Hey there friend! In this week's episode of the Nourished to Bloom podcast, we return to the familiar story of Cain and Abel—but instead of focusing only on sibling rivalry, we explore a quieter, deeper message about first fruits, priorities, and intentional living.
Have you ever reached the end of a busy day—completely exhausted—and realized that prayer, reflection, or time with God only gets whatever scraps of energy are left? If so, we're not alone. Together, we reflect on how easy it is to offer God what remains of us rather than the best of us—and how this ancient story gently invites us to choose differently.
This episode isn't about guilt, shame, or adding more to our plates. It's about realignment—learning to notice where our time, energy, and talents are going, and discerning how God may be inviting us to offer our first and best, instead of our leftovers.
In this episode, we explore:
✨ The deeper meaning behind the story of Cain and Abel and what "first fruits" look like in everyday life ✨ Why we so often give God (and ourselves) leftovers—and how to begin shifting our priorities with intention ✨ Practical ways to recognize where our time, energy, and gifts are currently being spent ✨ Encouragement for those of us in a "middle" season—especially women longing for clarity, purpose, or a renewed sense of calling ✨ The reassurance that God doesn't shame us for where we are—He lovingly invites us to choose again
Weekly Reflection Invitation: This week, we invite you to set aside a few quiet moments and prayerfully reflect:
- Where are we giving God our first fruits—our best time, energy, and attention?
- Where are we offering only what's left?
- What small, intentional shift might God be inviting us to make?
Bring this to prayer with honesty and trust—no guilt required.
Special Invitation: If we're feeling disconnected, unclear, or longing to discern what God is calling us into next, we're invited to a free retreat, Writing Your Next Chapter: Goal Setting with God, happening February 3rd at 11 a.m. Central (via Zoom). This retreat offers intentional space to slow down, reflect, and listen for God's invitation in this season.
Thank you for journeying with us. Remember—beauty held is the seed, beauty shared is the flower. It's our time to bloom. 🌸
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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I know this happens to so many of us, me included. We
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have reached the end of the day. We are just so
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ready to crawl into bed, completely spent. We lay our
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heads down and we have this thought of,
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gosh, I have nothing left. I'll give God whatever energy I have left,
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only to realize there's almost nothing there, y'.
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All. What if the problem isn't that we're doing too much, but that we're offering
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God what remains of us instead of
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the best of us? So today we're going to
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do one of my favorite things and talk about scripture and how
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when I have those moments that I read scripture and it just kind of speaks
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to me. I'm going to share with you this episode of how
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Scripture spoke to me when we were reading the Bible
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story of Cain and Abel with my kids. And we
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all know the story of Cain and Abel and it's one of the most heartbreaking
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stories in scripture. But we're going to look at it not to talk about
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rivalry or violence, but to uncover a quieter,
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hidden message about first fruits and priorities
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and the way we offer our lives back to God.
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And I think it might change the way you look at your goals, how
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you're spending your time, and the season you're finding yourself in right
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now. Welcome to the Nourish
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to Bloom podcast where your faith meets your health. I'm your
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host, Kara Trochta, a registered dietitian and certified Catholic coach,
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and I'm here to help you cultivate a deeper connection with your body, your
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spirit, and the nourishment that sustains them both. In
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a world filled with noise and confusion about food,
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health and body image, this podcast offers truth and healing from
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a Christ centered perspective. Together, we'll untangle the deep
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roots of diet culture and discover what it means to truly
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care for ourselves through joyful nourishment of mind,
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body and soul. We're here to dive into the transformative power of
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intuitive eating coupled with the rich teachings of our Christian faith.
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With every episode, I'll be cheering you on, offering insights,
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inspiration and practical tools to help you heal your
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relationship with food and embrace the beauty of your body as
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a temple of the Holy Spirit with confidence and courage
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that can only be found in Christ. Join me as we journey
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together towards a more holistic approach to wellness, one that honors the
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wisdom of your body as God's creation, the teachings of our
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faith, and the unique purpose you're called to fulfill.
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You were made to bloom, to come into
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full beauty and health in order to bear good Fruit for the Lord with
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your life. So if you're ready to nourish your body, feed your soul,
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and bloom into the best version of yourself, then you're in the right place.
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And I'm so happy you're here. Welcome to Nourish
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to Bloom, where every day is a sacred invitation to
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thrive. Hey there. Welcome back to the Nourish to
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Bloom podcast. So happy to be here with you
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this week. And we're doing one of my favorite things
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where I feel like I read scripture and
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God gives me this message to share. And so that's what we're going to do
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today because we all know the story of Cain and Abel and. And
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we all know that it's one of the saddest stories in scripture. And a
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couple of days ago, we were reading the story of
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Cain and Abel with all of us, our family, and
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you know, you're sitting there, right? And I have two boys and it's like, okay,
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boys, you really need to listen to this story. It's about two brothers and how
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these two brothers are treating each other. And not that my boys are
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super mean to each other, it's just they're boys and
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it's like WWE in my house all the time,
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right? And I feel like we do a really good job
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of helping them realize, like, we are not comparing each other to
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each of them, right? We really try to squash sibling rivalry and really
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try to promote how they each have their own unique talents and gifts.
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But anyway, we were sitting there reading the story of Cain and Abel.
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And yes, we know on the surface it's about sibling
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rivalry, about unchecked anger, about sin, sin and
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how one can so quickly lead to another. And
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it reminds us that violence and jealousy never
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lead to anything life giving. But as we're
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sitting there and we've read this and we're having this discussion,
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I love this because my husband brought it up and it's. He and I were
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on the same wavelength here, but just, you know, challenging
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our kids to, okay, we know what the story was about, what happened and
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how these brothers were treating each other. But, like, what do you think the deeper
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message is? And so my husband pointed out that the
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message is really tucked inside this story. One
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that's maybe quieter or more subtle. We kind of just tend to
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glaze over it because it is such a
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gory story. But I think it's one that can speak directly
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into how we are living our lives today, especially when it
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comes to things like goals and
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priority and how we're spending our time and our energy and our talents.
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And so this, this message that's tucked inside this story, we can look at it
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as. When these two brothers brought their offerings to God,
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Abel gave from the first and the best of his flock. While
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Cain, on the other hand, brought an offering too. But
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scripture tells us it was not his best. He kept the
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choicest portion for himself and offered God what
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was left. So this, this message
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that's tucked in there is really about what
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we are giving to God. Our first fruits,
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the best of us, or are we just giving what's left of us?
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We know from scripture that Abel's gift pleased God, while
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Cain's did not. And when Cain became angry and
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discouraged, God did not reject him outright, but he
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actually invited him to choose differently the next time.
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But Cain stayed stuck and resentful,
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closed off. And while we all know how that story
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ends. And so maybe you're sitting here like, okay, Kara, this is
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really, you know, far fetched, you're kind of grasping here. But
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what does this ancient story really have to do with me and my life today?
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And y', all, it's really what the heart of this story is about. And it's
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not just about the brothers, but it's about the offerings. It's about those first
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fruits versus the leftovers. Recognizing that Abel
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gave God his first fruits and that was pleasing to God, and
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Cain gave God what remained. And while God wasn't
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upset with him, he actually offered Cain something different.
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But Cain chose not to. And if we're being honest,
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most of us have lived seasons where we've done this exact same.
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I know that I've had many days and maybe even long seasons where I
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didn't give God the best of me. I just gave him what was left of
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me. You know, just a tired prayer at the end of the day
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without actually spending some quality time with Him.
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A distracted moment squeezed in between tasks,
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A half present heart only asking, asking,
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asking, never praising or thinking or recognizing
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his presence in my life. And we're often
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even guilty of this in very subtle ways. I think three things that
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really stand out to me is we give our time away.
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First to scrolling, to busyness, to filling
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every quiet moment. And then we just offer God
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whatever scraps remain. Or maybe we spend our
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mental and emotional energy on comparison and drama,
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worry and overthinking. And this leaves us little space
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for discernment, peace, or just simply
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trying to listen for his voice. And lastly, we
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pour out our talents into things that keep us busy but are
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not aligned with our mission or Maybe we hide them
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all together because stepping forward in holy boldness feels scary
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or risky. Because using our talents and
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using our gifts, using our time and our energy
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in a fruitful way requires us to trust,
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to surrender and to have courage.
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And you know, sometimes it's not even like resistance to this.
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Sometimes we really want to give God our first fruits, but we
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honestly don't know what they are. And I
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see this come up all the time with moms and women
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who are in this middle motherhood phase of life
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where it's like they've kind of got the things they wanted, they're
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living that dream life, and now they just feel kind of lost or
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maybe dissatisfied, and they want
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to give God their best, but they just don't know what that is.
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Maybe you feel a longing for more clarity, a
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better sense of direction, a sense of calling.
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But maybe you're stuck asking, what is God
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exactly inviting you into right now? What am I meant to offer him
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in this season? And this is why I think
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coaching is such a beautiful opportunity, is that it allows us
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to explore these things specifically, what are
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our first fruits? And so if you find yourself in this this kind
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of stuck, lost, not really sure what your
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first fruits are, but are so eager to discover what
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you can offer the lor I want to take a moment to just
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personally invite you to join me for the next free retreat writing
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your next chapter, Goal Setting with God. It's happening on February
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3rd at 11:00am Central Time via Zoom, and you can
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find the link to sign up for that in the show description.
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Please come join us and walk away with
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and spend this time in this retreat in an intentional prayerful
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space, one that allows you to slow down and get clear
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on what God is calling you to. Not just what
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you should be doing, but who he's inviting you to be.
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And it's really that chance to reconnect with your gifts and your desires
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and your vocation, and to offer, not God, just
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what's left of you, but truly and wholly the gift of
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yourself. It's an opportunity to find
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your inner able, not in striving, but in trust
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and a chance to praise God for the goodness in your life
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by giving him your first fruits. So
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please come join that retreat. You can again find the registration in the show
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notes. But as we leave our time here, I want to challenge
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you and invite you into just simple
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reflection this week. Take some time, sit down
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in a quiet space and reflects
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on where in your life are you giving God your first fruits,
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your best time, your best energy and your most attentive
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heart. And where might you be giving him
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only what's left. And bring
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that honestly to prayer, y'. All. It's not about guilt. It's not about
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inducing shame. It's just being open
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and recognizing where you have an opportunity
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to grow, where you have an opportunity to be guided
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into deeper relationship with him. And so, as
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you identify where you may be only giving him what's left of
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you, ask him, lord, are you inviting me to choose differently?
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And trust that he's going to meet you there with mercy,
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clarity, compassion, and grace.
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Y', all, I thank you so much for spending this time here with me this
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week. I hope you have a beautiful and blessed week. Remember, beauty
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held is the seed, beauty shared is the flower. It is your
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time to bloom. I'll see you next week. Until
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then, take care. Bye. Bye.