Hi, this is Erin Michelle, and welcome to steps to trusting. It is a goal here to meet you where you are in your faith journey. And  to encourage you to continue to take steps to trust in God more fully.  [00:00:15] 

Hi, everyone. Welcome to the show. I’m so glad you’re here today. [00:00:23]

Erin: I’m here with Sandi Sadako. She has many roles. To name a few, she has a wife, mom, sister, and friend. She’s a writer, speaker, worship leader, and mentor. But if you ask Sandy where her identity comes from, she would answer from being a child of God. Hi Sandy. Thank you for being here with us today. [00:00:41]

Sandi: Well, thank you for having me. [00:00:43]

Erin: Yeah. I’m so glad we could have this conversation .

[00:00:45] And part of why I’m very excited about having this conversation is because we’re going to talk about willingness today and that idea of having a willing heart to serve God is something  that is close to my heart,

[00:00:58] When we step out with a willing heart to serve, God uses those opportunities to grow us. Sandy, would you share how this relates to the analogy of your basil plans that you shared on your blog?

[00:01:10] Sandi: Yeah, I’d love to.   my husband and I liked to have basil on our salads and I like to cook and use it as a finishing herbs.

[00:01:16] So I thought, Oh, nice to have a basal plant conveniently located here. So got a plant, went to repot it. And I discovered there wasn’t just one based on plant, but three.

[00:01:26]What I decided to do is put one of the plants in the house near my kitchen windows. I have like a three inch pot that I put that one in and I thought that’d be convenient. So I don’t have to go out to the patio to snip off leaves. Then the other two plants I put on my back patio, one in a medium sized pot and one in a larger pot.

[00:01:44] And I thought, okay, great. This is going to be good. I’ll have the one inside for when it’s hot outside.  So then I’ll be set for the summer. Well, okay. So a few weeks later, it’s hot outside. We get about a hundred degrees here and I’m thinking, okay, basil plant at the kitchen window where the leaves, what had happened is apparently plants, flourish, depending on what size pot you put them in. And I didn’t know that I’m learning. And so that one had very few leaves. If in fact the leaves that were on it were tiny. . So what I found myself doing is I often would go to the biggest plant.  You couldn’t even tell that I snipped them off because there were so many leaves. It was flourishing in the bigger pot, in the biggest pot, actually. So that to me, God used it to speak to my heart. To remind me that, you know what, it’s okay if I feel uncomfortable every now and again, when I take faith steps that he’s putting in front of me, because that’s part of getting kicked out of what’s comfortable so that I can spread my leaves, so to speak that I can flourish and I can grow. And not only for me to grow personally, but also to bless other people.

[00:02:51]Erin: Yeah. So Sandy,  regarding worship, , what was your first opportunity to step out of what was your comfort zone of serving God and into this new opportunity?

[00:03:02]Sandi: Well, about a year and a half ago, I was at my monthly Bible study and a friend of mine was leading worship.

[00:03:07] And so I went up to her and I asked her, I said, do you prefer leading worship by yourself? Or do you like to have an accompany us with you?  She told me she prefers to actually have somebody with her to play a keyboard. And that allows her to focus on worship leading from the microphone.  I don’t know what came over me, that I was willing to say this, exactly. But I just told her, well, I haven’t played keyboard in 30 years, but I’m willing to try.

[00:03:31] I could start practicing and I’ll see. If I, if I have the skill level to be able to try to play with you next month. So we had a month before the next monthly Bible study . So yeah, so that’s the first step that I put my toe in the water. So to speak of being willing, to see if I had the skills to do that.

[00:03:53]Erin:  What made you want to reach out to her in that way?

[00:03:56]Sandi: Mostly, I think it’s, I know what it feels like when God sort of tugs at my heart to put myself out there. And the way I know that is simply because over the last few years, I would say, , I’ve been on a journey of learning to listen to Holy spirit better.

[00:04:13]For example, early on in this process of me learning to follow through with  Holy spirit prompts , I was on a phone call to my credit union. I  needed help with something, technically my password and stuff wasn’t working. And then after we took care of that, she wanted to wait on the line to make sure I could log in and everything, but I really felt impressed to ask this woman. Can I please pray for you? I just sense you’re having some  pain. Can I pray a healing for you? And mind you, I’ve never done this on a phone call, but she said, Oh yeah, sure. So I prayed with her and I could hear her in the back. She’s crying. Right. So I say, amen. And I asked her, Oh, is your shoulder feeling better ?

[00:04:49] And she said, no, but through tears, she said, but that’s the nicest thing anybody’s ever done for me. And so I was just so grateful because sometimes, you know, we get fixed on a certain outcome. To make us feel like, Oh, we did the right thing. But in that setting, you know,  her shoulder  wasn’t healed, but she felt the love of God and the touch from father that she had never felt before.

[00:05:12] Times like that, or even when I met you, I looked in my journal last night. We met in October 5th, a couple of years ago and 2017, but I had noted how God had led me to pray for you.

[00:05:24] Erin: That’s how I met you too. You prayed for me? Yeah.

[00:05:28]Sandi: Yes.  because I have become accustomed to things  like that I know that if I’m feeling that inside, I that’s my cue to step out in faith. And just  open my mouth and see what comes out. So that’s what made me willing to approach my friend, the worship leader, even though I had really nothing to back myself up as far as, I don’t even know if I could even play these songs, you know, I really didn’t know, but I knew that familiar tugging, enabled me  to put myself out  there with my friend.

[00:05:58] Erin: Yeah.  Can you think of one of the earliest times that you felt that tugging,  where maybe you wrestled with like, wait, am I really supposed to do this?

[00:06:07]Sandi: Yes. Well, when I first started doing odd things, what I call it, strange things for me, cause I’m an introvert and I am not one to like, be bold like that typically. So I know this is a God thing, but when I first started seeing God grow me in this area, I was at the gym that I work out in. And it’s a very busy place. But I had seen a friend of mine in the entrance lobby as I was leaving. And I hadn’t seen her in a long time and she had changed churches and all that stuff, but I felt compelled to pray. And she had been on our prayer team at church when we went to the same church, but I felt that tug and I reached out, Oh, can I pray with you?

[00:06:42] And I was thinking, we would go off to the side, maybe into the cafeteria where, you know, just a little bit of privacy. Cause I’ve still, wasn’t used to . Doing that in public. And she’s like, okay, let’s pray right here. And it’s like, right by the front doors, people coming in and out. And I like, Oh, this is so I don’t know. This feels really weird, but okay, God. So I have felt uncomfortable several times, but with the outcome being as they may, I at least know that the person feels a love of God when I reach out. And that’s what makes it worth it.

[00:07:12]Erin: Yeah.  That’s beautiful. Back to your worship experience, so you practiced and what happened,  what did you end up doing?

[00:07:21]Sandi: Well, when I was practicing. I think the questions I had in  my mind were, okay, God, I don’t really know if I have the skill level for this, or I don’t even know if I’m good enough, really? That is the bottom line is I don’t know if I’m good enough to do this. and I hadn’t touched the keyboard, like I said, in a long time. So when I sat down to play, my friend was in the room with me because God has perfect timing. What was going on is I was meeting with my friend, the worship leader once a week, because she was about to get married and I was kind of her unofficial wedding planner.

[00:07:49] So we were meeting once a week. So we would take most of the time to plan for her wedding. And then the last 10 or 15 minutes, we would go to the keyboard. And then I would  ask her questions about worship leading. She was like my mentor as far as walking through the process. But I remember the first time I sat down with her, she was, she asked me, you know, She asked me to play something and I just played a chord, one chord, not a song, one chord.

[00:08:12] And I was nervous sweating through my clothes because just doing that in front of somebody, it was really hard. But because she was somebody who was safe and somebody I felt comfortable with, I just, I believe that she was the perfect person to walk through that journey with me . It was easier to be vulnerable in that with her than with anybody else, because she was also a keyboardist and she had made that transition from being classically trained to playing by chords, which most of the worship songs today we played by chords. So I so appreciated God recognizing what I needed to have the courage to step into what he was calling me to do.

[00:08:52]Erin: So how did you feel when you were first up on the stage. And how did that go for you?

[00:08:59]Sandi: Well, my heart was racing so much. Oh man. I had to pace in the back of the room and pray and texting my friends. Pray for me. My heart is racing right now and I don’t want to have a racing heart because my tempos are going to be speeding up. That won’t be good. My main concerns. I didn’t want to be a distraction to the worship experience for the gals. I didn’t want to miss a cue of Mandy. Why don’t you repeat a chorus or a verse, or I didn’t want to hit a wrong note to where it would just sound so dissonant. It would bring people out of their worship experience. So I was really concerned about being a distraction, but,  what happened was, I just realized, you know what, this is not about me.

[00:09:40] God opened up this opportunity for me to  step into . He’s opened up the opportunity for me to do it, he’s already equipped me, so eventually my nerves calmed down. It helped that as our Bible study leader was praying, I got to kind of play a little bit of background  underneath what she was praying. That kind of helped me work through my nerves, that first time of playing. But, you know, certainly it didn’t go perfectly musically, but it wasn’t a distraction  like I had feared . People worshiped.  There just was a sweet presence of the Lord. And so it all worked out. So really my fears were not, they weren’t realized fortunately. I was very grateful to the Lord for,  humoring me and for walking me through equipped me, to step on a platform.

[00:10:27]Erin: So how did he equip you? How did he grow this courage in you to willingly step outside of your comfort zone?

[00:10:34]Sandi:  Really a verse that I have clung to for most of my adult life is Jeremiah 29:11. “I know the plans that I have for you declares the Lord they’re plans for welfare, not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” So that, to me tells me that he is on my side. I mean, even in a Romans 8:31, you know, if God is for us, who can be against us.  And so really God, God is for me. And the way I know that as one is truths in his word, but, but secondly, he’s a very personal God and he wants me to have conversation with him. He wants me to know what’s on his heart. He wants me to know what he thinks about me. He wants me to understand what he’s asking of me. And he wants me to remember that he’s given me. The courage to, to move in what he’s asking of me.

[00:11:23] I would say those promises. Those are the core that I can believe in the character of God to believe that he has my best interest at heart. I mean, even in Matthew, that scripture about if, if a son asks for a fish, he’s not going to give him a stone, the father.

[00:11:41] Right. So the same for us is God cares so deeply and intimately for us.  All I have  to do is remember what he thinks about me and who he’s created me to be, because I feel like I’m on this journey right now, where  he’s allowing me to see through these uncomfortable situations who he is already created me to be.

[00:12:02] So  He  knew decades ago that I was going to be leading worship for this Bible study. So I feel like I’m on this lifelong journey of discovering what all he’s put inside of me.

[00:12:12]Erin: Yeah. that’s what I want to portray in this podcast.

[00:12:17] Sandy and I read this Bible verse before we started, but from Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” I think you’re saying that exactly that God prepared and knew who you were going to be, that you would be able to be prepared and ready to step out in this way and that he would be with you in that faithful step of trusting him that he would equip you and make you able to do that.

[00:12:51] What did you learn about God in that stepping out?

[00:12:55]Sandi: I would say he allowed me to see just how kind and loving. And patient he is with me , a couple of things, one, I would say , he was incremental and how he let me step into bigger situations or newer situations. Cause what started as me accompanying my friend on keyboard that led to  then playing for the regular worship leader when she came back.

[00:13:21] But from there, I was then leading worship by myself  for three different times during our Bible study month. And that was huge, really huge. 

[00:13:32] Erin: You had said that you hadn’t played keyboard in 30 years, what was it that was keeping you from playing all that time?

[00:13:38]Sandi:  For me, I am a retired homeschooling mom of three. For 25 plus years, I basically chose to focus solely on educating and teaching and training our children. I looked at it as a discipleship experience that they’re under my care or at least 18 years, so let’s make the most of it.

[00:14:00] So I  kind of let go of. You know, playing guitar and playing piano and personal pursuits like that.  Cause in my mind was continually focused on, well, what’s the next step for them to learn this or that or when we’re out and about how can I make real life situation relevant to what we’re trying to learn through these books?

[00:14:18] So my mind was continually thinking about that, which I love about doing that. My heart is teaching and training and discipleship. So I loved it. I loved those years. And so about three years ago, then our last one actually left, left our home. And so we’re empty nesters now.  I have been loving having time to have coffee with friends and to bring back some of the things that I used to do. And, that whole thing about leading worship with my friend opened up that whole musical side of me. Once again, it’s a side of me that I had kind of left dormant. It was the beginning of me learning how to reintegrate  that creative side with my go to logical side. And so I would say these past few years, since this whole avenue of worship has opened up, it’s helped me to grow that right brain or that creative side.

[00:15:09] This is a exercise in faith of me trusting , what God has already put inside of me.

[00:15:15] Erin: Sometimes we just see the outward situation, but can you give us a glimpse of how you were trusting God inwardly, as you chose to step out in this new way of service?

[00:15:26]Sandi: So like I was saying earlier that God has been  incremental and in his loving kindness, he’s not just throwing me out on these huge situations where I’m leading worship, but he’s let me do it little by little. So this is what happened about five months ago, a friend contacted me. She had been at our monthly Bible study and had been there when I led worship.

[00:15:44] And she was about to put on a women’s event at her church. And it’s a church I had never visited, but I, you know, I know my friend.  I  said Okay. Sure. Cause she was assuring me. It’s about the same size as Bible study and it’s really similar. So, you know, it should be fine. So I’m going into it and thinking, okay, yeah, I’ve done this before.

[00:16:02] Okay. God, this is going to be good. Well, I get there the morning of the event. I’m talking to my friend and Hey, so it’s just a women’s event where you, you know, you just invite your women to invite somebody, a neighbor or friend and bring them along. She said, Oh, well, it’s kind of more than that. This is our annual women’s event.

[00:16:18] And she said that in my heart just skipped a beat. Like what? This is, this is your annual once a year, big women’s event. And she said, Oh, by the way, there’s about twice the number of gals coming then when I told you, Oh, great. So it’s bigger than what I’ve ever been in before. Uh, okay. So that was a surprise to me, but not a surprise to God. But I will admit I did have to pace and I did have to talk to God. I  went out to the parking lot in the sunshine, trying to get my wits about me. Cause I was definitely having a bit of a racing heart. I’m like, okay, good. I know you’ve put me here. I know I’m the right person .

[00:16:57] I know you believe in me. I know you’re proud of me even before I step on that stage . So, remembering all those truths still the heart’s racing. And then all of a sudden I feel somebody touch my shoulder and I hear they’re ready for you. She whispered a prayer in my ear, fortunately, before we went to the stage and  that helped calm my nerves. Fortunately it went well, the presence of the Lord was there . I mean, I will say. Technically, there was a glitch and I did get lost at one point, but it was fine because I felt, let’s just sing that acapella.

[00:17:28] I was just worshiping cause I was in the worship moment. So technically it, wasn’t the ideal thing because in my head I heard my mentor saying don’t ever stop playing. Don’t ever stop. Oh, well, you know, I was playing on my guitar and I kinda got lost. I did stop playing, but Holy spirit took over and still worshiped in that moment.

[00:17:46] And then I came back in at the right time. So fortunately, it ended up being fine. One of my friends, the one who leads  the once a month Bible study, she was in the back of the room and she said, Oh, I couldn’t tell. I thought you planned the acapella part. I said, okay, that’s great.

[00:17:59] So thank you  Lord. So I am so grateful. And so that actually was the situation that caused me to journal. And get that picture about the three basil plans is I had been dialoguing with God about that experience. And that’s when he reminded me of my basil plants. So that’s where that came from.

[00:18:19]Erin: Yeah. So, and it’s called kicked out. Can you explain why, why you chose the words kicked out , to title that blog?

[00:18:28]Sandi: Yeah, I say kicked out because.  I am not the type to just volunteer and say, here I am, you know, I can play a guitar. I can play keyboard. I dunno if I could play the songs you want to do, but I, I’m not typically one to put myself out there.

[00:18:45] I am more, reserved, I guess you could say. And so sometimes God has to like, shove me in a way that gets my attention, almost kicking me out because  honestly, it feels uncomfortable when I step into these situations  he puts it in front of me. I don’t know if it stops being uncomfortable at any point in time, but being uncomfortable is actually a good thing for me, because it causes me to have to lock eyes on Jesus and remember that  as long as I’m in him, as long as I’m keeping my eyes on him. He’s going to get me through it.

[00:19:15] Erin: I love that idea of keeping our eyes on him instead of, the thing that we might be afraid of or , on ourselves thinking that we aren’t enough. I want to talk a little bit about the idea of trusting him in that situation. Because you were thrown out into a situation that you weren’t comfortable in.  What happens when you choose to trust in those moments instead of to look at yourself or be puffed up in pride?  what’s different?

[00:19:41]Sandi: It’s that realization that while this is way bigger than me, there’s just no way I can do this, apart from God.  It’s that realization that, Oh, wow. I’m kind of glad, I didn’t know this before today because I would have stressed out a lot longer than just a few minutes before I had to go up.

[00:20:00]God has perfect timing.  I wouldn’t have been able to do that. The year prior has been about a year since I first started getting back on keyboard when this event happened, but he knew that I needed time to practice this. I needed a time to learn how to be a worship leader.

[00:20:15] Early on in the process of me getting my keyboard skills back, one thing, my friend, who was kind of mentoring in the worship leading process, she said, Sandy, you have something that can’t be taught.

[00:20:26] And that is you’re a worshiper. And so she was saying how  that’s the best thing to have as far as preparing to lead worship. Because, you know, I could just play a lot of the chords and play notes. And if I didn’t have the heart, it would be a lot different than having that worshipful heart and being able to utilize the notes on my keyboard or my guitar to worship him. So, so she was just trying to assure me that I already have in place what’s necessary to do what God was asking me.  And so I think that because of my relationship and my intimacy with Jesus. Because I have that I can trust  rely on lean into and have that in those moments where I feel like I’m in an element, that’s way bigger than I need to be in or should be in, but yet knowing that I’m supposed to be there and, and believing what God already believes is true about me. And so all those factors come together. I need to trust him. I need to set my sights on him.

[00:21:28]Erin: God equips us for things , that we don’t even  see coming. So how did God support and sustain you in this time of stepping into different situations where you’re constantly outside of your comfort zone?

[00:21:40]Sandi: well  one of the verses, this is really cool. Verse Philippians 3:12

[00:21:44]Erin:  I would love to read that verse for us.

[00:21:46] Not that I have already obtained all this or have already been made. Perfect. But I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Philippians 3:12

[00:21:58] Sandi: So it really comes down to me just being in his embrace, being in his abundance. It’s me being in him. So that I’m not going into these situations alone, but he’s paving the way for me. And that brings a lot of assurance and confidence. I would say I’m just learning how deep and how vast God’s loving kindness is and , I’m just so blown away, on a couple of fronts, one, you know, my part is just to show up and he’s the one that takes over and whatever outcome is, is his.

[00:22:31] And to me, that was a win, win situation. So countless experiences like that. Also through this worship experience of , seeing how kind he was in letting me just kind of dip my toe in the water. Then play keyboard for my friend and accompany and other friend, and then lead by myself and then lead for a women’s event at another church. He incrementally, let me go deeper in the water, but I didn’t go alone, but he was right there with me every step of the way. And he was just cheering me on every step of the way as well. So that’s what kept me going. And that’s what I’ve learned  , about him.

[00:23:08]Erin: how are you different today? Because you are willing to serve where you were invited.

[00:23:13]Sandi:  I would say I more easily and more readily say yes. When new opportunities to come in, they’re brand new to me.

[00:23:19] Like, for example, talking with you this morning, he was brand new to me. I willingly say yes, even though it’s like, well, I’ve never done this, but okay. God, if you’re leading, it’s going to be good. So, okay. So , and I noticed that early on, even after I took those first couple of steps and led worship for that first time with my friend, it’s like, yeah, Yeah. When new things and situations have come up, I more readily and easily say yes. I don’t go to my go-to logical mind and look at the pros and cons and think, Oh my goodness, do I have it in me to do it? It’s no longer doing that. I don’t evaluate based on me and my situation or if it’s convenient or not, but I just go, okay, God, if you’re putting it in front of me, I’m going to say yes. So my yes is a lot freer these days.

[00:24:03]Erin: Thanks for saying yes.

[00:24:04]  So if you didn’t choose to  set aside your fears and to trust God  that he could use you to lead worship, what would you have missed?

[00:24:14]Sandi: Wow. I would be at a totally different place right now.   I was fearful, I would say. And I think that the idea of do I have what it takes or am I enough?

[00:24:26] I think we all deal with those thoughts when we’re presented with a situation that’s bigger than who we are. And what I would have missed is, a shifted my mindset where now when I get into these situations, I look at the fact that God is the one opening that up. And he’s the one that’s enabling me to do it, equipping me. He’s already equipped me to do that. He’s already seen that this is a part of my process, my journey. I mean, he knows the end from the beginning. And so I would have missed out on the. The confidence, I would say I’m more confident these days in taking these steps. My roots have grown deeper. My  faith has grown a lot deeper. My capacity to trust him has grown immeasurably because I’ve had to trust him. There was no other way to do this without him. And so I had to trust him. So if I hadn’t have stepped out like this, I would say that. I probably wouldn’t have taken days to get back to you when you asked I wanted to do this.

[00:25:32] Yes, exactly. You immediately got a yes, as soon as I saw that invitation and, and now when he invites me, I, that’s more, more of the cases. I don’t have to take time to go look at the situation and evaluate, and I just say yes.

[00:25:46]Erin: I wanted to just read a little quote from your kicked out blog. It says, “through these three potted plants, God has helped me to reframe my discomfort and nervousness to keep increasing my capacity, to lead and grow as a worshiper. I need to step into the larger pot. It’s okay. If I felt out of my element, he led me there and he was with me in the midst of it.” Can you define what that larger pot is for you?

[00:26:12] Sandi: I think that larger pot represents a deeper surrender on my part, a surrendering, how I think something should look or surrendering a skill level that I think I should be  at. Or surrendering, my desire to be comfortable. I mean, it’s, it’s uncomfortable to be out of my element, but I think as I surrender more, God increases my capacity for faith.

[00:26:38] And so by surrender, I mean, not having to have it my way for me to say yes. It’s okay, I don’t really don’t know what this is going to look like, but I’m going to say yes anyway. And that that is, that’s amazing for me to be able to say that because as you know, I’m quite an organized person and you’ve experienced that in me.

[00:26:59]Erin: Sandi is way more organized than I am.

[00:27:01]Sandi: So for me to be able to say yes, without knowing all the details, like, for example, when the second worship leader, she texted me the day before our monthly Bible study and said Oh, my keyboardist can’t make it, would you be willing to play a keys for me tomorrow for worship?

[00:27:19] So here it is less than 24 hours notice and I texted her back. Yeah, sure. I’ll do that. The old me would have said, okay, so what songs are you choosing?  I would have asked her a lot of follow up questions before I said yes, but here I was not even knowing what song she had chosen.

[00:27:35] Not even knowing when she wanted to get together. And I just said yes. So that was an example of how God has changed me and increased my capacity to trust him.

[00:27:44]Erin: You saw the need and you knew that God could use you to fill it.

[00:27:48]Sandi: Yeah.

[00:27:48] Erin:  I wanted to read just a little bit more from your blog post.

[00:27:53] You said, “which pot are you in? Are you getting kicked out of what’s comfortable take heart. My friend, your roots are growing deeper. Your limbs are stretching wider and your leaves are blossoming higher.” I was wondering if you would share what you would say to a person who is struggling to choose this willingness to serve or to step out in a new way of service.

[00:28:13]Sandi: I would say, just go for it. I mean, chances are, you’ve had some, probably heart tugs that these things were coming up. But when the situation presents itself, I would say, go for it.  Realize you’re walking into a win, win situation. God has equipped you to do what he’s asking of you in that moment. He’s led you there.  He is proud of you even before you do that- whatever he’s asking of you. He is so proud of you. He loves you with an everlasting love. His loving kindness is unfathomable.  How do you say that word unfathomable, but yes, his loving kindness is so great. He is, he’s not going to put us out there to be swallowed up by the wolves, so to speak.

[00:28:57]He loves us.   If God is for us, who can be against us. To know that we are fully loved and father is proud of us before we do that. Whatever thing is in front of us is amazing. I mean, that’s just, it’s amazing to me. He loves us. So we are in a win, win situation. When he asks us to step into that bigger pot, the next situation, or to surrender something we’ve held on to something we’ve held close to our heart. If we’re wanting to move to that next level of faith. So to speak surrender is, is one of the keys of how to get there.

[00:29:29] But it’s the easiest surrender when you see the outcome that what he has for each of us is so much greater than we ever imagined.

[00:29:36]Erin: Yeah. Well, Sandy, thank you so much for your conversation with me today. I feel encouraged and I hope that our listeners will also feel encouraged, and that they would

[00:29:46]follow in your example, that you’ve let us take a peek into, so thank you for that. And I was wondering if you would also be willing to close us in prayer.

[00:29:56]Sandi: Oh, I’d love to. Father, I thank you that you are rooting for us. You are behind us. You go before us. You’re all around us. That when you put things in our lives for us to either let, go or to step into that  you already have equipped us to do that. And so I thank you, God, that you don’t leave us as orphans. You don’t leave us to have to do these things on our own, but you are right there with us. I thank you, God. I thank you God for that. Thank you for your loving kindness.

[00:30:28] Thank you. That your love is what leads us. And that when  we are recognizing that love that, that our fears just kind of fall by the wayside. So thank you that your love is greater than our fears. We trust you. We rely on you. We lean into you. We just give you our steps guide, cause our yeses to come freely, cause our trust to flow deeply.

[00:30:51] And I thank you God. Thank you God that you are for us. Not against us in the name of Jesus. I pray. Amen.

[00:30:59]Erin: Thank you so much, Sandy.

[00:31:01]Sandi: Yeah. You’re welcome. This was fun.

[00:31:03]Erin:    Can you tell our friends where they can follow along on your blog and catch up with you online?

[00:31:09]Sandi: Sure. My blog is at sandisadako.com. Sandi is with an I and Sadako is S a D a K O.

[00:31:17] So Sandisadako.com and also I’m on Facebook @SandySadakoblog.

[00:31:23]Erin: Thank you, Sandy. 

[00:31:24] And thank you to you for joining us today. I love the encouragement from Sandy’s story of how God equipped her to step out in faith and the willingness that he had grown in her heart , to prepare her for that step. I will put the link to Sandy’s blog in the show notes, 

[00:31:41] don’t forget to like, and subscribe. And join us next time, where we will continue to talk about willingness and look at some scriptures around having a willing heart and mind.  So see you next time  till then I want to leave you with this reminder from Ephesians two 10 for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

[00:32:01] I am praying for you as you keep on stepping.

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