Clearing The Lens

Today’s conversation explores what community or being in relationship with people means. I explore whether we are inherently wired for community or if this is a learned trait, the benefits of community and whether the space they occupy- be it virtual or physical actually matter. Most importantly we look at what the bible has to say about community and what being in community looks like biblically. I also give an update on our merch which is going on sale soon! If you’ve enjoyed this episode please like and follow this podcast or leave us a comment. We’d love to hear from you!

We are back:) This weeks topic is on something we have likely all struggled with in different ways- the temptation of self-sufficiency. In a world telling us we are enough (and that we NEED to be enough) at every turn, it is easy to miss the idolatry which can often creep up on us as a result. In this episode I speak to what self-sufficiency looks like, what the Bible has to say on Who or what our source is, what a life devoted and reliant on God looks like based on examples in the Word and my personal struggles as a mom in this area. I also have some exciting announcements at the end!

This week we are in conversation with Dr Rita on the interrelationship between our spiritual, physical and mental wellbeing. This is a conversation which is right on time considering we celebrated World Mental Health Day this month and all the turmoil occurring in our world right now. We talk about health across all these spheres, access to mental health care in our country- including affordable alternatives to one-on-one therapy and more. Dr Rita hosts her own podcast called Wellness Tea Time With Dr Rita. You can listen to it here: https://open.spotify.com/show/6YMmSpwHg6Y8e5dm8zRsF1

Today we dive into how dependency on devotionals can oftentimes hinder our walk with God instead of helping it. We have an insightful conversation with Kona Brown who shares so many gems on how to approach the word of God, the consumerist culture we find in the church today, how to commit scripture to memory, how devotionals CAN play a positive role in our walk with God and soooo much more! Kona is a blogger, speaker and author of "The Mommy Diaries”, a book that helps parents and youth workers disciple 8-16 year-olds. She writes and speaks about Jesus fulltime, in-between making 100s of peanut-butter sarmies and wondering how long she can go without washing her hair before people start to notice! 

In this episode I call on our listeners to pray for the victims of the Hamas attack on Israel; I ask us to pray for the Palestinians who may also suffer brutality in the weeks and months to come and I remind us to pray for those in authority who are tasked with enforcing justice. I also remind us that oppression does not justify depravity and that morality is not relative for us Christians, but absolute.

This week we're doing a dive into the Manifestation movement to understand whether it's just another term for having faith or actually something completely different. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this one!

Today we are looking back on the month that was, August - Women’s Month. Now this month is generally filled with a lot of affirmation and encouragement to women which is amazing however there are instances where the messaging can cross over into territory which is, in some ways, unbiblical. In this episode I speak to some common quotes I have come across and I dissect them in light of what the bible has to say in order to determine if these are truly truths we can live by as Christian women. As much as this is women’s messaging, I know we also have men who listen to this podcast and you may hear these messages as well, and so this episode would be helpful for you too.

Today I am talking about a personal journey of mine, being my struggle with pornography. This, for a long time, was an area of shame for me that only God and I were walking through. But since then, I have become a bit more open about the fact that this is a struggle I too once had about 10 years ago and God’s faithfulness in this area towards me. I speak about what the bible has to say on this topic and how God helped me overcome. I also touch on the topics of sanctification and church community which are such important parts of our walk with God and that I have seen at work in many areas of my life. This is by no means an easy conversation to have but I believe it is necessary for this time and I pray it helps someone listening today.

Today we are talking about whether it is the government’s responsibility to care for the poor and the needy. This is a topic where each of us will have a personal viewpoint on and so I am really interested to hear your thoughts on it as always! Should the government be feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, supporting orphans and widows? Or has the church abdicated her responsibility in this area? Should government social grant programmes be stopped tomorrow? What does practical application of our own God-given responsibility look like in this area? I give my opinion on this topic and seek to answer these questions through a biblical lens.

This week’s episode is a practical and very conversational episode.  I take us through Proverbs 31 using the principles we spoke about in Episode 7. This episode is just one way you can study the word of God and is for you if you are struggling with application of the biblical hermeneutical and exegetical principles we discussed or if you would like to delve deeper into this interesting piece of scripture. You will walk away realizing that, although a great qualification to have, we don’t need a theology degree to understand the word of God, just the Holy Spirit, and a keen desire to learn and understand.