Deepening Your Relationship with God: Practical Tips and Personal Stories

How can you truly deepen your relationship with God beyond just attending church? This episode offers heartfelt insights and practical tips on cultivating a richer spiritual life. We challenge common misconceptions about Christianity, emphasizing the importance of active engagement through prayer, Bible study, and theological teachings. Personal stories highlight the Bible's depth, the value of theologians' insights, and the practical difficulties of finding time for spiritual growth in various life stages. Intentionality and strategic engagement with scripture are key themes in our discussion.

Motherhood brings unique challenges and opportunities for spiritual growth. We share personal experiences of how becoming a mother reshapes spiritual practices, stressing the importance of grace during these transitions. Practical strategies for integrating faith into daily routines, such as morning quiet times, worship music, and listening to sermons, are shared. The positive impact of these practices on spiritual life is highlighted, offering encouragement and inspiration to listeners navigating similar seasons of life.

Grounding faith-based teachings in scripture is crucial, as is the frustration with sermons that lack biblical references. We discuss the necessity of scripture as a guiding light and the importance of feeding the mind with spiritually enriching content. Personal testimonies of faith and resilience, including experiences of homelessness and divine guidance, underscore the transformative power of scripture and prayer. We also emphasize the value of sharing spiritual growth tools with others and the responsibility of church leaders to direct people to the Bible. This episode aims to inspire you to deepen your relationship with God and support those on their spiritual journey.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Deepening Relationship With God
• 6:24 Finding God in Motherhood and Busyness
• 9:54 Strengthening Faith Through God's Word
• 21:25 Growing Faith Through Scripture and Service
• 28:28 Enhancing Faith Through Prayer
• 34:43 Sharing Tools for Spiritual Growth

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

So oftentimes we get asked the question what is it like to get closer to God? Someone asked me the other day how do you know your relationship with God is growing?

Speaker 2: 0:12

That's a good question. What?

Speaker 1: 0:13

does it look like to walk with God? You know, or others may even ask questions like how do you even start building that relationship?

Speaker 2: 0:20

Right.

Speaker 1: 0:21

You know, I think, and a lot of times people think especially for us as believers of Christ. We just get saved and we think, okay, we're good. And so many Christians are walking around this world passively versus being active Christians.

Speaker 2: 0:36

So true.

Speaker 1: 0:36

Not taking up your space, what we were really called to do and not understanding that God is not just this big, huge, scary guy that sits on a throne and just that just judges us.

Speaker 2: 0:48

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 0:48

He's a father that cares for us and actually wants to have a relationship with us, and I think so many people get saved and they misunderstand that. And so we know people that they'll come to church. They get saved, they they receive this invitation from God right to walk with him and they're sitting around waiting for God to do everything else and it's like, nah, that's not how it works. The Bible says if you draw near to him, he would draw near to you, right? So I want to talk about that today.

Speaker 2: 1:19

Yeah, let's talk about it.

Speaker 1: 1:21

We'll talk about today.

Speaker 2: 1:21

All right, let's dig.

Speaker 1: 1:22

Yeah, let's dig what's up. First of all, hi, everybody that's listening in. This is a real, genuine conversation between us. Welcome to let's Dig, the podcast we like to dig. As you guys know, here in this podcast it's about life gets better when relationships get better Relationships with God, relationships with others and relationship with yourself. I was talking to someone the other day saying how we are standing here, sitting here, and our situation in our life right now just because of the relationships we were connected with. So true, I don't understand when people be like I don't need nobody in this life, I'm like what? Like you literally must have a horrible life If it's just you by yourself. Relationships is everything, man, everything, and I think, above all the relationships, the most important one is the one with God.

Speaker 2: 2:07

Absolutely Right. I was having a conversation with a client in the salon a few weeks ago and she's gone to raised in a mega church around here in California her whole life.

Speaker 1: 2:18

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 2:19

And she was just expressing to me like there just has to be more. And I was telling her like, oh, there is, there is more. And she was like I just feel, like I want to. Just, I don't know why she was like I just want to read the whole bible. All the way through. I was like, do it, like I was literally encouraging her for all the things that she was feeling, and I was just encouraging her of like there is more, dig deeper, read the whole Bible. Like I was encouraging her to follow, um, some women that are, um, you call them apologetics, like when they study the word of God, like they're theologians, they're theologians, yeah.

Speaker 2: 2:58

So I was encouraging her because I like to listen to women, who women and men? But that's the kind of sermons like I like to listen to women and men, but that's the kind of sermons I like to listen to throughout the week just to feed my spirit. I don't have the time to sit down and read the Bible as much as I feel like a Christian should, or I would want to, so I try to be strategic and I'll listen to these women that will literally break down the biblical history. I learned something the other day about the shepherd and that how it was talking about Psalms 23 and how the Lord is my shepherd. But they were talking about shepherds in the Bible. There would be like a stone wall and there would be a gap, and that the shepherd actually lays in the gap to keep all of the thieves and the wolves outside of the sheep.

Speaker 2: 3:50

But they were saying that the shepherd is actually the door that keeps the sheep safe. And then in the Bible, jesus says he is the way, the truth and the life. Like he is that way, like it was so cool. So those are kinds of things that I love, and so I was encouraging that girl. I'm like listen to this person. Listen to this person, listen to this person because it's so much richer.

Speaker 2: 4:13

There's so much depth in the Bible but a lot of times we don't know how to get that depth out of it.

Speaker 1: 4:17

I kind of want to rewind real quick. You said a comment.

Speaker 2: 4:20

What did I?

Speaker 1: 4:20

say I think we need to talk about it. You said and quote I don't really have the time to read the Bible.

Speaker 2: 4:26

No, no, no. I said as much as I think I should or want to.

Speaker 1: 4:30

But what I'm saying is like I'm not poking, I'm saying like you don't just say a comment like that to people who just got saved, people that are just listening. They're like, oh, dan Lee don't have time, so I like elaborate the season you're in. Like like like that's a heavy comment to say I just don't have time to read the Bible. Like I should have like like wait, let's, let's break that down, cause what happens is people get saved, they come to know God and they start fellowshipping with God's people. And sometimes unintentionally, god's people drop comments like that without the intention of trying to lead someone astray or without elaborating on the season you are and your walk with God and how long you've been walking with him and how that looks and how you feed on the word.

Speaker 2: 5:10

So I'm saying let's talk about that. And, to be fair, I think a lot of baby Christians, new Christians, when they do get saved, they have this preconceived thing that they think that being a Christian is just going to church on Sunday and it's so much more than that. But for me, in my season that I'm in, I'm a mom of young kids, I'm in a new self-employed season, I'm working my booty off lately Like a lot, a lot of working hours a lot of family life.

Speaker 1: 5:39

I feel like you said booty like it would be better than butt, and I feel like butt, shit would have been better. I don't know, I'm working my booty off, I'm working my butt off, I'm like whatever, I don't know.

Speaker 2: 5:47

Anyways, so, guys, man, he's such a poker like we're two for two y'all. We're five minutes in this discussion and he's like wait, let's rewind, you can't drop a statement like that, and then you don't like when I say booty or butt, I'm working my rear end off Rear end. Your butthole Ew. No, you can't say that, oh my gosh.

Speaker 1: 6:12

Anyways, I can't say butthole you can't no All right, go ahead.

Speaker 2: 6:19

Anyways, we're literally trying to talk about our relationship with God. Okay, I guess he made them, so it's fine, Anyways. So I'll just say I have been walking with the Lord. I have been a Christian since I was five years old.

Speaker 1: 6:31

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 6:32

And so I know that the relationship with God for me goes and flows in seasons, and especially once you become a motherhood. Like, motherhood changes your walk with the Lord in so many ways, and so you have to just give yourself grace to know, like, okay, this is what season I'm in. I remember the first time I read let me say this too your motherhood is not an excuse for your relationship with God. The first year that I, or the first time that I ever read the Bible all the way through, was when my son was like 10 months to two years. That was when I read the Bible all the way through. And you know that's because I had to hold him for every single nap and I felt convicted that I would sit there and scroll my phone or watch TV shows for two and a half hours every time I held him. And so I challenged myself of, like you know what I'm going to make better use of this time, sitting in this rocking chair holding him, I'm going to read my Bible that year. So just knowing that motherhood changes and flows and you have to find how you can connect with God in that season. So newborn season, it looks different You're barely sleeping, you're barely eating when they get a little bit bigger changes.

Speaker 2: 7:51

So in this season right now, super busy with school, getting the kids off the door by seven, 30, um, and then getting myself ready and getting to work. But I've really loved in the past few weeks because school just started, like three weeks ago. After I get the kids ready, you're at the gym, I get the kids ready for school and I send them out the door to you to do drop-off and I will go sit in the chair for, honestly, just 10, 15 minutes in silence and it's like, oh, that was crazy. And now I can just spend 10, 15 minutes dedicated with God to read my Bible, pray, read the like, and just have a few moments with God. And then there's things I do intentionally all throughout the week, all throughout the day.

Speaker 2: 8:39

Um, I don't really listen to secular music throughout the day, throughout the week, because I know that I'm a person I always need sound in the background. Either it's a TV show, it's music, it's something, and so I have to be very intentional in a busy season like this to not just put noise on. So I'm putting on those sermons that I talked about earlier of women who are theologians, like I'm putting that on to make that noise for me and to feed my spirit. I'm putting on worship music so that it reminds me like, hey, you're still believing for this, hey, you're still praying about this situation, hey, you're still like God is your source. You know those type of things like just making sure that I'm still like that. I mean the church calls it exercising your spirit. Man Right, like it just is a phrase to say that you are staying connected with God all throughout your day and that, even though you're working and you're doing so much stuff, you are walking with the Lord every step, all day long.

Speaker 1: 9:42

Yeah, do you feel like there's fruit from all these things that you kind of just stated Like? You feel like you see fruit like in your life?

Speaker 2: 9:49

Yeah, I really do. I mean honestly, like just sharing those things of like. I was sharing with you before we got on this conversation, that I was listening to a sermon last week and that person lady was that preacher was going in. She was preaching a whole bunch of stuff and she never read a scripture and I was like I don't know what she's talking about in the Bible. Like she had a whole thing but there was no scripture based to it and I turned it off because I was like I don't want to hear someone just hollering about fluff.

Speaker 2: 10:28

Like I want scripture, I want you to teach me, I want you to yeah. So yeah, I do feel like I'm making sure that I'm not just listening to secular music and that it is constantly Christian music, different genres, but it is constantly Christian music, different genres, but it is constantly Jesus focused music, so that I am mindful as I'm driving I drove to LA three times this past week like has a lot of driving and a lot of time in the car and so just being intentional of what I'm putting in me to stay focused.

Speaker 1: 10:58

Yeah, at the end of the day, what you put in is what comes out. Right, what you eat is what comes out. You know, jesus said this too. He said man shall not eat by bread alone, but by every single word that comes out of the mouth of.

Speaker 2: 11:12

God Isn't the word, man shall not live.

Speaker 1: 11:14

Oh yeah, my bad man shall not eat. I was like I don't think that's a different. I was like maybe it't think that's a different.

Speaker 2: 11:21

I'm just testing you. I was like Maybe it's a different version.

Speaker 1: 11:23

People are like Wait what? Yes, I know my Bible y'all. I'm just hungry too.

Speaker 2: 11:26

I know, that's why you said bread, so you're like eat.

Speaker 1: 11:29

We always record Right before we have lunch.

Speaker 2: 11:31

We do so.

Speaker 1: 11:32

Jesus said this While he was being tempted For 40 days and 40 nights. Right when Jesus Jesus and said turn these stones into bread, All right.

Speaker 1: 11:40

For those of you that are like yeah, for those of you that are like oh man, pierre, don't know the Bible. Relax, shut your mouth. All right, your dirty little mouth. All right, my hungry little mouth. So Jesus said that. He said, like man shall not live by bread alone, but by every single word that comes out of the mouth of God. Right, the Bible says that his word, this Bible, right here, like it's a light to our path. David says that his word, this Bible, right here, like it's a light to our path. David said that in Psalms 119 or something like that. He said God's word is a light to our path and like for us.

Speaker 1: 12:10

I know, for me, my journey with God has been really cool. I've been walking with him ever since I was a boy. I gave my life to him when I was about nine or 10, when I was about maybe 15 is when I rededicated myself like to him. I was like God, like I want to go all out for you, 15, 16. And I started going out for him and one of my favorite scriptures since then has been um matter of fact, I'm gonna read it right now has been Proverbs, chapter three, verses five and six. It is my all time favorite scripture If you've been around me. If you've ever sat in any of my sermons, this scripture always comes out. It's been the roadmap to my life ever since I was a young boy 15, 16,.

Speaker 1: 12:51

I discovered the scripture and it's been trust in the Lord with all your heart. Do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all that you do and he will show you which path to take. Someone's like okay. What translation is that? This is the New Living Translation. There's other translations, like NIV. You know New King James, where it says you know, seek the Lord with all your heart. Right. Lean not on your own understanding, right? That one? If you grew up in church, you know that version right there. And the reason why I say that, why if you grew up in church? Because some people who grew up in church and said, oh, I thought my pastor always said that no.

Speaker 2: 13:34

It's Bible you fool.

Speaker 1: 13:35

read your Bible why?

Speaker 2: 13:37

you call them a fool.

Speaker 1: 13:39

Well, because you know what I am, I'm frustrated at us, as at us as like church leaders, right, where we failed in some seasons to actually point people to scripture, true, and and so we'll say stuff out the Bible, right, and people were gurgitated. That's why I said earlier, you said a comment and I was like elaborate on that, because people who are new to the faith look, we have kids right now so people who are new to the faith, people who are new to this life, when they hear something right, it's the first time it was mentioned to them, so they think who they heard it from is where it came from, and so I think we need to do a better job at pointing people. So when people say like, oh, my pastor always says, greater is he than in me, that he that's in the world, no, the Bible says that. You know, my dad used to always say I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. Bruh Philippians, read your Bible, you know. So you know, you know it's like oh, my mommy's always tell me lean, not on your own understanding, baby. I'm like no, that's Proverbs, chapter three. Get in your word, read your Bible. What I'm saying is shame on those who never quote or cite and say this is where that comes from.

Speaker 1: 14:50

So for me, ever since I was a teenager, I've always known like God's word is a light to our path. The Bible says that in Psalms right. So it's not like my uncle used to always tell me that, right, god's word is a light to a path. So anytime I was going down a journey, going down some type of path, even influenced by friends, right, I would tap into the word, I would start reading the Bible. And sometimes I'd read the Bible and it wouldn't make sense to me.

Speaker 1: 15:16

But it's very simple when you have a relationship with God and God sends you the Holy Spirit living inside you, you can talk to the Holy Spirit and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal certain things to you. So I just start reading and then I remember saying seek his will, trust in the Lord with all your heart, all your mind. Okay, don't depend on your own understanding. And I would stop and chew on that. Don't depend on your own understanding in all your ways, in everything that you do. And then what I would do is go through other translations too. Especially, I had two, three different Bibles. Now, it's easy because y'all we got the Bible app.

Speaker 1: 15:55

So there's times, if I'm reading something, if it doesn't make sense to me, I'll go into the Bible app and I'm like man, I need another translation.

Speaker 2: 16:02

Switch switch switch.

Speaker 1: 16:03

And I'm like, oh. And then it says don't depend on your own understanding, Basically saying, the way you understand it, the way you see it, don't depend on that. But it says, in all your ways, acknowledge him. And I'm like acknowledge this. So then I'll Google it. Right, you know, I'll look up. Okay, what does acknowledge mean, Right? So then I'm like, okay, so run it by this person before I make a decision. Acknowledge God before I make a decision.

Speaker 1: 16:34

And the Bible says and he will, direct your path and I got revelation that when I was 15, 16, and I never looked back ever since and I've been practicing that every single year and as I get older, like they'll get stronger. Yeah, right, I'll get stronger. Right, because it's a muscle, right, you said earlier, we exercise it, so then I'd learn how to take in more, then I know how to read more yeah right and so for me that's been my, my style of growing my faith.

Speaker 1: 16:58

It didn't happen like overnight. I know people who got saved and overnight their mind they just learned. For me it was a gradual thing, it was through time, it was just walk with him. I didn't run with God, I was just walking with him.

Speaker 1: 17:10

And I'll be honest, man, you know, I've gone through seasons where I'm like man, god, I'm tired, lord, I've gone through seasons where I'm like I don't hear you, god, I don't feel you. But I know you're here because we know this in first Corinthians, first Corinthians or second Corinthians I can't remember where it's at. And I'm going to tell you I don't remember where it's at, but it's in the Bible where it says we live by faith and not by sight, or we walk by faith and not by sight. Basically saying is, just because right now I don't see God's hand, just because right now I don't see God's hand, just because right now I don't feel God's favor, I believe in my heart and I know that he's there, and that's how I grow my faith and that's how I walk with the Lord. And through seasons, that faith in God, babe, has really walked me through some tough seasons drought, droughts. Some valleys We've gone through some yo we've gone through some hella droughts.

Speaker 2: 18:07

Droughts, the desert.

Speaker 1: 18:08

Desert. I'm like God, where are you? Yeah, but then what I would do is I would open up God's word. Listen, you want to hear God's? You want to hear God's voice? Read your Bible Right. This is his voice. It's his word. Yeah, it's what people say. I can't hear God. Read your Bible. It is the number one source to hear from God, because when I go through darkest situations, then I'll open up Psalms 23 and it says whoa, even in the darkest valleys, you're with me, right?

Speaker 2: 18:36

And it will be that way of like, you don't know what to read, you don't know what you need to hear from God. You just need something and you will open up. Sometimes maybe you'll ask God, like, where should I read? And you may hear something say Matthew, psalms, whatever, like sometimes that happens, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes you just randomly open your Bible but you'll be reading a scripture and something will jump off the page. It will say something different to you. Sometimes it's a scripture you've heard your whole entire life and then all of a sudden it will like a light bulb will go off and you're like, oh my goodness, I didn't realize. That's what it meant or that's what it was saying.

Speaker 1: 19:15

Yeah, you know what's crazy. So yesterday guys, danny Lee is driving from LA, her and Brooklyn, they went to go do this video shoot thing whatever you guys will hear about it soon and Danny Lee shoots me a text and say have you eaten yet? I'm hungry, and she's like she's driving home. She's like she's like Taco Bell or Chick-fil-A.

Speaker 2: 19:34

I don't really know how you're going to pull this one in to this conversation.

Speaker 1: 19:38

You're going to love this analogy. So conversation You're going to love this analogy. So Dan Lee says Taco Bell or Chick-fil-A, and I didn't see it. So she calls me. She's like babe, did you see my text? I said, oh, I saw your text. I'm cool. Either way, I'm hungry too. And she's like I'm just hungry, so I'll eat anything. And what happens is there's times when you're so hungry and you're so desperate you don't have a preference on what I want to eat, on, I just know.

Speaker 2: 20:05

I'm hungry right now.

Speaker 1: 20:12

Yeah, that's so true. You open up the Bible and you're like man I don't know what I'm looking for. I don't know what I'm looking for. What I'm telling you is this is God's word. It's bread, it's food. Whichever one you, wherever you open it up, it's going to feed you some way somehow. Now you might read it and say whoa, this said that God's raft came down on them and, okay, maybe it's not for you, but it's maybe for you to understand the love of God.

Speaker 1: 20:38

Maybe it's for you to understand that God truly cares for people who walk in righteousness. So maybe it's not God saying that I'm sending a wrath after you, but it's you to understand that God's like man, he cares about this, every detail. But it's saying that, even if you don't know what you want to eat, even if you don't know where to turn into the Bible, you want to get closer to God. You want to walk with him. Just open up his word and just start eating.

Speaker 2: 21:00

It reminds me of the time, the season when we were in St Louis and we didn't have a place to live. We were looking for somewhere new to rent. I was everywhere looking.

Speaker 1: 21:13

Well, we had a place to live. We was just trying to find a new place to live. We had to try to find a new place to live and every door was closed.

Speaker 2: 21:20

So, long story short, we move into someone's basement for a temporary moment, whatever. It was rough y'all. I felt like the Lord did not answer prayers. I felt like he abandoned us, forgot about us. We're a family of three and we are technically homeless. We were staying in someone's basement and in the middle of the night our son, jordan, was only like one and a half. He woke up crying for you, which would never happen. That boy would never cry for me because I don't respond, I'm not responsive.

Speaker 2: 21:49

They do not call for their dad in the middle of the night?

Speaker 1: 21:52

They'll crawl over me just to get to you, because they know I'm like.

Speaker 2: 21:56

I'm sleeping right now. Jordan told me this morning. He said just ignore her mom, because Brooklyn's been waking me up every night. And my kids said just ignore her, like dad does.

Speaker 1: 22:06

I said I can't, that's so mean I know how to ignore my kids, that's wild, anyway.

Speaker 2: 22:10

So back to the story. We're in this basement, one and a half year old Jordan wakes up, calls for daddy Pierre gets up. You get up and while you're up, you start to read your Bible on your Bible app. And the Bible app was frozen and it wouldn't go anywhere. And finally, and you got frustrated about it you finally just started to read and it was in Exodus and we were literally in the season of praying like God, why are you not opening any doors? Why are you not giving us a place? You could have given us a place. This would have been easy for you. We've done our part, like why are you not opening the doors? And the scripture you read was and God told Moses to go back to his homeland. And I remember when I woke up that morning, you looked at me and you were like the crazy thing happened, my phone was stuck. And you said the crazy thing happened. My phone was stuck.

Speaker 2: 23:01

And you said I think we're supposed to go back to Florida. And two weeks later that is exactly where God put us back in Florida. So things like that are like ways that God can use his scripture to give you clarity in the moment, like maybe you didn't know that you know Moses's homeland was Egypt. But there are ways that God can use the scripture to make things clear to you of like hey, I'm trying to tell you something. We were not getting that message. All the doors were closing for us, nothing was telling us. Oh, I think we're supposed to go back to Florida. And finally God used that whole situation and that whole experience in the middle of the night to say I'm telling you, go back to your hometown go back to Florida and that was.

Speaker 2: 23:45

And then we even called our pastors in that season and they were like that's crazy. We were just talking about that, yep, y'all moving back Like it was wild, so crazy. But that is just one of the ways, like when you're talking about how scripture can tell you and lead you and guide you, and it is a light to our path and I encourage people all the time that that when the when the Bible says his word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path, it obviously like is saying that sometimes it is dark and that you don't know where you're going.

Speaker 2: 24:18

but it is literally a step-by-step process and you are just getting a word from the Bible to say, like what's the next step? I don't know what five steps from now look like, but can you just tell me what's my next step? And that Bible is the lamp to your feet. It is showing you a little step at a time.

Speaker 1: 24:38

Yeah, that's crazy man. I remember those times. I remember those times and that's it's truth. Man, like you want to get close to God? Like, read your Bible. It's his word, that's how you will hear from him. The Bible also says that. You know, in James, book of James, like he says, if you draw closer to him, he'll draw closer to you. Right, you know, I said that earlier and that's really cool because that lets me know that this is we serve an active God.

Speaker 1: 25:01

Not just a God that just sits up on a big throne and said, no, I ain't going down to y'all. No, he's already proved to us that he's come down to us, like in the promise that he's given to us, amen. Like somebody might be listening to this right now. We're like, well, you know, you might be so big into numbers and analytics. You're like, well, christianity is not even the oldest religion. Christianity has just only been around for this amount of years. There's been ancient stuff like that.

Speaker 1: 25:24

But I'm here to tell you and testify that I have seen God's faithfulness, I have seen his hand and Christianity, which I love, it, is the number one true religion that connects us to God and fulfills his promise. It's the only one. All the other religions are just. They're just, you know, they're just rituals, right, they're just rich. Oh good peace. You know stuff like this, good thoughts, but there's no promise for life after this life. It's Christianity. We're the only faith that is connected to the promise of God. Right, it's through Jesus. God came down and walked with us, had relationship, left his throne, humbled himself, walked with us right, died for us, right. And so I say that to say and he sent the Holy Spirit to us and we can feel it. How do we feel it? Do we see God's hands? We see favor. Even when we get positive thoughts and positive feelings and emotion, things like that, there's a lot of times I'm like I know this ain't me by nature. This is God Feelings and I know how God moves right. So I do know that tapping into his word allows us to grow closer to God.

Speaker 1: 26:37

Another way to grow closer to God is connect with his people, connect with the ones that he's called to walk in righteousness. Right. It's the classic phrase of like you know who you hang around. Like who you hang around is who you become. That is so true, man, it's so true. And another one I would say too like you know, for people that want to grow their faith like serve God. People that want to grow their faith like serve God. Proverbs 37 talks about how, like take delight in serving the Lord and he would give you the desires of your heart. So you'll see, the things inside your heart start to change. The moment you let go of all the things you want to do and you start asking God, god, what do you want me to do? Even your heart starts changing. And that's happened to us where we stopped fighting him.

Speaker 1: 27:20

We stopped fighting God. I'm like God, I'm not going to fight you anymore. What do you want me to do? And that allows our faith to grow? Man, I'll tell you, I had breakfast with someone the other day and the guy asked me he was like how big is your faith? That's what he asked me. That's crazy. He said man, that's a. And I told him bro, that's a really cool question, yeah, how big is your faith? He's like what do you believe? How far do you? How big do you believe? And I said man, I've seen God do some crazy things. I've seen God move. I've seen God heal. I said I've experienced God heal. I've been set free from certain things.

Speaker 1: 27:55

When I was obsessed with pornography, I remember putting that in God's hand and instantly I remember when it left, the desire left. Man, I remember having a pain, a sharp pain in my foot, and I remember when God instantly healed it and I actually don't remember when it went away. It was just three, four days later. It was like oh snap, this pain is gone. Like, like, you know what I mean. So I'm like I believe God and my faith has been growing, growing. So every time we see God move, it's another stepping stone of like, wow, my faith just grew Absolutely.

Speaker 2: 28:28

Yeah, another thing I wanted to share too, especially with the ladies um, these books have been really cool. They're from the Daily Grace Company and they're like a little magazine type thing but they're so pretty and you know, us girls we love pretty things but they are literally focused on Bible studies and I have really, really enjoyed it. It's what I've actually been using in those 10 minutes, like after the kids go out the door, I sit down with this and this one specifically is called mercy in the storm. It's on the study of the book of Jonah and it goes into, it has like maps and it has a lot of history of the area of where Jonah was, of where Nineveh was. It's just really cool and they're really affordable. I've actually even given away some of these as gifts, which they're so cool. So I do have a code and so we'll put it in the description below.

Speaker 2: 29:26

But they have so many things like girls, if you love the journals and the markers and the tabs and all those things, I love those things, but I don't use them, so I don't buy them. But I have really enjoyed this book, just because sometimes it's like what we talked about it when you sit down at your Bible. You don't really know what to read and I've just enjoyed, like going through this of I don't have to think about. Oh well, I'm sitting here, I only have 10 minutes and I don't know what to do. Nope, I just sit down, read a few pages. It asks you like, it gives you a blurb of things to read and then it gives you a few questions to reflect on what you read. And I'm a fast reader.

Speaker 1: 30:06

So yeah, you are.

Speaker 2: 30:07

I'm a really fast reader. I was reading at three, but because of that I do not comprehend. I don't take in everything that I read. So I can sit down and read the Bible for five minutes. I've gone through four chapters. I get up and I go about my day, but I didn't intake anything. So these are really helpful for me because they actually cause me to sit down, read a blurb, read a passage of scripture, but then reflect on it. It'll ask me the questions of hey, what were some words in that passage that were repeated? That is trying to tell you something? Or hey, what do you think that this situation with Jonah reflects on your life? Like it's been really, really cool. So, ladies, I mean it's for anyone, but you know, girls, we love our pretty books and stuff like that. So, ladies, go check it out. It is the Daily Grace Company and they're a really cool company.

Speaker 1: 30:58

So I just heard your last comment just made.

Speaker 2: 31:00

Just make make sure this is not for women it's not just for women that's why I said I said it's not just for ladies yeah but we like these pretty things, like we get into the like we just love, like the journals and the highlighters and all the stationary things I know guys that are like that okay, so it is for men and women and they have a bunch of books on different topics so you can do some about just the women in the Bible. I have another few that are about hymns, talking about the history of the hymns and where those songs come from. There's just a ton of topics.

Speaker 1: 31:32

So check it out Y'all the links in the description.

Speaker 1: 31:35

I think, lastly, the very biggest thought that I want to share, how to grow your faith, how to grow your relationship with God, above everything we just said, learn how to talk to him through prayer, learn how to pray. I think so many people again I said it earlier become passive Christians where they just let things just happen to them. But God has given us authority and so many Christians don't even understand the power that we have in Christ and through Christ. And I think, above everything, we're just saying like, more importantly, pray. I think we should do another conversation. We'll cut this. Like you guys know, we like to have our conversations where they're 25, 30 minutes, stuff like that, but I want to do one where it's like how to pray, how to talk to God.

Speaker 1: 32:23

I think a lot of times we have unanswered prayers because people don't understand how to access, how to praise him right, how to worship him, how to thank him, how to repent, how to ask for forgiveness right, how to approach the Lord, you know, in prayers, and so how to matter of fact, how to collaborate and put our hearts or not collaborate, calibrate, I'm like, collaborate with the Lord, no, how to calibrate our mind and sync ourselves with the word of God, because sometimes we're praying dead praise. Because, like that, prayer don't make sense, that's not your will. Jesus said to pray his will and not your will, and so you're praying you come to God with everything you want to do, and God's like.

Speaker 1: 33:04

I need you to lock in and recalibrate your mind and sync up with my word, and then come find me.

Speaker 2: 33:09

That's right, but.

Speaker 1: 33:11

I do think there's so much that that that that can be discussed in this conversation on how to pray and how to talk to God. It's one of the number one ways to grow your relationship with him. You and I right. Our relationship gets it, gets tighter, gets better, gets stronger because we have conversations. We stop and we talk At the end of the day we talk. At the top of the day we talk it's mainly you doing all the talking, but at the end of the day I'm ready to talk, right, we sit here on this couch and I'm ready to go, and now you're falling asleep. What I'm saying is that our relationship got closer. When we make time throughout the day to talk, we check in. So for me, I have my routine, you have your routine. I think we should talk about that. I'm like what does that look like? Praying, talking with God, not to him, but with him?

Speaker 2: 33:57

Yeah, that's good, yeah.

Speaker 1: 33:59

Lastly, you guys see the shirt I'm rocking. I hope you guys already know. If you guys are listening on Apple Spotify, go over to YouTube, take a look at it. But you guys already know this is the New Life Collection t-shirt. We got a hat too as well. It's 2 Corinthians 5, verse 17. You see, it says old and new basically means anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The old life is gone and the new life has begun. This is our story. This is our testimony. We started this shirt several months ago because we felt very passionate about creating something that people who believe in God can wear and use it as a opportunity to testify and tell your story with non-believers. So you guys already know the links are available on YouTube. It's available on the link tree. It's available. Shopify, instagram, tiktok. Hit us up, man.

Speaker 2: 34:43

Yeah, and if y'all have been loving these conversations, you know what we need you to do. We need you to comment, like and subscribe. Send it to someone who is maybe in the beginning of their journey of walking in Christianity and walking with God, and they would be, you know, they would benefit from hearing this conversation. Send it to someone. Sometimes it's easier to be like I don't really know what to say, but I do know. This couple was talking about this or I was just listening to this podcast. This is such an easy tool to share with others and so, um, we love y'all and we thank y'all for digging with us. We let's continue to dig. Our relationships get better.

Speaker 1: 35:21

Wait, life gets better when our relationships do I always say it?

Speaker 2: 35:26

you always say it, it's always you. You guys already know me. I tried so hard.

Speaker 1: 35:30

Life gets so much better when our relationships do alright, we love y'all.

Speaker 2: 35:34

Keep digging.