Joyful Journeys

Claire Black: Welcome to True Girl, a podcast for girls and their moms. Together, we’ll explore God’s truth for us, one drive at a time.Buckle up!You’re about to grow closer to each other and closer to Jesus!

In season 14 of the True Girl podcast, called “Flourishing Forests,” we’re going to learn that we can grow through every challenge. Not by ourselves, of course, but through the power of Jesus! 

Girls face lots of different kinds of struggles. But God’s Word teaches us that no matter what difficulties come our way, we can grow stronger every day. That’s called flourishing, by the way, and we’re about to learn all about it.

Dannah Gresh and Staci Rudolph are just about ready to go on a trip, but they’re in the True Girl studio today. At the end of the podcast, Dannah will invite you to take a very special mom-daughter Scripture memory challenge, so stay tuned!

Let’s get moving for the first episode of this season, called, “Joyful Journeys.” Here’s your cohost, Staci Rudolph.

Staci Rudolph: Hey friends. I’m Staci, here with True Girl founder, Dannah Gresh. 

Dannah Gresh: Hey there, True Girl, I am so glad you’re here.

Staci: Uh, Dannah, what is that?

Dannah: Oh, this old thing? That’s my jade plant.

Staci: Well, I can see it’s a plant, but why is it here in the True Girl recording studio?

Dannah: Because, Staci, it’s flourishing!

Staci: Oh, I see what you did there. Flourishing . . . because this is the “Flourishing Forests” season of the podcast.

Dannah: Yes, and this is the best example of flourishing I know. It’s been thriving for months now, even though I forget to water it over and over. It just keeps growing despite my neglect. And, well, I think we can learn something from my plant friend.

Staci: Yeah—that you have questionable gardening skills!

Dannah: Not just that. (Though that’s true.) The lesson I was thinking was this: even when life isn’t fair, when circumstances aren’t ideal, we can flourish.

Staci: Umm, I’m not sure you’re using that word right. I brought my dictionary.

Dannah: You still have one of those things? Staci, just look the word up on your phone.

Staci: I’m going for old school here. Let me find the word.

Let me see . . . let me find the F’s . . . fl . . . flabbergasted, flapjack, flaptrap . . . Here it is. Flourish: “to grow in a favorable environment.”

Favorable environment, Dannah! Nothing is favorable about your house for that jade plant!

Dannah: First of all, I’m starting to take better care of her.

Staci: Her?

Dannah: Jade!

Staci: Oh, you call “her” Jade!?

Dannah: Yeah. And second of all, the Bible’s definition of flourish is really different from that one.

Staci: How so?

Dannah: Well, I think the Bible’s definition is more like this: 

Flourish: “to grow even in the harshest of circumstances so that other people can see God’s glory in our lives.”

Staci: Oh, so you’re saying the Bible teaches that we can grow in unfavorable environments.

Dannah: Oh, yes!Let me show you. Here’s the book I brought.

Staci: Ya, Bible! Now, that’s a better book.

Dannah: Let me just find the book of Acts. I want you to read something really cool.

I’m going to ask you to read . . . right here.

This is what happened right after Peter and John had been used by God to heal a crippled man. I mean, this man they met on their way to a prayer service had been unable to walk. But then, Peter and John prayed for him, and he was healed!

Staci: Now, that’s cool!

Dannah: I think so! But the rulers at the time didn’t think so. They put Peter and John in jail.

Now, can we agree that’s not favorable circumstances?

Staci: For sure.

Dannah: Well, Peter and John didn’t pout and whine and act like victims because they had been put in jail. 

They kept steady. You see, the next day, they were brought out of jail and, well, this is where I want you to read what happened. Read Acts 4. Go ahead and start in verse 8.

Staci:

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of our people, are we being questioned today because we’ve done a good deed for a crippled man? Do you want to know how he was healed? Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead. For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says,
"The stone that you builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone." (vv. 8–11 NLT)

There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.” The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus. 

Dannah: There, that’s it. That is what I wanted you to hear.“They recognized them as men who had been with Jesus.”

Just think about that. The early church was persecuted, put into jail, hated, but they didn’t walk around whining about it. They stayed steady and . . . well, joyful! 

I should say: joy is more than a happy feeling. It’s the steadiness of trusting God even in difficult times.

Staci: That’s why Peter and John didn’t riot or boycott the rulers for locking them in the clinker! Right? Or get all stressed out and fearful. They trusted God!

Dannah: Yeah. They stayed steady, joyful. And because of that, people said, “Hey, seems like maybe they have been with Jesus.”

Staci: Wow! I want people to say that about me. I want them to say, “I think Staci has been with Jesus.”

Dannah: Me, too, Staci! Because the rest of Acts chapter 4 tells us some amazing things. 

• The rulers didn’t keep them in jail. They let them go. 
• Then, the church prayed—not for no more persecution or time in jail—but they prayed for courage.
• The Holy Spirit came and gave them power, including the power to be courageous.
• All the believers started sharing their possessions, or everything they had. 

In other words, when circumstances weren’t so great, the church flourished!

Staci: And the church grew!

Dannah: Exactly!

I want to be like Peter and John. When life gets complicated, when circumstances are unfavorable, I want to stay cool. Joyful! I mean, the early church was on a hard journey, but they stayed joyful on it. That is what flourishing looks like.

Staci: Hmm, joyful journeys. So, how do we travel through life like that?

Dannah: Well, there’s actually a whole chapter of the Bible that teaches us about flourishing. It’s Psalm 92. It contains some really cool lessons on how to flourish. And we can apparently learn a lot from, to bring it back to Jade . . .

Staci: The plant?

Dannah: Yeah, plants. Listen. Here’s Psalm 92, starting in verse 12.

The righteous flourish like the palm tree
   and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
They are planted in the house of the LORD;
   they flourish in the courts of our God.
They still bear fruit in old age;
   they are ever full of sap and green,
to declare that the LORD is upright;
   he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him. (vv. 12–15 ESV)

Staci: I hear what you emphasized there: plant words!

Dannah: Yep!

Staci: Well, that sounds nice, but what’s a palm tree got to do with me living a flourishing life? And what’s with the green sap?

Dannah: Glad ya asked. In the next episode of the podcast, I’m going to explain. You see, I’ve studied this whole psalm and even memorized it. In fact, this month I challenge you to memorize it too.

Staci: Me?

Dannah: You wanna flourish or you wanna flounder in life?

Staci: Okay, okay! I choose to flourish!

Dannah: Then, join me!

Staci: Awe, Dannah, I’ve never memorized the Bible very easily.

Dannah: Me either . . . until I started walking while I tried. Turns out your brain likes it when you walk. Walking fires up the memory part of the brain and makes learning lots of things easy—your times tables, vocab, and even Scripture memory! Since I’ve been walking when I try to memorize God’s Word, it comes easily. I call it my Holy Girl Walk.

And this month, I’m challenging moms and daughters to walk and memorize Psalm 92 as we learn to flourish—or at least Psalm 92:12–15, the verses I just read. That’s just four verses if you wanna go that route. Each week I’ll be here to kick off your memory challenge with some teaching on palm trees and . . . 

Staci: Let me guess: cedars of Lebanon. What are those?

Dannah: Big trees! Like the redwoods in California. And yes, in fact, next week how about we ditch this studio and head to . . . I dunno, Colombia sound good to you?

Staci: As in South America?

Dannah: Yes.

Staci: Why?

Dannah: Palm trees. Really tall ones. I want to bring Psalm 92 to life!

Staci: So we can flourish.

Dannah: Yep!

Staci: So, you’re taking us to a flourishing forest.

Dannah: Bingo!

Staci: Dannah, I gotta say, I’m really glad you’re doin’ this!

We get a lot of letters from True Girls and their moms. So many of them are happy, but I’m not gonna lie, some of them are downright sad. Lots of girls are facing lots of problems in life.

Dannah: Oh, I know! I was just praying for one True Girl and her mom. You see, the mom wrote to tell us that she has cancer. 

Staci: Oh, let’s pray for her at the end of today’s podcast, can we?

Dannah: Great idea.

Staci: Let me read this letter from a True Girl. We got it this past summer.

“So, I ran into a metal sink and broke my nose two days ago!”

Dannah: Ouch!

Staci: Yeah! She goes on to say:

“Please pray. I have soccer and dance class to go to. Kenna”

And there’s a picture here of her red nose.

Dannah: Yowser! We’re gonna pray for Kenna, too! God cares about cancer, and He cares about broken noses.

Staci: Agreed! Okay. So, I’m not trying to be a downer. But I thought we should just bring people behind the scenes so they know about the hard things some of our true girls are facing. It’s not just physical needs, but . . .

Dannah: We get a lot of letters from True Girls asking us to pray because their mom or dad has lost their job, and they have some financial problems. 

Staci: I think we get a lot of letters too about our True Girls having trouble in school withvmean girls and bullying and just kind of like all of that stuff. 

Dannah: Or math.

Staci: Yes, math! 

Dannah: Sometimes they write to us because they are moving across the country or maybe out of the country. They are just really missing their friends and starting over. That’s hard.

Staci: Yes. 

Dannah: And stress and anxiety. 

Staci: Yes. 

Dannah: And depression—lots of emotional stuff. But here’s the good news: every single one of those girls can grow and become better through every single one of those challenges.

Staci: Yep. It’s called flourishing.

Dannah: Staci, will you pray for Kenna and the mom I just mentioned who has cancer. She has given us permission, so has Kenna, to pray for them. The mom’s name that has cancer is Angel. 

Staci: Yeah, absolutely. Let’s pray.

God, I come to You just thanking You. I thank You for Kenna. I thank You for Angel. I thank You just for all of the True Girls and moms who have been willing to share hard things with us, Lord, so that we can pray for them as they walk through them. 

Lord, I pray specifically for Angel right now, that You would just be all over what’s going on with her health journey right now. We know that You are the Great Physician. So, I just pray that You would be all over the medical team that’s working with her. Be with her family as they walk through this with her, and just give them comfort that they can understand. I just pray that You would give Angel comfort that she can understand, and that she would come to know You in better and deeper and in a more intimate way because of this, Lord. 

I pray for her daughter as well, who is going through this with her. Would You give her strength and courage and let her know that You are in control, and that You have great plans, and that You will take care of us. 

I pray for Kenna as well, Lord, that You would just help her nose continue to heal well and that You will help her as she goes through her soccer season and her dance season, and that she would just have a great time doing those things, and that she would make new friends and tell lots of people about You. Lord, we love You. We thank You so much for all of our True Girls. In Your name we pray, amen. 

Claire: True Girl, if you need prayer, we hope you reach out to your friends in your local church. But we want you to know that we love praying for you, too. In fact, our team has a special chat thread where we share requests that come in from email, social media, or when we meet people on the road at our live events. We pray over all of them. We’d be honored to pray for you.

Praying and spending time in God’s Word are always super important, but especially when you’re facing unfavorable circumstances. So, I hope you’ll take Dannah up on the mom-daughter Holy Girl Walk. That’s just what we call it when you walk together and memorize Scripture. This month, we’re challenging you to memorize Psalm 92 as we learn what it means to flourish. It’s pretty easy. You walk, memorize, and meditate on Psalm 92. That’s it! But to learn more about the Holy Girl Walk challenge, visit MyTrueGirl.com.

Hey, while you’re there, be sure to learn about the True Girl Pop-Up Party happening November 1 and 2 at the Museum of the Bible. It’s a fun mom-daughter time you won’t want to miss! We’re going to learn why the Bible matters in our lives. 

Dannah and Staci will both be there, along with our lead teachers Janet Mylin and Shani McKenzie, who will be bringing great Bible teaching for us. Staci’s going to be leading worship along with Kasey and Abby. We hope you’ll join the whole True Girl team in Washington, D.C. in just a few weeks!

Okay, are you ready to visit two magnificent forests to understand that you can flourish no matter what happens to you? I am. So come back for the next episode of the True Girl podcast!

The True Girl podcast is produced by Revive Our Hearts, calling women of all ages to freedom, fullness, and fruitfulness!

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