Today’s episode is one you won’t want to miss. My guest is an author, a podcaster, and she hosts a daily devotion on her Facebook page and YouTube channel. Click the link below to hear this incredible conversation.
INSPIRATIONAL JOURNEYS PRESENTS!
KRISTI BRIDGES!
Hello:
I’m proud to announce the following guest for your listening pleasure.
Please be sure to read onward after the following message to learn how you can be my guest here on INSPIRATIONAL JOURNEYS.
Thanks for listening and do write to let me and my guest know what you thought of this presentation.
WHO?
Kristi Bridges
WHEN?
Wednesday June 26, 2019
WHERE?
YouTube:
Podcast:
MORE ABOUT GUEST AUTHOR KRISTI BRIDGES…
Kristi Bridges is a songwriter, author, writing coach, podcaster, corporate trainer and the host of the 1 Moment Wiser daily devotional on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. It’s her mission to help people live wisely, avoid regret and connect with their Creator. God uses a variety of voices to reach us, so she created the Share Your Wisdom Wisely Devotional Book Writing Experience to help others launch their own books, and this fall she’ll begin giving live workshops on devotional and memoir writing with fellow author Sarah Soon. Last year, she guided 11 remarkable people in writing their stories for her latest devotional, Option Ocean – Navigating the Sea of Possibility.
Book Description:
“You can be anything!†they say. In a sea of possibilities, which way do you go? Option Ocean – Navigating the Sea of Possibility is a devotional book for those who are drifting, unsatisfied. Through 31 days of scripture-based discussion and personal exercises, you’ll examine your gifts and the situations which motivate you. You’ll hear the stories of 12 remarkable people, including an award-winning bodybuilder, an artist who doesn’t need a day job, and a podcaster who moved across the world for love, years after a map pin foretold it. They demonstrate that even the worst experiences don’t wreck God’s plans for you. In 31 days, you’ll be navigating with your Creator’s clear direction for your best possible life.
Purchase link:
Excerpt:
Day 9 – Your Real Name
Revelations 2 NLT
17 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give some of the manna that has been hidden away in heaven. And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one understands except the one who receives it.
I’m six years old, sitting in a dark hallway with my classmates, trying to stay quiet like the teacher said, but how does a six-year-old stay quiet? I have so much to say! I’m wearing my yellow dress. The boy across the street (who always shoots me down when we pretend we’re in Star Wars) says it makes me look like a butterfly. Apparently, yellow butterflies get defective force fields, but wait! Ssh! We’re moving! Single-file, we cross the stage, and now it’s okay to speak. I speak to the clock in the back of the cafeteria, just like the teacher said. Then we all sing a song, as loud as we can, and it’s the best feeling I’ve felt in all 1,971 days of my life. The part of me I was meant to be is ALIVE!
From that day on, I sing Dorothy’s song while on my swing set every afternoon. I’m a bluebird wanting to fly. Who needs a wizard? I only want a Hollywood agent to discover me, as he wanders through the woods in Beulah behind my house, because I think that’s where agents go to scout new talent.
At six, I decided I’d run off to Hollywood the moment I graduated. Most kids change dreams periodically, but for me, it wasn’t just a career choice. I claimed “actress†as my identity. This was useful, even though I didn’t get any more speaking roles for several years. I went to eight schools, and being dramatic gave me confidence and the determination to rise above rejection.
I needed that determination. In sixth grade, a classmate called me names from the other end of the lunch table every day for two weeks. I returned the favor but finally broke and ran to the bathroom crying.
On my thirteenth birthday, I was dressed like Madonna, washing dishes to prepare for my party. My then-stepfather sat at the kitchen table in his usual dark mood, calling me similar names. I’d have traded my fingerless gloves for boxing gloves in an instant. Finally, I lost my temper and mouthed off. He canceled my slumber party.
In the next few years, I got a few roles. My characters were the over-the-top type who died in the first act. Off-stage, I sought a twisted kind of respect by living up to the names I’d been called.
When people label us, we might fight back at first, and then find ourselves defiantly living up to their labels. We can’t stop their insults, so we act like they’re not so bad. We wear hateful names as badges of honor. It’s a survival technique, but God has a better way.
Our Creator is the only One who was with us before we were born and will be with us every place we go. We’ll leave the snobs, the users, the bullies behind and keep moving forward in the plans He has for us. He will uncover our true identities, like layers of one Christmas gift wrapped around another, until at last we pull out a white identity stone which truly describes us.
Sound good? What can we do?
No matter how you feel about yourself and even if you’ve repeated some mistakes, read God’s thoughts about you. When Jeremiah 31 was written, He was speaking to Israel, but the Lord gives His heart to every person who loves Him. He’s speaking to you through His word today.
Jeremiah 31 NLT
3Long ago the Lord said to Israel: “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself. 4I will rebuild you, my virgin Israel. You will again be happy and dance merrily with your tambourines. 5Again you will plant your vineyards on the mountains of Samaria and eat from your own gardens there.â€
God loves you faithfully and wants to restore your innocence so you’ll be lighthearted and dancing. He sees you doing something profitable and enjoying the results of your labor.
Pause for a moment and SEE what God sees. Absorb it. God’s word is reality.
Now, take a look at these verses. Can you see some of these qualities inside yourself? Can you see some you’d like to strengthen?
Colossians 3:12 NLT
Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
1 Corinthians 9 NLT
25All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. 26So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing.
Proverbs 22:1 ESV
A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.
Pray.
Lord, You’ve heard the things people have said about me and seen how I’ve acted unlike the me You created. You know how it feels. People lie about You, too. Thank You for being right here, breathing love and truth and hope into my life. I will contemplate Your vision every day. I will revel in innocence and enjoy the results of the work You give me.
Think.
What do you think your identity stone will say? Write a few sentences describing your talents, special quirks, and godly characteristics.
Act.
Be the person who sincerely points out the good in people. Pray before speaking and don’t be overwhelming or gushy, but be the voice which reminds them of their true selves, created by God.
Author bio:
Kristi Bridges is a songwriter, author, writing coach, podcaster, corporate trainer and the host of the 1 Moment Wiser daily devotional on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. It’s her mission to help people live wisely, avoid regret and connect with their Creator. God uses a variety of voices to reach us, so she created the Share Your Wisdom Wisely Devotional Book Writing Experience to help others launch their own books, and this fall she’ll begin giving live workshops on devotional and memoir writing with fellow author Sarah Soon. Last year, she guided 11 remarkable people in writing their stories for her latest devotional, Option Ocean – Navigating the Sea of Possibility.
Connect with Kristi at the following links:
Website:
http://1MomentWiser.com
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/1MomentWiser/
Twitter:
Tweets by 1MomentWiser
YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4nV86xJj-DNplDR2TRgeJA?view_as=subscriber
Helpful links:
https://www.writersdigest.com/
https://www.toastmasters.org/
https://mysexybusiness.com/
Podcast cover art photo provided by Nathan Anderson on Unsplash:
https://unsplash.com/@nathananderson
Podcast cover art photo provided by Nathan Anderson on Unsplash:
https://unsplash.com/@nathananderson
hi Ann I love you posts