Thrive 2024 - Day 6

there's one more thing that will give you the optimal opportunity to thrive. That one thing is actually why there's an Inner Circle, because people said, I don't have it. And I kept talking about this thing and people kept saying, I don't have it. So I created it online and then we do things together. So if you're interested in finding out more about the Inner Circle, check it out. If you feel like there are intentions that you have with your life that are just not quite panning out, let me tell you what the problem is. Okay, let me tell you what the problem is. You know what to do, but you're not doing it. And do you know what the Bible says about that? To him who knows what to do and does not do it, to him it is sin. But it's all right. I don't want to make you feel like you're a bad sinner. I just want you to know that there has to be a connection between what you know and what you do. So let me tell you what I'm going to talk about today. I'm going to talk about connection. You need connection. You need community. You need a circle. That's why there's an inner circle. That's why I have my Sister Circle. There's a group of us that are on, um, that we know each other from like, I mean, gosh shucks, 30 years. It's at least 30 years. Like, we're a 30 to 35 group, and, um, we know each other well. Like, so well that there have been spats and sister things and all that, but we know each other well, and we show up for each other, and we have a little Voxer group and we talk to each other when we feel like it in text groups and foolery, Instagram messaging groups and all the things. Um, and people would say to me, Chrystal, I don't have that. One of the things that we want to do, um, as a part of the content we create in the near future is teach you how to have that, to, to put together materials that teach you how to have your own circle. But in lieu of you having your own, or in preparation for you having your own, or as an extension of you having your in real life circle, That's what the Inner Circle is designed to do. It's designed to say, hey, listen, do you need people in your life who are speaking truth to you and then encouraging you to move the needle in your life? Okay. That's what the Inner Circle does. Once you've decided that you want to do what it takes to thrive, it causes you to pay attention to all the other things in your life. You, you, you start doing the work of what in my life Am I supposed to be connected to people? But the people should feed your knowledge of self. They'll feed your knowledge of self. They will teach you what, what it feels like to be seen, to be loved, to be on fire, to have joy. And you'll begin to know what this means and you'll start looking for it in other places. When you have expectation in your life, when you're excited about something, God doing something new in your life, when you believe that just because you haven't been thriving, you can still thrive, even if you don't know what that means, you start getting excited. Connection. So here's the deal. The Bible says, I am the vine, you are the branch— branches. If you abide in me, you will have much fruit. And yes, you need to be connected to God. You need to be connected to Jesus. You need to have the Spirit's power at work in your life in order to know what it is to have the best fruit. We've all been to the store. We've all been to the grocery store and we know the difference between lame fruit and grapefruit. We know the difference because we will look and we will pick. We want that apple, not that apple. We want that orange, not that orange. We want this banana, not those banana. In fact, I'm very specific about the kind of bananas that I want. I want bananas that are yellow, but that still have a green tip. In other words, they're just about ripe, but they're still firm ripe. And they're not quite mushy ripe. If they have too many black dots on it, don't pick it up. If they have too many, uh, damages and blemishes on them, don't pick it up. I need them to come almost right because that's how I like them. So when I go to the store, I'm very picky about my fruit because fruit can come in different types of assortment. They're all fruit, but they don't all look the same. You can produce fruit and it not be the best fruit. Now, if Jesus, who was the Son of God, who had the full power of the Spirit, who got up from the dead— if he came to Earth and as a human he He said, I'm gonna go get some friends. Then how much more so do we? He gave us an example. And there's a reason why Weight Watchers works. You do it in community. There's a reason why, uh, therapy works. Listen, when you make the decisive decision, when you make the intention reality to put connection and community in your life, it changes the game. It ups the ante. It gives you better shot at raising the probability that you have of reaching your goals because some things we were designed to do together. There are some things that are only gonna happen in community. This is even someone like me who does enjoy community, but I don't mind being alone. I actually really do enjoy that when I just wanna do what I wanna do. Do you ever just wanna do what you wanna do? That's fine. There's nothing wrong with that. There's nothing wrong with being an introvert or an extrovert or an ambivert or whatever. But what I'm telling you is that there are things that you're supposed to accomplish in your life. They're not supposed to be accomplished on your own. Most of us have circles. Hi, Jesse. Most of us have circles. Okay. We have them. We're just not intentional about them. That's the problem. And that's the difference. If you have a group of women and your kids have been in the same class together for the last 10 years, and now from kindergarten, they're in the sophomore year and y'all are still meeting and praying for your kids or showing up and volunteering for the school dance. You know who they are. You know their phone numbers, you know where they live, but you've never prayed for them. Or you've never said, girl, can we read a book together? Can we do a Bible study together? And it can be like spiritual oriented, but it can also just be, you know what? I just figured we know each other and we should be like helping each other move the needle in our lives. What are you trying to achieve in your life? And how can we hold you accountable to that? How can we support you? How can we show up for you? Like we've been doing this one thing together, but how can we be intentional with the relationship that we've built? You've worked at the same job for 5 years. Y'all see each other more than you see your spouses, but you're not intentional about it. And that is the difference between people you know and you're around and people that you decide to be intentional with and you build community around. Connection, real connection. They can look in your eyes and they know when you're not okay. They can tell. And they have permission to ask and check on you. How do you have community? If you search Chrystal Hurst and Tammy Franklin on YouTube, you'll come up with a video where I talk to Tammy Franklin and her friends, the same group of women that have been praying together. And that's how they started. They have become long-term fast friends because they decided to pray together. That's how it started. They knew each other and decided to be intentional. And now, 10 years later, they have permission to get in each other's business and in their face and to say, but how are you really doing? They've buried family members together. They have gone through horrible relationship scenarios together, but they have been together. So when one girl was hurting, the other 9 were strong. You need that in your life. And if you don't know how to get it, then you may be the one who has to start it. And there are a lot of ways to start it. A book club, go walking, start with prayer, a Bible study, uh, to, to serve together. There are a lot of ideas for getting your sister circle started, but you may have to be the one. I mean, can we just be real? Circles with chicks are not the easiest thing. Our attitudes, our emotions, our words, our, you know, just— I just think it's too many women sometimes in the kitchen, and it's not the easiest thing. But it's not easy, but it's worth it. If Jesus can be friends with Judas, having the full knowledge of God, knowing that Judas was going to be the one to betray him— he knew it. He knew it when he invited him to do all the things. He knew it when he broke bread with him the last time at the Last Supper. And then he looked at him and said, Now go do what you have to do. Sometimes you have to take the risk that the people that you invite into your backyard, that they may bite you. I'm just aware that you have to take the risk. There is risk to love. And at the end of the day, all I'm talking about in terms of connection and your sister circle, your circle of influence, is love. Even parenting, the connection that you have with your children, it's a risk. And if you have adult children, you know this to be true, because these kids, they start losing their minds. They start losing their minds. I'm just like, I have your childbirth on video. It will traumatize the mess out of you, but I'm gonna show it to you so you understand when you start talking to me crazy why I black out. I don't know what I said or did to you. What I know is that I went through hell and high water to get you here, and you have the nerve to— have you lost your mind? Even parenting is a risk to love. We do it because we think the risk is worth it. I'm here to tell you that your circle, whether you have your own circle, your in-person circle, whether you're a part of my inner circle, the risk is worth it. Because when you take the risk, let me tell you what you're doing. Ultimately, it's what you were designed for.