Living Brightly with Elayne Cross

Romans 12:2 tells us to be transformed by renewing your mind. Religion tells you the most important part of that verse is what comes before that – do not be conformed to this world. Then they encourage you to work and strive to force yourself into some religiously acceptable version of yourself. But the way you don’t conform is by renewing your mind with the help of Holy Spirit. This is the sixth and final episode in the Developing Your Relationship With God series – Renewing Your Mind. The is a partnering with Holy Spirit to be transformed into your first nature, who God created you to be.

The 2 Paradigms in Bible emerge early with Cain and Able and continually reappear as Scripture unfolds. Like Cain and Able you were born into the Attention Paradigm of sin, seeking the attention of those around you. The distinct Relational Paradigm is modeled by people such as Abel, Noah, and Abraham. Listen as Elayne exposes the two divergent perspectives for life in time and space and begin to step fully into a Relational Paradigm.

Your Identity is Who God Created You to Be, not the titles you have or the things you do. There are many facets to who you are including what you do and how you look, but those quantitative things are part of your physical self and you are body, soul, and spirit. Upon salvation God created in you a New Spirit that aligns with who He originally created you to be. You are a new creation not limited or defined by the physical world and you are in relationship with God who will never leave you or abandon you.

Part 3 of the 40 day journey to Develop Your Relationship with God focusing on the character of God and discovering God is Trustworthy. Developing trust is relative to your interpersonal relationship health. Unfortunately, many people have heard storied, made assumptions, and religious baggage that hinders their trust in God. Join Elayne today as she digs into God's character and guides you through an exercise designed to let you trust God more fully.

As you begin to develop your relationship with God you started with talking to Him, praying. Now you need to hear His reply. The primary way God speaks is through Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit leads you into His truth in Bible. God has never stopped speaking and wants to speak with you personally. Unlike all other relationships you cannot see or hear God without a little guidance and practice. Join Elayne as she outlines How to read Bible and hear God speak to you personally in the 42 Episode, Hear God Speak in Bible.

The first step in Developing Your Relationship With God is communicating. Communicating with God is generally referred to as praying but the word prayer has lots of sociological baggage, expectations, assumptions, ritual, and structure. Yes many religions have structured prayers spoken like a mantra, communicating with God is more relational.

Bible uses 40 to signify significant events in individual’s lives or for a group of people, usually the nation of Israel. Join Elayne as she reviews several significant events that include forty and the lessons we can retrieve from them to live brightly and draw closer to God. Moments of potential transformation often include disruption in the normal flow of life you can use to level up closer to God.

As Newlyweds Adam and Madison begin to take their budget seriously, they agree, giving God ten percent is nothing compared to all He has given and provided for them. Join Elayne as they share the thought process behind their realization they want to tithe, and how they fit it into their very tight budget. The Final portion of Adam and Madison money wraps up with part four as they share how the Holy Spirit convicted each of them individually, and together they agreed it was time to trust God by tithing, giving ten percent of their income.

Living without a budget created division and anxiety threatening destruction with the smallest emergency. Taking a chance to confront the depth of their debt, learning to budget, and committing to stay united Adam and Madison have taken control of their money by telling it where to go and what to do. Now just two years away from being completely debt free they have freedom within the budget to go and do more than they could imagine. Join Elayne with part three of money with Adam and Madison, Hello Control. 01:28 Some old habits must be killed 04:03 Admitting we have a problem 05:57 Pay off house in 11 years 07:39 Start with smallest balance 09:07 The B word - Budget 11:41 How much do we actually spend on things? Where is my money going? 16:47 What is the next priority? 18:08 Budget freedom 20:02 Eat those beans and rice! 21:55 Being aggressive with snowball debt reduction. 23:45 Six month emergency fund 24:28 Emergency – roof damage 26:53 knowing your Budget is having power

As we continue our visit with Adam and Madison we have learned adult money problems and debt can sneak up on you to overwhelming proportions. Part 2 for newlyweds Adam and Madison as panic mode set in and they discover they have no clue how to handle the financial crisis brewing. Laying everything out in the open is the first step but now that reality had proven they have few skills and tools to deal with the debt, they start with what they know and take control. Listen as they take a chance on some old CD’s given to them from a parent. Financial Peace by Dave Ramsey guides them to gain control of their money.

Adulting includes managing money. Without guidance or training debt can lead to panic and stress. Part one of Adam and Madison money. Newlyweds starting life together after college; dating, graduating, marring, managing money, aka debt. Hear how newlyweds Adam and Madison ran straight into nearly one hundred thousand dollars in debt and realized what they were doing was not working. 3:05 Honeymoon Challenges 6:19 Paying for college 9:46 New life in a new place 12:24 Big Girl Job 14:14 Can you afford this? 17:46 Debt discovery process 22:17 Debt for two and income for one 25:12 You & I versus we & us 28:22 Local church home

Passover, Pascha, Easter, Holy Week, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, so many terms to cover one holiday or Holy Day. Join Elayne as she unpacks and clarifies the significance of this very important day of remembrance Four questions Jews ponder to remember and reflect on the Exodus These questions lead to discussions making clear distinctions between an average night from this very special night highlighting tears of slavery, hurried exit, bitterness of slavery, and reclining in freedom. Four questions Christians can use to remember and reflect on Easter These questions lead to discussions making clear the distinction between an average Sunday and Holiday and the significance of this week, this Sunday, and this Holiday. Jesus and Christianity’s roots in Judaism and the foreshadowing of the Exodus story, the significant steps in Jesus Journey to the cross and resurrection and the celebration of life provided through His sacrifice.

Taking Jesus to work can be a scary concept in corporate culture, but being intentional in bringing Him along can change the culture of your work space. Join Elayne today with guests who work in corporate America and have found some great tools for letting their light shine. Chad and Richelle Gibson share how they use the gifts of the Holy Spirit and other truths to represent Christ at work in an act of service to God and as a means to change the atmosphere and culture.

Seeing someone do something does not always mean what you think. Similarly, if some people respond in a given manner doesn't mean all will. Learning to identify your own issues starts with confronting them in a novel way. It’s more about personal expectations than another’s character. Who has the problem? Instinctively the world revolves from your vantage point and through the lens of your experiences. As you begin to confront yourself and allow Christ to transform you into the person He created you to be, you inevitably hit juxtapositions of realities. Can you believe your eyes or accept not everything is as you have known it to be.

Two individuals with unique life experiences and dating tragedies working through expectations and failure to build something to last takes dedication, communication, and willpower. Today we hear one side of the process needed to confront past experiences, expectations, and errors to build something better and lasting with your life mate - aka spouse

Where men see respect women seek security. Elayne continues the second series of Dinner at the Crosses discussions with her husband, Nate, and Ross as they unravel the male female perspectives during dating and what it looks like for Christians to seek a mate. This is clean though some statements may not be suited for all ages.

Living brightly even in dark moments, or times when you choose poorly does not eliminate the possibility that God may use you if you are willing to boldly speak about Him even when your life is a literal mess. Bold testimony's can spring from bold statements in the most unlikely of situations. Join Elayne in another series of Dinner at the Cross' discussions, starting today with Christian Juice.

Three facets of stewardship are individual, communal, and by commission. Who are you stewarding? What does stewardship look like? How does the Holy Spirit assist in stewardship? One of Merriam-Webster’s definitions of stewardship is “The careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care”. Dictionary.com defines a steward as “a person who acts as the surrogate of another, or others, especially by managing property, financial affairs, and estate, etc. Wikipedia defines stewardship as “the acceptance or assignment of responsibility to shepherd and safeguard the valuables of others”.

Figuring out who God created you to be is vital to establishing a firm foundation to stand on as the world comes to discourage or berate you. The hard realities of living a life that is a positive reflection of Christ has unique challenges for unmarried men in the current societal norms for relationships. Lust, illicit sex, and natural make drives clash with honor for all women and protecting your mind and future wife from a poisonous imagination. How to live brightly as a unmarried Christian man poses unique struggles women just do not understand. Finding a wife and a church that support you in the place you are in your walk are discussed along with more. This is part three of Dinner at the Cross's, look for episodes 26 and 27 if you want to listen through from the beginning or go to elaynecross.com for additional notes related to these discussions.

We continue our after dinner discussion and discuss the challenges of freewill verses serving God knowing you fail daily. Living out obedience in the flesh verses surrendering to God. Is it all about you or have you shifted your focus to serving God? Enjoy this interesting and intriguing discussion at the dinner table of faith, revenge, failing God and toxic religion. www.ElayneCross.com/Jesus www.ElayneCross.com