Today in this solo podcast episode, the last one of 2023 and the last one for a few months, I want to talk about letting go of idolizing the past. We cannot move forward, if we insist on focusing on the past. The tendency to retro reach (trying to recapture and relive the past at the expense of the now and the future) is a prescription for unhappiness.

Through a personal, and humorous story, I share how we can get the wrong idea of who God is and proceed with that idea until we find ourselves disillusioned and disappointed. As we move into 2024, letting go of 2023, may we see that each day ahead is ordained by God. And by insisting on finding value only in what is behind us, is a form of disillusion and will lead to disappointment.

I am praying my listeners are ready to let go of the past and not see it as something it is not and probably never was. I pray that many of the stories in these three years of Livin' What You're Given will of benefit in dropping the focus on the past, releasing the years that have come and gone, and paving the way for a healthy way forward.

The website for Stephen Ray Watts and the band Dotsero   https://dotseroband.com

The website to connect with Laura Padgett https://lauralpadgett.com 

Today, I am joined by Ashley Pyles, a Christian Transformational Faith Coach who has spent decades helping women not only strengthen their faith, but also put it into action. There are many reasons why we can stunt our spiritual growth, and one of those is hanging onto the past. In our conversation on Livin' What You're Given, Ashley offers some tools to help us resist this retro-reach posture. She shares from her own experiences how she has learned to release the past and receive the blessings of the future.

Through a three-step process based in scripture, Ashley shares strategies to let go of our past and move into our purpose by changing our thought lives. The gems she shares are for people of all ages and stages as we try to navigate the lives we have been given to live.

“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”  ‭‭Philippians‬ ‭3‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ ‭NKJV‬‬


1) Forgetting those things which are behind: By choosing to no longer look at it inside of your mind by becoming aware of your thought life and finding closure with your past. How?  Forgive yourself and others and receive God's forgiveness. Do not forget to take note of what have learned.

2) Reaching forward to what is ahead by gaining vision for the future and seeking Jesus. Look at the promises in the Bible and ask to gain a vision for future. How?  By seeking the one who holds the keys into our best future. Seeking can be hard but if we grab a hold of a promise in the Bible, keep it before us and meditate upon it, we have an avenue to leave the past and refuse to look back.
Where there is no vision, people cast off restraint… Prov 29:18

3) Press toward the call (purpose) of God upon your life by believing that God has a purpose for the future seasons. Taking time to hear Him and pressing into the direction He is calling us to will reveal our path forward. 

In addition to these steps, Ashley encourages us to see that as we do this work consistently, we will see our thoughts moving out of the old patterns and into a new thought life of release and receive. She stresses that humility and leaning into Jesus are mandatory.

These strategies and more will be available in Ashley's upcoming book, "Developing Powerful Responses" which will be available in fall of 2023. It's also a 6 week coaching Program that she offers and that will be available in spring of 2024. You can watch for more information on these on her website at the address below.

To reach out to Ashley Pyles, go to https://www.liontribe.net/ https://www.facebook.com/liontribe.net or https://www.facebook.com/ashley.pyles.14

  The website for Stephen Ray Watts and the band Dotsero   https://dotseroband.com

The website to connect with Laura Padgett https://lauralpadgett.com 

In this week's episode, which is a solo, I want to share the word "burdens" as an acronym. I think this is particularly important as the holidays are here and we can feel overwhelmed by the expectations we place on ourselves and the expectations we try to meet that are placed upon us by others. The point of this is to demonstrate that it is our choice to allow our own (sometimes unreasonable) expectations and those of others to weigh us down or not. Drawing from seven decades of I want to share how we can be:

 B: Blinded to the blessings around us as we try and try to meet expectations.

U: Undermined by our own hand in moving forward in God's purpose for our lives.

 R: Reaching and reaching for yesterday in the retro reach posture that deceives us into believing all things were once flawless and wonderful.

 D: Dwelling on making sure everyone has their expectations met.

E: Envying what we think others have that we do not.

N: Seeing ourselves as never enough no matter how hard we try.

S: Subtracting the Holy Spirit from the equation and thereby missing what God really wants us to see and enjoy.

 To be burdened by unreasonable expectations of others and ourselves brings us out of joy for the Holiday Season and into a frantic race to fulfill everything but our purpose in being here at all.   I hope you can identify with some of these elements of burdening ourselves and choose to release those burdens to enjoy this celebratory season.

 The website for Stephen Ray Watts and the band Dotsero   https://dotseroband.com

The website to connect with Laura Padgett https://lauralpadgett.com