The Upbeat Podcast Hosted by Blake Reynolds

My friend Esther shares about her book "Single Shouldn't Suck" along with her personal testimony of how God set her free from living for other people's approval to living to be who God made her be. Esther is all about the moment; from surfing, sharing about Jesus on social media, to working on the beach; Esther is just living life and embracing each moment God has placed in front of her. 

In today’s episode, I talk about how to handle frustration and disappointment in seasons where it seems God isn’t answering. I wanna reassure you that God has heard you, your prayer is being answered - you just have to trust Him and His timing.

The Bible is full of so many Scriptures about God's faithfulness. If you are in a season of waiting do not lose heart, God is still moving, He is still making things happen, you just have to trust Him.

"Sometimes when things are falling apart they may actually be falling into place." - Unknown

Psalm 27:13-14 ESV
I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!

"You shook something..."

Just because you haven’t seen the answered prayer doesn’t mean something wasn’t shaken in the Spirit realm!! Things have to happen in the spirit realm before they can happen in the natural. Your prayers to God are powerful, when you pray you are doing something… In today’s episode, I share about the power of prayer and how when we pray we are shaking things supernaturally whether we see the answer or not!

Listen, we have so many things going on in our lives that we forget what's the priority or we overlook the thing that is in front of us. In Today's episode, I share about being content and the importance of doing what is in front of you. Be content in every season you're in, trust God, be a faithful steward of the things that are in front of you and God will be the one to do the miracle. 

Dani Offett has an incredible story shares it with me on this episode and drops some incredible wisdom. In today's episode, Dani shares how to have confidence, how to live in a posture of surrender, and learning to trust God through everything. 

What an awesome episode! I enjoyed interviewing my friend, Bekah Crowe. Bekah shares in this episode how to overcome anxiety, what it means to fully surrender, and how to find joy in your relationship with God. She's got an incredible testimony and uses her social media as a light to encourage and lead others to Christ! 

BEKAH CROWE
Bekah Crowe is a believer of Jesus Christ, photographer, Christian Social Media Influencer, and Multi-Media Director for Judah Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. She hosts in-person Bible studies and uses social media to win people to Jesus and draw them closer to Him.

Bekah grew up in a Christian home and was homeschooled most of her life. Although she was a Christ-follower, she had never fully pursued a relationship with Him. After facing rejection from peers, pursuing relationships that left her hurting, making mistakes; she was in a place of brokenness. Empty and hurting she said: “I was on my knees and it was there I fully surrendered to Him.”

By completely surrendering her life and building a relationship with Christ, she has been able to find her true identity and purpose. She uses her testimony as a witness to reach people and lead them to Jesus. Her heart is to make a difference in people’s lives who are lost, hurting, and broken and to help them find their own identity and purpose.

For more information, follow Bekah online, click the links below

Today, I share the story behind my song “No Other Name”. Jesus is the name above all names, no name can compare. It’s more than just a name though, there is power in the name of Jesus. Set aside time today to just begin to say His name “Jesus”. Pray it with fervency and meaning.

"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12, NIV

In today’s episode, I share the importance of God’s presence! I heard someone say recently, “if you lack joy, you lack God’s presence”. He was right. “..in Your presence is fullness of joy” Psalms 16:11. I hope that today’s episode encourages you and inspires you to pursue God’s presence and cause you to go deeper in Him. When we are in God’s presence things change!

"You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."
Psalms 16:11, NKJV

"The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, before the Lord of all the earth." Psalm 97:5

Struggling with hurt? Offense? This subject has been on my heart for a few months now. 

So many times when we’re offended our brains go into “it’s their fault..” or “I’m the victim”. But what happens when we take on this mindset and this attitude? We are telling ourselves that there is nothing we can do, relinquishing all responsibility to the “guilty” party, and sitting back as if the situation is out of our hands.

First of all, not only is this an unbiblical stance but it’s also a great way to make the problem worse. “Hurt un-dealt with is the breeding ground for offense.” - Blake Reynolds When we don’t deal with hurt it becomes offense, and that offense can lead to bitterness and unforgiveness. These negative traits end up affecting our decisions, relationships, and even our relationship with God. They become a stumbling block and hindrance in our lives and/or the lives of others. 

In this podcast, I discuss how offense is your problem! You cannot control what other people do to you but you can control your response. When we are hurt by someone we have a choice, to negatively embrace that hurt and become “offended” or to forgive, confront, move on, and love the offender as Christ told us to. The Bible states clearly that is our responsibility to go to someone that’s hurt us… wait what?? "They should be apologizing to me!!" You’re right, but the Bible says (Matthew 18:15-17) that we should confront that individual in love and forgive them! 

This podcast I hope will help you OVERCOME existing Offense and navigate through future hurts/offenses. Don’t let a moment go by, forgive the person who hurt you whether you “feel” like it or not. Here are some quotes from today’s episode: “If there’s a tone in your voice, then there’s a stone in your heart.” - Denise Boggs. Immature people say “it's their fault” “I’m offended”, mature people say “regardless of what did or didn’t happen, I choose to take responsibility for my actions, words, thoughts, and emotions.” - Blake Reynolds 

“Hurt happens, Offense is a choice…” - Blake Reynolds