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Influence

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RECOMMENDED RESOURCES
Love, Skip, Jump – Shelene Bryan
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The Influence Network

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  • Before pulling the trigger on ordering 8,000 yearly journals last year, I crunched the numbers and told myself if we sold at least 7,000 yearly journals, it would be worth it because of the price break. ⠀⠀⠀⁣ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣ But still I stressed the last few months over trying to sell them out because we all want to be good stewards of our money, you know? I told my husband the other day how weird it felt to be ok that we didn't sell all 8,000. Like I wished I had known I'd feel like this now and could tell holiday sells Val to chill out.⁣ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣ Because (hello!!) there are over 7,200 women out there will journals to fill up with requests and conversations to the Lord!⁣ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣ We've been hearing from you and it's just about the most insane and encouraging and tear-inducing thing to think of all you prayer warriors lifting up your friends and families and communities and how you are already seeing things happen in just over a month of using your journals!⁣ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣ But want to know something else cool? The other journals didn't go to waste. We got to give way over 500 yearly journals!! We made it a goal to give 1,000 journals away for 2020. And I had no idea a) they'd be our pricy one b) we'd get so far in February! 😆⁣ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣ I love that this is God's business and not mine. I'm just grateful for a seat on this ride!⁣ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣ We got about 200 or so left in the shop so if you made that prayer goal and are still struggling to figure out how to take action, try our our prayer journal!⁣ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣ And VMP friends, tag that friend you don't want to have to wait till next year to grab our yearly! The crazy thing is we get people wanting to buy these MONTHS into the year and I think it’s because they are THAT hopeful or just tired that what their currently doing isn’t working. ⁣ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣ Photo by @oakandthird!
  • Lately, as I’ve been studying the Word, I’ve realized just how one-dimensional my view of the Bible has been in the past. My friend @phyliciamasonheimer has been a big encourager for me to become a theologian. That might sound like a funny phrase because we assume that requires a seminary degree, to be in the pulpit or have a stack of commentaries with our byline.⁣ ⁣ But above is the actual definition. I'll emphasize that word ENGAGES because I think it’s easy to get stuck on the word EXPERT.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Don’t do it!⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ There’s one being who desperately hopes you’ll see “expert” and disqualify yourself from learning more about God. Any guesses who? It’s not Jesus. It’s the enemy.⁣ ⁣ If you read your Bible, I’d say you’re qualified to be a theologian. But as I’ve been digging deeper, I’ve been convicted by how little I’ve cared to really ENGAGE with the text. It’s my backlash response to a world that debates every little thing to death. Why do we do it when we can wrap everything up with a nice tidy bow and say, “There are some things we’ll never know on this side of heaven.”⁣⁣ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣⁣ I’ve said this in situations that completely merit this response, but I began to notice that it was actually becoming my default even in situations where we COULD know this side of heaven.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ The truth is, I think we miss out on so much richness when we keep things casual with the Word.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ • We read, but don’t study.⁣⁣ • We ask thoughtful questions, but don’t actually seek an answer.⁣⁣ • We let the scholars do all the heavy lifting IF we dig in at all.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Friends, I’ve been so invigorated to study the Word. The more I do, the more I want to. If you’re skimming passages or reading from a devotional for 5 minutes every morning, I want you to know there’s so much more! I think we feel like it’s hard to get there because what we’re already doing doesn’t seem to satisfy our parched soul, but I think we just aren’t digging far enough down until we hit the well.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ So where do we start?⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Read the blog for resources helping me dig in!
  • Years ago I shared 15 things on my "don't do list" and this quote: ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ “Busyness is moral laziness [because it is often a statement of our excuse to be inattentive to people]…But God has given us just enough time to do what we need to do moment by moment to respond to him. And his is there; it is eternally present. Every moment is a sacrament where time touches eternity and there is exactly enough time to do what God has called us to do.” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Youch!! It's a painful reminder that our reason for busyness is because we're too lazy to say no or weigh the tradeoffs necessary. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I thought I'd share a few things since writing that post that we don't do. Make your own list and let it help guide decision-making so we avoid the whole moral laziness thing. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 1. We keep after-school activities simple as possible. Vivi's dance class was supposed to be after bedtime. I asked if she could join the older class since she just missed the cutoff and they said yes. And it happened to be during a class Vana could take so they both dance at the same time. This won't happen every year, but it reminded me to not just assume a late class was the only option. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 2. We don't go on date nights every week, but we do mentor a couple through a program at church weekly and when we leave we always grab a quick bite or even just go through the drive-thru at Popeye's. Pouring into a couple's marriage and this simple drive has been blessing our own marriage. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 3. We don't have pets. In looking at the time and cost, in this season, it would stretch us beyond our margins. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 4. We don't drive a ton. We chose a home with amenities in our neighborhood, like a park, pool, playground and family ;) and even changed our offices for less commute. We're literally 10 minutes away from gym, church, school, dance, family and groceries. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ You're list will likely look completely different but I hope this helps get some ideas pumping! Add your ideas of what helps your family keep margin below! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #valandthesimplelife
  • The winner is @jordantailored!!! I've got a copy of Get Out of Your Head, @Jenniesallen's new book, to giveaway and you're really gonna want to check this book! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I think it's safe to say, most days we lose our battles in our mind, not in our circumstances. That's not discouraging. That means we CAN experience life differently, not if our circumstances changes, but if our thoughts do! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ This book addresses the lies we need to reject and the truth we need to replace it with when it comes to thinking with the mind of Christ God’s given us. So let's get bold here, tell me one belief/lie you need help getting out of your head. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I'll go first. ☝🏻 I need to get out of my head the lie that I am valued based on what I do. It keeps me spinning and makes rest really hard. Just “being” with God and knowing He calls me worthy not because of a laundry list of do-good deeds is one of those truths I have to constantly remind myself of when I get stuck in my head. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ OK, your turn. Like this post and comment and I'll pick a winner on Wednesday!
  • Looking for peace instead of fear? Here's day one of our 14-day email series, Renew, all about the mind! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ You will keep in perfect and constant peace the one whose mind is steadfast [that is, committed and focused on You—in both inclination and character], because he trusts and takes refuge in You [with hope and confident expectation]. - Isaiah 26:3 (AMP) ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Don't we all want peace? And bonus: a perfect peace that is constant? Does this kind of feel like a false promise because we still have fear in our lives even if we are reading all the anxiety verses and praying? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ This forces me to get really honest about my mind and thoughts. When I think my mind is steadfast, is it really? I can tell you that I have read verses through panic attacks and hard moments all while still being completely consumed with the mountain in front of me. We're able to look at our phone while we have a conversation or watch TV while flipping through a magazine. We don't even realize how divided our minds can be. Doesn't it make sense that we can convince ourselves that we are meditating on God while at the same time letting unruly thoughts linger? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ What I love about the Amplified version of this passage is how it says explicitly what a steadfast mind is: committed and focused on [God] - in both inclination and character. Inclination and character get me thinking. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ See stories for the rest of day one (and to sign up for the whole series!), what I discovered about inclination and character and some practical next steps!
  • Here's what I'm hoping to read this month!! I'm also listening to The Forgotten God by Francis Chan. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ What's on your list for February? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Coincidentally, I've been reading a lot more lately because I'm spending less time on my phone, which is what I blogged yesterday. 9 things that actually helped me get my phone down to 3-4 hours to 1.5-2. Have questions after reading the post? Pop them below or in my latest stories Q&A box. I'll be hopping on stories later today to talk more about the post! #valandwords
  • DEVELOPING A PRAYER HABIT ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ When Vivi was having a particularly whiny season, I got her a notebook to write gratitudes. She wrote one. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Fast forward MONTHS later to last week. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ She picked it back up and started writing and has every day since. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ We can learn a lesson from her. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Missed pages or lots of passed time tend to make us feel shameful, like we failed. She just picked it back up and got going. And she’s excited not beating herself up for the missed days. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ A developed habit of prayer is likely right on the other side of a recent “failure” in said prayer habit. Don’t let that failure make you think you aren’t capable of praying more. Because you are. The enemy just knows how powerful it is so he'll do anything he can to convince you that you'll never learn how to pray more. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I’ve been soooo encouraged by y’alls stories of transformation. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ If you’ve “failed” recently at praying more consistently don’t give up. And if you need some very practical help, we’ve still got some yearly journals waiting just for YOU! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Any stories of failure from those of you currently experiencing victory? Share below! I know it would be encouraging for us to see! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Several of y'all have asked if you can grab an old prayer journal you got in our shop and use it. Our answer: ABSOLUTELY!! We've heard several success stories of people who picked up a half-used journals from years ago and it jumpstarted a new year-long habit! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ If you think you can't, just think of sweet naive Vivi not even realizing it's something she can't jump back into!! It's brought her more joy that I'm so grateful she didn't miss out on from fear of failing! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ P.S. I’m trying something new out this week in pairing with our blog post. See stories later today for details! I’d love your feedback! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #vmpprayer
  • In case you didn't know, I still blog once a week every Tuesday! Here are posts from January! I'll do a recap at the end of each month of what's new!! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I'm curious, do you read the blog? We love structure and design so even in a world of podcasts and video, we love the visual of content organized in visual form! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ What posts are your favorite to read? #valmarieblog
  • Recently, I committed to 2 hrs or less on my phone (my average is around 3 🙈) and pulled off 1 hour and 19 minutes! 🙌The lowest I've probably ever done NOT on a weekend. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Let me first tell you, I've been trying to do less than 2 hours for a year now. I didn't just try one day and do it. But this day, I was COMMITTED. (Actually I’m sharing next week on the blog what finally worked for me so don’t miss it if you struggle too!) ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ But guess what? By some coincidence, my girls switched bodies with the most loving, well-mannered and helpful children I've ever seen. 😜 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Vivi had mentioned she had a lot of homework so I got a fun snack, lit a candle, put on classical music and though it was still hard, I was able to encourage her and speak truth to her that I know she needed. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Then we had one of the nicest dinners we've had in a while (mind you, still the same old weekly tacos) with two girls who ate without complaining and let me enjoy grownup talk with Papa without constantly saying "poopie" or Vana's favorite "toilet water". 😐 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ THEN we finished dinner 30 minutes BEFORE bedtime so I started folding laundry and both girls were eager to help and we knocked it out before storytime! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I'm sure it was juuust a coincidence that I was: • more present to make homework time special • not on my phone checking the latest hot goss which always means starting cooking later • not on my phone when two sweet girls got lots of giggles and attention that I think made them excited to be with me, even if just folding laundry. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Just a coincidence I'm sure. But just in case not, can we get bold here knowing the phones in our face affect our kids? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I've been wanting to do this experiment where we admit our screen time minutes. My sister must have read my mind because she actually did it a few weeks ago. I think calling those things into light would expose us which feels vulnerable and crazy, but I think we’d feel so FREE!! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ What's your average time on your phone? I'll go first! 👇

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