Podcast #569
SOUL CONFIDENCE: UNCOMPLICATING FAITH AND FINDING MEANING IN LIFE
Those with unshakeable confidence have tapped into soul confidence. Soul confidence is different than confidence that is self-focused. It is God-focused, and it is strengthened by deepening one’s relationship with God. This episode will help you find deep meaning and fulfillment through the deepening of your faith. It will also help you uncomplicate any challenging or painful past relationships with religion or faith that was imposed onto you.
In this episode of The Confidence Podcast, we’re talking about:
- How faith creates the most unshakeable core foundation of confidence
- Habits that Strengthen Your Faith
- What God says about you
ANNOUNCEMENT:
Ask Trish – Live Coaching Session
Happening Wednesday, October 25th at 12PM EST.
REVIEW OF THE WEEK
MY FAITH STORY:
Why Jesus is Different:
He went against religion.
He loved and prioritized women.
He was a teacher that resonated with everyone.
He honored and loved the little children.
He never judged, always loved.
Jesus of Nazareth is widely regarded as a counter-cultural leader due to several aspects of his teachings, actions, and the social context of his time that set him apart from the norms of society. Here are some key reasons that made Jesus a counter-cultural figure:
- Challenging Religious Authorities: Jesus often challenged the religious authorities of his time, including the Pharisees and Sadducees. He criticized their rigid interpretations of religious laws and emphasized a more personal and compassionate relationship with God. This challenged the established religious hierarchy and norms
- Inclusivity: Jesus welcomed and associated with marginalized and outcast individuals, such as tax collectors, prostitutes, and the sick. In a society marked by strict social hierarchies, this was a radical departure from the norm. His message of love and inclusion went against the prevailing exclusivity of his era.
- Nonviolence: Jesus preached nonviolence and advocated turning the other cheek in response to aggression. In a world where power often rested on military might, his emphasis on nonviolent resistance was revolutionary and counter-cultural.
- Teaching Love and Forgiveness: Jesus emphasized love, compassion, and forgiveness as core principles. His teachings, including the Sermon on the Mount, promoted a radical ethic of loving one’s enemies and forgiving those who wronged you, which contradicted the prevailing culture of revenge and retribution.
- Wealth and Materialism: Jesus spoke against the excessive pursuit of wealth and material possessions. His parables often depicted the dangers of wealth and the importance of sharing with the less fortunate, challenging the prevalent greed and materialism of his time.
- Equality of Women: While the cultural norms of Jesus’ time often marginalized women, Jesus interacted with women openly, challenged sexist attitudes, and included them in his circle of followers. This was a significant departure from the social norms of the era.
- A New Kingdom: Jesus preached about the Kingdom of God, which was not a political or earthly kingdom but a spiritual one. This message went against the prevailing expectation of a messianic figure who would lead a political revolt.
- Sacrificial Love: Jesus’ willingness to sacrifice himself for the sake of others, as symbolized by his crucifixion, demonstrated a radical form of love and selflessness that was counter-cultural and transformative.
- Focus on the Inner Life: Jesus emphasized the importance of the heart, inner purity, and genuine intentions over outward displays of religiosity. This inward focus was a departure from the external rituals and legalism prevalent in his society.
HABITS THAT STRENGTHEN YOUR FAITH
Quiet time.
Solitude and silence.
Scripture.
Sermons – in person and online.
Feeding your soul daily.
Daily devotional.
Faith-filled friends/faith community.
Tithing/giving.
Prayer.
Praise and gratitude.
Worship music.
Reading plans.
WHAT GOD SAYS ABOUT YOU
According to Christian belief, God sees each person as a unique and valued creation. While the Bible doesn’t provide specific details about how God views each individual by name, it does offer some overarching principles about how God sees humanity:
As a Beloved Creation: In Genesis 1:26-27, it is written that God created humanity in His own image and likeness. This reflects the idea that every person has inherent worth and is precious in God’s eyes.
As a Sinner in Need of Redemption: The Bible acknowledges that all humans are flawed and have sinned (Romans 3:23). However, it also emphasizes God’s willingness to forgive and redeem those who turn to Him (John 3:16, Romans 5:8).
As a Child: In the New Testament, believers are often referred to as children of God. For example, in Romans 8:16, it says, “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” This implies a close, familial relationship with God.
As Someone with a Purpose: The Bible suggests that God has a plan and purpose for each individual’s life (Jeremiah 29:11, Ephesians 2:10). This purpose may include serving others, growing spiritually, and spreading God’s love.
As Someone Who Can Be Transformed: God sees the potential for growth and transformation in every person. The Bible teaches that through faith in Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, individuals can become more Christ-like (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Ultimately, how God sees you is believed to be based on His love, grace, and desire for a relationship with you. It’s important to note that different religious traditions may have slightly different interpretations of these principles, so individual beliefs about how God sees a person can vary.
BETTERHELP SPONSOR
This show is sponsored by BetterHelp.
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Visit www.betterhelp.com/CONFIDENCEPOD
RESOURCES I RECOMMEND:
YouVersion Bible App
Elevation Church Podcast
Transformation Church Podcast
Christine Caine
OTHER EPISODES YOU’LL ENJOY:
#358: How to Not Feel Anxious About Your Future
#350: How to Have Confidence Despite the Uncertainty of Life
#348: What God Really Thinks About You and How to Answer “Does God Love Me?”
You're listening to the confidence podcast, your favorite coaching podcast oozing with motivation, inspiration, and confidence to help you boldly take action on your dreams. I'm your host, Trish Blackwell, internationally recognized Confidence Coach, Best Selling Author and founder of the College of Confidence, the most encouraging place on the internet. I teach go getters in life, how to take your thoughts captive, how to step out of the shadows of self doubt, and how to courageously step into their purpose. With competence. It's time to pump our competence muscles and train our thoughts, y'all. Let's get started. Hey, there, it's Trish Blackwell and you're listening to the confidence podcast. This is episode 569. It is episode we're talking about soul confidence. I want to talk about how to uncomplicate faith and find meaning in life. There some unshakable confidence that gets it that bone deep confidence. And I like to call it soul confidence. And soul confidence is different than confidence. That self focused, I consider sole confidence, God focus, it's strengthened by deepening one's relationship with God. And this episode is for you, too, if you want to help find deeper meaning and fulfillment through deepening your faith. It's going to help uncomplicate any challenging or painful past relationships with religion or faith that were potentially imposed on you. And we're going to talk in a unique way that we don't typically talk about on this episode. And look, I'm not like normal coaches in the life coaching industry. Most coaches tell you that you have all the answers you need. And while I do believe you have a lot of the answers, I believe that the most profound answers that we receive are from when we spend time in relationship with God. And so instead of telling you to manifest your own path forward, I encourage you to seek wisdom from the Lord that you might have the courage and confidence to walk in His plan for your life. Because what I know to be true, is that God's plans for me are always and I mean, always, like, epically so better than my plans for myself. So if you yearn for deeper connection, that soul deep confidence, then honestly, it starts with spending more time with God I am. When I talk about God, I don't talk I I've speaking from the Christian faith, and I love my faith. But the difference of Christian faith versus many faiths is that it's not a religion. It's a relationship. It's about our relationship with God and our relationship with Jesus Christ. And so, in this episode, if you're yearning for that this episode is for you. If you're not yearning for something deeper, or to go into what a relationship with God looks like, then I would say see on the next episode, and we can't wait to see you back here. This this week, we're going to explore how faith creates the most unshakable foundation of confidence habits that strengthen your faith and increase your sense of purpose. And then really, one of my favorite things is what God actually says about you, and your potential. And so why this episode? Well, two reasons I had two people reach out. One is Melanie. She said, Trish, I'm a longtime member of the COC and I wanted to pop on and say a huge thank you for incorporating more faith into your coaching. The last handful of podcasts and coaching that I've taken, I've noticed you mentioning things from a faith perspective, and it really hits the coaching home for me. And so she requested a future episode on coaching on emotions from a faith perspective, and Melanie that will be down the line. But then we also got an email from someone I'm going to say, I'm going to call her s. And she said this. Hey, Trish, this seems like an utterly ridiculous problem. But I found your podcast when I was beating myself up over something silly. And by the way, that is how most people find the show you are in a good place. And by the way, I hope you liked last week's episode. Stop beating yourself up. That's episode 568. We've gotten such incredible feedback on that episode. So okay, so you said you've been listening ever since. And you're in a program that's helping you explore certain things. Here's what your question was, you said, One thing I'm hoping you'll cover is your faith journey. I have a lot of complicated feelings about Christianity. My mom is very Evangelical, and I harbor a lot of resentment about the way I was raised and guilt about my past behaviors, that that in that light, so it's hard imagining a relationship with God. But I've also had a lot of hardships this year. And I've actually where that faith will help me through Is there any chance you'll talk more about Christianity? So that is primarily why we're doing this episode and I I would be remiss, it would be absolutely unthinkable for me to not share with you what really drives me what really gives me hope what really is the core of my foundation and my confidence and that is my walk with Jesus Christ that is my relationship with God. That is the hope that I have and also the trust that I have,
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that I am on the right path
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that that no matter what happens, my confidence about the future comes from knowing that whatever happens God is going to turn it for good. I believe in that and I trust him now let me answer we're gonna go into my journey because there were seasons of my life where I didn't there were seasons of my life where I was very far from God. And we're gonna dive into that today. So that's what's what you're in for. Let me do a quick review of the week. And this is from GG GG GG TFGNJ q4 you your your review of this, they said this is the best and most positive podcast ever. I've been meaning to write this review for a long time now I've been listening to the confidence podcast actively for almost a year now. I cannot stress enough how much helped me and as comforted me too in guiding me through personal struggles. Trish, you were truly amazing and gifted by God this podcast. Through Trish is positivity understanding uses, gives useful advice that actually works. This podcast has transformed and renewed my way of thinking radically. There is no reason to give this podcast not to give this podcast a listen with so many relatable episodes filled with understanding and solutions. It is life changing. Thank you so much. Trish, you have no idea how much you've helped me. And undoubtedly so many others love you. All the way from Ireland and I'm sending you iron. Love back. I love Ireland. We spent a week there a couple of years ago. I am Irish. Thank you, for all the love from Ireland and what a generous Review Guys reviews help other people find the show. So thank you in advance to anybody who will just take a minute this week to write a review. So more people find the show. One super, super teeny teeny little announcement. I am doing something I've never done before we're going to do a live coaching session. It's happening Wednesday, October 25. At 12pm No you have to sign up. If you've always wondered what it's like to be coached by me. Come Come find out for free come get coached, you can sign up and grab your spot at Trish blackwell.com forward slash Q and A and it's not the don't spell out the word and it's the symbol for and so Trish blackwell.com forward slash Q and A. And you can come listen to get to people get coached you can come get coached yourself you can experience here's the thing, when you're going to an ice cream shop. And you don't know if you like the flavor you ask for a sample. Well why is this sample this flavor better than another you might or you might just go I don't know if it's for me. Come get a sample of the ice cream comm get a sample of what coaching is actually so again, I hope to see you there. Let's dive into today's coaching. So fundamentally, here's my story. I am a follower of Jesus, my relationship with the Lord gives me peace, power and purpose. I think of worship, worship music is my weapon it is it has transformed my mind God has provided the mentors, the tools, the books, the knowledge, the the the access to information, of how to map to walk, the transformation, of transforming my mind changing my life, but my transformation and healing in my life is 100% the work of the hand of God. Now if you don't know my full story or if you're even interested I have a my most recent book is called this it's called straighten your crown. And in the book I talk a lot about how my relationship with God has changed. For the my opinion, the better how I felt distant and how he pursued me how he saved me how he's performed miracle after miracle after miracle after undeniable miracle in my life. Many that I've covered some of that story in Episode 444 of this podcast. But if you want to check that book out, it's on Amazon. It's anywhere you buy books, we have some incredible feedback on it. But check it out. Go to Trish blackwell.com Ford slash crown I'll also include it in the show notes if you just want to grab it directly to Amazon. We have an audiobook we have an e book we have the paperback book, however you like to read. It's there for you and I am the person reading the ebook. So are the audiobook so if you like my voice, if you're used to my voice, if you want me to read you my book, it will help you it's a it's a great tool to walk. And my goal of the book was to help people understand how God sees them as his masterpiece that you are. He is not a distant God he is not a angry God. He is a
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I'm incredibly
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compassionate and generous and personable God who loves His creation who loves his children. And so, for me, the my faith journey required a journey, my faith required to journey through it all. Through my unfaithfulness. There were many times there were words, that was a five. I'm gonna say even 10 your decade, where I was lukewarm. And I was wandering, and I was angry at God and I had been hurt. And I, I felt disappointed. I honestly thought I had disappointed God with my life I was, I had a very distorted understanding of God and His love and His faithfulness, and his goodness, I didn't understand His goodness. And so I spent this decade where I thought I was far from God. And while I might have been he was close to me the whole time. Now, it's interesting. As a kid, I grew up very similar to our our reviewer who wrote the question, and I grew up in an evangelical Christian background, and was very good and life giving, and my parents exposed us to some amazing, amazing churches. And as a kid, Jesus was my best friend. I never felt alone. And I felt like I always had somebody to talk to. And I guess, I also felt deeply purposed. I felt like I had purpose. To be honest, I thought I was going to be a missionary. I've always had this desire to travel to do the to see the world and I wanted to make a difference. I wanted people to know that God loves them. And then in adolescence, I started to feel different I, like many young girls, I started having conflict with my mom, I started feeling restricted and different. And we were at that time to change churches to a very, very, very ultra conservative. And I went from being able to be myself to my mom saying, you have to wear skirts below your knee, and you can't have spaghetti straps, and you're not allowed to wear to bikini, you have to always you can be a swimmer. But you can't wear what the other girls can it was just became very strict and conservative. And, and there was many good things about that church. But as that was like when I was 13. And it was at the right time that it felt very wrong. And I felt, I associated religion with fear and judgment. And then it was Rocky. And then I had some amazing mentors in high school, some incredible Christian leaders who mentored me, and sent me something that a different side of God, but it took some healing to do in that process. And from my what I want to answer our question of the, that prompted this whole episode is, how do you let some of that go. And I think that we have to, I've found in my walk of faith that to forgive broken examples, we judge the church, we judge the problems of the church, and we forget, these are humans who are sinful, and we're broken. And they're doing that. And there's a Knutsen, by the way, in any religion. And we're looking at examples and saying that if you're going to have faith and be religious, you have to be perfect. And I'm not excusing bad behavior, there are some horrible things that happen under the umbrella of the church, and the umbrella of spiritual our spirituality, and I'm not speaking to any of that. But I, if you, like me, had some experience where you felt that drove you to be distant from God or that you felt God was angry at you or that you didn't measure up and that he didn't really love you. And he was out to get you AND, and OR you it was too extreme. I just, I want to invite you to just consider saying it's possible that some of what my past was good, and some of it wasn't some of what I was exposed to. I'm grateful for, and some I'm going to forgive and let go. And this might be examples of extreme conservatives like extremism, extremely conservative, lack of any spiritual guidance, maybe you're the opposite. Maybe you have no spiritual guidance. And you were the kid that grew up saying, Can I go to church? Can we go to anything? And your parents were very, maybe very neutral and say we don't do religion in this house. But so for given the broking examples of your past I think is the first step to you revitalizing and reviving your relationship with God. And maybe it's shame based religion, maybe it was fears, fear based religion, or maybe you've never heard that Christianity is a relationship with God that we get access through through Jesus Christ instead of a religion of rules that you follow and your judgments on all these people. And then politics gets involved in solid like, guys, that's as it's crazy how mixed up it gets, and when your faith is revived. Here's the thing here's what I know is that a relationship with God is different than a religion because it's what we're wired for. We all have a god sized hole. And by the way, it doesn't have to look your relationship with God doesn't have to look like what you've seen. And I want you to look for examples of what you are wired for. My husband and I both Christ and our walk with God is a core of our marriage. And I share this because I want you to just to know that I have a relationship, an intimate relationship with God, and so does my husband. But we have vastly different personalities, if you haven't heard our story yet. And so how we walk out our relationship with God, and our habits and how we pray each now there's a lot that similar but also, that's there's, it's different. Just like any relationship, if you think about your relationship with one friend, and another, it's gonna be a little different. It's an actual relationship. And so just because you've seen somebody mirror relationship with God, before you say that's not for me, just consider to that some people do relationships differently. If God gave you your personality, God is the one who hardwired it into you and create it on purpose with purpose, I really believe there's a God given reason, your personality, your preferences are things your he designed you in your mother's womb.
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And he desires
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an authentic relationship with you, with you, being you, not you pretending to have your life together to never make didn't ever make mistakes to to you're pretending your past didn't happen. That's the beauty of grace that we get access to through Jesus Christ. So when your faith becomes your faith, it becomes really powerful. I think somebody said something to me when I was wrestling, I think was a mentor of mine in in high school, and then later post college who said, listen, Trish, like it's okay to wrestle with your faith with deciding what is it that I believe about God? What do I want? What do I know? What do I not know? What am I questioning? Because I was told that faith only becomes yours when you question when you wrestle with it, when you actually spend time and say, have I actually studied who Jesus is? Have I have actually opened the Bible or my going with the with the verses that people throw out and things that people say and what the news says about people who think certain like, go and actually do your, your own pursuit of what would face look like what does the Bible say does What does scripture say? To pursue it is to study it, to study Jesus. And that's what changed for me, I started studying him versus the rules, the things I wasn't allowed to wear. And I found that getting to know Jesus again in my 20s, after having been like, he was my BFF. Like, as a kid. I had to go wait a second. He is so different. He went against religion. He loved and prioritized women. He honored women in a culture that didn't honor women. He was a teacher that resonated with anybody think about the crowds of people that followed him around, don't you think that's fascinating? That people were so compelled by his teaching, even people who didn't believe that he was, is and was God that they were just curious, he was such a compelling personality teacher, that people followed him in the masses, the 1000s at a time. This is pre social media, pre communication, and start. And then also he's his his lack of pride and arrogance, that he would prioritize and love the little children an honor. He honored and loved the people that the society at the time overlooked. He never judged. He always loved. He's widely regarded as a counter cultural leader. And that's due to several aspects of his teaching his actions in the social context of his time that set them apart from norms of society. And so I have a quick list of a couple of their key reasons that made him countercultural figure. He challenged religious thought authorities, he challenged the authorities of his time, specifically the Pharisees and the Sadducees. You criticize their rigid interpretations of religious laws, and emphasize the more personal and compassionate relationship with God, which totally challenged the established religious hierarchy norms. He's also countercultural because he was one of the first precursors of of inclusivity. He welcomed and associated with a marginalized and Outcast individuals, such as tax collectors, children, women, prostitutes, and the sick in a society marked by strict social hierarchies. This was a super radical departure from the norm. This message of love and inclusion went against the exclusivity of his era. He also was prescribed non violence he preached non violence he advocated towards turning the other cheek in response to aggression. In a world at the time where power often rested on military might his emphasis on nonviolent resistance was revolutionary, and countercultural.
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He taught love and forgiveness.
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emphasized love compassion, forgiveness as taught core principles. His teachings. And if you look at even specifically the sermon on the mount that promoted radical ethic, a radical ethic of loving one's enemies, because that is not loving one's enemies forgiving those who wronged you, was really contradicted the prevailing culture at the time of revenge and retribution. And in terms of wealth of materialism, he spoke against the excessive pursuit of wealth not against people who were to pursue, he had a lot of wealthy people, specifically, even women who funded his ministry. He was not speaking against wealth and money. But it's the excessive pursuit, it's the prioritization, the worship of money and material possessions, its parallels, often communicated and depicted the dangers of wealth and the importance of sharing with the less fortunate, which challenged the prevalent greed and materialism of his time. Yes, here's what I want. I want to pause and just go look, people have always been people societies, there's, as Ecclesiastes say, there's, there's nothing new under the sun. So again, one of my favorite things about Jesus is the quality of women and the cultural norms of Jesus's time, marginalize them. He interacted with women openly, he challenged sexist attitudes. And he included them in his circle of followers in his circle of followers. This is a significant departure from social norms of the era. And he preached about the Kingdom of God, which is not a political earthly kingdom, but a spiritual one. It's a message that went against against the prevailing expectation of a messianic figure who would lead a political revolt versus a spiritual revolt. And then the final two things I think are amazing about Jesus is that well, first and foremost is sacrificial love, the willingness to sacrifice himself on the cross for the sake of others, as symbolized through this crucifixion, demonstrated his radical form of love and selflessness that is really countercultural. And then he focused on the inner life, which is also honestly as a coach, why I it's it's core to the wiring of who we are. He emphasized the importance of the heart of inner purity of genuine intentions over out or displays of religion and religiosity and piousness. It was just are you
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authentic? Are you
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doing something good with your life, it's an inward focus, which was really a departure from his culture, which was grounded on external rituals. Legalism, like legalism, like what we talked about, like the legalism of one of the churches I was exposed, it was what turned me from God. And it sounds like some of the experience of the of our listener who wrote in is experiencing the side effects of extremism and legalism. That's exactly what Jesus did when you study his life.
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What wasn't? He wasn't representing,
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he was a departure from legalism. He was sacrificial love, equality of women teaching love and forgiveness, non violence, inclusivity and relationship over religion. So I hope that that for those of you who've never, maybe you've never thought about, like, who is Jesus, who was he? And by the way, this is not, this is not just an understanding of him taking from a biblical context. Because to me, the Bible has authority, but you might not have that same opinion. This is information about the person of Jesus, if you take the context and historical texts of any other writing at the time, would describe him as this. This is not just the Christian perspective, this is the the worldview at the time was this guy was different. So I want that to be something that you that you explore, that would challenge you and I can just tell you this, for me when it comes to how do I have faith, when I really truly believe that I am loved that there's nothing I can do, that makes God stop loving me, there's, there's nothing that I that, that he can't heal in my life, I start having a lot more confidence in my future, and in the healing of my past, in the purpose of my presence. So I want to give you a couple habits that will strengthen your faith. If you want to deepen your faith, if you want to have more confidence in your faith, more confidence in what you believe. It's just like anything is going to take some time. And it's gonna take curiosity. And these are the habits that I have prioritized in my life the last probably 15 years that had been really transformative for me, and that's first and foremost, a quiet time and spending time being quiet and that's not the 1980s 1990s if you grew up in the church version of like, have your quiet time and it is That but also just having quiet time I journal or my quiet time I journal, I use the YouVersion Bible app and incorporate a Bible verse and a two minute story that they tell so I can apply it to my life. So quiet time, solitude and silence. Scripture actually being in the Bible, opening it. Indeed, by the way, one of the best tools and I support this ministry, I love it the YouVersion Bible app, it's available everywhere. There's millions, billions of downloads of this, it is the best resource if you're like, Well, where do I start? download that app. It has the Bible, every almost every language. It's very cool. If you're, if you're linguistic, like me, I can read the Bible and we're looking at a verse and read it in French, Spanish and English at the same time and just compare, like all the versions, and even better, they have plans, reading plans, and the reading plans sometimes don't be like, Oh, if you've never explored this, it's a pair. It's like, uh, here's one verse. Here's a little paragraph, you can read about the verse to help you. It makes sense. And here's a prayer. And then you check the box and then the next day, so sometimes the reading plans can take three minutes, sometimes they're 30 minutes that you There's choices, there's reading plans for forgiving, there's reading plans for for grieving, there's reading plans for for marriage, there's reading plans for people exploring their faith, there's everything in between, it's brilliant. There are even there's even a daily story that gives you a verse of the day, a little one minute, like, Hey, here's how you can apply it to your life of the day, a prayer of the day. And it's that simple. They also have that for kids. My kids do that every morning. It's free, by the way Free 100% Free because people donate. It's a beautiful, beautiful thing. That will I think really change your life. Now, being a church exploring and finding a church. We get my family and I go to a non denominational church we like that. Welcome madness, there's a openness and they preach truth, sermons and you can go in person or online. My favorite pastors to follow online. Our Pastor Steven Furtick. I like Christine Caine. Lisa TerKeurst. I follow transfer Mike Todd for transformation church. For me, I find that my life works best. When I'm listening to at least one sermon throughout the week I changes it refreshes my soul. It refreshes my my reminder that people need love that we are we need to be supporting one another. There's so many ways to love and serve and support and inspires my walk with the Lord. Feeding your soul daily, asking yourself what does that look like? Does it look like meditation? Does it look like a quiet time, one of my favorite things to do is to do a prayer walk, which is just a five minute break. And I just talk out loud, talk to God. And you might if you're coming from a background where you don't know. And you weren't ever taught some of these faith habits. Prayer is just a conversation. It's you talking to God that's it. You don't ever have to think it. You don't have to be thou art. It's just literally be you. Be you and have a conversation. That's a daily devotional which again, you could get through YouVersion Bible app, a faithful friends or faith community. Giving and tithing is a as a habit that will strengthen your faith, prayer, praise and gratitude. Doing that intentional gratitude is an act that will strengthen your faith, worship music that for me is huge. I like Bethel worship or like Maverick city worship. And I like elevation worship the most incredible my life will my life is massively different on the days I just put a good song on in the morning, that gives praise to God, senators, me. And then I move on with my day and it's beautiful. So those are habits that will strengthen you having a friend to talk about faith with even if you don't have answers, and you're just curious, together you talk a Bible study.
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It's an incredible
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opportunity that we have to have a relationship with God. Now really what I want to do because our reader our listener had sent in a question and asked just very directly if God willing to talk more about Christianity. Absolutely. I'm gonna give you what a summary of what God says about you because I wanted you to know what does God say about me? It helped me into my 30s I'd always known that. He calls me his work, our workmanship paid work, but I like the NLT version better, which is just a translation of the Bible. And more modern one. workmanship, his masterpiece God calls us His masterpiece. And so here's a summary of what God says about you. He says you are a beloved creation. He says you have unique and value, unique purpose and value.
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He says It
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says in Genesis that He created humanity with his own image and likeness. That idea of reflects the concept that every person has inherent worth, and is precious in God's eyes. He also says that we are a sinner in need of redemption. It acknowledges that all humans are flawed he, that we the Bible says that all humans are flawed and have sinned. However, it emphasizes God's willingness to forgive and redeem those who turned to him. He calls us his child, and the New Testament believers who believe in Jesus are often referred to as children of God. It implies a close familial relationship with God. God also says that you are someone with purpose. The Bible suggests that God has a plan and purpose for each individual's life. Check out Jeremiah 2911, Ephesians 210. That's where he calls us His masterpiece. And this purpose may include serving others growing spiritually spreading love. I also love the parable of talents. And we are each given a different measure of talent. And we're not compared our his expectations of us are not to compare our talents. But he just steward well, that what you haven't given
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us the
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purpose, the gifts, the calling God's put on your life, and do make a difference in this world, the world is broken, people are hurting. There is purpose. And the thing is beautiful about this when you truly, truly believe that you have a God given purpose. And that's not something and His purpose for you, and it's planned for you is just extraordinarily better than you could ever ask or imagine. How much confidence you have when you think about your future. It's amazing, right? And and here's the other thing, the final thing I wanted to share that God says about you is that you are somebody who can be who can be transformed. God sees the potential for growth and transformation in every person. And the Bible teaches that through faith in Christ, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, when that you receive when you believe in Christ, individuals become more Christ like and it is a transformation that continues to happen. So we grow in his love, we grow to be the hands and feet of Jesus and not to be people who beat people over the head with the Bible and say you're doing it wrong and you're a sinner. It's to be like Jesus and going back to what we what I shared about who Jesus was and how he loved people and how he interacted. And how countercultural he was. It's to me very inspiring, compelling. And again, we've so many people misunderstand. Think who Jesus is, and therefore what Christianity is. So, if this resonated with you, definitely check out the YouVersion Bible app, the Elevation Church podcast, transformation church podcast. I like Christine Caine. She's got a great podcast as well. Joyce Meyer is an incredible resource as well. She has a great podcast. And let me know this was an episode that was a little out of our norm. I love hearing feedback. I love knowing if this got you thinking if it inspired you or even just was a good resource for you to do shot do shout out to me. You can connect with me on Facebook at Trish Blackwell coaching or on Instagram. I'm Trish underscore Blackwell. But I hope that this spurs you to really believe how deeply loved you are, how greatly purposed you are, how deeply needed you are in this world that God if you are still have breath in your body, God's not done with you. And I pray that you get to see and experience Him the way I do. Because I again I for years didn't feel I felt I'm disappointing to him. You know, I believe in him but
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and by the grace of God, he
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transformed my life he transformed my perspective he and honestly for me it took a while a lot of what I talked about in my book, straighten your crown, it took rock bottom, it took a miracle took be on death's door to go well, I didn't know you were there the whole time. All right. Other episodes that you will enjoy of this podcast if this concept of faith resonates with you. Episode 348 which is a throwback to 100 something episodes ago but 348 what God really thinks about you? And how to answer the question Does God love me? That's probably the most direct faith episode have also done, what God really thinks about you and how to answer Does God love me? Then we have episode 350 How to Have confidence despite the uncertainty of life. And finally episode 358 How to not feel anxious about your future. Hope this episode blesses you. I'll see you guys next week here on the competence podcast. Hopefully, we'll see you in the q&a coaching comm get coach comm Listen to people get coached calm, spend some time with me absolutely free. See what coaching is all about. And that again is going to be happening on Wednesday, October Ooh, I'm losing the date in my mind October 25 at 12pm Eastern it will be recorded. So just come ask, come join and I'd be happy to send you the replay. Trish blackwell.com forge slash Q. And a I love you. You are loved. You are deeply purposed.
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And I'll see you super soon.
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Go out there today. Go be who God created you to be.
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Be you. Be free.
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If you loved today's episode of The confidence podcast, I invite you to check out the College of Confidence at www.collegeofconfidence.com.The COC is where your next step is. In the COC we cultivate confidence create courage and spark change. It takes everything we do here on the podcast to the next level, and our members get crazy life changing results. I'm so confident that you will find that the COC is the most encouraging place on the internet, and that it will so wildly exceed your expectations that it comes with a money back guarantee hate joining is completely risk free you owe it to your future self to take your growth to the next level by coaching with me in the COC. Join me today at www.collegeofconfidence.com.
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