302 | You Don't Have to Leave Your Job to Follow God's Calling, with Krystal Parker

Speaker A: A warm welcome to Thriving in christ show on YouTube and podcast. I'm Dr. Ioana Popa. I want to welcome you in renewal conversations, especially around the topic of business and our faith and how to integrate these. And I want to share with you at a beautiful organization that can help support you, especially if you're in business and if you're not. We're going to talk about renewal. We're going to talk about moments when we can integrate a live vocation with Christ and and go over several practices that can enhance your daily walk with God. And if you're a regular, I want to welcome you back. If you're new, welcome to Thriving in Christ show for Christian women, professional and servant leaders. And this show is for you. If you feel at times stressed, depleted, on a busy treadmill with Sunday Night Blues in spite of loving what you do. If you sense blocks in reaching your highest potential for the kingdom, although you're already successful and have a high impact, if you wrestle to fully replenish and access that peace that surpasses all understanding no matter how many programs you tried. If you wrestle to stay grounded, clear and expansive in your impact, especially in high stakes situations, if this is you, I want to welcome you. You're not lacking discipline, you're not lacking faith. More often what is missing is sustainable and skillful renewal. See many of the solutions available today, they can act like a band aid, especially as many of us have already burdened foundations shaped by chronic stress, best events, cultural conditionings and misconceptions. Because many of the solutions available are not in consideration the needed alignment and wholeness that is crucial in order to have a sustainable life in Christ. See, I burn uh out twice. Not because of the lack of knowledge as I'm in the mental health field or lack of faith. And in this show we take a different approach through the integration of science, psychology, Christian faith and spiritual care. This show helps you to return to a place of inner renewal, accessing the living waters of Christ, aligning your body, mind, heart and soul to reduce inner fragmentation and increase your capacity to simplify your daily habits from inside out, building sustainable rhythms to support your life in leadership and accessing clarity, peace and joy and grounded presence and purpose so you can expand your capacity and keep on leading and serving in Christ God for the kingdom. This is not about doing more. It is about learning how to return skillfully again and again to God within or your strength can be renewed and restored and your inner leadership can flow from your soul. I am, um, Dr. Ioana Popa. I'm the co founder for Team for the Soul Institute and I'm a physician, psychiatrist, educator, spiritual care and executive coach and speaker and trainer. And you can find us on teamforthsoul.com and um, on LinkedIn. And make sure you download our app Team for the Soul both on iPhone and Android phones and you can get free resources. And when you join different programs or courses or coaching, you have the resources inside in our Team for the Soul ecosystem. And if you love this show, make sure you share it with others. And if you on YouTube, we encourage you to subscribe. And if you're on podcast to leave us a five star review. And when you're ready to learn how I can support you, just sign up for a free consultation call. All right, Are you ready to grow towards your highest potential with Christ at the helm? Then let's dive in. A warm welcome. Krystal, I'm so honored that you're here. I know we connected must have been a month or more ago at a faith and work conference and I was so impressed by what you're doing for Christian leaders and businesses. So welcome.

Speaker B: Thank you. I am so excited to be here and uh, really so glad we met. It was at the Faith at Work conference in Ohio.

Speaker A: Yes.

Speaker B: And what a conference that was, wasn't it?

Speaker A: Yes, it was amazing and so inspiring. So I cannot wait to hear more. I know we connected a bit, but I would love to unpack your vocation and journey in Christ and what you do and also some of your nuggets of regeneration, self care, keeping you afloat and, and just a float, but really on the vine with Christ. So let's start maybe with what do you do? Now I know this is um, having this Chamber of Commerce for Christians is quite an extraordinary event and uh, program. So yeah, let's start with that. What do you do?

Speaker B: Yeah. So my title officially is the president and founder of the US Christian Chamber of Commerce. And before I bit that off, I was running the Central Florida Christian Chamber as the president. Prior to that I was in oil and gas for 15 years. And so then I got my kingdom assignment when I fully surrendered my life to Christ. And as I was running Central Florida Christian Chamber just a few months in a couple months after Covid, you know, chambers of commerce or I think the first chamber of Commerce was in 1599 in France.

Speaker A: Oh wow.

Speaker B: They did that. The businesses did that. Created that Chamber of commerce for social capital and for strengthen their businesses working together. That's why they did it. And years and years and years, hundreds of years later, chambers of commerce are still in existence. But what happened in the chamber model is the chambers started to look more like the world. And this, the world became a post Christian society. The chambers followed suit. And so chambers became very politicized. They became full of agendas and in many cases against Christian businesses. And so it really pushed out our Christian brothers and sisters that are running companies into the shadows. And my background is business. And so I always say business is my sport. I love business. That's how God wired me. And as it would be just such a beautiful story, only God could write this. The first board I ever served on was a chamber of commerce in El Paso, Texas when I was 34 years old. And then God would put me into running chambers for Christian ch. Christian businesses. So we realized there was a real need for a US Christian Chamber of Commerce, somebody that could help launch Christian chambers and kind of coalesce them as they came together. And so I stepped into that role because there wasn't anything like that that exists at the time in our nation. And so I did that and, and now I just get to use all the things that uh, the Lord has taught me and built me through business to put them together to help Christian businesses use their business as a force for good. To strengthen Christian business by coming together through social capital and transform hearts, lives, cities, states and our great nation.

Speaker A: M so beautiful. And we'll put obviously the links if you listen or if you're interested, if you have a business, a Christian business that to really join. I think that's such a wonderful opportunity. And you said something that really struck me that your background is in business. And I know exactly how you said it. But like this is how I'm wired. Say more about that because I'm coming from more of a healing profession. So for me business is a more of a new thing as I'm, you know, running team for the soul for and my coaching practice for the last 10 years. But it's been interesting to see how that came about. So what was your journey?

Speaker B: Isn't it funny how nothing's ever lost or wasted in the kingdom? Um, right. God uses whatever gets us up in the morning and we can do that to, as part of our worship to Him. So I, you know, always I love business. First business. I had the grand champion pig in 4H and started uh, you know, selling pigs when I was little in 4H and and my brother and I started our first business shoveling snow off of sidewalks and mowing yards and came uh, from a very uh, hard working class, family. And so we got to see hard work and, and how it was important. And so that entrepreneurial journey started very early. My first management job, I was 18 and I was managing the, the swimming pool in our town and I started a concession stand in there. And so I was making money on the concession and running the pool and training the lifeguards and doing swimmin lessons and, and oh my goodness, it just loved it. And so then I go to college and, and had three jobs and was working every day and, and always just worked and just worked really hard. And I never heard the term before, but when, when I was in companies, I was an entrepreneur and I didn't hear that term, but I always just got into my role and made it better. I would take it apart and make it better. And I didn't know that that was not, that was a little unusual. And so every job that I had, I just moved up and, and continue to grow. And so I end up dropping out of college with, uh, 21 hours left of college. I dropped out, moved back to my small town of 300 and I thought, well, I should probably, you know, start working again. And kind of felt like this is kind of the end of my road at a young age. And I started working for a truck parts store that was a subsidiary of an oil and gas company. And I was a temporary worker stocking shelves. That's kind of where my life had become. And I'm, um, stocking shelves and they were looking for office worker, someone that could do the books. I had no idea about accounting, um, but my mom showed me overnight and I came in and tried to wow them and they're like, yeah, you can be the secretary. And so, you know, but every year was moving up secretary M to office worker, to HR generalist, to supervisor in the call center, to selling natural gas on the nine megs, to being the director of the call center, to vice president over the west side of Texas. The one in five women officers in sick of 60 officers in a Fortune 200 oil and gas company. But every two to three years I was moving, people would say to me, are you in the military? And I say, no, I'm in the oil and gas business. And, and um, by the year 12, I became the youngest officer. And you know, that was a real badge of honor for me. And what happened? I was a Christian. I was a Sunday Christian. And to me that's one of the worst kinds of Christians because I would show up at that four wall church and believed, I believed it Wasn't malice. I really believed that because I went to that church for one hour on Sundays. I was a Christian. And I didn't, uh, There was no connection there. It was like I go, that's it. And then I live however I want. I didn't have prayer life, worship life. I didn't read the Bible. I knew God here. I didn't know him in my heart. And so as I'm growing up in business and having these opportunities, I began to worship power, money, worship the work, worship the things of the world. The title, all of the accolades that became my God, Small G. Very important in my life. And, uh, I had my head get bigger, and I made God smaller. And the more money and more power I had, the more I could make my problems go away. And let me tell you, it was insatiable. The hunger for the power and the money, it was insatiable. Didn't matter how much I got wasn't enough. And I just continued down that path. And you know how this story is going to end when someone's worshiping that, uh, you know, God will eventually get a hold of you. But what he did was he allowed me to grow in this company. I end up getting my undergrad in psychology, my master's in marketing. They sent me to Harvard Business School. God was equipping me all along. Sinner, saved by grace. But he was equipping me all along in preparation for my kingdom assignment because he knew he'd get me on my face one day eventually. And I did. I fully surrendered my heart, my life to Jesus Christ. And the living water of. Of, uh, the Lord just washed me clean. And in that moment, I said, I never want to be separate from him again. And somebody said to me, you should check out the Christian chamber. And I couldn't believe that you could be a Christian in business and they could come together. And when that m clicked for me and I got to experience that, I was like, I've got to tell everybody about this, because there's so many people that think it has to be separate.

Speaker A: Yes. Oh, I love that. Thank you for sharing. I love the story. And I wonder how did that came together for you? You. Because it's so true for so many Christians, business is like, oh, I just do this on the side. And then I'm a Christian. So how do they fully became integrated for you so that you feel like, yes, this is a kingdom assignment.

Speaker B: Yeah. Once I fully surrendered my heart to Jesus.

Speaker A: Yes.

Speaker B: And the living water just washed me clean, I knew in that moment, everything I had learned was coming all together, like there was no magic formula. I didn't have to do, you know, anything specific. I just fully accepted Jesus into my heart and I just asked for forgiveness for my life in that moment. That was it. And, and I knew something was different. And I had the abiding presence of Jesus Christ in my heart, spirit, my mind. And I knew, I never wanted to be separate again because I. I never knew that they could be together. So somebody said Christian chamber, and here I am in, in many cases, I knew a lot about God, but I was a baby Christian. I'm coming into this Christian chamber, kind of like looking around for like the weirdos, like the people with that, like with the Bibles, you know, that are gonna beat you over the head with like, I'm looking for the weirdos. And it was actually these really amazing, successful business owners that talked different than I'd ever heard before. They said things like, God is my CEO, I'm co creating with God. They said things like, let's pray about your business problem. And I'm seeing people experience Christ in business. And I thought to myself, I have never fully experienced the fullness of my ability in business until now. And now that I understand how to do it with the Holy Spirit in me, and don't leave Christ here and pick up business here to say, God, what are we working on today? Lord, help me with these problems. God, give me insight. My first book I wrote, I'll never forget this. This was like such a wow moment for me. So I wrote this book called the Best Robot Wins. And the best what it's called. The Best Robot Wins was my first book. And at the time there was no chatgpt. There wasn't AI everywhere in your office. But the Lord showed me that there was going to be. And so it was about really the robot revolution before we even experienced it fully in our offices. And so what, uh, God showed me in this book, I'm writing this book and I was working with a editor and I would send her one chapter and then she'd shoot holes in it and send it back to me. And we went about that, you know, back and forth as the books coming together. And one day she sends me a chapter and she said, oh, I forgot to send this back to you. And I read it and I sat there and read it again and I couldn't believe I said, did I write that? Because I don't. I would have never come up with that in my head. But I. My fingers wrote it. The Holy Spirit was present with me in writing of that book. And it has just been such an amazing book, timeless book. So that was the. But that's what, you know, working as a business owner and inviting Christ in to be with you. There are things that you can accomplish are incredibly different than what you would do in your own strength, with your own will and your own ability. M. You're only going a quarter of the way. You don't even know what's the rest of the way. It's amazing.

Speaker A: Yeah. Well, thank you so much, Crystal, for sharing, and I. If you're listening, I think what I'm, um. There's already a big nugget here that sometimes we feel that our work somehow is disconnected from God's vocation. But I love it that. Crystal, it was your encounter with Christian chamber. You had some model, it was modeled to you that this. The business and Christianity can really go very well together. And all of a sudden, these two worlds merge in such a way. Because I could imagine someone in your shoes, if, without that experience, without that modeling, could have said, oh, what I'm doing about business is wrong. Let me give it my. My life to Christ. And I don't want to do the business. It's money and whatever. And I'm sure you hear a lot of conversations about the money and how. Because there's a lot of burdens and a lot of misconceptions about that. How would you explain to someone who is leery a bit about, oh, money and God? I. Does this work? You, uh, must have a much more integrated model for that. What would you say?

Speaker B: So I was speaking at an event, and it was an event that was not a Christian event for Christian businesses, just in the world. And I was talking about my book, the Best Robot Wins. And I was sharing in there about this is not religious. It's biblical, because I use biblical principles to teach business. And it was funny because I could kind of see a spark coming alive in people's eyes. So I go out and I'm signing books and I'm talking to people, and a gentleman comes out. He leans down very discreetly, and he says. He says, I'm a Christian. I said, great. He goes, in three years, I'm going to retire and I'm going to become a pastor. And I said to him, sir, you already are. And you have the greatest opportunity to reach people for the kingdom right where you are. Most those people that are unchurched are in the marketplace. Only seven of 10 are in the marketplace. Only three of those go to Church. So uh, our greatest opportunities there. And so people think that I have to leave the business.

Speaker A: Yes.

Speaker B: To go sell my whole everything to go into ministry. And that's just not true that people think they have to give up what platform, their passion and everything to go serve. And what we want to do is really connect the dots in their businesses so that they understand we need successful Christian businesses. There's an another really neat statistic in it's 840 times. So Christian business leaders have 840 times more impact to reach the unchurched than a pastor from the pulpit on Sunday. Meaning as uh, marketplace is one of the most strategic mission fields that we have. And we need business owners and business leaders that are willing to, you know, just walk the talk and to truly operate excellent businesses for his glory and his goodness. And in doing so, people will come to them and say, hey, what's different about you as the CEO? And it's amazing. Um, one of the other objections I get in this is if I, I say I'm a Christian, then all these other clients are going to not want anything to do with me and I'm going to lose business. M mhm. And what we have found is that when you're your most authentic self as a business owner, truly authentic of who you are, how you serve, yeah, you might lose business, but uh, it's kingdom when you take the narrow path, it feels more scary and hard and uncomfortable. But their reward is greater and you might m have greater business, more opportunity because you've declared who you are publicly. We really recommend that people put in their mission something about how they follow Christ and that be part of their mission. One of my favorite companies that I love to study and look at is called Correct Craft. And they're a billion dollar boat company and in their mission it says building boats for the glory of God. That has been with them for years and years. And it's a billion dollar company and they are the most incredible stories and miracles that have happened and that company has continued to grow, grow, grow, grow. And they're not just selling boats to Christians, but they're publicly declaring they're building boats for the glory of God. It's the most amazing thing.

Speaker A: That's so beautiful. I appreciate that and I love. You know, in the conference, Work and Faith conference, we were talking a lot about bringing God was in a certain through his creation. Right. That was his first workmanship. He's the first business, so to speak, if you think about it in terms of creating and we have so many examples in the Bible. And what would you say, coming back to my question about money, because many people, especially in Christian circles, are like, uh, uh, money. I don't know how to understand that. Do you have like a one sentence or something quick that you could say about how you understand money?

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: In the marketplace from a Christian perspective. Yeah.

Speaker B: Yeah. It's not yours. It's not yours. And when you covet it and you hold on to it and you act like it's yours, you act like you deserve that or you own that. Just think of the story of the rich young ruler who came to Jesus. And Jesus and he said, I've done all these things. I've done all the work. I've done all this. You know, what's holding me back from the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus says, are you willing to give away all your money? And he walked away sad because he wasn't. Because money can create a tie, could create a hook. It could create something that holds you back from fully understanding that God owns it all.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: And it's stewardship that you get an opportunity. It's. It's not yours. You don't own it. You're stewarding what God's given you. And if you can look at it like that, you will not be anxious about nothing. Instead, pray about everything. You will understand what it means to be connected to the vine and stay connected to the vine because that is your source. Money is not your source.

Speaker A: Right.

Speaker B: Covet and chase and focus and. And think only about money. And sure, I'm a businesswoman. P L is important. Balance sheets are important. But the source of that money is not what you think it is. It's not your top customer. It's not your matrix, your spreadsheet. The source is Christ. If you go to the source, then you will be so surprised at how many new revenues and ways of earning money will open up to you that you've never experienced before. And so I think that's a really important question that you ask. I think it's. It's incredibly wise to ask that question and fully understand. What is this money thing? And why do people hold on to things and jobs that they hate in places they know they're not supposed to be? And customers that drive them crazy because they think they're holding on to the money. And in the end, you're actually holding on to something that is going to cost you far more than what it's already cost you. So people m. Let go and trust God. And when you do that, it's an amazing journey. And it's truly a blessing in the end. It's a. It's again, going down the narrow path.

Speaker A: Yeah. Wow. So beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing. Very inspiring. And I know even in your story. Right. Starting the U.S. chamber of Commerce, it's been a lot of letting go of what was, what was comfortable to what's uncomfortable. Right. And I would love to hear a bit about that. But before we do that, do you have, in all the seasons in your life what has been sustaining for you? It could be anything, obviously. Prayer life. You already shared your connections with God in a very deep way. What are some of your rituals, body, mind, heart and soul that help you stay on the vine and prevent chronic stress? Which I found for Christians, it's so. It's rampant because we want to give so much to God. You want to give, give, give, give, give. And it's difficult to say no because many Christians feel like, oh, my goodness, I'm selfish if I do this. So I'm curious, what are some of your practices that keep you.

Speaker B: I, I love what you're asking because especially like you're. I'm serving God. I'm in mission work. And so how, you know, they. And then. And you see more families fall apart and things go out of alignment in missionary and pastoral because they kind of give it all to the church and then it creates unhealthy rhythms.

Speaker A: Yes. Even in business and, and whatnot is just because we have our work, our vocation, and then we have family and then we church and volunteering and it's like non stop. Right. So what keeps you going?

Speaker B: It's non stop. I'm a big time blocker. I really am. I'm, you know, at first it, I heard it said this way once. If you say yes to everything, you're not saying yes to anything. Really thinking about what am I saying yes to. And every time I say yes, there's a cost to that. Yes. And so, you know, because at first you. I'm starting. I'm starting U. S. Christian Chamber. I'm like, I got to figure out what this even means. So someone says, we want to come here. Yes. You want to take this call? Yes. You know, everything I could do is yes. Because I was trying to figure out my path. And, um, I realized that it also creates habits in saying yes. The next thing you know, you're on like eight boards. You're serving here, you're doing these things, and then you start to resent them and feel bad about them. And so I think if I could give anything away to your audience that I think could be helpful. It is learn to say no. It is a complete sentence. It's a complete sentence. No. And it's liberating to be able to say no. And if you think that you can't say no or that you have to say yes, then you kind of think the whole world revolves around you. Trust me, things will get done. Things will move on. People are not gonna, you know, fall off of the end of the earth because you said no. And what you're doing is you're protecting yourself and you're protecting your family. Because when I was in corporate, I was very imbalanced and I had a, uh, my order was off. It was, you know, tower money, keep the house afloat. Then maybe family, then maybe, you know, God kind of trickled in. And it wasn't God first and serving God creates that order of families. Very important. Rest. The body is very important. And yeah, there's going to be seasons where you get unhealthy and out of balance. But he gave us the greatest example of to rest. You know, I mean, he showed us rest. God, trust me, God did not need to rest. He wanted us to understand the rhythm of rest. And, uh, because he, God, can do anything. And the blessing of that is he showed us rest and he gave us a healthy rhythm. Um, and so I know that that Sabbath, whatever day it is for you, is so important. So if you, you know, I heard a pastor say it this way. Some people think that God gave us, us nine commandments and one suggestion that is just not true. It's part of the ten commandments. And we do need to rest. And your body needs it. And your family will thank you and your business and ministry will thank you also. Yeah.

Speaker A: Oh, thank you so much. And if you are listening and multitasking, let's come back. So there are some important nuggets here. Time blocking, I think that's so important. Like. Like put it on your plan or like, whatever you want to do, including time for rest. Number two, learn to say no. Remember this? No is a complete sentence. I love it. And we have to remember, whenever we say yes, we say no to something else. So what is the cost? I appreciate that. And the third one, it's so true. And I've experienced this to Crystal. It's so humbling. We are not like the center of the universe. And when we say no to something, sometimes God has a place for someone else to come in and bring their gifts to the table. And the last one of course, the Sabbath. Thank you so much for that and I'm so sure we could just talk some more. I have so many more questions, but before we wrap up, and I want to go over your Bible verse, tell the listener a little bit about the US Chamber of Commerce. How can they find you, and why is it so important to join? I know I joined about a month ago, and I'm super excited because I experienced the thing that you said. There are chamber of Commerce in the area and people are nice and polite, but there is a clear, uh, sense of, of not having my faithfully aligned. So, yeah, Say more about your call to run the U.S. chamber and how can people find you and sign.

Speaker B: Um, yep, just head to uschristianchamber.com and you'll be able to find out all about it. And I think the big thing is, and I love what you just said about people understanding, like, there's great chambers out there, and in many cases it's not either or it's yes. And there's not going to be another chamber that's going to be able to help you understand how to use your business and bring Christ into your business. And just being in that community of people that get it, like, it's so fun and refreshing when you find your tribe, your family, and, and you can come together with them to really, you know, grow as a believer, grow as a business owner, but also grow as someone that is aligning faith in business and using your business for a force for good in this world. And it's a very powerful thing. So I would just say, join us. You are not alone out there. Don't choose to be alone. Social capitals important in this game for business. And there is a family waiting for you.

Speaker A: Beautiful. And I know there are several programs that they have available and level of, of membership. Right. They have ability to network. Say a bit more.

Speaker B: Yeah. We meet you where you are. We never want money to be a barrier to enter. We have different programs based on. Some people join us because they have more time than they have money, and they're looking to start to build their business and they want to join the networking events and get connected and grow their social capital. Social network relationships are currency, and they're probably one of the strongest currency that you'll have. And then we have some programs where people have more money than they have time. They want to be a part of this. They want to support this mission. And that's our President's Council, our corporate memberships, or even and partnerships. And they have a quarterly Mastermind where they come together with others just like them, but they just have less time to commit and they want to be involved at a higher level. And so we meet you where you are. We have programs just for you and what you're looking for. So you can jump on our website, uschristianchamber.com, click that join now, and it's going to take you through all the different memberships. We even have a listing membership where you literally can just list your business in our public directory. Because we do know that people shop Kingdom, and we want to encourage people to shop Kingdom. So if they can find a local realtor that is a Christian, like, I. I know people have moved all over the place. Imagine being able to go to a directory and look for a Christian realtor in the city you're moving to, or a Christian plumber, and the list goes on.

Speaker A: Oh, uh, beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing, Crystal. This is so encouraging, and it's beautiful to see what God has inspired you and what you said yes to to God. So thank you for that. And is there a particular Bible verse that motivates you to really push forward in your vocation and keep saying yes to God and no sometimes to other things that they're not in the plan?

Speaker B: Well, I definitely have one of those verses that's really encouraged me and given me hope and strength. And Deuteronomy 31:6 is kind of our family verse, my daughter and I, our life verse. And it's be strong, be courageous, do not be afraid of them. For the Lord your God is with you. He will never fail you nor forsake you. And that truly has been one of my best companions on this journey. Uh, I. You just can't discount the importance of knowing God's truth if you can commit it to memory or put notes around your office, places that you are. Because the devil is a liar, the devil is real. And, uh, he seeks to rob, still kill and destroy your dreams, your hope, your future, your family. And there he's the author of lies. And so you don't have to go far to maybe hear lies. Whether it's sticking thinking or it's reading things or seeing things. And if you can commit God's truth to your heart. So I love that you asked this question in your podcast because we need to really sear the word of God on our heart, in our minds, on our lips. What I loved about Jesus, when he was. He was tempted three times in the desert, he would say, it is written, yeah, the word of God. And if we can say to the enemy and to the liar, to the devil, when times are hard, when we're discouraged, when we don't know the next step, when God's calling us out of teaching into launching a business, we can say, be strong, be courageous. Do not be afraid of them.

Speaker A: Them.

Speaker B: The Lord your God is with you. He will never fail you nor forsake you. He will never leave you on this journey and encourage you in that way. And so that's my favorite verse and many, many more, but I don't think we have enough time here today.

Speaker A: Yes. Oh, my goodness. Thank you so much, Crystal. This has been so beautiful and encouraging and inspiring. So thank you for all you do. God bless you. And how about if we wrap up with a prayer? Uh, how about if you start and I'll follow?

Speaker B: Awesome. Well, Father, God, I thank you, Lord, that you would allow us to use the airwaves and media, and we have the freedom to do that in our nation, to be able to pray together and to speak your name and to publicly and openly declare your goodness for our life. We thank you that your word is true. It is the living word of God.

Speaker A: God.

Speaker B: We thank you, God, that we have access to that in America, that it's not just something that's saved for sacred roles in the church, but that we get a Bible in our hands, in the palm of our hands, even in many cases. And so, Lord, we just want to thank you that we have the freedom in this nation, 250 years and growing and going with the nation that is open and said says under your name, in God we trust. One nation under God. We thank you, Lord, for that. I thank you for the ability to be here today. God, whatever words need to stick, let it stick. Father, if there's anything that is not pleasing to you, let it just fall off and not. Not even stay where it shouldn't. Lord, we just want this to be an encouraging word of hope, hope encouragement, and everybody just to maybe strive just a little bit more 1% better with new ideas or insights that you could give and only you can give. God, we trust you and we thank you in your mighty name.

Speaker A: We praise you, M. Amen. Thank you, God, for Crystal. Thank you for her witnessing in you, God, and following you, and for the US Christian Chamber of Commerce. May you bless it abundantly. So many more are Christians that are part of this organization, and in the. In the country, they can flourish. They can find ways to support one another while glorifying you and bringing your lighting for the kingdom. And we Lift up also the listener. May you bless her abundantly. Hold her in your palms, Lord, and may you guide her, give her strength and hope and be courageous and bring her provocation into light. And may she know that you are going before her and your whole holding her. And surround her with protection and inspiration and light. And we pray all this in Jesus name.

Speaker B: Amen.

Speaker A: Ah, Amen.

Speaker B: Amen.

Speaker A: Uh, thank you so much Crystal for today. I so appreciate you and may God bless you and um, God bless everything you're doing.

Speaker B: Thank you so much. And may God bless you in this hard work that you're doing. Thank you for being a courageous leader.

Speaker A: Thank you. Thank you so much Crystal for everything you're doing and thank you as a listener. I don't take your attention for granted. I wish you have a wonderful, wonderful rest of the week and I pray for you. I'm sending you many blessings. And if you like to connect with Crystal through the chamber of Commerce, the U.S. christian Chamber of Commerce, we'll put the link in the show notes and if you want to connect with us teamforthesoul.com and you can sign up, we have a program that can help you build daily sustainable short practices. It's called wake up to your soul. You can sign up and we have the sign up in the link and you can also sign up on our website and if you are ready for me to support you through spiritual care, life coaching or executive coaching, you can set up our complimentary consult. I have help people with burnout, with grief, but also expand capacity for leadership. And then quick reminder, we have an app team for the soul you can download on your phone or tablet with free resource and it's also an ecosystem for your journey in us supporting you. And with that, thank you for all you do and I say goodbye for now.