Five on Friday - #01
The start of something new.
God is faithful, and good, and kind, and gentle. Isn’t He?
He is relentlessly committed to us.
“Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.”
—1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 ESV
I’ve seen that truth be a reality in my life over the last few weeks.
I wrote “I need to repent.” after God convicted me of acting out of comparison, envy, pride, and insecurity.
The fallout from that time period has been so, so sweet. The repentance allowed me to actually hear from God on what He wanted me to do. Turns out, He has better ideas than I do anyway.
Out of that time came a new strategy for using Substack as well as different things I’m excited to announce in the future.
Right now I’m excited announce “Five on Friday”
Five on Friday will be a weekly post that contains the following:
An old post of mine
A song or album that’s been ministering to me
A book recommendation
An article recommendation from another Substack writer
My favorite moment with my favorite people (wife & daughters)
These will be short reads with the goal of helping y’all know the guy behind “Exploring Life With God.”
So, here’s the first Five on Friday.
An Old Post
Honestly, as I read through this and made some minor edits, this is one of my favorite posts.
I wrote it prior to committing to a weekly post and I had few subscribers which means most of you haven’t seen this one!
A Song
Loved! by nobigdyl.
nobigdyl. is one of my favorite Christian rappers and Loved! is his newest single.
Here’s my favorite part:
Lord I've gone too far this time, I must admit it And I don't even know if I deserve forgiveness Spoke into my heart and told me, “Only listen” “Grace is My decision, and I freely give it.”
A Book
My wife wrote a devotional! This week I’m highlighting it. 31 Days of Psalm 119: A Prayer Devotional For When Life Gets Busy
This devo is unique:
Because it’s my wife 😉
Because she doesn’t do the “thinking” for you. She lets you think by providing a guided prayer and a questions based on the day’s focus verse.
You should definitely get this devotional if you’re in a busy season or need a kickstarter for spending time with God.
An Article
This week I had the privilege of reading Riley’s article, Peace as the Promise.
Over the last several months I’ve been reflecting. How would I live if I really, actually, thought abundant life with God was possible?
This article is a wonderful testimony to the power and possibility of God’s work in our life. I love how this sentence was worded:
“My anxiety isn’t completely gone, but its dominion is.”
Be sure to check that out Riley and give
your subscription.My Favorite Moments
Jackie
Last Saturday Jackie and I went to a wedding and found ourselves with a spontaneous date night at Pasta Grill.
We had a blast, laughed loud, and simply enjoyed being together.
Hattie
During a dinner time this week when Jackie was at a Bible Study I played Beautiful As Ever by Forrest Frank.
Hattie loves the song so she grabbed my left hand and started dancing. After 15 seconds she reached for my right hand, got my full attention, and proceeded to dance, smile, and stare into my eyes for about 30 seconds of the song.
It was so sweet I almost cried in the moment.
Priscilla
One day I was laying on my stomach in the play room when Priscilla, who tries to prove her strength whenever possible, ran toward me yelling with her arms in the air (imagine a double fist pump victory pose).
When she got to me she dove face first into my back, continued the war cry, and used her forehead to keep me pinned to the ground.
She definitely thinks she’s stronger than me.
What were your favorite things from this week?
—Brandon
Great first Five on Friday post! I finished reading Stuart Little to my kids this week and I got to the beach twice this week. So glad summer is finally here. Blessings!
This is amazing all around! Such sweet words and an embrace of what God has called you too and then inviting us in! Also, if you love nobigdyl then check out indie tribe too!