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When You Need to Be Patient Longer Than Is Reasonable: An Interview with Josie Rivett
92 Plays30 days ago
Today’s interview is with Josie Rivett, a mother of four and the founder of a parachurch ministry, Living Words. She’s written an Australian curriculum for kids ministry to teach through the Bible in a year. We discuss her experience starting a PhD in education and setting up Living Words, which pushed her to trust in God’s provision more deeply after a long struggle with doubt in her teens and twenties.
In today’s episode, we explore:
- Her parents came to faith just after she was born, growing up in a Christian home, and being plagued by doubts and a lack of assurance throughout her teens and early twenties. Witnessing her father go into full time ministry, God providing for them, and the kindness and generosity of her parents to others.
- The strong faith and convictions of friends, her husband, and parents which has encouraged her to keep going when her faith felt weak.
- Setting out to start a PhD in education and write a curriculum for kids ministry when she noticed that there was not an Australian curriculum that took children through the Bible in the year, written for volunteers who did not have qualifications in education or theology and how this spurred her on to persevere and rely on God’s provision.
You can check out the show notes for everything mentioned in the episode.
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Music: Come Back by Ketsa. Licensed under a Creative Commons License Non-Commercial, No-Derivatives 4.0 International License.
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Transcript
Introduction to 'The After Dinner Mint'
00:00:00
Speaker
The way God was faithful was that he provided, but it didn't, i had I had to be patient and it wasn't easy. It was a lot of waiting. And I feel like that patient time, you know, you think to yourself, I can be patient for 10 minutes a day, ah week, you know, like in mind, you have an amount of time that you think you could be patient for. And often this is a reasonable amount of time and you're like, I passed it now.
00:00:25
Speaker
yeah yeah, yeah, that's right. man that Double that. And you're like, I'm on now. you
00:00:34
Speaker
This is the After Dinner Mint, a podcast of stories I tell you at dinner. Think of the mint as the stories you tell after you've been kicked out of the restaurant, holding your mint, standing in the street, telling more honest stories with your friends than you did at the table.
00:00:49
Speaker
It's not a sermon. It's not advice. It's not self-help. We're processing what we're learning about faith and life, honestly, in community, to encourage you to do that with your God and your community.
Meet Josie Rivett and Her Weekly Life
00:01:06
Speaker
Welcome to The After Dinner Moon. I'm your host, Bec, and today I'm here with Josie Rivett. Hi, Josie. Bec. It's nice to be here. Good to have you. So, Josie, tell everyone who's listening, what does a typical week look like for you? What kind of things make up your week?
00:01:24
Speaker
Well, I have, i I obviously live in a house and that takes a fair amount of time. I have four kids and they also take a you know fair amount of time and also a husband. He takes less time, but but still a little bit of time, a little bit of time. And I also have two jobs which I sort of just do. I sort of divide my time. I'm writing, I'm doing a PhD in education and I'm also writing a curriculum for children's ministry.
00:01:58
Speaker
So they're, you know, big. And then also go to church and I have a fortnightly Bible study. Wow. Yeah. Wow.
00:02:09
Speaker
Now, I have a couple of questions. Yes. Firstly, How old are your children? Oh, yeah, they're not little. they So my oldest is 19, so he's out of school, and my youngest is in high school. He's 14.
00:02:27
Speaker
And then I have two in the middle, two girls. Wow. Wow. Yeah. Cool. Yeah. And so if you're doing a Master's in Education, what did you do originally?
00:02:38
Speaker
Like, were you a classroom? Yeah. Yeah, I was. Yeah. oh i'm I'm a primary teacher. That's so cool. And how, like, no, okay, again, I have two questions.
00:02:52
Speaker
So where, what kind of schools did you teach in? and then I want to know, like, how did you think I'm going to write a curriculum? Like, how did this come about? Because I have questions.
00:03:04
Speaker
Yeah, sure. I taught in ah at two Christian schools. I only taught for a little while, four or five years. um I taught up at Mandaring, which is NWA, and also another
Creating a Children's Ministry Curriculum
00:03:17
Speaker
Christian school. And then I also did a bit of relief work just around in ah public schools and that type of thing.
00:03:24
Speaker
And then what was your second question? And then how do you have kind of come to be in your mind originally where you're like, you know what, I can write a curriculum. Like, yeah.
00:03:37
Speaker
Well. I do like the Bible. I'm not joking. I know every Christian has to like the Bible, but I actually as well. I do genuine genuinely enjoy the whole, how it all comes together.
00:03:51
Speaker
And I really do love kids and i love teaching. And I just thought, oh, yeah. There's not a lot of Australian children's ministry stuff out there There's a lot of American stuff. ah So I thought, oh, maybe there's a gap. And what microfilm does is we teach through the Bible each year and I don't think there's anything that sort of does that.
00:04:17
Speaker
there are There are ones that go through the whole Bible, but I think they take a little while to do it. So we just keep on going. we so We start the start. We get to the end. We go back to the beginning. yeah like oh wow.
00:04:28
Speaker
That's so cool. Like our church, I'm not sure if they're doing it now, but they used to have one where I think by the time you got through primary school, you would have gone through the entire Bible. Yes.
00:04:40
Speaker
But, you know, I guess that that is then you have to be at the same church and going for that at time to get through the whole Bible. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. I do know that curriculum. It's really great. And this is just an alternative. It's it's a bit of a quicker path through the Bible. Yeah. And you come back and you have a look at other, you know, like a different path through the Bible.
00:05:01
Speaker
Yes. No, like that. I did the Bible recap last year, which again is very American, but I liked the kind of gesturing with my hands going up. But you know what I mean? that That big bird's eye view where you're like, how does this all work together? How does this story about David relate to this other story over here and then a pastoral letter?
00:05:21
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. that' so I try and draw that in, especially for the older kids to try and make some links between Old Testament and New Testament, you know, what what they're all talking about. Yeah.
00:05:33
Speaker
Wow. And like how how long has it taken you to like write a curriculum? Was it harder than you expected or like easier or? No, I knew it was going to take a long time. um I've been working, i'm but I'm not finished, I'm hopefully going to finish this year, but I've been working on it for six years probably.
00:05:56
Speaker
Long, long time. Oh, did I know? I knew it was going to be long. i actually have cut it in half because I was going to do an eight-year situation, but now I've gone for four years that you just repeat.
00:06:10
Speaker
Oh, yeah. Yeah, no. So you kind of come back and re- Yeah, and then a separate- already guided. no no, no, no. You come back again, but also a separate, like, early childhood because I realised that little kids- They think that Jesus wrote the Bible, for example, and I was like, ah, that's unhelpful.
00:06:30
Speaker
So let's, maybe we should have a separate little thing for them. So they have their own separate little lessons that sometimes follow the same path, but yeah, but are designed especially for little smaller children.
Weekly Routine and Creative Process
00:06:43
Speaker
Yeah. Oh, wow. Like how how young is like young? How how early is the curriculum start? You could probably use it for pre-K, I reckon, three-year-olds, three or four-year-olds. Wow.
00:06:55
Speaker
Wow. Yeah. That's really cool. Thanks. I hope so. Sorry. Yeah, yeah. Sorry. am i yeah my No, I'm like, that is excellent. Like, my middle boy is four, nearly five. And I was just thinking, like, yeah, it can be hitting this.
00:07:19
Speaker
But that's amazing. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. That's really cool. Yeah. Yeah. So, like, on a weekly basis, like, what kind of stuff you're doing? i know were talking to me before about, like, videographers, but where does that kind of fit in...
00:07:35
Speaker
you way sorry every Tuesday say i I work with a couple of women who help me out with the curriculum. So I've got ah my friend Rachel who she she's all creative and I am all not.
00:07:50
Speaker
So she makes everything look beautiful, which is lovely because like I can't really do that. And then another lady is transforming. She's making things look beautiful in a different way, which obviously i also, I'm focusing my attention elsewhere.
00:08:05
Speaker
you So we do that on Tuesday morning and then ah normally I'm writing. So I'm writing lessons or I'm writing um backgrounds for the teachers to read. And then what in that process, I write a video, like a shortened version of a video for the teachers. And then we also develop skits for the kids to watch too.
00:08:27
Speaker
And then probably once a term, we record the teaching videos and the kids' videos. And which we try and make the kids' ones funny. You know, that could that can be hit and miss. No.
00:08:39
Speaker
Weeping there, Fanny. Weeping there, very funny. You're like, don't worry, I got it. You're like, I got the laugh track. It's fine. It's fine. I'm here for That's right. Exactly. Exactly. 100%. Anyway. Yeah, yeah.
00:08:51
Speaker
Yeah, so sometimes we have the video man come in. He's really great. He has to work with some pretty average talent as well, I will say. Yeah. There's a lot of extra noises and, you know, and yeah, it's very patient. It's amazing. It's not only like a written curriculum, it's also like all of the kind of content that you can kind of pick up and use and run with.
00:09:15
Speaker
yep Yep, and I've done a bit of a survey as well of the resources that are out there. So there will also be a recommendation from a kid's Bible and every term as well has a playlist that's every song I could find that was related to what we're looking at and admit that's all just like available. You can just go look at that.
00:09:35
Speaker
So I've just tried to put in as jam as much stuff as I can for every lesson so no one ever runs out of stuff to do.
00:09:44
Speaker
see Yeah, yeah. Yeah, like... Yeah, really, really in-depth. That's... um yeah Yeah, wow. Because ah it was one of those things where i was like, I'm aware of there being a curriculum and schools, but I'm not a teacher. And I was like, yes, a curriculum. But now you're explaining it. I'm yes, right. This is everything you'd pick up and lesson plans and all of the stuff to like. Yeah, yeah yes. yeah So you can see. And it's for, I wrote it with people who weren't trained as teachers or and didn't have a theological background with them in mind. So yeah.
00:10:20
Speaker
It's for volunteers, hopefully, to just be able to come and, you know, go straight in with their kids' church classes or whatever.
Josie's Personality and Community Engagement
00:10:29
Speaker
I love that. See, I took over running a playgroup, but I took it over from an early childhood trained teacher.
00:10:37
Speaker
wow. and i'm I know. And it was beautiful. hard it was like oh yeah It was, oh, I know. There were zones and there were craft and everything match and this matched the term theme and this craft. Oh, no. And I was like, at that point, I worked in a prison and I was like, I am not the person.
00:10:55
Speaker
ah Early childhood teachers are, that's not me, I'm just plain old primary, but they are next level. They're just, you know, they're, it's like the NBA, really. It was beautiful. It was beautiful. I had his hand and wrecked everything, but it was great.
00:11:11
Speaker
Never mind. I'm like, I don't i It was so lovely. It was so lovely. I'm sure you did a great job. yes Yep.
00:11:22
Speaker
Anyway, right. So, Josie, tell me, get ready for the question. Are you excited? What makes you feel the most alive? I did think carefully about this. And actually, i really love spending time with people, but that probably makes me feel the most alive. And to the point where I will just, I just go, i just want to, like won't, if I go to church, for example, and there's morning tea, I am a fan of cake, but I'll just go, no.
00:11:54
Speaker
You do. Hanging out with the people. Bloop. you know, chat, chat, chat. Just so, anyway, so that probably makes me feel most a alive. But then I also do enjoy being out in my garden, cooking, and I do like knitting and like that type of thing too.
00:12:11
Speaker
Yeah. ah Very, very varied. Yeah. Yes. So, Would you classify yourself like as an extrovert or you kind of feel like there's a bit of both there? Because part of that I was ah almost like pure extrovert because you're like, i'm actually gaining energy from being with people.
00:12:30
Speaker
But then there's the cooking and the gardening, which makes you wonder. Yeah, I... I feel like I'm pure extrovert. It's actually quite hard. I spend a lot of time by myself in front of a screen. f i too Half the time I'm walking around going, this is so boring. Oh, well, anyway, and I have to force myself.
00:12:50
Speaker
I just say, come on, Jase, you can do it. This is the times in my life where I have genuinely struggled, where I'm like, when enough is fine?
00:12:59
Speaker
buts but What am I doing now? um no one else put my head out of the door and just look re is anyone walking by anyway i' up'll beyond that like the jobs that i've had where i've been happiest ah legitimately like walking around a hospital ward and bea hey your doctor said you was sad what a child That is my dream thing, just to go and hang out with people. Is that a job? I mean, obviously you had that as a job. I did. I did. That was one of my... So great. I mean, obviously I wasn't as cheerful, but I, ah you know.
00:13:36
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I'm here for a chat. I'm ready. Are you ready? Hey, and let's go. Yeah, yeah, yeah. yeah I'd be all over that. Yeah. Except without any, like, counselling, you know, experience or education.
00:13:50
Speaker
Just generally hanging out, though. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, exactly. Well, i mean, I was a student, so, like, who knows? That's a call here if you come by again. but
Josie's Christian Upbringing and Spiritual Journey
00:14:03
Speaker
Gosh. Anyway. ah Now, Josie, how did you become a Christian? Yeah, so I did think about this and I'm actually writing, we're actually um organising some videos and at the moment and we're getting 10 people to come and tell us how they met Jesus. And I was thinking about it today and I thought, yeah, there are people who have the Paul experience, you know, of really quite dramatic experiences.
00:14:32
Speaker
from dark to light. And then you get Timothy, who whose mum was a Christian and who raised him, and that was me. So my parents became ah no less dramatic, but maybe a bit physically, you know, less whatever. and So my parents became Christians just after I was born. And so we started going to church and all of that sort of stuff. And so when I was about five or six, I became a Christian and I really haven't like fallen away or anything like that.
00:15:04
Speaker
So, yeah, my parents were faithful. They taught us about Jesus and they took us to church and then, yeah, I became a Christian really quite early on. Yeah. love that. I love that so much.
00:15:19
Speaker
Yeah. Like because I became a Christian like in high school but i it's this weird thing where I'm like now raising kids. Yeah. Yeah. And you're like, we're going to church, we're going to kids' church.
00:15:31
Speaker
And there's something really sweet where you see them and you're like, oh, you we pray to Jesus and you're scared to go to class and we like we pray together. And it's just that really,
00:15:42
Speaker
yeah yeah Like so many people I've interviewed, it's just been that really quiet, faithful, ordinary, yeah beautiful thing. Yeah. I will say, though, it's not like, and maybe it's the person who I am and all of that, I have struggled with doubts over the years. So it's not like it was like 100%. 100% certain all the time. wasn't like that at all. And so especially through
00:16:15
Speaker
teenage years and into my twenty s I was just like, i just I just don't know if it's real. I'll cling on anyway, but I just don't know if this is all true. Yeah. So it didn't mean that, you know, the certainty and assurance was necessarily there.
00:16:34
Speaker
Yeah.
00:16:36
Speaker
What do you reckon helped with that? Like it sounds like it was a really long wrestle. Yeah, it was. Well, I actually, when I was teaching up at Mundaring, I had a friend who taught in the next room and her name was Jen. and And she was actually very, very certain about her faith in God, that he was real and that he works in our world. And so I thought, I'm going to go talk to her um and find out about what she thought. And she said that she searched around everywhere. They went to Africa, her and her husband.
00:17:13
Speaker
And then they came back and they were teaching in Kalkulia and they met some friends and she said when they found Jesus, they were just like, no, we are 100%, you know, come on for the Lord and we are certain and sure. So those types of stories helped me go, oh, ah intellectually,
00:17:32
Speaker
It's not, you know, a massive leap, you know, to believe in God. Yeah. Because you get that from going to a state school, I suppose, or yeah, public school.
00:17:45
Speaker
Yeah. So actually stories, interestingly, have been a thing. Yeah. Yeah, like other people's stories. You're like, oh, okay. Yeah. Yeah, just seeing how they, and my husband as well, he is also 100% guaranteed and 100% certain.
00:18:00
Speaker
And that also has been very, I'm like, oh. Great. I'll hold on to you where you're sure. I'll hold on to your certainty because I'm a bit of a questioner and doubter of myself, not of other people. that Yeah. Yeah.
00:18:17
Speaker
i'm I'm familiar. I'm familiar with this, yes of this fun spiral. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. But it's like Roshana, he gave an example once.
00:18:28
Speaker
Of like, ah something like being in Christ is like being on a plane. You know, you can be really confident, like climbing on the plane, you know, if you fly all the time, multiple times a week.
00:18:40
Speaker
Or you can be really terrified, but, you know, both if you are on the plane. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. That's me on the plane and, you know.
00:18:50
Speaker
No. No. Less so in my faith now, but it has been in the past. Yeah, yeah. But 100% on the plane. Ooh, scary. No, I like that. I like that. Not that it doesn't sound like it was fun for you, but like um that you've kind of been able to endure through that.
00:19:09
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. There didn't seem to be a actually a viable alternative, though. Yeah. Yeah, I think that's it. I remember thinking like, maybe I could just unknow all the stuff that I know but I couldn't. Yeah.
00:19:25
Speaker
No. Yeah. No. It's quite interesting.
00:19:32
Speaker
No. So who is someone who's encouraged you or inspired you in your Christian walk and why? So I would say my parents because they over the years, they particularly their generosity and their kindness towards other people, and I know it's because of God's generosity and kindness to them, and also they showed what it meant to um trust in God and rely on him to provide for them.
00:20:03
Speaker
And so that's been massive example for me. to trust that God will graciously provide everything we need, whatever the situation is. wow.
00:20:15
Speaker
Hmm. but Do you tell yourval of all these questions? You did. You did. see I did, yeah. That's beautiful. What's an example of a way that you reckon God provided for your parents that you got to see?
00:20:31
Speaker
Um, we didn't, so my parents, we moved around a lot and my dad had a lot of jobs and he, we, he became an accountant and we moved out to Albany.
00:20:44
Speaker
And after a couple of years, he decided that he would move back up to Perth and start to become a minister. And so he had to study and go to Bob College and
Faith, Family, and God's Provision
00:20:55
Speaker
all of that. So in that time, we did, there wasn't heaps of money, we We just, I didn't notice that we missed out on anything, like to the point where we were starving or, you know. So we just saw God provide.
00:21:13
Speaker
It wasn't extravagant or luxurious or anything, but we had everything we needed and and that was really great. And that was also with them sharing what they had with other people.
00:21:24
Speaker
So it' was really good. Yeah. Wow. That's. Hmm. Like, beautiful and weirdly, like, so, like, also really common. Like, that's this bizarre thing where you hear that from people who are in ministry or people who are like, okay, I'm just trusting God's going to call me to do this thing. Yeah, yeah. And they consistently say, like, yeah, God's just provided, like, everything yeah that I need.
00:21:52
Speaker
It's amazing. Yeah. m wow So could you talk us through, like, what's us like a hard season you've walked through and kind of what God's, how you've seen God's faithfulness you in that?
00:22:10
Speaker
Yep. Well, so I've been doing my PhD for a number of years, for whatever, two and a half years, and in my particular project, what I had to go and do was ask or find some people who I could interview, just 15 people. wasn't very many.
00:22:30
Speaker
and But what I had to do to do that was I had to email a principal, the principal of lots of schools, and ask them if they could pass on this stuff to their teachers. And and so it was big this big chain that it had that you had to go through before you could get these people who would be your and in your interview.
00:22:52
Speaker
Anyway, I had probably six months when no one said yes. And so i was just like, oh, this is a really long time. Anyway, and so one day i was just like, oh, I'm just, not that I hadn't prayed, but I just dropped everything and I just went, please, Lord, I just, but you've you've opened all these doors for me. So if I'm happy to stop you doing it, but if you want me to keep going, please can you just provide the 15 people? And he did. And it was it was such a provision.
00:23:28
Speaker
and yeah And that has also happened with the curriculum. so like, he provided my friend who makes everything look beautiful um and he's provided lots of different opportunities to share with people and people who've come along and helped me out.
00:23:45
Speaker
Yeah. So I've had multiple in these two big projects, which are huge. God's just like, he's just put in so much to help out.
00:23:57
Speaker
o yeah But they were hard in the going through because he felt a bit helpless, especially with the principals. Like they didn't know me. I had no pull on them.
00:24:09
Speaker
There was a lot of high pitched voice, you know.
00:24:14
Speaker
I don't if you know that voice. it samma It's my general tone for my life. Please help please help me. That's right.
00:24:25
Speaker
There was no reason that anyone should say yes, they didn't know me at all.
Perseverance in Projects and Faith
00:24:29
Speaker
Yeah. And so then, yeah, seemingly out of nowhere they came, the interviews, yeah. And that's an interesting position to be in considering like if If you think about your history of, like, that sense of doubt, like, is God really, is he really there?
00:24:48
Speaker
Does he really listen? yeah Like, will he, yeah, you were really put in quite a position of having to rely on him.
00:25:01
Speaker
Yeah, that's right. Like, yeah, how did you... What made you put yourself, I mean, like, because it's quite an undertaking, you know, like, right yeah, starting to write it. I mean, a PhD alone is a lot and yet you've, like, written a PhD, started a business, all of this from this, like, absolute passion.
00:25:25
Speaker
Like, what made you be really just be like, I'm going to do this. Like, if your consistent thing has been, I'm not sure. Like, that's a real move of faith.
00:25:39
Speaker
Well, for me, I don't know what everybody else is like, and but these things are more of an unveiling about how much you have to do, if you know what I mean. So a couple of years ago tore my Achilles tendon and I was, it was like a broken, it's like a broken leg. It's terrible. Like you can't, you can't walk for three months. And it was my right leg. So it's my, you know, can't drive, couldn't thing. And it took me years to get better. And when I first did was like, oh,
00:26:10
Speaker
I wonder if you have to have surgery. And I did you know. And then I was like, i wonder how I wonder how long this takes to get better. Anyway, it was just this slow and unveiling of, oh, um it's quite serious.
00:26:25
Speaker
Oh, rough all right. And so all of these things, like these two big projects, they have been a little bit like that where I'm like, oh you wanted Oh, you wanted that.
00:26:37
Speaker
Oh, is this what we're doing? Oh, right. Yeah, so I try not to. In my mind, I'm like, I know it's big, but how big can it be? Anyway, how big can it be?
00:26:52
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. so it helps that I'm not very foresightful. Is that a word? Not full of foresight. Yeah, yeah, sure. Yeah.
00:27:04
Speaker
Anyway, yeah. Yeah, so partly like you weren't aware of the sheer amount of work that it would carry.
00:27:15
Speaker
No, no, I knew it would be a lot, but I just hadn't itemised it. i don't know if you do this. You know what you like? I've got to go shopping and ah at the shops. And you're like, yeah, I know need some stuff.
00:27:28
Speaker
And then you come back with like six or seven bags and you're like, oh, jeez. Wow, that's, some you know because unless you write, are you a list writer? ah yeah Yeah. You know. I thought I'd write a list, but. he I feel like I'd just come back with just a bunch of stuff that was not the things that I needed and, like, missing half the ingredients for the meals that I needed to make.
00:27:50
Speaker
Which means that you've got to go back to the shop again. Anyway, it's good. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then a lot of beer at 5pm, so. Yeah.
00:27:59
Speaker
Where's the chicken bars? Anyway. I know. But I am very familiar with, yes, taking on projects that you're like, this looks delightful. Had not considered how much work this would involve.
00:28:12
Speaker
yeah Yes. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. yeah But, yeah, so it's almost like that. and Reaching out for you was that really uncomfortable where like, okay, I've done the thing. Yes. And I've like done all of the work.
00:28:31
Speaker
then the white Yeah, that's right. And then the waiting and you're like, oh, wow, really? wow.
00:28:38
Speaker
Deep breaths. Lots of deep breaths. Breathing through deep breaths. Oh, no. Like, finding people for research is horrific. I've had to do it. and It's horrible. It's nightmarish. And, again, you can't – there's nothing you can offer them because of ethics boards. You can't bribe people to do research.
00:28:52
Speaker
No. Well, some people can. I feel like there are projects that do offer payment, but that was not my one. Yeah. Anyway. ah Yeah. Anyway.
00:29:05
Speaker
That's, I like that. Yeah. There are verse from scripture that helped you to persevere. The way God was faithful was that he provided, but it didn't, i had I had to be patient and it wasn't easy. It was a lot of waiting. And I feel like that patient time, you know, you think to yourself, I can be patient for a
00:29:28
Speaker
10 minutes a day, ah week. You know, like in your mind, you have an amount of time that you think you could be patient for. And often this is a reasonable amount of time and you're like, passed it now. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's right. mean that Double that. And you're like, I'm on now. you know and Anyway, but I'll tell you what helped me. And like at the time when I was waiting for my interview people to come along, I was actually writing about Joseph and Ruth and Hannah, all these faithful people in the Old Testament. who
00:30:02
Speaker
So and one lesson in particular we wrote about Joseph and he was – So he got, he saved the cook and the baker, or one I think one of them actually got killed, but the other guy got promoted, re-promoted. Yeah, the cupbearer got re-sent back to the palace and and Joseph's like, don't forget me.
00:30:21
Speaker
And then the cupbearer's like, no, no way, no way would I forget you. Two years later. Two years. was like, oh, I'm so, Joseph, you know, that, in jail. Anyway, it was so long. i was just like, but even though the cupbearer forgot Joseph, God had not forgotten Joseph. So reading about those people in the past, Hannah,
00:30:46
Speaker
who goes and prays to the Lord and then God remembers her, you know and Ruth over in Moab, and then God brings her to you know Israel and she gets together with Boaz. It's beautiful. And always when you think that you're out of resources, God provides. He doesn't necessarily make it easy.
00:31:09
Speaker
It's still hard work. This is what I've found. You're still required to shoulder your load, but he makes it bearable and he as he eases it but rather than makes it easy. I don't know. There's a bit of difference. Anyway, so that's how, yeah, that's what I would say that would be encouraging.
00:31:32
Speaker
Yeah, it's kind like what helps you to persevere past what you thought was reasonable was knowing that so many other people in your Bible also had to wait on God and his good timing.
00:31:45
Speaker
Yeah, like Hebrews says. Hebrews is a bit like that. No. but Chapter 11. All the heroes of the faith and they just go, yeah.
00:31:58
Speaker
yeah Anyway, it's true that you're... It's like I didn't spend any time in Hebrews. I'm like, well, weird things in there. Oh, it's so great. It's gold. I mean, if you're an adult, you're going to be a bad guy.
00:32:09
Speaker
yeah I will. And I do... I do... I do... I remembered who I was going to say who's really encouraging. Mm. Catherine Juniper.
00:32:21
Speaker
She might not do it, but she's so great. I hear great things. And my husband is like, oh, my husband's name escapes me.
00:32:34
Speaker
Josh. Oh, I know. My husband's like, Josh Juniper is the man. Oh, yeah. great. And they're just like, yeah. ah Yates so highly aboses them. Yeah. I don't know them super well, but. um Oh, she's really great.
00:32:51
Speaker
you all Anyway, what is she? Yes, which I will tell you that. No, I love that. um What is Catherine doing these days anyway, or CAFs?
00:33:03
Speaker
She is, yeah, CAFs, she's teaching. She just finished her primary, like her Masters of Teaching. So what is a word of encouragement you can offer to a woman listening who might be walking through a similar season of like having to wait a while?
00:33:21
Speaker
you know, and kind of really trust in God's timing. can say the same thing that I say to everyone, and that is keep going. I don't know if you've ever got a bit of that. ah But everyone who knows me is like, Jessie, she says the same thing. Because i I'm just like, well, you just keep going.
00:33:39
Speaker
The Lord has got you, you know, just one foot in front of the other. You don't have to do anything massive. don't have to run. you don't have to, like, you know, you just...
Encouragement and Inspiration in Faith
00:33:49
Speaker
drag he yourself, stumble, fall over, however you can keep, you know, commando, crawling, whatever, because the Lord is there and he's your strength, and so he helps us keep going.
00:34:06
Speaker
And we all have to Jesus because Jesus kept going for us, so we go, okay, yes, I'll do that too. love that. know Awesome.
00:34:18
Speaker
And so, yeah, the person that we nominate next is Catherine Juniper. Juniper, yes. Because why do we nominate Catherine Juniper?
00:34:31
Speaker
She is someone who has been a really good encouragement to me. she has just she did She'll just randomly come along and go, hey, doing a great job, Jace. Keep going. And you always need that.
00:34:44
Speaker
Just these little glimmers and these little cheerleaders. Yeah, yeah. Yacht. Encourages are worth their weight in gold. they Do you know what? I'm not joking. I actually met someone at church the other day called Barnabas.
00:34:58
Speaker
I was you know about the do you know the significance? I don't. Please see each of your jokes. So Barnabas is obviously in the New Testament. He's one of his friends.
00:35:12
Speaker
But his name means son of encouragement. So anytime we're just like my dream is being called a Barnabas, the son of encouragement. And then we met one and we were like, are you so happy to have that name? Are you so, I'm so excited.
00:35:30
Speaker
And my daughter, shikahu i said, oh, did you meet Barnabas? And she was like, mum, Barnabas, son of encouragement. was like, You've trained her well. I know.
00:35:42
Speaker
They all know. They're always like, oh, why did you not call us Barnabas, Mum? Anyway. Yeah, but then you have a two children called Barney and they might be purple. long It's true.
00:35:53
Speaker
It's true. High hopes that they wouldn't be, though. They could also be a son of encouragement.
00:35:59
Speaker
It's so glad you explained this to me because I was like, I don't have to stand lips, but I do now. Yeah. yeah yeah yeah Anyway, we were just, we were so excited. And I don't think he really got it either.
00:36:12
Speaker
We were like, you're in the Bible. Anyway. He's like, oh, you don't understand these ladies. You look like that, B. And that's right.
00:36:23
Speaker
It's really weird. Most people do that to me at church, actually. Anyway, it's really weird.
00:36:32
Speaker
I'm like a lion. Yeah. I'm a gazelle. There's a new person. Let's welcome them. My master said that to me once. was like, I chose someone out of our church building line, friendly, friendly.
00:36:48
Speaker
But he was leaving me and I was like, no, no, no, do you want to come try it out by Augustine? He was like, or only you could get away with that. And was like, okay. And a pretty real... right. Exactly. Yeah.
00:37:01
Speaker
Yeah. Okay. Now, I'm going to wrap this up because can land a plan. Now, thank you so much for being on our podcast. That was really goading. We will link to Josie's curriculum.
00:37:16
Speaker
We will link to the curriculum. Living words. In our new experiment. Have a lovely day.
00:37:26
Speaker
That's it from us, friends. We hope you enjoyed today's episode. And if you did, you can sign up to our free weekly newsletter called Stories I'd Tell You at Dinner. So you get essays, poetry, podcast episodes, everything, photo essays straight to your inbox on Wednesdays from March to November from Christian women in Western Australia.
00:37:47
Speaker
If you'd like that, the link is in the show notes. Thanks for listening, guys. Thank you.