Bold, Brave, & Daring: Recent Episodes
Zandy
Are you wondering how to be Bold, Brave, and Daring? How to grow deeper with God? How to navigate life in the crazy world we live in and still see Him in your "everyday" routine? This podcast can help you learn God's voice, hear what He is saying to you! He wants you to be Bold, Brave, and Daring! And He wants to teach you how! God has asked me to do this podcast and share with the world what He's been speaking to me for years about this generation and how we are to change the world. This podcast is my letters from God that He wants me to share with you. I pray it brings you hope and joy and peace so you can wake up everyday knowing you are Bold, Brave, and Daring.
Laying a solid foundation for your marriage is key for longevity. We build our marriage day by day, month by month, year by year. We do that by what we say, how we say it, and loving our spouse because we just love them. Period. Not expecting them to be perfect or loving them because of what they do for us or thinking they need to be perfect. Expectations like those kill a marriage. What builds and sustains a marriage is choosing to love the other person for who they are and loving them because God loves them unconditionally. Thank you so much for listening! I pray this helps your marriage, just like it has mine.
When you feel God pulling you to do the unexpected, and even when it doesn't work out, we must still obey. When God told Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac that he had waited years for, he obeyed. When God told David he'd be king, but he ran for his life in the wilderness for 20 years before ever being crowned, he obeyed. When Jesus came down to Earth to do the hardest, most heartbreaking thing a person could ever do and gave up his life for us to live forever with Him, he obeyed. We're called to obey God, sometimes without our questions asked. And most of the time, not knowing the outcome. It's all worth it when we know Who holds our future.
The last letter of The Screwtape Letters is about the patient dying and making it to heaven. When he gets to heaven, he realizes all of the deceiving Wormwood tempted him with his whole life. He also realizes that God was there all along. He realizes he never should have doubted God's existence and how incredible heaven is. All of the pieces of his life come together, and everything makes sense. I pray that you know this peace will come to you when you get to heaven. God will show us why everything happened the way it did, and the puzzle will be complete. In the meantime, we have to stay true to God. Living on earth is only temporary. Our home is heaven, and when we get there it's going to be an incredible new beginning.
Fatigue can either make us gentle and kind, or angered and impatient. We can be tempted and deceived when we’re fatigued as well. We have to keep our guard up when we’re tired, and still show love to the people around us. We also need to know what around us is real and what’s false. Hatred and pain are real emotions, but love covers all. God is real, our relationship with Him is real, and they need to be more real to us than the pain and suffering we’ve seen and experienced in our lifetime. That’s what Letter 30 is all about!
Why does God allow dangerous circumstances to happen? God allows us to live in a dangerous world so that we don't become numb to good and evil. We keep our values and stand up for what's right when danger arises. War, famine, earthly disasters, covid, they all make us rise up and become brave! We reach deep inside ourselves and become courageous again. We're made to be courageous. That's what Letter 29 is all about.
Letter 28 is all about Wormwood needing to protect his patient from dying so that he can keep tempting him and trying to deceive him. The longer he lives, the harder it is for him to resist temptation. Getting older doesn’t mean resisting gets easier, but we can have perseverance. We can keep our relationship with God and resist the devil. God put it inside of us to persevere! Everyday that we live is another day we can get closer to our Creator. How can you get closer to Him today?
Do you ever feel like your prayers don’t matter? That God doesn’t answer them, or if He does answer them you feel like it would have happened anyways because of circumstances falling into place? This letter addresses our concerns on if our prayers matter and how they affect our lives. God is always listening to our prayers. This letter also talks about how reading old books, like The Screwtape Letters, have the answers we are looking for. The demons try to cut off generations from each other. But we need each other! There’s nothing new under the sun, and your answers are out there. You can find them in a book, or ask someone older than you. Wisdom wants to be found. Seek her.
This letter is about how to get men and women irritated at each other. Being unselfish is part of who God asks us to be. The way men and women view being unselfish is totally opposite of each other. And then when we serve each other continuously, everyday, for years, we can start to get self-righteous and get the wrong motive for serving one another. We can enjoy serving one another without ill feelings by remembering our spouse is a gift. It takes a conscious everyday effort to be grateful for our spouse and serve them with the right motive. How's your heart today? Are you serving your spouse with the right motive?
Letter 25 is about change! Change and permanence are natural parts of life. God created us as humans to love change and permanence, both. It creates a rhythm in our lives that we all have the gift of enjoying. When the seasons change, when holidays and events come every year, these are all part of the rhythm that we get to enjoy. How can you embrace change and permanence today?
Spiritual Pride: to believe that you’re better than someone else because of your beliefs; believing that because your beliefs are “right” and that you’re better than nonbelievers. What a trap we can fall into thinking that we know better than nonbelievers and therefore superior. We’re all created the same, all loved the same amount by the same God. No one is worth more than the next person. Loving our neighbors no matter their beliefs is really hard. But we can do it. We’re made to love! When the Holy Spirit is inside of us, we can love like He does.
Distorting our view of Jesus and who He is, that's what this letter is all about. The demons try to make Jesus just a historical figure. But He is God! He's our Savior! And focusing on the resurrection and redemption puts our view of Jesus in the right perspective. Remembering what He did for us on the cross and rising from the dead keeps us focusing on what’s most important and being able to share our redemptive story with everyone! Share with people your story of how you met Jesus. Not just facts and stories about him, but what he's done to give us life.
What causes chaos in your life? What is the noise that’s so loud that it disrupts your peace? We are in charge of how much peace we have in our life. Peace is a gift from the Holy Spirit that we have in us, but the world can get so loud through tv and our phones that they disrupt our peace. This letter shares how to keep your peace. Showing love and affection to everyone you come in contact with is also a key to showing people Jesus everyday. The demons don't know love, but we do. It's our gift to share with the world God's love through how we walk, talk, and live.
Letter 21 is about time and us believing that we own our time. Time is a gift from God; we actually don’t own anything. Wormwood and Screwtape share in this letter about getting the human to believe “My time is my own," while heaven and hell laugh at us for believing this assumption. We all have the same 24 hours a day given to us by God, so how can we serve him with our time? In the words of Jesus, our thought process needs to move toward “Not my will but Yours be done,” every chance we get. See your life as a gift today.
Do you believe the lie that you don’t have the “in” look? That you don’t look the way the world is telling you that you should look? This letter expels that lie by exposing how the demons change “what’s in” in each era through the fashionistas, the celebrities, and set the standard to impossible so that no human can achieve it! We have to protect our minds and get these false images out of our head. God made you YOU! You’re not supposed to look like anyone other than you. There’s never been anyone during any time in history that looks like you. It’s time to be proud of that! It’s time to be grateful that our Creator made you who you are.
Why do you believe God made us? Why did He create our world, us humans, the animals, all of creation? It's because of love. Because He loves us and wants us to love Him back. The devil and the demons don't understand love. So they try to distort love and warp it into something it's not. They take the true design of love and over romanticize it, make it a reward for people to earn, make people become bitter and cynical about love. It leads to tragedy when love is seen as the definition above instead of how God made it to be. God made love; He is love. His version of love is unconditional and so incredible that there aren't human words that could describe the magnitude of it. You are loved today and always have been by God. Ask Him to show you His love today. It's all around you if you look for it.
Letter 18 is my favorite so far! This letter is all about marriage and how the demons have deceived us into thinking that the only grounds for getting married is when you’re in the state of “being in love”. And that this state of "being in love" needs to be permanent, otherwise you don't need to be married anymore. That is not the only reason to get married contrary to this distortion that the devil has made so prevalent. God designed marriage to make us holy, to help us become mature believers, to be tenderly devoted to each other, to love one another through all things, and to fulfill our sexual desires in a covenant relationship. We're breaking down lie after lie in each letter that we read through. I hope this helps you and you are being freed from these lies that so easily trip us up! We are made to be free. We are free!
Food can be such a topic that speaks to you nowadays. It’s everywhere and we can learn anything we want to about what’s healthy and what’s not and what to eat. But if we’re making our bodies and our bellies more important than God, then we are being deceived into a lie. A lie that food consumes us instead of us controlling our minds and urges that we need something when we’ll be just fine without it. The only One we should be consumed with is God.
Are you showing up to church being a critic or a student? Are you excited to learn or judging everything from the clothes to the lights to the music? We are called as believers to go to church, be the church, united as one! That’s what Letter 16 is all about. Church is for everyone and we are called to be accepting, not criticizing or categorizing one another. Our pastor's messages should be helping us grow, and challenging us as we grow with God. Get what you need but be a student, not a critic.
Are you enjoying the present? Right now. Are you happy, filled with knowledge and grace, and living peacefully? All of these things are gifts from God when we enjoy the moments that we have each day. Worrying about our futures won’t add a single thing to our life. It’s a trap that this letter talks about the demons using to get humans focused on their future with fear. We don’t need to fear the future. God’s already taken care of us in our future, just like He has in our past. So how can you live in the present right now? Enjoy it. Each moment is a gift.
God created us to love ourselves and see ourselves the way He sees us. Humility is what this letter is all about, but humility has been distorted by the demons. Having a low self-image is not humility because our Creator made us in His image. So believing we are beautiful, handsome, smart, and lovable are all part of how God wants us to live! As long as believe it and don't dwell on our amazingness but see it in God and others, we can live humbly. How can you see the beauty or talent in someone else today? Call it out in them. Share with them that our Creator made them exactly how He wanted them to be.
"...when they are wholly His they will be more themselves than ever." God wants us to get rid of our old selves, follow Him, and act like Him. Then when we become like God, we are more ourselves than ever. How freeing is that?! We're most free when we are like God! What makes you yourself? What are the things you deeply love to do? Act on those things that make you an individual. That's who God created you to be. That's what this letter is all about.
"The only thing that matters is to the extent to which you separate the man from the Enemy." The extent to which we are separated from God is the demon's goal. The separation is so subtle that we don't even realize it's happening. Then one day we wake up and we realize we haven't spent time with God and there's a feeling of guilt wrapped in just thinking of God. God doesn't create this feeling. He wants to be with us more than anything! What's one step He's asking you to take today? That can draw you closer to Him. He's right here waiting on us to respond. No feeling of guilt from Him, just love.
There’s a difference between joy, fun, jokes, and flippancy. This letter is all about laughter and the different kinds! God created joy and fun. Those are two emotions the demons can’t know and can’t create. But they can use inappropriate jokes and turning everything into a joke as a means to trap you. Don't fall for that! We can be full of joy, have fun, and feel contentment, courage, and charity. Those are all gifts of being human, being alive! How can you have some fun today?
Letter 10 of The Screwtape Letters is all about living differently in each circle of our lives… what a trap. We don’t need to be different with different friends. We just need to be our beautiful, authentic selves! True friendships are with people who love you as you are. So walk boldly, bravely, and daringly into friendships as you. You are good enough.
Have you ever thought that the troughs that we go through in life would last forever? That it's just one bad thing after another happening to us and that there's no hope of it stopping? That's what this letter addresses to us today. We can't believe the lie that the dark seasons in our life will last forever. We will go through peaks and troughs, just part of humanity. But God will draw us closer to him in those seasons. Don't lose hope.
Have you wondered why as humans we're always in a state of eb and flow? We're always in a peak season or a trough season. That is part of the way God designed us to live. It's part of being a being living in time. This letter explains how God uses the trough seasons to draw us closer to Him, even more than the peak seasons. Think about David in the Bible. He had some of the hardest, deepest moments with God when He felt abandoned and alone. But he still obeyed God. That's what the demons are afraid of. That's when they know we've committed to God. You can get through any season in this life knowing that there's hope, because God is right there with you.
We cannot think that spiritual warfare isn’t real. Letter 7 shares how the demons conceal themselves so that humans won't believe they're real, or if they do get portrayed make sure it's like a comic figure or something in red tights. In Ephesians, Paul teaches us as believers how to armor up to fight darkness and spiritual forces in the unseen and in heavenly places. We can't deny it or ignore it. Spiritual warfare is real, but we're made it fight! Believe it, and fight in prayer, by going to Church, and by helping people!
Do you ever worry so much you feel weighed down? In this letter, Screwtape tells Wormwood to get the human worried about his future. I worry about that, and I’m sure you do too. We can’t fall for that trap. God tells us in countless Bible verses not to worry. You can live freely knowing God is taking care of you. This letter also shares about getting the human to have vindictive feelings towards his enemies. I fall for that trap too. We think we know people, but we only know what social media, the news, and what others say about people. We don’t know the real them. We’re supposed to love all people, to love our neighbors as ourself. How can we live that out today? Pray for your neighbors. Pray for politicians and people we believe we know, but don’t really know behind closed doors. They need love and prayer, just like we do.
This letter is about war times and what that does to people. It makes us think about eternity, where we are going after this life. The demons hate that because we start to think about our values, what causes do we stand for, what our life is really about. The enemy wants us to focus on the temporal, this life, our past, and losing hope for our future. Having an eternal perspective is something as Christians we can look forward to! What can we do in this life to prepare for spending eternity with God? How can we keep a heavenly perspective?
Letter 4 talks about prayer, like Letter 3, but sharing about the significance of God’s presence. “…this real nakedness of the soul...”. That’s how the demons describe being in God’s presence. How beautiful and raw is it that we can be in God’s presence anytime we want. We have access to Him 24/7, do we take advantage of that? Do we truly appreciate God with our time and praying to Him and talking to Him all throughout our day? That’s what this episode is all about.
Letter 3 of The Screwtape Letters is about Screwtape telling Wormwood how his patient should pray. He tells him to make sure when his patient prays for his mother it’s about the things that annoy him about her. Then, get the patient thinking about the face she makes that annoys him, that she’s intentionally trying to offend him with her words and her actions, and get him to be oversensitive. Isn’t that true that can happen to all of us on a daily basis? Our relationships in our lives are not easy, and getting offended can happen at any time. We aren't called to live offended. We are called to live with grace and love for people and assuming the best, not the worst in people. You can be free of this mindset! Choosing to see the best in people is our choice to make. What choice will you make today?
This episode is about Letter 2 of The Screwtape Letters. We can't fall for the lie that the Church is about everything else but God. We get distracted by the things and people in the Church instead of focusing on the real reason to be there.. to worship God!! This letter discusses how we fall into the trap and lie of believing that our love with God and people is somehow transactional and a scale that tips towards or away from love. Let me just say, we can never have enough good that tips us on a scale towards God’s love because there is no scale for His love. He loved us from before He even made time and knew us in all our good and bad. We are truly, deeply, and immeasurably loved by God.
The Screwtape Letters is a book by C.S. Lewis that we are discussing here on the Bold, Brave, and Daring podcast. I was afraid of this book for many years because of what it's about, an older demon mentoring a younger demon. There is no reason to fear anything that we have authority over because of Jesus. We are made to fight! In this episode, I cover Letter 1 and the first scheme the devil tries to distract us with, the ordinary. The ordinary things in life that distract us from truly thinking for ourselves, dwelling on God, cultivating our relationship with God, and controlling our thoughts.
God never does things randomly; there's always a purpose. The Holy Spirit moves us into His plans. We need the bitter along with the sweet to become who God wants us to be.
Okay, truth time. We all do this. We get annoyed at our person. It happens!! So in this episode, I share tips on what to do and how to get back on track! I felt that God was telling me to share about this, especially if you're in a chaotic season like Zach and I are where moving, renovating a house, and all the little things in life can just get under your skin. But your spouse is your person, and you want to have a good marriage. We all do. It's in these little mundane moments everyday where we can either choose to stay annoyed and frustrated at our spouse or be grateful to have them. Dishes in the sink means you have someone to eat with, to cook dinner for or with, and you can have a great marriage living life with a new perspective.
Book referenced: One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp
Staying in love sounds so simple the day of your wedding, and then you're married and you're like, " wow, this is harder than I thought" and then you wonder, "why did we get married again?" Okay, if you've felt any of those emotions, you are not alone. In this episode, I'm sharing just a few tips on how to stay in love no matter what. If you're walking through an easy season of love or a difficult, hard season, this episode will give you hope. As always, thank you so much for listening! I'm so grateful, and I pray that this message brings hope to you and your spouse!
Do you struggle with how you view food? Is it something you love or hate? Discouraging or encouraging? Let's talk about food and how it's fuel for your body. I believe that it's our job to steward our bodies well and learn about what we're putting in our bodies. If you think about how many times Jesus was teaching around a table, eating with people, and feeding people you'll see why it's important for us to have a good relationship with food. "Whether you eat, drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." Whenever you're ready for a change to your health, this episode can help steer you in a direction to start that journey!
Do you have rhythms of friendship in your life? As in, weekly coffee time with a friend, monthly dinners with friends or family, friendships that you're growing on an ongoing basis? In this episode, I share how having set routines of meeting with friends is so important for you growing as a person, keeping relationships healthy and flourishing, and more. You're worthy of really amazing friendships and someone out there is praying for a friend like you! Ask God to show you someone you can reach out to. Make a new friend, rekindle an old friendship, and put yourself out there. Be Bold, Brave, and Daring today by taking a step out of your comfort zone, reaching out to someone, and making a time to get together with them. You won't regret it!
The world view of success vs the Bible's view of success. Did you know there are over 60 verses on success in the Bible? I didn't before studying for this episode, but it's amazing how many times God says to His people that He will make them prosperous and bless them. But success in the world's eye is not the same as success in God's eyes. In this episode, I share that success may not look like what you think it will. It didn't for Paul, but we'd all say he was successful at reaching people with the Gospel. Serving God, making disciples, and loving people is success. I appreciate you, yes you reading this, and I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Okay, I know by the title you're thinking, "This is not a popular subject in today's world." But this is so necessary to have thriving marriages and families! My husband, Zach, joins me in this episode to share on 4 different ways to show respect to the men in your life. Whether it's your father, brother, son, or spouse, men need affirmation and specifically in these 4 areas we tackled: masculinity, provider, protector, and belief. I know this will benefit so many relationships because learning how to communicate with respect has changed our marriage for the better. **Also, if your spouse is stonewalling you and doesn't want to open up or talk about feelings, this episode is for you! Learn how to get them to open up and start sharing with these tools. You won't believe the difference your words can make.
How do we rest and play? Is that even a thing we can fit into our busy schedules? Why are rest and play important? I always hear about these 2 things being important in our lives.. I mean as kids we had nap time everyday, and playing all day in between. It's important as adults we don't forget that both of these are essential for our souls to not feel weary. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28 "Are you weary, carrying a heavy burden? Then come to me. I will refresh your life, for I am your oasis." We can come to Him with our heavy burdens, lay them at His feet. We can find rest for our souls and play to refresh them.
Guessing by the title, this is a tough subject, yes. But this subject on abortion, recovering, and healing after one is so important! A subject that believers and the church need to have to help women, men, and the ones affected by abortion recover from. I share in this episode how God wants you to be healed and walk in freedom, not in shame, guilt, depression, or numbing the pain. You can be free mentally, spiritually, and emotionally!
Here is the link for the incredible organization I took an abortion recovery training from.
https://saveone.org/
I would love to help so if you have any questions, please PM me on Facebook or Instagram!
Why do I need to spend time with God and cultivate a relationship with Him? If you've been a Christian for any length of time you've heard that you need to spend time with God every day, have a daily devotion, read your bible, all of the things. In this episode, I share on why it's so important to cultivate your relationship with God, spend time with Him, and grow every day. Planting the seeds before it rains will prepare you for your future. Building your relationship with Him everyday prepares you for the storms of life, and helps you know the truth. In today's world, we need to know what the truth is more than ever. I can't wait for you to listen, start planting seeds yourself, and seeing the fruits of your labor.
Have you ever tried to hide your emotions? Stuff them down? Ignore them? In this episode I share about emotions and why they're good! They came from God so you have freedom to live showing all kinds of emotions. There's so many examples of Jesus showing emotions in the Bible and I share those with you so that you know how to be an example in the world with your emotions. Thank you for listening and I know God will show you how to handle your emotions and why they are coming out!
Have you noticed yourself putting up walls? Not showing up in life, in marriage, in your job, in friendship, or with God as your whole-hearted self? If it makes you nervous to risk vulnerability, you are not alone. In this episode I share the definition of vulnerability, why it's important to risk it, and how to love fearlessly. It's worth the risk of showing all your heart. Because Jesus showed us how to be vulnerable with His life, we can do the same.
Have you ever wanted to know what God is doing and why you're walking through trials? You are not alone. I think we all want to understand what God is doing in crazy circumstances in our life, yet we know that God's ways are higher than our ways and our understanding. In this episode I share about just that! I'd love to hear your thoughts and thank you so much for listening!
Happy New Year! In this episode, I share from my heart that God has been leading me in a new direction in life and to trust Him even though I don't know what He has planned.. and I'm actually excited about that feeling! What do you think God is asking you to do in this new year? If He's asking you to do something, it's not for you as much as it is for them! For the people He wants to speak to through you out of obedience! Thank you so much for listening and I pray that God speaks to you in this new year and new season!
Are you craving a friendship that is God-filled? Someone that knows you and what you need when they look at you? I'm talking Christina & Meredith, "You're my person" kind of friendship! In this episode, I am joined by my best friend Summer, and we give tips on having an amazing friendship, how to be vulnerable, and how to grow as a person because of a friendship that builds you up. Thank you so much for listening, and I pray God brings you a God-filled friend!
It's the giving season! In this episode, my husband joins me to talk about giving and money. Have you struggled with how much to give? Do we give off of gross or net income? How do we start giving? Zach and I share some of our experiences of God being faithful through our giving, and learning to obey Him when He asks us to give, no matter the cost.
Have you ever felt all alone? And you couldn't stand the silence? Wondering where God is? I understand, and you are not alone. In this episode I chat about overcoming a fear that I dealt with since childhood. I share with you that Jesus overcame all sickness and fear and nailed it to the cross. You can be victorious, you are victorious, and you can get out of the storm of anxiety and fear!
How do I become as confident as that person in the gym? Or the pastor in church? Or the lady in the bank in line as she just exudes confidence? In this episode, I give some tips on how to grow your confidence, how to become more of yourself, and grow so that you love yourself. Being Bold, Brave, and Daring is an inside job, and here is just a few tips on how to help!
In this episode, I talk about the question everyone at some point asks in life (even if it's just in your head)...why did God make me this way? God thinks you are perfect, exactly like you are. Because He is the One who made you that way. And He made you like Him, in His image! I want to help you in this episode discover that your self-image is made by what God thinks of you, not what the world thinks of you. Speak truth over yourself, which is in the Word!
I love you and thank you so much for listening!
Do you want to know how to live a long life? Do you want promotion, wealth, and untold blessings? Do you want to feel whole? Are you wondering what are your goals in life?
God reveals these answers to you in His Word! I share with you where to find these answers in the Bible and how to seek Wisdom. Thank you for listening! Please message me with any questions or comments, I would love to hear what God is speaking to you!
Do you know God's voice? Are you able to trust Him in the small things and in the big things? In this episode, I talk about how to navigate seasons in life where God has shown His faithfulness and how to grow your faith in Him, even in the smallest things like praying for a jean shirt...you'll know what I mean once you listen. Whatever it is, He is faithful to you and His promises. I also talk about learning to hear His voice, and how to know if it's Him. God loves you and only wants the best for you! That's why He wants you to learn how to walk through life being Bold, Brave, and Daring!