Gospel Life Learning | Faith and Soul Care Podcast

Journal Reflection Method That Quickly Transforms Your Mind | Prayer and Reflection Journal | Find Purpose In God | Live Intentionally with Jesus

How does keeping a weekly Reflection Page in a prayer journal move us more towards a life of purpose and joy? This is part 2 of How Prayer Journaling Transforms Us; and today I want to share with you about writing down weekly reflections, specifically reflecting on areas where you are struggling and how you can take those struggles over to God.

I am going to share some of my own use of these Weekly Pages. For the first week of February, my reflection was this:

"I am tired, stressed, and unmotivated for no good reason."

For whatever reason, early February hit, and that’s exactly how I felt—tired, stressed, and unmotivated, and I was struggling with being in that space. But then, there’s also a place in the journal to write down a biblical truth that speaks into your struggle.

So I wrote: Jesus told us that every day has its own trouble. Of course, I had a lot of stress built up. And then, in my little nerdy self, I calculated: If I’ve been alive for this many years, how many days of trouble have I had? Turns out, I’ve had over 19,000 days of trouble in my life!

So of course I’m feeling tired, stressed, and unmotivated for no good reason, because that is what living each day in this crazy world tends to bring you – unless – unless – you are living intentionally and being mindful of caring for your mind and your soul.

(Listen to this article on the Faith and Soul Care Podcast below:)

In Matthew 7, Jesus gives the teaching about the narrow gate, and how wide is the road leading to destruction; but narrow is the gate leading to life. The underlying Greek language in that verse has a passive verb for the road that leads to destruction and an active verb for entering the narrow gate. We have to actively choose to live life with the intention of seeking God and keeping our minds set on the things He wants for us. Because wide is the road that leads to a life of bleh, and mediocrity, and burn out - that is the default road. In the original language of that verse in Matthew 7 - it creates an image in modern day analogy of a wide conveyor belt road and almost everyone is on that road to the dark and drab life. But the narrow way leads to life and it is something that you have to be intentional about finding that path to life. And that is true for the road that leads to separated eternities after this life; but it is also true for the metaphorical roads that we take in this life towards the abundant zoe life that Jesus offers or the opposite life that always seems to be a few pavement stones short of true peace and joy.

So here’s the thing—the problem isn’t that we have trouble. And the solution isn't to just try to solve all the troublesome problems. Jesus tells us that the solution is to come to Him when we are weary and burdened, and He will give us the peace and rest that our souls crave. And I realized I hadn’t been doing that enough. So I made it a point to increase the time I spend resting and praying in the Spirit. And you know what? It helped. Here we are at the end of March, and I feel so much better.

Another weekly reflection I want to share was from the beginning of March. For some reason, I found myself struggling with this thought:

"I'm not doing enough. I am disappointing God."

I had pulled back from some of my volunteering commitments because I needed rest. I knew I needed it. But even though I made that decision, I still wrestled with this lingering guilt—feeling like I wasn’t doing enough for God.

So I searched for a verse that spoke into that struggle, and I landed on Romans 5:1:
"Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."

That verse reminded me of a fundamental truth: I can never do enough—that’s why Jesus came. My works, my efforts, the things I do… they will never be enough on their own. But even so, God is not disappointed in me because my justification doesn’t come from what I do—it comes through faith.

So I don’t have to carry that burden. And neither do you. We already have peace with God. My relationship with Him is one of peace and security, not striving and earning. That whole “I’m not doing enough” thought? That wasn’t coming from Him.

One thing I hope we’ll be able to do in the upcoming Women's Connection Cohorts is create a space where we can process concerns like these together. That’s something I want for all of us. Whether in small groups or through one-on-one conversations with trusted mentors, my vision for these groups is that we will have opportunities to help each other untangle our thoughts and move forward with clarity.

Now, if you haven’t already, I encourage you to get the Prayer and Reflection Journal that I designed. You can find it on Amazon—just search Sherry Elaine Prayer Journal. I’ll also put the link in the description of this podcast and video, as well as on my blog and on my Linktree.

And if you’re planning to join the Women's Connection Cohort, this journal will be so helpful. By the time we start, you’ll have already been journaling for a while, and you’ll know exactly what questions to ask and what areas you want to grow in.

Finally, I want you all to know that —I don’t share all of this about how I have been keeping my journal consistently this way to be prideful. The truth is, I need to write things down. If I didn’t, I probably wouldn’t pray nearly as often as I do, and I'm not sure my prayer life would be as effective. Journaling keeps me accountable, and it also becomes a testimony of a person's walk with the Lord. Over time, keeping a journal with both prayer requests and reflections in which you are making mindset shifts towards God's ways - it is transformative. I believe the process of prayer journaling in this way will be transformative for anyone who decides to start journaling.

And speaking of prayer, let’s close in prayer:

Dear Lord,

Thank You for the gift of Your nearness. Thank You that we have a direct line of communication with You through Your Spirit and through Jesus. You are wise, and You readily pour out wisdom and direction when we come to You in prayer.

I pray that whoever hears this will be drawn closer to You, that they will strengthen their prayer life, and that they will begin documenting their prayers and responses consistently. Lord, You know that this is one of the strongest ways to build faith, and we need strong faith in these times.

Lord I ask that you use this podcast, this video, this blogpost— or whatever means You choose—to bring people into deeper relationship with You. Give them the guidance they need.

I pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

All right, y’all—have a great day. Keep praying!

Gratefully,

Sherry

More Resources:

New! Prayer and Reflection Journal I Designed! I love how the journal turned out! It has all I need for prayer tracking and reflections and re-setting my mind with struggles I am facing.

If you would like to learn simple, practical ways to walk with God every single day, then you would really enjoy Closer to God: Simple Methods, Starting Today

If you need motivation to eat healthier or lose weight while also growing
closer to God, then you would enjoy Weight Loss for Christians, An
Extraordinarily Simple Way to Conquer Cravings

If you want to learn more deeply and fully about what Jesus taught, then you would enjoy Words of Jesus - Bible Study on Christ's Teachings

More Resource Channels:

Gospel Life Learning Facebook

Gospel Life Learning Instagram

Gospel Life Learning YouTube

Sherry Elaine - Books Authored

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How Prayer Journaling Strengthens and Transforms Our Spiritual Growth

How Prayer Journaling Transforms Us

Today, I want to talk about how prayer journaling can transform us.

I want to encourage you in the practice of prayer journaling.

I want to be open with you today and explain how I use my journal, the insights I gain from it, and how it helps me stay connected to what God is doing in my life. Of course, the reason I want to share this with you is that I hope if you aren’t already prayer journaling, you will see why this is such a foundational practice for our soul care and spiritual formation.

(Listen to the blogposts on our podcast :Faith and Soul Care:)

Before I jump into this, I want to remind you that the prayer journal I designed, which includes spaces for each of these practices that I teach and talk about, can be found on the books page of SherryElaine.com. If not, you can also go to Amazon and search for Prayer Journal Sherry Elaine, and it should come right up.

When you begin or continue in your prayer journaling, you will gain insights from it. You will start to see patterns in how God is working in your life, and it will help you stay connected with what He is doing.

Recognizing God’s Faithfulness Through Prayer Journaling

At the beginning of each week in the journal I designed, I include extra pages for notes. Personally, I use at least part of each note section for what tends to become a long list of continuing prayers—prayers that I know won’t be answered immediately. If I sense that a request will take more than a week or two to unfold, I write it down as a continuing prayer. That way, I can go back, review it, and intentionally continue to pray over it again and again.

Looking back at my journal over the last couple of months, I see that at the beginning of February, I had written down 18 continuing prayers. Now, as I go back and review, I see that 10 of those prayers have been answered in the way I had hoped.

The remaining eight are still unfolding. Some are long-term prayers, and I know I won’t have an answer for six months or more. Others are in progress—I’ve seen some movement but not a full resolution yet. And some are simply waiting for God’s perfect timing.

Among those 18 prayers, there were two that I did not expect to be answered so quickly or so affirmatively. Yet, God intervened in a way that was undeniably His doing. When I reflect on this, I’m reminded that God truly is paying attention to our prayers.

The importance of writing down our prayers is that, if we don’t, we often forget what we even prayed for. And if we forget what we prayed for, we don’t recognize how God has been hearing and answering us all along.

For example, let’s say I prayed, Lord, please protect me from getting sick this month. Life gets busy, and I forget that I even prayed that. A month later, I look back and realize, Wow, I didn’t get sick. That was an answered prayer! Especially if the flu was going around, and many people around me were getting sick, I would have completely overlooked God’s protection if I hadn’t written it down.

Prayer journaling helps us see patterns. You begin to notice that some prayers are answered quickly, some take time, and some are answered in ways you never expected. You also begin to see the truth of what the Bible tells us: If we pray according to His will, He hears us and answers us.

Trusting God When the Answer is No

So what about when God says no? Of course, not every prayer gets a yes. In the past two months, I’ve had about three prayers where the answer was clearly no. One of them involved an important decision I had to make. While I may not fully understand why yet, I trust that God’s no was for my good.

Because when I look at my journal, I can see how often God has been faithful. In so many prayers lifted up, I can trust that the few no’s are because He knows best. He is still being faithful, delivering the outcome He knows is best—even when it’s not what I had hoped for. This is why keeping track of our prayers is so powerful. It strengthens our faith and gives us confidence in God’s timing and wisdom.

All of this—prayer journaling, abiding in Christ, staying connected to God—are topics we’re going to explore together in my upcoming Women’s Connection Cohorts. These will be small groups where we will learn spiritual practices and grow together in faith. More details are coming soon!

If you want to be the first to know when we launch, be sure to join the email notification list at SherryElaine.com/cohorts. I can’t wait to see how God moves in your life as you grow in prayer and deepen your relationship with Him.

More Resources:

If you would like to learn simple, practical ways to walk with God every single day, then you would really enjoy Closer to God: Simple Methods, Starting Today

If you need motivation to eat healthier or lose weight while also growing
closer to God, then you would enjoy Weight Loss for Christians, An

Extraordinarily Simple Way to Conquer Cravings

If you want to learn more deeply and fully about what Jesus taught, then you would enjoy Words of Jesus - Bible Study on Christ's Teachings

New! Prayer and Reflection Journal I Designed! I love how the journal turned out! It has all I need for prayer tracking and reflections and re-setting my mind with struggles I am facing.

More Resource Channels:

Gospel Life Learning Facebook

Gospel Life Learning Instagram

Gospel Life Learning YouTube

Sherry Elaine - Books Authored

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How to Find Joy and Purpose in God | Greek Word: Meno for Abide or Abiding | John 15:11 Teaching | Abide in Me Meaning

Abiding in Christ: The Gateway to True Joy

We’ve now reached part three of our series on living intentionally and finding purpose in God. In previous discussions, we explored the Greek words peripateo and phroneo. Today, we’re focusing on another key word: meno, which is deeply connected to abiding in joy through Christ.

Jesus said in John 15:9-11:

Listen to this article with the audio:

"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love."

That word remain is also translated as abide—the Greek word meno. He continues:

"I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete."

There it is, directly from the words of Jesus. How do we find joy in our daily lives? Jesus tells us: Remain in my love. Abide in me.

What Does It Mean to Abide?

The Greek word meno means to stay, dwell, or continue. It is an active and ongoing process. However, it’s not about striving harder to be with Christ or trying to accomplish more for Him. Instead, it’s about resting in His love and staying connected to Him in our daily lives.

Notice that Jesus connects abiding with joy. He doesn’t say, “Try harder, do more, and you’ll eventually find joy.” Instead, He tells us that true joy is a natural outcome of abiding—of remaining—of staying close to Him.

Think about how often we seek joy in fleeting ways—through accomplishments, comfort activities, or even experiences we believe will bring lasting joy, like a vacation. But the joy Jesus offers is different. It doesn’t require striving. You don’t even have to leave your living room to experience it.

This joy isn’t based on circumstances, location, or possessions. It’s found in the steady, unshakable relationship we have with Christ.

Practicing the Act of Abiding

One of the most powerful ways to abide in Christ is through praying in the Spirit.

What does that mean? For me, it’s a time when I set aside my own thoughts, words, and agenda, simply resting in God’s presence. I quiet my mind and ask the Holy Spirit to intercede for me—to pray for the things I don’t even know to pray for.

This isn’t about striving to find the right words. In fact, I’m not speaking or even forming words in my mind. It’s about surrendering and allowing God’s Spirit to move within me, aligning my heart with His will.

I often lie down or get into a peaceful posture, quiet my thoughts, and say:

"Holy Spirit, I’m giving You this time. As I rest, intercede for me. Pray for what I don’t even know to ask for—the challenges ahead that I can’t yet see."

Then, I simply rest and remain aware that the Holy Spirit is working within me. In these moments, I feel the Holy Spirit’s comfort like a warm embrace. And you can experience this, too.

This is meno—remaining in Christ. It’s not about effort. It’s about quieting and surrendering.

If joy feels distant, perhaps the answer isn’t to do more but to rest more deeply in Him—to create space for Him to linger, to simply be with Him, and to trust that He is interceding for you when you ask Him to.

Abiding is the gateway to true joy because it keeps us connected to the very source of life, peace, and joy—Jesus Himself.

So today, ask yourself: Am I abiding or striving? Am I making space to rest in Christ's love, or am I caught up in striving and all the turbulence that's naturally present in life? If you are longing for more peace, comfort, and joy, start with abiding. Let go, be still, and trust that as you remain in Him, His joy will remain in you.

At the end of this three-episode series on finding purpose in God and living intentionally with Him toward your purpose, here are a few questions to reflect on.

Oh, and I want to mention again—in the prayer journal, there are note pages where you can do these reflections and write notes. There are plenty of pages for each week, with extra space for any reflections you're doing, goal setting, sermon notes, or Bible studies. It's all in there, as well as the common pages for your prayer requests and praying pages.

Reflection Questions

So here are a few questions to reflect on:

Where am I walking without awareness? Are there routines that I'm stuck in that lack purpose? A few months ago, I surrendered my routine of scrolling news—doom-scrolling. I limited it to 20 minutes a day, and now I'm maybe at 20 minutes three times a week. I don't even feel the compulsion to do it anymore.What routines are we just doing? Some people call it buffering. We're buffering life with these routines in an unhealthy way. We're stuck in routines that don't have meaning or purpose.
What simple gifts in my day am I not recognizing? Am I overlooking them? What can I do daily to practice gratitude for the small joys? The prayer journal has a place for this—every day's prayer page includes sections for thankfulness, confession, requests, ongoing prayers, answered prayers, and a place to write down something good that happened in the day, even if it's something teeny tiny—something you can view as a gift in that day. There's also a section for something good that you accomplished, no matter how small. This practice is proven to help keep our minds and perspectives right. It also helps ward off depression. Taking time to notice the little gifts in each day is psychologically proven to help prevent you from falling into a depressive spiral, especially if you do it when you start feeling the blahs—that depression creeping in. If you know, you know what I'm talking about.

What is my mind set on? Am I focusing on eternal truth, or am I letting my mind get caught up in temporary distractions?
Am I abiding or striving? How can I create space to rest in Christ's love this week?

Tools to Help You Abide

I’ve mentioned a few resources that I have to help you --

The Gospel Life Learning Prayer Journal – It has sections for you to write down and keep track of these practices so that with each quick notation you make in the journal, you are engaging in small. You can find this on Amazon. It's new—it was just published last month. Go to Amazon and search for "Prayer Journal Sherry Elaine" or "Prayer Journal Gospel Life Learning," and it should come up as the very first result. reflections that will lead you to experience more purpose and joy in each day and week.

Upcoming Women’s Connection Cohorts – Another upcoming resource is the online Women's Connection cohorts and course that we will be going through together. Get on my email list at either sherryelaine.com/cohorts or gospellifelearning.com to get first notification when it launches.

Final Thoughts

Living with intention isn't about perfection. It's about alignment—mindfully aligning your steps with focus and keeping your heart on God's purposes. That way, you're not just existing through the day, not just surviving, not just coping, not just going through the motions—but truly living with joy, purpose, and peace.

Thank you for joining me today on the Faith and Soul Care podcast. If this episode encouraged you, I'd love for you to share it with a friend. Until next time—walk intentionally, savor the simple joys and gifts from God, and abide deeply by praying in the Spirit and abiding in Christ's love.

Get those hugs from the Holy Spirit.

Until next time, Gratefully,

Sherry

More Resources:

If you would like to learn simple, practical ways to walk with God every single day, then you would really enjoy Closer to God: Simple Methods, Starting Today

If you need motivation to eat healthier or lose weight while also growing
closer to God, then you would enjoy Weight Loss for Christians, An
Extraordinarily Simple Way to Conquer Cravings

If you want to learn more deeply and fully about what Jesus taught, then you would enjoy Words of Jesus - Bible Study on Christ's Teachings

New! Prayer Journal Designed! I love how the journal turned out! It has all I need for prayer tracking and reflections and re-setting my mind with struggles I am facing.

The author also interacts with her readers on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/GospelLifeBooks

Instagram: @gospellifelearning

Youtube: Gospel Life Learning
Find more of the author's books at Amazon here.

More Resource Channels:

Gospel Life Learning Facebook

Gospel Life Learning Instagram

Gospel Life Learning YouTube

Sherry Elaine - Books Authored

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Finding Purpose in God: How to Set Your Mind & Rewire Your Brain Weekly as a Christian | Greek word for "set your mind" | phroneo | Colossians 3:2 | Spiritual Growth

How do we find purpose in God? How do we pray in the Spirit? And how do we abide and set our minds in Christ?

In our last episode, we explored what it means to live intentionally and find purpose in God. We looked at how intentional living isn't about trying harder or going after big goals but about being more mindful of the small joys and opportunities that God has for us within our normal, everyday living—right where we are.

We talked about how small daily choices and habits, like how we spend our free time or downtime, shape our lives in powerful ways. We reminded ourselves that our purpose in God is not something we have to actively do or create. Rather, our purpose in God is to stay close to Him, and then the rest we discover along the way.

This aligns with the verse: "Seek first the kingdom of God, and all these other things—all your needs—will be added unto you as well."

Welcome to Faith and Soul Care! I'm Sherry, your host, and whether you're listening to this podcast or reading the transcript on the blog, welcome!

Listen to this blog post on the podcast here:

I want to remind you that my women's online connection cohorts will be starting soon. Be sure to visit my website at SherryElaine.com, go to the Cohorts tab, and sign up for the notification list. This will be a facilitated time where we will have weekly live teachings and interactive discussions online to learn more and go deeper into topics related to drawing closer to God, living with more intention, overcoming stress, and finding purpose and joy in each day.

Setting Our Minds with Focus

Today, we're continuing this conversation by diving deeper into two powerful biblical concepts: setting our minds with focus and abiding in joy through the practice of praying in the Spirit.

Let’s explore how the Greek words phroneó and ménō reveal the key to living intentionally with a heart anchored in God’s truth and joy.

**1. The Greek Word Phroneó—Setting Your Mind with Focus**

Colossians 3:2 says, "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things."

That phrase, set your minds, comes from the Greek word phroneó, which means to have a mindset or to direct your thoughts intentionally. This isn't a passive practice. It’s an active, deliberate focusing of our mental and emotional energy on eternal truths rather than on the temporary distractions or upsets that occur throughout our day.

I love how Priscilla Shirer describes these distractions as daily turbulence in one of her studies. If we don't have a strategy for dealing with this turbulence, we will find ourselves fighting misguided battles.

It is so important, especially in those moments of turbulence, to engage in the act of phroneó—to intentionally focus and take a moment to sharpen our minds. Think of it like a professional photographer adjusting the lens on a manual camera.

Or, if you wear glasses or contacts, think about how the eye doctor adjusts the lenses during an eye exam. At first, the letters on the chart may be blurry. But with the right adjustment, suddenly, everything becomes crystal clear.

Imagine trying to take a picture of a beautiful landscape, but when you look through the camera lens, everything is blurry. You could just leave it that way and accept it as reality. Or you could take the time to adjust the focus, sharpen the image, and bring every detail into view.

Our minds work the same way. If we allow distractions, worries, and turbulence to remain unchecked, our thinking becomes clouded. Over time, both small and big problems will keep us in a fog, stuck in a rut, and drained of our energy and joy.

Then, we feel lost, overwhelmed, and disconnected from our true purpose.

But when we intentionally adjust our focus—aligning our thoughts with the deep truths of God’s Word—we begin to see problems and solutions more clearly.

And what else happens when we see life through the lens of God's truth?

We begin to see His hand at work in our lives. We recognize His guidance and experience greater clarity and focus in our purpose.

Just like a photographer must continually refocus depending on the lighting and movement of their subject, we too must regularly reset our minds—phroneó—on God’s truth, especially in the areas where we struggle.

The world will constantly shift and pull at our attention, but we have the ability—through prayer, Scripture, and intentional reminders of God’s truth—to bring our focus back to Him.

A Practical Way to Refocus

One way I implement this practice is through weekly reflection. I write down what I’m struggling with—whether it’s a difficult situation or a negative thought pattern. Then, I find a Scripture verse that directly speaks to that struggle, and I make it my verse of the week to meditate on and pray over.

In the prayer journal I recently designed, there’s a weekly page dedicated to this type of reflection.

Here’s an example:

During the week of March 2nd, I was struggling with the thought, I’m not doing enough. I am disappointing God. That was the underlying belief running in the background.

The verse I chose to meditate on was Romans 5:1—

"Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."

The truth I took from this verse is: I can never do enough—but that’s not what God asks of me. I have peace with God because I am justified through faith in Jesus Christ. I am called to rest in Him and allow Him to work through me, rather than striving to please Him through my own effort.

If you’re interested, my prayer journal is available on Amazon. You can search for "Prayer Journal Sherry Elaine Gospel Life Learning."

Final Thought

The clearer our focus on God’s truth, the clearer our path to purpose becomes.

In our next episode, we’ll continue this discussion by exploring the practice of abiding in Christ and praying in the Spirit as key strategies for living intentionally.

I originally planned to cover it in today’s episode, but this one has gone longer than expected! So, be sure to join me next time as we dive into what it means to abide in Christ and experience true joy through the power of prayer.

See you then!

Sherry

More Resources: