Christ With Coffee On Ice - finding Jesus for the first time

Episode Date: February 9, 2024

Hey, y'all ! Welcome to another Friday with CWCOI ! In this week's episode our host, Ally Yost, shares all the tips and tricks on how to begin a relationship with Jesus and how to become more connected to Him. She also provides a few resources that have been super helpful in her faith journey. No matter where you're at in your relationship with Jesus, we pray that this episode encourages you and strengthens your walk with Him ! ☆ SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PATREON ☆ : https://patreon.com/CWCOI ____________________________________________ Connect further with us ! If you would like to give to CWCOI and support the podcast, you can do so here ! ➤ https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/cwcoi/support TikTok ➤ https://www.tiktok.com/@christwithcoffeeonice Instagram ➤ https://instagram.com/christwithcoffeeonice _____________________________________________ Connect further with Ally ! TikTok (1.9M) ➤ https://www.tiktok.com/@ally_yost Instagram ➤ https://www.instagram.com/ally_yost/ LTK.IT ➤ https://www.shopltk.com/explore/ally_yost Amazon Storefront ➤ https://www.amazon.com/shop/allyyost Pinterest ➤ https://www.pinterest.com/ally_yost1/_created/ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/cwcoi/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello everybody. Welcome to another episode of Christ with Coffee on Ice. I am your host, Ali Yost, and I am so grateful to be here, you guys. I'm so excited because, well, one thing, and I know that we've had a few episodes go live already with Ashley Jones. Do we love her, by the way? Like, are we not obsessed with her? I think she's incredible. I just learned so much from her. And I feel like one of the coolest things that the Lord has done for me, just in this particular, season of my walk, you know, with him is that he is just slowly bringing some of the coolest freaking people into my life that I have ever met in my life. Like people that I genuinely am learning so much from just obviously through my faith. But like, I just love her. I love her so much. So I really hope that you guys have been enjoying these last few episodes that we did together. And you just had some serious just revelations and just really cool moments that were eye opening. I know that I have just even, you know, going back and listening to them myself. Anyway, I'm really excited to be here. Well, one, because I love y'all. And I missed you guys. And this is truly like the light of my week.

And it just, it's something that I'm so grateful for that I've made as a part of my routine with you guys. And so, uh, happy Friday, by the way. I'm literally filming on a Friday too, which is always so fun when I'm actually filming on the day that it goes live. I am, yeah, I'm just so grateful to be here. and it's exciting because so can I get to it already? Okay. This is the first time that I am recording in my new home alone though, because the last few episodes that I recorded with Ashley were the first, you know, episodes that I recorded in my home period. And so this is the first episode that I'm recording alone.

And I'm just so excited to kind of have this QT time with you guys, like quality time with you guys and Jesus. I'm so grateful. So today's episode is really special. And I'm going to be totally transparent. and I'm going to say that I have not prepared for this episode the way that I normally would for episodes. Like, the biggest thing that the Lord has taught me with this podcast specifically, aside from girly popcast, because I feel like a lot of what I did with that podcast was it really was so just by the seam of my pants.

Like, I really would just show up and I'd be like, all right, whatever we talk about today, because you guys would lead half of that with the submissions that we would get, you know, every week and then we would talk about it. but the Lord has really been teaching me how to study and prepare, which I feel like I haven't had to do since school, like literally since high school, since college. So it's been a learning thing for me. It's been a humbling thing where it's like, Al, you can't just show up. Okay, the Bible isn't something preaching the gospel. Like, ministry isn't something that you're just supposed to just jump into and just be like, okay, whatever happens today. Like there is preparation that needs to come into it.

And when you are speaking on behalf of the Lord, okay, holy, I feel Holy Ghost. When you are speaking about the Lord, that is just not something to just go off, you know, the seam of your pants. So with that being said, most episodes I have felt the Lord really prepare my heart and I've made sure to take notes and I've made sure to bring scripture into it. And it's just something that I always want to, you know, have as the firm foundation of what this podcast is. I don't want it to solely just come from me and my feelings because that's not what

podcast is about. This podcast is only about Jesus. It's only to glorify his word, his love, who he is. It's not about me, you know? And so with that, that's been a learning lesson. But today, we didn't really do that because I, I want this episode to be. And the best way I can like compare it is like, you know those books where it's like blank for dummies? I'm like Christianity for dummies, like Jesus for dummies, like people who do not know how to start their faith. Where do I start? How do I do it? I've never been raised in a Christian household. I've actually never known a single Christian in my life. Like people like that who just have not had that privilege of being around it, but they're curious and they want to know God. Or let's say they've already decided, yes, I've dedicated my life to Jesus, but now I don't know

what to do. You know, it's like you've made that declaration, you've had that conversation with the Lord. You've felt the Holy Spirit. You feel him in your life, but you're like, okay, but now what do I do? You know what I mean? And so that's what I want this episode to be about. I want this episode to be about where do you start as a Christian, baby, baby Christian. You could be 24 hours into it. You could be just rekindling your relationship with the Lord again. Maybe it's been years since you've even tried to have a conversation or spend time with him, whatever your story looks like. But this episode is meant for you in that sense. Like where do I start and how do I do it? And so I just pray over this episode. I want to pray right now actually. Dear God, I just pray that this is your will, God.

I pray that even though I've come into this with not a whole lot of preparation, I just pray that you prepare my heart right now, Jesus, that the only things that come out of my mouth are from you, Jesus, that our listeners truly hear your love right now and they feel it. Like it's a feeling that they cannot even describe and there's no other explanation other than it is from you, Jesus. And I just pray that this brings so many people home to you, God. I pray that even through the trauma and, you know, just maybe religion and hurt that they've had from people in the past or church in the past or maybe they haven't God. But I just pray that you just reveal the truth, which is that you are love, you never abandon, you do not hurt us, that people hurt, but you don't God. And so I just pray for that. I pray for just beauty and realization of who you are and and hope, God. I pray for big hope in this episode that so many people leave this episode feeling

so filled with your love and your hope and that they just feel a sense of purpose, knowing you, and pursuing this relationship with you. And in this episode, it's just confirmation that it is the best decision that they are ever making. And so I pray that in your mighty name, Jesus. Amen. Okay. So excited for this episode. I truly hope it helps so many people.

And I'm going to speak a lot about like what I did. I know that I've kind of touched a little bit on this stuff in the very first episode of Christ with coffee on ice, right? Where I shared my entire testimony, how I came to the Lord, where I've come from, you know, obviously I've come from a Christian household, but I never really truly knew the Lord. So, right, we talked about my testimony and how I started, but I really want to break it down like dumb, like dumb break it down to a T, step by step. How do you do this?

Okay. So you're in a position you've dedicated your life to Jesus or you're curious and you just want to know about it and you want to know how. The first things that you need, well, I have a whole pile of books right here, okay? I don't know if you can see it from this angle. It's a lot. But the one thing I want to tell you is that faith is no joke. Okay, I think one thing that I have come to the realization of, even just in the past few weeks,

is that faith is not only just to like make our lives, I don't want to say easier, but just better. You know what I mean? Like having faith in the Lord and walking with God is so much better than walking alone. It's not even about that, but there is this invisible war between spirits. We are actively in a war right now. Spiritual war. Like every day, we don't see it, but y'all, it's there, okay? Between lightness, between the light and the dark.

Like it's there, right? Between good and evil, it's happening. Like every day. That's why spiritual warfare, okay? And if you've never heard of that, it's like when you just feel like this tug and this struggle with keeping your faith, right? That is war between the darkness and the light, you know? The enemy, the devil and also God and his angels. It's so real, y'all. And it's crazy because, you know, we live in this like 3D what you know life and we see the things that we see but then there's so much happening in the spiritual realm that we do not see that's so real okay so we are in a war every day which is why we don't take our faith lightly okay it is war we are serious about this and i don't say this to intimidate anyone that these are all the things that you need right off the bat i have obviously

accumulated these things in the past year. But the very first thing that I started off with, which you absolutely will need, okay, besides prayer, besides, you know, your quiet time with the Lord is a Bible. You need a Bible, okay? And so one of the most common questions that I get on social media is, okay, so where do I get one and what one do you have? Okay. So I got my Bible from Barnes & Noble. Believe it or not. Barnes & Noble has a whole relationship. religious section, like religion section, right? Plenty of different religions. Christianity is one of them.

They have a whole section of Bibles and then some. And then they have Christian books. They have devotionals, which we're going to get into. They have all sorts of really incredible resources there that can support you in your faith. Okay. So I got this at Barnes & Noble. This is my book. She's gorgeous.

I love my Bible. This is the NIV version, which is the new internet. version, I believe this is what it stands for. And how I decided, because we know that there's so many different versions of the Bible, I decided on NIV, believe it or not, by Googling it. I literally did not know where to start, y'all. I was where you're at right now. I had no idea. I said, okay, what's the best version? I want to be able to understand what I'm reading, right? Because I think a lot of our biggest worry and obstacle with approaching a book this big and a book this old is understanding it and we're like okay but I want to understand it and you know we've we've heard

scripture and we've we've heard different versions maybe some of us have and some of it really goes over our heads and we go what in the world does that mean and so that's why I think that picking the best version for yourself is important and so starting with NIV do that it's just it's the easiest I believe and I think that it's the most relatable to how we speak today in English and so that's how I decided I just googled it and I encourage y'all in that too like if there's something that you still feel is unanswered in this podcast episode google it i think and i've said this before i was having this conversation with a friend or maybe myself i don't know where was i talking about this i talked to too many different things too many different people

too many different devices but i had this moment with the lord where he had spoken to me and he was like this is the generation because we have never had more leverage. Like, I really truly believe that this generation is going to have such a huge awakening in the spirit, like in our faith, right, with Jesus. And I believe it is because we have such an advantage with this day and age, with technology, with the way that we can spread the word so quickly. And of course, we see a lot of darkness on the internet, you know. And of course, the enemy, he has an advantage to a sense. I don't even want to give him that word because he doesn't. But he's got leverage.

Let's say not advantage because he's already lost. Jesus has already won. But, you know, he does have some. But let's not forget the fact that we have everything at our freaking fingertips. Like the minute you want to know the latest drama with Taylor Swift, you can Google that. You can go on Twitter. You can go on TikTok. You know what I mean?

Like we have so many resources. It's actually unacceptable to ever have an excuse of like, oh, well, I can't because I don't know how. It's like we can Google anything. You can research anything. There's so many different sources online that can support you in your faith journey. Like, y'all don't even understand how many things I have literally actively Googled, even up until today, of questions and things that I don't have answers to in my faith. And Google is great for that. Like, there are just so many people out there, like good people who want to help you in your journey.

And I think that, I mean, there's got to be YouTube videos that are like, how to start reading the Bible. You know that these things exist. So I want y'all to really be honest with yourself too. Like let's be so honest and for real with ourselves and say, what is it that I am telling myself that is holding me back from having this relationship with Jesus? And is it valid enough? Especially in the year 2024. Like if people are handing it to you on a silver platter,

which also, by the way, is what the Bible is, every single freaking question that you have in life, what's my purpose? What the heck am I doing here? What happens after death? Why are people cruel? Why do bad things happen to good people? Why?

I mean, truly, any question we have in life is answered in this book. So when I say silver platter, when I say blueprint, I mean, literally the Lord has given us all the answers to life in this book. And it's truly just up to us on whether we believe that it's worth our time or not. Like, is it because you don't believe it's worth your time? Is it because you're feeling lazy and you don't want to put in the effort? I mean, anything that you want badly enough, you have to put effort into, you know? And I think, sorry, I'm kind of going on like a side tangent right now.

But another thing that I see on my socials too is people being like, well, how do I strengthen my relationship with the Lord? Like, how do I strengthen it? Like, I want to keep getting stronger with him. And it's like, well, how do you strengthen any relationship ever? Do you strengthen a relationship by continuing to spend time with them and communicating with them and being in the presence of that person? or do you strengthen it by going off on a hiatus and taking a vacation in Hawaii for three months and not talking to them? You know what I mean? Like, let's be honest.

Like, how do you do it in anything else? So anyway, I say that because I hope that this podcast episode can help you with all the questions that you have. But even if it doesn't, I encourage you to go to Google. I encourage you to go online, you know? And obviously be smart about the resources you're picking. Let's not just pick any of them because we can't believe everything that we. see on the internet but the internet is available to you so if you have questions in your faith um go online like it's there so that's what i did i googled what what bible do i start with okay the next question

i had was where in the bible do i start and when i first started y'all it was in january of last year when i first decided to start reading the bible and taking it seriously i treated it like any other book and i started at the beginning i was like duh like i mean isn't that what you do with any book. And honestly, I really don't see anything truly wrong with that. But what I had learned is that I think it's best to start in the Gospels. And what the Gospels are, I didn't know that word either, guys, I had to Google it. The Gospels are four books that are dedicated to telling the story of Jesus Christ while he was here on Earth and how he died, how he came to Earth, how he was born, him and his journey, you know, his walk with the disciples, the miracles that he performed here on earth, the healings

that he did, the people that he literally rose from the dead, him rising from the dead. So it's really great to start in the gospel because I think it's really cool to get to know who Jesus is. And then you'll see how the rest of the Bible kind of just like supports and falls into who Jesus is so perfectly. But you could start in the beginning in the Old Testament, but the New Testament, and that's where Jesus comes into play, that's where the New Testament. It Begins is where I do suggest you start. But I started in Genesis because I was like, like I said, you know, like we should treat this like a regular book and just start from the beginning, right?

And so I do believe Genesis is obviously a very important book. I mean, they all are important because it's all written by the Lord. But Genesis is really cool because it tells you literally how everything started, like how we became, you know, Adam and Eve, we know all that good stuff. So you could do that. But I really would suggest if I'm just giving my personal advice and what worked for me is starting in the gospel, which is the book of John, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. And I think I literally went in that order.

I think the very first book that I read was the book of John. And I really, really enjoy that book. That's actually the book that I'm reading right now in current time because I haven't touched it in a year because, like I said, this was the first book that I ever read. So it's been really cool to go back to the book of John one year later. seeing, you know, the thing is, and I want y'all to know this, is that there is no pressure also with completely understanding everything there is to the Bible. So let's say you're opening the Bible for the first time. And a lot of this stuff is going over your head. I want to comfort you in that

and say that it is okay. Because the biggest lesson that I've even seen just this week as I've been reading the book of John is that there was so much that so clearly went over my head because I did not highlight it. I mean, y'all, the first, let's see, one, two, three, four, five, the first six pages of John, I didn't even highlight when I first read it, right? And now I'm lighting it up in highlighter. I mean, I have so many notes. I'm like, I'm thinking, how the heck did I not highlight this one section? And I think it's just because I was new. I think it's just because I was new. And there's just going to be things that won't speak to you yet. And I think that you just need to remember that that's okay. That's what makes, you know, this journey so beautiful.

That's what makes having faith in the Lord so freaking cool is that he's always going to continue to grow you in your faith. And you will continue to receive knowledge and wisdom from him of things that maybe you didn't even understand six months ago, 12 months ago, three weeks ago, you know? So the best way to set yourself up for failure, I'll say this, is coming into it with an expectancy that you have to understand everything that you're reading because you just won't.

And actually, I think that can relate to anyone in any season of your walk. Like, it doesn't even have to be to the person who's just starting their faith right now. That could be for the person who's five years into their journey with Jesus. And they're reading a passage and they're like, I don't know what this means. And I've been walking with Jesus for five years. How do I not know what this means? And I think I've said this before on the podcast. I think that the Lord so intentionally does that sometimes where maybe you are not yet ready to understand that

because you haven't walked into a season of your life where that passage would support it. You know, like you don't understand it yet because you haven't walked through that yet, you know? Or you could completely understand a passage in one season of your life. And let's say it speaks to you in this way. And then you go back to it five years later and it speaks to you in a completely different way. That's why they say, I don't know if you've heard this, that the Bible is literally the living word. Like, this is alive. And we don't say it's alive.

Like it gets up and it grows legs and it walks away. We say it's alive because it literally, to this day, even thousands of years later, can relate to something that you are going through right freaking now. Like, that's what makes it alive. Like, that's what makes it so freaking cool. Another thing that I want to spare you guys of that took me a while to do, which I don't know why it did. And sometimes, I guess some of these things coming out of my mouth feel kind of like,

duh. But it's not duh when you're learning and you're new to this. You don't know. So that's the thing, y'all. I want you guys to come into this with a posture of it's not duh. You're not dumb for not knowing these things. You have nothing to be embarrassed about either, by the way, coming into this and not knowing these things.

You're just not going to know until you know. And it's okay. You have nothing to be embarrassed about. But I felt that. That's like such a real feeling. So I want to validate you in that. But I didn't do this in the beginning, but I eventually felt I needed to be praying before I opened my Bible.

And I don't always do that even today, but if you want to make sure that your time spent in the Bible is intentional and you are really absorbing everything, also, I don't know about y'all, but it helps me to say it out loud. Like literally read scripture out loud. It's really hard for you to get sidetracked and for your mind to go in different places. We know we've all experienced that with reading and, you know, doing things, is that if you're reading in your head, it's easy for your brain to go somewhere else and then you haven't even actually absorbed or heard anything. thing that you just read in the last five minutes, you know? So the biggest thing that helps me with that is literally speaking it out loud, like speaking scripture out loud, which I do believe is also just so powerful in itself is just speaking the word of God out loud, out of your freaking mouth, say it out loud. But yeah, praying over your time. Like, please pray before you open your Bible

because I think that it's important to come to the Lord and say God, and I'll give you an example of something you could pray if you need it. But just be like, hey God, I want this time to be in I don't want there to be any distractions, so I pray against any distraction that could be sent in from my mind, that could be sent in from the enemy. In Jesus' name, I pray against all of it. I want this time to be so intentional from the Lord and also ask God to speak to you. Like, ask God to speak through this book and speak through scripture and say, God, I need you to talk to me. Like, I need this. I need you. I want to hear you. I want to continue to just feel strengthened in you in every moment that I spend in you. And so, God, I just want this time where I'm sitting down with my Bible to be so

intentional, God, I want to learn something new about you today. And I do believe, and again, it's giving religion. The thing is, is like, this is a relationship with him. But the most effective way to absorb from the Bible is all the ways that I've just said. But I think also reading at least, I don't know, this is just me, at least 15 to 20 minutes of sitting down with uninterrupted, One, interrupted time with the Bible. I don't care how many passages that takes. It could take you 15 minutes to read three passages and fully absorb it, you know, highlight it, write notes, read it over and over again. Let it just like marinate in your head.

I used to go into this with putting a pressure on myself that I had to read a certain amount of passages or a certain amount of pages. And it's like, that's not how God operates. You could read one freaking verse and it could blow your mind and you could spend the next. next 15 minutes writing about it, reflecting on it, right? So I don't know. I go more off of like a timestamp, but I really encourage you to spend as much time in the presence of the Lord as you feel satisfied. And that could be three hours. There are times where I am sitting down and I'm reading my Bible and the next thing I know I look at the clock and it is been an entire hour, y'all. And so I think that that can also come with just like trial and error, you know, like anytime that

I've sat down and I've read the Bible for anything less than 15 minutes. I don't feel like it's really changed anything. I do believe that you have to do like unplugged. And I mean like put your phone away. Be so present with the Lord for 15 minutes. And I truly believe that if you do that every single day, it will slowly change your life. Because 15 minutes in the presence of the Lord is the best 15 minutes you could spend in your life, period. And he can do so much in that time.

Like he really can do so much in a second. He can do so much in 15 minutes. So I challenge y'all to do that. Give yourself a minimum. Minimum. If you feel like doing more, do more. Actually, don't look at the clock, you know, but do 15 minutes with the Lord. So that's my advice to you. Start in the gospel, start in the New Testament. And then the other thing that I want to share with you guys, that's been really, really helpful. And it's going to kind of bring us back to that topic of like, you know, understanding the Bible and, you know, that feeling of like having a lot of things just going right

over your head as you're reading it. So something that I've shared multiple times on my platform, I think I've even brought it to the podcast as well, is the Bible handbook by the Daily Grace Co. Y'all need to look up the Daily Grace Co. They were kind enough to gift me this. They've gifted me pretty much everything that I own up there is they sent to me. And it was like the most moving PR package that I've ever received. It wasn't makeup. It wasn't skin care.

You know, it wasn't the newest energy drink. It was something to strengthen my faith, which is just like the most thoughtful thing in the whole wide world. So it moved me to tears. And I was so grateful for it because I do believe this is a common insecurity for all of us like jumping into the Bible as being like, okay, this is all going right over my head and I want to understand this, you know? So the Bible handbook is really cool because it's basically a book that helps you study the Bible and just understand it even deeper, right? So the first page is

their table of contents where now they have broken up the Bible into different sections, right? So they're listing all these different books in the Bible and they're saying, okay, so all of these books, if you're looking for wisdom, these books have wisdom, right? So they say wisdom literature, which is the book of Job, Psalm, Proverbs, Song of Songs, right? And then they have historical narratives. So then they've listed all the books that have historical narratives in it, right? Then they have another category of prophets. So now they have, it's just so cool. It's literally so cool. And they break it down for you so much. So I'm just going to give you all an example. you can see this. Okay, okay, okay, let's do the book of Job, which is an incredible book,

by the way. Wow. If there's a book to read in the Bible, it's the book of Job. After you've read the Gospel, you should read the Book of Job. Okay, so it tells you, I don't know if y'all can see this. It's so cute, too, is it not? So it says the book of Job, and then it tells you the type of book it is. So this is a book for wisdom, narrative, and poetry. It tells you who wrote the book, right? So now we're even learning more about, like, okay, so who wrote this book? when was it written it's unknown who wrote the book of job but it could have possibly been moses and it was in 1440 bc and the major themes of this book is god's righteousness and governing justice god's supreme ruling and superior knowledge main verse so they also give you a main verse from this book

and they put job uh 425 which is i had heard reports about you but now my eyes have seen you They give you key words, suffering, humility, righteousness, and justice. So if you are going through things in your life where you're like, I'm going through some suffering, or humility, righteousness, justice, right? It's kind of showing you like, this is the book that you should read. And it also breaks it down. It gives you an entire introduction of what the book of Job, introduction and outline of what the book of Job is. Isn't that cool?

So I think this would be a really great tool for you all, too, us newbies, right? If you are trying to get like an overview of what this book will look like before you get into it and start reading it, the Bible handbook is freaking incredible. Like this is such a thoughtful invention and I do believe that it would help a lot of people understand and grasp parts of the Bible better, you know? And again, there's just so many tools that people have made like that. This is another one that was sent to me. I wanted to share this briefly. I haven't even started it, but it's so cool. this is by the wholehearted quiet time okay the quiet time companion www.

www. wholehearted quiet time.com and this is the cutest thing ever because it just has all these different sections for prayer lists right prayers and praises you have sermons and notes to put you have Bible readings where you can literally I mean just organize your entire week if you're if you're like type A, I feel like my mother would love this, where you can just reflect and write and organize all of your thoughts, scripture, sermons, you know, if you're going to church. So freaking cute and fun, okay? And then the next thing I wanted to share that was so crucial in my faith, okay? So obviously I got my Bible.

You need a daily devotional. You do. You do. I guess you don't need it. It's not in the Bible. It doesn't say. but you are supposed to spend time with the Lord every day. And so this is a really wonderful way to keep that habit, you know?

And I also got this from Barnes & Noble. I got this a few months after I started reading my Bible. So my routine for like the first five months of my journey was just reading the Bible, you know, and just praying and journaling too. I got myself a journal, which we'll get into. And then I realized I really wanted a devotional too. And it doesn't take much time. It literally takes 10 minutes out of your day to do. But this one is called Jesus listens.

This is a daily devotional prayers of peace, joy, and hope. A note-taking edition by Sarah Young. I do believe it's available on Amazon. And actually, I just recently found out that my Bible is available on Amazon as well. I've linked both of them on my Instagram. But this is so cool. So a devotional, let me tell you all what that means because some people don't know what a daily devotional is. And that's okay.

It literally is just time devoted to the Lord. It's literally exactly what it sounds like. A daily devotional. you are devoting time in the day spending quality personal time with the Lord which is so important and something that is said in the Bible though that the Lord encourages us is to spend time with him first thing in the morning and I believe in my heart that he tells us that because it really does set us up for the rest of our day like it does the first thing that I show up for in the day you know before social media before work before emails before anything else I have a much better

day and also like I'm just filled with so much more gratitude and joy like genuine joy and I feel like I treat people better um I want to talk with people more you know just even in the mundane like spending time with the Lord first thing in the morning isn't even just about us it's also about just the way that you are in the rest of your day and the way that you treat people you know it's like if you're spending time with God first time first thing in the morning he's able to just pour his kindness into you and his joy and you know you will just naturally radiate that for the rest of the rest of the day you're going to be able to of the day. So I do believe that spending time with him first thing in the morning, but a daily devotional is a beautiful way to do it. So I'm going to just use an example, okay? And it's basically

just a prayer. There's a portion on the side where you can also write notes to. This is from January 21st. It goes, gentle Jesus, as I look at this day that's stretching out before me, I see twisted, complicated path with branches going off in all directions. I start wondering how I can possibly find my way through this maze. But then I remember, you are always with me holding me by my right hand. I recall your promise to guide me with your counsel and I begin to relax. When I look again at my pathway, I notice that a peaceful fog has settled over it obscuring my view. I can see only a few steps in front of me so I turn my attention more fully to you and start to enjoy your presence. Okay, so that's just half of it. And then at the end it says in your comforting name, Jesus, amen. And then it

it ends with a few pieces of scripture that that devotional actually pulled from and you'll notice it because some of the words that they use in this prayer and this devotion that you read to the Lord has pulled literal words from scripture and then they give you that scripture at the end and just spending that time with the Lord I think one of my favorite things to do and this is just a personal tip is I love putting on worship music just quietly in the background to just kind of set the tone you know like set the date with him you're kind of on a date. with Jesus. Just to set that tone or like low key like spa or meditation music has been really fun for me. And I think also praying before you get into this too and saying, Lord, I just pray that I can be

present in this, that I can truly just absorb this time with you. And just praying before getting in the presence of the Lord at any time period, whether that's in your Bible, whether that's in your devotional. I think that's really important, you know. So get a devotional, get a Bible. And then if you really want to splurge and I think it's worth the investment is getting the Bible handbook as well. Okay. And then of course, expansion from there is fun. So the ways that I've expanded from just this is then I got a journal where I literally just talk to the Lord. Okay. I just wrote in it today. I wrote in it again yesterday too. It's been a couple months since I've wrote in my journal. But it's really special and I think that this is also another just opportunity to spend intimate time with the Lord

and also just kind of get your thoughts out to him. And when I say that, I mean bring every emotion to him, whether you're feeling frustration, whether you're feeling anger, it could be towards him, it could be towards other people. I think one of the things that we feel afraid of is to express how we're even feeling about God at times, you know? And the thing that y'all need to know is he already knows what's in your heart. So if you're feeling frustrated, if you're feeling hurt, if you're feeling anything, no matter what that version of yourself is that you believe you need to show up in front of the Lord as he sees right through it, you know? So I say that not to discourage anybody, but to encourage you to just show up to him as whatever that is that

day, you know, like wherever you are in that moment, the Lord loves you there and he will meet you there. And so I love that about my like journaling time with Jesus is that I'm so vulnerable with him here, you know, and of course I'm vulnerable with him and all the other times that we spend together. But journaling my thoughts and like the feelings that I have and it could be gratitude, it could be joy, it could be confusion. It could be painful relationships, friendships that I'm facing. I don't know. It could be anything like the same way that you would talk to a friend or you would talk to yourself in a journal. I think just steering it in a direction where you are directly talking to Jesus and you're praying to him and you're writing it down, I don't know, y'all.

It's really helped me with just really being in such an intimate relationship with the Lord because that's what he wants. He wants intimacy. He wants that vulnerability, you know, because that's where he can take care of you is in your vulnerability. And so I really encourage you to get a journal and just dedicate it to Jesus and speaking to him. And it's actually really funny because the very first time that I wrote in this, I was talking to someone who would be reading it. I wasn't, whether it was a version of myself in the future, like if I ever wanted to go back and read it, whether it was my future children, like, I don't know. But I wasn't directly writing to God. I was like writing to someone about God.

Like, I'll give an example. I said, today I am an absolute awe of the Lord. All the things that I've been praying about, all the little things that I've been worried about, he's answered my prayers. He's answered every single one, you know? And then it's really cool you watch the way that I continue to write. And now all of a sudden I'm writing directly to Jesus. And I'm like, hi, Jesus. The past few days have been tough.

I've been trying my best to not feel discouraged. I've been listening to my worship music. And I've been praying to you and reminding myself of my favorite Bible verses. Right. So now I'm like, I am completely talking to Jesus through my writing. And I do believe that that's like really where it changed for me. So I encourage you in that. I encourage you in that.

I encourage you to write directly to Jesus. It's just so cool. It's so cool. And then the one other thing that I want to mention, which a friend had told me to do, and again, as you grow in your faith, okay, do not take any of this and get overwhelmed. I want you to pray on this also, by the way. I want you to pray about all the takeaways that you've had from this podcast episode. I want you to bring it to the Lord, and I want him to tell you what you need to do right off the bat.

I mean, I can confidently say he's going to tell you to get a Bible, that's for sure, and maybe a journal where you can write and reflect and talk to him. But all these other sources and resources and tools are important, but don't feel overwhelmed by it all. I don't want you to feel like you've got to get all of these things. But over time, right, I got this just a couple months ago, is I got myself a little baby Bible, okay? And I got myself a little tiny Bible, which I also got from Barnes & Noble.

They need to just sponsor me at this point. I love going to Barnes and Noble. It's just fun. I've never actually enjoyed going to Barnes and Noble until now. And it is the new international version, NIV. I got a little baby Bible because one of my good friends had told me, she said, it's really important for you to have your Bible on you at all times. Because you never know when the Lord is going to want to speak to you. You never know when the Lord is going to call you to speak to another person. You just never know when you're going to need the Word of God. And of course we can all get the Bible app. If you're not familiar, there is something literally called the Bible app. I have it downloaded on my phone, but I got to be honest, I hardly ever use it unless I'm really in a crunch where I do not have my book on me. Then I will use the app. But I don't use the app in replacement of my Bible because I do believe there is something so powerful about having the Word of God tangible and like in your hands. Like there is something so powerful about having the Bible.

in your presence, okay? So I encourage that. I will only use my Bible app if I'm like, oh, I forgot my Bible. You know what I mean? Um, but she said it was important to have a little one on you at all times because you just never know. You could be in the grocery store. You could be in lines somewhere. You could be on the bus. You could be on a flight. You could be anywhere. You could be in your car in traffic. Girl, I don't know, stand still. Like you ain't moving for hours. Okay. Like I just think that it's important to have it on you at all times. And I never thought about it. I literally never thought about it. But I was like, you know what? She's right. Like you never know. when the Lord wants to speak a word to you or you never know when the Lord wants you to speak a word

to someone else which sounds intimidating if you're new here but you know what I mean like whenever that time comes whenever you're ready when it well I shouldn't even say that because sometimes we're not ready whenever the Lord has brought you to a place where he's telling you you're ready how about that I think it's good to have a little baby on you at all times okay I thought this was worth sharing this is another Bible I literally just got in the mail today um this is the English standard version. So this is ESV. And the reason that I got this Bible, this is just personal now. Y'all don't even have to listen to this at all. But I really wanted ESV because I know that that's like one step up, I guess, from NIV. And this is like, I feel like the pretty traditional

version for the English language of the Bible. But something that I realized with the book, with the Bible that I got, okay, is that it's a hard cover. And this is preference, y'all. So you don't even have to agree with me but I couldn't really bring this anywhere in my life because it just doesn't fit anywhere because it's a hard cover you know like it's not you can't bend it you can't like fit it in your pert like it's just tough to bring places which is why you know obviously it's good to just bring your little baby one but for me I wanted to try out ESV but also I wanted a soft cover so I could kind of like fold it you know like you can do this number with it it's easier to bring to church y'all i don't know so um that's just some feedback is i do wish that the bible that i got

from the start was a and i don't know i thought that i wanted a hard cover but i think i like having a flimsy kind of like it's leather but just easier it's just you can stuff it into things easier that way i don't know so anyway i can let y'all know how this goes i haven't even opened it yet i legitimately just got it out of my box i got it off amazon um i just opened it out of its box before I started filming this. But yeah, I hope that that really encourages y'all and helps you in your journey. And I think that aside from making sure that you have all the right materials, I think the next thing that's really important when it comes to your journey

and spending time with the Lord is praying for a community. Like, please pray for people who can support you in your faith. Obviously, the number one supporter and the number one person you need to lean on is the Lord. and you might just be leaning on him for a while. Like that actually might be real. You might only be leaning on the Lord in the beginning of your journey. Because I don't know what your life looks like, right? I don't know what your community looks like.

You might be the first person in your circle that's even curious about who Jesus is and what Christianity is about, right? And so I want to prepare you for that. And I think the Lord can prepare you better in that. But just know that there's nothing wrong with you. if you don't have a community right off the bat. And it could look different for all of us. It could be years.

It could be months. It could be weeks. For me, it was not until a year after I found the Lord that I really got a community of people. So it might feel lonely for a little bit. But I do believe that that's also the Lord training us to find companionship and company in him, you know? And once you are fully satisfied with that is when I believe that he's like, okay,

they're ready. You know what I mean? Like I was actually so satisfied with the love of Jesus. Like I was like, you know what? I love this. I'm happy with this, you know? And of course I wanted a community of people who also loved him and could help me and encourage me. Like I have never in my life experienced people who want to cover me in prayer. Like literally put hands on me and cover me in prayer. I had never been in a community where people had encouraged me. me to also speak and pray out loud. You know, one of my biggest insecurities coming into my faith, too, was praying out loud in front of people or for others, you know?

And it's just really powerful. It's just really powerful to be in a community of people who love on you and encourage you in your faith. And it feels like you are being poured into and it's like even. You know what I mean? Like how many of us can relate where we feel like we've constantly poured into others and we don't know if we've necessarily been poured into in the same. way that we pour into other people. And so it's just really cool to like be surrounded by people who

just meet you there and just are there. Like they're there. Like they're there with you. They know what you're going through. So when I say pray for a community, I mean like really pray for a community of Christian people who can support you in your faith. Because I think aside from the Lord just completely lighting me on fire for him was also, I mean meeting people who are also on on fire for the Lord. I feel like this is tying in so perfectly to how I started this podcast episode. But, you know, how much I'm learning from other people in this community and learning how much they've learned from the Lord. I mean, we can constantly just keep pouring into each other just through the lessons that the Lord is teaching us all individually. And so pray specific prayers over your community.

Like, what do you want in friendships? Pray those specific prayers. Don't be like, God, I pray for a Christian community. Like, that's a good prayer. But let's make it really specific. Let's go deep. like let's make it really personal. Let's get raw.

Let's get personal with the Lord, right? And say, you know what, God? I want friendships who love you first and are loyal to me and encourage me in my faith. People who I know will show up for me when I am in danger, like when I need it, whether it's spiritual warfare, whether it's things that are happening in my life. Like I need people in my life like that, you know? So like just don't be afraid to get really specific with the Lord because he is a specific God. He is a God who can grant things into your life so specifically. Like, don't be afraid to do that.

But I think the next thing is definitely, like, making sure that you're praying for community. And of course, I do believe that, like, even the way that the Lord has brought community into my life was so unexpected. It was, I wasn't even really looking for it. He just, I mean, I wasn't. He literally said, here are your people, you know? And did it take a long time? Yes. But I do believe also putting yourself in a position where you know that those people would be. So this might sound like a broken record if you've heard this before, but if you haven't, you need to put yourself in situations and environments where you know those types of people would be.

And if you don't know, I would pray about that too. I'd say, hey, Lord, can you reveal to me the places I need to go? Will you speak to me? Will you show me the places that I need to go? And God, I also pray that I have the eyes to see it, Lord. Give me the eyes to see it. I want to receive it. I want to hear you.

I want to hear you. I want to see the signs that you're giving me when you're giving me them, you know? I mean, it's so crazy how deep our prayers can go. Look how far we've gone. We've gone from praying for a community to then praying for, you know, God to reveal to you where you need to put yourself to be in those positions. And now we're also praying to have the eyes and the ears to receive it and see it when you're giving it to us.

I mean, really break it. down. I think that as long as you're doing all those things, I mean, he's going to provide when you're ready, you know, and when the timing is right. But I mean, was I necessarily putting myself in situations of being in a church? I was. I was going to church. That was also something that I started to prioritize in the beginning of my faith because I think what God's made very important and clear, even in his word, through his word, is we need to be in communion with each other. And so whether that looks like best friends, whether that looks like showing up to church, you have to. I think quiet time with the Lord is so important, but also you need to be in community with people. You have to go. Like, you have to.

So I started going to church. I started going to church. And I was going alone. And I was scared. Okay. It was scary. But you know what you can do in that? Pray. Pray for the strength. Say, God, I'm really scared. I don't know how I'm going to do it. Well, you're not going to be able to do it. You can't do it unless you have the Lord with you. So invite him into those situations and say, God, give me the strength, give me the courage to go to church and show up to these things alone. And I also pray that you bring people into my space that I meet at church, you know, I just pray that you provide. Like, I'm taking this leap of faith and I'm going out of my comfort zone and I'm doing the scary things. And so, God, I just pray that you show me that it was worth it, you know, like reveal to me the people that I'm supposed to meet. Or maybe it's just simply that message at church that day that was so meant for you to hear,

So I was going to church, but I do believe that spreading the gospel online, and this isn't everyone's calling, okay? This is my story. This could look so different for you. But by me talking about my faith online is what put me in the situation to find the friends that God had planned for me. And I'm speaking directly to people like Ashley Hetherington. She's an incredible human being that is actually the biggest blessing of my life since coming here to Nashville in this city has been such a blessing to me. And the way she was introduced in my life was online. But if I had never put myself in the position

and if I had never committed to sharing my journey with Jesus online, I don't know if we ever would have been connected. The only reason we were connected online was because we both shared the gospel, you know? Because I made that commitment and I said, okay, God, I'm going to be vulnerable. I'm going to do this. I'm going to start talking about my faith online.

And then he brought this incredible person into my life. You know what I mean? So it could be in so many different ways. So just pray to him and ask him to reveal what that's supposed to be. It could be you joining a group in your church of people who are also in your same age group or maybe people who are just starting their journey. You have no idea, but you need to put yourself in those positions. You cannot just like sit in your home and hope for the best.

And of course, God can do anything. You could introduce your community to you in the grocery store if that's his will. But just take that leap of faith by putting yourself in situations to find that. that community. I believe in that. I believe in that wholeheartedly. He is a god of the impossible, but he needs to work with people who are willing. And as long as you are willing, he will give you the desires of your heart. And I think that, you know, if you have that desire of having a community in your life of people who can support you in your faith, he will give it to you as long as you show him that you are willing, even when it's scary, even when you're unsure, even when you haven't

seen the results, you know, he needs that willingness. Oh, one more thing I want to add too, because this is so important in your walk with the Lord, aside from reading your Bible, aside from all of these resources. Please, like, I don't know if I made this obvious. Please talk to him, like, all the time. Talk to him all the time. Talk to him about the little things, the big things. Pray to him about every little thing that you need in your day because, and I've said this on the podcast too, I think. the Lord literally cares about every second of your day. He cares about every little thing in your day

just as a parent would, just as a good parent would, a loving parent would. He cares about every part of your day. You're not annoying him. You're not a nuisance. Is that the word I want to use? You're just not a burden to him. You are not a burden to the Lord. And if you were, I've said this, I'm going to say it again, because I think some of us need the reminder. He would have thought twice before He literally created you. If he had known that it would be too much to handle every second of your day, don't you think he would have thought twice before creating you? He wants you to talk to him. He's God. He can handle it. Don't think that it's too much. Don't be like, oh, well, God's got so many other people to help and, you know, there's bigger things happening in the world. No, he knew he could handle it. That's why he created

all of us, by the way. It's not too much for God. If it was too much, he would have only made like, I don't know, 80 people. He made buildings. He made buildings. millions. Like he can handle it. And he can handle knowing and hearing from every single one of them. You know, however many times a day that means. You cannot put him in this box. Don't do that, by the way. He's too big for your box that you want to put him in of like, I'm too much. I'm being too needy. I'm asking for too many things. I'm praying too much. I'm talking about a bunch of stuff that's irrelevant. Nothing is irrelevant to the Lord. He wants to know about everything. He wants to hear from you about everything. If you're excited about something, if you want to pray about something, if you literally just want

a friend to talk to, if you're having struggles, if you're having little things in your day that you're feeling frustrated about. Like, bring it to him. Bring it to him. Talk to him all the time. Please, I'm like actually begging you from every little fiber in my body, from experience, just what I've been through in this one simple year of spending time with the Lord, please bring everything to him. Like, talk to him in every moment of your day. And I think the coolest thing that he showed me is he's showed me so much fruit and like so much goodness that has come from involving like giving him that you know like making him a part of my every day i will literally laugh with him sometimes where i'll be like l-oh-l-god remember when or i'll be like l-oh-l-god did you just see that like ha-ha like bro he's a friend

he is a friend and he wants to be in every part of your day so can you promise me that will you pink you promise me that in the presence of the lord all right it's big stuff Pinky promise me right now that you are going to bring him in every part of your day because he wants to be. And that alone will strengthen your faith in the Lord so much. Like it's really just the quality time and educating yourself on who he is. That's also the one thing I want to say about the Bible is it's not only like what can we get from this. How can we have a better life? Of course that's all in here.

Like I want to know the questions of the world. Like it's all in here. but also it's about understanding who he is. Like who he is. He is the creator of the world. He is literally love. He is literally light. Like it's really cool because it's also like just learning about where we came from.

Like who's this guy that made us. It's so cool to learn about who God is. And that is never ending. That won't end. Like that will be the rest of our lives. It's continuing to learn who he is. but I do believe that this time here on earth is just preparation of learning who he is so that one day when we face him, you know, face to face, we have just a little, just a little

snippet, just a little understanding of who he is before we meet him. And so I'm so, first off, I should have led with this, but I'm so proud of you guys for even being curious, you know, if you clicked on this and you weren't even, you weren't even sure if this was something that you would consider or if you'd, did click this with the intention of knowing that you wanted to start a journey with Jesus, I'm so proud of you for that. Like, you don't understand how much it means to God that your heart is open just this much, just this much, you know?

And we've said this on the podcast too, that all he needs is faith the size of a mustard seed, which is equivalent to like a sesame seed. It's so small. But like, that's all he needs. And so if you're showing up with a sesame seed right now, God. is so grateful for that like he is so grateful for that and he is so excited and I'm so proud of you I'm so proud of you for like just even being curious you know because I think a lot of people go their entire life without ever allowing themselves to be curious about the Lord and so I think you deserve some

credit in that you know credit to give yourself that you're allowing yourself to be curious about who God is and I pray that that seed continues to grow and your curiosity can continues to grow on wanting to learn who this guy is. Like who is Jesus? Like who is God? You know? Yeah, anyway. So I'm, I'm so proud of you. I'm so excited for you. This is about to be the most fun you're ever going to have in your life. By the way, it's not perfect. Doesn't mean you're not going to cry. It doesn't mean you're not going to have pain. The thing is, is like having faith in the Lord does not take away the obstacles of our life. But it gives us that companionship and it gives us somebody who will take care of us through it, you know? And he gives us peace through it. He gives us joy through it,

where it like does not make sense. Most people would not be joyous. Most people would not have peace. But because you have God, he gives you those things. And so it's fun. It's like actually so fun. Like walking with the Lord is so cool. And I've said this on a TikTok.

I'm going to say it again that you think you're cool now. Just wait until you see where the Lord takes you. You're about to be so much cool. Like the Lord is going to make you so much cooler. Like you're not ready for it actually. You're about to be so cool. Like it's so insane the way that he just pours into you. spiritually and like the knowledge you receive like you will turn around and be like whoa i just said something

so smart he's going to pour so much wisdom into you it's going to be awesome i'm so grateful and thank you for trusting me with this too like i hope i did a good job lord almighty jesus i hope i did an okay job um i hope that this truly led so many people into curiosity of knowing jesus i hope it brings a lot of people to barns and noble barns and noble you're welcome and i hope that you just like take time to just be with the Lord and read his word because if it's if it's accessible that's the thing is that if we have the privilege to walk into a Barnes & Noble and buy a Bible like if you do have that privilege where you could get a Bible or even if it's from your local church like that is such a privilege in itself because there are so many people in the world that do not have these same rights they do not have these

same privileges if they even owned a page of this Bible they could be killed I think we need to understand also the privilege that we have where if you've neglected the word of God just simply because of laziness or just unmotivation, I think having that reality check of like, there are people in the world that may never know the word of God because of their circumstances, because of where they live. There are languages that just the Bible hasn't even been translated into, you know, and I think I didn't even realize that, guys. Like before I started my journey, I didn't even realize that, but it's real. So if it's accessible to you and you have the freedom to open the word of God, please do it.

Because there's so many people who would literally give anything to hold something like this in their hands, you know? So anyway, I hope this episode encouraged you guys. I'm so grateful. My batteries are dying on my cameras. I love y'all. I'm encouraging you guys in this next week. I can't wait to hear more of your testimonies. And like we always say on our way out is I just pray that we want.

Walk a little bit more like Jesus today. I hope that you guys do. Let's walk more like Jesus. Let's show somebody why Jesus is so cool today. Let's spread his love. Let's spread his kindness. Let's spread his empathy. Let's spread his compassion.

Let's spread his patience, not only with others, but with ourselves. And with him. I love y'all. And I will see you next week. If you guys can't wait until next Friday for another episode, you are in luck. Subscribe to our Patreon where you will have early access to future episodes and occasional surprise bonus episodes. Make sure to follow us on Instagram and TikTok for more content.

And if this episode spoke to you, please write us a five-star review since it helps the podcast so much. We'll see you guys next time.