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Hello, Fearless One.

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Today is all about celebration.

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This is episode seven, and I think that's worthy of a celebration.

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So let's celebrate.

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Hi, I'm Nerissa Golden, host of the Fearless One podcast.

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I'm an author, strategist, mom, entrepreneur, and I love my big brother, Jesus.

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I get a kick out of helping my friends and clients unlock the value in their gifts

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and business.

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And for the next few minutes, I want to encourage you to do the same.

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Let's go.

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When was the last time you celebrated?

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I hope you celebrate your birthday and that of the people closest to you.

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But the kind of celebration I am talking about doesn't have to involve anyone but yourself.

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It may not involve cake or ice cream,

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although a nice slice of cake or a tiny cupcake won't go amiss.

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I just want you to think about something that you've achieved recently that you need

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to say, way to go girl, you did that.

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It could be passing a test or remembering to take your vitamins.

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That reminds me, I should probably take mine now.

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Or maybe you spoke up for yourself at work or had

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that difficult conversation you needed to have with a friend or employee.

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I want you to stop what you're doing and say, yes, you did that.

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I know I am often guilty of focusing on what is yet to be done

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and I have not looked back to see how far I've come.

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The target is always a moving goalpost.

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You figure that out in the moment when you finally achieve something

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and you realize how quickly the joy dissipates.

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Then you are on to the next thing to try to capture that feeling.

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We live on if only I could or when I get this done, then I will be happy or feel successful.Your

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success has already been guaranteed.

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So why not celebrate now?

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The victory that Jesus won for us was a complete victory, never to be undone.

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You can't undo it.

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So you might as well celebrate the goodness of your loving Father who sought

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to your success and you finishing strong even before you began.

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Ecclesiastes chapter 5 verses 18 to 20 in the New English translation reminds us

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that we should enjoy the fruit of our labor.

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I have seen personally what is the only beneficial and appropriate course of action

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for people to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all their hard work on earth

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during the few days of their life that God has given them for this is their reward.

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To every man whom God has given wealth and possessions,

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he has also given him the ability to eat from them to receive his reward and

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to find enjoyment in his toil.

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These things are the gifts of God.

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For he does not think much about the fleeting days of his life

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because God keeps him preoccupied with the joy he derives from his activity.

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Psalm 126 in a new international version says,

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when the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed.

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Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy.

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Then it was said among the nations, the Lord has done great things for them.

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The Lord has done great things for us and we are filled with joy.

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I remember as a little girl that my sisters and I would be kidding around

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and we would be cackling with laughter.

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I could hear my mom calling out, y'all go ahead, we're laugh, be cry, be.

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I got to tell you that I have heard that voice many times over the years.

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Now, I don't want you to get the idea that my parents were bad parents.

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It was simply them repeating what had been told to them.

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They didn't know what they didn't know.

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And now that we do know, it becomes our responsibility to do better.

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Imagine curtailing your children's joy,

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not because you don't want them to be happy,

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but you feel it is your responsibility to caution them that pain is ahead.

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It is what Caribbean people do and people of Afro descent and I would say the same

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for cultures which have been displaced or marginalized.

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That's what they do to prepare their offspring for survival.

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And we genuinely believe that making them feel afraid and not so giddy with laughter

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and good times is how we are going to raise them right.

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I can think of instances where I have said things to my children in much

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the same vein to temper their joy rather than celebrate the fact that they are safe

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and feel free enough to laugh.

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Express themselves and dream of more of the same.

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I am telling them where laugh be cry be, essentially.

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Once I catch myself,

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I rebuke the words I've said and certainly apologize to them for what I've tried

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to put on them.

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But there are so many songs that we grew up listening to old slave hymns

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that they sang to keep them pushing in the heat and under the whip.

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But we sing them as if it is still our current state.

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I'm climbing up.

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On the rough side

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of the mountain, I'm doing my best to make it in.

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I could literally hear it playing on PJD2 in the morning,

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every morning as we were preparing for school.

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We grew up singing songs about trying to make it into heaven.

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Heaven is already guaranteed once we accept Jesus as Lord.

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Here's what Jesus said in John 6 verses 37 to 40 from the message translation.

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Jesus said, I am the bread of life.

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The person who aligns with me hungers no more and thirsts no more ever.

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I have told you this explicitly because even though you have seen me in action,

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you don't really believe me.

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Every person the Father gives me eventually comes running to me.

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And once that person is with me, I hold on and don't let go.

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I came down from heaven,

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not to follow my own agenda,

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but to accomplish the will of the one This, in a nutshell, is that will.

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That everything handed over to me by the Father be completed.

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Not a single detail missed.

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And at the wrap-up of time,

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and at the wrap-up of time,

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I have everything and everyone put together upright and whole.

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This is what my father wants,

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that anyone who sees the son and trusts who he is and what he does and then aligns

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with him will enter real life, eternal life.

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My part is to put them on their feet alive and whole at the completion of time.

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I need you to understand that this is not on you.

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Jesus has no intention of letting you go.

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If you have children and remember when they were little,

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or maybe you've seen a parent or a sibling that's with a toddler,

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especially if they finally mastered walking and running,

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their every goal is to run away and you've got to keep holding on to them

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because you know they can't survive without you.

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It's the same way with you and your big brother, Jesus.

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He's like, Daddy put me in charge of you.

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And so no matter how much you fight and think you're grown,

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I'm staying right here, close to you, in you, with you, guiding you.

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Because when daddy asks me what happened to Nerissa or Andy or John,

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I'll be able to tell them everything is under control.

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Here they are.

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This is how important you are to God.

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Isn't that worth celebrating?

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Hey, Fearless One, this is Nerissa Golden.

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I know you already have a copy of my book, Live Fearless.

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A Christian Entrepreneur's Guide to Life and Business.

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It's on your bookshelf or on your Kindle, but you haven't cracked it open yet.

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I want to encourage you to do that.

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Read it a little at a time and work through the reflection questions at the end of each chapter.

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If you don't have a copy, be sure to get yours in the format you prefer at amazon.com.

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A wonderful way to celebrate is to create a memento of the occasion.

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My mom loves to send birthday cards.

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There was never a birthday when we were young when there wasn't a card with a sweet message.

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Of course, she always wrote from mom and dad.

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We all knew full well dad probably never even saw the cards,

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but the birthday wasn't complete without a card.

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You may not send or receive cards, but maybe you take a photo.

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Or I love to keep the ticket stubs from special events.

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I think I'm going to need to get an old fashioned album to stick them all in.

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Everything is digital today, but some things are worth holding on to in the physical world.

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Ecclesiastes chapter three,

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verse four reminds us that there's a time to weep and a time to laugh,

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a time to mourn and a time to dance.

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We can become very good at pressing towards the next thing without stopping

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to recognize what has already happened.

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After the children of Israel crossed the Jordan,

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God instructed Joshua to take 12 stones from the river and establish

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a physical memorial.

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You'll find this story in Joshua chapter four.

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When your children ask in time to come, what do those stones mean to you?

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They were to explain what God had done at the Jordan.

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The stones became a memorial for Israel and a message to others of God's power.

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Celebration isn't only about enjoying the moment.

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Memorializing successes, small and great, turns today's victory into tomorrow's testimony.

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So be fruitful,

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recognize what has been achieved or produced,

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multiply,

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tell the stories so others can learn from it,

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have dominion,

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build something that remains after you and teaches the next generation.

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Now take a moment to reflect on God's goodness to you.

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It could simply be that you woke up.

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It could be that you woke up and didn't have to rush off to work because you're on holiday.

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It could be the fact that you have a job that is meeting your needs.

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Whatever it is, pause and do a jig.

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Pause and clap your hands, shout, praise God, celebrate.

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Take another moment now.

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I want you to write it down or voice note it to yourself or better yet, send it to a friend.

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I am celebrating today because I am alive or I just passed my test.

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Barely, but I passed it.

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I made my first reel to promote my business.

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I sold my first product I made with my hands.

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Give God the glory and certainly create a memorial for it.

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If we do not learn to celebrate the small wins, guess what?

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The big wins will be further away.

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In fact,

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when they do show up,

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you will not even know that it is a celebratory moment because you've gotten into

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the habit of ignoring the little things.

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Living a life where we celebrate the wonder of the little makes us capable

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and attractive to big wonders.

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If you are thinking, why do they always have something new to celebrate?

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It could simply be because they make every moment special.

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So today, I will celebrate this being my seventh episode of Fearless One with Nerissa Golden.

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I will celebrate the fact that you've chosen to give me your time to listen to the podcast.

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I will also celebrate those of you who take the time to comment or message me to say

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a particular episode had an impact on you.

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I am definitely celebrating those of you who share the podcast and

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the associated social content.

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I love you all for spending time with me and I pray this episode is an encouragement to you.

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You are worthy of celebrating you.

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Zephaniah 3.17 reminds us, the Lord your God is with you, the mighty warrior who saves.

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He will take great delight in you.

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In his love, he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.

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Imagine a God who loves a good celebration.

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He takes delight in you.

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He loves being with you.

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He fights for you.

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He isn't rebuking you and he sings over you.

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You are most certainly his favorite, my friend, Live Fearless.

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If you're enjoying the podcast,

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I'd really appreciate it if you'd subscribe,

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leave a comment and share it with someone.

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Those small actions tell the platform these conversations matter

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and help more people discover them.

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Thank you.