Be Still Be Free

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Nope, no April Fool's joke here... it's time for a new #podcast episode in the #BeNoble series!  When opportunity presents itself, we all have choices to make on how we will approach that opportunity. In today’s podcast, we will see how Ruth does an amazing job of showing us how to be teachable but responsive, how to humble but yet bold, how to get what she wants but wait on the delivery. Life and all that it has to offer often comes down to timing and opportunity. But if we always wait for life to happen and are not willing to be part of the process, we will miss out on abundance. Be willing to learn about Ruth and see if you can’t learn from who would be the great-grandmother of King David!

BE IN THE WORD:

“I will do whatever you say,” Ruth answered. (Ruth 3:5)

BE EDUCATED:

1.     John Piper 4 week series Book of Ruth. John Piper wants to refresh and encourage us by leading us through the book of Ruth, a book he calls a “beautiful story”.

2.     Ruth, Under the Wings of God book about the book of Ruth, John Piper.

3.     The Living Room Series, Ruth by Kelly Minter. A 6-week Bible study series on the book of Ruth

4.     David Guzik Commentary on Ruth 3

BE DOERS, NOT JUST HEARERS:

1.     Do you feel like you approach situations like Ruth? If not, where can you grow?

2.     Identify a place in your life where you need to become part of the process and not just a spectator? Now, how can you approach it the way Ruth approached Boaz? 

For more resources, make sure to visit our website.

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Join our Be Together Community! It’s a private Facebook group where we gather regularly to encourage, uplift and pray for one another. Click here to join!

Support the show

As always, thank you for listening! Make sure to rate and review us, as it helps more women find our podcast. And be sure to follow us on Instagram at Be Still Be Free.

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At first glance, it seems that this second chapter of Ruth is full of blessings and open doors for Ruth because of her dedication to provide for Naomi. But a deeper look shows us that while God’s blessing and favor are indeed bestowed on her, it’s more a direct result of her inner character and the integrity she possesses in all she put her hands to. Ruth wasn’t afraid to work hard. She possessed a good, old-fashioned work ethic; she was willing to humble herself, put her hand to the dirt, and provide by whatever means necessary. And she did it cheerfully. Can we say the same? Listen in as we explore many powerful lessons from Ruth this week!

BE IN THE WORD:

Ruth, Chapter 2

BE EDUCATED:

1.  10 Powerful Lessons from the Book of Ruth

2.  Five Lessons from Ruth

3.  Be Healthy podcast episodes with Tracy Hurst: Part 1, Part 2

4.  Dear God It’s Me and It’s Urgent. This is the book of prayers for women Monica referenced in the episode.

 BE DOERS, NOT JUST HEARERS:

1.  Like Ruth, what difficulties has God used to accomplish great plans in your life? What losses, hardships and struggles has He seen you through, where you today can firmly say with faith, “the Lord saw me through it and His fingerprints were all over it?”

2.  If someone were writing a book about you, what characteristics would they write about you? Would they be positive or negative? Who are you when no one is watching?

3.  What’s your approach toward hard work? Truthfully and honestly, do you work hard, with excellence being your calling card, at all God has asked you to do? Is there an area God is nudging you to quit “praying about” and instead get out and do what you can? This isn’t about hustle, but about using what’s in your hand.

For more resources, make sure to visit our website.

You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Join our Be Together Community! It’s a private Facebook group where we gather regularly to encourage, uplift and pray for one another. Click here to join!

Support the show

As always, thank you for listening! Make sure to rate and review us, as it helps more women find our podcast. And be sure to follow us on Instagram at Be Still Be Free.

Send us a text, and leave your number or email so we can get back to you :)

Without a doubt, we all have times of suffering in our lives. Some of those times are worse than others, but man... when we are down, we are down, and there's nothing comfortable about it. Even if you are able to be more like Joseph and never lose your faith in God’s plans and purposes, or if you are more like Naomi and feel like God has afflicted you, tough times are tough. Hurting times hurt. But there is a silver lining, friend. God does not allow despair in our lives without a purpose and plan. The hard part is trusting Him in that plan and being willing to suffer for the good of that plan. Will you join me today and grow and learn from Naomi and Ruth? Will you be willing to trust God in your suffering? Trust that His plans are higher than ours. 

BE IN THE WORD:

But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.” (Ruth 1: 16-17)

BE EDUCATED:

1. John Piper 4-week series Book of Ruth chapter 1, John Piper wants to refresh and encourage us by leading us through the book of Ruth, a book he calls a “beautiful story”.

2. Ruth, Under the Wings of God, book about the book of Ruth, John Piper.

3. The Living Room Series, Ruth by Kelly Minter, a 6-week Bible study series on the book of Ruth

BE DOERS, NOT JUST HEARERS:

1. Are you more like Naomi or Joseph? Do you believe that God works all things together for His good? Are you willing for His good to be more important than your good? 

2. Change your perspective. Just as we finished our Be Thinkers Series, where do you need to see the small cracks of light even in the midst of your darkness?

For more resources, make sure to visit our website.

You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Join our Be Together Community! It’s a private Facebook group where we gather regularly to encourage, uplift and pray for one another. Click here to join!

Support the show

As always, thank you for listening! Make sure to rate and review us, as it helps more women find our podcast. And be sure to follow us on Instagram at Be Still Be Free.

Send us a text, and leave your number or email so we can get back to you :)

We're kicking off a brand-new series today, and we're doing something a little different. Listen in as we dive into the details of the book of Ruth, learning more about Naomi, Ruth, Boaz, and how God interrupted the lives of very ordinary, everyday women to leave a legacy that led to Jesus Himself. You don't want to miss this series! So grab a cup of coffee, settle in and learn more about this woman of noble character. 

And if you want to purchase a Be Still Be Free t-shirt, click here! http://www.bestillbefree.com/tshirts/

For more resources, make sure to visit www.bestillbefree.com. 

You can also find us at www.facebook.com/bestillbefree, www.twitter.com/bestillbefree. 

And if you want a close-knit community of friends to share, encourage and walk through life with, be sure to join our private Facebook group, at www.facebook.com/groups/betogethercommunity!

Support the show

As always, thank you for listening! Make sure to rate and review us, as it helps more women find our podcast. And be sure to follow us on Instagram at Be Still Be Free.

Send us a text, and leave your number or email so we can get back to you :)

It's our final #podcast episode of the #BeThinkers series! We hope you've been as encouraged and as challenged as we have been to elevate our mindsets and be transformed by the renewing of our minds. This week's episode is our Deep Dive and Wrap-Up, where we share personal thoughts and feelings about the series and how we're walking through Being Thinkers on a personal level. Listen in, enjoy, and tune in next week for the kick-off to a brand-new series on the Book of Ruth called Be Noble!

For more resources, make sure to visit www.bestillbefree.com. 

You can also find us at www.facebook.com/bestillbefree, www.twitter.com/bestillbefree. 

And if you want a close-knit community of friends to share, encourage and walk through life with, be sure to join our private Facebook group, at www.facebook.com/groups/betogethercommunity!

Support the show

As always, thank you for listening! Make sure to rate and review us, as it helps more women find our podcast. And be sure to follow us on Instagram at Be Still Be Free.

Send us a text, and leave your number or email so we can get back to you :)

It's one of our favorite features each #podcast series, our Women of the Bible episode! This week we discuss several women who we feel embody these attributes of thinking we've been studying.

TRUE + HONEST

Sarah, wife to Abraham. She fell into the trap of believing lies and fact over Truth:

LIE: Sarah’s words in Genesis 16:2: “The Lord has prevented me from having children.”
FACT: God had not opened her womb to have children to this point.
TRUTH: God said to Abraham, “Look up toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them. So will your descendants be.”  

LIE: I’m an old, wrinkled and weathered woman who can not only bear children but has zero desire to even have sex with my old, withered husband.
FACT: I am physically past childbearing years. Medically impossible.
TRUTH: Spoken by God Himself in Genesis 18: “Is anything too difficult for the Lord?”
 

JUST + PURE: 

Mary, mother of Jesus

She was pure physically, ethically, levitically 

Just in a wide sense, upright, righteous, virtuous, keeping the commands of God; only Christ truly- approved of or acceptable of God

LOVELY + GOOD REPORT

Mary, mother of Jesus again!

“Yet from time to time God gave Mary LITTLE BITS OF OPEN HEAVEN, to strengthen her faith and keep her looking, ‘not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.’" (Mary Elizabeth Baxter) 

“Mary pondered frequently. This wasn’t tucking something away in the dark recesses of her heart, but rather a holding of them closely so that she could feel and touch and smell them.” (Graceful Abandon)

“This (treasuring, pondering) is a beautiful way to grow in the Lord. Let Him bring new, possibly scary, potentially overwhelming things your way and respond with thoughtful contemplation instead of riotous emotion.” (Graceful Abandon)

VIRTUE + PRAISE:

Ruth, daughter-in-law to Naomi 

For someone to have virtue means that they have the ability to withstand opposition, to make wise decisions in difficult situations, and to claim what is rightfully theirs even when everything around them is in disagreement. 

For more resources, make sure to visit www.bestillbefree.com. 

You can also find us at www.facebook.com/bestillbefree, www.twitter.com/bestillbefree. 

And if you want a close-knit community of friends to share, encourage and walk through life with, be sure to join our private Facebook group, at www.facebook.com/groups/betogethercommunity!

Support the show

As always, thank you for listening! Make sure to rate and review us, as it helps more women find our podcast. And be sure to follow us on Instagram at Be Still Be Free.

Send us a text, and leave your number or email so we can get back to you :)

In a world filled with distraction, sin and trauma, how many “things” a day would you say you think on that are excellent and praiseworthy? If you are anything like Sara, focusing on the negative is so much easier than on the positive. But in her studies this week, she was reminded of a small scene in Peter Pan that is so appropriate: 

Peter is in the children's bedroom; they have seen him fly; and they wish to fly too. They have tried it from the floor and they have tried it from the beds and the result is failure. "How do you do it?" John asked. And Peter answered: "You just think lovely, wonderful thoughts and they lift you up in the air."

That sentiment is a little sappy but it also contains a measure of truth. The only way to defeat evil thoughts is to learn to think differently.

BE IN THE WORD:

"Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things." (Philippians 4:8)

BE EDUCATED:

1. Think On These Things An article that breaks down each of the words Paul instructs us to think on. 

2. The Perfect You author Dr. Caroline Leaf. We have incredible minds that are truly worth celebrating. We must also remember, however, that with the incredible power in our minds come responsibility for how we use it: we cannot escape the consequences of our choices.
3. Bigger Than I Thought You Were by Passion Music. This is the song Monica talks about.  

BE DOERS, NOT JUST HEARERS:

“You are special. You are unique. You have a particular way of thinking, feeling, and choosing that acts like a filter through which you experience reality. It shapes the worldview you build into your mind, which in turn shapes your future thoughts, feelings, words and behavior. If this filter is broken, your perception of reality can become distorted. If you are bitter or have low self-esteem, for example, your world view can become clouded by toxic thinking, which in turn shapes your mindset and actions…trauma and sin can interrupt your design.” (Dr. Caroline Leaf)

1. Do you know you? How well do you know yourself? Your personality? Your natural tendencies? 
2. Is your filter broken? What has happened to you that you might be hanging onto aware or unaware that is distorting your reality? 

“It is important to remember that thoughts are made into habits through deliberate, repeated, and conscious cognitive thinking. This type of thinking has to occur for a minimum of 3 cycles of 21 days in order for the true understanding to take place.”

1. Are you trying to develop new ways of thinking? What deliberate strategies have you put into place in order to change your way of thinking? 

“To ensure that we stay in our Perfect You and correctly respond to the circumstances of everyday life, we need to train ourselves to consult with the Holy Spirit on a daily basis. We can ask the Holy Spirit to help us renew our mindsets and teach us how to react and behave. The Holy Spirit will guide us, if we choose to listen to him, and show us the correct way to ‘consciously veto’ our thinking, feeling and choosing. In this way, we fulfill the requirements of Scripture to constantly pray.”

1. Do you call upon the Lord, upon the Holy Spirit to help you grow and change the areas of your life you know is 

Support the show

As always, thank you for listening! Make sure to rate and review us, as it helps more women find our podcast. And be sure to follow us on Instagram at Be Still Be Free.

Send us a text, and leave your number or email so we can get back to you :)

In today's culture (especially), it's easy to let our thought lives spiral on things that are ugly, frustrating, negative and disheartening. But Paul tells us to think on things that are lovely and of good report -- so what does that mean? It's not keeping yourself uninformed and ignorant of what's happening in the world around you, but rather, focusing on thoughts that help us wholly rely on God instead of ourselves; thoughts that encourage us to be undisturbed by what's happening around us (and our news feeds). 

For more resources, make sure to visit www.bestillbefree.com.

You can also find us at www.facebook.com/bestillbefree, www.twitter.com/bestillbefree. 

And if you want a close-knit community of friends to share, encourage and walk through life with, be sure to join our private Facebook group, at www.facebook.com/groups/betogethercommunity!

Support the show

As always, thank you for listening! Make sure to rate and review us, as it helps more women find our podcast. And be sure to follow us on Instagram at Be Still Be Free.

Send us a text, and leave your number or email so we can get back to you :)

It seems there are so many “things” fighting for our attention, our focus, our minds. Paul is so very clear about making sure you mediate or think on very specific topics in an effort to perpetuating the Great Commission in our lives. Today, talk about Just and Pure thinking, and the ramifications of where your roots truly lie can have on your world!

For more resources, make sure to visit www.bestillbefree.com. 

You can also find us at www.facebook.com/bestillbefree, www.twitter.com/bestillbefree. 

And if you want a close-knit community of friends to share, encourage and walk through life with, be sure to join our private Facebook group, at www.facebook.com/groups/betogethercommunity!

Support the show

As always, thank you for listening! Make sure to rate and review us, as it helps more women find our podcast. And be sure to follow us on Instagram at Be Still Be Free.

Send us a text, and leave your number or email so we can get back to you :)

Support the show

As always, thank you for listening! Make sure to rate and review us, as it helps more women find our podcast. And be sure to follow us on Instagram at Be Still Be Free.