To listen to the podcast press the purple button to the left. Once the screen pops up you can listen to the podcast from your computer or if you want to download the podcast to your computer or iPod just press the little triangle on the right hand side of the player.A generational podcast where three generations of Christian women share their thoughts about different issues and aspects of life. These podcasts are also available on CD.
This Episodes Topic Inspirations_0004 Generations - Knowing God's Will for Your Life
The women talk about how to know God’s Will in your life.Bridgette recites a poem that she wrote for her daughter’s graduation called “God’s Will and God’s Way.”Hosts-Bridgette Mongeon-Christina Diliberto- Barbara Ingersoll
Listening time approximately 23 minutes
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SHOW NOTES
Chris 23 discusses the panic that she felt during her graduation from college and learning how to be comfortable with the way things are, trusting.
Bridgette 47 shares how she helped her daughter cope with the thoughts of graduation and how she could know God’s Will in her life, as she reads the children’s book that she wrote for her daughter called “God’s Will and God’s Way”. ( publishers inquiries concerning the book are welcome)
Barbara 72 Talks about how God’s will is never really clear, he gives us step by step, and that whatever happens God is there with us, and how she got over her fear. God builds us up as we trust in him.
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TRANSCRIPTS
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Bridgette: Welcome to generations podcast where three generations of Christian women will be sharing their thoughts about different issues and aspects of life. I’m thrilled to have with me today my co-hosts, my daughter Christina Diliberto and my mother Barbara Ingersoll.Welcome ladies are you with me?
Barbara: Oh yeah.
Christina: Yep.
Bridgette: On today’s show I would like to revisit a topic that we began to talk about a few podcasts ago, how do you know Gods will in your life? And Christina you had said that when you were about to graduate from college that it kind of put a panic in you, can you tell us a little about that?
Christina: Well it is funny that Bill’s graduation ceremony is this weekend, and my roommate and I went to his hooding ceremony yesterday, and we both kind of looked at each other in the middle of the ceremony and said, we just did this a year ago like—an entire year ago. Which … it shocks you, you look back at the year and you’re like this is where I have come and this is what I have done.
Bill keeps saying, I’m in such a daze, it is so surreal, and that is what it is. You graduate and it is so surreal. You have been working very, very hard for four years to get to that point.It is funny because I know exactly how it feels. I had so much stuff going on in my life. I had just called off a very long-term relationship. My dog died, I think Gram was in the hospital, some other things were going on. I was an RA and trying to check people out of their rooms, and it was just insane. I told my roommate last night, I wish I could have enjoyed it more, but I had so much stuff going on, my brain was elsewhere. But regardless, it was still very exciting and scary.
The man speaking last night at Bill’s hooding said, “today and tomorrow,” which will be today, is the graduation. “You are going to be thrilled and excited and crazed, but Sunday or Monday is going to hit and you are going to go, ‘Oh my God what am I doing,’” Which is really what happens.
And I would like to say that there might be a couple of people who really have it all planned out, but I really don’t think there are… I don’t think anyone really knows, even if you have a job lined up, it is still scary and frightening. I mean you’re starting life, it almost feels like that even if you have been living 21 plus years. Kind of like we revisited that whole experience this weekend.
Bridgette: Graduation can be, for lack of a better word, crazy. I just had my graduation a year ago—a year and half ago. After all of these years graduating at the age of 40… ummmm. It was. I remember that day. I felt I was in a daze the whole day. I don’t think I had the panic that you as younger people had at your graduation, because you had been working so hard at planning out your life, and all of a sudden it is wham bam, now I have to start my life.
And so you had this panic about how do I know God’s will in my life. Can you tell me a little about that panic?
Christina: It is like your brain is exploding, and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. It is like you have all of these plans for your life, and you know you set up all of these things and you think it is going to be this way and then God sort of blows them completely out of the water and it is the most shocking experience ever.I have thought about it for a long time, and I decided that when He does that, when He blows them out of the water, the thing you are supposed to do is not pick up all the pieces and put them back together, you are supposed to become comfortable with the way things have, for lack of a better word, landed, and change your heart and your mind to fit according to what God’s will is.
And that is sometimes really hard because you think you have it all figured out and you really don’t, you don’t at all.The plan I had—I would be married right now, living in Houston working at an advertising agency doing graphic design. I am not doing that at all, but to think of that life and where I am now is really incredible. I’m not doing that at all is really incredible that life could have been great and wonderful, but I am so happy where I am now.It makes the fear and that…yeah, the fear kind of melt away because you look at where you are now, and you say this is awesome.
It makes it worth that fear and that panic a year ago. It is completely worth it. I’m in a really good place right now.
Bridgette: I know we were all praying for you very hard. I know Mom and I were. I know when you were going through that panic and a lot of your schoolmates where going through the same thing, “what do I do with my life.” Inspired by your stage that you were going through, I wrote a poem for you which I hope will someday be made into a book.I was inspired by Dr. Seuss’, The Places You’ll Go. But I wanted something that had a Christian twist to it. And I would like to share it with you ladies and the audience and hear some of your comments on how this pertains. And I would specifically like to know how you felt after you received it Christina.
Barbara: I want to hear it.
Bridgette: Are you ready? It is called
God’s Will and God’s Way.
[This work is copyrighted and cannot be reprinted in whole or in part without the permission of the author, Bridgette Mongeon Bridgette@godsword.net . Publisher’s inquiries are welcome.]
GOD’S WILL AND GOD’S WAYBy Bridgette Mongeon © 2007
You’ve made great achievements, it’s easy to see.
Became the great person you set out to be.
“We knew you could do it!” We cheer and we holler.
Your task was stupendous like that of a scholar.
Upon some reflection you’ll see what you’ve done.
It soon will set in just how far you have come.
After looking behind you’ll say, “What’s to be?
I’m done with this part, what will happen to me?”
“Proceed?” You’ll remark, immersed in some dread.
“Which way do I go? What lies ahead?”
“Everyone expects that I should know,
What I will do, which way I should go.”
“I’ve examined my options, I seek and I pray,
But how do I know God’s will and God’s way?”
“What path should I take?” I pace to and fro.
“What is God’s will for my life, do I know?
”Your movement is frozen your heart filled with fear,
As you seek for the sign that bellows, “GO HERE!”
This fretting should stop, the anxiety cease,
God brings not confusion—God brings you peace.
DIRECTION
Let me share with you now these things you should know
About our God’s will and the way you should go.
It’s kind of like… when you buy a new car.
You know that having one will take you far.
You learned how to drive some years before
Looking forward to the time you have to explore.
The dealer he gives you the manual and keys.
And the places you go are the places you please.
There is really no map that defines all the places.
Keep God in your heart, you proceed in His graces.
Sometime it starts with just a small inkling
Of what you might like and what you are thinking.
Take one small step, find a place to advance,
Sometimes you just have to take a small chance.
Other times you’ll think, “I’m proceeding to there.”
Your goal will be firm and your destiny clear.
You’ll think that you are headed from point A to point B
How surprised you will be when you end up at V.
And you’ll say, “Why did I think B was for me?”
And you’ll marvel at the way God took you to V.
OBSTACLE—YIELD TO DETOUR
Obstacles come and stop your direction.
You can do many things with further inspection.
Had you seen past the obstacle by climbing on top,
The foreboding pathway and why you did stop.
From the perch you might see that the way you had planned,
Had brambles and briars and was filled with quick sand.
With that dreadful view you’d make the deduction,
That the original route could meet with destruction.
But—you won’t know what’s there, it’ll cause you frustration,
That in faith you must take this new deviation.
At first those stark changes might cause you to shake,
To doubt your desires and the plans that you make.
“Alright,” said with trust, while changing your course,
Not knowing the new way brings joy or remorse.
The way is unclear the objective is strange,
But soon you will learn to trust in the change.
A funny thing happens, I bet you can guess,
That with God in your heart, He blesses your steps.
DANGER—SPEED ZONE
The pace, you will find, is both fast and it’s slow,
As you walk through your life in the way you should go.
And life can consume you, I do hate to say,
Perhaps you may find that while going your way,
Your talking and praying with God is now lessening,
And you miss the companionship and all the blessings.
Consuming distractions come running or walking.
The loneliness comes ‘cause YOU have stopped talking!
REST AREA—PROMISE
He still walks besides you, He promised He’d stay.
Your life is His journey; your path is God’s way.
So stop at that moment, take a spiritual rest.
With God as companion your journey is blessed.
Take time to thank Him for being nearby.
Check in with Him often with places you try.
ROUGH ROAD AHEAD
The journey is not all ponies and flowers.
It’s certain there may be some bad thundershowers.
Some bumping and thumping in the path that you choose,
Your spirit may hurt, your mind may get bruised.
“Why am I here Lord,” you’ll scream and you’ll pray.
“I thought that this path was Your will and Your way?”
God didn’t promise your life would be easy,
Your tasks were all simple and everything breezy.
He did not promise there would be no strife,
In God’s will, in His way, or even your life.
But—no matter what things come up for you there,
Your Companion’s a comfort through all life’s despair.
PICNIC AREA AHEAD
Yes, there will be horses and beautiful blossoms
In fact your adventure is referred to as awesome.
There will be exceedingly, abundantly above.
All you could hope for, God gives you in love.
Your heart will be merry, your future looks bright,
Much of your journey is filled with delight.
God’s will and God’s way, I’m sure you’ll agree,
Will fill your heart up and set your soul free.
Acknowledge His presence in all that you do,
You will find where you walk, God walks that way too.
PARADE
Sound the band, blow the trumpet, send balloons way up high
For the things that you’ve done and the places you’ll try.
There are streamers, confetti celebrations for you.
For accomplishments made and the new things you will do
You are strong you are smart. We are very impressed.
With brains, brawn, and brilliance, you certainly are blessed.
Thanks for listening to the wisdom that we tried to impart
Go with His Word in your mind and God in your heart!
That was the poem that I gave you on your graduation day, I wish it had been turned into a real book, but I’m still working on that. Tell me what you thought about it?
Christina: I was proud of you because you wrote a really good book. Yes, it was very descriptive of what is going on and even still where I am now. It is a cool thing you know, I loved it I thought it was awesome.
Bridgette: And looking back and hearing it now, and seeing the places that you thought you were going to go and the places are now two totally different things.
Christina: Oh yes, definitely.
Bridgette: That no matter what your path is whether you end up at V instead of A or B that God is walking with you.
Christina: Yes, it is still scary; the unknown is always a little bit frightening. There is a comfort in knowing God has everything under control.
Bridgette: Mom, what do you have to share about that?
Barbara: I like it. I want a poem for me too. It is really very, very good. You say something in there about the goal being clear. I don’t think our goal is ever clear, we think, but it is not clear to us, as witness Christina’s life a year ago, or whenever she graduated. It was one thing and now it is totally 180.My main thing to say is that the goal is never clear. God never makes it clear to us, he gives us step by step.You know, Christina said something I want to comment on. She said her 20 plus years. She thought she had it all planned out, and there again we think we have everything planned out and we think that the way it is today is the way it is going to be forever. But it isn’t. The way it is today, we better accept today for what it is, because we can’t plan anything. All we can do is keep praying and keep walking one step at a time following in His footsteps. She also said something, be happy with God’s will for your life. She is happy with God’s will for her life.At her age I was not happy with God’s will for my life. I didn’t even know God was there. I didn’t know God had a will for me, for my life. But, today I can honestly say that I am happy with God’s will for my life. I am happy in the happiness today. I expect to be happy tomorrow, no matter what the circumstances are, and things happen to all of us every day, good and bad. You know, we take the bad and we work on them the best we can and we pray for direction and that is the best we can do.
Bridgette: So you are telling me … because I say at 40 plus years, I say the same thing, really what is God’s will in my life? Can I be absolutely certain? And so it doesn’t get any clearer from your generation Mom?
Barbara: About? About what God is going to do in your life?
Bridgette: Yes.
Barbara: No, no it doesn’t!
Christina: There is no hope, I’m just kidding [ laughter]
Barbara: Hope of what?
Christina: Having it all written down for us conveniently. That will never happen.
Barbara: It never will happen. That is very good Christina.
Bridgette: We all want an agenda. We want God to hand us an agenda and say this is what is on the books for today.
Barbara: And it is not going to happen. I mean we might have a plan for today and start walking on that plan, but the mail might come in and it could be something so awful that you don’t even want to accept it. You don’t want to believe that what you got is really real. It just can’t be.
Bridgette: And I think that the hope—Christina said there is no hope—I guess our hope is in God and trusting in God, that wherever we go and whatever we are put through, we are going to have that comfort with God and He is walking with us, even if it becomes dark and dreary. We have that hope in God.
Barbara:I know that what I can’t find an answer to, he has put people at my disposal that can help me one way or another, and he will bring those to my remembrance as I walk and as I take the next step and the next one ad the next one, praying as I go. Okay, I don’t know what else to do, I have done all I know to do. He might bring a flash of something else, maybe I can try this and then you try that.
Couple of things have happened the last couple of days that were not happy things. They were hard things to take, but I’m not afraid of them, and I guess that is the biggest thing. The fear, I don’t have fear anymore, no matter how bad the thing is, I don’t have that fear. I don’t have the fear anymore.Things will happen that I can’t me and God, God and me that we can’t handle together.I often feel that obstacles can turn into opportunities. If we look at them as obstacles and just sit there and cry, we are never going to see the opportunity in it, but if we can put our foot in front of the other, and sometimes that is all it is—just a baby step, because you don’t know what you are doing and you don’t know where to go. God has put the obstacle in your way for a purpose and a reason, I believe, and it may be to send you in a different direction.
Barbara: Or it may even be to build up your own sense of what you can accomplish by following Him. You know that, Oh God this was so bad, I can’t stand it, I don’t know what I am going to do, and yet when you keep wailing, it may be just to fill up that sense in you. Of what you can do with Gods help.
Bridgette: I think also this podcast is an example in itself. I had an inkling in my heart years ago that we should do something together, because all three of us are writers. I thought we would be writing together. And a couple of times I tried but because of our busy schedules and being our living in different states, it became difficult.When the idea of a podcast came up, I just stepped out on that. I said okay, here I go. I’m going to try this and see if it works, and of course at this point they are just going to be put up on the internet, so we don’t know what to expect. Doing the next step and seeing what God is going to have in store for you.
Barbara: I think our listeners should be aware that you are the one that has all of the technical expertise and all the tech equipment and Chris has a lot of knowledge with those things. All I am doing is sitting here with a little portable phone. I just think this is the best way for me at this point.
Bridgette: I’m glad God brought this about to show us how to do it. You say I have the knowledge, but I have to say that six months ago I had no idea what a podcast was. Three months ago I had no idea how to do it. Putting one foot in front of the other, I was able to push my way through and remove some of the obstacles, in this case and get to the point of finally broadcasting this podcast
Ladies I want to thank you for being with us and sharing your stages in your life and letting me share this wonderful poem. It is copyrighted, so if you are seeing these transcripts, we ask that you not reproduce them without permission.
Announcer: You are listening to the Inspirational channel featuring topics that reflect on faith and the spiritual side of life. Brought to you by God’s Word collectible sculptures found at
www.godsword.netGive God’s Word as a gift. Collect God’s word in your heart.