I vividly remember reading Jack and The Bean Stalk on my trundle bed with my dad when I was about eight years old. He would hold the book with his right hand hovering above our heads while I laid on his left arm like a pillow. He animated his voice and used baritone accentuation on the Fee, the Fi, the Fo, and the Fum for full dramatic effect. Through literary imagery he described a massive giant who lived in a land far, far away.

Years later I’m telling my dad a story of a giant, but the land far away isn’t so far and the giant is simply a giant of faith.

On Tuesday I had the amazing opportunity to sit under a woman I admittedly knew little about. Sure, her name is wildly known and her teaching is heard by over 4.5 billion people a week, but beyond the television programs, bible studies, and conferences, what does anyone really know about Joyce Meyer?

After spending the day with the 70 year-old legend, I can’t help tell you the truth about sitting next to a real-life giant. Unlike most giants, this 5’7 woman doesn’t tower in height, but in faith. Christine introduced her spiritual mom with a bio that left my mouth agape. Joyce has been teaching and in ministry for over 30 years, written over 70 books, teaches the bible through media outlets across the globe reaching millions each day, has given away 30 million books in various languages as resources to those inside and outside of the church, and shared over 75 million dollars for the poor and needy across the world.

Fee! Fi! Fo! Fum! And we’re only getting started.

Wisdom and knowledge, like fairytales and legends, exist because its are shared. In a culture of exchange and sharing, true learning occurs which is why I would be selfish not to share with you some of the amazing things I learned seated next to a giant.

Some thoughts on ministry…

• Stop trying to impress people. As long as you want to impress people, you will never be truly free.
• Always ask yourself why you do what you do? If you can’t articulate it, it’s not clear.
• Don’t wallow in your failure OR success. Focusing on both of those takes away our focus from God.
• As a teacher of God’s word, make sure you are studying for yourself before you are studying for others. Don’t spend learning about God while neglecting being with God.
• How do you discern God’s voice? Pray that He open the right doors and close the wrong doors. If its God’s will, it will bear fruit.
• When starting a ministry, it’s not about what’s sleek, cool, and new… all you need is God. One day those methods will be outdated. Methods don’t work because they’re “cool.” They work because God anointed them.
• Yes, Jesus was a friend to sinners, but He never let them think their sin was ok. We need to love and embrace the sinner, but we must never condone the sin.

Some thoughts on comparison…

• If you don’t have the same gift that someone else has, you’re not going to get it by being jealous or asking for it.
• When you get to the point where you’re not in competition with someone else, you will have peace with others and yourself.
• Everyone can do something that someone else can’t do.
• Recognize who God uniquely created  you to be.

Some thoughts on how to complete the call set before us…

• Take care of yourself physically. If you feel God has given you a passion and a call for a specific task, eat well, sleep, exercise, and be responsible with your heath. You can’t be the person Christ has called you to be if you aren’t healthy and alive.
• Don’t do stupid things. Don’t disqualify yourself because of sin. We know what’s right. We know what’s wrong. It’s really not hard.
• Set out to finish. Anyone can start something, but a leader will finish it.

These are just a few nuggets I wanted to share with you because it would be selfish for me not to. I’m not sharing fables and fairytales, but shouting wisdom from legends who roam the earth humbly and teach others to live for something other than themselves.

Fee, fi, fo, fum,
B