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For over 25 years Proverbs 31 Ministries' mission has been to intersect God's Word in the real, hard places we all struggle with. That's why we started this podcast. Every episode will feature a variety of teachings from president Lysa TerKeurst, staff members or friends of the ministry who can teach you something valuable from their vantage point. We hope that regardless of your age, background or stage of life, it's something you look forward to listening to each month!
Meredith Brock: Hey friends, thanks for tuning in to the Proverbs 31 Ministries podcast where we share biblical truth for any girl in any season. I'm your host, Meredith Brock, and I am here today with my co-host, Kaley Olson.
Kaley Olson: Well, hey, Meredith. This week's episode is with our new friend, a really sweet gal named Amanda Jass, and it's all about rhythms. And I'm going to be really honest. This is one that my soul needs to soak in as we head into what is always an absolutely crazy time of the year. First there's Thanksgiving, then there's Christmas, and before I know it, it's January, and I'm exhausted thinking about it right now. I don't know if you are too, but at Proverbs 31 Ministries, one of the things that we love to do is talk about you guys, our audience, a lot, and what you need right now. And we wanna be intentional in walking alongside of you to create rhythms even when you're in season of busyness because we are and we know you are. so why not be intentional about it together? And we don't want you to get lost in the chaos of celebrations. And so today, as you learn about Rhythms from our new friend, Amanda, I wanted to let you know that we've created a special four-part Advent series that runs on the P31 podcast each week in December. And this series is going to help center your heart on bringing Jesus's love, joy, hope, and peace into our broken world today and will fill you with anticipation as you wait on His return. It's a really special thing that I think you can embrace leading up to Christmas Day. That's really what Advent is all about. And so, we're going to learn about why Jesus came and how He will come again and how that brings us hope today. So don't miss out. Be sure to subscribe to the P31 Podcast email on the show notes below so that you'll get each episode in December sent directly to your email inbox as soon as it's... available because we know you're gonna get a lot of sales emails too and there's just a lot going on so consider this your reminder to tune into the podcast.
Meredith Brock: And speaking of rhythms we want to go ahead and let you know that a great Christmas gift for your kiddos is the Kids Go Bible. We'll hear all about it in today's episode but if you're looking for a gift go ahead and click the link below to grab one for your kids today. Alright friends let's dive into today's episode.
Kaley Olson: Well, we are so excited to welcome our new friend, Amanda Joss, to the show today. Thanks for being here, Amanda.
Amanda Jass: Thank you so much for having me. I am excited and honored to be here. Yeah, we're super excited.
Kaley Olson: Well, friends, Amanda is new to the show, so naturally, I had to do some digging so I could tell you all about her. And here is what I found. Amanda is a wife and a mom to three girls, as well as a writer, editor, Illustrator and encourager. She is a hybrid stay at home and work from home mom and admits that her house is full of mac and cheese messes a dog who howls when someone cries and way too many hair bows. I resonate except I have voice. So just like flip that and instead of bows it would be magnetiles and. Trucks. Trucks and shoes. Shoes everywhere. um So it already seems like we have a lot in common and I'm sure there are a lot of listeners who have a lot in common with you. So friends, we're in great company here.
Meredith Brock: But before we dig into our teaching, Kaley, we want to talk a little bit about the Go Bible for Kids that Amanda was a part of creating as the general editor. So will you tell us a little bit about this Bible, Amanda? As a mom, I'm gonna guess you probably use it or know how to use it. So unpack this a little bit for our listeners.
Amanda Jass: Yes, absolutely. So the Go Bible is a full text NLT Bible for kids. So NLT is the new living translation and it's for kids kind of in that seven to 11, 12 age range. And one of the things that I love about the Go Bible and using it with my kids or for other kids is the NLT translation is a really great translation for early readers to use. It's very readable and it's also created to be really audibly enjoyable too. So if you're reading aloud as a family, the phrasing words just make sense and it's a really good translation use for that. And I also love, uh really love the biblical accuracy, the commitment to the biblical accuracy of this translation along with the readability. So... It's a great translation for kids also to grow with as into adulthood as well. And then I also love this Bible there. It's full of colorful illustrations and there are over 600 different features in the Bible. So there are like many devotions and interesting factoids for kids and colorful maps and all these things to help engage kids and help them to see God's heart-changing power at work and to see how that can really apply to their lives today.
Kaley Olson: I love that. I remember whenever I was little sitting in church, I didn't have like a very colorful Bible. It was uh kind of boring, and I don't mean that in like a very unspiritual way. So sometimes I would take my dad's Bible and flip to the back of the Bible and look at the maps. Because I think as a kid, it's really hard to sit in church and stay focused, and you don't really understand everything that the preacher is saying all the time. So I would find my mind wondering and just look at the maps. But I think it's so cool that there's a resource like this that kids can take to church. That way, for those moments where kids can't focus, which will happen, they've got something that is for them while they're sitting in the church pew or in the chair. So I think that that's really awesome, Amanda. m We are going link this Bible in our show notes below, but I do want to go ahead and transition into why you're here today, Amanda. And you, um we said earlier, you're an encourager and a writer, and you're here to do just that for our audience. And you're going to share with us about what you're learning about rhythms, which is something I know I need to hear as I head into the Christmas season. So, Amanda, why don't you go ahead and take it away?
Amanda Jass: Yeah, well, I thank you so much, Kaley. Yeah, again, just so happy to be here. So I want to start with a question for everybody. So have you ever wished God would just hand you a personalized roadmap or maybe to bring it more into the 21st century, your own one of a kind GPS sort of system, not AI powered though, God powered system that says, here's what you're supposed to do with your life. it would have information like who to marry, which job to go for, or how many kids to have, like all of that stuff. And I will admit that I've wished many times for this level of clarity when it comes to my purpose, my calling, decision-making, just all of it. And the reality is that so many of us long for clarity. We want to know who God created us to be, right? Or even if we have... somewhat a solid understanding of that. We wanna know what he's calling us to do in a certain season. And while I believe all followers of Jesus have the same core calling, which is to love God and love others, how that actually plays out in our day-to-day lives will depend on our own unique passions and personalities and talents. So it can look very different person to person. And I found that three simple rhythms, which are highlighted in the mini devotions feature in the Go Bible, they can help us actually step into our calling with confidence. And those rhythms are know, grow, and go. So today I wanna share how those rhythms have helped shape my own journey and how I believe they can help you become the person you were created to be, that God created you to be, so that you can then go out into the world. and do what he created you to do. So let me take you back a bit in my own story here. Discovering my calling has definitely not been a linear or clear path by any means. It's honestly felt a little bit more like I'm going to the grocery store with a list of five things and then I end up coming out with 25 things only to realize I didn't even get most of what was on my original five item list. If you know, know, maybe you've been there too. So both literally and figuratively here, but to get a little more specific of actually what I'm talking about. So there were seasons of uncertainty that I felt in my vocational calling throughout my adulthood. So from multiple major changes in college to later changing careers, just when I was starting to make strides in my field of work. And then... There were years where I wanted nothing more than to be a mom. I felt so deeply that parenting was supposed to be for us in that season, that that was our calling in that season. But instead we were met with infertility just month after month after month of no baby. And then even once I became a mom, which was amazing and wonderful and hard and crazy and challenging, right? All the things, but it seemed like the anxiety that I had dealt with for a lot of my life only ramped up. So it's like, what's going on here? But even in those challenges, in those waiting seasons, in the questions, I can see now as I look back how God met me through these no grow, go rhythms. So when it came to knowing, I can see, I can look back and I see how God's word anchored me. And Romans 5, 3 through 5, where it talks about how suffering and trials produce perseverance and perseverance character and character hope. And I believed those words. I still believe those words. And I have seen how those were absolutely true. Like the amount of character that God grew in me in... that season, these seasons was incredible and still continuing to learn and grow, right? But clinging to the truth of scripture truly got me through so many hard and confusing days and that helped lead me into growing in my faith.
And so the grow rhythm that happened as I learned to abide in Jesus, I had to take and trade my human striving, my, I can do all this on my own, the kind of like, pull myself up by my bootstraps mentality, I had to trade that human striving for holy abiding in God. And that happened through prayer and through leaning on community and through making rest a priority. And that helped me see this abiding, helped me see that his strength, it is always greater than my own striving. And then the goal rhythm. So my calling began to show itself in a new way through my love for writing. which actually included even publicly sharing our struggles with infertility back when we were going through that. But then also in creating curriculum in this new career that I started in, um this new way of expressing my calling, but creating curriculum and ministry resources. And now these days I get to take on fun projects in the publishing world. And it's clear to me how this is one way that I can love God and others with the passions and gifts he's given me. I also want to say that while I love my work outside the home, my primary calling truly is my family. So raising our three girls and investing in my marriage isn't a secondary thing, it's central. And I'll admit that I still struggle sometimes to find clarity in knowing like when to take on new work projects and how much to do, what that kind of elusive balance looks like. But something that helps me and maybe can help you too is remembering. that a yes to one thing, we've probably heard this, but a yes to one thing is also a no to something else. So that helps me shine a light on those decisions and does help provide some clarity because, truthfully, sometimes God calls us to more visible work, the kind of work where the world takes notice or receiving the accolades, all that, and that's great, that's awesome. And then there are other times that we're called to more of a quiet faithfulness at home. A lot of times it's both of those. at the same time and maybe one's more than the other in different seasons. But both of those, when God's in it and he's calling us to it, both of those can be absolutely beautiful. So now they've shared a little bit about kind of what these rhythms have looked like in my life.
I'd love to just dive a little deeper into these three rhythms together and look at some scripture and really see, oh how, practically how can this apply? How can this help you? How can this help all of us? So with the first rhythm, the no rhythm, we read in Psalms one, two through three. It says, they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither and they prosper in all they do. So friends, when we know God's word, we discover who he is and in turn who We are, one thing I like to say is to, if I'm teaching kids or even talking to adults is the best way to get to know who we're created to be is by getting to know the one who created us. The Bible tells us that we are made in God's image. We are the Mago Dei, like in his image, which is really pretty incredible actually when you think about it. That means our identity is based on who God says we are. not on who the world says we should be or could be, it's what God says.
And I know when I root my identity in scripture, this chronic people pleaser in recovery, I stop chasing approval from other people and I can stand firm in who God says I am. So if I can do it, so can you. Then moving to the grow rhythm, John 15, five says, oh I am the vine, you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit. Apart from me, you can do nothing, nothing. That is powerful language there. And I absolutely, I love John 15, just the imagery with that. But growth happens when we take the head knowledge that we have, that knowing, and we allow it to permeate our heart and our soul and like our whole being who we are. It's staying connected to Jesus and abiding in him so that we can bear fruit.
And this is different from striving for self-improvement, okay? Like, although I will say, as a former career counselor, one of my careers, ways of expressing my calling back in the day as a former career counselor, I do love a good personality assessment or a good self-help book. Those can be great tools, but we know that that's what they are. They are just tools and they can only go so far. So growing is not about simply trying harder or taking one more personality quiz to find out which princess you are the most like, even though I know it can be tempting, but it is about abiding in Jesus, the true vine, and allowing the Holy Spirit to transform us from the inside out. a little more practically than how do we grow? What does that abiding look like? Well, it's spiritual practices. We can grow as we pray and spend time with God, abiding with Him, or as we surround ourselves with Christ-centered community. God created us for community. And then also, another way to grow is making room for rest. And that might sound a little strange, but rest is so important. to growing and I know rest can feel like an impossible luxury sometimes, especially if you have littles at home and it can just seem like that, that's just not a season I'm in. But remember, even Jesus, the son of God took naps and going back even further after creating the world, what did God do?
He rested, he modeled what it looks like to rest on the seventh day. And he's God, he doesn't need rest, but he modeled that for us, because he knows how important it is. The rest God gives us is such a gift. And we not only honor our own bodies when we rest, but we honor God too. So there's my little rant on resting. I could go on and on, but rest is so, so key. And then once we have known and soaked in God's word and grown and abided in him and rested, then we can... go and Jesus makes our calling really clear. So in Matthew 22, we can read the two greatest commands as Jesus summed them up. First is to love God, right? With all our heart and soul and mind and strength. And second is to love others, to love our neighbors. And then we read in Matthew 28.
So after Jesus resurrected, before he ascends back into heaven, Jesus calls his followers to go and make. disciples. So now sometimes we hear that, we hear this go, we hear the great commission, it makes us think we need to move to another country or start some really big ministry. And maybe that's true for you. I'm not here to say that it isn't true for you. That certainly might be what God's calling you to. But for many of us, the goal means living on mission right where we are. So that could be... leading and stepping up a little bit at your office or serving in your church or loving the people right at your own dinner table. Even if they're sticking peas up their nose and throwing spaghetti across the kitchen, it is loving the people, the amazing humans God has placed in front of us. Now, if you're still looking for some clarity on your go rhythm, here are just some questions you can prayerfully think through.
So one is when do you feel the most like yourself? What are you doing? Who are you with? Like thinking through that. What makes you cry or keeps you up at night? Where do you feel energized? What just brings energy and excitement to you? What do other people say you're good at? Sometimes it's hard to read our own label, right? Like something that's so easy for us that we just think that, this is easy for everybody. It's really not, it's a talent, it's something that God has placed in us. What inspires you, what excites you? So the answers to these questions can all be clues to where God might be calling you to step out into the world. And here's maybe the coolest part of all of this. It's that your go will look different than mine, right? And that's not just okay, that is the whole... Wait, we are as followers of Jesus, we are one body made up of different parts. God didn't simply hit copy paste when he made you, when he made me, when he made any of us.
You are uniquely you on purpose. And remember too, these rhythms aren't, they're not about that human striving. They're not about that idea of like doing more quote unquote for God. They're about becoming, becoming more. of who he created you to be so that you will naturally do what he created you to do. It will flow from you. It's like you can't even help it because you are so in tune with God and abiding in him that love that'll flow through you.
As my pastor likes to say, we're not working for God's love, but we're working from God's love. I just love that. There's a big difference there. not for God's love, but from God's love. Now, in closing, I would like to say that if the idea of all three of these rhythms seems kind of like a lot to you, maybe what you can do is to consider picking one rhythm to focus on for the next week or so. So that could look like maybe you choose the no rhythm. You wanna dig into scripture, into God's word. And so maybe you decide, okay, I'm gonna open scripture before I open my phone every day. Or maybe it's the grow rhythm and you want to practice abiding with Jesus through prayer and choosing to honor God through rest. Or if you feel like you've just been sitting on the sidelines for far too long and God is calling you to get out there, to get out in the game, maybe the goal rhythm is what he's asking you to focus on right now. So as we walk in faithful rhythms, God transforms us. Often it's slower than we'd like, at least slower than I would like, but eventually over time we become strong, steady, and fruitful, like trees by streams of water and like branches connected to the vine. We become people who effortlessly share the truth, love, and joy of Jesus with the world. And we do it all in our own uniquely beautiful way.
Kaley Olson: Good, Amanda. I recently was doing kind of like a little Q &A session with some college students. And one of the questions that they asked me was, what piece of advice do you have for us as we're like transitioning from college into the real world? And I really think this kind of applies to anybody that unfortunately, I've had to learn the hard way after being. working at Proverbs for Meredith, what did I say the other day? was like 11 years. I've spent a third of my life with Meredith.
Meredith Brock: Yes, and she's loved it. You're welcome. Best third of your life.
Kaley Olson: The thing that came to my mind that I feel like I've had to learn the hard way is 40 hours a week is 2000 hours a year. And that's a lot of hours spent looking for somebody to affirm what you're doing or to be defeated. by either what they didn't say or that what they said was hard and you had to grow from it. And I think essentially what I was trying to communicate to the college students was exactly what your number one point was, you have to know Jesus. Like at the end of the day, you can choose to spend that time that you're working or moming or whatever, constantly looking for something or someone to fill your cup, or you can choose to go into it knowing, I am loved. by Jesus, I know Him, He knows me, and so therefore I am free to do what I have been assigned to do. And I don't have to spend 40 hours looking for somebody to tell me who I am or who I'm not or all of that. And I just think that no matter what season of life you're in, if you're in college, if you're a mom, if you're working or whatever, right now the world needs more people who are really secure in who they are in Jesus and who let Jesus love them. Like, have you ever thought about that? Truly letting Jesus love you and knowing Him, that's a security that you cannot find anywhere but in Christ and in God's Word. And I love that you really drove that point home today. So, the question that I have for you, just as I was writing down these rhythms and you were talking through maybe focusing on one or the other, I wanted to ask you personally, do you find that God speaks to you to lean into a certain rhythm? Like, is there ever a time where you might sense that you need to lean into knowing or He's calling you into, like, the second rhythm or the third rhythm? Can you speak a little bit to that?
Amanda Jass: Yeah, yeah, definitely. So, something that, yeah, I try to always—and it's not perfect. It 100 % is not perfect, but Right, to be in tune with where God is leading me, where he's wanting me to go, where he's wanting me to spend my time. something that sometimes if I'm finding myself, I can get into this like learning mode. I love learning. And so I think that know and a little bit into that grow, I can sometimes get stuck. And there are seasons where we'll be more in those rhythms than, know, always, yes, we can always be out in the world. We're always interacting with others, but I can sometimes, I get comfortable in that, in that kind of no-girl, that time with just me and God. And I get, whether it's I'm nervous to get out into the world or just uncertain. I get like coming back to this like, I don't know, God, which thing you're calling me to do here. So I'm just going to sit back and read my Bible more or whatever that is. uh but I think that there is kind of, I've noticed that there becomes this sort of restlessness, like that holy conviction stirring in me that is maybe it's, it is that it's like keeping me up at night. Hey, here's this idea or here's this opportunity that is in front of me. Do I take it? Do I not? So it's noticing that and then trying to, something I've been trying to get better at too is to incorporate more solitude time and really time in prayer, not just talking to God, but listening to God. Okay, God, what are you saying to me? What do you want me to do here? and giving that space because when we fill our lives with noise, it's so, it's really hard to hear God. And it's like, it's that he often speaks to us in that whisper, right? So it's um so taking time to slow down. So that's something that's been helpful for me. Then I can also, I will swing the other way though too. Like it's, feel like I kind of can, tend to that like, that sort of like go big or go home, all or nothing, like mentality where I can swing the other way, where then I get into that go rhythm and I'm just going and I'm going so fast or I take on, so my work is primarily freelance work. I take on all these projects because they're all exciting. And well, of course God would want me to do this because it's for him, it's for his kids and take on so much. And then on top of the commitments I have at home to my family, and then I'm just totally drained and borderline burnt out. So I've had to then also slow down and recognize like, hey, wow, this is, I am moving a little too fast here. And then, again, slowing down, like, okay, God, what? what do want me to do? Or do I need to take something off of my plate? What commitments do I need to fulfill here? But then, yeah, what can I take off so that I have that time to focus on the no and then the grow. And like I said, the rest piece is so key, so important in there as well. yeah, it just, it depends on the season, but really like what it comes down to no matter what I'm doing is. really trying to take that time to quiet the noise and really just listen, listen to where God is leading and what He's calling me into.
Meredith Brock: That's so wise. I like, as I'm just sitting here reflecting on what you have been saying, that you use the word rhythms uh instead of like stages. Yeah. Or because I think so much of our, and I don't know if it's like a Western world thing. or if it's a human nature thing. um But we really want equations where it's like, okay, if I put this in and I add it to this, then I'm gonna get this. And I think our spiritual life and growth and development and all of that is less of a continuum. It's less like, okay, level one, know God. Level two, grow. Level three, go. I think it's more like, like hang with me here for a second, okay? It's more like a circle. I was thinking the same thing. And now we're tempted with the circle is like, okay, I'm at the top of the circle. And now once I, I'm going to move to the side of the circle and then I move to the other side of the circle. And that can even feel like in our Western minds, this feeling of accomplishment. Cause I'm like, I'm making my way around the to make progress all the time. Here, to this is what in my mind while you were teaching Amanda, was like, you know what it's like? It's like one of those Hot Wheels tracks, okay? Hang with me. My five-year-old has one where it has the loop-de-loop in the middle, right? And he'll pull back that little lever to shoot the Hot Wheels car up and around the circle. Sometimes it gets up to the top and sometimes it comes right back down. Sometimes it goes all the way around the circle and sometimes it can get halfway around again and then it goes back to where it was. And I think as believers, we have to see it as... It's not like you're backsliding because you went into a season of just knowing God. It's not like you're backsliding because you're in a season of just going. It is seasonal, it's rhythms, there's different parts of your life where you're to be focused in different areas. And God is using that no matter what to accomplish in you what we are all corporately called to as Christians, which is to know God and make Him known. You know? And I just think there's this freedom in saying, man, you don't have to be working through all of these different rhythms all the time. It's okay to be in one for a season and go back to another and step into another. God is sovereign. And Amanda, just like you said, if you're quieting yourself before Him, He, I love, People are so tired of me saying this. I'm never gonna stop saying it though. God is such a better leader than you are a follower. So if your heart is God, I wanna do what you want me to do, guess what y'all, He'll get you there. He will get you right there because that's what a good father, what a good leader, what a good shepherd does with his. dumb dumb sheep.
Amanda Jass: We need him. We need his help.
Meredith Brock: We really do, Amanda. We really, really do.
Kaley Olsen: Yeah, we do. And I think too, just to kind of wrap up our conversation here, I think too, we can be so box checking. I don't really know the word that I'm looking for sometimes on the fly. Checklist. Checklist people. Checklist people. uh That we think, okay, I've known, now I'm going to close my physical Bible and go do what I'm supposed to do. And that's not it. I think that one of the things that you talked about with like the NLT Bible being something that you can read so easily is that when we read it and we speak those words aloud, they really do become hidden in our hearts. And so when we are going, the whole point is that we've known, we're known the whole time. We're like knowing God's Word. We're not moving from one thing to another, but that's what we're tempted to do. We get in that go rhythm. And I love that you said that, Amanda, you run. You start running fast and before you know it, you are going on your own. And that's when the Lord draws you back. And so I think that that's just such a beautiful picture of His grace in our lives, always pulling us back to Him. Sometimes when we're getting it wrong or times when we're just doing too much. It's always like, no, don't leave me behind. Like, what does Barb say, Meredith? We don't want to run ahead or lag behind. in her prayer. And I love that. is on our exec team here. We love Barb. But that's always a prayer that she says. And it's so pure, but so sweet. So, Amanda, thank you so much for uh just reminding us of these simple rhythms. I feel like, like I said, being the holiday season right now when this episode releases, we're so tempted to just go and run ahead and really leave Jesus behind. And we don't want to do that. So, Friends, I hope that you enjoyed this teaching today. Before you turn this podcast episode off, I wanted to remind you about the Go Bible for Kids. One more time, this is a resource you can purchase today to help create rhythms for your kids to get into God's Word. In this Bible, you'll find the complete New Living Translation text in a kid-friendly format, making it easy for kids to read and understand. Most importantly, kids will realize how the truth of these stories impacts their lives today. You can scroll down. to click the link in the show notes below to purchase a Go Bible today.
Meredith Brock: And for those of you who want to get ahead on that no rhythm, I've got good news. Starting in December, we are running a special Advent series right here on the P31 podcast. And if you are not of the church background like myself. I'm Baptist and we didn't even really do. I don't know. I'm just going to have confession. I didn't know what Advent was. That's something that I have had to learn over the years. Guys, it's basically just the countdown to Christmas. Don't overcomplicate it. But it can be a deeply meaningful time of spiritual formation for you if you're intentional about it. So in this special four week series leading up to Christmas. We'll learn how to persevere when the world is full of chaos and despair and take hope that it will not always be this way because my friends, Jesus is coming again and every wrong thing will be made right. So while we wait, we can take hope in His word. So here's what I want you to do so you can join us for this special series. Be sure you subscribe to the P31 podcast email. You can find that on our website. um And then that'll help you make sure you never miss an episode and then download our first five app where we're doing a full Advent study for five minutes a day starting in December. So listen to the podcast and then join us in the app so that you can be in God's word every day. Now we've linked all of this for you in our show notes below, but I hate to say it, that's all we've got for today. Kaley, at Proverbs 31 Ministries, we believe when you know the truth and live the truth, it really will change everything