Latest / The Wholehearted Enneagram Podcast / Purpose in the Adventure | Juli Bevere | Enneagram Four

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Purpose in the Adventure | Juli Bevere | Enneagram Four · The Wholehearted Enneagram Podcast

0:00
SPEAKER_01: Because that's one thing that the Enneagram has helped me with is not despising that I'm not something else, that I'm not this mom.
0:10
SPEAKER_01: And and you know, I've been familiar with the Enneagram for a few years now.
0:14
SPEAKER_01: I go through seasons where I will like dive deep.
0:18
SPEAKER_01: And then I am like, I could just cannot.
0:20
SPEAKER_01: And then it's an up and down.
0:22
SPEAKER_01: I even came into this thinking like, it's just gonna be fun.
0:26
SPEAKER_01: We're just gonna have so much fun.
0:28
SPEAKER_01: Like it's an apartment season 2.0.
0:31
SPEAKER_01: We're not just newly married, like we have these four kids.
0:35
SPEAKER_01: It's gonna be fun.
0:35
SPEAKER_01: And quickly, I was like, what's wrong with me?
0:38
SPEAKER_01: Like, why can I not approach this as fun?
0:42
SPEAKER_01: And so being okay with the fact that like I'm not gonna see this as fun, and that's all right.
0:48
SPEAKER_01: It doesn't mean I can't have fun in the midst of it, but I'm more capable of having fun in the midst of it when I'm honest about that than when I'm I'm trying to force something.
1:03
SPEAKER_00: Hi, my name is Amy Wicks, and I help you navigate the overwhelm and frustration of motherhood through faith, Enneagram, and simple plans.
1:13
SPEAKER_00: As a faith-based Enneagram coach, I champion you to love your mothering style because you are the mom your kids need, even when you don't feel like it.
1:24
SPEAKER_00: I'm about mama who somehow ended up on a cold attack in the Midwest, overwhelmed and frustrated by motherhood.
1:32
SPEAKER_00: But the Lord didn't let me stay there.
1:34
SPEAKER_00: He helped me turn the challenges of motherhood into a full-hearted decision to get intentional with my faith, my self-awareness, and my family.
1:44
SPEAKER_00: Each episode of this podcast provides perspective through story, full-hearted purpose, and simple plan so you can discover how to love your mother in style and be confident that you are the mom your kids need.
1:57
SPEAKER_00: Think of this podcast as your on-the-go mom pal and friend who can't help but talk about Jesus and any gram.
2:05
SPEAKER_00: So get to that pile of laundry, or hit the treadmill, or load up the kids in the car for that grocery run.
2:12
SPEAKER_00: Get ready to be encouraged and empowered while you listen.
2:16
SPEAKER_00: This is the simply full-hearted podcast.
2:24
SPEAKER_00: I love full circle moments.
2:27
SPEAKER_00: You know the kind when a pivotal moment in your life gets revisited in a deeper way?
2:32
SPEAKER_00: Well, I was recently gifted with a few special moments like this, including this conversation I'm sharing with you today with Julie Bevere.
2:41
SPEAKER_00: Yes, this last name might sound familiar to you because you are correct.
2:46
SPEAKER_00: Julie Bevere is the daughter-in-law to John and Lisa Bevere, who are founders of Messenger International.
2:53
SPEAKER_00: Julie Bevere is one of the several wise voices of sons and daughters.
2:58
SPEAKER_00: It's an initiative that helps young adults discover adventure, freedom, and purpose found in our creator.
3:05
SPEAKER_00: And Julie is also one of the contributors of their new book, I Am.
3:10
SPEAKER_00: Find Your Identity, Claim Your Freedom, and Embrace the Adventure.
3:14
SPEAKER_00: You don't have to be a young person to get a lot out of this book and this message today.
3:21
SPEAKER_00: I mean, there is so much in this conversation that I want to tell you about.
3:25
SPEAKER_00: So here are a few highlights.
3:27
SPEAKER_00: Now, this season, it's very interesting.
3:29
SPEAKER_00: A few of my conversations have touched on the quote unquote deconstruction of the church.
3:35
SPEAKER_00: And we do go there today in that conversation.
3:38
SPEAKER_00: Julie also shares some of the details of their current upheaval and transition and how she is uniquely dealing with it as an Enneagram type four and a mom of four kids who she is actually homeschooling as well in the midst of this transition.
3:56
SPEAKER_00: She really has some profound insights and wisdom that I think you are going to love today.
4:02
SPEAKER_00: Julie and I had loads of behind-the-scenes chatting, and it was really hard to figure out what to share with you and what not to share.
4:10
SPEAKER_00: But in short, I was reminded about how in the body of Christ, we are so closely intertwined.
4:16
SPEAKER_00: And it makes me really excited for the party that we're going to have when we're with Jesus for eternity.
4:22
SPEAKER_00: All right, let's jump right in.
4:25
SPEAKER_00: One of the things that I'd love to hear about you, Julie, some of my friends know who you are.
4:30
SPEAKER_00: And we, you know, I kind of spoke about some of your work ahead of time, but why don't you take a moment to share a little bit about your world?
4:38
SPEAKER_00: If we could look in the window of your home, what would we see?
4:43
SPEAKER_01: I actually really love that you would phrase it that way because currently you would be climbing up a story to look into the window of a two-bedroom apartment, which is where myself and my four children and my husband are temporarily hanging out.
5:00
SPEAKER_01: Um we have a big cross-country move from Colorado Springs to Nashville.
5:06
SPEAKER_01: And there has been some hiccups along the way.
5:10
SPEAKER_01: So here we are.
5:11
SPEAKER_01: It's just been teaching me so much about how little I really know about myself and about the way, the way I act under the situations that I have zero control over.
5:23
SPEAKER_01: I love it because I know that God's gonna be with me in the work ahead.
5:27
SPEAKER_01: And I also hate it because it's hard.
5:31
SPEAKER_01: Like I'm so hard.
5:33
SPEAKER_01: I feel like I've been in this pressure cooker with the Lord for so long.
5:37
SPEAKER_01: And there are those moments where you're like, can we just take a break?
5:41
SPEAKER_01: Like, can we just have like a pause where you're like, you know what, you're awesome.
5:45
SPEAKER_01: I'm just gonna let you ride this wave for a while.
5:48
SPEAKER_01: And and even in the midst of that, though, it's the grace of God that He's like, No, you're you're capable.
5:53
SPEAKER_01: Like, I will bring the work to fruition that I have begun.
5:58
SPEAKER_01: So I am homeschooling the four kids in the apartment, in the two-bedroom apartment.
6:06
SPEAKER_01: They're currently like stashed in a room.
6:08
SPEAKER_01: I didn't let them do any screens all day.
6:11
SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, you can you can download something.
6:14
SPEAKER_01: Have all that you want.
6:17
SPEAKER_01: Yes, for this 45 minutes.
6:19
SPEAKER_01: It's been so deep.
6:21
SPEAKER_01: Like this is my first year ever homeschooling, and I know that God has led it to me for this time right now, as far as what the future holds for each individual child.
6:31
SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
6:32
SPEAKER_01: And I don't feel like I have to know.
6:34
SPEAKER_01: Nope.
6:34
SPEAKER_01: But it's been a learning curve, and I feel like I am relearning how to be a mom, even, which feels crazy a decade plus in.
6:44
SPEAKER_01: But it's precious because I was so young when I became a mom.
6:48
SPEAKER_01: It's almost like I'm able to relive some of those early years with all the kids on top of me constantly and now wiping every booty and nose and yes.
7:00
SPEAKER_01: And mouth and hands and all this, and constantly feeding.
7:04
SPEAKER_01: I love the meme that's like, can you die from thinking about what everyone's gonna eat at every moment of the day?
7:11
SPEAKER_01: Like, can you physically die from that?
7:13
SPEAKER_01: It's possible.
7:14
SPEAKER_01: Like only a mom would kill you.
7:17
SPEAKER_01: Like the amount of brain that that consumes.
7:20
SPEAKER_01: So, all that to say, we're a family in transition, and transition is hard.
7:26
SPEAKER_01: There's just been some precious, precious moments of God showing us he's still in it.
7:32
SPEAKER_01: It's a full season for sure.
7:35
SPEAKER_01: Because on top of that, we're we're launching this book, which we are so excited about and didn't plan this timing.
7:42
SPEAKER_01: Right?
7:43
SPEAKER_01: I did.
7:44
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, God, you knew.
7:45
SPEAKER_00: So he did.
7:47
SPEAKER_00: He did.
7:48
SPEAKER_00: The question I have is how do you have any hair left?
7:50
SPEAKER_00: How have you not pulled out all of your beautiful hair?
7:54
SPEAKER_00: Um that's insane.
7:59
SPEAKER_00: And Julie, I'm sure so many mamas can relate in this moment because you it sounds like the homeschool has a little bit been maybe a little bit more choice, maybe forced because of the transition.
8:11
SPEAKER_00: But I know many of us were forced into that.
8:14
SPEAKER_00: I homeschooled for years and then was very grateful to be able to partner with a local private school.
8:20
SPEAKER_00: But then, you know, 2020 uh kind of changed that.
8:23
SPEAKER_00: So, you know, it's those unexpected moments.
8:27
SPEAKER_00: It's those unplanned, but the reminder of seeing God through it.
8:32
SPEAKER_00: He knew it was going to happen.
8:33
SPEAKER_00: He knew 20, he's not surprised by all of the transition and the change.
8:37
SPEAKER_00: And he's not surprised that he would give you this launch date while you're moving across the country.
8:44
SPEAKER_00: Which I so I still have family in Colorado Springs.
8:48
SPEAKER_00: I go back often, but we I I haven't lived there for 13 years.
8:51
SPEAKER_00: But I also I love Nashville.
8:54
SPEAKER_00: So I think it's pretty rad.
8:56
SPEAKER_00: Like you kind of live in some neat places.
8:58
SPEAKER_00: Are you guys so excited about the Nashville piece and that transition?
9:03
SPEAKER_00: Because that really has involved everybody, right?
9:05
SPEAKER_01: It has, which has been wild that our entire family, um, you know, everyone's doing it at their own pace, that they've all made this transition.
9:15
SPEAKER_01: And we're so Arden and Christian, who are also on the Sons and Daughters team, and then John and Lisa have all moved.
9:21
SPEAKER_01: It is exciting.
9:22
SPEAKER_01: Like you said though, Colorado Springs is incredible.
9:25
SPEAKER_01: And so it's been an interesting thing because I have anticipated a major life change for gosh, Amy, probably five to ten years.
9:35
SPEAKER_00: Wow.
9:36
SPEAKER_01: And a while.
9:38
SPEAKER_01: And at different points, I would think, like, well, maybe this is just me and there's not really anything that's gonna happen.
9:44
SPEAKER_01: I just need to, you know, fight for contentment here and now.
9:48
SPEAKER_01: And that was a part of it, certainly.
9:50
SPEAKER_01: When it happened and we knew, oh, it's Nashville and it looks like this.
9:56
SPEAKER_01: I expected there would be this like, oh, because it's better.
10:00
SPEAKER_01: Like naturally, God is moving us from point A to point B because point B is better than point A.
10:06
SPEAKER_01: And so it's rocked me a little bit in the awareness of like, it's not even necessarily better.
10:13
SPEAKER_01: I'm not going from, I I don't know what would be less.
10:18
SPEAKER_01: I don't want to say anything because people might live in the sure.
10:21
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, we got I got friends all over the place.
10:24
SPEAKER_01: Like somewhere where I'm like, oh, I'm so glad I'm finally moving to a city or from a city to the country where I'm like, I'm so glad because it'll be so much better.
10:33
SPEAKER_01: It more so is like, no, it's just what's next.
10:36
SPEAKER_01: Like this is just what's right because it's what God is saying to do.
10:40
SPEAKER_01: I don't have to, you know, formulai formulaically convince myself, which I have tried to do.
10:47
SPEAKER_01: And it's taken me, it's it's like what it talks about in the Bible where you're like a win-wift wave.
10:53
SPEAKER_01: So my considering of, well, God, is this better or is this better?
10:57
SPEAKER_01: Is homeschooling better than the amazing charter school my kids are in?
11:00
SPEAKER_01: Like all of these things, like it doesn't have to be better.
11:04
SPEAKER_01: If it's God, it's what's right, and He'll meet you there.
11:08
SPEAKER_01: You don't know the beginning from the end, only God knows the beginning from the end.
11:13
SPEAKER_01: So we are excited because it's everything is changing, which is exciting.
11:19
SPEAKER_01: Our oldest is 11, so they're five to eleven.
11:21
SPEAKER_01: So our kids are just really good ages for this to happen.
11:25
SPEAKER_01: Sure.
11:25
SPEAKER_01: And it all feels orchestrated.
11:28
SPEAKER_01: It all feels like some design that we are just I think of it like a river.
11:34
SPEAKER_01: Like we just hopped in the inner tube and we're floating down the river.
11:37
SPEAKER_01: Like there's not this swimming or the struggle there is at moments.
11:42
SPEAKER_01: I shouldn't say there's not.
11:44
SPEAKER_01: Some rapids, right?
11:45
SPEAKER_01: Like, you know, some choppy waters.
11:47
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and God reminds me like you're just floating.
11:50
SPEAKER_01: This is my river, and I just want you to float in it and trust me.
11:54
SPEAKER_01: So that's been a beautiful experience.
11:58
SPEAKER_01: And here in the in between, I'm thankful to have an opportunity to talk about that, honestly, because it's easy to forget.
12:06
SPEAKER_01: Yes, so easy to lose sight of those things.
12:10
SPEAKER_00: Wow.
12:11
SPEAKER_00: Okay, we can close now because that'll preach this whole idea of just it's good because it's what's next and what God has.
12:21
SPEAKER_00: And it's better unto that, not necessarily the pro-conlist that I think we all try to make, especially in our Western mindsets, that it has to be more money and bigger house and greater things.
12:34
SPEAKER_00: And oh man, that is really beautiful, Julie.
12:38
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for sharing that.
12:39
SPEAKER_00: And I hope that for you, like just getting to share it in this messy middle, really, because that's where you're at, will be a marker for you later on of like, oh yeah, because that will preach.
12:49
SPEAKER_00: So there's a lot of things that I want to find out here.
12:52
SPEAKER_00: But the one thing that comes to mind is the fact that you lead as an Enneagram four.
12:56
SPEAKER_00: Is that correct?
12:57
SPEAKER_01: Yes, ma'am.
12:58
SPEAKER_01: I was gonna see if you could guess what it was just after hearing me first talk for a little bit.
13:05
SPEAKER_00: Well, I mean, the the fact that you can find beauty and depth in all of this, like win-win, but also the struggle for contentment in where you are at right now.
13:17
SPEAKER_00: So I have to say, I think it shows the depth of your spiritual life is to sense that the Lord was stirring something.
13:26
SPEAKER_00: Um, because that's kind of a future visionary role that you know a lot of the future thinkers, the three, seven, eights are like bigger, better, what's next?
13:34
SPEAKER_00: Something's happening, something's shifting in a four in a four-four.
13:37
SPEAKER_00: They might want to see something bigger and better from because it's not they want something that's not ordinary and mundane, but not necessarily something that creates so much shift and change.
13:49
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, I think that's beautiful.
13:51
SPEAKER_00: But the big thing I wanted to see for you, you have four kids in a two-bedroom apartment.
13:57
SPEAKER_00: It's challenging for any mama, but for a four who prizes the solitude, who's a little bit more withdrawing, like, okay, what's the anchor?
14:06
SPEAKER_00: What are you doing to get through this?
14:08
SPEAKER_00: Because that's intense.
14:10
SPEAKER_01: I'm very fortunate.
14:11
SPEAKER_01: We're two weeks in and pretty quickly I realized the things that I had to have.
14:16
SPEAKER_01: And one of them is I wake up and I go to the gym.
14:20
SPEAKER_01: Like, I wake up right away, I just leave.
14:23
SPEAKER_00: Not as well.
14:23
SPEAKER_01: And I go you're out of here.
14:26
SPEAKER_01: And I go and I do something just for me.
14:30
SPEAKER_01: It's usually just like whatever.
14:32
SPEAKER_01: But there's a little gym here at the apartment complex.
14:35
SPEAKER_01: So I've talked to my husband and I know what time I need to be back by.
14:39
SPEAKER_01: So I just go and I do that.
14:41
SPEAKER_01: And then I come back.
14:43
SPEAKER_01: I have my coffee, my breakfast, my quiet time.
14:47
SPEAKER_01: That's something that I am and I'm sure you experience this yourself.
14:51
SPEAKER_01: The slow morning that you're able to have when you homeschool is such a gift.
14:57
SPEAKER_01: It is.
14:57
SPEAKER_01: So it is.
14:58
SPEAKER_01: It's real.
15:00
SPEAKER_01: You don't know until you experience it.
15:02
SPEAKER_01: And it's like, oh man, this is wonderful.
15:05
SPEAKER_01: Like it's not just on Saturday, it's every day.
15:09
SPEAKER_01: And my kids will just read, the older two who can read will just read until nine when we start.
15:14
SPEAKER_01: So I have like a two-hour wind up essentially.
15:18
SPEAKER_01: And then in the evening, Addison and I have been really intentional to go on sunset walks.
15:24
SPEAKER_01: And it's like September in Colorado, so the weather's beautiful.
15:29
SPEAKER_01: Perfect.
15:30
SPEAKER_01: Ideally.
15:32
SPEAKER_01: It really has been, those have been anchors to my sanity.
15:37
SPEAKER_01: Because I I heard once about Enneagram Four's, and I think it was like a singer, songwriter, musician guy talking, and he was talking about anxiety and when different things rise up.
15:48
SPEAKER_01: And he had this list.
15:50
SPEAKER_01: I think it was a list of five.
15:51
SPEAKER_01: That he's like, I just checked.
15:53
SPEAKER_01: Have I drank enough water?
15:55
SPEAKER_01: Have I eaten a real meal today?
15:58
SPEAKER_01: Did I get enough sleep last night?
16:00
SPEAKER_01: Have I moved my body?
16:01
SPEAKER_01: Have I had some quiet time?
16:04
SPEAKER_01: Like, I don't have to explode this moment of anxiety into something that it's really not.
16:12
SPEAKER_01: Like I just haven't taken care of myself.
16:15
SPEAKER_01: So running through that and hearing that was big for me because I can have a tendency to just go to this nth degree of like, oh man, I'm just not cut out to be a mom.
16:27
SPEAKER_01: It's like, no.
16:28
SPEAKER_01: Right.
16:29
SPEAKER_01: We just need a little alone time.
16:31
SPEAKER_01: Like uh it's basic.
16:34
SPEAKER_01: Those have been big for me.
16:36
SPEAKER_01: You know, and it hits on levels that I don't even fully comprehend, but I know it's important.
16:42
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
16:43
SPEAKER_00: I love that.
16:44
SPEAKER_00: That is so good.
16:44
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I would testify to those kind of things, those kind of rhythms, I like to call them that we incorporate, especially if we find ourselves out of our normal environment.
16:55
SPEAKER_00: Because we're for not having that space that's yours is even more challenging.
17:00
SPEAKER_00: And then, you know, maybe like for me as a seven, I'm like, woohoo, fun, change, different, so good.
17:06
SPEAKER_00: But those rhythms that anchor us no matter where we are, that kind of can fuel us.
17:10
SPEAKER_00: And and just the reminder of like you are exactly the mom your kids need and and what he has called you to, he will equip you for, even if it's living in a two-bedroom apartment.
17:25
SPEAKER_01: I love that you say that too, Amy, that the way you would go about it at seven, because that's one thing that the Enneagram has helped me with is not despising that I'm not something else, that I'm not this mom.
17:40
SPEAKER_01: And and you know, I've been familiar with the Enneagram for a few years now.
17:44
SPEAKER_01: I go through seasons where I will like dive deep, and then I am like, I can just cannot.
17:49
SPEAKER_01: And then it's an up and down.
17:52
SPEAKER_01: I even came into this thinking like, it's just gonna be fun.
17:56
SPEAKER_01: We're just gonna have so much fun.
17:58
SPEAKER_01: Like it's an apartment season 2.0.
18:01
SPEAKER_01: We're not just newly married, like we have these four kids.
18:04
SPEAKER_01: It's gonna be fun.
18:05
SPEAKER_01: And quickly, I was like, what's wrong with me?
18:07
SPEAKER_01: Like, why can I not approach this as fun?
18:12
SPEAKER_01: And so being okay with the fact that like I'm not gonna see this as fun and that's all right.
18:17
SPEAKER_01: It doesn't mean I can't have fun in the midst of it, but I'm more capable of having fun in the midst of it when I'm honest about that than when I'm I'm trying to force something and pretend like that's gold thing ever.
18:34
SPEAKER_00: That is gold, Julie.
18:35
SPEAKER_00: I I think you hit the nail on the head on a couple of things that for several people, just because it isn't fun doesn't mean you can't have some fun along the way.
18:45
SPEAKER_00: So oh, that's good.
18:47
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
18:47
SPEAKER_00: We like have talked a while now and we haven't even gotten to like some of the hardcore stuff.
18:53
SPEAKER_00: So you did talk about your launching a book.
18:56
SPEAKER_00: There's one little topic that I wanted to draw attention to and talk about for a hot minute.
19:02
SPEAKER_00: But first of all, why don't you tell us a little bit about the story behind the book?
19:05
SPEAKER_00: Because that's the fun part, you know.
19:07
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
19:07
SPEAKER_00: Was it a brokenhearted moment?
19:09
SPEAKER_00: Was it this inspiration?
19:10
SPEAKER_00: Was it like you just kind of got caught up into and it happened?
19:14
SPEAKER_00: How did this whole thing come about?
19:17
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
19:18
SPEAKER_01: Well, what's really interesting about this book is that it is written, the author name actually just says sons and daughters.
19:25
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
19:26
SPEAKER_01: And that is the name of our young adult outreach that myself and three of my brother-in-laws first established.
19:34
SPEAKER_01: And since then, you know, God has done what only God can do.
19:38
SPEAKER_01: It we ended up having um, it just started as like a video blog type thing.
19:43
SPEAKER_01: Like, you know, we've been given exposure to so much, like what you were talking about in the back of the tag chapel with Lisa speaking, how that hit you.
19:52
SPEAKER_01: And so there's this awareness, almost even like a healthy weight, knowing that what you have been given is intended to be shared.
20:01
SPEAKER_01: And so we started with that in mind, and then we ended up doing a gathering, and now we do ambassadors, which is our like small group outreach, where we just supply them with like the videos, the questions, they just have to make the ask, which really is the hardest part, and then have people come to your house.
20:22
SPEAKER_01: And then the I am statements were birthed out of a conversation around the table of what does it really mean?
20:31
SPEAKER_01: Like, what does the Bible actually say about who we are as sons and daughters?
20:36
SPEAKER_01: What are these promises that are spoken over us that we just are not taking hold of?
20:41
SPEAKER_01: And the seven I am statements, I am holy, I am righteous, I am secure, that's what we break down in the I am book in a way where people can make it there, where they can grasp hold of it.
20:56
SPEAKER_01: And we had contributors come in, and there's different um testimonials throughout the book.
21:01
SPEAKER_01: Some of it, there's a couple of poems, which we read the audiobook.
21:06
SPEAKER_01: We just split it up amongst us, and I had a poem.
21:09
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
21:10
SPEAKER_01: And I I didn't realize it was a poem until like halfway through.
21:14
SPEAKER_01: Oh funny.
21:15
SPEAKER_01: I have no idea how to read this.
21:19
SPEAKER_01: So I need to edit to go back and listen to that.
21:24
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
21:25
SPEAKER_01: Because it's almost like spoken word of the program.
21:28
SPEAKER_00: Like, here we go.
21:29
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna like I'm gonna bring it.
21:34
SPEAKER_01: So it's been such a collaboration project, which for us is even the message within the message.
21:43
SPEAKER_01: But like, this is not about a single person knowing who they are and what they were created for.
21:49
SPEAKER_01: Like, this is a shoulder to shoulder together, we rise.
21:53
SPEAKER_01: Like it's us collectively as sons and daughters unified, which I think right now that.
22:00
SPEAKER_01: Unity, peace is so huge, specifically in the body of Christ.
22:05
SPEAKER_01: Like what would this world look like if we were unified across the body of Christ?
22:09
SPEAKER_00: It would be a game changer.
22:11
SPEAKER_01: It would, it would change everything.
22:13
SPEAKER_01: I wholeheartedly believe.
22:15
SPEAKER_01: That's what's behind the book.
22:17
SPEAKER_01: And we launched September 21st.
22:20
SPEAKER_01: And it's just been, it's been incredible to have this opportunity to put it into book form as an Instagram post or a blog post.
22:31
SPEAKER_01: It feels like one thing, but then for it to be a book, something people can like physically hold in their hands and share with one another.
22:39
SPEAKER_01: And um, it just feels incredible.
22:43
SPEAKER_00: It is.
22:43
SPEAKER_00: And it's a really unique work, which I think would might speak to your four Enneagram for heart.
22:49
SPEAKER_00: It's really different than kind of what is out there and just being, you know, looking through it and read it in the it's artful, it's thoughtful.
22:57
SPEAKER_00: I I feel like it, you know, those with shorter attention spans can it can be kind of grabbed in and pulled, be pulled through it.
23:06
SPEAKER_00: So I love the thought and the intention behind it.
23:08
SPEAKER_00: And it's it's really its own unique thing.
23:11
SPEAKER_00: Um, there's so many elements that you touch on, like you talked about it's identity, you talk about community, it's really finding who God is and who we are in line of Him.
23:22
SPEAKER_00: I know that is so much a part of your mission.
23:25
SPEAKER_00: One of the pieces that I wanted to pull a thread here on a little bit, and part of it is due to my personal life, but I think in general, because 2020 has uh just continued to shake even more, which is the deconstruction of the church.
23:39
SPEAKER_00: What does it look like?
23:41
SPEAKER_00: Because for me personally, the church is so much a part of my history.
23:46
SPEAKER_00: But I see so much that needs to be changed in order for us to not just be relevant.
23:53
SPEAKER_00: I mean, relevant is fine, but to be pain to builders instead of where we have the ins and outs and the hurt and the pain, which you know, church is full of people and that's going to happen.
24:07
SPEAKER_00: But what does it look like to reconstruct, to actively help build up the body of Christ, the bride of Christ on this side of heaven?
24:16
SPEAKER_01: I think that's a great question and such a necessary question for here and now.
24:22
SPEAKER_01: First, deconstruction is only purposeful if it's for the purpose of reconstruction.
24:28
SPEAKER_01: You cannot stand on the sidelines pointing out the faults of the bride for the rest of your life.
24:34
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
24:35
SPEAKER_01: It won't help the church, and it certainly will not help you.
24:39
SPEAKER_01: Like no one wins in that scenario.
24:42
SPEAKER_01: And I am right there with you, Amy, where the past few years, for Addison and myself in particular, we were very much in a just deconstruction phase.
24:55
SPEAKER_01: And reading our Bible, we take our spiritual walk into our own hands and being a part of ministry.
25:04
SPEAKER_01: Like there was a point when a friend of ours was starting a church and he's like, I don't understand how y'all don't go to church.
25:10
SPEAKER_00: And we're like, well, it's nuanced.
25:12
SPEAKER_00: Come on.
25:13
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we we don't not go to church, but something shifted inside of us in 2020 where we were continuing to have the same conversations with our like-minded Christian friends who were also in the deconstruction phase, reading a lot of the same books, going through that same journey, and something clicked where it was like, you cannot change things from the outside.
25:40
SPEAKER_01: Yes, you change from the inside.
25:44
SPEAKER_01: And for Addison and I, it was just like, okay, God, you're gonna have to show us which church you want us to be a part of.
25:52
SPEAKER_01: Because in the natural, we go in and what we what we see is the fall.
25:59
SPEAKER_01: We we were seeing the cracks.
26:01
SPEAKER_01: I can't really speak for Ad because he was better at this than me, but he's the one on the Enneagram, so he won't be.
26:07
SPEAKER_01: I was finding myself so critical.
26:09
SPEAKER_01: Like I would sit there in the message and be writing stuff down, like with question marks, and um, and then I would want to talk about it.
26:20
SPEAKER_01: I'd want to talk about it with Addison afterwards, and she's like, What good is this doing, Julie?
26:25
SPEAKER_01: We need to recognize what are we putting our energy toward and what good is this doing?
26:29
SPEAKER_01: So I do believe finding a church to be a part of and to commit yourself to.
26:35
SPEAKER_01: And God was so gracious, He did provide that for us in January, which we found out we were moving in March.
26:42
SPEAKER_01: I was like, What are you doing?
26:44
SPEAKER_01: Lord, that's not cool.
26:46
SPEAKER_01: It's been years of looking, and there was just so much confirmation that this is where we were supposed to be.
26:52
SPEAKER_01: And Amy, from that point forward, after we committed, I was able to experience church and such a beautiful, Holy Spirit-filled church where I would just walk into worship and I was like, Like, I cannot deny the presence of God here.
27:10
SPEAKER_01: And I was able to experience church so much more pure-heartedly.
27:15
SPEAKER_01: Where even if there was steps where it was a little off, I was like, you know what, though?
27:20
SPEAKER_01: That's okay.
27:21
SPEAKER_01: Like, yeah, that's okay.
27:23
SPEAKER_01: I can still be committed to this place.
27:26
SPEAKER_01: I mean, and it wasn't anything to the degree of like abuse, or um, it was just things that I was like, I would prefer if you didn't put the he with Holy Spirit.
27:37
SPEAKER_03: Like, I think that's sort of yeah, yeah.
27:41
SPEAKER_01: Uh-huh.
27:42
SPEAKER_01: And so I do believe for us to be a part of the reconstruction, which the church is primed for.
27:49
SPEAKER_01: We have got to take all of our findings in that deconstructing phase because it is so purposeful.
27:56
SPEAKER_01: Like our generation has been a part of the such a major deconstruction of church as we know it.
28:03
SPEAKER_01: And church is not what we see in the Bible.
28:07
SPEAKER_01: It's not.
28:08
SPEAKER_01: I don't feel like I have to argue that point with anyone, but what I read about, it's it doesn't look like that.
28:15
SPEAKER_01: So there is some reconstruction to be done for us to get back to a place of power and authority and to be places where the glory of God shines through us, whether it's on a Sunday morning or Monday through Friday through Saturday in your workplace, like where it really is an equipping of the saints for the work of the kingdom.
28:39
SPEAKER_01: And I think we all have to be involved though.
28:43
SPEAKER_01: So we need to be asking God, where do you want me?
28:47
SPEAKER_01: Where do you want me to be plugged in and commit to?
28:50
SPEAKER_01: And then you'll start to see it through new eyes, where you really can have this family experience where their forgiveness is able to be given so much quicker, and you are able to be a part of people's growth when you are offended, when you are hurt, and it becomes a place of like honesty and iron sharpening iron and these things that we read about.
29:14
SPEAKER_01: And you cannot deny when you read about bearing one another's burdens that there's something in you like to be a part of a community that looks like that would be beautiful.
29:25
SPEAKER_01: But we need to create those communities.
29:28
SPEAKER_01: Wow.
29:30
SPEAKER_01: Because it feels so personal to me.
29:33
SPEAKER_01: And even with the move, like um, it was Easter morning, and our church had this just spoke to the foreign me.
29:42
SPEAKER_01: They had probably four or five different creative expressions of the cross and what that meant.
29:50
SPEAKER_01: And it was so diverse and just multi-ethnic, like so many, it kicked so many, and I I don't even like using that phrase, but it did for me.
30:02
SPEAKER_01: I was like, this is beautiful.
30:04
SPEAKER_01: Like this is a bride.
30:07
SPEAKER_01: And then I'm like, what are you doing, God?
30:09
SPEAKER_01: Like, why would you take this from us?
30:12
SPEAKER_01: Like, maybe we're not supposed to move.
30:14
SPEAKER_01: Maybe this is a test.
30:15
SPEAKER_01: Are you testing us?
30:16
SPEAKER_01: Um, which I did explore that.
30:18
SPEAKER_01: What I felt God impress upon me was it wasn't about this single church.
30:26
SPEAKER_01: This is about what I'm doing across the body.
30:30
SPEAKER_01: And so I am so hopeful that we are going to find a local church to be a part of in Nashville where we will see the same level of sensitivity to the Holy Spirit and diversity amongst the body and just a celebration of unique individuals.
30:52
SPEAKER_01: That's what it comes down to.
30:54
SPEAKER_01: It's sacrificial though.
30:55
SPEAKER_01: When you have not been in church for a while to get up on Sunday morning and get your kids ready.
31:01
SPEAKER_01: And we actually we're big into Sabbath.
31:06
SPEAKER_01: We've started doing our Sabbath Friday evening to Saturday evening.
31:09
SPEAKER_01: Because I'm like, I'm sorry, but like church is not a Sabbath.
31:14
SPEAKER_01: When you're getting kids ready and fed and out the door, it's not Sabbath-y, in my experience or opinion.
31:23
SPEAKER_01: It takes sacrifice.
31:24
SPEAKER_01: You have to be willing to sacrifice because then it also is being a part of that community.
31:30
SPEAKER_01: And it's the world we live in now.
31:33
SPEAKER_01: And for all the introverts, 2020 was like, thank you, God.
31:38
SPEAKER_01: Like, I have such a to make that effort to be more communal is tough.
31:48
SPEAKER_01: It is tough for us to transition back into, but look at the world around us.
31:53
SPEAKER_01: We have no other options.
31:55
SPEAKER_01: Like we have to be intentional with this.
31:57
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
31:58
SPEAKER_00: Wow.
31:58
SPEAKER_00: And that is beautiful, Julie.
32:00
SPEAKER_00: There's so much here.
32:02
SPEAKER_00: Whoever gets to listen to this, and a lot of my friends are going to love this.
32:06
SPEAKER_00: There's probably a lot of notes that they took.
32:08
SPEAKER_00: I know when I go back and listen, there's a lot of things I'm going to write down here.
32:12
SPEAKER_00: It's so good.
32:13
SPEAKER_00: And I just want to say yes and amen to that.
32:16
SPEAKER_00: I think that that is the words of wisdom.
32:18
SPEAKER_00: And it is always that element of what you make it, but how the Lord leads you in that.
32:23
SPEAKER_00: And He will be so kind to affirm, even in that moment of Easter, to affirm that you guys found a place for the season, even if it wasn't your lifelong church, that for the season that he has you there and that he gave you that beautiful gift.
32:37
SPEAKER_00: So okay, on this note, just as we finish up here, is there anything else that you would love to share, whether it's about the book or just something that you feel impressed upon your heart to share in encouragement as whether they're reconstructing or building community or motherhood or all of that good stuff or being in transition.
32:57
SPEAKER_01: Which I feel like all of those have transition involved with them.
33:01
SPEAKER_01: I can just speak from my life personally in having just an openness, like an open surrender to whatever God wants church to look like in your life, whatever God wants motherhood to look like in your life.
33:16
SPEAKER_01: We are living in a time that is so ripe with possibilities.
33:27
SPEAKER_01: And just having an open, surrendered heart posture, but also a hand posture.
33:39
SPEAKER_01: And working through whatever offenses or roots of bitterness and hurt, like those things are hurting you more than they're hurting the people who you're holding on to them towards.
33:53
SPEAKER_01: And so working through them, whether that needs to be in therapy or counseling, um, do the work because it's worth it.
34:02
SPEAKER_01: And to me, all of that is tied in with what we're talking about in the IM book about identity, where for you to have your identity, if we had an earth full of sons and daughters who were walking around knowing who they were, but more importantly, whose they were, that they were beloved sons of God, beloved daughters of God.
34:27
SPEAKER_01: And they were not looking to the world or even to the church.
34:31
SPEAKER_01: We're not intended to look to our pastors or the worship leaders or whoever in the church to tell us who we are.
34:39
SPEAKER_01: If we walk into those places whole, if we were then able to spread that wholeness.
34:46
SPEAKER_01: So knowing like that's what holy looks like.
34:49
SPEAKER_01: It's being whole, it's having the freedom that comes when you're not looking for anything else to fill in those gaps and tell you who you are and place value upon you.
35:01
SPEAKER_01: You already have it.
35:03
SPEAKER_01: So do the work, it's worth it.
35:06
SPEAKER_01: Like pass through the really hard growth middle to the other side.
35:12
SPEAKER_01: Um, and then there'll probably be another one.
35:14
SPEAKER_01: Like that's right.
35:16
SPEAKER_01: That's right.
35:16
SPEAKER_01: That's just life, but but there is something that happens.
35:19
SPEAKER_01: Your endurance for the journey, for the process, you're quicker to recognize, like, oh, I I'm not the worst thing ever.
35:28
SPEAKER_01: Like, God's in this.
35:29
SPEAKER_01: And I won't be in this, I won't be here forever.
35:32
SPEAKER_01: Like, this is a wave.
35:33
SPEAKER_01: I'm just gonna ride the wave.
35:35
SPEAKER_00: Julie, I knew this was gonna be good, but then girl, you brought it today.
35:40
SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much.
35:41
SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much.
35:42
SPEAKER_00: In the midst of your chaos and transition, you came and I just appreciate what you brought.
35:46
SPEAKER_01: Oh, 100%.
35:48
SPEAKER_01: And I want to let everybody know that they can get the both the book and any of our ambassador information at thank you, Amy, for supporting this and it's a good idea.
36:05
SPEAKER_00: So we've got the uh we don't think it's what happens to me, so it's a report.
36:17
SPEAKER_00: I don't want to use thinking that we're gonna focus on this one thing.
36:33
SPEAKER_00: Uh and also we think you on Instagram.
36:36
SPEAKER_00: You can find her at Null at the detailed uh screen.
36:46
SPEAKER_00: We just uh wait uh for yourself and have conversations after we just all need to start.