Trust is a hard thing. It’s difficult for some people to trust those closest to them, even without any fault to their name. I can see how it would feel even more difficult to trust a big God with control over everything. But it doesn’t have to be difficult if we have a relationship with God & know He is trustworthy. Don’t get me wrong, even people that KNOW God, know His character, and know He only wants to help us can struggle to trust Him in some areas of their lives. We get caught up...

It sounds good to be in control, right? You are making sure everything is going well around you, doing your best to help others be their best and making sure you are controlling yourself, too. Plus, people talk about how important it is to have self-control, so control MUST be a good thing. Right? It’s really not and believing you can control everything around you is a fallacy. Yes, it’s important to control ourselves, like our attitudes, actions & behaviors, but that’s it. We LITERALLY...

I know I’m not the only one that has ever felt less than or not as great in what I do or that I don’t matter. And that’s why I am doing this episode today. Yet another perfect moment of God telling me what I should talk about while driving home today. And it all came about on a verse I had read earlier in the day that really hit me. 1 Corinthians 12:14-22, “Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that...

We have the opportunity to be impactful everywhere we go. The Bible puts a big emphasis on being a positive example to others, as we are all called to be a light in the world to draw as many people as possible to Christ. As Christ-followers, we must live a life that reflects who He is, meaning His character & His love.  We must live in a way that reflects who God is, and the teachings of His word, demonstrate integrity & love to others, and lead with righteousness in our actions &...

I want to share some questions with you today on what to consider when evaluating your current friendships and moving into new ones. But first, please know that I am NOT saying we cannot be friends with people that aren’t at the same spiritual level or maturity that we are or even people that don’t know God yet. It’s more a matter of who you allow to INFLUENCE you in life. And often, the people we spend the most time with happen to influence who we are & how we live our lives quite a...

Show Notes: I recently read a definition for repentance: “a change of mind; a turning from sin, accompanied by a turning to God” Matthew 18:3, “The he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.” The point of repenting is to admit to something you know you shouldn’t have done or been involved in, ask God for forgiveness & return back to Him. But we sometimes forget about the ‘return to Him’...

Show Notes: God wants us to surrender our lives to Him & ask for His help. But, we often live to impress the world instead of honoring the Father of Everything. Galatians 1:10, “Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.” We think everything needs to be perfectly planned & ready to go before we can take that next step.  Matthew 11:28-30, “Then Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary...

Show Notes: I know it’s important to be confident in who we are & to believe in ourselves, but we cannot rely on ourselves more than we rely on God because He needs to be first in our lives. Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” When we believe WE are all we need, we isolate ourselves from everyone else and from God. You might feel like it doesn’t matter...

Show Notes: Beyond the fear of the unknown, getting emotionally attached & wanting validation and sympathy from others I experienced, there are several other reasons people will hold onto their pain. Needing a sense of control is a common one. When you hang onto your pain, you feel more in control of your life & use it to feel significant, or even choose to define yourself by your pain. Another common reason is believing you need to be punished or reminded of your pain on a regular...

Show Notes: The timing of our lives often doesn’t go as we planned. We make plans, create strategies and feel in control of how our lives are gonna go, but often it turns out differently. On the other hand, sometimes our lives turn out exactly as we planned them, but it took more struggle & push to get there and we realize that it wasn’t really worth it. We aren’t as happy as we thought we would be. Regardless, it all boils down to the desire to be in control of the timing of our...

Show Notes: Do you find yourself taking action on things you say you’re going to do? Or are you more likely to say you’ll do something but actually will cower in fear or hide out from it until you’re forced to deal with it or the possibility disappears entirely? I ask this question because oftentimes we think it’s enough to just think about doing something, even when there are plans involved, and believe it’s going to happen. Somehow.  But it won’t. It’s because you didn’t put any action into...

Show Notes: Do you have the right perspective? The reason I ask you this question is to challenge you to really think about the answer. Do you believe the perspective you own for each experience & situation that comes up is the right one? Of course, everyone will probably believe they have the right perspective because it’s THEIR perspective. Most of the time we are all very biased toward what we know, what we’ve experienced, and what we believe to be true.  Have you ever thought about...

Show Notes: We often will consider our own excuses to be reasons because we don’t want to admit that we aren’t doing what we should be or that a mistake has been made.  But honestly, it doesn’t matter what you decided to tell yourself to mask the truth, it’s still an excuse you are trying to pass off as a reason to avoid something you need to just find the courage to face.  In the book of Joshua, God is raising up Joshua to take the lead, now that Moses has died. And God is telling him...

Show Notes: Gratitude is helpful on several levels. It can help strengthen relationships, help reduce stress, healthier physical body because you might end up lowering your blood pressure, fostering stronger resilience, and having a more positive mindset. But the thing I love the most about gratitude is how it magnifies our Lord and Savior in everything He does for us. Psalm 9:1, “I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done.”Also, the...

Show Notes: “To magnify something is NOT to make it bigger. Magnification doesn’t change the size of the object. Magnification is the process whereby you get your perspective of what was there all along.” -Steven Furtick Pastor Steven Furtick of Elevation Church goes on to say that we aren’t trying to make God bigger when we magnify Him, we are trying to become more focused on Him. I see it as digging deeper, going below the surface level, and getting up close & personal with God. What...

Show Notes: Making the decision to accept & tolerate someone you don’t care for is really a grown-up decision to make. It’s real maturity to just put aside your feelings and any past experiences you’ve had with them and ALLOW the relationship to be better. Because it CAN get better. If we allow people to change and be different than they have in the past, then the relationship can get better and everyone can have a better experience. I believe one of the biggest issues we have when...

Show Notes: "God may not always remove challenges, but He will ALWAYS provide a way THROUGH them.” This is an Instagram quote I saw recently. And it was the inspiration for this episode. No one WANTS to experience problems or go through struggles. And when we REALLY don’t want to experience them, we sometimes go to great lengths to avoid having to experience any pain at all.  But the best way to the other side often isn’t over, but through. We have to persevere and get to the other side of...

Show Notes: You have more to give than you think. We all do. I was recently sitting at my desk, thinking about how amazing it is that people are connecting with the way I am sharing about God & deepening my relationship with Him by really getting into studying the Bible. And I was in kind of a prayer/chatting to myself and to God, when I said something like, “I’m surprised that people are relating to me so well, even though I’m still new here, but You’re using me where I’m at right now...

Show Notes: I’m here to share with you not necessarily HOW to be confident, but what to EXPECT when you want to be confident.  I looked up some verses from the Bible that speak on confidence and wanted to share those with you. I often feel like it’s nice to have something you can go back to that will help anchor the mindset you desire to have & something that will comfort you in times of wanting to give up. Philippians 4:13, “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me...

Show Notes: The words we say to ourselves and to others carry heavy things. Those heavy things can be really good and encouraging and helpful, but it could also be attacking and hurtful and vicious. It just depends on what our motives are, where our heart is, and how much we are allowing our emotions to control our actions & responses. We can have positive intentions when we use our words, when it’s for building people up, helping them solve a problem or offer advice/knowledge that is...

Show Notes: When we think of being productive, it’s often the picture of someone going above and beyond what is asked and sometimes making others look bad. And not on purpose, of course, because those types of thoughts are only attributed to mindsets that see and do life through their insecurities. Having the focus of being productive is for everyone. We just need to know how to tap into it, which is what we will chat about in a bit. But first, here are a few reasons WHY productivity is...

When we feel uncertain, we are dealing with not knowing what is coming next. We are sometimes anxious about the future we don’t know & what could happen that we aren’t prepared for. Life is so much easier to live when we know what is coming next. When we know what to expect and we can prepare for it, even if it’s bad. Our brains are often looking for patterns and predictability, so when something is uncertain, it’s much harder for the brain to understand what’s happening, with this...

You can spend time seeking out all the growth tips you want, but if you don’t take the time to personalize the knowledge you find, you won’t feel like you’re winning. You won’t feel like you’re getting better and you won’t feel like it’s the right fit for you. The idea of looking at personal growth as a journey is a more realistic way to approach growth, as opposed to viewing it as a tall mountain you have to climb. Calling it a journey also implies that there isn’t necessarily a finish line...

Show Notes: I definitely was the dependent one in relationships. That was my biggest toxic trait. Sometimes it still is. I was a people pleaser, so it was easy to lose my identity to become whatever was needed in the relationship. And that’s the best way to end a relationship really quick, be taken advantage of (if the person knows what they are doing), and get further away from understanding who you are & what you are worth and capable of. Background & Review: Toxic traits are...