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In Part 1, we share the importance of orienting ourselves to God first before we look horizontally to listen and support others. But how do we orient ourselves toward God? In this episode, Brenda and Alex share parts of their testimonies to practice plotting out our stories on the Grand Narrative. Through these stories, they highlight the cultural and personal experiences that shaped their views of the world and influenced sin struggles and painful moments, but they also remind us how God has held them since the very beginning.

God’s Grand Narrative reminds us that He is the hero of the story of the whole world. He sent His Son to redeem us and to give us worth, despite the false beliefs about ourselves we have internalized. As we look backwards, we can recognize God’s hand, even though we did not consciously feel it in the moment. This exercise teaches us more about God’s character and about His love for us and can open the door for the Holy Spirit to minister to our hearts. As He has been faithful in the past, He will be faithful to restore us and give us rest in the future. Knowing our stories not only allows us to build our faith but also equips us to listen and support others.

Resources:

S4 Ep 9: Perfectionism

Season 7 of Conversational Counseling on “You Have a Story.”

To sign up for free visuals and discussion questions for this season click ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Our theme music is by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠As Isaac⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

This podcast is made possible by engineer and producer ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Shane Selby⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, executive producer ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Meleah Smith⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠generous donors⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Known Ministries⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ is ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alex Kocher⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and Brenda Payne.