201 Knowing God, Self, and Others with Jada Edwards

201. Knowing God, Self, and Others with Jada Edwards

 

**Transcription Below**

 

Mark 12:30+31 (NIV) "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

 

Questions and Topics We Discuss:

1. Do you believe God talks to all of His children?
2. Why is it important to learn how God exclusively wired each of us?
3. You say "You can’t love well if you don’t love close." So, how can we love close in order to love well?

 

Jada Edwards is an experienced author, speaker, Bible

teacher, and mentor. She has committed her life to equipping women of all ages, regardless of marital status, with practical, biblical truth to help them live more genuine lives.

 

Jada currently serves as the Women’s Pastor and Creative Services Director for One Community Church, where she seeks to serve the evolving communities of Collin County through creative expression and cultural relevance.

 

She has served in various directional capacities within the youth and singles ministries at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, a church with over 1,000 youth and 3,000 singles.

 

Jada holds a Master of Business Administration with an emphasis in Organizational strategy and has experience improving organizations though process improvement and technological initiatives.

 

Jada and her husband, Conway, have a son named Joah and a daughter named Chloe.

 

Connect with Jada through her website, Instagram, or Facebook.

 

Thank You to Our Sponsor: Leman Property Management Company

 

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Gospel Scripture: (all NIV)

 

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

 

Romans 3:24 “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

 

Romans 3:25 (a) “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.” 

 

Hebrews 9:22 (b) “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” 

 

Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” 

 

Romans 5:11 “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” 

 

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

 

Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” 

 

Luke 15:10 says “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

 

Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”

 

Ephesians 1:13–14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession- to the praise of his glory.”

 

Ephesians 1:15–23 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”

 

Ephesians 2:8–10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God‘s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“

 

Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.“

 

Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

 

**Transcription**

 

[00:00:00] <music>

 

Laura Dugger: Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, where we have practical chats for intentional living. I'm your host Laura Dugger, and I'm so glad you're here. 

 

[00:00:18] <music>

 

Laura Dugger: Leman Property Management Company has the apartment you will be able to call home, with over 1,700 apartment units available in Central Illinois. Visit them today at Lemanproperties.com or connect with them on Facebook. 

 

My enthralling guest for today is Jada Edwards. Jada is a speaker, author, Bible teacher, and mentor.  I felt like this conversation was a power hour of discipleship. I hope you enjoy this time as much as I did. 

 

Here's our chat. 

 

Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, Jada.

 

Jada Edwards: Thank you so much for having me. Excited to be on.

 

Laura Dugger: Absolutely. Looking forward to this. Let's just start here. Will you give us a flyover of who you are and what God has called you to in this season of life? [00:01:18] 

 

Jada Edwards: Oh, man. I am a scatterbrained wife, mother, teacher, sometimes author, doing a million things, and I still get the privilege of leading in our local church. I oversee a ministry area there. God has called me this season to navigate the chaos. 

 

So it is primarily motherhood, because my kids are little, they're nine and five, and secondarily church and ministry, really local church is second, and then ministry life. So kind of keeping those all in the mix.

 

Laura Dugger: You teach the Bible so well. What would you say is your favorite thing you've ever taught on?

 

Jada Edwards: Man, I don't know if I have a favorite thing ever, because the Bible is so good. But I will say what I'm teaching on now is the idea of what it means to love well, and using Jesus's explanation of the greatest commandments, the foremost commandment that summarizes all scripture, to love the Lord your God, soul, and mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself. [00:02:32] And just the massive, under-appreciated implications of that. That everything that we wrestle with is a love issue. So that's what I'm getting to take the ladies at our church through right now, just what that looks like to study what God needs when He asks us to love us with all of who we are.

 

And I'm kind of tacking on to that, how to study the Bible. So one of my favorite things really is how to study scripture. I love getting to teach on Bible study methods. And so we're kind of doing both.

 

Laura Dugger: That's awesome. Do you want to give us just a little taste of how to study the Bible, ways that you recommend?

 

Jada Edwards: Yeah. Well, I like the inductive method. You know, it's not new. You just got to kind of keep it fresh in your mind. And that is observation, interpretation, application. Observation is that phase where you're just... what do you see? What do you know? It's background, context. Who was the audience? Who was the author? Time period. [00:03:33] What king was in power? What was going on in the world? 

 

And then just what you plainly see in the text.  You know, Jesus is answering a question. Paul is writing a letter to a church. Like just the very basic things of what you see answering kind of the who, what, when, where, why. 

 

And then interpretation is saying, well, what does that mean? And so it's really this idea of taking the context and observation and saying, well, what does this passage mean? Which really is, what did it originally mean to the original audience? 

 

And then application says, well, what does it mean to me? 23rd Psalm, for example, I'm not going to look for God to be my literal physical shepherd and make me lie down in the grass and be by a stream of water. So I have to know what that meant first to the original audience, to David, who was a shepherd, to what that metaphor meant to him. Now I can figure out what it means to me, how He restores me and gives me peace.

 

I like helping people walk through that because I think our tendency is to quickly run to application. [00:04:33] Read a verse, I want to hear a quick message. I want something tweetable, soundbite is the culture we're in right now, and I just wanted to fix something in my heart or give me a new insight or whatever. 

 

I think if we are patient with the word and do much more mining, much more digging in the observation and interpretation phases, then we will have a richer and more accurate result when we get to application. What does it mean to me?

 

Laura Dugger: Do you believe that God talks to all of His children?

 

Jada Edwards: Absolutely. I do. I'm like, if I as a believer I believe that we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit and I think that means the power of God endures me. And so He's not silent. He's got plenty to say. The answer is that because if He wasn't speaking in scripture, I would not say I could quench him. That means I'm shutting something down that's normally happening or should be happening when I'm walking in a way that pleases God. When I don't, then I quench Him. I shut Him down. [00:05:34] 

 

I can grieve Him, which means there's some fullness of joy and abundance that comes when I'm thriving and what God has asked me to do. Because when I don't, then the Bible says you can grieve Him, you can make Him sad, you can bring down his countenance because He's still a person.

 

And so, yeah, I think it's the only way that I have survived life is knowing that I can constantly hear the voice of God through His scripture, you know, through the people He brings my way and affirms by the spirit that's within.

 

Laura Dugger: I couldn't agree more with you. But if you had to articulate it, what do you think are some ways that God does invite each of us to lean into the Holy Spirit and hear what God is saying to us?

 

Jada Edwards: I really think scripture, for me, is such a gateway. And I know various denominations tend to come up with ideas. Holy Spirit is one of the most debated things among Christianity and among Christians. And so I know some people like experiential avenues, you know, some people like... you know, they think about these really distinct visitations of the spirit, things like that. [00:06:45] I'm not here to argue those points. I'm saying Jesus said with His own words, "I'm going to bring someone. He's going to be a comforter. He is going to guide you in all truth. He is going to bring to your remembrance things I've said."

 

So in my mind, I'm really not looking for the Holy Spirit to give me brand new revelation that's never been revealed in scripture. I'm looking for Him to apply, bring to my remembrance the things that the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ has already said. And so that's the application piece.

 

And, you know, he speaks so clearly through scripture. And then in His goodness, He'll have a friend or a sermon or, I mean, a commercial if you want to, anything kind of confirming what He's already said. But scripture is my home base. Even if I get a great word or great insight from a teacher or from a friend who loves God, I'm like, Okay, where is this true in scripture? That's kind of my true north.

 

Laura Dugger: And just to circle back to that scripture that you said you're kind of camping out on right now and it's most meaningful. [00:07:48] So as we're looking to love God more, how do you think we can incorporate some creativity into church so that we can know God better and love Him more?

 

Jada Edwards: Well, I think it's just, number one, being open to how God wants to use the gifts of the body. You look through scripture and you see all these kinds of spiritual gifts. Well, you already see diversity of giftedness. And then in addition to that, you see whatever generation you're living in, there's going to be a diversity of talents. And so how do I bring those in? Because God is creator. And I want to show people that there's so many different ways that God can be glorified or that we can point you back to God. 

 

I'm very grateful that our church... my husband and I, when we planted our church, creativity, and worship were such huge pieces for us. So I actually oversee our worship arts or creative arts ministry. And so that is like our dance team. They dance once a month. Our drama team, they're doing drama pieces, skits and monologues and things like that once a month. [00:08:51] Our choir and then our next-gen, our next generation groups. 

 

And so I love that we are intentional about incorporating those things. Because I can't tell you how many times someone has... maybe the sermon didn't resonate with them or they didn't get it, but the dance moved them and they were like, "Oh my gosh, y'all do this in church?" And we're like, "Yeah, because God created dance."

 

Or we have a painter or we have a violinist or we have a hip-hop rapper or whatever. It's just kind of like we try to stay very, very open to what God is saying and how He might be expressing Himself in the moment. 

 

And it's very important to see things happening in culture. When I see artists who are killing it, like they're great poets or actors or singers or whatever, and they're not in the church, all I'm thinking is there's someone great out there that love God. Like that belongs to God in my mind. All of your music, it belongs to God. [00:09:50] 

 

Now, my goal then is how do I find someone that does this excellently and does it to the glory of God? And we're going to try to bring them. I want to show people the world does not have the monopoly on great singing or great talent or great dancing. So that's been a really intentional piece for us to broaden people's perspective and understanding of how God gives glory through the arts.

 

Laura Dugger: I love that so much. I've heard you say before that crafts were meaningful to us as children, but that doesn't go away. We don't outgrow that. Would you elaborate on that thought?

 

Jada Edwards: Well, I think somehow assimilation starts to shut down imagination as we get older. So what seems right? Like what's the job you should have? What's going to be a good financial decision? What's the way you should raise your family or when should you have kids, or, you know, what color should your hair be? [00:10:54] It's like if I'm an adult and my hair is pink, then surely I can't have a real job, right? It's just kind of like certain things go hand in hand. 

 

I think as adults, we have to work to stay imaginative. And I don't mean making up things about God that are not true, but imagining all the ways God might want to express Himself, might want to show Himself off. And so, you know, does that mean that we... like I said, we might have a live painter on platform. Does that mean we've got a gymnast who, you know, making sure she's covered properly? We've had a gymnast on platform doing stuff because she loves Jesus and she gets to show people how walking with the Lord has been her source of discipline. I mean, just unimaginable things. 

 

And so it's an intentional effort to kind of get out of what is considered normal and say, Okay, how do we give back to the imaginative kids that we were? [00:11:56] Because I think we were closer to our purer selves when we were younger. And I think that's who God is. I think He's creator. I think He's creative. And so, yeah, we have to be very intentional about unpacking what seems normal and right and staying open to whatever artistic or creative thing God might want to do. Even if you don't feel artistic, He can do artistic things for you.

 

Laura Dugger: Those are a few ways to incorporate it into the church. But how can we also embrace creativity in our home to experience the beauty and the goodness of God?

 

Jada Edwards: Oh, well, I mean, I think there's so many things like what your thing is. Like if you love nature, Okay, then what are you doing in your home or with your family, with your friends that incorporates that? Do you do a nature walk? Have y'all decided to plant something as a family? Like everything is a lesson. 

 

We just got a little mini baby herb garden. I love cooking. I love fresh herbs. My kids love dirt. I was like, this all works. [00:12:57] And we're going to plant our little baby herb garden and we're going to talk about it. And we're going to learn about growth and seeds. You know, there's a million illustrations in that. And so we do that. 

 

Sometimes we do devotions in the morning. I'll have my son read something, you know, great book by Louie Giglio. I think it's called Incredible God or something like that. But he has a devotional book for children. But stuff like that. My son needs to practice reading and, you know, I need to make sure they're not... I need to fill their time because they can keep asking, can we watch TV? Can we do that? We're going to read this devotional. He reads it. We talk about it. My daughter chimes in. You know, it's a whole thing around the table where I don't care what it is. We'll pick a letter and say we're going to come up with 20 words that start with this letter. And then we're going to say, why did you come up with that? What made you think that?

 

And then we have crazy conversations about what they're thinking or what we're thinking. And so that just can't look a lot of different ways to me when we're inviting God into those spaces. And so even if it's not something artistic, I think sometimes the way we structure our day, structure our time, we got to get creative because we're in a season right now where breakfast for us, even though it's 6:30 in the morning, is our most consistent family time. [00:14:12] 

 

And so we spend a lot of time around the bar talking like we do in the mornings. And we're getting ready and stuff, but we're not in the space where we have dinner every day at six o'clock. I mean, we have like a couple, one or two nights a week where that's consistent. But breakfast is our go-to. We're all there in the morning. And so we make the most of that. It's our family devotional time, usually with my son.

 

So, yeah, I just think being open to how God may want to show up in your home and your friends and your family is important.

 

Laura Dugger: And is that book... is it called Indescribable? 

 

Jada Edwards: Indescribable, yes. 

 

Laura Dugger: Yes. I'm going through that right now with our daughter Shiloh, so connecting with what you're talking about.

 

Jada Edwards: It's so good. And it leads to so many conversations. To your point, it sparks creativity because it always starts with some great story about sharks or caterpillars or the earth or the moon. And my son is enraptured because he loves all those things. And then it turns a corner talking about how God shows up in our lives. [00:15:12] That sparks so many good conversations. And it keeps His mind thinking that, look at God in all these things. I can see God in everything. That's really my goal for them.

 

Laura Dugger: Let's take a quick break to hear a message from our sponsor.

 

[00:15:29] <music>

 

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[00:17:22] <music>

 

Laura Dugger: We're the only one who can be responsible to know ourselves and understand how God created us individually. I personally believe that this work can lead us to know God better and to be able to worship Him with more freedom. So with that in mind, Jada, do you have any examples of how we actually love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength?

 

Jada Edwards: Well, if you go through that kind of list and your heart is the core of your emotions and your affections, I'm old enough where we had book covers when I was in school and we drew on book covers, so-and-so loves so-and-so and all that stuff. So, I mean, I'm trying to remind them of what it's like when their heart is affectionate for someone, even if that person does nothing in return. When you have a new son or daughter or niece or nephew or when you're in love, there's so many things we just have.

 

We have affection for celebrities that we've never met. Like we just are heartish toward them. And so thinking about how do I love God with my heart, like my desire, not just "I need something from you." [00:18:34] 

 

And then your soul. Obviously, the spiritual core of who you are and that goes to scripture and being led by the spirit of God. 

 

Your mind. How do I love God with my thoughts? I've asked myself, how much space in my brain does God occupy? How many of my thoughts come back to God? Or is it I'm spending all this time in anxiety, stirring up anxiety, wondering what if and how if and what if that didn't work? And let me think of a plan A, B, C, and D. What's my backup to my backup? Like you can get down a rabbit hole of life and really God gets kind of brought in on the tail end. Like I've hit my wall of anxiety, Oh, God, can you please come in and quiet my heart and please help?

 

I mean, I'd rather try to, as Paul said, to take every thought captive. How do I love God with my mind? What am I letting occupy my mind? You know, I'm really sad because someone hurt me deeply and it consumes me. How could they do that? And who's going to get them back? [00:19:38] And look how it's changed my life. 

 

The hurt is real, but how much time I will occupy my mind is going to show me what I love. Do I love living in that place of hurt? I mean, I say that doesn't sound right. It doesn't sound right to say I love being hurt, but you love what you let your mind occupy. And so, you know, how do I love God with my mind? 

 

And then my strength. I love that because it shows me that to love God is work. You know, it's kind of like I tell people, when you get married, when you say I do at the altar, like when does the work begin? Because now you're saying, Hey, I want to merge two lives and we're going to try to love God while we're doing it. And by the way, we've known each other a few months or a few years and we think we've really figured it out.

 

And so when you say I do, a husband does not suddenly become endowed with amazing leadership insight. A woman does not suddenly become endowed with the ability to help and support and co-partner and all these things. That stuff takes work. To love one another takes work. [00:20:40] 

 

And so I think sometimes as Christians, we think I'm going to become a Christian or have an experience with God and I'm going to suddenly be able to love Him. Like He's going to be my heart's desire. And nothing in scripture says that that's going to be easy. You know, Paul talks about that conflict in Romans 7. The thing I want to do is not what I do. 

 

So when I think about loving God with my strength, it's like how much effort am I putting into it? When do I get off social media, turn off Netflix, commit to saying, I'm not going to go to bed until I spend 10 minutes in scripture or I'm not going to leave my house until I spend 10 minutes in prayer. Like it's work. And when I'm offended, it takes strength to not say something back or to think some thought that's not edifying. So anyway, those are things I think practically when it comes to loving God can be helpful.

 

Laura Dugger: Right. I'm even thinking along those practical lines, what you had mentioned earlier about somebody offering a dance to the Lord. That's I would see the involvement of heart, soul, mind, and strength. [00:21:41] So I see all of this layering on top of each other or the connections. 

 

But why do you think it's important to also learn how God exclusively wired each of us?

 

Jada Edwards: Oh, man, I'm such a big purpose, life-calling person. I just think the more you know about who you are, who God's made you to be, the better you can live out whatever the assignment is He's giving you, the better you can glorify Him, the better you can love Him because you know what your stuff is and where you struggle and where you thrive. You better you can love people. You know what your pain points are, what your buttons are. 

 

I think at the end of Psalm 139, when David is like, "Search me, I want you to search me, Lord and see my anxious thoughts. Is there anything in me that's not like you and like this idea of leave me in this way everlasting?"

 

That Psalm is actually one of my favorite Psalms, speaking of favorite scriptures. Because the whole Psalm is basically David saying, You have searched me, you have known me, you know everything about me. [00:22:42] And you know where I go, when I sit down, when there's thoughts on my mind, you know, before they even form on my lips, all these things. And then he ends by saying, search me, oh God, know my heart, try me, know my thoughts.

 

It's clearly not because God needs to search David so that God can know David. He's already established that He knows him. He's saying, search me so you can show me me. Show me what you see in me. Because I think it's very important for us to say, God, tell me who I am. 

 

My calling and purpose and all that stuff is important to find. But if I don't know how I'm wired, am I fast-paced? Do I tend to be harsh with people? Am I slow-paced? Do I tend to be very analytical? Like all of these things help me know how God might want to fulfill that purpose in me. And so I'm always on mission, personally, alone by myself. I'm like, Okay, now how does this affect your work relationship? How does this affect your marriage or your kids? It applies to everything. [00:23:42] Knowing self and knowing people, I think, is how we love will.

 

Laura Dugger: Jada, you just are natural at weaving in the observation and the interpretation. And now as we zero in on that topic, then let's go to application. Will you elaborate on your process of stacking the personality tests?

 

Jada Edwards: So I just feel like people are complex. I used to love DISC, D-I-S-C, if anyone's not familiar with that. There's lots of free tests out there now because it was really super simple. Everybody was in the Myers-Briggs, but I was like, Listen, 16 combinations is a lot. So I liked DISC because it was like, are you a director, an influencer, steady, compliant? You kind of broke everything up based on your pace, if you're a fast-paced person or a slower person. They're not good or bad. They're just different. Or if you're people-oriented or task-oriented, it was real simple.

 

And then other things came along. StrengthFinders, Spiritual Gifts Test, obviously. Myers-Briggs is cool. There's a new version of that called 16 Personality Types, which gives names to each of those. [00:24:48] The wiring, your hard wiring is your temperament, like how God made you. You love people. You love tasks. You're analytical and precise. You're free-spirited. That's just how God made you. And that DISC kind of stuff in Myers-Briggs. Because you can have different personality types with the same motive. Are you an achiever? Are you perfectionistic? You want harmony. 

 

And so if I'm an achiever, if I'm a quiet, introverted person, my achievement may come out in writing or counseling or something that is very introverted and one on one. If I'm an extroverted person, then I'm probably on stage, on platform. I'm a talker. 

 

So you need like who you are and how you do life, because that speaks to motive, like why you do what you do. And then I love adding in spiritual gifts because then we get to see. Some people with the gift of hospitality are super talkative. They need to be at the door. Some people are introverted, focused workers. They're the ones planning the thing, you know?

 

So it's just so many facets to how we're wired. [00:25:50] And I think the more we know about ourselves and each other, we get to kind of see the fullness of who we are and be amazed that God made us in an instant. It's like, I'm going to give you all these complexities, boom, and there's 200 billion of them. Go. So, yeah, I just love it. People fascinate me.

 

Laura Dugger: I agree. People fascinate me as well. And I enjoy studying this. You brought up spiritual gifts and spiritual gifts are a vital part of knowing ourselves so that we can love others better. So how do you recommend that we first discover and then use and exercise and practice our spiritual gifts to serve and build up the church?

 

Jada Edwards: Oh, I think, you know, in my mind, that's kind of the idea of strategic service, like knowing fully who I am. And even as a church organization, knowing who we are and who we might need, and who might serve well in a particular area. It just helps us to be more intentional. 

 

Anybody can go and pick up trash or set out chairs or be a greeter if they've got a great, inviting personality. But there's going to be some people who are really good at it. [00:27:06] There's going to be some people who pick up chairs and pick up trash just because they love the church. They have a servant heart. They're going to do it. 

 

But that's not going to be sustainable. What's going to be sustainable is the person who's bothered by the trash on the floor, the person who does not understand why the chairs are not in a perfect row. The person who doesn't understand why the person at the door greeting doesn't look happy to be here. Like the person who finds the typo on the website, you know, the person who listens to the music and is like, those chords don't go. 

 

I think the things that disturb us, disrupt us, those are usually places where we can lean into really strategic service. We all have to do everything very often at some point. But long term to know that I'm going to contribute more in this capacity than I am in this capacity really keeps my eyes open for what God might do. 

 

And so you can have a servant's heart and say yes to whatever the need is but also have intentional eyes for what God might open opportunities that really suit you. And so I think it's always important to try to be as strategic as we can with our service. [00:28:08] 

 

Laura Dugger: I've heard this taught both ways, so I would really value your insight. Do you believe that God gifts us with these spiritual gifts while we're still in our mother's womb or are spiritual gifts given to us at salvation, at that moment when we get a new heart and become a follower of Jesus?

 

Jada Edwards: You know, that's a good question. Scripture would make me think that the gifts, spiritual gifts are gifts of the spirit and that if you have not received the Holy Spirit as a believer, then even though God knows what your gift will be, they may not be fully endowed to you or, you know, be able to be fully realized. But then there's this other side that our lives are purpose-driven, even before our spiritual gifting is revealed. Because Paul says in Galatians 5, "I was called and set apart from a mother's womb."  David says, "You formed me in my inward parts." Like there is this intentionality even in the womb. [00:29:12] 

 

And so I would probably have to process that more. But if I was going to be nuanced about it, I would probably say that calling, purpose, intentionality, God gives us in the womb at conception and that He obviously knows our spiritual gifts. But I think that we only fully realize them, able to receive them once we become believers. I can't reconcile not being a Christian and being able to use your spiritual gifts. I can't reconcile that. And so I think they're there waiting for us to choose Jesus. 

 

Calling, purpose, yes. Because a lot of people are walking in some version of their calling and their purpose before they become Christian. Then come Christian, they're like, oh, this is what God meant. Paul, he was still teaching. He was still passionate. He was still preaching, but different agenda. You know, so you see in the life of Paul, there was still activity in a life dedicated to what he was good at. It's just that when he found Jesus, that same gifting, that same wiring just became used for the Lord. [00:30:18] And then he was, I believe, given the spiritual gifts that come with salvation.

 

Laura Dugger: That's a great example, because then you see very different fruit produced from the gifts prior to encountering Jesus and after.

 

Jada Edwards: Same personality. That's why I try to tell people there's no right or wrong personality. Paul didn't become quiet. He didn't become shy. He didn't become less passionate. He was still pretty direct. He still said what he wanted to say and how he felt like. You know, he was still a zealot. It was just that it was for the Lord. 

 

And so his life is a reference point for me often to encourage people that whatever your personality and how you're wired and what you're good at, man, God gives you that at birth. And using it in spiritual divine ways with certain endowments, certain portions of faith or hospitality or pastor and a shepherd, those portions you get as a believer and then they partner with how he's already wired you and then you see like that divine calling. [00:31:17] 

 

Laura Dugger: There is an exciting project taking place behind the scenes right now, and I would love to invite you to participate. I will give you more details as I'm able, but for now, here's my request. Will you email me your personal story of a specific way God has clearly shown up in your life? Big or small, I want to hear an account of the way He made Himself known to you and maybe received credit for an answered prayer or a way He worked out a situation in a miraculous way or how He displayed his power in your life. There's no limit to the type of story to submit as long as it's true. So please email me your story at this email address, info@thesavvysauce.com. I can't wait to read your story. Thanks for sharing. 

 

I've also heard you share before that it's our work to have a PhD knowledge of ourselves, and that's for everyone's benefit. But then to realistically expect others to have more of an elementary knowledge of us. But hopefully conversations like this can spur us on to more thoughtfully observe and learn more about others so that our degree in others becomes more advanced in our knowledge of them. [00:32:38] 

 

So as we change gears now from knowing ourselves, how do you think we can grow in knowing others well?

 

Jada Edwards: I would say a lot of times with the same tools that I apply to the study of scripture and the same tools I apply to learning myself. So personality and strength and all that kind of stuff is so important because the more I know myself and I become aware of other personality types or other strengths or other spiritual giftings, then the more I'm aware and I'm able to see that in other people. 

 

And so when I do spiritual gifts or when I've done my spiritual gifts, I don't just look at my teaching, leadership, whatever it is. I want to learn all of them.  So when I see someone I go, "I think you have a spiritual gift of hospitality, you know? And so I want to learn those things because they prepare me to be able to speak into the lives of others and learn them and appreciate them. [00:33:35] 

 

And when I compare it to the study of scripture, I say, you know, observation, because even with all the tests and all the assessment in the world, it still does not tell you a person's life experience. I could take a person with the exact same Myers-Briggs, the exact same personality, the exact same strengths or whatever they're using, and they're still not going to be the exact same person because their households were different, their childhood experiences were different, the value. I mean, there's so much nuance to our actual life experiences, that assessments and those foundational things about how we're wired, they're just the beginning. 

 

It's as valuable to take those tools and take scripture that we apply to ourselves and ask God to give us discernment into others. Because I think Philippians 2:3 says, You put others' interests over your own. Well, I can't if I don't know their interests. If I keep projecting my interest to your interest, then I can't love you well.

 

And I'm just mad that you didn't remember my birthday. And I'm not thinking about the fact that I didn't grow up in a household that cared if it was my birthday. [00:34:38] You know, I'm just thinking about my life. So those little things, they start to become real chasms, you know, in our ability to love well, when we can't get outside of ourselves to really educate ourselves on other people.

 

Laura Dugger: I love one of your previous quotes where you say, "You can't love well if you don't love close." So how can we love close in order to love well?

 

Jada Edwards: You know, nobody wants to love close unless we've got some kind of warranty or guarantee that this is going to go well. Because it's like, What God? Yeah, it's risk. It's so much risk. Every time, I really have to do a couple of things. That's one. Always choose transparency and authenticity. Like that is hard for me. I am a guarded person. I'm a focused person. I don't tend to naturally gravitate toward transparency. 

 

God has had to stretch that muscle in me so that I can embrace my humanity and my dependence and who I am as a creature. That I don't have all together. [00:35:51] And so asking Him, Okay, God, how do you want me to be authentic in this moment, be transparent in this moment? Someone's going through something. Do I give them a scripture or should I just tell them  "I've been through that. And let me tell you my story a little bit"? 

 

And then also asking God when I should be vulnerable, because you can be transparent and authentic and I can tell you, "Hey, marriage is hard. My marriage is not perfect. A, B, and C." Being vulnerable, saying, "Here's what we're going through right now." Well, that's not for everybody. But I still have to have my heart open to how God wants me to do that, because that's how I love close. I mean, most of the time we think closeness comes... We want close love to come because we give up very little and the other person gives up a lot. And that's why we get married. Someone's made me happy. You know, even if we love Jesus, we're naturally self-centered people. So we're like, Oh, this person made me happy or I can see our life together. 

 

And loving close really is I take the risk because I know God is my advocate.[00:36:54] God loves me thoroughly and completely and unconditionally. I don't want you to hurt me. But if you hurt me and disappoint me, God's love... He's got me and I can be okay.

 

My image for that... I think I talk about it on my podcast. It's the book I'm working on. My image for that that always comes to mind is the Garden of Gethsemane. That Jesus brought in three men that He knew were going to fail into His most vulnerable moment. And they fall asleep. He doesn't unfriend them. He didn't cancel them. He gives them another chance and even a third chance. And they never get it. They never are able to stay awake with Him during his toughest time.

 

And so when I see that and think about that story, I'm reminded that community and loving close and loving in a real vulnerable way is such a part of how we're wired. That even when people fail us, God does not excuse us from being transparent and vulnerable. He's like, yeah, disappointment is a part of this world. And guess what? You disappoint people, too, Jada. So it's part of this world. [00:37:58] 

 

But there's going to be some moments that come because you're vulnerable, willing to take a risk from really meaningful relationships that you cannot have if you try to self-protect the whole way. It's a risk. You're probably going to get hurt. Someone's going to hurt you, not say the right thing or betray your trust. And they didn't mean to. They just were talking too much or whatever. And you got to decide, do I want to cut that off and isolate another person from my life or, God, are you asking me to leave? That's what it means to live close. It's hard.

 

Laura Dugger: Yeah. Is there any other specific scripture that informs your desire to live in biblical community?

 

Jada Edwards: Well, I just think about... I mean, the way Jesus modeled it with the disciples is so significant. I think for the man that lowered... the man who could not walk down on, who was on the cot and they lowered him into the roof, I think about what does it mean to have friends that have walked with you long enough that know that here's an opportunity for your life to be changed. [00:39:05] We're going to do whatever it takes. We're going to mow you through the roof. Thing is sold out. We're going to make sure you get there. He could not have done that on his own. He needed a community of people to help him do that.

 

I think whether it's Old Testament, you know, Jonathan and David, and you see those things in a friendship type community. But even David and Nathan, that Nathan wasn't David's friend, but he showed him the error of his ways after he had an affair with Bathsheba and had her husband killed. That's still community that you need. Everybody's not going to be a friend, but there's so many ways that we can let people in. Because David could have said, "Hey, Nathan, you know what? We're not even that close. You don't have any right to bring this to me." 

 

But his heart was open because he knew he had dishonored the Lord. And so we can find that the way we're wired to live in a community, it shows up in so many ways. But when I think about it, the bottom line is it's risky. That means I got to keep being willing to trust God to heal me, give me wisdom so that I don't shut people off when I get disappointed. [00:40:08] 

 

Laura Dugger: I love how you bring that scripture to life about the four friends lowering the man who cannot walk because it makes me think of Psalm 16. The first part of verse eight says, "I have set the Lord continually before me." And so that's part of maybe our responsibility or our part or what we can be doing. But also then in biblical community, those friends, they were crucial to be the ones to set this person before the Lord. And I think that's something we can do for our friends.

 

Jada Edwards: And I think God is so faithful to bring us people. Sometimes they're what I call guides or like God friends, like that Nathan and David or Paul and Barnabas. They're not many people you go to dinner with and chit-chat with. But they're people who are intentional. They care about God's purpose in your life and things like that. And sometimes He just brings us girlfriends.

 

You know, I think so often about Mary and Elizabeth. Like only God would have her cousin, who should have been barren, also be pregnant with John the Baptist. And now they have this shared experience. [00:41:16] They're both in this place like no one else can understand. No one else can understand. And God gives them each other.

 

So much so that it's just, you know, their babies leaped for joy in their womb when they connected. I just think God is so faithful that even if you think, "No one gets me. I don't do friendships. I can't find a real closeness with someone," He will do that. He will find you a Mary or an Elizabeth that is like you cannot believe how much you all have in common. I just think He's gracious like that to give us things that give us ways to lead into community. But we have to be asking all the time, "God, where do I... is this a friendship that I need to pursue? And yes, risky, back to my word.

 

Laura Dugger: It's risky, but... oh, that is so good, Jada. Because it's true. He is so faithful. And when He gives... We see this modeled in scripture. When He gives people a calling, He brings alongside an encourager or a friend. [00:42:15] So Barnabas to Paul, or like you said, Elizabeth to Mary. I love that. 

 

Let's combine all of these pieces that we've chatted about so far. We've talked about knowing God, knowing ourselves and knowing others to love all better. So I just want to hear a few more of your best practices. So as you've grown to know yourself better, what is some wise stewardship that's resulted?

 

Jada Edwards: That's a very good question. Let's see, if I know myself better, I think I'm a better steward of my time. I am kind of an achiever, extroverted. I want everything to be great all the time. And so my tendency is to say yes when I have a certainty that I'm going to be successful. I know I can do that well, I'm going to say good.

 

But as I've gotten to know myself, I know that God grows my faith when I have opportunities where I'm kind of out of my comfort zone. Like I really need to lean on Him because this is not something I've done 20 times. [00:43:21] And so I'm starting to see Him and trust me with certain things like that. And I'm like, now, why God am I doing this? And He's like, yeah, because you trust me and I want you to. 

 

So there's a discomfort that I'm becoming comfortable with saying, Okay, God is going to do this. I have tried to be a better steward of my parenting. My son is very compassionate and emotive and relational and caring and I tend to be less compassionate and more task driven and like that. And so that has challenged me as I've gotten to know myself and thought about who my son is and how he's wired. Like that gap between our relationship and why I get frustrated because he can't get over it when he's having a sad day. And God's like, You need to chill. You're going to make him think this is not okay. So he is. 

 

And so there's been moments where it's easier to hang out with my daughter because we're wired a little more similarly. But I have to lean in and steward my time with them differently. [00:44:22] 

 

It seems so small, but it used to be convenient for me to put them to bed together. In the last year, it just takes a little longer to get them to bed, but I put her to bed first because it literally takes her five minutes. She don't need a story or something. She's like, good night. My son is like, I want a song. I want a story. He's probably going to tell me something about his day and I have to dig in and go, He needs these five to ten minutes to just kind of talk without Chloe interrupting, without me being in a hurry. And so that little thing has changed our bedtime routine, but it has enriched our relationship. 

 

So as I learn about myself and God shows me about others, whether they're family or friends or people in ministry, He gives me small ways to make adjustments that are probably meaningful to them. I don't think He's saying overhaul your whole life. He's just like, just be discerning, be interested in others, be interested in Me, and I'll show you baby steps that you can just make adjustments along the way and just be better every day. [00:45:22] 

 

Laura Dugger: Just to elaborate on that a little bit further, are there any other systems or habits that you've put in place that help you choose and discern where to invest and manage your time and energy?

 

Jada Edwards: I don't know if it's systems. I kind of have a grid that I think through. I'm like, Okay, how does this affect our family routine? How does this affect my commitment at our local church? I teach Bible study there on Wednesdays. So I kind of just have been more intentional about my priorities and thinking through all those things. And does this line up with what I believe God's calling us to do this season? 

 

So I think taking time to slow down and ask those questions. But the trick is I can't answer those questions unless I've done the work on really seeking the Lord on what our family's priorities are, what He's called me to do. So there's a whole ongoing investigation with God. What are you trying to do in my life? Because then those things drive my priorities. [00:46:22] 

 

You know, I've been intentional about Sabbath. I feel much more confident in what I say yes to and no to. I think it's given me wisdom how to navigate relationships. You know, I'm not trying to worry if everybody's okay. I mean, I do sometimes, but not in an unhealthy way. So it's just been a lot of little things, I think, you know, God is continuing to grow me.

 

Laura Dugger: There's so much practical wisdom packed into that answer. I love it. Jada, you've been such an encouragement. What's the best place that we can follow up and find you online?

 

Jada Edwards: I love Instagram. I'm getting better at Facebook. I have a Facebook page, simply Jada Edwards, easy to find. Instagram, I think, is I am Jada Edwards. It's pretty easy to find. And we have some podcasts as well. And you can find those on your platform. Just Jada Edwards. So simple. Or you can go through the website, though. And the website has many books and Bible studies and all that kind of stuff on there. [00:47:24] 

 

Laura Dugger: Wonderful. We will link to all of that in the show notes for today's episode. You may already be aware that we're called The Savvy Sauce because "savvy" is synonymous with practical knowledge or insight. So Jada is my final question for you today, what is your savvy sauce?

 

Jada Edwards: Well, my savvy sauce is probably based on everything we've said. Know God, know yourself, know people and you'll be able to love well.

 

Laura Dugger: Love it. It has been such a joy to get to chat with you and learn more about each of those topics. And it's such an important conversation because that knowing leads to loving and growing in love is always a worthy pursuit. So, Jada, you are just captivating to listen to. And I delight in the way that God wired you which came out in this conversation. So thank you for seeking to live faithfully for Him and thank you for being my guest today. [00:48:30] 

 

Jada Edwards: Thank you so much for having me.

 

Laura Dugger: One more thing before you go. Have you heard the term "gospel" before? It simply means good news. And I want to share the best news with you. But it starts with the bad news. Every single one of us were born sinners and God is perfect and holy, so He cannot be in the presence of sin. Therefore, we're separated from Him.

 

This means there's absolutely no chance we can make it to heaven on our own. So for you and for me, it means we deserve death and we can never pay back the sacrifice we owe to be saved. We need a savior. But God loved us so much, He made a way for His only Son to willingly die in our place as the perfect substitute.

 

This gives us hope of life forever in right relationship with Him. That is good news. Jesus lived the perfect life we could never live and died in our place for our sin. [00:49:31] This was God's plan to make a way to reconcile with us so that God can look at us and see Jesus. 

 

We can be covered and justified through the work Jesus finished if we choose to receive what He has done for us. Romans 10:9 says that if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 

 

So would you pray with me now? Heavenly, Father, thank You for sending Jesus to take our place. I pray someone today right now is touched and chooses to turn their life over to You. Will You clearly guide them and help them take their next step in faith to declare You as Lord of their life? We trust You to work and change their lives now for eternity. In Jesus name, we pray, amen. 

 

If you prayed that prayer, you are declaring Him for me, so me for Him, you get the opportunity to live your life for Him. [00:50:30] 

 

At this podcast, we are called Savvy for a reason. We want to give you practical tools to implement the knowledge you have learned. So you're ready to get started?

 

First, tell someone. Say it out loud. Get a Bible. The first day I made this decision my parents took me to Barnes and Noble to get the Quest NIV Bible and I love it. Start by reading the book of John. 

 

Get connected locally, which basically means just tell someone who is part of the church in your community that you made a decision to follow Christ. I'm assuming they will be thrilled to talk with you about further steps such as going to church and getting connected to other believers to encourage you. 

 

We want to celebrate with you too. So feel free to leave a comment for us if you made a decision for Christ. We also have show notes included where you can read Scripture that describes this process. 

 

Finally, be encouraged. Luke 15:10 says, "In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." [00:51:34] The heavens are praising with you for your decision today. 

 

If you've already received this good news, I pray that you have someone else to share it with today. You are loved and I look forward to meeting you here next time.