He Called Me Faithful
He Called Me To Rest
Hello faithful friends, welcome back to He Called Me Faithful with Amanda Jones. This is episode 4. Yay! It's been really fun. I feel like I need to get some kind of music or a little beat going on at the beginning to associate it with, so stay tuned for that. Today I just really felt to talk about resting, so it's called today. He called me to rest and I'm gonna just talk about peaceful homes. I really feel that is so important for us to be cultivating a peaceful home and a place where we can rest, and I really feel like especially as wives and women, we are the homemaker, we just are, no matter what we're doing outside the home too. It's a woman who feel the weight or piece of the home and we have a lot of authority when it comes to making that piece tangible. So I'm gonna talk about how to cultivate peace both physically and spiritually because there are two, most things fall into those two categories and they're both super important. So physical things, you've probably heard this saying men are like waffles and women are like spaghetti, so it's referring to how our brains work, so men tend to compartmentalize, so if they're like hanging out in their living room for instance and it's a mess and they're playing a game, all they're really gonna focus on is maybe the game they're playing. They won't really notice the mess as much, whereas women, we are like spaghetti, so we connect everything, so if there's part of our home that is messy, we actually, it's so hard for women to relax, there's so many studies about this and the way our brains work. So yeah, even a few summers ago I went through a little bit of a minimalist thing, I'm not a minimalist, but I do believe in decluttering for sure. So one of the things I had learned at that time was again for women, if there is a closet in your home, even just one closet that you know is such a mess and disaster, even if it's in the basement, even if it's a room you never go in. You as a woman still feel that and you can't actually like fully relax in your home when you know you have these places of mess and junk in your home. So yeah, that kind of got me thinking about that stuff and into just going through, I went through a few summers ago just every room in our home and all the closets and all the clothes and all the books and literally everything, because I used to keep quite a lot. I never kept a ton, I moved a lot growing up so I'm not very attached to stuff and I was really used to having yard sales, selling stuff and having things just for a season. But we've been in this house, my husband and I and our kids, I've been in this house for eight years now, actually over eight years, almost eight and a half. So this is the longest house I've actually ever lived in in my life and things naturally accumulate and obviously when you have like a partner and kids too, there are other parts that accumulate too and other factors to work through as well. My husband was a little bit more attached to stuff than I am, which is totally fair, he had a lot of good reasons for that, a lot of things are just tied to our childhood. But yeah, so we went through together and I got rid of most of the stuff. So not so much together, but with his blessing and just went through a lot of stuff. His stuff I mostly left, like he has a lot of board games and things like that and that's okay, but for books and stuff, a lot of them were mine and a lot of them were kind of books people are giving me or hand me down books. And so what I love to do with books is if I'm not going to read it again, I am just going to gift it, give it away to somebody I think will want it and if it's something that even I don't want to read again or don't agree with even anymore or anything like that, then I just donate it. So yeah, it was pretty harsh with books and kids books too, we had so many kids books because we had so many hand me down books when we had our first daughter, because everyone, parents just love to give their stuff away, which is awesome and I do that too. I love to give stuff away to new parents or new moms and especially all our baby stuff. I just loved gifting it to other people. So that's beautiful and awesome, but it is a lot of stuff, especially with your first. You don't know what you're all going to need, what you want to keep. So we kind of kept a lot of stuff we got with Ruth and a lot of it was books and yeah, a bunch of them were just books we didn't really end up reading or would read once or just, I don't know, just weren't things we really needed on our shelf even or sometimes didn't even fully align with our values. So I just kind of went through every single book and was pretty cutthroat. I don't read a ton and when I do, I really love for adult books at least. Like I really love just like Christian, like just books where I'm learning. That's kind of my go-to because I'm not a huge reader, but for the kids I do love having storybooks and bringing them into these other kind of worlds, especially the ones that have like application for our life experience. Especially in the Christian walk. So there's definitely more kids books probably than adult books that we have left, but that was a big one, clothes is a big one. If I haven't worn it in like two years, I was like, okay, it's time to let it go. And even some clothes I think I just had like bad memories with too, which is kind of funny, but I just wouldn't, will never wear it again even if I think it's really cute. So I just had to really go through all that kind of stuff too and be like, no, I'm going to get rid of it. And oh man, it felt like a huge weight lifted. Just the amount of garbage bags we had at the end and the amount of donation bags. Like this was like about a month process of me kind of just going through everything. I went through all our Tupperwares, our plates, cups, cutlery, everything, even seasonal stuff, just really, really cut down and kept it to simple basics. We don't have a ton of storage anyway. It's not a huge home. So even for our seasonal storage, like for Christmas decorations and things, I love Christmas and love decorating, but I don't need a ton of things. And most of my things, I try to keep them in the neutral range, like golds and silvers and beige and things like that because then I can actually, like for table runners too, then I can use it at like Thanksgiving as well and Easter and other occasions if I want the table to be a little bit more fancy. So yeah, that was a tip I had learned too. It's just to kind of try and keep things neutral and multipurpose if you can when it comes to seasonal things to cut down on that. So that was really helpful as well. Kids toys, yeah, we got rid of a ton of them too. So yeah, that's just like a little physical thing. Reminder that you don't have to live in clutter and live with the junk and honestly, we always have donation bags ready to go in our front hall, which isn't great. I prefer to put them in the trunks that are front halls clear. So it's, I'm preaching to the choir still, like it's still a learning thing and you still just like accumulate as the year goes on each year. So yeah, you're always kind of going through stuff, but I just find always having donation bags ready and I always have a clothing donation bag ready to go as well. So I can just add to it if things pop up right away instead of just being like, Oh, I'll get to that later and then that the more things you do that with you just end up again with just a ton of stuff. So that's been super helpful physically for making our home more peaceful that way, just simplifying. We actually got rid of more furniture too, because I think initially I was like, I need more cabinets, I want more cupboards and storage, like a storage room and more shelves built. That was my first instinct when I was just feeling overwhelmed by stuff, but then I realized, no, you don't actually need more storage. It's actually better to have less because if you have more storage, you're going to use it and you're going to fill it and it's probably going to be stuff that you're not really going to touch anyway. Even things for sentimental value, you should display it. That was something that the one lady, this one podcast I listened to about the minimalist stuff said too, was it's either if you want to keep things like either display it or use it. Either have it be something useful or something on display or you could file it if it's something like a diploma or something that you don't necessarily want to hang, like just a paper one, but then you could file it in your office or a desk or wherever you're using things, not in a box in the basement where you're never going to see it never going to touch it. If it is that case, then yeah, if you're not attached to it, you can get rid of things too. Something else I've done is taking photos, so there were certain things in my memory box when I kind of went through all that and actually got rid of the whole box, which is great. I either displayed things like I was saying or got rid of them, but some things that I got rid of that I did still want to hold on to the memory a little bit. I just took a picture of it because that's a lot easier to store than the physical things. So that's just another little way. Okay, now on to the more fun stuff, spiritual. So yeah, in the Bible, I'm just going to share a little bit. So Isaiah 32 verse 18 says, "My people will live in peaceful dwelling places and secure homes in undisturbed places of rest." So this is just really cool. We can just thank the Lord for peace, security, calmness in our home and just his presence. And there's so many ways to foster this. I find taking time to worship in my home on my own and just praying out loud, singing out loud, whatever the Lord puts on my heart, casting things out. So if you're feeling any heaviness in your home, just discern with the Holy Spirit, maybe what either you've allowed in or someone else has allowed into your home and just kind of casting things out and reclaiming your home for the Lord and his presence. It's like, yeah, a temple and a dwelling place for him and also just for peace for us and our households. So that's really powerful and one of the ways to do it. And then another verse. Let me just pull it up here. The only time in the Bible that it says to strive is to strive to rest. So that's in Hebrews 4 verse 11. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. This is so important too because our culture really almost glorifies busyness and just having your schedule full and all of these things. And there can be so many good things in your life and you can be serving in so many capacities too and doing all these good things that you think you're doing for God. But there's a lot of good things and then there's also just God things. So God things are things that God has for you personally. We are not supposed to fill every need and do every single thing. There is a reason we're called the body of Christ and we each have our own skill sets that we can bring and callings and things that the Holy Spirit will lead you into. And we really in today's day and age, especially in North America need to be good at saying no to things and that doesn't mean everything. There are some people maybe that say no too much as well. Like there is a balance, but again just with the Holy Spirit's leading and you'll know that. We are called to serve and we are called to put others first in certain capacities and all of these things and that is good. So you do need to be doing that as well, but we are also called to rest. And again, the only place it says to strive is to strive for that rest. There are so many other verses in the Bible just saying do not worry about tomorrow and don't waste your time like worrying about the ways of the world and all these things. But then it says to strive to rest because that is the one that we can miss so easily. And that's kind of like I heard it put before a long time ago. I think it was in this series called being a fan or follower by Tony something way back in the day we did it with our youth. And they were just talking about when you're a fan of something. So in this instance, like even a fan of Jesus, a lot of Christians can be. You're a fan of them. You might know all this stuff about them. You might know their favorite color like where they are even right now. Like when you're thinking of celebrities and stuff, people are following certain celebrities that way just online. But you're still just a fan because you're on the sidelines and you actually don't have a personal relationship with them. And the Bible talks a lot about God wants us. The first commandment is love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul. And that's a personal love. That's a one on one love. That's a you're choosing to spend time alone with the Lord one on one. That kind of love. And that's the kind of rest we're talking about a little bit here too is just spending that time slowing down, listening to God and actually having a relationship with him. Because can you imagine to just like again in a marriage, if Dave and I, Dave again is my husband, if we just never actually talked about anything and I was just live in my life, do my own thing. And was like, whoo, Dave's awesome. But we were just living these separate paths. I never consulted him on anything. I never asked his opinion on anything. I never even asked him what he wanted to do each day. And if there was somewhere he wanted to lead me each day or wanted to go, or even just goals or dreams or visions that he had for me or us as a married couple, that would be pretty crazy. And I would be missing out on so much. And it's similar with the Lord. When we don't spend that intentional one on one time with him, we're the one missing out. We're just doing things our own way. And then when things fall apart or don't go the way we planned, we're like, God, what happened? And it's just so funny because it's like when did we stop and ask him for his opinion or advice or if we even should be doing that thing to begin with, right? So this rest is just so important for us to slow down, recharge, listen to the Lord, give him space to move in our heart and work in us and maybe reveal things that we need to release so that can be things like forgiveness or just a character thing that we are holding on to. But when we give him that space in worship and prayer and even silence, he can really speak and make those things clear to us what we need to change and how we can grow. And it's all for just our betterment and our freedoms that we can walk more and more in freedom every day. So for practically cleaning our home spiritually and creating that presence of peace, it's also important when you first get a home or an apartment or wherever you're living, even if you just have a bedroom, to really pray over the space and submit it to God. We did that when we bought this house and we had a bunch of friends over and we just prayed over the whole house. There was a lot, this house is pretty old that we live in and the people who lived here before us were just into a lot of things and yeah, it was just a mess, like a real mess when we got it. We had to do a lot of renos, a lot of fix ups, things like that. So it was so important for us to just walk through the house with our friends and just pray over every room and just cast out anything that we felt if we felt heaviness or depression or anger or even there had been two siblings upstairs and they had written all these profanities on each other's doors and stuff. So even just casting out that kind of stuff like spirits of just jealousy and contempt and spirits of anger and yeah, just like fighting, argumentative, all those kind of things. So going through and casting things out and just cleansing it and then inviting God's spirit in, inviting the Holy Spirit in and claiming the physical land and home and property for the Lord and submitting it to God and even saying to God like this is your property. This is your property to do as you will lead us, guide us and really mean that really hold it with open hands because everything we have is from the Lord. Even if it's through our own hands and works that we could afford something, it's God who gave you those skills, it's God who made those things happen. So everything really is from the Lord. So when we submit things back to him, that's when he can really bless it and run with it and even show you why he put you in certain positions. Because a lot of the time it is to bless others as well. So that part's pretty cool. So one thing though that I realized for our house, we hadn't prayed over the yard and the yard had been a mess when we bought the house and it was I think our second summer having the house that we finally redid the yard. I didn't even go out there originally because it was just falling apart, there was old railway ties like holding back the wall of dirt or whatever and it was all like falling apart. There was glass everywhere, all these broken patio stones, stuff like that. So I didn't go out until we redid it and then after we redid it, it was awesome and we go out there all the time. But there was a moment I think about two years ago, it was just a random day and I just really felt like I realized sometimes especially at night. If I wanted to step out back on our porch, I just felt like scared to and just awkward about it. So I was praying into that a little bit and then I realized I had never like fully submitted our yard like prayed over our property line as well. So that just means when people before you have allowed certain things in to areas, those spirits can sometimes stay unless they're cast out. So yeah, I was just feeling off about our yard and the Lord kind of revealed that I had never submitted the yard to him and prayed over that. So I prayed that cleansing over the yard, the next day I found out from my daughter that she, my oldest daughter, that she had actually that same day that I ended up praying over the yard and before that a few times. She looked out her window and she felt like she saw a witch in the yard, but she had just seen that again that same day that I ended up praying over it and we talked about it the next day. That's when I found out about that and I was like, what? That is so crazy that the same day that I was feeling that darkness and to pray over our yard and submit it to God and just cast out any evil was the same day that she had seen a witch back there. So that's a whole nother topic for another day, just how that stuff happens in the spiritual realm and how certain evil powers and stuff that witches can have and things like that. But anyway, since then the yard has felt so good and my daughter hasn't seen anything out there either, so that's just really cool. So that's just another way to have peace in your home and yard, I know it's kind of a big topic and maybe kind of new information for certain Christians. Maybe that grew up a little more conservative or traditional or whatever, but I truly believe kids especially have a lot clearer vision sometimes of the spiritual realm and worlds because they don't have all of the worlds, like blocks and blinders that we put on as we get older, especially a lot of kids are often told like, oh, you're just making things up or oh, that's not really there and the whole like monsters in the closet thing when kids like feel off about a room or a space or scared. It's, I think it's important that we take that seriously, maybe sometimes it is just in their head or maybe they had just watched a scary movie, so just something that they kind of stuck with them. But even then, scary movies too, when you watch things like that, that's technically an open door. So sometimes you are then because you're choosing to watch it, that's almost like partnering, so sometimes you're allowing certain evil spirits sent into your home. So that's another whole section is just like being careful what you watch and listen to and what kind of music you allow in your home, all those kind of things too. It can just allow things in that can disrupt the piece of the home. So it is important that we have this purity lens and purity goal. We don't need to be perfect obviously in God's grace is sufficient and when we mess up again, like if we are just asking the Lord, like he can reveal what things are there and how they got in and all that and we can repent and we can cast things out. And there's always redemption, always ways to get back on track, but it is just easier if we're just like not allowing a lot of these things in to begin with. So yeah, so my daughter as well, she has seen angels before too and I encourage that because I feel like again, it's mainly when we get shut down, especially as children. That's when you start to then change your inner voice and shut yourself down. So if God's trying to show you something or you see something just in the spiritual realm, you just get used to saying that's not really there and ignoring it. So then we build up this blinder and we become numb to it and we don't notice those things anymore. So I find that for me too as an adult and just walking with the Lord now, when I'm seeking him a lot and in his presence a lot or even fasting, things like that, I can see a little bit more spiritually or clearly sorry in the spiritual realm. For me, it's not always seeing. I feel like I'm more of a feeler. I sense things, which is like a gift of intercession as well. I feel like that's something that God's revealed to me too. I love to pray for people in just spaces too. I just sense when spaces are off or there's tension or just kind of evil things. So yeah, anyway, so that just allows me to pray into those things too and ask God what's causing it and just like pray for freedom for spaces or people or things like that as well. So that's pretty cool. It's cool that you can kind of get that back and it's something you can exercise as well. So that's another area and then I would say the other part of the spiritual is your personal heart check, especially as parents, as the mom and dad. And I would even say almost especially the dad as well because often the dad is the head of the household and they are a little bit of a gatekeeper for the home. So what they allow in will affect everybody and what they don't allow in will affect everybody. So yeah, it's important for us as parents to have these heart checks and just kind of ask God again to reveal things, but also if you just notice things. Like if there's somebody that you haven't forgiven for something and you know that, that can be a huge block and that can actually be like blocking some peace in your home too. And if there's just someone you maybe just don't like or something or just a situation that you haven't surrendered to God, just really allowing him to work in those and submitting those things to him. If there's any soul ties you haven't broken from past relationships or even sometimes past friendships, that can be something as well to process with the Lord. You'll know like in your heart, I feel like if you like you know when you feel free and full and light, you know, and if you're not feeling that way. I would just say, yeah, just spend some time with the Lord resting in worship. You can put all worship music or you can just just abide and just see what the Lord wants to do or let him rise up a song in you or prayer in you. Whatever that looks like for you or just spend some time speaking in tongues too until God reveals something to you as well or word or something to pray into. So there's so many ways to kind of check your heart that way as well. And if there is any wrongs with another person, actually just going to them and making it right. I had that a little while ago, I just had this couple on my heart and it was something from so long ago and something probably kind of minor too, but because they were brought up on my heart and this situation which I hadn't thought about in years. I just felt I was like, oh, like maybe there's something there, even if not on my side, maybe on their side where they wanted an apology and never got it and just moved past it. But also from my side, maybe it was just for me too, just a clear conscience of this little thing. So yeah, I went to them and kind of confessed again and that. And that was just, that was that, then it was done, then it was gone. So I think whenever something pops up, even if it seems so small or little or from so long ago, just that simple act of obedience, just asking God, like, what do you want me to do with this? Often it will be to go to that person and talk to them. And yeah, that's the only part on you. It's not on you how people receive things, but it's our job to just be obedient because God wants us to be set free and he doesn't want barriers between us and him. And when we're holding on to these things, it creates blocks from hearing his voice clearly and knowing what he wants us to do clearly in all of these other areas. So it's so important to be pursuing that and to be pursuing just purity and freedom in Christ because it's there for us and that's what Jesus died for and he wants it for us. And he is so quick to forgive. In fact, he's forgiven before you even ask, but we're not set free until we ask. And I found that too, as a good practice for me when I'm on prayer teams, sometimes I would, I think, bring my own baggage in if I hadn't, like, repented recently or done communion recently or anything. And I didn't realize that tie before, but the last few years, whenever I've been on a prayer team and I'm on my way to the event, I'm usually in the car alone, so I just, yeah, have no music on. And I just start praying and singing and then just repenting from any sins. And if I can't think of any, I just repent from sins in general, just kind of do a cleaning. You know, just a spiritual cleaning, just a re-dedication, all of those kind of things, just accepting what the Lord has done for me. And I feel lighter. Again, even if I couldn't even think of the actual potential sins, I just felt lighter anyway. And then I found when I got to the event and administering to people, I felt and heard God so much clearer, and it just felt like a direct line, which it did before too sometimes. But again, sometimes it was hazy, sometimes I had to really press in, but since starting this practice of just kind of doing my own spiritual cleanse before going to minister to other people, it's just so beautiful to just be fully in it. I'm just 100% present at that event with whatever person's in front of me, fully able to listen to them because my garbage is taken care of. And it's just been really cool, just a really cool practice. So just that practice of regular repentance and checking in with God, which again, you need to create time and space for. And that's where that rest comes in, and that Sabbath day, it doesn't have to be a Sunday, it doesn't have to look like everybody else's Sabbath day, but we all need Sabbath. Whatever that looks like with you and God, you need Sabbath weekly, even some people do like a daily little bit as well. So yeah, it's just so important. So I hope that blesses you, and yeah, may the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face shine upon you, may He be gracious to you, and give you peace, especially in your home. God bless you, you're all doing a great job, and God loves you so much. [BLANK_AUDIO]