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Paula

The GT Weekend! ~ Sketched VI Week 1

October 5, 2019 by Rebecca Adams 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) God loves you fully! This was a stunning realization for Rhonda as she found herself on the backside of an abortion. Shame weighed her down like a wet cloak, reeking of heavy grief everywhere she went. Surely, God had rejected her and written her off! But His loving pursuit finally won her over. As she surrendered to Him, He prompted her to transparently share of her own tragic experience; she came face to face with her shame and the Lord transformed it into a tool to reach others with His love and encourage them to leave the heavy load of shame with Jesus. Where are you carrying shame, regret, and guilt? Don’t shy away! Identify them clearly and take the bold move to share part of your story with someone this week, even if it’s a close friend. The Lord wants to us our stories to point others to Himself and the hope He offers!

2)  In Pat’s sharing of her story, we see deep heartache and tragic wounds, which could have (and should have) left her bitter, hurt, angry, and on the sidelines for the rest of her life as she despised other’s happiness. So much was stolen away from Pat! Rather than bitterness and anger, Pat’s life reflects beauty, grace, tenderness, and mercy. As she attests, the only difference is Christ, His salvation, and His continuous comfort meeting her where she was and moving her into a sweet relationship with Him. Where have anger and hurt felt justified for you in your story? How has Jesus made a difference for you? If you’ve never surrendered those hurts to Him, what might it be like to be free from those old chains or anger and resentment? Speak with the Lord about these!

3)  Paula described how she would follow the Lord, then stall out and wander slowly away from Him over time. Each time, despite Paula’s unfaithfulness (like all of us!), the Lord was faithful in His love to her as He pursued her and showed her His relentless, never-giving-up love. Paula’s faith journey grew every time, and her faith in Christ grew stronger, the more she embraced living within biblical community, serving in her local church, and leaning in to God’s true character over her own ideas. In what ways do you see some of Paula’s story in your own? Where are your own cycles of walking away and being drawn back?

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 46:1-3 back to the Lord and
let His Spirit speak to you through it!

God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore, we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though hits waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling.

Prayer Journal
You are the God who offers continual refuge, strength, and help, yet in my foolishness, I often try to manage my trouble on my own. How good You are to me as you remind me of Your character and Your faithful love! Lord, I confess that from my limited perspective, I don’t recognize You drawing me back to you, instead I only see situations which frustrate me. Remind me, Spirit, that You have plans far above my own, that Your heart is for me to know You and walk in daily trust with You. Keep drawing me back to Your side, Abba!

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

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Posted in: Encourage, God, GT Weekend, Love, Relentless, Sketched, Transformation Tagged: character, continuous comfort, fully, Pat, Paula, pursuit, Rhonda

Sketched VI Day 5 Paula

October 4, 2019 by Guest Writer 1 Comment

Read His Words Before Ours!

Psalm 46
Isaiah 40:21-31
Isaiah 41:8-14
Colossians 3:12-17

Sketched VI, Day 5

My parents were both raised with Catholic backgrounds, but never attended services.  As a result, I was unfamiliar with anything involving religion as a young child. However, when I was in grade school, a friend invited me to a Christmas service at his church. That was my first time encountering any type of worship. I was hooked and my curiosity grew. When he moved away, I was unable to go back to church until I began high school and started driving.

After the Christmas service, my friend and I attended the youth services and I really started honing-in on what Christianity was all about. I couldn’t quite wrap my head around the idea of a God who died for MY sins, who loves each one of us as His creation, despite our brokenness. I loved going each week and seeing the new friends I was making…
Each friend has a story and a background; some very different than mine, but some very similar.

After my friend moved, I stopped attending church and kind of felt like that entire season of my life was a dream; I forgot about God. In high school, before I started driving, I met a girl in band class who was involved in her youth group. She invited me to go with her and I was reintroduced to Christ, but this time, it stuck.

After I graduated from high school, I decided to go back to my now-current church where I volunteered in kids’ ministry, worship, and met more Christ-followers, which led to my baptism in May of 2016.

After being baptized, I started taking my relationship with Christ seriously.  I studied Scripture and listened to online sermons from other churches. I attended every Sunday service I could and stayed actively engaged in serving.

However, I was also on a teeter-totter after a relationship break up, a big move away from home, several deaths, and the loss of a job I loved. I definitely kept Jesus at arm’s length.
I wanted Him around, but I also wanted nothing to do with Him. I considered myself “Christian,” but I had drifted away from a deep relationship with Jesus and His followers.

After several months of skipping church, I “woke up” and returned. I saw the director of volunteers (my now-mentor) from afar, and avoided her. I felt like she was someone who could “see into my soul” and would know everything about my emotional and spiritual turmoil.

But God’s plan was bigger than my fear!
One week, she caught up with me after service, and after meeting later in follow-up, she connected me with the worship team.

I was incredibly happy!
I was FINALLY part of a middle school worship band ministry like I had dreamed of for YEARS. My way of communicating with God was through music, almost as if I had written the lyrics I was singing. God and I were chit-chatting as if we were best pals; I loved every single moment of it. 

I was on my way home from a full day of serving at church when I was involved in a car accident. I vaguely remember getting home after the accident and feeling that something wasn’t right. I collapsed to the floor in my front entryway, barely making it inside my house. I went to the ER, had scans done, and received terrifying news the next morning:
“You have a shadow on your brain.”

Strong words I will never forget.

Several weeks later, after my first seizure and losing my vision, I had emergency surgery to remove a good portion of this “shadow.”

More strong words: 
Anaplastic Astrocytoma
Grade 3 brain cancer

Following surgery, I wasn’t myself. I was so angry!
I refused to listen to or play music, knowing I’d hear God’s voice.
He was the last person I wanted to speak with.

I had so many questions for the Lord:
If we had such a great thing going, why throw a wrench in my plans by taking away my joy and dream? Why make me learn to trust You all over again?  

While I don’t have all the answers to my questions, this past year has brought deep spiritual growth I didn’t realize I was desperately craving.

Since my diagnosis last November, the Lord has brought people into my life for whom I’ve prayed since my teenage years. Both were strangers I’d connected with and are now as close as family.

My love for Christ has grown deeper than I ever imagined possible.  Even though I struggle with trusting Him, He has never left my side. Even though I prayed, and lost patience when I wasn’t given exactly what I’d wanted, He has never failed to give me something better.

Today, I have such a grand appreciation for life, friends, family, my church community, worship, music, gifts, God, and the list goes on. There are so many hardships God has brought me through, though He had no obligation. He has reminded me HE is good, even in the midst of darkness.

I get comments all the time about how “brave” and “courageous” I’ve been or questions about where my positivity comes from.
It didn’t happen overnight, but God drew near.

God has more for me to discover!
More songs to sing, and more people to meet and help them come to faith.

The enemy tried to silence me.
The enemy tried to discourage me.
The enemy tried to steal my joy.
The enemy tried to stop God’s work in me.

BUT GOD
Changed everything.

October 7th, 2018.
The day that changed my life forever.
The day I so badly wish had never happened, but am so thankful it did.
A day that could’ve ended everything, but here I am.
. . .  because He’s not finished with me yet.

His words.
His truth.
His song within my heart.
These give me courage and hope.


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A Note About Sketched
In this series, we are stepping into the shoes of various characters throughout history. Some are biblical, some are well-known in modern day times, and some are people our writers know personally. We do our best to research the culture and times surrounding these individuals to give an accurate representation of their first-person perspectives on life and the world, but we can’t be 100% accurate. “Sketched” is our best interpretation of how these characters view(ed) God, themselves, and the world around them. Our hope is that by stepping into their everyday, we will see our own lives a little differently!
Enjoy!
And keep watching for Sketched Themes to pop up throughout the year!

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 Sketched VI Week One! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!
Click the above image for today’s Digging Deeper!

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

Posted in: Christ, Deep, God, Jesus, Relationship, Scripture, Sketched, Trust, Worship Tagged: baptism, bigger, Encounter, fear, God's plan, joy, Paula, studied

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And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14