To: The sister who wants to say YES, but fear is whispering in her ear.<\/p>\n
\u201cStart a Bible study in your home\u2026Oh, I\u2019m not sure my house is big enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cServe at the local food bank\u2026It costs too much to get a baby sitter for my kids.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJoin a women\u2019s group at your church\u2026I feel bad for leaving my husband with the kids after work.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cApply for the job\u2026My resume isn\u2019t very good.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGive the waitress a large tip\u2026I can\u2019t because I need to save money.\u201d<\/p>\n
Oh how guilty I am for getting an idea, a nudge from the Holy Spirt, or an invitation to say YES to God, but shut it down quickly.\u00a0\u00a0But why? Fear. The fear of thinking I heard wrong. The fear of not being good enough. The fear that I won\u2019t be able to handle it or mange the details, and the fear that I will lose control or be labeled as a failure for starting something and not finishing.<\/p>\n
Fear. Fear. Fear. We all have it.<\/p>\n
Do you know what else we have? Desire. Desire to do things that make us come alive. The\u00a0desire to seek, hear, and walk in relationship with our Creator. The desire to say \u201cYES\u201d to God. Saying YES to Him doesn\u2019t mean we won\u2019t have fear, but saying YES draws us into a relationship with Him. An invitation into an adventure we just cannot pass up.<\/p>\n
We find in Joshua Chapter 1 a beautiful example of yielding to God\u2019s plan, expecting His faithfulness, and seeking Him while stepping out. God commands Joshua to seek Him so he can make wise decisions, be strong, be courageous, and trust that God is with him as he goes. We see in this passage that God is the great planner, faithful in His promises, and trustworthy. So, of course we can give Him our YES, but how?<\/p>\n
Think of your \u201cYES\u201d in three categories: Yield to Gods Plan, Expect His Faithfulness, & Seek Him and Step Out.<\/p>\n
Y: YIELD TO GODS PLAN (Joshua 1:2)<\/p>\n
God called Joshua to \u201cARISE\u201d or get up and go. God had a plan to bring His people into the land He promised and needed Joshua to yield to that plan. I think it\u2019s important to note the word \u201cyield.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0When you come to a yield sign, you slow your vehicle and look around for other traffic that could come from another direction. To give our YES\u00a0to God, we must yield to His pace. It can be tempting to rush ahead and take matters into our own hands, or kick our feet questioning if we really should step into this opportunity. So, where do we start? We ask. Jeremiah 33:3 says, \u201cCall on the Lord and He will answer you, and tell you hidden things that you do not know.\u201d Prayer is not just a monologue, but a dialogue. We must come to Him with courage to ask, \u201cGod, what are you inviting me into?\u201d He promises to answer.<\/p>\n
E:\u00a0EXPECT HIM TO BE FAITHFUL (Joshua 1:5)<\/p>\n
He said to Joshua, \u201cNo man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.\u201d I love how God promises and reminds. He promises Joshua that his journey will be successful, that He will go with him, and He will not leave him. He reminds Joshua of His faithfulness with Moses. Joshua had walked with Moses and learned the ways of leadership and had seen God\u2019s\u00a0\u00a0faithfulness to him which encouraged him to step into his new role. Just as God promised and reminded Joshua, He does the same with us and we can expect it.<\/p>\n
S: SEEK HIM AND STEP OUT (Joshua 1:3)<\/p>\n
The vow to receive the land was part of God\u2019s covenant with Israel. God would keep this vow, but the Israelites had a working part in receiving the land. He told Joshua, \u201cI will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses.\u201d This means Joshua and the Israelites must \u201cset foot\u201d in the land and war for their inheritance. As was noted by Moses when passing on the Word of the Lord, \u201cSee, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land the Lord swore he would give to your fathers \u2014 to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob \u2014 and to their descendants after them\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0The Lord had given Israel the land, but they would have an active part in taking possession of the land themselves. God worked on their accounts as they STEPPED OUT in FAITH to take an ACTIVE part in taking possession (Deuteronomy 1:8).<\/p>\n
We gave God our YES 9 years ago. We hope our story encourages you!<\/p>\n
On Oct 2014, Amanda felt God put the word podcast on her heart. This vision was to encourage women in their faith, as wives, moms, sisters, daughters, and friends. Her response was,\u00a0\u00a0\u201cMe? really? I do not know how or what to do to start that.\u201d She didn\u2019t share this with anyone. She kept praying about it every time God brought it to her mind and heart. Amanda and Alley soon met and their friendship grew\u00a0quickly. They learned they had a huge passion to encourage women in their faith. One day in April, Amanda woke up with the podcast and Alley on her mind. She couldn\u2019t stop thinking about it. She asked God \u201cIs Alley suppose to do this with me?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0She immediately shared her vision with Alley. Meanwhile, they were helping prepare for a women\u2019s gathering. At the end of that women\u2019s conference, they were all challenged to write on a stone a \u201cstep of faith\u201d God was calling them to take. Alley and Amanda were talking after the conference and shared that they had both written \u201cpodcast\u201d on their stones. They did not want to write it down at the time, but knew God was calling them to take that step of faith. The scripture Joshua 1:3 \u201cI will give you a place for every step you set your foot, just as I did Moses\u201d became so alive in God guiding their steps. They said \u201cYes, we do not know what to do, but we say yes to you Lord!\u201d The next day, God gave Alley the name \u201dLiving Out Loud.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0They knew God had given them the two words \u201cTransparency & Encouragement.\u201d That week, God opened more doors confirming that this was His will and gave them a platform through a local well-known website.\u00a0\u00a0God began to reveal that this podcast was to be a platform for women to be able to share their stories. God saw two women who had a passion for Him and passion to encourage others. God heard their prayers and so sweetly brought them together to glorify Him.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Our ministry verse is Revelation 12:11 \u201cFor they will conquer by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.\u201d We desire to encourage others to share their story and truly believe it brings healing to their hearts as well as the hearts of those who listen. Our podcast is a platform for women and men to share what God is doing in their lives and how He is faithful. Sometimes we laugh, sometimes we cry, but in the end, it\u2019s always encouraging.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n What is God inviting you into and will you say YES?\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n XOXO,\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Your sisters Alley Bell & Amanda Reed<\/em><\/p>\n Have a story to share? Is God calling you to share? Visit our website and submit the form under the \u201cShare your story\u201d tab.<\/em><\/p>\n Connect with us on Facebook<\/a> and Instagram<\/a> or visit our website www.livingoutloud.today<\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Also, we just published our first devotional. Join us for 30 days as we share truths from God\u2019s Word, personal stories from our lives, and encourage you to reflect and journal as you spend time with the Lord. Click here<\/strong><\/a> to purchase!\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" To: The sister who wants to say YES, but fear is whispering in her ear. \u201cStart a Bible study in your home\u2026Oh, I\u2019m not sure my house is big enough.\u201d \u201cServe at the local food bank\u2026It costs too much to get a baby sitter for my kids.\u201d \u201cJoin a women\u2019s group at your church\u2026I feel\u2026 Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":340,"featured_media":229614,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[408,413,421,1,400,437],"tags":[],"coauthors":[390],"class_list":["post-229610","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-career-future","category-doubt","category-friendship","category-life-advice","category-lo-library","category-purpose-calling"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/liveoriginal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229610","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/liveoriginal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/liveoriginal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liveoriginal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/340"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liveoriginal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=229610"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/liveoriginal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229610\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":229613,"href":"https:\/\/liveoriginal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229610\/revisions\/229613"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liveoriginal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/229614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/liveoriginal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=229610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liveoriginal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=229610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liveoriginal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=229610"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liveoriginal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=229610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}