Today, we're talking about the lessons we can learn from the Babylonians in Genesis 11:1-9 as we pray and plan for the year. We're cross-referencing Genesis 12 and Acts 2, just in case you want to open up your Bibles and follow along.

If you'd like to stay in touch, you can join my email family at livdooley.com/email or connect with me on IG at https://instagram.com/candidliv.

PSALM 139:16-19 ESV

MEET VICTORIA

Victoria Riollano is the author of Warrior Mother: Equipping Your Heart to Fight for your Family's Faith, as well as the wife of Pastor Joe Riollano, mother to eight children, and a professor to psychology students around the world.

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SELAH: A STUDY OF 1 AND 2 SAMUEL

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Following the Holy Spirit's prompting requires us to slow down, and sometimes He invites us to stop altogether. However, you can be sure, that's not the end of the story.

PSALM 23 ESV

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

²     He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.^[a]

³     He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness^[b]

    for his name's sake.

⁴ Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,^[c]

    I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

    your rod and your staff,

    they comfort me.

⁵ You prepare a table before me

    in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil;

    my cup overflows.

⁶ Surely^[d] goodness and mercy^[e] shall follow me

    all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell^[f] in the house of the Lord

    forever.^[g]

MEET AMY

Amy Seiffert is an author, speaker, and YouVersion teacher. She also serves on the teaching team at her home church, Soma City Church as Pastor of Content and Coaching. Previously she was a Team Leader with Cru at BGSU and has worked in ministry for the past 25 years. Weaving Biblical wisdom through her presentations, Amy inspires, teaches, and humbly invites any willing spiritual pilgrim to walk alongside her in the pursuit of truth and the knowledge of God. Amy is married to Rob, and they live in NW Ohio, with their three kids.

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Read less

As we slow down, let's consider what it is we're consuming and whether or not it's giving God glory because we have to stop compromising our standards to adopt what the world tells us is good.

MATTHEW 22:36-39 CSB

³⁶ “Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest?”

³⁷ He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.³⁸ This is the greatest and most important command. ³⁹ The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. ⁴⁰ All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”

MEET KRISTEL

Kristel Acevedo (MA, Southeastern Seminary) is the discipleship director at Transformation Church, a vibrant multiethnic and multigenerational community near Charlotte, North Carolina. Originally from Miami and the daughter of immigrants, she has a passion for discipleship, biblical literacy, multiethnic ministry, and helping others develop a biblical view on immigration. Kristel is the author of A Way in the Wilderness and a coauthor of 3 Big Questions That Shape Your Future.

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SELAH: A STUDY OF 1 AND 2 SAMUEL

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As we slow down, let's consider what it is we're consuming and whether or not it's giving God glory because we have to stop compromising our standards to adopt what the world tells us is good.

EPHESIANS 4:29 CSB

No foul language should come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear.

MEET CHRISTINA

Christina Patterson is a Bible teacher, author, and speaker passionate about empowering women in the love of Jesus Christ and the truth of God's Word. Christina is the founder of Beloved Women, a non-profit providing resources and community for women to truly know who they are in Christ: His Beloved. Christina's YouTube page is home to 75,000 subscribers so she is a wealth of information on this subject, and I am grateful for her.

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During this episode, we remember that important conversations about pornography and other explicit subjects are not optional. They're necessary.

PHILIPPIANS 4:8-9 NLT

⁸ And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. ⁹ Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.

MEET GRETA ESKRIDGE

Greta Eskridge is a writer, speaker, and homeschool mom. She loves connecting with fellow parents through speaking engagements around the country. It is her hope to help parents create connections with their kids in this disconnected world. She is passionate about protecting kids from the dangers of pornography and often writes and speaks on this topic.

Her hope is that her words, whether written or spoken, will be an encouragement to you to live your life like the beautiful adventure it is, to truly connect with people around you, and to do small things with great love!

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SELAH: A STUDY OF 1 AND 2 SAMUEL

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During this episode, we are learning how to invite God to challenge our preconceived notions of who He is and what He's doing.

JOSHUA 5:13-15 ESV

When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” 14 And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?” 15 And the commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

MEET TRILLIA NEWBELL

Trillia Newbell is the author of several books including, A Great Cloud of Witnesses, Sacred Endurance, If God Is For Us, Fear and Faith, and the children’s books, Creative God, Colorful Us and God’s Very Good Idea. When she isn’t writing, she’s encouraging and supporting other writers as the Acquisitions Director at Moody Publishers.

Trillia is married to her best friend, Thern, they reside with their two children near Nashville, TN where they enjoy hiking and eating lots of bbq. 

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SELAH: A STUDY OF 1 AND 2 SAMUEL

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During this episode, we are learning how to trust God with the fullness of our emotions.

EXODUS 14:13-14 CSB

But Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and see the Lord’s salvation that he will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you must be quiet.”

MEET SARAH CLARKSON

Sarah Clarkson is an author and blogger who writes regularly about literature, faith, and beauty at SarahClarkson.com. She studied theology (BTh, MSt) at Oxford and is the author or coauthor of six books, including This Beautiful Truth. She has an active following on Instagram (@sarahwanders) where she hosts regular live read-alouds from the poems, novels, or essays that bring her courage. She can often be found with a cup of good tea and a book in hand in her old English vicarage home in Oxford, where she lives with her Anglican vicar husband, Thomas, and their four children.

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SELAH: A STUDY OF 1 AND 2 SAMUEL

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During this episode, we discuss the benefits of slowing down to hear from the Lord. As the Scriptures tell us, we serve the God who speaks, the God who leads us into all truth, the God who leads us when we invite Him, too. In a world that is consumed with false prophets (and rightfully so), we have to be concerned about what it takes to learn the voice of the Lord for ourselves. 

MATTHEW 7:15-20 CSB

15 “Be on your guard against false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves. 16 You’ll recognize them by their fruit. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree can’t produce bad fruit; neither can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 Every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So you’ll recognize them by their fruit.

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During this episode, we are learning how to trust God with the fullness of our emotions.

ISAIAH 40:28-31 CSB

Do you not know?

Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the whole earth.

He never becomes faint or weary;

there is no limit to his understanding.

²⁹ He gives strength to the faint

and strengthens the powerless.

³⁰ Youths may become faint and weary,

and young men stumble and fall,

³¹ but those who trust in the Lord

will renew their strength;

they will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not become weary,

they will walk and not faint.

MEET DAWN MANN SANDERS

Dawn Mann Sanders, MDiv, is an associate minister at First Baptist Church of Glenarden (FBCG), where she serves as the director of the sermon-based life groups ministry. Her passion is expository teaching and sharing the wonderful insights God has shown her in his Word. She does this through writing weekly discussion guides for the life groups as well as teaching several in-depth Bible studies. Dawn has written and taught extensively on overcoming adversity and creating a new life, both at FBCG and on her personal blog.

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SELAH: A STUDY OF 1 AND 2 SAMUEL

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During this episode, we are learning how to trust God with the fullness of our emotions.

ROMANS 12:9-15 ESV

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit,[a] serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.

MEET NATASHA SMITH

Natasha Smith is a wife, mom, and NC native. She is a writer, speaker, and podcaster, who shares stories on faith, family, and grief. She has inspired others through her writing for over 12 years. Her work has appeared in Guideposts and Focus on the Family print publications. And Her View From Home, TODAY Parents, Pray with Confidence, and other e-publications. You can find her online at imnatashasmith.com

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SELAH: A STUDY OF 1 AND 2 SAMUEL

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During this episode, we will continue our conversation on slowing down right in time for Valentine's Day. I know no one may have ever said this to you before, but it's possible that marriage is NOT the answer. 

1 THESSALONIANS 4:3-8 CSB

For this is God’s will, your sanctification: that you keep away from sexual immorality, 4 that each of you knows how to control his own body[b] in holiness and honor, 5 not with lustful passions, like the Gentiles, who don’t know God. 6 This means one must not transgress against and take advantage of a brother or sister in this manner, because the Lord is an avenger of all these offenses, as we also previously told and warned you. 7 For God has not called us to impurity but to live in holiness. 8 Consequently, anyone who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.

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During this episode, we are learning how to trust God with and in our weaknesses.

HEBREWS 11:39-40 NIV

These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

MEET TORI HOPE PETERSEN

Tori Hope Petersen is an author, speaker, Bible teacher, and lover of people. Since coming to faith, she has shared her testimony and life as authentically as she can to help and offer hope to others. Tori is known for her fierce advocacy work for foster care, adoption, and vulnerable children. At home she is a wife and mama who enjoys cooking with her children. With a deep value for family, community, and hospitality, Tori and her family love to make extra food for whoever might stop by. Her new book, Breaking the Patterns that Break You, will be available nationwide February 4, 2025.

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SELAH: A STUDY OF 1 AND 2 SAMUEL

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I’ve found so much more joy and peace in the opportunity to slow down than I ever knew possible, and it has changed my life. So we’re talking about it this season. 

James 1:19-25 CSB

My dear brothers and sisters, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger, for human anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness. Therefore, ridding yourselves of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent, humbly receive the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like someone looking at his own face in a mirror. For he looks at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of person he was. But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer who works—this person will be blessed in what he does.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER JOURNALING IN PRAYER

• What would you get back if you were to slow down? 
• What might you be able to step into if you were to slow down? 
• Who might you grow closer to If you were to slow down?
• What prayers might the Lord have room to answer or to show you how He is currently answering if you were to slow down?
• How many old patterns might He continue to strip away that you know, that He knows that you know are not healthy if you were to slow down?
• What might He revive? 

WATCH THIS PODCAST ON YOUTUBE

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During this episode, we are learning how to invite the Holy Spirit to help us grow in love and self control.

ROMANS 15:13 NIV

13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

MEET ANDRE AND TIMBERLY

André and Timberley Gray do life together as a husband and wife team, raising a family, and helping others find balance in life. Like many, they were frustrated trying to balance their faith, family, and work. That’s when they discovered the priorities of God and purposed to live by them. That decision not only changed their marriage, but it changed their life! Although they were both diagnosed with a chronic illness, they learned to prioritize their health, without neglecting God’s priorities. Now they find great joy in inspiring others to do the same.

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SELAH: A STUDY OF 1 AND 2 SAMUEL

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During this episode, we are learning how to invite the Holy Spirit to help us facilitate safe spaces for those who are marginalized.

PSALM 34:18 NIV

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

MEET PRASANTA

Born under an Asian sun, raised in the Appalachian foothills in the south, and now living in the Upper Midwest, Prasanta is a writer, poet, editor, former debate coach, public health professional, and mom of three fabulous kids. 

Prasanta writes about culture, identity, belonging, loneliness, and what it feels like to be an outsider. She is passionate about making the way for diverse voices and believes stories are one of the best ways for us to connect with each other.

She considers herself a life-long learner. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, walking, and exploring the beauty of the natural world.

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During this episode, we are learning how to invite the Holy Spirit to soften our hearts.

GALATIANS 5:22-23 NIV

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

MEET CHARAIA

Charaia Rush is a writer and speaker who is passionate about telling the story of the gospel and watching how it softens the hardened corners of our hearts and illuminates the dark rooms of our spirits. She has written for outlets such as Christian Parenting and SheReads Truth. She resides in Colorado with her two lovely children.

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SELAH: A STUDY OF 1 AND 2 SAMUEL

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During this episode, we are learning how to slow down and spend intentional time with God, particularly in Bible study, as He sets our rhythms.

GENESIS 16:13 CSB

So she named the Lord who spoke to her: “You are El-roi,” for she said, “In this place, have I actually seen the one who sees me?”

MEET KATHY

Kathy Tuan-MacLean (PhD, Northwestern) is the national faculty ministry director for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, where she invites and resources faculty to follow Jesus together. Since joining InterVarsity in 1990, she has led numerous students and faculty in Bible study, spiritual formation, and leadership development. She is also a spiritual director who has led marriage ministry and women's retreats. Kathy is married to Scott, and they have three young adult children and an overanxious mini labradoodle.

MEET TARA

Tara Edelschick (EdD, Harvard) is a teacher, a writer, mother of three, and grandmother. For three decades, she has worked as an educator, teaching public high school students in New York, graduate students at Harvard's School of Education, homeschoolers in Massachusetts, and incarcerated men taking college courses through the Emerson Prison Initiative. In her church, you can find her speaking at a women's conference or marriage retreat, teaching Sunday school, gathering mothers for prayer and Bible study, or leading retreats for families.

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During this episode, we are learning how to slow down and spend intentional time with God as He sets our rhythms.

PSALM 46:10 NIV

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations,I will be exalted in the earth.”

MEET JODI

After assuming the rapid pace and stress of city living in the States, Jodi Grubbs realized God was bidding her to return to the “island time” of her childhood home. Evoking the gentle rhythms of Bonaire in the Caribbean, Jodi invites you to a life anchored by the forced pauses of spiritual practices and an openhandedness before God. Live Slowly

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During this episode, we are learning how to trust God to increase the little we commit to Him for His glory.

1 PETER 3:15 ESV

but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,

MEET KRISTIE

KRISTIE ANYABWILE is the author of Delighting in God's Law: Old Testament Commands and Why They Matter Today, Literarily: How Understanding Bible Genres Transforms Bible Study, and editor of His Testimonies, My Heritage: Women of Color on the Word of God. She is a Bible teacher at Anacostia River Church, and serves organizations that equip women to study and teach the Bible, such as The Charles Simeon Trust and Bible Equipping. Kristie is also a founding member of The Pelican Project, a women’s theology organization. Her work can be found at The Front Porch, Christianity Today, She Reads Truth, Risen Motherhood, The Gospel Coalition, and Revive Our Hearts. She is a pastor’s wife and has been married over 30 years. She and Thabiti have 3 children and live in Washington, DC.

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During this episode, we are learning how to trust God to increase the little we commit to Him for His glory.

1 PETER 4:7-11

⁷ The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. ⁸ Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. ⁹ Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. ¹⁰ Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. ¹¹ If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

MEET RACHAEL

Rachael was born and raised in a small Kentucky lake town. After she married her college sweetheart, Bryan, she moved him there too. Together, they run a family business and live on a farm with their two children, Will and Kate, and two doodle dogs named Buster and Penny.

Rachael spends her days taking care of their farm and home. When she isn’t doing something with or for her family, she loves to get together with friends, cook, take walks, and read Christian nonfiction. Her writing and podcasting journey began when she was sitting in church and saw a love offering envelope in the pew in front of her. She sensed the whispering to her heart that we are his love offerings to the world. So Rachael began having conversations with women who were living faithfully and loving the world around them in practical and tangible ways.

Through the conversations she’s had and through her own personal experience, Rachael discovered that many of us don’t believe our contributions or offerings matter. It is Rachael’s hope that this devotional and her ministry can change this narrative. She wants to encourage women to realize their God-given purpose and believe their lives are significant to His kingdom. Because in God’s hands, small acts done with great love can have an enormous impact.

Connect with her by visiting rachaelkadams.com, @rachaeladamsauthor on social media, and by tuning in to The Love Offering podcast every Tuesday on your favorite listening platform.

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During this episode, we are learning how to open our lives up to others and invite God to do the heavy lifting in the process of discipleship.

MATTHEW 18:12 NLT

What do you think? If someone owns a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go look for the one that went astray?

MEET YODIT

Yodit Kifle Smith is a daughter, sister, wife, friend to many, and now also the mother of a precious daughter, a role she treasures deeply. She is the founder of Called to the Ones and a writer, as well.

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The Best Kept Secret exists to help women identify the secret to healing their hearts and connecting with others despite their past. Here, you'll find engaging conversations and important questions that help us connect to the body of Christ despite what the culture believes to be true.

During this episode, we are learning how to open our lives up to others and invite God to do the heavy lifting in the process of discipleship.

MATTHEW 5:43-48

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. ⁴⁴ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. For he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶ For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷ And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same? ⁴⁸ Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

MEET YOLANDA

Yolanda M. Solomon is the director of discipleship at Epiphany Church in Brooklyn, New York, where she teaches and creates discipleship curriculum and resources. She has also worked in campus ministry at Columbia University in New York, where she was blessed to serve undergraduate students for seven years. Yolanda is a disciple of Christ, a Brooklyn native, and a lifelong Knicks fan, which richly fuels her prayer life. She lives in Brooklyn with her family.

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SELAH: A STUDY OF 1 AND 2 SAMUEL

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The Best Kept Secret exists to help women identify the secret to healing their hearts and connecting with others despite their past. Here, you'll find engaging conversations and important questions that help us connect to the body of Christ despite what the culture believes to be true.

This episode, we are learning how to trust the Lord with every aspect of our lives and invite His presence to transform the hardest parts. 

ROMANS 15:13 NIV

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

MEET MOLLY

Molly Stillman is the host of the Can I Laugh on Your Shoulder? podcast and a sought-after speaker. The lifestyle blog she started in 2007, Still Being Molly, is a community for women who love ethical style, clean beauty, parenting, funny stories, and serving in their communities. Her deep passion lies in inspiring women to know they were created on purpose, with a purpose, and for a purpose. Molly lives with her husband John, children Lilly and Amos, and various and sundry animals on a small farm in Durham, North Carolina. She loves Jesus a whole lot, drinks too much Diet Coke, and eats a lot of Chipotle burritos. You can find her on the internets at stillbeingmolly.com.

RESOURCES

Purchase If I Don't Laugh, I'll Cry

Connect with Molly on IG

Connect with Me on IG

Show Notes are Here

SELAH: A STUDY OF 1 AND 2 SAMUEL

Purchase your copy of Selah: A Study of 1 and 2 Samuel

The Best Kept Secret exists to help women identify the secret to healing their hearts and connecting with others despite their past. Here, you'll find engaging conversations and important questions that help us connect to the body of Christ despite what the culture believes to be true.

This episode, we are learning how the enemy wars against women who have been called to Christ and how the Lord protects them.

1 CORINTHIANS 12:8-10 NIV

8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

MEET MARIELA

Deeply wounded as a child, Mariela Rosario grew up with pain that seemed too profound to heal. She fell into toxic habits of drug use, people-pleasing, and shame. Then, alone in her house in 2015, Mariela experienced a miraculous encounter with God that prompted her to turn away from those destructive patterns and begin attending church. As her relationship with Jesus deepened, she launched a ministry to help other women overcome their past hurts so that they, too, could walk in freedom and joy. Because when a woman’s God-given purpose is activated, she speaks fire.

RESOURCES

Purchase She Speaks Fire

Connect with Mariela on IG

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SELAH: A STUDY OF 1 AND 2 SAMUEL

Purchase your copy of Selah: A Study of 1 and 2 Samuel

The Best Kept Secret exists to help women identify the secret to healing their hearts and connecting with others despite their past. Here, you'll find engaging conversations and important questions that help us connect to the body of Christ despite what the culture believes to be true.

This season, we are learning how the enemy misleads church girls and to what lengths the Lord goes to restore our faith in Him.

JOHN 16:7-11

Nevertheless, I am telling you the truth. It is for your benefit that I go away, because if I don’t go away the Counselor will not come to you. If I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment: About sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see me; and about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.

MEET VIVIAN

Vivian Mabuni is a national speaker, author, bible teacher and podcast host. Her writing has appeared in Christianity Today, SheReadsTruth, Our Daily Bread, Propel Sophia and her teachings have been featured on the YouVersion Bible App’s “Verse of the Day.”

With over 30 years on staff with Cru, Viv loves teaching about the Bible and its practical application to ministry and life. She has been a keynote speaker at IF:Gathering, Cru Winter Conferences, Family Life’s “Weekend To Remember,” and women’s events across the country.

Author of "Open Hands, Willing Heart”, she also serves on the Board of Trustees for Denver Seminary and is the founder & host of “Someday Is Here” a podcast for AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islanders) leaders. Viv loves drinking coffee with her husband of 32 years, Darrin, and marveling at their young adult kids. Connect with her on Instagram@vivmabuni or on her website www.vivianmabuni.com

RESOURCES

Purchase Open Hands Willing Heart

Connect with Viv on IG

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Podcast Notes

SELAH: A STUDY OF 1 AND 2 SAMUEL

Purchase your copy of Selah: A Study of 1 and 2 Samue

The Best Kept Secret exists to help women identify the secret to healing their hearts and connecting with others despite their past. Here, you'll find engaging conversations and important questions that help us connect to the body of Christ despite what the culture believes to be true.

This season, we are learning how the enemy misleads church girls and to what lengths the Lord goes to restore our faith in Him.

ROMANS 8:1

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.

MEET DR. SARITA

Dr. Sarita Lyons, affectionately called “Dr. Sarita,” is a wife, mother, speaker, bible teacher, and psychotherapist. Dr. Lyons speaks, writes, and advocates about the intersections of faith, mental health, and justice; as well as women’s issues in and outside of the church. Most importantly, Dr. Lyons is called to unashamedly preach the unadulterated Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Dr. Lyons is passionate about the emotional and spiritual health of the Church, making disciples, and developing leaders. She deeply cares about the Church being stabilized in Christ amidst the changing tides and influence of culture. She is a highly sought-after speaker and consultant for churches, women's groups, organizations, and educational institutions around the country.

Dr. Lyons will soon release her first published book titled Church Girl, published by WaterBrook & Multnomah, which is the Christian imprint of Penguin Random House. 

RESOURCES

Purchase Church Girl

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Podcast Notes

SELAH: A STUDY OF 1 AND 2 SAMUEL

Want to subscribe to Selah on YouVersion? Join the 7 Day devotional here.

Purchase your copy of Selah: A Study of 1 and 2 Samue

Unlike previous seasons that we've shared together, I will not have a specific theme for each of the seasons moving forward. Instead, it is my hope that we will learn to really listen to those who have different experiences from our own. Listening to their experiences and how the Lord has moved in their lives will give us greater empathy for one another and a deeper opportunity to pray more intentionally.

If there's anything we need in this world, it's empathy. And in the middle of a political season here in the United States, we can't have enough of it.

I'd love to convince you of this through a sermon I preached at Avenue Church a few weeks ago. Would you listen in? I'll be referencing 1 Kings 1, 2 Samuel 11, and 1 Chronicles 22:9 if you'd like to follow along. 

Purchase your copy of Selah: A Study of 1 and 2 Samuel today and don't forget to leave a review.

THE CONTENTMENT TO WALK AWAY

We are finally at the end of our series on contentment and we have covered everything from how contentment is influenced by prayer, the culture, our spiritual disciplines, sorrow, and now release.

Have you ever questioned if your inability to experience contentment is connected to your decision to hold on to assignments you should have released? Could it be time to walk away from a few things?

It's the perfect time to reflect on our motives, and this conversation is one for the books. I pray it supports your growth and the development of contentment in your lives. I know it has mine.

MEET DR. QUANNY

Quantrilla Ard, PhD, lives in the Atlanta area along with her husband and three littles. She is a faith-based personal and spiritual development author and dynamic speaker who believes in the power of collective strength, community, and fellowship.

A passionate creative at heart, Dr. Quanny has answered the call to encourage women in all stages of life and of various backgrounds through empathy, transparency, and love. She holds a doctoral degree in Health Psychology and is an advocate and champion for social and reproductive justice with a focus on Black maternal and infant health and mortality. Dr. Quanny is a professor at the Morehouse School of Medicine, and she uses her social media platforms to engage, educate, and inform others about her doctoral research and personal experience with preeclampsia. In addition, she provides expert opinions on the same in various print and online media outlets.

Dr. Quanny humbly stewards a grief and loss community and podcast, both entitled It’s All Grief to Me, as a coach and liaison for individuals navigating their loss journeys. You can find her sharing stories of triumph as well as follow her and the work she is involved in at www.thephdmamma.com.

RESOURCES

My First Episode with Dr. Quanny on Apple

SELAH ON THE YOUVERSION BIBLE APP

Want to subscribe to Selah on YouVersion? Join the 7 Day devotional here.

Purchase your copy of Selah: A Study of 1 and 2 Samuel

THE STRUGGLE WITH CONTENTMENT AND SORROW

I do know that this month can introduce a variety of emotions and lots of different women, especially as we prepare for Mother's Day. And for years, it was pretty hard to start the month for me because although I wanted to be a mama, I didn't have the opportunity. It always felt a little difficult to send out those Mother's Day text messages to various friends because although I was happy for them, I still felt some sadness.

Now that I've gone through pregnancy and labor and I've familiarized myself with lots of different research about many different struggles that women experience, as well as experiencing some of those struggles myself or with friends, I am also holding those who are feeling the loss of their children in my heart, as well. 

So today, as we prepare to begin this conversation, we'll pray for those who hope to experience contentment again despite their pain.

MEET KRISTEN LAVALLEY

Kristen LaValley is a gifted writer whose words provide a refreshing perspective on faith and spirituality. Her writing resonates with those who carry tensions in their faith, offering insights that intersect doubt and belief, hope and suffering, beauty and heartache, complexity and simplicity. With a deep love for the Christian faith and a willingness to explore its complexities, Kristen's writing offers nuanced conversations that challenge readers to think deeply and wrestle with important questions.

Kristen lives in Massachusetts with her husband Zach and their five children - Jonah, Emery, Anna, Chloe, and Lydia.

RESOURCES

Even If He Doesn't

SELAH ON THE YOUVERSION BIBLE APP

Want to subscribe to Selah on YouVersion? Join the 7 Day devotional here.

Purchase your copy of Selah: A Study of 1 and 2 Samuel

THE BENEFITS OF THE SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES

Y'alllll, the spiritual disciplines have supported my relationship with Christ in the best ways, and I am grateful for them. They consistently remind us that us our God is a relational God, that He has placed us in relationship with others for our good, and that His Holy Spirit will always lead us into all truth and righteousness.

We may not learn them in a formal setting, and we may not always share them on social media, but those spiritual disciplines have the power to remind us we are always growing in the Lord when we let Him lead us there. 

MEET SHANTE GROSSETT O'NEAL

Shanté Grossett O’Neal is the founder of Daily She Pursues. She is passionate about teaching women how to pursue the heart of God by studying his word, spending time in prayer, and committing to a daily walk with the Lord. She is currently working on a Master’s Degree in Biblical Studies at Liberty University and some of her favorite things include tea, journaling, art museums, essential oils, and thrift shopping.

RESOURCES

The Twelve-Week Jesus Bible Study

My Conversation with Shante on the Imprecatory Psalms

SELAH ON THE YOUVERSION BIBLE APP

Want to subscribe to Selah on YouVersion? Join the 7 Day devotional here.

Purchase your copy of Selah: A Study of 1 and 2 Samuel

THE PURSUIT OF CONTENTMENT

Welcome back to our miniseries on contentment. When I first found out I was expecting a little one, I had so many emotions they surprised me. I had planned to feel nothing but pure joy and ecstacy. However, I also felt some grief about the things I knew I would have to walk away from for a season. Now, don't get me wrong.

I was overjoyed. Still, I recognized that every time I engaged with cultural values and got sucked into a vortex on social media, I started feeling as if I was falling behind.

That couldn't be further from the truth, but if it is, who cares? We have to think critically about the messages we're accepting and adopting from the culture so that we can ensure they don't impede our ability to enjoy contentment.

MEET BECKY BERESFORD

Becky Beresford lives in North Carolina and is happily outnumbered by her husband and three wonderful boys. She is an author, speaker, and coach with a Master's Certificate in Spiritual Formation and Discipleship from Moody Theological Seminary. Becky loves encouraging God’s Daughters to embrace Christ-centered empowerment through the truth found in the gospel. She is the host of the inspiring Brave Women Series, where different women share about their journeys toward courage with Jesus. Becky’s first book with Moody Publishers, She Believed HE Could, So She Did, releases in March. Connect with Becky at BeckyBeresford.com where you can sign up to become a part of her Empowered Email Tribe. Or follow her on Instagram.

RESOURCES

She Believed He Could, So She Did

SELAH ON THE YOUVERSION BIBLE APP

Want to subscribe to Selah on YouVersion? Join the 7 Day devotional here.

Purchase your copy of Selah: A Study of 1 and 2 Samuel

Access the Full Show Notes Here

THE PURSUIT OF CONTENTMENT

Welcome to our miniseries on contentment. Over the next five months, we are going to explore what it means to pursue contentment. We'll talk about how it changes the way we live, love, and lead, and I hope you're here for it.

Now, before we get started, let's talk about what contentment is not. Contentment is not an excuse for passivity, disobedience, or complacency. It is a fine balance between faith and gratitude. 

Contentment is not the end of the road, a final destination we somehow get to, but a component that makes the journey easier and more fulfilling. It is the beautiful absence of strife, pride, and competition.

Contentment recognizes capacity and it yields to calling in whatever form it may come.

MEET LISA V. FIELDS

Lisa Fields, one of the world’s most sought-after Christian apologists, combines her passion for biblical literacy with her heart for sharing God’s love with all she meets.

Since starting the Jude 3 Project, Fields has received several honors, most notably, Christianity Today’s recognition of her work as an apologist in the African American community.

Lisa is taking us behind the scenes to talk about how the pursuit of contentment showed up in one of the hardest periods of her life. I could not be more grateful for how she has invited us behind the scenes.

DOCUMENTARIES

Watch Unspoken

Watch Faith and Freedom

SELAH ON THE YOUVERSION BIBLE APP

Want to subscribe to Selah on YouVersion? Join the 7 Day devotional here.

Access the Full Show Notes Here

Thank you for joining me here week after week. In honor of our 100th episode, I'd like you to grab your Bible and listen in as we wrap up this series on worship with a message I shared at Avenue Church this past September.

If you have your copy of Selah: A Study of 1 and 2 Samuel, you can turn to Session 6 as we prepare to talk about the final session, titled Worship Invites Us to Rejoice.

AVENUE CHURCH

Want to get connected to a healthy church in Las Vegas? Check out Avenue Church, led by Pastors Jeremy and Lindsey Bosma. I can't recommend it enough.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Want to find out what was going on in King David's life when he wrote the psalms He's known for? Grab your download here. 

WORSHIPING IN THE WILDERNESS

It wasn't until late in 2022 that one little story in David's narrative stuck out to me. I was going through my own wilderness season, and had been for about a year and a half when I read it.

When King David was returning to the wilderness in 2 Samuel 15 on his way into exile from his son Absalom who had taken over his kingdom, he paused.

He paused to let everyone who was traveling with him (over 600 men and their families to pass by him), while Abiathar the priest made sacrifices. Wow.

Y’all. This is powerful. It shows us that we can keep worshiping, even when we are on the way into a wilderness season, and all of our options feel heavy and impossible to navigate.

I don’t know whether you are coming out of a wilderness season, feeling like you’re on the way into the wilderness or somewhere in between, but the one thing we learn from David is that the wilderness does not dictate our ability to worship the Lord in everything.

This week, we continue to reflect on some of the themes in Session Five of Selah: Worship Invites Resilience in the Wilderness.

TODAY WE'RE REFLECTING ON JAMES 1:5-6 ESV:

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.

A WOMAN YOU SHOULD KNOW

Today, Ty and I get ready to close out this season by featuring one woman who has impacted both of us. Today, I have the great joy to introduce you to Tona Haywood, a marketing consultant and boutique h. Get connected to her because she is definitely a woman you should know.

MEET FAITH EURY CHO

Faith is the CEO and founder of The Honor Summit, a nonprofit organization that equips and activates Asian American women for the mission of God. Alongside her husband, Pastor David Cho, she is also the co-founder and co-pastor of  Mosaic Covenant Church in NJ.

Faith is a coach and collaborator for Propel Ecclesia, for which she has also been a contributing writer. She is also the author of Experiencing Friendship with God: How the Wilderness Draws Us to His Presence.

Faith has spoken on mission fields, churches, conferences, and stages such as Thinq Media and Exponential. She regularly appears on TBN’s Better Together. In addition, she has been a guest on The 700 Club and LIFE Today TV. In January 2023, she was mentioned in Outreach Magazine as one of, “20 Rising Leaders.”

Her most precious role, however, is being a mom to her 4 children— Moriah, Elias, River and Adalynn.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Want to find out what was going on in King David's life when he wrote the psalms He's known for? Grab your download here. 

OFFERING PRESENCE

I am so grateful for those mamas who model how to keep worshiping when your children rebel because they display the heart of our Great God and the love He has for each of us. In fact, my mama has modeled this up close and personally for me.

One of the most interesting relationships in all of 1 and 2 Samuel is that between King David and his son, Absalom. Once David invites Absalom back into the kingdom, he continues to ignore him, and throughout the Scripture we see Absalom fall deeper and deeper into rebellion the more distant he grows from His father.

Thank God that we don't have a Heavenly Father who ignores us-even when we rebel. May we all pray for the parents and their children in each of our lives.

This week, we continue to reflect on some of the themes in Session Five of Selah: Worship Invites Resilience in the Wilderness.

TODAY WE'RE REFLECTING ON ACTS 10:34-35 KJV:

Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.

In the NLT, it says, “Then Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right.”

A WOMAN YOU SHOULD KNOW

Today, Ty and I get ready to close out this season by featuring one woman who has impacted both of us. Today, I have the great joy to introduce you to Heidy de la Cruz, a writer and podcaster. Get connected to her because she is definitely a woman you should know.

MEET PAMELA

Pamela Henkelman is a Life Coach for Midlife Moms, speaker, writer, and host of The Midlife Momma Podcast. With her bright smile and enthusiastic personality, she is passionate about encouraging women, particularly the often-forgotten group of moms with adult children.

Pamela helps these moms navigate their changing roles and build stronger relationships with their grown children.

As a mom of five grown kids and two grandsons, Pamela has first-hand experience with the challenges and joys of navigating the empty nest phase of life. She and her husband, who is a pastor, are living their best empty-nest life and loving every minute of it. Download Pamela’s freebie Your Kids Are Grown…Now What here.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Want to find out what was going on in King David's life when he wrote the psalms He's known for? Grab your download here. 

YAHWEH

One thing that King David was familiar with was grief. In fact, many Biblical figures we look up to were. Out of all of the Psalms that were written, over a third of them were written as lament, and today, we can read them to help us gain a deeper perspective of who our God is in the middle of pain.

Sometimes, it feels like all you can do is breathe when you're in the middle of intense grief. And, even though that can feel shallow or superficial, those of us who have struggled with the desire to live know how important breathing can be.

In those times, when taking your next breath feels unbearable, remember that the name YAHWEH is made up of aspirated consonants that we breathe in and out every single day. And until you can find the strength to lift your arms again, know that He is with you, and that is enough. 

This week, we are continuing to reflect on some of the themes in Session Five of Selah: Worship Invites Resilience in the Wilderness.

TODAY WE'RE REFLECTING ON JOHN 16:33 NLT

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.

A WOMAN YOU SHOULD KNOW

Today, Ty and I get to close out this season by featuring one woman who has impacted both of us. Today, I have the great joy to introduce you to Brittany Dodson, a worship artist and author. Get connected to her because she is definitely a woman you should know.

MEET NATASHA

Natasha Smith is a grief advocate, author, speaker, podcaster, and content creative. She loves God and believes he has the heart for the hurting. She believed God sees, God knows, and God understands every single thing that we go through.

Natasha she has a heart for the hurting, for the grieving and for those who are experiencing and facing hard times in life as well. She has experienced God's love, sovereignty, power, healing, peace, and love in her life. And Natasha loves sharing God's goodness with others-especially for those who were hurting so that they would know that there is hope in Hope's name is Jesus.

Natasha Smith has been sharing on faith, family and grief for over 12 years through multiple publications, including her website in a few of those publications include her view from home today, parents. And focus on the family. Natasha's new book, Can You Just Sit With Me: Healthy Grieving for the Losses of Life is available today.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Want to find out what was going on in King David's life when he wrote the psalms He's known for? Grab your download here. 

TODAY WE'RE REFLECTING ON 2 SAMUEL 5:22-25 CSB

 The Philistines came up again and spread out in Rephaim Valley. 23 So David inquired of the Lord, and he answered, “Do not attack directly, but circle around behind them and come at them opposite the balsam trees. 24 When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, act decisively, for then the Lord will have gone out ahead of you to strike down the army of the Philistines.” 25 So David did exactly as the Lord commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Geba to Gezer.

THE BIBLE STUDY IS OFFICIALLY OUT!

Selah: A Study of 1 and 2 Samuel is still available for preorder and it is my prayer that, together, we can fall even more deeply in love with the Scriptures. You can purchase it here on Amazon.

The study includes: 

• 6 video sessions (all between 9 and 14 minutes because you have your own questions to pray about and answer),
• 30 guided prayers (all around 7 minutes to help you dive into prayer),
• and 6 weeks of live study with me (and any others who have the opportunity to join us) every Tuesday, beginning September 26 at 6:30PM PST/9:30 PM EST.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Thinking about launching your own podcast? Want to see if there's a way to continue to host your podcast and do more while spending less? Click here for my 7 Podcasting Essentials!

Please don't forget to leave a Review on Apple Podcasts or Audible to show some love. 💗 I'm giving away a book to two of you who leave your IG handle.

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My newest devotional is available on the YouVersion Bible app! Will you subscribe to it? I have a feeling it will bless you!

PRESCRIPTIVE PASSAGES VS DESCRIPTIVE PASSAGES

We read about three important, yet difficult stories, throughout the books of 1 and 2 Samuel: Mychal, Bathsheba, and Tamar. And the one thing we realize when we read them is that these women's stories mattered to the Holy Spirit.

The passages surrounding these passages are not prescriptive. They are not passages to direct us about how to live today (unless it is to do the opposite). They are descriptive, meant to describe what happened to these women and the effect it had on all involved, and the Holy Spirit required the biographers to include them rather than gloss over them.

In spite of the pain, in spite of the struggle, and in spite of the abuse that we find there, we still see a God who cares, a God who redeems, a God who looks down from heaven and desires justice, a God who heals, and a God who loves in all of it.

This week, we are continuing to reflect on some of the themes in Session Four of Selah: Worship Invites Resilience in the Wilderness.

TODAY WE'RE REFLECTING ON ROMANS 12:15 ESV

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.

A WOMAN YOU SHOULD KNOW

Today, Ty and I get to close out this season by featuring one woman who has impacted both of us. Today, I have the great joy to introduce you to Anisa L. Wesley, a best selling author, licensed clinical social work, and podcaster. Get connected to her because she is definitely a woman you should know.

MEET MARY

Mary DEMUTH loves Jesus. And really that’s the most important thing about her. It’s not writing or speaking or praying or mommying or any other -ing you can find. She flat out loves Him. Why? Because he has utterly, truly, completely re-storied her. 

She’s been writing for 30+ years–half of them in obscurity. She mentored many writers during that time, and continues to do so through the Rockwall Christian Writers Group and some of her  instructional books. Since then she has written over 45 books, translated into five languages. You can see a listing of all her books on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, CBD, Lifeway and Parable.

Mary pioneered a literary agency in 2022, Mary DeMuth Literary, where she shepherds writers toward traditional publishing.

Today, we are talking to Mary about how to worship amidst untold stories of sexual abuse.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Want to find out what was going on in King David's life when he wrote the psalms He's known for? Grab your download here. 

THE WORK WE HAVE YET TO DO

Mephibosheth shows up in one of the sweetest scriptures in all of 1 and 2 Samuel, and yet the way he is treated over time also reminds us that we have much work to do in the body of Christ concerning our loved ones who are disabled.

This is one of THE most important conversations we have ever had on The Best Kept Secret. Thank you for being here.

This week, we are continuing to reflect on some of the themes in Session Four of Selah: Worship Invites Renewal.

TODAY WE'RE REFLECTING ON 2 SAMUEL 9:7 ESV

And David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father, and you shall eat at my table always.”

A WOMAN YOU SHOULD KNOW

Today, Ty and I get to close out this season by featuring one woman who has impacted both of us. Today, I have the great joy to introduce you to Victoria Weatherspoon, someone who is consistently lifting others up. Get connected to her because she is definitely a woman you should know.

MEET JENNIFER

Jennifer Ji-Hye Ko (JenniferJiHyeKo.com) is a Disabled speaker, writer, poet, author of A Lamenter’s Pathway to Joy: Devotional Journal, founder of Disabled Christian Voices Ministry, and currently working towards becoming a certified Beyond Suffering (theology of disability) instructor with Joni and Friends Ministry. She has lived with multiple physical, developmental, and psychological disabilities since early childhood including the traumatic confusion of being a late-diagnosed Autistic. 

Armed with over a decade of theological and biblical counseling education, as well as mind-body self-study, Jennifer continues to learn by chronically dwelling on the sacred ground of desperate fellowship with Christ in his suffering. Jennifer — supported by her husband, daughter, BFF, and service dog, Natasha Romanoff — strives to uplift and embolden hurting people with the comfort she has received from God.

I ASKED JENNIFER:

• David’s choice to keep his covenant to Jonathan is one of the sweetest stories in 1 and 2 Samuel. I’d love to ask what stands out to you about Mephibosheth’s restoration and what you think we can learn from it today.
• You often speak about how people should develop a theology of suffering. Can you tell us about this? 
• I was surprised to learn about the history of discrimination in the church against people with disabilities. Can you share a little about this history and the sin of partiality?
• What kinds of experiences have you bore witness to that show how someone might be welcome in theory but rejected in practice? 
• What scriptures inform your work? 
• What recommendations do you have for those who are struggling to worship through the challenges they have faced within their churches?

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Want to find out what was going on in King David's life when he wrote the psalms He's known for? Grab your download here. 

OUR IDENTITY CAN HELP OR HINDER OUR ABILITY TO WORSHIP THE LORD

I have found that one of the most secure men in all of Scripture is Jonathan. It is through his life that we begin to understand that when we yield our identity to the Lord it leads us to serve Him more effectively-even when it comes at the expense of what we once believed we were entitled to.

Although we rarely acknowledge it, Jonathan is definitely a type of Christ. He chose to lay down his life for David so that David could access the throne and it is one that encourages me to become a better friend in every way.

This week, we are continuing to reflect on some of the themes in Session Two of Selah: Worship Invites You To Repentance.

TODAY WE'RE REFLECTING ON JOHN 15:13 ESV

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

A WOMAN YOU SHOULD KNOW

Today, Ty and I get to close out this season by featuring one woman who has impacted both of us. Today, Ty is introducing us to Sharonda Dreamms, a Christian Dating Strategist and Doctoral Candidate at Liberty University. Get connected to her because she is definitely a woman you should know.

MEET TASHA

Tasha is a biracial Korean American melancholy dreamer. She grew up in a multicultural home, and because of that, she’s spent her life navigating cultural collisions and liminal space. 

She writes about faith, cultural and ethnic identity, and living with a shalomsick ache. Writing has always been the way God has led her through pain and towards the hope of shalom. 

Tasha lives in the Midwest with her husband and three kids, and she is the author of Tell Me the Dream Again: Reflections on Family, Ethnicity, and the Sacred Work of Belonging.

I ASKED TASHA:

• Can you tell us about your book and the significance of the title?
• In your book, you talked to us about how hard it was for your family to find a church you could feel welcome in as a young child. You continued to discus this theme as you recounted your adult years, too, and I deeply resonated with the point you made about how you counted the minorities as an adult. Can you share some advice that we can implement today to help others feel more welcome?
• How can leadership teams of churches become more strategic about the ways they include diverse voices?
• Color-blind theology has always been a sugarcoated death threat to everything Korean in me. It pretends to offer something sweet but it does so at the expense of deep connection and community. What is the difference between false unity and true unity?
• You write, "These experiences of trauma passed through generations and the han we carry are not given by God as a means to an end, but what if they are the soil God uses to show us our need for Jesus and open us to love?" Can you share a little more about the soil God shows us our need for Him?
• How might someone who has rejected her culture learn how to worship the Lord more deeply?

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Want to find out what was going on in King David's life when he wrote the psalms He's known for? Grab your download here. 

WORSHIP INVITES US TO BRING OUR DISAPPOINTMENTS TO GOD

It saddens me to think about how much we talk about Michal, David's first wife, without ever addressing the trauma that she endured throughout her life. As the youngest daughter of King Saul, she was often used as the pawn he chose to manipulate to kill David and it is evident that she was influenced by the idolatry her father practiced.

When Michal helped save David's life in 1 Samuel 19, she took a household idol to distract Saul's servants and give David time to escape. However, no one ever slowed down long enough to address the pain she had, the disappointment she was navigating, and the rebellion that had begun to hide in her heart.

It's hard to imagine someone reaching for a household idol today, but it may be more common than we realize.

Today, we are reflecting on some of the themes in Session Two of Selah: Worship Invites You To Repentance.

TODAY WE'RE REFLECTING ON GALATIANS 3:13-14 ESV

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— ¹⁴ so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

A WOMAN YOU SHOULD KNOW

Today, Ty and I get to close out this season by featuring one woman who has impacted both of us. Winter Brooke is someone who reminds me to prioritize my time with the Lord on IG so that I don't begin to idolize the algorithm or any desire for popularity. Get connected to her because she is definitely a woman you should know.

MEET ELIZABETH

Elizabeth Woodson is a bible teacher, writer, and speaker, who is passionate about communicating the rich theological truths of Scripture. She loves helping people internalize their faith and connect it practically to everyday life.

Elizabeth has worked as the Institute Classes and Curriculum Director at The Village Church in Flower Mound, Texas and as the Single Life Coordinator at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship under the leadership of Senior Pastor Dr. Tony Evans. She is a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary with a Masters in Christian Education, a member of the teaching team at Lifeway Women, and the cohost of The Starting Place Podcast.

Today, we are talking to Elizabeth about worshiping in an idolatrous culture, and you can find her books here.

I ASKED ELIZABETH:

• What inspired you to go on your own journey to embrace your life.
• How do we reconcile the ideal lives we have been taught to pursue with God’s ideal for our lives?
• That ideal can turn quickly turn into an idol if we’re not careful, and I was so thankful that you shared incredible insight on the struggle we have with idolatry. How does comfort have the potential to lead us to idolatry? 
• What power does lament have to teach us about ourselves?
• Shifting to your Bible study, what recommendations do you have for the young ministry leader who is struggling to reconcile the vision God has given her with the present place she finds herself?
• Can you speak to our sister who is having a hard time worshiping through her disappointment today? 

SELAH IS OFFICIALLY AVAILABLE!

Selah: A Study of 1 and 2 Samuel is still available for preorder and it is my prayer that, together, we can fall even more deeply in love with the Scriptures. You can purchase it here on Amazon.

The study includes: 

• 6 video sessions (all between 9 and 14 minutes because you have your own questions to pray about and answer),
• 30 guided prayers (all around 7 minutes to help you dive into prayer),
• and 6 weeks of live study with me (and any others who have the opportunity to join us) every Tuesday, beginning this Tuesday, September 26 at 6:30PM PST/9:30 PM EST.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Want to find out what was going on in King David's life when he wrote the psalms He's known for? Grab your download here. 

TODAY WE'RE REFLECTING ON 1 CORINTHIANS 3:6-8

6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor.

THE BIBLE STUDY IS OFFICIALLY OUT!

Selah: A Study of 1 and 2 Samuel is still available for preorder and it is my prayer that, together, we can fall even more deeply in love with the Scriptures. You can purchase it here on Amazon.

The study includes: 

• 6 video sessions (all between 9 and 14 minutes because you have your own questions to pray about and answer),
• 30 guided prayers (all around 7 minutes to help you dive into prayer),
• and 6 weeks of live study with me (and any others who have the opportunity to join us) every Tuesday, beginning September 26 at 6:30PM PST/9:30 PM EST.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Thinking about launching your own podcast? Want to see if there's a way to continue to host your podcast and do more while spending less? Click here for my 7 Podcasting Essentials!

Please don't forget to leave a Review on Apple Podcasts or Audible to show some love. 💗 I'm giving away a book to two of you who leave your IG handle.

Here's the Confident Collaborations Quiz

My newest devotional is available on the YouVersion Bible app! Will you subscribe to it? I have a feeling it will bless you!

WORSHIP INVITES US TO WAIT

1 Samuel 13 is a sobering picture of what happens when we fail to wait on the Lord, and it is one we need to take seriously. Saul, set on obtaining favor with people chose to deny the Lord's command when the Israelite soldiers began to desert him and it cost him everything.

However, the biographers don't leave us there. They contrast his character with that of Jonathan's (his son's) and with David's and it is evident that choosing to wait on the Lord is also an act of obedience that we should take seriously and find delight in.

Waiting is not passive, sis. It is active. Trust God's timing.

Today, we are reflecting on some of the themes in Session Two of Selah: Worship Invites You To Repentance.

TODAY WE'RE REFLECTING ON PSALM 136 ESV

A WOMAN YOU SHOULD KNOW

Today, Ty and I get to close out this season by featuring one woman who has impacted both of us. Briana Taylor is someone who reminds me to prioritize my time with the Lord on IG, and she is someone you should know. Get connected to her because she is definitely a woman you should know.

MEET OGHOSA

Oghosa Iyamu is a passionate Bible teacher and content creator on a mission to spread the life-transforming message of Jesus Christ. Oghosa is the founder of Un.scrambled, a ministry that helps people live unscrambled from the world’s ideologies.

With an unwavering dedication to sharing the gospel, Oghosa has spent over a decade studying the Bible and discipling individuals, leading them to experience true freedom in Christ.

She has been featured in various publications, newsletters, podcasts, and conferences, including platforms such as Lifeway, Lies Young Women Believe, She Reads Truth, Revive Our Hearts, Radical, and many others.

I ASKED OGHOSA:

• Our world is in such a rush, and we in the Church have picked it up. What kind of benefits have you discovered in the middle of the wait?
• Can you share with us how you have learned to grow in faithfulness without feeling the need to rush and focus on influence?
• What are some of the hard lessons you have learned in the middle of waiting to move forward?
• What scriptures or Bible stories throughout the Bible help you to focus on the Lord’s presence when we are consistently bombarded with messages that appeal to our pride?
• What is one word of wisdom you could share with our sister who is struggling to worship while she waits on the vision the Lord has given her?

SELAH IS OFFICIALLY AVAILABLE!

Selah: A Study of 1 and 2 Samuel is still available for preorder and it is my prayer that, together, we can fall even more deeply in love with the Scriptures. You can purchase it here on Amazon.

The study includes: 

• 6 video sessions (all between 9 and 14 minutes because you have your own questions to pray about and answer),
• 30 guided prayers (all around 7 minutes to help you dive into prayer),
• and 6 weeks of live study with me (and any others who have the opportunity to join us) every Tuesday, beginning this Tuesday, September 26 at 6:30PM PST/9:30 PM EST.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Want to find out what was going on in King David's life when he wrote the psalms He's known for? Grab your download here. 

WORSHIP INVITES US TO REPENTANCE

I feel for King Saul. As the first king of Israel, he made a lot of mistakes that were unprecedented at the point he became king, and he experienced a lot of pressure from the very beginning, pressure that we don't always understand.

We live in an innocence-guilt culture, and because of that, we often misunderstand those who are part of collective cultures that are a part of honor-shame cultures.

Jacques Georges and Mark D. Baker, the authors of Ministering and Honor-Shame Cultures, write that the removal of shame and the restoration of honor lies at the center of God's salvation. However, I want to remind you that it was never God's intention that we feel guilt or shame, but was, instead, a byproduct of the fall.

However, King Saul's most significant problem lie in the fact that he was so consumed with honor, that he failed to offer it to the only One who is truly worthy. When we study the scriptures, we see that King Saul placed the people's opinion above the presence of God and interrupted his communion and his communication with the one true God again and again and again.

Georges and Baker, the authors that I referenced earlier, mention that the limbic system within our brain senses social threats and shame the same way as physical threats. Both types of imminent danger trigger the same self-preservation instinct, and they share a common neural basis in the brain. 

Today, we are reflecting on some of the themes in Session Two of Selah: Worship Invites You To Repentance.

TODAY WE'RE REFLECTING ON 1 JOHN 4:19 ESV:

We love because he first loved us.

A WOMAN YOU SHOULD KNOW

Today, Ty and I get to close out this season by featuring one woman who has tremendously impacted both of us. Meosha Culpepper is the founder of TER Ministries, and hosts retreats to help ministry leaders get refilled. Get connected to her because she is definitely a woman you should know.

MEET NAILAH

Nailah Tee is a worship leader and certified coach who believes in the power of worship to transform lives. Her natural talent for music was recognized early, and led to her becoming a member of various school and children’s choirs.

Since then, Nailah has performed on large stages and provided background vocals to several gospel artists, musicians, and worship leaders. Her music can be found on all music streaming platforms. She currently serves as a worship leader in her local church. 

Nailah believes music is only one of the ways God uses her to share His heart and help believers walk in the fullness of who they are. She can be seen sharing words of encouragement on social media and will be available for 1:1 coaching this fall.

I ASKED NAILAH:

• How did you first fall in love with the Lord? 
• In your opinion, what blocks our ability to worship the Lord?
• What are some of the pitfalls you see those in your field leading worship through song fall into?
• Do you have any words of advice about how we can steward our gifts without giving in to the idolatry of money?
• How have you learned to continue inviting the Lord to purify your worship? 
• What is one thing you want congregants to know about worship?
• Would you share a few words of wisdom do you have for our sister who is here and interested in going deeper in worship?

SELAH IS OFFICIALLY AVAILABLE!

Selah: A Study of 1 and 2 Samuel is still available for preorder and it is my prayer that, together, we can fall even more deeply in love with the Scriptures. You can purchase it here on Amazon.

The study includes: 

• 6 video sessions (all between 9 and 14 minutes because you have your own questions to pray about and answer),
• 30 guided prayers (all around 7 minutes to help you dive into prayer),
• and 6 weeks of live study with me (and any others who have the opportunity to join us) every Tuesday, beginning this Tuesday, September 26 at 6:30PM PST/9:30 PM EST.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Want to find out what was going on in King David's life when he wrote the psalms He's known for? Grab your download here. 

If we are going to worship the Lord, we have to remember who He is in the middle of everything that attempts to steal our attention and make us forget about how faithful He has been from generation to generation.

Biblical writers instruct us to remember from the Old to the New Testament, so let's take it to heart today.

Moses first reminds the Israelites to remember in Exodus 13:3.

Joshua picks up on that theme in Joshua 4.

And Samuel continues the tradition in 1 Samuel 7:12.

When the Israelites decided to repent for their actions against the Lord, Samuel called all of them to Mizpah. However, the Philistines decided to wage war against them. Samuel didn't grow anxious or worried. Instead, he made a sacrifice and set up an Ebenezer stone.

Ebenezer means stone of help. Samuel was calling them to remember how the Lord had helped them in the past and how He would continue to help them. And the Lord was faithful! He gave the Israelites success over the Philistines and peace as a result.

May we all remember the God who helps us in the pain and the problems we face.

The first session of Selah is titled Worship Invites us to Remember, and if you'd like to cover this topic further, you can purchase a copy of Selah here. 

TODAY WE'RE REFLECTING ON 1 SAMUEL ESV:

Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer; for he said, “Till now the Lord has helped us.”

A WOMAN YOU SHOULD KNOW

Today, Ty and I get to close out this season by featuring one woman who has tremendously impacted both of us. Marilyn Johnson is a YouVersion Partner and the Creator of At The Well. Get connected to her because she is definitely a woman you should know.

MEET KATIE

Katie is the wife to Ross and mother to Tyler, Bailey, Brooklyn, and Bo (ages 10-18). She has a Bachelor’s Degree in business from Washington State University, but her days are mostly spent in the busyness of running a home and homeschooling her kids. I

In surrendering my far and wide dreams for His so much better story, God has given her many opportunities to speak life and write truth. She loves helping women follow Christ bravely and live boldly in the fullness of His plan for their lives – big, small, and all the wild and mundane in between.

You can find her new book, And Then She Remembered, here. 

I ASKED KATIE:

• What encouraged you to write this message?
• How can we grow more focused in our culture today, especially with all of the demands and cultural expectations all of the time?
• What do we risk when we fail to resist the distractions?
• How do we get clear about what we should really be paying attention to?
• What should we know about identity and the modern phenomenon that it is?
• How has your memory produced an inheritance for your children?
• What recommendations would you make to the woman who is struggling to worship past her distractions?

SELAH IS OFFICIALLY AVAILABLE!

Selah: A Study of 1 and 2 Samuel is still available for preorder and it is my prayer that, together, we can fall even more deeply in love with the Scriptures. You can purchase it here on Amazon.

The study includes: 

• 6 video sessions (all between 9 and 14 minutes because you have your own questions to pray about and answer),
• 30 guided prayers (all around 7 minutes to help you dive into prayer),
• and 6 weeks of live study with me (and any others who have the opportunity to join us) every Tuesday, beginning this Tuesday, September 26 at 6:30PM PST/9:30 PM EST.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Want to find out what was going on in King David's life when he wrote the psalms He's known for? Grab your download here. 

Skeptics usually deny the truth in the Word of God because they claim that there are two Gods in the Bible: The God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament. However, a closer look will reveal that God’s mercy, lovingkindness, and grace have followed us all the days of our lives-from the very beginning.

Nowhere is that more evident than through the Holy Spirit’s choice to speak to the strength of women in the Old and New Testament alike. Skeptics would say that the way God treats women further reinforces this belief. However, one of the things I love about 1 and 2 Samuel is how the Holy Spirit drew attention to so many different women throughout these two beautiful books in our Bible. Selah is available today if you want to go deeper.

TODAY WE'RE REFLECTING ON HEBREWS 13:8 ESV:

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

A WOMAN YOU SHOULD KNOW

Today, Ty and I get to close out this season by featuring one woman who has tremendously impacted both of us. Maura Romero is the outreach director for Brave Global. Get connected to her because she is definitely a woman you should know.

MEET JENNIFER

Jennifer is an international speaker and bible teacher who has served as a missionary in 5 countries. Her mission is to help women know God and experience transformation through bible study.

One of Jennifer’s passions is storytelling through social media and writing. More recently, her storytelling skills were used for Hope International Inc., Three Roots International, and International Justice Mission to advocate and uplift the stories of the people these organizations serve.

She is also an author and the creator of two journals, “Be Your Own Relationship Goals-Vol 1. and “The Changemaker Guide to Studying the Bible.” Since 2006, her influence has spanned the globe, from speaking at conferences to groups of women and youth to ministering to sex-trafficking victims and orphans in several countries, and leading missions teams.

Today, Jennifer spends her time helping women grow holistically through the online SoulCircles community and speaking. She works as a National Presenter for Faithlife, the creators of Logos Bible Software.

I ASKED JENNIFER:

• What did God reveal to you on your forgiveness journey?
• What stands out to you about Hannah? 
• What kind of obstacles have you experienced in the body of Christ or do you support others through in your work? 
• What scriptures have you stood on in your faith journey? 
• What is one word of wisdom you might share with us about worship?

SELAH IS OFFICIALLY AVAILABLE!

Selah: A Study of 1 and 2 Samuel is still available for preorder and it is my prayer that, together, we can fall even more deeply in love with the Scriptures. You can purchase it here on Amazon.

The study includes: 

• 6 video sessions (all between 9 and 14 minutes because you have your own questions to pray about and answer),
• 30 guided prayers (all around 7 minutes to help you dive into prayer),
• and 6 weeks of live study with me (and any others who have the opportunity to join us) every Tuesday, beginning this Tuesday, September 26 at 6:30PM PST/9:30 PM EST.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Want to find out what was going on in King David's life when he wrote the psalms He's known for? Grab your download here. 

Today, we're talking about the many ways we have the opportunity to remove the limitations off of God. He is our limitless God, and He can heal at the altar, just like He can heal in the therapist's office. 

Let's talk about worship as we look at how David and others worshiped beyond their pain, without dismissing their pain. Selah: A Study of 1 and 2 Samuel is now available!

TODAY WE'RE REFLECTING ON PSALM 42:2 NIV:

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.

    When can I go and meet with God?

A WOMAN YOU SHOULD KNOW

Today, Ty and I get to close out this season by featuring one woman who has tremendously impacted both of us. La Tonya Daniels is the author of Forgiving A Perfect God: Resolving Anger with Divinity. Get connected to her because she is definitely a woman you should know.

MEET KOBE

Kobe Campbell is an award-winning licensed trauma therapist, bestselling author, media expert, entertainment consultant, and keynote speaker. Kobe just released her first book with W Publishing of HarperCollins titled Why Am I Like This? How to Break Cycles, Heal From Trauma, and Restore Your Faith.

I ASKED KOBE:

• What inspired her to write this book?
• Are we overusing the word trauma?
• What is EMDR?
• What advice would she give to the woman who has made a practice of dismissing her pain?
• What does it mean to stop seeing God as an audience and see Him as an advocate?
• How do we worship through our trauma?

SELAH IS OFFICIALLY AVAILABLE!

Selah: A Study of 1 and 2 Samuel is still available for preorder and it is my prayer that, together, we can fall even more deeply in love with the Scriptures. You can purchase it here on Amazon.

The study includes: 

• 6 video sessions (all between 9 and 14 minutes because you have your own questions to pray about and answer),
• 30 guided prayers (all around 7 minutes to help you dive into prayer),
• and 6 weeks of live study with me (and any others who have the opportunity to join us) every Tuesday, beginning September 26 at 6:30PM PST/9:30 PM EST.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Want to find out what was going on in King David's life when he wrote the psalms He's known for? Grab your download here. 

You can hear our Live Podcast Recording where she started our time off with a beautiful poem here, and you can order her newest album on iTunes or her website here.

TODAY WE'RE REFLECTING ON GENESIS 22:5 ESV

Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.”

THE BIBLE STUDY IS OFFICIALLY OUT IN 1 WEEK!

Selah: A Study of 1 and 2 Samuel is still available for preorder and it is my prayer that, together, we can fall even more deeply in love with the Scriptures. You can purchase it here on Amazon.

The study includes: 

• 6 video sessions (all between 9 and 14 minutes because you have your own questions to pray about and answer),
• 30 guided prayers (all around 7 minutes to help you dive into prayer),
• and 6 weeks of live study with me (and any others who have the opportunity to join us) every Tuesday, beginning September 26 at 6:30PM PST/9:30 PM EST.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Thinking about launching your own podcast? Want to see if there's a way to continue to host your podcast and do more while spending less? Click here for my 7 Podcasting Essentials!

Please don't forget to leave a Review on Apple Podcasts or Audible to show some love. 💗 I'm giving away a book to two of you who leave your IG handle.

Here's the Confident Collaborations Quiz

My newest devotional is available on the YouVersion Bible app! Will you subscribe to it? I have a feeling it will bless you!

Selah: A Study of 1 and 2 Samuel is still available for preorder and it is my prayer that, together, we can fall even more deeply in love with the Scriptures. You can purchase it here on Amazon.

The study includes: 

• 6 video sessions (all between 9 and 14 minutes because you have your own questions to pray about and answer),
• 30 guided prayers (all around 7 minutes to help you dive into prayer),
• and 6 weeks of live study with me (and any others who have the opportunity to join us) every Tuesday, beginning September 26 at 6:30PM PST/9:30 PM EST.

Grab Your Preorder Bonus Here

Join the Conversation Through Email, Sis

Connect with Timberly Gray Here

Connect with Christine Prato Coleman Here

Connect with December James Here

Pastor Mark has recently authored a new book, Please, Sorry, Thanks: Three Words that Change Everything, and I am so grateful he accepted my invitation to join us.

Today, he talks with us about the:

• humility our Lord modeled,
• ability we have to choose our response when tragedy strikes or we find ourselves on the receiving end of the pain someone refuses to acknowledge
• celebrity culture in the Church and so much more.

TODAY WE'RE REFLECTING ON JAMES 1:26 NIV

Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

A WOMAN YOU SHOULD KNOW

Today, Tonya and I get to close out this season by featuring one woman who has tremendously impacted both of us. Vanya Caprietta is a powerful woman of prayer, and she hosts a community called The Prayer Closet, as well as the owner of Lif Apparel. Get connected to her because she is definitely a woman you should know.

I ASKED PASTOR MARK:

• What inspired you to write Please, Sorry, Thanks?
• Can you talk to us about how important it is to follow Christ's example of humility?
• What is the difference between washing others' feet and washing our hands of the situation, and what do we need to know about people pleasing?
• How do you conduct yourself with integrity when someone refuses to apologize for an offense they've commited against you?
• What can someone do to reset their priorities when they realize they have failed to uphold God's values?
• What are you thankful for?

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Want more information? Check the show notes for Mark's links and links to the additional resources I mentioned.

Thinking about launching your own podcast? Want to see if there's a way to continue to host your podcast and do more while spending less? Click here for my 7 Podcasting Essentials!

Please don't forget to leave a Review on Apple Podcasts or Audible to show some love. 💗 I'm giving away a book to two of you who leave your IG handle.

Here's the Confident Collaborations Quiz

UNLIKELY FRIENDSHIP: SPEAKING OVER OLD PROMISES

Y'all! My newest devotional is available on the YouVersion Bible app! Will you subscribe to it? I have a feeling it will bless you!

The next generation is watching, and God is using your life to win their hearts. Thankfully, Stephanie Bright is the founder of Christian Girls P.O.P, and she is here to help us model what it looks like to follow Christ at every age.

TODAY WE'RE REFLECTING ON COLOSSIANS 3:16 NIV

Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

A WOMAN YOU SHOULD KNOW

Stephanie is just one woman you should know today, Today, my guest cohost, Tonya, and I have the honor to highlight an incredible mentor who has touched both of our lives in various ways.

While many try to sidestep taboo subjects or sugarcoat the truth, Taneya Hunter is most known for her authenticity, boldness, and straight-forward approach to life’s most challenging topics. She is a woman you should know, and you can find out more about her here.

I ASKED STEPHANIE:

• How did you fall in the love with the Lord and how did He lead you to create Christian Girls Pop? 
• What would have helped you leave that toxic relationship earlier as a teenager?
• How has integrity blessed you at a young age to be able to reach other college-aged students? 
• What is the purpose of your Selah retreats, and how do you spend your time on the retreats?

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Want more information? Check the show notes for Stephanie's links and links to the additional resources I mentioned.

Thinking about launching your own podcast? Want to see if there's a way to continue to host your podcast and do more while spending less? Click here for my 7 Podcasting Essentials!

Please don't forget to leave a Review on Apple Podcasts or Audible to show some love. 💗 I'm giving away a book to two of you who leave your IG handle.

Here's the Confident Collaborations Quiz

UNLIKELY FRIENDSHIP: SPEAKING OVER OLD PROMISES

Y'all! My newest devotional is available on the YouVersion Bible app! Will you subscribe to it? I have a feeling it will bless you!

Thankfully, Tarah-Lynn Saint Elien is here to help us remember how important it is, especially in the workforce. As the fashion editor of Cosmopolitan, she knows a thing or two about what it takes to get your head together so you can show up consistently and lead others to recognize the Lord's love.

TODAY WE'RE REFLECTING ON PROVERBS 31:30-31 NIV

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

A WOMAN YOU SHOULD KNOW

Tarah-Lynne is just one woman you should know today,Today, my guest cohost, Tonya, and I have the honor to highlight a mother-daughter team, and I am so grateful. Desiree and Christine are two women I get to minister with regularly in Las Vegas, and they have a free fourteen-day mother-daughter challenge you can download on their website. Get connected to them here.

I ASKED TARAH-LYNN:

• How did your writing journey start?
• What place does integrity play in the workforce as you navigate the fashion industry?
• What piece of the spiritual armor do you feel like you need to be most cognizant of?
• What kinds of struggles have you endured that you felt called to write about in your newest book?
• Can you speak to the woman who is listening who might be a little afraid to use her voice for the Lord?

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Want more information? Check the show notes for Tarah-Lynn's links and links to additional resources I mentioned.

Thinking about launching your own podcast? Want to see if there's a way to continue to host your podcast and do more while spending less? Click here for my 7 Podcasting Essentials!

Please don't forget to leave a Review on Apple Podcasts or Audible to show some love. 💗 I'm giving away a book to two of you who leave your IG handle.

Here's the Confident Collaborations Quiz

UNLIKELY FRIENDSHIP: SPEAKING OVER OLD PROMISES

Y'all! My newest devotional is available on the YouVersion Bible app! Will you subscribe to it? I have a feeling it will bless you!

Today, we are starting our conversation with a tiny talk about common grace that former guests have discussed.

In A Just Mission, Mekdes writes:

"Our understanding of how God works is limited by our humanity, our culture, and the stories we've been told, especially in the mission movement-a narrative the West has controlled for centuries...We have lost the capacity to imagine that God's general revelation would lead people to Christ. In fact, the main way Christianity has been spreading in Muslim countries is through visions and dreams, with Jesus Christ himself revealing himself to others."

TODAY WE'RE REFLECTING ON ROMANS 8:20-21 ESV

For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

A WOMAN YOU SHOULD KNOW

Jenny's not the only woman that you should know, though. Today, my guest cohost, Tonya, and I have the honor to highlight Marva T. Smith, a best-selling author who is intent on helping women prioritize their time with God. Get connected to her here.

I ASKED JENNY:

• What are some ways to recognize God is transitioning you to a new season, and what steps have you taken to surrender to His will for your life? 
• Has anyone ever doubted what you’ve felt God calling you to do? How did you press forward in those situations?
• How would you describe the spiritual and religious culture there in Iceland and what part does integrity play in your everyday life as you attempt to influence others to turn to Christ?
• How can the need for affirmation from others chisel away at our integrity? 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Want more information? Check the show notes for Jenny's links and links to additional resources I mentioned.

Thinking about launching your own podcast? Want to see if there's a way to continue to host your podcast and do more while spending less? Click here for my 7 Podcasting Essentials!

Please don't forget to leave a Review on Apple Podcasts or Audible to show some love. 💗 I'm giving away a book to two of you who leave your IG handle.

Here's the Confident Collaborations Quiz

UNLIKELY FRIENDSHIP: SPEAKING OVER OLD PROMISES

Y'all! My newest devotional is available on the YouVersion Bible app! Will you subscribe to it? I have a feeling it will bless you!

As someone who is still waiting on the Lord to answer a few of my own prayers, I feel so grateful for the friends who show up to celebrate what's happening in this season.

Let's all ask God to help us find the words to encourage our friends and family as we speak life over them and invite them to see what He is yet doing right now. 

TODAY WE'RE REFLECTING ON PHILIPPIANS 3:8-11 ESV

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ  and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

A WOMAN YOU SHOULD KNOW

Hannah's not the only woman that you should know, though. Today, my guest cohost, Tonya, and I have the honor to highlight Rachel D. Baker, a powerful woman of God with a heart for worship. Get connected to her here.

I ASKED HANNAH:

• Why did you feel called to write this book?
• Can you tell us how the Lord renewed your identity in Him as you learned how to trust Him?
• How did you come up with the questions to ask as you led the reader to go deeper into each topic you have brought us to study?
• What did the Lord help you learn through Jeremiah's life?
• How have you found greater purpose through the dreams the Lord has given you?

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Want more information? Check the show notes for Hannah's links and information about her podcast.

Thinking about launching your own podcast? Want to see if there's a way to continue to host your podcast and do more while spending less? Click here for my 7 Podcasting Essentials!

Please don't forget to leave a Review on Apple Podcasts or Audible to show some love. 💗 I'm giving away a book to two of you who leave your IG handle.

Here's the Confident Collaborations Quiz

UNLIKELY FRIENDSHIP: SPEAKING OVER OLD PROMISES

Y'all! My newest devotional is available on the YouVersion Bible app! Will you subscribe to it? I have a feeling it will bless you!

It's because of the Lord's joy that we have the motivation to grow more intimate with Him in every way.

Hebrews 12 doesn't just stop at the conversation about joy. The chapter continues to talk about the discipline a loving father offers, the opportunity to strengthen weaker Christians who are in danger, and the balance between peace and holiness.

Although we don't like discussing holiness in our culture today, we must acknowledge our need for it. As a teacher, I often notice how poorly managed our classrooms are when teachers are imbalanced in their approach to the children. Let's talk about it in light of God's word.

TODAY WE'RE REFLECTING ON HEBREWS 12:13-14 ESV

 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

A WOMAN YOU SHOULD KNOW

Brenna's not the only woman that you should know, though. Today, my guest cohost, Tonya, and I have the honor to highlight D'Andrea Heckard, a powerful woman of God with a heart for worship. Get connected to her here.

I ASKED BRENNA:

• How did you fall in love with Jesus? 
• Jesus calls us to bear our cross and do difficult things. In your opinion, is it more difficult to deny your sexual attraction than someone who has been called to deny their flesh something else, and what would contribute to that?
• What are some of the hardest things you’ve endured as a result of your work? 
• I’ve met God in the middle of some of the greatest pain I’ve ever experienced. Can you speak to us about the sweet things the Lord has allowed you to enjoy in the middle of your surrender? 
• We live in a sex-obsessed culture, and it only seems to be getting worse. How do we engage with the culture in a way that is relevant and helpful while not allowing other important conversations to be lost in the middle of it?
• How do we steward conversations about marriage and singleness in the Body of Christ with integrity? 
• What scriptures strengthen your walk with the Lord and give you hope as you continue to encourage the Body of Christ?
• Can you tell us about your work to help people interact with hard questions and where they can connect with you? 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Want more information? Check the show notes for Brenna's links and information about her podcast.

Thinking about launching your own podcast? Want to see if there's a way to continue to host your podcast and do more while spending less? Click here for my 7 Podcasting Essentials!

Please don't forget to leave a Review on Apple Podcasts or Audible to show some love. 💗 I'm giving away a book to two of you who leave your IG handle.

Here's the Confident Collaborations Quiz

UNLIKELY FRIENDSHIP: SPEAKING OVER OLD PROMISES

Y'all! My newest devotional is available on the YouVersion Bible app! Will you subscribe to it? I have a feeling it will bless you!

TODAY, WE'RE REFLECTING ON HEBREWS 12:2 NIV

Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before Him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

UNLIKELY FRIENDSHIP: SPEAKING OVER OLD PROMISES

My newest devotional is now available on the YouVersion Bible app, and you heard it here first!

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Thinking about launching your own podcast? Want to see if there's a way to continue to host your podcast and do more while spending less? Click here for my 7 Podcasting Essentials!

Please don't forget to leave a Review on Apple Podcasts or Audible to show some love. 💗 I'm giving away a book to two of you who do.

Here's the Confident Collaborations Quiz

May I invite you to consider that the story we read about the Daughters of Zelophehad in Numbers, chapter 27 is less about a previously inconceivable shift in the Israelite culture, and more about integrity? Let's talk about it.

TODAY WE'RE REFLECTING ON ISAIAH 54:17 (LSB)

No weapon that is formed against you will succeed; And every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn. This is the inheritance of the slaves of Yahweh, And their righteousness is from Me,” declares Yahweh.

-Isaiah 54:17 LSB

A WOMAN YOU SHOULD KNOW

Jo's not the only woman that you should know, though. Today, my guest cohost, Tonya, and I have the honor to highlight Leah-Marie McKay, a powerful woman of God with a heart for worship. Get connected to her here.

I ASKED JO:

• Why is it important that we as Christians and Christian creatives and leaders have integrity? 
• Can you tell us about a time the Lord was leading you to develop greater integrity? 
• What is a non negotiable for leaders who want to commit to a lifetime of healthy leadership? 
• What do we need to know about ourselves as we prepare to lead with other women? 
• What to look for in a mentor and how should we conduct relationship with them? 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Want more information? Check the show notes for Jo's links and information about the Ezer Collective.

Thinking about launching your own podcast? Want to see if there's a way to continue to host your podcast and do more while spending less? Click here for my 7 Podcasting Essentials!

Please don't forget to leave a Review on Apple Podcasts or Audible to show some love. 💗 I'm giving away a book to two of you who leave your IG handle.

Here's the Confident Collaborations Quiz

UNLIKELY FRIENDSHIP: SPEAKING OVER OLD PROMISES

Y'all! My newest devotional is available on the YouVersion Bible app! Will you subscribe to it? I have a feeling it will bless you!

God Loves to Partner with Women

I once met someone who shared she didn't like reading the Old Testament, and I get it. There are parts of the Old Testament that show just how far and disobedient Israel had grown from God. Nowhere is that more evident than through the ways that women are treated-particularly in the book of Judges.

Thankfully, however, God continues to redeem women, and one of the places He does that most is through the books of 1 and 2 Samuel, where we meet women like Hannah, Abigail, the Wise Woman from Tekoa, and then on into 1 Kings with Bathsheba.

The Lord loves women, and He makes bold statements, both about our worth and our work, throughout the Bible. I pray you find a few scriptures that motivate your work. 

THIS WEEK, WE'RE REFLECTING PROVERBS 31:30-31

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;

    but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

Honor her for all that her hands have done,

    and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

A WOMAN YOU SHOULD KNOW

Rebecca's not the only woman that you should know, though. Today, my guest cohost, Tonya, and I have the honor to highlight Dr. Avril Occilien Similien, a powerful woman of God with a heart for worship. Get connected to her here.

I ASKED REBECCA:

• What does it look like to live with eternity in our hearts and exercise integrity in an area we hope to encourage others in?
• How do we, you know, ensure that we are doing that through the unique personalities that he's given us, instead of getting caught up in those comparisons and some of that behavior that leads us to clone others?
• There’s an obvious link between striving and burnout, so can you share with us what you learned about how to choose a life of surrender and submission instead of striving?
• You share that there are people we need in our corner who help us learn how to pursue our calling with eternity in mind, so can you share who some of those people we need in our corner are?

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Want more information? Check the show notes for Rebecca's link to her new book!

Thinking about launching your own podcast? Want to see if there's a way to continue to host your podcast and do more while spending less? Click here for my 7 Podcasting Essentials!

Please don't forget to leave a Review on Apple Podcasts or Audible to show some love. 💗 I'm giving away a book to two of you who leave your IG handle.

Here's the Confident Collaborations Quiz

UNLIKELY FRIENDSHIP: SPEAKING OVER OLD PROMISES

Y'all! My newest devotional is available on the YouVersion Bible app! Will you subscribe to it? I have a feeling it will bless you!

I've always asked the Lord to do big, impressive stuff in my life. And to be honest, when He doesn't answer the way I want Him to, I begin to feel defeated. I have a feeling I'm not the only one.

So, if we're going to grow in integrity, one thing we're going to have to admit is that the big, impressive stuff often distracts us from the obedience we're called to choose on a daily basis. The Lord said that we aren't to despise the small beginnings because He rejoices to see the work begin, and it's time to honor how He moves in the smallest opportunities we encounter.

THIS WEEK, WE'RE REFLECTING ON ZECHARIAH 4:6-10 (NLT)

My favorite part is that even after all the resistance Zerubbabel encountered in Ezra, chapters 3-4, the Lord says He rejoices to see him start again!

That is so good to me. Sis, I wanna invite you to get your eyes off the big impressive things and the rejection that accompanied when you felt that it didn't go through because the Lord is rejoicing over you, especially as you begin to pick that thing back up. We are not to despise those small beginnings because He can move in that, and it won't be by force, it won't be by strength, but it will be by His Spirit.

UNLIKELY FRIENDSHIP: SPEAKING OVER OLD PROMISES

Y'all! My newest devotional is available on the YouVersion Bible app! Will you subscribe to it? I have a feeling it will bless you!

A WOMAN YOU SHOULD KNOW

Nicole's not the only woman that you should know, though. Today, my guest cohost, Tonya, and I have the honor to highlight Monique Anderson a powerful woman of God with a heart for prayer. Get connected to her here.

I ASKED NICOLE

• How does prayer inform your purpose?
• What does it look like to be out of alignment with your purpose?
• What are some common pitfalls women fall into that keep them from seeing God’s will for their lives clearly?
• How can we show up with integrity where we are right now, regardless of whether it feels like we’re living within our purpose or not? 
• What are some of the things we should look for and prepare to contribute in order to enjoy meaningful connections? 
• What scriptures have been informing your work lately and what would you like to say to our sisters who are listening as they get back to their Bible study and prayer? 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Want more information? Check the show notes for Nicole's links to Preach Sis!

Want to listen in to that first episode I referenced? Here it is.

Thinking about launching your own podcast? Want to see if there's a way to continue to host your podcast and do more while spending less? Click here for my 7 Podcasting Essentials!

Please don't forget to leave a Review on Apple Podcasts or Audible to show some love. 💗 I'm giving away a book to two of you who leave your IG handle.

Here's the Confident Collaborations Quiz

This week, we are talking about the Shunammite Woman and enjoying a little encouragement from Tonya about inviting the Lord to search our hearts.

TODAY, WE'RE REFLECTING ON PROVERBS 11:3 NIV

The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.

UNLIKELY FRIENDSHIP: SPEAKING OVER OLD PROMISES

My newest devotional is now available on the YouVersion Bible app, and you heard it here first!

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Thinking about launching your own podcast? Want to see if there's a way to continue to host your podcast and do more while spending less? Click here for my 7 Podcasting Essentials!

Please don't forget to leave a Review on Apple Podcasts or Audible to show some love. 💗 I'm giving away a book to two of you who do.

Here's the Confident Collaborations Quiz

For those of you who didn't grow up practicing Lent or still refrain from doing so today, I want to invite you to recognize the beauty of Scripture reading, prayer, worship, and repentance this season offers as we enjoy the opportunity to draw close to God as He draws close to us. There's peace in His presence, regardless of what problems you're facing.

TODAY, WE'RE REFLECTING ON PSALM 23 (NKJV)

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

BARB AND I TALKED ABOUT:

• Why she decided to write a Lenten study.
• How she identified the six psalms to include in the study.
• The power of resting in the Lord.
• The gift of the Sabbath.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Want more information? Check the show notes for all of Barb's links, including her new book, Finding Jesus in the Psalms.

Thinking about launching your own podcast? Want to see if there's a way to continue to host your podcast and do more while spending less? Click here for my 7 Podcasting Essentials!

Please don't forget to leave a Review on Apple Podcasts or Audible to show some love. 💗 I'm giving away a book to two of you who do.

Here's the Confident Collaborations Quiz

You know, we usually begin to doubt God's character when we run into conflict, temptation, and pressure, but thankfully we're not alone. The giants in the faith that we look up to today often encountered revelations of who God is through their deepest pain and greatest fears.

THIS WEEK, WE'RE REFLECTING ON JUDGES 6:23-24 NIV

But the Lord said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.” So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it The Lord Is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

That phrase The Lord is Peace is translated into English from the Hebrew name for God: Jehovah Shalom, which is usually translated as The Lord Our Peace, but is so much more than our English language actually gives us. We don't even have a word in English for Shalom because it means complete wholeness and satisfaction.

A WOMAN YOU SHOULD KNOW

Kia's not the only woman that you should know, though. Today, my guest cohost, Tonya, and I have the honor to highlight Julieian-Alexis Roberts, a beautiful woman of God with a heart for helping women experience forgiveness. Get connected to her here.

KIA AND I TALKED ABOUT:

• What a Father Wound Is and When She Recognized She Had One
• The Difficulty It Took to Find Healing and Build a Relationship with Her Father
• How She Had to Learn to Bring Her Emotions to Him and Trust that God is Father
• What Kia Recommends Women Who Have Just Begun To Recognize They Have A Father Wound Do
• The healing she has since found. 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Want more information? Check the show notes for all of Kia's links, including her new book, Overcoming Father Wounds.

Thinking about launching your own podcast? Want to see if there's a way to continue to host your podcast and do more while spending less? Click here for my 7 Podcasting Essentials!

Please don't forget to leave a Review on Apple Podcasts or Audible to show some love. 💗 I'm giving away a book to two of you who do.

Here's the Confident Collaborations Quiz

Asbury Revival

God is doing something miraculous within our world, and it is a beautiful thing to see. On February 8, students went to Chapel at Asbury University, as usual, but this time they didn't leave once the worship concluded after the benediction.

Witnesses testify about a sweet Presence that was so palpable in the atmosphere that no one wanted to leave. Today, that revival continues to persist, and I am looking forward to seeing what God does with these young people as a result of this beautiful move.

Thousands of people have been traveling to Asbury, but it is my hope that we remember Psalm 22:3 in the King James Version tells us that God inhabits the praises of His people. That means we can also grow in awareness and sensitivity to God's Spirit anywhere we lift up our voices to worship Him. 

THIS WEEK, WE'RE REFLECTING ON ACTS 12

What's interesting about this text is that had the early believers stopped praying in defeat and disappointment about what happened to James they would never have encountered the amazing miracle God wanted to do with Peter. Just in case you're feeling discouraged, I want to encourage you to keep praying. God still has a plan. 

A WOMAN YOU SHOULD KNOW

Simi's not the only woman that you should know, though. Today, my guest cohost, Tonya, and I have the honor to highlight Shonda Angelou, a beautiful woman of God with a heart for reviving prayer. Get connected to her here.

SIMI AND I TALKED ABOUT CHRIST'S FAITHFULNESS:

• Through the local church 
• Through our every day activities
• As you step out on faith to follow the Lord
• In relationships and rejection as a leader 
• 
  

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Want more information? Check the show notes for all of Simi's links, including her new book, I Am Not.

Thinking about launching your own podcast? Want to see if there's a way to continue to host your podcast and do more while spending less? Click here for my 7 Podcasting Essentials!

Please don't forget to leave a Review on Apple Podcasts or Audible to show some love. 💗

Here's the Confident Collaborations Quiz

• I also have a coupon code available to my subscribers who are looking to build a beautiful, new website that will help you grow more confident about communicating your message. Click Here to Find Out More.

When we invite the Holy Spirit to speak to us and show us new things within scripture, y'all, He honors that. Today we are going to be talking about a few themes and a few women in scripture you may not have given much attention to in the past, but that's not all.

CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY AMONG THE EARLY CHURCH

I've been studying a lot about Church history lately. And y'all, I'm kind of ashamed and embarrassed to say that I didn't know many of the early Church fathers were African. Did you?

I have enjoyed learning that Clement, Origen, and Cyril were African Church fathers who wrote in Greek. However, Athanasius was one of those as well, and I was so excited to find that out because I've actually quoted him before. I really have enjoyed encountering his work and some of the things that he shared.

Cyprian, Tertullian, and Augustine were also from North Africa, but they wrote in Latin. As you can tell, I adore learning about Church history and how multiple cultures have influenced the opportunity that we have today to belong to the body of Christ.

It's my hope that we don't ever lose the fact that Jesus Christ himself has a variety of people within his lineage who also were identified as African and Gentile, and the Holy Spirit is still connecting us, today.

Thankfully, Nana Dolce is here to help us grow in every way as she pulls out some fascinating threads from Scripture herself.

A WOMAN YOU SHOULD KNOW

Nana's not the only woman that you should know, though. Today, my guest cohost, Tonya, and I have the honor to highlight Nailah Tee, a beautiful woman of God with a heart of worship and a desire to teach others how to connect with Him. Get connected to her here.

THIS WEEK, WE’RE REFLECTING ON REVELATION 7:9-10

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

NANA AND I TALKED ABOUT:

• The Serenade Man Gives to Woman Before The Fall;
• Redemption in Eve's Title as the Mother of the Living;
• How Shiphrah and Puah played a significant part in Biblical history;
• The integrity to assess our motives;
• And what Nana has learned about the powerful combination of prayer and integrity.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Want more information? Check the show notes for all of Nana's links, including her new book, the Seed of the Woman!

Thinking about launching your own podcast? Want to see if there's a way to continue to host your podcast and do more while spending less? Click here for my 7 Podcasting Essentials!

Please don't forget to leave a Review on Apple Podcasts or Audible to show some love. 💗

Here's the Confident Collaborations Quiz

• I also have a coupon code available to my subscribers who are looking to build a beautiful, new website that will help you grow more confident about communicating your message. Click Here to Find Out More.

A study from Barna showed that teenagers had a lot of questions about Jesus, and even though they’re not interested in being evangelized, they are open to direct one on one connections. What does that mean for us?

It’s time to get about the work of ensuring our lives are integrated with our faith and that we not only know what we believe, but we’re acting on it, too.

Thankfully, Phylicia Masonheimer is here to help us grow in every way!

A WOMAN YOU SHOULD KNOW

Phylicia's not the only woman that you should know, though. Today, my guest cohost, Tonya, and I have the honor to highlight Frances Archer from Terebinth Moreh, an incredible Bible teacher with beautiful resources you need to know. Get connected to her here.

THIS WEEK, WE’RE REFLECTING ON 2 CORINTHIANS 3:2-3 NLT

The only letter of recommendation we need is you yourselves. Your lives are a letter written in our hearts; everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you. Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This “letter” is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts.

PHYLICIA AND I TALKED ABOUT:

• How Phylicia got into the work of educating women about the character of God;
• The importance of consulting the Bible before believing what culture would say about God’s character;
• Why it’s important to seek the Holy Spirit;
• The perfect balance of God’s holiness and love;
• Extra-Biblical sources and New Age religion;
• What struggling wives should do in pursuit of greater integrity.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Want more information? Check the show notes for all of Phylicia's links, including her new book!

Thinking about launching your own podcast? Want to see if there's a way to continue to host your podcast and do more while spending less? Click here for my 7 Podcasting Essentials!

Please don't forget to leave a Review on Apple Podcasts or Audible to show some love. 💗

Here's the Confident Collaborations Quiz

• I also have a coupon code available to my subscribers who are looking to build a beautiful, new website that will help you grow more confident about communicating your message. Click Here to Find Out More.

Listen in as Tonya Green, my cohost for season 5, and I discuss some of the challenges we've struggled with in the past as we invite the Lord to search our hearts and help us develop integrity in new ways every day.

We're also here to introduce you to a brand new segment of the show you can expect to hear next week, and we hope you'll nominate a woman we should know here.

Tag me and let us know what your greatest takeaway was. I'm on IG at @candidliv, and Tonya is at @tonya.impactfully.

Meet Our Cohost for Season 5

Tonya Green is a believer, wife, and mother of 3 littles. Her profession as a public servant is to help guide people through the family support process. In her personal and volunteer time, Tonya loves to communicate the gospel of Christ and share messages of hope through IG.

Tonya is also the founder and director of CWMS, a mentorship network that allows Christian women to connect, share, and grow as they journey with God.

Additional Resources

Thinking about launching your own podcast? Want to see if there's a way to continue to host your podcast and do more while spending less? Click here for my 7 Podcasting Essentials!

Please don't forget to leave a Review on Apple Podcasts or Audible to show some love. 💗

Here's the Confident Collaborations Quiz

• I also have a coupon code available to my subscribers who are looking to build a beautiful, new website that will help you grow more confident about communicating your message. Click Here to Find Out More.

Today, it is my prayer that you feel a renewed desire to grow more intimate with Him as we listen in.

Today, we're reflecting on John 1:1-13 CSB

Kanita and I Talked About:

• Generational Obedience
• The Fullest Interpretation of the Bible
• Spiritual Warfare That Hinders Us From Stepping Into Our Full Calling
• What It Looks Like to Genuinely Worship The Lord
• The Power of Consistency and Relational Evangelism

Tag me and let us know what your greatest takeaway was. I'm on IG at @candidliv, and Kanita is at @kanitarutley.

Additional Resources

Click here for the show notes, and get all the links I shared as well as find information from our sponsors!

Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts or Audible to show some love

Here's the Confident Collaborations Quiz

• I also have a coupon code available to my subscribers who are looking to build a beautiful, new website that will help you grow more confident about communicating your message. Click Here to Find Out More.

Grace P. Cho and Dr. Lucretia Carter Berry are with us to talk about their newest book, Come Sit With Me: How to Delight in Differences, Love Through Disagreements, and Live with Discomfort.

Today, we're reflecting on Colossians 3:12-15.

Grace and Dr. Lucretia Challenged Us to Think About:

• How to engage with others who have different opinions and beliefs than yourself
• Differences between curious and being nosy
• How important it is to allow curiosity to inform your interactions with others
• Living with discomfort in your marriage
• Learning how to forgive others when it's harder than you thought

Tag me and let us know what your greatest takeaway was. I'm on IG at @candidliv, Grace is at @gracepcho, and Dr. Lucretia is @brownicity

Additional Resources

Click here for the show notes, and get all the links I shared and our sponsors!

Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts or Audible to show some love 💗

Here's the Confident Collaborations Quiz

• I also have a coupon code available to my subscribers who are looking to build a beautiful, new website that will help you grow more confident about communicating your message. Click Here to Find Out More.

It's undeniable. Friendship is complicated. But, it's also beautiful, lovely, and holy. Betrayal will come, but the beauty you'll find in friendship far outweighs the pain. Let's talk with Andi Andrew, author of Friendship: It's Complicated. 

Today, we're reflecting on Proverbs 27:5-6 (NIV)

Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.

This week, I asked Andi:

• What is the woman wound and how do we heal from it?
• How do we navigate betrayal in a friendship? 
• What do we need to know about the pain pastors encounter in ministry?
• You write, "Wisdom tells us to be selective, but we often fail to do this because we want to be inclusive." Why is it important to be selective about your friendships?

Tag me and let us know what your greatest takeaway was. I'm on IG at @candidliv, and Andi is at @andiandrew.

Additional Resources

Click here for the show notes, and get all the links I shared and our sponsors!

Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts or Audible to show some love

Here's the Confident Collaborations Quiz

• I also have a coupon code available to my subscribers who are looking to build a beautiful, new website that will help you grow more confident about communicating your message. Click Here to Find Out More.

Just because church hurt and abuse existed during Biblical times does not mean that God approves of it, and today, we're here to learn how to help others heal and seek healing for ourselves when it's necessary.

I'm so thankful that Pricelis joined us today because I could not think of anyone more adept at speaking about church hurt and abuse. I believe we've begun to see the same the Israelites saw in 1 Samuel 2. Younger generations are starting to view the opportunity to worship the Lord with contempt, just like the Israelites did when Eli's sons, Hophni and Phinehas, abused and manipulated them, and we must deal with this issue. 

Today, we're reflecting on Romans 12:9-16 (NIV)

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

Pricelis Spoke To The

• Difference between church hurt and abuse/
• Importance of engaging in a process of recognition before you begin to rush to reconciliation;
• Difference between canceling and rebuking someone and the healing power of what rebuking others in love offers; 
• Five things you can take action on to ensure you are facilitating a healthy Christian environment;
• Advice she has to offer pastors and leaders on behalf of those whom she’s ministered to.

Tag me and let us know what your greatest takeaway was. I'm on IG at @candidliv, and Pricelis is at @pricelispd.

Additional Resources

Click here for the show notes, and get all the links I shared and our sponsors!

Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts or Audible to show some love

Here's the Confident Collaborations Quiz

• I also have a coupon code available to my subscribers who are looking to build a beautiful, new website that will help you grow more confident about communicating your message. Click Here to Find Out More.

Whether you are creating something for others to find encouragement through or you are taking the time to enjoy keeping it private, you'll be surprised by how many ways you can honor the Lord by learning to see the goodness that He's placed within and around you.

Today, we're reflecting on Psalm 27:1, 13-14 NIV

The Lord is my light and my salvation—

    whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life—

    of whom shall I be afraid?

I remain confident of this:

    I will see the goodness of the Lord

    in the land of the living.

Wait for the Lord;

    be strong and take heart

    and wait for the Lord.

Rachel Encouraged Us To Remember:

• the loving whispers of God are always present;
• there are invitations to admire God's goodness all around us;
• faithfulness is about finding fulfillment in the Lord;
• find the freedom to lean into the season you're in presently.

Tag me and let us know what your favorite point was! I'm on IG at @candidliv and Rachel is at @rachelmariekang.

Additional Resources

Click here for the show notes, and get all the details on Let There Be Art and our sponsors!

Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts or Audible to show some love

Here's the Confident Collaborations Quiz

• I also have a coupon code available to my subscribers who are looking to build a beautiful, new website that will help you grow more confident about communicating your message. Click Here to Find Out More.

When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we officially become threats to the enemy. However, the intimacy you enjoy with Lord will give you an awareness of the strategies you have to fight the devil, and when you do, Family, you’ll find that if God is for you, it doesn’t matter who or what is against you.

Don't let anything move you out of your place prematurely. Know that God has something special for you! Call on His name because Jesus is the name above every name, and at the mention of His name, every knee will bow, and every mouth will confess that He is Lord.

Ephesians 6:12 NIV

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Other Scriptures I Referenced

Acts 19:11-20

As we prepare to get into this conversation, it is my prayer that we would all see the grace that abounds in the middle of some of the darkest places.

Romans 5:20-21

God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Rachelle Encouraged Us To Remember The:

• Full body of Christ is beautiful;
• Adult entertainment industry is in all of our cities;
• People and their salvation in the darkest places we often judge;
• Holy Spirit will lead you when you choose obedience;
• Community you have is essential to your mission.

Tag me and let me know what your favorite point was! I'm on IG at @candidliv and Rachelle is at @rachellestarr.co

Additional Resources

Click here for the show notes, and get all the details on Outrageous Obedience and our sponsors!

Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts or Audible to show some love

Here's the Confident Collaborations Quiz

• I also have a coupon code available to my subscribers who are looking to build a beautiful, new website that will help you grow more confident about communicating your message. Click Here to Find Out More.

Y'all, we can continue to retreat from hard conversations and allow the enemy of our souls to continue to divide us OR we can make up our minds to humble ourselves.

Let's choose the latter. It's going to be difficult. It may stir up some fear and anxiety, but it will be worth it every time, and Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith and Lori Roeleveld are here to help us.

They are the authors of Colorful Connections: 12 Questions About Race That Open Healthy Conversations, and I'm grateful for how they continue to encourage to shake off the fatigue surrounding these issues and engage.

2 Chronicles 7:14

Today, we're reading one of my life verses, 2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV), over one another as we begin to get into this conversation. It reads:

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Dr. Saundra and Lori Challenged Us to Think About:

• Why This work Was So Important;
• Why Hard Conversations About Race Are Not Optional;
• Your Concerns And How They Can Help You Connect with Others;
• How You Can Listen When You're Not Yet Ready to Lead;
• Practical Steps to Help You Get Out of Your Comfort Zone
• What Questions You Can Ask Yourself

Tag me and let me know what your favorite point was! I'm on IG at @candidliv

Additional Resources

Click here for the show notes, and get all the details on Colorful Connections and our sponsors!

Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts or Audible to show some love

Here's the Confident Collaborations Quiz

• I also have a coupon code available to my subscribers who are looking to build a beautiful, new website that will help you grow more confident about communicating your message. Click Here to Find Out More.

Today, Molly is here to encourage us to learn:

• Why humility is so important and how to cultivate it.
• How to listen to others.
• How to engage with Scripture in new and exciting ways.
• Why the question How Much More is so inviting.
• How to move beyond your disappointment and grow more intimately with the Lord.
• how to believe that the Lord has more for you.

Tag us and let us know what your favorite point was! I'm on IG at @candidliv and Molly is @mrsmollywilcox

Additional Resources

Click here for the show notes, and get all the details on Molly's new book, recommendations, giveaways, and sponsors!

Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts or Audible to show some love

Here's the Confident Collaborations Quiz

I also have a coupon code available to my subscribers who are looking to build a beautiful, new website that will help you grow more confident about communicating your message. Click Here to Find Out More.

Today, Mekdes is here to challenge us to think about the:

• Importance of mutuality to the body of Christ
• Inconsistencies that exist among those who go on missions and those who return from the missions
• Current problem with western missions
• Issues you encounter when you diminish the power of the Holy Spirit
• Position missionaries must take
• Strength of your witness in your home

Tag us and let us know what your favorite point was! I'm on IG at @candidliv and Mekdes is @mekdeshaddis

Order a copy of A Just Mission: Laying Down Power And Embracing Mutuality

Additional Resources

Click here for the show notes, and get all the details on Mekdes' new book, recommendations, giveaways, and sponsors!

Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts or Audible to enter to win a free copy of Mekdes' book.

Here's the Confident Collaborations Quiz

I also have a coupon code available to my subscribers who are looking to build a beautiful, new website that will help you grow more confident about communicating your message. Click Here to Find Out More.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 is one of my favorite scriptures of all time. The ESV reads: Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!

One of the best kept secrets that I’ve ever discovered is that community gives us greater confidence in the Lord every moment that we spend together if we’re in a godly community.

Let’s talk about 5 benefits community offers. 

1. In Exodus, we see that friendship gives us the confidence to do hard things. 
2. In Ruth, we find that Godly community gives us the confidence to hope again. Ruth’s presence was a consistent reminder that Naomi had permission to hope again. 
3. In 1 Samuel, we see Godly community also gives you the confidence to pursue Life, and if you want to hear a sermon I preached on the subject of David and Jonathan, you can find it here.
4. In Luke, we see Godly community helps you remember God will fulfill His word, like he did for Elizabeth.
5. Lastly, I bless Jesus for the confidence that He’s given all of us to surrender, just as He did for the early church. It's all throughout the New Testament, and it's just as necessary now as it was then.

What have you become curious about lately? Where are you turning for advice, and are they leading you closer to Christ or causing you to doubt His existence altogether? These are questions worth considering, and I'd like to invite you to think about them seriously.

In order to evaluate your friendships, write down the names of your friends that come to mind next to the following categories.

• People Who Encourage Me to Do Hard Things in Christ
• People Who Encourage Me to Hope in the Lord
• People Who Encourage Me to Seek Jesus: the Way, the Truth, and the Life
• People Who Encourage Me to Remember the Lord will Perform His Word in My Life
• People Who Encourage Me to Surrender My Will Instead of Attempting to Force It

Don't forget to connect with me on on IG. I'd love to be a regular part of your community, too. I'm at @candidliv

Additional Resources

Listen to the sermon I preached about David and Jonathan here on Apple.

Remember, God's best work begins at the end of our comfort zones. Read the devotional I wrote in connection with this episode on YouVersion. It now has over 2500 completions, and I believe it will bless you.

Here's the Confident Collaborations Quiz

I also have a coupon code available to my subscribers who are looking to build a beautiful, new website that will help you grow more confident about communicating your message. Click Here to Find Out More.

For anyone who may be struggling to find the confidence to slow down and invite God's pace to set the tone for your life, I want you to know you are not alone. Second Peter 3:8-9 is helping comfort us today, and it reads:

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

Today, Kelly and I are talking about the confidence to:

• embrace the same imperfections you wish you could deny.
• slow down long enough to be healed.
• live and give from the overflow of the healing the Lord offers.
• trust the Lord.

Tag us and let us know what your favorite point was! I'm on IG at @candidliv and Kelly is @_kellyafoster

Want to see that picture we talked about? Check the show notes, and get ready to laugh at ya girl....because it was a whole phase. 🤣🤣

Additional Resources

Click here for the show notes, and get all the details on Kelly's new book, recommendations, giveaways, and sponsors!

Here's the Confident Collaborations Quiz

I also have a coupon code available to my subscribers who are looking to build a beautiful, new website that will help you grow more confident about communicating your message. Click Here to Find Out More.

Today we’re reflecting on Matthew 28:16-20 as we discuss what discipleship looks like on a day to day basis. 

May we all delight in the opportunities we have to leverage our lifestyle as the greatest discipleship tool at our disposal.

I have the pleasure of talking with my hermana, Marlene Luna de Flete, who is the director of Chica Verdadera in The Dominican Republic. She encouraged us to trust the intensity of our work to the Lord and follow His leading. 

Marlene encouraged our hearts as we talked about 

• the opportunity to trust in the Lord when He calls us to partner with Him more boldly;
• the delight available to us when we say yes to discipling others;
• the hardest part of discipling the next generation;
• and the ability to partner with the Holy Spirit.

Tag us and let us know what your favorite point was! I'm on IG at @candidliv and Marlene is @chicaverdaderaoficial

Additional Resources

Click here for the show notes, and get all the details on recommendations, giveaways, and sponsors!

Here's the Confident Collaborations Quiz

I also have a coupon code available to my subscribers who are looking to build a beautiful, new website that will help you grow more confident about communicating your message. Click Here to Find Out More.

Today, we’re getting into all of it with the author of It’s Not Your Turn: What To Do While You’re Waiting on Your Breakthrough, Dr. Heather Thompson Day. 

Today, we’re reading 2 Timothy 4:1-5, a set of scriptures Paul encourages Timothy to be prepared in season and out of season, and, if we ever needed to be present and prepared, that time is now. According to the Pew Research Center, sixty-nine percent of female Christians have now incorporated at least one new age practice into their lives, and I can't help but think that many of our sisters are turning away because they've grown restless with waiting on the Lord.

Just in case you're struggling in the middle of your waiting season, I want you to know that I am here for you, and so is Heather. 

Today, Heather is here to answer how:

• She thought of the title;
• To keep waiting, even when it's painful;
• Experience can't be rushed;
• To look to past generations for encouragement;
• To get over seasons of jealousy

Tag us and let us know what your favorite point was! I'm on IG at @candidliv

Preorder a copy of I’ll See You Tomorrow: Building Relational Resilience When You Want to Quit

& Follow Viral Jesus, Heather’s Podcast with Christianity Today

Additional Resources

Click here for the show notes, and get all the details on Heather's new book, recommendations, giveaways, and sponsors!

Here's the Confident Collaborations Quiz

I also have a coupon code available to my subscribers who are looking to build a beautiful, new website that will help you grow more confident about communicating your message. Click Here to Find Out More.

I want to remind you that the confidence that we encounter in the Word is incredibly different than the confidence that we experience in the world.

When we choose confidence in Christ, we choose humility. When we choose confidence in Christ, we choose to expose our areas of weakness. When we choose confidence in Christ, we choose to invite the Lord to garner influence for Himself through us.

Want to read the devotional that connects to this podcast episode? Here it is: https://www.bible.com/en/reading-plans/30897

Here's the Confident Collaborations Quiz at https://livdooley.com/quiz

I also have a coupon code available to my subscribers who are looking to build a beautiful, new website that will help you grow more confident about communicating your message. Click Here to Find Out More.

Today, New York Time Bestselling Author, Mandy Hale is joining me to help us find the confidence to move on.

Listen out for some help with these questions:

• How do you find the positivity in the middle of hard places?
• How do obstacles to our faith provide opportunities to find fulfillment in the Lord?
• How do we trust God through difficult seasons?
• What do we do when we find ourselves stuck in the past?

Click here for the show notes, and get all the details on Mandy's new book, recommendations, giveaways, and sponsors!

Here's the Confident Collaborations Quiz

I also have a coupon code available to my subscribers who are looking to build a beautiful, new website that will help you grow more confident about communicating your message. Click Here to Find Out More.

Today, I am celebrating episode 50 with a few giveaways of Reframe Your Shame, and all you have to do is leave a review with your Instagram handle so that I can reach out and get your copy to you. I hope you'll choose to share what blessed you. As you'll hear, I was incredibly tearful throughout the episode because this is something only God could have done.

Regardless of what shame is attempting to hold you back from, remember, Revelation 12:11 NKJV, "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death."

Irene came with a word, and I still tear up listening to her.

Listen in for help answering:

• What medal did Irene win in her European boarding school?
• How does learning to detach influence the decisions we make over the years?
• What are your first steps to overpowering shame?
• If you're not working on your recovery, what are you doing?
• What is possible for recovery in Jesus Christ?

Click here for the show notes, and get all the details on recommendations, giveaways, and sponsors!

Here's the Confident Collaborations Quiz

I also have a coupon code available to my subscribers who are looking to build a beautiful, new website that will help you grow more confident about communicating your message. Click Here to Find Out More.

We are so much more confident when we do the work behind the scenes so I'm grateful Courtnaye and Calvin blessed us with their wisdom and insight. Today, they're helping my husband and me to choose to lead with integrity all over again.

Listen in for help answering:

• What strategies should a couple follow when they encounter increased spiritual warfare connected to their Kingdom assignment?
• How do you wait on your spouse to receive confirmation about a Kingdom assignment you received?
• What are the benefits of waiting on your spouse to receive confirmation?
• How does Courtnaye do all the things?
• How do you balance your attraction to opportunity?
• What should you do to protect your home from competition?

Click here for the show notes, and get all the details on recommendations, giveaways, and sponsors!

Here's the Confident Collaborations Quiz

I also have a coupon code available to my subscribers who are looking to build a beautiful, new website that will help you grow more confident about communicating your message. Click Here to Find Out More.

Every time you do, you throw off a little more of your confidence. That’s right. You were born with a God-given confidence that you are who He said you are.

Loved. Called. Chosen. 

However, somewhere along the way we started doubting Him and disqualifying ourselves. 

Invite Him to renew your mind, and with it, your confidence that you have something beautiful to offer the world. 

Today, we're talking about how not to throw away our confidence, and I wanted to give a few fun facts:

• ἀποβαλὼν is the Greek word that means to cast off
• παρρησία is the Greek word that means free and fearless confidence or cheerful courage

Here's the Confident Collaborations Quiz which will only take you two minutes to take. Are you the Conqueror? The Creative? Or the Queen?

My devotional on YouVersion is here, and...

I also have a coupon code available to my subscribers who are looking to build a beautiful, new website that will help you grow more confident about communicating your message. Click Here to Find Out More.

Listen in for help answering:

• What is the significance of the Ebenezer stone?
• What should we remember when we feel like our faith is dying?
• How you we find the confidence to move forward after rejection?
• How do we trust God through difficult seasons?
• What do we do if we feel like we're lacking confidence in our assignments right now?

Click here for the show notes, and get all the details on Alexandra's new book, recommendations, giveaways, and sponsors!

Here's the Confident Collaborations Quiz

I also have a coupon code available to my subscribers who are looking to build a beautiful, new website that will help you grow more confident about communicating your message. Click Here to Find Out More.

It’s time to give ourselves the gift of a different pace, and, thankfully Jeanne is here to help us with that. This is the last episode in the season as we finish our conversation on productivity tips from the Bible, and, it is the perfect finale.

I can’t thank Jeanne Stevens enough for helping us to prepare for the summer and end our season with such an incredible conversation through her new book that was just released last week. 

This Conversation was the Perfect Finale to Our Season!

She helped us to answer:

• What part does blame play in our inability to focus on the present and how do we break the cycle?
• How can curiosity awaken your awareness of what you need?
• Why is worry such a big problem and how can we stop choosing it?
• Is it possible to be healed, to be whole, and to be present, and not be well?

Purchase Her New Book: What's Here Now? How to Stop Rehashing the Past and Rehearsing the Future--and Start Receiving the Present

View The Full Show Notes at livdooley.com/jeannestevens

Connect with Me on IG or Start Identifying Insecurity on YouVersion

Shout Out to My Friend Fance Who Left This Review of the Podcast:

This podcast checks all the boxes for 5 stars. Fun. Raw. Open. Inspirational. Convicting. Interesting. Allow some time when you click on your first episode, because you will want to binge-listen!

It's time to stop submitting to the temptation to settle in the middle of transition because the time you spend with the enemy will influence you in one way or another.

The Live Podcast Recording is finally here, and I'm so grateful to our little audience that met us in person!

We enjoyed:

• a poem, called God's Place, from Ty Scott King
• a little word from the book of First Samuel 27 and 28
• and an amazing conversation.

If you want to see this podcast, you can scroll below for all the beautiful images and videography that Lewis Media Studios, our sponsor for the event, captured.

The Show Notes for this episode and all of the information on my guests are here, and I encourage you to get connected to them because they're going to bless you!

In this episode, we talked about how to:

• appreciate the "God Space," a phrase Ty coined in her poem;
• avoid compromise;
• continue developing Godly character;
• develop connections that will help you navigate transition successfully.

I'm grateful to my friend Alli Worthington for the review she recently wrote on Apple Podcasts.

I love how Liv is stepping into her role as a coach by helping so many women prepare for greater opportunities in life, business, and ministry through this podcast. Great listen!

Watch the episode on YOUTUBE

As we prepare to wind our series and our season down, we cannot ignore God's instruction to collaborate with others, and today Natalie Willis is joining me.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 tell us: Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.

I cannot tell you how many times I've wanted to quit, but thankfully, I've had wise counsel and healthy collaborations to encourage me to keep going.

I had so much fun chatting with Natalie, and I am so grateful for the time and wisdom that she shared with us.

This Conversation was So Necessary!

Grab your journal because Natalie is teaching us

• how friendship and collaboration work together;
• how to maintain healthy boundaries in a collaboration;
• how to communicate clearly;
• how to recognize warning signs it's time to end the collaboration;
• and what to do when you don't feel peace about a collaboration.

Find the Show Notes Here

Confident Collaborations: The Quiz

Identifying Insecurity on YouVersion

Remember, to take a screenshot of this podcast and post in on Instagram like my friend Taneya Hunter did. I'm at @candidliv.

Praying for yourself is not selfish. It's necessary. It's necessary to give from a healthy place, to give from a whole place, to give from the overflow.

Today, we're talking about how the importance of praying for yourself can help you to feel reenergized, and it's my hope that it blesses you.

Remember, Ephesians 6:18 says, "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people."

RESOURCES AND LINKS

My Devotional on YouVersion

My Confidence Quiz

The Best Kept Secret Live

Wives of Integrity Free Access with My Affiliate Link

May I just say that sometimes, the Bible really makes me laugh? I mean seriously. Our God has a sense of humor. Proverbs 11:22 says that a beautiful woman who lacks discretion is a like a pig with a gold ring in its snout. L. O. L. The Lord is telling us that a woman who doesn't show any discretion, who doesn't exercise wise choices, has beauty that is pointless. A woman's beauty is pointless when she fails to exercise wise choices in her style because it not only detracts from her beauty, but it distracts and takes the attention away from that which we should really be paying attention to.

I had so much fun chatting with Salange, and I am so grateful for the time and wisdom that she shared with us. The truth is that a true woman who fears the Lord is clothed with strength and beauty as we learn in Proverbs 31.

Let's have some fun!

Grab your journal because Salange is teaching us

• whether our style defines us or not;
• how our style can support or stifle our growth;
• the mentality we need to have to choose or change our style;
• the staples every woman needs in her closet;
• how to dress stylishly & modestly.

I knew the way you dress could bring more confidence, but I completely missed the fact that it could bring a sense of ease to what you've been called to do.

Show notes can be found at livdooley.com/salangeshepard

Remember to write a review or take a screenshot of your this podcast and tag both of us! Salange is at brave_her23 and I'm at candidliv

Yay!

My newest devotional is out on YouVersion! Ahhh! Click here to start your four day plan today.

The Live Podcast Recording is going down in a just a matter of weeks. You can still get registered at livdooley.com/live

That anxiety came for our confidence, sis, but we’re not going to let it go. And that is what the devotional I’ve written titled “Identifying Insecurity” is all about. 

It took me years to realize that God’s desire to partner with me wasn’t as much about me as it was about HIM, but once I realized that, I found His confidence to do the work He called me to do. We’re getting into imposter syndrome and all that icky stuff that calls us to question who He is in our lives and you can find it here. 

I’ve also created a little quiz called Confident Collaborations that will help you identify your confidence style and those whom you identify with in the Bible. We’re learning from the good, the bad, the beautiful, and the ugly.

Sissss! My new devotional is available on the YouVersion Bible App and I’m so incredibly grateful for the opportunity to share it with you!

Luke 14:28-30 tells us that we need to count the cost so that we can finish well, but Christina reminded us to not just count how much it will inconvenience you. She shared it's also important to focus on the blessings as well! After all, that's how we continue to enjoy motivation and momentum.

This interview was a big deal for me so it's my hope and prayer you will honor our dear sister's time and grab your journal. She's dropping gems about:

• divine disruptions;
• disciplining yourself in the middle of distraction;
• outgrowing old opportunities;
• what God taught her during the last Beloved Women Conference;
• and firing yourself.

You can find all of the show notes at https://livdooley.com/belovedwomen

Don't forget to take a screen shot of this podcast episode and tag Christina and me on IG.

You can also get connected to her YouTube Channel here and subscribe to her app here.

As a millennial, I know a few things about entitlement. After all, my generation has been accused of being the most entitled in all of history. Today, we're studying 1 Samuel 20, and we'll be looking into David and Jonathan's friendship.

Remember, it's time to stop looking for a friend like Jonathan, and it's time to start being a friend like Jonathan.

If this bonus episode blessed you, I'd love to know. Please connect with me on IG at @candidliv and read the article I wrote that's connected to this podcast at https://livdooley.com/entitlement/

Want to get registered for the LIVE recording of the Best Kept Secret which is going down on May 14? Click here.

Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith writes about our choice to struggle rather than rest in her book Sacred Rest, and it has been sitting with me for over a week now.

It’s time to make room for the overflow. It’s time to make room for the abundance that God wants to offer. However, that’s going to require us to accept help and address the lies that we’ve adopted along the way.

As we study productivity tips from the Bible, we’re going to have to get uncomfortable and find the courage to surrender old habits and patters of thinking. 

If this episode blessed you, please rate and review it or take a screenshot of it and share it on your stories. I'm at @candidliv and it would be an honor to connect with you. Remember, registration is now open for The LIVE Recording of The Best Kept Secret. Get in on the goodness here.

This episode was definitely filled with information. You should listen in if you want to recognize:

• the purpose of Godly ambition;
• the connection between ambition & humility;
• ways to protect yourself from your pride;
• the importance of inviting God to redefine your personal ambitions;
• and what to do when you feel the grief of an unfulfilled dream.

Find the show notes at https://livdooley.com/torriesorge

Don't forget to snap a screenshot of this episode and tag Torrie and me if this episode blessed you!

Want to watch the reel? Here it is

Want to read the blogpost? Here it is.

I know we are the same. We have an intense desire to lead with integrity, to be the women we say we are behind the scenes and in front of people, and to celebrate others as we love hard. Because of that, I want you to know that you are a woman worth following, and I want to help you conquer imposter syndrome as well.

There are so many things that we could do differently in any given week, including the one we are in. We will always have opportunities to look back on the choices we've made and question them, but we don't have to choose that option. We can invite God to show us the encouragement to keep going that He so lavishly pours out over each and every one of us.

Instead of allowing imposter syndrome to steal your moment this week, I want you to invite God to help you see how pleased he is. Because He is pleased. Keep going, sis.

I'd love to connect with you on IG. I'm @candidliv

The link to The Colorfully Candid Collective is here.

The live podcast recording is about to go down on May 14. I hope to see you and your boo or you and your friend or just your face there.

Develop A Financial Portfolio That Honors God

I know it can be uncomfortable to talk about tithing. However, if we're going to choose to prioritize the meaningful above the millions of things that the world tells us we should be doing, we have to think about why it is that God told us to test Him with our money.

You may have heard that this is the only place in the entire Bible that God tells us to test Him, and it's true! Today, my guest, Jackie Morrison, and I are sharing a tiny bit of our tithing testimonies. It's my hope that this episode encourages you to address your beliefs about money and where they may have been formed. Jackie gets into it, and this episode is going to bless you! 

Listen In If You:

• know how to build a portfolio;
• know wealth really is;
• build residual income;
• stop procrastinating because of your finances or lack thereof;
• get to the root of your spending habits.

Resources and Links

Click here to view the entire show notes. The live podcast recording will be on May 14, and you don't want to miss it! I definitely don't want you to. I'll see you on IG

It’s a new month, so let’s pray together during our QT session this morning. 

It is our prayer that we would give God glory in everything. We don't do anything so that others may say, oh, look at her, look at how great she is. We don't do any of this so that others may think more highly of us. 

We do everything so that others may also look to God as their help. I hope you’re excited! I’ll see you next week with a brand new episode, but until then, let's connect on IG. The brand new Facebook group I’ve created with the help of the Colorfully Candid Collective is also available here.

View the show notes at: https://livdooley.com/latashaferguson

This episode was definitely filled with information. Here's what you should listen for:

• How to Stop Shrinking Back From Leadership
• Being THE Best VS Being YOUR Best
• How to Be A Balanced Leader
• When It’s Time To Rest and When It’s Time To War
• Navigating The Nuances of Your Kingdom Assignment

Want to Share the Love?

Please rate and review the podcast here on Apple or Spotify OR take a screenshot of the podcast and tag Latasha and myself in your IG stories or feed.

Interested in Finding Out More About the Live Podcasting Recording?

Subscribe to Our Heart Today Because We Will Not Be Sharing This On IG

I stumbled across a podcast featuring Dr. Saundra Dalton Smith earlier that day, and I felt as if God had tossed me a lifeline. The problem with my exhaustion was that I had been sleeping. With the extra routines I’d established, I was technically getting more sleep than ever!

SACRED REST

Thankfully, the research Dr. Saundra Dalton Smith’s book conducted for her book, Sacred Rest, came to my rescue. Turned out, I needed some social rest. You see, in her book she outlines seven different types of rest:

• Physical
• Mental
• Spiritual
• Emotional
• Social
• Sensory
• Creative

and they will bless your life! We're going to be talking about these as a form of soul care over the next couple of weeks, and I hope you're here for it because it's going to cause your productivity to increase in ways you didn't even know were possible! Trust me.

Show Notes for This Episode Can Be Found Here

View the show notes at: https://livdooley.com/lakeshiapoole

This episode was definitely filled with information. Here's what you should listen for:

• Why You Should Connect on Social Instead of Just Consuming Content
• Why You Could Benefit from Angry Journaling
• What You Should NOT Post
• The Balance Between Privacy and the Power of Transparency
• The Social Media Strategy You Need to Start Right Now

This Week's Giveaway

There's no way we could spend time talking about this beautiful journal without giving one away! If you're looking to level up your social media this year, this is the journal for you. In order to enter the giveaway, all you have to do is rate and review the podcast here on Apple or Spotify OR take a screenshot of the podcast and tag Lakeshia and myself in your IG stories or feed. The winner will be announced next Monday, February 21!

Interested in Finding Out More About the Live Podcasting Recording?

Subscribe to Our Heart Today

Let's talk about it during this little QT Session because it’s never anyone’s intention to mismanage their health or their relationships. Unfortunately, it’s just so much easier to do than we realize. Jesus told Peter and the disciples that the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

If we’re going to prioritize the meaningful above the millions of things this world tells us we should be doing, we have to identify our personal areas of growth. What systems have you put in place to help you follow Holy Spirit’s unction lately?

In November, I started setting a reminder at 8PM every night to remind myself to start prepping lunches, laying out clothes, and winding down. This year, I incorporated a habit tracker into my devotional time. We don’t have to be legalistic about anything, but we do need to implement tools that will help us pursue God’s best because the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

We’ll be back with another guest interview next week, but, in the meantime, it’s my prayer that you will connect with me on IG or YouTube and let me know what systems you’ve been putting into place to help you pursue God’s best. 

Amber blessed us with so much information. Here's what you should listen for:

• How to Prioritize God at the Beginning of Every Work Day
• Core Values to Consider When Partnering with Others
• How to Share Christ in Your Non-Christian Business
• What You Need to Know About Brand Partnerships & Contracts

SHOW NOTES

https://livdooley.com/curlycorner/

OUR GIVEAWAY

Amber has offered to give away one of her digital planners for 2022, and let me tell you, it is an absolute beauty and so easy to use! If you're looking to level up spiritually, emotionally, and financially, this is the planner for you. In order to enter the giveaway, all you have to do is:

• rate and review the podcast here on Apple or Spotify
• OR take a screenshot of the podcast and tag Amber and myself in your IG stories or feed. I'm at CandidLiv on IG and Amber is at Curly Corner

Remember, you are loved.

This is our last formal conversation on the Fruit of the Spirit, but, it will naturally continue well into every other conversation we ever have because it's so powerful. I am honored you're here, and I hope and pray you lean into this conversation. Just about every one of us have admitted that we struggle with gentleness, and, that is why this could possibly be one of the most important conversations we have this season.

I referenced Scott Sauls' book, A Gentle Answer: Our Secret Weapon in an Age of Us Against Them. It helped me tremendously, and I hope you check it out.

However, I don't want you to stop there. Share a screenshot of this episode and tag me on Instagram to win one of two free copies of Destination Hope. Trust me, once you listen in, you're going to want one of these books! I can't share my testimony quite yet, but this podcast episode was a game changer in my life. The testimony is loading.

For right now, visit https://candidliv.com/destinationhope for all of the episode details and links to follow the authors.

The hairs on my arms are still standing up. 

Vanessa did not come to play. She is straight preaching on the podcast this week and the hair on my arms is still standing up. Grab your teen daughter and listen in because she is speaking to mommas, teenagers, and young adults. 

As our conversations on the Fruit of the Spirit, found in Galatians 5:22-23 come to a close, I pray that you'll sit and think about the following questions:

• What are some of my favorite memories of God's faithfulness?
• In what areas or ways have I been struggling with faithfulness in my own life?
• What is one thing I'm going to implement today to develop this part of the fruit in partnership with Holy Spirit?
• Who, in the Bible, can I take notes from on this subject?

Listen in and find all of the show notes at https://candidliv.com/vanessahartsell

Don't forget to DM me a short voicemail (1-3 minutes long) on IG with your thoughts on the Fruit of the Spirit this season so I can feature you and your ministry/business on the podcast, as well. It would be so cool to connect with you in a new way!

The Conversations in our culture encourage us to challenge God's goodness but, today we're challenging the culture.

We're coming together to have a conversation on how to rise above the culture to influence it for Christ, instead of allowing it to influence our connection with Him. As our conversations on the Fruit of the Spirit, found in Galatians 5:22-23 slowly wind down, I truly hope that you'll sit with this episode and invite God to soften your hearts to those areas that are becoming more desensitized everyday.

Today, Dr. Quanny helped to answer the following questions:

• When you think of God’s goodness, what comes to mind?
• What kinds of things have led you to question God’s goodness?
• How do you show goodness to others even when it’s hard to find something good within them?
• How can we continue to encourage the culture to turn to Christ instead of allowing the culture to turn us against Him?

I also asked Dr. Quanny a bonus question on humility-just for fun! She is literally one of the most accomplished women I know (and I know a lot) and yet, she is also one of the most humble. Today, I'm grabbing a pillow off the couch and sitting at her feet to learn.

Listen in and find all of the show notes at https://candidliv.com/quantrillaard

Don't forget to DM me a short voicemail (1-3 minutes long) on IG with your thoughts on the Fruit of the Spirit this season so I can feature you and your ministry/business on the podcast, as well.

Today, we are continuing our conversation on the Fruit of the Spirit as we discuss patience, found in Galatians 5:22-23, and my guest is Tonya Green, the founder of Convos With My Sister.

I am so excited about this conversation because sis is in the middle of her testimony as she steps out on faith to do the thing God has called her to do.

Patience is one of those subjects that we sometimes roll our eyes at hypothetically when we hear our older aunties and grandmas talk about it because hindsight is 20/20 and it feels a lot easier to say when the thing you’re struggling to do, to build, to bless is behind you-at least in our eyes.

You can click on the show notes here to find out even more about Tonya and see how you can get connected to the amazing work she's doing, but for now, can I ask you to grab a quick selfie and tag us on Instagram. I've got some fun giveaways I'd love to send your way! I'm at Candidliv and Tonya's at Tonya.Impactfully on the Gram.

📲 SHOW NOTES: https://candidliv.com/tonyagreen

Kindness is a fruit of the Spirit and it is a fruit that the world is celebrating, especially now that the holidays are here. However, we know that because it's a fruit, we have to depend on Holy Spirit to help us cultivate and demonstrate it to others. 

Here are a few questions you can ask yourself:

• Are you doing the deep work?
• Are you practicing a sabbath or even resting?
• Are you listening to the unction within your heart when it moves you to show kindness?

To access the show notes and all the links I mentioned, please click here.

Now, don't forget to tag us on Instagram with a picture of how you enjoy resting and taking a Sabbath.

Our world is dying for peace. It is literally dying for peace, and I don't say that lightly. Nor do I make light of it. As a teenager I struggled with suicidal ideation, and in my own pursuit of peace. I thought of taking my life and even made an attempt to do so. I do not take it lightly that our world is dying for peace, but it is something that we have to address because we've begun to get piece confused with ease. 

✔️ We've confused peace with financial stability.

✔️ We've confused peace with comfort. 

✔️ We've confused peace with popularity, and God actually calls us to come up higher. 

Although some of those things do have a play and do have a part in peace. There may be times when they are nonexistent, and God still gives us the opportunity to acquire the fruit of peace and walk in it on a daily basis. 

You see, our peace is not contingent upon our circumstances. It's contingent upon our Savior. 

Today, our guests, Julie and Franceli are incredible examples of how God has positioned us to be peacemakers in the earth, despite our circumstances. They are leading an orphanage and a school in Haiti and they are moving forward in faith to set incredible examples in their country despite the fact that they are losing funding and struggling with an overwhelming need in the area, in light of all that has gone on. 

You can find out more about Haiti’s Compass on 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/haitiscompass/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/haitiscompass

The website where you can make donations is: https://www.haitiscompass.org/ and I truly hope that you will bless them for their incredible sacrifice!

As always, I’m at https://www.instagram.com/candidliv/ and you can find more content on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCph7Ez_21bFNM622lZ4fYNA

Jamila Jackson, the Chief Encouragement Officer of Loved and Blessed, is joining me and I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed this conversation.

Nehemiah 8:10 tells us that the joy of the Lord is our strength and it will help us to tap into what Holy Spirit is doing in ways that we never expected. 

Jamila gave us a few tips to cultivate joy intentionally, and I hope you incorporate a few of them into your daily routines.

She encouraged us to 

 💫 Get outside of our own pain and encourage someone else in the midst of it.

 💫 Redirect our attention when something hard happens.

 💫 Mark specific scriptures in our Bibles, wear them (in the form of jewelry and clothing), and put them around our houses to find encouragement in the Word.

 💫 List all of the moments we can think of when God has shown His faithfulness to us.

 💫 Print out any testimonials or messages and put them in a jar to return to later when we need a kind word. 

💫 Pick random dates on our calendars to set reminders to encourage ourselves when we least expected it.

💫 Recognize the situations and triggers that take away from our joy

💫 Develop a support system together to draw strength from in those situations.

💫 Make yourself get up and out.

This episode was full! Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts or a comment here on YouTube so that those who need this conversation can discover it more easily. Everything we do over here at TBKS is for God’s glory. I will be gifting one beautiful sister with a box from Loved and Blessed this week. 

Jamila is on Instagram on IG at https://www.instagram.com/lovedblessedbox/

You can subscribe to the beautiful community she's hosting on https://community.lovedandblessedladies.com/ and you can purchase your own box at https://lovedandblessed.com/.

I am at https://www.instagram.com/candidliv/ and I cannot wait to connect with you!

Remember the podcast is available on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCph7Ez_21bFNM622lZ4fYNA

You are loved!

I had no clue that Adrianna had grown up in a home that never used the word love when I first invited her to be on the podcast because she exemplifies this part of the fruit so very well. 

How is it that Someone you cannot see has loved you when people who you see don’t even love you? We’re going to talk about it and just how powerful Christ’s love is today!

Let’s look at Galatians 5:22-23, Matthew 7:21-23, John 13:35, John 3:16, and 1 Peter 4:8.

The Walter Hoving Home is a powerful ministry that has born and is bearing fruit for over 54 years! Adrianna loves God who called her out of her own addiction that she consistently shows His love to those who go through the program. She has literally laid down her lifestyle of comfort and ease to live in the home and commit to their transformation. 

How have we gone out of our way to love others? I don’t know about you, but I have some work to do in this area. And it’s going to take more than love alone. It’s going to take some self control. It’s going to take some patience. It’s going to take each and every part of the Fruit of the Spirit because they compliment one another.

If you’d like to make a donation to the Walter Hoving Home to support the work that they are doing across the United States, you can click here: https://hovinghome.org/campuses/the-nevada-home/

If you want to follow Adrianna on IG, show her some love and click here: https://instagram.com/same_age_

If you want to connect with me, it would be such an honor. I’m at https://instagram.com/candidliv

Remember, you can take the podcast with you on the go by clicking any one of the following links below. Please don’t forget to subscribe!

Remember, you can view the podcast on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCph7Ez_21bFNM622lZ4fYNA

Please don’t forget to subscribe!

https://candidliv.com/

https://colorfullycandid.org/

https://instagram.com/colorfullycandid

I noticed the self control that my best friend, Ebonee, had when we were in college, and since then, it has only grown as she’s served in various roles over the years professionally for the Bridgestone Corporation as the HR Director over Latin America and now the Lead of D&I (Diversity and Inclusion) for all of North America. 

I don’t know what you've heard, but self control will bless your life! Today, Ebonee is giving us insight on how to invite God to help us develop it further and how many more rewards it can bring if we do! 

We talked through Galatians 5:22-23, 1 Peter 5:7-8, 2 Timothy 1:7, and 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 if you want to look them up for yourself a little later. 

For now, just know that even though there is absolutely nothing glamorous about self discipline, it will not only guarantee that we enjoy success, but it will ensure we finish well. 

If you want to follow Ebonee and connect with her, she is on Linked In, and you can follow her at http://linkedin.com/in/ebonee-davis-76134421. 

My favorite places to hang out are on Instagram and YouTube, so click one of the links below to get connected so we can finish the conversation. I am grateful you're here!

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCph7Ez_21bFNM622lZ4fYNA

Instagram: https://instagram.com/candidliv

This incredibly gifted photographer just so happens to be one of my prayer partners, and you're going to love her! Shalisha Lewis is here to help us start the conversation as she opens up about what parts of the fruit come easy to her and what parts are a tad bit more challenging. 

Can you guess the ones that are hard for me? Yep, you guessed it! It’s gentleness LOL! Pray for ya girl, and while you’re at it, drop the parts of the fruit that are a little more challenging for you below as well. There’s accountability in transparency. Is it love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, or self-control?

If you’re interested in the devotional on YouVersion that I referenced, you can find it here…https://www.bible.com/en/reading-plans/17021

Shalisha’s Instagram is here: https://www.instagram.com/shalishalewis_photography/

Mine is here: https://instagram.com/candidliv

Andddd you can watch the podcast on YouTube as well. Here's the link if you want to see the pictures I referenced:

https://youtu.be/yKOX2ji2yHw

That’s why I recommend slowing down, quieting your heart, and getting in God’s face-especially when you’re feeling overwhelmed, confused, or uninspired. He’ll not only bless you with a new vision, but He’ll also give you a new strategy, too!

I recognized that I needed a summer reset late in May to renew my mind and ensure that the content I share is refreshing to your spirit. I don’t ever want to prioritize quantity over quality, so I hope you understand and choose to take some time yourself. 

This podcast is currently undergoing some reconstruction, and I pray you’ll stick around for it. There will be surprise episodes sprinkled throughout the rest of the summer, but we'll be back, for real for real in August. I love you to the heavens and back! 

💗 Liv

Want to fact check my scripture reference? I always recommend it. 

Check out notes from the Blue Letter Bible on Genesis 1:1 here: https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/gen/1/1/t_conc_1001

Want to watch the video that accompanies this podcast? It's at https://youtu.be/IwQwmW32ZL8

Remember to like, comment, and subscribe!

The website is under reconstruction, too, but I go live every Friday at 7AM. Let's connect!

https://instagram.com/candidliv

http://candidliv.com

http://colorfullycandid.com

Monica came through and helped answer a couple of questions that we had to get our businesses, books, and ministries started the right way, and here's what we asked her:

💫How early would you recommend someone get a team together to act on their visions and ideas?

💫What are the first few tasks you would recommend someone get assistance with as they look for or request help?

💫How do you help people to keep believing in themselves through their mission and work through your business?

Want to stay in touch with our guest today? Here's her website: https://monicamichelles.com/ and her IG is at https://www.instagram.com/monicamichelles/

I would love to keep the conversation flowing. I'm at https://www.instagram.com/candidliv/ and I can't wait to get connected to you. Let's keep growing. 💗

She came through to teach us that everything that is playing out in our lives is playing out as a result of our mindset, and it’s time to do the work to understand how our minds work. 

After having hard conversations about hopes and dreams that have been deferred and how to take action in the middle of your own issues, this podcast is the conversation you need to help lighten your mood. 

Remember, you are in control of more than you think. The best way to make change happen is to change the way you think about it.

Emily shared an acronym to help us shift our mindsets, and it’s my hope that you will connect with her at https://boldpearls.com/ to continue the conversations and get the connected with her Facebook group to begin to consider your: 

💫 Circumstances

💫 Thoughts

💫 Feelings

💫 Actions

💫 Results

It’s time to do a few things to remember that May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and you are worth the time it takes to care for yourself. Emily reminded us to

💫 Practice gratitude!

💫 Drink water!

💫 Take tech free time!

💫 Time block!

so tag us on IG by showing us how you're practicing wellness. 

Emily is on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/byemilyvermillion/ and I’m at https://www.instagram.com/candidliv/

If you want to see this podcast in action, you can subscribe to my YouTube channel at this link: 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCph7Ez_21bFNM622lZ4fYNA

This week, my guest is Glenisha Thomas, and I’m so thankful that she’s joined me. I cannot wait for you to hear her story because it’s one that gives me chills every time I hear it. 

Glenisha is the founder of Pretty Ponytails, a non profit that serves to remind girls of their inner beauty by ministering to their outer beauty through the gifts of hair care. You can find more about Pretty Ponytails at https://www.prettyponytails.com/, and please remember, I’m making an additional $10.00 donation for every new review of the podcast this week. Let’s bless these girls and partner with the beautiful things Glenisha is doing in the world!

Want to connect with Glenisha on Instagram? Click https://www.instagram.com/prettyponytails/

Don’t forget, I’m at https://www.instagram.com/candidliv/ and I’d love to continue our conversation with you there, too.

Want to see this podcast in action? Connect with me on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCph7Ez_21bFNM622lZ4fYNA

Mother's Day is quickly approaching, and it can cause a variety of emotions to arise within you-especially if you're not a mother, yet.

Proverbs 13:12 in the New Living Translation tells us, "A Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life," and that's what we've come to talk about today because today's best kept secret is that your dream will be fulfilled in God's perfect timing, in God's perfect way, in His perfect will.

Now, that isn't always what we would desire, but if we take LeJoyce's advice, we will be blessed in the middle of the wait. Remember, her words. It's not a holding place. It's a place of growth.

Dr. LaJoyce Kwakye, DNP holds a doctorate of nursing and serves as an infertility advocate. Having experienced infertility herself, she knows what it's like to experience a hope that has been deferred and the disappointment that can bring. Today, however, she's using her experience and expertise to help women everywhere who have dreams of being called Mommy themselves, including your girl.

Please remember that there's support in community, and whether you want to talk about the infertility you've experienced privately or publicly, LaJoyce is here for all of us. Click the links below to follow her, and don't forget to leave a review. I am so grateful you're here.

LaJoyce’s YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/user/quientelaw

LaJoyce’s Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/the_joyjourney/

LaJoyce’s Email

thejoyjourney216@gmail.com

If you want to connect with me, I'm on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/candidliv/and YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCph7Ez_21bFNM622lZ4fYNA

I look forward to continuing the journey with you...

Today's Best Kept Secret is that community connects us to purpose! The calling you have, that invitation to partner with God for eternity, that customized life purpose cannot be realized in isolation! You need mentors and good, wise friendships to refresh your soul and hold you accountable.

Hebrews 10:25 (NLT) tells us, "And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near."

Now that the world is reopening as we emerge from the pandemic that we've encountered over the past year, let's choose intentionality and connect with those who are going to help elevate our choice to trust God more every day. Remember, every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows (James 1:17). Let's honor Him and show gratitude in the connections we keep.

Tag me in your stories with the connections you're most grateful for. I would love to see who's a part of your tribe.

Did y’all know that the Bible says that friendships refresh the soul?

It’s true, Proverbs 27:9 reads:

Sweet friendships refresh the soul and awaken our hearts with joy,

for good friends are like the anointing oil

that yields the fragrant incense of God’s presence.

Daja came through to encourage our hearts in the area of friendship and it is good! Here are a couple of questions she answered that you may want to reflect on or consider in your own spaces. 

💫 How have your friendships inspired and cultivated joy within you over the years?

💫 How do you identify people whom you would like to become friends with? 

💫 Can you tell me about one of the best trips or the most fun that you've ever taken with your friends?

💫 How have you learned to support your friends throughout the years?

💫 What would you recommend someone do to make time for the friendships they have when the pressures and busyness of life begin building up?

Need a couple of recommendations to strengthen yours? Here’s what she suggested we start doing…

💫 Ask questions

💫 Listen 

💫 Take Time

💫 Support their Business Ideas

💫 Brainstorm

💫 Shoot a quick text

💫 A handwritten letter

💫 A Just Because List

💫 Create a Yearly tradition

💫 Create a Friendship Bucket List

Remember to tag us on Instagram when you create your friendship bucket list. Daja is at https://www.instagram.com/missdaja/ and I’m at https://www.instagram.com/candidliv/

The blog is at http://candidliv.com/ and I cannot wait to continue this conversation with you.

Venus, Loretta, and December are three women who God used to change my life, and I will be forever grateful for their presence in my life. Today, they've joined me on the podcast to talk about how much fun obedience can be as God transforms our lives. 

Before I met them, I had no clue how much fun it could be to walk in purpose, and I’m grateful that they helped me to identify new ways to obey God’s word. 

Here are a few questions for you to consider with your inner circle, with your mentees, or yourself!

💫 What is the best part about being a Christian?

💫 How did the activities you call fun now change when you chose to accept Jesus into your heart?

💫 What did that transition look like? Was it quick or did it take time?

💫 Do you ever feel like you're missing out on anything?

• 💫 Talk to me about the peace you feel now that you're enjoying life without all the drama?

There’s something sweet, something supernatural that happens when you step forward in obedience and it is undeniably good, which is ironic because the first emotion that rose to the surface when Nicole felt God calling her to a new level of faith was denial.

Your confidence in Christ will be confirmed, but it’s not going to take place over night. It’s going to require time and assistance. Nicole, a mentor herself, has come through to help us learn what it looks like to practice God’s presence, our purpose postures, and what you should look for in a mentor. 

1 Corinthians 12:19 reminds us, “How strange a body would be if it had only one part!” in the New Living Translation, and I hope you meditate on it because it points to how much we need your voice. If you’re ready to own it, you can get registered for Preach, Sis by clicking this link here: https://www.nicoleosalmon.com/preachsis2021

I am giving away two free tickets to those of you who enter the drawing by writing a review of the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Audible, but just in case you don’t win, remember to enter the code UNCONDITIONAL for a discount, and then let me know that you did so because I’ll have a gift for you, too. 

Remember to follow Nicole Salmon at on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/nicoleosalmon/ and me here: https://www.instagram.com/candidliv

The blog is at https://candidliv.com/

There are so many factors that attempt to impede our ability to grow in encouragement, especially today, but we when we choose intentionality, authenticity, and set boundaries, we remember how much joy encouragement brings.

Today, we are talking to the soul igniter, character cheerleader, and doll authenticator, Jessica Dishmon! She has such a beautiful gift of encouragement that I had to invite her on to the podcast so we could really dig into this subject. 

Romans 12:8 tells us, “If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging,” and this reminds us that it is necessary to hold on to and thrive in. 

As always I have a few questions for you!

💫 Do you ever take your gift of encouragement for granted?

💫Do you ever feel like you give others too much encouragement?

💫Have you ever felt like others think you’re attempting to manipulate them through your encouragement?

💫How do you enjoy receiving encouragement? Have you verbalized that to your friends and family lately?

💫How do you encourage yourself?

💫Did you know that encouragement is a spiritual gift in the Bible?

💫How have you felt God’s encouragement?

Remember to follow Jessica at on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/jess_the_doll2/

And don't forget to keep the conversation flowing with on Instagram or Clubhouse. Jessica and I will be talking about Friendship on Clubhouse this Friday at 6PM PST.

https://www.instagram.com/candidliv

The blog is at https://candidliv.com/

In fact it’s killing us, our perspective, and our impact on the Kingdom. 

It’s time humble ourselves and remember Habbakuk 2:2-3:

“Write my answer plainly on tablets, so that a runner can carry the correct message to others.

This vision is for a future time.

It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled.

If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place.

It will not be delayed.

We’re finding inspiration from 2 Kings 13:14-19 so that we can completely annihilate the enemy of competition and enjoy the victory and success God always intended us to.

Shout out to https://www.instagram.com/_kellyafoster/ for leaving a review. Follower her to check out her newest book that will be releasing soon!

That’s why this week’s best kept secret is that secure, wise, smart, strong people ask for help, and it’s time for you too, as well, because this God given goal you have is bigger than you!

In the past, I have chosen not to ask for help out of fear, pride, and insecurity, but I’m over it and I’m over myself. Can the church say amen?

What have you been procrastinating on? 

Could it be that you need help?

Which part is overwhelming?

How many people can you name who are resourceful or have knowledge in that area?

What’s holding you back from asking them for help?

Remember, the worst that could happen is that they could say no, but the best that could happen is that they could say yes!

Let’s keep this conversation going. 

https://www.instagram.com/candidliv

The blog is at https://candidliv.com/.

I know you have every excuse not to do the thing you’ve been called to. You know the thing: the business, the coaching group, the podcast, the event, etc. BUT what about those who have been called to your voice, your influence, and your level of gifting? I know you love them more than you love yourself. 

After all, perfectionism is just a form of pride, and it’s one we have to get over. 

Here are a few questions to help you get over yourself, because at one point we all have to….Let’s put in work. 

What have you been pondering over and procrastinating on over these past few weeks?

What is the one thing you would do if you had no fear?

What’s holding you back?

What mindset shift do you need to make today so that you can start?

What mentors do you need to acquire to learn and begin to step out on faith in that area?

The adventure of an eternity is on the other side of it. Remember, the space may be oversaturated, but it’s absolutely incomplete until you bring your voice to the space.

Remember to keep the conversation flowing with on Instagram or Clubhouse. 

https://www.instagram.com/candidliv

The blog is at https://candidliv.com/

Y’all, we serve a creative God! As the only creatures in the whole universe who are made in HIs image, we have to remember that creativity is a part of our DNA. We can enjoy the fullest expression of our creativity in His presence through prayer.

I’m so thankful that Desirée Micheels, coauthor of Just Believe: Every Summer Has a Story, is here to help us in this area. 

She came through dropping gems, and, this is one for the books. Save this episode and return to it as often as you need to as you remember that God is blessing your creativity. Remember, “We’re the pen, but He’s the ink.”

You can find Desiree Micheels at @justbelievebook on Facebook and Instagram, as well as at http://www.justbelievebook.com/ so make sure you follow everything good she’s introducing into this world for girls and women, today!

As always, I have a couple of questions for you: 

💫 When was the last time you took time off from that dream?

💫 How often do you pray about that vision and sit quietly at God’s feet to be refilled with new ideas?

💫 What can you begin doing today to trust Him with your creativity?

Today, we’re talking about creativity, prayer, Psalm 127:2, and rest!

If you let those likes motivate you, you’ll miss out on what you were really meant to learn every time. And so will the one. And that is tragic. 

If you’re going to continue to step out in obedience, you need to remember that the one who is paying attention is more important in that moment than the 150 others you’re trying to reach. Appreciate them. Show up for them. Love them. Because God is teaching you valuable lessons in this moment, and we can’t overlook them. 

I don’t know about you, but I’ve had to come to a point where I tear down the alters I’ve built to other people and cut down the poles I’ve erected to attention seeking behavior. Stay with me and listen in because we’re going somewhere. Let’s talk a little bit about Gideon and just how good God is. He always makes a way of escape out of temptation to help us obey His word if we’re willing to take it.

Think about these questions: 

💫 How many times a day do you check to see how many likes your last post got?

💫 Who do you specifically look for to see if they’ve responded to your post?

💫 How often do you thank God for those who did respond?

Today, we're talking about King Saul, Gideon, Facebook, people pleasing, fear, and, of course, prayer. 

Zechariah 4:10 tells us: Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.”

I don't know about you, but when I celebrate I throw a whole party-all by myself. Can you imagine our Daddy God doing the same thing? He's not a disapproving figure in the sky waiting to condemn you. He is a joyful, Father who loves His children and celebrates us better than anyone.

Let's talk about it and get a little prayer in while we're at it.

Here are a few questions for you to think about, too.

When was the last time you celebrated anything, big or small?

How do you enjoy celebrating yourself?

What will you plan to celebrate this week?

This week’s best kept secret is a lesson God impressed on my heart last year in intense ways. The best gifts are received through the ways we wait on our way to our blessings.

It is possible to be intoxicated by your fears, your envy, or your concern for the future, but the word tells us Godliness with contentment is great gain so let’s exercise faith and sober up. Faith is the tension between the gratitude we have for this moment and the expectation we’re exercising for that one in the future. 

Here are a few questions to consider: 

How are you waiting right now?

How are you managing your schedule right now?

What types of boundaries are you setting?

How are you building your character right now?

What scriptures are you memorizing so that you’ll actually have something to say when you make it there. 

I’m excited for you right now, right here, before anyone knows your name or recognizes your worth because God knows and I see it.

Read 1 Peter 5:6-11 as often as you need to: 

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.  And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Love you!

Regardless of what area of your life you’re experiencing disappointment in, I want you to remember that you don’t have to allow those feelings to overwhelm you or steal your relationships. We have been blessed with others so that we can have help navigating the hard stuff, and it’s those relationships that we need to lean in to!

Today, we are talking about One Night with the King, Disappointment, Relationships, and, of course, prayer!

Decide to speak God’s word from Isaiah 42:18-19 over your life: 

“Forget the former things;

do not dwell on the past.

See, I am doing a new thing!

Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness

and streams in the wasteland.”

I love you!

The Best Kept Secret is the space where we listen to others' stories with curiosity because we overpower the enemy by the blood of the lamb and the power of our testimonies.

That's why I want to invite you to join me for a weekly conversation that will unlock the secrets that are going to set your soul free!

Featuring guest expert interviews, raw and relatable solo episodes, and prayers every month, subscribe to the podcast today and join us as we grow in every way!

Continue the conversation with me at https://livdooley.com/podcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/candidliv/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCph7Ez_21bFNM622lZ4fYNA

I can't wait to continue our conversations!

______

There is nothing Liv Dooley loves to talk about more than the Word of God. She is a Bible teacher and the podcast host of The Best Kept Secret with Liv Dooley, which has featured some of the leading teachers and burgeoning ministry leaders of our day.

Liv is passionate about helping people enjoy greater intimacy and authority in Christ Jesus through prayer. Liv is featured as a contributor with She Reads Truth and the YouVersion Bible app, and she is the new author of Selah: A Study of 1 and 2 Samuel.

Liv writes and speaks to help others enjoy greater intimacy and authority in Christ Jesus. When she’s not writing or podcasting, you can find Liv hiking a mountain, taking a road trip with her husband, or curled up in the corner with a good book. You can connect with her blog at livdooley.com or follow her on Instagram @candidliv to connect with her.

You can connect with her blog at livdooley.com or follow her on Instagram @candidliv or @colorfullycandid to keep the conversation flowing.

The Confident Collaborations Quiz: http://livdooley.com/quiz

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