What Binds Us Christians Together? A Story of Servant Leadership With Mka. Jennifer Levine

What do you do when you're feeling overwhelmed and negativity is starting to cloud your joy? Can you remind yourself that things will not always seem as they are right now? Do you remember to empower yourself?

We can feel empowered and co-create with God. Yes, there may be circumstances we might not be able to change, and yes, the natural response is to be overwhelmed.  

But we all have a choice. 

The truth is that God gave our brains the amazing ability to respond in different ways. We have what is called 'state-dependent' memory, meaning the thoughts we feed, they grow.

If we see something that's emotionally negative and continue to view it as negative, we will stay in the same headspace. If, on the other hand, we interrupt the pattern and switch to JOY, then our brain will follow the same pattern and continue to think about joy. It is remarkable. 

We can take a few breaths and pace ourselves into the next moment and then the next after that. 

Mka, Jennifer Levine is a wonderful example of putting this into practice.  She is a military and priest-chaplain's wife, knowing she needs to co-create with God and lean into joy, moment by moment. 

Today, I am sharing an interview with her.  Her many skills, training, and life of many moves have helped her build resilience while challenging her to create a community that celebrates Him. 

On Jennifer's path to Christ, she always had love in her heart for Him, but when she started to find ties that bound the community together, she realized that connections were so meaningful. 

Mka. Jennifer chooses to see what brings different branches of Christianity together—not just as Orthodox—but what we have in common: that we all love God. She is passionate about finding our points of connection and agreement instead of worrying about our different beliefs.

Join today's Renewal Conversation in Thriving in Christ show to learn:

✨ How helping others through their suffering allowed Jennifer to find her purpose. 

✨ There are lots of examples of daily regeneration. 

✨ Tips on how to discover community once you have to move to a new town/city. 

✨ How to understand (and explain to others) why icons are not idols. 

✨ How finding joy, especially in negative moments, can help bring you clarity. 

✨ Tips on dealing with loneliness 

✨ How to pace yourselves when things seem like they'll go on forever.

Click PLAY to listen to episode 175 | What Binds Us Christians Together? A Story of Servant Leadership with Mka. Jennifer Levine in the Thriving in Christ Show.