Friends!
So - I've been convicted lately. Well, not lately, but over years and years of prodding and poking from people that love me.
I've got. To watch. My tongue. My mouth can be offensive - but I loved it. It goes with rock n' roll, metal, hard life and crazy backstory. But, like so many of our sins, it's time to give it up.
Cheers, guys! And good luck on your journeys too!
Also - Please consider donating! Things are getting REALLLLLLY expensive as this podcast grows, and I need your help! https://www.patreon.com/nestingwiththeearleybirds?fan_landing=true
And if you want to check out the book I was talking about, you can find it here!
Beholding and Becoming ; The Art of Everyday Worship - Ruth Chou Simons
Music: Happy Ukulele - Scott Holmes
Friends!
So - I've been convicted lately. Well, not lately, but over years and years of prodding and poking from people that love me.
I've got. To watch. My tongue. My mouth can be offensive - but I loved it. It goes with rock n' roll, metal, hard life and crazy backstory. But, like so many of our sins, it's time to give it up.
Cheers, guys! And good luck on your journeys too!
Also - Please consider donating! Things are getting REALLLLLLY expensive as this podcast grows, and I need your help! https://www.patreon.com/nestingwiththeearleybirds?fan_landing=true
And if you want to check out the book I was talking about, you can find it here!
Beholding and Becoming ; The Art of Everyday Worship - Ruth Chou Simons
Music: Happy Ukulele - Scott Holmes
Hello friends, this is Shannon Earley, the hostess of the Nesting With The Earley Birds Podcast. And I'm s glad that you're back for all o you that are returned list ners, Thank you so much. And if you're brand new, thank you so much for coming. This podcast is really just a time for me to en ourage women. If you're a ma, that's fine, too. Check it out Listen, I just wanted to remind everybody, you're not alone. And whatever experience you're going through, somebody out th re is going through the same t ing. And maybe listening to the e stories or listening to these ords of encouragement can just h lp you get through those things a little bit easier. I'm a Chri tian homeschooling mom of four c ildren, two of which are on the autism spectrum, one of which as a rare genetic disord r. I'm also a hairst list, guys, things are crazy ver here, that I mentio ed homeschooling, I don't even k ow because my mind is in 75 pla es at all times. But I've got a ot of tips from doing a lot of life. And I've actually even s rvived things like abuse, what i the world. So thank you so muc for coming and checking it out I really appreciate it. And re ember to share this with other eople that might be intere ted, and help me to have this p dcast grow. Thank you so much, uys. And remember, God totall loves you all the time. Hey, g ys, this is Shannon Earley Welcome back. So this is going o be Episode 21. I've had a coup e of interviews back to back l tely. And I thought, you know, diting an interview podcas episode is really diffic lt. And I just kind of wanted the joy of being able to just t lk into the microphone all by myself with my super loud voice hat constantly has to be edited and compressed and fixed whenev r I talk to somebody else. nd I wanted to just share a litt e bit about what's going on rig t now, in my life. Um, you kn w, as a Christian, they talk a out things like sin, that kind o thing. Basically, sin are th ngs that don't glorify God, y u know what I'm saying? You we e a little kid, you pushed your brother. Not cool. If you re a person that talks trash y people's backs, not cool. o it's generally pretty easy t see like what your sin situat on is. And when I first became a Christian, I was 21 years ld. So I grew up in a family and I talked a little bit about his in my testimony episod, but I grew up in a family that wasn't a Christian. Things like cussing all the time. otally normal. I had a marine father, who later went into a specific type of law enforc ment. And then I have a northe n Italian mother. And so basica ly, I didn't even know some o the words I said, were cuss w rds until my kids were like, ll Mom, what was that word? ou know, so and so's mom doesn' say that. And people have k nd of commented on it before And I know that I have kind o an edge to the way that I spea. And it's one of those things where I'm like, oh, but it mak s me, you know, a cool Christ an, it makes me somebody that's relatable to regular people on the street. And I've just s arted to realize Yo, Shanno, like, it's just, it's not co l. Okay. I mean, it's, I don't now, it's really diffic lt, because this is a new thing or me to try to not cuss. But an body has ever been convic ed of a sin. It kind of goes l ke this. You're doing the thing, whatever the thing is, and th n you start maybe not feelin guilty, but you start becomi g more aware of the thing and yo're like, Hmm, this thing I'm do ng Hmm, it's interesting. I don' know if it's okay, but I'm go na keep doing it. And then s metimes, if you're like me, yo sort of rebel and you're like, kay, whatever. So it might ot be a good thing, but I'm no gonna stop doing this thing. And then the Holy Spirit just k eps poking your heart. It's k nd of like when your childr n keep poking you in the should r like Mom, Mom, Mom, you can on y ignore it for so long. You do't I'm saying eventually you ha e to be like, Why? It's what i that? Well, for me, the Holy S irit has been poking me about he way I speak. So even talkin right now it's kind of diffic lt for me to not cuss. It's l ke, also one of those things when you're like, I'm dietin and I you know, don't eat an junk food. All you can think bout is eating junk food becaus you're just, it's just how we are wired, ladies and gents. And when I first became a Christ an, getting rid of some of the sinful things were like, super asy, like, smoking pot. Some p ople might be like, that's not a sin. Okay, cool. I'm no going to tell you that it is. for me. I started feeling More and more like this isn't a good idea. And so I stopped or getting super drunk. Okay, I stopped. And for me those things were kind of easy. They were like the outward sins, you know, I didn't stop cussing, because I'm, you know, I've got that street knowledge, guys, you know what I'm saying? Like, I have kind of a difficult life. And so part of me cursing is gonna sound bananas. It just seems like it's part of my identity, like, who I am. Like, I'm a homeschooling mother. I've got four children. I'm a Christian. I'm a wife to Evan. And I cuss. It's like, it's just a part of me, which is so bananas. And so anyways, the first couple of things, I got rid of easy peasy pot and drinking too much get rid of it. Okay, cool. And eventually, you start getting pricked by sins that other people don't really see. Like, maybe you start realizing, man, the way I think about this person, it's not a good, it's not good, I shouldn't be so critical in my heart of this person. And, you know, I shouldn't be so angry with this person. Even if they did me wrong, I still shouldn't hold such a grudge. And so you start working on these, you know, quote, unquote, invisible sins, and you start trying to improve those things. And the more that you lean towards God, the more the veil is lifted, there's these veils, basically, you can pretend over your face, like layers and layers and layers of a veil. And every time you get closer to the Lord, and you stop doing whatever the sin is, or you get convicted of following him a certain way, a veil is lifted, we will not be able to lift all the veils off of our face, and see the full glory of God until we're in heaven. But until then, it is still really important to try to see him as best as we can, right? I mean, running away from him. That's our natural instinct. But there's also this feeling of, if I become a Christian, like, I can't do cool stuff anymore. I can't be fun. My life is going to be so lame, I'm going to be such a loser. I mean, I went through those feelings. I grew up in a family that we called Christians, Jesus freaks, and not in like an endearing cute way. It was like, gross, those people are so nerdy and weird. And I'm one of them. I mean, I'm one of them. Now, you know what I'm saying? And I was just realizing, you know, I have a lot of friends. And even the friends that are not Christian. They don't really cost that much. And I'm 34 now, so maybe Yeah, in the 20s go into bars hanging out with friends. It's one thing. I also like metal, like heavy metal music. And so the whole thing, like just the language of it, the culture of rock and roll, all of that stuff involves, in quote unquote, a potty mouth. And I just wasn't ready to get rid of it. And anyways, I have these friends that don't cuss. And we talk and I just started thinking about it more and more. And I thought, you know, is this something that I really like? want my kids to think is a normal thing all the time? And, you know, is this something that is actually glorifying to God? Like, you think he likes it when I guess? I mean, the answer's no, obviously, guys, but it just started being on my heart more and more and more like you're taking a shower, and as you wash your hair, like, I shouldn't cuss, and you're going to sleep before bed and you're like, I really think I might need to change the way I talk. This has gone on for almost a year. I mean, really, it's gone on longer than that. By just people saying things like she did. And I can't believe you said that. Or, you know, when I met you actually, the way you spoke kind of turned me off. Like, you know, it kind of pushed me away from you until I realized to you word I realized that you're amazing. And then I thought Dang, like I don't want to be scaring people you know, like I want them to feel loved and welcomed. And part of me cussing is to make people feel welcome which sounds maybe to some of you listening that are like super amazing, excellent followers, followers of God and maybe to you It sounds just completely like you can't even understand what I'm talking about. But for me, it's like the way I have big big boobs and long hair and giant eyeballs. I also cuss like it has been so wrapped up in my identity. And I talked to a friend and I was telling her and this friend I respect so much she's got one of those like long suffering gentle spirits. She is honest, she only speaks when she thinks she's a great listener which is also a great friends because I can just talk at her for like an hour. She listens to what I say. But anyways, she, I had asked her about I was like, you know, it's gonna sound crazy, but I've been kind of convicted lately about the way I speak. And it was the first time that she ever was like, yeah, Shannon, you know, it's really not that great. You know, like I do really well not cussing in front of children. I teach Sunday school, I have gone on mission trips, like, I love God, and I love children. I love the people that are, you know, not even Christian, I love them. And to think that I was hurting people or funding people, it really upset me. And then I went to Hobby Lobby because I had to go buy some things for my daughter's ninth birthday, which was amazing weather were. And as I'm waiting in mind, and I have a very tight budget, by the way. And as I'm waiting in line, I see this book on one of the shelves. And it is basically every color pattern that I absolutely love. It had sparrows on the cover and watercolor, and beautiful nature and roses and what we call fairy flowers. I don't know, they're like those flowers that are upside down little bells. And I'm like, Oh, I'm gonna go, I'm gonna look at this law. I'm in line. And then I open it up, you guys. You won't even believe it is the silliest thing. Are you ready for this, I opened it up, just opened it up, cracked it right in the middle, just flip through it. And this is what it is. It's a page. A beautiful artwork, it's just to put it's like the left and the right are both part of this giant watercolor artwork. And on one side is written several words in cursive with paint. And on the other side, same thing. On the left side, the first thing I read says this, hold your tongue. Choose words of life. And on the right side, hide God's Word in your heart. So it kind of scared me like it made me feel a little sweaty. It made me feel like God was looking right at me, which isn't a very, very intense experience. It is a good experience. And it's a blessing. And I'm thankful that he does this like that he even cares enough about me to help me grow. But it is very, very intense. And then I started working a little bit through it that section. It's basically a devotional. And this section is literally called beholding Jesus, in our words. Chapter 10. The book is called be holding and becoming the art of everyday worship by Ruth Chou. Simons. Ruth is actually like a artists. She's a watercolor artist and a follower of Christ. And she likes to share that with people. She puts them together. I turn the pages the next artwork I see says gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body. Proverbs 1624. Now I'm like What is going on? You know, like, Oh, my word like, the Lord is jumping. Right? He is right here, right here. And I got chills, guys, I had chills. And I was like, I have to buy this book. And actually, I'm getting ready to lead my first ever women's retreat. And so I've already been sort of on the hunt for different devotionals and ways to help me like look through the Bible of ways that can be more topical of like, you know, the topic is the way that you're a ballerina. I mean, look through that, which is not the topic, but anyways, then one of the chapters was exactly what I'm going to be talking about at the retreat. He blew my mind. And it says her the words on page 129 The first thing it says is, you and I have a superpower we take for granted every day. It's not only for the strong, skilled, gifted or pedigreed. This superpower doesn't take into account age, rank or occupation in life. It cuts exposes forms and fashions through everyone who wields it. In often we moan our lack of impact in potential to make a difference and powerlessness. Never grasping the wait and wonder of this superpower at our disposal each and every day, the ordinary, yet extraordinary power of words. So guys, I would love it if you even held me accountable to this. I've decided I don't, I don't want to use the power of my words to offend people. I don't want to use the power of my words to hurt people, send them back, make a barrier between us. I want to use my words to show them I love them. Which I tried to that's what I thought I still I just, you know, and I was afraid even that if I stopped cussing, I maybe I wouldn't be silly anymore, or fun or open or welcoming, or goofy or warm. And it's like, no, bro, that's all still there. You're just not gonna be cussing. Like, what is wrong with you the fact that I want to hold on to this stupid, stupid sin so hard. It's the fact that like, every part of me is rebelling and thinking about 75 different ways that surely, you know, this is okay to do. Like, what is that? It's ridiculous. Ridiculous. So I encourage you guys, maybe there's a sin that you're being pricked about. Maybe there's something that you're being convicted of, slowly. And, you know, over and over the child on your shoulder, Mom, mom, maybe there's something when you when you wake and when you sleep. And when you rise, and when you eat, and you just, it just keeps popping into your brain. Well, guys, that is the Holy Spirit talking to you. You need to learn to listen to His voice. And trust that he knows what is best for you. He loves you, He cares for you. He made you for goodness sakes. And he wants you to want what's good for you, too. So do I still have a million sins? Of course 100%. I mean, technically, I'm a pretty terrible person. If you want to look at Bible standards. I'm I think the word is I'm a filthy rag. And when they say filthy rag in the Bible, they mean like the rag that women had to use during her cycle. So yeah, that's what I am, when I'm full of sin, and I am full of sin. But doesn't mean I should just keep sending guys. It doesn't mean you should just keep sending, and means you need to stop. Take a look at your life, pray about it. Think about what is this thing that is causing me guilt, or worry or stress or anxiety, because those things are not feelings God wants you to have. He wants you to trust Him and have happiness and joy in your heart that you have a relationship with him. So that's my 17 cents for the day everybody again, hold me accountable. Even in some of the earlier episodes. If you go back and listen, I have a potty mouth. I even did an interview with somebody recently. And I think I cost more than used real words. Granted, it was for a really amazing show that I really super loved. But it is not what's the word glorifying to God in any kind of way. Anyways, I just encourage you and feel free to write to me, let me know what sins you're dealing with. I can pray for you nesting with the early birds@gmail.com and remember Earley, is he before the Why? Because it's my last name, Shannon Earley. Share this episode. Maybe there's somebody that's struggling with sin and you're like, Hey, man, you cuss a lot. Listen to this episode. What find me on Instagram, Facebook, all that jazz. I'm gonna put it in the show notes. And if you for some reason are super wealthy, and you're like, I don't know what to do with my money, send it to me. I have a Patreon account. And I would love a donation. There's so many fees like the I don't know having your website having a thing to host your actual podcast episodes. Having things to download music, there's just so many crazy expenses. So think about that, guys, it would mean so much to me. I can even put your name in the show sponsored by so and so the wealthy. Thank you so much for listening. And remember God totally loves you all the time.