How to Exceed Expectations

Hey there, y'all. It's Chrystal Hurst, and you know I'm here sharing content from myself or from other people every week. However, today I want to share a message with you, a teaching with you. It's not going to be an interview and it's not my teaching. This is going to be an amazing teaching from someone who is no longer among us. So my mother's friend, Mrs. Debbie Titus, she passed away a little over a year ago, and we have a long history with the Titus family. Not only was she a friend to my mother, She and her husband were friends of both of my parents, and her daughter is my friend. And I talked about the Also Principle a couple of weeks ago, and I shared a little about her and the teaching that so marked my life. So between then and now, I called Trina up and I said, listen, I know that you have stewardship over your mother's ministry, and I'm curious, do you have a recording of your mom teaching the Also Principle? And she said, oh yeah, the Also Principle is one teaching actually that's in a whole course. She and I re-released her book together before she passed away, and we put together in the last few years of her life a whole course. The Also Principle is just one piece of that. And I said, "Hey, can I get the Also Principle? Like, would you allow me to just have it and share it? Because I think that this message is so pivotal in the life of someone who hears it." And she said yes. So what I want to do today is share the Also Principle, one teaching out of so many that she did that marked me for life. But this one, this one, because I recently talked about living with an also, I want you to hear it. And I don't just want you to hear it, I want you to see her. I want you to know her. And I want you to understand what happens when a woman commits to be a woman of legacy, to be a woman of intentionality, and to be a woman with a strong also. I know that you're going to enjoy it. I pray that you ingest it. So that it changes your life. Let me introduce you to Miss Debbie Titus.

Genesis chapter 24 is another one of those chapters that has an amazing principle that can make such a difference in each one of our lives if we could capture what is really the purpose of this story being recorded in the Torah, in the Old Testament. So it's a story that you may know, or maybe you haven't heard it.

It.

So I'll just quickly tell you the highlights of it, but I encourage you to please read it. I call this principle the also principle. And as we go through, you'll find why I have titled it that. So it's talking about Abraham, and I love the very first verse. It gives us a context. It says Abraham was old and God had blessed him in all of his ways. It's important for us to understand that Abraham knew that he was ending the last season of his life. You know, I can identify now, I'm not as old as Abraham was, but with the lifespan of humans today, I'm in the last section of my life. And God has blessed me also in many, many ways. And we start thinking differently in a way, we think about, our children, our grandchildren, what they are experiencing in their life. And Abraham was thinking this about his son Isaac. His son was already middle-aged and he wasn't yet married. Yes, Abraham had been prospered by God. So in an economic world, you could have considered them wealthy. They owned land, they owned cattle, they, you know, they were, very well-to-do. So here his son has everything to offer a wife, and Abraham tells his servant, "I want you to go back to my hometown, and I want you to find a wife among my relatives." So the question is, why among the relatives? Now, they were living in a foreign land. The women in this land were of a different culture than they were, and Abraham wanted the wife to be from the same culture. Not that it mattered, matters if we cross cultures, it doesn't. But it's not a matter of the crossing of the nationalities, it's a matter of the crossing of the values. And where he was among the Canaanites, their values were very, very different than his family values being a Jewish man. So he sends his servant back to a hometown that he had not been in. It was a 10-day journey. The servant took 10 camels because they had to camp out in the desert every night as they were going on the 10-day journey. And on this journey, Abraham approaches in the town of Nahor, not Abraham, his servant approaches in the town of Nahor a well, and all of the women were coming out to the well and he's thinking, how do I find Abraham's relatives? You know, there was no text, there was no GPS, there was no search engines at that time. And so how is he going to know? Here's what he decided to do. He said, I'm going to ask a question, and this question will reveal to me a characteristic of Abraham's family that most families don't have. I'm going to ask one of the young women at the well for a drink of water. You know, the text doesn't tell us how many women he asked, before he got the response that he was looking for. Because he said, "Let it be that when I ask that she would give me a drink from her jug, that she would say, 'Yes, I will give you a drink, but I will water your camels also.'" Now that word also is why I call this the also principle. With that kind of response that this young woman had, what did that reveal to him? You know, I would ask you, are you a do less person or are you a do more person? Because Abraham's family were hard workers. They were do more people. So in this circumstance, he asked for a drink of water, and certainly if she If she replied to give him water, she didn't have to after all. He was a stranger traveling for 10 days. I'm sure he didn't look very well and I'm sure he didn't smell very good. But she noticed beyond what he asked, and that's the key. And also, principal person is a character quality. It's a person that looks beyond what they are asked to do. And so she looked beyond and noticed there were 10 camels and other servants managing the animals that had traveled with this servant. And she said, "Yes, I'll give you water, but where have you come from? Oh my goodness, that's a long journey. Your camels are going to need water also." And it was this characteristic that was part of Abraham's family. If you continue to read the text, you will see that she said, that the text says, she drew water for the camels until they were finished drinking. Now she didn't have to draw them until they were finished drinking. Research says that when a camel travels 10 days, it's the longest it can go without water. And when it drinks water until it's full, it will drink 5 gallons. Well, do the math. That's a total of 50 gallons of water. That young lady drew that day for those 10 camels, because the scripture says, "She drew water until they were finished drinking." We can add the word also, because she didn't have to do that. Then the servant said to her, "By chance, do you and your family have any place that we can stay?" And she said, "Yes, absolutely we do." 'And we have room for your animals also.' Now I want you to look at this and let's see, how does this apply to our lives? You see, in Abraham's family, and values are passed from generation to generation, this is in their character, their character. They were not lazy, and he did not want his hardworking, successful son to marry a lazy woman. For sure, that can destroy any family and it can also destroy a man. And Abraham knew that and he said, no, no, no, no, we're gonna go back to my family because I know what my family values are. Yes, it was a distant relative for generations apart, no problem, but it's important to me that they have a do more attitude instead of a do less attitude. Attitude. And you know what? Rebecca was chosen to be Isaac's wife. So how does that apply to us? First of all, I'm gonna take you to Colossians chapter 3. What I did when I learned this principle as a young woman, and it began shaping me, my parents trained me this way, but then I began learning the revelation in the Word. I went through the New Testament and I looked for various passages that also would show the also principle. Colossians chapter 3 is a really good one because it's talking about our work ethic, and it says, whatever you do, do your work with all of your heart. And now this word, with all of your heart, in the Greek is psuché, and it— psuché actually means mind, will, and emotions. So here's the kind of the translation of the Greek. Whatever work you do— now this can be work at home, it can be work on your job, work you're paid for and work you're not paid for, it really doesn't matter. Whatever work you do, for example, if you're cleaning your car, do it with all of your heart. Don't just take out the litter from the car and throw it in the trash. And there's sand all over and fingerprints all over and dust on the dashboard. But the also principle person will take out the trash and then look beyond and say, "Oh, the floor needs to be vacuumed," and get a little broom or a little vacuum and clean that out. And it also needs to be dusted. Notice I word— use the word also. So you grab a cloth and you dust it. How much more time is this going to take? The word says, Whatever work you do, do it with all of your heart. And instead of doing it for men so they will see it, no, no, no, do it for the Lord, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. This is what Abraham was wanting for his son. The inheritance to be passed to the next generation of character. And this passage says, when you change your attitude about how you do your work— I mean, if— what about your work at home? If you're washing the dishes, do you just stack them on the sink to dry and leave the counters looking messy? Or do you wash your plate? And you know, you may have a dishwasher, but most of the world doesn't have dishwashers. Do you wash your plate And do you take a towel and dry it also? So whatever your habit is, start right now and look beyond where you normally stop and ask yourself, what else can I do?

Listen, let me interrupt for just a minute because I want to make sure that you know about something. One of the reasons why I love Miss Debbie, there's a million of them. But not only was she a great teacher of the Word, not only was she committed to her husband and her family, not only did she commit her life to sharing principles that would help women make an impact in their world. She was also an amazing leader. And so many times I was able to reach out to her, call her, visit with her, and ask her to pour into me as an emerging leader. Leadership is important. And I watched my mom and also Ms. Debbie not only teach, but teach others who teach, teach others who mentor, to share and groom other women who needed to know how to run that business, lead that ministry or lead in whatever capacity God had given her. And I believe that I should do the same. And so one of the things that I've done recently is to make space in my life to pour into women who are leading ministry, business, entrepreneurs, leading other people, leading other visions, and to make space to, in a very intimate setting, to connect and to, and to have conversations. Y'all know me, real talk, real conversations about what in the world do we do with these people? How in the world do we grow the organization? That we have been given stewardship over? And how do we ourselves develop our leadership skills? That opportunity to join me for my first Leaders Retreat is coming to an end very, very soon. Registration ends March 31st, and the event is April 23rd through the 26th in Waco, Texas, not too far from where I am. If this sounds like something you'd like to do, if you are in need of close mentorship and you just don't have anybody else to talk to, I would invite you to come join me. I'll be there along with some other amazing women of influence to pour into you, to help you lead yourself, lead your team, and build your vision. If that sounds like something you'd like to do, it's all-inclusive food, lodging, and programming. You can find out more about it by going to thesistercircle.com/lead. That's thesistercircle.com/lead. If it's something that you can make the space to do, I wanted to make sure you didn't miss it. Registration ends March 31st, and I'll be there, very small intimate environment, to spend time pouring into you like other women have poured into me. All right, let's get back to this amazing teaching from Miss Debbie Titus.

Maybe you're at work and it's— you're noticing, oh my goodness, it's time to leave the office. Work is over. I'm finished for the day. But you still have projects and things sitting around. The also principal person will say, okay, I'm getting ready to leave, but let me clean off my desk also and put things away. Let me straighten up the environment that I work in so when someone else comes in tomorrow, I'm considerate of them. That's what she did at the well. No, I'm considerate of them, and I look beyond, and I do one more thing, two more things, as she did, three more things, things that inconvenience us. Was it convenient for her to draw 50 gallons of water? That was hard labor, and it took several hours. Think of it, if it just took one minute to draw a gallon of water and take it to a camel, and there were 50 of them, that's almost an hour, but I doubt that you could do that in one minute. It could have been 2 or 3 hours that it took her to draw that water. So look beyond yourself in your home. What about when you get home at night and you change clothes and you take off your clothes? Do you take 'em off and hang them also? Or do you just drop them where they are? And you can look at many areas of your life. What about your conversation? I continued going through the word and I saw so many areas in our relationships, in our conversations. It says in Colossians 4:5-6, it says, "Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders, making the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation," Always be full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. Aha, there is the also principle. You're checking your groceries out at the supermarket that you buy groceries there every single week. You go in the same line because you have a favorite checker. They're faster than everyone else. Have you ever stopped to ask their name? Have you ever complimented them and thanked them for the diligent job that they do in taking care of you as a customer? It says to the outsiders. These are to people that you don't know. They're not people in your common circle. Oh yeah, it's easy to compliment them, but what about people you don't know? Or does that person remain anonymous to to you week after week, month after month, year after year? My husband is so awesome. He's one of the most loving, caring, also principled men that I know. When we go to a restaurant, the first thing that he says to the waiter, "You're awesome. You are so awesome. What is your name again?" You know, they always tell you their name real quickly, but he wants to make sure he remembers it. "Wait a minute, what is your name again?" He's going beyond the call of duty. And then he makes them a compliment. And even when they mess up our order, no, he won't complain to them and make them feel badly. He will always find a reason to say, to go beyond and to say something that he can find that is better than what we experienced. So look around you and see, how can I apply this principle to my life? You know, she was chosen to be Isaac's wife because of her character, and she was bedecked with many jewels. She had no idea. There was no motive. She wasn't looking for payment. She wasn't wondering what somebody else would do for her. Well, if I, if I'm nice to them, will they be nice to me? No, it was never, ever in her heart. So many times you and I, we have motives. We don't do anything unless we're paid. You know, Larry and I have been in ministry for 57 years, and really ministry was an opportunity to serve. And we served, and in the church people served and served and served. But now nobody wants to do anything unless they're paid. And then, how much you're gonna pay me? Oh, that's not enough. Oh no, no, you know, that's fine, goodbye. My husband was preaching recently in a church and he wanted to have the drummer for an illustration during a sermon. And he called for the drummer to come up. Guess what? The drummer wasn't there. Where was he? As soon as he finished drumming, he left the church service. He didn't even stay to hear the sermon. And that's the condition that we're living in. That's called a do less person. Only do what's expected of me. Only do what's required of me, instead of saying, "And what else?" And what else can I do? What about as a wife with your husband? I don't know the kinds of things that would bless him and minister to him, but there is no one, man or woman, that doesn't love to be honored by being served. If he's watching a soccer game or a football game or a golf game and he's comfortable on the sofa, why don't you think of something you can do? Bring him a cold beverage. He loves a Coca-Cola on ice, or he loves a cup of coffee. Ask him, "What else can I do for you?" instead of saying, "You've been sitting on that sofa all All afternoon, I wish you'd get up and do something. Excuse me? She wouldn't have been chosen if she had said, who are you to ask me for a drink of water? You're a stranger. I don't speak to strangers, number one. I'm a young woman and you are an old man, and I consider it rude for you to even approach me. That's the attitude of women today. Unfortunately, it is. We become harsh. And in, in our harshness, we become rude, and we've stopped serving and looking beyond our own small world. I'm gonna ask you today, look around you and ask yourself, what is it that I can do in my relationships, in my work environment, in my home, with strangers that I meet, And where I normally stop, what's the next thing that I can do? You see, your also principle will be different than my also principle because I've really worked my way up. So I've gotta really, really look, but you may just have to start drying your dishes. But I wash mine, I dry them, I put them away also. I wipe the counter also. I sweep the floor also. Or also, but I didn't start there. So start where you are, add the also. Hey, let me ask you this. I know this is a funny one, but why do toilets have lids? Haha. Why do they have lids? Have you ever thought about that? Why do they not have lids in airports, but they have lids in homes? Well, the reason is we don't sanitize our toilet every single time someone uses it? Water evaporates into the air. And a toilet has bacteria, so you close the lid so the bacteria doesn't evaporate into the air. So maybe one of our Also principles could be, when you use the toilet, put the lid down also. Yes, it's breaking a bad habit to leave it up. And if there are any boys or any gentlemen that you are talking, that are listening to me today, let me tell you, not only put the lid down, would you please put the seat down too? I go in airplanes, I'm properly dressed, and I go into this little tiny toilet and a man has come out He's all satisfied and fulfilled. He used the toilet. I go in and the seat is up. He didn't even think beyond himself, his own convenience. The seat is up, not just the lid. Both of them are up. What do I have to do? I have to get a paper towel. I have to touch it. I have to put it down. In order for me, a female, to use the same lavatory.

Men, women, look beyond yourself and say, "What else can I do?" Listen, I am so glad that you had the opportunity to listen to that teaching by Miss Debbie Titus. And as I mentioned, she went home to be with the Lord a little over a year ago. The beautiful thing though is that all of these principles are a part of a whole teaching that she did. There's a book, there's a course, and more importantly, there's a legacy that's being carried on by Debbie's daughter, Trina Titus Lozano. Now there's a website if you're interested in learning more from Miss Debbie or from her daughter Trina. You can go to homeexperience.com. Www.treinaharris.global to find out more about the ministry that's there, more about the book, more about the course, and more about Trina. Trina was the co-author of the Home Experience book after Ms. Debbie decided to redo it and release it. It is beautiful. It's on my shelf. I have both the first one and the second one. And if you are a woman who's looking to figure out not only how to live her life well, but how to do so in a way that leaves a legacy, creates a home, serves people, and honors the name of the Lord, then you don't want to look any further than homeexperience.global. There's so much content there, so much amazing information. And again, that amazing book also is one of the principles. There are a bunch of other ones, and the course gets even as practical as how to take care of your home. So if you're one of those women who's like, I wish somebody would have told me how to do this, how to be a woman of character and legacy, but also how to be a woman who is hospitable to others and also sets up her home in a way that the people who live in my home flourish there. If you're like, nobody taught me, well, that's what Home Experience is all about. So if this leaves you wanting more, just know there is. And my friend Trina Titus Lozano would love to get to know you and to love for you to get to know more about the legacy that she's carrying on in her mother's name. Hope this has been helpful. Listen, I'm always here thinking about how I can help you myself or with friends, past or present, to help you grow. And listen, I, I'd love to know, after watching this teaching, what is your major takeaway? How are you going to apply it? I want to make sure that you don't just hear great teaching but that you apply it So go ahead and tell me in the comments, what is your major takeaway? Where are you most convicted? Where are you most encouraged? And what are you going to do with the teaching you've received? So this is me telling you to be a person who goes the extra mile, to be a woman of her also, a woman who loves Jesus and a woman who's willing to do just a little bit more and go a little bit further than everyone else. Why should you do that? Because in everything that you do, whether in word or deed, do it all to the glory of God. And the God I serve, the Jesus who came, oh yeah, he was an also kind of God who went the extra mile for you and me. So how much more so then should I do the same? All right, y'all, have a great week and I'll see you next time.