Stop auditioning for a seat at the table where you are already the guest of honor.
If you have spent your life trying to be “enough” for God, you know how exhausting that performance review can be. You’ve been told to pray more, do more, and be more, but you still feel like you’re one mistake away from being written out of the story.
This series is your lifeline.
Through 50+ years of ministry, missionary work, and walking through the valley of Stage 4 cancer, I’ve learned one thing: God isn’t looking for your conduct; He’s looking at His Covenant. You weren’t trying to get in, you were born in.
🧬 Meet Robert and Kelli: Living the DNA of Grace
Throughout this series, you’ll hear from my friends, Robert and Kelli Canfield. They aren’t just guest speakers; they are parents who have sat in the heavy silence of a doctor’s office and walked through the “valley of the shadow” every single day.
Robert and Kelli are the parents of Maria, Charlotte, and Ann. Charlotte and Ann were both diagnosed with Pompe disease, a rare genetic condition. They’ve spent the last 12 years navigating medical uncertainty, weekly infusions, and the kind of “performance-based” pressure that often hits families in crisis.
I asked them to join me because they are experts in participation over performance. When life feels like it’s falling apart, they’ve learned that their identity isn’t found in their health or their ability to “handle it all,” it’s found in the finished work of Christ. They are living proof that you are already in the Will, no matter what the medical report says.
Learn more about Robert and Kelli on their ministry page, Taking the Light. https://www.takingthelight.com/
📺 Watch the Full Series
When the Mission Field Changes: Living with Pompe Disease | Robert & Kelli Canfield
Chronic Illness and the Grace of Today: Finding Hope in a Pompe Disease Diagnosis
When Your Greatest Fears Come True: Pompe Disease and a Family’s Faith 🕊️
“Mom, Why’d You Drop Me?” — The Heartbreak and Hope of Parenting with Pompe Disease 🕊️
Live Until You Die: Encouragement for Warriors and Caregivers
🧬 What is the DNA of Grace?
In this series, we move from the “Flesh Mindset” (what I can do) to the “Spirit Mindset” (what He has already done). You will discover:
- 🧬 The DNA of Grace Hub Links
- The Myth of Being “Enough” (Part 1)
- Focus: Breaking the performance trap and understanding your identity is settled, not earned.
- Part 2: You Were There (Participation / Levi in Abraham)
- Rest Comes First (Part 3)
- Link: https://waustingardner.com/participation-apart-from-action-dna-of-grace/
- Focus: Moving from “acting alive” to “being quickened”—learning to participate in Christ’s victory rather than fighting for it.
- Covenant vs. Conduct (Part 4)
- Link: https://waustingardner.com/stop-auditioning-for-god-covenant-love/
- Focus: Understanding “Hesed”—the loyal, unchanging love that isn’t contingent on your behavior.
- From Servant to Son (Part 5)
- Link: https://waustingardner.com/dna-of-grace-part-5-how-you-get-in/
- Focus: The shift from religious duty to the “Exchanged Life”—seeing yourself as a child in the house, not an employee on the clock.
- Alive Together (Union with Christ)
- In Adam vs. In Christ (The Two Humanities)
- Part 5: How You Get In (Faith is an Open Hand)
- Part 9: Leading From Rest
Pull Up the Tent Stakes: How to Change Your Story and Finally Leave the Past Behind
The Sweetest Truth: Why the Gospel Doesn’t Need Sugar
- 🏛️ The Main Hub & Resource Library
- The Resource Library (Master Link): https://waustingardner.com/the-resource-library-50-years-of-grace-leadership/
🕊️ A Message for the Weary
“The Lord did not set his love upon you… because ye were more in number… But because the Lord loved you.” (Deuteronomy 7:7-8)
God didn’t choose you because of your potential or your clean track record. He chose you because He is Love. If you are tired of the performance trap, the DNA of Grace is the shift that changes everything. You aren’t playing catch-up with God’s expectations; you are being held by His grip on you.
🚀 Take Your Next Step
Don’t just watch—participate. If you’re ready to audit your own heart for the “legalism” that’s holding you back, join our community of weary leaders finding real rest.
- Start the 13-Day Grace Audit]
- Subscribe to Followed by Mercy
- Subscribe to W. Austin Gardner on Substack
- Listen to the Podcast
✍️ About Austin Gardner
W. Austin Gardner is an international keynote speaker, author, and mentor with over 50 years of pastoral and missionary experience. After surviving Stage 4 Kidney Cancer and 21 days on a ventilator with COVID, Austin’s mission is to provide “Honest Hope” to those hurting from legalism and performance-based religion.