Hanging Out With Jesus Podcast

82: 5 Steps to Embracing the Unfamiliar as You Transition Into a New Season of Life

• Lyvita Brooks • Season 2023 • Episode 82

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Ever felt those nudges from God, guiding you to embrace the unfamiliar? They can be scarey, can't they? We kick off the conversation by highlighting the impact of censorship laws on our ministries and businesses. It's a crucial topic that emphasizes the importance of staying informed and aware of the legal landscape. We also delve into the metaphor of transitioning from the known to the unknown, sharing personal experiences of these divine nudges and the prominence of established disciplines in discerning God's voice.

As we navigate through life's seasons, transitions are inevitable. We share key insights on managing these transitions, offering five essential steps when moving from one season to another. We explore the Fortified Coaching Program, a robust system that assists individuals in transitioning into their destinies and meeting their goals. Finally, join us as we discuss ways to stay encouraged through life's transitions.

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Speaker 1:

Welcome to Hanging Out with Jesus Podcast, where we equip the Saints for ministry by bringing you tips, interviews, inspiration and information on how to start and maintain your ministry. Hi, I'm Lyvita Brooks. Author, bible teacher and founder of the Me Project Academy. For more resources, including your free newsletter, visit www. hangingoutwithjesuspodcast. com or click the link in the show notes below. This is Episode 82. Our focus is transition: "what to do when leaving the familiar for the unfamiliar. That and more is coming up. Thanks for supporting this ministry and rating and commenting on the blog and whatever podcast platform you are listening from, because then it makes us feel more like a conversation. If this is your first time listening, in welcome. Now come walk with me where we intentionally and daily Hang Out with Jesus in Christian News.

Speaker 1:

In Christian News - Saints, be aware of the laws that are being set up which can impact your ministry and your business. Our present government officials, they're getting bolder in trying to create a radically different America. Presently, under the First Amendment of the US Constitution, it states that Congress shall make no law .. .. abridging the freedom of speech. Free speech is simply the ability to say, write or otherwise express what you believe without fear of punishment or retaliation from the government. And yet a seventh grader living in Massachusetts, Liam Morrison, is in a lawsuit to defend his right to wear a T-shirt that says there are only two genders, and he's wearing this in school. He's defending his right to do this. His case is just one of government censorship. Now we look at this and we say, oh well, that's Massachusetts, that's a student, that's a child, but, saints, it's impacting your ministry in some way, shape or form, because T-shirts have words. Saints, know your rights, because we are in a world that's transitioning, where one group's voice again is impacting our ability for freedom of speech and for freedom of religion and if it's in freedom of religion, it's talking about faith. We need to stand together. Censorship is not a good thing when it comes to destroying, separating people from speaking what they believe. Now, if you run into any legal problems around freedom of speech or religion, go to AllianceDefendingFreedom. com and check out the contact page, because there you can write your request. S ince this is an organization that I support, and I encourage you to do the same, because we never know when we'll need legal advice from believers, who know the law. Don't be in a ministry or business in which you are not keeping up with the laws that surround it.

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Now, on the personal side of this ministry, saints, God has got me tweaking my mission statements. Can you believe it? I'm refinding and making it clear not just my personal, but also the business, the writing ministry, the podcast. Saints talk about transitioning from the familiar to "God. What's up, what's going on? That's where I am right now. What I'm learning is that God has placed gifts and talents within us. It's through these gifts and talents and desires that our calling comes. For Now, how that calling will look, well, that will depend on you and your relationship with the Lord.

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I was putting more emphasis on the podcast than the writing part of my ministry because, you know, I just published Nuggets for Thought. I thought I'm focusing now on the marketing part and my writing piece, where I was honing my writing and trying to perfect my style. Well, that kind of went to the waste side. The Holy Spirit kept nudging me to stop putting the podcast and other stuff where the writing was scheduled. You see, I have a set time to write. It is through the writing that I learned that the podcast ideas were coming. You see, I didn't realize how important the writing part of my ministry was until I couldn't. My ideas for the podcast were getting kind of bland. It's like they didn't have the oomph, that flow that I'm used to having. And so this is where I learned that, for me, reading the Word of God and other books actually spark questions that cause me to go searching. And in my searching, I go, write, and speak, which is my personal mission. These three things are what God's called me to do: Go, write, and speak. My business is set up this way and it allows me to go do just that. And if you want some understanding of what is a ministry, check out episode 60, because you'll find that your business, well, that is your ministry, and your ministry well, y'all, that's your business.

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Right now I am in a season where God's taking me out of what I used to do and to the next season of my life, which is being comfortable with what seems uncomfortable. No matter what your season in life, saints, when you move from one season to the next, that's uncomfortable and it can be a little scary because it's it's unknown. This is why having established disciplines in your life, such as quiet time, bible study, are important. It helps you hear God more clearly and it kind of makes transition a little more easier. So, thanks.

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I'm gonna ask the question again what do you do when you transition from the known, what's comfortable, to what God's calling you to do the unknown? You know, you thought your life was supposed to go in one direction, but that's not. You thought your business was for a lifetime, but Doesn't seem like that. Yeah, you know, you thought God called you to do one thing, but instead you are doing something that Doesn't even seem relatable. They all remember the story about the karate kid on television where low boy went to learn karate so he went to One of the karate instructors. Instead of him first learning the different karate techniques, he was learning how to carry water in buckets without the water spelling. He, you know, he was learning how to clean up. You know, stuff that doesn't seem relatable at all, and and and he was learning how to show up on time. Sometimes things God doesn't Start us where we think we should start. Sometimes he starts us where we need to start, and I know Showing up is one of the most important places to begin when you're transitioning from one place or one state to another.

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Transition it's the process of a period of changing from one state or condition to another, for example, going from being married to divorce. Another one is Taking a hobby and turning it into a ministry. Another one is taking your ministry idea and actually making it into a business. These are transitions and they happen during different seasons in our lives. Now here are five things you should do when transitioning from one season of life into another. One know why you are going through the transition by spending time with the Lord. The Lord is your anchor, so stay in the word. Knowing why will strengthen you when things get tough. It'll also provide direction when you get lost in the details of life. Second, read books about this new season that you're going into. Listen to podcasts. Watch videos. You know, before I started this podcast, I listened to other podcasts. I watched videos about podcasts. I read, simply put read, investigate research, read, read, read all you can about this new season.

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Third, try applying what you're reading or listening to. This way, you can make mistakes. When I was starting my, the writing part of my business, I entered in contests. I attended writing workshops to get critiques on my work. I read books that caused me to apply techniques. So when I looked at a particular sonnet, which is a poem. I worked on it and worked on it and worked on it to see if I could get it just right, to see if that was something I would like to write or to pursue within my world poetry writing. And if it wasn't, I would put that to the side because there's a whole lot of other poems, so I'll poem techniques, poem styles out there that I could practice on to see which one fit me. So try applying what you're reading and listening to.

Speaker 1:

Four leverage your gifts and talents. Saints, listen the skills and talents that I learned as an educator that helped me with researching about podcasting. It allowed me to come up with questions to help me better understand what it is I need to know, but also where I needed to go in order to find the answer to the things that were baffling to me. So leverage the gifts and talents that you had, those skills that you bring to the table. Five connect with others. For example, I went to the writer's center. It was there. I got to meet other podcasters. I got to meet people in broadcasting. I had to meet other writers. I was able to share my ups and downs and they were able to share theirs with me and we were able to develop friendships and talk with each other and learn from each other. Now I'm a part of a flash fiction group that came out of the center. I'm also a part of a Christian indie publishing group, which came out of learning and talking to other people who were Christian indie writers, who also publishers. So connect with other people, saints. That brings me to this.

Speaker 1:

Some of you have come out of the pandemic knowing your gifts and talents, knowing what God has called you to do. You've come out with ideas that were God ideas and you've done nothing with it. Some of you may have talked about it with others and some of you may even have tried to start, but that's as far as you got, because discouragement set in, transitioning from the familiar to the God possibilities that he's placed before you became scary. Hindrance has gotten away. You couldn't figure out how to schedule it all in. You couldn't figure out how to deal with failures and successes, and it's for those reasons why the Lord has touched my heart to start the fortified coaching program For those who know what God's called you to do. But you need help on getting started, organized, motivated and built up to go and do it. It's for the brokenhearted and the crushed spirits who tried and failed the ministry, and you need that spark to get you back on track. It's for those who are willing to move forward into their destiny, because they are sick and tired of being complacent and afraid of the consequences of being disobedient again.

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Now, if you're ready, we can help. I'm opening up the Fortified Coaching Program in October 2023 to December 2023. That's when I'm opening up for people to register, for you to register, but first make sure you pray about it. It's a four month course that's going to meet on Sundays, January 2024 to April 2024. And it's in four parts to help you develop a practical system to fulfill your goals so you can go and do what God's calling you to do, because one of those goals is to actually apply. So pray about it, because you will need to sacrifice time and money in order to be successful. Therefore, count the cost, pray and ask the Lord is this what he wants you to do? If yes, then register now to get on the waiting list. So that's right. That's right.

Speaker 1:

Thank you, lord, thank you, our Creator, for this very moment in time. Thank you for opening our eyes to see your truth, which is that you've not given us a spirit of fear, but of love, power and a sound mind. Give us the strength, father, to run our race in a way that glorifies you, to run our race in a way that invites others to join us. To run our race so that souls will come to Christ. Open our eyes so that we'll see your goodness more than we'll see fear. Also, we pray that the courts protect students like Liam Morrison from government censorship. We pray this in the blessed name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.

Speaker 1:

Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed this episode, then please consider subscribing to the podcast rating and reviewing it. This helps in moving it forward to being heard by more saints. Also, if you haven't get your free copy of the Me Project Academy newsletter, to keep up with new releases of the podcast and monthly activities is so much more. All this and more can be www. hangingoutwithjesuspodcast. com, including contact information, or in the show notes. So until we meet again over the airways, intentionally and tally, hang out with Jesus Shalom.