[00:00:04] Speaker A: Welcome to the Arkansas Baptist Women podcast. This year we are focusing on what it means to be an Arkansas Baptist woman. A woman who loves the Lord, lives on mission for the gospel, is present in her calling, is trained and equipped to lead, and is sold out to Jesus. I'm excited to talk about life, ministry and our relationship with Jesus. So grab a cup of coffee and join the conversation.
[00:00:26] Speaker B: Hey, sweet friends, it's Andrea. I hope that your day is off to a great start. I am so excited to come to you today with one of our very sweet friends, one of our very dear friends. In fact, when we have Tara do on the podcast you download, you listen at such a great rate that we know we need Tara on this podcast at least once a year. So, Tara, welcome to Arkansas Baptist Women podcast.
[00:00:48] Speaker C: Thank you, Andrea. I love the women of Arkansas. So this is a huge honor to be here with you today.
[00:00:55] Speaker B: Well, you are becoming pretty familiar with our state. You've been here several times. I know we have invited you a couple of different times to speak and to teach, and then your family has been here. I'm just so thankful for the connection that we have, you know, in the SBC family. But just as sisters in Christ, you're such an encouragement, you're such a joy, and we love it. So come to Arkansas every chance that you get.
[00:01:21] Speaker C: I will. I will.
[00:01:23] Speaker B: And I'm excited. I'll be in New Orleans soon, hanging out with you at a bide conference. And so just a beautiful relationship that God is developing between us, but also through just, you know, podcasting and teaching times with the, with the baptist family. All right, Tara, you have a new book coming out. Are you so excited?
[00:01:45] Speaker C: I am. I have all the emotions. I am so excited that it's finally here. But there's also this, like, fear and trembling because you're releasing this baby out into the world. And I just pray that people will know my heart as they read these words and that they will love Jesus more as a result of it. So in my heart right now are all the emotions, excitement, happiness, fear. It's all together. But more than anything, I just pray that God would be so glorified through this book and these words that ladies need to hear.
[00:02:21] Speaker B: Absolutely. And it's, it's titled overflowing Joy. So we all know that you are a woman of joy. We also know and have been able to hear some of the teaching through our conference on John 15, which is the heart of this book. So tell us just a little bit. Just, you know, the background of this book. How you came to write it, what this message means to you.
[00:02:42] Speaker C: Yes. So John 15 has been one of my favorite chapters in the Bible for years. It's one that I had studied personally. It's one that had just really marked me because I want to be a woman who abides with Jesus and has this joy. And verse eleven just really struck me because Jesus says, I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. But that word complete really means genuine, full, contagious, overflowing. And that's where the title comes from, overflowing joy. But as I read verse eleven, I just was struck because I thought, well, what are these things that Jesus is telling us of how we can have his joy in us and have this contagious, genuine, full, overflowing joy? And so in verses one through ten, it's really kind of some surprising things that he says about how his joy can be in us. And really this teaching topic just became an overflow of this personal study that I had done of this passage. And over the course of about two to three years, there were just a lot of churches or associations or state conventions like Arkansas, who invited me to speak. And when I'd asked them, what would you like me to speak on? It was John 15 over and over and over again. And so as I began to just teach these lessons that God had put on my heart, I could see that it was an encouragement to women of women who were struggling, who might have been anxious or frustrated or depressed or discouraged or going through hard times. And as they learned about God as our gardener who will prune us, it resonated with people. Or as we talked about being women who stay or abide or remain, that was really a concept that women knew because we had just gone through Covid-19 and this stay at home order. So this idea of, like, dwelling and staying is what abide means. And it was resonating with women.
And then in verses the last part, verses eight through twelve, Jesus is really talking about loving people. And so that was another thing that was just resonating with people because Covid-19 and political conflicts and campaigns and other things were bringing up a lot of tensions, even in families, in churches.
And so this call to love one another, well, I just think John 15 was very timely. And so as I was being asked to teach these concepts and these lessons over and over again, is the same time that lifeway approached me and said, we'd love for you to write a book, and I'll have to be honest, andrea, I am a teacher. I love speaking. I love teaching. I had never dreamed that God would call me to write a book, and I was so honored by their request. But at the same time, I said, friends, I am a teacher. I love speaking.
And they said, well, let's take what you have taught and turn it into a book. They said, there's two kinds of writers in the world. Those who are writers that love writing, and then we'll get into the speaking world, or those who are speakers who just turn their speaking into writing. And so I am most definitely the latter. I love teaching God's word. I love speaking about the Bible. I love encouraging women to know and love God and his word. And so this book is really birthed out of just the lessons I've taught at churches, at associations, at conventions. And I took my points, my teaching points, and turned them into chapters in a book. And so that's how the book came to be. And it's my very first book, but one that I believe in this message wholeheartedly, and it has impacted me, and I've seen what it has done in the lives of women that I've been able to teach these concepts to. And so though I wish I could be sitting at a coffee shop face to face with women and telling them about God's love for them and the joy that they can find in Jesus, I pray that as they read the words of this book, that they would feel like I'm just sitting right there with them, talking through John 15.
[00:07:24] Speaker B: I know they will. You know, I heard you teach through John 15 twice, and both times, it was at a poignant moment in my journey when I was struggling with, you know, probably frustration over some of the pruning going on in my life, wondering, Lord, you know, why are we going through this process? What does a body look like in the midst of this? So both times, the Lord really used that passage to encourage me to continue to persevere in his commands. But when you think about women and what they're struggling with today, what are some things that you see out there, you know, when you're speaking to women, teaching women, just maybe interacting with them, what are women struggling with today?
[00:08:04] Speaker C: Women are caring a lot.
I think more so now than in any point in history. Women are trying to juggle a lot of things.
They're using their giftings and their passions in the workplace. They're raising children and being married at home, or maybe they're single and caretaking for parents or caretaking for foster children. They're involved in their church. They're carrying a lot of responsibilities in the church. And so the overwhelming thing that I see with women today is that they're busy. Women today are pulled in a lot of directions and add social media onto that and the value that we find, or that we think we find in being busy and posting all the things we're doing and having this running life, not to mention when you add on any type of extracurricular activities for your kids. We've got moms who are, you know, leaving work, picking up kids from school, taking them to soccer, taking them to baseball, running into cheerleading practice or dance or fill in the blank, and then rushing home, trying to cook something healthy for dinner, or maybe you're doing pick up and take out. And so the overwhelming thing that I see with women today is just that they're busy. But our busyness actually is creating more anxiety and isolation and depression than I've seen ever among women. I really believe we are in a mental health crisis across the United States, and I think our busy schedules are contributing to that. I think social media is contributing to that. And I think because of those two things, because of the busyness and because of social media, many times we are lacking genuine relationships with people, which leads to isolation and loneliness and depression. And so it's kind of like spiral that many women, including myself, at times, have found myself in. And you feel like you're barely keeping your head above the water, and you're just treading water, trying to keep everything afloat, and you don't feel like you're doing anything well. And so I really. My heart breaks for women today because Jesus told us that he has come to give us life and life to the full. It's the same idea of this overflowing. Right. He has come. He has given us salvation, not so that we can just survive through life and make it through another day, but so that we can be living full, rich, overflowing lives that are filled with the fruit of the spirit, love, joy, peace, patience. And so, as I think about what God's commands are for us to have this overflowing life, I see that a lot of women just are struggling, and we don't have that today.
And my heart breaks because as believers, we should be the people who have the most love and the most joy and the most peace. And all of those things are not based on our circumstances. They're based on our relationship with Christ, but our busyness, our attention to social media, our loneliness, our isolation, all of that affects our relationship with Christ. And so if we are so pulled in so many directions, then we're not spending time in his word, we're not spending time praying and communing with him. We're not spending time loving his body, the church. Right. So it's just this spiral that I see so many women in.
And that's one reason why I really wanted to write this lesson down for those that I can't speak to.
[00:12:06] Speaker B: Yeah, that's so good. And, you know, our culture feeds into that, and our culture normalizes that. And then if we're not discerning, if we're not, you know, in the word, we'll just fall right in line with that. And like you, you know, so beautifully articulated, it becomes the rat race where we're just going to keep up and we think that that's what we're supposed to do. But, you know, like John 15 are that beautiful reset I. For us to really go, okay, I want to be led by the word of God. I want to live according to God's plans and his purposes, and that leads to overflowing joy. In your book, you talk about three pathways, and I know you referenced that already, but I want us to really highlight those three pathways and really speak into how those pathways help us to understand, you know, a biblical mindset, a kingdom focus, and also, I just think, a baseline for the definition of biblical joy and then what our time on earth is really all about. So tell us about those three pathways.
[00:13:05] Speaker C: Yeah. So John 15 begins in verse one, talking about God as our gardener. And what I love is that Jesus is talking about his heavenly Father, who is our heavenly Father. If we are found in Christ, if we are believers, then we have a God who loves us so much and has planned plans and purposes for us. And a loving gardener does not let his plants grow out of control and get so big and overstretched and overcrowded and overspent that they can't bear fruit. And so Jesus actually says that the first pathway to finding this overflowing joy is through God's pruning as our gardener. And so the first three chapters of the book really talk through. What does it mean that he's our gardener? What is. What is pruning? What is that? You know, it's not the little purple fruit that you eat to keep everything flowing, right?
It is a process where God, as our gardener, cuts back parts that we don't need.
And we see that in our lives. And so we really explore that through part one about how his pruning to us can look a lot like loss. But our God loves us and is purposeful and is wise with how he prunes us, and it sends our roots deeper. And in that deepening process where we learn our dependence on God, we begin to bear more fruit than we ever dreamed possible. So part one is all about God's pruning. The second part and the second pathway is all about God's presence. And this is where Jesus says the very familiar words, I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me will bear much fruit. And apart from me, you can do nothing. But in those four verses, the word abide or remain or stay or dwell. That's all translated that same way. It's seven times in those verses. And so if we were just to be Hebrews who were hearing the word of God, it would be stay, stay, stay.
And as Christians, as we are just busy and running all over the place, this is a reminder that our joy comes from staying with our God, remaining in his presence, abiding in his presence, waking up every day knowing Jesus loves me and he's with me. He is Emmanuel, and with him I have everything that I need.
And so part two really explores the pathway of God's presence. And then part three of the book explores the third pathway. And that is all about persevering in God's commands to love. And so there is this real call to action after you've been pruned and as you are remaining in God's presence. We are to be people who bear fruit. We are to be people who remain and keep his commands. And he says, very specifically, love one another. And you and I both know, Andrea, there are people who are easy to love, right? And then there are people in our lives that are hard to love. But Jesus is so countercultural. And he says, yes, love those that are easy, but you're also going to have to love your enemies and pray for those who will hurt you. And so part three of the book really explains this command of loving one another and persevering in that even when it is difficult. And so those are the three surprising pathways that Jesus tells us to finding this joy of his presence. And I come back often to the verse in psalms that says, you know, restore to me the joy of my salvation.
And that's really where joy comes from. Joy comes from Jesus. He wants his joy to be in us and to be overflowing, but we are like empty pitchers that can't muster up this joy. We can't white knuckle it. We can't just try harder. It has to come from our vine. It has to come from this relationship with Jesus. And he is the source of life. He is the source of love. He is the source of joy. And the Bible actually will say things like, God is love. Not just the source of love. He himself is love. God is joy. God is peace. And so if we want to have that, we've got to stay connected to him. Not in just a five minutes a day quiet time, but in every part of our life. We have to find our joy, our peace, our love, in our salvation, in our relationship with Jesus. And then as we live in that relationship, we allow his love and his joy and his peace just to flow through us to those that need it.
[00:18:35] Speaker B: So good and such a great reminder, you know? And I love how the word of God keeps us focused, grounded, and moving in the right direction. And that's so much of what John 15 does for us. It is the reminder. This is how we are to live. And I love that practical application of it. Love one another and let that fruit just flow to the glory of God. And I just love that. Okay, so I think you've answered this in several different ways, but I want to give you a chance to just succinctly say, what do you hope your readers, the readers, gain from this book? Whether they're in a coffee shop, whether they're in the carpool line. Maybe they have five minutes, you know, before they fall asleep at night. What is your prayer for the reader?
[00:19:18] Speaker C: So I wrote each chapter to be pretty short. I wanted them to be able to read it if they had five minutes in the carpool line or if they wanted to tack it on to their Bible reading. At the end of the day, each chapter is meant to be able to be read quickly and easily.
At the end of every chapter, if you have more time, you can look up some other verses in scripture that have the same concepts or the same lessons. And then there's even some kind of reflection questions that you could use to reflect on your own, or if you wanted to take a group through it, maybe you could take a group from your neighborhood or a group from your kids school or a group from your workplace.
But it hopefully would allow women to have some discussions about the rat race we're in and how God calls us to something radically different.
And so it can be read individually, it could be read with a group. But my prayer is that as women read this book, that they would know how much God, their gardener, loves them and how Jesus, their savior, came to give them life and to give them a joy that is so overflowing that it is contagious to everyone around them. And I pray that they would know him and they would know his word more. This is a chapter that in christian circles we talk about a lot. But I really pray that as they dive in and they see these verses in a new way, that God meets them right there on those pages and teaches them about how to truly be women who abide with him and who remain with him and do hard things like loving other people. Because Jesus says, by our love, this world will know that we're his disciples. And so we've got to be women who have a joy and have a love that is spilling out and I splashing out to everyone that's around us. And so that's my prayer. As they read this book, may they know their God and may they learn how to be women who have overflowing joy.
[00:21:32] Speaker B: Amen to that, sister. Well, we are going to join you in that prayer. Your book launches February 20, is that correct? So it's so soon.
In fact, this episode will drop once your book is already live. So that means women can order it today. How do they connect with you? How do they find this book?
[00:21:51] Speaker C: That's right, so you can buy it anywhere books are sold, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, borderslifeway.com. if you go to overflowingjoybook.com, that's actually a website all about the book, you can download discussion questions, you can download images, and you can also use hashtag overflowingjoybook. And that will help you see the other women who are reading it and commenting about it. And so I pray that it's a blessing to you and that you can just order it from wherever you want to.
[00:22:25] Speaker B: So good. Well, thank you so much, Tara, for joining us. I'll put all of that information in the show notes as well as two teaching sessions where Tara was in Arkansas at our women's conference teaching on John 15. So our listeners are going to have so many opportunities to connect with you, to connect with this message, and we're praying that God will use it to lead to overflowing joy. So, Tara, thanks for joining us, and we can't wait to see you again soon.
[00:22:50] Speaker C: Thank you.
[00:22:52] Speaker A: Thanks for listening. I hope today's episode helped you embrace the full, free, abundant life that Jesus provides. Don't forget to follow like and subscribe to the Arkansas Baptist Women podcast. If you would like more encouragement to help you grow in your faith, visit our
[email protected]. abw come back next time as we continue to talk about how we can worship, grow, connect, serve and share together. I can't wait to talk to you soon.
