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The GT Weekend! ~ Follow Week 1

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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) Job didn’t know God as deeply or as intimately before he suffered as he did after. Truly following the Lord more closely cannot be pulled out of thin air like shaking a magic 8 ball when you need an answer. Big decision? Time to ask the Lord and get your roadmap, right? This isn’t what Scripture teaches. Real, genuine following, like wisdom, begins by fearing the Lord (Proverbs 9:10) and is continued as an overflow of deepening your relationship over time and struggle. The more difficulties we walk through while leaning into God, the more we come to know and trust the good heart of our Savior. It’s in the toughest times we can learn most steadfastly to listen for His voice and trust His heart. Then, when other life decisions come, we have already learned what it looks like to keep following Him. What are some things you know about God? Go ahead and list them out on paper or your phone. Now make another list of characteristics about God you have experienced as a result of struggle. Spend time in prayer, asking the Lord to keep teaching you to hear His voice leading you and showing you who He is.

2) As human beings, we like to think we have all the control over ourselves. We own our own paths in life and have total control, at least that’s what we like to think. How quickly we forget the Lord God is sovereign over all things. He leads our paths, He pursues our hearts. Often times, it’s the Lord who surprises us with His embrace as He draws us near, amazing us by His tenderness in calling us to follow Him. God called both Abram and Andrew when they least expected it, but His invitation radically changed their lives. Neither man needed to spend long amounts of time trying to decide if they should follow where God was leading, He simply guided them as their hearts chose to respond. Sometimes, we like to make our decisions more difficult than we should, when we are truly just being called to follow and trust His heart as He leads us best. Consider where you’re over-complicating what it is to follow Jesus in your everyday life. What would it look like to lean back and trust His lead instead of your over-complication? Why not simply tell Him about it? Lay it all out before Him, talking out loud of your worries and your desire to trust Him over you; let Him calm your heart!

3) Sarah begins her Journey Study yesterday by asking a pertinent question, “Who but God would invite an ex- murderer to lead an entire nation?” Surely, we would not. Incredulously, God would, because He doesn’t judge our ability to follow Him based on our past performance (or failure). He knows that when we surrender to His power and ability to work through our brokenness, He will do things in us that are far beyond our imaginings. In what ways have you discounted yourself from opportunity because you are peering at it from the vantage point of your lack? Perhaps you’ve even found yourself comparing what you are not to what someone else is. There exists no such measure of comparison with the Lord! He calls us each to follow Him in total surrender of ourselves so He can use our lives for eternal work. Grab a sharpie for your skin, a bright notecard for your mirror, or text a friend to remind you frequently this upcoming week to surrender to His work in you, remembering it is both important and eternal!

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 Proverbs 3:7-8 back to the Lord and
let His Spirit speak to you through it!

Don’t be wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
This will be healing for your body
and strengthening for your bones

Prayer Journal
Father God, following is hard. It means a constant dying to myself, my plans, and my ability to see and trust myself. While I say with my words that I want to follow You, and I do mean it, Abba, my actions betray my spoken word at times. In honesty, following You feels dark and confusing at many points. I find it easy to question whether I’m actually, truly following You because it can feel like I’m stumbling down a ravine at midnight. I fear being crushed like Job, waiting for what feels like an eternity as Abraham did, or being continually mocked and criticized like Moses. Remind me over and over that Your definition of success is only summed up in two words, “faithful obedience”. Next time I’m tempted to define my “win” by the standards of the world, a big platform, or plenty of people following me, break through my pride and remind me it’s about my faithful obedience to Your call to do whatever is next. Thank You for loving me enough to provide a plan and a whisper to just follow 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

The GT Weekend! ~ Beloved Week 3

Leave a Comment

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) When you think of God and sexual intimacy, what are your first responses? Pulling away? Shame? Closeness and delight? Gratitude? How we respond to the idea of God and sex reveals what we believe about our Creator and intimacy with us. As you unpack your beliefs in this area, take the challenge to read through Song of Solomon aloud. Spend some time praying beforehand, asking God to open your heart to understand His desire for oneness and delight in marriage. The world, and our enemy Satan, would have us believe that sex is dirty, embarrassing, and anything but sacred. Whether you are single or married, all of us have room to grow in elevating our view of the holiness of marriage and sexual intimacy. As you finish reading through Song of Solomon, write down the truths that most arrested your attention. Ask the Lord to keep expanding your understanding of these rich truths!

2) We all love the thrilling feelings of soaring excitement when relationships begin or when we finally say, “I do.” It’s the after when the excitement fades, disagreements arise, and suddenly, the glorious feelings we once felt towards the one person we vowed to love are nowhere to be found. Stacy shares of her euphoria at the beginning, only to watch it fade to mundane and lackluster in the after. A million and one distractions tempt us away from growing in love and maturity with our spouse, and if we aren’t on guard, these can quickly fuel entitlement in relationship effectively driving a wedge between two who were once inseparable. If you’re married, some ways your spouse has become distracted and entitled are probably already popping into your mind! But, turn it around and ask the Spirit to show you how you are becoming disengaged and entitled as well. Thank Him for showing you these, then ask for His power to flee the temptation to run towards these and run away instead. Single friends, consider the idols you run towards most often to distract you from hard or messy things. What patterns do you notice about yourself when you are feeling unloved or unaccepted in your relationships? Take these to the Lord and ask Him to show you His rich redemptive work in your life!

3) Give yourself permission to have some space in your day to be still and reflective. Maybe you lock your closet or your bathroom door, or maybe “quiet” needs to look like your kids are loud. Just make the space! Close your eyes, take some deep breaths and consider what it has felt like, or what it might feel like, to have someone sing over you who knows you deeply, wholly, and without condition or judgement. What words would they choose to set to melody? What would their voice sound like? What characteristics would they eagerly highlight about you? What might they say about their own love toward you? What if this was the Lord’s voice over you; how might your heart respond? Pause here and take in these feelings without discounting them or brushing them aside. Beloved, how deeply the Lord loves to love you! Breathe in this truth and let His voice sing over you with bold declaration! Stay here as long you need, then as your time closes, ask the Lord specifically who you can sing over. Whether it’s with true musical melodies or it’s just a spoken word of truth, woven with life-giving love, be willing and ready to extend a song of love over whoever the Lord brings to mind!

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 Zephaniah 3:17 back to the Lord and
let His Spirit speak to you through it!

The Lord your God is among you,
a warrior who saves.
He will rejoice over you with gladness.
He will be quiet in his love.
He will delight in you with singing.”

Prayer Journal
Your love truly is matchless, oh Lord, my Savior and my God. Your love is as mighty as an ocean wave at every single moment of my life. When I feel alone in my relationships as friend, daughter, mother, or wife, You “send Your faithful love by day and at night Your song is with me.” (Psalm 42:8) No one else offers steadfast constancy like You. Forgive me, oh Abba, for the many times I choose to hinge my delight on another’s love and care for me instead of yours. Never will Your love change or disappoint; remind me to listen for Your love song regardless of feelings. Make me aware, Holy Spirit, of the countless distractions pulling me away from You, the Only One who loves me perfectly and completely. Empower me to turn my eyes from worthless things, focusing on You as complete satisfier of my every need. As I practice turning and looking in full at You and Your word, teach me how to love others selflessly with the same humility You model towards me. I love You, Lord Jesus, heal my relationships and use me as a conduit of Your love.

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