4:13 Podcast: Can I Awaken Delight? With Stephanie Rousselle

Jennifer Rothschild: Hey, 4:13ers, this is Jennifer, and I just need to ask you something. Can I please hear from you? You guys have gotten to hear from me for so many years on The 4:13, but I wanna hear from you. I need to hear your heart. I want to know what you care about. And here's how we're gonna do it.

I have got a survey waiting for you. It is on your Show Notes. Whatever podcast platform you are listening on right now, you can find your Show Notes and there will be a link to a survey. It'll take you three to five minutes, and it'll just help me know what's in your heart, what's in your head, what your thoughts are, what your hopes for, what you enjoy, because really we want to make the 4:13 Podcast exactly what meets your needs.

So go to your podcast player -- you can always find, though, Show Notes at 413podcast.com -- and let me hear your voice as you click on that survey and take five minutes to share with me.

Now here's the podcast.

Stephanie Rousselle: When we aim to make God our delight, that means we aim to taste his deliciousness, spiritually speaking. You know, like discovering that the presence of God is flavorful, that the love of God is intoxicating, that the glory of God is enthralling. Because, you know, I think Scripture doesn't call us to a disembodied experience of God. Feasting on the Lord, it's for our five senses as well as it is for our soul, right? And so coming to Scripture and understanding it from that perspective.

Jennifer Rothschild: Delighting in God changes everything. It changes how you experience faith, relationships, circumstances, and even how you see yourself. You can experience Psalm 37:4 as your daily delightful reality. Do you know what that means? Well, you are about to. Because on today's episode, author and Bible teacher Stephanie Rousselle is going to connect scriptural and theological truths to your everyday life.

Now, this is Stephanie's first book, and yours truly, me, I had the privilege of writing the foreword. This is about to awaken delight, so buckle up and get ready to learn about delight.

KC, the alarm clock is ringing. It's time to awaken delight.

KC Wright: Welcome to the 4:13 Podcast, where practical encouragement and biblical wisdom set you up to live the "I Can" life, because you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.

Now, welcome your host, Jennifer Rothschild.

Jennifer Rothschild: Well, hey friends. That's KC Wright, my Seeing Eye Guy. And you got it, it's two friends and one topic and zero stress here in the podcast closet. And you know our goal for the 4:13 Podcast for the last seven years has been to help you and equip you, because you are capable, through Christ, of being exactly what he's called you to be and doing exactly what he's created you to do through the power of Christ in you.

And that has been our goal. And we are heading up to our last episode of The 4:13, 413.

KC Wright: Well, the last episode of the 4:13 Podcast.

Jennifer Rothschild: Titled --

KC Wright: Titled.

Jennifer Rothschild: -- 413.

KC Wright: Okay.

Jennifer Rothschild: We are not done, we are not quitting.

KC Wright: Because I'm getting anxiety.

Jennifer Rothschild: No, no anxiety for KC. (Whispering) I can't handle it if he has anxiety.

Anyway, we are not doing that, we are not quitting.

KC Wright: No.

Jennifer Rothschild: But we are about to do something very fun and transition. And you guys who have been listening know that we want you to be a part of it.

And part of the way we want you to be a part -- you heard at the beginning I invited you to please engage in this survey that we're doing, because we want to hear your voice. We want to know your heart, because that will help us craft this transition of the podcast to make sure it meets your needs.

We're going to get a new look, new sound, but it's going to be the same great content. It's just going to be packaged a little differently, and I don't want you to miss a thing.

So you also know, if you don't already, we want you to follow the podcast. On whatever podcast platform you're listening, you will see a button that says, "Follow." And all that means is when you press it, you will get notified every time a podcast drops. And that means even when we have our update with our new look, new sound, and same great content, you'll still be notified.

And we want to make sure you don't miss a thing because, y'all, it's gonna be so good.

KC Wright: Woot, woot, woot, woot.

Jennifer Rothschild: It's gonna be so good. And, in fact, next week, Episode 413 --

KC Wright: Yeah.

Jennifer Rothschild: -- we have a very special guest. Oh, my gosh, I cannot wait for you to hear this person.

KC Wright: Oh, goodness.

Jennifer Rothschild: Oh, and one more thing I want to tell you.

KC Wright: Yes.

Jennifer Rothschild: Spotify. If you're not listening on Spotify, I want you to know that during the month of August, when we are not live with The 4:13, while we're busy refreshing around here, I have curated some Spotify playlists for you. Now, here's what that means...

You go to Spotify -- and by the way, don't worry if you're not familiar with it. There is a free version. You are going to be able to engage with these Spotify playlists. That means I've curated playlists that are topical. So, like, if you want to deal with mental health or relationships or getting a fresh start.

KC Wright: I love it.

Jennifer Rothschild: I've even got some of my audio pictures in a playlist.

KC Wright: Oh, some of my favorite episodes.

Jennifer Rothschild: Right?

KC Wright: Yeah.

Jennifer Rothschild: And that way you can travel even if you don't get to leave home --

KC Wright: Right.

Jennifer Rothschild: -- because you can just put your earbuds in and you are off to Italy or England or wherever else I'm taking you on the audio pictures. Okay, so lots of good stuff coming up.

But I will tell you, it's summer around here and there's lots of good stuff around here too, like garage sales.

KC Wright: Come on.

Jennifer Rothschild: Which I love garage sales, KC --

KC Wright: Oh, my goodness.

Jennifer Rothschild: -- because I'm always getting rid of all the stuff that I don't want.

KC Wright: Right.

Jennifer Rothschild: And I know you love garage sales.

KC Wright: Well, my dear friends live in a fancy-schmancy neighborhood, and those are the neighborhoods I'm drawn to, right?

Jennifer Rothschild: Right. Those are the best neighbors for garage sales.

KC Wright: They got the good stuff.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah, they do.

KC Wright: Anyway, my daughter, I can't get her to go to a garage sale even if I paid her money. But you know who will go with me to a garage sale?

Jennifer Rothschild: Who?

KC Wright: My sweet mama.

Jennifer Rothschild: Oh, good.

KC Wright: So it's our thing, right?

Jennifer Rothschild: Right, right, right.

KC Wright: It's our thing.

So anyway, I just want to let you know, J.R., that last weekend I went to the fancy-schmancy yard sale.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah?

KC Wright: And at four different sales I found J.R. books, Jennifer Rothschild books, in the book pile, which is where I always go first.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah.

KC Wright: Because you get quarter books, 50 cent books --

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah, you do.

KC Wright: -- dollar books. So like --

Jennifer Rothschild: I am honored to be in the garage sale.

KC Wright: And out of allegiance and love for you, my dear mother must buy them all.

Jennifer Rothschild: She bought all the books she probably already has.

KC Wright: She has them, of course. Of course. Because she has attended Fresh Grounded Faith for years. She has all the books. But she gives them to her girlfriends --

Jennifer Rothschild: Aw, I love it.

KC Wright: -- she keeps them in her car, "You need this."

Jennifer Rothschild: That's so sweet.

KC Wright: So anyway, I think -- I've heard that that is a sign of success when you land at a garage sale.

Jennifer Rothschild: Oh, okay. Well, I'll take it. I'll take it.

KC Wright: Because they have purchased your book, they have consumed your book --

Jennifer Rothschild: And they're done.

KC Wright: -- and now they're passing it on.

Jennifer Rothschild: That's right. I love that.

KC Wright: Yeah.

Jennifer Rothschild: I'll take it. Whatever spreads the message. And I think it's quite funny, actually.

But I will say this. Friends who love me, you do buy the books from the garage sale. Because the last place we want to see them is in the garbage can.

KC Wright: No.

Jennifer Rothschild: So buy them. And if you go in a bookstore and you see a Jennifer Rothschild book --

KC Wright: Yeah.

Jennifer Rothschild: -- let's just walk over to the shelves, my friends, make sure it's not spine out, make sure it's face out --

KC Wright: Right.

Jennifer Rothschild: -- so everyone can see it, and then take a picture of yourself pointing to it saying, "This is the best book I've ever read."

KC Wright: Hey, I'm telling you --

Jennifer Rothschild: Hey. Just kidding. Just kidding.

KC Wright: -- your latest one, it's all the rage. A lot of people --

Jennifer Rothschild: The Lord --

KC Wright: -- have told me, oh, they love it.

Jennifer Rothschild: The Lord did something special in "Heaven."

Oh, you know what? I know you didn't mean to do this, but you just made the perfect transition. Because this author that we're about to hear from -- she's now an author. She's been a podcaster, Bible teacher. But she has written her first book. I met her many years ago.

And I don't do this a lot, but I felt led from the Lord to write the foreword for her first book. It's called "Awaken Delight," and it's so good. And it's just something I'm very grateful I get to help multiply this message on, because I have appreciated her ministry, her integrity, and the content of her book.

So she's been on the podcast a long time ago, y'all. She was an atheist who came to Christ from France. She's from France. You're going to love her accent.

So, KC, let's remind our friends who Stephanie Rousselle is, and then I can't wait for you to hear this conversation.

KC Wright: Stephanie Rousselle is a Bible teacher, speaker, host of the Gospel Spice Podcast, and founder of Gospel Spice Ministries. Born and raised in France, Stephanie is a former atheist whose life motto is now "God's Glory, Our Delight." Having lived in four different countries during her lifetime, she now lives with her family in Pennsylvania.

Now -- this is gonna be so good --

Jennifer Rothschild: So good.

KC Wright: -- pour your coffee, get ready. Here is Jennifer and Stephanie.

Jennifer Rothschild: And make sure it's French roast. Okay?

All right, Stephanie, I'm glad to have you back again. And you and I have had lots of conversations this summer, and I'm glad we've gotten to talk. Because as I already told our listeners, I have had the privilege of reading your book "Awaken Delight" and writing the foreword.

So let me get to your backstory first, though. Before we get into the book -- which I love -- I want people to know you better. Even though I will link to our former conversation we've had, I still think we've all slept since then, and so let's talk this. Okay, you grew up as an atheist in France. And so I am curious, and our people need to know, what brought you to the United States and, like, what led you to start teaching Scripture?

Stephanie Rousselle: It's so nice to be with you, Jennifer. I just enjoy being with you so much. And you've been so generous in writing the foreword for "Awaken Delight." And I have to say, that foreword is pretty phenomenal, so thank you for that.

Jennifer Rothschild: All right.

Stephanie Rousselle: And honestly, like, 30-some years ago, you would have described my life today to me back then, I don't think I would have believed you. I would have had you committed to an asylum or something. Because I did grow up as a very staunch atheist in France, and I came to the U.S. as a foreign exchange student when I was 16 years old. So this was over 30 years ago. I came for my senior year of high school, and my goal was to learn English.

And during that year -- long story short -- I ended up spending the entire year with a host family who were the most delightful Christians, the very first actual flesh-and-blood Christians I had ever met. Everything I had ever heard about Christianity was through the lens of my atheist authors and mentors.

And it taught me that our worldview is definitely shaped by the books we read and the voices we trust, and that sometimes those voices can be a little biased. And I thought that my atheist mentors were giving me the truth about Christianity, but the truth is they really weren't. And so when I got to meet flesh-and-blood Christians, I was flabbergasted by their love and their kindness and their intelligence. I had been taught that to be a Christian, you had to check your brains at the door.

And so long story short, I pretty quickly became convinced of the historical truth of Jesus as a human being having lived, died, and risen. And when you're an atheist, to believe in the historical truth of the resurrection, Jennifer, it's very uncomfortable because it shakes your worldview, your belief system. And so that led me on a quest to discover whether I could trust God. Because I realized his claim on my life was not a halfway measure, it was an all-or-nothing sort of thing. Either you surrender to him fully or you don't at all.

And because I was a control freak, it was very difficult for me to come to a place of trusting God. Because it's one thing that Jesus rose from the dead. At the time it didn't tell me that he was necessarily trustworthy. That was another story of actually what became the foundation for me beginning to teach Scripture a few years later.

Because God in his kindness didn't slap me, didn't fry me on the spot with a lightning bolt as I probably deserved, to be honest, but instead he gently, like a gentleman, with kindness and meekness, challenged my worldview and said, well, you're -- well, he didn't say in an audible voice, right?

But basically my understanding was, okay, you're telling me, Stephanie, that you can't trust me. But how do you know that? How do you know that something or someone is trustworthy until you give them a chance? And that was kind of a good point, right? I mean, you've probably heard the illustration of a chair. You don't know if a chair is stable until you actually sit in it. It can look good, but then you don't really know until you sit in it.

And I like to link that more to chocolate. As you know -- and I know you like dark chocolate too, right?

Jennifer Rothschild: Yes, yes.

Stephanie Rousselle: If you've never tasted really good quality European, French or Swiss or Belgian chocolate, I'd like to humbly suggest that maybe you don't -- you haven't quite experienced why God created cocoa in the first place. I think God invented cocoa so that we could make chocolate out of it, and really good chocolate. But if you haven't tasted that quality of chocolate, maybe you're not a big fan of chocolate, but it could be that you've never really tasted the good thing.

And God challenged me on that, and he kind of hinted at the fact that maybe I should taste and see whether he actually is good before I chose to reject him. And so in his kindness, he allowed me what I like to smile and look back as a trial period, if you will.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah. Yeah.

Stephanie Rousselle: I thought I was in charge of my life at the time, and so I gave him one week. I told God, okay, for one week I'm gonna stop fighting you. I'm going to embrace everything I have learned theologically about who you are and I am going to live in faith. And that's me tasting the chocolate and let's see what happens. And at the end of the week, if I don't like it, God, I'm taking my life back and you're out the door. I'm firing you sort of thing. The arrogance, right?

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah. That's funny.

Stephanie Rousselle: That's why God is so kind, because he meets us on our terms, which is incredible to me.

And so during that week, I tasted the chocolate, and of course I fell in love with him. And the freedom of being loved and delighted in, the freedom to actually be able to delight in God and love him back for the first time ever, very imperfectly, with so many flaws. And still to this day, right?

Jennifer Rothschild: Right.

Stephanie Rousselle: And this was 30-plus years ago. And so I never looked back. I have tasted and seen the chocolate of the goodness of God, and that became the foundation for my teaching. Because as I started looking around -- so I came back to France, married my sweetheart, and then we have traveled all over the world. And everywhere I have been, I have encountered people, Christians mostly, but also active seekers, who don't experience God as delightful and delicious, if I may say. And we can go to the French for that if you want.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah, I am curious about that. You will need to hit that.

Stephanie Rousselle: So basically, yeah, that's what I do. God has, in his unfathomable, otherworldly kindness, made a calling upon my life that if he had asked my opinion, I would have told him he was crazy. But, you know, he invited me to tell others about the delight in him that he has allowed me to experience. And so, yeah, so that's the story.

Jennifer Rothschild: And so there is this -- because you just mentioned it -- which I love the story, by the way. It reminds me a little bit of C.S. Lewis, the most reluctant convert in England, you know?

Stephanie Rousselle: Oh, so funny you should say that, because that's how -- when I discovered C.S. Lewis a few years later, and especially that part of his story, that's how I started describing myself. I was the most reluctant convert in all of France in my day.

Jennifer Rothschild: I love it. I love it. Okay. But your French background has helped deepen your understanding of Scripture. So just go there real quickly with the delicious delight thing. Tell us about that.

Stephanie Rousselle: Right. So I'm bilingual, right? I still have an accent that I can't get rid of in English, but I'm a native French speaker, obviously. And so "delight" -- one of the things I love to do is to study Scripture in both languages.

And I think for anyone who speaks another language, there's such a depth in experiencing Scripture in a language other than our own. And we see it so much with the Hebrew and the Greek, the original texts, but I think there's so much to learn about Scripture in any other language you are fortunate enough to be able to speak.

And so for me, that word "delight" is one of those rare words that exudes maybe more depth and deliciousness in French than in English. I have to say that I am a huge fan of the English language. I just absolutely love this language so much. But the French for the word "delight" is the word "délice." And it might remind you of another English word, the word "delicious," right?

Because in French, we have only one word for the two English words "delight" and "deliciousness," and it's the word "délice." And that word "délice" applies to any feast that is for the body, the mind, or the spirit, where beauty plays an element, as in tasting and seeing that the Lord is good. That's a form of beauty.

And so, you know, Psalm 37:4, "Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart," which is kind of the anchor for my book and for my ministry. "Delight yourself in the Lord," in French, God is both delightful and delicious.

Jennifer Rothschild: I love that, Stephanie. I love that. That is a paradigm shift for us just English speakers who don't think about the depth of that language nuance. I love that.

Okay. So I was going to ask you about that particular Scripture, and so I'm glad you mentioned it, because I know that does anchor your whole ministry and this book. And we want to have this kind of delight, the deliciousness awakened within us. But I am also curious, are there any other passages of Scripture that help to reshape your understanding of God's affection for you?

Because we can delight in God, yes, out of discipline. Oh, but, boy, does it become a natural desire when we recognize his affection toward us. So are there any Scripture passages that helped ignite that understanding of his affection toward you?

Stephanie Rousselle: So good. Yeah. So definitely Psalm 34:8, which I've mentioned, "Taste and see that the Lord is good." Because when you mix that with "Delight yourself in the Lord," you know, what does delighting God taste like? When we aim to make God our delight, that means we aim to taste his deliciousness, spiritually speaking, discovering that the presence of God is flavorful, that the love of God is intoxicating, that the glory of God is enthralling.

Because, you know, I think Scripture doesn't call us to a disembodied experience of God. Feasting on the Lord, it's for our five senses as well as it is for our soul, right? And so coming to Scripture and understanding it from that perspective.

One of the verses that has helped me the most to do that -- I'll quote maybe two of them quickly. The first is 2 Corinthians 4:6: "For God, who has shone his light in our heart, gave us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face Christ Jesus."

Jennifer Rothschild: Yes.

Stephanie Rousselle: And I think that's everything. Because the light of the knowledge of the glory of God -- Paul, when he writes these words, is encompassing all of the cultures of his day. The light was the quest of the Jews, the knowledge was the quest of the Greek, and the glory was the quest of the Romans, right? They didn't want to be forgotten.

If you've been to Rome and you've seen all the architecture and the statues, to be forgotten was the worst thing that could happen to you if you were a Roman.

And so the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, Paul is encompassing all of the quests of all of the cultures he knew in that day. And he says, where do we find that? In the face of Christ Jesus. In his presence.

Because in the Hebrew language, the word "face" and the word "presence" are the same word. Because -- like, you and I are on Zoom right now, so we're not actually together in the same room. But if you want to be in the presence of someone, you have to be face to face with them. In ancient Judaism, obviously, you have to be in the same room.

And so the light of the knowledge of the glory of God is found in the same room as Christ Jesus, in the presence of Christ Jesus. So when we know Jesus, that's when we experience the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, which is delight in him. So that's the first passage. And so I think my entire life is summed up in wanting to know Jesus more. And I know that's so important to you as well.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah.

Stephanie Rousselle: And the other verse is Philippians 3:10, is, "For my determined purpose is that I may know Christ through the power of his resurrection and the fellowship in his sufferings." And that's where it gets a little harder, because Paul is describing how he used to live a life of arrogance and control and self-centeredness.

And that was my life. I did it from a place of atheism, he did it from a place of legalism, but it was the same idea. And then he counts everything but loss for the glory and the knowledge of knowing Jesus Christ, his Lord, through the power of the resurrection. And that's all of eternity. That is something you and I long for so deeply.

And at the same time, the fellowship in his sufferings. Paul is saying we can't really know Jesus -- the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the presence of Jesus, we can't know that unless we experience a measure of the sufferings of Jesus.

So then the question becomes how do we delight in God, rooted in his delight of us, when we go through hard times, when we experience a measure of the sufferings of Jesus so that we can taste and see his goodness through knowing his presence more. So these are some of the passages I think that have really anchored my awe and my wonder of God.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah. Well, just that little tidbit, I'll say, since we're talking about food, those little bite-sized pieces, they whet my appetite. And I know that our listeners are feeling the same way. And this is what the book will give you.

So I'm so grateful, Stephanie, that you just teased that a little bit, because it does. The thing is, when we taste something good, we want to taste more. And that really is this picture of delighting in God. It is this achy dissatisfaction that is so satisfying, it makes us want more. Okay?

But I am curious about this. Because a lot of times when we're reading Scripture, sometimes we -- it's about us. Okay. Like, it's self-help. Okay? But I sense, from what I have read in your book, that when we delight in God -- okay, when it's about God and our delight in God, it can actually shape our sense of self, our identity. Kind of give us an understanding of how that happens.

Stephanie Rousselle: Yes. Oh, you are absolutely right. I have a very simple way of describing that, right? If God really created us, he is the source of everything, right? So oftentimes in our culture, I've noticed that we start with ourselves, who I am, maybe even what I do. My choices, my actions, my preferences in any area are going to determine who I am. That's what the culture says, right?

So I make a choice, I make a decision, I choose a particular lifestyle or a series of actions and that determines who I am. And then by extension, because I am fully sufficient and capable, I determine reality. I am the author and the definer of truth; therefore, I get to define God. So what I do determines who I am, which in turn determines who God is in my opinion, which is the only viable opinion in this day's culture.

That is, I think, a complete reversal of biblical truth, and it's literally stand -- like, we're trying to stand on our heads or we're trying to walk with our hands. I don't know. It's completely upside down, so no wonder our culture is so confused.

Because I think biblically speaking it's exactly the other way around. Everything starts with who God is. That determines what God does, because his actions are always in perfect complementarity with his character. And so that's the top, who God is and what he does and what he has done for us, past, present, and future. And that determines who we are. And that in turn, when our identity is truly determined by who God is, who he says we are, that determines what we do.

And so, for example, one of my favorite passages that I haven't mentioned is Psalm 1:2-3. And I love to dwell there. My husband is a gardener, and so I love garden illustrations. Can I briefly tell you Psalm 1:2-3?

Jennifer Rothschild: Please.

Stephanie Rousselle: It says, "Blessed is the one whose delight is in the law of the Lord." And that person -- and I'm paraphrasing because I'm not looking at it, I'm just trying to remember it. "That person is like a tree planted by streams of water. He yields fruit in season. His leaf never withers, and whatever they do prospers."

And so if you look at that and you're like, okay, who is God in this passage? God is the water source. He's the life-giving river. That's who he is. And what he does is that he gives us life and he draws near to us by being this river, the streams of water. And then what we do is that we bear fruit in season because that's who we are. We are a blessed tree planted by the stream of the presence of God.

So that's a very simple way to say, okay, what does Scripture tell me about who I am? And when I shape my identity based on what God says, not the other way around, then I am blessed because I am the person whose identity and whose fruit is rooted in who God is and what he does and what he says about me. And so then it becomes a quest of what does God say about us? What does he say about his delight in us?

Jennifer Rothschild: Okay, that's beautiful. And how could you not delight in the One who gives you all things and is all things and, therefore, just gives us that ability to bear the fruit. And everything we do prospers. And I love that because that is an emotional prosperity, a spiritual prosperity. Whether it ever shows up in physicality or materialism, that is not the point. There is this beautiful growth based on the life source.

Okay. So I want this. We want this. We all want to delight. All right? But what we do not want, and what some of us have a tendency to do, is to put delight on our spiritual to-do list. Okay, now I've got a new obligation. Okay, I've got to have my quiet time. I got to delight in the Lord. I've got to pray. We don't want that.

So let's talk, Stephanie -- I know you deal with some ancient and some creative habits that help us cultivate delight rather than obligation toward the Lord. So give us some of the -- just a couple of examples of some ancient or creative practices that we can begin to employ to help us grow and delight.

Stephanie Rousselle: Right. Thank you for that.

So I think everything is rooted in what we just said -- right? -- about this matrix of who God is. Because we first begin always by asking him to change the shape of our hearts so that it conforms to his desire for us to delight in him, right? He's the one who gives us that desire. So it always starts by asking him, coming to him to plant that divine delight, to continue the garden illustration. He's the one who plants that delight in us.

And then I think it goes to spending time with Jesus. Because the more we spend time with Jesus, we get to know him more and then we make him known more. So anything that helps us asking God to plant that delight in us, and anything that helps us spend time with Jesus to know him more. And then once that's the framework, then we awaken, we cultivate that delight through classic spiritual disciplines.

Now, the word "discipline," I realize how difficult it is sometimes to hear, because for some people it sounds like punishment and obligation.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah. Yeah.

Stephanie Rousselle: But actually, I think you of all people know so well how much discipline actually leads to true freedom.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yes.

Stephanie Rousselle: Because when a skill becomes second nature through practice, that's when we become truly free to use the skill not as a chore, but as a talent, and even more as a gift to others.

You know, if it really takes 10,000 hours to master a skill, then we need to practice. When it becomes effortless, when it becomes even a blessing for the people we serve through it -- think of a pianist or a painter who has spent countless hours practicing their skill so that we can enjoy the music and the beauty that has been created.

Or a chef, a baking chef. I love to bake, so obviously -- so anything that any -- I think it's not so much -- of course, we need to pray, we need to read Scripture, we need to worship, we need to do all manner of disciplines. But I think what we need to regain is the framework around them. And in that sense, I want to suggest that delight can be the framework that makes these classic disciplines enjoyable again.

Because all of a sudden we realize that these disciplines of reading Scripture, of praying, of worshiping, of silence and solitude, of hospitality, of journaling -- and I list many of them in the book as creative practices, some of the major ones and some minor ones as suggestions -- we realize that they become a pathway to meet God. And the goal isn't the discipline itself. The discipline is a means to an end.

God tells us that he hangs out in certain spots. You like C.S. Lewis. So if you had been in Oxford and had wanted to meet C.S. Lewis when he was there, you would probably have gone to the Eagle and Child --

Jennifer Rothschild: Right.

Stephanie Rousselle: -- or to the Magdalene College, right?

Jennifer Rothschild: Right.

Stephanie Rousselle: Like, you would have gone to the places where he hung out because you had a greater chance of meeting him there.

Jennifer Rothschild: Right.

Stephanie Rousselle: And God tells us the places he hangs out. Of course, God is everywhere all the time, I get that. But at the same time, he also tells us he is a stream -- you know, a stream of water, so his Word is the water that feeds us. He tells us that he inhabits the praises of his people, so he's present in prayer in a particular way, and he's present in the church in the gathered body of believers. So there's places and times where God says, If you want to meet with me, I'm gonna be there. Come and join me.

And once we begin to experience the spiritual disciplines in that way, with the delight of approaching God and knowing he's waiting for us, all of a sudden those disciplines become an invitation to taste and see his goodness, right? To try the chocolate, to put on our shoes and start walking these paths with this expectation to meet him there and to taste his goodness. We're sitting at the banquet, at the feast that he has set for us, and we expect to taste him.

Jennifer Rothschild: Okay, Stephanie, this is so good. I mean, just that phrase that you said, that delight becomes the new framework within which we enjoy and approach all these things. Okay, I love that so much because it does change it. It's not something that we are doing for God, it's something that we just meet him there and he does for us. I just love it.

And this whole feeling of where God hangs out, I mean -- because there's meet-ups. People go to meet up because they care about the person who's there and they know they're going to get something from it. That's why we meet up with people, let's be honest. But in that getting something, we're also giving something and receiving at the same time.

So, like, this is a virtuous cycle that is beautiful, and I am so glad you've written this book. And we're going to have a link to it, obviously, on the Show Notes, because I want people to be able to go through not just the theory of this and the beauty of it -- because your writing style is whimsical and beautiful too -- but because you've got such practical tools and we want to awaken delight.

But we're going to get to our last question. This is a fun one. Okay.

Because you said, Stephanie, that when we experience this delight in the Lord through perhaps these disciplines of just hanging out with him, we then develop these skills that become a gift to others. Okay. Well, Sister, I told the audience as we started this thing, our friends, that you had a gift for them. So let's talk about your gifts.

So you've got gifts for anyone reading the book "Awaken Delight" and that are listening to this podcast today. So do tell. What is the gift?

Stephanie Rousselle: I love you. You're so funny. I love that you love gifts, because that is such a Christlike thing. I mean, Jesus loves to give and to receive gifts, and so it's really, really fun.

So anyone who's reading the book, when you purchase the book there's a QR code at the end that leads you to, among other many things, a private podcast series where I take you into some of the verses we've discussed, you and me. Psalm 37:4, Psalm 34:8, Philippians 3:10, and many more.

And we dissect them a little bit. We taste them, we see what happens when we experience the goodness of God through them. And that's only if you have the QR code that's in the book. And I give you, like, a 3D video of a garden immersion, because we use the garden based in Psalm 1. So all things like that. A lot of recipes. There's a book club invite.

But there's also something specifically for your audience, Jennifer, because I want the 4:13ers to live a bit more of the "I Can" life by delighting in God.

I think actually -- we haven't talked about that, but we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us because we root our delight in him and because we know how much he delights in us. And so I want to encourage that, because that is such a truly life-changing message to know what we can do in Christ. And so there's a giveaway.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah?

Stephanie Rousselle: Anyone who signs up -- everyone wins because we're all conquerors in Christ. So everyone who signs up gets five Liturgies to Awaken Delight. So I've written these short liturgies that invite you to awaken and cultivate delight and become more aware of the presence of God around you throughout your day. So that's for everyone, and we're sending that to everyone who wants it.

And then we're also having one winner. We are going to draw a winner from among the entries of just your audience, and they're gonna win a gift bundle valued at over $150.

And that includes several pieces of jewelry made by survivors of human trafficking, because this is a cause that my ministry supports heavily, a prayer journal to help you cultivate one of the spiritual disciplines, and some other things like that. So all you need to do is go to gospelspice.com/413, for 413, and enter for a chance to win. It's for everybody.

Jennifer Rothschild: Oh, I love it. All right, 4:13ers, hang out to the end of the podcast and then you go to gospelspice.com/413.

All right. Stephanie, love you, and you have awakened delight in this conversation.

Stephanie Rousselle: Thank you, Jennifer. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May his face shine upon you and give you his peace as you delight in him.

Jennifer Rothschild: All right, friends, you heard Stephanie. For the 4:13ers, which is you, if you sign up, everyone is going to win, because you're going to get these five liturgies that she's written that will help awaken delight. And then you heard her say that she's going to draw one winner for the big gift bundle, which sounded smashing. So right there, my friends, is delight.

And don't forget, we are getting very close to Episode 413 (whispering) next week. Okay? I don't want you to miss it. There is a special guest.

KC Wright: Go to the Show Notes at 413podcast.com/412 or the Show Notes at the platform where you're listening right now. That will connect you to all things Stephanie. And there is also a link to the survey Jennifer mentioned. We really do want to hear from you, so fill out that survey so the podcast refresh will be just what you want and need.

Again, I will have you a clue about next week's special guest.

Jennifer Rothschild: Okay, what's the clue?

KC Wright: Okay, here's a clue.

Jennifer Rothschild: Okay.

KC Wright: He's a man.

Jennifer Rothschild: Okay, he's a man.

KC Wright: He is hilarious.

Jennifer Rothschild: Oh, okay.

KC Wright: His name is in the Bible.

Jennifer Rothschild: Oh.

KC Wright: And I've got more, but you know what, we're gonna end right there. Those are your clues.

Jennifer Rothschild: Those are good clues.

KC Wright: So until next week, our 413th episode -- man, that's a big deal --

Jennifer Rothschild: (Whispering) It's a big deal.

KC Wright: -- you can awaken delight because -- you know why? -- you can do all things through Christ who gives you strength. I can.

Jennifer Rothschild: I can.

Jennifer and KC: And you can.

Jennifer Rothschild: Okay, his name is in the Bible.

KC Wright: Yeah.

Jennifer Rothschild: Haggai? No, no.

KC Wright: No.

Jennifer Rothschild: Okay. All right.