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{\b\fs48 Episode 1559: Interview with Debbie Howell About Developing an Intimate Relationship with God\b0}

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{\b\cf1 Scott Maderer:\b0}

{ }

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{ Thanks for joining us on episode 1,559 of the Inspired Stewardship Podcast. }

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{\b\cf3 Debbie Howell:\b0}

{ I am Debbie Howell, and I challenge you to invest in yourself, invest in others, develop your influence and impact the world by using your time, your talent, and your treasures to live out your calling. Having the ability to open communication with God is key and one way to be inspired to do that is to listen to this.}

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{The Inspired Stewardship podcast with my friend Scott Maderer.}

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{I think for me, instead of saying, okay, I need to look at my day, that's already way too full, and find an hour where I can be with God because most of us are like this, that just isn't gonna happen. Find a way to put God in your }

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{ busy schedule and find creative ways. To be with God, I teach these Bible journaling prayer classes.}

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{\b\cf1 Scott Maderer:\b0}

{ Welcome and thank you for joining us on the Inspired Stewardship Podcast. If you truly desire to become the person who God wants you to be, then you must learn to use your time, your talent, and your treasures for your true calling. In the Inspired Stewardship Podcast, you will learn to invest in yourself.}

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{Invest in others and develop your influence so that you can impact the world.}

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{In today's podcast episode, I interview Debbie Howell. I asked Debbie about how we can overcome feeling stuck in our faith journey. Debbie also shares how faith can help you during challenging times. And I also ask Debbie about how to stay in prayer even when life feels overwhelming. I have a great book that's been out for }

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{ a while now called Inspired Living.}

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{Assemble the puzzle of your calling by mastering your time, your talent, and your treasures. You can find out more about that book over@inspiredlivingbook.com. It'll take you to a page where there's information and you can sign up to get some mailings about it, as well as purchase a copy there. I'd love to see you.}

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{Get a copy and share with me how it impacted your world. Debbie Howell is a passionate Christian Arthur speaker and devoted servant of Christ to has dedicated her life and ministry to encouraging others to live out God's word in every aspect of their daily lives. She's driven by a deep desire to see individuals grow in their faith.}

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{Experience the fullness of God's love and live lives that reflect his truth and grace. Through her books, speaking, engagements and personal ministry, Debbie inspires believers to go beyond surface level Christianity and develop a profound and intimate relationship with God. She }

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{ has a heart for guiding people to embrace the transformative power of scripture, prayer and worship, which she believes are the cornerstone of a thriving spiritual life.}

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{Debbie's teachings are rooted in her own journey of faith and her understanding of God's word, making her message both relatable and impactful. Whether she's speaking at a church event, leading a small group are writing from the depths of their heart. Debbie's mission is to help others encounters God's presence in a way that changes their lives forever.}

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{Welcome to the show. Debbie. }

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{\b\cf3 Debbie Howell:\b0}

{ Thank you so much. I'm excited to have this time with you and your listeners. }

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{\b\cf1 Scott Maderer:\b0}

{ Absolutely. Thanks so much for coming on. So I shared a little bit in the intro about what you've done as a speaker, as an Arthur, I. But I have also found that a lot of times sharing the intro is like the highlight reel, right?}

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{It just shows some of the journey. It never really shows the whole journey. Back up a little bit and take us on a little bit of your journey and what's brought you to the point where this is the work you }

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{ do and the message that you put out into the world. }

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{\b\cf3 Debbie Howell:\b0}

{ Sure. I was raised a Christian, went to Christian schools, even to Christian colleges.}

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{And I believed in God, but it wasn't until I became an adult and started to go through some really challenging things that I started to go deeper in my faith and. Wanted to know not just the God of my parents, but who God is for me. And so that is, is where my journey began of getting to know God through scripture in a very personal way by bringing scriptures into how I prayed.}

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{And I've ministered, for years at different churches and I began to see the struggle of many Christians where they really didn't know how to connect with the Bible in a life changing way. And they, a lot of Christians. Were frustrated with their prayer life. They didn't realize that they were doing it right.}

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{ So that was also, it's not, wasn't just my need that I was trying to fill, but I wanted to be present for the people I was ministering to. }

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{\b\cf1 Scott Maderer:\b0}

{ So talk a little bit too, you mentioned growing up a Christian and spending some time in ministry and that being part of what called you to this, but talk a little bit about your faith journey and what was it about the challenges you went through the.}

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{The relationship that you had that kind of influenced your life journey? }

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{\b\cf3 Debbie Howell:\b0}

{ My, my husband and I, had raised two daughters and went to church faithfully with them every week. I. Wanted to do what was right, make the right decisions. But some of the challenges that I found myself in, and anybody I think who is a parent understands this, is when your child is suddenly suffering and you don't know how to help them, you can't seem to find.}

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{And the right answers to the doctors that you take them to. It's heartbreaking and you feel }

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{ so out of control. This is my child. I'm supposed to be able to help them and to give them the answers they need to get better. So that was probably the biggest thing I was going through at that time and just really crying out to God.}

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{As I took her, my husband then took me, took her to from doctor, to doctor, and just having to learn to trust God with this child. That was everything to me. I.}

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{\b\cf1 Scott Maderer:\b0}

{ So you mentioned earlier that you, you had that feeling yourself of how a lot of Christians get, get to this point where they're dealing with their faith and those challenges and maybe feeling a little frustrated or a little stuck a little confused by it. How do you. Work with folks or what have you seen that helps Christians begin to change the way they feel when it comes to that relationship?}

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{\b\cf3 Debbie Howell:\b0}

{ I think it's a }

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{ multi-step process. I think the first thing we need to recognize is what are my mindsets regarding God, regarding prayer, regarding the Bible? Because we can want to move forward in our faith, but yet not realizing that our thoughts and our attitudes are pulling us in the other direction.}

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{If I'm like, oh, I just, I wish I had a better prayer life. But then the next day you're like. God. God doesn't hear me when I pray. Like I, I don't know how to pray. And we get ourselves really stuck with our mindset. And it keeps us from really being able to take those steps that we need to move forward.}

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{And the Bible tells us, God wants us to come to him with childlike faith. And the only way to do that is to really surrender, our life's frustrations and our. Mindsets that keep us from really believing in God and it and it takes time. There, there's no judgment here.}

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{I'm }

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{ not trying to shame anybody. I've been there myself. We all go through different seasons of life and things that we're frustrated about. So to really start at step one and say, God I'm here, help me to. To recognize the mindsets and the thoughts that I connect with every day that are defeating me, even before I step forward to talk to you.}

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{\b\cf1 Scott Maderer:\b0}

{ When you were dealing with the personal challenges that you were having }

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{Why was it that, why was face something that you felt was important to reach out to? }

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{\b\cf3 Debbie Howell:\b0}

{ It's interesting you asked that question because you would think as a. Christian, the first place I would've gone to was God.}

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{And praise God, especially, in the country we live in for the great medical care we have our first thing is, okay, let's go to this doctor and if that doctor can't help us, then maybe a specialist going this }

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{ direction will help us. But as we tried to find help and the doctors.}

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{Because it, it was Lyme's disease that she got when she was 14 and that was, she's 31 now. So that was back when the doctors in Maryland didn't know much about it. They know a lot more today, but even diagnosing it, they didn't know how to, do that in a definitive way. Now that the doctors can't help her, now I'm like, okay, now let me pray about it.}

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{See, how God is gonna show up for her. But yeah, I just I just wanna let any parents out there know that if this is an area you're struggling with your child who is really hurting, whether it's. Emotionally or physically? 'cause especially since COVID like and emotional challenges today are just spreading like wildfire.}

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{So I understand that and my heart goes out to you and I just want you to know that God is with you. There's things he wants to speak to your }

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{ heart through scripture, through godly friends, through the Holy Spirit. There's many ways that he will give you that hope and that strength that you really need to get through this.}

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{\b\cf1 Scott Maderer:\b0}

{ A lot of folks too, when they're going through those challenges they feel. Angry at God as well or separated. Did you have periods during that journey where you had that feeling of separation from God? Or anger with God for what was going on? }

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{\b\cf3 Debbie Howell:\b0}

{ Yeah, absolutely. That's totally normal.}

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{But the beautiful thing is that. The more real we are with God, the more real he can be with us, because now we're open, we're vulnerable, we're ready to listen. And so this is the time when God started to say to me, you need to grow your faith as you pray. And my premise today, after everything God's taught me is we really can't have rock solid faith if we don't.}

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{Personally know }

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{ God through scripture. This is where we get to know who he is and what he promises us. And God, said you can pray. Words of fear. You can pray words of discouragement. I'm here. I hear you. But if you wanna grow your faith, then pray my words. Bring my promises into your prayers and let me enter into the story.}

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{\b\cf1 Scott Maderer:\b0}

{ So what what changed for you as you began to change the way that you were approaching it and praying and having that relationship? }

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{\b\cf3 Debbie Howell:\b0}

{ I really saw God begin to reach out to my daughter. He she just kept telling me of like things that would happen where she knew it was God that was speaking to her heart.}

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{And I really believe that's because of the prayers that I. I like, I would find a promise in the Bible and put her name in it and pray that in faith. And so I, it was almost like God came through in a }

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{ greater way to show Jasmine that he was there with her and for her. }

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{\b\cf1 Scott Maderer:\b0}

{ A lot of us too, especially when there's challenges going on, it's like that's.}

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{That seems to be the very time when it's easiest to get busy, to get distracted. }

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{To have everything else that you feel like is more important. How, what were some of the things that you found that helped or helps others stay consistent in having that prayer life and having that time even when they're busy and frustrated, overwhelmed.}

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{\b\cf3 Debbie Howell:\b0}

{ Yeah. I think for me, instead of saying, okay, I need to look at my day, that's already way too full and find an hour where I can be with God, because most of us are like this, that just isn't gonna happen. Find a way to put God in your busy schedule and find creative ways to be with God. I teach these Bible journaling prayer classes and bring a lot of creativity in how we meet with God, if you're, like you love to do different things on your }

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{ phone with apps or whatever, however you connect with people throughout the day, we'll find an app to connect with God throughout the day. You can listen to Bible reading on an app while you're driving to work during the day, or, in the evening, go for a little walk in your backyard and take a scripture with you.}

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{D don't. Overwhelm yourself with, oh, I, it has to be this much time for it to count. Just find those moments throughout the day. And, some people are like, I just, I really feel God's presence through birds. If I see an eagle soaring over, like suddenly it's like my heart opens up to the presence of God.}

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{So find that, that way and that place where you feel like, okay, now I can kinda take a breath and. Have a moment with God and enjoy it. Don't be overwhelmed. And if you miss a day, don't feel bad about it. We all miss days. God hasn't gone anywhere. }

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{ He'll be there for you when you wake up the next day.}

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{\b\cf1 Scott Maderer:\b0}

{ When you think about your prayer life, I think a lot of Christians. Find that sort of as an intimidating concept of or they think of it as just a transactional, I need to pray for what I want, kind of thing. What have you discovered about how to approach prayer? You mentioned praying God's words and using the scripture.}

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{But unpack that a little bit more. What's different about how you have found approaching prayer? }

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{\b\cf3 Debbie Howell:\b0}

{ Okay I can tell you. My favorite way to connect with God. I'm a worshiper. I love I lead worship at churches and I just love, that's a deep way that I connect with God.}

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{So I'll put my AirPods in the morning and I'll go to Spotify or YouTube and I'll just start listening to some of my favorite praises. Music and then I'll either open my Bible if there's a certain, sometimes there's a certain chapter that I'm going through }

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{ in the Bible and I'll just, prayerfully read through it.}

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{And if there's a verse that I was like, wow this is really what I want in my relationship with you, God, I'll take a moment to write it out in a journal. And I believe that. The more time we spend with even just one verse, the deeper we can go in our relationship with God. 'cause sometimes we're like, oh, I need to read a chapter a day.}

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{And that's not a bad thing. But I've learned through time that I. Sometimes it's just one verse where God wants me to spend time with him, and I might hold onto that verse for a week or even a month, and throughout the day, take a moment to think about that verse or speak it back to God. So that has been key for me, but sometimes people don't even really know where to start in the Bible.}

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{So one of my favorite things to do is get on my laptop. And I go to bible }

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{ gateway.com and then you can put up, you can either put in a scripture reference or you could put in a key word, let's say, okay, I just, I wanna know more about the love of God. Just put love or God's love. And that website will pull up every scripture in the Bible that has those words in it.}

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{And then as you go through to read them, you can even change the. Ver the translations. There's a place where you can look it up in different translations. So that's one of the ways you know that I really loved to go deeper in the Bible. If I find a scripture I really love, I'll look it up on bible gateway.com in the different versions, write out the words that really speak to me and just spend time with God right there.}

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{\b\cf1 Scott Maderer:\b0}

{ So I've got a few questions that I like to ask all of my guests, but before I, I ask those. Is there anything else about the work you've done or this journey that you've been on around prayer that you would like to share with the listener? }

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{\b\cf3 Debbie Howell:\b0}

{ Sure. I just, the }

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{ more time I'm with God through prayer and through scripture, the more he really captures my heart and.}

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{Really begins to show me, his love for humanity. It's so easy with everything that's happening in this world to doubt God. And this is a big thing, I have two young adult daughters and I see in their generation this movement to create their own truth. There is not one absolute truth.}

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{And the, I believe a lot of that doubt comes from. The fact that they don't haven't experienced God for themselves and they see all the suffering in the world and they're like, how can there be a loving God with all this suffering? So we need to give God a chance, is what I believe. And that chance needs to be more than just going to church once a week because that's a great way to have community.}

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{That's a great way to hear. Wonderful message. }

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{ But we need. To know God for ourselves on a day-to-day basis, and he wants that journey with us too. Just start simply start small and begin this incredible journey with God and let him reveal his very heart to you.}

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{\b\cf1 Scott Maderer:\b0}

{ So what My brand is inspired stewardship. And I run things through that lens of stewardship, and yet I've discovered that is one of those words that can mean a lot of different people, a lot of different things to a lot of different people. So when you hear the word stewardship, what does that word mean to you?}

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{\b\cf3 Debbie Howell:\b0}

{ It's, I believe it's what we put our time and our attention to. It's having faith and accountability with what God has given us. And I sometimes we see the, as Christians, we'll see the superheroes of faith. These people who are up on the TV or traveling the world, we're like, wow, they really have this.}

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{ }

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{Call of God on their lives. They have all these talents and abilities. I just wanna remind everyone today that the moment God created you in your mother's womb, he also put within you these gifts and these talents and these passions because you too. Have gifts of God waiting to be unleashed. And it's, and I believe it's, as we spend time with God, he will reveal those things to us.}

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{And then he calls us to be stewards of those things. So how do we use our time and our attention to the gifts and the abilities and the talents that God has created within each one of us. I found these seven pillars of stewardship for the Christian walk that I really love. Can I share them?}

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{Okay, so it's time, talent, temple, treasure territory, tribe, and God's truth. I just, I really }

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{ like those when I saw those, so I wanted to share 'em. }

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{\b\cf1 Scott Maderer:\b0}

{ Absolutely. So this is my favorite question that I like to ask everybody. Imagine for a moment that I invented this magic machine, and with that machine, you were able to travel into the future, maybe 150, maybe 250 years.}

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{And through the power of the machine, you were able to look back and see your entire life, see all of the connections, all of the ripples, all of the impacts you've left behind. What impact do you hope you've left in the world? }

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{\b\cf3 Debbie Howell:\b0}

{ I hope that the impact that I would leave on this world would be that people would remember that my heart was to bring people back to a powerful relationship with God through the His Word prayer and the Holy Spirit.}

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{\b\cf1 Scott Maderer:\b0}

{ So what's on the roadmap? What's coming next for you as you continue on this journey? }

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{\b\cf3 Debbie Howell:\b0}

{ My second book is }

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{ coming out in a few weeks and I'm writing my third book. And having I'm just looking for more opportunity to speak, to share with people I could, speaking at conferences or to do the prayer journaling.}

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{Bible journaling classes that I teach. Just I, that's my favorite thing to do because I can really get to know people one-on-one and interact and we all learned from each other. We have a really good time, so I'm looking forward to doing a lot more of those }

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{\b\cf1 Scott Maderer:\b0}

{ and you can find out more about Debbie Howell over@debbielutherhowell.com.}

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{Of course. I'll have a link to that over in the show notes so you can find it there. Debbie, is there anything else you'd like to share with the listener? }

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{\b\cf3 Debbie Howell:\b0}

{ I just want to encourage you to connect with God through scripture, whether it's the a, a book, or an app. And take a moment today to look up John 17 because this is one of my favorite prayers in the }

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{ Bible where Jesus is talking to God and he's praying for us.}

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{That we would be one with God even as he was through the words that God gave us through Jesus.}

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{\b\cf1 Scott Maderer:\b0}

{ Thanks so much for listening to the Inspired Stewardship Podcast. As a subscriber and listener, we challenge you to not just sit back and passively listen, but act on what you've heard and find a way to live your calling. If you enjoyed this episode please do us a favor. Go over to inspired stewardship.com/itunes.}

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{Rate all one word iTunes rate. It'll take you through how to leave a rating and review, and how to make sure you're subscribed to the podcast so that you can get every episode as it comes }

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{ out in your feed. Until next time, invest your time. Your talent and your treasures. Develop your influence and impact the world.}

}