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 real faith, faith growth, and learning to walk with God in everyday life - where faith moves beyond inspiration and into practice. Hosted by Jessica DeYoung, each episode explores what spiritual growth actually looks like in real life. Through honest conversations about healing, obedience, trust in 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, real faith - the 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 deepen your walk with God and grow closer to Him daily. If you are navigating healing and faith, trusting God in difficult seasons, or longing for faith 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. 2h ago

    When God Asks You to Trust Him Without Knowing Why

    Have you ever felt God inviting you into something and immediately started asking questions? Why this? Why now? What am I supposed to do when I get there? And God, could You please give me just a little more information before I say yes? I think sometimes we assume that if God is leading us somewhere, eventually He's going to give us enough details to make the whole thing make sense. But what if He doesn't? What if the invitation is simply to come with Him? In this episode of Perspectives Into Practice, I'm sitting down with my new friend Lori G. Melton to talk about what God has been teaching her about following Jesus when the invitation comes before the explanation. Lori has always loved adventure, but lately, God has been changing the way she approaches the adventures He's inviting her into. She's learning that she doesn't always need to understand what God plans to do with her yes before she gives it. And friend, I think that's something a lot of us can relate to. Because it's one thing to say we trust God. It's another thing entirely to feel Him inviting us into something and realize we have absolutely no idea why. Lori shares a beautiful story about an invitation to attend a writing workshop in Scotland. Years earlier, she'd felt strongly that if the opportunity ever came, she was supposed to go. But when that opportunity finally arrived, it didn't make much sense. She had already finished the writing project she'd been working on, didn't have anything new to submit to the workshop, and couldn't explain why she needed to spend the time and money to go. But she couldn't shake that invitation. As she continued seeking God, He began showing her something that challenged the way she'd always approached opportunities. She didn't need to come home with a specific result to make the experience worthwhile. She didn't need another project, a list of accomplishments, or a clear explanation of what the trip was supposed to produce. She could simply go, enjoy what God had prepared, and be willing to give and receive whatever He had for her along the way. Lori calls this learning to embrace holy mystery. And I love that phrase because so often, we want to know what something is going to lead to before we're willing to take the first step. We want to know whether the investment will be worth it, whether we're making the right decision, and whether we're going to have something to show for our obedience. But what if God is inviting us to stop measuring every yes by the outcome we expect? What if there's something beautiful about following Him simply because we know who's asking? We also talk about how this doesn't mean saying yes to every opportunity that comes along. Lori shares another invitation she's been considering and how she's learning to seek confirmation through Scripture, prayer, trusted friendships, and conversations with her husband. Because sometimes the fear we feel is simply part of stepping into something unfamiliar, and other times, we need to recognize that an opportunity might not be right for the season we're in. Learning to discern the difference matters. In this episode, we discuss: Following Jesus when you don't understand where He's leading Learning to trust God without knowing the outcome What Lori means by embracing holy mystery Saying yes to God before having all the answers Letting go of the need to control every detail Trusting God with opportunities that don't seem to make sense Releasing expectations about what obedience should produce Finding freedom in not needing a specific result Learning to approach God's invitations with childlike trust Recognizing when fear is holding you back Discern...

    When God Asks You to Trust Him Without Knowing Why

  2. Nov 3

    How to Grow Closer to God Through Prayer, Not Just Routine

    Have you ever stopped to think about how you're actually praying? Not whether you're praying enough or saying the right words, but whether you're really bringing your heart to God and making room to listen to Him. Because sometimes prayer becomes so familiar that we find ourselves going through the motions without even realizing it. We pray for our families, our circumstances, the people around us, and the things weighing on our hearts. But are we being intentional about those conversations? Are we asking God for specific things? And are we taking time to recognize what He's doing throughout our day? In this episode of Perspectives Into Practice, I sit down with my new friend Donna to talk about what God has been teaching her about prayer, trusting His answers, and growing closer to Him in everyday life. Donna shares how she's been rediscovering something that made a difference in her relationship with God years ago. A group of women called The Fives, who committed to praying five days a week, at 5 a.m., for five weeks. Now, before you decide this episode isn't for you because 5 a.m. sounds absolutely terrible, stay with us! Because one of the things we talk about is that growing closer to God isn't about getting up at a particular hour. It's about making intentional time to be with Him. For Donna, those early mornings have become a place where she can slow down, spend time in God's Word, pray with other women, and actually listen. And what started years ago as something that felt like an obligation has become something she genuinely looks forward to. But that's not the only thing God has been changing. Donna shares how she's learning to move away from those broad, blanket prayers we can so easily fall into and begin bringing specific requests to God. Not because we can somehow convince Him to give us everything we want. But because He invites us to come to Him, to ask, to seek, and to knock. And because He cares about the things that matter to us. We talk about what it looks like to pray boldly while still trusting that God's answer might be different from what we were hoping for. Because sometimes the answer is yes. Sometimes it's no. And sometimes we don't understand what He's doing until we're looking back years later. But even when His answer isn't what we wanted, we can trust that He sees what we cannot. And I love how Donna is learning to carry that relationship with God beyond her morning prayer time. She's even started setting alarms throughout the day to remind herself to stop, pray, give thanks, and recognize His presence. And friend, if you need to set an alarm to remind yourself to talk to God, that's okay! Sometimes we need practical reminders while we're building new habits. The point isn't to make prayer another obligation. It's to grow in a relationship where talking to God becomes a natural part of our everyday lives. In this episode, we discuss: How to grow closer to God through prayer Learning to pray boldly and specifically Moving beyond routine prayers and religious checklists Why God wants a relationship with us, not perfect words Trusting God's answers when they aren't what we hoped for Praying with faith while surrendering the outcome What it means to ask, seek, and knock Recognizing God's faithfulness when looking back on difficult seasons Making intentional time for prayer and Bible study Finding a prayer routine that works for your season of life How praying with other women can strengthen your faith The Fives, praying five days a week at 5 a.m. for five weeks ...

    How to Grow Closer to God Through Prayer, Not Just Routine

  3. Oct 27

    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

  4. 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

  5. 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

  6. 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

  7. 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

  8. 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
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About

Perspectives Into Practice is a Christian women's podcast about real faith, faith growth, and learning to walk with God in everyday life - where faith moves beyond inspiration and into practice. Hosted by Jessica DeYoung, each episode explores what spiritual growth actually looks like in real life. Through honest conversations about healing, obedience, trust in 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, real faith - the 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 deepen your walk with God and grow closer to Him daily. If you are navigating healing and faith, trusting God in difficult seasons, or longing for faith 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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