Getting Closer to God: 4 Habits that Grew My Faith

Q&A: https://www.eastcoastcreativemedia.com/getoutofyourownwaypodcast

IG: https://www.instagram.com/samdesalvo/

Hello my friends!! I'm excited to share with you 4 habits that have truly transformed my faith and brought me closer to God. Discover the power of church involvement, the incredible impact of supportive friends, and the treasure trove of faith resources that have enriched my spiritual journey. And let's not forget the incredible blessing of alone time with God, where I've experienced His presence like never before. Join me on this personal and inspiring exploration as we embark on a path of faith growth together. Don't miss out on these life-changing insights! Subscribe now and let's walk this incredible journey of faith side by side.

RESOURCES MENTIONED: 

YOUTUBE:

https://www.youtube.com/@JeanineAmapola

https://www.youtube.com/@SadieRobertson

https://www.youtube.com/@elevationchurch

https://www.youtube.com/@ThePorch

https://www.youtube.com/@jesusimage

PODCASTS:

https://open.spotify.com/show/4n8I02c8M5QlgKSNR9IUbJ

https://open.spotify.com/show/1agQOxIYFhLMbVS7XN1wDJ

https://open.spotify.com/show/6nLlNUMm4VuZE1ln9oOJvy

https://open.spotify.com/show/0E9SOQ3NeeFwDhn7TZsq6r

GROUP:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/abidetribe/

BIBLE APP:

https://www.youversion.com/the-bible-app/

MY FAV RESOURCES + BIBLES
https://amzn.to/41xY0C1

ALL LINKS:https://linktr.ee/samdesalvo

Let's be Friends:

★ Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/samdesalvo/

★Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX3OG8lzb_TmlQQYS5ltn2A

Don't forget to rate and subscribe xo

Thanks so much and see you for the next one! 

Transcript

Samantha: 0:01

Hello my friends, and welcome back to another episode of the Get Out of Your Own Wave podcast. I'm your host, Sam DeSalvo, and on this podcast we talk all things wellness, motivation, productivity, healthy living, and business. You guys, you guys, you guys, you guys, I was just recording this episode and I honestly think it's the enemy working against me right now because I was halfway through what I was just doing. The episode I was just doing and my camera has a full battery right now and it just shut off halfway. I was like, are you kidding me? Like the footage did not save. So this is me going round two guys. Send up a prayer right now because we are hanging out for dear life here. I hope you guys are having an amazing week so far, and if you clicked on today's title, you kind of already have an idea of what today we're gonna be talking about, but we're gonna be talking about getting closer to God, growing your faith, and these are four habits that. Helped me grow my faith. And the reason I wanted to make this episode is because it's something near and dear to my heart. I feel as if when I was first beginning in my faith journey about two years ago, this was something I was actively searching for. I was looking all over YouTube and on podcasts, kind of looking for some tangibles that I could hang on to, to understand how to grow a deeper relationship with God and how, what kind of. Steps could I take to get to a deeper level that I, you know, either see other people at or just craved within myself. And I didn't feel as if there was a ton of resources for something like this out there. So now that I have a platform and I get to talk to you guys and stuff, I wanted to make this. Because it was something that I was looking for and I wanna use my platform to promote goodness of the world, and I wanna use my platform to glorify God and share about my faith. So I hope you guys enjoy today's episode. And I hope you guys find this episode useful. I do feel as if in this world right now, people are searching for truth. They are searching for a deeper fulfillment, and I find that people will look for it, even myself. You look for it out in the world, you look for it through worldly things, and it's something that can only be filled by God. So if you are searching right now, and you clicked on this episode because you are and have been searching for something deeper, and you have been searching for fulfillment and nothing has worked for you that I'm just so proud of you for even going down this road and beginning this journey. It is amazing and I promise you it's gonna be worth it. So if you are just beginning, then I encourage you to keep listening to the different tips that I have for this episode. And I just wanna preface this, I'm obviously still learning, and I will continue to always, always learn about this. And I'm still a beginner in the grand scheme of things on my faith journey, but I wanted to provide you guys with something and be relatable to you, that I understand where you're coming from and I wanted to just share some things that have helped me and that will continue to help me as I continue to grow and learn so let's jump in today's episode. So habit number one, was getting involved in a church, getting plugged in. And I wanted to be part of a church that. Had a younger vibe and I could relate to that. I absolutely loved going to that. I felt like I was learning something out of it. So finding what that looks like for you is going to be totally different, and I would definitely do some research. Check some different places out around you. Find a place that you feel connected. Did two, and I think you'll know this feeling, if you go try out a service, you go to one. I think you'll get the vibe of it and you'll feel if you feel connected to it and if you mesh well with the place and see what they preach, see how they talk. I think those are important things as well. So, I think getting involved and getting plugged into somewhere is super important for community as well, and it, it's important to be surrounded by other believers, other people that have similar values as you I found my church through social media. I remember seeing stuff on social media, just about the church in general. People that I kind of grew up with were going to this one particular church, and it always looked, it looked young. It looked young and it looked like somewhere that would be interesting for me to go to. But I do remember the first time I went there I was very nervous, as most people probably are. You probably are too. But I remember going and they had welcomers at the door, and I just asked one of the ladies, I was like I'm new here. I think that's literal what I said. I was like, I'm new here. What do I do? And she gave me instructions. I went by myself for the first time because I wanted this to be a personal journey for me, and I didn't really want anyone to talk me different about it. So I didn't even tell anybody I was going, so I went completely alone, which can be nerve-wracking. But the people there were amazing. Someone talked to me every single time I went, I was starting to get to know people and then over time, I, I started to grow more friendships and then I started to serve in the church. And that just basically means we volunteer and give our talents and our skills where is best fit and give back to the church. This helped me get plugged into the church too because you obviously, when you serve on a team, you start to get to know people even more and you start to cultivate even more friendships. So that was amazing. And then just helping out at different events and going to all the different kinds of services that the church had helped me get a little bit more plugged in and definitely grew my faith even deeper, and obviously attending all the services that I could to just absorb as much information I could at the time. So I think it's important to find a church that you mesh well with you vibe with, and that you understand the message that is being given, and it is given in a way that you can absorb it. So definitely do some research. Look around for churches in your area that you feel like would be the best suited for you, and I would definitely encourage you to get plugged in, get involved, serve on a team, things like that. Because the more you're meshed in there, just the more you're surrounded by that amazing community, the deeper it will grow your faith. The second habit that I have is your friends and your surroundings. So just in general life, you are a culmination of the people you surround yourself with. So if you are trying to pursue. Your journey of faith and you are trying to walk a little bit different than the rest of the world, then it's so important to surround yourself with people that have similar goals and a similar mindset and beliefs as you do, because. The relationships environments can have an impact of our life and our faith, either positively or negatively. So depending on who you surround yourself with, are going to affect this journey for you. So I would suggest, and what I do, Like for myself was I actually chose to keep this part private of myself for a while until I was confident and I knew in my heart what I believed and I cultivated friendships in the church and I got surrounded of communities. I joined a small group in our church and this helped me expand my friendships even more in surrounding myself with these types of people. Elevated my faith journey and having people that could understand the struggles was huge for me because there were certain struggles that I could go to my church friends about that my other friends wouldn't have ever understood. So having those kind of people to lean on is. So important. So I really encourage you to get plugged in and get involved into a community. Get involved into a small group and if this isn't something that your church offers, then I know there's a bunch of online things. I will link some down in the description box below if that's something you're looking for. And also if you are ready to take a step out and. You are ready to talk about that. That's amazing. Maybe you could even ask some people on social media if they would be interested in doing a virtual group with you, starting a virtual group with you. Or maybe you'll have some people in your area that would be interested in joining a group and starting a group with you. And then you can surround yourself with like-minded peoples similar believers as you, and they're just going to boost your faith so much. And even in the Bible, it tells us to do this. It tells us in proves 13, whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm. So the Bible warns us to surround ourselves with people who are like-minded as us. Later on in Proverbs, it tells us that iron sharpens irons. So we want people that are going to refine us and make us better. We want people that are going to encourage us, pray for us, and even correct us when we're wrong. So we wanna surround ourself with the right kind of people, and I think that will help your journey so much. And you may find that your friendships with other people that may not have similar beliefs as you will change, but you'll have cultivated so many good friendships in the church and people that you can lean on that, that your friendships from before may be different. But it's okay that you are fulfilled with so many amazing, amazing people around you. So I definitely encourage you to find an amazing community. Start a small group, join a small group, and it will impact your faith so much. So we want people that are gonna make us better, and I will, I will leave you. With that. So third habit I have for you guys is resources and Bibles. So usually when. We start our faith journey, we're like, I wanna get a cute Bible and highlighters to go with the Bible. I'm gonna look it up on Amazon today. And that's amazing because obviously you want a Bible, it's the living truth and you wanna open it up and that's amazing, amazing, amazing. But sometimes when you get the Bible, you're kinda lost with what to do with it because you know, breaking down pieces of it and understanding it can be very overwhelming and it's kind of. Even maybe intimidating, not sure if that's the right word, but I can understand that. When I started my faith journey, I was looking for resources that I could kind of use and. People I could turn to to learn from. So different resources on YouTube and on podcasts that I could actively listen to. And then also things that would help break down what I'm learning within the Bible. So I'm gonna share all these resources down in the description box below. And these are just some of the people that I listen to and I enjoy. I'm sure there are so many out there. So these are just a handful of them. These people are on podcasts and on YouTube. Sadie, Robertson, Huff and Janine and APO are two people that I enjoy listening to. I actually got Sadie's devotional when I started my Faith Journey like two years ago, and I was following along with that every single day and it was so easy to read. It really helped me understand things a lot, and it broke things down into. Smaller chunks for me. So that definitely helped me a lot too. And then they also have YouTube and podcasts and their channels are amazing for getting information about these kinds of things. And you know, they're young and relatable, so I love their content so much. Along with that, some other youTube and podcasters that I enjoy are at Elevation Church and the Porch. They have great sermons that are available on YouTube and on podcasts, so definitely encourage you to check those out. And then, like I said, I'm sure that search will open you up to so many different others out there that you could find and listen to and enjoy. Again, I will link all those things down in the description box so you can find them, and I'm sure those searches will lead to other searches of people that you find and just make sure that they're credible in that and what they're saying resonates with you. Another resource that I love is the Bible app. So it's just called the you version Bible app. And I use this all the time because they have plans on there. So you can do a Bible plan right through there and you can invite friends to do it with you. So it gives you. Guided days, it comes with like a devotional, the scripture that matches it, and then at the, has a little reflection piece that you can say. What did that mean to you? What did you get out of it? And I enjoy doing those with other people and I can hear what they thought about it. They do the Bible in a year. They do a Bible in 30 days on this same app. So there's so many different plans that you can pick from. There's ones for. New believers too. So if you need somewhere to start, they have the perfect resources for it. So I would definitely encourage you to check out the YOU version by app. Think is an amazing resource. And amongst that, there are just so many others that you can definitely find. You probably find'em in the app store, research them online on Google, and you'll come across so, so many. But like I said, just make sure they resonate with you and then make sure what they're saying you agree with. I definitely encourage you to get a Bible and then pair it with some of these good resources that will help you kind of decipher and go through what the Bible is saying and help you learn from it. So I hope you guys find that helpful. And then number four is spending alone time with God. This one is super important for me and super crucial to me, and something that I need to practice every single week, and it's when I find that my connection grows the deepest, so our minds can just be so loud, filled with so much stuff all the time, and it can be hard. To hear the voice of God. And I remember talking with my brother and he was making a big decision, and I was like, well, did you pray about this? And he's like, I just don't even think that like works. Like I, he never answers back. When I pray, I never hear any answers. And it's like we think of it as a hotline, like, okay, I have this problem, I need an answer. ASAP in our mind is just so loud, filled with the opinions of others and what's going on in our lives and the agendas that we have. So it's super important to set some intentional time aside that your mind is quiet and you are still, and you are trying to just. Be in the presence. You can do this in many different ways. You set a time aside that you find that your mind is the most quiet, whether that be in the morning, at night at lunchtime, like whenever that is for you. Ways that you can spend time alone with God is in prayer, meditation, reading the Bible, journaling, and just simply being still and listening and just soaking in the presence of God and his voice personally for me, I do journal a lot and I journal all my prayers in the morning cuz I do have a hard time with closing my eyes and you know, praying without my mind going in a million directions. And I find that journaling works the best for me, but everybody is going to be different. Another practice that I do too is that I will put worship on my tv, on YouTube, and it's usually a longer one, like about an hour long, and I will just kind of soak in that presence and pray for God to come and speak. And in those moments I'm just more still and I'm really just absorbing like a sponge. So you have to find kind of what works best for you. But I do encourage you to put some time aside each week to spend time alone with God and. Even Jesus, you'll find that when you read the Bible, Jesus spends so much time alone, and I always am curious about this because like I'm the kind of person that I do need a certain amount of alone time, and I need to kind of decompress and recharge from the world, but Jesus needed this too. And you'll find many of times that it says in the Bible, jesus went to a solitary place and he prayed. So even Jesus spent time alone with God, his father, and I think it's just as important for us to do the same. We need to quiet our minds and open ourselves up to be able to receive and hear what God is saying. So I encourage you to set some time aside, whatever that means for you to spend time alone with God and I hope that you find that. It helps you grow your relationship and grows your faith even deeper. I hope you guys found today's episode helpful and I hope these are things that you can take with you as I have to and will continue to do in no shape, way or form. Do I want to come across to you guys that I either know it all or I think I know it all about these kinds of topics, cuz I definitely don't and I will always continue to be on a journey with this and I will always be learning as well. I just remember when I was first starting out looking for something similar to this, so I wanted to be able to provide you guys with something like this. So if you are just starting out, I encourage you to keep on going, keep pursuing, and that it's a journey and it takes intentional effort and commitment to develop a deeper relationship with him. So it was just keep working at it and. I hope that these four habits have encouraged you and inspired you to grow a deeper relationship. And if you guys wanna hear more about these kinds of topics, definitely let me know. If you guys could rate and subscribe this podcast. That would be so amazing. And you can find me at Sam des Avo on social media as I'll be talking more about these kinds of topics and I look forward to talking to you guys next week. I hope you have a great week ahead of you, and I hope you take some of this with you throughout your week. Thank you guys