This journaling is for anyone who's hungry.

and curious to really be connected to God, to hear what he has to say.

Someone who really wants to live, by God's grace, by his love and by his guidance.

and someone who's like, but I'm not sure if I really know how to do that.

I'm not sure if I know how to hear his voice.

Does he really speak to me?

Um, uh,

How do you embrace the richness of life from Broadway tunes to

the depths of personal transformation while guiding others to discover their

own paths on today's episode of Seek, Go Create the Leadership Journey.

We welcome Megan Nielsen, a dynamic content creator, podcaster, life

coach, and author, passionately committed to helping others

live deeply connected lives.

Megan's life journey includes embracing her role as a mother, a wife, a

community leader, all while fostering deep connections through her love

for personality assessments, her work with Life Center Ethiopia, and her

service as an elder in her church.

Join us as Megan shares her insights on overcoming life's challenges.

The power of personal connections and how her faith has guided her

through significant life changes and into helping others navigate their

own spiritual and personal journeys.

Megan, welcome to Seek Go

Create.

you.

That sounds exciting.

I can't wait to listen to that interview.

Who is this person?

And, but you know, one of the things I just noticed as I

was going through this and we're going to kind of do some deep dive on

journaling and some things like that, but all that was woven into that.

But before we get rolling.

Other than what I just said, if someone asks you, it might

depend on where they are.

If someone asks you what you do, you're out and about or

something, what do you tell them?

Well it depends on whose perspective it is.

If you ask my kids, what do I do?

They would say she annoys me.

So there, there's that.

My kids are all between 17 and 23.

but I think the first thing that comes to my mind is that I just love

connecting with people, so I love connecting people to each other.

If you've ever done the strengths finders, Clifton strengths, connectedness

is definitely one of my top five.

So as far as what do I do, I'm constantly like.

Diving in with people, asking them deeper questions.

It could be in the grocery store line, which is super annoying for my kids.

but really ultimately I'm just a connector and I love to see

like, how did God design you?

What's your purpose?

And so I do that through motherhood.

I do that in my marriage.

I do that in my church and in my vocation.

So I'm always doing a deep dive with somebody with their personality,

their desires, their dreams.

And that's really what makes me tick all the time.

I love when people talk strength finders because that is, I

noticed you, and I like on your website that you actually put all of your,

uh, personality profile credentials.

It's like, wow, she's like right out there with all her Enneagram strength

finders, all this kind of stuff.

I've got mine in places, but it's a deeper place than you have to

look for it a little bit more.

But I string finders and my wife has a background in all this kind of stuff too.

That's kind of our favorite right now.

And we both are high strategy, but.

I have a lot of that connectedness in my top two, which is one of

the reasons why we're going to have a great conversation here.

So do the kids roll their eyes when you're in the grocery store and you start having

like a life type conversation with people?

Yeah.

It's like my kids, my kids, they just like, they start to cringe because they

see me if they, Hey, how's your day?

What are you up to?

And all of a sudden they're like, Oh, Don't do it.

Don't don't, don't ask them, you know, if the kids get in

the car with me and I'm driving.

So, but I've just learned to embrace it.

It's just who I am.

But at the same time, I really do realize that.

It might be offensive and it might be tough for my kids.

So I, I have been known to hold back a time or two, but it is, takes all the

self discipline in the world to do so.

Let me tell you,

were you always a connector?

Did you always reach out to people as far back as you can remember?

Or was that something you just started doing at some point in life?

I think I've always been a connector, but I haven't always had the

confidence to do so if that makes sense.

So I have grown in my 50 plus years on this earth and every

decade I feel like I become more and more who God created me to be.

So in some sense that connector person has always been, she's always existed,

but I've had to sift through a lot of.

self confidence issues, really finding my voice and trusting that when I put

myself out there and I want to connect with somebody, that's a really, like God

given thing versus, some other narrative that I may have believed over the years.

Like they don't really want to know you, you're being too nosy.

I've actually had to work to refine and hone that skill

and see God's design for it.

If that makes sense.

Cause what's interesting is I think I have

those similar, I'm wired that way.

And I have a vivid memory of going with my grandfather to what used to be

called the old folks home in Aberdeen, Mississippi, and he would go up and down.

It was just like a one.

Corridor hall.

And he would go to each door, look and see if he knew who they were.

And we would walk in and just start talking to people.

And he wasn't a deeply, I don't think spiritual man.

I don't think it was like ministry.

He just was taught.

And I was like four years old, five years old, walking up and down with him.

And I remember thinking that was the way I was or the way I should be or something.

Like that.

And, and it kind of, I've always been that way

since that

time.

I don't know if that unlocked it for me.

I don't know if that gave me the confidence, but what I want to circle

back to you on is what squelched it along the way, what was some of the

limiting factors for you stepping into what now you just mentioned 50

something years in, you were created for in the first place at the foundation.

yeah, I've done a lot of therapy over the years.

I can kind of joke about this at the outset, but truly like I've

had to do some deep work about what the origin of that was.

And I will say, In a measured way that there is some generational

expectations and narratives and like a critical nature that has been

kind of passed on through the years.

So, as you can see, I'm trying to be very diplomatic about how I say

that, in love and honor and respect, but somehow I really embraced.

Like go along to get along type of thing.

I think there was something about, I've actually done a lot of work in

therapy and other settings of like, who is the girl that thinks that she needs

to be perfect and do everything well.

And it needs to be sort of in this window of expectation and acceptable behavior.

And so not like being inquisitive and connecting with other

people is unacceptable behavior.

But, I think that's part of the thing that I've had to really.

Refine and prune and prune and refine over the years is that, I can get

messy and I can ask people deep questions and they can ask me deep

questions and I can say real answers.

but that is not something that.

Came very naturally to me because it felt messy and there must have been some

reason why I adapted to a very measured, like, be careful what you say, be

careful who you are type of, personality.

And it's been really fun and stretching and challenging over these past probably

12 to 15 years to step into the real me and who God has created me to be.

Honoring the past, honoring those generations and knowing that God has

really given me a vision of where some generational chains are being broken.

So that's a much deeper topic, that my husband and I feel

really passionate about.

how are we creating a family, and a family line and a legacy that

is honoring the good that has been passed down over the generations

recognizing where some strongholds have been and breaking those chains.

that's kind of what comes to my mind when you asked me that question,

So the tough thing about that, my wife, I kind of

heard some things that I've heard from my wife in the way you were.

Discussing that.

And my wife said that when she was young, she was bubbly, happy,

cheery, all this type stuff.

And her father who's passed now used to say in no uncertain terms, you

talk too much, would you shut up?

you know, even said something to the effect of that she had diarrhea of the

mouth which she actually remembers that, now 55 years later, and she thinks it

sort of squelched her that she became more introverted, quiet, things like that.

So I do think that's interesting.

And I love what you brought up that you are attempting within your

family To change those paradigms.

One of the things I'd love to know now, because I think some of this kind of

goes into how we communicate with God.

I think how we're wired and some of those things that you're talking about,

when we start doing this beautiful exchange journaling, we're going to

talk about in just a moment, I think it impacts it because some people.

Have that same mindset when they try to go before the Lord, tell me, give

me some high points, low points, whatever we might need to know about

your spiritual journey, your spiritual walk, how you came to be Megan, the

spiritual powerhouse that you are

now.

my middle name.

Megan's spiritual powerhouse, Nelson.

you know, I, I'll start with my most recent book and I'm sure

we're going to talk about this.

It's called untangled faith and the subtitle is how

honest conversations with God.

Lead to deeper connections, clarity, and peace.

We've already kind of been hovering around this idea of connections and, really

being connected to God and other people.

And I think as I'm reflecting, even talking to you, when I think about why

are honest conversations important to me.

I think it stems from the question that you just asked me about,

like sharing my voice and it is what I'm thinking and feeling.

Okay.

And I did grow up in the church.

I did grow up in a small town Methodist church, and it was really

lovely because we had to show up.

every week and we learned how to talk to different generations of people.

I really was able to hone that skill of being present and in community.

But somehow along the way, I just sort of became a very measured church girl.

Like this is how she's supposed to be.

And if she's not like this, then something's wrong with me.

That's embarrassing.

That's shameful.

And I have some just moments even of my growing up life where I would,

I was thinking I, I'm being honest.

I'm sharing something really deep and vulnerable and private.

And when I did that, it wasn't received.

with openness and grace.

And so all of a sudden I learned to kind of shut down that interior feeling or that

interior dialogue of like, Oh gosh, if I'm thinking this or experiencing this,

then that must not be okay with God.

And that really is not okay with the church.

So I'm going to have to kind of live this duplicitous life where I kind

of present one way on the outside.

Everything's great.

I'm fine.

I can do this all, but really inside maybe I'm struggling with some things.

So.

To put all this in perspective, 12 years ago, my husband and I,

we had two biological children.

We adopted our youngest two kids from Ethiopia in 2011.

Really, that's a whole journey of hearing from the Lord, inviting

his, really sensing his invitation to grow our family in this way.

And when they came home, as you might imagine, it was very, very difficult.

anybody who's familiar with adoption in any way, shape or

form understands the trauma and the brokenness inherent in that.

Right.

We are designed to grow up with our original caregivers.

And when that is broken for whatever reason, then we have all kinds of

things and attachment, complications.

So they come home, and I'm an absolute wreck.

there's this moment of, okay, God, I thought we heard you and we were

making this, Christian decision to grow our family in this way.

And now life is really hard.

It feels unbearable for All of us in the home because of just the

trauma that everybody's experiencing.

Maybe we didn't hear you right.

Maybe we didn't make the right decision.

And for someone who really values making the right decision,

because that's just going to be an easier way to get through life.

All of a sudden I was like, I think we made a massive mistake.

I don't think we should have done this for all kinds of reasons.

and so I ended up going to counseling.

my sweet husband was just trying every which way to keep the family

afloat, to keep everybody above water.

he was like, I'm doing everything I can.

I think you need to talk to somebody because especially the mom of the

household, if somebody is going down, a rising tide rises all ships, right?

if I'm the matriarch and the temperature of my home and I'm going down, I have

so much anxiety and, low key depression he said, you need to go to counseling.

So I went to counseling.

And I sat on my counselor's couch and I was kind of boohooing

about how hard life was.

And I thought we heard God, I, maybe we didn't hear him right.

I have no idea what to do.

I think we're in just as like, we cannot figure out how to rectify this mess.

And she looked at me and she said, you know, that motherhood's not

your highest and greatest calling.

Right.

And I said, no, I did not know that that's all I'm doing.

We went from two kids to four kids.

And I was actually listening to one of your podcasts with Becky Kaiser recently.

And she was talking about this idea of motherhood and calling and really being

our greatest calling as, as women and as human being is, is to be connected

to the Lord, to be a daughter of the King, to be a son of the King, It's

like, I'm a daughter of the King, then.

everything needs to flow from that.

So that to me in a very long winded answer to your question is how did my

spiritual life, how did I become this quote, spiritual powerhouse, which I

don't feel like I am, but I am putting a lot of energy into it because it

has radically transformed my life.

And probably the verse that comes to mind is in Romans chapter eight

when Paul says the flesh brings death and the spirit brings life.

And I had this moment when I'm sitting on my, on my counselor's couch and I'm

thinking, Everything that I'm holding onto right now, the flesh, the need to

control, the need to, expect a certain behavior from my kids and expect,

this attachments to be going well.

My flesh was really muscling things out and getting very, very tired.

And so in that moment, sitting on her couch, she was giving me

this invitation, this a new way.

It's like, Jesus says, I've come to bring you life.

Like the old is gone.

The new has come.

I had that moment where I'm like, okay, everything I've.

Constructed about who I'm supposed to be in the faith.

And as a human, as a woman in the church, as a mom is kind of being

put up before me and I'm having to deconstruct, what does that look like?

And why is this so hard?

And all of a sudden she said, the spirit's going to bring you life.

When you're filled up, With the love of God and the grace of God, then

it will inform your marriage and your parenting and your creativity,

everything else that flows from that.

So that to me was the most pivotal point when things shifted.

And all of a sudden, so the past 12 years I've been on this journey of, Oh my

goodness, what does that actually mean?

And so I think the honest conversations bit is, okay, I am feeling this.

I'm experiencing this is hard.

This is hard and God is good and he has something to show you and

he has something to teach you.

So that's really like the crux of where I sit in my vocational life, in my

spiritual life now is sitting in that tension, but always trusting towards

like God has something bigger and better than he wants to reveal even in the midst

of the heart and the, the suffering.

Have you, is that the timeframe when you believe you began

having conversations with God, period?

Or were you already conversing with him, but it maybe was just in a different

way prior to that 2011, 12, 13 timeframe

you brought up?

I mean, I've been a prayerful person growing up in the

church and I've enjoyed writing ever since I was young, but what I found in

that time specifically was that writing with God, conversing with God, if it's

out loud through your mouth or written through your words on a piece of paper,

became a form of therapy to me because I was able to write out some things.

I think a lot of musicians talk about this, authors, writers.

They have some feelings that are wrapped up and tangled up inside

and it's so healthy to get them out.

So what's the medium that you're going to use to get these things out?

Some people might use physical activity.

So for me it was writing.

And then I began to write with the Lord and say, Hey, this is hard

and I'm confused and I don't know if I'm hearing you right at all.

And then over time.

I was listening to other pastors and people talk about, okay, it's one thing

to write to God, to tell him all the honest things, to have your David moment

when you're just like, Hey, life sucks.

I don't know what to do now.

Then what do you do?

how do you access his wisdom?

How do you listen for his voice?

Cause it's one thing.

Think about any natural relationship you have.

If you had a problem with your wife and you just kind of unleashed on

her and said, Hey, here's all the problems I have and the questions I

have, and I don't know what to do.

And then you turned your back and you walked out and you shut the door.

She wouldn't have a chance to respond or say, I hear you.

Wow.

That's really hard to hear.

And here's my perspective.

So I felt like that's what I was doing with God.

It was like, Hey, this is all of my problems and I'm going to turn around

and walk out and just dump my problems.

and so when he really invited me to start listening for him and then writing down

what I was hearing, the impressions, the visions that were coming to me, that's

what opened up this whole new world of, wow, you can really access God's wisdom

if you're paying attention and you're super honest and you're laying it out

there and then you're asking for his perspective to lay over top of that.

That's really where the journaling came in, that I feel so passionate

about cause I love seeing people equipped to hear God for themselves.

We know more than we think we know.

We can hear him better than we think we can hear him.

Cause that's probably the biggest question I get is how do I know

if it's God's voice or my voice?

it feels really, really powerful.

At least to me, it has been in a lot of people I've worked with.

I do.

I want us to talk about even some of the practical aspects of this

beautiful exchange journaling.

However.

I do think there is a soul or mindset or whatever we want to call it.

perspective that needs to be addressed.

Cause there are people that one, they don't feel worthy to.

Come before the Lord There is what you just brought up, which is maybe you were

taught to be a certain way growing up.

Also, unfortunately, I think there's some gender things that factor into this.

You mentioned, I heard you say church girl and woman in the church.

you know what, I don't ever say man in the church.

I don't ever bring that up.

It's like, I'm just.

So there are gender things that come into play here, whether

we want to admit it or not.

And I'm not saying they're good, but it's just the way it is.

But you brought up something in the book, somewhere in the middle of the book.

I did read Untangled Faith over the last few days.

You brought up the aspect of being an orphan.

And I think all of those things have varying degrees of orphan ism.

In them and I think it's so cool that y'all also have adopted because I think

the opposite of an orphan is someone who's been adopted and so I don't know

if there's going to be a question here.

Maybe it's just, can you talk more about.

Orphan or, or do anything that people need to do in preparation to begin

this process that a lot of people may struggle with sitting down and

actually communicating and connecting with God, their heavenly father.

Yeah.

again, not a question there, any

based on what I just said.

in fact, as you were speaking, I feel like I'm

getting a little emotional.

I could feel the tears kind of like right behind my eyes because adoption,

being an adoptive mom and adopting our kids has been the single biggest

experience in my life to really understand even a fraction of a level of how much

God loves us and what it must be like for him when we turn our backs on him.

And.

You know, kind of before I say anything more, I really do want to honor, and I

really respect the story of the actual orphan of people on this earth who have,

for whatever reason are not growing up in a loving home with their original

caregiver, their original mother and father, because that is a brokenness

that is so deep and it really can break the human spirit in a lot of ways.

So, I know that every story is very different and so I just want to

honor that and whatever I say from my perspective is just our experience and I

recognize that it can be very complicated and nuanced for a lot of people.

But when we brought our children home, they were five and seven, a boy and a

girl and they had been actually with their mother for quite some time of several

years growing up and she had relinquished them for extreme poverty and, illness.

And when they came home, it was just so difficult because they didn't understand

That they were part of a new family, of a new system, that everything that we have,

our name, any material possessions, our love is now theirs by extension because

they have been grafted into this family.

And you could just see them fighting against this because the human spirit is

so, we just want to protect ourselves.

if you've been hurt, neglected and abandoned at one point, then

what does the human spirit do?

Our human spirit wants to build up the wall because we

don't want to be hurt again.

I think anybody listening has experienced that in life, either with a love

relationship or something like that.

So to build that trust, For, as a parent perspective to build the trust

of my kids has been our life's work.

And even now they're 17 and 19.

And there are still plenty of moments where I see this, interaction, where

maybe the trust isn't totally there and there's not that vulnerability.

I listened to a pastor, years ago, and this is kind of what you're

referring to in the book that said.

What is the difference between a child of God?

How do you know when you're kind of acting in that as a child of

God versus the orphan spirit?

And he said something very simple, but very profound.

At least it was to me.

He said, the orphan has a high.

Need for control and a low level of trust because you've been burned, so to speak.

So you don't know who you can trust.

You need to control everything about your life and that's

how you'll be okay and fine.

But the child of God has a high level of trust in the love and the

resources around them and a low need to control their environment

and everybody else around them.

And I think, yes, you can talk about this in the very literal, like.

Orphan sense, but if you're talking in a spiritual sense, that to me has been

a huge topic and really a theme that has transformed my spirituality because

every day I'm thinking, okay, am I acting like, do I have an orphan spirit

where I'm trying to kind of trying to control my surroundings, control the

agenda, control the people around me because I don't really trust either

God's faithfulness, God's provision.

Or I don't trust the other people to kind of, you know, do

their part and live their life.

And if the answer, if I, if I start to get revelation that I'm trying to control and

I'd have a low level of trust, then I have this moment where I can go, okay, how can

I trust God more and release the control?

Because when I try to control things, it gets very, very,

just tense and exhausting.

Anxiety producing.

And if Jesus came to give us peace and abundant life, then at least to

me, I have this recognition every day.

Which way am I going to go?

Am I going to go for a deeper trust in God, releasing the control back to him?

Or am I going to take it all back once again?

interesting about it, and I don't think I want us to go down this

rabbit hole, is that I know that you do quite a bit with personality profiles,

and again, disc strength finders, Enneagram, all those type things.

It is very easy for us to make probably sweeping comments.

I do think trust is a foundational issue that you brought up, but we

also have this factor of all of us are wired in such different Ways at

times, and there are personalities.

My wife and I were just discussing this.

We've been together 35 years.

And yesterday we had a bit of a come to Jesus conversation where we're both

working on some new projects, even in our sixties, we're working on some new

projects and she was working on it.

And I told her this, it didn't go well initially, but she came around later

and she spent some time with the Lord this morning and said, by the way,

God said you were right, which I just want to mark it down as that was,

you know, possibly, possibly a first.

Well, what she was doing is she was, she was kind of grinding out

this Project instead of enjoying the journey and being joyful along the way.

And one of the things we're purposing is to be more joyful with

all that we're doing in our lives.

So anyway, personalities still factor into it.

But I do want to start going into the power of writing stuff down of journaling.

And before we get close to that, though, I want to ask one more question before we

get to it, because many people will say.

I don't have time when I sit down, I've got all these things going through

my mind and I'll state it this way.

And then I'll just let you kind of talk more about it.

But I believe we talk about it quite a bit here on the show

that we all are leading and.

2024 when we're recording this distracted lives, we've got

so many things distracting us.

So many things coming at us and we allow that it's still up to us.

We can control that.

And I think that's what prevents a lot of people from getting started.

With this process, any comment on this, on just the

distractedness of the way we live?

Amen.

It's a real simple comment.

yeah, we're distracted.

I think that's a tale as old as time, but with the advancement of technology

and the 24 seven noise access to information, I feel like right now is

probably an era in history in which.

We have to access self control more than ever.

self control is a fruit of the spirit.

I am reminded of that all the time.

And I like to remind people of that because when we have access

to so much at our fingertips, any distraction, anything that's going

to entertain us, even educate us, and we can just scroll through Tik TOK.

and my kids are always saying, but mom, I'm learning things.

Well, that's great.

That you're learning things, but it's also like a drug.

It's kind of this like dopamine hit where it's like a new thing, a new

thing, a new thing all the time.

So what happens then is we're out of practice.

We're out of practice of being quiet and still, and sitting and listening.

And our kids nowadays don't even really know what it means to be bored.

Because if they have access to a smartphone, so take what you will

there, decide when that is appropriate for you and your family, but you

have access to just something that's going to be like a drug at any time.

I don't have to think that deeply because I think one of the things

we're battling against is when I sit down and I really consider my life

and I start to go, okay, God, Wow.

This is what I'm feeling.

This is what I'm experiencing.

That is not an easy task.

I mean, that is something that you could, it could almost get harder before it

gets easier because you're accessing some deep and potentially painful places.

Why would I want to do that?

Why wouldn't I want to just like numb my brain and numb my heart?

I don't have to deal with that.

So I think what happens in writing and, and, and I'm not even talking

about typing, I'm So my argument is that people pick up an actual pen.

and a piece of paper and start writing things down, because there's something

very, scientific neurological that happens in your brain that begins to

connect those synapses, your head and your heart that doesn't happen when you're

kind of distracted in that noisy world.

so I think it's super, super powerful to pick up a pen and sit down And

it doesn't even take that long.

It can take five minutes.

It doesn't have to take a long time.

Cause a lot of people say, I don't have time.

Obviously I don't have time is a fantastic excuse.

Cause we make time for things that are important to us.

We know that, right?

It's like, I don't have time to sit down and watch the entire seasons of Ted Lasso.

Well, somehow you made the time to do that.

But, we make time for what we value.

So then I would put the question back on somebody, then what do you value?

If you value being a person who is growth minded, growth oriented, you

want to stay connected to the people in your life and to the God that you

believe in, then I would argue that it's going to take some time and some

stillness to get to the place where that's really powerful connection.

I think you brought up, you hit multiple nerves that I've had to

address over the last handful of years.

And I think.

In those comments, you just made the first one for me.

And when I work with leaders and leadership organizations,

this is one of the things I am promoting as much as anything.

And that is just the need to be still and quiet, whatever that means.

That's different for different people.

The second piece of it, and I don't know that I saw it.

In reading the book, maybe I missed it.

And I do love that you are a pen and paper, pencil, paper, whatever, because

I've tried to do some digital things.

I've tried to be cleaner, efficient, et cetera.

And I just don't, and also have bad penmanship, my penmanship.

It makes it, I write in tongues.

And so I do need interpretation typically when I do that.

And so it makes it tough.

One thing I've noticed about myself, I used to think I was a multitasker.

I cannot multitask when I'm writing, especially pen to paper.

And I think when we're talking about honest conversations, especially

with our creator, it's important for us to be as focused as possible.

And so somewhere along the way, you came up with this

beautiful exchange journaling, and that is built and developed.

Tell a little bit more about the origin of that and kind of how that has continued

to grow and

that?

What does that mean?

What is this thing?

before I talk about beautiful exchange journaling, I had this moment because

your podcast is seek, go create, correct?

So I feel like when you have a pen and a piece of paper,

you're in the seeking posture.

And then when you flip over to create, Open up your computer and start writing

like that to me, if I'm seeking, I've got a pen and a piece of paper and

I'm doing some really deep inner work and really sussing out untangling

some of the things that are going on.

And then when God begins to give revelation and ideas.

I'm going to open up my computer and I'm going to start to create.

I felt like a really interesting connection for me, but

beautiful exchange journaling.

Okay.

This is, there's two parts to the origin here.

Number one is when I was writing my first book called the beautiful exchange.

I couldn't not write it.

This was one of those things where I was going through the spiritual

transformation myself and the adoption narrative is kind of the through

line of this book, but ultimately the phrase of beautiful exchange.

Is what I felt like God was giving to me.

His, the tagline is responding to God's invitation for more.

So I was in this moment, like I've kind of described where he's saying,

you're holding onto things so tightly.

You think they're going to bring you fulfillment.

You think they're going to bring you success or purpose, but what I'm offering

you, Megan, and I would suggest that he might be saying this to some of your

listeners too, is if you will release that to me, if you will open up your hands and

your heart Give me the things that you're trying to take so much control over.

I will actually exchange those things for my spirit, my ways, my plans for you.

So to me, a beautiful exchange is what God is offering us that is far

beyond what we could ask or imagine.

He says this in scripture and he wants to exchange the things that we ask.

Are limited thinking for his abundance.

So that's the idea of the beautiful exchange.

So then as I'm growing over these past years in my own spiritual formation,

I'm starting to hear this pastor start talking about two way journaling.

And he's saying, listen, you can write out your thoughts to God.

Ask him a question, pour out your ideas and your thinking to him.

And then you stop and you listen and you kind of tune to the Holy

Spirit and you say, okay, God, what's your perspective here?

What is your kingdom, wisdom, and grace?

And, just counsel over what I'm experiencing.

And it's this idea of, Oh, it's going two ways now.

It's not just me talking to God, talk, talk, talk, and then shut the door.

It's okay.

I'm going to pour out my heart.

I am his child.

he is a heavenly father.

He's a good father who wants to listen to me and he offers good things to his kids.

And then.

In humility and vulnerability, I sit and listen and that's the two way part.

Now what am I experiencing?

what impressions are coming to my mind from the Holy Spirit that I can

begin to write down that is activating truth in my life, that is activating

guidance and counsel and a way forward.

And so that's this idea of two way journaling.

I kind of overlaid the beautiful exchange.

Cause to me, they felt very much related.

Like I'm releasing the things of anxiety that my flesh is holding on to.

And I'm exchanging that as I'm listening for your spirit.

And then the last thing I'll say about this, which is the journal that

I just published last year is that I woke up one morning and I don't know

how you are as, as a creative, but a lot of times for me, I will just

ideas will come out of quote nowhere.

I'm a believer.

I'm going to say it's coming from God.

So I wake up one morning a couple of years ago and I have been

practicing this two way journaling and I just felt like the whole rest

of this blueprint for journaling was like downloaded into my head.

And so I thought, okay, if I write.

And then I listen, the strategist in me, we've discussed the strategy

piece of the CliftonStrengths.

I'm like, okay, what do I do with this now?

What are people supposed to do with the kingdom wisdom that they receive?

And so that's the rest of the journaling practice is now that you've.

Received from the Lord.

What is the truth that he wants to give you?

What is the counseling wants to give you moving forward?

And I felt very passionate about activating people into taking

bold steps of faith towards what he's inviting you to do.

it does.

And the reason that is, it's so cool to me as I was reading it, I was realizing that.

I've been doing sort of that for some time.

If one looks at my journal, it kind of goes like this.

There's me sometimes dumping, sometimes showing gratitude, sometimes just, I

don't want to say diarying, but you know, maybe like being sort of diary type stuff.

Just Talking, kind of getting some stuff out of my head.

There's two squiggly lines on the page.

And beneath the squiggly lines, it's in my view, it's God responding to me and

with instruction and things like that.

I guess it kind of was some good confirmation for me.

It's like, Oh, maybe I'm doing some cool stuff and doing something right here.

But one of the things Megan, I'd like to maybe address, because you mentioned

it in the book, that journaling is a trigger word for some people.

Good or bad.

I mean, there's some people that boy, they love to talk about their journaling.

I think some people talk about journaling more than they actually do it.

We won't get into that here.

and then some people do it, do it, do it, and it's become habit.

But maybe, like you said, there isn't the reflective, you know,

transformation that should come from it.

Talk about why it's a trigger and the challenge that some people have.

and then we're going to talk as we finish up with some technique and some things

Yeah, it is a trigger.

In fact, I have a chapter in the book that you're referring to.

It's something about like, tackling journal phobia or something

because, honestly, it is a trigger addressing journal phobia.

That's the chapter.

And I'm laughing because, this is my husband, he's like, I don't journal.

I don't really write.

and he heard me one time I was hosting a Christmas event for some women and I

was leading them through this type of journaling around the Advent season.

And he was, my darling husband was helping like serve coffee and helping me with

all the logistics and things like that.

So he was overhearing.

As I guided women through this journaling practice.

And as we were leaving the venue and we're all packed up, he

said, wow, that's really cool.

When you asked me if I would journal, he's like, I don't really want to write stuff

down, but now that I've seen you guide someone through it, Well, I could do that.

So I think one of the triggers and maybe barriers to journaling

this, this word is that people are like, I'm not really a writer.

I don't really know what to write.

You're staring at a blank page.

There's nothing on the page and all of a sudden your mind is jammed

up with all kinds of thoughts.

And so what I think, why I find this guided journaling helpful

or even prompts is that it just, it has a way of settling down.

the rate of our thoughts, and I actually offered in episode 50 of my podcast,

the kingdom life coaching podcast, actually recorded myself guiding

someone through this journaling.

Because when you have someone just leading you by the hand, it's not

even like I'm telling you where to go.

I'm just giving you the next step and the next step.

There's something that might settle your spirit.

Like, Oh, and now she's asking me to think about this and write about this.

And it's not this overwhelming blank page.

That's like, I don't even know what to write.

I have so many things going on.

I can't access those thoughts.

So boom, I'm just going to walk away.

So it can be overwhelming and you're right.

it's polarizing.

Some people are like, Oh my gosh, I love journaling.

I've journaling since I was a little kid.

This is the best thing I can ever think to do.

And some people are like, absolutely not.

And if you're an absolutely not, I would just encourage you.

Maybe to give it a try.

It's like, you know, things that are good for you, we're supposed

to try these things in life.

And if it really doesn't work for you, that's okay.

The only thing I would say as an encouragement for someone in that

space is if journaling, if writing things down with God is kind of not

your jam, then I would ask you what is.

Is it going for a walk?

Is it, listening to music?

Like, how will you process your thoughts with God and hear from him?

That's what you have to figure out.

I love that you said that because so many people attempt to make

everything formulaic or create a doctrine around it or something like that.

So let's do this.

We've got a few minutes left here.

Get someone started.

Let's just say someone they've heard the journaling thing.

They know they need to do it.

You've got some resources for people.

We can talk about those here, but just let's kind of get someone

started because I do agree.

It's something that even hard chargers leader type people, they

need to sit down, be still and quiet.

And this is a practice that can help them.

So, get us started.

Get us started.

Well, I think the first step in any new practice or anything that's

going to challenge us is to really buy into why we're doing this.

So say you're going to go to the gym and start lifting weights and you're

like, Oh, I've heard that it's good for me, but I don't really know.

you have to trust that the experience is going to be good for it's painful,

whether it's uncomfortable or not.

That's what I would say about journaling.

You might have these preconceived notions about like, ugh, I don't really do that.

So I just want to make the case that it's really good for

human beings to try new things.

to get started, all you really need is a notebook and a pen and your own thoughts.

And so my very foundational question for you would be, is there anything

in your life right now that is confusing or overwhelming to you?

If the answer is yes.

I'm a business owner.

I don't know what decision to make about my business.

I'm in a marriage and I don't really know what to do with this relationship.

I'm parenting my kids and I'm not exactly sure which way to go

as far as, how to parent them.

Well, then you are a person who is.

Well positioned to journal because you have something on your heart that if you

write it down, if you start to discover what it is, name it and be honest about

it, you're bringing it to the light.

I think that's what journaling is.

It's bringing something to the light that is actually more comfortable

to keep hidden and locked away.

And we know that things that are hidden in the dark.

Begin to grow mold and begin to grow bacteria.

And there are unhealthy things that happen when, when thoughts

are left in dark places.

So you don't necessarily have to announce to the world what you're thinking about.

This is a place where you just get to go with your own thoughts and with

the God who loves you and created you and just begin to ask him.

What do you want to show me about this?

And then you have to trust that he will speak to you, that

thoughts will come to your mind.

And then that's the practice of how do I discern which thoughts are

his thoughts and my, my thoughts.

You have to start to read the Bible and understand his voice and be in

Christian community and a healthy space where you're, I mean this, we could

talk about this for a whole other hour, but just to get started, trust that you

have something that's bothering you.

if you write it down and you name it.

outright, then God can begin to speak to you about that thing.

And it's not as overwhelming.

I hope it's not as overwhelming as it might seem.

it's interesting when something's bothering

you, you brought that up.

I think during COVID, I looked back at my journals during COVID and I was

just super confused about, and I think it was a lot of crying out, Lord,

what's going on, what's happening?

And basically, I think the Lord responded, said, what, why

does any of this surprise you?

This is the type world we're in.

There's just stuff going on.

And so I felt, maybe rebuked a little bit on that, but how does someone know?

And this is a little bit of a loaded question, but how does

someone know measure gauge, whatever, if they're doing it.

Well, or if they're progressing or what are some clues along the way

that someone could say, you know what, this is actually, this is bringing me

closer to, as you said, clarity and peace in the subtitle of your book.

So the question is, how does anyone know they're doing this?

Well, the short answer I can, that the most succinct answer

that I can say is doing it.

Well, you're doing life well.

When you can see the fruit, when you can see that, that you are more

deeply connected to God and other people to yourself and to a fulfilling

vision and purpose for your life.

you might be struggling if you don't see the fruit, if it feels like some real

dead ends and some disconnectedness in your life to your own purpose, to your

own fulfillment, to the people around you.

So I don't think it's necessarily rocket science.

I actually think, you know, Brene Brown is a very, well spoken.

influencer in this space, but the more vulnerable you can

be, the more honest you can be.

and really discarding shame and not withholding yourself cause you're

embarrassed or you feel shame about it.

If you can go after some things and just say, you know what?

and just name it like this is embarrassing to say, and I'm not really sure if I want

to say this out loud, but I trust that if I do good things are going to happen,

I'm going to have more self awareness.

Other people are going to understand me better than I think that is how, you know,

if you're doing it well in your words.

I think one thing that I've noticed,

you hear athletes at times talk about being in

The zone and sometimes in a sport that's very fast, they'll say

that it slows down when they're in

that zone.

I think to quote Ferris Bueller, that life comes at us pretty fast for me.

This practice, and when I do it, well, things tend to slow down and

I feel as if I'm just in the zone and I don't even know, you know,

defining this being at peace, I think is always tough, but it's like when

you're there, you know it, but when you're not, you may not understand it.

And I, think that's what it is.

for me is just kind of being in the zone and you brought up something.

I had this word down that you, in your book, you talked about it, that you can

be maybe at times sarcastic and all that.

And to me, I noticed when I'm really doing.

Journaling and all that.

My heart is softer.

Mm hmm.

It's just I have a softer heart and I'm more

compassionate and loving to people.

I love that in the zone.

I love it because, and if you want to be in the zone, find things, find systems and

routines and people and places that invite you into, that usher you into the zone.

So for me, as someone who really processes things verbally out loud,

the zone can be speaking or journaling because that's how I'm wired and

you had mentioned that earlier.

We have different personalities, we have different wiring.

So find the thing, the systems, the people, the places really guide

you into your zone and press into that, like stay there, build that.

That's a good thing to build.

Megan, I noticed that most of your resources are geared towards female.

Would you say that's your primary audience?

I got, I got a lot from the book myself.

I mean, I just read the book, but tell, tell us who the book is for.

Go ahead and do that.

And then go ahead and tell us where to find all your resources.

Yeah.

It's funny.

I don't know why everybody likes to take female teachers and speakers

and say, you must speak to females.

Right.

I know you've talked about this on your podcast before

and I'm like, no, it's not just

if you, okay.

Let me ask you this.

if God speaks to his people, does he just speak to women?

Well, don't answer that.

Cause he might.

No, I'm just kidding.

Be

careful.

Be Careful.

That's a landmine.

so this book and this journaling is for anyone who's hungry.

and curious to really be connected to God, to hear what he has to say.

Someone who really wants to live, by God's grace, by his love and by his guidance.

and someone who's like, but I'm not sure if I really know how to do that.

I'm not sure if I know how to hear his voice.

Does he really speak to me?

How could I access this thing that you're talking about?

I feel like this is book is a very foundational book for someone who's kind

of growing in the things of the spirit, growing in the things of hearing from

God, or even just beginning because it's going to just give you a lot of

foundational understanding of who God is, what his voice sounds like, and how you

can begin to experience this for yourself.

does that sound pretty good?

Having read the book yourself?

It does.

And listen, let's just, I'll, I'll say it a little more bluntly.

Everyone needs to position themselves so they can hear God's voice.

Period.

and we all need to be working on that probably more than we currently do.

And any tool or resource that helps, I think

has value.

And I do, I get a little bit annoyed.

Gosh, I don't want to go down here.

I do get a little bit annoyed with the male, female, I try to address it some,

but I don't know that I do it well.

And I sometimes maybe even stir the pot more, but you know, it's Part

of our issues that we deal with in our current culture and also,

the men that latch onto this are just Amazing.

And there's some guys that are like, Oh my gosh, this is powerful.

So thanks.

Hey, you've also go ahead and mention here.

I know I got some of your resources pulled up here on my browser,

but mention what all you have.

Real quick.

Cause I've listened to some of your podcast, you do kingdom coaching.

Just go ahead and do a

little promo here

you go to my website, MeganBNilson.

com, N I L S E N.

com, you'll kind of find the whole umbrella there.

I have a podcast called Kingdom Life Coaching Podcast, and it's all about how

can you anchor yourself in your identity In Christ, get aligned with God's voice

and then activate it into the things that he wants to activate you into.

It's all about like quieting the noise of the world and really hearing

God's voice and moving in that space.

So that's, that's the first thing.

The second thing would be the two books, a beautiful exchange and untangled

faith and the companion journal.

You can read about them on the website.

Both are available on Amazon, very easy, you know, buy now, it's like

one click away and this can be in your mailbox in a couple of days.

and for anybody that's looking for maybe a small group or a book study

or a Bible study, I really do believe that untangled faith and the journaling

lens itself To really good small group work or even a larger group work.

And I created a 10 week guide.

If you go to untangledfaithstudy.

com or you can find it on my website, you can just for pennies on the

dollar, just grab this curriculum.

I've broken down the entire book.

I've paired all my podcast episodes that I talk about each chapter.

I've given you small group questions, reflection questions.

And so.

You don't have to do this by yourself.

I think that's the other thing is some people are like, Oh my gosh, I read

this book and I did this all by myself.

I personally think that life is richer.

Our revelations are richer and deeper when we get to do this in community.

That's why you and I have podcasts, right?

Because we're, we value talking with other people.

And so this book and journal really lends itself to that.

So check out the podcast, check out the website, the books.

two free resources that might be interesting to people.

Number one, if you go to hearinggodbookmark.

com, hearinggodbookmark.

com, I have a quick litmus test of how do I know if it's God's voice or my voice?

Cause that is the number one question I get asked all the time.

how am I supposed to know the difference?

Go to that and there's some questions on there that'll help you.

And the other one would be, if you go on my website on

the homepage or godsizedream.

com, you can, I have five questions that you can ask to figure out

if you have a God sized dream.

Cause that's the other piece that I'm so passionate about is that

God's put some fun things inside of you to go seek, go and create.

But how do you know what that is?

How do you know what your message is and what you're

supposed to go do in the world?

So I've got some questions that could get the, get the ball

rolling, for your life there too.

Very good.

We'll include those links down in the notes.

I also appreciate you bringing in the seat, go create there

in the, at the end there.

So check all that out.

Final question.

Pick one of those words resonates more with you or whatever.

Seek, go, or create, and why?

And why, I have to go with create.

I think, anytime I can create something, I am just having so much fun.

I'm in the zone.

listen, I'm not a gardener.

Cause I used to think creating was like, I'm going to go

garden or I'm going to go cook.

I mean, I I'm not a painter.

I lose that pictionary.

I can't draw a dang thing, but I can.

Right.

So if you can find something that ushers you into the zone of creating whatever

that is for you, I think it's super, super powerful and very energizing.

So I'm all about just go try something, create it, see how it goes.

And most likely what you create will bless someone else.

I do believe that to be true.

It's not just for you.

Beautiful.

We are created to create.

Thank you for sharing, Megan.

I appreciate you being a guest here.

I appreciate those of you that have listened in, go check out Megan's

resources that she mentioned.

I listened to about three episodes on her podcast yesterday.

They're a great compliment, I think, to what we're doing here.

So jump over there and subscribe, listen in, and again, check

out all of our other stuff.

We are Seat Go Create.

We've got new episodes every Monday.

They're on YouTube.

They're on all your podcast platforms.

Make sure you're subscribing and sharing and all those cool things.

until next time.

Continue being all that you were created to be.