Everything Made Beautiful (01:01)
Well, hello friends. Welcome back to the Everything Made Beautiful podcast. I'm thrilled to be back together after our little hiatus in December. And I do so hope that you had a sweet and peaceful Christmas with your loved ones. I actually got to have all my birds back in my nest over the holidays. And I gotta tell you, there's nothing quite like the whole family being together.
And you know, the older I get, the more I realize that I've moved away from wanting things and I've moved to wanting experiences where I'm making memories. They are so precious to me. And this year was my first experience as a church congregant rather than a church staff member since I was 18 years old.
So for the first time in 30 years, I experienced what it was like not to be doing some umpteen Christmas Eve services and I had mixed emotions, but chief among them was a feeling of rest and presence at being able to savor the season more slowly. So shout out to church staff members far and wide who did a championship job of hosting people for profound Christmas celebrations.
And I hope you too got a chance to rest and relax. Now that we're over five days into 2025, I hope you've recovered at least a little bit from the disruption that the holidays always bring to the schedule. Maybe this is even your first normal day in what feels like a month. And maybe some of your new year's resolutions are even still intact. Just to remember, no matter what you're pursuing in this new year, the goal is progress, not perfection.
I myself have several new year rhythms I'm hoping to turn into habits. I spend a portion of my day at a standing desk now with a walking pad as I try to turn up the dial on the amount of movement in my day. I'm also trying to lose a few pounds as always, but I'm excited also to be diving into creating more content and leaning more fully into all that's in the works for this year.
Here at the podcast, we've refreshed our branding just a bit, and I'm so thankful for the things God is putting on my heart to share with you. One update for you of a housekeeping nature is that if you're accustomed to watching the podcast on YouTube, then I want you to know that I've decided the interviews we air on the podcast, where I'm talking to one of our amazing guests, will definitely continue to be video in nature. But these episodes that are just me,
will not be video. They'll still be on YouTube, so you can listen there, but they will be audio only. I finally had to reckon with the fact that the content itself is much more important than me making sure my hair was done or my mascara was on. So this will be better for me and ensure the content remains my primary focus. Now I do reserve the right to occasionally change this up.
but I realized that having to be camera ready was slowing me down because I'm very rarely actually camera ready these days. Now today's episode is extra special because it marks the beginning of our brand new series called Sacred Choices, the beauty of yes and no in every season. And as Providence would have it, today also happens to be Epiphany, which is the day on the Christian calendar.
that we remember the arrival of the Magi who followed a star to find Jesus. Epiphany is not only a crucial part of the Christian calendar, but it's also a reminder for us in the midst of all our New Year's resolutions and fresh starts, God is continuing to reveal himself to us in profound ways. I don't think it's a coincidence that Epiphany is all about obedience, revelation, and seeking.
That's exactly what we'll explore in this series, how the yeses and nos in our lives lead us closer to Jesus when offered in faith and followed with obedience. Sacred choices are woven into the fabric of our daily lives. These choices, whether to say yes or no, are about more than just time management or decision making. They reflect our trust in God, our surrender to his will, and our willingness to follow him.
even when we don't fully understand where the path is leading. Just as the Magi followed the star without knowing all the details, we too are called to make choices in obedience, trusting that God is leading us closer to Him. Though we may not see the whole picture, each faithful step draws us nearer to the Savior's presence. The journey of the Magi was long, uncertain, and full of unknowns, but the reward?
was incomparable. Similarly, our obedience today becomes part of a greater story of God's faithfulness and glory tomorrow. So today I want us to talk through the sacred yeses and nos in scripture and in our own lives and how they shape our journey of faith. So let's start with the key verse that forms the basis for this whole podcast, Ecclesiastes 3-1.
For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven. So even scripture reminds us that our choices, our yeses and nos often align with the season God has placed us in. I don't know if you've ever contemplated that the choices we make actually shape our lives. So think back to the Magi for a moment. Their story was shaped by a series of choices.
to notice the star, to interpret its meaning, to leave their comfort zones, to seek the newborn king, and then to respond when they were warned not to go home by the way they came. Each yes brought them closer to Jesus, and their no to going back the way they came had enormous consequences. It was ensuring Herod didn't find where Jesus was.
In the same way, every yes and no in our lives becomes part of the story God is writing. And our response to every choice reflects what we value and where we place our trust. Maybe for you, it's choosing to step into something new, a ministry role, a hard conversation, or a change in direction. Or maybe it's about saying no to overcommitment so you can make room
for rest. Our lives have definite seasons of sacred yeses, where God's invitation to step forward is clear. This is the season of bold yeses where faith requires action. Think of Mary's yes when the angel told her she would give birth to Jesus. She said, I am the Lord's servant. May it be to me as you have said. Her yes changed everything.
But it wasn't easy. I think sometimes we're like, well of course Mary said yes, but we forget that Mary couldn't see what we see or know what we know. Sure, she knew she was giving birth to the Savior of the world, but could she really have conceived of what it meant when Gabriel told that to her? And still, her response was submission to following God, even though it was unknown, costly,
and full of uncertainty, even though she didn't know the outcome, she knew the one calling her. And she said, yes. I want you to take a moment to consider what bold yes might God be inviting you to say in this season. It might be a yes that stretches you or calls you out of your comfort zone. It's likely unknown and could be costly, but you know the one calling you.
So will you say yes? On the other hand, there are seasons where saying no is sacred. No can be an act of obedience and trust. And for some of us, no is actually harder than yes. When Christy McClellan was on the podcast, you heard me tell the story of her saying to me, Shannon, you need to learn to become generous with your no. And my goodness, was she right?
I am a people pleaser guys, a big one. I will say yes anytime I can. And the biggest issue I reckon with is that I will also say yes when I actually want to say no. And this is why God gave us counseling. But I want to be honest and tell you that I'm relearning how to pay attention to myself, how to pay attention to my gut.
not in a woo woo way or discounting the leadership of the spirit, but actually becoming acquainted with myself and my feelings and my voice again. I'm someone who has said yes to everything. And the problem with that is that over time, I lost the ability to tell whether I wanted to or felt called to thanks, or if I was just saying yes because it's my default, but I really didn't want to do it.
or feel called to it. When you're in full-time ministry, almost every request has some spiritual overtone to it. Whether it's an invite to be part of something or to lead something or to start something or to go to lunch or coffee or to take on another thing or to write something or to go to a thing or create a thing. And they're all really good things, but are they best? Well, frankly, I'm having to relearn.
what's best and lean really intentionally into what God has asked me to be about in this season of my one precious life. Now I haven't talked publicly about leaving the staff of Church of the City because transitions like that take time and need space to settle out and a new normal has to be adopted for everyone.
I have such immense respect for everyone I worked with and for during my time on staff. And I have a great love for the local church generally, but for that one specifically. But here, eight months removed from my last day and almost a year away from my decision to leave the staff, I can say that one of the reasons I left eventually came down to being generous with my no.
in order to embrace a hopeful future.
I tried valiantly to find a way to pay attention to what I felt like God was leading me toward in those last two years while also still doing everything needed at the church. I backed off, I reduced my hours, I gave things up, I went part time and they were so accommodating and kind.
And the only problem with that plan is that it wasn't what God had asked of me. He had asked for my no to the season of being on a church staff any longer. And I tried to negotiate a yes and instead. When your no is being said to what feels like a good thing because it's attached to a God thing, then all the things get real confusing. God wasn't asking for my
bargaining, he was asking for my obedience. And to be clear, there was a definite season for my sacred yes to Church of the City. I didn't do anything wrong by giving my yes to God and to COTC because God led me to do it. But seven years in, and actually five years in, when God was leading me towards something else,
My people pleasing took over and I wrestled longer than I should have over my no, because that no felt wrong to someone who wasn't accustomed to saying it. But no is a really important word in our vocabulary and contrary to how some of us have been raised, no isn't mean or selfish by nature. In fact, your generous no will precede your priceless yes.
No has gotten a bad rap, but it's a God-given boundary setter. We'll talk more about that specifically in the weeks to come. But after the Magi left their visit with Jesus and returned home another way, Joseph was also warned in a dream not to return home and instead to flee to Egypt. Joseph's no to going back the way he came presumably saved Jesus' life from a murderous king.
For us, our no's are often about protection, preservation, not going back the way we came, and making space for what God has. For you, saying no might look like resting when the whole world says hustle, or stepping back from commitments or situations that God hasn't actually asked you to carry.
Just because it's a good thing, because it's attached to a God thing, doesn't mean it's a thing for you. Saying no often means a rejection of something good now in hopes of embracing something better later. Trusting God's timing means embracing the weight that will come from a no. And I'd be lying if I sat here and made pithy statements about waiting, implying that it's easy to do.
It's not. We talked about this a lot on our Christmas episode. I think sometimes we don't say no because it plunges us into a waiting season and we know it and we do not like to wait. You know, it's important that we remember that the Magi we've been talking about didn't know the full timeline when they started their journey either, but they trusted each step. They kept going even in the midst of what was no doubt.
quite a long journey. The same is true for us. Are you in a waiting season? Sometimes the no and even the yes comes with a call to wait and that waiting is as sacred as the yes or no itself. Sacred choices of yeses and nos require discernment, prayer, and trust. Take time this week to reflect on where God is leading you.
Is he inviting you to step forward, step back, or to simply wait? Here's a journal prompt for you. Ask yourself, what yeses and nos do I need to make room for in this season? When you ask the Holy Spirit to reveal something to you, by the way, be assured that he will, and it'll likely be the first thing that comes to your mind.
I also want to remind you that most yeses and nos are not yeses forever or nos forever. In the same way that our yeses and nos vary based on our season, our seasons also change. They come to pass. So a no for now might not be a no forever. And the same is true for yeses.
I want to encourage you to download the Sacred Choices Reflection Worksheet from the show notes of this episode. It is designed to help you prayerfully process both that question that I asked you for the journal prompt, as well as your priorities and asking God for wisdom in your yeses and nos. And we want to hear from you as you process. So if you can, share your reflections with us.
You can tag us on social media or send in your story about how a sacred choice changed your life. A sacred yes or a sacred no. I would love to hear from you and I am being totally truthful about that. Hearing other people's faith stories inspires me to keep going in my own faith story. So you can share your story with me at info at shannonsusannscott.com.
Now friends, just as the Magi's journey ended at the feet of Jesus, remember that every yes and no you make in faith and surrender leads you closer to him. Your sacred choices are acts of worship and God honors hearts that seek him. Let's walk this path together, trusting that he is with us in every season of yeses and nos. Don't forget to download the reflection worksheet.
And would you share this episode and series with a friend who may need encouragement in their own sacred choices? Thank you so much for joining me today. I don't take your time for granted, but I will see you next time as we dive into the next episode of Sacred Choices here on the Everything Made Beautiful podcast. Until then, may you pause before your yeses and nos and may they bring you closer to Him.
And may you have eyes to see all the ways that God is making everything beautiful, including you. I'll see you next time.