Closet Confessions with Christina: Real, Raw & Relatable

I've started at the beginning of the Bible and I'm loving it so far. I've never read the Old Testament.  God's character is shown so much right off the bat!!! And so are humans! Haha!! So many times, we make decisions based from Fear. Irrational, emotional decisions that end up NOT being the wisest! That's the stories we're going to talk about in today's episode. My prayer is it brings enlightenment to you and how you make decisions. I know it sure has me!!

I struggle in this area. Bad. So when God told me to talk about it, I sure didn't want to. I was embarrassed, I think. Convicted, I'm sure. But that probably means I NEED to talk about it. Because anything God brings up, He wants to bring out to deal & heal it.  

I always get asked... How do you hear from God?? It's not that hard actually.  I believe He WANTS us to hear from Him. He is a personal, living God that loves us very deeply. Don't you want to talk to YOUR children? I believe it's the same way with Him. His Word, thru people, thru that still small voice... there are lots of ways. 

But there are also things that hinder us from hearing from Him, I believe. Bitterness, unforgiveness, distractions... those things can cause walls that block us from hearing from Him. 

What were Jesus's examples? What did Jesus do to hear from His Father? Let's discuss all of this in today's episode!! 

I've heard it said, Perspective is Key. But really I think perspective is freedom!!! The way we see things MATTER! It matters to our spiritual walk & human walk. Mountains, storms, windshields.... they all change with a different perspective. They can go from scary to peaceful... from big to little... from fuzzy to clear. I hope you enjoy today's episode.    

Offense, resentment, bitterness, and unforgiveness are ALL wall blockers from us and God. Holding on to anger and hurt only hurts us. Releasing and healing IS from Jesus. It's a free gift. Serving our enemies was demonstrated by Jesus when He washed Judas's feet but HOW are we to serve our enemies when we've been hurt so bad by them?

I had planned a different podcast today. I've been studying Judas for 2 weeks because of a post going around on Social Media. Something like... Being a Christian is not loving Jesus, it's loving Judas. At first, I was like AMEN! But then I got to really thinking. I have a "Judas" in my life right now. And I'm going to tell you.... It's HARD to show love to that person. It's hard to act like everything is fine around them. It's hard not to let resentment set in my heart. And I've been praying ALOT for this heart NOT to allow bitterness and resentment to settle in! 

So in this episode, I talk a little about it but not the whole study yet. Hopefully, it all makes sense to you and the rambling is not too confusing! 

All my love in Christ, Christina 

We always searching. Always looking. Always wanting.... that high. But really what we are looking for is Fulfillment. But there's a hole that was created by the Creator Himself that can only be filled by Him. We try in all different kinds of ways. Like jobs, children, spouses, success, looks, body image, alcohol... the list goes on and on. Let's talk about it and what we can do to stay focused on the One true thing that can truly fulfill us! 

Whoa this one was hard. Will I be judged for my admission of being addicted to vaping? Will I fail & fall back into the addition after telling everyone I'm quitting? Will this episode come across as legalistic & goody goody?  Well, we're just going to leave it in God's hands.  

Alcohol, nicotine, drugs..... why are these the main things we think of when someone says they're addicted to something??  What about our phones, social media, approval from others, perfectionism from ourselves, food, caffeine, sugar.... ANYTHING we think we can't live without means we're addicted to it! 

That's a strange title right? Well my thought was that a lot of people may not think they "need" to listen to a podcast about Shame and embarrassment so I figured maybe the title would spark some interest. :):)

Shame tries to be an identity. And as a Christian, that IS NOT OURS to claim! Shame keeps us in the dark. In a hole. Jesus paid a big price so that DOESN'T have to be what we walk around with.