Have you ever watched a person do their thing, that they do exquisitely well, and say I wish I could do that? For example, watching Ina Garten make her delicious Lemon Parmesan Chicken with Arugula Salad Topping, or Joanna Gaines decorate a room with shiplap, rustic shelves, and décor that takes your breath away. Now go one step further and actually try to do it yourself and then totally fail? I have been there, trying to sew like my grandmother did on her machine making beautiful quilts. But alas, I inevitably get the thread from the needle caught around the bobbin and it is a mess! This week’s podcast guest can help you see another way around that “thing” you are attempting to do but were unsuccessful.
The podcast I am reviewing this week is “Jesus Over Everything”, or JOE for short, hosted by Lisa Whittle, author, speaker, podcaster. She is interviewing Kendra Adachi, author of “The Lazy Genius Way”.
Lisa begins the interview stating, “You are here to help us embrace what matters and ditch what does not, get stuff done.” Kendra enjoys making new systems for systems that do not work for you. She doesn’t necessarily hack the system but she will make a new system so it works for you. Kendra remarks, “Make a path for something to work, when something that could work for you as it runs, as it is created to be, is already there.”
There are processes that I can look back on and say yeah, I did not continue down that path because the way it was presented did not work for me. But is there another way, another path we can take that will make it work? This is Kendra’s gift.
Lisa brings up a good point, when we try to get tasks done that are not working, sometimes we either try harder or just give up.
Kendra’s reply to that was, yes, totally, we do try harder or give up. An example could be cooking homemade food. A woman who has a family and feels like she has to cook a homecooked meal every night. We think that to make it count we have to do it every night and by Thursday you resent it. Then you try all of these recipes and cookbooks and you say well I am obviously terrible at this so we are going to eat hot dogs, cereal and frozen pizza from now on. The next time you want to grill some chicken up you say no I cannot do that I am terrible at cooking. If we do that in every area of our lives, working out, cleaning, your job, parenting, whatever it maybe, becoming anti recall of these things, go big or go home, try harder or give up. That is why I wrote my book; it is not all or nothing. We need to create our own system that matters for us not something that works for the person who created the system!
Lisa reaffirms; this is great, there is a third option, and maybe you didn’t consider it. It is not all or nothing. Some people feel like they cannot hold two truths at the same time.
Lisa consistently ends all of her podcasts asking her guests the same question. I believe this part of the podcast is the milk and honey, or coffee and cookies, if that is your preference. “What is the last thing you would say about Jesus if could only say one more thing?”
Kendra’s reply: “That He loves me and how crazy is that? When I think about the title of your show and that concept of Jesus Over Everything, the over is the emphasized word for me. When I think about Jesus’ love for me, He is literally over everything. He is both, that there is a gift to my own life when I basically put that in the number one spot, because He is over everything. I can let the other stuff go. The pivot point, the fulcrum, of my embracing what matters and ditching what doesn’t, it is based on the fact that Jesus is over all of it. Because He loves me. Is to really experience and believe the beloved-ness of me to Jesus. That I have to do so much to get Him to love me, to get Him to like me, to be glad that I am around. Knowing Jesus loves me, if I were to never do another thing again. Knowing that He cares about everything that is in my life, not because I am poor and weak in spirit but He also created me to be strong and wise and all these other things that He is living out of in me in the world. It is the beautiful companionship. The mystery of Christ in me, that is the hope and glory. It begins and ends with love for me. If I forget that Jesus loves me, then it is all about me again, and then I swinging from trying harder and giving up. I keep trying harder and giving up and this middle is because of His unconditional love for me. It takes the pressure off of the all the doing and listing, optimizing my life, or the being this person that other people think I should be. Jesus loves me and it changes everything.”
That, my friends, is what we need to focus on, that Jesus’ love for us changes everything. Without Him we cannot do anything of real purpose. If we put the focus on us then we lose the connection that we have to the Father and we begin to make our work an idol. When we are weak,He is strong. Jesus is our other way when we are looking at ourselves and thinking how can I do this? His way is the only way that leads us down the right path.
For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is that you may be fully restored. 2 Corinthians 13:8-9
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” John 14:6-7
I would recommend you listen to the podcast; Kendra gives a few examples of how to implement her method in your life. Plus, the small talk at the beginning of the episode gives you a glimpse into the beginning of their friendship.
I pray this has helped you in a small way. Let me know in the comments section what is the last thing you would say about Jesus if could only say one more thing?
Jesus Over Everything, Season 4, Episode 36, Kendra Adachi.
The Lazy Genius Way Book by Kendra Adachi
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