More Resilient Relationships Are Just a Question Away, with Mandy Pallock

What if there was one little thing you could do to make your relationships with God and others grow deeper? In this episode of Grounded, guest Mandy Pallock shares how asking questions can help you build resilient relationships, and Erin Davis shares three questions from Scripture that change everything.

Connect with Mandy

Instagram: @mandy_pallock 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/presentlyengaged
Website: https://www.presentlyengaged.com/

Episode Notes

• The Question Habit book by Mandy Pallock: https://amzn.to/3PxtvYF
• “Asking Why” video with Jennifer Rothschild: https://youtu.be/xdW8lbOMUm4?si=rQtnYmRqNRfE_EZl
• Let’s Go to Church booklet by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: https://www.reviveourhearts.com/books/lets-go-to-church/

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Portia Collins: I've got a question for you. What if there was one thing that you could do that would make your relationships with God and others grow deeper? Would you do it? I'm not asking rhetorically; I really want to know. I’m Portia Collins, and this is Grounded.

Erin Davis: And I'm Erin Davis. And I’ve gotta say P, that's kind of a softball question. Because I don't know anybody who doesn't want a deeper relationship with their friends and their family. I definitely do. I was just talking to my husband about that this morning. And I also know that most of the women who listen to this podcast want a deeper relationship with God as well. 

So, we're going to talk about this one simple practice that can get us there. So, I've got another question for you. What do you think it is? And like my friend P, I'm gonna say this is not rhetorical. We're not just throwing these thoughts into the air and hoping you smile and nod. What do you think it is? Let us know in the chat. That's what it's there for. You can do one thing that could strengthen all of your relationships. What could it be? 

Portia: Well, here's a clue. Mandy Pallock is our guest today. She is a big believer in the power of living intentionally. In fact, she is the co-owner of an organization called Life Purpose Planning. And they are all about helping God's people live with purpose. I love it. Say that 10 times fast. Well, she's not here to put you on a new career path, she's got something much simpler and perhaps more powerful up her sleeve. 

Erin: Good, I don’t want to be on a new career path. I want to be the Grounded host from now until the end of time. But I do want stronger relationships. So, I'm super excited about this episode. I'm excited about every episode, but this was really intriguing.

Portia: It is. It's very intriguing. And I've been in anticipation. 

Erin: Yeah.

Portia: Listen, right now I want to tell you to share this episode because you don't want to miss it. And if you're a good friend, you don't want your friend to miss it. Alright. Erin's gonna help us open up our Bibles to find three eternity-shaping questions. So, get your Bible together. Everybody get in your seat. You got the coffee that you need?

 Erin: I’ve got my Bible and water. 

Portia: Yes. There we go. I got my water. Do you have your Revive Partner mug?

Erin: I do have it! Matchy-matchy mugs. Cheers!

Portia: I love it. Shout out to our Revive Partners.

Erin: Absolutely. 

Portia: Alright, good news. What's up? What do we got today?

7:54 - Good News (with Erin)

Erin: I know we typically open our Bibles to get grounded in God's Word a little later in this episode. But I'd like to start today's good news by reading to you. Hebrews chapter 13:17. Here it is. 

“Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.”

Why am I reading you Hebrews chapter 13, and talking to you about how you obey your spiritual leaders as our good news segment? Well, October is Pastor Appreciation Month. And I will admit no pastor is perfect. But we are so grateful here at Revive Our Hearts, for the men who accept the call to shepherd God's people. We're grateful for the ones who preach God's word faithfully, week after week.

We're grateful for those leaders who provide pastoral care and counseling, who preside over weddings and funerals and everything in between. 

And while there are pastors who have massive moral failures, that always seem to make the headlines or misuse God's funds that, as I said, tend to make the headlines elsewhere. Here on Grounded, we want to champion those pastors who are faithful to God, and to the people of God. And I'm blessed to have three pastors, maybe that's because it takes three pastors to keep me walking with Jesus as I need to be. But one is Pastor Tim. Pastor Tim has served at my church since before I came to Christ. He performed my wedding to Jason, he's been a beacon of hope and truth, really, for most of my life. And so, I want since I have the microphone, I want to say a big public thank you to Pastor Tim and honor Pastor Appreciation Month.

When Pastor Tim retired a few years ago, he had already raised up his replacements. And listen, I've been around church cultures enough to know how remarkable this is and how grateful to God I am, that this is how it works in my church. 

So, he had already risen up his replacements, and they now serve as the pastors of my church, Pastor Chris and Pastor Justin. They share the teaching and pastoral responsibilities, and they are moving our church toward rapid growth. I know these men, I know their hearts, and I'm beyond grateful to call them my pastor. So, thank you, Pastor Tim. Thank you, Pastor Chris, thank you, Pastor Justin, you are making a huge difference in my life and my family and my community. And I thank God for you. 

How about your pastor? I don't know if you have one pastor, or ten pastors or two pastors, I'm not sure how it works in your church. Or maybe you consider those pastors who have had an influence in past years in your life. Do you have men who love the Lord, and are serving in church leadership in your church? Are they humble? Do they love the Word of God and hold it high as a source of life and hope that it is? Are they eager to see God's Kingdom expand?

If so, let's let those pastors be our good news today. I would love for you just to drop his name in the chat. And so that we can just celebrate the pastors that God is using in churches around the world. While you're being active there in the chat, I'm going to invite Portia back on.

Portia, you get to be a part of the good news today as well. I'd love for you just to share your pastor's name. And one way he is a blessing in your life.

Portia: Well, I got I can't shout out one without the other. 

Erin: I feel ya.

Portia: I have my pastor and then our associate pastor, my pastor is, Pastor Rich. His name is Richard, but we all call him Rich. We think that's kind of cool. And Pastor Josh, and I love these fellas, they pour God's Word into us. So, with so much care and so much love and even just outside of teaching on Sundays, they are always checking in and I can actually say that I actually have a relationship with my pastors. We talk, and fun fact, Pastor Rich actually plays Fortnite with me.

Erin: Okay, and you’re gamers? 

Portia: Yes, yes. Okay. Similarly, we get a game in or two when he's not too busy, but they are just good shepherds, and I am so grateful for them. I'm grateful for the ways that they lead us and love us. And it's my joy to just shout them out today. So, yay. 

Erin: I love that. Love that Pastor Rich and…who’s the other one?

Portia: Josh.

Erin: Josh and Pastor Rich, we are grateful for you. 

I do want to take a minute before we get grounded with God's people just to pray for our pastors. If you want to do a little bit of Google searching, it won't take you very long to discover that pastors are really struggling in a lot of ways. There's a lot of pressures, there's a lot of challenges, and leading the flock, even those blocks that are sold out for the Lord. That's not an easy assignment. 

So, hear me as I encourage you to love on your pastor this month. And I want to take just a minute to pray for our pastor. So, let's do that. 

Lord, we thank You that you rise up men to lead and serve in Your Church. Lord, we thank You that there are men who are servant-minded or who have pledged their lives to the building of Your Church Lord. And we know that that assignment comes with a lot of unique challenges. And there are probably pastors represented by the Grounded sisterhood, who are weary, who are discouraged, who are dealing with health challenges, who have maybe fractures in their own family that are painful, not to mention the financial challenges of running a church and all of the things that come with that, Lord, none of that is too big for You. 

So, I pray that supernaturally in a way that we can't really even comprehend. But that is not too big for You, You would intervene in the lives of every pastor represented by every woman listening now God, that You would strengthen them, encourage them and we pray as You look to the next generation that You would rise up, so many godly men to lead and serve Your Church in the days ahead. We love You. We love our pastors. Thank You for giving them to us. It's in Your name I pray, amen. 

Portia: Amen, amen. 

Erin: P, take it away.

14:40 - Grounded with God's People (Mandy Pallock)

Portia: I'm ready. It is time for us to get grounded with God's people. Mandy Pallock is with us today. She's a wife, a mama to three beautiful children, writer, speaker, and a podcaster at PresentlyEngaged.com Here's a fun fact about Mandy. Y’all know I love my fun facts, she has been one of the ladies behind the camera, photographing some of our previous True Woman events. But today, she is here to tell us how asking questions can help us build resilient relationships with God and others. So, welcome to Grounded Mandy.

Mandy Pallock: Thank you so much. I'm excited to be here.

Portia: We are so glad to have you. I don't want to waste any time. Let's jump in. Because I'm super excited. So let's check this out. All right, you believe that the simple act of asking questions can transform relationships. You got my interest, alright? So tell me more.

Mandy: I love that. I do believe that. Because even as we're getting grounded in God's Word, we can see that the Bible offers far more question marks than exclamation points, different versions of Scripture have the question mark out-number the exclamation point 3 to 1 or 10 to 1. And so there's something there. There's something about curiosity that's holy. And there's something about asking questions that opens us up to those relationships.

Portia: Yeah, I love that. I love that. Can you share, I guess specifically, an experience where a question deepened a personal relationship for you?

Mandy: Absolutely, absolutely. I remember back in my high school days, where I went on a walk with my dad, and we were trying to figure out what I was going to be when I grew up. And I had way too many things I wanted to do. And he would ask questions the whole time. And it was just asked question after question as we were on this loop that just felt like it would never end. 

And one of them was what's the greatest thing you could do, if you did that you can imagine doing if you did that one thing and that career path? Or what's the thing that you can imagine doing in this career path? And he asked this series of questions, and he started seeing a trend. 

And he said, well, Mandy, what would you do if you couldn't write? And I stopped, and I was irritated at him, almost, because first of all, writing wasn't even on one of my possible career tracks. Right? I was doing all these other ideas. And I realized with that question that God had called me to communicate and to encourage and that writing was going to be a part of that. And so yeah, that's a question that I look back as absolutely transformative.

Portia: I love that. I love it. And you get something that you didn't even expect.

Mandy: Exactly.

Portia: Just from his probing questions. That's great. Alright, so, you mentioned the idea of discovering the God-designed uniqueness in oneself and others. How do questions help in this discovery?

Mandy: Yeah, yeah. When we remember that C.S. Lewis said that we have never spoken with a mere mortal, right? So, when we remember that we're speaking with someone made in the image of God. And if that person is a believer, they have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit as well, when we understand those things that opens us up to discovering, how did God express Himself through this person? And what did that look like? And we're using those questions to discover their God-designed uniqueness. 

And then take it deeper to cultivate those intentional relationships as we ask questions like, tell me more, or what did that look like? Or, tell me more about that, then we're discovering more about that amazing human that we're speaking with. 

I love it, someone really wise said the deepest change doesn't happen, because of how clever or convincing or trustworthy our case is. It happens because people have the time and the space, they need to see the truth. And questions are this phenomenal way to give people space to give them the time so that they can see the truth as they interact with God's Word.

Portia: Absolutely, absolutely. So let me ask you this. What advice would you give to someone who struggles with opening up and asking personal questions?

Mandy: Yeah, yeah, this was me. For the record, I’m an introvert and I grew up… Here's how I discovered questions, y'all. I discovered questions because I could get other people to talk. And then I didn't have to be the person talking. This is how I got here. 

And so along the way, discovering that questions are this wonderful tool to discover more about someone else. And so, for those of us that this is hard, that conversations are hard, you know, we get better at what we practice. And I'm reminded of myself at the gym, right? They've handed me this jump rope. And they're like, okay, some people can do one jump at a time. And some people can do double-unders, where you jump up and you swing this rope around twice before you hit the ground. That's not me. 

But if I'm gonna get better at it, I gotta practice and I can't just show up and think I'm gonna magically have this skill. 

And so, questions are the same way, we get better at what we practice. And there is no shame at all, in having a list of five or 10 conversation starters that you carry around in a notes file on your phone. So that when you're with someone, you when you have the space on a car ride or in a meal, or when you have a space, as you're interacting with someone, you pull out one of those questions, and then you can say, hey, what's the best thing that's happened to you in the past 24 hours? Or you can say, ask a really great question along those lines.

Portia: I love it. I love it. Okay, let's get to the nitty-gritty here. Can you provide some practical tips, I want to get in it because you've already kind of given us one about the notes idea. I'm a notes girl. I’ve got whole books written in my notes sections. I love that. But I want to get even more practical tips, or maybe a favorite question that, you know, people, our listeners, our viewers right now can start using immediately.

Mandy: Yes, yes, I'll definitely share a couple of questions. But one thought was we’ve all been antagonized by a question. Right? What were you thinking? Or are you going to wear that? These are all questions that are going to shut down conversation. And so, questions are a powerful tool, either way, either to shut down a conversation or to invite someone into one. And so, thinking through practical, practical, is what is that tone of voice? And what is my body language communicating? 

So, as I sit with an open body language, you know, posture and I lean in, and I look someone in the eye, I'm communicating, you have value, and I want to hear what you have to say. 

And so those are really great things to remember, even before we jump into a conversation, for sure. 

Portia: Absolutely…yeah go ahead, give it to me girl. 

Mandy: And then, yeah, and then let me say, one of those great questions that I like, in my back pocket, let's say here, I love “What's your story?” You know, and so when you just ask, “Hey, what's your story?” It opens up. It's a safe question, because someone can answer it with as much detail or as little detail as they really feel like they can in that moment. 

And it gives you the opportunity to express that you're trustworthy, and whether they're just going to give you a really safe kind of a mini bio, or if they're going to go deep and share a testimony and what God's been doing, just asking, “Hey, what's your story?” is a really great way to get to know someone. 

And then another question that I love right now is “Do you have a passion project these days?” And if not, “Do you want one?” because you can ask about a passion project. We're all busy, you know, so we know everyone's busy, but what we really want to know is what someone is passionate about. 

And, you know, if I hadn't asked this question, I wouldn't know that there was someone in my Bible study who's moonlighting as a potter, or that there's another friend of mine who, like he loves correlating the stock market with seismic events and tracking that. And it's just this fascinating way to get to know someone else. So, asking about their passion projects is one of my favorites. 

Portia: I love that. I think questions. It's actually how, like, I mentioned earlier that I like video games. And so yeah, questions and talking back and forth with people like in my church. Now it's circulating that, oh, she likes video games. And then my pastor found out and that's how we're able to connect. But I think that I think that is absolutely true, if you really get to know people and their interests. When you ask, I'm noticing that it's meaningful questions. And you're actually asking with the intent to learn and to hear them, as opposed to just having, you know, fodder for conversation. So, I think that I think that's great.

So, Mandy, here's the thing. I think that is really, I'm a child of the digital age. And so, in today's digital age, where many conversations are brief, or at a surface level, how do you envision the return to deeper conversations? Through asking questions, how do you envision that impacting our society?

Mandy: Absolutely, absolutely. So, if I have a short conversation with someone, maybe in the checkout line, maybe in the foyer at church, and there's this short conversation that we have, as I am stewarding that, and, when I go back, I can follow up on that, right. So, it might be just a series of short conversations that God then will build upon. 

And so, there's a relationship there that gets built on, you know, kind of a paintbrush or paint stroke at a time. 

And so, in these digital interactions that we have that are short, you know, being really intentional to say how do we go deep right now, how do we make the most of it right now? What does Jesus have for this conversation right now? 

And I think of like the very cliched question, or were you start talking about the weather, right? How's the weather in your corner of the world? This is the most basic of all basic questions, right? But how can we take that deeper? If we said, if we followed it up, and we said, well, what's the worst weather you've ever experienced? Or have you ever gone through a time when horrid weather became a happy memory? Or what happens? Or what habits do you have? If I'm in a mentoring conversation, what habits help you when the weather is really, really horrid? 

And so, as we have these conversations because God made us to live in community because God made us to be curious. And because God made us as those who want to mentor and be mentored by others, those questions will open up those conversations so that we can see what God has to say about it, to see what older and wiser people have to say about it, and then share with others as God leads and directs.

Portia: Yeah, I love the fact that you don't just shut down the fact that we're in a digital age and you're teaching us how to make the most of, you know, our current environment, our current landscape, and to still be able to have meaningful conversations. Even if it looks a little bit different than what it looked, you know, 30-40 years ago. I love that. I love that. 

All right, here, here is the question, the question of questions. You mentioned that questions can strengthen our relationships with others, but also it can strengthen our relationship with God. And so, I want to know, how can questions strengthen our relationship with God?

Mandy: Uh huh. They do! And we know this because we look at people like David in Scripture, who just splatters the Psalms with his questions. And we see that Jesus used questions, to teach and to communicate. And so, all throughout Scripture, we have these questions. 

And I know those really, really deep questions that I have in my own personal life, like God, why did You let this happen? Why is this so hard? What are You doing that I totally don't understand? These are big questions. And it's just a matter of time before each one of us asks them. 

And as we ask them of God, as we take those questions to Him, we find the answer in His Word, as He kindly and in His own timing reveals His answers and His Word. And that relationship gets deeper, because I know I can trust Him to be the source of every good answer.

Portia: I love it. See, I knew this was the question of questions that would get me the answer. The answer of answers. This has been great. You have actually encouraged me to ask questions more. I think I've been a little timid about doing that. Because I don't want to be intrusive, or I don't want to offend someone. But this has given me its shaped and reshaped my perspective. And yeah, I'm gonna go out and ask some questions. 

Thank you so much for being with us. 

Mandy: Go, Portia! 

Portia: Yeah, yes, yes. You have a new book called The Question Habit, we're gonna drop a link to that in our show notes and the chat. I'm excited, excited to check it out. And I'm just grateful for the work that you're doing and how you've encouraged me today. So, thank you for being with us.

Mandy: Thank you for asking your fantastic questions. I'm inspired.

Portia: Well, there is one question that exists in everyone's heart. It might be a question you are most afraid to ask. Jennifer Rothchild went blind at the age of 15. And she knows the question and the answer that brings intimacy with God through suffering. So, watch this short clip from Jennifer's speaking at a past Revive Our Hearts conference, and then stay put because Erin is going to be right back. And she's going to be asking some questions, specifically three questions that can change your eternity.

28:18 - Jennifer Rothschild Video

Jennifer Rothchild: Lots of Christians ask, “Why?” And it's part of being human. And the prophets asked, “Why?” The Psalmist asked, “Why?” It's part of faith. Asking the real questions to a real God is an expression of real faith. 

I try to have spiritual integrity. If I'm going to ask the question, “Why? Why blindness?” Then I need to at the very same time ask the question, “Why grace?” Because often when we ask, “Why suffering? Why miscarriage? Why autism? Why blindness?” is because somewhere deep in the recesses of our hopes and our heart, is this concept of entitlement. God, I really deserve this. I love you. I serve you really deserve this. 

And so I guess, to have integrity, I have to look at the cross. At the same time, I'm looking at my suffering, and ask not just, “Why suffering?” but, “Why grace?” Because we don't deserve that either. And, “Why peace”? Because we don't deserve that. For me, asking that kind of question simultaneously with asking why suffering gives me a sense of balance and hope. And in many ways, it can reduce the sting of the pain that comes from the unanswered questions of why God allows suffering. I don't know the answer. And as much as I've studied scripture, I find a lot more questions when it comes to suffering than I do answers. But I have found one answer, that every time brings me the peace that I need. And the answer to me is faith. It really is the substance of what we hope for, it is the evidence of what we cannot see. And so no matter what the why question is, the answer is always faith. 

30:28 - Grounded in God's Word (with Erin)

Erin: Well, the Bible is an answer book. She got that right. But it's also a question book. In fact, this book right here contains the most important questions mankind will ever ask. I'm not overselling it, scout’s honor. I only have a few minutes, but I believe that in less than five minutes, we can ask and answer three questions that change everything. Are you ready? We're gonna go fast. Question number one is found in the book of Acts chapter 16. Paul and Silas were in prison because they had healed a demon-possessed girl. I want you to listen to the drama of Acts chapter 16. Verses 25-34. 

25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, 26 and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were unfastened. 27 When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” 29 And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. 34 Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.

Did you hear it? That eternity-shaping question? It's right there in verse 30, the jailer said it in the midst of earthquakes and darkness and fear with a sword in his hand, he said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And the answers there, too. It's in verse 31. Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household. 

I think back to the moment when I was saved, I couldn't articulate the gospel. I couldn't cite the Romans road. I just knew my life was a mess. And my eternity was uncertain. And I ran down an aisle and I asked, essentially, what must I do to be saved? 

Every heart has that question inside of it. I'm always mindful that there will be people who listen to this podcast and watch the grounded video guests. Who aren't exactly sure how you got here, you're not exactly sure all the things we've been talking about are true. But what I'm sure about you is that eternity is in your heart. And when you dare to ask it, what must I do to be saved? You will find the answer that you've been longing for. Salvation is grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, period. That's what Paul and Silas shared with the suicidal jailer that day when he asked that important question, “What must I do to be saved?” 

The second question that changes everything must be answered after you ask question number one. It's found in Matthew chapter 16. There's actually two questions in this chapter. I want you to listen to Matthew chapter 16 verses 13 -15 13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 

If you’re a write in your Bible kind of girl, and I hope you are, that's a great verse to underline. Because it's a really important question. Verse 14, and they said, And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 “He said to them,…I imagine them leaning in like this….“But who do you say that I am?”

The second question that changes everything is, “Who is Jesus?” You do have to wrestle with it. It's not just an intellectual question. We're not just trying to figure out what the culture says about Jesus, because frankly, that's always changing. It's way more intimate than that. That's what Jesus did when he pulled his disciples closer, and they asked them, Who do you say that I am? He looked into the eyes of his disciples, they were trying to say, Well, some people say you're this and some people say you're that. And he said, “Who do you say that I am?”

C.S. Lewis famously said that Jesus was either a lunatic, a liar, or Lord, there's no really fourth option. Either he was crazy, because he did claim to be the Son of God. Or he was a liar, because he knew he wasn't the Son of God. And he claimed to be the Son of God or he is, as I believe he is. And as he claimed, He is the Lord of all things. He's the king of kings, and he's worthy of my life. Listen to Peter's answer to Jesus's really important question. It's found in Matthew chapter 16, verses 16-19. S 6 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” 

Whoa, like Peter gives, kind of like the simple answer, “I believe you're the Christ, the Son of God.” And that answer was enough for Jesus to say, I'm gonna build the whole church on you, Simon, on your life and hell is not gonna be able to prevail against it. And I'm going to hand you the keys to the kingdom. Why? Was it because Peter's faith was always so great? Of course not. Was it because Peter was always morally pure and never sinned? No, only Jesus. Because Peter got that question, right. He knew who Jesus was. Jesus can do a lot with our lives when we answer that question right. 

Question number three. I'm obsessed with this one. It's one of the questions that Scripture gives us and I think about it every day. I don't think that's an overstatement either. It's found in 2 Peter, chapter 3:11. Listen for it. “Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness…”

This all ties back to the first two questions. Unless someone helps us, we are in deep trouble, because we don't know. And so, we asked the question, “What must I do to be saved?” And the answer is that we must trust in Jesus. 

Well, then we should ask the question, “Who is Jesus?” If Jesus is truly the king of your life, if the day of the Lord is really coming, that's the context of what Peter wrote about here, Peter, remember who answered rightly who Jesus is. If a new and eternal Kingdom is coming, if everything we see is going to be dissolved? Here's the question. “What sort of people are we to be?” 

There's two answers right there in verse 11, holy and godly. Let me pick it up at verse 12, “…waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!”

What sort of people should we be? We should be people who eagerly anticipate the day when Jesus comes back because we know who He is, we know He's not a lunatic. We know He's not a liar. He's the Lord. And He's coming back. And when He comes back, everything we see will be dissolved and we will reign with Him forever. 

These are not one-and-done questions. If you've never given your life to Jesus, and I want you to know that I've been praying for you and the Grounded prayer team has been praying for you that somehow this podcast would find its way into your earbuds that you would realize you have to answer those three questions, and that you would realize that Jesus is the answer to all of them.

But for the rest of us who answered those questions at some point and like the jailer put down our swords, stop fighting for ourselves and against others, and surrender our lives to Jesus, we still need to ask those questions. We don't want to just remember the answers to those questions just long enough to take the test. These are the questions that guide our lives. These are the questions that guide our afterlives. 

And if you haven't settled, “What must I do to be saved?” or, “Who is Jesus?” and you are searching, please leave us a comment. We would love to pray for you. But that third question is really what Grounded is all about, what sort of people? What sort of women ought we be? We should be women grounded in the Gospel. Women grounded in God's Word. And women who keep taking our questions to the one with all the answers. And trusting that He's what we've been searching for all long. Portia.

Portia: Some good questions.

Erin: Deep questions. 

Portia: Oh, yes, yes. And I love how you connected this for us, especially because the last place that Mandy and I ended in our interview was okay, how do questions deepen our relationship with God. And I think you, you took us right there. And it was so good. Praise God. Thank you. 

Erin: My pleasure. Thank you. 

Portia: All right. If you've got questions about, “Hey, what kind of resources do you have?” Then I've got answers. You know, that we love to point you to the resources and the tools to keep you grounded in God's Word. And this resource that we're going to point you to is called, Let’s Go to Church. It's a guide to getting the most out of our Lord's day services, and encouraging your spiritual leaders don't we all need, you know, advice on that, just like we've talked about in our good news segment today. This resource is only available at Revive Our Hearts, so you're not gonna find it on Amazon or anywhere else. You gotta go to Revive Our Hearts. We will send it to you when you give a gift of any amount to the ministry this month. So, I encourage you to do that.

Erin: And it's good to get to think and maybe feel you some new questions about your church. We also love to give you the inside scoop, on Grounded. And so, we want you to know that we have a new Advent devotional from Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth. It's not available yet so don't don't throw any tomatoes at me. But I do know that people are already thinking about how they want to spend their event and so we want you to know it's coming. It's called Born a Child and Yet a King and it will be available at ReviveOurHearts.com Starting next week. Portia, where do you land on how soon is too soon to be talking about Christmas? It's early October. If you think we're ready. 

Portia: It’s never too early, my friend. 

Erin: Okay, the older I get the more I'm in that game. I'm like bring on the lights, bring on the decorations. 

Portia: We are ready to put inflatables out there and…

Erin: Love it.

Portia: I love it for Emmy. 

Erin: Yes. 

Portia: You know, just that little joy in the Christmas season.

Erin: That makes it so fun. 

Portia: I love it. 

Erin: So, this Advent devotional is beautiful. It's full of deep Bible teaching, of course, anything from Nancy that's true of. And we know you may already be thinking about what you want to read and we would encourage an Advent Bible reading plan. So we didn't want you to miss out, we wanted to give you the scoop that that was coming.

Fascinating episode, P! I'm walking away with some new questions in my pocket. And I don't think I'm a very good question asker, but I want to bea better one so I learned a lot.

Portia: Yeah, definitely. Like I said, I feel like I'm always on the receiving end of questions, but I'm not very good at asking questions. And if I'm honest I’m not very good sometimes at listening, you know, attentive listening. 

Erin: Room to grow. 

Portia: Yeah. I love it. Room to grow, room to grow. I love it. Well, I heard that a little birdie told me that we have an amazing lineup for October.

Erin: We do. 

Portia: Yeah, I can't believe it's October and I know these episodes. I don't come like that. But it is going to be great. And listen, you don't want to miss a single episode. I hope y'all hear me loud and clear. Okay, so check out some of these guests and topics that we got. We've got lined up for this month. We've got David Arthur from Precept Ministries. Yes. You heard that right. He is the son of Kay Arthur and you know we love we love us some Kay Arthur. 

Erin: We do. 

We also have Christopher Yuan. He's going to be talking to us about holy sexuality. We got Susie Larson. She's going to be joining us and another favorite of mine Ruth Cho Simons, she's gonna be here and we got a lot we got a lot going on. 

Erin: ‘Tis the season to bring your hot spiced cider or whatever your fall drink of choice is to Grounded on Monday mornings, and we're gonna dish up some really strong episodes. I'm excited about it.

Portia: I'm excited. I think we got some pumpkin Pumpkin Spice Latte girls in there. 

Erin: I'm sure we do. They're everywhere. 

Portia: I like the spiced cider a little bit better. 

Erin: Yeah, there ya go. 

Portia: In the meantime, y'all Let's wake up with hope together next week on Grounded.

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