S8 E52: Change Is In The Air... Let's Talk About It

 Hi. You. Yes, I'm talking to you. Seriously, I am so glad that you are here today. Because I know that there are a lot of things that you could be filling your time and your ears with. So I'm grateful that you are spending time here. And I pray that at the end of our time together, you will feel strengthened in your heart and your mind, because I believe that both of those are important and a mobile one. God, your creator, cares deeply about your heart as well as your mind. Changes in the air in many ways, and I want to talk about some of those ways today in case you have missed some of the things that I've mentioned. About some of these changes recently. Firstly, the first day of spring is less than a week away. Tuesday, March 19th is the official first day of spring. I'm sensing that pretty much all of us are ready for it. With the welcoming of a new season comes the welcoming of the new seasonal journal. And a little back story. As we were finishing up the final journal. For this past year. And began thinking what this next year of seasons would look like as far as the seasonal journal and my original thought was to make any necessary tweaks that I felt were needed, but I was pretty much not planning on changing much as far as the weekly focus pages. Am I thinking there was? That each season had been designed to guide you through the 13 weeks of each season. And these intentions were not something that needed to totally change with each journal. In fact, in some ways keeping it similar, meaning intentionally asking ourselves the same questions every season of every year to me. Very beneficial and helpful in our walk with God and understanding ourselves in a greater way because I think it's neat to be able to look back actually. Just these past couple of weeks I came across. A spring journal from. I don't know if it was last year. Or the year before, I mean it. Was the last two years, I know, but I'm I was like, cleaning going through some things and I picked it up and I purposely like, I want to look through this and I want to read it and. Like it just shows us so much. About ourselves in so much. About the faithfulness of God. And how he is leading and guiding our lives that sometimes when we are just going through our day-to-day. We miss, you know, it's easy for all of us to miss. The things that are familiar that we see and experience every day. They're so close that we miss it sometimes, so sometimes it's really neat and insightful to to revisit things that we have written and prayers we've written and prayers that we've seen answered and. I just loved looking back and seeing. The faithfulness of God. In my days and in the journey, it's beautiful. So here's what's happened as I opened up the Spring Journal from last year, which was the very first seasonal journal that I created. I could see how each season's journal that followed that Spring Journal got better. And one of the ways that it improved was. I think me finding and getting more comfortable in saying what I wanted to say and express it how I wanted to express it. And. When you're someone that creates and puts something out into the world and and I'm not just talking about art or writing something, but anything that you're putting your heart and your hand to. You want it to be received with the same care and intention that it came to be from. And as we all know, that's impossible and that's not a negative thing. In fact, me not being comfortable. With that fact. I can see how it's held me back in my life and that people pleasing tendency that still wants to rise up from time to time and make me feel safe in what feels easy and familiar, and what others might expect from me. In the end, otherwise it actually keeps the people that will resonate with the true sound of my voice from leaning in or even listening at. All. When at the end of the day. For all of us. The the question that should really matter to us is are we honoring and imaging the God that created us when being who he designed and purposed us to? Be that's it. I'd love for you to like me, but if you don't, that's OK. Because God likes me and I like myself. And if you like me, even loving me without. The God and the me part. It doesn't actually mean anything in the end. Actually means endiness and life in fullness is what we have been invited to. So I'm going for it. OK, so back to the opening up the Spring Journal from last year. And looking at it, I can visibly see the growth in the journals that followed and. Even though the core message wasn't changing the way I wanted to say it had changed and. I'm sure that will continue to change because isn't that what we all want? A life of being transformed into the image of God and transformation involves change. Someone that for the most part is pretty comfortable with changing actually desires it. A lot of the times. I mean, I have been talking myself out of the temporary pink hair dye for weeks, I mean. I I feel like. Like it feels springy and it just feels to me like the natural thing and stepping into a new season. OK, so that's. Not some serious example, but I'm making the point because we all are wired differently, which means we all have differences on how we react and respond to change. And I had to come to terms with. That me staying the same person. Or even staying in a certain place or environment. It doesn't equal faithfulness. And that was a hard one for me to come to understand, and it took a long time. In fact, it can sometimes mean the opposite of faithfulness, which is what I came to realize. Was probably the case in my life. My holding on to you. And staying the same in some areas of my life was actually out of fear and obedience to human beings rather than God, and I was trying to stay faithful in areas that that God was not asking me to stay faithful in. Looking back, I knew those things for a long time because God wasn't keeping them for me. And one thing that I've realized is that not only our minds noisy. But so are our hearts. And Proverbs 423 says guard your heart above all else. For it determines the course of your life. Here's the thing. I'm someone who plays and who seeks God's voice and direction in my life, but the whole truth that I didn't want to see or admit. Was that God's voice was being filtered and processed. In my heart and my mind, through the lens of the voices and the structures around me. And we all do this to different extents. I mean, there's no way around it. We are influenced from day one in our lives by the world around us. We would have discovered overtime is that. In this place of solitude and in this practice of getting still and connecting with God outside of any other voice. My heart. In my mind, was being transformed and in the sacred space. And we connecting with God, you know, showing up just as I am. Me looming over and over that God's not looking for fancy words or lofty thoughts. But he just wants me, just as I am in the presence of all that he is. And it's hard to remain. In his presence and not be changed. To season by season, there is pruning and there's no growth and. My spirit, and so awakened to the expansiveness of all that God is and expanded the container that I had got in. Or in many ways. I had got trapped in a box of my understanding. Meaning, if it made sense to me and I could fit it in. My religious context then it worked. And one of the most beautiful. In unexpected things that awakened was a mystery. The understanding. That if I think I understand everything that I'm more than likely I'm missing out. Because God is so much bigger than my mind can humanly hold and contain. Whose ways are not our ways? And I'd love to highlight. That the more that I spend time with and learn about God. And more than I learn about myself. The easier it becomes to love what he loves. To fall in love with his voice over the voice of any others. And to trust his opinion over the opinion of anyone else. To long for God's approval over the approval of anyone. To forever be faithful to the God that called and purposed and gave me life. I'm learning that that's what truthfulness is. Being faithful to God. And that sounds like an obvious simple. Fact or declaration, but obvious and simple. Doesn't always equal, etc. Most of the time it doesn't. Especially when from a young age. We are all instructed and disciplined to be quiet and to listen to the teacher and to stay in the lines. To our bodies as well as our minds. Or conditioned this to live in this way of being automatically and we can move through life on autopilot. In many cases, we are taught to trust the voice of others over our own. And sadly, in many cases we don't even know our own voice. Our voice has become an accumulation of all of the voices around us. And maybe like me. You're someone who? Keep trying and praying harder to follow the instructions and to be able to quietly stay in line. Only to realize that you were knit together in your mother's womb by your creator to be a get out of line girl. You know, time with the one who designed and created you gives you the confidence to be who you were purposed and created to be. What a gift. When I was talking to someone just the other day about this journal Journey and it's really not about the journal. Well, I mean it is, but it isn't. It's that there's something about this getting still and creating the space to connect. With God that expands. To this continuous connection. All throughout our day, in every part of our life, every moment of our life. So This is why. I want to invite you. I want to invite you to walking through these next 13 weeks of the season of spring. In the Spring Journal, it has. A weekly focus for each of the weeks, and that includes a thought as well as journal prompts and then blank pages following the focus page where you can pray and you can process on these pages. There's also a scan code that you can find on each weekly focus page and that scan code. It gives you access to a free downloadable quote that's found. At the end of each week, as well as a link to listen to weekly podcast episode that follows alongside each of the weeks of the journal. And also send out an e-mail every Sunday and the intention behind this is. Starting our week off. Being intentional about walking through the week. Trusting and looking for and following and trusting. How God is working in our life? And it follows along with the seasonal journal as well. And if you don't receive those emails and you'd like to, then you can find that information, it will be in the show notes. And I mentioned another exciting change a few weeks ago, but the podcast that you're listening to right now, it's going to continue as usual, but there will also be a new and separate podcast for the she's awakening seasonal journal that will start with the start of the spring. Season which is. Just a few short days away, so all of that information will be in Sunday's e-mail and podcast. So OK, I think that that's it. As far as the changes for right now and you'll have to be on the lookout to see if you see any pink or lavender highlights or tints that appear in my hair this spring, OK, but only in today with this journal prompt from the last week. The winner draw and ask the question what are you looking forward to this spring? It's a simple question, but I would love. For you to think about that and actually. Say it. Say what it is. What are you looking forward to? And whatever it is, I hope you choose to intentionally walk into it in this season so you can find the links to the Spring Journal and all of the things in the show notes. And I love you guys and we'll talk soon.