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GraceFilled Community
The GraceFilled Community Podcast is a place where faith, connection, and community come together. We explore meaningful conversations with guests who share their unique insights, experiences, and stories to inspire and empower others. Each episode offers listeners practical wisdom for living out their faith, creating belonging, and building community. Whether you're looking for spiritual growth or ways to connect deeper with those around you, the GraceFilled Community Podcast provides valuable content that enriches both your personal and spiritual journey.
GraceFilled Community
Forgiveness and Faith: Jennifer Beeman's Spiritual Journey of Transformation and Renewal
Imagine winning a court case only to find the victory felt hollow. That’s where my journey of forgiveness began, paving the way for spiritual revelations and unexpected blessings. Join us as we welcome the inspiring Jennifer Beeman, a multifaceted wife, mother, author, and student, whose powerful spiritual journey reveals how a profound connection with Christ can transform life’s challenges into opportunities for growth and renewal. Jennifer shares insights from her book, "Before She Knew Jesus," and explores the beauty of sanctification and forgiveness, even when it seems counter to worldly wisdom.
The power of letting go and trusting in divine provision is a recurring theme highlighted by personal stories of overcoming bitterness and finding grace in adversity. From a car accident that left us without a vehicle to unexpected financial blessings and the surprising gift of a car, discover how humility, gratitude, and faith can open doors you never imagined possible. Jennifer and I also reflect on the deeply personal act of sacrificing worldly desires to align with spiritual values, illustrating the peace that comes with tithing and trusting in God's guidance.
As we explore the principles of the early church community, listeners are invited to connect with the Graceville Community, fostering a collective spirit of sharing and support reflective of the Church of Acts. Through powerful anecdotes and heartfelt conversations, this episode underscores the importance of community, faith, and the transformative power of sharing God's stories. Embark on this journey with us and uncover how aligning with God's will can bring peace, purpose, and unexpected joy into your life.
My name is Nicole Cater, your host, founder and servant leader of Gracefield Community. I want to thank you for tuning in to Gracefield Community Podcast. This is a safe space, a place in which we just share stories of how God has touched individuals' lives all across the world and how they are now impacting the kingdom of God. Thank you for tuning in. Blessings to you All right. Well, hello there, graceville listeners. Thank you once again for tuning in to our Graceville Community Podcast.
Speaker 1:I am so excited about all that we have in store for this recording today, so I'm not going to waste much time. I'm going to dive right in, and first I want to introduce you to our guests. Today we have Ms Jennifer Beeman. She is a wife, a mother, author and student Wow. Most recently, she has co-authored a book called Before she Knew Jesus, where each narrative unfolds as a testament to the transformative journey from merely knowing Jesus to experiencing the profound reality of being truly known by him and, in turn, intimately knowing him. She is on a mission to share evidence of God's word coming to life through stories of his glory shining through live, lived experiences. She is from Phoenix, arizona it gets hot out there where she lives with her hubby, two children and mama. She is working towards her bachelor of arts in communications, interpersonal and Human Relations emphasis. She can often be found baking something yummy and playing barista in the church cafe. All right, so celebrate with me.
Speaker 2:Jennifer, hello, hello, hello. Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. I am so excited for our conversation today and let me just say even in I know the listeners are kind of heard your bio there, but I'm like girl you're doing a lot, but I love it.
Speaker 2:I am, and I'm only able to do a lot because I'm anointed in this season to do this. When I'm not anointed in a season, it's not going to happen. Yes, I hear you.
Speaker 1:I'm not anointed in a season. It's not going to happen. Yes, I hear you.
Speaker 2:I'm right there with you, so yeah for right now it's a bit, but this is where God has me and this is what I'm going to do.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes, well, that's that's so true. We're anointed and we're giving grace for the season that he placed us in Right, amen, oh my gosh. Yes, yes, well, I'm so excited for our conversation today. I actually have some pointers jotted down just from having time and look into what it is that you do, and some about the stories and so forth. But before I like get our my box about it all, first, I'm going to ask just tell us about your encounter. How did you hear from him, holy Spirit, conviction, like tell us more.
Speaker 2:Sure, absolutely so. In just one example, man, he has been in my life since as far back as I can, years. I found myself coming to God and listening and then walking away Through and through, and time and time again, he has proven that God is so much more dedicated, completely dedicated to our sanctification, even before we are fully surrendered to him. And that was just mind blowing. And through the scenario that I share in the book that's coming out, is this story of forgiveness when it just feels flat out offensive.
Speaker 2:We were absolutely, by all the world's standards, had the right to be offended and to not give forgiveness. But, man, when I think about what Jesus did on the cross, and if you close your eyes and I don't know if you've seen the passion, but anybody who has you sit there in that moment and you think about that. And if I was there, who am I to not forgive other humans? Man, we're just. We're humans living a human experience in a spiritual, with a spiritual God who has given us everything that we need, and so it has been those moments and those revelations that has really got me to where I'm at now yes, yes, and I love that.
Speaker 1:You know that's so true. I I've seen the passion. I remember showing the passion to my kids when they were fairly young and kind of, uh, I hope it's a like, I hope I didn't traumatize them, but right, but I will say it is a, a movie that we talk about often because it does give you an imaginative, imaginatory picture, right, of what all Jesus went through. And I often say this he did it, he chose me, he chose to sacrifice, knowing all the ways that I would offend him, all the times that I would deny him and turn away from him, but yet he still selected, like all of me, and said, hey, I'm gonna do this for her right. And so I love how you say like that that allows us. When we look at it in that way, it's like how can I not forgive the next person?
Speaker 2:I think that's exactly right. Like that is just what comes to mind, those images, and I'm like, okay, humility, let's sit down. Where am I at? What have I done? Like he's forgiving me of so much, like I can't hold on to this, yeah, just can't.
Speaker 1:So let's talk about sanctification, because I heard you mention that and I have so many thoughts about it. Um, how do you think that it plays into making you more like Christ, like Christ mind, christ-mind, christ-body in a sense?
Speaker 2:For sure. So I believe the sanctification process is God's guiding and prompting. He's prompting us to maturity and renewing our minds and our hearts and our desires, and the whole purpose is to display Christ through us to the world. And it's moment by moment. Sometimes they're big moments and there's a big pivotal shift, and sometimes they're just little subtle moments that make a big impact. And it is really him coming alongside of us and we're working with him because we are responding and we are choosing. He is prompting our choosing, but we ultimately are choosing and when we choose him, we choose love, because that is that's love. It's a choice.
Speaker 1:Yes, absolutely. You know. I think that often, as we look at the fruits of the spirit, and you know, sometimes I think it's the thing that we memorize, right, like love, patience, kindness, and like we could spit it out there's songs all about it, but it's the reality of taking hold of it and acting it out, and it is a moment by moment renewing of the mind, daily choice to say that I'm going to act out these fruits because this is what represents my heavenly father, right? And so when we think about like mind, body and soul components, like I like how you talk about the aspect of sanctification, being Christ-like, it encompasses all yeah it does, it absolutely does, and that has been.
Speaker 2:He's working on me, even, like on the body part of things. I've got, you know, really matured in my spirit man. I've really matured in so many mindful ways. And so now what he's doing is is prompting me to to work on the body portion, because this is his temple. When he went to the cross and he was resurrected and that temple was gone, there was no need because we have full access. And so now he's, you know, taking that next step to say like I need you to build the temple, I'm inside of you and I need you to be strong enough to do what I'm asking you to go do next.
Speaker 1:Yes, and if you see me looking, I just you know, as we're talking, I'm like, oh, I have to pull up that scripture relative to just the temple. We in our home we tend to, my husband and I meet together. We do a vision meeting at the beginning of or towards the end of every year, preparing for the new year, and so we just some like to call it vision retreat. Unfortunately, this past year we didn't have the space and time to retreat away. It was kind of like let's break it up in multiple days, right, but we just spend that time really seeking God, like what do you have for us for this coming year? Like Holy spirit, we want you to feel like write our pages of what you have for us for this coming year. Like Holy Spirit, we want you to feel like write our pages of what you have for us. What do you have for our family? Right? And you know, in that this year, once we do it, isaiah and I would meet together and then we meet as a family and we kind of lay out like, hey, this is the vision. We follow what we call the God priorities, and so it's God spouse, kids, church, family, friends. So we follow the priority list and literally break down like this is what we've heard from the Lord for our family for this upcoming year.
Speaker 1:And in doing that, one of the scriptures that he brought about was really talking about taking care of our temple and it being that living sacrifice, right.
Speaker 1:And so I I love how you mentioned that, first of all, the Lord knows we go from glory to glory, right, like we grow in stages. It's not necessarily like, okay, we go from this and overnight we reach perfection, because perfection comes when we reach into that heavenly place, right. So we all have stuff that we're still improving, still working on, but I do love about that aspect because, yes, just like you, I could say like, oh, okay, I'm spiritually, I have grown, I have grown. But then there's the thing that, like, our physical flesh is a part of what we fight against, and so it's just an example of, like, how all of those things play together. I'm one that's very big our physical, spiritual, emotional and mental, right, it all comes together to our representation of Christ. And as I'm pulling this up, I also just want to ask you like, unpack some of the moments when, like, the Lord has asked you to step into, like holiness on a deeper level, like give me an example of what that looked like for you oh man, okay.
Speaker 2:So, uh, a high-end overview of this scenario is that I we were were living in Arizona and prior to becoming mama, I found my identity in like sea turtle rescue and marine biology stuff and I was, I was so deep and I loved it. And then, when I became mom, I kind of lost myself. I wasn't in a job I could identify myself with, I wasn't volunteering, I wasn't doing anything and I had this little baby who just screamed and I felt like I was losing myself because I wasn't anchored to God in a good way at that time and I decided that I was going to seek opportunities to surf for sea turtles. I wanted to go back to that and Hubby's family. They lived in North Carolina and that's where one of the big things was, where you could go, be involved, and so we decided to move across the country and, man, coming from Arizona, we found a place by the beach. We found a place in the country. We found this neighborhood where it was a community garden and like it was just perfect. And so we we went and we did the, we signed the papers and thought we had met, like this great community and she's like, okay, well, um, the trailer that you're getting needs some work on it, so in two weeks you guys can move in. And we were like, yes, and then two weeks comes by. And so we're like, you know, can we come by? Can we go, can we get some time? She's like, oh, yeah, come over. So we came and it was in worse shape than when we left and she's like, oh no, no, I'm so sorry. Like, uh, yours is next, it'll be ready, give us two more weeks. Um, I know you paid your deposit in your first month, but you know, can you have a little bit more? And I was so naive at the time, like I was. Oh, that was, um, we gave her another half a month's rent and then she's like, okay, two weeks. And so two weeks came and she's like, you know, we were texting, can we move in? Can we move in? Cause we were staying in the living room of his mom's house and so we were very eager to to get into our own place and start our own thing.
Speaker 2:And so we show up and there's another family living in our house and we searched around. We were asked uh, we asked, you know, asked around. What's going on? You know, did something happen? Try and get some understanding.
Speaker 2:And we were met with you need to leave because you're trespassing. I'm like hold on, I have papers and receipts that says I have the right to be here. And they were like no, we're going to. You know, we're going to call the law if you don't leave. And I was like you know where are we going to go. So we had everything we owned in the truck that we had. We had a cat and a baby and ourselves, in the middle of winter, in a town we didn't know it was two and a half hours away from his mom's house, middle of winter, in a town we didn't know it's two and a half hours away from his mom's house. And that bitterness just sat and I was like, oh, and I found out, um, where, like? We went to the corner store and if you start opening and asking questions, you find out a whole lot of information um nothing like the corner store, like right there.
Speaker 2:Bless you, bless your hearts, or not? Right? So, um, we found out a whole lot of information and I was like lord, they've done this to other people. Like this is not okay, I'm gonna stop this. And I took it on as my own personal, like my legalistic thinking. I was like man, I'm gonna put an end to this. And I God, just dropped and he was like forgive them. I was like you cannot be serious, like roll of the eyes towards heaven, like I know that you, you can't be serious, like no, and he just kept repeating it and I'm like no, and then I started I'm like okay, maybe there's something to this. So I started digging into the word. And then I started listening again, and I started listening to the Christian radio station and hearing things on there and my heart started to get softened.
Speaker 2:But it was pretty hard, especially towards them, and I uh got to the point where I was like you know what? I'm gonna take them, I'm gonna take them to court, like we're gonna get our money back, and through every step of that process because it's a multi-step process to get to the point to get into there I just felt sick. I'm like, oh, what is happening? I'm not hearing God audibly tell me to forgive them. But now I feel like I'm sick in my spirit. I just felt bad and I went through the whole process and then, after it was done, we had won. They didn't show up, shocker, because you don't want to show up and admit to that right.
Speaker 2:Right. So I was like we won. Oh, this is not good. And it just like I had like a breaking moment where I realized that moment of Jesus on the cross, I was being the unforgiving servant that we hear about in scripture, who was forgiven so much that he couldn't pay it back in his lifetime, and turned around and was like you owe me a hundred. I need that. Like I was being that and it just absolutely broke me and I spent a few days in tears before the Lord, just like I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. And he was like you know, let her know, let her know. And so I called the courts and I was like stop, you know, stop the presses, stop everything, don't, don't pursue them. I forgive them. And they're like I'm sorry, what's done is done. You can't undo this. You went all the way through. And that was just another level of oh my God, what did I do? What did I do to these people? And it was through that whole process God is just showing me and I feel like he was taking scales off of my eyes and letting me see them how he sees me and how he sees them and through the whole thing. And it was after that, when I told her, I was like you know what I called the courts and I asked and they won't do anything, anything. But we're not going to pursue you anymore, you are forgiven. Like that just is what it is. And she said thank you. And that was the last time we spoke. But since then there was like this release of blessing almost immediately.
Speaker 2:The place we were living in didn't have heat. It was the middle of winter and so we didn't have heat. Like we had ants in the walls. We were doing cloth diapers't have heat. It was the middle of winter and so we didn't have heat. Like we had ants in the walls. We were doing cloth diapers by hand, laundry by hand, because we couldn't afford to do laundry.
Speaker 2:And there was one day and the Lord was like we were driving down the road looking for a new place, he's like turn here. And I looked to the left. I'm like Lord, those are right by on the beach, they are nice, they're nearly new. There's no way we're going to afford that. And Javi hasn't even started his job yet, like we don't even check yet. And he's like just pull in. I was like all right. So I told Javi to pull in and it was just like sureness of success. It was a holy nudge, yes, and we go in and I was telling them our story and they're like, well, you know, let's run the credit. And they ran it and they're like you're approved, you need double. You know double deposit. And I was like, oh, we're not ever going to have that. And so I was like, well, thank you for your time. And as we're getting in the truck, the manager runs out. It's just like you need to come back inside I was like no, we don't have it, just in case.
Speaker 2:She didn't hear me first time, just in case. So I was like, and she stopped me, she looked me dead in the eye and she goes when God tells you to do something, you just do it. You don't fight with them, you just do it. And he told me you need to live here and we'll work out the rest. And we walked back in and we signed the papers, gave him everything we had and we had a place, it was nice and it was just beautiful. And it goes beyond that because we ended up having to leave and break the lease and that amount had been forgiven, like through circumstances that nobody could have predicted, and it just keeps going. So when I'm in a spot, for years after that, I would get in a spot where money would be really tight and I'm like, oh, I just want my $700.
Speaker 2:And I was like oh, no, no, no no, no, no, no, nope, nope, okay, nope, I don't want it. I don't want it. I said I forget and I have to let go. I can't go grab those chains and pull her back, right, yeah, they're gone, they, he busted them.
Speaker 1:They're gone yes, you know, and it's uh oh, talk about what bitterness will do to us, right, like Like, I'm not the scientist individual, that's just not my area of expertise, right. But I do recall, thanks to all these lovely reels, right, watching a reel that talks about the stress that comes when you have unforgiveness, and that they linked cancer to unforgiveness.
Speaker 1:And I remember just thinking, like you know, and I'm just sharing my own natural thoughts, y'all Like, I don't have no biblical reference, I don't have a scientific reference. So, if you're listening, don't be like, okay, we want the case studies. I don't have case studies, okay, got it. But what I do have is just what made sense and was just like oh, okay, if unforgiveness can cause the body to respond in a way that allows cancer cells to develop and grow, okay, in like manner, what can the opposite do for us? When we do forgive, what does that do to our body? How does that impact our whole, like our wholeness and our wellness in him? How does that impact the healing cells that God naturally created within us? Right, you know. And then there's a component that I also think about is you know, we know that we have times where there's generational curses that play in, and we know that, like, for example, cancer. You know, in my family there has been breast cancer, and so when I go to the doctor, the first thing they say like oh, is there a history of cancer? Which side? Da, da, da, da, da, da. Now I even had it where they say, okay, we're going to test early because there's this history there, right? Well, red flag. Just like there's a generational aspect that we evaluate on the medical side, I need to evaluate generational aspect on the spiritual side, because is there some unforgiveness that's linked here, that maybe happened generationally before me that I need to be mindful of, to say I don't want to enter into that, I want to break that right now because I don't want those cancerous cells, right, 100%, yes, I love that and you're absolutely right. Like the Lord rewards those who do things in his principle, in his way. Right, the Bible tells us about bitterness. You know, ephesians 4.31, it says let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice. Like, remove it, take it away, and the only way to do that is to release it. Right, great, yes, I love that and I know I mean you mentioned how, like, sometimes it comes up like, oh, my $700 back, and that's just like the enemy, right, to try to remind us. Like, well, if you had did this, you wouldn't be in this, when the reality is like with God, it's so much sweeter, it's so much better, right, you know, recently we, a few months ago, we were in a situation.
Speaker 1:About three years ago I had been in a car accident totaled out our main primary vehicle, and when the van was totaled out, we were in the process of searching for a house, and so you know, if anybody has been through that process, you know that they look at every dollar you spend and where is it going and what is your debt ratio and all of these things. And so when the vehicle is totaled out, it was like, okay, we don't, it wouldn't be wise to go just grab another car, note Right. So we didn't do so. We ended up being blessed with someone that let us utilize a vehicle in the interim while we were finding a house. So we find a house which is a God story in and of itself. That's one for another day. But, like we find a house at the very last minute we talk about like the last hour. It's 9pm. We come into this house that was beyond what we could afford, was more than what our level was. And then the day that we get ready to look, she's like, oh, I just got an email for our end of the year closeout sale. They took $20,000 off the home price, which put us right at where we wanted to be. And so we go into this. We get the home, we end up getting a vehicle.
Speaker 1:So we're now working with one vehicle and, uh, those that know me and our followers that know me know like I I tend to do a lot. Um, my husband is the primary provider. I do have a business and then we do a lot in ministry, our entire family, um, and we live about 30 minutes on a good day with no traffic from our church. So we have one vehicle. So there's times that I'm literally driving to do something in the morning, coming back to get like another family member, going back, and then we're going back.
Speaker 1:There were days that, like, the whole family would go to that side of town so that we could just be there for what we need to be. Like I need to be there for a Bible women's thing that morning and we all need to be there for something that evening. Right, and it was a sacrifice in it, I'm not going to lie. I got weary, I got exhausted and I got to a point of like Lord, like we need another car. Am I supposed to be doing all of this? And my husband and I we said like, okay, we're gonna pray about it, we'll come together and talk and I remember it so clearly because we went to the lovely local sonic drive-thru and we were sitting in sonic. We got our little ice cream sundaes I like to say our dollar ice cream right.
Speaker 1:And so we got our sundaes and we were just having like conversation about like okay, this is like these are the things that's kind of we're toiling with. And I remember he said like hey, like I know you're doing all this driving, but I just don't feel like the Lord saying go buy a car right now. And I remember thinking like that's easy for you to say, you know, like you're sitting at home working and then I'm driving back and forth taking the kids and going back and forth and then picking you up for whatever's that evening. And so in my natural mind I was like no way that's easy to say. And it almost even got into a point of entitlement, of like you should do this for me, like you should go figure out how to give me a piece of transportation, right? But yet even in that moment, just so softly and quickly, the Holy Spirit said thank him for leading your family well. And I'm like, oh, when forgiveness?
Speaker 1:fills a pensive Right Like oh when forgiveness fills a pensive Right Like oh what. And so I will never forget those words because, one, it was hard to say, it was hard to say Okay, and then, two, because it was actually God's truth, like he was making wise choices and trusting that the Lord would be the one to provide the necessary thing for us to continue doing God's work, right, yeah. And so I remember I said those words and I just said, honey, thank you for leading our family so well. And I remember the look on his face and probably the look on my own face too, you know. So that was a Thursday night.
Speaker 1:And the next next, the very next day, I'm in a grocery store and we're sitting there and we got the grocery store. It's a hev, so they have a little barbecue, eat and then go do groceries. So we're sitting there and I get this text, and the text is from a woman I'm connected to, again from doing God's work in the kingdom. A woman I'm connected to and she gives me this whole thing. Like you're a giver, I want you to have a heart to receive, I want to talk to you. The Lord's been telling me to do something and I'm like, okay, and in an instance it was, she's going to try and give you a car. And I remember thinking like at that point I had settled in my mind like if you find me a thousand dollar car, that's like like fucking and blowing smoke down the street, like if I could just get from point A to B, I'm going to be happy with it, right, whatever it is like. And so I came home and at first she was like, hey, let's try to schedule a time to meet. And then I was like, oh, I can meet next week or so forth. She's like actually, no, just call me, I don't want to put this off longer. And I call and I mean, um, sometimes when I take phone calls, I walk the neighborhood because you know I have three teens and we do a lot of ministry, so I try to be mindful. Sometimes I walk in the neighborhood because you know I have three teens and we do a lot of ministry, so I try to be mindful. Sometimes I walk in the neighborhood to talk in private, right? So I'm just walking, I'm walking, and my neighbors probably were looking like what is wrong with that lady? She's at it again, because I am now walking and bawling, crying with tears.
Speaker 1:This lady gets on the phone and she says you know, some time ago, a couple of months ago, the Lord told me to give you this car. And she said, and I kind of felt like, oh, I don't know about that, like I don't know what my husband will think, I don't you know, like that's going to sound crazy. I just want to give her this vehicle and so forth. And then she said last night I heard a message that said what has the Lord been telling you to do that you've been delayed? That's where your blessings connected to. And she said, and I immediately thought I'm supposed to get in the car.
Speaker 1:And she said I told my husband. And she said and really it was kind of like, okay, like this is in his hands, like what he will see, what he does. And she said, at 4 AM he woke up and said okay, let's do it. That same night that she heard that message was the same night that I had to be obedient and say to my husband thank you for leading us so well when I didn't feel it on the inside, right, right. And so I say all that because it's just in direct connection to what you said. It's like when we release that bitterness.
Speaker 1:We'll release that, because it really does come from a form of entitlement, right and I think of how, like scripture tells us, you know, in Philippians, about like how Jesus came to this earth, how he humbled himself. He took human form and in that humility, right, like if of all people that could have had a form of entitlement, right, yet he humbled himself and released that on our behalf, right?
Speaker 1:right on your behalf for our listeners. Like he chose you, he chose me, he chose jennifer, like before time, like he chose us. And so when I think of that, I, when we release that entitlement of like something was owed to me or there was something I should have got, and we step into that forgiveness, that's when we could really just receive the glory from above. And again, it's just another aspect and component that relates to sanctification Right.
Speaker 2:Right and that, like what you were saying is how you knew it was him, is so correct. Like it was the calm in the storm, it was the biblical thing, it was against what my flesh was telling me. Like it it was god. Yes, no doubt. Like you know, when you know that, you're like okay, this is totally opposite. Like that it was God. And what's so funny is I have never heard anybody with a story almost exactly the same as mine that you just told. I had a lady who almost did the exact same words to her husband, who I had known through the kingdom, who gave us a van, like paid for they put new tires, they got an oil change, they paid for the registration, they did everything. I've never heard of anybody else with that story.
Speaker 1:I love it, that's amazing oh, my goodness, that is so the story goes are. Let me tell you, I, I, I wanted to. I've always liked SUVs. My husband's been a fan of a van Right and it's just the thing that like. And you know, I'm going to speak to the women right now in our audience, but God does hear his daughters, right.
Speaker 1:He gives all his children, but sometimes, as a daughter, I'm like you do love me, sir, like you love me. And so I wanted an SUV and this vehicle again. You know when I talk about I was ready to take like the hoopty, I was good with it, whatever it was yeah right, you know, but it was an SUV, seven-seater. It has the tv in it, it has chrome wheels, it has all the automatic features I wanted. It has a system like everything that I could have ever laid out and said this is what I would like in a vehicle. This is what I received, by no might of my own Right, no, and so I love that. Oh, my goodness, that's so cool. I love it, I love it, I love it.
Speaker 1:Hey, let's take a quick break to tell you about Grace Filled Community. Grace Filled Community is an organization that focuses on the primary principles of the Church of Acts, centered around building communities that impact the kingdom of God. We do this through three core extensions One, graceville Church Network, where we empower churches and nonprofits for God's success and growth. We offer tailored growth strategies rooted in biblical principles that will help you expand your reach and impact your communities. Just like the early church, we focus not on attendance and numbers, but on discipleship, providing leadership teachings and trainings to today's ministry leaders. Our second extension is Project of the Grace Field, where we provide biblical counseling, mentorship, workshops and events that are dedicated to encouraging individuals to live a life filled with grace and purpose, rooted in the understanding that all have fallen short and are a working project. Let us help the individuals in your community grow as they walk with God and experience the fullness of his love. Our third extension is Grace-Filled Business. Grace-filled Business is here to help small, faith-based business owners develop their business in a way that honors God, that brings increase and allows them to pour back into his kingdom through marketplace ministry and financing his kingdom. We do this through our 15 years of experience of virtual administrative work, digital marketing, business development and consulting. Welcome back, you know.
Speaker 1:I do want to just make sure that, because I'd like to. If I'm going to reference something for our listeners Romans 12 and 1. I'm just going to read a quick portion of it, right? I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service, and do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Speaker 1:And I do want to say, like if you've been in church for a period of time, you probably have heard the scripture time and time again, right, and so, as we were talking about earlier, just recognizing like that it comes in all areas. It comes in the spiritual, it comes in the emotional, it comes in physical areas. It comes in the spiritual, comes in emotional, comes in physical, it comes in the mental, um, you know, there's an aspect here, though, is like our service is a dedication of honor. It's the way that we honor god, and when we forgive, we go through that sanctification process that you're talking about, jennifer. Like that's how we honor him, that's how we say thank you for who you are, for what you've done, for what you will continue to do. Like that's the form of honoring I think often of, like, even with our children, you know, we've always taught them like hey, I don't want you to do this because it's me or something. I want you to do the right thing because it honors God.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:And with that mentality, it carries out that, like you know, you're not doing something just to be pleasing unto me, right, it's an honor that is only unto God. Now, out of your honor for me, because the Bible does say honor thy mother and father so that your days could be longer, and I often remind them like you want to live, leon, right, like, please honor me.
Speaker 1:Like, but there is a reality that in your love for a person, you honor them. And so I think that and I'm going to kind of veer out a little bit and just go into the aspect of like understanding what it's like to love, to love God kind of love, because the best example we have is God's love for us and that lends us to say like us. And that lends us to say like hey, I want to honor you, I can make the sacrifice, I can be a living sacrifice, I can honor you with my temple, I can honor you with my words, with my heart, with my options. It's out of a form of love. And so I just want to ask you, jennifer, like in what ways have you found that you have had to like sacrifice to exemplify your love for God over, maybe, a love for an aspect of things of this world?
Speaker 2:That's a great question. So one of the things that God has been asking me to do is honor him with our finances even more. So we have been doing like we do offerings and we sponsor children through the different organizations, organizations and where tithing. There'll be times where I will be comfortable in tithing and I will just tithe and be faithful and and all of that. And then there'll be times when, like bills and money, they're not adding up and I struggle between I need to pay this and like I want to honor and not have my debts. But you say, give you first 10%. If I do that, I'm breaking the other one, like I don't know what to do.
Speaker 2:And there was just this reworking.
Speaker 2:It was just the other week, honestly, where I had come off of a time where I'm like, okay, you know, we had put so much towards other good things, good things but the tithing had which was on an automatic thing, had fallen off and I didn't go on and fix it.
Speaker 2:No-transcript held that and it's such a tight space and it's so encompassing and it's heavier, it's like a weighted blanket but not a good one. And and I was like I was holding onto that and I was like gosh, you know, I'm just trying to to, to do all the right things. And it was just brought to me like when we're not tithing and we're not, you know, we're sacrificing the things of the world. Like you know, we're sacrificing the things of the world like, okay, I'm not gonna have coffee from this place or I'm not gonna um, go crazy on the birthday party, which I love to do because I love to celebrate and have people over, so, but so this is like okay, well, I have to. And I went to my husband and I was like you, you know what we need to do, and he was like I was like okay, I know I'm talking to myself, but you need to listen.
Speaker 1:Help me work this out.
Speaker 2:Just just just listen. So I was like, okay, here's what I'm going to do and here's the plan. And I went on immediately and put the tithing right back where it needed to be and put it back on automatic. So I'm not thinking about it. But it was also realizing, okay, I'm gonna have to scale back we have a birthday party coming up and not letting the pressure of what everybody's expecting when they come, that it's more about. It's about being together, which it always has been.
Speaker 2:But I love to bring joy and surprises and and and all of that. And just realizing that all of that can kind of come down, because the truth is we need to be together and need to love on these people and love my family. And the surprises are going to be forgotten, but the time we spend together is not for that worldly thing or to fulfill that, that desire in myself, or to meet whatever need is there that he didn't place there, and it's really access and that hedge of protection. So am I willing to to pull up those, those spokes or, uh, of the fence, you know, to take that blanket off, that protective place off, because I'm trying to fulfill something that's not going to last and it's just going to be there for a moment and it's going to feel amazing for a moment, but then it's going to be gone and what gonna be left with? What am I gonna have? And then I got that shame blanket. That's right there and I'm like I don't need that. You took that from me and I need to quit going back to go get it like it's.
Speaker 2:I used to scuba dive and I always used to joke well, like I'm going deeper this time and I don't want to see anything you threw at the bottom right, I don't want to see a fish flying by with like a little sign. This is what I did. So, but it was just that reckoning that I had really made some of those things my idols and it was, you know, just the pressure of, but people weren't even talking about. I gave the pressure myself. Certainly they weren't even talking about. I gave the pressure myself. They weren't pressuring me, but I wanted the things, even good things, of the world, but it was taking the place of God's place and what he deserves from me and what is rightfully his, and I was stealing it to use it somewhere else, and that's not okay.
Speaker 1:Yes, you know that is a excellent, excellent example. I think that my heart has always been connected to where we spend our money. We can find the connection of our heart Right and I've had many conversations over the years and have had my own bouts over the years of trying to evaluate, like the legalistic side of tithing versus the side of tithing out of love versus is it old testament or new testament or just all the components right and when I step back from all the argumentous schematics of it, all the theology of it, right.
Speaker 1:When I step back from that, the one thing that I can say that I've seen in my own life is that when I've tithed, there is a piece of all financial components right. When I don't tithe, it's me trying to consistently make something happen and it's almost like I am really telling God that I can do better than you created, when Lord knows, would put up probably every time. Okay, yep, yep, versus he gets it right every time. Uh, you know. And just a testament to that like we, we tithe, we believe in tithing, we teach our children every aspect you bring in, like you tithe from it. It is a form and we do it out of love.
Speaker 1:I don't, at this point, I don't care whether it was old Testament, new Testament, I don't, I don't care, it's out of love.
Speaker 1:Just like I would give gifts to my children that I love, I'm, I'm giving back to the Lord when I truly all things are his, all things.
Speaker 1:I'm grateful for anything that I am able to utilize in this world, since because it all belongs to him and so, understanding that and the first you know component it's like there is, there's a conviction that comes with, like I didn't do this, yeah, and I want to speak to that. The enemy loves to try and pull that shame component. When we start with the place of being convicted because it always starts with there's this warning, right, I like to say, god doesn't do anything without a warning to us. So there's this warning through the conviction that we have the opportunity to act upon, and I find that it's when we don't act up on that warning that the enemy comes into shame, right, yes, and so then we have to pull ourselves, like out of the pit like that shame to, to get back into, within our own minds, a rightful place, because the Lord never put us in that shame like we did it to ourselves.
Speaker 1:So we have to like pull up and get back to that rightful place in him and doing so, but I think that that is a phenomenal example. You know, we have made some sacrifices that were sacrifices that we did not intend on making right. You know, in this most recent past year, my husband had a contract. He does contract work typically, uh, like software, project management stuff, and so he had a contract that was like the best paying, highest paying contract we've had, like wonderful, things are going amazingly well. Um, and it's time for that contract to end and and so we're sitting at this place of like okay, this contract's gonna end. You know, we really would like to get on someplace a little bit more permanent, just because it's schematics of like oh, you know, there's health insurance and all these things you pay out of pocket for when you're not in, like a contract, right I?
Speaker 1:mean we're not in a like full-time employment. And so we really were just like, okay, lord, we're going to pray, we're going to seek you on what to do next. And so he gets this offer, which was a God thing. I mean even in the way it happened, like I go to church, which I won, I mean, obviously, graceville community. I, I heavily believe in the power community. I believe that God uses his people to speak into our lives. Still, he still uses his people to bless us. He still uses his people to speak into our lives. Still, he still uses his people to bless us. He still uses his people, that is, the hands and feet of them. So we need to be in community so that we can be used and also receive right, right.
Speaker 1:And so we were at church one day and I am serving as normal and a couple comes up and the guy's like, hey, you know where's Isaiah? And I'm like, oh, hi, thanks, yeah, like reality, he. He's like, he's like, hey, I've been thinking of you, like where is he? And I'm like, oh, he's serving in this area. He's like, okay, I'm going to connect with him. He didn't know that it was time that he was looking for a job. There was no way for him to have known that we were at the week of having to make some decisions.
Speaker 1:He sees my husband and he says like hey, my job is hiring. I thought of you. I want to, you know, send your information. It's a small, private company. You only get in through referrals, so this isn't even like the job's not publicly posted or anything. He proceeds to send my husband's resume, meet with my husband and go over like all the details of like, even showing the background of the program, coach him along or like hey, this is you know what, who's going to be interviewing? This is some things about them. Just, you know those areas where you see God working right into detail. And so my husband goes through the process and we get to this point. I'm like I'm going to speed it up. So we get to this point where, like, we now have an opportunity to renew this other contract that makes good money, but it's a short-term contract and it also has pulled heavily on him. Being home, being able to teach through action with our teenagers, and having two teenage boys, that's a huge aspect, right.
Speaker 2:Of what?
Speaker 1:it plays a toll on our bodies because I'm literally we were still in one car at that time so I'm driving him to a train station. He's taking a train for an hour and a half. He's sometimes missing things that we were connected with the church for the evening. There were things happening. So we have this that, like money looks great and it looks like this is what you should take, and then this other opportunity comes in and this opportunity pays significantly, like I'm going to say, estimating about a third less, but it comes with fully remote work from home. You kind of set your own pace, your own schedule, you kind of manage your calendar. Uh, unlimited vacations, oh, the health package we wanted.
Speaker 1:Now, at the very beginning of last year, we we always do this thing. We have New Year's Eve events, and so we do this thing where it's a name tag game. You got to call that person by their name and then their name is a goal of theirs. So his was take more time off. So here we are, eight months later and now there's a time to make a decision and I mean you can imagine, as a man, like he's the provider, so he's like I'm thinking this may look good, like you know, like I'm here with it, right, and I was like, well, I don't know, I don't know.
Speaker 1:And so we prayed about it and I remember he came and he said you know, I've always heard this scripture count the cost. And he was like, and I've always related that to counting the cost, just financially, right, you think about, count the cost before you build, like, make sure you can afford it, and so forth. And he's like but it really is, count the cost of being with Christ, count the cost of what it is to disciple, count the cost. It is that the sacrifice that you signed up for, right, that's counting the cost. And so he's like and how can I focus on discipling others when I'm not having the time to do it right here, right, yeah, and again, at this time we still have two teenage boys.
Speaker 1:But there's this reality of like they need to see more from you, right, like, there I'm, I'm no longer feeding, I'm no longer like y'all, I probably cook once a week because everybody has their days. Like you know, yeah, there's, there's a shift happening and it's for a season, because the Lord, he, he created seasons, so there are seasons, right. So with that we went ahead and we both had a piece and said we're going to take this opportunity here. It's less money, but it provides you more time at home. It provides unlimited vacation. Now we don't know how we're going to take a vacation, because the money ain't connecting with money right Staycation, right staycation.
Speaker 1:yes, I say all that to say in the last six months we have went from never taking a cruise to now taking three.
Speaker 1:We have went from rarely traveling, like once a year as a family to we have had multiple family trips and then all being provided by God in ways that we never could have anticipated. Between gifts, coming in to someone saying like hey, you know what? For you guys' birthday, I'm sending you on a cruise what? And then us going on a cruise and connecting to where we get a free cruise because of stories that hit and credits and so like.
Speaker 1:And what I see in that is just the Lord saying, like, if you take care of my kingdom, I'll take care of you, not even just you the necessity, because traveling is not a necessity, these vacations are not a necessity, but it's the desire of my heart and he knows that and he sees that. Yeah, and so that's the beauty in the sanctification process. It's a good father that really wants what's best for us. He wants to give us those good things. But like everything else, there's a process through the process.
Speaker 2:Yes, so true honor the process so true, yeah, and it's, you know, in the day that we live, like processes, for these things, like, uh, one of the best ones that I can think of is growing food, and it's that process in that soil, that's it's growing in it matters, because when you are trying to produce so much, you know you're stripping that soil away, it's not renewing, it's not having time to sit, it's not doing its process, the things coming out of it are not as high quality as they could be if everything was resting as it needs to rest, taking the sabbath it needs to take. And I was just listening. Um, I have a nine to five job and when I'm doing that, I the first part of my day, I listen to the word and just let the bible play for a little bit and I was listening. It was talking about the sowing and the reaping, but it was talking about rest and Sabbath and letting the land rest, and that was just really speaking.
Speaker 2:And, like you said, you know the money. What does the money matter if everything about life isn't there? So the relationship, the time, the leading, the communication, the connection, all that money doesn't matter if that's not happening. And when it comes down to it, like you, you need him there. He needs to be there right now, and so that just is a beautiful reflection of him leading your family, but in you guys, trusting in God, realizing that the rest is needed, even coming off of what he just had and the time that he was just doing, like you needed to recharge, you needed that rest and that connection, and he doesn't waste anything. So you're right, those vacations aren't like a vacation of that such as is not necessarily necessary, but he's going to use it and I guarantee you that you met people and you loved on people and you, like he didn't waste anything, anything, anything.
Speaker 1:You know I love how you brought up the Sabbath because even in those vacations I was bringing this whole church of aspects and bringing back the heart of like why we even have church and community Right, and so it was. It was a tough year, like there was a heavy pool, there was a lot of heavy things happening in kingdom as a whole and so I was just telling a friend'm like you know, god knew that he knew all of this was going to happen before I did and the beauty of my husband being able to be present, I mean, even in this podcast, I would not be doing this if he wasn't able to be present and to take on some of those components.
Speaker 1:That really is the needful thing right now. Right, but what I found was like I would go hard. And when I say go hard, like you know the Lord, it would be like, okay, you have this speaking engagement, okay, I want you to go talk about some hard things with this church and I want you to be present for this. And hey, we're going to do all these biblical counseling appointments. And then it was like, oh, and here, here's a vacation, take, take a week, go sit by the ocean. And then I would come back and be like, oh, I come back, I look at the calendar, I'll be like, whoa, this is, this is a hard couple of months. Here we go and go for it.
Speaker 1:And it was like, right at that point where I would start feeling like, whoosh, it'd be like, oh, here's another vacation. And so it's just the beauty of how, like when we trust in him, he knows, he knows, he knows what's ahead of us. You know, we know, we often hear the jeremiah like he knew, before we even formed and I think of that so often right, like with even you and I this connection, like he knew that this moment would come and that you would be jumping on the podcast and I just I love your heart, I love your spirit.
Speaker 1:I've absolutely loved everything about our conversation and look forward to having another one but, like he, he knew, and so, in that, I just would like to say I'm so grateful for you taking the time joining us and coming on a podcast and just sharing more about what really the Lord has done for you and what your heart is to impact the kingdom. I do want to make sure that our listeners know. So, Jennifer, please tell them where can they connect with you? I know we have the upcoming book that I'm waiting for the release for, but please let us know how we could connect with you.
Speaker 2:Honestly and thank you so much for this opportunity. Like I, was an unknown to anybody who God has given a story to, and he's like you need to do and whatever it is he's telling you to do, you need to do it Because people need to hear your story. They're faith builders, and so my platform is completely new. We just started this year or the end of last year. It's called storiesofafaithbuildercom. We're on Facebook, instagram threads and starting up on YouTube. We'll be starting a podcast here in the next couple of months and it's just it's.
Speaker 2:It's those stories, it's those God did it stories, because miracles still happen and sometimes you just need to hear a story of okay, look, I know I need, I need to hear a story of God moved and God was present and God was there. So, um, I'm so excited to make sure that you get a copy of this book called before she knew Jesus and, uh, we officially launched on February 14th, uh, which, being Valentine's Day, is all about God's love, and so, yeah, absolutely, We'll be on Amazon, definitely available for Before she Knew Jesus, and I just thank you so much for this opportunity and this connection. I have fully enjoyed getting to know you a little bit and I look forward to talking more.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, absolutely Well. It is truly my pleasure. This is definitely a God thing, this podcast all together. I tell people I'm like this was not what I necessarily was signing up for, like this is not something that. I was like, let's throw this on my plate.
Speaker 2:The.
Speaker 1:Holy Spirit knew, and so I'm so grateful for just people like you that, with the heart that just wants to get the goodness of God out there Before we go. I have a question that I ask all of our podcast guests, and it really is. I'm a firm believer that the word is the thing that carries us through, and so I love the word of God, I love Jesus, who is our word, right? Yes, so I like to ask, like what is a favorite scripture? What is a scripture that you have held on to, maybe through a season? Or what is a scripture that is just yours, that you possess, like?
Speaker 2:oh yeah, that's a good way to put it. It because I was gonna say this has been a lifelong. When I come back to any moment where I am struggling, it is Proverbs 3, 5 through 6. Lean not unto your own understanding. Acknowledge the Lord in all of your ways and he will make your path straight yes, I, I love it.
Speaker 1:Well, thank you again. So much for our time. I look forward to doing this again. Like let's come back for like especially okay. So February 14th y'all. Amazon, I'm ready. I will order my copy of the book as well as I think it'd be a nice gift to give to a few others, so I'm gonna order a few and yes, I would love to have you on after the book release. Like, let's talk about the book some.
Speaker 2:Yeah, let's. We're going to have another book coming out, actually called Sacrificial Love, all about marriage. And when you get that moment we're like is this what I said? I do too Really. And then just honoring those vows and how we worked through it, uh, it's a much smaller project, but it's also co-authored. Uh, and where we are raw, we're digging in again and just bringing the truth of how jesus has continued to work. It's kind of the continuation, after the situation, of our story. So awesome.
Speaker 1:Well, I look forward to it. I'm so excited to read about your story and for the continuation um. Marriages are heavy hitter, heavy heart for us within the graceville community, especially with isaiah and i's own testimony to marriage, and last week we had the privilege of celebrating 20 years and congratulations, thank you, thank you so much. Uh, I tell people we have had definitely the roller coaster, oh, those those 20 years, but I wouldn't change it because it definitely shaped who we are today.
Speaker 2:So for sure. Well, you are amazing. Thank you so much for all you do and having this platform, because it's so needed, and I cannot wait to have you on Stories of a Faith Builder yes, I would love it Fantastic.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much. Well listeners, thank you again for tuning in to Graceful Community, where we are all about sharing God's stories. So I hope that you enjoyed today's episode. We look forward to connecting with you and be sure, as always, to connect with Graceville community. If you are in a space where you need community, whether that is community through marriages, community through business, community through ministry leading, we are here for all those things. Love you and God bless. Thank you for tuning in to today's episode of Graceville Community Podcast. We would like to invite you to visit gracevillecommunitycom.
Speaker 1:Graceville Community is all about doing church the way Church of Acts did, Using five main principles that we see in the book of Acts. Sharing resources, as believers pooled their possessions and resources to support those in need, as we see in Acts 2.44. Through hospitality the early Christians practiced hospitality by opening their homes to others, as we see in Acts 2 and 46. By financial aid the church in Antioch sent financial aid to believers in Judea during a time of famine, as described in Acts 11 and 29. As described in Acts 11 and 29. Prayer and encouragement they supported each other through prayer and encouragement, as we see in Acts 4 and 24. And finally, spiritual guidance. The apostles and elders provided spiritual guidance and teaching to help strengthen and build the community, as we see in Acts 15, 30. I would like to encourage you. If any of those areas are areas in which you are in need or can contribute, please reach out to Graceville Community. We are working together across the world with ministries and individuals alike to help bring back the Church of Acts.
