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Hey, everyone, and welcome back to another episode of the More Than Mom podcast. I'm your host, Samantha Cook, and I'm super excited to share with you guys just a topic that I've really been feeling in the last month or so and that I hope that you are not feeling in that way. And so today we're just gonna talk about saying no to playing it safe. And I know everybody's like, I just want to take the safe bet. I just want to do the right thing at the right time. So that way I'm not feeling disappointed and things like that.

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And don't get me wrong, there's always a time and a place for disappointment. But if you're anything like me, I always try to keep them as minimal as possible because obviously I don't want to be disappointed all the time either. And so there are just three areas in my life where I'm like, I've got to start saying no to playing it safe because the risk versus reward is going to be a much better outcome.

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And so even in my motherhood, I look at times where I have the opportunities to go out and do something new with my kids. And sometimes I'm like, oh, they're cranky. They're really needing a nap. But what am I going to lose out on not taking that opportunity? One, for them to maybe learn something new, try a new experience together, something like that. So in these moments where I really want to say no, I just have to pray and thank God for the opportunities.

0:01:25

The opportunities where I get to meet my children where they are and actually get to be the yes man. I don't know if you guys have seen this, but like, on Instagram, people will be like, oh, for my kids birthday, I was a yes to everything, that whole scenario. And so, honestly, the more we get to say yes to our children, the more they get to say yes back to us because they realize that they're not hearing no all the time in this. What you're doing is you're actually modeling an abundant life outlook to your children of like, hey, these are the opportunities that we need to say yes to so that way we can say yes to the best things instead of just the good things.

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The other day, it was like, we went out and we went and picked up milk from our local farm. So I totally let my kids like, hey, we're going to get out. We're going to go check out all the animals. And the owners have a pretty decent sized dog. He's super nice. But for a minute, I, like, froze. I had sat there and I told my kids, like, yes, we can go do this. And so I tried to modify this situation so we could still enjoy dog. Ended up went laid down, and we spent tons of time with the animals.

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And then I just got to talk to them and ask them lots of questions and they just got to interact with these creatures that were providing for us and that God gave us in our provision. And so even in those little moments of like where the safe bet was to get away from that dog, it actually would have kept me away from having an abundantly amazing evening with my children. And we spent tons of time out there. It was fantastic. And then we went and got our milk later and all that good jazz.

0:03:12

So I tell you that story and just take those opportunities to say the better yes and don't freak out when the situation doesn't look exactly like you want it to because playing it safe, I would have lost out on a really great time with my kids and getting an opportunity to educate them and things like that. Now, this one is always a tough one for me, is saying no to playing it safe as a woman. And I think a lot of times we are really good at holding back our talents because usually as a woman, when we have really great talents in some areas, sometimes that comes with some negativity our way just because we're not meant to be in that space.

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But when we hold back our talents, we're holding back what God has placed on our lives. And so through that we have to say no to playing it safe. There are days where I've just been not wanting to hit record and record this podcast. That is something I am really glad I get to do. But what we have to do is say yes to being open to the negativity, to feedback, to constructive criticism and those types of things because that's what's going to help us grow and develop into who we actually want to be as a woman.

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And then we're also losing the opportunity to serve others in that capacity. Like that talent was given to us so we could serve God and serve his people with that talent. And so just a lot of times when you feel small or you feel like that's, man, I really wish I could do something, that means it is your time to do it. That means it is your time to say yes, to step out in faith and actually take steps towards growing who you are because that's going to change ultimately everything that you do in your life.

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And then the last one I just wanted to take this opportunity is we are not taking ownership of who we are when we say no and we play safe. And what I mean by that is if you are really great at crafting and things like that, and you are not using those skills because you're like, oh, I'm too busy. I don't have time to paint. I don't have time to do whatever it is that you like to do. We're not taking ownership of that gift and cultivating it into something better.

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And so when we take the opportunity to step out, say, hey, this is who I am, this is what I love to do and I am making time and I am making an effort for this thing that I've been blessed with, then we are really getting to where we actually want to be in life. One, it's going to bring us joy. God blessed us with these talents to be filled with his joy and that is a huge thing. But it also allows us to be fully surrendered into who he is.

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And when we surrender our passions, our struggles, our dreams, all of these things and say, god, I know you laid this on my heart. I know you put this desire in my heart to go and do something with this. I'm surrendering those things to you and I'm going to take action and I'm just going to step out in faith and do what you want me to do. So that way I can serve others with the goals and dreams that You've placed on my heart.

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Because when we are not only seeking out these goals or desires that we have, we're here to serve. We're here to serve all people as the body of Christ and all that kind of stuff. But when we're doing that in a way that's not serving our heart or serving who we are, there's a lack of joy in that we may grow resentful and not getting who God is asking us to be. And so when I tell you guys say yes, say yes to those opportunities because I mean, what are you doing outside of that? Scrolling on your phone, maybe watching one of the kids TV shows? Things like that is like what can you be doing?

0:07:35

One, you don't want it to take away from your family and take away family time and stuff like that. But what can you do to be serving who you are as a person too? A lot of times we don't want to take care of us because we're so busy taking care of everybody else. And I know as women that we are definitely the people who are not taking that time for self care. But when we are still and we surrender to hey God, what do you have for me?

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Then we can actually serve our communities, whether that's your work community, your neighborhood, your church, family, whatever that is, we can actually serve those people so much better when we're serving them within the values and the talents that God has given us. And so that just fills us up with the fruit of his spirit is not meant to be just begrudgingly suffering through all these things. We're supposed to also experience some joy and then we learn to be patient with people, especially in that feedback. I know that's something I struggle with. So I'm preaching to myself here too.

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Is like, we have to also be patient and kind and loving and really exude all of the fruit of the spirit in who we are through those talents, through saying yes more abundantly to our children. Whether it's just being like, hey, we want to get out and go see the animals, or maybe it's, yes, let's actually go sit down, go outside, spend some time together. Even those little things every day is going to transform who you are just by saying, that better yes to yourself, your family, your spouse, wherever you are in that situation, it's just ultimately figuring it out of like, hey, this is where we want to be. This is how we're going to make this work, and we're going to get to say some, a lot better yeses by taking care of ourselves.

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So I hope you guys enjoyed today's episode. I look forward to connecting with you again next week. And I hope you enjoy the more than mom podcast. Make sure and follow us on Instagram. And listen, if you can leave a review for any of the platforms that we're on, we'd love that and thank you so much, guys. Hope you have a great rest of your day.