Praise Through It

How & why does God change a heart? 

What do we do when our heart starts to pivot away from our current situation? What do we do when our life or situation looks like nothing what we imagined it would, even though we thought we were making wise choices?

Here's what I think: those initial feelings, the excitement and anticipation before the disappointment, are often to get our buy-in. Like, God is going to do what God’s going to do but if we could see the end of it we’d pull the e-brake quicker than you can say Boo. So we get a picture in our heads of what we think it’s going to be, we get there and do the thing, then if we’re mature and willing enough, we’ll change our picture so that through our disappointment we learn, grow, embrace, enjoy, cherish, and hope.

Immeasurable gifts we would not know had our hearts not changed when God prompted them to change.

If your heart is changing, or you're hoping for it to change because you're feeling kind of stuck, listen in.

Show notes:

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Listen to the podcast episode of this blog

Monday mornings are for blessings - short, soulful meditations to start your week. The idea of speaking blessings is inspired from a 2013 sermon series, To Love Life and See Good Days, from Manna Church in Fayetteville, NC. When we speak blessings over ourselves and over others, we are mirroring what God has done to build hope, confidence, joy, justice, and truth in his people for generations. The tongue has the power of life and death; this is one way we use the power of life.

After you listen to the blessing, try speaking it aloud. Insert "I" instead of "you". Then, consider speaking it over someone in your life who could use a blessing today.

If you want these blessings in your inbox as well as in your earbuds, sign up here. You'll hear from me on Monday mornings with encouraging notes for your daily life.

Wondering about the Enneagram? Email me here, get the Enneagram Overview freebie here, or read some info right here. Become part of my FRIDAY CREW - where together we learn and grow together in all things adulting, mostly using the framework of the Enneagram. Plus a fun GIF. Always a fun GIF. Sign up here!

What would change for me if I looked at the little things I do, not as menial tasks that don’t matter, but rather as part of me being on assignment?

Laundry.

Why?

Because what if me being on assignment was me building a life that mattered?

Listen in for some ideas on how to stay on & live out your assignment.

Show notes:

Forgiveness

Christmas is not the most wonderful time of the year for *everyone*. Various life circumstances and happenings can steal the joy of the season right from us. We experience grief, hurt, faintness of heart, and messy spirits.

The good news, though? No matter the state of our hearts? Christmas with Jesus offers grace, healing, faithfulness & mercy.

We bring him grief; He gives us grace.

Join me for this four-part series, each episode a snippet of hope if your Christmas is more blue than it is merry & bright.

//

Find extra encouragement on Instagram: @elisapreston

Join my Friday Crew! Framed by the Enneagram, we go through adulting & personality tips. Quick, actionable, helpful & entertaining! Plus, exclusive access to extra Enneagram content each week. Join me!

Christmas is not the most wonderful time of the year for *everyone*. Various life circumstances and happenings can steal the joy of the season right from us. We experience grief, hurt, faintness of heart, and messy spirits.

The good news, though? No matter the state of our hearts? Christmas with Jesus offers grace, healing, faithfulness & mercy.

We bring him grief; He gives us grace. We bring him hurt; He offers healing. We bring him faintness of heart; He remains faithful. We bring him our messy spirits & selves; He extends mercy.

Join me for this four-part series, each episode a snippet of hope if your Christmas is more blue than it is merry & bright.

//

Find extra encouragement on Instagram: @elisapreston

Join my Friday Crew! Framed by the Enneagram, we go through adulting & personality tips. Quick, actionable, helpful & entertaining! Plus, exclusive access to extra Enneagram content each week. Join me!

Christmas is not the most wonderful time of the year for *everyone*. Various life circumstances and happenings can steal the joy of the season right from us. We experience grief, hurt, faintness of heart, and messy spirits.

The good news, though? No matter the state of our hearts? Christmas with Jesus offers grace, healing, faithfulness & mercy.

We bring him grief; He gives us grace.

Join me for this four-part series, each episode a snippet of hope if your Christmas is more blue than it is merry & bright.

//

Find extra encouragement on Instagram: @elisapreston

Join my Friday Crew! Framed by the Enneagram, we go through adulting & personality tips. Quick, actionable, helpful & entertaining! Plus, exclusive access to extra Enneagram content each week. Join me!

We can look at the success of our communication in two ways: the logistics--like, the actual thing that happens after the communication; and the long-term impact--any inside-out change that occurred as a result of the communication. The relationship, the character, the state of the heart.

Changing the outside is easy; it’s the inside-out change that makes all the difference. That’s where the heart stuff comes in. But when we change from the inside-out, when we do the heart work, everything else that flows from it is better because of that change.

So how do we change our communication from the inside out? How do we change our hearts so that our communication is pleasing and effective? I have three ideas.

First, we figure ourselves out.

God’s love language is PEOPLE. He sent us a savior so that we would be free from the old law and embrace his final word of grace, and to me that says that people are pretty important to him. One way to honor that is by honoring his love language, honoring people. Which we can do when the goal of our communication is true, right, noble, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy.

Listen in for some ideas on how to up the love in your daily communication.

Monday mornings are for blessings - short, soulful meditations to start your week. The idea of speaking blessings is inspired from a 2013 sermon series, To Love Life and See Good Days, from Manna Church in Fayetteville, NC. When we speak blessings over ourselves and over others, we are mirroring what God has done to build hope, confidence, joy, justice, and truth in his people for generations. The tongue has the power of life and death; this is one way we use the power of life.

After you listen to the blessing, try speaking it aloud. Insert "I" instead of "you". Then, consider speaking it over someone in your life who could use a blessing today.

If you want these blessings in your inbox as well as in your earbuds, sign up here. You'll hear from me on Monday mornings with encouraging notes for your daily life.

Wondering about the Enneagram? Email me here, get the Enneagram Overview freebie here, or read some info right here. Become part of my FRIDAY CREW - where together we learn and grow together in all things adulting, mostly using the framework of the Enneagram. Plus a fun GIF. Always a fun GIF. Sign up here!

Tell me the truth: how many times have you had some variation of the thought: I’m behind or I’ve got to catch up or I’ll never get to do all they’re doing. If you’ve scrolled any social media ever, the answer is probably: at least once. But if we’re all being honest, it’s way more than that. We see these people doing all these things and we see ourselves doing less.

And then we consider ourselves behind.

I guess, to me, how am I behind if that’s not my story to live and tell?

How am I behind if that’s not where I’m supposed to be?

How am I behind if that’s not my path?

So how can we use the emergency break on this comparison game that leaves us feeling so behind? I’ve got some thoughts in this episode & some extras on Instagram & Facebook all week. Follow along for some encouragement on seeing this old burden of keeping up & still feeling behind in a new way.

Show notes:

Episode 3: Filters

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