Have you ever felt weighed down by life's challenges, wondering if the struggle will ever end? Our latest episode is a heartfelt embrace for those walking through dark valleys, offering a beacon of hope and a reminder that every season of hardship is known by a higher power. We open up about our own paths to finding peace and joy amidst turmoil, sharing stories of how rest and spiritual care have been our lifelines. We delve into the transformative power of faith, the Holy Spirit, and the uplifting truth that your trials are not in vain. It's a candid conversation about the importance of pausing to nurture your physical and emotional well-being, and it's one we're confident will resonate deeply with many of you.
As we journey together, we reveal how foundational self-care like sleep, nutrition, and hydration can arm you with the strength to persevere. Our discussion turns to the inspiring words of Proverbs 31:25, which instill a sense of fearlessness and dignity, empowering you to look towards the future with certainty in God's provision. We also emphasize the courage it takes to seek community support and how extending kindness can not only uplift others but also enrich your own spirit.
Now get out into the world and be a woman who intentionally encourages another!
Have you ever felt weighed down by life's challenges, wondering if the struggle will ever end? Our latest episode is a heartfelt embrace for those walking through dark valleys, offering a beacon of hope and a reminder that every season of hardship is known by a higher power. We open up about our own paths to finding peace and joy amidst turmoil, sharing stories of how rest and spiritual care have been our lifelines. We delve into the transformative power of faith, the Holy Spirit, and the uplifting truth that your trials are not in vain. It's a candid conversation about the importance of pausing to nurture your physical and emotional well-being, and it's one we're confident will resonate deeply with many of you.
As we journey together, we reveal how foundational self-care like sleep, nutrition, and hydration can arm you with the strength to persevere. Our discussion turns to the inspiring words of Proverbs 31:25, which instill a sense of fearlessness and dignity, empowering you to look towards the future with certainty in God's provision. We also emphasize the courage it takes to seek community support and how extending kindness can not only uplift others but also enrich your own spirit.
Now get out into the world and be a woman who intentionally encourages another!
#women #podcast
Speaker 1:
Good morning Encouragers. Welcome back to the Encourage Her Community Podcast. If you're a regular listener, you might have noticed I took a few weeks off and that was because we had a lot going on at church. I help out with our women's ministry and we had a spring conference and I really try to just kind of minimize the themes that are floating around in my heart and my mind. I've learned over time that you can have time but it doesn't mean you have the capacity. So with that lesson learned, you'll occasionally see here on the podcast that I take breaks. I'm not going to just record for the sake of recording, I want to be spirit led about it. So I'm glad to be back.
Speaker 1:
I don't know if you can hear the birds chirping in the background. That is not a sound effect that is so cool. Happy spring, all right. So I want to do a podcast today. That might feel a little bit different. It's actually speaking to the girl that was.
Speaker 1:
So I want to do a podcast and an encouragement and I want to speak from the position of overcoming. So I'm speaking today to the girl that's in a hard place, to the woman that's in a hard place, and I'm talking to you from the perspective of someone who's overcome that hard place Doesn't mean my life is easy. It doesn't mean that it's always smooth or happy or light. I certainly still have hard days, dark days, sad things, losses. It doesn't mean that when you overcome something that everything else is going to be peachy, but it does mean that God is good. So today's encouragement again is to the girl who is in the hard place, and this is a compilation of pieces of advice that I would tell her, that I would tell her. What would I tell the girl If I could have told myself those things during the hard place and during the hard time, what would I have wanted to hear? So here we go. Hope you enjoy.
Speaker 1:
Hey, I see you. I see you in a hard place. I imagine what you're going through. I can picture the feelings, the faces, the emotions and the roller coaster that you're riding. I know that kind of darkness. I want you to know that you are seen. Nothing is hidden from God. He sees it all, even the stuff that you don't show anybody. And I know it can be lonely, going through a hard trial, something that you feel like nobody could understand. I get it. I'm here to encourage you today I'm here to encourage you. Today I'm here to encourage the woman, the girl, the person who's in a hard, stuck, dark place.
Speaker 1:
I want to tell you some things that I wish someone had told me when I was in that place. I want to tell you to take time to rest. You're exhausted. It's all right to admit that. You're exhausted emotionally, spiritually and physically. People might be giving you tips on a lot of things that you could do to make yourself feel better and that might just feel even more exhausting, just imagining the things that you should do. You're tired. You don't want anything new. You're weary. You're so tired that you're not sure how you'll get through the things that you need to do today. Take time to rest. Rest can look different for each person.
Speaker 1:
My biggest piece of advice would be to go back to the basics. Take some time to hyper-focus on how you're sleeping. Figure out ways to make you sleep deeper or better. Maybe those are temporary solutions that you need to do, or maybe they're just tweaks in your rhythm of your day Turning off the TV, allowing yourself to sit in the quiet with a cup of tea, getting a new pillow. I don't know what you need Darker shades. They're all temporary little things, but whatever it takes right now for you to sleep better, focus on that thing. Focus on how you're eating.
Speaker 1:
When we're exhausted and we're going through a hard thing, often our tendency is to just grab and go. Quick eats are usually not nourishing for your body. If you're exhausted and you're weary and you're not sleeping well, you need nutrition, and it might just take your mind off some things to focus on your sleep and your nutrition, maybe even how much water you're drinking. It might sound so trite right now and so silly given what you're going through, but it helps. So take time to rest and take care of yourself.
Speaker 1:
I also want to remind you that nothing is wasted. Nothing is wasted. Nothing is wasted. Even though you wouldn't have chosen this, even though you would have absolutely written your story differently, god's using it, he's in it and he's with you, and he doesn't waste a thing. Every person and every circumstance that you've been through is making you who you will be come tomorrow. God doesn't waste a thing, even the hardest of hard. He wants to be with you, he wants you to rely upon him during this time and he wants to hold you up and keep you upright, and he will. He's faithful. Remember nothing is wasted. He's faithful. Remember nothing is wasted.
Speaker 1:
Speaking of wasting, my third piece of advice for you, which I wish someone had told me, was don't waste your time trying to find joy in temporary things. You need true joy, and true joy can only be found in one place. True joy is actually a product of something else. True joy is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. So take this time to care for yourself. Remember that nothing is wasted, and seek the Holy Spirit's leading. Go inward, rely upon the Holy Spirit, listen to the Holy Spirit. Listen to the Holy Spirit, talk to the Holy Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is joy. You can't attain joy on your own. You can't attain true joy from things of this earth. So, yeah, it's definitely not harmful if you grab a cup of coffee that's special right now. If you eat an extra brownie, if you have a glass of wine. None of that's going to be, in and of itself, inherently evil or wrong, but it's not going to give you what you really need, which is that internal joy that you're lacking right now. Rely upon the spirit.
Speaker 1:
And, lastly, I want to just remind you that, although you may not believe it right now and it might even annoy you. You will have joy and laughter again. There is life after this. You will even belly laugh once again. I promise you, this is just for this moment and it won't always feel this way. Life will continue on and so will you. You will be stronger, you will be wiser, you will be more empathetic and aware. You will laugh again. You will smile genuinely again. These things I can assure you, because I've lived it myself.
Speaker 1:
I remember being at a red light and looking at the car next to me and thinking how can they laugh next to me and thinking how can they laugh. Do they not know what has happened to me? Do they not know that my world has ended? My life went on. God has been good. I laugh again. I have joy. I have found true joy in the gift of the Holy Spirit. God has provided people to encourage me along my way. I prayed for those people. They've showed up. I hope that I can be one of those people for you.
Speaker 1:
I hope that when you're having a hard day, you can go back and listen to this again and you can be reminded that in times of need, in hard, dark times, when we're unsure of what to do next and when we feel frozen and just and just unhappy, heavy weighted down, that we can remember to go back to the basics. That you can remember to focus on your sleep and your water and your nutrition. You can remember to breathe and trust the Lord that he's not going to waste a thing. He's going to use this thing as hard as it is in your life and the life of those around you. Nothing is wasted. And that, sister, you will laugh again.
Speaker 1:
I want to end by reading Proverbs 31, 25, which I keep on my wall because I need this reminder every day. Proverbs 31 25. She is clothed with strength and dignity and she laughs without fear of the future. We don't want to fear that this will happen again. We don't want to live in fear, wondering when the next dark season will come. We can live with the expectance of the Lord and his provision and his love and his protection, regardless of what comes. We can laugh because we know where we're going next. We know that there's hope, hope eternal. Sister, I know that you can feel lonely. Remember that you are never alone. God is with you If you have people in your world and you need to reach out to someone. Reach out, ask for help. It doesn't mean you're weak. It actually is the strongest thing you could do right now. Seek help, seek the lord and be encouraged to know that you will overcome love to you all. If you have it in, you, get out into the world today and encourage somebody. It will bless you back. Happy Monday.
