integrating and healing parts of us that need His touch.
Friend, you are capable of incredible growth and transformation, even when doubt and fear try to tell you differently.
📣 Exciting news! I'm hosting a Goal Setting with God workshop starting the first week of February. For four weeks, we'll dive deep into aligning your goals with God's vision, identifying obstacles, and crafting a detailed action plan. Teaching, coaching, Q&A—all designed to help you thrive in 2025!
So friends, if you're ready to invite the Lord into your New Year's goals and discover the beauty of aligning every part of your life with His love, tune in now. Let's make this year one of profound spiritual and personal growth.
Remember, beauty held is the seed, beauty shared is the flower. It's your time to bloom! 🌸 Let's get started!
Next Steps:
Join the waitlist for the Goal Setting with God Workshop in February: Click Here to Join
Enroll in the Faith Led Food Freedom Program: Heal your relationship with food and your body. Learn more at www.karatrochta.com/foodfreedom
Book your FREE Wellness Audit Session: www.calendly.com/karatrochta/faithledwellness
Stay connected with the Nourished to Bloom Community: www.community.karatrochta.com/spaces/8590323/list
Check out the Nourished to Bloom Show Notes: www.nourishedtobloom.com
Follow on Instagram: www.instagram.com/karatrochta
Join The Nourished to Bloom Community: www.community.karatrochta.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/karatrochta
The Nourished to Bloom Podcast Show Notes: www.podcast.karatrochta.com/shownotes
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So we're about a week into the New Year and I just have to
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ask, where are you on your New Year's goals? Seems
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like we always have these grand goals that we set and then
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just even a weekend, we just are filled with so much
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confusion, so much doubt, so much can I even do
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this? Or we've already given up. So are you
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feeling the tension of faith versus doubt, of
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competence versus fear as you're embarking on your New Year's
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goals? Well, in this episode I want to share
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a transformative perspective, really reflecting on the parable
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of the lost sheep that might just change the way you
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approach your goals for the New year. So
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let's dive on in. Welcome to the Nourish to
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Bloom podcast, where your faith meets your health. I'm your host,
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Kara Trachta, a registered dietitian and certified Catholic coach, and
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I'm here to help you cultivate a deeper, deeper connection with your body, your
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spirit, and the nourishment that sustains them both. In a
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world filled with noise and confusion about food, health
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and body image, this podcast offers truth and healing from a Christ
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centered perspective. Together, we'll untangle the deep roots of
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diet culture and discover what it means to truly care for
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ourselves through joyful nourishment of mind, body and
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soul. When here to dive into the transformative. Power of intuitive eating
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coupled with the. Rich teachings of our Christian faith. With every
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episode, I'll be cheering you on, offering insights, inspiration
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and practical tools to help you heal your relationship with
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food and embrace the beauty of your body as a temple of the
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Holy Spirit with confidence and courage that
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can only be found in Christ. Join me as we journey together
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towards a more holistic approach to wellness, one that honors the wisdom
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of your body as God's creation, the teachings of our faith,
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and the unique purpose you're called to fulfill. You
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were made to bloom, to come into full beauty
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and health in order to bear good fruit for the Lord with your life.
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So if you're ready to nourish your body, feed your soul and bloom into the
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best version of yourself, then you're in the right place. And I'm so happy
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you're here. Welcome to Nourish to Bloom, where
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every day is a sacred invitation to thrive.
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Hello. Welcome back to another episode of the Nourish
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to Bloom podcast. Today we're actually going to
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continue our conversation on exploring different
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perspectives on how to gain clarity for New Year's
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goals. We covered this probably in episodes 40 and
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41, I believe, so be sure to go Back and listen to those. We really
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looked at it from the perspective of Mary's Fiat, as well
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as looking at it as planting new seeds in the new year. And
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today I want to share just another perspective.
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This really came out for me during the Advent season, and
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it's something that just was really, really impactful. And I keep
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returning to this particular visual, and it just
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has really helped me see where I need to invite the Lord more
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fully into my life. Meaning it's helping me focus
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on what areas that I. That the Lord needs
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to transform in my own life. And that's really
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guiding me into this new year and as I set goals.
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And it's really this perspective that's been inspired by
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Heather Kim's Advent devotional, Encountering
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Emmanuel. And I think that you'll also
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find this perspective maybe a little bit challenging.
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I definitely did. It's something I'd never really looked at from this
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perspective, using the Parable of the Lost Sheep, but also
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really comforting, really just
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offering comfort because it's giving you so much
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clarity to see where the Lord needs to come
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into your life. But in her devotional, Heather invites us to
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revisit the Parable of the Lost Sheep. Now, this
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is a story that many of us know well, and
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typically we think of the 99 sheep,
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the ones that the shepherd knows where they are, that the.
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The 99 sheep are representing the people who have stay close to the
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Lord, while that lost sheep
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symbolizes the person who has strayed.
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But in her devotional, Heather offers this fresh
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interpretation. She asks us to consider that
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the 99 sheep might represent the parts of our
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lives that have already encountered the Lord, while the law
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sheep symbolizes the parts of us that are still
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distant, unreconciled, and in need
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of the Lord's healing touch.
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Now, I don't know about you, but I really find this perspective pretty
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profound. It can really help us understand why we
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often experience these conflicting feelings within ourselves.
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Why is it that we can feel faith and doubt in at the same
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time, or confident and fearful at the same time, or that
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virtue and vice can coexist in our hearts? And
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Heather's insight reminds us that we are not yet fully
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integrated with the Lord, that there are parts of us, certain
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thoughts, certain habits, certain wounds, and even certain desires
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that have yet to encounter the Lord's transformative
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love, while other parts of us have been fully
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reconciled and are integrated with the Lord? And we find
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often peace and joy and fulfillment with those
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pieces of our lives that have already
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been, you know, brought to the light and have experienced that
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transformation. And I'll admit that
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honestly, this realization brought me a great deal of
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comfort because throughout this Heather explains that that tension
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that we feel between faith and doubt or between virtue and vice
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is just really this natural part of our human experience
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that these opposing forces coexist because our hearts
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are truly a work in progress. And this is where the beauty of
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the Good shepherd comes in. Jesus isn't afraid of our
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messiness or the parts of us that are still lost because
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he's actively seeking out those areas and ready to
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carry us back into his fold.
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So as we continue into the New year and really think about our
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goals, this perspective can be a really powerful
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tool. Instead of simply focusing on what we want to
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achieve or change, we can start to ask ourselves what
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areas of our life are like the lost sheet? What
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parts of you have you kept hidden from the Lord's love
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and why? Maybe it's a fear of failure, or maybe
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you're struggling with comparison or even a sense of
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unworthiness. But when we identify these lost
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parts, we can invite Jesus into those spaces.
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So I just want to share a couple of things to offer a
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practical way for you to apply this as you are
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embarking on your goals for the New year. So
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first, take time to reflect on your 99
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sheep. Take the time to acknowledge
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with gratitude the areas of your life where you've
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already experienced God's presence and grace.
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Maybe it's your relationships, maybe it's your work or your
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career or your ability to trust him fully,
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surrender to him in certain situations, really take the time
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to celebrate those areas and thank him for his
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faithfulness. It's also an opportunity to reflect
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back on maybe the process. How did those
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areas come to really rest in God's
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presence? What was the path that you took to get there?
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Because you can use that as, as a way, like a stepping stone, a process
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to see how you can take some of, maybe your
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lost sheep and apply that same process to
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continue to bring all the lost parts
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of you or all the parts of you that yet to really
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experience God's transform, transformative love. Bring that all
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back into the sheepfold. So that leads us into identifying
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your lost sheep. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the parts of
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your life that feel distant or disconnected from God.
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This might be a particular struggle or an
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overwhelming fear, or even this dream
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or this desire that has been on your heart, but you're hesitant to
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pursue. Write these down and bring them to
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prayer. I can even I'm such a visual person. One thing
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that haven't done it yet. My kids are still out for the
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holidays, but when they're back in school, I can really see.
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I really want to draw out my sheepfold and have, you know, my 99
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sheep really looking and, and visualizing and drawing out the parts
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that are, are fully integrated with the Lord. And then
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outside my sheepfold, identifying maybe, you know, those lost
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sheep, the areas that I need to bring to the Lord to ask him
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to shed His. His mercy and his compassion and
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his grace upon so whether
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you're a visual person or you want to write it down, it's really good
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exercise to identify your loss sheet. And then
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number three, invite the Good shepherd in
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prayer. Visualize your Use your
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imagination for this amazing opportunity to
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visualize Jesus seeking out those lost parts of your
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heart. Can you, can you see that? Can you imagine
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that? Imagine him carrying them back to his fold with
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tenderness and care and rejoicing
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because there's yet another part of your heart that you have surrendered
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to Him. Ask him to guide you in surrendering those areas to
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his love and grace. And then
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set your goals with God. Instead of creating goals rooted
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solely in self improvement, really try to frame them
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as invitations for God to work in your life. For
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example, instead of saying I want to be less anxious, you
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might pray, lord, help me trust you more deeply in the moments
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I feel anxious. I think this is really awesome because
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it's also reminding you that you're not alone, that he is right
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there with you, and that you're, you're kind of tackling
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these goals and these obstacles together and
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then finally trust the process. Remember that
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integration and healing takes time. I think the
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one number one thing about New Year's goals is that we want those
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quick fixes. We want to snap our fingers and our goal
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be met. But that isn't lead to
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lasting and true sustainable transformation.
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So just be patient with yourself. Know that
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the Good shepherd is patient with you and that he is
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rejoicing over every step that you are taking toward
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Him. And so as we close, I
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want to leave you with this encouragement that the tension you feel within your
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heart isn't a sign of failure. It's a sign of ongoing
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work God is doing in you. The Good shepherd is
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always seeking, always calling, and always ready to carry
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you back to Him. Let that truth guide you as
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you step into this New year.
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As always, thank you for joining me today. Do not
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forget that the first week of February I will be
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hosting a Goal Setting with God workshop. It's actually, it kicks off
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the first week of February, but we're gonna do four weeks. We're going
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to really work on identifying those goals, aligning them with
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God number week number two. We're going to identify any
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obstacles or struggles that may come up that would
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prevent you from reaching that goal. And then we're going to get into creating
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your action plan over the last two weeks.
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So it'll be a combination of teaching
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and coaching. So we're going to do some workshop style things
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together. We're going to really map this out out. And then in each of the
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sessions I'll open it up to coaching, any
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mindset coaching, any kind of Q and A you might have.
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So again, that is coming the first week of February.
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Registration is not open yet, but you can go ahead and
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join the wait list and I will send that registration out to all of
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you who are on the waitlist so you can sign up when it is available.
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But until next time, remember, Beauty Hub Held is the seed. Beauty Shared
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is the flower. It is your time to bloom. I hope you have a
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beautiful and blessed week and I will see you right back here
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next week. Take care. Bye.