Perspectives Into Practice | Walk with God

Jessica DeYoung | Real Faith & Faith Growth
  • 5.0 (14)
  • Christianity

Perspectives Into Practice is a Christian women’s podcast about walking with God in real life - where faith moves beyond inspiration and into practice. Hosted by Jessica DeYoung, each episode explores what spiritual growth actually looks like in everyday life. Through honest conversations about healing, obedience, uncertainty, and faith in hard seasons, this podcast helps you see life through God’s perspective and respond with practical spirituality. Rather than polished testimonies or surface-level encouragement, these episodes center on lived faith - the real-time perspective shifts God is shaping right now. You’ll hear how faith is being practiced in ordinary moments and receive simple, meaningful action steps to help you grow closer to God daily. If you are navigating healing and faith, trusting God in difficult seasons, or longing for spiritual growth that feels grounded and authentic, this space is for you. New episodes release every Tuesday with encouragement, clarity, and practical tools to help you live your faith out loud - because when we put God’s truth into practice, it transforms the way we walk with Him.

  1. 5d ago

    Overwhelmed by Good Things? How to Know What God Is Asking You to Say Yes To

    Have you ever found yourself overwhelmed by all the good things you've said yes to? Not bad things. Not things you necessarily regret. Good opportunities. Things you're excited about. Things that might even be part of what God is doing in your life. But somehow, somewhere along the way, the things that were supposed to bring you joy started bringing you stress instead. My new friend Tannera found herself in that exact place. In this episode of Perspectives Into Practice, we're talking about what happens when our schedules are full, our commitments keep growing, and we start wondering how we're supposed to do everything we've agreed to. Tannera shares how she and her husband intentionally seek God about what He has for them each year. But as new opportunities came along, she found herself saying yes to more and more things. Between work, building businesses, serving in church, beginning the adoption process, pursuing education, and developing new skills, she reached a point where she felt completely overwhelmed. So she went to God with a question. What needs to come off my plate? And His response brought her right back to something she'd forgotten. What had He actually asked her to do in the first place? Because sometimes we get so excited about all the possibilities in front of us that we start adding things God never asked us to carry. And before we know it, we're exhausted, frustrated, and wondering why we don't have time to sit with Him anymore. One of the things Tannera shares that really stood out to me is how her yes to all those good things had slowly become a no to spending time with God. Not intentionally. But it happened. And I think that's something we need to be willing to look at in our own lives. We also talk about the difference between what we believe we're capable of and what God is actually asking us to do. Because sometimes we need to recognize that we've taken on too much and something needs to go. Other times, we might be holding on to an old belief about ourselves that God is asking us to challenge. The important thing is learning to bring both of those possibilities to Him instead of deciding the answer before we've even asked. Tannera shares some really practical ways she's learning to examine her commitments, recognize the expectations she's placed on herself, and bring her thoughts back into alignment with God's Word. And I love that this isn't about doing more. It's about knowing what matters in the season God has you in right now. In this episode, we discuss: Recognizing when good things have become overwhelming Learning to say no without feeling guilty Knowing what God has actually asked you to do Recognizing the difference between God's direction and your own expectations Why every good opportunity isn't necessarily for your current season Protecting your relationship with God when life gets busy Recognizing when busyness is stealing your joy and peace Learning to slow down and seek God before saying yes Understanding your priorities in different seasons of life Recognizing when you're trying to outrun God's timing Letting go of things you've already invested time or money into Challenging the beliefs you've developed about your own capacity Recognizing the difference between a thought that feels true and what God's Word says is true Taking your thoughts captive and replacing lies with biblical truth Understanding that real emotions don't always tell us the truth Learning to love and serve the people in your life in ways that matter to them Asking practical ques...

    Overwhelmed by Good Things? How to Know What God Is Asking You to Say Yes To

  2. Oct 20

    How to Stop Trying to Control Others and Trust God With the People You Love

    Have you ever looked at someone else's life and thought, "If they would just listen to me, things would be so much better"? Maybe it's your child. Maybe it's someone you love deeply. Or maybe it's someone you don't even know very well, but you've already made up your mind about the decisions they're making. And then God reminds you that their walk with Him isn't yours to manage. In this episode of Perspectives Into Practice, I sit down with my new friend Wendy to talk about what God has been teaching her about judgment, grace, letting go of control, and trusting Him with the people around us. Wendy shares a recent experience at a conference where she found herself questioning why a particular speaker had been invited. She already had opinions about him based on things he'd said in the past, and she wasn't exactly excited to hear what he had to say. But as she sat there, God began asking her some questions of His own. And one of them was simple: Do you trust Me? What happened next challenged Wendy to recognize that people can grow, change, learn, and become more like Jesus, even when we aren't there to witness the process. God reminded her of something He's been teaching her for a while now: Eyes on your own paper, my dear. Because sometimes we're so busy watching what someone else is doing that we miss what God is trying to do in us.And this gets even harder when the person we're watching is someone we love. Wendy and I talk about what this looks like as mothers, especially as our children grow into adulthood and begin making decisions about their own faith. We can teach them, encourage them, pray for them, and love them with everything we have. But we cannot walk their relationship with Jesus for them. And trying to take responsibility for something that belongs to God can actually make it harder for us to love them well. One of the things I appreciate about Wendy's perspective is that she isn't talking about giving up on people or pretending their choices don't matter. She's learning to extend grace while still holding on to truth. She's learning when to speak and when to be quiet. And she's learning that trusting God with someone else's life doesn't mean loving them any less. In this episode, we discuss: Trusting God with the people we love Recognizing when we've already judged someone before listening Letting God challenge our assumptions about other people Extending grace while still holding on to biblical truth Remembering that people can grow, change, and learn Why we need to keep our eyes on our own walk with Jesus What John 21 teaches us about following Jesus instead of comparing ourselves to others Letting go of control as our children become adults Trusting God with adult children who aren't walking with Him Recognizing what belongs to us and what belongs to God Learning when to speak and when to hold our tongues Loving someone without taking responsibility for their spiritual journey Creating a safe place for our children to come back to Praying for people without trying to control the outcome Asking God to help us see the hearts of the people around us Leading with curiosity, love, and grace instead of judgment Why Christian community matters when we're navigating difficult relationships Trusting that God's love for our children is greater than our own One of the Scriptures Wendy brings us back to is John 21, where Peter asks Jesus about another disciple. And Jesus essentially reminds him that his responsibility...

    How to Stop Trying to Control Others and Trust God With the People You Love

  3. Oct 13

    Trusting God When Healing Hasn't Come: Faith, Chronic Pain, and Unanswered Prayers

    Have you ever prayed for something for so long that you started wondering when God was going to answer? Maybe you've been believing for healing. Maybe you're walking through something painful that hasn't changed, no matter how much you've prayed. You know God is faithful, but today is still hard. And sometimes you're just tired. In this episode of Perspectives Into Practice, I sit down with my new friend Ena to talk about what it looks like to trust God when healing hasn't come and you're still living in the middle of the story. Ena has spent years navigating chronic pain, spinal stenosis, surgeries, and physical limitations that have changed what she's able to do in everyday life. She describes this season as one where her body has grown weaker, but her spirit has grown stronger. And she's honest about how difficult that can be. There are days when her pain is overwhelming, when the things she wants to accomplish and the things her body will allow are completely different. There are moments of frustration, tears, and wondering why she's still going through this. But Ena is learning something important about her relationship with God. She doesn't have to measure God's presence by how she feels physically. We talk about the tension between believing God for healing and being honest about the pain you're experiencing today. Because having faith doesn't mean pretending that something doesn't hurt. It doesn't mean you never get frustrated. And it certainly doesn't mean you have to have a perfectly polished testimony before you can talk about God's goodness. Ena shares how she's learning to return to God again and again, even when she doesn't have the words for a long prayer. Sometimes it's simply, "Lord, help me.", remembering what He's already brought her through, it's choosing to praise Him in the middle of a difficult day, and sometimes it's learning that spending your best ten minutes with God can be more meaningful than trying to meet an expectation of what your time with Him is supposed to look like. One of my favorite parts of our conversation is how Ena talks about God as her Father. Not someone she only approaches when she needs something, but someone she genuinely wants to spend time with. Even while she's waiting, while she's hurting, and when she doesn't know what tomorrow will bring. In this episode, we discuss: Trusting God when healing hasn't come Living with chronic pain while holding on to faith Believing God for healing when circumstances haven't changed Being honest with God about pain, frustration, and disappointment Why struggling doesn't mean you're failing at faith Recognizing God's presence in the middle of suffering Remembering God's faithfulness during difficult seasons Finding spiritual strength when your body feels weak Returning to Scripture when life feels overwhelming Building a genuine relationship with God instead of checking religious boxes Why your best ten minutes with God matter Praying simple, honest prayers when you don't have the words Talking to God throughout your ordinary day Learning to trust God as a loving Father Seeking God's presence instead of only seeking an answer Choosing gratitude and praise during difficult circumstances Listening for God's guidance and taking the next step Continuing to trust God through unanswered prayers Returning to God again and again, even when you've struggled Friend, maybe you're living in your own messy middle right now. You've prayed. You've believed. You'v...

    Trusting God When Healing Hasn't Come: Faith, Chronic Pain, and Unanswered Prayers

  4. Oct 6

    From Knowing About God to Walking With Him: Building a Real Faith Relationship With Jesus

    There's a difference between knowing about God and actually learning to walk with Him. You can know the language of faith. You can go to church, listen to sermons, believe in Jesus, and know what you're supposed to do, while still feeling like you're trying to perform Christianity correctly. My new friend Amanda describes herself as a “baby Christian,” even though Jesus has been part of her story for most of her life. At 51, something shifted. Amanda describes it as moving from being a believer to becoming a disciple. In this episode of Perspectives Into Practice, Amanda and I talk about what changed when she stopped trying to come to Jesus the way she thought she was supposed to and started learning how to build an honest, personal relationship with Him. For years, Amanda relied heavily on other people to help her understand Scripture and tell her what it meant for her life. But as she began learning how to read and study the Bible for herself, pray differently, pause, listen, and seek God's direction, her relationship with Him began to change. She started realizing that she could bring her questions directly to God. She could search Scripture. She could pray for clarity. She could wait when an answer didn't come immediately. And she could make decisions with greater confidence because she was learning to recognize God's voice and bring everything back to His Word. We also talk about Amanda discovering later in life that she is neurodivergent and how understanding the way her brain works helped her stop trying to experience faith exactly like everyone else. Her relationship with Jesus didn't need to look exactly like someone else's.Neither does yours. Amanda uses a picture I love: let God drive the boat. That sounds great when the water is calm. It's a little harder when God changes direction, life doesn't look the way we expected, or we're making a decision and can't see where He's taking us. But Amanda is learning that she doesn't have to grab the wheel every time the direction changes. She can trust the One driving. In this episode, we discuss: The difference between knowing about God and walking with Him Moving from simply believing to actively following Jesus Building a personal relationship with Jesus Learning to read and understand Scripture for yourself Taking questions back to God's Word Praying, pausing, and listening for God's direction Waiting when God doesn't immediately give you an answer Using outside resources without replacing Scripture Recognizing God's voice in everyday life Making decisions with biblical confidence Learning how God created you instead of trying to copy someone else's faith Amanda's experience discovering neurodivergence later in life Finding Christian community that supports how you're wired Becoming a doer of the Word instead of only hearing it Trusting God when He changes the direction of your life Seeing fruit begin to grow from a deeper relationship with Jesus Finding God in ordinary moments Continuing to seek Jesus even when it takes longer than you expected One thing Amanda says at the end of our conversation really sums this up: Don't give up. If you've spent years believing in God but still feel like you're searching for the kind of relationship with Jesus other people talk about, keep seeking Him. You don't have to perform your way into a relationship with Jesus. Open His Word. Talk to Him. Ask questions. Pause. Listen. Find other believers who can walk alongs...

    From Knowing About God to Walking With Him: Building a Real Faith Relationship With Jesus

  5. Sep 29

    Trusting God When You Don’t Know What’s Next: Rest, Patience, and Taking the Next Step

    What do you do when you know God is leading you, but you still have no idea what comes next? That messy middle can be hard. You know He's working. You know He's faithful. But you still want the timeline, the details, and maybe even the whole picture before you're willing to relax. In this episode of Perspectives Into Practice, I sit down with my new friend Dara to talk about what it looks like to trust God while the story is still unfolding. Dara is walking through a season where some of the things she's prayed about are beginning to take shape, especially in the areas of career and business, but she still doesn't know exactly how everything is going to come together. And if you're anything like us, that can be uncomfortable. We talk about impatience, wanting God to move faster, and learning to stop forcing clarity He hasn't given yet. Dara shares how God has been teaching her to fully rest in His Word, not just glance at it and move on, but truly rest in who He is and remember that He handled the last season, He can handle this one too. That kind of rest changes something. It takes away some of the pressure to make everything happen right now. We also talk about comparison and how easy it is to look at someone else's life and think they are further ahead, more successful, or somehow getting answers faster than we are. Dara shares how God has been reminding her that we are not meant to live in a hierarchy of comparison. We are connected to one another, but we are each walking the path God has given us. And sometimes the most faithful thing we can do is pause. Pause long enough to hear Him. Pause long enough to evaluate what we're carrying. Pause long enough to ask whether we're moving with God or just moving because we're afraid to stop. In this episode, we discuss: Trusting God when you don't know what comes next Living faithfully in the messy middle Resting in God's Word instead of forcing clarity Trusting God's timing in career and business decisions Letting go of impatience and anxiety Remembering God's faithfulness from previous seasons Building rhythms of prayer and Scripture into everyday life Learning to recognize God's guidance one step at a time Trusting God as a good Father Comparing ourselves to others and staying in our own lane Why community matters when we're trying to discern what God is doing Taking a pause before life forces us to stop Using self-assessment to realign with God's will Letting God lead an unfinished story Friend, maybe you're in the middle of your own unfinished story right now. You don't have all the answers. You don't know how it's going to work out. And maybe God isn't asking you to figure out the entire plan. Maybe He's simply asking you to pause, notice where He is, trust who He is, and take the next step He puts in front of you. Take a moment and ask yourself where you're rushing, where you're comparing, where you're exhausted, and where God may be asking you to slow down and come back into alignment with Him. You can learn more about Dara and connect with her at 12CupsofGrace.com. And if you're looking for a place to share what God is doing while you're still living the story, come join us inside The Story Haven. It's a free community where we share the real, right-now stories of what God is doing, encourage one another, and build genuine relationships as we walk it out together. Join us at TheStoryHaven.net or search The Story Haven in the App Store or Google Play. If God is doing something in y...

    Trusting God When You Don’t Know What’s Next: Rest, Patience, and Taking the Next Step

  6. Sep 22

    When You’re Weary of Persevering: Trusting God Through Suffering, Grief, and Chronic Illness

    What happens when you're tired of persevering? Not when you've stopped believing in God. Not when you've decided to walk away. But when you've prayed, trusted, kept going, and finally find yourself saying, “Lord, I know You're with me, but I'm weary.” My new friend Lara knows that kind of weariness deeply. She has spent the last eight years living with a rare neurological illness that has left her mostly bedridden. During that time, she has experienced the loss of her health and career, and then the devastating loss of her husband after only a year of marriage. And this isn't a conversation from the other side of a perfectly wrapped-up testimony. Lara is still living it. In this episode of Perspectives Into Practice, Lara and I talk honestly about what it looks like to continue trusting God when the suffering hasn't ended, the healing hasn't come, and you're simply tired of persevering. Lara shares about a morning when she finally told God, “I am so weary. I cannot do this anymore.” Later that same day, she opened her devotional and found Galatians 6:9: “Let us not grow weary...” It was one of many moments when God met her personally in the middle of her suffering and reminded her that He heard her. But Lara is also honest about the times when an answer didn't come. We talk about wrestling with God, asking why, grieving what has been lost, and learning that being weary doesn't mean you've failed at faith. Sometimes perseverance doesn't look like charging forward. Sometimes it looks like staying close to Jesus when you don't understand what He's doing. Lara shares how God has been teaching her to surrender the life she expected, release things that had become too important to her identity, receive His strength when she has none of her own, and trust that suffering is not wasted in His hands. We also talk about something that can feel almost impossible when you're hurting: joy and grief existing at the same time. Biblical joy doesn't require us to pretend something isn't painful. We can grieve deeply and still ask the Holy Spirit to give us a joy that doesn't depend on our circumstances. In this episode, we discuss: What to do when you're tired of persevering Bringing your weariness honestly before God Trusting God when chronic illness doesn't go away Wrestling with God when healing hasn't come Persevering through prolonged suffering Depending on God's strength instead of our own What 2 Corinthians 12:9 taught Lara about weakness and God's strength Surrendering the life you thought you would have Finding identity beyond productivity, achievement, career, and relationships Allowing God to refine us through difficult seasons Trusting that God can use suffering even when we cannot understand why Developing an eternal perspective in the middle of present suffering Making room for both grief and joy The difference between rejoicing in difficult circumstances and being thankful that suffering happened Asking the Holy Spirit for joy when you cannot create it yourself Trusting God when you're still in the middle of the story Remembering that weariness is not the same thing as failing at faith Friend, maybe you're tired too. Maybe you've been asking God the same question for years. Maybe you've watched someone else receive the answer you've desperately wanted. Maybe you're grieving a life you thought would look completely different. You don't have to hide that from Him. You can tell God you're tired. You can grieve. You can...

    When You’re Weary of Persevering: Trusting God Through Suffering, Grief, and Chronic Illness

  7. Sep 15

    Finding Joy in a Wilderness Season: Faith and Spiritual Growth When Life Is Hard

    Have you ever looked at your circumstances and thought, “I should not have this much peace right now”? Life can be genuinely hard. We can walk through wilderness seasons where circumstances haven't changed, answers haven't come, and we don't necessarily feel joyful. But joy doesn't have to depend on life going well. In this episode of Perspectives Into Practice, I sit down with my friend Trisha to talk about what God has been teaching her about finding joy and peace in Him while walking through a difficult season. Trisha shares how God has reminded her through Deuteronomy 2 that He knows when we're walking through the wilderness. He hasn't forgotten us there. Looking back at her own season, she can see that even when life was incredibly difficult, God was with her, carrying her and providing what she needed. One Scripture became especially important to her: “The joy of the Lord is your strength.” That joy didn't mean everything suddenly became easy. It wasn't pretending she wasn't hurting or forcing herself to be happy. It meant learning to draw her strength from God when she didn't have enough of her own. We talk about the difference between happiness and the kind of joy that comes from God, and some of the simple practices that have helped Trisha keep returning to Him. Sometimes it's noticing the rain she prayed for. Sometimes it's sitting still long enough to feel the wind or hear the birds. Sometimes it's writing down three things she's grateful for, laughing when life has become too serious, or staying in God's Word longer instead of giving up because she didn't immediately hear from Him. There is so much beauty around us that we can miss when we're moving too quickly. And sometimes finding God in a wilderness season begins by slowing down enough to notice that He has been there all along. In this episode, we discuss: Finding joy when your circumstances haven't changed The difference between happiness and joy in God Trusting God through a wilderness season What Deuteronomy 2 teaches us about God's presence in the wilderness Finding strength in the joy of the Lord Recognizing God's provision when life is difficult Slowing down enough to notice what God is doing Finding God in simple, ordinary moments Sitting with God instead of rushing through time with Him Persevering in Scripture when you don't immediately hear from God Choosing gratitude in difficult seasons Using laughter and gratitude to shift your perspective Being honest with God when you don't feel joyful Seeking God instead of trying to create joy in your own strength Friend, if you're walking through a wilderness season right now, you don't have to pretend that it isn't hard. You don't have to manufacture joy or make yourself feel something you don't. Go to God honestly. Tell Him where you are. Sit with Him. Stay awhile. Look around. Look back. Pay attention to the small ways He's caring for you that may be easy to miss when you're focused on everything that hasn't changed yet. Your circumstances don't have to be perfect for you to experience the goodness of God. And if you've been craving a place to walk through seasons like this with other Christian women who are learning to notice God, share what He's doing, and practice their faith in real life, I'd love to invite you into The Story Haven. It's a free community built around honest stories, real faith, and genuine connection. Come find your people at TheStoryHaven.net. And if God is doing something in your life right now that you feel called to share, I'd love to hear yo...

    Finding Joy in a Wilderness Season: Faith and Spiritual Growth When Life Is Hard

  8. Sep 8

    You Don’t Need God’s Whole Plan to Give Him Your Next Yes: A Story of Obedience and God’s Provision

    Have you ever felt God asking you to do something when you had absolutely no idea how it was going to work? That was Wholeness in the Wilderness for me. Nine months before seven women gathered together on the Southern Oregon Coast, God gave me the name for this retreat while I was walking through the redwoods and coming out of my own wilderness season. I was excited. I was ready. And then God asked me to wait. Months later, when He finally said go, I quickly realized how many pieces I couldn't see. I had no budget. No house. No registrations. I didn't know where the provision would come from or exactly who God was bringing. But I knew He had asked me to do it. In this solo episode of Perspectives Into Practice, I'm finally taking you behind the scenes of the nine months leading up to our first Wholeness in the Wilderness retreat and sharing the trail of God's fingerprints I can see now that I'm on the other side of it. And friend, there were fingerprints everywhere. God provided through people, businesses, flowers, coffee, gift bags, pizza, unexpected conversations, financial gifts, registrations, referrals, and connections I never could have orchestrated myself. He even provided the house less than a week before the retreat. One of the biggest things God taught me through all of this was that I had been praying for provision while already deciding what His provision was supposed to look like. I thought provision meant money. God showed me it could look like so much more. There were moments when I worried. I questioned. I cried. There were moments when I wondered if I had heard Him correctly and whether this thing I had said yes to was actually going to happen. But one step at a time, God kept asking me for another yes. And He kept providing the next piece. In this episode, I share: How Wholeness in the Wilderness began during my own wilderness season What Scripture taught me about God's purpose in the wilderness Why God asked me to wait months before beginning the retreat What obedience looked like when I couldn't see the whole plan How I moved forward with zero budget and zero registrations What God taught me when the provision I prayed for looked completely different than I expected The unexpected people and businesses God used to provide How a simple Facebook post about flowers led to women, relationships, and beautiful retreat experiences The story of finding the retreat house less than a week before everyone arrived The little dollar bill God winks that kept reminding me He would provide Why spiritual preparation mattered just as much as preparing the physical retreat What I can see about God's faithfulness now that I couldn't see while I was living it Why you don't need God's whole plan to give Him your next yes Here's what I want you to practice after listening. Before you spend all your energy trying to figure out what's next, look back. Who has God brought into your life? What seemingly random conversations have happened? What doors closed? Which unexpected ones opened? Where has provision already come from? What Scriptures keep coming back to you? Is it possible you've been waiting for God to answer a prayer one way while He's already answering it differently? Write those things down and ask Him: God, is there a thread I've been too close to see? Because sometimes when we're living in the middle of the story, all we see are a bunch of unrelated moments. Then we look back and realize there was a trail. God was moving the whole time. I can look back at...

    You Don’t Need God’s Whole Plan to Give Him Your Next Yes: A Story of Obedience and God’s Provision
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Perspectives Into Practice is a Christian women’s podcast about walking with God in real life - where faith moves beyond inspiration and into practice. Hosted by Jessica DeYoung, each episode explores what spiritual growth actually looks like in everyday life. Through honest conversations about healing, obedience, uncertainty, and faith in hard seasons, this podcast helps you see life through God’s perspective and respond with practical spirituality. Rather than polished testimonies or surface-level encouragement, these episodes center on lived faith - the real-time perspective shifts God is shaping right now. You’ll hear how faith is being practiced in ordinary moments and receive simple, meaningful action steps to help you grow closer to God daily. If you are navigating healing and faith, trusting God in difficult seasons, or longing for spiritual growth that feels grounded and authentic, this space is for you. New episodes release every Tuesday with encouragement, clarity, and practical tools to help you live your faith out loud - because when we put God’s truth into practice, it transforms the way we walk with Him.

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