Welcome to Buoy, a Life in Deeper Water podcast.

Episode 100. Hey Human, Accept a Spiritual Challenge You Can’t Do Without God (16 Spirit-boosts that might help you prepare)

Hello human.

In this episode, I am sharing how the process of producing BUOY fed me with spiritual superfood I would never have known. How God used His nature and His truth to strengthen my faith and deepen my love with only one criteria:  that I be obedient to the decision to share my witness for 99 episodes.

From a writer’s perspective, obedience is important to the craft:  I want to build a portfolio of insights through a consistent weekly approach. I anticipated that BUOY would do that.

By a purely mathematical measure, here’s how I did:

At an average of 2,000 spoken words per episode x 99 episodes = 198,000 words

So, let’s just say, nearly 200,000 words. I estimated (generously) that 40% of this content was God’s word. At least that was my intent. So 80,000 words used in BUOY episodes came from Bible scriptures.

Which leaves me with 120,000 words I would not have written or spoken had I not jumped on the BUOY 99 times. Stay with me.

At an average of 250 words per page, a 200-page book is 50,000 words.

So. 120,000 words is 2.4 books, given a book length of 200 pages.   

It makes writing a book within God’s reach in my life. And BUOY is how He showed me I could do it.

With Him.

By being obedient.

I have that in me.

So, here is the yield from doing BUOY for two years, witnessing 99 times for His glory. The takeaways that sustain me. My spiritual superfood. I have never felt better spiritually.

#1       

I am a lifetime believer in the practice of affirmation.

Consistent affirmation, the practice of affirmation, cements the power of our free will to take our beliefs back to God. Proclaiming what we believe to God and others is foundational to our relationship with God. Stop and name what I believe. His Spirit chimes in.

#2

I am led by the Holy Spirit—

I am a planner, and overachiever. I envisioned I would do a month’s worth of episodes of BUOY at a time, always working one month out. Turns out that writing, preparing ahead for BUOY was not His way for me. I learned quickly that a specific trigger from the Holy Spirit is clear. I learned to wait for it beyond my comfort level. I soon learned that one episode at a time is how I stayed in the center of trusting Him. He lights my feet on the path, a few steps ahead.

Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”

The Holy Spirit directs me and confirms that direction with assurance and clarity.

#3

I gave up my lifelong pursuit of perfection to my perfect God.

I am Type A. But the “all” of my life is His to do. Perfection and pride go hand in hand – my perfection is not necessary. God is already perfect. Release perfection, and feel a perfect peace. Seems like a paradox. Let go of perfection. Through BUOY I learned the full power of “enough.” His grace will cover all. It does not mean I didn’t give it my best. I did. It means that I didn’t pursue perfection for my sake, fueled by my pride.

#4

I Know What Faith Is.

Faith is a gift from God. Every time I demonstrate it, it is God’s divine persuasion. I act on the faith He gives me. I am persuaded more and more by seeking Him more. Not that I am clear about this, knowing God is a direct correlation to being persuaded by Him. Think about the people you know well and respect that persuade you. It works like that.

#5

The power of my free will to bring me to God.

Read the Psalms, listen to the prophets – they understood the power of saying “Send me, Lord!” They yielded to God’s intent. I understand more about the value of making affirmations about what I believe. Say it out loud.The power of our free will is the only thing we have to give to God. Our free will to love Him. Praise Him. I am so much clearer about where I meet God, at the threshold of my obedience.

#6

BUOY tilled my field in prep for my Bible journey.

You can only do so much scripture-hopping. At some point you need to read the story, crawl into the middle of it. Immerse in what it was to be an Israelite with God for 2,000 years.  Before His beloved Son came to earth. The Israelites, the chosen people were real. This was not a scruffy band of a few families shuffling through the wilderness. This was thousands upon hundred thousands of people turning toward God, turning away from God. When I completed Revelation I had such a sense of peace. I know God’s story. I don’t need to say I really need to do this sometime. I did it.  And guess what, I am prepping to do it again. Because that’s the thirst for the living water.

John 7:37-38 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”

#7

The power of saying His name to change my life.

Over and over again, like all who had come before. Why else are there 150 Psalms? Why do all the prophets call out to God? The power of saying His name is the altar of my worship.

Psalm 29 1

Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness. The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD thunders over the mighty waters. The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is majestic.

#8

The power of a preposition changes everything about the direction we go.

When we get God’s GPS, it changes everything. Directions are key to culture, storms and the ability to stay the course God has set. I am not a storm chaser, but a God chaser. Directions set priorities; who we look to and when. It is understanding where spiritual power comes from. I just did an episode on

Romans 11:36. For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.

#9

God defines my audience of one + one + one + and so on.

I don’t market my witness.  I don’t play to an audience. By His grace, my pride remains silent. By His grace, my pride is brandless. By His grace, my brand is Jesus. I look for God’s footprint throughout my day to know where to go. I believe God’s intent for me in every moment. And I respond.

#10

The rhythm of the ocean is God’s stride.

Several years on the Outer Banks deepened my reverence for God by seeing and hearing His water every day. Researching and reading about the ocean deepened my understanding of God’s nature. Contemplating the depth and breadth of an ocean brought me to the feet of my Creator. Tide in, tide out.

“This is what the LORD says, he who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar— the LORD Almighty is his name” (Jeremiah 31:35).

#11

Every scripture carries the full weight of God’s presence and nature.

This magnifies the power of God’s Word in our every moment. This means that when I quote scripture, I am spirit-boosting the life of the listener. When we get a smoothie, we can get a vitamin boost, or any number of boosts to accelerate. God assures me, guides the balance of His Word, my voice, His voice through me. We need do nothing but read His Word for direction. It is the door to clarity for our next step.

#12

The power of His Word requires a little spiritual digging.

I returned to the Hebrew, Latin and the Greek to understand fully the meanings and context of words we use so freely in our Christian conversations: Faith, grace, stronghold, poor in Spirit, humility, Jesus Christ, covenant, blood, sacrifice, solus Christus, apocalypse and others. This practice is a good place to exhaust my relentless spirit.  For instance…

Faith is God’s divine persuasion on the believer’s heart.

Faith is God’s divine persuasion on the believer’s heart.

Faith is God’s divine persuasion on the believer’s heart.

#13

Any witness conversation rests in the humility of God working on all of us.

I witness to myself first, before I share it with you, human. I take responsibility, hold myself accountable for my free will, when I turn to God, and when my human nature gets the best of me. The path to humility is what? When we know God more deeply, we know who we are in relation to our Creator. Humility teaches us to pour ourselves into God’s purpose.

Philippians 2:6-11

6 Who, being in very nature[a] God,

    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;

7 rather, he made himself nothing

    by taking the very nature[b] of a servant,

    being made in human likeness.

8 And being found in appearance as a man,

    he humbled himself

    by becoming obedient to death—

        even death on a cross!

9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place

    and gave him the name that is above every name,

10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,

    to the glory of God the Father.

#14

The power of resting in His Work, the peace and assurance that comes from this.

On every episode, at the end of my final listen before I hit Publish, I rested in God’s goodness, and He revealed the power of His nature and how it would work in someone’s life – I always said “thank you Lord.” I was truly grateful. This was such an important lesson because when I started my final listen, I always had doubts… like I couldn’t quite remember what the path was, the purpose for that episode. Until I listened through to the end. And felt God moving.

#15

A spiritual high is always challenged by our human nature in this life:

With BUOY I felt solely fed by God’s nature to keep going, to be steadfast. Right now, I am feeling depressed, sad, because my human nature says even though God blessed this effort and brought me to the goal, it is over. It cannot last. But it is not over. The closeness, the intimacy with my Lord has not diminished, the conviction with which He led me through it, continues and He will sustain and invigorate His purpose in my life, always.

#16

The power of worship in my life leads the way to ridiculous spiritual growth.

I went from seeking my spiritual story to walking in God’s story. I am in love with God’s story. This revelation came by God’s hand in how I worship, how deeply I worship when I seek His nature.

Hebrews 12:28-29

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”

So Much Life Happened Within My Human Bones

And while my witness99journey experience was such a guiding force, so much life happened within my human bones over 99 weeks:

• I increased my servant service in a local church. What joy.
• ! experienced the power of being part of a women’s group doing life together. Learning about the power of prayer, love, encouraging each other.
• I reclaimed a high school friendship after 50 years. It is an anchor in this season of life. So inspiring.
• I adapted to a health diagnosis through deeper trust in my God.
• I deepened connections with unexpected family members and friends.
• I virtually shared the journey my middle son made, a 2,200 mile voyage on the return crew for the bi-ennial TransPacific Race from Honolulu to Los Angeles, two weeks in open water. Remember? Oh, the buoys we shared together on that journey. A true distant swell.
• I read, no immersed myself, by reading the entire Bible over two months. It changed my life.
• I embraced an unanticipated relocation, closer to family and God’s purpose for us.

And, as I record now, I am restless with anticipation of a new granddaughter in the coming hours.

God’s timing. As I come to a place of rest with BUOY, a new rhythm takes its place. Glory to our Creator who creates humans for us to love.

Accept a Spiritual Challenge You Can’t Do Without God.

What has happened to you in the past two years, human?

How have you grown spiritually? 

I hope what I have shared about the process of BUOY will help you pray for and accept a spiritual challenge you just can’t do without God. I am not talking about the temporal challenges that come at you, that try to consume you, that are about you. I am talking about challenges that make you grow spiritually beyond your earthly troubles. That make you seek a stronger witness to represent His glory.

See what obedience does. It’s all God asks us to do. The rewards are unfathomable except to God. He knows exactly what He wants for you. He knew exactly what I needed. I had underestimated the power of being obedient to God until now.

And it bears repeating because it keeps going through my head:  when we care more about knowing God than conquering earthly life, we begin to grow in ways that have been divinely created for the Kingdom lifestyle that is ours through Christ Jesus.

What to Expect for Fall – September Replays

Here is what to expect in the coming weeks. I will be publishing select BUOY replays during September into mid-October based on listener feedback. If you have a recommendation or two, let me know. All 99 episodes are always available but if you do not want to break our BUOY stride, watch for the weekly replay.

I am praying, planning, praying and preparing for what’s next. I will be back. If you have comments or feedback, suggestions for what you would like to hear about, or you just want to say “hey human,” please contact me at deeperwater@kathrynbise.com.  I will personally respond.

And do you know someone who would benefit from BUOY? Please forward the link to your listening platform, make it easy and accessible to them. Share one that is a favorite or speaks to their life circumstance.

I love you, human. Thank you for listening. It is by His grace, and our gratitude that we may know Him better.

See ya on the other side of September.