Which Treasures Can Bring Peace & Happiness?
Jul 30, 2024Bible, Women & Bathrobes, Episode 33
Sermon on the Mount, part 17
Summary
Tamara Anderson and Kari Anjewierden discuss Matthew 6:19-21 emphasizing the importance of prioritizing God and heavenly treasures over worldly things to find peace and happiness in life. They shared personal experiences of how prioritizing God helped them manage life's challenges and stressed the need to recognize and value the gifts and talents God has given us. They touched on the importance of seeking miracles in our daily lives as evidence of our worth in God’s eyes, as well as the importance of constant vigilance and service to stay focused on God's love.
Main Takeaways
- From Kari, “It's easy when you get into that space of comparison and and not enough to discount those gifts. And and I agree with you those also should be our treasures and more beyond that we should be those who receive treasures we should be seeking and asking for. I need the gift of patience today. I need the gift of love today. I need, you know, especially if we know we're going into a situation that's going to challenge something. We can ask for those things. And God may be can strengthen us in those areas where or where maybe we need a little bit more help.”
- From Tamara, “I'm thankful for that reminder that every day, it's that recommitment. It's that vigilance, to put [God] first--to focus on treasures that truly matter and to ask for his help to do that.”
Today’s Podcast Hosts & Guests
Tamara K. Anderson
Tamara, founder of Women Warriors of Light, is a dynamic speaker, award winning author, and a podcaster. She is driven by her Christian faith to inspire faith in Jesus Christ. Alongside her husband, Justin, she navigates the joys and challenges of parenting four children with autism, ADHD, and mental health hurdles. You can find out more about Tamara on her website: https://www.tamarakanderson.com/
Karalee Anjewierden
Karalee Anjewierden is an author, motivational speaker, and fulfilled mother of six. She has appearanced on several podcasts and presented at various retreats and events. Karalee is an avid story seeker, passionate about connecting with people and places. She loves to travel and does so extensively, collecting new and wonderful stories, friends, and miracles she can share along the way. Find her online at www.pocketmiracles.com She is also on Instagram and Facebook @karaleeanjewierden
Transcript
Tamara Anderson 0:00
What kind of treasures do you like? Gosh, if you think about that, My mind goes crazy and you know I see the images of movies of gold and silver and stuff like that. But today we're going to talk about the kinds of treasures Jesus encourages us to seek for in the Sermon on the Mount, so stay tuned.
Tamara Anderson 0:22
Welcome to Bible, Women and Bathrobes the podcast where faith meets comfort. Join us Tuesday and Thursday morning. As the gals from Women Warriors of Light and their guests, don bathrobes and dive into the inspiring stories of women in the Bible, and the teachings of Jesus Christ. From Esther's bravery to the Sermon on the Mount. We explore it all with warmth, laughter, sisterhood, and maybe even a few sleepy eyed moments. tune in live or at your leisure as we learn lessons from scripture which empower women today.
Kari Anjewierden 1:04
Welcome to another episode of Bible, Women and Bathrobes. I'm your host Tamara K Anderson. And joining me today is one of the amazing members of our Women Warriors of Light Advisory Board, Kari Anjewierden. And Kari, thanks for being here.
Kari Anjewierden 1:19
Thank you for letting me have this opportunity. I'm excited.
Tamara Anderson 1:24
And I just wanted to introduce Kari because she hasn't been on the podcast with us before, just so you know a little bit about her. So Karalee Anjewierden, and she goes by Kari is a motivational speaker, author and fulfilled mother of six. She has appeared on podcasts and presented at many retreats and events. She's also an avid story seeker, passionate about people and places. She loves to travel and does so extensively collecting new and wonderful stories, friends and miracles along the way. So Kari, we are excited to have you today.
Kari Anjewierden 2:04
Yeah, thank you.
Tamara Anderson 2:05
All right. So today we are talking about Matthew chapter six, verses 19 through 21. And we are continuing our discussion on the Sermon on the Mount. And today we're talking about what Jesus told us about treasures. And so I'm going to read this first verse here in verse 19. He says, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust death corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal." And then we'll all read these next couple of verses. So I'm just going to pause right there.
Tamara Anderson 2:44
And maybe Kari and I can have a discussion here about what do you think this means for us today about not laying up for ourselves treasures on earth? Because that is something that it seems to be what we seek for, you know, in our society, like, how are you providing for your family, you know, how much money do you have in your 401k? I mean, it's it so much of our society revolves around these earthly treasures because they can be used to take care of us. I don't think that's what God's saying here. And we'll just get into that discussion probably next week when we dive into the next couple verses, but what do you think about this earthly treasures? What do you think Jesus is saying here? Kari?
Kari Anjewierden 3:35
It seems to me from what I'm seeing, around me, earthly treasures are anything that takes us from God. Like, it could be, you know, how you spend your time, it can be it can be financial money, those kinds of things. And I do think people seek for riches, I've fallen into that myself, you know, that that I want, I want I want I want. And instead of being content with what God has given me, and using it for his purposes, I want to do what I want to do.
Kari Anjewierden 4:18
And I think those become some of our earthly treasures where we're not seeking God in those moments. And I think, for me, what I think that for myself, you know, what are those treasures and what did they do for me? And am I replacing them? Am I replacing God with them?
Kari Anjewierden 4:44
Oh, yeah. Because you were talking about that it made me think back to the 10 Commandments. And you know, how He tells us to put no other gods before us him, you know what I mean? And I think I think Here's wisdom in that, you know, where we pointing our priorities and stuff like that.
Tamara Anderson 5:07
I found an interesting verse in the Old Testament. In Ecclesiastes, chapter five, verse 10, that I think kind of goes along with these earthly treasures. It says, "He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver, nor he that loveth abundance with increase, this is also vanity." And so and then in Isaiah kind of files that up, and it says, "and wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times and strength of salvation, the fear of the Lord is his treasure."
Tamara Anderson 5:40
And so it those two verses kind of go back to back in the contrast between, if we're seeking for things of this earth, like that being. And I think when he's saying treasure, he means something that is in our heart, something that is in our soul, something that we truly prioritize and strive for. That those things like it says, Here shall not satisfy, it's not going to satisfy our soul.
Tamara Anderson 6:14
If you pause and think, and even if I pause and think, what are my greatest treasures? You know, it often ends up pointing my mind towards the people that I love. You know, the, the, perhaps my greatest treasures are the things I have learned the experiences I have passed through the wisdom I have gained my relationship with God that has been strengthened as I pass through those hard things. Those as I pause and really think back about. And this is obviously transitioning into these next verses.
Tamara Anderson 6:53
But and so I may as well read them, then we can keep going. But he says, "But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust corrupt and where thieves do not break through nor steal, For where your treasure is there where your heart we also." And that kind of goes back to what I was saying, what is in my heart? What are my greatest treasures, and these are things that people can't take from you. You know, no matter how great the wickedness you're living in, these are things that you can treasure and hold dear. No matter what. And I'm thankful that. And I'm not saying you can't lose and grieve people when when they pass the other side, because that will happen. But from that heavenly perspective, we will be with them eternally. Right, in the hereafter. So any thoughts there Kari on, as we add this second layer of seeking for treasures in heaven, and what that means.
Kari Anjewierden 7:55
One of the things that just stuck out to me is if you're reading 19, and 20, they repeat each other, which tells me that that is so important. That's one of those things where it's like neon signs point this way, right? So this is important to God. He's trying to get a point across to us, and are we paying attention?
Kari Anjewierden 8:22
That I think that piece of that you were talking about this, those things that are most meaningful, our family, our, our faith, those kinds of things are things that people can't touch. And the you know, where thieves can't break through and steal, they're not going to corrupt. They're not going to rust. They're timeless, those things.
Kari Anjewierden 8:47
And I think some of those who survived the Holocaust and how how they survived was, where their treasures were. They focused on their faith and on their families. And that was what saw them through when everything else around them was chaos. And was being destroyed. Right? Literally. So it's a it's a safety feature. God is preparing us for how to stay safe in the world that we're living in. When things are falling around us. How do we only those treasures wherever our heart is, hopefully that's God. If we're looking to him these other things aren't gonna matter. Yeah, you know, the storm raging around us doesn't matter. or if we have Christ's hand and he is helping us to walk on water. Yeah.
Kari Anjewierden 10:10
Which which makes me want to ask the question because if you pause and think about our world today, of course, whatever God is pointing towards and saying, think about these treasures in heaven. These are the things that are most important. Satan is obviously going to tote the other, right? It's fame, its prosperity, monetary prosperity. It is and the valuing that above anything else. You look at the true greats are supposedly greats of our time. And so many.
Tamara Anderson 10:44
I look at the youth growing up nowadays, and so many of their idols are people on YouTube or Tik Tok or something like that. And I'm not saying that all of those things are bad. But I think you have to kind of pause and say, Has that become your treasure? You know? are you prioritizing that above maybe praying every day? are you prioritizing that above reading your scriptures? Or maybe serving someone? Those are the things that truly keep our heart pointed in the right direction. And prior, I think this is a matter of priorities, don't you think?
Kari Anjewierden 11:27
Absolutely! Yeah, as you were talking, I thought it came to me was when my kids were small. I felt like I was drowning in all of the to dues and you know, just life that comes with having a large family, you know, six kids. And I remember meeting once a woman who had 12 Kids,
Tamara Anderson 11:52
oh, my gosh.
Kari Anjewierden 11:53
And I said, How do you do it? Because I'm drowning of six. And this woman, she just seemed it she always had a smile on her face. And I couldn't figure it out. So I finally this day was asking her, what does she do? And she said, Oh, I learned long ago that I have to put God first in my day to make my day go, okay. That was so mind blowing for me at that moment. And, and I was like, Okay, well, if it worked for her that I'm going to try it.
Kari Anjewierden 12:26
That was what got me through when my kids were small, and life was hard. Because things come at you that you're not expecting. If I put God first if I went to him first thing every day, and and set that stage for my day. It's not that hard things didn't happen. But I could manage them. God was there helping me manage them. I wasn't alone. If I put him at the last of my day, and you know, fell on my knees at the end of the day, and was like, oh, today was hard. What can you do about it? Right? So starting my day, bringing him in, and and setting my mind with that priority. He was number one, then he can take those pieces, the other priorities that I have, and help me manage them in a better way?
Tamara Anderson 13:29
Well, it's truly treasuring what is most important, and then he helps us keep our focus on what's most important, right? Absolutely. I found another verse that I think goes along with all you've been saying here. And, and it talks about giving and how that that puts our treasure in the right place. He says, "Give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure and heaven." This is Matthew 19:21. And as you were talking about helping your kids and trying to juggle all of that it's not just giving to the poor, it is giving and serving.
Tamara Anderson 14:09
And if we had like a heavenly bank account, I think that's what he's saying here is that by giving and serving the poor giving and serving your children giving and serving your neighbor, these are things that you know, we bring another parable into the parable, the bridegroom that put oil in our lamps, and have and keep our light burning in the Midnight's of our lives you know, these are things that help us truly prioritize the greatest treasure which is God and our connection to him and and also our connection to his children here around us on Earth that these are the the greatest treasure.
Tamara Anderson 14:52
And so I guess I know you've mentioned prayers and connecting with God first thing as as one of the things. What are What are some of the things that are? Maybe these are things I'd like to brainstorm? What are some of the things that help remind you to put heavenly treasures, and the love of things that are perhaps more eternal first, in, in a world where it's like, there's flashy signs everywhere and on our phones, to put other things as a priority? What do you think things are that help you with that?
Kari Anjewierden 15:28
I'm putting focus in places for me. I speak miracles. And I, that is one of those things that has become for me one of those places where I'm going out in my day, every day and I'm looking for, for God specifically, where is he? Where are those touch points, those fingerprints that are showing up, they may not be big, they may be a fingerprint. You know, I mean, doesn't have to be a Moses parting the Red Sea, but where, where is he showing up? And if I am conscious of that, and I'm writing those things down, like I'm conscious enough that at the end of the day, I'm going to write those things down. These are my miracles for the day, that keeps me focused a little better on, on where he is, and what's most important.
Kari Anjewierden 16:24
And then, just like you said, this, the serving of others, loving people. I have, through some of the experiences that I've had, over the last couple of years, I've come to really know the importance of that four letter word, love. It is ultimate. That is the whole reason for everything that Christ has done for us is love, right? And that's what he wants us to turn to other people. And in a world that is chaotic and troubling. Being able to love other people unconditionally brings God into your life in such a way that nothing else can, at least for me, it is truly beautiful. So this morning, I was reading in Romans 13, this is in verse 10. And it says, "Love worketh with no ill to his neighbor. Therefore, Love is the fulfilling of the law." It's about love. You can't go wrong when you're loving people. They can't help but bring God into your life and and and then you're sharing his light with other people.
Tamara Anderson 18:01
Yeah. Well, I love what you've said here about you know, we started you start off saying the prayer, and the scriptures. But then you talked about looking for miracles looking to see God's hand--even a little fingerprint in your life and recording those. They help you stay focused on what's most important seeing his hand in your life. I love that and then you talked about the importance of prioritizing love both of God and of those around us. And love can be tricky sometimes. There's there's been times in my life when I was pretty angry at God. Did I still love him? Yeah. But I was pretty angry at him. Just because of the circumstances I was in that I was just like, What the heck God? What are you doing here?
Kari Anjewierden 18:54
I think we've all been there at some point. Oh yeah. And I think
Tamara Anderson 18:57
Oh yeah. And I think the same is true of loving our fellow man that you know there's times that my love is still there but I'm kind of frustrated with my spouse or a sibling or a parent or one of my kids. You know it's tricky that love God and love your neighbor like wholly and complete that is I know it's the first and great commandment to love God and the second to love our neighbor as oursleves. They are hard
Kari Anjewierden 19:30
yeah
Tamara Anderson 19:31
Right? and so when we can truly invite God in and have him help change our hearts. So that these are our treasures you know that God is our treasure, that loving and serving and our fellow men are our treasures. And I have to bring in that loving ourselves too. you know, that is something that adversary really pounds women on especially hard, is oh, I can love and serve everybody. But I am at the bottom of the totem pole.
Tamara Anderson 20:06
And I don't think that's the way God wants it. You know that we are one of God's treasures as well. And it's
Kari Anjewierden 20:12
absolutely
Tamara Anderson 20:13
really important to love and care for ourselves. And so that's why those negative thoughts, especially when we're feeling down worn out or exhausted, gall, I think that's one of the greatest tools of the adversary to not treasure, our worth and our priority as daughters of God. Any thoughts on that?
Kari Anjewierden 20:36
Yeah, I think that the word that came into my head, as you were talking is comparison. If you if you know your worth, you don't compare yourself to others. If you know you're standing before God, you don't compare yourself to other people. But if you don't have that love for yourself, you're going to be looking at everybody else to see what they have. It's a goes back to that contentment a little bit again, right? Am I content with what I have? Who I Am? And that's something I've struggled with in my lifetime, is my self worth, and who am I? And do I matter? And am I enough? You know, those age old things that I think I think men have them too, but I hear them mostly from women.
Kari Anjewierden 21:41
And that is a feeling of lack. Right? It's not enough. But God has abundance and to spare. And so if you can come to that place, ask God to show you. If you don't, if you're in a place where you don't know your worth, have God show you. He will show you.
Kari Anjewierden 22:07
And that was what miracles did for me. When I first started, I was looking for a way to overcome that comparison in my life, and to find out who I am, who am I and why do I matter? And, and it was just, you know, start small one miracle day and where am I? I'm there. And when you see him showing up for you time and time again, in these tiny, tiny places, that should be insignificant and not matter to the God of the universe. Wow, you come to know I'm worth to him. And he loves me. And then what that did for me after I could see it in myself, I could see what he was doing for other people too. If he's sending me miracles, he's sending you miracles. He loves you. He loves them. And it takes it takes the comparison away. And, and brings that abundance in so completely that that lack disappears, because you know he's there. Because you know, he loves you.
Kari Anjewierden 23:31
No, that is so beautiful. Yeah. It's powerful to see and begin to understand just even a glimmer of how much worth we have in the eyes of God. Right? And that we are His treasures. And, and I think because that is so important. That's one of the things the adversary really harps on is is trying to make us feel small and little and insignificant. My goodness, so whatever the adversaries touting look for the opposite.
Kari Anjewierden 24:12
Right? But also sometimes I think you have to have, you have to be watching though. Because sometimes he throws in a subtle something that is counterfeit. That looks like God, but isn't quite it's just off just the slightest bit. And you're if you're not paying attention, you're gonna find yourself in those corruptible things. I mean, all it takes is one one degree off right for a plane or a boat or something to go miles and miles out of where they were supposed to be going.
Kari Anjewierden 24:54
So those things are so important too, just we have to we have to constantly be watching We can't get comfortable, I think is, is what I'm coming to is. If these treasures of God are so important that he has told us twice, don't let your treasures on things of the earth, put them on me, then we have to be vigilant. We have to stay focused, which is hard, and it's tiring. Which I, I think also goes back to that love and that service. If I have you in my life, if I have other strong people in my life, you can help me stay vigilant. I don't have to do alone. I mean, God's with me too, right, with all of us. We don't have to do it alone. May be exhausting. But he sends us help.
Kari Anjewierden 26:03
Absolutely, yeah. The other parable that has been going through my mind, as we've been talking this morning, has been the parable of the talents. And how God gave, you know, different people different amounts, like five, three and one talent to three of his servants. And the one that had five, you know, while his master was away, went and developed them, and, you know, gave him 10 talents, when he returned. And the one that had three, also doubled it. And the one that had one, buried it, because he knew his Master wouldn't be happy if he lost it, you know.
Tamara Anderson 26:45
And it made me kind of pause and think, as I was thinking about that, and kind of with regards to what we're talking about here about treasures, is that perhaps one of the things that God wants us to treasure is that self development--the gifts that He has given us. Like, He wants us to develop those as well. That he's given them to us for a purpose. And there's whole chapters in the Scriptures about the gifts that God gives and gifts of the Spirit and stuff like that. But the reason he gives those is so that we can love and serve each other. And, and sometimes we feel like our gift is so small that we just want to hide kind of like that, that last servant that was given one talent, one coin, perhaps. And we're like, oh, but I'm a nobody. And I'm just gonna hide here.
Tamara Anderson 27:36
When really what God is saying is these are treasures too. And you can multiply them and grow them and become more. I know that at different times in my life, God has given me perhaps a starting talent, or it's starting challenge that I had to learn and grow and overcome. Often people will look at me and say, Now, Tamara, I can't believe how patient you are, especially with your special needs kids. And I said Oh! It is who I have become I wasn't this way initially. You know, patience is something that I've had to learn to grow and develop. And am I patient all the time? No. But it is something that has surely increased in my life.
Tamara Anderson 28:24
And so that those things, developing these gifts and talents that perhaps maybe patience was a very, very small gift that I had initially. But now it's something that has grown. And I'm not saying I'm perfect in it, but it has definitely multiplied in my life because of the challenges that I had. And so that is something that I can treasure that I've become better with God's help, you know what I mean? And so that, that gifts and talents, and seeking for good gifts and talents and developing them that these are things that can also be our treasures. And any thoughts on that Kari?
Kari Anjewierden 29:04
I I really love that perspective. Because I think then you're absolutely right. It's easy when you get into that space of comparison and and not enough to discount those gifts. And and I agree with you those also should be our treasures and more beyond that we should be those who receive treasures we should be seeking and asking for. I need the gift of patience today. I need the gift of love today. I need, you know, especially if we know we're going into a situation that's going to challenge something. We can ask for those things. And God may be can strengthen us in those areas where or where maybe we need a little bit more help.
Kari Anjewierden 30:03
But I love that that idea of, of those being our treasures and and appreciating more fully the gifts that we've been given that we develop. Because in the end, those are the things we take with us, right, when we leave this life. We can't take anything else--But what what we've learned, those things that we've developed, and the love that we have for people.
Kari Anjewierden 30:39
Yeah, absolutely. Oh gosh, my take away probably from all this is. I liked how you said that. That remembering to prioritize God took constant vigilance, and that treasuring him and putting things that truly matter eternally matters. He says, here were things that people can't take away from us-- these eternal treasures, that it takes constant vigilance and constant seeking to remember these things. Because the adversary is constantly throwing other stuff at us. And so it's that refocusing. I'm refocusing today on what matters most to me--That is God and the things that are important to Him. And which are the things I need to be prioritizing, right.
Tamara Anderson 31:34
And so I'm thankful for that reminder that every day, it's that recommitment. It's that vigilance, to put him first to focus on treasures that truly matter and to ask for his help to do that. Because this is something that, that we, like you said, we tend to get off one degree or two degrees or 10 degrees and, and it's that constant Oh, wait, recalibrating, going back. I feel like it's like, you know, going on when I'm going on a journey and then I take the wrong way, my GPS is like Tamara recalculating. That same thing. It's that same concept of Okay, it's time to recalculate. It's time to refocus on what matters most.
Tamara Anderson 32:20
And I think that's the great thing about God is that he doesn't expect us to be perfect, just to be doing our best and striving and trying. And that is good enough. So awesome. Well, thanks guys for joining us this week, and diving into heavenly and earthly treasures and what matters most. If you're struggling with this, like, both Kari and I are. Try to take something that we talked about today and implement one thing that will help you to focus more on the treasures that matter.
Tamara Anderson 33:00
Thanks for tuning in to Bible, Women and Bathrobes hosted by Women Warriors of Light. We've loved exploring the stories of remarkable women are the teachings of the Savior today with you. If today's episode brought someone special to mind, be sure to spread the word. And don't forget to hit that subscribe button so you never miss a moment of inspiration and sisterhood. Just a friendly reminder, all opinions we share are entirely personal as we are trying to decipher and apply Bible teachings just like you are. Until next time, stay faithful. And may Your journey be blessed and illuminated by God's love.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
