In The Flow with Kelley Johnson, Women Pursuing God's Spirit in Life + Leadership

The Listening Leader: How Does God Speak To You? Ep 41

• Kelley Johnson • Season 4 • Episode 41

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Some guidance from God feels obvious. Other guidance shows up as a vivid dream you can’t shake, a nagging inner check, or a pattern you keep seeing and you’re left wondering, "Was that You or was that me?" I’m joined by Tia Airington, co-founder of Above All Things, to talk about how a listening leader learns to receive God’s voice with clarity and then steward it with care.

Tia shares her journey as a lifelong dreamer who didn’t always have language for what she was experiencing. We unpack why not every dream is a message from God, how to “clean the filter” of your heart and mind, and what it looks like to write things down, pray first, and let the Holy Spirit confirm meaning over time. If you’re craving Christian discernment that is grounded, practical, and rooted in relationship, you’ll find real tools here.

We also get honest about what can block spiritual clarity: the media you watch, the words you let into your space, and the subtle way loyalty to people can become obedience to the wrong voice. We talk about boundaries, seasons of spiritual growth, prayer rhythms like sunrise walks and kneeling in the morning, and how God may shift the way He communicates as you mature.

Will you help individuals, children and families get fresh food each month? Support Above All Things https://aboveallthings.org/donate

If you want to grow in hearing God, spiritual formation, and faith based leadership, listen all the way through, then subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review so more leaders can learn to live and lead in the flow.

Stay in the flow—subscribe wherever you listen, watch on YouTube, and download free devotionals at iamkelleyjohnson.com.

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RAYAH is my Spirit-led leadership cohort for Christian women who want to grow in both spiritual authority and executive excellence. Learn more and join the interest list here https://www.iamkelleyjohnson.com/rayah

EMERGE! Rise-up, Be Fearless, Take Possession of Your Purpose https://a.co/d/hrZWQGr
Kelley's book about overcoming trauma to find your God-given purpose.

INFINITE: The Power of Love https://a.co/d/51Fy4eq
A six-session Bible study about diversity, equity and inclusion.

Kelley Johnson is a creator, builder, and catalyst who helps leaders achieve breakthrough—personally, professionally, and spiritually. She spent 20 years in corporate leadership before founding KEIRUS, a learning and talent management firm serving thousands of leaders worldwide. 

This show is not a substitute for professional therapy or advice. If you need professional support, we encourage you to seek a qualified mental health, medical, financial, legal, pastoral or other accredited professional.

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Keywords: Christian women, Spirit-led living, Holy Spirit, faith podcast, women in leadership, working ...

Welcome To Listening Leadership

SPEAKER_00

Welcome to In the Flow, a podcast for women pursuing God's spirit in life and leadership. I'm Kelly Johnson, and this season we're exploring what it means to become the listening leader because clarity and alignment with the Lord creates a more impactful leader. Each conversation invites you to slow down, lean in, and lead from a place of attunement with the Lord so that we can grow in spirit-led wisdom and authentic power. Let's get in the flow. Have you ever met someone who just immediately ministers to your soul and you can just quickly connect with them on a spirit level? Well, that's my experience with today's guest, Tia Arrington. She is the co-founder of Above All Things, a nonprofit organization of 501c3 that serves children, individuals, and families through their mobile food pantry, activity-based wellness programs, as well as through mentorship. Tia has been serving women through ministry for over 15 years. I am just so delighted that she agreed reluctantly to be a part of In the Flow today. And by the way, before we get started, will you consider sowing a seed into above all things? My family and I have personally served and volunteered during some of their second Saturday of the month mobile food pantries. And it's always such a blessing, really, like an adrenaline high. Every time we serve, seeing those families receive fresh milk, other fresh foods, as well as pantry items, knowing directly who it's going to, but above all things cannot do it alone. They cannot serve thousands of

Why Above All Things Matters

SPEAKER_00

families every single month without our help and our support. Will you donate today? Visit above all things.org right now. Thank you so much. Tia, I am so grateful that you said yes. I know it was a little bit of an arm twist to get you to say yes to this, but I'm so glad you did. I just admire um the way that you are sensitive to the Holy Spirit. And so welcome. Welcome to the show.

SPEAKER_01

Thank you. I'm happy to be here. Thank you for having me, Kelly. So excited. And it was a bit of a pull and a stretch. This is not my comfort zone, but again, I'm grateful and thankful to be here. So thank you for inviting me.

SPEAKER_00

So let me give everybody a little bit of backstory. We actually haven't really known each other that long. But when we met over coffee, you know, the Holy Spirit showed up. It was so beautiful. And I could tell very quickly, like you spent a lot of time in intimacy, in communion with Holy Spirit. You know, you you definitely are a woman of God who is just sensitive to the Holy Spirit. And so that's why I wanted you to come on and be a part of this conversation that we're having about becoming listening leaders. Because I definitely see in the short time that we've known each other, um, that you're you're listening and you're trying to listen. So how did that, how did that develop in you? Like how did you learn how to listen to the Holy Spirit?

SPEAKER_01

Great question. When I think about that, what comes to my mind first is the thing that I ran from for years, the thing that I really didn't understand about me, the thing that I really didn't hear a lot about, you know, um, in church. Again, I didn't grow

Learning To Hear Through Dreams

SPEAKER_01

up in church. I grew up believing in God, but not necessarily being led, you know, to understand and listen to the Holy Spirit. And I would say my dreams. I am a dreamer. Sometimes there's very vivid dreams. Sometimes God just speaks very loudly to me in my dreams. And so it is definitely one of those things that I have come to understand and learn a little bit more about that gift that I've been given. You know, uh I just I really didn't understand. It would be at night, God will speak to me. And then I would know kind of what area or what direction to take. And really didn't even give credit, you know, in any way to God. Because again, I didn't really understand a lot about, you know, being a dreamer.

SPEAKER_00

So we we actually have that in common. We're both dreamers. Were you dreaming before you became a Christian? Absolutely. Okay. And did you what did you think that it was at that time? Like, was it just I have vivid dreams? Like what you know, like what did you attribute it to? And then how did you shift to like, like, oh, this is the Lord speaking to me?

SPEAKER_01

Oh, wow, that was years in the making. That took years, definitely took years. Of course, you know, my husband, as he's a recipient of a lot of the dreams, meaning when I dream, I go to him and I talk with him about all these dreams. And, you know, as, you know, being married, we kind of talk through it and automatically he would just, you know, kind of just look at me like, okay, is that some, is that possible? You know, would God speak to us or speak to you in dreams? And so he wanted me to give him an interpretation all the time. And I'm like, I can't even give you the interpretation. I don't know. Growing up, that was the same thing with my mom. I would go to her and I would talk to her about certain things that, you know, I saw in my dreams, certain things that I felt in my dream, or things that I knew about in my dreams. Um, and it would still be the same thing. It would be, okay, you know, or are you sure? You know, so again, I questioned if it was really from God or where is it coming from? I just did not know because again, we just don't talk about those types of things, or we did not, let's say that, talk about dreamers and seers and any of those things before. You know, I think that it's becoming more prevalent to talk about that a little bit more now. But uh, and I would say that has been the uh attributing factor of allowing me to now feel a little bit more comfortable and to kind of go back, you know, um, you know, and look at some of those things and kind of decipher through some of those dreams. And so I would say it's been a journey, you know. I can't say that I am totally there, but it has been a journey.

SPEAKER_00

So it's so funny because I forgot that you do the same thing that I do, which is the first person I'm gonna tell about my dream is my husband. And he's like, I don't even dream.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. Or he'll be like, I if I do have a dream, it's like in black and white. Yeah. And you're having these 4K high-death dreams, you know, that have sequels and continuous.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

It's like a full-on production.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

And so I just, I don't know, I'm kind of laughing. Cause I've there's been times where I'm like, Lord, why do you speak to me this way? And yet, I don't always understand what they mean. And I don't have a husband or anyone around me who has the gift of interpretation. So, like, can you send somebody with the gift of interpretation?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Amen. Yes, absolutely. Yeah, yeah. And and I think that silence, that's actually I I was very um cautious about, you know, thinking if God was using me or could he use me, because some of the things that I would dream about were not always good things. And so that was another question, you know, that my that my husband would have. You know, some of those dreams would be those things that has happened futuristically, you know, but at that time it just didn't seem like it was even something that was even close to real or true. And so again, I questioned a lot of that because I was in that place of where do I go? You know, who do I talk to? And so, as I said, it it's it's been a journey, you know, um thinking through that.

SPEAKER_00

So let's kind of maybe unpack this from the angle of the series that we're in right now is about becoming listening leaders. And so yet we're talking about dreams, which isn't necessarily like uh an audible type. I mean, you you can maybe hear things in dreams, but it is more of a sight or seeing type of communication method that the Lord will use. So let's maybe for people who don't really dream at night, let's kind of talk about what's the role of being a dreamer or a seer in terms of being a listening leader. Like how do we make that kind of practical, I guess, for those that may not necessarily relate to what we're talking about?

SPEAKER_01

The way I can break that part down for me is um I now, you know, write all that down. All of my dreams, I write them down, you know, before even I talk to my husband, I write them down. And then I go definitely to the Holy Spirit, you know, I go into my quiet place, definitely to the Holy Spirit, and I begin to talk to him about it, you know, and I ask him to, you know, help me to understand a little bit more of what that was.

Journaling Dreams And Seeking God

SPEAKER_01

And so when I think through that, um, you know, I recently was in a class and a young lady talked about the filter and she talked a little bit more about your filter, making sure your filter is clean, it's pure, you know. So I go to God and say, okay, is it something that I'm feeling? You know, is this dream attributed to something that I'm feeling? Is this dream attributed to something that happened to me or something that happened to someone else or I heard from somebody else? So I would say um definitely going to the Holy Spirit and asking him, sitting with God with your dreams or in your dreams before you go to somebody else, um, and then allowing God to speak to you and then giving him the time, you know, to speak with you, even if you really don't fully understand. And what I found is God in his sovereignty, he would speak. You know, I go out walking and in my time when I'm walking, he'll begin to speak, he'll begin to talk to me, he'll download certain things. Um, and so I would just say being a listener, you know, of the Holy Spirit is the first and the foremost, I guess, responsibility of a dreamer, of a seer, of a prophet, of a teacher, leader, what have you, allowing the Holy Spirit to allow you to be the one that intake, you know, what he's speaking to you in your spirit and examine you first, because again, most of that come to you first. And then once he, you have allowed the Holy Spirit to, you know, do what he's doing. And it then, you know, if he doesn't say, okay, this is for you, this is for you to keep it to you, now it's time for you to share it. And so I would say for me, for years, I have been disobedient in that way because I have not. And I think I was looking for man, you know, not a man, but man in general, you know, to talk to me and explain to me about the dreams or I'm hearing from God or this is God in this way. And so now I'm just the other thing, I'm learning how to go in the word and find scripture, go and seek out other individuals in the uh Bible that were dreamers. You know, how did they hear God and what was God speaking to them in those ways? So just learning how to cultivate the gift and hone the gift in a way that you allow Holy Spirit versus yourself or anybody else to actually kind of um direct you.

SPEAKER_00

I love what you're saying. So there's a couple of key elements that I think I want to really highlight. Number one, being a listening leader is about your intake process. And the intake process may look different for people, you know. You and I both dream. Some people have a discerning of spirits, gifting, some people have the gift of interpretation, right? There's a there's a variety of gifts we know that. And I think that the Lord will use the personality that he designed, right?

SPEAKER_02

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00

He designed our wiring from a personality standpoint, and so he uses all of those unique characteristics characteristics to communicate with us. I love that.

SPEAKER_02

I love that.

SPEAKER_00

And so I think it's about I think that there's a figurative and a literal act of being a listening leader. Yes, there is a can be a hearing element, but the hearing isn't always audible. Being a listening leader means that we are receiving, inviting God to speak to us, to guide us in everything that we do. And I think the other piece that you talked about is how you process what you hear, see from the Lord. Yeah. And that it's not like just this, oh, I had a dream about pizza. So the Lord wants me to go eat pizza, right? Like that's not right.

SPEAKER_03

No.

SPEAKER_00

It's not what this is. It's, you know, Lord, what are you inviting me into? I keep having these dreams about pizza.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

And are you telling me, you know, if it like you maybe you're praying and it's like, okay, are you saying that I I need to really monitor how I'm feeding my temple?

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Right? Like maybe there's other elements, like you got some lab results from your doctor, and it's like, ooh, your cholesterol's high, and you keep dreaming about pizza. Like, you know, I'm I'm kind of oversimplifying the example here. But I think that I love also that you highlighted the importance of stewarding what God gives us, whether that's through a dream, through a recurring image on TV that we see, or as we're driving down the road, we see billboard signs that, you know, oh, there's an owl, and I keep seeing pictures of owls everywhere I go. So God wants me to grow in my wisdom, you know, or something like that.

SPEAKER_03

I think it's yeah.

SPEAKER_00

I write down all my dreams. Well, I write down all the dreams that I know that pretty for sure. Absolutely. Yeah, that he's absolutely yeah, because there's a difference.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, yes, there is a difference.

SPEAKER_00

Not every dream is a god dream, and they are they feel very different.

SPEAKER_01

Absolutely. I love that. I love that, I love that. Thank you for saying that because not every dream is a god dream, absolutely. And I can say, you know, honestly, just putting myself out there in that way, um, my mom is a dreamer. And some of the things that I did pay attention to and I wanted to make sure that I was very, I wanted to make sure that I held myself accountable in that way, that because my dreams are sometimes so vivid and sometimes they are so real that I don't medicate, you know, um, and or I don't allow myself to walk in fear of sleep or rest. And cause myself to kind of really get off. And so I think that's another reason why the filter has to be always, you know, in tune with God, you know, in a way that you don't allow those different areas and spaces to be able to come in, those open doors to come in, you know, because it is easy, you know, and especially in, and it's so important for you not to talk to others, even though I want it, everybody, I wanted I wanted somebody tell me, come on, talk to me and tell me what this is. It's not really good to do that because then now you have everybody else's interpretation, everybody else's thought process, their, you know, take on it. And sometimes it can cause you as a listening leader, you know, in any way, you know, whether it's a leader because your mom, you know, a leader in your vocation, a leader in the church, and or just a leader just in the community wherever. It's important that, again, you have that opportunity to kind of sit and, you know, process what you have to process and make sure you set it as far as asking questions of God, not why is this happening to me, but Lord, what are you saying to me? What do you want me to know? What do you want me to learn? What do you want me to get out of this? You know, being able to take that inwardly and then um processing it. And then He will naturally give you uh those tools on how to decipher it, you know, because again, we're spiritual beings having a human experience. And I don't think we necessarily look at ourselves as spiritual beings first, you know, and naturally and practically we'll have the opportunity to understand what the spirit is saying, you know, once we allow the spirit to have its way.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. I love what you're picking, what you're starting to talk about, which is what are some of the things that can get in the way of us hearing from God, of us attuning to him. And I'll share that you sort of touched on it, but I'll kind of give my how that shows up in terms of protecting the doors, protecting those filters. For me, and my my family makes fun of me about this, but I have to be careful what I watch on TV. I can't watch gory, bloody, violent shows or movies

What Shapes Your Spiritual Intake

SPEAKER_00

because there's a high chance that they're going to impact me when I go to sleep. Right. And I know that there's certain scenes and movies that just really affect me. Um, and so I have to be careful what I watch on TV and even sometimes not quite as much, but even some of the music that I listen to. I don't really listen to a a ton of secular music. I mean, I do, but it's not that frequent. So that's a little less of a factor for me. But can you speak to what are some of the things that maybe have prevented you from hearing God, especially in a time when maybe you're really seeking Him for clarity, direction, guidance? Like what have you found that maybe slows it down or or kind of prevents you from getting that?

SPEAKER_01

I would say mine has been I trust people. You know, I trust people. You know, if you say you're saved, I trust that. You know, I believe that. If you're walking with God, I trust and believe that. And so what has been the thing I would say that has kind of drew me or pulled me back majority of the time is the people that I trust.

SPEAKER_00

Um people that I love. Before we

When Trusting People Mutes God

SPEAKER_00

continue, let me ask you: have you ever wondered how to tell if it's God's voice or just your own thoughts? In the Flow is so much more than a podcast. Each season, I produce a free resource to support your growth. And for this series on the listening leader, I created a free devotional called How to Hear God at Work. It'll help you slow down and recognize God's leading in everyday decisions, whether you're leading a team, a business, or your own heart. Visit im KellyJohnson.com and click on the

Free Devotional On Hearing God

SPEAKER_00

resources section to get your free copy today.

SPEAKER_01

When I felt, you know, offended, affected in some kind of way, you know, you know, my, as you stated, it affects you, you know. And so we have to be careful who we are around, what we intake in our spirit, meaning conversations, what we allow people to speak to us, what we would accept. Um, I was big with that. I I was loyal. I'm a very loyal person to the to a fault, though, where I didn't know how to set up boundaries. I'm 52. And for a long time, I acted as if I was this 18, 17-year-old girl and would allow people to speak to me in a way that I knew was not godly, that was not right. And I allowed it because of respect, you know, and so I would say making sure that again, your heart is your hands are clean and your heart is pure, and not allowing others to put on you weights and things that can easily beset you. So I have allowed that to happen in my life for years. And I was disobedient to God in those ways because he would say opposite, but then I would still obey man. He would say opposite, and then I still would obey man. And so I had to see. You know, I had to see um what that looked like. And it was always ending in heartache and or heartbreak. And so I would say definitely, you know, not making your allegiance to man. Again, we have to honor man, you know, because the Bible tells us to, you know, give honor to where honor is due. But again, God gets all honor, you know. And when he speaks, he said his children know his voice and a stranger they won't follow. And so sometimes we can follow strange voices. There's scripture that talks about the strange fire. Um, sometimes I was listening to strange fire, even though I knew it was strange. But I listened to it because, again, of that allegiance. So being careful, you know, the voices that are in your ear, where and, you know, you are allowed, what you are allowing and who you're allowing in your space. Um, and being very careful when you feel what you feel, know that you feel what you feel and you know what you know. Um and then you have to exclude or remove yourself from those things, from those areas, spaces, and places. Uh just being very careful, as you stated, music, those things that we allow to be in our space that will affect us. It may not affect everybody, and I'm not saying that it will. So just being very careful, you know, with with those things and making sure that, you know, you're you're being, you know, obedient, you're not quenching the spirit.

SPEAKER_00

Well, it's funny. So I some people are gonna just be listening to this on like a podcast platform, but if you're on YouTube, you can see Miss Tia and you will know that she does not look 52. So uh she's real cute, y'all. But I want to also just add one other way that has affected me in terms of hearing from the Lord, especially in times where I really need clarity or guidance. And another area for me is when I'm not consistent in my time with him.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. It's like, ooh, if I don't, that consistency really matters. I'm in a in a little bit of a transition right now, and my daily routine is off. And so it's normal, it's not a big deal in terms of, you know, having to shift like your morning routine, your evening routine. So I'm kind of in a transition with like redesigning my morning and nighttime routines. And so

Consistency And Posture In Prayer

SPEAKER_00

I noticed over the last couple of weeks, my quiet time with the Lord in the morning has not been at the level that it has been previously. And I don't know what it is, but one thing that is just really effective for me is when I um pray on my knees in the morning. There's something about that physical posture for me. Yeah. Not saying that it's that this is like some formula that should work for everybody, but for me, when I pause and pray on my knees, and even if it's not long, there is just something about it that helps me to stay in a place of submission to the Lord and his spirit throughout my day.

SPEAKER_03

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Um, I think it's the physical act of submitting in a physical posture way that helps me to set my day, um, that helps me to set my heart in the place that it should be or that I want it to be. And when I'm not consistently doing that, if I've gone a week or two weeks and I haven't paused in that intentional way, it makes a difference. And so I just want to share that as a source of encouragement. Everybody has their own rhythms of how they communicate and relate to the Lord. And when you find it, honor it, protect it and try not to question it too much, right?

SPEAKER_01

Like and not compare it to others, you know, because again, that's something that we can do, you know. I mean, there's different seasons in our lives, you know. I am a mother and I used to have little kids, you know, and so I would hear people say, Oh, well, you gotta spend time with God. It's like, okay, how? You know, and what time? And how do I balance that? Being a mother, wife, you know, how do you balance that? And so there's different seasons in your life that you will be in a different space. And I love what you said. Honor that, honor that, that space and embrace it because it's not gonna always be that way. Now I have adult children, nobody's home, you know, and so I can spend more time with God, you know, and I can learn more about him and is am learning more about him in ways that I never thought that, you know, I would, you know, so that's the whole thing, being able to find that. My time is actually walking. You know, I love to get up very early in the morning. I love it. I love to see the sunrise. I love to see the clouds. I love to see the birds. I mean, I like to see the snow. Everything about his creation, I love it because to me, you know, that represents who God is. And so he speaks in all of those things that I see. Even when I see a red car, I think about, you know, well, God, I thank you for allowing um, you know, that person who manufactured and created that car to be able to see the color red.

Walking With God Without Condemnation

SPEAKER_01

You know, it just makes me excited a little bit more. Whereas I didn't take time, you know, even notice a red car or I didn't take time to notice. And so I'm learning how to embrace the space that I'm in, you know, now. Um, and I would say that, you know, to others as well. Embrace where you are, you know, embrace the time that you get the chance to spend with God. And it's not about condemnation. God is not condemning us. And that was that's the other thing that I've learned. He is such a grace, gracious God. He's so faithful and so loving. I don't have to think that he's right there looking at me with a ruler, pointing at me and telling me, you did not, you did not, you did not. And so now, because I understand who I am in Christ, you know that I'm a daughter of the king, that a father, you know, my natural father wanted to give me the love, all the love that he possibly could. And he did as much as he could have. But because I have a heavenly father, I know that he doesn't want bad for me. And so he's not sitting up there trying to condemn me for everything that I think that I'm not doing right, you know, because it's not about works, it's about faith. You know, it's about faith. He said without faith is impossible to please him. You know, he said faith without works is that, but it's impossible to please him without faith. And so because I believe who he is, and because, you know, others believe, if you are a believer and you believe in who he is as your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we don't have to walk in that condemnation. Um, we can be free. You know, we can be free because God knows where we are anyway.

SPEAKER_00

That's right. Yeah. I love what you're saying, and I think I think we're gonna have to do a part two, Tia, because I'm like you're I know you're like, what? I only agreed to one. Um but I I love what you're saying on so many levels. And 10 years ago, I was a walker. Like that was my time to commune with the Lord and pray. And it used to be this like joke. My son, I'd tell my family, Oh, I'm gonna go for a walk. And my son would say, You mean you give me a go pray? Yeah, well, you absolutely a lot of prayer walking.

SPEAKER_01

I'm talking about a lot of prayer walks, a lot. Yes.

SPEAKER_00

And I still do it, yeah, but not not at the level that I was 10 years ago. So now I'm more contemplative.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

I'm I'm I'm practicing stillness.

Embracing Seasons And New Shifts

SPEAKER_01

This is where you are, right?

SPEAKER_00

It's where I am, right? Yes. And I think it just really echoes what we're both saying, and I just I just feel like there's there's a need to put emphasis on flexing to the invitations of the Holy Spirit.

SPEAKER_02

And I love that.

SPEAKER_00

The season that you were in.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, I love that.

SPEAKER_00

Because I think that we can really put pressure on ourselves, and you're speaking to this as well. Yeah. We can put pressure on ourselves to well, I've always done this. Yeah, I've always attended a Bible study, you know, every Thursday night and whatever, and I'm not in one right now. And, you know, I'm not I'm not being a good Christian because I'm not doing what I've always done. And I think that we can sometimes limit the ways that the Holy Spirit wants to speak to us, yeah. How he wants to relate to us if we sort of hold on to the former ways that he has communicated with us and that our walk and our relationship is evolving. He wants it to flourish.

SPEAKER_02

Absolutely. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00

And it it can look different, it will look different. It will look different. Yeah, I'm like, it will look different.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, because we go from faith to faith to glory to glory. It's not, is not, God is a He's a constant God. You know what I'm saying? And when you think of that word constant, you know, if you could if you think of it, he's constant, but it's moving. You know what I'm saying? He's alive. And so again, that's what we would experience in our life in different seasons. You know, we would be constantly, ever moving, ever changing, evolving into becoming who he's designed for us to be. And so we have to embrace, not be stagnant. I'm not saying that, you know, you're not, I don't think you're saying that either, but being able to embrace the season and where you are, you know, because there will be shifts. There was a time when I worked, you know, I used to actually, you know, go to a nine to five job, you know, for years. And he said, okay, it's time to shift. And so now I am work, I'm, you know, my own entrepreneur and I'm doing that. And so, okay, I had to figure out a way to prioritize that space and that time, you know, because again, you can be, you can have a lot of time and you don't know how to feel that time. And so now it's like, okay, not just with work. I need to spend that time with God. I need to utilize this time in this season because I'm not sure, you know, how long I will be in this season or, you know, how the Lord will shift. And so being ready and available, you know, most people call that a pivot in business. It's the same thing in life. We have to be ready to shift when God says shift. We have to be ready to move when he sa move and being sensitive enough to know, you know. Um, and listen, I'm grieving a lot of shifts in my life. I am. And it's okay, you know, and it's okay, but it's it's where I am, you know, it's where he wants me to be. And so I have to definitely embrace that.

SPEAKER_00

Well, I appreciate your vulnerability and even sharing and stating that, and I can totally relate as well. There are so many metaphors and analogies in scripture of God wanting to relate to us as um a bride and groom.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Right. And if you whether you're married or not, or you've been in a relationship, you know that those relationships evolve and that they have to.

SPEAKER_03

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00

Ways of communication have to evolve. Even if, you know, like let's say you're single, if you think about the relationship with your parents, parents, the way we relate to our parents when we were kids growing up is not the same as adults.

SPEAKER_02

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00

And so I think that we can unfortunately put the Lord in this box of how we relate to him. And yet he's so vast, he's so big, he's so amazing and expressive. Yeah. That he's a good thing.

SPEAKER_01

Sometimes you can't don't even have the words to describe who he is or how, you know, he it's just like, Lord, you're good. You know what I'm saying? And that sounds so small, but yet, Lord, it's I don't know, you know, it's he's far beyond anything that we can ever ask, think, or imagine. It's it's so good, you know.

SPEAKER_00

Amen. Yeah. Amen. And I think being part of being a listening leader is also being willing to attune to how God is shifting us to hear from him.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

It's not just are we hearing from him? It's okay, Lord, for the road ahead, for the season I'm in.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Are there new ways that you want to communicate with him?

SPEAKER_01

That's what I'm learning. There are new ways. So I'm used to the quiet way in the dreams. I'm used to him speaking like that. So he's still doing that, but he's now speaking a little bit more vividly. You know, he's speaking a little bit more vividly. I'm seeing things differently. I'm hearing him, you know, a lot more audibly and I'm not sleeping. And so it's different. You know, it's different. And so I'm growing in that space. But again, I love God. He's given me the grace to do that. You know, I'm in that space that he's giving me the grace to embrace that part of me because I'm like, this is who I've already been always been, Lord. And now I finally have learned that that was you speaking to me in dreams, and I'm okay with that. I'll keep that. But now it's like, okay, here's the shift, you know, and it's time to embrace that and um, you know, hone in on that, you know, and and continue to accept, you know, what God has in the in that in this season. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. Oh my goodness, this has been so good and so rich. I did not get to the other questions that I wanted to talk to you about. So um I'm hoping that we can pick this back up very, very soon. This has been such a blessing, and I would love for us to maybe both close in prayer. Okay.

SPEAKER_01

Absolutely. Sounds great.

SPEAKER_00

Gracious Father, we just thank you for all of your beautiful invitations to communicate and relate with you. Lord, will you help us to be even more open and more sensitive to your promptings? Yes. And if it feels uncomfortable or different or strange, will you clarify, will you confirm that it is you?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Because

Closing Prayer For Discernment

SPEAKER_00

I believe, Lord, that most of us have a desire for purity with you. Um, we don't want to be deceived, we don't want to be distracted. And so, Lord, I'm asking you to help us to discern what is you and what is not you. Yes. Help us to trust you that if we happen to veer off into something that is not you, help us to trust you that you are big enough and you are more than capable of redirecting us. We know that you have not given us a spirit of fear. You have given us power, love, and soundness of mind. And that also applies to the way that we hear from you. So thank you, Father.

SPEAKER_01

Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. And so, God, we thank you for every listener who would hear this podcast. God, we thank you first off for Kelly. We ask that you would continue to bless this podcast, Lord. Allow her voice to be loud in this season, God. Um, there is a shift in this season. And so, God, we thank you that you will use her for your glory. And so, God, even the listeners that are listening, God, that you would open up their ears. You said, My sheep know my voice, um, and a stranger they will not follow. And so, God, we ask that you would continue to speak to them, God. As we talked in earlier in the podcast, that you know the frame. You know the way you've made us, God. And you know the way we hear, you know the way you have wired us to hear you. And so, God, I ask that you would speak to every individual in the way that you speak to them, God, but allow them to feel comfortable enough to surrender, God. Um, for so many years I ran, God, um, and I didn't give you a total yes. But I ask that every listener that's listening to this podcast, God, that they would give you another yes. If they haven't given you a yes, that they would give you a yes, God, and allow you to move, allow you to have your total and complete way in their life, God. And so, Lord, we thank you that you are a good father. And you said if we come to you, God, you would in no wise cast us out. And so, Lord, I thank you that every listener, Lord, as they come to you humbly before you, God, and boldly, you give us that authority to come to you boldly. And so, God, as they come to you, wounded, weak, torn, broken, whichever way that is, God, that you would speak to them in a way that they would hear you and that they would know and that they would follow you, God. And so we thank you again. We bless you and we honor you, we adore you and we magnify you. It is in your son Jesus' name that we pray. Amen.

SPEAKER_00

Amen. Woo! Amen. Ah, thank you, thank you, thank you.

SPEAKER_01

God is good. He's good. Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_00

Thank you for flowing with me today. If this episode strengthened your spirit and leadership, be sure to subscribe and share it with a friend. Remember, deeper clarity starts in community. Visit im KellyJohnson.com for free devotionals and to learn more about Raya Circles, where faith and leadership truly go together in the flow.