WEBVTT

1
00:00:09.000 --> 00:00:18.160
your Kel, Liesl, Jackie, Heidi, Suzanne. Okay, so, Ally Burke, who's not on the

2
00:00:18.160 --> 00:00:22.800
call yet, graciously sent us some fun ideas for the Zoom call. She's like, "I've

3
00:00:22.800 --> 00:00:26.480
been apart of Zoom calls before in different groups and I think here's

4
00:00:26.480 --> 00:00:29.680
some things that would be fun." And so, one thing she said is intro because we

5
00:00:29.680 --> 00:00:33.520
kind of just jump right into it, which is fine, but also part of this is we

6
00:00:33.520 --> 00:00:37.520
want to connect more and get to know each other. And low stakes, I'm not going to

7
00:00:37.520 --> 00:00:41.840
ask you to give a dissertation or a tea training like that, but I would love for

8
00:00:41.840 --> 00:00:47.120
us to unmute. Say who you are, where you're tuning in from, and what's your

9
00:00:47.120 --> 00:00:51.280
favorite thing about summer? Summer's my favorite season, so let's just bask in

10
00:00:51.280 --> 00:00:57.040
the joy of summer together. Sarah Ford, do you want to start us off? Oh my

11
00:00:57.040 --> 00:01:02.800
gosh, yes, I'll be the first guinea pig over here. Well, I'm Sarah Ford. I live

12
00:01:02.800 --> 00:01:08.720
in Northeast Georgia and the favorite thing about summer, I love that it's

13
00:01:08.720 --> 00:01:13.640
just light out until like nine o'clock at night. And that, you know, if I don't

14
00:01:13.640 --> 00:01:17.240
get my walk, if I don't walk my dogs in the morning, I don't feel bad about it

15
00:01:17.240 --> 00:01:21.480
because I can go in the evening and it's a little bit tiny bit cooler, at least

16
00:01:21.480 --> 00:01:28.320
in Georgia. Amen. Amen. I used to live in Atlanta. I'm now in Franklin, Tennessee.

17
00:01:28.320 --> 00:01:33.440
Oh, fine. Georgia used to be home. Love this. Love the state. Have a lot of

18
00:01:33.440 --> 00:01:38.520
loved ones there. Hey, Rachel, I see you next.

19
00:01:38.520 --> 00:01:48.000
I'm Rachel Allen. I live in White Water, Wisconsin. I love that I get to be home

20
00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:54.200
with my kids in the summer most of the time. What is summer like in Wisconsin?

21
00:01:54.200 --> 00:01:57.840
Because I've never been and I've kind of always lived in the South. So

22
00:01:57.840 --> 00:02:05.240
it's incredible. I think it was actual summer. I think it was like 70 yesterday.

23
00:02:05.240 --> 00:02:10.280
Sometimes it's 80. It's absolutely beautiful. Like it's chilly at night.

24
00:02:10.280 --> 00:02:16.080
So you need sweatshirts and sweatpants. Kind of perfect. It's perfect. Yeah.

25
00:02:16.680 --> 00:02:26.080
Perfect. Julie Davis. Hello. Hey, so I am Julie Davis. I'm in Franklin, Tennessee as

26
00:02:26.080 --> 00:02:32.720
well. And my favorite thing about summer is that it means it's almost fall.

27
00:02:32.720 --> 00:02:41.560
We have really pretty falls in Franklin, I have to say. And I'm a summer girl, but

28
00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:48.800
yes, fall is beautiful here. So, Ali, we're using your, I told everyone, you sent us

29
00:02:48.800 --> 00:02:52.840
feedback, some ideas that we loved. So I'm going to call on you next for saying

30
00:02:52.840 --> 00:02:55.440
where we're from and our favorite thing about summer. Yeah.

31
00:02:55.440 --> 00:03:03.720
Okay. Can you hear me? Yeah. All right. Sorry. I was having some zoom troubles

32
00:03:03.720 --> 00:03:08.840
this morning. So I caught, I came in a couple minutes late. You said it was where

33
00:03:08.840 --> 00:03:14.840
we're from and what we love about summer? Yes. Okay. I'm in Fargo, North Dakota.

34
00:03:14.840 --> 00:03:19.840
And it's pretty, pretty extreme. Both times of the year, we get really, really

35
00:03:19.840 --> 00:03:23.960
cold winters, lots of snow. And surprisingly to a lot of people are really

36
00:03:23.960 --> 00:03:30.800
hot summers, like over a hundred, a lot of the days too. So, um, but in the summer

37
00:03:30.800 --> 00:03:34.080
time, it's nice to just be here and enjoy the nice weather while we have it.

38
00:03:34.320 --> 00:03:39.600
So I'm enjoying just slow summer days at home with the family, playing in the

39
00:03:39.600 --> 00:03:45.720
backyard, going for walks and enjoying nice family time and good weather.

40
00:03:45.720 --> 00:03:51.760
Awesome. Right. I never knew that about North Dakota. Most people don't. They, they

41
00:03:51.760 --> 00:03:54.920
know the cold, but they don't know that it gets into the 90s.

42
00:03:54.920 --> 00:04:01.840
That's, that's fine. I want to visit. I think the United States is so amazing

43
00:04:01.840 --> 00:04:06.600
that we have such a vast geographical variance. And, but there's a lot of

44
00:04:06.600 --> 00:04:09.800
states I haven't been to. So I told my husband, I'm like, look, before we do

45
00:04:09.800 --> 00:04:14.680
another, like European something, like let's travel the states. So North Dakota's

46
00:04:14.680 --> 00:04:17.959
on the list, Wisconsin's on the list. I'll let you guys know when I show up.

47
00:04:17.959 --> 00:04:24.520
Come on by. It's a nice place. I love it. And you guys who cameras off, if

48
00:04:24.520 --> 00:04:29.360
maybe you can't join in, be sure to tell us in the chat where you're from and

49
00:04:29.400 --> 00:04:34.120
favorite part of summer. Hey, Tracy. You want to go next?

50
00:04:34.120 --> 00:04:46.000
I'm meeting is so hard on the phone. I know. Okay, so sorry. Me, Tracy? Yeah.

51
00:04:46.000 --> 00:04:52.800
Okay. Um, I am from Kalisville, Montana. Um, and we're in the

52
00:04:52.800 --> 00:04:57.280
Northwest corner of Montana. And my favorite thing about summer is that we

53
00:04:58.040 --> 00:04:59.920
Get to swim in the lakes.

54
00:05:06.560 --> 00:05:13.680
just it's amazing here. We're probably 40 minutes from Glacier National Park,

55
00:05:13.680 --> 00:05:17.920
and so we just live in a really beautiful area and we can get out and enjoy it.

56
00:05:17.920 --> 00:05:20.960
Awesome. That sounds amazing.

57
00:05:22.560 --> 00:05:32.160
Suzanne. Good morning. I'm Suzanne Steins. I am in Richmond, Virginia, and I have loved summers

58
00:05:32.160 --> 00:05:39.760
forever, especially during my working life. So I'm a school counselor and thankfully almost every

59
00:05:39.760 --> 00:05:45.520
single year I've had the entire summer, if not most of it, off, which is a huge blessing as a

60
00:05:45.520 --> 00:05:50.480
working mom. And I'm always busy. It's not like I've wondered during the school year how I ever get

61
00:05:50.480 --> 00:05:55.600
everything done. Because the summer has stayed so busy, but I'm especially grateful for the

62
00:05:55.600 --> 00:06:04.960
time off and just reset, relax, and enjoy family time. That's the best. Hey, Lily. Good morning.

63
00:06:04.960 --> 00:06:12.400
Hi, everyone. I'm from Fort Lauderdale and it's perpetual summer around here.

64
00:06:12.400 --> 00:06:18.480
So my favorite thing, though, is we're allowed to go in the pool because we don't use the heater

65
00:06:18.480 --> 00:06:22.000
in the wintertime. So pool season is open. So we're excited about that.

66
00:06:22.000 --> 00:06:30.720
I love that. It's anonymous with summer, full time, full time. Hey, Laura slash mom.

67
00:06:30.720 --> 00:06:39.280
Let's see. I'll get you on mute.

68
00:06:41.840 --> 00:06:50.080
Here. I'm going to get you. We'll see what you get. Can you unmute? There you go. Yay. Obviously,

69
00:06:50.080 --> 00:06:58.080
I'm not frozen. Let's see. But we can hear you. Yeah. Okay. My favorite thing about, I'm from

70
00:06:58.080 --> 00:07:03.840
Morehead City, North Carolina. It is a tourist town. And so it is the busiest time of year,

71
00:07:03.840 --> 00:07:08.240
but it's still a small town. But my favorite thing is that I became a mom in the summer.

72
00:07:09.040 --> 00:07:17.600
I'm a very special girl. My birthday is next week. Yes. Oh,

73
00:07:17.600 --> 00:07:24.560
happy early birthday, Lindsey. Thank you. Yeah. So I am very fond of the fall,

74
00:07:24.560 --> 00:07:28.720
not so fond of the heat, but the reason why I love the summer is because my girl was born in the

75
00:07:28.720 --> 00:07:37.920
summer next week. Yeah. Anyway, I'm really enjoying this and seeing everybody, especially this one.

76
00:07:37.920 --> 00:07:49.280
That's how we spend time together. I love it. Don, I see Don joined. Hey, Don.

77
00:07:49.280 --> 00:07:55.440
So we're kind of just doing this as people are heading in where you're from and your favorite

78
00:07:55.440 --> 00:08:01.680
thing about summer. Are you able to unmute Don?

79
00:08:04.720 --> 00:08:08.720
Yeah, sorry. I didn't know if you guys were calling on me or just telling me.

80
00:08:08.720 --> 00:08:12.800
All right. Where am I? Where am I from? Is that the first? Yeah. Sorry.

81
00:08:12.800 --> 00:08:17.440
Where are you from? I know I'm really putting you on the spot. No, that's okay.

82
00:08:17.440 --> 00:08:22.800
I can say either right now. So it's seven o'clock right now. I literally just finished breakfast

83
00:08:22.800 --> 00:08:28.720
and kids are everywhere. But yeah, so I'm insane. I'm not, I don't identify with California though,

84
00:08:28.720 --> 00:08:33.520
because I'm from Ohio. So I have to make sure I tell everybody that even though I've lived in

85
00:08:33.520 --> 00:08:41.039
California now for like 16 years. So and my favorite thing about summer is the

86
00:08:41.039 --> 00:08:49.440
relaxed, I would say more relaxing change of pace and schedule because we homeschool and so

87
00:08:49.440 --> 00:08:55.120
we get a chance to, I get a chance to have a break. The kids like the break, I think I like it more.

88
00:08:55.120 --> 00:09:01.600
So that's what I love about it. Just getting to work on things for me and for the house and

89
00:09:01.600 --> 00:09:09.040
just different stuff, change of pace. That's great. Hey, Macy, what's your favorite thing about summer?

90
00:09:09.040 --> 00:09:16.160
My thing about favorite thing about summer, oh, I'm also in San Diego. My favorite thing about

91
00:09:16.160 --> 00:09:23.280
summer, I really don't, I really don't love the summer. I think my favorite thing is so sweetly.

92
00:09:23.280 --> 00:09:31.040
I won't take it personally. I think it's just so busy here in the summer. Like so

93
00:09:31.040 --> 00:09:38.240
extraordinarily busy and it's so 70 to 80 the rest of the year anyways. But I think my favorite

94
00:09:38.240 --> 00:09:44.640
thing is that in the mornings it is warm. So when I'm going on my walks I'm not like cold and then

95
00:09:44.640 --> 00:09:50.800
it's like by noon warm. So I think that's my favorite thing about summer is in the mornings it's

96
00:09:50.800 --> 00:09:55.920
it is warm, but it is my least favorite season living here because it's so busy.

97
00:09:58.560 --> 00:10:00.000
Ashley Collins is your favorite.

98
00:10:03.640 --> 00:10:10.040
That is near the top of the list. Yes. Um, but I'm a fellow. Um,

99
00:10:10.040 --> 00:10:16.600
we call me solar powered because I live in Maine and it is cold basically every

100
00:10:16.600 --> 00:10:20.280
day. Uh, right now I'm in full sweater because it's raining and it's not even

101
00:10:20.280 --> 00:10:21.600
going to get to 70 today.

102
00:10:21.600 --> 00:10:27.520
First day of my kids summer vacation and this is what we're doing. Um,

103
00:10:27.560 --> 00:10:30.960
but my favorite thing about summer is that I live in a place that is really

104
00:10:30.960 --> 00:10:33.400
cold and harsh in the winter, but like the rest of you,

105
00:10:33.400 --> 00:10:36.800
I have just such beautiful things available to me in the summer.

106
00:10:36.800 --> 00:10:41.680
We have a house on a river and it's hot and gorgeous and we get to spend lots

107
00:10:41.680 --> 00:10:43.400
of time. We went on a beach walk last night.

108
00:10:43.400 --> 00:10:47.800
So even though it's cold, I live in a pretty great place and I get to enjoy this

109
00:10:47.800 --> 00:10:49.000
beautiful, beautiful place.

110
00:10:49.000 --> 00:10:54.920
I keep trying to convince her to move to Tennessee. No dice yet. Yeah,

111
00:10:54.920 --> 00:10:59.120
I can't be landlocked. I can't be landlocked.

112
00:10:59.120 --> 00:11:03.200
I know. I feel that way because I'm from the coast of North Carolina.

113
00:11:03.200 --> 00:11:07.520
I'm a beach girly. So as much as I love Franklin, it is hard to be away from

114
00:11:07.520 --> 00:11:12.240
the water. This has been so fun to hear where everybody is because I feel so much

115
00:11:12.240 --> 00:11:15.280
connection. I'm originally from North Carolina. I went to UNC Wilmington. I'm

116
00:11:15.280 --> 00:11:20.160
very familiar with Morehead City. Like this is, but I feel like I have some kind

117
00:11:20.160 --> 00:11:23.960
of connection to each of where everybody has said so fun. I love doing this.

118
00:11:24.360 --> 00:11:27.560
Well, shout out to Allie Burt because it was her suggestion. She sent the

119
00:11:27.560 --> 00:11:31.000
feedback, which we really appreciate. Anyone's always able to do that. Like,

120
00:11:31.000 --> 00:11:34.840
if you got an idea, some inspiration, some feedback, please do. Because like we've

121
00:11:34.840 --> 00:11:38.160
said, we're building this community together. And so she said, I think this

122
00:11:38.160 --> 00:11:41.920
would be a fun idea. And it is. It's a way to get to kind of know each other.

123
00:11:41.920 --> 00:11:46.160
And not people, not people on the spot too much except for, do you know how to

124
00:11:46.160 --> 00:11:51.320
unmute, which always throws me off on a zoom call, truly. But I think, okay,

125
00:11:51.320 --> 00:11:55.440
Allie, so what is your favorite thing about Summer? Summer to me means roller

126
00:11:55.440 --> 00:12:02.280
coasters. The real enthusiast. If you guys don't know this, I am. The boys

127
00:12:02.280 --> 00:12:05.960
and I have already gone to Cedar Point in two weeks. We're going to King's Island.

128
00:12:05.960 --> 00:12:11.360
So we just, it's just what we do. We travel and we go ride roller coasters as

129
00:12:11.360 --> 00:12:17.240
many as many as we can. It is my last summer with one of my boys still living

130
00:12:17.240 --> 00:12:23.080
with us in the summer. He will be married next summer. So I am trying to, I'm

131
00:12:23.080 --> 00:12:28.000
trying to just suck up all the fun of this summer that I can't favorite

132
00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:32.200
amusement park for thrill rides. It is Cedar Point. That is the capital of

133
00:12:32.200 --> 00:12:37.760
roller coasters in the country. But Bush Gardens Tampa has great roller

134
00:12:37.760 --> 00:12:41.160
coasters and animals. So shout out to Bush Gardens Tampa.

135
00:12:42.720 --> 00:12:46.760
And Allie is like, she's not like, Oh, I just love roller coasters. You were

136
00:12:46.760 --> 00:12:50.600
recently, I don't know where it was, but this roller coaster. Yeah. Okay.

137
00:12:50.600 --> 00:12:55.800
And it was like, it got stuck. Oh, yeah. I thought, well, so the big one is

138
00:12:55.800 --> 00:13:01.000
four, it drops you 425 feet and you go 120 miles an hour and it literally my

139
00:13:01.000 --> 00:13:05.120
cheeks did this like I was in a top gun movie. But yes, there was another one

140
00:13:05.120 --> 00:13:08.560
that did get stuck for 30 minutes at 90 degrees. I wasn't on it, but I did

141
00:13:08.560 --> 00:13:12.320
write it later that day. And the next day when it happened, like that's enough

142
00:13:12.320 --> 00:13:16.400
for me to be like, I think I'm out. I was getting on it later that day.

143
00:13:16.400 --> 00:13:20.360
And I said to my son, you know, they're just rolling this roller coaster.

144
00:13:20.360 --> 00:13:23.360
Like we didn't see it get stuck for 30 minutes with people on it. They're

145
00:13:23.360 --> 00:13:26.520
not even embarrassed about it. And he goes, we're not even, we're not even

146
00:13:26.520 --> 00:13:30.200
back and down. I was like, well, that's a good point. So this show must go on.

147
00:13:30.200 --> 00:13:35.760
And it did. I mean, I slit you. I slit, I bought the hype and hypervigilance.

148
00:13:35.760 --> 00:13:41.040
So we're just, we're just for people, you know, it is literally how I

149
00:13:41.040 --> 00:13:46.920
relax. I love that. Well, we're not calling on people that are off camera.

150
00:13:46.920 --> 00:13:49.600
We said that earlier just because yeah, there's probably reason you're off

151
00:13:49.600 --> 00:13:52.440
camera. So if you'd like put it in the chat, I've been seeing some of the chat

152
00:13:52.440 --> 00:13:56.400
back and forth, which is great. Like I said, I don't know if you guys saw

153
00:13:56.400 --> 00:14:01.200
my video last night in the app. But I said, we're going to dive more into

154
00:14:01.200 --> 00:14:05.320
fruit of the spirit on this call specifically around emotional health

155
00:14:05.320 --> 00:14:07.720
because something Ali and I are passionate about is the convergence of

156
00:14:07.720 --> 00:14:10.600
those two things that they were never meant to be separated. Our

157
00:14:10.600 --> 00:14:14.840
spiritual maturity, our walk with the Lord, our emotional health, even our

158
00:14:14.840 --> 00:14:19.000
physical health, Ali is in the midst of writing a book, the wise woman

159
00:14:19.000 --> 00:14:22.360
method, which I'm really excited is going to be out soon. That talks to

160
00:14:22.360 --> 00:14:25.560
about this about how do we steward ourselves? How do we, how do we take

161
00:14:25.560 --> 00:14:31.480
good care of ourselves? It's not just an aside to our spiritual life.

162
00:14:31.480 --> 00:14:35.160
It's part of it. Our spiritual life should infiltrate our mental health,

163
00:14:35.160 --> 00:14:40.240
our emotional health, our physical health. And so we've spent this month

164
00:14:40.280 --> 00:14:45.080
in the app, in our daily truths, in our weekly actions, focusing on

165
00:14:45.080 --> 00:14:48.360
fruit of the spirit. We've kind of been talking about our identity in

166
00:14:48.360 --> 00:14:51.760
Christ since April when we launched this community because it is so

167
00:14:51.760 --> 00:14:56.600
key and so pivotal to everything. It's not just a topic for a Bible

168
00:14:56.600 --> 00:14:59.400
study or a great theme for a conference, our identity, Christ really

169
00:15:04.640 --> 00:15:11.120
Galatians 5, 22, 23, and some of us, maybe many of us,

170
00:15:11.120 --> 00:15:18.960
have come to that list as nine things to work on,

171
00:15:18.960 --> 00:15:22.800
nine ways to measure if we're being good Christians or not.

172
00:15:22.800 --> 00:15:25.520
You know, am I being patient today, am I being loving,

173
00:15:25.520 --> 00:15:28.640
am I being kind, do I have joy, do I have peace?

174
00:15:28.640 --> 00:15:32.960
But that's not what Paul was after when he was writing Galatians 5.

175
00:15:32.960 --> 00:15:36.840
Paul's writing to the church that are being pulled back

176
00:15:36.840 --> 00:15:39.840
into performance-based religion.

177
00:15:39.840 --> 00:15:43.040
And people were telling them that faith in Christ wasn't enough.

178
00:15:43.040 --> 00:15:44.720
You need to also follow the law.

179
00:15:44.720 --> 00:15:45.880
You need to earn your way.

180
00:15:45.880 --> 00:15:47.920
You need to do more, be more, prove more.

181
00:15:47.920 --> 00:15:51.320
You need to perform in order to have right standing with God.

182
00:15:51.320 --> 00:15:57.960
And Paul's response in Galatians 5, 1, he says,

183
00:15:57.960 --> 00:16:01.600
"For freedom Christ has set you free.

184
00:16:01.600 --> 00:16:05.400
Stand firm.

185
00:16:05.400 --> 00:16:10.240
Do not be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."

186
00:16:10.240 --> 00:16:11.600
This is pretty strong language.

187
00:16:11.600 --> 00:16:14.200
This isn't like, oh, that's just not a good idea.

188
00:16:14.200 --> 00:16:19.200
This is, we must stand firm that it is for freedom

189
00:16:19.200 --> 00:16:23.120
that Christ has set us free, not to be put back into the burden

190
00:16:23.120 --> 00:16:26.840
of a law performance-based religion.

191
00:16:26.840 --> 00:16:30.080
And the entire chapter is about freedom from performance.

192
00:16:30.080 --> 00:16:32.720
So when Paul then, at the end of chapter 5,

193
00:16:32.720 --> 00:16:37.800
lists the fruit of the spirit, he's not giving them a new law

194
00:16:37.800 --> 00:16:39.880
to replace the old one.

195
00:16:39.880 --> 00:16:42.040
And I think this is key, because I think

196
00:16:42.040 --> 00:16:44.560
that some of us have taken the teaching of the fruit of the spirit.

197
00:16:44.560 --> 00:16:47.880
We've taken the promise, and we just made it a new law.

198
00:16:47.880 --> 00:16:49.000
OK, so it's not this.

199
00:16:49.000 --> 00:16:50.320
It's not circumcision.

200
00:16:50.320 --> 00:16:53.640
It's not eating pork and all the things.

201
00:16:53.640 --> 00:16:55.320
I have to do all these nine things.

202
00:16:55.320 --> 00:16:58.200
They have to show up in my life and I have to be really good at them.

203
00:16:58.200 --> 00:17:00.320
And that's not what Paul was doing.

204
00:17:00.320 --> 00:17:05.440
So he calls the-- because what he's talking about is not performing,

205
00:17:05.440 --> 00:17:06.680
but starting to live by the spirit.

206
00:17:06.680 --> 00:17:09.079
And before he lists the fruit of the spirit,

207
00:17:09.079 --> 00:17:11.680
he talks about the works of the flesh.

208
00:17:11.680 --> 00:17:13.560
He says the flesh produces works, things

209
00:17:13.560 --> 00:17:17.040
that are manufactured through effort and striving.

210
00:17:17.040 --> 00:17:21.160
But when he gets to the spirit, he switches to fruit,

211
00:17:21.160 --> 00:17:25.640
something that grows naturally through connection.

212
00:17:25.640 --> 00:17:28.200
It's the same picture that Jesus gives us in John 15

213
00:17:28.200 --> 00:17:32.120
when he's talking about abiding and being connected to the vine

214
00:17:32.120 --> 00:17:33.920
and remaining in him.

215
00:17:33.920 --> 00:17:36.000
Paul could have said works of the spirit, but he didn't.

216
00:17:36.000 --> 00:17:37.600
And I think that's really intentional.

217
00:17:37.600 --> 00:17:40.000
I think it's something we need to pay attention to.

218
00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:41.400
And then he says about the fruit.

219
00:17:41.400 --> 00:17:45.960
He says, against such things, there is no law.

220
00:17:45.960 --> 00:17:48.600
So you can't turn the fruit into a law.

221
00:17:48.600 --> 00:17:51.240
The moment we start to make things like love,

222
00:17:51.240 --> 00:17:55.920
and joy, and peace, et cetera, become a performance,

223
00:17:55.920 --> 00:17:58.480
standards we must perform, or a measuring stick,

224
00:17:58.480 --> 00:18:02.280
even, of measuring whether we're close to God or not,

225
00:18:02.280 --> 00:18:05.680
we've then done the very thing that Paul wrote this letter

226
00:18:05.680 --> 00:18:07.520
to dismantle.

227
00:18:07.520 --> 00:18:08.840
Because Paul was writing to people

228
00:18:08.840 --> 00:18:12.640
who wanted to add law keeping to their faith in Christ,

229
00:18:12.640 --> 00:18:16.640
wanting to return to, I must earn my righteousness

230
00:18:16.640 --> 00:18:18.200
through performance.

231
00:18:18.200 --> 00:18:22.920
And in verse two, Paul says this.

232
00:18:22.920 --> 00:18:25.400
He says, mark my words.

233
00:18:25.400 --> 00:18:28.920
I Paul tell you that if you let yourself be circumcised,

234
00:18:28.920 --> 00:18:32.640
Christ will be of no value to you at all.

235
00:18:32.640 --> 00:18:35.040
So it's not just really about the act of circumcision.

236
00:18:35.040 --> 00:18:38.720
What he's saying is, if you rely on your performance

237
00:18:38.720 --> 00:18:41.800
for your standing with God, for your measuring stick,

238
00:18:41.800 --> 00:18:43.280
of whether you're doing a good job or not,

239
00:18:43.280 --> 00:18:45.680
and you're close to him, you're living

240
00:18:45.680 --> 00:18:49.920
as if what Christ did for you is not enough.

241
00:18:49.920 --> 00:18:53.000
And so if the fruit has ever felt to you like nine more things

242
00:18:53.000 --> 00:18:55.760
to strive for, this is really good news.

243
00:18:55.760 --> 00:18:57.320
That was never the point.

244
00:18:57.320 --> 00:19:00.280
The fruit is what freedom looks like,

245
00:19:00.280 --> 00:19:03.720
not what your performance can produce.

246
00:19:03.720 --> 00:19:07.600
I think this is extremely freeing.

247
00:19:07.600 --> 00:19:11.520
One of the reasons I think that the fruit has felt like performance

248
00:19:11.520 --> 00:19:15.480
is because I think we've confused it with emotions.

249
00:19:15.480 --> 00:19:17.000
Things we must feel.

250
00:19:17.000 --> 00:19:20.480
And so often we're looking for what we're feeling in a moment

251
00:19:20.480 --> 00:19:23.680
to prove whether or not we have the fruit of the spirit.

252
00:19:23.680 --> 00:19:26.760
And we read love, joy, peace.

253
00:19:26.760 --> 00:19:29.320
So we think, well, those are emotions.

254
00:19:29.320 --> 00:19:31.760
Those feel like those seem like feelings.

255
00:19:31.760 --> 00:19:36.640
And so then we begin to categorize the fruit of the spirit,

256
00:19:36.640 --> 00:19:41.480
love, joy, peace, et cetera, as, oh, these are the godly emotions.

257
00:19:41.480 --> 00:19:44.040
These are the good emotions.

258
00:19:44.040 --> 00:19:46.200
And the problem with that is then we then

259
00:19:46.200 --> 00:19:50.480
we have to have a countercategory of negative emotions.

260
00:19:50.480 --> 00:19:54.400
And so things like sadness or anger and grief

261
00:19:54.400 --> 00:19:59.280
are things we believe that we cannot feel or admit that we feel.

262
00:20:05.400 --> 00:20:11.000
What we're allowed to show and what we must suppress, and it puts us in a really unhealthy place.

263
00:20:11.000 --> 00:20:18.500
And if we don't feel those things in a moment in a hard situation, a hard season, then it feels like we're failing.

264
00:20:18.500 --> 00:20:29.500
But when we look at the whole fruit, like we look at the list, its love, its joy, its peace, its patience, its kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

265
00:20:29.500 --> 00:20:36.000
This gives us some clues. Nobody calls faithfulness in emotion. No one thinks self-control is necessarily a feeling.

266
00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:42.000
So why are we treating the whole list? Is it something we have to feel in order to be real?

267
00:20:42.000 --> 00:20:45.000
And I think maybe it's because maybe the first three sound like emotions, right?

268
00:20:45.000 --> 00:20:52.500
But these are not descriptions of how God feels, right? We've talked before about how the fruit is actually the nature of God.

269
00:20:52.500 --> 00:20:58.000
It's who God is. These are descriptions of who God is. God is love.

270
00:20:58.000 --> 00:21:13.000
God is our Prince of Peace. Joy is His nature. His nature, who He is, never fluctuates with your emotions or your circumstances or even your behavior or your performance.

271
00:21:13.000 --> 00:21:25.000
God is relentlessly who He is all the time. This is really good news. Our connection to Him is secure because of what Christ did.

272
00:21:25.000 --> 00:21:39.000
It's secure in Christ. So peace doesn't emerge only when anxiety fades. It rises to guard your heart and mind when you bring what you're carrying or what you're feeling to God.

273
00:21:39.000 --> 00:21:47.000
That's what Scripture says. So peace can rise even in the midst of anxiety. Joy doesn't require sadness to leave before it shows up.

274
00:21:47.000 --> 00:21:57.000
It rises as your strength to walk you through it. Patience is not the absence of frustration or feeling frustrated.

275
00:21:57.000 --> 00:22:06.000
Patience is His empowering presence in you, giving you the ability to be still when everything says react.

276
00:22:06.000 --> 00:22:17.000
So the emotion may be what you're experiencing, but the fruit of the Spirit is who you are in Christ Jesus.

277
00:22:17.000 --> 00:22:25.000
So that brings me back to identity because identity can become a little bit of a buzzword in our Christian world.

278
00:22:25.000 --> 00:22:40.000
I personally at times have rolled my eyes at, you know, like, oh, we're going to talk about identity on Sunday or we're going to talk about identity in this Bible type topic because I was not coming from a humble place, but you're like, you think, oh, I know, I get it.

279
00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:53.000
We got to talk about identity. But like I said, it's not just a topic. It is a essential that we understand the power of our identity in Christ because it is our life now as new creations.

280
00:22:53.000 --> 00:23:09.000
Every day, all day. Colossians two, six, two, six and seven talks about how as you received Christ, continue to live your lives in Him, rooted and built up in Him.

281
00:23:09.000 --> 00:23:14.000
So the roots are settled. If we're using the picture of a tree, the roots are settled.

282
00:23:14.000 --> 00:23:27.000
The living is active. It's a daily continuation of walking from where you're planted, becoming more and more aware of what is true and learning to trust the truth and live from that place.

283
00:23:27.000 --> 00:23:31.000
Jeremiah 17, it's one of my life verses.

284
00:23:31.000 --> 00:23:47.000
Jeremiah 1778 says, blessed is the one who trust in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.

285
00:23:47.000 --> 00:24:00.000
If not fear when heat comes, its leaves remain green. It has no worries in the year of grout of doubt some translations use anxieties in the year of drought.

286
00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:16.000
And it never fails to bear fruit. I want to eat that verse for breakfast every morning. A tree rooted by the stream doesn't fear when heat comes because it's staying green.

287
00:24:16.000 --> 00:24:27.000
It doesn't stop bearing fruit in drought. Why? Because what sustains it is deeper than the circumstance at the surface.

288
00:24:27.000 --> 00:24:34.000
That is a picture of your identity in Christ. You are rooted in Him. There is no more separation.

289
00:24:34.000 --> 00:24:52.000
It has become very common in our culture, in our way of speech even, very common on social media to attach personal pronouns to our emotions and then begin to identify with them, like turning them into a personality.

290
00:24:52.000 --> 00:24:57.000
So I'm going to use anxiety as an example because that was something I have walked through. It's part of my testimony.

291
00:24:57.000 --> 00:25:00.000
So it's very common to say my English.

292
00:25:09.680 --> 00:25:17.280
identity language. This is really important. I am is identity language. And so if we're

293
00:25:17.280 --> 00:25:23.040
not aware, we can begin to adopt our emotions or even our conditions, we're going to talk

294
00:25:23.040 --> 00:25:27.680
a little bit like what happens when the emotion becomes like something clinical, like a disorder

295
00:25:27.680 --> 00:25:35.600
diagnosis. We begin to adopt those things as an identity. So what was once an emotion or

296
00:25:35.600 --> 00:25:41.760
something we're experiencing, something that we're walking through, is given the seat of

297
00:25:41.760 --> 00:25:48.720
identity in our lives. And when something is given the seat of identity, it's very hard then

298
00:25:48.720 --> 00:25:55.200
to believe that the fruit of the spirit can touch that. So this has been an ongoing

299
00:25:56.160 --> 00:26:01.120
conversation in the faith community, right? Like, how do we properly

300
00:26:01.120 --> 00:26:11.440
experience emotions, pursue healing with conditions, illnesses, disorders, and still

301
00:26:11.440 --> 00:26:16.640
remain spiritually solid, right? I think we've done it really poorly in the past. I will admit that.

302
00:26:16.640 --> 00:26:19.680
And I think it's because we've said, we'll just suppress it and pretend like it's not there

303
00:26:19.680 --> 00:26:24.480
because of what I've just talked about, right? Like, this is this is godly. This is not.

304
00:26:24.560 --> 00:26:30.560
But then I think also culture has kind of taken it and run with it and said, on the extreme of

305
00:26:30.560 --> 00:26:35.040
that, well, then it's who you are and you need to fully accept it, embrace it, embody it, and let

306
00:26:35.040 --> 00:26:43.200
it become who you are. So that's not biblical either. So what happens is when we start to

307
00:26:43.200 --> 00:26:47.600
attach personal pronouns to things and start to give them the IAM statements of our lives,

308
00:26:47.600 --> 00:26:52.960
give them the seat of identity, it's not we're no longer experiencing it. It's that we become it.

309
00:26:53.120 --> 00:27:03.360
And the only IAM statements as a follower of Christ is a new creation being the only IAM

310
00:27:03.360 --> 00:27:08.560
statements that are valid in your life are the ones that flow from your union with Christ.

311
00:27:08.560 --> 00:27:15.520
So this is good news. This allows us to adopt and embody the fruit of the spirit because we recognize

312
00:27:15.520 --> 00:27:22.240
it's the nature of God and we are made in his image and we are becoming more like him like

313
00:27:22.240 --> 00:27:27.040
scripture says, as we behold him, we're being transformed into his image, the second Corinthians

314
00:27:27.040 --> 00:27:34.160
318, as he is, so are we in this world. So we can say and we're in Christ and he's in us so we can

315
00:27:34.160 --> 00:27:44.480
accurately say his nature has become my nature. So the shift in all of this is not denying the

316
00:27:44.480 --> 00:27:50.080
emotions, right? That's not the fix. The fix isn't saying, well, I don't feel anxious or I don't feel

317
00:27:50.080 --> 00:27:54.480
angry or whatever, you know, I don't feel sad or I'm not dealing with anxiety or chronic anxiety.

318
00:27:54.480 --> 00:28:00.160
That's not the fix. The fix is refusing to let it sit in the identity seat.

319
00:28:00.160 --> 00:28:11.120
I am anxious can simply just turn into I feel anxious and I need to process that. That's not

320
00:28:11.120 --> 00:28:15.920
suppression. You're not pretending you don't feel it. You're not dealing with it. It's also not

321
00:28:15.920 --> 00:28:27.200
surrender. You're not letting it lead you or identify you. You're acknowledging it as a spirit-led being

322
00:28:27.200 --> 00:28:34.000
who knows how to listen, how to pay attention, how to steward your body well without being ruled by it.

323
00:28:34.000 --> 00:28:41.520
Emotions are informational. So they're telling us something. So I think it's important that we

324
00:28:41.520 --> 00:28:46.560
listen. Anxiety might be informing you of something that you're currently believing that isn't true.

325
00:28:46.560 --> 00:28:52.960
It might be drawing your attention to a situation that needs wisdom, that needs guidance, that needs

326
00:28:52.960 --> 00:28:59.920
help instead of avoiding it. It might be signaling, like I said, something physical, a hormonal shift,

327
00:28:59.920 --> 00:29:06.160
your nervous system responding to stress, your body asking to be tended to. So the emotion could

328
00:29:06.160 --> 00:29:13.440
be telling you something important, but it's not telling you who you are, and it's not qualified

329
00:29:13.440 --> 00:29:20.000
to lead your response. And a spirit-led woman acknowledges the emotion, listens to what it's

330
00:29:20.000 --> 00:29:25.120
informing her of, asks the Holy Spirit for wisdom, and then responds from her identity.

331
00:29:25.120 --> 00:29:31.360
She might need to take a thought captive. She might need to see a doctor or a counselor.

332
00:29:31.360 --> 00:29:39.680
She might need to have a hard conversation. She might need rest, but she makes that decision

333
00:29:39.680 --> 00:29:46.880
from the seat of who she is in Christ, not from the seat of what she's feeling in the moment.

334
00:29:46.880 --> 00:29:53.280
And like I want to talk a little bit about this, because I think it's really important.

335
00:29:53.280 --> 00:29:57.680
What you're experiencing, what you're feeling, what feels like a feeling, it could be clinical,

336
00:29:57.680 --> 00:29:59.520
or it could be something that's a diagnosis,

337
00:30:07.000 --> 00:30:12.000
pursuing that help is responding from your identity.

338
00:30:12.000 --> 00:30:21.000
A daughter of God who knows she doesn't need to ignore what her body needs, she needs to steward it.

339
00:30:21.000 --> 00:30:24.000
And getting help, this is important to know.

340
00:30:24.000 --> 00:30:27.000
Getting help is not a lack of faith.

341
00:30:27.000 --> 00:30:30.000
It is faith in action.

342
00:30:30.000 --> 00:30:37.000
And you can pursue healing with hope because your identity was never the thing that needed fixing.

343
00:30:37.000 --> 00:30:41.000
Who you are in Christ remains secure.

344
00:30:41.000 --> 00:30:44.000
Even in the process of healing and asking for help and seeking help.

345
00:30:44.000 --> 00:30:49.000
And when we understand that our identity is truly rooted in Christ and not in a feeling,

346
00:30:49.000 --> 00:30:55.000
not in an illness, not in a condition, it changes how we pursue everything.

347
00:30:55.000 --> 00:30:59.000
Or like the tree in Jeremiah, your roots are by the stream.

348
00:30:59.000 --> 00:31:01.000
The heat is real.

349
00:31:01.000 --> 00:31:12.000
It's not accurate to say there's no heat, but the roots hold, draw from their life source, and the fruit still comes.

350
00:31:12.000 --> 00:31:22.000
So how then do we begin to acknowledge our emotions, not be ruled by them, not suppress them,

351
00:31:22.000 --> 00:31:26.000
but learn to express them in a healthy way?

352
00:31:26.000 --> 00:31:30.000
I want to share a little bit about what this could look like.

353
00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:39.000
I love when psychology and science and neuroscience and those things start to discover what scripture has already been saying.

354
00:31:39.000 --> 00:31:43.000
Not because it validates scripture, but it's just kind of fun, honestly.

355
00:31:43.000 --> 00:31:48.000
As a Bible-believing Christian, it's like, yes, God has been telling us that for a long time.

356
00:31:48.000 --> 00:31:55.000
I love that we're connecting the dots, and I do think it helps for some of us, me, give some clarity, give some context,

357
00:31:55.000 --> 00:31:58.000
helps us put together some practices.

358
00:31:58.000 --> 00:32:02.000
Allie talked about in last month's called the power of the pause.

359
00:32:02.000 --> 00:32:10.000
That one breath, that psychological sigh where we...

360
00:32:10.000 --> 00:32:15.000
And what that does to the body, almost instantaneously.

361
00:32:15.000 --> 00:32:23.000
And what we do in that breath, it creates space from feeling something to reacting and responding.

362
00:32:23.000 --> 00:32:29.000
The pause, and there's like studies around the pause, is so powerful.

363
00:32:29.000 --> 00:32:35.000
God designed... I mean, He designed our body, so if it's the way it works, I mean, it's truly incredible.

364
00:32:35.000 --> 00:32:41.000
He designed it so that we have the ability to create some space, even if it's a brief space,

365
00:32:41.000 --> 00:32:45.000
between what we feel or what's happening to us and how we respond.

366
00:32:45.000 --> 00:32:58.000
When we pause, say, I'm feeling anger, something happens, I feel it, I take a breath.

367
00:32:58.000 --> 00:33:05.000
The decision-making part of our brain activates before the reactive part takes over.

368
00:33:05.000 --> 00:33:13.000
So we're able to walk in wisdom and not reaction. Without the pause, we just react. I've done it.

369
00:33:13.000 --> 00:33:16.000
But the pause allows us to respond.

370
00:33:16.000 --> 00:33:22.000
Your body already knows how to do this. It can become a reflex, truly. That sigh of relief.

371
00:33:22.000 --> 00:33:26.000
That psychological sigh, I think that's what they call it, but it's like a sigh of relief.

372
00:33:26.000 --> 00:33:33.000
And you can take it, even in really intense emotional situations, and it creates space for you.

373
00:33:33.000 --> 00:33:38.000
It allows your brain to think, to process better.

374
00:33:38.000 --> 00:33:42.000
But it's not empty space. I think it's where a lot of things shift.

375
00:33:42.000 --> 00:33:46.000
So I wanted to kind of continue on that journey, like we talked about the pause last month,

376
00:33:46.000 --> 00:33:49.000
and I want to talk about what we can do in the pause.

377
00:33:49.000 --> 00:33:55.000
Now, I'm going to name a few things. It might seem like, well, that could take me an hour, and it might initially.

378
00:33:55.000 --> 00:34:03.000
But the more we do this, we're creating neural pathways in our brain so that what once took effort starts to become an instant reflex over time.

379
00:34:03.000 --> 00:34:09.000
So I want you to think about it in terms of that, like, hey, the first couple of times you do this, it might take some time.

380
00:34:09.000 --> 00:34:13.000
It might be more than a pause. You might take the pause just to calm.

381
00:34:13.000 --> 00:34:18.000
And then the decision-making part of you says, I need to walk away and come back to this.

382
00:34:18.000 --> 00:34:26.000
So here's what we're doing. Whether it takes you five seconds to do this or five hours, here's where some things we can do within that pause space.

383
00:34:26.000 --> 00:34:32.000
I think we need to give ourselves a moment to feel it and name it.

384
00:34:32.000 --> 00:34:35.000
So don't suppress what you feel.

385
00:34:35.000 --> 00:34:39.000
God gave us emotions. We can trust God.

386
00:34:39.000 --> 00:34:46.000
Okay. The emotions were not something that he did not design, and we just, like, made those up. Like, they're real.

387
00:34:46.000 --> 00:34:52.000
Ephesians 426 kind of gives a picture. It says, be angry, be angry, and do not sin.

388
00:34:52.000 --> 00:34:56.000
So what we're being told is we're not being told don't feel it.

389
00:34:56.000 --> 00:35:00.000
We're being told what we do with it matters.

390
00:35:04.800 --> 00:35:09.800
He did not hold back naming his emotions with God,

391
00:35:09.800 --> 00:35:12.420
which is important, and we'll talk about that in a second.

392
00:35:12.420 --> 00:35:15.360
But I've heard David use an example or the Psalms themselves.

393
00:35:15.360 --> 00:35:16.920
So David and those who wrote the Psalms,

394
00:35:16.920 --> 00:35:19.520
many times in teachings and in sermons,

395
00:35:19.520 --> 00:35:22.760
as an example for permission to feel all the range

396
00:35:22.760 --> 00:35:24.960
of the emotions, like, well, David did it,

397
00:35:24.960 --> 00:35:26.040
so we can do it too.

398
00:35:26.040 --> 00:35:28.280
And he did, he poured out his complaints,

399
00:35:28.280 --> 00:35:32.080
his frustrations, his fears.

400
00:35:32.080 --> 00:35:34.160
And Psalm 142, he's very specific.

401
00:35:34.160 --> 00:35:36.000
He says, I pour out before him.

402
00:35:36.000 --> 00:35:38.400
I pour out before God my complaint.

403
00:35:38.400 --> 00:35:40.920
Before him, I tell my trouble.

404
00:35:40.920 --> 00:35:42.360
Here's what's really important.

405
00:35:42.360 --> 00:35:45.000
David's experience was real, okay?

406
00:35:45.000 --> 00:35:49.200
What he was feeling, real, no denying that.

407
00:35:49.200 --> 00:35:54.200
It wasn't the deepest reality about his situation.

408
00:35:55.760 --> 00:35:58.280
The complaints, like he complains about God

409
00:35:58.280 --> 00:36:01.680
in the Psalms sometimes, he's cursing his enemy,

410
00:36:01.680 --> 00:36:03.560
very strongly cursing his enemies

411
00:36:03.560 --> 00:36:05.640
and the generations coming after his enemies.

412
00:36:05.640 --> 00:36:09.200
So we can't like look at Psalm 109 as like intense.

413
00:36:09.200 --> 00:36:11.480
We can't look at a scripture like that and say,

414
00:36:11.480 --> 00:36:15.080
well, I guess this kind of behavior

415
00:36:15.080 --> 00:36:17.120
and belief system is valid and acceptable

416
00:36:17.120 --> 00:36:19.560
because David wanted to slay his enemies

417
00:36:19.560 --> 00:36:22.000
and block them out of the history books

418
00:36:22.000 --> 00:36:24.500
and take out their children, right?

419
00:36:24.500 --> 00:36:28.240
No, that's not the point 'cause that doesn't align

420
00:36:28.240 --> 00:36:30.220
with the heart of God 'cause we also have Jesus saying

421
00:36:30.220 --> 00:36:32.300
we have to love our enemies.

422
00:36:32.300 --> 00:36:35.720
Pray for those who persecute you, right?

423
00:36:35.720 --> 00:36:38.420
So what we can take away from the Psalms

424
00:36:38.420 --> 00:36:41.460
and what David did in his writing of the Psalms

425
00:36:41.460 --> 00:36:46.140
is the process of being honest

426
00:36:46.140 --> 00:36:51.140
and bringing those emotions, all of the emotions to God.

427
00:36:53.020 --> 00:36:55.880
That's what we can look at what David did

428
00:36:55.880 --> 00:36:59.700
because when you look at the Psalms that he wrote,

429
00:36:59.700 --> 00:37:03.880
what starts in complaint or in cursing

430
00:37:03.880 --> 00:37:06.300
almost always ends in truth.

431
00:37:06.300 --> 00:37:11.320
It, David starts with what he feels

432
00:37:11.320 --> 00:37:15.740
and then he ends it with settling himself in who God is.

433
00:37:15.740 --> 00:37:17.960
Psalm 13 is a perfect example of this.

434
00:37:17.960 --> 00:37:20.860
He starts with, how long, Lord,

435
00:37:20.860 --> 00:37:22.660
will you forget me forever?

436
00:37:22.660 --> 00:37:28.940
And it ends with, but I trust in your unfailing love,

437
00:37:28.940 --> 00:37:32.420
my heart rejoices in your salvation.

438
00:37:32.420 --> 00:37:34.220
So there's a shift.

439
00:37:34.220 --> 00:37:37.120
The emotion wasn't the destination.

440
00:37:37.120 --> 00:37:41.380
It was not the highest indicator of truth,

441
00:37:41.380 --> 00:37:43.220
but it was indicating something.

442
00:37:43.220 --> 00:37:46.620
And it was important that David was honest

443
00:37:46.620 --> 00:37:48.460
about what he was feeling.

444
00:37:50.220 --> 00:37:54.500
Naming it, bringing it to God in that process,

445
00:37:54.500 --> 00:37:56.340
we see in the writings,

446
00:37:56.340 --> 00:37:59.940
David finds comfort and clarity when he does that.

447
00:37:59.940 --> 00:38:03.660
And neuroscience confirms this process.

448
00:38:03.660 --> 00:38:05.660
It confirms what David was doing

449
00:38:05.660 --> 00:38:07.500
'cause there's research out there that says,

450
00:38:07.500 --> 00:38:09.140
when you name what you're feeling,

451
00:38:09.140 --> 00:38:12.300
when you take the time to say, I'm feeling angry,

452
00:38:12.300 --> 00:38:15.700
I'm feeling anxious, when you put it into specific words,

453
00:38:15.700 --> 00:38:19.480
the alarm center of your brain actually starts to calm down.

454
00:38:20.360 --> 00:38:21.960
Significantly.

455
00:38:21.960 --> 00:38:26.960
And naming an emotion means you're not suppressing it.

456
00:38:26.960 --> 00:38:29.920
You're not being led by it, but it's shifting your brain,

457
00:38:29.920 --> 00:38:31.960
like I said, from that reactive mode

458
00:38:31.960 --> 00:38:34.120
into more of a reflective mode.

459
00:38:34.120 --> 00:38:37.280
So you move from being hijacked and dominated

460
00:38:37.280 --> 00:38:40.600
by what you're feeling to be able to truly process it.

461
00:38:40.600 --> 00:38:42.640
And this is the wiring that God gave us.

462
00:38:42.640 --> 00:38:46.120
He designed it so our brains work this way,

463
00:38:46.120 --> 00:38:48.040
naming what's on the inside,

464
00:38:48.040 --> 00:38:51.320
taking it out of that internalized space

465
00:38:51.320 --> 00:38:53.920
helps us in the first step of processing it really well.

466
00:38:53.920 --> 00:38:54.920
And David did this often.

467
00:38:54.920 --> 00:38:58.560
Like I said, every song, we see really intense emotions,

468
00:38:58.560 --> 00:39:00.600
not just like, oh, that's a little bit hard today.

469
00:39:00.600 --> 00:39:02.360
It's like, no, really intense emotions

470
00:39:02.360 --> 00:39:04.120
that matched honestly his circumstances.

471
00:39:04.120 --> 00:39:07.000
He is stuck in a cave fighting for his life, okay?

472
00:39:07.000 --> 00:39:10.480
There's probably some intense emotions that he's processing,

473
00:39:10.480 --> 00:39:12.320
his fear, his despair,

474
00:39:12.320 --> 00:39:14.120
but he's putting those feelings into word,

475
00:39:14.120 --> 00:39:15.520
he's bringing them before the Lord,

476
00:39:15.520 --> 00:39:19.320
and it's changing how his brain handles them.

477
00:39:19.320 --> 00:39:22.480
It's the same for us.

478
00:39:22.480 --> 00:39:25.600
So we're naming it, we're feeling it,

479
00:39:25.600 --> 00:39:27.200
we're bringing it to God.

480
00:39:27.200 --> 00:39:34.520
The Christian life is not about being good for God.

481
00:39:34.520 --> 00:39:38.240
And sometimes we've made it that way.

482
00:39:38.240 --> 00:39:41.200
Like I'm going to fix myself over here

483
00:39:41.200 --> 00:39:45.560
and then I can come before the Lord and be right before him.

484
00:39:45.560 --> 00:39:48.680
But the good news is we were not left as orphans,

485
00:39:48.680 --> 00:39:53.440
as Jesus said, and we are not left alone in this life,

486
00:39:53.440 --> 00:39:58.440
even in seasons that feel lonely to make it on our own.

487
00:40:04.080 --> 00:40:15.360
So it says, "This is Jesus. Come to me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will

488
00:40:15.360 --> 00:40:24.320
give you rest." And then later in verse 29, this is important, he says, "I am gentle

489
00:40:26.000 --> 00:40:35.520
and humble in heart, and here's the promise, and you will find rest for your souls."

490
00:40:35.520 --> 00:40:43.360
A familiar passage, maybe many of us are familiar with, this is a direct invitation

491
00:40:43.360 --> 00:40:52.400
from Jesus to come to him and bring what we're carrying. So there's no guesswork. Like, is this

492
00:40:52.400 --> 00:41:00.480
allowed? Is it okay? It's a direct invitation. Come to me. And the people that Jesus was speaking to

493
00:41:00.480 --> 00:41:08.160
in this scripture were dealing with the same things that Paul was addressing in Galatians 5.

494
00:41:08.160 --> 00:41:15.440
They were weary from religious performance. They were weighed down by rules and expectations

495
00:41:16.240 --> 00:41:23.040
that they were honestly never meant to carry. And Jesus' invitation, it's the same one that we

496
00:41:23.040 --> 00:41:33.040
have today. Stop performing. Bring what you're carrying, what you're feeling to me. Here's the

497
00:41:33.040 --> 00:41:40.240
promise, "I'm gentle. I will not crush you." That's the fear, right? Am I going to be punished? Am I

498
00:41:40.240 --> 00:41:48.000
going to be judged? I'm gentle and I'm humble in heart. I will not crush you. You will find rest

499
00:41:48.000 --> 00:41:55.840
for your souls. Neuroscience, again, has a word for this now. When we process our emotions with

500
00:41:55.840 --> 00:42:01.600
someone safe, it's called co-regulation. And research shows that when you bring what you're

501
00:42:01.600 --> 00:42:08.240
feeling into a safe relationship, your nervous system literally calms down significantly. Your

502
00:42:08.240 --> 00:42:15.520
heart rate settles. Your stress hormones in your body decrease. There's lots of scriptures to

503
00:42:15.520 --> 00:42:23.200
confirm this, but your body, your soul, was designed to regulate in connection, not in isolation.

504
00:42:23.200 --> 00:42:30.640
This is abiding. God designed your body so that bringing what you feel and what you're

505
00:42:30.640 --> 00:42:36.640
experiencing, what you're wrestling with into a safe relationship calms you. And the safest

506
00:42:36.640 --> 00:42:42.960
relationship you have is with God. So when David pours out his heart, when we see Jesus in the

507
00:42:42.960 --> 00:42:50.720
Garden of Gethsemane bringing his deep intense sorrow to the Father, they were doing what we

508
00:42:50.720 --> 00:42:58.000
are wired for. And that's processing in the presence of the One who holds us. That's why isolation is

509
00:42:58.000 --> 00:43:06.080
so dangerous. It literally makes everything worse. And it's why the enemy wants us to believe that

510
00:43:06.720 --> 00:43:11.040
we have to do everything by the sweat of our own brow. We have to handle this on our own.

511
00:43:11.040 --> 00:43:20.720
You don't. You were never meant to. God gives us himself. And in his abundant provision,

512
00:43:20.720 --> 00:43:24.560
because he's an abundant God, he gives us the gift of each other.

513
00:43:24.560 --> 00:43:30.400
We're called to connection with him. We're called to connection in community.

514
00:43:32.080 --> 00:43:36.240
So we want to name it, feel it, bring it to God. And then we want to respond from our identity.

515
00:43:36.240 --> 00:43:42.000
Romans 8 talks about how those who are in Christ, we are spirit-led beings. We're not led by the

516
00:43:42.000 --> 00:43:47.840
flesh anymore. And Paul writes in Galatians 5, 25, he says, "Since we live by the Spirit,

517
00:43:47.840 --> 00:43:53.840
let us keep in step with the Spirit. We don't suppress our emotions. We don't surrender to them.

518
00:43:53.840 --> 00:44:01.360
We let the Spirit lead our response." I mentioned Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.

519
00:44:01.360 --> 00:44:08.240
He feels deep sorrow. He names it. He doesn't pretend it's not there. Even though he knows

520
00:44:08.240 --> 00:44:15.600
how it's going to go. It also says in Scripture, for the joy that was set before him, he endured

521
00:44:15.600 --> 00:44:21.920
the cross. But he, he still has to walk through it. And it's an intense sorrow that he feels.

522
00:44:21.920 --> 00:44:27.120
And he doesn't suppress it. He doesn't just skip to the end and say, "Well, it's going to be okay

523
00:44:27.120 --> 00:44:32.080
in the end. I know how this is going to end." He sits in where he's at in the moment and he brings it

524
00:44:32.080 --> 00:44:38.800
to the Father. And he responds from identity, from his relationship. He says, "I'm feeling all the

525
00:44:38.800 --> 00:44:47.680
stuff, but not my will, but yours be done." The emotion is not leading. The fear is not leading.

526
00:44:47.680 --> 00:44:55.200
The stress is not leading. The circumstance is not leading. His identity, his relationship with

527
00:44:55.200 --> 00:45:01.040
the Father is leading. That's what a spirit-led life looks like.

528
00:45:06.640 --> 00:45:13.040
in certain areas of our lives, feel very deliberate and slow. That is not an indictment on your faith

529
00:45:13.040 --> 00:45:17.680
or your relationship with the Lord and your closeness to Him. It's just that we are practicing

530
00:45:17.680 --> 00:45:26.000
what is true. And that takes, oh, it's going to take some discipline. It's going to take some

531
00:45:26.000 --> 00:45:32.960
effort in that it might not be easy at first. But the more we do this, we're also wired to build

532
00:45:32.960 --> 00:45:41.920
neuro pathways that begin to turn these deliberate disciplines into our reflex, our quick response,

533
00:45:41.920 --> 00:45:48.160
our lifestyle. That's the fruit maturing in our lives. So that's honestly what keeping

534
00:45:48.160 --> 00:45:52.720
in step with the spirit looks like. It starts to become our natural rhythm as we continually

535
00:45:53.680 --> 00:46:00.800
lean into what the spirit is leading us to do. So everyone tracking, I know I've been talking a lot.

536
00:46:00.800 --> 00:46:09.440
I'm very passionate about this. Okay, so one last thing. I want to read this. So I'm going to pull

537
00:46:09.440 --> 00:46:19.760
up my notes. So close your eyes for a second because I want us to visualize what does it look

538
00:46:19.760 --> 00:46:28.400
like the spirit-led life when we are engaging full throttle with the fruit of the spirit.

539
00:46:28.400 --> 00:46:38.640
Love makes it safe to be honest about what you feel. Joy rises as your strength to walk you through

540
00:46:38.640 --> 00:46:45.120
it. Peace rises to guard your heart and mind when you bring what you're hearing to the Lord.

541
00:46:45.840 --> 00:46:51.440
Patience is his empowering presence and you're giving you the ability to be still when everything

542
00:46:51.440 --> 00:47:01.120
says react. Kindness makes space for change without condemnation. Goodness sets your expectations.

543
00:47:01.120 --> 00:47:12.320
You approach life with confidence that God is good. Faithfulness assures you he will be relentlessly

544
00:47:12.320 --> 00:47:20.000
who he is. God will not leave you nor forsake you. Gentleness is how he leads you through it.

545
00:47:20.000 --> 00:47:27.600
Not with force, not with condemnation, but close to his heart. Just like Jesus assured us to come to

546
00:47:27.600 --> 00:47:35.600
him. He's gentle and we will find rest. And if God is gentle with you, you can be gentle with you.

547
00:47:36.960 --> 00:47:42.960
And finally, self-control allows you to yield to the Holy Spirit's leading, allowing you to respond

548
00:47:42.960 --> 00:47:52.080
from your true identity. The fruit of the spirit is not a call to suppress your emotions or to carry

549
00:47:52.080 --> 00:47:58.560
the hard things in your life alone or under the surface. It's not a performative standard to prove

550
00:47:58.560 --> 00:48:05.360
your standing with God. It is God's nature alive in you. And a woman who knows whose nature she

551
00:48:05.360 --> 00:48:13.040
carries can feel and face hard things without losing herself. Because her identity in Christ

552
00:48:13.040 --> 00:48:25.280
is not ever in question. Amen and amen. You guys, I tease Lindsey and I tell her that she's my favorite

553
00:48:25.280 --> 00:48:34.320
preacher. Because you just, you deliver every time. Thank you. That was so good. That was so

554
00:48:34.320 --> 00:48:44.240
beautiful. I am, I'm going to come alongside Lindsey and give you something practical.

555
00:48:44.240 --> 00:48:51.040
Lindsey gives us great theological teaching. What I love to do is translate it and explain

556
00:48:51.040 --> 00:48:58.160
what's happening in your body and give you another tool in the toolbox for things you can use.

557
00:48:58.160 --> 00:49:03.200
Because Lindsey talks so beautifully about bringing your emotions to God. She talked about

558
00:49:03.200 --> 00:49:10.000
naming what you feel. And that is so important. And then I want to kind of come alongside and talk

559
00:49:10.000 --> 00:49:16.000
about something that a lot of us skip entirely, which is that your body is also trying to talk to

560
00:49:16.000 --> 00:49:21.280
you, your actual physical body, because your emotions that you feel cause changes in your

561
00:49:21.280 --> 00:49:26.960
physical body. Most of us are really good at ignoring our bodies, right? I'll give you an

562
00:49:26.960 --> 00:49:32.160
example. A few weeks ago, I was sitting at my desk and I realized my shoulders were basically

563
00:49:32.160 --> 00:49:37.760
touching my ear lobes. Like, because we, we sit at our desk like shrimp, you know, and it,

564
00:49:37.760 --> 00:49:44.960
it actually causes like the muscles between my shoulder blades and my spine to get all naughty

565
00:49:44.960 --> 00:49:49.520
at the end of the day when I don't take care of my body. And I hold stress there. I'm holding my

566
00:49:49.520 --> 00:49:57.280
emotion. Your body holds what your mind hasn't caught up to yet. Your jaw gets clenched,

567
00:49:57.280 --> 00:49:59.920
your chest is tight, your stomach's in a knot and you don't.

568
00:50:04.340 --> 00:50:09.040
making dinner, and you're pretending you're fine, and you prayed that morning, but everything's

569
00:50:09.040 --> 00:50:10.040
still tough.

570
00:50:10.040 --> 00:50:11.040
Right?

571
00:50:11.040 --> 00:50:15.040
That's why we did the physiological side that Lindsey talked about.

572
00:50:15.040 --> 00:50:18.960
So today I want to teach you one more thing.

573
00:50:18.960 --> 00:50:23.560
One thing that you can do that takes less than 60 seconds that you can do in your car, or

574
00:50:23.560 --> 00:50:28.960
in the shower, or putting kids to bed, and it sounds a little ridiculous at the beginning.

575
00:50:28.960 --> 00:50:32.120
So I want you to stay with me.

576
00:50:32.120 --> 00:50:33.120
It's humming.

577
00:50:33.120 --> 00:50:34.120
I know.

578
00:50:34.120 --> 00:50:35.120
I know.

579
00:50:35.120 --> 00:50:37.160
It sounds so silly, but I need you to hear me out.

580
00:50:37.160 --> 00:50:42.080
You have a nerve in your body called the vagus nerve, and everyone who's been around me

581
00:50:42.080 --> 00:50:46.400
for any length of time, they know I love talking about the vagus nerve, because it's the longest

582
00:50:46.400 --> 00:50:47.920
nerve in your body.

583
00:50:47.920 --> 00:50:52.800
It runs from your brain all the way through your chest and into your gut.

584
00:50:52.800 --> 00:50:56.880
And God designed it to basically be the control center for calm.

585
00:50:56.880 --> 00:51:01.860
So when your vagus nerve is active and toned, your heart rate slows down, and your stress

586
00:51:01.860 --> 00:51:07.900
hormones drop, and your digestion works better, and your brain shifts out of that reactive

587
00:51:07.900 --> 00:51:11.800
fight or flight mode into a place where you can actually think clearly and hopefully be

588
00:51:11.800 --> 00:51:15.120
able to hear the leading God, right?

589
00:51:15.120 --> 00:51:19.280
That nerve runs right past your vocal cords, right past them.

590
00:51:19.280 --> 00:51:24.440
So when you hum, or when you sing, or when you make any kind of sustained sound with

591
00:51:24.440 --> 00:51:28.860
your voice, yelling, not included, you're directly stimulating the nerve that tells

592
00:51:28.860 --> 00:51:33.280
your entire body, you're safe, you can calm down.

593
00:51:33.280 --> 00:51:36.360
It is how God designed our anatomy.

594
00:51:36.360 --> 00:51:38.760
So think about that for a second.

595
00:51:38.760 --> 00:51:44.120
God designed your body so that the vibration of your own voice will calm your nervous system.

596
00:51:44.120 --> 00:51:49.680
He put that nerve in that regulates your piece right next to the thing that makes sound.

597
00:51:49.680 --> 00:51:55.500
And then throughout scripture, he tells us to sing, to make a joyful noise, to worship.

598
00:51:55.500 --> 00:52:02.080
We've always known that worship changes something in us, we could feel it, but God has wired

599
00:52:02.080 --> 00:52:07.840
our body so that the thing he asks you to do, sing to him, praise him, lift your voice.

600
00:52:07.840 --> 00:52:10.760
That is the exact thing that calms your nervous system.

601
00:52:10.760 --> 00:52:14.240
He designed these things to work together.

602
00:52:14.240 --> 00:52:21.740
And if you are like me, and the sound of your singing sounds a lot like a cat in pain, it

603
00:52:21.740 --> 00:52:22.740
still works.

604
00:52:22.740 --> 00:52:25.280
It will calm your nervous system right down.

605
00:52:25.280 --> 00:52:28.160
So this is short, this is sweet.

606
00:52:28.160 --> 00:52:31.680
This is what I want you to practice this week.

607
00:52:31.680 --> 00:52:34.480
Continue it all month until we meet together, hopefully.

608
00:52:34.480 --> 00:52:39.160
When you notice your body is holding tension, when your shoulders are up and your jaws tight

609
00:52:39.160 --> 00:52:42.160
and your chest feels heavy, I want you to hum.

610
00:52:42.160 --> 00:52:49.680
Just hum, or sing a worship song, a hymn, whatever comes to you, 15 seconds, 30 seconds, you'll

611
00:52:49.680 --> 00:52:51.400
feel your chest vibrate.

612
00:52:51.400 --> 00:52:53.640
You might feel your shoulders drop.

613
00:52:53.640 --> 00:52:56.040
You might take a deeper breath and you've taken all day.

614
00:52:56.040 --> 00:52:59.960
And we do want to concentrate on our breathing.

615
00:52:59.960 --> 00:53:04.400
We were talking about going to parks earlier and doing fun things.

616
00:53:04.400 --> 00:53:08.520
You'll see me on Soren or living with the land at Disney.

617
00:53:08.520 --> 00:53:14.040
And I'm taking a deep breath because sometimes our bodies get revved up just from walking

618
00:53:14.040 --> 00:53:19.960
a lot or rushing to do things or sitting in traffic.

619
00:53:19.960 --> 00:53:22.320
You can definitely do it when you're driving.

620
00:53:22.320 --> 00:53:27.960
Take that physiological sigh, hum, sing a worship song, folding laundry, you can do it at 2am

621
00:53:27.960 --> 00:53:33.760
if you wake up and you can't sleep, just don't do it in bed with somebody else next to you.

622
00:53:33.760 --> 00:53:38.920
It can be humming in the kitchen while you make tea or coffee and you're telling your

623
00:53:38.920 --> 00:53:46.160
nervous system what your spirit already knows, that you're safe because he is good.

624
00:53:46.160 --> 00:53:48.160
Tending to your body is stewardship.

625
00:53:48.160 --> 00:53:49.400
He designed it.

626
00:53:49.400 --> 00:53:55.760
He lives in it and he gave you tools built right into your anatomy, which is so cool that'll

627
00:53:55.760 --> 00:53:57.280
help you care for it.

628
00:53:57.280 --> 00:53:59.280
So just start humming, singing.

629
00:53:59.280 --> 00:54:00.280
That's it.

630
00:54:00.280 --> 00:54:01.280
That's your assignment.

631
00:54:01.280 --> 00:54:06.960
I think it may well be the lowest bar I've ever set and I'm really proud of it.

632
00:54:06.960 --> 00:54:07.960
What do you think, Lindsay?

633
00:54:07.960 --> 00:54:10.240
Are you going to start?

634
00:54:10.240 --> 00:54:15.960
I thought you were going to go around and tell everyone they had to hum now.

635
00:54:15.960 --> 00:54:18.240
Okay, Ashley, your turn.

636
00:54:18.240 --> 00:54:19.240
I love this.

637
00:54:19.240 --> 00:54:20.240
I love this.

638
00:54:20.240 --> 00:54:23.640
I was actually a really quick story, meeting with a functional medicine doctor about the

639
00:54:23.640 --> 00:54:29.000
nervous system and one of my homework, she said, "I want you, when you're in the car,

640
00:54:29.000 --> 00:54:31.760
just to sing and talk to your lungs."

641
00:54:31.760 --> 00:54:37.080
And immediately, I reminded of the verses, many of them, "Shout for joy."

642
00:54:37.080 --> 00:54:41.080
And I just thought, like, what if we're not shouting because we're joyful, but we're

643
00:54:41.080 --> 00:54:45.200
shouting for joy?

644
00:54:45.200 --> 00:54:46.200
That's good.

645
00:54:46.200 --> 00:54:47.200
We're hunting.

646
00:54:47.200 --> 00:54:48.200
We're making that tune.

647
00:54:48.200 --> 00:54:49.200
That's so good.

648
00:54:49.200 --> 00:54:50.200
When we need it.

649
00:54:50.200 --> 00:54:55.740
I'm someone who sounds kind of like a cat when we sing, but my mom can attest because

650
00:54:55.740 --> 00:54:58.900
is now that I have littles, everything's a song.

651
00:54:58.900 --> 00:55:00.280
We turn everything into a song.

652
00:55:05.040 --> 00:55:12.240
Yeah. So we're taking care of emotions in so many different ways. The spiritual,

653
00:55:12.240 --> 00:55:19.840
the theological and the physical we need to. Yeah, they're all intertwined. So we're, we're up,

654
00:55:19.840 --> 00:55:24.000
we want to honor everyone's time. So we're kind of up against the hour. But if you have

655
00:55:24.000 --> 00:55:28.560
questions, you have comments. This is also what the community portion of our app is for.

656
00:55:29.280 --> 00:55:34.240
You can reach out anytime, ask questions, ask follow up questions. I know that I think it was

657
00:55:34.240 --> 00:55:38.240
Julie asked if I could put that list, share that list with you guys. I'm going to do that right

658
00:55:38.240 --> 00:55:41.520
after this call, put it in the, I'll put it in the community section so you guys can see it

659
00:55:41.520 --> 00:55:48.560
of the different fruit. But yeah, so like use that space. Don't feel like we have to wait in between

660
00:55:48.560 --> 00:55:56.160
calls to engage or ask me and Ali questions or ask each other questions. We're praying for you

661
00:55:56.160 --> 00:56:00.000
guys. Also prayer requests can be thrown in there as well. Like we're actively paying for

662
00:56:00.000 --> 00:56:03.680
this group. If you have something specific, hey, I would really love the group to stand with me in this.

663
00:56:03.680 --> 00:56:12.240
We are, we honor that. We do. So this has been great. Thank you everyone for joining.

664
00:56:12.240 --> 00:56:19.520
Enjoy the rest of your June slash July. We'll see you guys third Thursday of July, I believe it is.

665
00:56:19.520 --> 00:56:25.120
The dates are in the app. And we'll talk soon. I'll see you guys in the app. Have a great rest of

666
00:56:25.120 --> 00:56:27.120
to your day. Bye, everybody.

667
00:56:27.120 --> 00:56:35.180
[BLANK_AUDIO]