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Today I have some simple encouragement for you, which is just a glimpse into what God has been teaching me lately. I have found that when I complete another Contentment Challenge, it's good for me to take a minute to recap the biggest lessons the Lord has taught me during this fast of sorts, because I find that every time I give up shopping or extra spending for a limited time, which is what the contentment challenge is, it frees up space for him to do things in my life and to address some spiritual things going on in my heart, in my mind.

Today, I'm just gonna share three simple things that the Lord has been teaching me this year up to this point.

For the full episode, hit play above or read through below.

So if you're not familiar with the Contentment Challenge, it's where I give up shopping for three months in order to pursue the things that mean most to me in my life, which is a deeper relationship with the Lord and more quality time with the people that I love. If you're interested in learning more, you can always take a free Contentment Challenge at any point throughout the year. You can make it your own length, but I recommend three months if you've never done it before because that's where I've been able to see the most fruit in my life.

I had a friend that did it for a year and experienced so many miracles and just such in incredible breakthrough with the Lord and she shared her story on the podcast. I've been doing this every year for 10 years now, which is crazy, and the reason I keep coming back to it is because of the fruit that I see in my life, mostly in my walk with the Lord.

Of course there's tangible benefits where I'm saving money and I'm getting rid of clutter in my house and I'm not adding to the clutter. And all in all, it just helps me be a more content person, which is why I do it again and again. And I also have a paid version of the Contentment Challenge where you can buy it for $15 and it comes with a full devotional that's like a download that you can fill out as you go through it with some thoughts from me, as well as some kind of like mini podcast episodes all devoted to contentment, some audio tracks that you can listen to as you go through it. Anyway, that was a side note.

But today I just wanna share kind of what God has been teaching me this year through the Contentment Challenge through my life, and I'll start with kind of giving you a little bit of context. So last year, which was 2022, my family and I just struggled a lot with sickness. Like we were just always sick and we couldn't totally figure out why. And it felt like every time we were getting better, something else would hit us. And so we saw every virus and infection under the sun. It felt like we just kept rotating through our family. And gratefully this year has been very different. And 2023 has been just such a breath of fresh air and I entered into this year with a little bit of fear and trepidation, not knowing if that season was over or not, but I just decided to make some changes in my own life because I felt like I was floundering.

And I started out this year kind of with some new disciplines that I set in in my life. I set some disciplines of waking up early, spending time with the Lord, working out every morning, which is something I have not done. And I don't know, eight years where I'm working out like five days a week. It's just brought a lot of of clarity.

And then I also started this year with the Contentment Challenge, which is where I give up shopping for three months. And so as this has come to a close, I just am like saying such a deep breath of like, wow, like thank you Lord, thank you for showing me things again, thank you for teaching me things about you and about living this life again, about the gospel again, like it just, he's a never ending well, He never dries up. There's just always more to get from Him. And so here are three things, just three simple things that I have learned and relearned and taken to heart again this year as it's been kind of a new chapter for us.

Thankfully we've been healthy, things are going much better, but it's still not without challenge. And so God's been just faithful to teach me. Okay, here we go.

Number one is that we are co-creators with him.

I made an episode called Created to Create, if you wanna go back and listen to that. But I talk all about how we are made in God's image and He is a creator, and so we are like God and we are very fulfilled when we are creating. And for a lot of my Christian life, I think I've been very worried about, am I doing God's will? Am I staying in God's will? Is this the right path for me? And as I've walked with him and as I've learned more about him, I've learned more often than not that more, more often than I realize he's just a good dad saying, I've got your back. I am with you. I'm for you. I want you to make this decision, I wanna see you take hold of this and walk in the authority that I've given you.

Knowing that he's a creator, we're made in his image, and he gives us a lot of leeway to kind of choose our own path in life. I love the book, Just Do Something by Kevin De Young. It's wonderful. If you are really struggling with knowing God's will for your life, highly recommend it. I feel like anyone listening who's in college, you just need to go click add to cart. It's so, so great. He talks a lot about how scripture is really sufficient to determine God's will in our lives. We just need to look to scripture. And that is the prescription for God's will. And then anything outside of that, he's a good dad kind of cheering us on saying, Hey, go do something. Go make something of your life. Choose this path, do this. But it, it's not so much about what path we choose as it is, are we staying connected with him, focused on our character, focused on submitting to him, yielding to him, and letting him do the good work in us. So a few examples—

1 Thessalonians 5:18 says that it's His will for us to give thanks in all things, and 1 Thessalonians 4:3 says it's His will for us that we would be sanctified. Luke 9:23 says it's His will that we would die to ourselves, and in James 1, he talks about it being His will that we ask for wisdom. And he always gives that. And 1 Timothy 2:3-4 says that it's His will that everyone comes to be saved and to know Him, to come to the knowledge of Him.

And so this is throughout scripture like what is the will of God? It's that we can know it and walk in it. It's it's that we would be changed. It's that we would submit to Jesus and that our character and our personalities would be more of a reflection of him, of who he is. It's not so much what career path do I take?

Do I quit my job? Do I do this? Of course he's a good father, he's gonna lead us in those things, but I'm just learning that we're co-creators with him. And what a gift. You know, I think about Will and I as parents, and we love our kids so much and there are certain things that I like give very strong direction to in my kids' life.

And I say, this is, this is inbound, this is out of bounds. This is what you need to do. But I think about them growing up and I'm just excited to see what they're gonna choose. Like I don't really care what kind of profession they go into or what career path they choose or what they do. I want more than anything just to have a close relationship with them as they grow.

And I wanna see them flourish. And I just think, isn't that such a good perspective of the Lord? Like he wants, he wants us to stay close to him. Sometimes he will ask very difficult things of us and he will lead us through really tough seasons. But he will never leave us. And otherwise I think he's just like, Hey, I've created you to create. Let's see what you can do. I wanna just bless you and cheer you on and see you use the gifts that I've put inside you. So in that book, just do something. I love this quote, Kevin De Young says this. He says, “Just go marry someone provided you're equally yoked and you actually like being together. Go get a job provided it's not wicked. Go live somewhere in something with somebody or nobody. But put aside the passivity in the quest for complete fulfillment and the perfectionism and the preoccupation with the future. And for God's sake, start making some decisions in your life. Don't wait for the liver shiver”—That made me laugh. Don't wait for the liver shiver—”If you are seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, you will be in God's will. So just go out and do something.”

And I love this example in the book. He talked about going in for a job interview at some point and how so many people are like, God, please make it clear. Is this job for me, please, you know, make a way. Show me is this the right path for me? And I, and I've prayed that too, and I think that God honors that prayer. But he also said that his prayer wasn't so much that his prayer when going into that job interview was, God, help me to be honest. Help me to be full of wisdom and character. Help me to answer clearly. Help me to walk in your wisdom and help me to stay close to you. And it wasn't so much like that is what it looks like to pray God's will. Not so much like God show me exactly what I should do and what steps I should take. But God, check my heart and let me walk in line with you.

Now, I'll sum up this first thing that God has been teaching me with. Sometimes he does speak to us, sometimes he does make it very clear. And I've experienced that too. But I've just found a lot of freedom. And knowing that God gives us the authority and confidence that we need as we walk close to him to just make decisions and look forward with joy in our lives.

And that's my encouragement to you today. And that's just what God has been teaching me.

All right, the second thing that God has really shown me these last few months as we started out this year as it's self-discipline brings so much fruit.

Self-discipline is a fruit of the spirit, obviously, but it's a gift. And I actually have seen tangible fruit in my life as I have been embracing more self-discipline.

So a few things that I've been aiming to do this year is to wake up early and start every day in the word. Have I done this every day? Absolutely not. No. I mean, there are days where I'm up late with the baby and I need some sleep. And it doesn't happen all the time. But I will say I have tried to beat my kids awake more often this year and spend time in the word in prayer first thing before I start my day.

And it's been a real game changer and a real blessing. And I've seen the fruit in my own life. I've also started working out at six o'clock in the morning, sometimes earlier, sometimes a little later. But I try to work out before the kids get up too. And usually they're sleepy and they'll wander in there as I'm working out. But this discipline has reaped so many benefits.

It's the thing that I said I'd never be able to do is like be a morning person, like work out first thing in the morning. That sounds exhausting to me. I'm very much like I wanna ease into my day. But what I do is I, I've been waking up at 5:15 so that I can still have my time and the word and coffee and ease into the day.

But by 5:45 or 6, I'm, I'm getting dressed, I'm ready to work out and I do an intense workout for 30 minutes. And the fruit I have seen is incredible. The clarity of mind and my energy throughout the day. It's almost like when you're taking care of your car and you're just doing maintenance on your car and you're making sure that it runs well, filling it up with gas, making sure everything's good. That's what this feels like to me. It's like my body is this vehicle that I get to use every day, and when I wake up and take care of it first thing, it runs so much better throughout the day. So that's been a discipline that has really yielded a lot of fruit in my life.

I feel like I am a better wife and a better mom, and that I can just walk with the Lord by doing those two things. I can just hear his voice and, and feel a little bit more clarity throughout my day rather than feeling like I'm kind of slogging through my day wondering like aimlessly. Another discipline that I've embraced is just through doing the Contentment Challenge.

I have just not been shopping for anything that I haven't needed for the last three months. So from January 10th to April 10th, there's been no shopping other than groceries, gas, you know, if my kids need something to wear, I'll buy them that. It's very like if I run out of something that I use every day, I will replace it. But this is, it's not shopping for clothes, it's not shopping for household items. I just have constantly been rerouted in my heart to ask, okay, why do I want to buy this thing on Amazon right now? Why do I want to go buy this thing that I feel like someone's telling me I need right now? Why? What is that in my heart and in my life that says that?

And do I actually already have some version of that in my home or in my closet that I could repurpose and use and find joy in? And the answer is always, yes, I can find something that would meet that need, but it's just such a good heart check. And I found that every time I do this, I learn I don't need things as much as I think that I do.

And it's a really good discipline just to shape my spending habits for the rest of the year.

Okay, the third thing that the Lord has been teaching me is simply to enjoy my life more, to enjoy him more, to enjoy my people, to enjoy his beautiful creation because he, he did create us to work, but he created us to play.

He created us for relationship. He created us to enjoy him and to enjoy this beautiful creation. And I'm the kind of personality, I like a list. I like to do things. There's a lot that needs to be tended to in my home. I don't have a ton of downtime because I've got four little kids. There's just a lot of work built into the life of raising kids.

And I ju that's the way my mind works. I, I'm a three on the Enneagram. I like to achieve stuff. I like to get stuff done. But I am learning and being reminded more and more from the Lord that he has created me to enjoy life and to enjoy people. And it's not all about work. And so some things I've been doing this year,

I've been reading novels and getting lost in them a lot more. I have been trying to just take off my shoes and put my feet in the grass when my kids are playing in the backyard and just enjoy sitting in the sun and feeling his sunshine and not worry so much about getting something done while they're playing. But just taking five minutes and enjoying that time, just laughing as much as I can. Will and I went and we took some friends to see Nate Beragtzi, which I don't know if you've ever heard him, but he is so funny. He's this comedian, very clean. I think he has a special on Amazon Prime right now. I don't know, I feel like it always changes where it's at. But listen, highly recommend. If you just need a good laugh, just go listen to that. We went to one of his shows live with another couple, and we laughed for like an hour and a half straight. It was so funny. And I just thought it life is just meant to be enjoyed. Like I felt so much lighter and happier after doing that.

There's this song that my mom used to sing to me and I love it and I sing it to my kids. And honestly, it partway inspired the name of this podcast because there's a little line in it about work and play. But I'm just gonna read you the lyrics because it's so beautiful and it really reminds me to just enjoy the beautiful world that God has given us in the balance of work and play in that.

And it says, “Father, we thank the for the night and for the pleasant morning light for rest and food and loving care and all that makes the world so fair.”

And I love that first part because it really just embodies the beauty and goodness of the world that we get to experience every day. And then it goes on to say, “Help us to do the things we should to be to others' kind and good and all we do and work or play, help us to be more loving every day.”

So just to recap, God has been teaching me that we are co-creators with him. That self-discipline yields fruit in our lives and that we are to enjoy our life, enjoy the Lord and enjoy the people around us.

I'm gonna close with words from Kevin De Young who said,

“So the end of the matter is this, live for God. Obey the scriptures, think of others before yourself. Be holy, love Jesus. And as you do these things, do whatever else you like with whomever you like, wherever you like, and you'll be walking with God.”

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