Latest / Arise Women of God / What Are Examples of Spiritual Goals?
Transcript
- 0:00Do you feel like your spiritual life has to be an all or nothing game?
- 0:05Maybe you feel like if you're not spending like an hour in deep gospel study that you're failing.
- 0:11But the truth is God is in the small and simple things.
- 0:15And today we're sharing practical real life examples of spiritual goals that fit into the busy cracks of life.
- 0:22And by the end of today, you'll have a list of seven simple habits that can transform your connection with God without overwhelming your calendar.
- 0:32Today we're kicking back spiritual guilt and showing you how to give yourself grace for the season you're in.
- 0:38Stay tuned.
- 0:40Ordinary WomenExtraordinaryFaithWhenGodcalls,wesayyes.TheArise WomenofGodPodcasthelloandwelcometodcast and welcome to another podcast.I'myourhost, TamaraK.
- 0:55Anderson,and joiningmetoday isTiffany Fletcher, amemberofourWomenwarriorsofLightAdvisoryboard.AndtodayTiffanyandIaregetting verypractical.
- 1:06First, we'regoingtoshare examplesoflifestylespiritualgoals likekeepinga sanctuaryinyourhome.Second,we'lltalk abouttheseasonprincipleandwhyyourgoalsthatyouhad incollegeshouldn'tlooklikeyour goalsthatyouhaveasamom.Andfinally,we'll sharehow tousedailybreadtriggerslikephonenotifications andgratitudelogs tokeep Christatthecenterofallof yourchaos.
- 1:33First,we're goingtohaveTiffanykickitofftalkingaboutsanctuaryandthetoneof yourhome.
- 1:40I was thinking about some spiritual goals that I have set in the past.
- 1:43I remember when I was a young mom, one of the spiritual goals I set was to be kinder to my children.
- 1:49And that sounds so silly because that doesn't like how's that a spiritual goal.
- 1:52But it brings a spirit into your home and contention takes the spirit out.
- 1:56And so in order to create a more Christ centered home, I wanted to be kinder and try to have a softer tone with my children.
- 2:05As my children got older, I set a goal to hug them each day to make sure that they knew that they got a hug each day.
- 2:12Even as teenagers that was just a connection because I feel like family is so important in my goals with God.
- 2:20Of course, praying more intentionally.
- 2:23When I was younger it was praying every day and now that I pray every day, it's praying more intentionally every day.
- 2:30And recently I'm not very good about praying on my knees because I'm old and my knees hurt and so I I told only Father I like I want to be more intentional.
- 2:42So my spiritual goal is to pray on my knees once a day and I Feel like it has really helped me to be more humble and more connecting with, with God.
- 2:51And so, I mean, spiritual goals, even, it sounds silly, but keeping my room clean so that I can feel the spirit and know that I have a clean space where I feel peace.
- 3:03Because it's very hard, I think, for us to connect with God when we're in chaos and when it seems like there's so much chaos around us, especially as moms.
- 3:12The rest of our house may be in chaos, but our room can be a sanctuary.
- 3:16So keeping my room clean, it sounds silly, but has been a spiritual goal for me for many years now to just keep that clean so that I can have a.
- 3:23A good space where I can feel spirit and feel peace.
- 3:27I love that Tiffany mentioned a clean room.
- 3:30It's not about being a perfect housekeeper.
- 3:34It's actually about creating a physical space where your spirit can breathe.
- 3:39These lifestyle goals prove that spirituality isn't just about what you do on your knees.
- 3:45It's about how you live in your home.
- 3:49But as our homes change, our goals have to change.
- 3:52Spiritual goals are whatever is right for.
- 3:55You at the moment.
- 3:56And there are going to be times in your life when.
- 3:58For example, when I was a missionary, I had an hour when I could just read and study the scriptures.
- 4:06And I loved that.
- 4:07I loved the scriptures.
- 4:08It was fantastic.
- 4:10But once I came back and I was in college, that was not a feasible spiritual goal for me.
- 4:16You know, I was lucky to get 10 minutes in, in between classes sometimes or on my lunch break in college.
- 4:23And so it's okay.
- 4:25I think I just need to say this.
- 4:26Give yourself grace for whatever season of life you are in.
- 4:30God tells us for everything there is a season.
- 4:33And so if there was a point in your life where you had 30 minutes to dedicate to scripture study, awesome.
- 4:40If that's not where you are right now, that's okay.
- 4:43God knows what season of life you're in.
- 4:45And the good news is he wants to take us where we are and.
- 4:49Help us improve just a little bit.
- 4:52And so begin where you are.
- 4:54We have to meet God where we are now, not where we used to be.
- 4:59And sometimes to get ourselves moving, we have to use a little bit of a bribe.
- 5:04I'm not ashamed to say that as a young mom, I used to use a reward system to keep my habits alive.
- 5:10I remember as a young mom, my favorite thing, and I know this sounds ridiculous, I loved reading the comics in the newspaper.
- 5:17And I know we don't do newspapers anymore, but that was like my favorite thing.
- 5:21And so my goal when I was a young mom and juggling all these kids that were absolutely crazy was I was going to read my scriptures for five minutes.
- 5:30And my reward was that I could read my comics afterwards because come hell or high water, I read my comics every day.
- 5:38I needed that levity.
- 5:39It just brought me joy.
- 5:41And I think that's something that we can also attach to any goal that we make is a reward.
- 5:46And it can be something simple like you get to read your comics after you read your scriptures.
- 5:50Good job, Tamara.
- 5:51Do you know what I mean?
- 5:52And so it's okay to bring in principles of rewards with spiritual goals.
- 5:58Why not?
- 5:59God wants to reward us.
- 6:00He'll bless us for reading the scriptures anyway.
- 6:03But it's okay to reward ourselves for doing something good.
- 6:05Whether it's reading the comics or having a quiet cup of coffee, it's okay to reward yourself for showing up.
- 6:12As we grow, our habits evolve.
- 6:14For me, that meant moving from five minutes of scripture study to 90 minutes of quiet time with God.
- 6:21But if you're still in the five minute stage, Tiffany has a great hack for those in between times.
- 6:28Keep it simple and keep it like, just do it in the, the in between times in your day.
- 6:33I love, like you do it on your drive.
- 6:36I work from home and so I don't drive very much, but my shower time is very personal and private time and, and it sounds silly.
- 6:43A lot of, but a lot of revelation comes in there and, and I feel like, you know, Adam and Eve were naked in the Garden of Eden and there was no shame.
- 6:49So it's fun.
- 6:50I can talk to God in the shower and he's listening, right?
- 6:54Like, I just feel like that's so important.
- 6:56It's not like it's just so important to do it where you can.
- 6:59Right?
- 6:59Like, I remember when my kids were little, scripture study was tough.
- 7:04I mean, they got up early, they.
- 7:05I homeschooled, so they were with me all day long.
- 7:08Like, I just, it was so time consuming to, to do all of that, especially with five littles.
- 7:14Scripture study came while they were eating breakfast in the morning.
- 7:16I sat at the table with my scriptures, I read a verse of scripture to my kids and then we talked about what it meant.
- 7:22And, and I feel like that, like it's not only connecting you to God, but it's connecting your children to God and it's connecting you to your children and like, God will help you know how to keep those ghosts
- 7:33simple and enough that you can be honest in keeping those goals.
- 7:38It's about Finding those anchors in your day.
- 7:41One of the most powerful anchors is simply stopping to see what God is doing in your life.
- 7:48Tiffany and I have both found that recording the times when we see his hand in our lives completely changed our entire perspective.
- 7:57I was thinking another simple goal would.
- 7:59Be to write down five things you're.
- 8:02Thankful for at the end of every day.
- 8:05Because gratitude is another great way and, or even you could start looking for and recording how you saw God's hand in your life today.
- 8:15Because often we think, oh, he's not with me, how is he blessing me?
- 8:20I just don't see it.
- 8:21And that could be a goal.
- 8:22God help me to see your hand.
- 8:24And as you look for that and maybe start a little journal on your phone or on, in a little notebook on your nightstand by your bed, you will start seeing his hand and you'll notice how much he is
- 8:36guiding you and blessing you and helping you day to day.
- 8:40I love that I have to share really fast.
- 8:42So this right here is, it's, it's one line a day.
- 8:45It's my gratitude journal.
- 8:47And I've been writing in it.
- 8:48It's a five year journal and this is my fourth year.
- 8:51I'm starting my fourth year.
- 8:52But it just says one line and it gives you an opportunity to write what you're grateful for.
- 8:56And it's just, I.
- 8:58It's not a lot.
- 8:58It's so, so fun.
- 9:00Like, it's just this little bit right here each year and it's been a blessing.
- 9:04And then it's funny, this year I started this journal.
- 9:07This is.
- 9:08I'm a writer.
- 9:08Journals are my thing.
- 9:10But this one is how I saw God's hand in my life again.
- 9:14Like, it's, it really is exactly what you said.
- 9:16And, and the beauty of this is, is that I didn't even recognize how much God is in my life until I started keeping this journal.
- 9:24And I didn't realize how much he's done for me.
- 9:26Like, going back on my gratitude journal and just seeing the things that I was grateful for throughout the years has been miraculous.
- 9:34Like even just that little thing, it seems so small, but it really is connecting.
- 9:40And it's so fulfilling when you go back and you read those things and when your children read those things and you know, they're like, they're like, mom, you seem, you seem frustrated with me.
- 9:49Like, do you even, like, do you even love me?
- 9:51You know, whatever.
- 9:52You can go back and say, oh, look, let's pull out my gratitude journal and I'll show you how many times you were in it.
- 9:57It's just a great reminder for us to be grateful that that in itself is a goal, is a spiritual goal, that it can be life changing for all of us.
- 10:05Your spiritual goal does not need to be grandiose, it just has to be honest, right?
- 10:11If you're ready to pick one simple example from today and start, go download our free guide to goal setting for Christian Women.
- 10:19It includes a sacred brainstorm to help you pick the right goal for this season of your life.
- 10:25We'll drop the links in the description below.
- 10:28Just keep trying.
- 10:29Keep showing up and I promise God will meet you there.
- 10:33He loves you and he is invested in you and your progress now and into the eternities.
- 10:40Until next time.
- 10:41May you arise.
- 10:43Do things God's way.
- 10:44God strong.