How Far Is Too Far? Breaking Patterns That Keep You Stuck
39 min
•Feb 3, 20263 months agoSummary
Candace Cameron Bure and guest Madison Pruitt-Trout discuss breaking patterns of sin and unconfessed behaviors that keep people spiritually stuck. They explore the difference between falling into sin and living in sin, emphasizing that small, overlooked transgressions can lead to spiritual separation from God, and advocate for daily confession, accountability partnerships, and Bible study as offensive strategies for pursuing holiness.
Insights
- Sin operates incrementally like an undercurrent—it starts small and unconfessed, gradually pulling people deeper until they lose control, making early confession and accountability critical
- True encounter with God's grace produces a desire to run away from sin rather than toward it, shifting the question from 'how close can I get to the line' to 'how close can I get to God'
- Confessing sin at the thought level before it becomes action, combined with trusted accountability partners, is more effective than reactive confession after falling into patterns
- Spending consistent time in Scripture and prayer creates spiritual strength through accumulated daily choices, functioning like building notches in a belt toward Christlikeness
- Newly married couples benefit most from finding a Bible-believing church community and establishing daily prayer together as a unifying spiritual practice
Trends
Growing emphasis on thought-level accountability and confession in Christian discipleship communitiesShift from defensive 'don't do this' messaging about sin to offensive pursuit of holiness and righteousnessIncreased focus on small, daily spiritual disciplines as cumulative habit-building rather than achievement-based metricsRising popularity of women's accountability groups and faith-based mentorship for addressing hidden shame and unconfessed sinIntegration of Scripture memorization and meditation as core spiritual practice among younger Christian womenEmphasis on fear of the Lord as reverence and awe rather than terror, reframing spiritual obedience as relational intimacyGrowing recognition that isolation enables sin escalation, driving demand for transparent faith communities and accountability partnerships
Topics
Breaking patterns of unconfessed sinFear of the Lord and reverence versus casual spiritualityDaily spiritual disciplines and Bible study practicesThought-level confession and accountabilityDifference between falling into sin and living in sinBuilding habits of holiness through daily choicesRole of trusted friends in spiritual accountabilityPrayer as foundational spiritual practicePursuing holiness as offensive strategy versus defensive avoidanceSpiritual intimacy with God versus casual relationshipScripture memorization and meditationChurch community and discipleship for new believersMarriage and shared spiritual practicesTemptation and the progression of sinGrace and repentance in Christian faith
Companies
316 Financial
Online bank sponsor offering 10% profit donation to faith-based ministries, no monthly fees, and competitive interest...
International Fellowship of Christians and Jews
Non-profit organization providing food, shelter, and aid to Israel's vulnerable populations for over 40 years
Grand Canyon University
Private Christian university in Phoenix offering 369 academic programs with $161M in institutional scholarships for o...
NoCD
OCD treatment provider offering virtual ERP therapy sessions with specialized therapists and app-based support
Angel Studios
Film studio producing faith-affirming content including romantic comedy 'Solo Mio' releasing February 6th
People
Madison Pruitt-Trout
Guest author and speaker discussing her book on breaking patterns of sin and pursuing holiness in daily Christian life
Quotes
"Sin never starts big it always starts as small unconfessed sins that we overlook and treat as not a big deal"
Madison Pruitt-Trout
"I know it looks like a good time, but it will kill you. I'm not trying to keep you from fun. I'm trying to save your life."
Lifeguard (referenced by Madison Pruitt-Trout)
"When we've truly experienced the grace of God, we will not want to run towards sin. We will want to run as far away from it as possible."
Madison Pruitt-Trout
"In the presence of the Lord is fullness of joy. Sin always looks like a delight and a desire at first, but it will always lead to death."
Candace Cameron Bure
"One of the most powerful words you can say is the word no to yourself and deny yourself something."
Candace Cameron Bure
Full Transcript
Since my last podcast, when I talked about it, because I said sometimes I listen to Eminem when I'm working out. That was the unexpected right there. I was not prepared for that. Or some EDM, like I just want a beat that drops. There's so many small choices we make every day that quietly shape the life we're building. One of those choices is where we choose to bank. I recently learned about 316 Financial, an online bank that gives 10% of its profits back to faith-based ministries. And I love that. It's a simple, everyday decision that can make a meaningful impact behind the scenes. And the accounts themselves are really solid. No monthly fees, free ATM access nationwide, and competitive interest. Right now, when you open a 316 financial savings account and keep an average balance of $5,000 for 90 days, they'll add $250 to your account. You can learn more at bank316.com forward slash Candice. And be sure to use the promo code Candice when you open your account. Banking services are provided by 316 Financial, a division of Premise Bank, member FDIC. Deposit accounts can be opened with as little as $1. I'm excited to share something that's close to my heart, the history and the people of Israel. As a follower of Jesus, Israel is where it all started. It's where he walked, taught, and ministered. The Bible reminds us that God never breaks his promises. Romans 11.28 says that the people of Israel are deeply loved because of the promises God made long ago, and he's faithful to keep those promises. That's why I'm sharing with you about the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. For over 40 years, they've provided food, shelter, and life-saving aid to Israel's most vulnerable, especially Holocaust survivors and the elderly. Will you join me in standing with the people in Israel? To learn more and find out how you can help, visit ifcj.org. That's ifcj.org. Life is like a roller coaster, but it's better when we go through it together. Welcome to the Candice Cameron Bury podcast. We talk about life's challenges, celebrations, and everything in between, always with heart and hope. This episode answers a big question. why can't I get past the patterns and habits that just seem to always hold me back? Madison Pruitt-Trout and I are getting real as she shares some honest stories. To join a private podcast chat, you can become a member at Candice.com forward slash together, where I also have an exclusive monthly live stream. Come join us. hi we're back you look ravishing in pink it's feeling like it's a very loving time it is a loving time it is do you have any birthdays in february in your family march march we got your fun ones coming up in march my husband and i are 20 days apart so he's march 5th I'm March 25th. And then it was January, thankfully. But we're all right there at the beginning of the year. And I'm just a few days after you. I'm April, but I'm April 6th. And I think you're turning a big number. 30. And I'm turning a big number. 50. Oh my goodness. You got to have like a really big birthday celebration. I know. What are you going to do for yours? I don't know. I've been telling my husband. I'm like, part of me wants to keep it like chill. And then the other part of me is like, Cabo, Cayman Islands with some of our best friends. Yeah. don't know. Oh, do the Cabo, the Cayman Islands. I'm like, don't chill. It's 30. I don't know what I want to do yet. Really. It's coming up so fast and I feel like we should have planned something and I still haven't. So I don't know. You look so amazing. I need all of your secrets. The fact that you look like this and you look at my age turning 50. Well, you're very, you're very kind. I don't think I look your age, but thank you. I have a great hair and makeup team that makes me look nicer than I look in real life. I don't know what to say. It is always a hard call. It's like, how do I respond back when someone's like, you look amazing? Well, thank you. Thank you. I thought that we would continue to get to know you. I loved hearing your story about The Bachelor, but I want to know more about you. so I had a couple of fun questions but tell me were you are you a pageant winner are you a pageant girl oh no did I read that in your bio listen no I did one pageant one time and it was not my thing I totally forgot I was in the back so it was the swimsuit competition time and I was in the back put on my evening gown I'm like fluffing up my hair doing my practice pageant walk like trying to get myself ready and excited. And I have my friend come running down and she's like, Maddie, what are you doing? You just missed you. They called your name and you missed your whole swimsuit port. So no, I did not place. Oh, I never did another pageant. Sorry, I asked. She's like, let me bring up your- I thought you won like a significant pageant. Definitely not. But I have lots of fun pageant friends and they have thrived in that area. but honestly I learned a lot from that experience I really did so did you have to have a talent do you have a hidden talent I do not have a hidden talent I would say well so my fun fact is always that my I won a lot of basketball championships okay and that I went on the prices right before I went on the bachelor you did my sister went on the prices right too did you get up oh I won eight thousand dollars good for you I was so proud of myself because it was the like you had to yeah you have to like guess the amount or whatever. And then you go up and then I had to guess the amount of like what was in the bag. It's called like what's in the bag. And I had to guess the grocery store item, like how much it is to put it in the bag or something. It was crazy. But the way that I got it was I really put on this Alabama accent. Oh, you made it real. Oh, listen, they were trying to choose and I was like, I've got to set myself apart. And so I was like, ah, my name is Madison from Alabama and it's so good to meet you. And they loved it. They loved the accent. That's so fun. Did you get to spin the big wheel? Oh yeah. But I did really, really bad. But you didn't make the showcase. Didn't make the showcase. I was like, I need to start working out after that. That wheel was heavier than it appears. But yeah, so that's my, that's my little fun fact. I love that. I love that. No hidden talents. I would not have been good on that pageant either. The America, I was the USA, the no talents. Not the no talents, but you know what I mean. I know what you mean. Okay. Do you have a favorite musical artist? Right now? I love Tiffany Hudson, who was like worship music route. And then honestly, Forrest Frank, who's also kind of in that worship music route. Yeah. He's great. He's awesome. There's so much good Christian music right now. The thing is, I don't. okay I just switched over to Spotify from Apple Music probably like six months ago or something and they have videos on Spotify okay this is all new to me yeah I might really be sounding like the old lady right now but it didn't have that on my Apple Music so they show videos and now I'm starting to put faces to the musicians because there's so many great artists but I would never know their names or what they look like. Yeah. Because I haven't gone to con I'm not like I'm not sitting. There's no MTV. There is MTV. But you know what I'm saying? Like, I don't know how to place all of these artists. Yes. There's so many. There's so much great contemporary Christian. Oh, so much. I listen to. It's my favorite. I know I honestly now can't go back to listening to secular music. I can't do anymore. I'll like turn on a secular song and I just I can't listen to it anymore. I don't know. I know I very, very rarely do. I once in a while do when I'm working out for a beat. However, since my last podcast, when I talked about it, cause I said, sometimes I, sometimes I listen to Eminem when I'm working out. That was the unexpected right there. I was not prepared for that. Cause like, or, or, or some EDM, like I just want a beat that drops. because it just like kicks in this whole other gear. But since I said that and we aired, I had so many great recommendations for other rap, like Christian rap artists that were hardcore enough with the beat that have pushed me through. And now I once in a while will listen to 80s or 90s music because that's nostalgic for me. And I love it. That's just fun. And it was just better back then. Sorry, you guys. I don't know. You guys. We, you guys, we grew up in the eighties and it was just better music. I love that so much. I grew up listening to the eighties all the time because my parents love the eighties. So I'm with you. Yacht Rock is a great station. Okay. I'm going to stop being old right now and we're laughing, but we're about to talk about something really serious. Yeah. We're about to make a hard turn. We making a hard left turn right now into sin Yeah Sin Sin The sin is that I listened to Eminem Yeah that was your confession That was your confession My confession You know my confession is that I used to be obsessed with Miley Cyrus was my like favorite. I love her voice. I love her. I really love her. Anna Montana was my favorite show. Oh, yeah. Before we talk about sin, we're going to take listener question. This one is from Sheila. She asks, can you talk to God like he's your best friend or is that disrespectful? I really like this question. You talked about it briefly last week. And how would you answer this? I'm curious. It's a big question. I think that the answer is yes and no um i think it's a both and question because yes in the sense of god is ever present and i i would love for us all to have the mindset that he is our first place that we run to before we call up a friend before we go to you know google before we turn to anything else we're turning first to god and he is our place of refuge he's our place of safety he's our sounding board where we go to for when we need answers when we need wisdom when we need comfort just like we would a best friend, just like we would someone that we really love and trust. And he is that safe place. And then I think at the same time where we have to be careful is that God is not like another imperfect human being. He is to be worshiped and revered and feared in the best way. You described the fear of the Lord really well in a previous episode recording that we did together, that it's this beautiful thing that makes you want to be as close to him as possible and not want to be far from him or separated from him. I think when we think about the fear of the Lord, it's like, I'm scared of God, but it's not that. It's you actually just want to be so close to him and you don't want to partake in anything that separates you from him, any type of sin. And so I would just say, yes, run to him, go to him with everything. But also there shouldn't be a casualness to it in the sense of we're just treating God like he's, you know, he's your homie. He's just like, you know, he's still to be worshipped. And yeah, you know. Yeah, there's there's reverence there. You hold him up high. I read something in a book the other day and they gave an example of like. If you were walking in the woods and a mountain lion kind of jumped out and just was looking at you, you there would be a fear. Yes, but it's also an awe and respect because you know that animal is powerful and strong and you wouldn't like walk up to it and go, hey, kitty, kitty, like come, you know, and that's it's like there's a reverence of respect for that animal. and I'm not trying to compare God to that, but just to give a more emotional feel to, you have an, if you even saw a snake in the road, you would kind of jump. There's an automatic respect of like, oh, that thing, it could do something to me. Yeah. I'm gonna not be casual about this. And so it's the same way. It's not, but it's not a fear of God that he's gonna harm you, but there is just an automatic like, He's holy. He's holy and I am not. And yet he's so gracious and allows me to be in his presence, wants me to be in his presence, invites me in every moment of the day. And so I agree. Your answer was great. I know that like a best friend, he's always available. He always wants me to come to him. He wants to, he, he wants me to come under his wing or like a little child to their mommy or daddy to come and snuggle in. And he's like, I've got you. I'm here. I'm listening. I'll protect you. All of the things. However, yeah, I'm not your homie. Yeah. Like we're not going to go drinking and be drinking buddies on the side, you know? Totally. Totally. I love that. It reminds me of, I think it's Proverbs 18, 10. And it says that the Lord is a strong tower that the righteous can run to and find safety, that the name of the Lord, to even just calling upon his name is that strong tower that we can run to for safety, literally just speaking the name of Jesus. And so sometimes I'll just, if I don't even know what else to say or pray, I'm just like, in the name of Jesus, help me, you know, but just knowing that he, I love that you said he's always accessible and available. And Hebrews talks about, we can approach his throne of grace with confidence. Like we can enter his presence with confidence and assurance that he hears us, that he loves us, that he sees us, that he cares for us, but it's not a flippant or casual, just like I can go live however I want to live and God's still there. There's still a fear of him and a worship of him, but yet an access and a, he wants us. Yeah. That makes me think of in Esther, in the book of Esther, when she approached the king, she was never allowed to. You weren't allowed to approach the king. He had to summons you. And if you approached him, the penalty would be death if that's what he chose. And so to think that God's like, I'm not a king like that. I invite you in. You have access at all times. I'm not going to summons you in that way. I'm here and available. Just knock and the door is opened for you. So cool. Okay, so we are talking about sin. This is never a fun subject. No one wants to really talk about, share about their sin. It is a pain point in our lives, some that we can easily point to. We know what it is in our life and others that other places where we really hide it in our lives because it feels shameful. we're going to talk about that next week but um talk about what do you talk about sin within your book how did you approach the subject that sin is serious and that it will keep us from everything that god has for us even the little sins i think so often we just when we think about sin it's like oh these really big sins but sin never starts big it always starts as small unconfessed sense that we overlook and treat as not a big deal. You know, it starts at the little moments of gossiping or the moments of, you know, having a materialistic mindset or turning to worldly comforts instead of God, um, constantly living your life or the approval of people. We've talked a lot about that. Um, you know, whatever it may be, that sin struggle, idolizing your body, you know, pornography, taking it too far with or thinking about someone less. I mean, you could fill in the blank of whatever that is. But I think oftentimes we think of those like really, really big sense. And I remember I had this moment when I was at the beach with some of my friends and we walked out onto the beach and we see these two double red flags and we automatically knew what that meant. And we were bummed because we were so excited to get in the water. And as we're sitting out, laying out for people, for people that aren't beach, people tell them double red flags that means you can't get in the water because it's dangerous it's dangerous and so we're sitting out and I see this one lifeguard on duty and he is running back and forth on the beach because there's some daredevils and some people still getting in the water even with the double red flags and he's you know asking them to get out of the water and just reminding them that there's an undercurrent that's really really dangerous asking them to get out of the water and finally after running back and forth for a long time he just gets up in his lifeguard stand, he grabs a megaphone and he just like passionately speaks out to everyone. And he's like, please get out of the water. It's dangerous. I know it looks like a good time, but it will kill you. I'm not trying to keep you from fun. I'm trying to save your life. And he speaks with such passion. And in that moment, I felt like the Holy Spirit spoke to me. That is a picture of sin that so many of us are playing with and flirting with and treating casually what can kill us and keep us from God's best for our life. And just like dangerous ocean water with a powerful undercurrent, we start off in the water with like ankle deep and we're like, this is fine. It's not a big deal. I'm still in control. And then we go a little bit deeper. We stay a little bit longer. It's like up to our waist now and we're feeling the weight of it, but yet we're still kind of above the water, feel in control a little bit. Other people are joining in. And then we go a little bit further and next thing you know, a wave, you know, comes, comes over us, takes us under, and it ends up costing us everything. And that is such a picture of sin because sin lures us in. And it seems like it's not a big deal. We treat it casually. We overlook certain sins because maybe we see somebody else struggles worse in another area. And we treat it like it's not a big deal. And we just keep, you know, either excusing it or hiding it or, you know, just living in an unconfessed way. And it's robbing us. It's keeping us from the life that Jesus wants us to have. And it talks about in scripture that sin leads to death and a mind governed by the flesh leads to death. And it's the mind governed by the spirit that leads to life and peace. And so sin separates us from God. We cannot be intimate with Jesus and walk in his will for our life when we living in continual sin For those of us who are practicing and living in sin there a difference I talk about in the chapter, you know, a difference between living in sin and falling into sin. Because, you know, we are living in a sinful world. We were born with a sin nature. And so there's going to be moments because we're imperfect human beings where we fall into sin. But then that's where it comes in where we have to have a heart posture that is repentant and confesses that sin and turns from that sin versus choosing to continually live in it. Is it still like a lot of people your age are going, how, how close can I get? Like, how close can I get to the cliff without falling off? Oh, I think that's a question that a lot of us are, are feeling and think, I think no matter even the age demographic, like trying to naturally push that line of like, how close can I get to sin without fully falling in? But I think what's so interesting is when it talks about in scripture, like when we've truly experienced the grace of God, we will not want to run towards sin. We will want to run as far away from it as possible. We won't be asking how close to the line can I get, but we will be asking how close to God can I get? How can I glorify God with my life, with my thoughts, with my decisions, with my heart posture, with my relationships. And that I think as Christians should be our goal. And you, you talked actually a lot about this in your testimony, you know, like, I think a lot of times we can judge our holiness based off of the world standards instead of off of God's standards. It's like, oh, well, I'm a little bit better and holier than my friends. Like I'm not doing what they're doing. So it's fine. I'm good. you know but but the lord has a very clear you know picture of of what it looks like to live a life of purity and holiness and it says in titus 2 verses 12 that the grace of god teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled upright and godly lives in this present age while we wait for the blessed hope and i think that for me has been such a beautiful reminder of when we have truly encountered God's grace, like we, we do not want to partake in anything that causes us to be separated from a good God, because we know that he is where the true joy and peace is found. And I, for me, it was realizing that it's these small sins that were left unconfessed, um, that were robbing me from living a life of true holiness. and so I've started practicing now like even to this day of just anytime I even have like a sinful thought a thought of comparison or jealousy or insecurity or anger or maybe I like speak in an ugly tone to my husband or I have just like a yucky heart posture about something yeah having those friends that I'm confessing to and that I'm repenting I'm repenting and confessing to God and then I'm asked confessing to those friends and asking them to hold me accountable in those areas has really helped me be on the proactive side when it comes to sin instead of the reactive side of now I've fallen into this place where I'm like, how did I get here? And I think, yeah, we just, we don't often treat sin as serious as we should. I mean, for you, what does that look like to, I mean, I think the fear of the Lord, as we've been talking about a good bit, you know, it says to fear God is to hate sin. And so there should be a hatred of sin and anything that separates us from God. What does that look like for you daily to like practice this? Yeah. Hatred of sin and resisting of sin. Grand Canyon University, an affordable private Christian university based in beautiful Phoenix, Arizona is one of the largest universities in the country. Praised for its culture of community and impact, GCU integrates the free market system, a welcoming Christian worldview and free and open discourse into 369 academic programs with over 300 online. Join a nationwide community of learners redefining what online education looks like through academically rigorous, industry-driven programs that can spark bold ideas and prepare you for a future that matters. In addition to federal grants and aid, GCU's online students received nearly $161 million in institutional scholarships in 2024. Find your purpose at Grand Canyon University. Private, Christian, affordable. Visit gcu.edu forward slash my offer to see the scholarships you may qualify for. if you or anyone you know has OCD you know how overwhelming it can be that's why I want to tell you about no CD right away OCD is a serious and highly misunderstood condition that traps people in a cycle of intrusive thoughts and convulsions that can take over your peace of mind and your daily life if you know me you know I care deeply about helping you feel your best understanding your thoughts, taking them captive, and improving your overall health, whether that's your brain health, thought patterns, or daily routines. And that's exactly what NoCD specializes in. NoCD is the world's leading OCD treatment provider, with therapists who are specially trained to understand the many ways OCD can show up. Through live virtual ERP therapy sessions, they'll help you manage your symptoms and get back to living the life you want. They accept most major insurance plans, and you'll have the support between sessions through the NoCD app. Tools, messaging, community, and live groups. If you're ready to get help from a therapist who truly understands OCD, visit NoCD.com to book a free call. That's N-O-C-D dot com. Okay, friends, if you're looking for a clean, heartwarming, romantic comedy this Valentine's season, And I have one for you, Solomio from Angel Studios. It's about a man who's left at the altar in Rome and ends up taking his honeymoon alone. And what unfolds is this funny, tender, and surprisingly beautiful story. And it is set in Italy. It's absolutely stunning. Think sunsets, villas, all the romance. Okay, Kevin James is one of my favorites. He's the absolute best. He's hilarious and he's so heartfelt. And Jonathan Rumi is in this and you are gonna love seeing this really fun, unexpected side of him. I love supporting movies that make you feel good without compromising your values. And this one is wholesome. It's charming. It's a hopeful, everything you want a rom-com to be. So grab your spouse, grab your friends, your kids and go see Solo Mio in theaters February 6th. let's choose joy and choose good stories. Purchase tickets at angel.com forward slash Candice. Well, first you need to know what it is. I think there are the obvious, like you talked about. You're like, well, I probably shouldn't use hard drugs or I probably shouldn't scream and yell and be super angry and belittling towards people. I mean, there's some obvious things that we know to be true, But it is so important to, again, read the word of God to know what he says. And even the Ten Commandments, like that's our basic standard of what good and right is. And so don't lie. Don't covet. Don't steal. Don't murder. You know, but Jesus goes on to say even more than that. Well, don't look to lust. Don't have hatred in your heart. we need to know what God's word says. And then there's so many good verses in the New Testament as well that just expand on that and what you were talking about, having a heart posture. And I think we start with prayer of God, show me the things that you hate. Show me the things that you love. Help me to love what you love and hate what you hate. Help me to honor that and walk that out. I think prayer is the start of absolutely everything in our life and talking and communicating with God, being in that relationship with him. But I think that there are sins that aren't as obvious as you were talking about, the smaller things. And sometimes we need someone to point that out. And God can reveal that in our heart. And sometimes our friends can reveal that too. And if you have that trusted person in your life that says, can I be honest with you? the way you spoke to your mom wasn't wasn't very kind or I know I know who you are and I as your friend I want to let you know I've had those conversations with a few friends and they've had them with me yeah and it takes a really good close friend in your life to have those to receive it and to thank them for the correction so be grateful for those friends even if it just burns you because, you know, we, again, we all have our pride and sometimes it hurts, but, um and then sometimes there the obvious the obvious sin I struggled with things in my life that I talked all about over the seasons And uh and it a daily it a daily walk And the the biggest difference is once you are in relationship with God and you're desiring to honor him, to please him, you said it. You're not, you may still fall into sin. You may still do the thing. Paul talks about it in Romans. Why do I do the things that I don't want to do. You may still fall into those things, but there's a big difference in diving into it and just willingly knowing that you're like, God, I know this doesn't honor you. It doesn't please you, but I don't care. I'm going to do it anyway. Then there's a heart issue there. And it's again, a daily walk. It's like a renewal of the mind. It's refreshing. I'm so grateful that God gives us a new day every day and we have a chance to start new. It's a clean slate every single day. But little by little, you build habits over time. And I think one of the most powerful words you can say is the word no to yourself and deny yourself something. Deny yourself, not even a sacrifice, but to deny, to say, I'm not going to choose to react that way today. and each time you deny yourself something, it's a little notch in your belt. It's a little more strength of just becoming more Christ-like and those notches build upon each other. It's like you take one step, one step, one step and soon enough, you're gonna climb up the whole ladder, you know? Yeah, no, that's so good. But it's a step at a time. Yeah, no, that's a great reminder. Galatians 2.20 talks about it too. It's no longer I who live, but Christ who lives within me. And so the old patterns, the old ways of thinking, reacting, living, the choices, those things you have chosen to die to, and you have to choose daily. It's a daily death. It's a daily, Lord, I give you all of me, body, soul, and spirit. I belong to you. I give you my mind. I give you my eyes, my mouth, my ears. And I really try to go through that daily prayer. Honestly, Romans 12, 2 of like, or 12, 1 of giving my body as a living sacrifice to the Lord. Lord, show me how to please you with my eyes today. I want to see what you see, Lord. I give you my mind. I want to have the mind of Christ. I want to think thoughts that are holy and true and pure and praiseworthy. Lord, I give you my ears. I want to be sensitive to your voice and not susceptible to fall for the lies of the world, but help me to hear your voice and what you're speaking. Lord, I want my mouth to be pleasing to you with what I say and how I honor others and honor you. And so just even that prayer daily, kind of going through like different parts of my body as interesting as that sounds just it really has helped so much of just I'm dying to myself I'm giving you all of me Lord um is is so helpful I think about you know and talking about friends and um confessing and having those friends around you I watched um Lord of the Rings recently yeah not Lord of the Rings Star Wars I watched Star Wars recently I think I saw it when I was 10 and I don't remember it but here's the crazy thing about it is that sorry to Spoiler alert, anybody who wants to watch it and hasn't seen it. But Darth Vader did not become Darth Vader overnight. Like it started as these little small things that he overlooked and didn't confess and didn't bring people into. Like he lived his life in isolation and he allowed those thoughts to fester and it ended up, you know, he became this person that ultimately he probably was like, how in the world did I get here? And the way we prevent that from happening is bringing other people into that and confessing at the thought level. I really think that's been so powerful in my daily walk with Jesus of just resisting sin by confessing at the thought level of, gosh, I'm thinking this thought that I know is not godly and it's not true. And so I'm going to confess that and repent to God, but also confess that to my, you know, my sister in Christ and just ask her to hold me accountable and pray for me in this area. And it has been transformative in my ability to continue to walk in the light and live a holy life. Yeah. Yeah. Because I think that it's a it's a offensive, you know, kind of step of faith as well. I think a lot of times when we think about sin, it's just defense. It's like, don't do this. Don't do that. True. You know, like in church, it's like that's what even just talking about, you know, like sex outside of marriage, for example, I feel like that's a very easy one that's talked about in the church a lot. It's like, don't do that. That's really, really bad. But there is an offensive approach. There is a pursuit of holiness and righteousness and goodness, as well as some things that we're called to resist and say no to. And a lot of what we're talking about is that pursuit of things. It is. And that's why it's so important to have quiet time or study time, whatever word you want to call it, Bible time. And it is remarkable for me to sit here and talk to you. You know scripture like the back of your hand. You have so much memorized. There is so much wealth in you, biblical wealth and knowledge that you've memorized and really bound to your heart. It's so impressive. And I say that not just as a compliment, I compliment you, but that tells me how much time you've spent in the Word, that you know the Bible, you've spent time with God, you've sat and meditated on His Word, you've put it, you've written it upon your heart. so that you know it and it comes out and overflows within your speech and your dialogue, your conversations. And you don't get that way without spending real time. And to even come to a place of, well, how do I have a heart change, a heart posture that wants to be pleasing and honoring to God? You gotta just start spending time with them, however that looks. And that's always the battle in our world, whether you're in school and you have all your classes or you're a young mom and you've got a baby and you're taking, I get it. Like lives are busy, but that time that you spent every single day is another notch in your belt. Again, not in an achieving kind of way, but just spending time with God and he is going to mold and shape you in that time. Gosh, well, thank you for that compliment and encouragement. And I hope that's an encouragement to everyone listening because we've talked about this, but in the presence of the Lord is fullness of joy. And I've just learned that sin always, you know, looks like a delight and a desire at first, but it will always lead to death every single time. Even the smallest of sins. I will not find what I'm looking for in the world. I can only find that in Jesus and in his presence. And it talks about in Psalm 119, how do I how do I live a pure life by living according to the word? Like, how do I live a life, an honest life, a life of integrity, a life resisting sin by studying the word like you're talking about? Diving into it, falling in love with it, delighting in it. and truly I've just seen like anytime I flirted with sin and tried to get as close to the line as I can get, it always led to just like confusion and not feeling the best. But every time I just fall more and more with Jesus and dive into his word, I'm like, this is what I was made for. Yeah, it's so true. Oh, this was great. Well, we have a listener question and this is from Rita. It's not a question about sin. We, oh, we get to say congratulations. Rita is getting married in a month. Congrats, Rita. What is some of the best advice you would give to a couple who are fairly new to their faith? I'll let you go first. I know, my goodness. Well, this is super exciting. it's super exciting if you're on this journey together that you're both new to your faith I would say that find a church that would be my first step find a good bible believing teaching church amen and if you can get into community there's no better time or place to start than as a couple together you can still do separate study times like women's bible study he could do men's Bible study, but there's things together that you can study, study the word with and go to church. So I'm excited for you and congrats. I hope your wedding's all that you dreamed it would be. Oh, so good. I, I agree with both of those things. And then I just would say one of the best things that my husband and I started doing when we got married, I don't really love to encourage this in like dating or engagement, but once married, just praying together every single day, Like there's so much power in prayer. And so he prays every night before we go to bed. And I've just seen how unifying that is and how, yeah, just continually inviting the Holy Spirit into our marriage and into our relationship. Yeah, that's great. Good one. Okay, well, we'll be back next week. And don't forget there's a free Dare to be True guide available at Candice.com. It's designed to walk you through Maddie's book and especially helpful if you're reading her book with a small group. To join a private podcast chat and get a monthly live stream with me, go to Candice.com forward slash together and become part of the Together community. Until next time, be grateful all day, every day. Candy Rock Entertainment. All rights reserved. Thank you.