Sweating the Small Stuff with Heather Vecera

Don't miss our power-packed episode as we explore the realm of faith, health, and relationships with Heather Vecera, founder of Without Walls Revival Ministries. We unpack the profound impact of seemingly small things in life and how they can shape your faith, health, and overall well-being. We delve into the concept of "sweating the small stuff," discussing how being mindful of our thoughts, beliefs, and actions can trigger significant shifts in our lives.

Life is a series of choices and in every moment, we get to choose between life and death. Our conversation navigates this concept, focusing on choosing life in every small decision we make and the subsequent power of healing and intimacy with God for personal growth and fulfillment. The discussion also includes the importance of taking care of our bodies as Christians and the biblical principle of being faithful with little, to be trusted with much. 

Finally, we take you through the importance of community, forgiveness, and authenticity in your life and how competition and comparison can hamper our relationships. The conversation culminates with the exploration of the transformative power of having an intimate relationship with God and its impact on our lives and those around us. Heather shares personal experiences, offering insights about God's presence in her life and providing encouragement for you in your faith journey. Buckle up for this enriching journey that promises to bring about a positive change in your life.

Transcript

Heather Vecera: 0:04

God, I need you is the most powerful thing you can say. If there's places in your heart that have not been healed, it's going to be hard for you to connect intimately with God and even get to the point where you can honor others when the Holy Spirit gets hold of us, radically gets hold of us, like it's impossible for others not to see it.

Aaron O'Connell: 0:31

Welcome to the WHY to Fitness Podcast. I'm your host, aaron O'Connell, and today I am joined with Heather Viserra. How you doing today, heather.

Heather Vecera: 0:42

I'm great, Aaron. It's good to be with you.

Aaron O'Connell: 0:45

Thank you for joining me, and you are the founder of Without Walls Revival Ministries and Associate Pastor of Loft Church in Heron, illinois. Please tell me just a little bit about Without Walls Revival Ministries. Just start highlights so people can get a little bit and to know you a little bit more.

Heather Vecera: 1:04

Yeah, so Without Walls is my extended ministry. Most of my ministry is done through Loft Church. But Without Walls was kind of started out of a season in my life when I was working at a church and it was before I was filled with the Holy Spirit and I was filled with the Holy Spirit in a church. That really doesn't embrace that. But one of the things that happened, the Holy Spirit kind of came on me and I began to pray that the spiritual walls of the church would come down, not just that particular church but the church in general. And he just put like a desire for intercession and for revival.

Heather Vecera: 1:45

And so I began, probably about 20 years ago, I would lay my hands on the walls of that church and pray for the walls to come down, but it was really like an act of obedience and speaking about like the spiritual walls of the church and really my heart is just to see revival and sustained revival, not only in this nation but every nation.

Aaron O'Connell: 2:09

Yeah, amen, amen and yeah, and the word church is actually Echoliasia, which is a gathering of people. We don't need the walls of the church to be gathered in his name and really be considered a church. So I just love what you're doing and I love how you just have a passion to teach others to live out their faith outside of the walls and build a genuine transformational relationship with Christ, because that's what this podcast is about. That's why I'm having you on this podcast, because a lot of people you know they work still on Sundays.

Aaron O'Connell: 2:41

Some people don't have a church that they go into, but they may tune into a podcast, they may tune into a sermon at home that starts igniting that fire and then all of a sudden they realize, wow, I need to get back into church, I need to get into community. So that's why we're here and that's why I have you on this podcast. And also you hold a bachelor's in psychology. So just everything put together, that's why I reached out to you to have you on this podcast and we'll just love to dive into our topic, which today we are talking about sweating the small stuff. Can you expand just a little bit on sweating the small stuff?

Heather Vecera: 3:22

Yeah, well, there was a book that came out like a long time ago and it was called Don't Sweat the Small Stuff. But you know, there are things that hang up that gives us, there are hangups in our faith, and they're the little things and it's the little things that matter. It's the little things that block the intimacy that we have with God if we don't pay attention to the small things, because he's looking at the small things, not really things that are visible to everyone out. You know, in the light it's. What are you doing behind closed doors? What are you thinking in your mind? What are you thinking in your heart, and what fruit is that producing?

Aaron O'Connell: 4:01

Yeah, no, for sure, for sure.

Aaron O'Connell: 4:05

And it's amazing that I just actually did a podcast just the other day. It just came out and he was like a lot of people have this little pet sin and they like to keep this little pet sin around and it's just real small but it really is blocking those blessings that God wants to bestow on you, really blocking the purpose that you may be needing to walk in that end goal for this life, because you're so just built into your regular routine of just that's just a little thing right here. I really love this topic, which also goes into health and fitness, because so many people look at the big picture of, oh, I'm least working out, I'm, I'm, I'm eating this certain way, whatever it is, but then they may just have so much stress, they may have so much sleep disorders, these little things that they don't think are really happening and like affecting them but it's actually the downfall of them. So I really love this topic. When, what would you give to listeners as advice to really help them to pay more attention to the small stuff?

Heather Vecera: 5:22

I would say like our thoughts, you know, develop into our beliefs and then our actions. So, first of all, take captive, you know, take every, take captive every thoughts, you know you have to renew your mind daily and speak on what you want to see over yourself. Not like a word of faith here, but the truth is, when you speak the word of God, it's already written, it's already, it already says, it's already the truth.

Heather Vecera: 5:52

So, you know I am renewed. I do have the mind of Christ. I can do this, you know, and we were talking actually last night, a group of us and I said I like to actually insert my name into scripture.

Aaron O'Connell: 6:07

Yes.

Heather Vecera: 6:08

Like first Corinthians, you know I may not be walking in love perfectly, but if I speak that you know, replace my name where it says love you know and begin to speak that out. It will develop into action. You'll actually begin to walk it out and that's putting your faith into action. So it starts in the mind, of course, and then sometimes I think it was Joyce Myers you say do it, afraid you know or do it.

Heather Vecera: 6:42

you know, even even though you're not there yet, just proclaim it and just go out and do it, and if you're, the reality will catch up to what you're saying.

Aaron O'Connell: 6:54

I love that. I love that. I love that. Some are the little things that people don't pay attention to, that are affecting that intimacy of the Lord, that blessing that they want, that God wants to be stow on them. What would you say? Some of those little things are that people are just overlooking.

Heather Vecera: 7:13

The distractions. Social media social media can be great.

Aaron O'Connell: 7:18

Yes.

Heather Vecera: 7:19

And that's feeding off of a lot of those reels and things like that, Wasting, wasting time. And then what you're allowing in your ear gates and your eye gates eventually comes out of your mouth gate, yes, Out of the abundance. The heart speaks. So you know what kind of music you listen to, what kind of podcast you listen to, what kind of TV shows that you're watching. Whatever you're putting in will eventually come out.

Aaron O'Connell: 7:55

Yes.

Heather Vecera: 7:56

So I want to make sure that what I'm putting in is something that glorifies God.

Aaron O'Connell: 8:01

Yeah, and my pastor actually said it this way. He said what you fill your mind with, you will eventually will be feeling. So those like you said, through the music, through just the endless scrolling, the comparison, whatever it may be, you then eventually will start feeling it. You know, you go try to talk to somebody that has anxiety, depression. You can't just walk up to them and be like, well, just be happy, just know that God's got it, you know, and it's if you just do it right there and they haven't been filling themselves up with that. It's almost impossible to feel that way.

Aaron O'Connell: 8:37

But over time, when you're putting those truths in, when you're filling yourself up with the truth of the God and focusing on the Prince of Peace, eventually all of a sudden what used to bother you before will no longer bother you. I absolutely love that. And also you said just those little distractions which reminded me of the parable of the seed, where the farmer scattering the seed and everyone that says, okay, the one's on the short, the shallow soil, the one on the road, those people aren't Christians. Great, but there's that one that grew up within the thorns and the vines and they got choked out and that's what's. And they don't. They didn't produce fruit. The Bible, jesus, didn't say they produced fruit, and that's what we, as believers, want to produce. Is that fruit? Because you will know a tree by its fruit. And, as a Christian, we need to be bearing fruit because if you're not bearing fruit, you might fall into Matthew 721, lord, lord, and he says I never knew you. Yep, oh yeah, oh yeah.

Heather Vecera: 9:44

Do you? Remember that song that was. It was called it's a slow fade, I think it was. I can't remember who sang it, I don't remember they. In this song it talks about having like it. It's a slow fade into sin. But it's those little things that and the little choices that we make. You know, sometimes people are like I don't understand what's happening, God, like how did I get in this situation? And it's because of the choices, the little choices that we made. You know, it's, it's slow, but then it turns into something big.

Heather Vecera: 10:24

You know, whether it's it's an affair, or whether it's it's lust, or whether it's overeating or or whatever your sin, your struggle is drinking too much and turning into Drugs for comfort. It's the little choices like. You really have to be intentional about Doing the right thing, not in a religious way, but seeking that intimacy with God so much that those things don't Appeal to you the way that they used to. And it takes practice and it takes intentionality of sitting before God in his presence and saying I don't feel it now. I'm, I'm struggling now, but I know what the truth of your word says and I'm here to seek your face, I'm here for your presence. Fill me in these places that are not healed.

Heather Vecera: 11:17

Amen and he'll, he'll do it.

Aaron O'Connell: 11:20

That's, that's for sure. And that just reminds me, especially within the health and fitness industry, so many people take advantage of their 20s, even there, even their 30s let's be, let's be honest. And they're just partying, they're drinking there, they're eating all the foods that they want and with no regard to it, and then even even still on that, when they're depressed, when something bad happens, their comfort is food. Their comfort is is that the worldly pleasures, like you were saying, and Unfortunately, when you're not paying attention to the little things like what you're filling your temple with, what you're filling your, your, your physical body with.

Aaron O'Connell: 12:05

Not only, we know that our minds and our physical bodies are so Entwined, especially our diets, but what happens is then, over time, things just start slowly shutting down. They start slowly slowing down and then, all of a sudden, you get to your late 30s, 40s, 50s, whatever it is, and you have a host of problems you have, you have diseases, you have disorders, whatever they may be, and I for one would find it very scary to All of a sudden die, let's just say, at 55, 60, whatever it is, from some form of Eating. You know, making your, let's just say, diabetes just got out of control, whatever it is, or you got cancer because you were eating so horribly and just constantly stressing your body out. And you get to God and say, man, I had so much more for you, I had so much more planned for you that you could have done so much more good.

Aaron O'Connell: 13:07

You could have had this much more here in heaven, so much more. You know treasures here in heaven, but you wasted it. You wasted through these food and I find that would be really scary to get there and just like, have to hear that, I have to know that and obviously if you're in heaven you're not gonna be regretting or any of that type of thing. But I want to get, I want to hear well done, my faithful servant. And those little things like diet Matter. You know, we, that's what our body is, it's, it is, is the whole, is the temple, and the more energy we have, the more clarity we have from our what we're putting into our body, the more effective we are gonna be for the kingdom of God.

Heather Vecera: 13:54

Amen.

Aaron O'Connell: 13:55

Also, I like to acknowledge Luke 1610 that says whoever can be trusted with the little can be trusted with much, and whoever's dishonest with a little will also be dishonest with much. And. And then I believe there's another place in the Bible. I don't have that verse right here, but it says whatever little that you have will be taken away. How would you put a message out there over Luke 1610, of those that can be trusted with little can be trusted with much? What would you like? How would you expand that?

Heather Vecera: 14:30

Well, obedience brings blessing when we surrender to the Lord and trust him to give us the blueprints, and when he gives us those little convictions and those little reminders hey, you need to get back on the narrow path. We need to listen to him. Instead of fighting and being rebellious, just submit and yield our spirit to him and Let him do his work in us and in that we see how he can work and how he can. He can grow us, mature us and Bring all kinds of blessings, not just health wise, but in your relationships, in your finances, in your ministry. Obedience is everything.

Aaron O'Connell: 15:22

Yeah, it really is. Like you said, it impacts your finances, everything. As a Christian, we know that God created us in his image. He gave us the blueprint in the Bible to live the most abundant carefree well, not carefree, but free freedom, living just the most purposeful, loving life there is. And anytime we get outside of that, there's going to be problems there's, you know. It can range from death all the way to just staleness, whatever it may be, which is why we need to walk in that maturity. Yes, when you're a young Christian, you know you got so much to learn that, even if you don't know everything, just moving forward is great. But as you start maturing, it's just you need to start diving in deeper and deeper and deeper. And I was wondering just how would you starting off with just seeking versus striving? How would somebody start walking in maturity?

Heather Vecera: 16:29

For me, it's been actually diving into the word and sitting before the Lord and asking for that understanding and allowing him to be the teacher. There's a you can get a lot of input. We have information and you know, podcasts and things like this ready available, but there's nothing like letting the Holy Spirit be the teacher. That's so true.

Aaron O'Connell: 16:57

And Jeremiah 2913 says you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart.

Heather Vecera: 17:07

And that's everything, not just like one part of your life, it's everything it's. When you surrender to Christ, you surrender everything, every part of you.

Aaron O'Connell: 17:17

Yes, yes, and that's why, you know, one of the Pharisees came up. He's like hey, what's the most important to Jesus? He's like what's the most important command, you know? Or he was like Well, how do you interpret it? Well, you need to love the Lord with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul, like everything, and also love your neighbor as yourself. And then, obviously, jesus knew he was like Well, who's my neighbor? And that's where the Samaritan comes in. You know, because we're always looking for those ways out, that little bend and break. It's our sinful nature, it's how the devil kind of slimes in. And that's why we need to remind ourselves of Jeremiah 2913 and seek with all of our hearts. Romans 12 1 says to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, which is how you eat, how you sleep, how you wake up, how you worship, everything. It's just all connected. And you know John 1549, where we must remain in the vine. Would you like to talk a little bit about that?

Heather Vecera: 18:25

Sure, yeah, I was actually going to say it keeps coming back to me. Yeah, you know, every, every day, we have the opportunity to choose life or choose death. And that is, you know, you find it a lot through Deuteronomy. A lot of them start out choose, choose life or choose death. But it's really putting the old person. You know, when we we receive Christ, then we put that person, the old person, to death. But a lot of times what we do is we try to resurrect that old person and we don't choose life, we choose death, we choose death.

Heather Vecera: 19:01

So what we need to do is is put on Christ and choose the path of God, choose life, Because when you choose, choose God, there's abundance in that living and it's not. It doesn't mean you get everything that you want, but it does mean that you put on him, you put on his peace, you put on his joy, you put on his strength and you're able to walk in it and you're able to do life and accomplish things at a different I don't know, in a different realm than the normal person. And that's why a lot of people look at Christians sometimes ones that are truly walking in the faith, and like what's different about you Like, how are you able to do what you're able to do? Because the power of Christ, the whole power of the Holy Spirit living within us, it's, it's, it's what gets us, gets us through.

Aaron O'Connell: 19:58

Yes, yes, I love how you said every choice is the choice of either life or death, because it really is that. That that's serious. Those little things like we were talking about before are choices of death. We must because if we love Jesus, jesus said if you love me, you're going to obey my commands. Because there is no better way when you, when you know, when you know beyond, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that his way is better. I always like to say it like this if I were to be holding a million dollars in one hand or a piece of poop in the other hand, and I offered it to you every single month, I was like hey, which one do you want? You're never going to pick up the piece of poop.

Heather Vecera: 20:49

Right.

Aaron O'Connell: 20:50

You know, no one in their right mind would but as Christians that is what we're doing.

Aaron O'Connell: 20:55

That is literally what a lot of us do, because Jesus says that I'm the way, the truth of life. I have come to me, seek me. You know, matthew 11, 28 says come to me all there, weary and burden, I will give you rest. How many people are struggling to get rest? You know sleep, you know peace to get away from anxiety. Yet they go to pills, they go to non-Christian counselors, they go to drugs, they go to whatever, whatever else. You know, let me get this new mattress, let me get this new sleep sleeping tracker and all these other things.

Aaron O'Connell: 21:32

And you ask them it's like have you been in the word lately? Oh, I just don't understand it. Well, seeking, you will find knocking the door will be open unto you. You know like, do you not? Do you not believe that his way is better? Oh, I do, I do, but it's like there's no buts. You know that, but is where you're picking the piece of poop from. You know which, which is just so, which is so much. But we also, when we start walking in maturity, we need to start honoring others above ourselves as well. Can you, can you speak a little bit to that as well?

Heather Vecera: 22:14

Yeah, I was going to say too. You know, without Christ we can do nothing, and if there's places in your heart that have not been healed, it's going to be hard for you to connect intimately with God and even get to the point where you can honor others.

Heather Vecera: 22:33

It starts with that intimacy with the Father. And that's what, john, I was going to go back real quick. That's what John 15, four through nine says apart from me, you can do nothing. Yes, and it means you know when I'm talking about putting on Christ and letting him him live, basically infiltrate every part of you. You're walking in the spirit. You cannot produce fruit. You can put on a show for a while, but eventually that facade is going to come down when, when the pressure gets to you, when life gets to you, you will break or you will fall back into sin, or you will fall back to those things that you were feeling yourself with before Christ. And that's what happens a lot, even to Christians. They fall back into sin because they are not feeling themselves like they should be with, with his spirit. And he does that.

Heather Vecera: 23:40

You know it's not something super natural to just say you know, you can go and ask the Lord, you can ask the Lord to be filled with a spirit, but I don't. I wanted to make sure I didn't throw that out there incorrectly but basically sit before the Lord and say God, I need you. That's, that's a powerful phrase God, I need you. I heard that years ago I can't remember who said it, so I don't know who to give credit to, but somebody said God, I need you is the most powerful thing you can say, and it really is. Lord, I need you today. God, I need you in this. Be with me as I make this decision. Like he really wants to be involved in the little things he cares about, the little things he cares about the details of our life. He's not a God that's far out, he's a ever present God, one that walks with us and talks with us.

Aaron O'Connell: 24:37

For sure, for sure, he definitely. And I know, even just as recent as the other day, I'm actually writing a paper, a 15 page paper for my PhD and I was struggling, you know, just couldn't figure put words on the paper. Usually I'm just so good at words, I can get things done. You know, I can research to if I ever have that brain blockage, whatever it is, and for some reason I just couldn't and I had to sit there and just be like help me, help me, god, I can't do this.

Heather Vecera: 25:15

It's that childlike faith, too, that he loves. You know, you're a dad, so you get it. When your kids come to you and they need help with something or or whatever, it just gives us joy to be able to be that parent. And that's how God the Father is to us. When we reach, reach up to him with childlike faith, he responds to that.

Aaron O'Connell: 25:39

Oh for sure. And also, even though my daughter's only seven years old, I've I've have experienced certain not only talking to other parents, but researching, you know, parenting, counseling, all those different types of things. And it's not when everything is going right that you're. You're like, oh, help me dad, help me dad. Because it's like. Then I usually respond to my daughter where I'm like hey, you know what to do, come on. And it's more of an encouragement that I'm giving her.

Aaron O'Connell: 26:11

But when everything's going wrong, when you have that teenager, when you have somebody that just royally screwed up, you know you want to be the first person they call. You don't want them to be like oh, I need to hide it from my dad, I need to try to figure this on my own, because he's going to be, he's going to be angry. No, oh, our God's not going to be angry. He already knows what's happening. He wants to help you.

Aaron O'Connell: 26:37

And when you're going through those troubles, when you're going through the times when you can't figure out, that's when you start reaching out to God. That's when you need to sit there and not be. You know, you need to humble yourself and sit there and be like I may need to help, I need to reach out for help to others and that's the importance of having that community around you, the community of believers being within the church, having that church family, so you can call on those others because, yes, jesus is the head of the church, but we are the body and we have so many different parts. As 1 Corinthians, 12, 22 through 27 says, where we may, we're going to be weak. Where other places, people are strong and we need to reach out to those people and that happens because the Lord will speak through them.

Heather Vecera: 27:29

Yeah, Community is so important. You know, family is important to God and in our society, especially the American society, we come and we go as we please. We're a consumer society. We even go to church to consume instead of to give out.

Heather Vecera: 27:48

The truth is, god wants us together as a family that are truly connected, and it's hard to do sometimes in church. You come and you're there for just a moment of time and you see each other's faces. Maybe you talk a little bit in a small group, but that's not all there is to it. When you actually do life with a community of believers and they see your weaknesses and they see your strengths and they can rejoice with you when you're rejoicing and born with you when you're mourning, that is is really the, the essence of the body of Christ, and we're missing that and that's why we don't have revival in America and that's why the church is dying, because we've lost that connection. Yeah, not for sure.

Aaron O'Connell: 28:37

And we just have so much jealousy, comparison, competition that's just left and right, to the point that people on social media are editing their videos just because they're not feeling good enough about themselves, but at the same time they're saying, hey, fall in love with yourself. It's just you, you know. But there's this selfish message that's going out there that it's all about me, it's all about I, you know. There's, there's, you know, just so much, just yet, narcissism. It's even in the personal trainer of the health and industry who says you versus you, you know, and I hate that statement because if it's you versus you, somebody has to lose, and it's you, you know.

Aaron O'Connell: 29:24

There shouldn't be that competition or that comparison, because even second Corinthians 1012 says like hey, don't worry, we weren't there to say we were as wonderful as all these other men and how important they are. But they're comparing themselves with each other, using themselves as the standard of measurement. How ignorant and that's what a lot of us are doing is we're in that rat race of the world and we're using the worldly standards instead of the truths that God has for us, and you see that all the time, I'm sure as well.

Heather Vecera: 29:59

Yeah, yeah, it's just in the ministry as well. Oh even more.

Aaron O'Connell: 30:08

I can imagine. You know there is, unfortunately, there is church competition, there are these different things and it's like, no, if only we had that unity. You know, even, even, even across lines like as Christians, we should be praying for Israel. It says it right there in the Bible we need to be praying for Israel, but also we need to be praying and blessing our enemies as well. So, even within what's going on right now in the Middle East between Hamas and Palestine and, you know, in Israel, we need to be praying for both sides you know, and that's just going far fetched.

Aaron O'Connell: 30:47

But even you know Catholic versus Christian, you know whatever there isn't this versus, it's no let's. Let's love each other, as love fulfills the whole entire law, and from there then we're able to lift each other up and not just pay attention to these, these secondary measures that cause so that people just pay attention to. You know, like in in in life, we need to sweat those small things. We need to look at those things when it comes to our relationship with Christ and what the Bible says. But when it comes to our relationships, those little things we need to, we need to honor others. We need to be able to realize that and forgive. We need to forgive because Christ first forgave us.

Heather Vecera: 31:40

That's right. Yeah, unity is so important. And if, if we can embrace the love of God for ourselves and really grasp hold of that, it's impossible for that not to bubble up and overflow out of us into others. And when we work together and we honor each other and each other's gifts and stay in our own lanes, like if you just be yourself, you know, as awkward as you may be, just just be who you are, embrace who God's made you to be, he can work with that, because he's the one who created you in the first place. He created every little detail about you. He knows the desires of your heart and and he, he's the best, the best one to trust. Don't go and try to copy somebody else's fitness or routine stuff or or or somebody's ministry.

Heather Vecera: 32:43

Let the Lord work those things in you and through you.

Aaron O'Connell: 32:48

Yeah, he's given us all our unique gifts. We need to be our authentic selves, because when we're authentic selves, that's when we experience the least amount of stress, the most amount of freedom. And stress is that hidden culprit that no one can talk about, but is really what's bringing everyone down. It's, you know, stress from the mind. You can be stressing to do the right things and it may be better to do the wrong thing. In freedom, you know, like when, when and not obviously the wrong thing versus within Christ and in what the Bible says. That's when we need to actually go against our flesh and doing those right things. Speaking to working out, eating not not worrying about having to get the next promotion, the next dollar and just stressing so much because I need to take care of my family. No, what if, all of a sudden, you took that step back, stop stressing and you spent more time with your family that you? Maybe God's going to open up your eyes to a brand new opportunity that's going to provide 10 times more.

Heather Vecera: 33:58

Right.

Aaron O'Connell: 33:58

But there's so much more peace.

Heather Vecera: 34:01

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, if you want the peace of God is to focus on kingdom things, like everything that we have in this world, whether it's wealth, whether it's fame, it's all gonna pass away. All of that's gonna pass away. The only thing that's gonna survive is what's eternal. So when we say you seek God first and then all these things will be added to you, that's what it's talking about Seeking things that are important to God and seeking things that are important to the kingdom, things that invest in the eternal.

Aaron O'Connell: 34:45

Yeah, that's Matthew 633. And if you just back up to two verses saying don't think about what you should eat and what you should drink, you know, look at Solomon and all of his glory, yet he wasn't even as clothed, as beautiful as the lilies. Yet God cares for you so much more. So don't think about what you're eating and what you drink. These are thoughts that consume unbelievers. But, like you said, acknowledge God and seek him first in his righteousness, then everything's gonna be added into you, everything that you need. And also, god doesn't just stop there. He usually gives you your heart desires as well when they're aligning with him and you're really searching. He's gonna let you have the abundance for your passions and all that stuff. But we also need to not always be so rigid, constantly focusing on God, where you're just like okay, I need to do this, I need to do this. You can't get into that legalism. But also we need to be able to learn to accept grace and extend grace as well, wouldn't you say?

Heather Vecera: 35:48

Yes, absolutely. I was gonna say too, in walking out relationships and things, when you have any type of, one of the little things that can spoil the vine really is unforgiveness. When you have unforgiveness in your heart, that is like one of the major things as a pastor that I see. That is a roadblock for many and it's one of the things that I've come through the most in my life is learning how to forgive others and really having the eyes of Christ to see others the way that he sees them, and you truly forgive somebody. You can see them in the light that Christ sees them as a maybe they're not saved, but maybe a potential son or daughter of Christ. You want to see them redeemed and set free and letting things go just, not only for you personally, but physically.

Heather Vecera: 36:53

If you're holding on to unforgiveness, there's going to be a physical toll on your body and mentally there's a toll on your body.

Heather Vecera: 37:02

When you hold on to unforgiveness You'll say, oh, I forgive them, I forgive them and really they haven't, they haven't.

Heather Vecera: 37:08

They're still holding it in because when I've seen when the Holy Spirit gets hold of somebody and it really hits them and they realize and they feel that love and compassion of Christ come and fill them up. All of a sudden their view on others changes and, like I said before, that's when you really see honor happen in the body of Christ, when you see a healthy church, a healthy community of believers is when they're honoring each other. But you can't do that if you can't extend grace, because we're human and, like you said, you can't be striving, you can't make it into legalism. You really just have to walk this thing out together and put people on pedestals and think, oh, this person has to achieve this, they have to walk out their faith like this. That's between them and the Lord. You have to keep your eyes on your relationship with the Lord and if somebody does something, then extend them grace, because we're all learning, we're all maturing, we're all in this journey together of getting to know God more.

Aaron O'Connell: 38:20

Yeah, no for sure. And if you go right now on to John Hopkins Medicine, if you go on the Mayo Clinic and just research forgiveness and health, you'll realize all of a sudden they'll say, hey, forgiveness, you need to forgive, like your life depends on it, because it literally does. It helps lower risk of heart attack and proves cholesterol levels and sleep, reduces pain, blood pressure, levels of anxiety, depression and stress and just a whole host of things more just from forgiveness. And I love how God always or should I say Jesus always takes it to that next step. And it's like how often do we supposed to forgive? 70 times 7, 490.

Aaron O'Connell: 39:07

And when you start looking into the Hebrew, you start looking at all the alphanua and all those statements and that's the same thing as my peace will be with you is the same as that same 490. But right there in Luke is saying, hey, love your enemies, bless those that curse you, pray for those that mistreat you, which goes completely against all of our desires, where we want to get even all those things. But that's where it goes back to considering others more important than you and not being in that selfish way that always just keeps taking us down and down and down.

Heather Vecera: 39:48

Yeah, that's right.

Aaron O'Connell: 39:50

And also we need. We also need to be givers as well, you know, yeah, that's just a fruit. Yes.

Heather Vecera: 39:59

You know, holy Spirit, when he comes and he fills us and and we walk in these little steps of obedience and we make the right choices, we step toward him and the fruit follows, yes. So the fruit of forgiveness, the fruit of loving others, the fruit of walking with grace with each other. And you cannot have that much of the Lord without giving becoming a part of that, because you can't hold on to it. You won't have to experience what you've experienced. You won't have others to to take part in the kingdom. Hey, I found life. I found life abundantly. Here it is.

Heather Vecera: 40:51

This is how I was, but this is how I am now.

Aaron O'Connell: 40:55

Yes, you know.

Heather Vecera: 40:55

I was lost, but now I'm found.

Aaron O'Connell: 41:00

I was blind and now I see, yeah, that is one of the shortest testimonies there is in the Bible. I don't know who he was, but all I know is I was blind and now I see it's right there in the Bible. You know, because God doesn't care, doesn't want us to be a lawyer for him, he just needs a witness.

Heather Vecera: 41:23

And you know he, when, when, when the Holy Spirit gets hold of us, radically gets hold of us like it's impossible for others not to see it, especially when you know the Holy Spirit has really gotten hold of somebody's, when you see change in your family. Yes, yes it impacts your family.

Heather Vecera: 41:48

So, when you submit yourself to Christ and they like, oh, I know how she lived, yeah, that's gonna last a few weeks, she's going to be back to the old old person before we know it. But when they see that change, stay in your consistent, in your faith. It does some amazing things. I've experienced that with my family when the Lord got hold of me and I went through a radical change in 2020. It changed my whole family. My mother, who raised me and was is you know, in church her entire life, all of a sudden realized what she was missing this intimacy with with God. And when the Holy Spirit got hold of her, it was amazing. I got to baptize her and then from that, my brother has really gotten hungry for the Lord. My children it's, but that's what. That's how it happens, god is a multiplier.

Heather Vecera: 42:54

Yes, so he wants to multiply that. And when we, when we see people grasping hold of this, walking in maturity, paying attention, sweating the small stuff, yeah we're gonna revival in our own homes, in our cities amen.

Aaron O'Connell: 43:12

He is that multiplier. Just go look at the feeding of the five thousand. You know where he's like. Well, what do you have? Just that little bit. If we just give that little bit to him, we're gonna be able to. He's gonna multiply it and put it out there and have left overs always because he's the God of abundance. That you know just.

Aaron O'Connell: 43:33

I love that because I always say this if you were to know that Jesus was right around the corner, and he's right there, he's performing miracles, there he is. Well, we know what happened in the Old Testament everyone they flock towards him that. But the crazy thing is he is right around the corner. He's not even around the corner. He's right here with us performing those miracles. He's. He's healing people, he is, he's setting the captives free. He is right there. And when you feel that, when you understand he's right there, he's accessible to you, he's how you can have that intimate relationship with him and you start shouting it on the mountain tops you're not covering the light with the bush, no, you're letting everyone see it.

Aaron O'Connell: 44:16

You're right, things do change, because I have that exact same testimony of things echoing through my family as well. Got my family to all be coming to just same church as me and from there and one of my sisters one of my sisters has always been really chasing, but the other one is now really back on fire which we've been praying for her husband and because he knew nothing of the Bible whatsoever. And just the other day he's like you know what, I need the good book? Like it was so out of left field, my mom, my, my sister's like what do you mean the good book? Like, thinking it was like a title of a book.

Aaron O'Connell: 44:53

He's like no, the Bible, you know. And like, because when you start seeing that change I know I radically changed, you know, and just it's going through that family. Just like you said, it just multiplies. And I love that because we really need to be encouraging others in that faith and not neglecting us meeting together, as Hebrews 10, 23 through 25 says, because it's so important to stick together, because then that's where the Holy Spirit really shows up and just multiplies, like you said yeah, he perfects us through relationships with others yeah, I love it, but yeah it.

Aaron O'Connell: 45:35

Just to round off this podcast, is there any advice or any last words that you would like to do and just give to the listeners of either you know how to either strengthen themselves or how to just encourage them, or how to be more mature in their faith?

Heather Vecera: 45:52

whatever it is, just, no matter what you've gone through, god is is for you, he's not against you. And don't be too hard on yourself, give yourself grace and just lean into him as a friend, because that's what he truly wants to be. Is is your friend, and no matter what happens to you, no matter what you go through, what you face or you could lose everything, but if you have him, you have everything that you need, and that is that's the best word of advice I can give you well.

Aaron O'Connell: 46:36

Thank you so much for just joining in with me and having this conversation, and yet it's. It's just been a blessing with you on this podcast and just being able to spread the word of God, heather he's been a blessing to be with you well, thank you so much for joining me. All right, you have a great day you too.

Heather Vecera: 46:55

All right, bye.