490: How to Make the Hard Decisions in Life
with Author Nicki Koziarz
Flooded
Kathi is here with long awaited guest: three time best selling author, Nicki Koziarz to talk about how to make challenging decisions. So much of the clutter in our lives is caused by avoiding decision. As the clutter continues to build, we are flooded with choices, and that can leave us feeling overwhelmed. Even though many of the decisions we are faced with on a daily basis are small decisions, they can seem very daunting causing us to continue to avoid them. Listen in as Kathi and Nicki give us some hard truths that can help us develop our decision muscle, including:
- None of us are exempt from hard things
- How to deal with the emotion attached to the clutter
- How to make hard decisions when it seems contrary to what’s expected
Flooded: The 5 Best Decisions to Make When Life is Hard and Doubt is Rising
Through the painful loss of her mom to a brain tumor and her brother to suicide, Nicki Koziarz has learned that if doubt is left undealt with, it can cause the presence of unbelief to flood our lives, to the point that faith becomes unrecognizable. Hard circumstances often stir something so destructive in a soul: doubt. In the midst of her pain, Nicki looked through the lens of the biblical account of Noah and discovered five decisions a person can make to help deflect the destruction of doubt.
When you are wrestling with doubt and fighting back hopelessness, Flooded will help you:
- Quiet the fear that God won’t come through by discovering the difference between wishful thinking and biblical hope.
- Resist the urge to control the uncontrollable by finding peace in between the problem and the promise.
- Find the familiar faithfulness of God in His Word when it feels like nothing is normal and everything is falling apart.
The reality of hard times holds a decision for each of us to find hope. And the decision to find it is yours. But you don’t have to do it alone. It’s time to rise above doubt, together.
Links Mentioned:
Giveaway: For a chance to win a copy of Flooded, answer this question in the comments below:
Tell me a time that God met you in a decision and gave you the strength to make it OR tell me something that you are working through right now?
Meet Our Guest
Nicki Koziarz
Transcript
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Right now in life! When God reminded me that his here for me as I raise my 4 kids. I felt overwhelmed and like I can’t (and shouldn’t) do it all. Then someone text me a reminder that God is there for me to reach out to and he can help carry my burdens.
Currently, I am trying to make decisions regarding my future career and whether or not I should stay home with my children.
God met me when we were making major career decisions that would involve significant moves.
When I thinking about taking a job in place I had never been and did not know anyone, God brought three different people to me to point me to go. And I am so glad I did.
Our family is in transition with one kid in college and one who will be next year and we are trying to decide if we should sell our house and downsize, and where the second child will actually be going to college.
Trying to make some decisions about our family. Having trouble figuring out what is God’s leading g and what is all the extra noise around us.
After losing my mom unexpectedly at 72, caring for my disabled father until his sudden heart attack, all this while my marriage was lost and the divorce going on for over 5 years now, I’m so tired.. making decisions what to let go are extremely hard and my house is full with my parents “collections”. God supports me and gives me strength to not give up but take small steps. Find joy in the little things and be grateful.
God met me when I decided to give away the beautiful horse saddle my grandfather made and my father did the leathercrafting design on.
It was an agonizing decision, especially with the recent passing of both my parents. However, God reminded me, 1. I live in the city, 2. I’m not about to invest in a horse, 3. Someone else will be blessed with the use, and workmanship, of that saddle.
Yes, it was an heirloom, but it was also meant to be a blessing.
Now, looking back, it is comforting to see how God has replaced that sorrow with His joy, and with His precious new mercies every morning.
In the midst of my doubting and fear He is ever loving, kind, faithful and immutable!
Oh my this was a great episode! Flooded sounds like an amazing book! The past 6 years have been a bit of a rollercoaster for us, we’ve lost our 3 year old niece to pediatric brain cancer, lost a close cousin in a car accident, we lost our last 3 grandparents, we lost a close friend and amazing mom of 4 kids to a heart attack and we lost a close pastors wife to a rare cancer. On top of that we’ve moved to two different towns. I’m an introvert with kids so meeting new people is something I have to push myself out of my comfort level to do but we finally are settling in here in our small town. During covid we decided to finish our family and add baby #4. We all love our little caboose. We knew it would be an adjustment. It happened to also end up being a hard year at my husband’s job. He manages a grain elevator and well it’s been a rough time with people. The calls he get from customers (some Christian) and the curse words all through the day. Some husbands are thinking since their wives friends with me that they get extra special care (better prices, etc) at his work. So I’m confused with who are really friends and who might just be to see what benefits they get from my husbands job. All that to say… my husband is talking about moving again and now we have a 6 month baby along with our other three amazing kids. I’m tired, I want to throw a fit because I don’t want to move again and figure out all the details that come with moving and I’m tired. I know we will be making a lot of important decisions in the next 6-12 months. Thank you for this episode? I need to go back and reread the Bible about Noah. I never thought about him in terms you talked about today. Thank you for that! It was just what I needed.
Trying to determine some things for healing myself and how to move forward in rest and ministry. What doctors to see, how to structure my days, should we move. So many hard decisions. How to carve out myself while serving my family. Are we in the best school for our family. So hard. Our family has suffered three tragedies these last two years. My father passed suddenly and then a few weeks later my sister died of cardiac arrest. My father in law then got diagnosed with cancer and lost his battle within the year. Want to move forward with intention and not just live. Want to thrive and not be paralyzed. How do we make the next right decision?
Right now, trying to determine God’s path forward for me. There are many opportunities for where I could work and serve, but I can’t do them all. Asking what god has called ME to do.
Looking forward to hearing this podcast. The paralysis of in-decision gets me often.