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The GT Weekend! ~ Questions Week 3

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The GT Weekend!

At Gracefully Truthful, weekends aren’t for “checking out”.
Use this time to invite the Almighty’s fullness into you life in a deeper way!
Saturdays and Sundays are a chance to
reflect, rest, and re-center our lives onto Christ.
Don’t miss the opportunity to connect with other women in prayer,
rest your soul in reflective journaling,
and spend time worshiping the Creator who
longs for intimacy with each of us!

Worship Through Journaling

Worship Through Journaling

1) Prayer is mysterious, isn’t it? This speaking into air, or only in the quiet confines of our hearts, to a God we cannot see, yet Who sees every detail of us and listens to every thought, whisper, or shout. What is your perspective on prayer? Are there some prayers that work? Does God hear everything and choose not to answer some? Is God miserly, only choosing to answer those prayers He approves of as being good enough? Do you need to reach a certain level of holiness to pray? According to Scripture, God’s main purpose in inviting us to pray is we can know Him and enter into a deeper relationship with Him. If prayer is the doorway to knowing God better, do you want to walk through it? What could that intentional decision look like beginning this weekend?

2) Is God loving or angry? What is His perpetual disposition towards humanity? Towards you? Is He sometimes pleased with you and other times frustrated, annoyed, distant, or angry? Do you feel God is obligated to love you, but doesn’t really like you? Pull out your journal and set a timer for 5 minutes, giving yourself permission to freely write down every thought you have regarding these questions. Remember there is no one judging you for your honest questioning! The root question that, if answered, dramatically colors every other question we raise about God is, “what do you think of God?”. It sounds simple, doesn’t it? Try answering that question for yourself, especially in relation to how God views you. Then take your answers to Scripture and see what God says about Himself!

3) In the everyday running rhythm of our lives, we can feel important, as if life revolves around what we do or don’t do. Responsibilities are always present, decisions to be made, and consequences to live with as a result. In the grand scheme of the universe, however, our lives are so fleeting and temporal. Important people in society or in the world who enjoy popularity or power, likely don’t even know you personally exist unless you have a special connection. Your daily struggles are not known to them and neither do they care to know. Magnify their position to infinity, and you have a tiny glimpse of God. Yet, despite all logical thought, He is present with us and intimately aware of every single daily joy and struggle. How does this reality shape the landscape of your heart this weekend?

Praying Scripture back to the One who wrote it in the first place is a great way to jump start our prayer-life! Pray this passage from Psalm 34:4-7 back to the Lord and
let His Spirit speak to you through it!

I sought the Lord, and He answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant,
and their faces shall never be ashamed.
This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
and saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.

Prayer Journal
Amid all the questions we’ve studied in the past three weeks, and all the questions that still poke holes in the corners of my heart, how comforting and sweetly good it is to know this solid truth, “I sought the Lord and He answered me.” You are gracious and kind, generously leading me to know You deeper. You embrace me and my question and every single doubt as you steadfastly hold me, continuing to teach me about Your good heart. Help me to hold onto what You’ve taught me to be true, and keep my focus on those things as most important. Help me not to get so caught up in my wrestling on smaller things, that I miss the bigger things: Your love for me is boundless, Your sacrifice covers my sin, and You have designed me on purpose to live boldly for You in telling others about You!

Worship Through Community

Can we pray for you? Reach Out! We’d love to pray for and with you!
Send us an email at prayer@gracefullytruthful.com

Build community, be transparent, and encourage others:
Share how God spoke to you today!
Comment Here or in our Facebook Community Group!

Worship Through Prayer

Worship Through Music

Incorruptible Day 11 Food For Life

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Read His Words Before Ours!

1 Peter 2:1-5
1 Peter 5:1-6
1 Corinthians 3:1-3
Hebrews 5:12-13
Ezekiel 36:22-38 

Incorruptible, Day 11

My husband has the biggest sweet tooth I’ve ever known.
Actually, the second biggest.
My Papa had him beat by just a little bit.

Because of Matt’s love of all things sweet and mouth-watering, I knew our twin daughters would be exposed to delicious desserts sooner than most babies, and I chose to embrace that and laugh whenever the time came…

At six months old, their daddy gave them a taste of his strawberry ice cream. I can still remember their big eyes as that freezing goodness slid onto their tiny tongues. They continued opening and closing their mouths as trying to figure out exactly what they were experiencing, because it certainly wasn’t their mama’s milk… it was better!
Their big eyes shifted into a sparkling gleam and the corners of their mouths turned upwards into grins, as they savored the new delicacy.

Eventually, their teeth came in and as they grew and developed, so did their love for food, expanding from mama’s milk and strawberry ice cream to vegetables and protein.
With that first taste of ice cream, they knew that “grown up food” was good and they began their journey into developing their palates for solid food. 

It is natural in our physical lives for the food we eat to change and broaden as we grow.  

Just as with our physical palates we grow and broaden in flavor profile and food choices, so it with our spiritual lives. As we spiritually mature, our spiritual taste for spiritual food deepens and widens, moving from beginner’s milk to nutrient rich “meat and potatoes”.  

But sisters, we can’t do it alone or overnight.  

I never expected my daughters to transition from milk to solid food in the span of 24 hours, or without my guidance. They needed me to provide them with milk, then they needed me to cook and mash their food for them, and now, I still need to cut their food into small pieces before they can digest it.  

We cannot grow deep in our faith on our own. 
We cannot live a holy life by sheer will power and determination.  

Scripture teaches this truth, but I also know it to be true from experience. 
Trying to live like Jesus on my own strength is not only exhausting,  

It is impossible.  

We MUST have Jesus living in us and transforming us from the inside out.
We MUST surround ourselves with biblical community, walking alongside brothers and sisters who also are being transformed by God’s Spirit, who can encourage us and hold us accountable to grow deep.

A simple Google search on the importance of community reveals hundreds of results on the significance of surrounding yourself with people who are encouraging and uplifting.
That age-old quote, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with,” is hard to argue with.

To grow in maturity with Jesus, it’s simply a non-negotiable to surround ourselves with a community who reflect 1 Peter 2:1, people who have “rid themselves of all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander”.  

Yes, Jesus loves the lost and broken, the slanderers, the liars, the gossip, the adulteress, and the murderer, but He never intended them to remain in their sin.
He came to free us!
He offers depth and maturity and full redemption!

Jesus spent plenty of time with people who weren’t walking in God’s redeemed grace.
These were who He came for!
But these were not the people He made His community.  

Redeemed people, those who have intentionally crossed the line of faith and said yes to Jesus, were designed to grow.
We were given a new heart and the Spirit of the Living God inside us,
we were made for more! (Ezekiel 36:26-27)

The Lord designed our palates to move beyond mushed up carrots and peas,
but to get there, we must consistently spend time in His Word.

Just as any relationship, growth means investment.
We invest by joining community groups and small groups at church, studying the Bible, consistently worshipping at church, and in our own precious time with our Father through Scripture and prayer.  

When we invest like this, we’re moving beyond milk, growing our appetite for maturity in Christ. We’re starting to get the really good stuff! 

Sisters… if you’re wondering,
“There has to be more? This isn’t everything I thought it would be?”
THERE IS!
There is so much more.

If you feel your walk with the Lord has plateaued, or maybe even slowly dwindled,  then you’re still just drinking milk.

Are you craving His Word like sweet strawberry ice cream?
Taste and see that the Lord is good, His food is rich for life! 

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Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Incorruptible Week Three! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

Looking for other journeys from this theme?
Here’s a link to all past studies in Incorruptible!