Looking for the Real God

#141 Advent - The Candle of Love (S7E15)

Christy finishes her Advent Journey and Season Seven with a contemplation of God's love. Despite the brokenness in the world, despite the pain we face, despite our fears and doubts, we are passionately and intentionally loved by God. Christy looks into the genealogy of Jesus and considers the women who are listed there in Matthew One. She wonders about what God is saying and about the way He values people despite their sin. Who is this God who loved us enough to become one of us, take the punishment that we deserve, and send His Spirit to live with us as a promise of His return? 
Scripture referenced: Matthew 1

#140 Advent - The Candle of Joy (S7E14)

Christy continues her Advent journey by contemplating the angel's message to the shepherds declaring good news that would bring great joy to all the people. What does it mean for the message to be for ALL the people? Christy contemplates the people that Jesus chose to spend time with when He was on earth. She contrasts that with the religious leaders and their opinions of Jesus. Then Christy brings it home by looking at religious church people and how quick we are to condemn others as not worthy of God's message of hope. 
Christy reminds her listeners of the great love that God has for His children, for ALL of them.
Scriptures Referenced:
Luke 2:10-12

#139 Advent - The Candle of Peace (S7E13)

Christy continues her Advent 2022 journey this time with the Candle of Peace. The angles came to the shepherds proclaiming the birth of Jesus and declaring peace on earth. But we don't have peace on earth. If anything the world just keeps getting more riled up and disunified. What kind of peace did Jesus really come to bring us? Can God give peace even when we struggle in this broken world with things like chronic illness, anxiety, or depression? Christy shares reminders of the hope we have in Jesus despite the brokenness we face every day.
Scriptures Referenced:
Luke 2
Philippians 4:4-7

#138 Advent - The Candle of Hope (S7E12)

Christy invites her listeners to join her journey of celebrating Advent for the first time this year. Today, the first Sunday of Advent, we light the Candle of Hope. Have we ever needed hope more than now? Christy ponders how this season of Christmas that is supposed to be "the most wonderful time of the year" is often just full of stress, disappointment, and loneliness. But it is into this brokenness that Isaiah prophesied almost 3000 years ago. It is into this darkness that Jesus came as the Light. Hope is a beautiful thing!
Scripture Referenced:
Isaiah 7:14; 9:1-2, 6-7; 53
 

#137 The Weird & Wild Love of God (S7E11)

Christy shares about one of her students this year who has reminded her of God's crazy love for us. Many of us have baggage from our religious upbringings that form our view of God in an unhealthy way. Christy encourages her listeners to lean into a God who welcomes us with open arms. 
Scripture Referenced:
Romans 8:1, 35-39; Ephesians 2:12-13; John 3:16-18
Related Episodes:
#17 Broken and Beloved
#25 The Crazy Love of God

#136 Reality and Our Ordinary Lives (S7E10)

Christy thinks out loud with her listeners about the Kingdom of Jesus, our ordinary lives, and the true reality of the Spirit. It's a gentle ramble that will hopefully challenge norms while bringing encouragement.

#135 But God Isn’t a Vending Machine Revisited (S7E9)

Christy re-shares one of her most popular episodes from Season One: But God Isn't a Vending Machine. **trigger warning: pregnancy loss**
"Christy shares how God used personal tragedy to challenge the formulaic way she viewed and interacted with Him. She exposes ways we attempt to manipulate God within our religious Christianity."
Bible Verses Referenced: Isaiah 45:6-7
Related Blog Post: Choosing Trust
Extra Resources: "The Insanity of God" by Nik Ripkin. 

#134 Teach Us To Pray - Liturgy and the Lord’s Prayer (S7E8)

Christy finishes her series on prayer by talking about liturgy, the way more and more people raised in evangelical circles are being drawn to it, and the controversy surrounding it in some churches. Christy talks about the missing frameworks that liturgy provides, her own recent experiences, and conversations she's recently had with others.

#133 Teach Us To Pray - Walking, Journaling, and Listening (S7E7)

Christy continues her series on prayer by talking about prayer walks, prayer journaling, and listening prayer. Walks were a huge part of Christy's life as she began to question and then left her cult. They were also vital to her entry into the real world as she processed her beliefs, her self, and the culture around her. Journaling has also been a part of Christy's life for over twenty years and is something she still does regularly every morning.
Enjoying a complicated personal relationship with listening prayer, Christy shares cautions  and stories. Although she is a Christian mystic who believes in a real but mysterious emotional relationship with God, Christy also knows that our own minds can create god-like thoughts and that we have an enemy who is quick to tell us lies.

#132 Teach Us To Pray - Silent Breath (S7E6)

Christy continues her series on prayer by exploring two ancient prayer practices: silent contemplative prayer and breath prayer. Sharing how these prayer practices have encouraged her own prayer life, Christy challenges her listeners to try something new (or old). Contemplative and breath prayer are both wonderful for times in our lives when we have no words, when we aren't sure how to come to God. They provide space for our hearts to rest in God's Presence even when we aren't sure how to make that happen.
Related Resources:
https://biologos.org/articles/breath-prayer-an-ancient-spiritual-practice-connected-with-science
https://www.christianity.com/wiki/prayer/is-contemplative-prayer-a-biblical-principle.html