Get Your Hopes Up with Christy Wright

Right now, I'm in this season of purging with three small kids. I'm constantly going through closets and toy bins. And when I sit down to do this, I get a little sad. I think about Conley's sentimental things, or Carter's shoes that he's outgrown, or Mary Grace's newborn onesies. I get a little sad that these seasons of our lives are ending. Even if some of those seasons were hard-like those sleepless nights of the newborn stage. But you know what? We experience this often. I get really sentimental when something's over. Whether I loved a season or not, I find that there's something about endings that makes it hard to let go. I worked at the YMCA for three years. During that time, I worked so hard and so many hours to the point of burnout. So, when this season of my life was ending-when I was leaving a job that my heart had not been in for a while, where I was working every night, every weekend, every week on the holidays-I still felt sad. And I still felt sad even though I was going to a job where I was going to have some balance. I was so excited about where I was going, and yet still sad it was over-still sad to leave behind those relationships, and that season of life, and everything that it represented. Life can be like that. Endings can be hard and sad. But you know what? Endings make new beginnings possible. Endings make that new thing that God is doing in your life possible. So, if you're going to live a life true to you and step into this bigger, better, more awesome life that God has for you, you have to be willing to let go of what's behind and what's no longer right for you. Friend, you've got to be willing to let some things go. If all we focus on are the endings, we're going to be sad and filled with regret. But I don't want you to miss the truth of endings: Endings make new beginnings possible. God has something for you, but He cannot put it in your hands until He takes something out. Isaiah 43:19 (NIV) says: "See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?" Journal Question: Write down an area of your life where God might be urging you to let go of something.

Being humbled is not fun. Have you ever gone through a season where God was humbling you? Being humbled hurts-it hurts to your core. It's more vulnerable than you ever want to be and stings deeper than you ever want to feel. And just when you think you can't take another hit, the hits just keep coming (because that's just what happens in those seasons). The truth is: God cares more about who you're becoming than where you're going. Hebrews 12:11 (NIV) says: "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." It seems painful, but your loving Father disciplines because He loves you. And He loves me. And if you're going to be true to you and the person that God created you to be in this bigger, better life, He's going to have to do some things in you before you're ready for it, or even before you can handle it. [share]God cares more about who you're becoming than where you're going.[/share] Being humbled is not a one and done type of thing. We're going to go through multiple seasons of this in life. Oswald Chambers, author of My Utmost for His Highest, describes these seasons as valleys of humiliation. Friend, if you're in a season of humbling right now or a valley of humiliation, God sees you. Deuteronomy 31:6 (NIV) says: "The Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." He's with you in this valley. And I know it's hard, and I know it hurts, but take comfort in the fact that God sees you, and He's with you. This season's not forever. He's doing something in you. I love the Bible verse Isaiah 60:22 (NLT) that says: "At the right time, I, the Lord, will make it happen." Yes, you and I need to work hard. It's up to us to steward what He's given us. It's up to us to be faithful. But it's not all up to us, because we would point back and go, Look how good I did. Look at everything I accomplished. Look how strong and smart and clever and talented I am. No, no. God says that you should work hard with what He's given you, but when the time's right, He'll make it happen. So, you've got to be willing to be humbled. Be willing to go through those hard seasons. Be willing to be faithful when it hurts, and when you feel lost, and when you feel wronged, and when you feel abandoned. Be willing to be faithful even there in the valley, because it's not forever. But God is doing something in you in that valley to prepare you for what's next. Journal Questions: I want you to simply ask yourself: Where do I need to be humbled? What does it look like for me to set my pride aside and be humbled before God and what He's doing right now? Remember: God's preparing you for something in this life that's bigger, better and more awesome than you could ever imagine.

In Part 1, we talked about being willing to experiment. Today, we're building on that as we talk about being willing to work really hard. Now, I know this doesn't sound fun, right? Like, who needs more to do? But I want to reframe that for you, because hard work, believe it or not, actually has more unbelievable benefits than you could ever imagine. So many people come up to me at book signings, out in public, or even in coaching calls, and they say, "Christy, I want to do what you do. I want to be a speaker." I always respond by asking, "What do you want to say? Who have you spoken to? Who have you talked to? Have you spoken for your local church? Have you spoken for a local community group, or even just a book club or ministry?" They say, "No, no, no. I want to speak on big stages. I want to be a professional speaker." I'm like, "I hear you, but that's where you start. You start by being faithful in the small things. You start by working hard when no one's watching. You start with the humility of someone who's willing to do the hard work in the beginning for the payoff later on." What areas of your life do you need to work really hard in because you're in a season of just getting started? If you've got this idea in your head about a life that you want to lead, it's going to take hard work. But we can't just coast through life and expect to wake up one day with an amazing marathon time, amazing business, amazing career, amazing marriage, amazing kids or amazing friendships. It takes hard work. It takes being willing to be faithful in the things that don't seem like they matter-those small, insignificant things, and those things that are too unimpressive to post about on Facebook. It's about just showing up and being faithful in the small things that no one ever sees. It's that hard work that not only creates the result you want, but also creates the person in you that you want to be. [share]The results that you want to achieve and the person you want to become will happen when you put in the hard work.[/share] I'm a different person today, not because of the big stage, but because of who I became when no one was watching. It was speaking at Kentucky county libraries on a Friday night for three people, or family reunions, or high school reunions, or the events where it was seated for 5,000 and three people showed up. The results that you want to achieve and the person you want to become will happen when you put in the hard work. It happens in the small things and in the day-to-day grind. It happens when you're showing patience to your kids when you don't want to because they're driving you insane. It happens when you want to snap at your spouse, and you want to be short with them and be hateful, but instead respond with kindness. It happens when you give your time and energy. It happens when you in everything you do, even if no one ever knows it's you. It's what happens when you show up with excellence, even when you don't get credit. That hard work is what leads to the results you want in a life that's true to you, where you become the person that you want to be in that life. I promise you this: If you want to live a life that's true to you, and if you want to lean into the life God has for you, it's going to take hard work. Journal Questions: What hard work do you need to do right now? What hard work have you been putting off? What hard work is staying between you and the life God has for you? Write that down and then join us for part three of this series: 5 Ways to Be True to You.

Today, I want to challenge you with something: Be willing to experiment. If you're going to live a life true to you, then you've got to be willing to try some things. That's right, I'm talking about being willing to experiment. Sometimes, we don't know what we want (or don't want), what we like (or don't like), or what we should be allowing into our lives. The best way to figure that out is by trying new things. In order to figure out what's best for you, you've got to be willing to experiment. When you're willing to experiment and try some stuff, you're going to find the things that are you. You're going to find the things that are true to you. [share]The life that God has for you-the life that's already in you-is bigger and more fun and more amazing than you can imagine.[/share] I've gone through many different phases in my life as I've tried experimenting with what was right for me. Right after college, I decided to move to a 40-acre farm-a real-life farm. Turns out it's a lot of work and really, really hard. But you know what? It was an experiment. It was fun. But during this time, I asked myself: Is this me? Am I a cowgirl? Turns out, I'm not-but it was a fun phase. I also decided it would be fun to take Latin and ballroom dance lessons and play on an adult soccer league with all Guatemalan men who spoke no English (my Spanish got really good during that time). All of these things were me trying to find myself and figure out: What is true for me? What kind of life do I want to lead? What kind of person do I want to be? All of us have an opportunity to experiment, try some things, and see if it works for us. But too often, we're placing labels on ourselves and unwilling to try new things. Friend, don't place labels and limitations on yourself. Be willing to push the boundary. Be willing to break outside of the box that you put yourself in. Try something new. Expand your world. So, what are the things that you tell yourself? Maybe you're thinking: "I'm not a fun mom. I'm not a businessperson. I'm not athletic. I'm not a runner . . ."  But you have to be willing to experiment. You have to be willing to go for a run, put on some crazy heels, launch a business idea, or do something really fun and weird with your kids. And guess what? You might just surprise yourself. You might already be that person. She's in there. She's just buried beneath the expectations of everyone else. So, be willing to experiment. Be willing to try some stuff. When you do, you might just find that the life that God has for you-the life that's already in you-is bigger and more fun and more amazing than you can imagine. And that's a life that is true to you. You just don't know it yet. Journal Questions: What are some things in your life that you'd like to try? What are some areas of your life that you'd like to experiment in? Write that down and then join us for part two of this series: 5 Ways to Be True to You.

Many times, it can be easy to feel like we lose ourselves in all of our roles and responsibilities. We get so busy rushing from one thing to the next on the calendar, trying to keep up and perform, checking off all the tasks on our to-do lists. We get milk and sippy cups, take the kids to soccer, get dinner on the table, run our businesses, and keep up with work. In the midst of all of this, you're probably asking yourself: Where am I? Who am I in all of this? Where does my identity come from? What are things that are me that feel right for me? This forced pause we're all in right now is a great time to stop and think about what's really true for you. What do you want your life to look like? What do you want your story to be? We're so busy rushing and keeping up that we never have time to pause and reflect on what we really want our lives to look like, or if the life we're living is one that's true to who we were created to be. I've noticed that when I'm the most stressed, anxious and frustrated, it's not because I'm doing too many things. It's because I'm doing the wrong things. I'm doing the things that aren't in line with my values and that don't feel like me. [share]We're so busy rushing and keeping up that we never have time to pause and reflect on what we really want our lives to look like, or if the life we're living is one that's true to who we were created to be.[/share] But the opposite is also true: When you spend your time on things you value and things that are right, you'll feel joy, fulfillment, purpose, peace, less stress and more control. You'll feel like you're living a life that's right for you. And that's what I want to help you do. In this new series, I'm going to share five practical things you can do to discover who you are and what's right for you so that you can create a life that's true to you, your values and what God has in store for your life. Journal Questions: I want to help you journal and craft a vision for what a life true to you looks like. So, grab your journal and a pen and answer these simple questions: What would it feel like? What would it include? What would it not include?

If you're like me, you might feel helpless right now. Discouraged and probably overwhelmed. I am with you. I can't change what we are all going through together, but I wanted to do something. So I decided to put together a quick, scrappy and imperfect series to help shine some hope in the chaos we are in. I threw it together, texted a few friends to see if they would want to join me and put it on the calendar. I'm calling it Hope in the Chaos. Today I'm joined by my friend, Christine Caine.   We are going to walk with you and talk with you and process this with you. We're going to pray and talk about what anchors us during this storm.   Would you join me for this? There's no ask. No sale. No agenda. I just want to be present for you as we figure out how to get through this together in the coming days. I care about you friend, and I'm here for you. ??   You can view this entire series and receive the recap emails with journal questions if you visit businessboutique.com/hope.

If you're like me, you might feel helpless right now. Discouraged and probably overwhelmed. I am with you. I can't change what we are all going through together, but I wanted to do something. So I decided to put together a quick, scrappy and imperfect series to help shine some hope in the chaos we are in. I threw it together, texted a few friends to see if they would want to join me and put it on the calendar. I'm calling it Hope in the Chaos. Today I'm joined by my friend, John Delony.   We are going to walk with you and talk with you and process this with you. We're going to pray and talk about what anchors us during this storm.   Would you join me for this? There's no ask. No sale. No agenda. I just want to be present for you as we figure out how to get through this together in the coming days. I care about you friend, and I'm here for you. ??   You can view this entire series and receive the recap emails with journal questions if you visit businessboutique.com/hope.

If you're like me, you might feel helpless right now. Discouraged and probably overwhelmed. I am with you. I can't change what we are all going through together, but I wanted to do something. So I decided to put together a quick, scrappy and imperfect series to help shine some hope in the chaos we are in. I threw it together, texted a few friends to see if they would want to join me and put it on the calendar. I'm calling it Hope in the Chaos. Today I'm joined by my friend, Diana Nepstad.   We are going to walk with you and talk with you and process this with you. We're going to pray and talk about what anchors us during this storm.   Would you join me for this? There's no ask. No sale. No agenda. I just want to be present for you as we figure out how to get through this together in the coming days. I care about you friend, and I'm here for you. ??   You can view this entire series and receive the recap emails with journal questions if you visit businessboutique.com/hope.

If you're like me, you might feel helpless right now. Discouraged and probably overwhelmed. I am with you. I can't change what we are all going through together, but I wanted to do something. So I decided to put together a quick, scrappy and imperfect series to help shine some hope in the chaos we are in. I threw it together, texted a few friends to see if they would want to join me and put it on the calendar. I'm calling it Hope in the Chaos. Today I'm joined by my friend, Chrystal Evans Hurst.   We are going to walk with you and talk with you and process this with you. We're going to pray and talk about what anchors us during this storm.   Would you join me for this? There's no ask. No sale. No agenda. I just want to be present for you as we figure out how to get through this together in the coming days. I care about you friend, and I'm here for you. ??   You can view this entire series and receive the recap emails with journal questions if you visit businessboutique.com/hope.

If you're like me, you might feel helpless right now. Discouraged and probably overwhelmed. I am with you. I can't change what we are all going through together, but I wanted to do something. So I decided to put together a quick, scrappy and imperfect series to help shine some hope in the chaos we are in. I threw it together, texted a few friends to see if they would want to join me and put it on the calendar. I'm calling it Hope in the Chaos. Today I'm joined by my friend, Jennifer Allwood.   We are going to walk with you and talk with you and process this with you. We're going to pray and talk about what anchors us during this storm.   Would you join me for this? There's no ask. No sale. No agenda. I just want to be present for you as we figure out how to get through this together in the coming days. I care about you friend, and I'm here for you. ??   You can view this entire series and receive the recap emails with journal questions if you visit businessboutique.com/hope.