Discipleship is a lifestyle. Whether you're at work, school, or driving, every moment is an opportunity to grow.
Episodes
Friday Feb 21, 2020
Friday Feb 21, 2020
Prayer doesn't always consist of quiet times alone with God for hours on end. It may not even necessarily be speaking. Our conversation with John this week has driven home the point that prayer is more about developing a relationship with God than anything else. And that can happen in short, everyday moments as well as in intentional quiet times alone with him. The key is staying close enough to hear God say, "I love you!" And the season of Lent is a great time to put this into practice!
Check out the full show notes and resources for this episode at dailygrowthdiscipleship.com.
Get your copy of the Daily Growth Journal and start creating a lifestyle of discipleship with the simple practice of journaling.
Thursday Feb 20, 2020
Thursday Feb 20, 2020
When it comes to prayer, we aren’t doing just one thing. Prayer is multi-dimensional. It has many depths to it, and can involve different practices that enrich our time with God and allow us to go deeper into His presence. In Chapter 2 we talked about how in prayer we are trying to enhance our relationship with Christ, so in this chapter we wanted to dive into some of the specific practices that help us create space in our lives to go deeper with Him. And it starts with two sets of rhythms that work together to help us create a vibrant lifestyle of prayer.
Check out the full show notes and resources for this episode at dailygrowthdiscipleship.com.
Get your copy of the Daily Growth Journal and start creating a lifestyle of discipleship with the simple practice of journaling.
Wednesday Feb 19, 2020
Wednesday Feb 19, 2020
When you go without one of your senses, it's well known that your other senses heighten. Those who don't have eyesight often have more acute hearing and smell. This is really what fasting does for us. When we take time to separate ourselves from some experience for the sake of being transformed by God, it heightens our awareness of him in the everyday moments of life. In the first two chapters of our conversation with John this week, we've talked about what prayer is and how it transforms us. In this chapter, we get to talk about the opportunity to practice prayer in the season of Lent. When we practice prayer during Lent, it creates a powerful combination that brings us into the presence of God and heightens our awareness of his presence and work in our lives.
Check out the full show notes and resources for this episode at dailygrowthdiscipleship.com.
Get your copy of the Daily Growth Journal and start creating a lifestyle of discipleship with the simple practice of journaling.
Tuesday Feb 18, 2020
Tuesday Feb 18, 2020
Good communication is key for any relationship to grow and flourish. Today in our modern world, we have tools and technology that connect us with others more than any other time in human history, and yet people feel more alone and more isolated than ever. This is because connection doesn’t equal communication. So connection, although critical for relationships, is not enough. As Christians, we are connected to God through His Spirit. We are connected to God because God is faithful to remain by our side. But if we want to go deeper in our relationship with Him then we need to have open and clear communication with Him. Prayer is how we communicate with God. And as with any relationship, it helps to know what we are sitting down to do when we talk to our loving Father. So that’s why we start off this chapter talking to John about what prayer is and why we are doing it.
Check out the full show notes and resources for this episode at dailygrowthdiscipleship.com.
Get your copy of the Daily Growth Journal and start creating a lifestyle of discipleship with the simple practice of journaling.
Monday Feb 17, 2020
Monday Feb 17, 2020
We have an unconscious desire for something to be happening. In other words, we hate boredom. In fact, a 2014 study found that almost 50% of people would rather give themselves an electric shock than to be alone with their own thoughts for even 15 minutes. We want to be doing something to keep ourselves busy, even if that something is bad for us. In this first chapter of our conversation with John, he unpacks the ways prayer, silence, and solitude work together as an antidote to our busy lives. It's in stillness and prayer that our real selves and our problems rise to the surface, giving us the opportunity to let God transform us.
Check out the full show notes and resources for this episode at dailygrowthdiscipleship.com.
Get your copy of the Daily Growth Journal and start creating a lifestyle of discipleship with the simple practice of journaling.
Friday Feb 14, 2020
Friday Feb 14, 2020
Endurance isn't always fun. Cruising through life sounds so much better. But in reality, we find our lives come with seasons and rhythms. Sometimes we rest and sometimes we endure. It's important to take time when we can to rest. And those times we don't feel like we need to endure are just as much a part of training for endurance as any other part of a lifestyle of discipleship.
Check out the full show notes and resources for this episode at dailygrowthdiscipleship.com.
Get your copy of the Daily Growth Journal and start creating a lifestyle of discipleship with the simple practice of journaling.
Thursday Feb 13, 2020
Thursday Feb 13, 2020
In this chapter, we had the opportunity to ask Trillia some of our favorite questions about writing, how she approaches discipleship, and some of her favorite books. What we love about Trillia is that you can really tell her life's passion is all about discipleship and helping others run this race with endurance to the end.
Check out the full show notes and resources for this episode at dailygrowthdiscipleship.com.
Get your copy of the Daily Growth Journal and start creating a lifestyle of discipleship with the simple practice of journaling.
Wednesday Feb 12, 2020
Wednesday Feb 12, 2020
Hebrews 12:1 says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us." When you practice a lifestyle of discipleship, at some point you will fail. In chapter 1 of this conversation, Trillia told a story about running a 400 meter relay and almost losing complete control of her legs. In those moments when enduring becomes seemingly impossible, the habits, routines, and community around you will help you get through the race. The habits you build now define your response when struggles come up either good or bad. And the people you surround yourself with will be the ones who either support you or abandon you. In this chapter, Trillia unpacks a few of the habits and routines she's practiced in learning to endure as well as the value of being part of a healthy community of believers.
Check out the full show notes and resources for this episode at dailygrowthdiscipleship.com.
Get your copy of the Daily Growth Journal and start creating a lifestyle of discipleship with the simple practice of journaling.
Tuesday Feb 11, 2020
Tuesday Feb 11, 2020
Have you ever thought about walking away from Christ? Why have you continued to follow him? What motivated you to endure in this race we call the Christian life? We may not always be aware of them, but motives play a crucial role in every decision we make. Outwardly, we may be serving God faithfully, but inwardly we are seeking praise and admiration from others in the church. The worst thing about this is that we can slip into it accidentally. We begin serving with proper motives, but the pressures of life and the allures of success can slowly taint our motives. When this happens, our ability to endure is diminished, and our actual effectiveness suffers. In this chapter Trillia helps us understand why our motives matter as we run this race with endurance in the everyday moments of life.
Check out the full show notes and resources for this episode at dailygrowthdiscipleship.com.
Get your copy of the Daily Growth Journal and start creating a lifestyle of discipleship with the simple practice of journaling.
Monday Feb 10, 2020
Monday Feb 10, 2020
It's hard to imagine what endurance really feels like unless you've been through some struggle. In the Christian life, that struggle can come from your own sin, your own situation in life, or it can be the result of something done to you by someone else. One thing Jesus did promise us though was that we would have troubles, that the life of being his disciple would also be a life familiar with struggle. But at times we underestimate what it really means to endure those struggles. C. S. Lewis wrote, "Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is... You find out the strength of a wind by trying to walk against it, not by lying down. A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later." While some of our struggles in a lifestyle of discipleship may come from sin, this principle still applies to the other struggles as well when it comes to endurance.
Check out the full show notes and resources for this episode at dailygrowthdiscipleship.com.
Get your copy of the Daily Growth Journal and start creating a lifestyle of discipleship with the simple practice of journaling.