I'm going to share my screen.
Hey, Alicia.
I don't think you can hear me, but I'm eating my dinner here.
No, you're good.
I'm hoping y'all are going to be able to hear me because I'm trying to talk quietly. Can you hear me okay?
So far so good.
Okay, good.
You're not at home, I guess.
Hey, Diane.
No, I'm not. I'm on the road. I'm actually visiting some old friends of mine, which is really fun in North Carolina.
So, I'm way up in the mountains, like as in you can only get through get here through like mountain passes. So it's a lot of fun. It's like old Cherokee land.
And anyway, it is beautiful. It is literally in the middle of the mountains, like you would not have believed like the drive to get here was like this amazing stream that we were going by stream.
We're talking about like a big river. It has all these rocks in it.
So it's like tumbling and then of course I it's kind of, it was extremely foggy today during my travels. And so I discovered this is why they call it the Great Smokies.
Anyway, lovely. Hey Steph.
Hey Renee.
Everybody's here. Hey Diane.
Hi.
How you doing.
Me.
Yes.
Still wondering how to do this zoom thing.
Oh, you're doing great. So I can hear you I can't see you. I don't know if that's on purpose or not. So, just actually it is.
Oh, okay. That is fine. You can you can be.
You can just be the little, the white person, the white shoulders, which is, which is reference to old, what is, no it's not Elizabeth Taylor who was she, I was gonna say the old Elizabeth Taylor scent, but that I think she's white diamonds.
So I don't remember who did white shoulders but my grandmother had white shoulders. So whenever I small white shoulders I always, I always hear you know that scent.
I always think of my grandmother.
I could submit and put that video out if you want me to.
No, you don't have to I was just joking about the fact that that the default is like this white circle with like white shoulders. Yeah. So some people choose to not be and be visual but so glad that you're here.
Thank you. I'm glad to be here. See here.
Oh, this is strange. So, it looks like we've lost some people.
I think Steph and Renee were on here and then they're off so hopefully everything's okay.
But, um, so, and how are y'all doing does someone have a question that they'd like to start us off with.
Give me a chance.
Hey Steph, able to get back on.
Okay, so no one has a question. Oh my, let's see if I can come up with the answers with no questions.
I know I totally agree.
I was thinking about when I went through the class. Yeah. But there's something I, I guess I'm might want to do but I don't know if I'm led to do and then when there's a cost to get into it.
How do you like way that the risk of it or the investment and.
I guess that's my question. I'm just throwing it together here on the spot.
Yeah, that's all right. Go for it.
So you're talking about how, so what's your question exactly? The, how to make a decision or?
Um, I'm so tired. My brain's not working right. Um,
um, yeah. What's your situation? What are you talking about?
How to know for sure if you're being led and something for one,
or if you just see the benefits of it, like, um, whatever. And then how do you weigh the risk and
make the decision of the risk being, um, not safe, but at least God led versus just something I want
to do, you know, cause there's a monetary investment in starting it. So there is a
monetary investment. So it kind of like gives you pause for a second. Yeah. Um, $2,000 pretty big.
Oh, wow. Yeah. Yeah, that is, that's very significant. Now God can do anything,
but it just, it does make you stop and think about that for a second. Um, the, uh,
so in, in making decisions, um, I, uh, I, it depends on what it is for something like that.
Sometimes not necessary. Uh, I know where I'm going. I'm just trying to think about how to,
how to get there, how to say it. Um, the, the important thing is to make sure that, uh, you
know, obviously to, to, to shift into rest when trying to make the decision. So to shift into it,
because then we're more likely to very clearly hear the Lord and more likely able to recognize
what is our own fear versus what is, um, out of, um, uh, versus the Lord's,
the Lord's voice, um, what it is we actually want to do. Um, you know, et cetera, there are,
there are things that, because, because also as we're learning to shift into rest,
remember that rest is the, is in God and that, that union with him is our identity.
So what we're doing when we're learning how to shift into rest is part of that process is we're
learning who we are. We're learning our identity in the Lord. We're learning our, the uniqueness
of our relationship with God, where it's not just, well, who am I? Remember that who we are
is defined by our union with him. So we can't define ourselves apart from who, but, um, apart
from, um, our connection with God. And so there's always this other aspect of ourselves, which is
him and our connection with him that we're considering when we're making a decision.
And when we're trying to figure out who it is that we are, because who it is that we are is what the
two of us are together. So what do you want to do? What does he want to do? What did the two of
you want to do together? And something that the Lord has been talking to me about, about decisions
is the, the, the ease with which we can make decisions when we're making them from a place of
yes, rest and, and union. Um, in other words, union with him, where we understand whatever it
is that we're deciding on, whatever it is that we're thinking about, we're thinking about it in
terms of what are the two of us going to do together. So say for instance, if you and your
husband, if you thought about where you wanted to live in the world, well, you can't imagine
trying to figure out where you wanted to live in the world without considering your husband and
that aspect, because the two of you were going to go together, right? So your husband has to like
it too. Your husband has to be on board with leaving where it is you are and maybe there's
other places. Um, and, uh, so it's the same thing with the Lord. It's not when we're going to do
something, it's not like, okay, Lord, this is what I want to do. And I'm looking at you and asking if
you're going to give me a blessing so that I can go and do this thing. Cause that's thinking of
ourselves in terms of like separation from the Lord. So.
It's important that whenever we're making a decision that we, that we always view it
from the perspective, I'm unified with him.
It's what, it's not, what do I want to do?
It's what Lord, what do we want to do together?
I think this is a really good idea.
Do you want to do it too?
Should we do this together, et cetera.
And so doing it more from that perspective is we're more likely to yes, hear the Lord
more clearly because we are, we're trusting in his, in his character, as opposed to thinking
that we're, that we're abandoned, which is going to create, which is going to cause us
to make decisions from a place of fear, either fear that, oh, I don't know that I should
spend that money or fear of, I'm afraid of missing out.
I'm afraid of missing this opportunity, whatever, regardless, doing things from a place of fear
isn't healthy.
And not only is it not healthy.
It actually squelch, it squelches our ability to be able to hear what the Lord's actually
saying and it can actually squelch.
And this is a really big thing because we all understand what I just said, you know?
Oh, okay.
Well, yeah, that makes sense.
So we wouldn't be able to hear what the Lord is clearly, but it also makes it harder to
hear us, our true selves and what we really want.
In other words, who we really are in our union with the Lord, who we really are, you know,
which is that our identity, that connection with him and that, who it is that we really
are, our union with him, what the two of us want to do together, that is what needs to
drive our decisions.
So it's a different way of making decisions than we used to.
So in order to make a decision, there's prep work that we need to do, as opposed to simply,
as opposed to simply going through the checklist of all of the things that we used to do before,
which is, okay, well, let's think about how much money it would be.
And let's see about, well, how long have I been thinking about this and how long have
I wanted this and how badly do I want it?
That's that old checklist that we're trying to like check things off of, like, does it
meet this criteria?
And instead we have to do prep work on ourselves in order to let go of the fear, to remind
ourselves of who it is that we are, understand that we're unified with him.
And then from that place in the father's heart where we're like, okay, Lord, because
I'm with you, whatever I end up doing, I'm going to enjoy whatever I end up doing, whatever
the two of us end up doing together is going to, um, it's going to lead to amazing opportunities
that I can't even fathom right now.
And so now that I am in a place of no fear that I'm, Oh, you know, I'm going to miss
out.
I'm not going to miss out.
Cause as long as I'm with the Lord, I already have everything that I used to think something
like that could give me.
And now I think I'm going to miss out if I don't have it now.
I have it in the Lord.
So now I have it in the Lord.
I I'm not going to make a decision from a place of fear now that I have everything that
I need.
And that thing can't give me something I don't already have now.
Now I'm in a healthy place.
Now what do I want to do?
So it there's, so that's what I recommend in making decisions from a place of rest and
in order to hear the Lord's heart is doing it from that place is doing this prep work
in our relationship with the Lord and in our, in, in our choosing that his character is
who he says that he is.
And that I am in relationship to him, who he says that I am, um, that, that starts,
that starts getting, um, getting rid of all of the fear.
And that puts us in a healthier perspective to get to hear what God's actually saying
and what we actually, truly want.
So does that help?
Okay.
So it's not as clear as like another, other of those old formula answers that we used
to, um, look for of like, well, if God, if, if God's voice comes in this form or, Hey,
if the opportunity comes, well, then that's obviously the Lord.
I had a friend who was talking to me about that the past few days.
Oh, well, you know, actually all the synchronicity and they were, they were saying that I happened
to be with a friend of mine, um, at a place and for several days, like five days.
And we were meeting all of these people and whatever.
And they were saying, Oh my word, actually, I cannot believe everything that has happened
since you've been here.
Actually, these things don't usually happen.
You know, I've been here for, I don't know how many years and I've never had this happen,
you know, and all of these things happen and you met all these people and there was all
of this connection and blah, blah, blah.
And he said, Ashley, God might be talking to you about something.
You know, God might be, they didn't say that God might be telling you to move here.
They didn't.
say it like that, but they were just saying, you know, God might be like trying to build
some kind of like connection where there's going to be some, something, I don't know.
And I told them, I said, you know, actually, what I've discovered is this kind of thing
that you're talking about is so amazing. I've discovered this has been happening everywhere
I go, everywhere I go, there's been this type of so-called synchronicity. It's these types
of connections where people are like, actually, God, you know, God told me that, that, um,
it was important that you were going to be coming. Or God told me, you know, such and
such or right before you came, God started talking to me about rest or, you know, the,
you know, whatever. And, uh, they were saying, this is like, it was odd. And I'm like, no,
because I have a good father and this is how he just does things in the world. I come to
expect really fun, interesting connections and events and whatever all the time. So he
was looking at it as actually, you know, maybe you're supposed to be making a decision. Maybe
all of these things are you supposed to be making decisions? No, this is just God being
a good father. Now, yes, I can look at all of these things and I can then choose in my
relationship with the Lord. And I was talking to him about this just yesterday, actually
about making decisions. There are some decisions that I was trying to make in my own life.
And I was asking him this very question, Lord, how do you want me to make decisions with
you right now? Um, I you've crossed me into multiple thresholds of how to make decisions.
And so here's a new one, Lauren, what do you want me to do? And how do you want me to make
this type of decision? That's what I asked him. Um, do you want me to just like go with
something, you know, or what? And, and then he began talking to me about the union about,
um, actually it's, it's, it's, um, always make a decision from the understanding and
the perspective that we're doing it together. This isn't you asking me for permission to
do something you want to do. It's you in union with me as a married couple, what do we want
to do? And therefore you're going to know and lean on and desire my opinion too. Um,
and so he was talking to me about making a decision from that place, as opposed to what
my friend was, was talking to me about, which was, Oh, I'm worried. You have to look at all
of these. This is just so coincidental. Sure. God can talk through through coincidences,
but, um, uh, anyway, I, he was good. The Lord is talking to me about the fact that actually,
how do you hear me in coincidences? How do you know if that's me or not? It's like, you know,
you need to do prep work on yourself and make sure you're positioned in a particular place,
um, to be able to, um, hear me and to know in your spirit, what those, if those are coincidences
that I am using as presenting opportunities for you to step into, or they're just really cool,
fascinating things to have happened. Um, but he said, actually the answer doesn't lie outside
and try to figure, okay, well, is this synchronicity happening or is it not? And
that's, what's going to tell me that's using a formula outside of me and outside of God to tell
me what to do. Um, and, and God's like, no, no, no, Ashley, I confirmed to you in my spirit,
what it is that I want you to do. What do we want to do together? Um, excuse me.
Anyway, he was talking to me about all this recently, actually.
So yeah. Um, does anyone, um, have anything else? Hey, I have a question. This is Diane.
Should I just, is that what I do? I just tell you, I have a question. Am I supposed to do something on
this thing first? No, no, that's perfect. Actually what people do is, um, is because this is being
recorded in order to prevent feedback in the recording, I just have everybody, um, automatically
muted. Um, and then when they want to ask a question, they unmute themselves. And that's how
I know that someone needs to ask questions. So you're, you're doing it just right. Okay. Um,
my question is it's, it's kind of a, as I was listening to, you know, your answers and the
question about the decisions it brought to mind, um, two times that I was in a similar situation
and, and purchasing a program, you know, and one was very expensive and one wasn't quite as
expensive, but it was, it was both times. It was more than was comfortable for me for sure.
And I feel like, and I made the decision to do both. I have not used that information and I
probably shouldn't have went forward with it for that reason, or I would have used it. But at the
time I had told myself that it was an opportunity that I thought God was giving me and in both,
both times, but in afterthought.
as I'm listening now, I'm thinking, why did I do that?
You know, what made me, you know,
what was so motivating for me to spend money
that I really didn't have to spend on that?
And I realized that both times I made those purchases
with the hope that they would make me become
something I wanted to be, you know,
and rather than realizing who I am
and out of confidence and knowing that I can do anything,
do I want to do this?
Is this something the Lord wants me to do?
Instead, I was trying to, you know,
it was more out of an insecurity.
It was like wanting to want this
because it would make me better
rather than believing I'm enough the way I am.
Does that make sense?
And I didn't ask myself those questions then.
Fascinating insight, very impressive insight.
I mean, today I would, but at that time,
I didn't look at it as making that decision
out of weakness.
I didn't do it out of strength.
I did it out of weakness.
Yes, yeah, that's a really, really great insight
into what you had done and why.
So you're right, if God doesn't like us
to reach out of ourselves, to try to think
that we rely on something else
in order to get us somewhere,
but that we use him as our source
and that we just get to use the tools,
but we don't need the tools.
Yeah, so yeah, that's really fascinating
that you noticed that about the decisions that you made.
Yeah, that's great.
I wish I had known it then.
I know, I know, we all look back and think,
oh, well, what would life have been like
if such and such happened?
But now we know.
It was a valuable lesson I learned.
That we so often, yeah, yeah,
it's all of that stuff is not wasted.
It's all very, very valuable.
So does anyone have another question?
Something new, is this a quiet night?
Let's see.
Sorry, I missed something of the first question.
You missed the what of the first question?
Of the gist?
Well, all of it,
but you don't have to repeat everything, obviously.
I was just wondering what y'all were talking about.
It was about making decisions.
So making decisions, knowing when something is the Lord
versus something that we want to do
or an opportunity that presents itself or something.
In other words, I'm not trying to put words
in Alicia's mouth, it was Alicia's question.
So that's what I was thinking of in my head
when I was answering the question
is to try to think that when we have opportunities that come
or something that it is that we think,
oh, we might like to do or whatever,
or something that we don't want to do
and that something presents itself
or someone asks us to do something or whatever,
how do we know if it's the Lord?
That's what we were talking about.
So yeah, and I was just talking about the fact
that it needs to be that instead of looking for formulas
of like, is God doing, oh my word,
everything is just providing such a great opportunity
and yes, there's something to be said about opportunities.
I step into opportunities, absolutely.
But if it's something that,
because Alicia was talking about the fact
that hers would require an investment of $2,000.
So if it's something like that,
then what I was saying was that to kind of expound on it
is that not just looking at something as an opportunity
or looking at like synchronicity,
I don't know what exactly what her situation looks like.
I just am just talking to situations
that have been in myself where we look at opportunities,
we look at synchronicity, we look at, oh my goodness,
this is just all kind of coincidence.
Surely this is the Lord talking.
Well, that's looking at things kind of like as a formula
and how instead it's healthier to make a decisions
from a place of rest from, in other words,
from the fact that we're unified with God
and we're always gonna do it together.
And in other words, doing prep work on ourselves
by shifting.
shifting ourselves into our, our, the identity that God declares us to be, and then making
a decision from there, because there, we're not going to be making a decision out of fear,
fear of missing out or fear of making the wrong decision.
We're actually going to be making it from a very healthy place.
And we're more likely to clearly hear the voice of the Lord when we're not in fear.
So if we shift into our, into our identity and to who it is that God says that he is
and who it is that he says that we are, then, um, uh, we, we don't have that fear.
And we can hear when we hear the word's voice more clearly.
So that's what I've seen.
So it's decision-making from a perspective of preparation of our, of shifting ourselves
into our identity, as opposed to needing something outside to try to figure out is, is God like
calling me on the phone?
You know, something, again, it's something outside of us that we're relying on to tell
us something when God's like, no, no, no.
It's who it's, it's who I am in you that, um, by which you'd make the decision.
That's the synopsis.
So, uh, so it's really interesting, Elisa, that you brought up that question because
that was the thing that I was going to talk about before you came up with a question because
I was trying to, I was wracking my brain thinking, what have I been talking to the Lord about
lately?
What have I been talking to, like on like a client call or whatever lately?
Um, cause that's usually what I write my brain for when someone doesn't have a question and
it was, and I had thought about that because God had talked to me about that yesterday
or day before yesterday, maybe it was day before yesterday, told me that.
So when I asked him about my own decisions, I think if there was something else, um, so
does anyone else have a question while I look at my notes and see if there's anything else
the Lord and I've been talking about lately that I could use?
Um,
okay.
Yeah.
So does anyone have anything else?
Um, let's see.
What else?
The other thing that happens, I think, I think this one was yesterday.
I was again, concerned about decisions and ask the Lord about, was asking a lot about
him and he was telling me, actually, don't be so concerned about making the right decision,
the quote unquote, right decision.
He said, actually, that's when you're doing that, he said, you are, he said, you're, you're,
you're default that you, that you go into is, is you start to lock down and you start
to get rigid because you're trying so hard to do the right thing and to not do the wrong
one.
And, uh, he reminded me that that's stifling that stifling the spirit because it's, it's,
um, bringing a restriction and it's bringing death as opposed to spirit, as opposed to
spirit, which is life and free flowing and movement.
Um, so he said, actually, you're a lot safer making decisions.
Uh, in other words, um, how did he put it?
Um, in letting go and not being so worried about making the right decision, because he
said, even if you make the wrong decision, you know, in other words, one that's not as
wise as another.
Um, the thing is that we're going to be able to, um, uh, he didn't tell me this
yesterday, but this is just something that I, that I've known and that I've walked out
with him is that the fastest way to become like God, in other words, to look like him.
I don't mean that we're becoming God himself.
I'm not trying to say that I'm saying that we look like him because he's our father.
Right.
And we, and we want to reflect his character.
If he is a particular way, well, then we want to be like that.
If he's patient, then we want to be patient.
The son is supposed to look like the father.
And the fastest way to do that is to act like we are him.
I don't mean that in a disrespectful or blasphemous way.
I'm not saying that we, that we act like we're the creator who created everything.
I mean, that we start acting like who he looks like to us, who it is that we believe
in our spirits, that he actually is.
And we start acting like that.
We start, we think, okay, well, I think that, that God would, if he were here, he
would do this thing, not based off of what we read in the Bible and what it is
that we think with our head, but who it is that we know based on our relationship
with him, what do we feel that he would be doing in this situation, even if we
don't like it, and then we start doing it because even if we do things, even if we
step out.
do something because we think, Oh, I think God looks like this.
And he corrects us while we're in the middle of it or afterwards.
And he said, no, no, that's not quite what I look like.
That's not quite what I would do.
Even if we get corrected, we actually progress and learn faster and become like
God faster, meaning like, you know, his character, then we do, if we're trying
so hard to learn exactly and make sure, make sure that we know exactly how he is
and exactly what he looks like and exactly what he would do before we do something.
Um, and children do this, you know, when they learn to walk or when they do
anything, they make all kinds of mistakes and they just, um, uh, they,
they do all kinds of wild things.
You think of little boys.
And how does endow just, they'll just trial these very, very risky.
Um, actions there.
They actually, yes, that there are very big risks, but they
actually learn faster that way.
People learn faster that way.
And we can do the same thing.
So that was one of the things the Lord was talking to me about
yesterday, about my own decisions.
He's like, actually, don't be so worried about trying to make the right decision.
Yes.
Try to make, you know, the best decision that you understand based off of what
you think that I'm saying and who you think that I am and what you, you know,
what you think reflects my character, but don't agonize over it to the point
where don't agonize over it, period, because that's just going to delay it.
And you just start locking down and that brings death to the situation.
Do the best you can and get moving.
They're doing something.
And yes, I've had to bear serious consequences of things, but I've also,
I've also progressed faster than, um, than I would have if I, uh,
then the prior 34 years of my life.
Yes.
Oh, sorry.
I hope it's going to chat.
I didn't think you could see me.
Um, what was I going to say?
Oh, so you're saying that reminds me of, uh, at least me watching Brendan,
our, our younger brother learn how to roll a blade and he would just take off.
I mean, he would fall down so many times, but he would just, he would
just take off and go so fast and then have a crash and get up and do it all
over again, over and over and over again.
And he learned how to roll a blade.
And I never did because I was afraid of falling down and I would still, you
just hold on to the rail constantly trying to do it correctly and trying
not to make a mistake and never learned how to do it anyway.
Yeah.
That's actually a lot.
Um, yes.
Yes.
Yeah.
We learned faster that way.
And, and I'll verify for you.
I am with a very, very, very, very cautious, very cautious.
And, um, uh, yeah, there are certain ways I'll just more cautious than me,
but in like certain in, in the majority of things, she was, uh, she was much
more, um, a much more willing to take risks, less scared than I was.
I was just, I was so very cautious.
Her older daughters, very, very cautious, always worried about making a mistake.
And you learn a lot slower that way.
We think that we're not only protecting ourselves.
We think that we're actually emotionally protecting ourselves from our authority
figure who in our case is God.
We think, Oh, you know, he, we don't want his wrath.
Cause we think that we're always having to avoid his wrath, um, which we're now
learning from the Lord is not the way that he interacts with us, but we're
always trying to avoid his chastisement.
Um, because we, we think so.
Um, we don't see the value in mistakes.
We don't see the value in quote unquote failure.
We don't see the, the, the value in, in hurt, pain, correction, whatever.
And God's just like, that's not the end of it.
It's just like, that just lets you know, okay, that's not the direction
and just make a different direction.
But people who are more willing and open to, um, to trying by doing what it is
that they think God is saying, not just, Oh, I'm just going to do this, you know,
just because I want to, you know, just blindly, this is just what I want to do.
No, no, no.
Actually making decisions because we think, I think this is what God looks like.
I think this is who he's telling me he is and stepping out like that.
I'm, I'm always telling the Lord that I'm always stepping out into new
things in the Lord, whether it's in finances or whether it's in my travels
or whether it's in a relationship.
And I'll tell.
Lord. Okay, God, I don't know for sure if I'm doing this right. I don't know if this is what you look like. And if this is reflective of your character, but I think that it is and and I'm doing this because and I'm making this decision because I think this is you.
So anyway, God was just talking to me about it is at a deeper level yesterday.
Or whatever that might be helpful to others.
So I think that in the conference. I'm going to be talking about a whole but possibly a whole section will see on a whole session on because I have multiple sessions. Currently, I think that there's like nine maybe sessions that will be doing, which are at least an hour long, maybe
And I think that I might be doing one of them just on making decisions.
So in the Lord. So anyway, this is so I think that that Lord was giving me some more insight and able being able to articulate some things because he has me walk it out. First, it's like, actually, you have to own this before you tell anybody else about it. You have to put your life on the line. First, it's like, okay, so here I go.
So, yeah.
So does anyone have anything else. No one has anything we can get off early. I don't think we've ever gotten off early before, but if we need to.
Because I've gone through my material.
Think
After I think I have anything else.
So, fit to sunny, buddy. Have anything
I talk about at a, at a client quote yesterday and I'm trying to remember it was anything in there. It would be helpful. Not sure and
I think that all this stuff that I talked about in the client call, you know, I've, I've already, you know, talk to all of y'all about and things like
If
Things like
If
Someone that I was talking to yesterday. It's not somebody who's in our group. It was because now I charge for private consultation. Yeah, private consultations.
So if it's a, you know, so after the first four weeks that someone's in the program, then I charge for for the consultations or if someone doesn't join the program and they just want they just want to connect with me. I charge for that. So anyway, that and so she's one of those people. She's, and anyway, she, it was very interesting talking to this person because
They by listening to them. I realized that they were at the point where. And so this brings up a subject for all of us that they were at the point where they couldn't
Shift into they couldn't grab a hold of anything that I was saying about rest because they have to ask me, actually, how do you shift and trust. So I would explain some different things different concepts and like
Okay, so I'm really gonna have to think about that. It's, it's really going deep. And I thought, wow, this is. Well, yeah, it is deep, but it's it's basics.
So I thought, okay, what is it, what do they need. And so I told him, I said, okay, here's what I recommend that you focus on. Don't worry about shifting into rest.
Shifting into rest. Don't worry about any of this other stuff said you need to focus on believing in or choosing that God loves you.
In everything that you do. So you get up in the morning, you know, and choose God says that he delights in me that he delights in me being me not because I'm doing something or not doing something or about to do something.
That that he just delights in me being me. So get up and just just choose that as you walk across the room and then choose that as you're taking your shower and choose it as you're getting ready and putting on your make it that on my work.
You know, God delights in me. He says all throughout the song of Solomon and he says it throughout Hosea and he talks about it all throughout the New Testament that he delights in me and he calls me his bride and
And I'm not saying that we just have to like reiterate all of these and think about all these Bible verses or that we have to think about
That we have to think specifics of. Okay, so he says on the apple of his eye and he's this is that and saying that we have to think specifics. I'm just saying that we need to choose that if he says he loves us.
unconditionally, just by our insistence, not related to our
behavior, or any actions or any decisions, then we're going to
take him at his word. That's what I'm talking about. And so I
told her I said, while you're putting on your makeup, while
you're getting ready, then while you go make breakfast and do
breakfast, because you can tell that this is my morning routine,
I get up and and I get ready. And after I'm all ready for the
day, you know, then I go get my breakfast and I go do whatever.
So, but, and then, you know, when you, when you stop and I
don't know, spend some time with the Lord, you take time with
your children, or I don't know, you go to work, whatever it is,
that I would have to constantly remind myself and I still do
this, remind myself, okay, you know, I am chosen by God, and I
choose him. I and I choose that he that if he says that he loves
me unconditionally, that he really does love me. And that
it's really true. And so I just focused on that and nothing else
sometimes, like not trying to shift into rest or anything. And
would you know that it was the it was allowing the love of God
to pervade me to pervade my life. It was me choosing it
because I didn't feel it and I didn't believe it for him to for
me choosing that he loved me. And focusing on that, would you
believe that was healing me from traumas that I was not focusing
on? I was not thinking about in order to heal from the traumas,
I wasn't thinking about the lies that I had believed that had
created the trauma in me. And then what it then what truths I
needed to, to combat them with, I didn't, I was just choosing
that if God says he loves me unconditionally, to an extreme
degree, then it was true. And I began to heal. I began to heal
from traumas. It was wild. And so I told her I told her that I
said, Don't worry and focus about on how to shift into rest
or am I at rest? Or am I not? It because when we if we really did
believe that God loves us to the degree that he says that he
loves us, everything will be fixed. Everything in our life
will be fixed. Everything eventually comes down to
accusation against God's character that he does not and
and, and the root of God's character is his love. And all
his other characteristics are subject to his love. So that
really is the root of everything. So I told her I
said, Don't worry about the rest of it. Because she was
striving, she was striving to enter his rest. That said, just
receive that he loves you and choose it and go throughout all
of your day. So I gave her homework. So I go throughout
your whole day, you know, for days, just doing that and
releasing yourself from shame and condemnation. You know,
choosing that God loves you, regardless of what you're doing.
Because there were certain things in their life, they were
like, Oh, I feel guilty for doing this or feel guilty for
not doing this. I told him, I said, I didn't tell him to stop
doing those things, or to do things or to not do things. I
just said, release yourself from shame and condemnation, and
choose the God loves you. And then you will discover that you
will naturally want to change, you will naturally want to do
the things you didn't want to do. And you will naturally want
to stop doing the things that you haven't previously wanted to
stop doing. But it has to be based on his love, not on the
fact that Oh, my goodness, he's he's over me like a taskmaster
with a whip. It's a it's a very, it will get us to change our
behavior. Sometimes, sometimes not, but sometimes it does. But
that her behavior is supposed to man is actually manifest our
beliefs. A friend of mine and refers to it like this. He said
you can think that a muzzled dog, a dog who's always had a
muscle on you can think that that is a wonderful dog. That
dog has never bit anybody. Well, of course not. It has a muscle
on it. Take the muscle off and find out what the dog will
really do. And so that's kind of what it is that we're doing
here. We're taking the muscle off. And we're choosing that
because the restraining the behavior doesn't change the
belief. We're trying to go back to the root of why it is that
have tendencies to do the things that we do, why we've created
these coping mechanisms, why we were these wounds and these in
these pains have come from, and we're fixing it from that place,
because that will change our behavior. And anyway, so that
was something that I talked to her about. And it goes for all
of us regarding it goes for me too.
been spending the past few days up in a place called Moravian Falls. For those of you who
don't know, Moravian Falls was, is a place where the Moravians came over through Count
von Zinzendorf in the 1600s. And I think it was the 1600s. Yeah, I don't think it was
the 1800s. Yeah, in fact, I was told it was the 1600s. And they settled in Pennsylvania
for a little bit, but then they came down to North Carolina to Moravian Falls. And they
prayed over the land 24 seven for 100 years. So for those who see in the spirit, those
who can see things, you can see things like angels and whatever, they say there is more
spiritual activity in Moravian Falls than any other place they've been outside of Israel.
So I was just there. And I was just spending some time with the Lord. I didn't see I was
not aware of having seen any angels. So that I've told the Lord, Lord, I would like to
see one day, I would love to see angels and into the spirit one day. But anyway, so I
was there and I was just taking some time with the Lord. And, and one of the things
that I did was spent time choosing that he loved me. Because it doesn't matter to what
degree that we've shifted into interest and in what areas, the reason we haven't shifted
into rest further than we have, is because we have accusation against the character of
God. And ultimately, it comes down to accusations we have against his love. So, so it's always
something that I have to always go back to, I always have to choose that he loves me.
People saw me in Moravian Falls, there was a lady who saw me who had seen me last time I was there,
which was in October. And she said, Ashley, she said, there is such a difference in you,
but from now, now than when I saw you in October, there is so much more peace exuding from you.
And it's because I go, because I have learned since October to even shift into greater levels
of his rest. In other words, choosing that he's more love than I believed he was in October.
And I believed he was in October so much more than I believed that he was, you know,
in May and, you know, and then in January and whatever. And so I'm always having to,
we're all having to do that. And that was just something that I was telling her.
So it doesn't matter if we're at the beginning stages where we have no concept of rest,
or if we're where we all are, which is we're getting a concept of rest and we're moving
into particular measures. There's, we always need to go back to the love. The love thing
has not been conquered. We always have to go back to that and choose that he loves us
to a greater degree than we have been believing thus far. So, which is nice because it means that
there's always more and we haven't ever reached the end of it. So we, as opposed to thinking of
it kind of aggravatingly like, oh, you know, I've done all this work to believe that God loves me.
You know, it's more like, instead it's this whole idea of you mean that God loves me even more than
this. You mean that God loves me even more than that. So it's really nice.
So that is all that I have. Does anyone have another question before we jump off?
I don't think I missed anything in the chat.
Okay. It was good to get to see everybody and I guess, I guess I'll see y'all next week.
Usual time. So unless, unless I'll know otherwise, don't know where I'll be.
Not very sure yet. Anyway, I love all you and I'll see y'all later. Bye.
Welcome. Bye.