112: The Beauty in Brokenness – Vona Johnson, Christian Retirement Coach

We live in a broken world. We see it all around us as well as within ourselves.

Internally, we struggle with the battle between our flesh and our spirit. Fortunately, there is beauty in our brokenness and it is a blessing to be reminded that God’s grace is sufficient.

Amber Cullum, our guest this week, hosts the podcast, Grace Enough. In this episode, we talk about God’s forgiveness, practicing Sabbath, the challenges inherent in studying God’s Word, and waiting on God’s promises.

Listen and be blessed by this conversation that is full of grace and wisdom for life.

Main Points From the Show

We are broken without Christ in our lives. Amber, however, has discovered that we are broken AND beautiful, it is not this or that, an either/or, it is a both/and. We are both:

· sinner and saved

· selfish and selfless

· struggling with fits of rage and extender of grace

· reckless and self-controlled

· resentful and forgiving

· critical and full of praise

God will always welcome back those who are repentant over their brokenness.

When we feel most rested, we feel the most peace, and then we see the value of setting aside specific time to sit with Jesus.

When discussing returning to life after COVID, Amber suggested hanging onto the good peaceful parts. Be more intentional with the things we value like kids’ activities, volunteering (but not too much!), and noticing what areas in which we are gifted. If we focus on our gift vs the areas we are not, life will be more peaceful.

Practicing Sabbath is not a legalistic practice, but rather a way of saying to God, “I trust you.” We can set aside a day of restraint because we know we don’t have to do everything ourselves.

Understanding the Bible comes in stages. The old testament can be more difficult to understand and can be intimidating. Engaging in Beth Moore bible studies changed both of our understanding of the old and new testaments and how they weave together.

It also helps to read different translations to get different perspectives. One simply needs to be careful to be sure the version is correct.

We also talked a lot about waiting on God and trusting Him to bring us the right partner for life. Even though it is so hard to wait, it is so worth it!

We also discussed that the way we judge success is not the way God does.