Finding Joy in God – Heidi Carpenter

Heidi grew up in a home with parents who taught her to love God and were good role models of being stewards themselves. Heidi worked at developing a relationship with God for herself. At first she says “it was like eating dry shredded wheat. But then as time went on it became like eating ice cream.” Heidi shares her journey of following God’s leading and growing in faith. Visit our website: https://www.nadstewardship.org/i-am-a-steward/ Follow us: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nadstewardship/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nadstewardship/ Transcript: So, I grew up in Wichita, Kansas, out in the middle of nowhere. And yet, five minutes from the closest Taco Bell, so it wasn't that bad. I grew up in a really spiritual home. I had great parents who talked to me about God, and we had family worship every night and in the morning. So I definitely grew up with that foundation, really good parents to look up to who were stewards of their lives and of their time and their money, giving everything that they had for God. So, during my high school years, I definitely had a lot of peer pressure in my life, like every other young person. And I hadn't really found my own relationship with God, just for myself. And as I started to study the Bible, at first it was like dry Shredded Wheat. I was trying to eat it and understand it, and it was difficult, a little bit boring. But, honestly, as time went on, it was powerful because it ended up becoming like ice cream, I mean it was one of the most joyful things I could ever experience, getting to know God and really having an experience with Him. I ended up going away to school for my senior year in high school. I met a friend there who had done a youth ministry during the summer called Youth Rush. And she told me about it. She said, "You should come. We sleep on floors. We knock on doors. It's great." My first reaction was that sounds like a lot of hard work. But, I ended up taking her up on it, and my parents were excited for me to go. That summer, God became so real to me. He wasn't just a God who was up in the sky somewhere, but he was a God who was working through me, and I really saw God at work. I remember just really feeling like this is real life. This is real purpose, real joy, real happiness, and I loved it. I fell in love with God and working for Him. In January of 2011, I got an invitation to move my whole entire life down to southern California and become the literature ministries director. Which meant I got to oversee and build a team of young people who were excited about sharing Jesus through literature and work with tons of adults and members and churches to also distribute literature far and wide. So, it's been the most impactful journey these last eight years with literally hundreds of young people who never would've had this experience had that not stepped out in faith to serve with Jesus. I am a steward because God is my joy.


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