Positioned to Prosper with Erica Pyle

#047// How are you handling your kids' education in this season? In the last few months some incredible statistics have come out around the country indicating that many families are choosing to take a pass on public school education for their kids and, instead, homeschool them or pursue some sort of a hybrid method. And it's no surprise given the unsteady nature of the traditional bricks and mortar classroom over the last year and a half -- kids having to wear masks, social distancing, not being able to connect with friends as closely as they once could, maybe not being able to learn as effectively with everyone's mouths covered. And then there's just the psychological impact of it all. Those numbers are even more shocking.

But an interesting thing has happened as the eyes of parents have swung onto their kids' classrooms in a very focused way: many are realizing the curriculum being taught isn't in line with their Biblical worldview (in some cases, it's in total conflict). Many are shocked to find what's actually being taught -- even to their small kids -- in this setting. And this fact, more than anything, has been bringing homeschool onto the table for many families this past year. Have you had any of these concerns yourself?

I sat down with my husband, Doug, recently to record a session for our home church, REVIVE Church of Tampa, where we talked about what it can look like to actively steward your children's education in this season. Now, the spoiler alert is that we homeschool our kids and we're big fans, so we talk at length about this option, BUT we also discuss what you can do to actively steward your kids' schooling if you can't homeschool. We've got you covered!

So if you're ready to dig into this topic and be a little challenged in the area of "active parenting," then I want you to grab your Bible, your journal and a pen, and . . . Let's Go!

p.s. -- Hop into the REVIVE Online Campus Community during the month of August to catch all of our sessions in this parenting series. Go here to join: revivetampa.org/ROCC.

#046// How did you prepare to parent? If you don't yet have kids, how are you preparing even now? If you've got kids I want you to think back to when you were getting ready to have them. How did you prepare? Did you read books about newborns and raising kids? Did you do a load of research and ask for tons of recommendations on must-have baby gear? Did you take a birthing class or a newborn class. Did you discuss parenting styles, hopes and dreams or prayers for their life with your spouse?

Listen, this is all preparation for being a parent. I know I did all of these things as I was getting ready to have my boys. But there's something else we should be doing to prepare for parenting and we're not really talking about it. Do you know what it is? It's this:

How to deal with unresolved hurt, trauma and pain from your childhood so you can enter the parenting phase of your life -- free and aligned with Jesus -- ready to raise and launch this next generation in a healthy and powerful way.

That's what we're talking about on this week's episode of the Positioned to Prosper podcast. So if you'd like to intentionally dig a little deeper into what it looks like to prepare for parenting -- from a mental, an emotional and a spiritual perspective -- then I want you to grab your Bible, your journal and a pen, and . . . Let's Go!

#045// Emotions make crappy leaders. Probably one of the most common discussions inside the Christian community has to do with this question: Are emotions good, or are they bad? So, what do you think?

God created us with the ability to feel emotions. This means the ability to emote is good because everything God creates is good. Are you with me so far? But did you know that there really are emotions that are considered "good" and some that are considered "bad?" It's true, and we're going to get into what the Bible has to say about good and bad emotions in this episode.

But probably the strongest sound I want to make in today's episode is this: Emotions are terrible leaders. Seriously. Emotions were never intended to be your guide. They were designed to follow your thoughts and your faith, but you've got to intentionally tell them to do that. This means *stewarding* your emotions.

To be a good steward of your life you're going to have to make a decision to come off of the auto-pilot that keeps you tethered to how you feel all the time, friend. You're going to have to stop letting the loudest emotion "in the room" call the shots. And you're going to have to take back the controls of your life so you can fly intentionally. So, how exactly do you do that? I'm glad you asked! We're talking about all that in this week's episode, so grab your Bible, your journal and a pen, and . . . Let's Go!

#044// You were made for victory! Even when you don't feel it. Even when the situation looks not so good. Even when everyone and everything around you is telling you that you're going to lose, you must remember: You were made to win! You can do this.

This is Biblical truth, not just a hype track. God saw this season before you got here. He's not surprised. He's allowing certain struggles to come into your life right now for one reason and one reason only. And I'm talking about that reason inside this episode.

So if you are in need of some serious encouragement so that you can keep going right now, join me! Grab your Bible, your journal and a pen, and . . . Let's Go!

#043// Have you ever been goaded into fighting dirty? About a year ago I almost posted something to my social media feeds that would have been in direct opposition to the Biblical verse I consider to be my "life verse." I mean, how does someone who endeavors to make a sound for Jesus and His Kingdom daily find themselves with spiritual ears that have been dulled to the point where they would casually consider doing something like that? Yet, there I was, considering it and asking close friends what they thought. I was looking for permission from people because God clearly wasn't giving me the green light in my spirit. Thankfully, I held back. I never made the post.

Fast forward to just a couple months ago and I thought it might be the right time to post those thoughts from a year ago, so I asked God about it and again, I felt no permission. Then he asked me a question that ultimately woke me up to the potential train wreck I was about to cause if I posted what I'd been considering as a "witty retort." It was right then that I realized just how strong the temptation is for Christians to pick up the weapons the enemy has left strewn all about this battlefield we're on to fight back just like him. And it's a trick. He's trying to take us out.

So if this is a struggle you've been all too familiar with this past year -- the struggle to know how to respond in the midst of unrelenting cancel culture and virtue signaling and flat-out demonic schemes -- and you'd like to know how to respond in a way that's both powerful and God-honoring, then grab your Bible, your journal and a pen, and let's get into this episode!

#042// Virtually everything you've been told by the government and "science" about the virus, masks and immunizations -- in terms of how to stay safe and how to steward your health -- has been unbiblical.

Yeah, that's where this week's episode of the Positioned to Prosper podcast is going. I'm sharing the message I preached this past weekend at REVIVE Church of Tampa and, to be honest, it's a little polarizing, so proceed with caution, friend.

I'm sharing what the Bible really says about how God keeps us safe and healthy, what his word tells us about when and how to quarantine, who should be wearing the "masks" and how to ensure we can come through this global challenge in faith with our health intact.

So if you're up for a provocative look at how culture, government and "science" have failed us in this season, and what the Bible really says about how we can prosper even in a season like we've seen over the past 15 months, grab your Bible, your journal and a pen, and . . . Let's Go!

#041// Have you ever suffered because of someone else's bad choices?  All of us, at one time or another, have found ourselves suffering because of someone else's poor choices. And while suffering is relative to the person experiencing it, I think it's fair to say that suffering tends to be worse when it's brought on by a choice made by a person you're seemingly inextricably linked to. A marriage is a good example.

It's that sense of feeling “stuck” and knowing — “If this person doesn't course correct quickly, they're going to crash and I'm crashing with them.” It's scary and it's painful. You feel out of control and maybe even angry or bitter.

And all of a sudden we can find ourselves doing that crazy dance between trying to escape and distance ourselves and trying to get the other person to “straighten up and fly right.” We think the only two options we have are to disconnect or to make them be perfect somehow. All because we don't feel safe.

The question is — How do you trust God to keep you safe when people you are connected to and relying on keep making mistakes and bad decisions? How can can you maintain connection with imperfect people while also learning to find a deep sense of safety in God no matter what may come?

This is what we're getting into on this episode of the Positioned to Prosper podcast. So if you're ready to lean in so you can get to breakthrough in the area of building connection and intimacy, even in the midst of potential let down or pain, I want you to grab your Bible, your journal and a pen, and . . . Let's Go!

LOOKING FOR COMMUNITY? If you'd like more conversations like this in your life with an opportunity to go deeper and be more intentional about growing to breakthrough, you're invited to hop onto The Jesus Girl Gang waitlist. In November and December 2024, we'll be digging deep into relationships and boundaries, so we'll be opening the membership in late October for new members to join. In the meantime, let me send you the Thoughts Exchange Worksheet which will be so helpful in doing the exchange work I talked about in this episode!

#040//  Every weakness, dis-ease and sickness in the body has, at its foundation, a spiritual root. Did you know that? But we aren't talking about this in the Church today because we don't want to "make" people feel guilty or to think that we're "blaming" them for being unwell.

The truth is that dis-ease in the body comes from misalignment in our triune being -- spirit, soul and body. This may seem like an oversimplification to you since dis-eases can be overwhelming and severe with disastrous results, but it's really not. The concept itself is simple; it's the walking out of the process of realignment and staying on truth in faith that's tough.

And what's even harder is tearing down the strongholds of familiar, generational lies that drive some of the deepest spiritual roots found underneath sickness and dis-ease in the body. But, here's the thing:

When the Blood of Jesus is involved, these seemingly difficult or even impossible things become possible and doable in the power of the Spirit. And there are things we can do to get realigned and to overcome the "inevitable" fruit that is born into the body out of these tainted spiritual roots. As we step into this process and see realignment come, we will also start to see a more robust health -- and even supernatural healing -- flowing through the body fairly quickly.

So if this is something you just know you've got to get breakthrough in, I want you to lean in to this episode. Grab your Bible, your journal and a pen, and . . . Let's Go!

#039// Who's got the healthiest body on the face of the planet? On this week's episode of Positioned to Prosper I'm bringing you a live recording of a message I shared at my home church, REVIVE Church of Tampa (revivetampa.org) to kick off a monthly series we're doing called, The Truth About Health & Healing.  The message is called, The Healthiest Body on the Face of the Planet.  Now, do you know what that body is? It's the Body of Christ -- The Church! But here's the question:

With the access we have to the alive and active Word of God, being covered by the blood of Jesus and healed by the stripes he bore for us, and with the Holy Spirit as our Comforter and Leader into all Truth, How is the Church NOT the healthiest body in the world today?

People should be streaming into the House of God -- "Isaiah 2 Style" -- to learn how to steward health well so they can live long, vibrant, abundant, fruitful lives, but they really aren't. So, what truth have we been missing in the Church that has allowed us to live subpar to the best Jesus won for us? 

These are the things we're talking about in this episode of PtoP, so if you're ready to up-level your own health while being an integral part of seeing the Church manifest as the healthiest body on the face of the planet, then I want you to grab your Bible, a journal and a pen, and . . . Let's Go!

#038// Do you think God's healing is a function of miracle or process? Which one do you think it is? As I've discussed the topic with loads of people over the years, I've found that many believe it's either one or the other. And what's even more interesting is that they mainly think one of these options is "more Christian" than the other. Can you guess which one it is?

But what if I told you that the healing God brings is both miraculous and a process? That, in fact, you cannot have true - in this world - healing with only miracle or just process. Would you believe me if I told you that healing will always be a function of both miracle and process? Well that, my friend, is Biblical truth!

That's what we're discussing on this week's episode of the Positioned to Prosper podcast. If you're ready to lean into what God's healing really looks like on a real life, and how to step into it fully so you can experience it for yourself and bring it to others, come join me for this chat. Grab your journal and a pen, and . . . Let's Go!