WEBVTT 00:00:01.290 --> 00:00:04.269 If I could use two words to describe our current 00:00:04.269 --> 00:00:08.169 society, they would be noisy and isolated. Now, 00:00:08.189 --> 00:00:10.230 those words may seem like opposites, but hear 00:00:10.230 --> 00:00:13.869 me out. Like never before, we're inundated by 00:00:13.869 --> 00:00:16.230 the sounds and distractions of everyday life. 00:00:16.489 --> 00:00:18.929 And at the same time, we're becoming more and 00:00:18.929 --> 00:00:22.410 more distanced from one another. So, how can 00:00:22.410 --> 00:00:27.269 we survive? That's today. Thanks for joining 00:00:27.269 --> 00:00:30.089 us for this edition of Living on the Edge with 00:00:30.089 --> 00:00:32.630 Chip Ingram. We are an international teaching 00:00:32.630 --> 00:00:35.450 and discipleship ministry that encourages and 00:00:35.450 --> 00:00:38.289 equips Christians to live like Christians. Well, 00:00:38.310 --> 00:00:40.049 in just a minute, we'll continue our series, 00:00:40.229 --> 00:00:42.710 Get Out of Your Head, taught by our guest speaker, 00:00:43.030 --> 00:00:46.149 Jenny Allen. She's a best -selling author, experienced 00:00:46.149 --> 00:00:49.369 Bible teacher, and the founder of the If Gathering 00:00:49.369 --> 00:00:52.390 Events. Today, Jenny begins identifying toxic 00:00:52.390 --> 00:00:54.950 thoughts that pollute our minds and the biblical 00:00:54.950 --> 00:00:57.600 remedies that can stop them. And to help you 00:00:57.600 --> 00:01:00.000 learn more about this idea of taking every thought 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:02.460 captive, let me encourage you to get Jenny's 00:01:02.460 --> 00:01:06.379 book, which this series was based on. Visit livingontheedge 00:01:06.379 --> 00:01:09.819 .org or the Chippengram app to get your copy. 00:01:10.260 --> 00:01:12.700 Okay, with all that said, here's Jenny with her 00:01:12.700 --> 00:01:17.340 talk, The Antidote for Noise and Isolation. We 00:01:17.340 --> 00:01:19.799 live in the noisiest generation that has ever 00:01:19.799 --> 00:01:22.340 been. No generation has had to deal with more 00:01:22.340 --> 00:01:25.519 inputs than ours. So what does it look like to 00:01:25.519 --> 00:01:28.379 shift the spiral? And I want to define the spiral. 00:01:28.519 --> 00:01:31.640 So throughout the book, the idea of a spiral 00:01:31.640 --> 00:01:34.260 is how we have actually built out all of these 00:01:34.260 --> 00:01:37.299 chapters. So when you look at this chapter on 00:01:37.299 --> 00:01:39.099 stillness, you're going to see this spiral that 00:01:39.099 --> 00:01:42.079 says discontent is this emotion I feel. And then 00:01:42.079 --> 00:01:43.840 the thought that you have is I'll feel better 00:01:43.840 --> 00:01:46.260 if I stay distracted. And we're watching the 00:01:46.260 --> 00:01:49.140 spiral of an emotion hitting a thought, a thought 00:01:49.140 --> 00:01:51.939 hitting a behavior, a behavior hitting a relationship. 00:01:52.099 --> 00:01:54.900 And those spirals, are going through our minds 00:01:54.900 --> 00:01:58.019 all the time. And what God wants to do is he 00:01:58.019 --> 00:02:00.719 wants to shift the spiral from a negative spiral 00:02:00.719 --> 00:02:03.060 that's spiraling down. He wants to shift it to 00:02:03.060 --> 00:02:05.099 one that's going up, one that is going toward 00:02:05.099 --> 00:02:08.259 him. But that interruption and that distraction 00:02:08.259 --> 00:02:12.599 that constantly has you pulling away from God, 00:02:12.719 --> 00:02:16.460 that distraction is our responsibility. We have 00:02:16.460 --> 00:02:19.680 a choice to change the way we think, but we have 00:02:19.680 --> 00:02:21.870 to choose it. I tell my kids this all the time, 00:02:21.889 --> 00:02:24.189 but I think sometimes we need a parent telling 00:02:24.189 --> 00:02:26.710 us the same thing, bossing us around just a little 00:02:26.710 --> 00:02:28.969 bit. And so when we were thinking about a title, 00:02:29.069 --> 00:02:31.330 I said, you know, the thing that I want to happen 00:02:31.330 --> 00:02:33.270 is I want to be able to grab everybody by their 00:02:33.270 --> 00:02:36.030 shoulders and speak as clearly and boldly as 00:02:36.030 --> 00:02:38.430 I can to them. Because in the midst of a spiral 00:02:38.430 --> 00:02:40.430 that's been constant in your life, you need somebody 00:02:40.430 --> 00:02:42.509 to just grab you by the shoulders and say, hey, 00:02:42.610 --> 00:02:44.759 stop. Like you don't have to do this anymore. 00:02:44.879 --> 00:02:46.379 And so that's going to be a lot of how I speak 00:02:46.379 --> 00:02:48.879 to you. So bear with me. I'm a really nice person 00:02:48.879 --> 00:02:52.340 in real life, but I care about you and I want 00:02:52.340 --> 00:02:53.900 you to be free. And so I want you to picture 00:02:53.900 --> 00:02:55.840 me right now, grabbing you by the shoulders and 00:02:55.840 --> 00:02:57.580 saying to you, looking you in the eyes and saying, 00:02:57.680 --> 00:03:00.819 you have a choice. You don't have to spiral out. 00:03:01.219 --> 00:03:04.280 We can set up things that can limit our time 00:03:04.280 --> 00:03:07.360 on Instagram. We can set up things that limit 00:03:07.360 --> 00:03:09.780 the noise in our lives, but we have to choose 00:03:09.780 --> 00:03:13.159 it. We have to choose it. And ultimately, we 00:03:13.159 --> 00:03:16.139 have to choose the truth. The truth that is going 00:03:16.139 --> 00:03:17.960 to cut through the noise, that is going to cut 00:03:17.960 --> 00:03:20.159 through the lies, because all that noise isn't 00:03:20.159 --> 00:03:22.919 ambient, random noise. That noise is feeding 00:03:22.919 --> 00:03:25.520 us lies. It's feeding us ideas about our worth, 00:03:25.639 --> 00:03:28.580 ideas about what we need to be happy, ideas about 00:03:28.580 --> 00:03:31.520 our relationships. It's not like that noise is 00:03:31.520 --> 00:03:33.620 just subtle background noise, elevator music. 00:03:33.759 --> 00:03:36.759 That noise is telling us things, and most of 00:03:36.759 --> 00:03:39.599 what it's telling us is lies. And so we have 00:03:39.599 --> 00:03:41.759 to see it that way. We've got to do a better 00:03:41.759 --> 00:03:44.819 job of surveying our lives, noticing our inputs, 00:03:45.060 --> 00:03:47.939 and noticing the things that we're believing 00:03:47.939 --> 00:03:50.659 because of those inputs. My daughter, Kate, she's 00:03:50.659 --> 00:03:54.500 18, and she is so zealous about this. She's better 00:03:54.500 --> 00:03:57.780 than me about this. She will take social media, 00:03:57.919 --> 00:04:00.180 Instagram, everything off of her phone and leave 00:04:00.180 --> 00:04:02.659 it off unless she wants to share something, a 00:04:02.659 --> 00:04:04.580 post or something. She'll put it on and she'll 00:04:04.580 --> 00:04:06.159 scroll and see what her friends are up to, but 00:04:06.159 --> 00:04:09.699 she generally has it off of her phone. And I 00:04:09.699 --> 00:04:12.090 think of it... Both my older kids are good at 00:04:12.090 --> 00:04:14.610 this. I think of it like old money and new money. 00:04:14.729 --> 00:04:17.610 The idea of new money is that you just blow it 00:04:17.610 --> 00:04:19.730 all at once. And that's kind of how our generation 00:04:19.730 --> 00:04:22.149 has been with our phones and with technology. 00:04:22.410 --> 00:04:25.209 We have just overdone it. And I think this generation 00:04:25.209 --> 00:04:28.470 coming has watched. Their parents do that and 00:04:28.470 --> 00:04:30.009 they've watched themselves and the temptation 00:04:30.009 --> 00:04:32.750 that this is, and they are aware this is toxic 00:04:32.750 --> 00:04:35.889 and dangerous. They are aware that they are filling 00:04:35.889 --> 00:04:38.689 their minds with lies and that it is affecting 00:04:38.689 --> 00:04:41.410 their generation. My other daughter who wanted 00:04:41.410 --> 00:04:43.550 Instagram so badly was begging me for it, begging 00:04:43.550 --> 00:04:45.569 me for it, begging me for it. Finally, I sent 00:04:45.569 --> 00:04:46.829 her an article and I said, I'm going to tell 00:04:46.829 --> 00:04:48.829 you really clearly why I'm not giving this to 00:04:48.829 --> 00:04:51.110 you. When she read the article about mental illness 00:04:51.110 --> 00:04:54.310 and Instagram and comparison in this younger 00:04:54.310 --> 00:04:56.230 generation, she quit asking. She didn't want 00:04:56.230 --> 00:04:59.560 it. Years later, she has it, but she wasn't as 00:04:59.560 --> 00:05:01.720 eager to have it when she realized that's the 00:05:01.720 --> 00:05:03.660 reason her friends are depressed. That's the 00:05:03.660 --> 00:05:05.379 reason her friends are anxious. And we've got 00:05:05.379 --> 00:05:09.100 to be better surveyors of our life. But we also 00:05:09.100 --> 00:05:11.860 have to be better fighters for the truth. All 00:05:11.860 --> 00:05:13.759 of us have a choice when we wake up in the morning. 00:05:13.839 --> 00:05:15.879 In fact, I told the story in the book about waking 00:05:15.879 --> 00:05:17.959 up in the morning and immediately spiraling out 00:05:17.959 --> 00:05:20.100 because I had the thought, I need to spend time 00:05:20.100 --> 00:05:22.060 with Jesus. And instead I picked up my phone. 00:05:22.120 --> 00:05:24.660 That is all of our realities every single morning. 00:05:25.040 --> 00:05:27.839 We always have a choice. And the reason it's 00:05:27.839 --> 00:05:29.920 urgent that we spend time with Jesus is not because 00:05:29.920 --> 00:05:32.740 there's some angel in heaven like checking off, 00:05:32.819 --> 00:05:34.680 did she spend time with Jesus today? Did she 00:05:34.680 --> 00:05:37.579 spend time with Jesus today? It is because we 00:05:37.579 --> 00:05:40.139 are at war and we need the truth in our minds 00:05:40.139 --> 00:05:42.160 first. We need to know who we are in Christ. 00:05:42.300 --> 00:05:45.240 We need to know who God is. We need to have truth 00:05:45.240 --> 00:05:48.560 so clearly before us that when we see other inputs 00:05:48.560 --> 00:05:50.889 coming our way and when we're onslaughted, by 00:05:50.889 --> 00:05:52.750 all this noise, we can sort out the lies and 00:05:52.750 --> 00:05:55.089 the truth. When the truth is set before our minds 00:05:55.089 --> 00:05:58.170 completely clearly, this is who God is. This 00:05:58.170 --> 00:06:01.290 is what is true. Then when a lie comes, we notice 00:06:01.290 --> 00:06:03.870 it's a lie. We know how to fight it. We know 00:06:03.870 --> 00:06:07.250 what's true. That is why God wants time with 00:06:07.250 --> 00:06:10.209 us. It's not so that we know more and more and 00:06:10.209 --> 00:06:14.129 more about God. It's that we can fight better, 00:06:14.250 --> 00:06:16.670 that we can actually live the things that we 00:06:16.670 --> 00:06:19.160 know about God. better, but we have to know them 00:06:19.160 --> 00:06:22.399 first. We can't just expect God to fight for 00:06:22.399 --> 00:06:25.060 us when the main way he is fighting for us is 00:06:25.060 --> 00:06:27.459 through his word. It says that his word is a 00:06:27.459 --> 00:06:29.519 two -edged sword, that it cuts through marrow, 00:06:29.680 --> 00:06:32.459 that it cuts through bone, that it pierces our 00:06:32.459 --> 00:06:34.699 soul, that there's nothing else that has the 00:06:34.699 --> 00:06:37.259 power to do that. The word of God can change 00:06:37.259 --> 00:06:40.019 us. It says it will never return void, that it 00:06:40.019 --> 00:06:42.920 will always enter us and change us. Connection 00:06:42.920 --> 00:06:46.420 with God. is the foundation for every other God 00:06:46.420 --> 00:06:48.019 -given tool we're going to talk about that we 00:06:48.019 --> 00:06:51.680 have to fight with. We cannot know God. We cannot 00:06:51.680 --> 00:06:55.040 give God. We cannot rest in God. We cannot find 00:06:55.040 --> 00:06:59.019 hope without time with Him. That is how we get 00:06:59.019 --> 00:07:03.480 God. We need stillness with God. We don't just 00:07:03.480 --> 00:07:06.629 need mindfulness. I mean, that was the lack I 00:07:06.629 --> 00:07:08.990 saw in the self -help world. I read a lot of 00:07:08.990 --> 00:07:11.470 those books and they were so interesting and 00:07:11.470 --> 00:07:13.649 fascinating, but I always wondered like, how 00:07:13.649 --> 00:07:16.709 do they actually think this works when the answer 00:07:16.709 --> 00:07:19.129 in their book was how awesome we are? I'm like, 00:07:19.170 --> 00:07:21.709 I'm not that awesome. Like that falls apart pretty 00:07:21.709 --> 00:07:24.529 quickly. Or when the answer is just be still 00:07:24.529 --> 00:07:25.970 and think about your thoughts. I'm like, well, 00:07:26.069 --> 00:07:28.500 that falls short if you don't have hope. Y 'all, 00:07:28.540 --> 00:07:30.360 that's why I love Jesus. That's why I preach 00:07:30.360 --> 00:07:32.879 the gospel. That's why I shouldn't be found in 00:07:32.879 --> 00:07:34.519 the self -help section because my books aren't 00:07:34.519 --> 00:07:36.040 that much about self -help. They're about God 00:07:36.040 --> 00:07:38.740 help. They're about how he has helped us and 00:07:38.740 --> 00:07:41.759 the tools and the power that he's given us. Yes, 00:07:41.779 --> 00:07:45.060 to make our own choice, but with his power, with 00:07:45.060 --> 00:07:48.639 his weapons, with his truth. Yes, there are methods 00:07:48.639 --> 00:07:51.879 in psychology that are truly helpful, but almost 00:07:51.879 --> 00:07:54.139 every one that's actually helpful is rooted somewhere 00:07:54.139 --> 00:07:56.879 in the Bible because God built our brains, because 00:07:56.879 --> 00:07:59.480 he designed them. Our minds are actually physically 00:07:59.480 --> 00:08:02.439 built for silence the way God designed us. Your 00:08:02.439 --> 00:08:05.779 brain actually physiologically alters. Scientists 00:08:05.779 --> 00:08:08.040 have found that brains of the people who spend 00:08:08.040 --> 00:08:11.680 hours in prayer and meditation alone are different. 00:08:11.860 --> 00:08:14.879 Your imagination gets rewired. When you're relaxed, 00:08:15.240 --> 00:08:17.879 anxiety and depression actually decrease. Several 00:08:17.879 --> 00:08:20.319 studies that demonstrated that subjects who meditated 00:08:20.319 --> 00:08:22.959 for a short time showed increased alpha waves, 00:08:23.040 --> 00:08:25.220 the relaxed brain waves, and decreased anxiety 00:08:25.220 --> 00:08:28.560 and depression. You guys, this changes our brains. 00:08:28.860 --> 00:08:31.600 And so yes, what scientists discover about them 00:08:31.600 --> 00:08:35.039 happen to reflect the brilliance and power of 00:08:35.039 --> 00:08:38.500 that design that God built. So you ready? I'm 00:08:38.500 --> 00:08:41.730 going to mama bear you. I want you. Every single 00:08:41.730 --> 00:08:43.909 day. I want you to put your Bible by your bed 00:08:43.909 --> 00:08:46.389 and I want it to be what you read before you 00:08:46.389 --> 00:08:48.129 grab your phone. I want you to read it every 00:08:48.129 --> 00:08:52.070 single day because it matters that much. Because 00:08:52.070 --> 00:08:54.990 this is how we go to war. This is how we fight 00:08:54.990 --> 00:08:56.889 better. In the middle of the night, I told you 00:08:56.889 --> 00:08:58.389 about that season of doubt. And in the middle 00:08:58.389 --> 00:08:59.929 of the night, one thing I did was I bought this 00:08:59.929 --> 00:09:02.669 little light that could clip on my Bible and 00:09:02.669 --> 00:09:04.610 I put my Bible by my bed and I put that little 00:09:04.610 --> 00:09:05.929 light on it because I didn't want to wake up 00:09:05.929 --> 00:09:08.450 my husband, but I just had to start reading truth. 00:09:08.909 --> 00:09:11.870 And so what I would do is I would go to a psalm 00:09:11.870 --> 00:09:13.950 that I love, that my kids had memorized when 00:09:13.950 --> 00:09:15.950 they were young at their school, and I wanted 00:09:15.950 --> 00:09:17.929 to memorize as well. And so I would open it up 00:09:17.929 --> 00:09:20.730 to Psalm 139, and it talks about if you go down 00:09:20.730 --> 00:09:23.429 to the pit, if you go down to Sheol, He is there. 00:09:24.009 --> 00:09:26.350 And if you ascend to the heavens, he is there. 00:09:26.529 --> 00:09:29.129 That there is nowhere you can go away from God. 00:09:29.230 --> 00:09:31.769 And that comforted me because my fear was in 00:09:31.769 --> 00:09:33.830 the middle of my doubt was that he wouldn't be 00:09:33.830 --> 00:09:36.169 in death, that he wouldn't be in the grave, that 00:09:36.169 --> 00:09:38.350 it would just fade to black. And guys, I had 00:09:38.350 --> 00:09:41.129 to fight that with truth. And so fast forward, 00:09:41.250 --> 00:09:44.549 I'm in Uganda with some dear friends and I'm 00:09:44.549 --> 00:09:46.870 sitting, because I'm fixated on that scripture, 00:09:47.049 --> 00:09:49.809 I'm sitting in a devotional, staff devotional. 00:09:50.190 --> 00:09:52.230 With Food for the Hungry, their entire team was 00:09:52.230 --> 00:09:55.509 in there, all local Ugandans and South Sudanese 00:09:55.509 --> 00:09:58.649 refugees that serve up there in Northern Uganda. 00:09:58.870 --> 00:10:01.309 And I'm sitting in this office, I mean, way off 00:10:01.309 --> 00:10:03.409 the beaten path of life. I mean, we're talking 00:10:03.409 --> 00:10:05.629 like took a little, small little plane to get 00:10:05.629 --> 00:10:07.429 out there and a bus after that. And we were just 00:10:07.429 --> 00:10:09.990 in the middle of nowhere. And guess what they 00:10:09.990 --> 00:10:12.690 opened to in the middle of my war with my mind? 00:10:12.789 --> 00:10:15.570 He opens to Psalm 139 and he reads specifically 00:10:15.570 --> 00:10:19.169 that part of the passage. And guys, I start weeping. 00:10:19.549 --> 00:10:21.909 Because I know that God is fighting for me. How 00:10:21.909 --> 00:10:25.070 did he fight for me? With his word. He fought 00:10:25.070 --> 00:10:28.570 for me with his word. That is how God is fighting 00:10:28.570 --> 00:10:31.809 for you right now. That book that you feel burdened 00:10:31.809 --> 00:10:33.750 by, that you think, oh, it's an obligation. I 00:10:33.750 --> 00:10:36.789 have to do that. I've got too much to do. That 00:10:36.789 --> 00:10:40.690 book is God fighting for you, fighting for you 00:10:40.690 --> 00:10:42.850 to be more free, fighting for you to know him 00:10:42.850 --> 00:10:45.470 more and his love for you more. Fighting for 00:10:45.470 --> 00:10:48.129 you to understand how much he has done and how 00:10:48.129 --> 00:10:50.570 much he wants to do for you. That's what this 00:10:50.570 --> 00:10:54.870 is. And so when we receive that, there is a relationship 00:10:54.870 --> 00:10:57.730 that's built. It's not about us checking something 00:10:57.730 --> 00:10:59.730 off a list. It's like, gosh, my God is there. 00:10:59.870 --> 00:11:02.649 I want to be with him. I want to know him. Psalm 00:11:02.649 --> 00:11:05.269 8410 says, for a day in your courts is better 00:11:05.269 --> 00:11:08.049 than a thousand elsewhere. Do we believe that? 00:11:08.169 --> 00:11:11.070 Do we believe that time with God is better than 00:11:11.070 --> 00:11:15.340 any other place we could be? It is. The only 00:11:15.340 --> 00:11:18.659 place I have ever felt true peace, it is with 00:11:18.659 --> 00:11:21.080 God and especially peace in the midst of difficulty, 00:11:21.200 --> 00:11:23.659 but even peace in the midst of a mourning or 00:11:23.659 --> 00:11:26.000 anxious thoughts or worry, y 'all pulling out. 00:11:26.080 --> 00:11:28.220 When I say get out of your head, I don't mean 00:11:28.220 --> 00:11:29.940 get out of your head into nothingness. I mean, 00:11:29.960 --> 00:11:32.399 get out of your head into a relationship with 00:11:32.399 --> 00:11:35.039 God. And when we put God and fixate him in the 00:11:35.039 --> 00:11:38.519 center of our mind, then there is this accountability 00:11:38.519 --> 00:11:41.240 because guess what? God knows every thought we 00:11:41.240 --> 00:11:44.090 think before we think it. Psalmist says. So we 00:11:44.090 --> 00:11:46.710 have a God that knows our thoughts already. He's 00:11:46.710 --> 00:11:49.690 in them with us. And we have to realize that 00:11:49.690 --> 00:11:52.309 that should bring some accountability and it 00:11:52.309 --> 00:11:54.649 should also bring some companionship, right? 00:11:54.809 --> 00:11:56.830 Like we are not alone in our own thoughts. God 00:11:56.830 --> 00:12:00.250 is with us in them. And he's not angry at us 00:12:00.250 --> 00:12:02.649 about them. He just desperately wants us to be 00:12:02.649 --> 00:12:04.750 free of the lies that we are choosing to believe. 00:12:04.990 --> 00:12:07.769 Some of you don't know this, but God really likes 00:12:07.769 --> 00:12:10.990 you. Like he likes you. I think about my son 00:12:10.990 --> 00:12:13.549 in the morning when he has been a brat the day 00:12:13.549 --> 00:12:15.190 before, but he comes down and he's going to ask 00:12:15.190 --> 00:12:17.049 for breakfast and he's 11 years old and he's 00:12:17.049 --> 00:12:19.750 just hard. And I love him so much, but you know, 00:12:19.750 --> 00:12:22.049 he's just gets in trouble. And so he's coming 00:12:22.049 --> 00:12:24.830 down for breakfast and he turns the corner. And 00:12:24.830 --> 00:12:26.730 you know what I feel almost every time he turns 00:12:26.730 --> 00:12:30.090 that corner is how much I like him. I like him. 00:12:30.490 --> 00:12:33.330 I like him. I don't just love him. I don't just 00:12:33.330 --> 00:12:35.809 need him to do something for me. I don't, I like 00:12:35.809 --> 00:12:37.509 him. And I think that's the thing we miss about 00:12:37.509 --> 00:12:41.039 God is that he likes us. Yes, he's fighting for 00:12:41.039 --> 00:12:43.019 us. Yes, he loves us. Yes, he sent his son to 00:12:43.019 --> 00:12:46.899 die for us, but he also delights over us. And 00:12:46.899 --> 00:12:49.500 I think as we fixate on that, all of a sudden 00:12:49.500 --> 00:12:52.220 we want to be with that God. We want to enjoy 00:12:52.220 --> 00:12:54.919 him. We want to experience his delight over us 00:12:54.919 --> 00:12:57.919 and we want to be with him. My daughter is so 00:12:57.919 --> 00:13:00.659 great. And the reason she's so great is because 00:13:00.659 --> 00:13:02.879 she has walked through a season of doubt and 00:13:02.879 --> 00:13:05.570 realized that God is true too. And I just want 00:13:05.570 --> 00:13:08.049 to tell you that this isn't like some great parenting 00:13:08.049 --> 00:13:10.610 skill set that got Kate where she is. This is 00:13:10.610 --> 00:13:12.710 her own faith journey that she had to go through 00:13:12.710 --> 00:13:15.490 with God. And what Kate will do when she's going 00:13:15.490 --> 00:13:17.350 through a dark season is she won't watch Netflix. 00:13:17.450 --> 00:13:20.370 She won't listen to podcasts. She will just turn 00:13:20.370 --> 00:13:23.549 on sermons. And she lets these pastors, there's 00:13:23.549 --> 00:13:26.070 about a handful of them, fight for her. And she 00:13:26.070 --> 00:13:29.350 listens to them and she listens to truth because 00:13:29.350 --> 00:13:31.690 she knows if I watch Netflix right now, I'm going 00:13:31.690 --> 00:13:35.200 to fill my head with more lies. And so a 17 -year 00:13:35.200 --> 00:13:36.460 -old, I mean, you can imagine how convicted I 00:13:36.460 --> 00:13:39.379 am. I walk in at nine o 'clock at night and she's 00:13:39.379 --> 00:13:41.980 in her bed and I think she's watching Netflix 00:13:41.980 --> 00:13:44.399 and I look and she's watching sermons. Like this 00:13:44.399 --> 00:13:47.700 is how Kate is who she is, is because she will 00:13:47.700 --> 00:13:51.120 not settle to be stuck in bondage. She allows 00:13:51.120 --> 00:13:53.899 people to fight for her. She allows God to fight 00:13:53.899 --> 00:13:57.120 for her because she puts truth in. She doesn't 00:13:57.120 --> 00:13:59.759 just listen to lies all day long. She knows the 00:13:59.759 --> 00:14:02.500 value of inputs. We have to realize the value 00:14:02.500 --> 00:14:04.629 of our inputs. And we have to realize that whether 00:14:04.629 --> 00:14:06.610 or not we're choosing them, they're coming for 00:14:06.610 --> 00:14:10.129 us in the form of lies all day, every day. And 00:14:10.129 --> 00:14:13.110 guys, this also applies to our kids. We got to 00:14:13.110 --> 00:14:15.710 fight for them. They're getting inputs every 00:14:15.710 --> 00:14:19.570 single day. All day long, my sweet 11 -year -old 00:14:19.570 --> 00:14:22.409 boy goes to a public school and you cannot believe 00:14:22.409 --> 00:14:24.450 he's such a talker. He comes home and tells me 00:14:24.450 --> 00:14:26.029 everything that he's heard that day. And I'm 00:14:26.029 --> 00:14:28.149 like, this is worse than an X -rayed movie. Like, 00:14:28.169 --> 00:14:30.980 this is fifth grade. At public school, my kid 00:14:30.980 --> 00:14:33.460 is being bullied on certain days. I'm sure my 00:14:33.460 --> 00:14:35.080 kid is bullying on certain days, but I'm just 00:14:35.080 --> 00:14:38.860 saying the inputs in his life are legit. They're 00:14:38.860 --> 00:14:41.179 dark and they're legit. And all of our kids are 00:14:41.179 --> 00:14:42.919 fighting more darkness than we can understand. 00:14:43.299 --> 00:14:45.779 And we've got to fight for them. How do we fight 00:14:45.779 --> 00:14:48.700 for them? We give them the same truth that we 00:14:48.700 --> 00:14:51.600 have to have. We sit over them. We read scripture 00:14:51.600 --> 00:14:53.879 over them. Yesterday morning, Cooper had had 00:14:53.879 --> 00:14:55.460 a bad day at school and I pulled him on my lap. 00:14:55.519 --> 00:14:57.159 I said, I want to tell you, I've been praying 00:14:57.159 --> 00:14:59.799 for you. And I know we talk about Jesus a lot, 00:14:59.840 --> 00:15:03.220 but I want to tell you about grace again, because 00:15:03.220 --> 00:15:05.940 grace has changed my life. And I think it is 00:15:05.940 --> 00:15:07.700 the greatest gift that God's given us. And I 00:15:07.700 --> 00:15:09.279 just started talking him through it. And I said, 00:15:09.340 --> 00:15:11.580 today, when you feel frustrated with people and 00:15:11.580 --> 00:15:14.580 you feel bullied, I want you to think about grace. 00:15:14.740 --> 00:15:16.320 Like, I just want you to think how much God likes 00:15:16.320 --> 00:15:19.960 you and that that's enough. And you know, I think 00:15:19.960 --> 00:15:22.139 he was distracted, but I'm fighting for him anyway. 00:15:22.360 --> 00:15:24.220 I mean, that's what we've got to do. We've got 00:15:24.220 --> 00:15:25.700 to fight for ourselves and we've got to fight 00:15:25.700 --> 00:15:29.340 for our people. You're listening to Insightful 00:15:29.340 --> 00:15:32.100 Words from Jenny Allen. She's our guest speaker 00:15:32.100 --> 00:15:35.000 for this series, Get Out of Your Head. This is 00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:36.600 Chip Ingram and you're listening to Living on 00:15:36.600 --> 00:15:39.139 the Edge. And I pray that Jenny's words have 00:15:39.139 --> 00:15:42.100 encouraged you to protect your minds from the 00:15:42.100 --> 00:15:44.899 noise that we're bombarded by day in and day 00:15:44.899 --> 00:15:48.399 out in our society. For the rest of our time, 00:15:48.500 --> 00:15:51.159 Jenny will explain why it's important that we 00:15:51.159 --> 00:15:53.840 find meaningful connections with others in a 00:15:53.840 --> 00:15:56.259 world that's becoming increasingly isolated. 00:15:57.129 --> 00:15:59.669 So here's Jenny. Have you ever heard of something 00:15:59.669 --> 00:16:02.110 called mirror neurons? So this is when you're 00:16:02.110 --> 00:16:04.450 sitting across from somebody else, a friend over 00:16:04.450 --> 00:16:07.450 coffee, let's say, and your mirror neurons are 00:16:07.450 --> 00:16:09.570 all firing. And what that looks like is they 00:16:09.570 --> 00:16:11.509 share something with you and they have a very 00:16:11.509 --> 00:16:14.350 sad face. And all of a sudden you mirror their 00:16:14.350 --> 00:16:17.730 face. You are sad with them. That's coming from 00:16:17.730 --> 00:16:20.250 something in your brain that is telling you physiologically 00:16:20.250 --> 00:16:23.409 to empathize with them. And you guys were built 00:16:23.409 --> 00:16:26.330 for this. God put that in us because he knew 00:16:26.330 --> 00:16:29.059 that we had to do life together. that we couldn't 00:16:29.059 --> 00:16:31.919 just live on these isolated islands going through 00:16:31.919 --> 00:16:34.779 our junk and not connect with others. We are 00:16:34.779 --> 00:16:38.100 physically hardwired for connection. When I look 00:16:38.100 --> 00:16:41.120 back at those 18 months that... I was struggling 00:16:41.120 --> 00:16:42.759 with doubt. And I mean, it really turned into 00:16:42.759 --> 00:16:45.860 a crisis of my faith. But where I gave into that 00:16:45.860 --> 00:16:47.820 attack and where I gave the enemy way too much 00:16:47.820 --> 00:16:51.000 power is that I was completely isolated, that 00:16:51.000 --> 00:16:53.460 I never brought anybody into it. I never said 00:16:53.460 --> 00:16:55.100 out loud the thoughts I was thinking. I never 00:16:55.100 --> 00:16:57.139 told my husband. I never told my small group 00:16:57.139 --> 00:17:00.019 who I met with weekly, y 'all. I was in deep 00:17:00.019 --> 00:17:01.779 relationship with people. I could have said it 00:17:01.779 --> 00:17:03.879 out loud. I could have even texted out friends 00:17:03.879 --> 00:17:05.960 that they wouldn't be mad if I texted them in 00:17:05.960 --> 00:17:07.519 the middle of the night when I was under attack. 00:17:08.200 --> 00:17:11.380 But evil is subtle and it comes for us and we 00:17:11.380 --> 00:17:14.619 barely notice. In fact, evil loves to not be 00:17:14.619 --> 00:17:17.079 noticed. It wants to sneak up on us and it wants 00:17:17.079 --> 00:17:19.720 to tell us things and it doesn't want to be noticed. 00:17:19.859 --> 00:17:22.400 And so for 18 months, I didn't notice it. I just 00:17:22.400 --> 00:17:24.920 sat there in it. But as we notice our thoughts 00:17:24.920 --> 00:17:27.539 and as we notice the lies that we've been believing, 00:17:27.619 --> 00:17:29.599 we need to say those things out loud. Now, some 00:17:29.599 --> 00:17:31.640 of you are thinking, it's not a lie. It's true. 00:17:32.180 --> 00:17:35.190 Well, you don't know. Let me just say, as someone 00:17:35.190 --> 00:17:37.009 who lived in my brain for 18 months with the 00:17:37.009 --> 00:17:39.730 devil telling me lies, I didn't know what was 00:17:39.730 --> 00:17:42.369 true and what was a lie. All I knew was my thoughts 00:17:42.369 --> 00:17:45.869 were, you know, all over the place. And I was 00:17:45.869 --> 00:17:48.390 having a lot of discouraging, doubtful thoughts, 00:17:48.490 --> 00:17:51.630 but I didn't even think about it. I didn't think 00:17:51.630 --> 00:17:54.710 that this was attack. In a second, I said it 00:17:54.710 --> 00:17:57.279 out loud. chains begin to fall because the second 00:17:57.279 --> 00:17:59.279 I said it out loud, I realized one, how stupid 00:17:59.279 --> 00:18:01.599 it sounded that I really do believe in God. I 00:18:01.599 --> 00:18:04.599 don't believe the lies. I don't. And then two, 00:18:05.279 --> 00:18:07.019 it was so clear I was under spiritual attack 00:18:07.019 --> 00:18:08.700 the second I said it out loud. And the other 00:18:08.700 --> 00:18:10.599 thing that happened, if you've read the book, 00:18:10.619 --> 00:18:13.119 you know. I had some pretty incredible friends 00:18:13.119 --> 00:18:15.299 that began to fight for me. And they began to 00:18:15.299 --> 00:18:17.400 fight for me as if my life and faith depended 00:18:17.400 --> 00:18:19.440 on it. They did not take it lightly. And you 00:18:19.440 --> 00:18:21.420 guys have to know how vulnerable that was for 00:18:21.420 --> 00:18:25.259 me. For me to receive these dear friends, Esther 00:18:25.259 --> 00:18:28.200 and Anne, praying and fasting, like not eating 00:18:28.200 --> 00:18:31.079 for 24 hours for me, like that just felt so hard 00:18:31.079 --> 00:18:34.799 to receive. But I was so desperate that I said, 00:18:34.819 --> 00:18:37.660 okay. And I need this. And so for 24 hours, all 00:18:37.660 --> 00:18:40.099 of us, we fasted and we prayed. And I look back 00:18:40.099 --> 00:18:41.980 and I don't know that I'd be free without those 00:18:41.980 --> 00:18:43.839 friends fighting for me, without my small group 00:18:43.839 --> 00:18:46.599 fighting for me. As I shared with them what I 00:18:46.599 --> 00:18:48.940 was going through, I had a small little bitty 00:18:48.940 --> 00:18:51.240 army that fought for me. My husband at the top 00:18:51.240 --> 00:18:53.000 of the list. Once he realized what was happening. 00:18:53.579 --> 00:18:55.539 oh my gosh, he would wake up and pray for me. 00:18:55.619 --> 00:18:57.599 He would pray before we'd go to sleep. I mean, 00:18:57.619 --> 00:19:00.559 we have to have those people that love us, that 00:19:00.559 --> 00:19:02.559 know us, that we can call at any hour, that we 00:19:02.559 --> 00:19:05.579 can tell anything to. We've got to have the people 00:19:05.579 --> 00:19:07.400 that fight for us. I remember one of my friends 00:19:07.400 --> 00:19:10.099 from Austin, she confessed one time to me that 00:19:10.099 --> 00:19:11.920 she had been having feelings for another man. 00:19:12.039 --> 00:19:14.359 And she told me that when the first time she 00:19:14.359 --> 00:19:17.059 confessed it, that she never had feelings for 00:19:17.059 --> 00:19:19.019 him again. He was married and she was married. 00:19:19.140 --> 00:19:21.059 And she said, the second I said it out loud, 00:19:21.099 --> 00:19:23.119 it was like it lost all its power. Guys, that 00:19:23.119 --> 00:19:26.140 is what we're talking about. We're talking about 00:19:26.140 --> 00:19:28.299 an enemy who knows that if he has us alone in 00:19:28.299 --> 00:19:31.660 the dark, then he has us. But if we bring people 00:19:31.660 --> 00:19:34.119 into it, we bring and invite people that love 00:19:34.119 --> 00:19:36.180 Jesus into it, all of a sudden we have invited 00:19:36.180 --> 00:19:39.059 the truth and the light into it. And no longer 00:19:39.059 --> 00:19:41.200 are we alone with the devil. We have people fighting 00:19:41.200 --> 00:19:44.230 for us. 1 John 1, 7 says this, but if we walk 00:19:44.230 --> 00:19:46.509 in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship 00:19:46.509 --> 00:19:48.670 with one another and the blood of Jesus, his 00:19:48.670 --> 00:19:52.789 son, cleanses us from all sin. If we walk in 00:19:52.789 --> 00:19:56.250 the light, Christ is in the light. We have fellowship 00:19:56.250 --> 00:19:58.589 with one another. It's where life happens in 00:19:58.589 --> 00:20:00.329 the light. It happens in community. It happens 00:20:00.329 --> 00:20:02.230 in local churches. It happens in small groups. 00:20:02.309 --> 00:20:04.869 It happens in small Bible studies. This is what 00:20:04.869 --> 00:20:07.329 we have to do. But the truth is most of us, even 00:20:07.329 --> 00:20:09.549 if we have some of those things in place, we 00:20:09.549 --> 00:20:12.130 aren't actually confessing our sin. And that's 00:20:12.130 --> 00:20:15.049 a part of this, is we have to say it. When John's 00:20:15.049 --> 00:20:16.769 talking here about the light, he's talking about 00:20:16.769 --> 00:20:18.549 confession. He's saying you bring things to the 00:20:18.549 --> 00:20:20.549 light. Don't hide them in the dark. And why do 00:20:20.549 --> 00:20:22.269 we bring them to the light? 1 John 1, 7 says, 00:20:22.410 --> 00:20:24.809 because the blood of Jesus, his son, it cleanses 00:20:24.809 --> 00:20:27.369 us from all sin because he has power over the 00:20:27.369 --> 00:20:30.289 sin and we experience that freedom. Now, I believe 00:20:30.289 --> 00:20:32.529 my sin would have been forgiven if I'd never 00:20:32.529 --> 00:20:34.789 brought it into confession and into the light, 00:20:34.869 --> 00:20:36.849 but I don't believe I'd experience freedom on 00:20:36.849 --> 00:20:38.940 earth. I don't believe I'd be reminded of that 00:20:38.940 --> 00:20:40.559 forgiveness. I don't believe I'd be reminded 00:20:40.559 --> 00:20:42.859 of the truth of God unless I brought people in. 00:20:42.960 --> 00:20:44.619 And that's why we move to the light, not because 00:20:44.619 --> 00:20:47.920 our salvation depends on it, but because our 00:20:47.920 --> 00:20:50.740 freedom on this earth depends on it. That's how 00:20:50.740 --> 00:20:53.799 it goes. We need people to fight for us. We need 00:20:53.799 --> 00:20:56.220 people that are fierce and that are warriors 00:20:56.220 --> 00:20:58.240 and that'll just get their hands dirty, like 00:20:58.240 --> 00:21:00.819 fighting for us. When we say the lies that are 00:21:00.819 --> 00:21:02.880 in our heads, they'll fight for us with the truth. 00:21:03.309 --> 00:21:05.250 But we also have to be those friends. And if 00:21:05.250 --> 00:21:08.150 any of you are wondering why you don't have those 00:21:08.150 --> 00:21:10.049 people in your life, there's a lot of reasons 00:21:10.049 --> 00:21:13.150 for that. There's a lot. Relationships are hard 00:21:13.150 --> 00:21:15.289 and we usually quit them as soon as they get 00:21:15.289 --> 00:21:17.589 hard. And the best ones have been through a lot 00:21:17.589 --> 00:21:19.390 of hard. So we can't quit when it gets hard because 00:21:19.390 --> 00:21:21.650 that's actually building the depth and the maturity 00:21:21.650 --> 00:21:24.329 of a relationship. There's a lot of reasons that 00:21:24.329 --> 00:21:27.269 we don't have deep, close friendships. But we 00:21:27.269 --> 00:21:29.150 can always shift that in the best way to do it. 00:21:29.400 --> 00:21:32.160 is to be that person first. So who can you fight 00:21:32.160 --> 00:21:34.960 for today? I want you to call a friend, to text 00:21:34.960 --> 00:21:37.039 a friend and say, let's go to coffee. And I want 00:21:37.039 --> 00:21:39.380 you, rather than bringing your needs to the table, 00:21:39.420 --> 00:21:41.640 even though some days that's obedience and vulnerable 00:21:41.640 --> 00:21:43.660 and what needs to happen, I want you to fight 00:21:43.660 --> 00:21:46.019 for them. I want you to tell them, make them 00:21:46.019 --> 00:21:47.480 listen to this and say, listen, we're gonna do 00:21:47.480 --> 00:21:48.920 this. I'm doing this for you. We're gonna go 00:21:48.920 --> 00:21:50.900 to coffee for an hour and for an hour, you're 00:21:50.900 --> 00:21:52.940 gonna talk about your mind and your anxious thoughts 00:21:52.940 --> 00:21:55.700 and your worries. Now, let me tell you, certain 00:21:55.700 --> 00:21:57.599 percentage of the time, it won't go well. It 00:21:57.599 --> 00:21:59.250 won't. Like you'll tell that friend and they 00:21:59.250 --> 00:22:01.430 won't know what to do with it. Maybe they've 00:22:01.430 --> 00:22:03.089 never confessed in themselves. Maybe they have 00:22:03.089 --> 00:22:05.089 their own issues. Who knows? And they'll backpedal 00:22:05.089 --> 00:22:06.930 and they'll change the subject. Not your friend, 00:22:06.990 --> 00:22:09.609 okay? Guess what? I know this is hard, but you 00:22:09.609 --> 00:22:13.710 go try again. You don't give up. Why? Because 00:22:13.710 --> 00:22:17.349 we cannot live without each other. And as you 00:22:17.349 --> 00:22:19.029 fight for them, they're gonna see a new way to 00:22:19.029 --> 00:22:21.549 be a friend. They're gonna see a new way for 00:22:21.549 --> 00:22:23.930 freedom to unfold in their lives. And you know 00:22:23.930 --> 00:22:26.349 what's cool is when someone does that for you, 00:22:26.430 --> 00:22:32.759 you start to do it for them. So go first. This 00:22:32.759 --> 00:22:35.559 is Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram, and we're 00:22:35.559 --> 00:22:37.640 in the middle of our guest teacher Jenny Allen 00:22:37.640 --> 00:22:40.460 series, Get Out of Your Head. Chip will join 00:22:40.460 --> 00:22:43.039 us in studio in just a minute to share his application 00:22:43.039 --> 00:22:46.119 for today's message, the antidote for noise and 00:22:46.119 --> 00:22:49.200 isolation. Let me ask you, what drives your thought 00:22:49.200 --> 00:22:52.220 life? What influences the way you think? Is it 00:22:52.220 --> 00:22:55.880 anxiety, loneliness, insecurity? Whatever it 00:22:55.880 --> 00:22:58.660 is, do you feel trapped by it? Like no matter 00:22:58.660 --> 00:23:01.900 how hard you try, your mind drifts back to these 00:23:01.900 --> 00:23:04.740 harmful patterns. In this series, author and 00:23:04.740 --> 00:23:07.779 speaker Jenny Allen calls out seven toxic thoughts 00:23:07.779 --> 00:23:10.859 that derail our connection to God. Discover the 00:23:10.859 --> 00:23:13.680 powerful antidotes God's given us to break free 00:23:13.680 --> 00:23:16.700 from these dangerous mindsets. Join Jenny to 00:23:16.700 --> 00:23:19.259 learn what you can do to fight and win the war 00:23:19.259 --> 00:23:21.440 for your mind. And if you're wanting to do a 00:23:21.440 --> 00:23:23.920 deeper study on this topic, let me encourage 00:23:23.920 --> 00:23:26.200 you to get Jenny's book, Get Out of Your Head. 00:23:26.380 --> 00:23:29.960 For complete details, go to livingontheedge .org 00:23:29.960 --> 00:23:36.420 or call us at 888 -333 -6003. That's 888 -333 00:23:36.420 --> 00:23:41.579 -6003 or livingontheedge .org. App listeners 00:23:41.579 --> 00:23:44.789 tap special offers. Well, Chip's joined me in 00:23:44.789 --> 00:23:47.269 studio now. And Chip, Jenny ended her message 00:23:47.269 --> 00:23:49.809 today by talking about fighting for those in 00:23:49.809 --> 00:23:52.549 our lives who are important to us. And as you 00:23:52.549 --> 00:23:55.109 meet people around the country, who and what 00:23:55.109 --> 00:23:57.250 are people fighting for in these challenging 00:23:57.250 --> 00:24:01.200 times? As I travel around the United States and 00:24:01.200 --> 00:24:03.599 speak at churches, college campuses, pastors' 00:24:03.700 --> 00:24:07.000 conferences, military personnel, there is one 00:24:07.000 --> 00:24:10.579 theme that just keeps coming out. It doesn't 00:24:10.579 --> 00:24:13.319 matter where I speak or who I'm with. It's the 00:24:13.319 --> 00:24:16.319 family, it's communication, and it's relationships. 00:24:16.980 --> 00:24:20.400 Now, here's the thing. There's a lot that goes 00:24:20.400 --> 00:24:22.980 into building a strong family. Great communication 00:24:22.980 --> 00:24:26.519 and doing that for different groups is certainly 00:24:26.519 --> 00:24:29.640 a challenge. But that's why we're committed to 00:24:29.640 --> 00:24:33.480 continuing to teach the Bible regularly, practically, 00:24:33.740 --> 00:24:36.660 and relevantly. We're committed to develop group 00:24:36.660 --> 00:24:39.700 resources and online courses that help people 00:24:39.700 --> 00:24:42.579 personally apply the truth to their life. And 00:24:42.579 --> 00:24:45.920 we're committed to having fun with families and 00:24:45.920 --> 00:24:48.839 creating tools that allow families to get together 00:24:48.839 --> 00:24:50.920 and enjoy one another and share their hearts. 00:24:51.180 --> 00:24:54.279 Each one of those has their place. And here's 00:24:54.279 --> 00:24:56.819 what I would ask you. Would you be willing to 00:24:56.819 --> 00:24:59.940 help us create these and then get them in the 00:24:59.940 --> 00:25:03.400 hands of families all across America? It takes 00:25:03.400 --> 00:25:06.259 resources. And I'm so grateful for those of you 00:25:06.259 --> 00:25:09.019 that pray and partner with us financially. And 00:25:09.019 --> 00:25:11.900 I want to thank you first. And second, if you 00:25:11.900 --> 00:25:14.500 don't partner with us financially now, would 00:25:14.500 --> 00:25:17.380 you consider partnering financially and helping 00:25:17.380 --> 00:25:21.190 us do what families desperately need? Thanks 00:25:21.190 --> 00:25:23.569 so much for praying about it and then doing whatever 00:25:23.569 --> 00:25:26.210 God shows you to do. Great encouragement, Chip. 00:25:26.329 --> 00:25:28.529 So if you'd like to be a part of growing this 00:25:28.529 --> 00:25:31.109 ministry, prayerfully consider becoming a monthly 00:25:31.109 --> 00:25:34.190 partner. Your gift will go places and accomplish 00:25:34.190 --> 00:25:37.329 ministry work like you wouldn't believe. So set 00:25:37.329 --> 00:25:40.130 up a monthly donation today at livingontheedge 00:25:40.130 --> 00:25:46.009 .org or by calling 888 -333 -6003. App listeners, 00:25:46.109 --> 00:25:48.750 tap donate. Well, with that, let's get to Chip's 00:25:48.750 --> 00:25:51.900 application for this message. As we close today's 00:25:51.900 --> 00:25:55.940 program, let's pause for a moment. I heard Jenny, 00:25:56.019 --> 00:25:58.519 as she wrapped up her teaching, literally plea 00:25:58.519 --> 00:26:02.440 with us. I mean, plea with us to say, fight for 00:26:02.440 --> 00:26:05.700 that person. Care for that person. Interject 00:26:05.700 --> 00:26:08.680 your life. Ask them to go for coffee. Text them 00:26:08.680 --> 00:26:11.059 today. Give them a call today. I mean, who is 00:26:11.059 --> 00:26:14.119 that person that you know that needs a friend? 00:26:14.180 --> 00:26:17.849 Or who is that person that you know? You've had 00:26:17.849 --> 00:26:20.690 a relationship, but you both got busy, you both 00:26:20.690 --> 00:26:23.549 got sidetracked, and you really need to be together. 00:26:24.009 --> 00:26:27.089 As she was speaking, I just thought of how easy 00:26:27.089 --> 00:26:32.349 it is to let work or distractions or discouragement 00:26:32.349 --> 00:26:35.930 or binging on a Netflix series or to fill our 00:26:35.930 --> 00:26:39.569 lives with so many other things when what I heard 00:26:39.569 --> 00:26:43.589 and what's so true is we need each other. For 00:26:43.589 --> 00:26:45.670 me personally, I've had to structure that in 00:26:45.670 --> 00:26:48.890 my life. You know, left to myself. I love to 00:26:48.890 --> 00:26:51.930 work. You know, I've got four grown kids. I've 00:26:51.930 --> 00:26:55.210 got 12 grandkids. I can end up doing a lot of 00:26:55.210 --> 00:26:57.690 really good things. I can feel responsible. I 00:26:57.690 --> 00:27:00.470 do this. I do that right. But I need some people 00:27:00.470 --> 00:27:04.049 in my life that are just for me. I've got a couple 00:27:04.049 --> 00:27:08.029 friends like that. And sometimes they initiate. 00:27:08.769 --> 00:27:12.690 And in more recent times, I've initiated. I had 00:27:12.690 --> 00:27:15.640 one friend who was a friend of friends. I mean, 00:27:15.640 --> 00:27:18.000 he would text me at 6 a .m. and say, let's get 00:27:18.000 --> 00:27:20.839 coffee because I could tell, man, you were sort 00:27:20.839 --> 00:27:23.460 of funky and you really need to sit down and 00:27:23.460 --> 00:27:25.359 talk to someone. I mean, this is the way he talked 00:27:25.359 --> 00:27:28.039 to me. And he was a quarterback at Boise years 00:27:28.039 --> 00:27:30.759 ago. And he'd say, come on, bro, let's get together. 00:27:31.019 --> 00:27:32.720 And they'd say, you're working too much. Let's 00:27:32.720 --> 00:27:36.200 go play golf. And other times it would be, man, 00:27:36.220 --> 00:27:40.259 I'm so sorry. I know you had to bury that guy 00:27:40.259 --> 00:27:42.619 that died early and counsel his family. You must 00:27:42.619 --> 00:27:45.500 be really struggling. All I want you to know 00:27:45.500 --> 00:27:49.579 is who is that person in your life and are you 00:27:49.579 --> 00:27:53.140 that person in someone else's life? What I heard 00:27:53.140 --> 00:27:55.640 Jenny saying is this is more than I'm in a Bible 00:27:55.640 --> 00:27:58.339 study or I meet with some people now and then 00:27:58.339 --> 00:28:01.619 or I have some light conversation. This is about 00:28:01.619 --> 00:28:05.200 getting connected from the heart, being real, 00:28:05.400 --> 00:28:09.779 being honest, speaking the truth in love, bearing 00:28:09.779 --> 00:28:13.940 one another's burdens. Proverbs 13, 20, I shared 00:28:13.940 --> 00:28:17.740 over and over with my kids growing up. He who 00:28:17.740 --> 00:28:21.039 dwells with wise men will be wise, but the companion 00:28:21.039 --> 00:28:24.319 of a fool will suffer harm. And if you really 00:28:24.319 --> 00:28:26.259 want to know what your life is going to look 00:28:26.259 --> 00:28:30.720 like in three to five to seven years, all I have 00:28:30.720 --> 00:28:33.660 to ask you is show me your friends. I'll show 00:28:33.660 --> 00:28:36.480 you your future. And sometimes our friends end 00:28:36.480 --> 00:28:39.460 up being ones we just play with, or sometimes 00:28:39.460 --> 00:28:42.519 they're ones we just work with. And of all the 00:28:42.519 --> 00:28:45.779 things that you need to make sure you do is for 00:28:45.779 --> 00:28:48.299 those of us that are married, we need to make 00:28:48.299 --> 00:28:51.839 sure that we're making deep friendship a big 00:28:51.839 --> 00:28:54.220 part of the connection. And that means you go 00:28:54.220 --> 00:28:56.380 on dates, and that means you take walks. And, 00:28:56.420 --> 00:28:58.579 you know, my wife just said, you know, we haven't 00:28:58.579 --> 00:29:01.900 read out loud together in a long time. Why don't 00:29:01.900 --> 00:29:04.740 we do that? We just started working out together 00:29:04.740 --> 00:29:08.220 a couple times a week, and it's been fun. It's 00:29:08.220 --> 00:29:11.759 been great. Now let me ask you. Who needs a text 00:29:11.759 --> 00:29:14.619 from you today? Who needs a call that says this 00:29:14.619 --> 00:29:17.299 week, not later, not someday, we're going to 00:29:17.299 --> 00:29:21.079 get coffee or a dinner or a lunch? Okay, you 00:29:21.079 --> 00:29:25.240 ready? Go connect with someone. They'll love 00:29:25.240 --> 00:29:28.380 it, and you and me need it. That's a great reminder, 00:29:28.480 --> 00:29:30.920 Chip. And let me say, here at Living on the Edge, 00:29:31.019 --> 00:29:34.519 we believe community is essential to every Christian's 00:29:34.519 --> 00:29:36.920 faith. And a practical way to find and build 00:29:36.920 --> 00:29:39.180 those meaningful relationships is in a small 00:29:39.180 --> 00:29:42.349 group. So let me encourage you to visit livingontheedge 00:29:42.349 --> 00:29:45.230 .org and check out our library of study guides 00:29:45.230 --> 00:29:48.690 and resources. Whether you want to build a stronger 00:29:48.690 --> 00:29:51.029 marriage, better understand God's character, 00:29:51.210 --> 00:29:53.809 or biblically respond to our changing culture, 00:29:54.029 --> 00:29:56.730 we have something for you. Learn more by clicking 00:29:56.730 --> 00:30:01.190 the Store button at livingontheedge .org. Let 00:30:01.190 --> 00:30:03.809 us help you build life -changing community today. 00:30:04.759 --> 00:30:06.480 We'll listen to next time as our guest teacher, 00:30:06.660 --> 00:30:09.119 Jenny Allen, picks up in her series, Get Out 00:30:09.119 --> 00:30:11.680 of Your Head. Until then, this is Dave Drewy 00:30:11.680 --> 00:30:13.859 saying thanks for joining us for this edition 00:30:13.859 --> 00:30:15.539 of Living on the Edge.