Intersections Series: Wise Counsel, Faith-filled Friendships and Teachability w/Hannah Irby

Speaker 1: 0:00

My Aunt Elaine. She has been praying for me ever since I was a baby, even before I was born. I am so thankful to have a family member like her that is in my corner, that I know wants the best for me and same with my parents as well People that truly care and want the best for me. I think that is such a blessing from the Lord.

Speaker 2: 0:21

Helping you live brave, build community and pass on courageous faith to the girls around you. This is Be the Brave Ones podcast.

Speaker 3: 0:32

Hey everybody, it's Mandy and I'm here with a special co-host today. I think that Delaney's not special, but she couldn't make it today, so Lauren is filling in. Welcome, lauren, I'm so glad you're joining me today. Hey, mandy, it's nice to be back. So awesome to have you back.

Speaker 3: 0:45

So we've been in this series. This is episode two and you and I and our team has been sitting in. Just Jesus, what do you want for us when it comes to community? And God led us to this passage Acts, chapter nine, following the life of Paul, because he's someone who obviously loved people. If you read his letters to the church, the way he spoke, you could just tell that he had this incredible, deep affection for them and we want to understand that. And God's been showing us and listeners. We're excited to share that with you.

Speaker 3: 1:14

So last episode, delaney and I talked about the first nine verses in chapter nine, and now Lauren and I are going to be talking about verses 10 through 22 and taking a look at this encounter that Paul has after he's blinded on the road to Damascus. So if you didn't listen in to last episode, go back and listen to it. But just to catch you up, paul was walking down the road. He was Saul at the time was walking down the Damascus road and he was actually going to persecute Christians. When he has this encounter with Jesus and he's blinded by it and he starts to question everything that he knows in that moment, because this is like this radical thing that's happened to him and he's blind. And then God tells him to get up and go to see this guy. He's going to send this guy to come see him and so we're going to pick up there. Lauren, do you happen to have that section of scripture open, acts 9, verses 10 through 22?

Speaker 2: 2:06

I do. I have it in NLT. It says Now there was a believer in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision, calling Ananias yes, lord. He replied. The Lord said Go over to Straight Street, to the house of Judas. When you get there, ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying to me right now. I have shown him a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying hands on him so he can see again.

Speaker 2: 2:30

But Lord exclaimed Ananias I've heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers in Jerusalem and he's authorized by the leading priest to arrest everyone who calls upon your name. But the Lord said Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel, and I will show him how much he must suffer for my name's sake. So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Instantly, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized. Afterward he ate some food and regained his strength.

Speaker 2: 3:11

Saul stayed with the believers in Damascus for a few days and immediately he began preaching about Jesus in the synagogues, saying he is indeed the Son of God. All who heard him were amazed. Isn't this the same man who caused such devastation among Jesus' followers in Jerusalem, they asked. And didn't he come here to arrest them and take them in chains to the leading priests? Saul's preaching became more and more powerful and the Jews in Damascus couldn't refute his proofs that Jesus was indeed the Messiah.

Speaker 3: 3:38

So what we wanted to focus in on listeners with this section of scripture is Paul's encounter after he gets up, after he has this encounter with Jesus. That was his first stop, and his second stop is this encounter that he's going to have with this man named Ananias that you just heard about. And this man named Ananias was sent by the Lord to Paul. That's what opened up his eyes to be able to see again. It required another person, like for Paul to get to the next place that he was going. He needed to have this encounter with Ananias, otherwise he was going to go off blind, like he was going to be hindered from seeing what he needed to see, so that he could do what he needed to do as his life continued. So that's what we want to highlight here is that God is going to be putting people in front of your life that need to show you something, that need to teach you something. So, lauren, I'm wondering, when you looked at these verses, what really stands out to you.

Speaker 2: 4:31

Yeah, I think starting with in verse 10, the Lord spoke to Ananias and he said Ananias. And Ananias said back yes, lord. And then it goes on and the Lord asked him to go to Saul and Ananias' response is but Lord. And he starts to give these doubts. And so what I see here is just this intimacy that Ananias already has with the Lord. Like he is not going to Saul in his own strength, he has been led there by the Lord.

Speaker 2: 4:58

And so I think, as we think about who is the Lord placing in front of us, like first we have to stop with Jesus, then we can be that person to go and to have those meaningful connections. So just that the Lord called him by name to start. And then he had this comfort. Ananias had this comfort of I can, I can bring my doubts to the Lord, I can bring my fears to the Lord about this relationship, about this encounter. And the Lord was willing to like he reaffirmed that go. Here's why. And he gave that promise of like Saul is my chosen instrument and Ananias got to be part of this huge story. I mean, imagine how he said no, right.

Speaker 3: 5:38

The crazy story that we are reading about today and being deeply encouraged by and I thought of the same thing there too, lauren that really stood out to me. Ananias' no his, but Lord and it makes me think about there's a question, I think it's a question, I think it is. It's one of the questions on one of our conversation cards for this series about who might we be overlooking, like, who are the people who we go? Oh, not them. That's not big enough to change them. And we do that. We limit God's power. We're like they're too far gone. The way they act, the way they behave, I just can't. And they're not going to kill us, but they might just like the way they behave kills us and so we don't want to engage there. And God's like no, that is the person that I want you to engage with and watch what I do when you do, but you have to get with the Lord to hear that from him.

Speaker 3: 6:26

Another thing that also stood out to me is that not only Ananias touching Paul and the scales falling from his eyes, but then after that it says that. It says he was baptized and then he could see, but then it says that he immediately went off. He immediately, at once, began preaching. And I'm not saying, like everybody, go out and like, like, start preaching, but I'm saying, when you come to Jesus, like you have something to give away, like we disqualify ourselves and so we can go and we can share Jesus immediately. We have been called and commissioned into going and sharing Jesus with others. We don't have to wait to have all the answers, you know, wait to have the seminary degree or to think that we have enough, like we can start talking about Jesus right away. And we see that pattern in scripture. And so we have an incredible guest for you guys today.

Speaker 3: 7:18

I'm so excited to introduce you to her. Her name is Hannah Irby and she is a young adult who's studying youth and family ministry with a minor in communication at Abilene Christian University in Abilene, texas. She served with Delight Ministries, which is a Christ-centered community on college campuses. She's interned at Gateway Church in Coffee Talk Abilene, which is a mentoring program for high school girls. She's passionate about loving God and people and she is grateful for His goodness and His faithfulness in her life. She's excited to see what he has in store ahead of her and we are excited to see what God has in store for this conversation. Thanks so much, hannah, for joining us today, of course. Thank you so much for having me. We are so glad to have you, and so we've been talking about in this series about connection and community and thought it would be really great to ask our guests right up front who is a friend, like a close friend, that you are in connection with. That makes you laugh until you cry.

Speaker 1: 8:19

I would say my friend Carly. Carly and I met my freshman year at ACU and from the moment we met each other, it was all. It was just all fun, all laughs already from the start, and so I love that. Even when we get together, if it's for lunch or for dinner, I love that we always have something to talk about, we're always laughing. She literally makes my day. If I'm having a bad day and I'm like, okay, I really need a lab, I always go to Carly Carly's the one I go to and truly it just makes me reflect and make me think on. Laughter truly is the best medicine and it's so good for our health, it's good for our heart, for our minds, and even though we're different majors, I love that we can still come together and be such good friends. I'm so thankful for her.

Speaker 3: 9:10

Yeah, it's that joy we get from connection and that's why I wanted to ask this question. I want to just hear what people have to say about that and just reflect on that, because we can get so caught up in being alone or not taking the invitation to be somewhere to connect with someone, and we just miss out on these moments that are supposed to refresh our soul. What do you think, lauren?

Speaker 2: 9:30

When I think of those friends, I think of time going through a lot of different things together and having these like reflecting back on moments that that became inside jokes. And some of them are just like super small moments, right, like we were running an errand together, we were doing whatever and something funny happened, and some of them are a hard thing happened, but now we laugh about it and we look back and remember that Kind of one of those like, oh, we survived that together. But yeah, just like over time and building that connection, and I think sometimes we have that instant blessing of we connected immediately and I think with we have that instant blessing of we connected immediately and I think with other friends it takes that time and to build that depth and to build that strong connection level.

Speaker 3: 10:14

Yeah, I agree, and I'm going to flip this around for you too. Right now. I think that we realize that we've really gone deeper with a friend when we go from crying to laughing. Have you ever been in that moment with a friend where you are crying about how messed up a situation is? Like I can just get teary thinking about it.

Speaker 3: 10:30

Sometimes we can use laughter to distract from feelings, and that's not what I'm talking about here. I'm talking about when they've sat with you and they've sat with you in your tears, and then all of a sudden, they say something. It's like time to transition out of tears now, right, and like they say something and you just laugh and you feel better. You're like I got it out, I got the junk out, you listened to me, you sat with me in it and now you're making me laugh and I just want to hug you. You know that feeling that I'm talking about.

Speaker 3: 10:52

Yeah, and so, hannah, we've been talking about Paul the apostle, and he encountered you can speak to this too that there's so many roads in this story, and when we named this series intersections, we didn't realize how many roads were going to come up, right, yeah, it's pretty crazy, like just there, in that first section alone, there was the road to Damascus, and then God told Ananias to go down to straight street, like he told him to go down the street. I want to sit with that more. I'm like why straight street? Anyway, sorry I derail, anna. We've been talking about Paul the Apostle and how he encountered Jesus on the Damascus road. There was a point in your life where you heard God speak to you and it helped bring clarity to your future, and so I would love for you to share with our listeners about that story.

Speaker 1: 11:39

Yes, I'm honestly so glad that I have the opportunity to share this really, really special and intimate moment with the Lord, for my testimony with y'all. So this was, I believe, my junior year of high school. I was homeschooled at the time. It was my second year being homeschooled and I was walking around the house one day, just, you know, walking around the house like I would do since I got home more frequently now and I just heard the Lord say the words youth pastor to me, and it was small, it was still. It was almost like you had to just stop and like take it in. It was like one of those moments where you had to just pause and all all it was was just youth pastor and that was it. And I was like, okay, all right, we get more. I'm like just just two words, okay, just two words. Great, yes. And I knew it was the Lord because of the whisper. And then there was also the peace that I had in my heart, and not only in my heart, but the peace that I had in my mind, and there was a certainty. And so that's how I knew it was the Lord because, honestly, I would not have thought it for myself either. It was not my plan at all. And so I just took those two words and I held them tight and I was like, okay, all right.

Speaker 1: 13:08

But honestly, I wish I could say that it was a yes right off the bat, like, oh my gosh, yes, lord, I'm totally going to do that. That was not it. Like, oh my gosh, yes, lord, I'm totally going to do that. It was that was not it. It was not a yes right off the bat. Although there was definitely that certainty, I was hesitant about where all of it would take me. I trusted the Lord and I knew that this is what he had said to me. But at the same time I was like, okay, I have no idea where this is going to take me, where this is going to lead. But I will say, the moment I said yes and truly said yes to the Lord, not only was there more peace in my life, but it was just like many doors started to open and it was so clear Just another confirmation that it was from him.

Speaker 2: 13:55

I hear your but Lord, just like Ananias, like okay, I heard from him, I know I heard from him, Like the word says we know his voice and I hear that and the way you talk about the peace that you felt, and I think just for listeners to know that, like it's okay to hear from the Lord and not immediately do something about it, like we can wrestle with him. He has big enough to sit with us in that as we wonder about it, as we wait for more. You know, sometimes we're like wait, but when, why, how? So yeah, just I love that that we were just talking about that with Ananias, so that in your story too of like but Lord, what about?

Speaker 3: 14:33

or when, and to wait on him and to continue to seek him in that, yes, I'm so glad you pointed that out, lauren, and that is the beauty of having two ears listening, because I didn't pick up on that right away until you shared it. I'm like, oh yeah, that's so true and it's so important to give ourselves that grace. When God gave me the vision for Brave Girls Gather, he gave me the words Brave Girls Gather, and I didn't take the first step, the first real step into action, until two years later. And so, yeah, we walk in that. But I really love so much as well, hannah, how you said that you knew it was the Lord, because you got the peace and you got the clarity.

Speaker 3: 15:09

And so if there's someone listening right now and you're like I think the Lord has asked me to do this thing, like gather with rules and have brief conversations, do you have peace about it? I didn't say comfort Now. Notice, hannah was not comfortable. Right, it's not comfortable, but do you have peace and clarity about it and keep walking in it, and then God will open the doors. And so, as we were sharing there earlier as well, hannah, paul met this man named Ananias who helped him make sense of it, all this experience that he had, and so I'm wondering who are the people in your life who've helped you see things that you couldn't see very well more clearly.

Speaker 1: 15:46

I would say there's quite a few people that come to mind, but specifically I wanted to highlight my mom and my dad, my friend Emmeline and my dad, my friend Emmeline, and my aunt Elaine, and so, with these people, my parents specifically, they taught me about Jesus from a very young age, even just from a little baby. I just was able to experience the Lord in my home through my parents. I experienced his love through my parents' love and, just like, honestly, the love of the Lord in my home, with my family and my parents are the reason why I know Jesus.

Speaker 3: 16:28

And so.

Speaker 1: 16:29

I'm so grateful for them yes, so grateful for them. My aunt, elaine she has been praying for me ever since I was a baby and, honestly, even before I was born. But I am so thankful to have a family member like her that has prayed for me, that is in my corner, that I know wants the best for me and same with my parents as well, people that truly care and want the best for me. I think that is such, honestly, a blessing from the Lord to have people like that and family like that even.

Speaker 1: 17:02

And another person that came to my mind was my friend, emmaline, and she is honestly the kindest person I know, one of the kindest people I know. I love spending time with her dinners, lunches we had a photo shoot recently, and so that was just honestly a highlight of just being able to spend time with her, and she is honestly the hands and feet of Jesus. She is such a kind and gentle spirit that has truly impacted me. She's one of those friends that I could go to if I need like a recharge. She's always just there to just look me up and encourage me, and her intentionality and just being my friend is something I honestly greatly appreciate. So grateful for all of those people.

Speaker 3: 17:49

I'm glad that you shared those two different types of people there and we're going to talk about a third here in a minute. But throughout the series we're taking a look at the different types of relationships that God wants for us. So he wants the Ananiases, the people who have the wisdom, the people who are a little further down the road, who kind of help us make sense of things. And then he also wants us to have those co-laborers, those friends who are walking alongside of us, to give, take relationship right. I give, I take, they give, they take. And we're in this interdependent relationship with one another and we're pouring into one another, we're hearing one another, we're loving one another, we're cheering one another on. That's another kind of relationship that God calls us to. And the third kind, which is what I want to ask you about in your own life, is who is that person who you help see things differently when maybe they can't see, or you point them towards the wisdom or the truth that they need?

Speaker 1: 18:41

I would honestly say there's a girl that I used to dance with when I was competitively dancing and her name is London, and she has honestly been like a little sister to me. I love her so much and with her I just love being there for her, I love encouraging her. When she needs prayer, I'm always there, I always make sure I'm available to her and simply just showing her the love of Jesus, whether that's their encouragement or prayer or spending time with her Whenever I come home from college. Sometimes we'll hang out and go get dinner or we'll see a movie or we'll eat together and truly just like being able to fellowship with her is honestly something I cherish so, so much and I'm so grateful to have her in my life and that the Lord has blessed our friendship and sisterhood as long as he has, and I'm excited to see where he takes her.

Speaker 3: 19:37

Yeah, the being present with her I'm sure means so much to her and just knowing that you're there and I think this is a relationship I've experienced this in my life where I underestimate how much God is using the relationship. Like I can see when someone's pouring into me, I'm like there's so much value here, but the person pouring into me doesn't often see the value of what they're giving me and I sometimes struggle to see the value of what I'm giving somebody else. And I think that younger women might it might take them longer to figure out like no, you have something to give away, right? Like if you're a middle schooler. At my daughter's school they have my daughter and son's school. They have this buddy program where she has a four-year-old buddy that they have once every month on chapel day. They spend time with their buddies and I'm telling her the things you say matter so much.

Speaker 3: 20:24

This is such an opportunity for you to speak life into this little girl's ears in whatever way God will allow you to. So on the podcast, we like to have a get real moment. We started this last series where we wanted to ask you to be transparent as possible, because we believe that when we get honest and real things happen like God shows up, and he shows up because we're here, but he can show up in our confession and our professions, and so I wanted to ask you a question from our brave conversation series, and it's do you consider yourself to be teachable, like? Have you ever struggled with that as well, and how does being teachable help us in our relationship with others?

Speaker 1: 21:02

I do believe I'm a teachable person. I must say I was not always this way. I was not always a teachable person, but I do love learning new things and taking my time and being diligent with anything that I set my hands and my mind to. There have definitely been times where I was not up for learning or being teachable, but in those moments they turned into lessons. But not only did they turn into lessons, but they turned into opportunities to help other people and to help myself become better and to become a better follower of Christ, yeah, and Lauren, I'm just curious.

Speaker 3: 21:39

I can already tell you you're teachable.

Speaker 2: 21:41

I see that in you but have you ever struggled with it? It could be hard to be teachable. I think pride can get in the way real fast and it depends what you're being taught. I think sometimes it can take a minute to like I'll hear what you're saying and I just can't take it in yet. But the longer I sit with it, the more my heart is able to take that in.

Speaker 2: 22:05

And it depends. It depends. It depends on the skill, it depends on what is being taught. Who is teaching? I think that's a big thing too. Does that person have my trust? Do we have a relationship? Have I learned to trust them? You know my attitude can. Sometimes my husband tries to teach me things. If we're out on the golf course and I am just he's learned to say do you want feedback right now? And some days I'm like yes, please tell me everything. And other days I'm like no, I like I can't take it right now, please tell me later. So yeah, it's, it can be hard.

Speaker 3: 22:39

I think there's value in the question of saying can I give you some feedback right now, even in our relationships, especially when it comes to investing in the next generation, a question that I've started asking. And I just got together with a girl the other day and we talked about hard stuff and at the end I said is there any place where you didn't feel heard or you felt like I wasn't getting what you were saying? And thankfully she said no, but I felt like it was an important question, because sometimes it's hard to tell Did we try to fix it or did we point you towards truth and encourage you? But people want to feel heard and so giving them the opportunity. And then, when I think of the next generation, you know, I'm 45 years old, I have four kids ranging from ages 12 to 28. And I've seen a lot of kids grow up right Like. I've seen a lot of different things in the way that kids and teenagers respond to things and I would say, like the younger, the generation, it's taking this posture, this Jesus-like posture. And so, women, listeners, that's what I want to encourage you with that we're actually being required to look and act more like Jesus, to connect with and invest in the next generation, and that's a beautiful thing, because that's who we're called to be, and also finding that laying wisdom out there like a buffet, like laying it, like here's the truth and here's the truth, and here's the truth, and it's delicious. You know, like you don't literally say that, but you get my point, like you lay it out and then they go, oh, like, let me pick that up. And you mentioned that word trust, lauren. If they're walking with me and they're seeing the way that I'm walking and talking and interacting with them, they learn to trust me. And if I'm following Jesus, they're going to see a piece about me and they're going to go. I want what you have.

Speaker 3: 24:20

So, throughout scripture, we see this repeated pattern of God working through relationships. So, hannah, you and I came to get connected through a relationship, and that's how this thing works, and I want our listeners to hear this, because I wouldn't know, hannah, if it wasn't through a relationship. Someone that I paid attention to, which is Caroline Hare, and she operates the ministry Waves Waves Ministry, and you're going to be an intern for her this summer. So I'd love for you to share with our listeners how you got connected with Caroline to be an intern for her this summer, so I'd love for you to share with our listeners how you got connected with Caroline.

Speaker 1: 24:48

So I initially went in for a meeting with one of my professors, whom she also had while she was a student at ICU. So I thought that was already super cool. And so this meeting was about around last semester, but it was to go over my mission and vision statement. Because this professor, specifically, he would, honestly, he would grill us my mission and vision statement. Because this professor, specifically, he would, honestly, he would grill us about mission and vision and why you do things and make sure that is like the heart of what you do, your why, your mission, your vision is behind everything that you do for your ministry and youth ministry and children's ministry, wherever you decide to serve. And I was like, okay, I think it would be good if I went to just, you know, sit down and talk with him and kind of go over what's been cooking in my brain, you know. So I sat down and I was like, hi, dr Oglesby, like I just wanted to come in and talk to you about, like, my vision and mission statement for my nonprofit ministry that I hope to start in the future. And he was very receptive of that. He loved it. I loved it, it was a great time. And he looked at me and he was like you know, hannah, this sounds awfully familiar to one of my former students that I had and I was like, oh, really, it does. And he was like, yes, it does. And he told me he was like why don't I put you in contact with her? And I was like, oh, that would be great.

Speaker 1: 26:08

And so I emailed Caroline and I was like hi, and I told her, like Dr Oldsby told me about you and told me about your heart for ministry and what you're doing and Destin, and I heard back from her eventually and initially the conversation was supposed to be about nonprofits and it was and it was great and I learned so much, so much.

Speaker 1: 26:33

It was truly a benefit. And she asked me she's like hey, you know, hannah, what are you, what are your plans for after you graduate? Um, future plans. I told her I was like I think I'm going to go home and do something ministry based. I don't know what that's going to look like, but I think I'm going to go home and find something in the ministry world to do. And she was like you know, we are actually looking for a content creation intern for the summer and I was like really, and I was like that was honestly right up my alley and immediately I knew that that's what the Lord had placed on my heart to do was to go and serve with her and serve alongside her and her ministry that she has, and just to be able to take and learn from her is honestly a blessing, and I'm so excited for all that the Lord is going to do while I'm there and even now, as he's preparing me.

Speaker 2: 27:28

So yes, I'm picturing a map and just like all of these different intersections of like, do you intersect with the professor, the professor intersects with Caroline, then you have one over here and then and sorry listeners, I'm using my hands to talk so you can't see it, but I'm drawing a little mental map and then, like, caroline connects with Mandy and Mandy and just all of these things, and I love how it brings to life this image of stopping going intersection roads, how things are intertwined and how, when we're following the Lord, like those roads are made more clear to us.

Speaker 3: 28:03

He opens our eyes to see what he's doing, and you could see it, hannah. You're like, yes, I see what you're doing here, lord, and I also love the pursuit of wisdom, how you went to your professor and you took that as an opportunity to glean from him what he had to speak into this vision that God has given you, which, listeners, is for girls, a girls ministry, and Caroline also has a heart for girls, and that's certainly part of what brought us together and I just I love that you are pursuing that, hannah, and you're like, yeah, where can I go, where can I learn? How can I grow? And that is that teachability that we were just talking about. And so, listeners, sometimes we're going to be connected with people for a season, like Hannah is connected to her professor and he's teaching her, and now she's going to be connected to Caroline. And sometimes it's going to be more like a short-term apprenticeship, like I'm going to learn from you for a season and then I'm going to go to the next thing. And sometimes it's God calls us to walk alongside someone, like we're going to hear in our next episode, for the rest of their lives. There's all these types of relationships and connections and they all matter, and so we just want to encourage you listeners to pay attention to what God might be doing through the connections and the relationships in our life.

Speaker 3: 29:10

So I sent you a scripture, hannah, in advance. Lauren, you have the scripture. It's Colossians 3, 1 through 17. Lauren, do you have that pulled up? Do you want to read it? Yep it says.

Speaker 2: 29:20

since then, you have been raised with Christ. Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things, for you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.

Speaker 2: 29:48

You used to walk in these ways in the life you once lived, but now you must also rid yourself of all such things as these anger, rage, malice, slander and filthy language from your lips.

Speaker 2: 29:58

Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge and the image of its creator.

Speaker 2: 30:08

Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all and is in all. Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another. If any of you has a grievance against someone, forgive, as the Lord forgave you, and over all these virtues, put on love which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body, you are called to peace and be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns and songs from the Spirit singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God, the Father, through him.

Speaker 3: 30:58

I love that this section of scripture says put on the new self. That's the title in the Bible that I'm looking at right now Put on the new self. And that's what Paul did he put on the new self. But I want to ask you guys what stood out to you in this scripture particularly when it comes to our relationship with others and growing closer to them.

Speaker 2: 31:21

I think for me like 12 through 17, which is roughly half of this paragraph, this scripture, but something that really stood out from that is forgive, as the Lord forgave you. Earlier. We were talking about how we write people off and I think it would have been easy for Ananias to just sit in like, nope, I know what Saul is known for and I'm not going there, lord. But Saul had been forgiven by the Lord, saul had been chosen by the Lord and he just said that. Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, as we put that on ourselves and recognize that as ourselves, as believers, we get to also see that in people around us that they are loved, that they are chosen, that they are holy, that they are forgiven, and so just to not write people off for what I might think about them or my impression of them, but to really sit with the Lord and reframe for myself like Lord, how do you see this person and how can I be part of knowing them in you and in your story and in?

Speaker 3: 32:16

your glory. Yeah, I think about you. Know, I've done a lot of reflection on friendships in my life as we've sat with the series and sat with the Lord and sat with scripture. And I have a friend who's been here for the long haul and she's one of those people who just knows everything about me. She knows it all. She knows all my little dirty secrets, you know, and she still loves me and we've walked through all the things together. I mean, we've been to hell and back a couple of times, but we've also made one another mad, like we've really made one another mad at times, but she always forgives me, you know, and I forgive her. And if we don't sit in a posture of forgiveness, we can walk away from something that God is calling us to stay in. And I'm not saying that boundaries aren't important, because they are, and that's a whole other episode, but we have to keep that posture of forgiveness.

Speaker 1: 33:04

Hannah, what stood out to you? I really resonated with verse 14 when it comes to others. It says, and above all else, put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And I think that even what you were saying, lauren, about forgiveness I personally think that sometimes it can be hard for us to forgive because we simply just stop loving. And when it comes to forgiveness, I think it's important that love is also tied in with forgiveness, as well as compassion. And when we're putting on love and we're viewing others the way that God views them, it changes our perspective, the way we see others and the way we look to others and help others and be in community with others.

Speaker 3: 33:57

Yeah, and I see that this is the put on. These are the put on things right, the compassion and the patience and the gentleness, and then the take off things are also important. So we have to take off things that are hindering us from deep community and we have to put on things that lead us to deep community. And so some of the things that I notated down as far as like what takes us away from it the evil desires and covetousness, greed or envy when we are wanting what someone else has or we're jealous over what someone else is achieving, it can stop us from connecting and communing with them.

Speaker 3: 34:36

And then another one was do not lie to one another, in verse nine, and that goes back to that trustworthiness. And I don't just mean like don't when I say do not lie. It's like so much more than just like don't tell a lie, Like be honest. Be honest with others, be brutally honest with others about what you're feeling, about what you're thinking about, what's going on in your life, about the vulnerable places of your heart that you don't want to get honest about because it hurts to uncover it. Like, get honest with people and that is going to draw you in closer to one another. And then who doesn't want to be friends with someone who's compassionate and kind and humble and meek and patient and bears with you and loves you Like everyone wants to be a friend with that person.

Speaker 3: 35:17

And then I had this thought that really it's putting on Jesus and we have Jesus, we're becoming like Jesus to other people. This is how we grow in deep community with others, and we can't do it, we can't become like Jesus if we're not with Jesus. And we have a whole series that we just got out of called Make Room and go back and listen to that. You make room for Jesus, you become like Jesus and then you're able to live out Jesus, and that's also what happened in the life of Paul. And so, final question we want to close this out with, because we don't want to walk away from any conversation. Hannah just going oh, it was a great conversation. We actually want to walk away from. It changed. So I want to ask you what are you taking away from this conversation that you don't want to forget tomorrow, and what's an actionable step maybe that God's asking you to take? What are you going to do differently because of it? And maybe it's not just from this conversation, but preparing for this conversation and for this conversation, what's your takeaway?

Speaker 1: 36:11

My takeaway is Colossians 3, verse 10, and it says Put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

Speaker 1: 36:25

So, honestly, like you were mentioning, mandy, that it is important for us to take off things before we can put on the new. And honestly, I think putting on the new can sometimes be a little daunting because, you know, we're still human and we still live in the flesh and sometimes our fleshly desires are not in align with the word at all, and so sometimes it can be hard to step away from the old and take the Lord's hand into the new that he has prepared for us, which is ultimately his best for us. And so being able to put on the new self, take his hand and put on the new self, is something that I really would love to start walking in more of every day, daily, whether that's like taking my thoughts captive, renewing my mind or just any like heart checks every day, daily, and just being able to put on the new self, I think is definitely something I want to start doing more of.

Speaker 3: 37:28

Me too. The old self is also very selfish, right? And who wants to be close with a selfish person, right? We just think about ourselves so much, and that new self is what is going to draw us closer to others when we're doing those things. We're just going to naturally become like a magnet. We're going to be like I'm sticking to you and I can't help it. What about you, lauren, going to?

Speaker 2: 37:45

naturally become like a magnet. We're going to be like I'm sticking to you and I can't help it. What about you, lauren? Yeah, I think I'm challenged and encouraged by the way that Ananias walked in obedience towards Saul, and so just continuing to wrestle with the Lord about the people that he's put in my life, what is my role in their life? You know, are these the people that you have for me? You know, I'm like what me? And what does that look like? Am I in step with what he has, or is there something different that he might have for me? So I think just to continue to spend time going to him about these people and then, as he makes it clear, to step out in faith and do what he's asked me.

Speaker 3: 38:22

I love that and it's giving me more to my takeaway and that is that belief that he can do it. He can change somebody. He can do it. Like don't discount what God can do. And then number two, the map. Like I can't unsee your hands making a map and like wanting to know where we're going next, lord. And then also the teachability conversation that we had, because even at my age, you know, gen X is the. We were like the first rebel generation. Well, I guess maybe baby boomers were, but we know we were the MTV generation, like we don't listen to our parents. That didn't serve us well, just you know. But I can still be in that place of got it and I need to be in that heart posture of learn. I want to learn with whoever I'm with. I want to learn something from you and I learned from you two today. So thank you and Hannah, thank you so much for joining us for this conversation. I look forward to what God's going to do in and through you in the years ahead.

Speaker 3: 39:16

Thank you, thank you for having me. Thank you, guys, so much for joining us for this episode of the podcast. If it encouraged you, we invite you to pass it on to others, and we want to make sure that you know we have tools and resources that help you have meaningful conversations with the girls in your life. You can find the resources that pair up with this conversation series on our website. We will link that for you in the show notes. If you haven't yet subscribed to the podcast, go ahead and do that now. We have more conversations like this one coming your way. Be sure to be on the lookout next week for the Intersections Bible Study that is going to be released. And if you are not yet subscribed to the podcast, go ahead and do that now. We have more conversations like this one coming your way and we hope that you will join us back here next week for Episode 3 in the Intersections series.