I’m on a hunt to debunk Satan’s destructive lies he uses to “sift us” (Luke 22:31).

The LORD did not send us on life missions to ‘save the world’; the deception feels that way at least. We were not created to do it all, nor to hold all things together. The product of over-functioning is exhaustion, feeling overstressed, and being overwhelmed.

“For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” -Colossians 1:16-17

This is great news! Our empty cups have a remedy! No more woodshop days to piece together our lives.

We can surrender and be filled, despite our life season, high or low; Jesus is our solution. He alone holds all things together, including our lives.

Are you ready to stop pretending we got it all together? Join me in experiencing rest in the reality of “I Don’t Got It”?

Let’s jump into this episode!

Deuteronomy 6:4–5 – “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”

I don’t know if this resonates, but I feel as if I’m neglecting something when I’m engaged in another way.

Life is full. Our cups are overflowing. But there is a better way to navigate and thrive despite it all.

In this episode, we will pause and reflect on what’s essential and how being anchored to it allows us to show up better for those we love and in all that we do.

Let’s dive in and get anchored!

Reflect and Deep Dive:

*How are our life “great things becoming the ultimate thing?

*What’s the difference between essentials and non-essentials in your life?

Are you growing in frustration from the weight of hard circumstances?

Is there a stretch of unanswered prayer requests?

Living in the light of Jesus means that we can get through anything! Jesus is the “more” needed to get beyond our present realities.

Isn’t that encouraging? We have an anchored hope that produces strength and endurance to press beyond the hard things (all shapes and sizes). God is producing something lasting, eternal within us, for His glory and the betterment of our lives.

Let’s press on together, ladies!

BOOK CLUB!!!

Join me in person or via Zoom for a book club! Reach out to me for more information: Brittany@courageousradiance.com or head to the website courageousradiance.com/bookclub

Does the thought of change thrill or concern you?

Personally, I am a woman who craves order and consistency. I enjoy my normal habits (good and bad), for instance, my morning cup of coffee or time to decompress from daily stresses. I desire a known rhythm to count on for happiness (on any scale) amongst change and unknown circumstances.

If not vigilant and aware of my tendencies, I will guard my habits and miss opportunities to respond to whatever the Holy Spirit reveals as the better thing.

I wonder what my response would have been if Jesus had unconvincingly invited me to “follow me” before anyone knew who He was, as with His initial 12 disciples (Matthew 4:19).

Would I have been the one to miss Jesus because He was inviting me to something unfamiliar?

Would you follow this unknown Man?!

What about now? He still invites us to “follow me”. The act of following is to surrender. Counter to the distorted truth of the gospel in progressive Christianity, it’s implied to follow in totality.

Surrendering our life includes our heart and mind: Jesus wants all of us.

Jesus invites us to cease identification with our former selves and to abandon reliance on tendencies and personalities.

Jesus wants to be at the center of our lives, yet our unique temperaments and life experiences have shaped our journey and worldview.

How do we both understand ourselves and surrender that revealed person to Jesus?

The clear answer in scripture is to remain connected to Jesus (John 15:4-5), as a branch is connected to the tree trunk. There isn’t one productive, fruit/leaf-bearing branch that thrives without the tree. Likewise, we nestle all of us, the parts that should be cultivated and the things that need to be pruned, in the One who made us.

Whether our tendencies lie in going ahead of God’s eternality or leaning too much into doubt of Him without a clear answer to all of the “Wh” questions, both tendencies reveal our sin and limitations.

As disciples, we are more than our habits, strengths, and personalities. We are clingers of Jesus, who is greater than anything else we attempt to identify ourselves with.

The resurrection of Jesus is our motivational coach, personal spiritual trainer, and foundation by which anchors our hope. Our life navigation GPS will frequently reroute to destinations we cannot see, through some low valleys and high mountain peaks. But, wherever the day or season takes us, our anchor to thrive is solely Jesus.

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. -1 Corinthians 15:57-58

Be wherever Jesus is. Imagine an umbilical cord connecting us to Him—wherever He moves, we move. When He stays, we stay. If life is great, we worship. When life is crumbling, we praise. The essence of our lives is grounded on the basis of the resurrection.

If you live by your planner (this is me), thrive on structure, and find comfort in organizing chaos, this will be both difficult and a burden reliever. When our systems start functioning like the god of our lives, we no longer leave room for Yahweh, the LORD.

Challenge Question:

If a relationship needs your presence and compromises productivity, how can Jesus’s peace comfort you as you pivot to respond?

Cheering for you,

-Brittany

Can you relate to this: just when I think life’s under control, and a problem averted or solved, something new comes crashing in?!

Perhaps, you’ve finally decided to trust God, again, and you even make steps to loosen the death grip on life, then…CRASH…BANG! You open your eyes to another tough parenting moment, a hard season of marriage, work demands, a health crisis, and more unexpected storms in life’s forecast.

Suddenly you’re spiraling from a mountaintop Instagram-worthy post into the valley...again.

Climbing our way back up the mountain of happiness, from the hard pit, week after month after year is exhausting!

The cycle then repeats, and back we go to a death grip on life and relationships due to prior disappointment in letting go.

In truth- my invisible cloak of self-reliance was a self-made shield against not only experiencing disappointment from others but most of all by God. My buy-in to the distorted lies of self-made strategy and resourcefulness eroded my faith in Christ alone and prayer. Worry and striving became normalized and ‘just trusting in God a risk.

In our roles as wives and mothers, we manage, fix, and control many things, especially within the walls of our minds. Isn’t that what strong women do? In honest conviction, I could worship at church, serve in ministry, share the gospel, and even read the Bible about trusting God and faith, yet still deny the necessity of surrendering to the smallest level of my thoughts.

Doesn’t the Bible say, “We can do all things through Christ” (Philippians 4:13)? Yet somehow, 'through Christ' became a more suggestive afterthought, rather than as the mandate requisite.

Deeply underneath all of the exhaustive striving efforts, and need to control, is something that can’t be run from: fear.

* Am I doing enough?

* Is God really in control?

* If not me, won’t everything fall apart?

The lie of Satan is- to carry these burdens, on our own. Nevertheless, we’re crumbling under the weight! Unfortunately, our marriages and children feel the whiplash of our bottled-up bitterness, fear, and anxiety.

It’s time to let it go!

Each day, consider trying a momentary heart assessment with the truth from the Holy Spirit, John 16:13, and allow Him to reveal things hindering us from surrender.

The truth of Jesus Christ- is to “come, follow me”. Courageously give Jesus all of the mess around us, and the over-powering storm of emotions and internal intangibles such as anxiety, despair, bitterness, excessive negativity, and worry.

“For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it.” -Mark 8:35

Victory is experienced through faith to let go. That’s a crazy paradox! However, our surrender is not done blindly or by chance, instead it’s a daily intentional decision to trust Yahweh, LORD, the One who independently sustains it all.

Consider a quick mental exercise: Meditate on the names of God to renew your thinking and exchange destroyers, such as fear, doubt, being overwhelmed, anxiety, and overthinking for the unshakeable peace of Jesus Christ.

* El Roi – The Lord who sees you, everyday-all day.

* Yahweh Raah – The Lord who guides as a devoted and loving shepherd.

* El Elyon – The Lord that reigns above all and is fully in control.

So, about this podcast episode- let’s jump back into our Book of Psalm reading journey, next up is Psalm 108.

A real battle is underway 24/7, and it’s mandatory, not a cute suggestion, to stand 10 toes down and all-out fight from our seated position in Christ (Colossians 3:1); the real battle strategy that wins against control.

Are you ready? Trust the One who never fails.

Let’s do it together, each day shoulder to shoulder.

Cheering for you!

Brittany

“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.” -1 Peter 4:12-13

I put on my cross necklace daily, sometimes pairing it with earrings—but what does the cross truly represent? The dainty charm wasn’t celebrated over 2000 years ago as it is today. Jesus, in Mark 8:34, invites us to deny ourselves, pick up our cross, and follow Him; what does that mean?

Could a loving God call us to hug our moments or lifelong plights of suffering?

In today’s episode, I share a powerful devotional from Oswald Chambers which challenges the present culture's comfort-driven mindset to shift our hearts toward the truth which is that following Christ means embracing His suffering.

Unfortunately, our dreams of a perfect marriage to our wonderful best friend aren’t exempt from Jesus’s invitation. Nor is our cherished role as mothers, which we often place at the center of our lives, going to be an addendum to the call to follow Jesus while dragging our cross.

When we understand the gospel of suffering, the trials we face as wives and moms have a deeper meaning. My hope is for this episode to normalize the difficulty. I pray that 1 Peter 4 can be applied daily to encourage your trust in the LORD, who sees you in all troubles.

Cheering for you!

-Brittany

Psalm 107 is on deck today! Life has rhythms, good and bad, which ones are we stuck in that God wants to free us from?

Let’s explore God’s rescue for not just the Israelites in the reading of Psalm 107, but today in our lives as well. Opening our hearts to the voice of the Holy Spirit welcomes in freedom and transforms us from the inside out.

Thriving in marriage can begin in the heart of one spouse. Our perspective aligned with God and modeled by Jesus allows us to not only shift our present circumstances but to transform our hearts.

It’s easy to feel stuck! However, we have a Heavenly Dad who offers us a way out by way of gratitude, humility, and surrender.

Let’s unpack the shift in our attitude; it becomes an opportunity for growth. Even if your marriage feels stuck, remember God has been in the business of rescue since the beginning of mankind.

Have you ever assessed the themes surrounding your life? Are there patterns of your rebellion to God’s restoration that can be traced?

“They forgot God, their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt.” -Psalm 106:21

Today’s podcast is from Psalm 106. I pray that the Holy Spirit illuminates God’s enduring faithfulness despite our constant failures. While it’s easy to read about the Israelites' shortcomings, applying the truth of this text to our lives as wives, mothers, career women, ministry leaders, and more makes it hit harder.

Here’s the great news for those of us who believe and trust in Jesus: He is a merciful, compassionate, and grace-filled High Priest. When we constantly blow it, our hope can remain secure in God who deeply cares about us. Not only does Jesus see us in the situations we face, He is full of empathy for our daily burdens; He once walked the earth both fully man and God.

Obedience is a “how” response to demonstrating faith in God. In practical terms, as mothers and wives, exploring the root issues of waywardness requires us to be honest about the daily practices that lead us to self-reliance instead of surrender. This crazy cycle of forgetting God and returning to Him started in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve—and unfortunately, it continues today.

Knowing better doesn’t always mean doing better, and doing better doesn’t assure we will always know better. Let’s commit—right now—to the transformative power that Jesus offers for each of our lives.

Consider this shift: as mothers and wives, our knowing and doing better no longer centers on us; rather, it points to how well we are imitating and following Jesus.

It’s time to forego an empty-hearted, performance-based lifestyle and pick up the pursuit of authentic trust, clinging to Jesus as the only answer to our mess.

I’m thankful that the light in the gospel heals, and can reorient our life path.

Let’s dive into this episode!