In in previous videos, I've mentioned about pillow sprays and I'll give you an example of one here These are little bottles of aroma sort of oils You can spray on your pillow or around your bedroom, which will ideally make you feel asleep fall asleep faster And there are various aromas that you can get there's lavender, Lang Lang, witch hazel, I hope I'm pronouncing that right All sorts of different aromas and flavors I guess you could say. The question I'm going to answer today is do they actually work, right? Because there's a lot of marketing going into these things along with or the amazing number of mattress companies, right? Which I'm sure you I'm sure you guys have seen Going into marketing these things saying they'll help you sleep better and A lot of people are asking or wondering well, do they actually keep work? Do they make you feel asleep any faster? Can they help you relax more? And it's any of it proven So in a nutshell, yes, they can and they do work But it works in a specific way, which if you don't if you don't approach it in the right If you don't approach it in the right way, it's not going to work as well as it could do and the way it works Okay, is say if you spray this on your pillow before you go to bed It contains a number of aromas which are meant to help you sleep better Relax, let go of anxiety that sort of stuff Say if you have one with lavender, it's been proven that it can help you release melatonin Which is a sleep hormone the hormone of darkness. They call it because it's meant to Be produced when you experience darkness When the sun goes down you produce melatonin and it helps you feel sleepy up to the point where you fall asleep and it helps you Go into your sleep cycle now Yes, if you spray this on your pillows You will technically produce more melatonin than if you didn't spray it on your pillows, right? The aroma has an effect on your body and it makes you produce more of the hormone The issue is a lot of people are cashing in on the need for people to improve their sleep Right a third of people in America I don't know about the rest of the world But a third of people in America have not ideal sleep less than ideal according to one recent study and That's a lot of people. That's you know a huge number of people that are not sleeping as well as they could could be and for that reason a lot of companies, especially pillow spray companies are cashing in on this and There are a lot of products out there that don't work But there are a lot of products out there that do work Because if you have a spray that's supposedly going to improve your sleep a lot of people would buy that and a lot of people do buy that I mean, I brought one so What I'm trying to say is Yes, the aroma will help you release melatonin which helps you fall asleep faster and better The issue is that if you're also doing things conflicting that Then it won't work as well So if you're doing things that inhibit the production of melatonin like looking at screens right up until we go to sleep Looking at your phone the glaring blue light into your eyes. These are all things that stop you producing melatonin So you need to stop doing that those things as well, right? Otherwise, there's no point taking this using the pillow spray There's also no point taking the supplements like for example, if you're Just want to have on hand if you're taking supplements and Using a pillow spray and you're looking at your phone right up until you go to sleep these things all cancel each other out So what you'll end up doing is spending money on things that usually would work But because you're having your you know furthering bad sleep habits like looking at your phone like not meditating like having a huge Flashing LED in the corner of your room, whatever it is These things all counteract each other and make sure that Whatever you're doing with the pillow spray doesn't work Okay, and then that's when you end up leaving a bad review because you think it doesn't work and then the company Get annoyed because they think it does work. Really. It's down to the individual. It's down to you Okay, so yes, the pillow spray will work. It will make you feel more tired But you need to do a holistic you need to use a holistic approach You can't just get a pillow spray and expect to go to sleep faster You need to also make your sleep better You need to get eight to nine hours of quality sleep at night And you need to make sure that right up until you're going to bed at night for the first for the last one or two hours of The day you're not looking at screens And you're not you know Doing things which would stop your body produce melatonin So you need to have a holistic approach and that's what I hope you will do now that I've raised this point with you Because things like this this is this one's by dream sleep Saults and code are you don't care? I'll put a link in the description. It doesn't really matter because they pretty much they all work There are some that are bad quality some that are better quality as long as you read the reviews and they're good It's going to be fine but like I said, you need to have a holistic approach and It's both sides of the coin not just spray this and you'll expect to have good dreams and fall asleep faster You need to also Not look at screens before bed and help your body produce melatonin naturally So I hope this has been helpful and if it has please leave a comment So let me know what you think Have you tried a pillow spray? What were your experiences and I'll see you next time


Okay. Good morning everyone. Let's pray and begin our discussion for today. Let me just start off with the word of prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank You, Lord, for this entire semester and the understanding of the supernatural that You are bringing to us. Help us, O God, to, Father God, be obedient to Your Word and a Lord to step out in faith so that we can see Your power and Your glory manifest, O God. Father God, we commit each one of us. We commit the rest of the class into Your hands. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. So we were talking about the subject of presence and glory and we said that presence is, you know, when we experience God with us and God with us in varying measures, the manifest presence of God in the most intense way is what we call as glory and glory. Another way of describing glory is who God is and what He does. So it's on display for us to see what God's power is and what He can do. That is glory and we said that sometimes in the presence and in the glory we see miracles, healings, answers to prayer like nothing else and so as a church family, as believers, we should pursue the presence of God and the glory of God and we want it to manifest. We also said that in the presence of God, God has an intention and so in those moments when we align our faith to what God is doing, we will receive from it. Now if we miss the moment, let's say there is the presence of God to heal, there is the presence of God to deliver or the presence of God to restore. Whatever that presence has come to do, we must be in agreement to that and let it happen. So don't miss the moments of God's presence and the intention with which that presence is there, we must respond to it. Else we will miss what God wants to do. So these are all some things that we talked about and in the earlier class we talked about proclamation and action which was key 7 in which we said that God reveals what He wants to do and we speak that out as an instruction okay and we deliver it to people and when they act on it, we see the power of God manifest. A very good example is word of knowledge. Word of knowledge is some piece of information that we receive from God so you may have seen or you yourself may be functioning in that gift, operating in that gift of the Holy Spirit, the word of knowledge where at times God shows that healing is happening, healing of this part of the body is happening or healing of something. Something is taking place but you receive the knowledge of that and when we proclaim it, the result is when people hear it their faith rises up and also when we release the gift of the Holy Spirit, the power of God will also be released so that healing can actually take place okay so this is the advantage so we go ahead and release that word we proclaim it what is in God's heart and then there is likelihood for that to happen so that is proclamation and action. We also saw how Jesus ministered by proclaiming or instructing people when he asked that man to blind man to go wash his eye in the pool of Siloam so as the action is done the healing comes stretch forth your hand leprosy is gone when the action of stretching forth is done so the healing will manifest or the supernatural will manifest in connection to the action okay and where does the action come from it comes from God's heart that's what word of knowledge is all about God is showing I am intending to do this and then he actually does it okay so that is proclamation and action these are all quite clear isn't it it's it's actually we talked about these things in other classes as well okay persistence persistence also in the subject of prayer when we studied prayer and intercession we said in Luke 18 verse 1 Jesus said you know men should not be mentioned men always ought to pray and not be discouraged we should not be discouraged because there are certain matters that need us to engage over a period of time we may not see the result immediately okay and there is perseverance or pursuit required in prayer to actually see that manifesting now we may have a lot of questions why why should we pray why should we wait if God said it it should happen but remember we said things like timing of God is applicable for certain promises we also said that sometimes there is demonic hindrance God may release the answer but we are not receiving it because there is a demonic interception that also is possible so when we pray you remember that example of Daniel how he prayed for 21 days and his prayer was what moved the angel to go fight you know the Prince of Persia the Prince of Greece to overcome them and then Daniel received the answer so our prayer is working in the spiritual realm okay so these are all things to keep in mind and that is why there is no immediate result so the lack of an immediate result should motivate us to go after God in prayer it shouldn't discourage us it should motivate us to keep praying but what is the first thing that we need to pursue God in prayer we need a clear goal you'll remember we discussed that when we said praying making a believing prayer how to make a believing prayer we should first of all know that it is in God's will then we won't give up when we are not clear if it is in God's will then there is a possibility to get confused and give up but when we are clear that something is in the will of God then we've got to go after it like we say revival is it in the will of God yeah it is in the will of God God said in the day of ask for rain in the day of the latter rain and he will pour it out on us so what we are doing is correct okay I will pour out you know waters on him who is thirsty so when we are hungering and thirsting after God God will pour out more of himself it's all biblical so we are clear when we say God we need more of you we want a revival we need a move of the Holy Spirit in the last days I will pour out my spirit acts to Joel 2 or 28 it's very scriptural so we have a clear desired goal yeah revival is in the will of God we can pray for it men and women of God have prayed they've prayed for days weeks months and over you know generations for even centuries people have prayed now we may ask the question why why should they pray for so long if God is the God who if he's real if he's a prayer answering God it should have happened yesterday yeah we understand why people are coming from but there are certain matters where pursuing in prayer persistence is also required we may not see the breakthrough right away okay now when it comes to things like healing deliverance we should always go back to the example of Jesus and in Jesus's example he never took a day or a couple of days whether it was to heal people to cast out demons even dead man Lazarus Jesus never said okay like give me three days I lock myself in a room right come and knock on the third day I'll come out then I'll come and I'll raise the dead man nothing one sentence Lazarus come forth finished right so as far as healing is concerned deliverance is concerned and even resurrection is concerned you know I say that from Jesus's example by faith and you know the prayer life of Jesus the way Jesus walked with the Father it was like that for him he just didn't need time so should it be like that for us actually it should be however there are as we said right there could be many other factors that we are not aware of which is why healing takes time in manifesting or deliverance takes time in manifesting we may have to work some things out with the person you know we need to talk to them deal with this if there's a sin problem then deal with that so all this takes time it may even take work we may need some time to build ourselves up in the faith okay Samo so the all these things are just showing us that it will take time for the manifestation of the healing or the deliverance or you know maybe even resurrection takes a little bit of time before we are actually able to raise that person from the dead but we are trying to be in step with Jesus okay we all are what is all of our desire we need to get to that place where it happens immediately so we are pursuing okay but the element of persistence it is required it is required results should be immediate in some cases but it's not so because there are other factors we need to encourage ourselves to be persistent think of Elijah a prophet of God heard from God God said it's going to rain it's going to pour so in first Kings chapter 18 we read about him going and telling this to the king right but there is no sign there is no picture of the rain there's no cloud now put this to our lives put this to the manifestation I mean applied to the manifestation of the supernatural sometimes we hear from God sometimes we understand God's word and we are clear about what he's stating regarding you know different matters healing or miracles or breakthroughs but there's no sign of that breakthrough what to do persistence and persistence in prayer that's exactly what Elijah did there was a clear goal he was clear God said it he was convinced there was no questions asked but why is there no cloud if God said it it should happen no he realized that God wants us to co-labor with him so how did Elijah start co-laboring praying pray pray pray once twice twice seven times it says seven times it's hard it's very hard especially for the supernatural right people we we all are used to immediate results and we understand that in all other areas that's how we want things to be but sometimes when it comes to the manifestation of the supernatural that's not the case the way Elijah had to move go on seven times who knows how many times we have to pray but we need that patience we need that determination again seven times Elijah prayed how long did he pray each time where's the data on that we don't know in our head we're like he bows his head once go see no he's on come back was that twice but what did it happen like that did it happen over days we don't know right so see the ultimate point is for however long it takes we've got to be there unshaken and saying God we know it is your will it has got to happen we don't know what is standing in the way but we will pray we will pray we will push I pray pray pray pray through push is that acronym I don't know if you've heard it pray until something happens so till that time you got to pray so that's sometimes it's said as push and we for the supernatural we need that okay we need that I was recently listening to I like to listen to people's testimonies life stories interviews because it's nice to see how where they came from how they learned different things about God and you know how they're walking with the Lord so one minister of God a lady I was just listening to her she's moving in signs wonders and miracles and in her journey she was explaining how for many years she knew these truths but it was not manifesting in her own life but it took about three or four years of just being obedient many times she she commanded healing she cast out you know commanded to cast out demons it didn't happen but she did it anyhow because it's in the Bible it has to happen in the life of every believer she kept doing it and she talked about how she kept reading the word kept getting herself strong praying all but somewhere you know this is her experience I'm not saying you know her experience will become ours but just to understand that she felt that just being obedient to the truth and practicing it somewhere she didn't even realize when but the manifestations just started somewhere that that transition happened quickly and she's experiencing the work of God so powerfully you know in her life and in her ministry so it just made me think you know we we try but we are so ready to give up because we are looking at the perfect standards and we say it doesn't look like that I did I took authority right I prayed I fasted nothing happened okay close shop her next what what is the next thing that I I need to look at we give up but let's not give up persistence going after right in obedience in prayer is how we see the promises fulfilled yeah yes yeah persistent when when not to be because there are say there are certain times where God says no to certain things correct correct so how we know that when to be persistent and when not to be persistent okay so that's what I stated there are certain matters where like on subjects like healing and all we know that it is in the will of God so there are no doubts about it personal things so it's not like healing and all okay so the most important thing is to check if it is in the will of God okay that's where we have to take time see before you go after God and say God you know I want to thanks Prince thanks for that before we say that God you have to do it you have to do it it's my responsibility to check whether it's God's will or not yeah yeah I just want to just let's take I completed my graduation okay or else I completed a post gradation I just want to do a PhD or something like that so I just want to do it yeah but it's somehow it's not happening okay okay see studying is good only I mean when we see normally right in normal room so but it's not somehow happening so now how I have to know is it God's will or not yeah so see we'll have to apply all the ways in which God speaks okay and the ways in which we need to seek God so we need to seek God to find out whether what we are desiring is God's plan for us maybe it's not happening because it's not God's plan we have a plan and we are thinking that's what God wants for us maybe we're not sure that that's God's plan that's what I'm saying we need to check whether what is our will is first of all God's will so seeking God seeking God meaning praying every day and saying God this is what I desire but what is it that you desire for me you know make it very clear so God can then speak to us God can show us in different ways right there are so many ways we we hear from God in our spirit or we hear from others we may have a dream vision or even through circumstances God can guide where God is closing the door you're trying again and again but that door is getting closed because God is telling you that's not the way for you I have something else for you got it so that leading receiving the guidance of God that's the whole process that's what one needs to engage in to find out whether this is what God wants for me and once you're clear that that's what God wants for you then comes this next step of persistence where we are saying now that I'm clear you know it's not happening okay no problem pray some more you know seek some more keep at it so first of all the person needs to receive God's guidance clearly Anand yeah the thing also mom we should not we can't deny the practical terms yeah like one of the person say one person just started a ministry okay just want to plant a church yes so he he quit he quit his job and then he started a ministry so he only have five to ten uh believers so he is married and he has a family that's true he has to feel his family so there are uh in some people that they they they've been told like if there is no possibility to feed your I mean family while doing the ministry you can do some work that's a practical thing so in one perspective it should not be like God coming to you and talking to you you should because you should feed your family you should work you should work correct and some people say until God say I don't work so they come this this this term called persistence so we have to accept the practical things also because it's not like you should not work if you come to the ministry yeah fine fair enough Anand so they can maybe take a um a break break may not be the appropriate term but they may work to support their family because right now the ministry condition is such that if they only depend on the income from the ministry they won't be able to sustain their home right so there is wisdom which is applicable but ultimately what is the word of God to that person if the word of God is that okay you know I'm calling you to full-time ministry I will establish you uh in the long term God will do that but for a season I think it's perfectly fine to to step out to take care of your family you're not disobeying God yeah yeah so see even to make that decision to feed their family um they need to have peace right in their heart I'm sure God will give the leading that it's okay you can work for some time um and build the church strategically see um I I just there's this whole aspect of wisdom right as your you use the term practical but um what both of us are trying to say is what we are doing even in pursuing God's plan and purpose we can do it strategically yeah you can think you can uh we see supernatural does not mean discarding the rational mind okay supernatural does not mean um you know letting go of the mind what you need is a renewed mind we can apply our mind and our mind can help us make uh some of these good decisions so yeah overall even if let's say uh for a season you you go away from pursuing your studies or your um your ministry for some practical reasons actually you're not disobeying God because you're still hearing from God and only if it is okay with for wisdom sake you shifted right that's okay it doesn't mean you're not persisting you are still persisting you're just trying to improve your situation and come back stronger to fulfill that call so I think yeah those kind of matters God God understands yeah yeah it's still persistence only as far as I'm concerned yeah so yeah the point we are making is persistence in prayer and I think particularly like sickness a lot of discouragement can happen because someone who's sick and sick and sick for them how long should I be waiting on the Lord how long should I be praying even for their loved ones we need a lot of courage to say hey God's word says this we know your situation is like this but let's do our best you know we can go through all the keys okay minister the word of God faith you know everything use all the keys especially persistence and be there pray and trust that God will do something God will do a miracle okay now coming to the life of Paul even Paul uses terms like I labor okay till Christ is formed in you to the Galatians you know when when he speaks to them he makes that statement so even labor it is associated with I mean it's not like immediate results right when we say okay I worked and there was a result fine but I'm laboring generally we say laboring when something is taking some time so even Paul said that in the ministry in order to raise people he was actually laboring so for us to see the supernatural we may need to labor in the spirit and laboring reminds us of what we studied in prayer and intercession do you know if you recall travail traveling in the spirit right it's it's a like it's associated with giving birth and the the pain of giving birth so laboring in the spirit to birth the promises of God that is needed for the supernatural so whenever we see revivals moves of God this year you've had that course you would agree with me that there are a couple of people or a lot of people are actually praying after which the revival takes place right so there is a connection of people praying people traveling in prayer and that's what God is calling us to somebody has to go through that spiritual agony to give birth to God's promises and there are many men and women who've dedicated their lives we talked about like you know Evan Roberts how he prayed for the Welsh revival William Jay same or how he prayed for the Azusa revival maybe these men did not even know that such a revival is going to happen but they were obedient and it happened and you know we said people like Daniel Nash with Charles Finney days of prayer days and nights of prayer fasting traveling in the presence of God and then you know powerful manifestations happen like people are getting saved or John Hyde remember John Hyde Punjab Sialkot he also was a man of prayer he prayed day and night and you know we believe that now over a century whatever he did was around 1901 but now we're in the next century prayers are never wasted and time in prayer is never wasted time you know God takes full account of every prayer that we pray for us we may think oh is God hearing is he not hearing but all these men and women what they have sown I believe till today you know those prayers matter to God and God has received those prayers and he's calling us to the same will you be willing to pray you know coming out and seeing the manifestation is the exciting part where we are so amazed and thrilled but the hard part is being in your prayer closet and laboring right laboring laboring laboring but if you want the supernatural that's essential we can't have consistent supernatural without you know time in the prayer closet so it's so necessary for each one of us and you know people like John Hyde or even Daniel Nash they were people who spend so much time in prayer and it is said that Daniel Nash he wrote before he died okay 1831 he wrote and he said I have I've experienced some things in prayer in the realm of the spirit but you know I know there is so much more there are deeper levels we don't know what he experienced when he prayed for so many hours so many days in the spirit okay how many of us can even talk about it because that's another realm you got to be there to experience it and talk about it but that is there and we want the supernatural but we're not ready to pay the price okay paying the price is so hard it's so hard but being persistent in prayer or laboring in prayer is that part the hard part and you know when we do that many things shift in the spiritual realm and we are able to see more outcomes results to glorify God okay so that's something for us to remember and it does work it does work no matter how much people you know some people would they disagree with this point that oh only to see the supernatural you want to pray you know more prayer more supernatural so people pray I know we shouldn't approach it like that but there is there is some validity in more prayer more supernatural yeah if we can be in that secret place if we can get into those deep realms of prayer yeah it'll follow the glory of God will just follow right so and even fasting I know we don't have that indicated in our notes but fasting is another very very key thing for us to engage in and there are all the blessings as I have 58 we talked about it right your light will break forth healing will come speedily I will answer you the glory of God shall be your rare you know your rare guard there are so many promises you shall be the repairers the restorers in the land so when we pursue God results will be there okay so yeah but be persistent be in prayer and we'll truly see the power of God so any any questions regarding this let's quite straightforward no yeah yeah one second roughly do you have a question I'll just come to you sure sure just hold on yes Anand could you please speak in the mic hmm just I was thinking like uh uh if I mean a step to start this whole thing to just declare and to just call out I was thinking how it will be for the first time if you go back to our home church if you go back to our home churches yeah I was thinking and it's a new experience for everyone for them yeah yeah and I was thinking how it will be hmm the first yes yes see if if I'm if I want to preach once I'm there about the super national so I was thinking what steps I have to take yeah I'm asking for the yeah yeah correct correct I was thinking the practical practical things how it will be in front of them yes yes yes if I just if I just preach non-super national and then after I call out yeah and after that I pray for them if it's not I mean I'm not telling it won't happen yeah how it will be yeah any experience for you and first time okay so the good thing for me is uh I think Pastor Ashish has done that groundwork in the church isn't it uh and uh he has he's he had taught for many years like before people like me uh had opportunities to minister so people were ready they were already receptive so I didn't have any problem personally uh but there is a section in the book understanding the prophetic uh which is titled pastoring the prophetic okay so how do we how do we raise up a people who are prophetic it's not easy it's not easy especially if you're coming from a place where people don't believe in the gifts of the spirit so there is a there is a slow step by step building that you need to do and it will involve teaching and it will involve demonstration okay so then what what we actually need to do to put it in short is build faith and that will not happen in one day and if we challenge them in one day it'll it may actually go go wrong don't do that have a long term plan okay I want to build faith in the people for the prophetic so little by little we can start uh first you know talk about the gifts of the spirit and then keep demonstrating little bit from your own life that's when people will start to see the value and then as you increase your teaching as you increase maybe at one point you can do the what we were saying the spirit has senses you can hear you can do okay let's pray what are you hearing from God after all the groundwork of your teaching and praying everything at some point you'll be able to do that but if you go straight with that they'll say which which college did this boy go to you know they won't be able to accept it yeah so we need to build that slowly that's how it is okay and we should also honor the work which another person has established right so we'll go back from bible college with all the new learning new teaching so excited but remember that when we go there yes we want to bring in the right kind of reformation but it's got to be spirit led and it's it has to be done in a very honorable way so who's the who's the pastor there who's the leader there we're supposed to submit to them right in submission you need to look forward to the new changes and that only God's spirit can help you do that in a positive manner yeah if if we are going there thinking oh I know the new things and I'll tell them it'll be disruptive okay but you see how from what exists you can transition that into what God is bringing in through you and for that you need God's help yeah it depends it depends it won't be easy you may have to go through some yeah yes yes yeah yeah right and the best way like if you're a leader in the church and you want to bring in these things it the best way to do it is to actually have a word with the pastor and say this is what it is this is my intention I want to do this um you know you tell me how I can do this like with that person in in the loop you can actually do it sure so I'll just come to Raveli Raveli you you wanted to say something uh yeah Nanti uh when we were talking about paying the price uh it always when I hear that I hear that a lot from many people and it's so overwhelming like even before doing anything that thought itself oh I have to pay the price but I don't know what price I have to pay in the sense maybe we are doing everything praying and pursuing and desiring and you know what what is exactly your extent of you know is expected is I am not sure how to quantify it what kind of a price that you need to be um as we're talking also that maybe Ivan Robbers he was praying for like six hours a day that's something that God put on his heart to do it okay that might not be applicable to everybody and I mean I don't know it's different yeah sure sure I think I am getting your question so what you're saying is paying the price and what does it mean how much price to pay okay how much price to pay okay um see one clear explanation is in the book um fulfilling God's purpose for your life the last chapter there pastor talks about um uh to fulfill God's purpose we have to pay a price so this price um it would be regarding you know to have a strong relationship with God and for that sake giving up a lot of our rights and our privileges okay that is the price we are talking about so how to have this strong relationship with God there comes all this thing all these things roughly like time in the word time in prayer so how close do I want to be to God and how um strongly do I want to manifest you know what the Bible says the power of God or fulfill my purpose so depending on that I will be drawing closer to him so when I draw closer to him there are many other things that I may have to give up okay um and those those things can be simple simple comforts of life or you know it may be things that are very dear to us I'll just maybe share two things okay which I can think of right now spiritually we know time in prayer don't don't go by hours six hours you know William J. Seymour prayed I also have to pray six hours if we evaluated that way I don't know whether um you know that's the right way to go about it but if we go about it thinking I just want to be close to God for as long as possible and I want to push myself to delight in him for as long as I can we may go past one or two hours six hours eight hours right so the motivation the way we look at it is more important and uh yeah so look at it that way so I said two things right uh one I feel when we talk about paying the price it's about obedience when God calls us right the larger um um you know a sort of long term aspect obedience whether we are giving into the vision of God for our lives and day to day just obedience paying the price for me that's what I feel it equals you're just being obedient to all the small little things that God wants you to do that is one second is this point of persistence or I want to call it hard work okay in a spiritual sense that you're willing to push spiritually um in faith in uh uh you know in stepping out right you're willing to work hard uh to reach those highest standards of God only two things obedience hard work but when you're doing those things you'll realize you may be missing out on a lot of those other cool things that you could have been doing uh but that's the price you pay because you're going after the goal of being close to God and being strong in God so what I'm saying Revelle is look at it like that don't be overwhelmed okay okay Nancy thank you yeah be obedient and be willing to work for it yeah thank you yeah I know paying the price is um yeah we look at all the missionaries who left their homes and went away and we feel like unless we've done something like that you've not paid the price but that's not what it always means okay so uh we could stop here and the next topic is personal preparation which you know you you will get the content for that and the assignment has been posted kindly completed I'm sure you'll be able to well ahead in time and let's close off with the word of prayer right now would anyone from the online batch want to pray we haven't heard your voices yes ma'am yes yes Chirai you want to pray yes ma'am yeah please pray father I thank you for this wonderful class and I hold this whole journey my father thank you for being with us and letting us with our guiding us thank you for teaching us from your work thank you for Pastor Nancy and thank you for all the students and thank you for that peace you my father again we are blessed by the teachings and all of you are blessed by this uh uh blessed by your words my father we thank you father for guiding us we thank you for your words in our life my father all glory belongs to you in the name of Chiris we pray amen amen thank you thank you Chirai and thank you everyone God bless you thank you for being a part of this journey we really pray that each of you will experience the supernatural and an increasing measure okay so God bless you thank you for now thank you bye


I'm really excited we have Ashley bright back with us. The message fixer I love it actually, I have bright yellow glasses that I almost wore today, but I had switched it up and go purple. But anyway, we're really excited to have Ashley back with us. And because we're talking about recovery and moving back into more live events more live meetings. It would be a great idea to bring Ashley back and talk about the five tips for better communication. Before we get going with that amazing conversation that I've been so looking forward to since we've all been in our bunkers and now we're getting ready to actually see somebody smell somebody, talk to somebody, figure out how they look below the screen. So make sure that we thank all of our presenting sponsors without you, we would not be here, having these amazing discussions as we are so fortunate to have at each and every day. Again, I'm Julia Patrick, CEO of the American nonprofit Academy, and I am not joined today by my intrepid co host, the amazing nonprofit nurture self Jared ransom, Jared is taking some well earned time off this week to kick off of summer. And we will be seeing her next week. Okay, Ashley, back to you my friend. Five tips for better communication. I suspect you probably have 50, but we've asked you to boil it down to narrative down. Not an easy thing to do not an easy thing to do. Okay, tip number one, know your audience. I just want to mean whether you're talking virtual or in person, you know, it comes down to knowing your audience inside and out because so many times I think as presenters as subject matter experts. We go in sort of looking at it from our perspective. And then when the audience doesn't get it or they don't do what we want, we somehow want to blame, you know them, because ultimately if you're not looking at kind of their perspective why are they there to listen to what are the challenges they're facing what are their pain points how can you bring value. If you're not looking at it from that standpoint and using you know a critical piece of human interaction which is empathy. You know, if you're not using those things then it just falls flat. Okay, you're just the points you're going to cover the language you use the imagery use all of those things can just fall flat if you're not really confident in who they are. I years ago with joke in a in a workshop I'd have you know people are coming and they're expecting a big juicy cheeseburger and fries. That's what they've expected and then you roll in with, you know, a very fancy, well I was going to say a very fancy plate of sushi. It's not that the sushi is not wonderful but it's not what they expected it's maybe not what they wanted. And so it just there's a there's a disconnect. And, and that's really why you just need to know your audience who you speak into what do they care about and how can you add value. You know it's interesting because I would imagine that their groups, whether we're meeting them in person, or virtually or hybrid, that they might not know what's going on, this is going to be new for them to. There's a there's such a shift in how we're behaving and what we're doing.  True, and I think you know that's where that empathy really comes into play is is being kind of aware of what's going on around you so, for example, early on in the pandemic as things are starting to change businesses are closing down people working remotely. And I think that I think we were all highly aware of and so we would acknowledge that you know many of the conversations I'd have or I'd be part of would start with something akin to hey I know we're all we're all going through some challenging times etc etc. But then as we got a few months into it and people were adapting that was less of a topic and so it was more about we've adapted how are you thriving what's going on. And I think similarly as we now transition back to some sense of normalcy a new normal. I think it's it's having that same kind of radar on and acknowledging that that like hey, it's great to be back together isn't this amazing like even just little kind of moments like that. It just binds people together and this this is kind of a special moment we're in the same room we're in vicinity we're not you know remote and staring at our screens and our underwear. Well, I keep thinking about people that have like added to their teams who've made new relationships who do not know what they look like from you know here down. How tall they are. I mean, you have shoes. I didn't know you're into shoes. Yeah, I mean it's going to be kind of an interesting thing. Okay, now tip number two, we got to find out what that is because it's a big board. Bring up the big board. Get clear on your goal. Yes, this is a big one. And this one ties into that first point which is know your audience.  And so getting really clear on what is your goal for this piece of communication. And then you know based on what you know about your audience what are their challenges how can I add value, then what is my goal and if my goal is for them to adopt an idea, then I need to kind of rally everything I'm doing around that and so this gets into our third point I don't want to give it away but you know our third point which you know how do you curate the information you're sharing. Well it's all rallied around that goal so these points kind of build on one another, you know knowing who your audiences, what do they need how can I add value. And then what's my goal for this conversation and how do I align what I'm going to talk about specifically to that goal, because you know many times we get in this mindset of like well this is my one chance I'm going to just just share everything I'm so awesome and they're going to love it. Yes, and it's not that you're not awesome and it's not that you don't have great things to share. But the truth is that as human beings we can only consume so much information you know the truth is we can really remember, maybe three things. And you know when it comes right down to it you want to try and align those three things to one goal. And that's kind of really critical and I often used to joke that you know it's one goal it's not 10 goals.  You can already feel like okay this is going to go a little sideways there it's not bad to have points that ladder up to a core goal, but if you're going in with 10 goals it's a, it's a little bit of a challenge from the beginning so. I can think I can see what you're saying here because, because we have not been together that there's probably going to be this like, I got to get it all done I got to say it all now I got to you know it's that fire hose approach that you're just jamming everything in versus finding your cadence and yeah that's, I needed to hear this because I have a meeting this afternoon it's kind of important. And I have way too much I so thank you sir. Well, you're welcome and the other thing is to think about like, not only we're keeping up the mindset you know what is going on with her audience but where are they in the process. And so if this is for example an initial engagement with a new group of people they don't know you from Adam. So keep that in mind in terms of the amount of information share knowing that the whole point of this is I want them to let's say set up in a follow up meeting or a call or come to this next event. Good so share what's valuable for that first one, knowing that okay, half of them maybe they're going to come back for the second one and then I'll share this additional info and then that maybe leading leads to a volunteer opportunity or donations or join our board or whatever that goal is. You know, do your, your information accordingly it's much the way I think about websites. You know you don't want to fire hose someone in the beginning on the first page you want to let give them the key things that are going to get them into the next page and the next page now they're down to the third level. You can assume like hey they're really interested in this one topic so I'm going to give them the white paper all the detail and think about your talk that way as well. I love it. Okay, so one and two been good. And now we're on to three less is more so I see where you're going here. Yes, I was trying not to give this one away with. But this is I understand now. I think that's kind of what you're thinking here and, and you, you made the comment, three pieces, and I just did six, but three, three pieces of information are really going to be more something you can capture and you can retain. But you know I learned this years ago and I wish I could remember where but it's, it's almost like you imagine kind of you've got a core takeaway or core goal that you want someone to learn from this conversation. And then think about like what are the three pillars that kind of support that goal. And that's the way a really simple way to think about structuring your content. So if you have this one goal that you want people to take this one action. What are the three pieces of content or pillars that support that action. And in those we're addressing you know audience resistance to this point, you know how we're going to help them or benefit you know how we're going to solve their pain point etc etc.  What's the difference when you you haven't been saturated haven't been firehosed, as you said. Yeah, well and I would imagine, you know, and again we're kind of been framing this conversation with the lens of recovery. You've got to respect that people traveling to a meeting going into an office environment, they're going to have a lot of external things going on that's actually going to even change up the whole dynamic more. I mean just, you know, they haven't dressed professionally. They're wearing high heels or learning how to rewalk and high heels maybe you know. Oh my god that's hilarious.  Oh my god that's hilarious. That is so funny. Okay, now this is another part and step for tip for lead with emotion. This I'm kind of challenged with and I'm really interested to get your, your ideas on this I mean in the nonprofit sector. It is emotional. And we, that's part of what we do and sometimes I think we pray on on that aspect of it for right or for wrong. So talk to us about lead with emotion. Sure, so it's, I think that that maybe you know it's interesting I always I always sort of found this this dynamic really interesting that when I work with for profit organizations, they tend to want to lead with logic. You know, and then nonprofits want to lead with emotion and I've often joked that like I wish the for profits could learn a lot from the nonprofits and vice versa. Because I think I think there's a lot of strategic thinking that for profits do that I wish some of my nonprofit clients were thinking about. But again, regardless of nonprofit for profit we're all human beings. And so when I say emotion you know the core thing and this is not a revolutionary idea but you know story. It is a key element of the way we communicate as human beings going back to, you know, our ancestors and sit around a campfire and all that stuff. And so it's emotion. And you know, one of the things I talk about in my workshops is there's a there's a great book by a guy named Daniel Kahneman. It's called think fast and slow. And in it he talks about essentially there's two different systems going on in the brain. And one which is that, you know that fight or flight mechanism it reacts without thinking it controls our breathing and our heart rate and all those things. But then there's system to which is sort of set aside for that complex calculations you know think doing your taxes doing math, you know anything complicated. And so the thing is that the way we process information and the reason why so many meetings and presentations are boring and confusing is because they're rooted in logic, and they're just all about taxing system to brain. And system to does not like to do that I mean think it's sort of like having a workout if you don't have to work out you don't want to write our bodies will say no we're good.  And so once you do that it's kind of like it opens up sort of the floodgates to a certain extent. Now they're engaged, they're interested and so now, since we do make decisions with emotion and logic, you're now starting to back that up so emotionally we get someone engaged with a great story. And then we back it up with some logic some data some evidence so that now if I'm learning about an organization. I'm now, I'm now more connected I've built that trust because I've learned about how they're bringing value, how they're impacting people's lives, how they're changing the lives of people in my community. And then now I'm hearing how they're backing it up in terms of the way their programs actually work what's the results what's the output. And that's kind of where you start to find that balance between that emotion and logic. So we didn't talk about this but vulnerability. This is something that's very challenging but you know as a speaker. There's nothing better than a little bit of vulnerability, a little giving of yourself that the audience will respond to.  In the nonprofit space we kind of take it for granted that that's, you know that's that's very evident but again, we're all human beings we're all communicating. And so, you know how do we find that balance with emotion and logic and I always say lead with emotion it opens the door to everything else so interesting. I like that and I think that it's kind of an interesting aspect of where we've all been. And it seems to me that for a lot of our meetings are in person events. We're going to have to notch out some time for this emotional part of what did you do during the recovery or during cobit or how have you been impacted, you know there's so many suffered loss. We have the social justice pandemic we have economic major major economic, you know issues we have political divide. It's it seems to me like maybe this is going to be one of those things that's a little tricky to walk. I agree there's going to be some challenges and I think there's going to be a new or a need for a new approach to kind of icebreakers if you will know in some things you know can you. You know, is there a fun way for people to share kind of the the crazy things that happened during the pandemic, you know, or the just the way they adapted. It doesn't it doesn't always you know I think that yes, obviously there are some very serious things that happen there's a very serious things that were revealed, and people went through some very serious things that can't be overlooked but there was also a lot of humor a lot of fun times a lot of family moments and you know so it's kind of finding that balance. I love that you said that because I think that's true I mean I right off the top of my head I've noticed that I've been. I mean just literally in the past two weeks. I've had out of office meetings. You know, more social events, and people have been talking about food, because it seems like it's a. And a lot of you know men and women saying, I learned how to bake bread that seems like you know if you just like go around the rooms you're hearing people, I started gardening or you know, to your point kind of like safe pieces of information that can you know discuss it's finding that universal thread, you know because because we've all been through this in different ways but there's that universal experience that can tie it all together I mean my kids have been baking my my oldest as he wants to he's now he's like I want to learn how to make bagels. And so that's going to be one of our tasks this week over the summer. I love it. I love it. It's kind of an interesting thing I'm thrilled that you brought that up. Okay, now this is going to be really kind of interesting because I have no idea where you're going with this and tip number five get loud and get moving. Yes. So, again, these are applicable, virtually, or in person but definitely in person this this will resonate more. Point number one there get loud. Okay, we forget sometimes that our voice is our instrument for communication, and it has as we've seen from you know opera and music and all sorts of things that there's an incredible range. And so, even more so when you're in a physical environment getting really comfortable with your voice, how to project that voice the highs and lows the tones the the inflection. And just really starting to use that and it's surprising sometimes I work with clients and they're not used to hearing their own voice. And so especially if they're in a physical environment or they're mic'd up and they hear their their voice kind of echoing back. It can send them into sort of further anxiety about that moment. Yeah. And so I always say when we're rehearsing to, you know, don't say it in your head say it out loud you know if you have to say it in the shower or your car or wherever it is. So get comfortable with it and learn how to how to project your voice and the highs and lows and all those things so that's point number one get loud. And then point number two get moving. And so especially if you're in a physical environment and you're seeing I'm doing a lot of stuff with my hands so still clickable but in a physical environment. Moving around is an incredibly valuable tool for a few different reasons one, it will help your audience stay engaged. When you think of being in grade school and you didn't know the answer and so when the teacher starts to look around or move around to look for someone to volunteer, everyone gets really small.  So that's a really important point. Also, the perception when someone moves around, it's perceived as confidence. You know, because, because it's all about body language I mean there's some study somewhere I don't know where it is that like 70% of what people take away from you is the body language and the way you're moving around your gestures. And so if you're very small and kind of anchored in one spot that conveys something to your audience, even if what you're talking about is incredibly valuable and significant. But imagine now if you're saying all those valuable significant things but you're also moving around and landing that message so you move and you make eye contact with your audience and land a message and then you move across and land another message and then you land it in the middle. And that's really powerful and then another great thing and this is something again I talked to my clients about in rehearsals is we have that you know I talked about system one and system two well system one is kicking in when that you know that fight or flight that anxiety that nervous energy that comes when you're going to speak. And when you see people fidgeting and they don't know what to do with their hands it's because that energy is coursing through their body trying to find a place to go.   And the great thing is that to you it's helping control that anxiety but to your audience it's perceived as confidence and engagement. And so that was sort of a little esoteric in the way I described it there which was on purpose but yes once you unpack it, get loud and get moving. So I think this is in the performance. I love it. You know, I think this has been super timely because so many of us are going to be all of a sudden thrown into situations where we are convening with our teams where we are trying to present our new ideas whether it be around a board table or in front of the audience on the stage. I mean you know this more than anybody. The pitch concept for fun, you know, fun development, even fundraising is just really become a hot button and something that so many groups are doing before we let you go because we don't have much time. So you shared off camera and I hope you will share with our viewers today. You have a really interesting story that just broke and I realize it's sensitive so you're not going to be able to identify the folks that you're talking about, but will you share with us. What you just learned in the past. Certainly, certainly so I had the great pleasure of meeting three different nonprofit leaders about six weeks ago. And they reached out and said, we've been shortlisted for this pitch this grant it's going to be great. We're terrified we don't know what to do we don't know where to start. And so we work together to and essentially what it was it was a grant pitch for a quarter of a million dollars.  The challenge was not only were they going to have to pitch in a particular timeframe, but also they were three different organizations that had teamed up for this program that they were pitching. And so it was a lot of challenging information and so worked with them to help identify again, much like what we talked about. What was the goal, who are the people they're going to be evaluating this. How do you align that content to really showcase the real opportunity with this program. And then how do you give each of those three organizations ample do so you can really see how they're contributing value. And then in the performance piece of it how do you allow each of those three nonprofit leaders to be able to speak. In this case it was on video, but nonetheless they were transitioning from one speaker to the next and the next and then back as they move through this and I was so excited because not only was it amazing to work with them and learn more about the program but I literally found out last night in an email that they didn't even want. And amazing way to kick things off with a quarter of a million dollar grant to put together program that again I can't reveal but it's going to have so much value and impact for the community that they serve and I believe, really create a milestone that will be something other communities and other regions in the country going to look at as a model to to adopt and start to grow themselves to to have more impact so I love that because they really going in we're like well I don't know. I'm sure for you know there was a there was a bit of a like underdog quality to the conversation, and I kept saying like you guys are going to knock it out of the park, I believe in you and so there you go so a reminder that you know pitching is no small feat, but the outcomes can be amazing. And so every time you get a chance to communicate with someone inspire action and and put your best foot forward so. Wow, it's super cool and you know, thank you for sharing that I know that these things are tenuous and that you have to be you have to tread lightly and all of that but that's really exciting and I. Again, actually I mean you know this better than anyone but this is really captured the attention of funders and donors and we're going to see more and more of the style. And it's a competitive nature that nonprofits are sometimes extremely uncomfortable with, but shoot it just like every day, I know just coming to my office, you know the emails about you know these pitches that are available and or funding opportunities, but it is being structured through a pitch. Yeah, and you know it really levels the playing field in terms of whether you're talking about nonprofits or for profits. Yeah, I work with them all and they all have to go through this rigor they all have to jump through hoops and check all the boxes and usually it includes some sort of a pitch. And, and when they do it right. That's the beginning of something amazing so. I love it. Well actually this has been a great way to start off our week. I want everybody to see Ashley's information again here. Ashley bright Ashley bright presents. Check out his website he's got some great information on it. And just today, the five tips that he shared with us about communication. Wow those are gems. I know that we just scratched the surface and our very short period of time today but Ashley thank you so much for coming on the nonprofit show and sharing your time and talent with us. Again I'm Julia Patrick CEO of the American nonprofit Academy. I have not been joined today by my co host Jarrett ransom. She's taking a well earned vacation this week. Again we want to thank all of our presenting sponsors that you we would not be here having these amazing conversations that we've had, not only today, but Ashley, this is our 300 and first episode. I'm clapping. Thank you. Thank you. We, we actually celebrated our 300 episode last Friday so that's crazy. And of course we are not done. Today, we are launching a new show called fundraising events TV. My co host is Jason Allen champion, a former hg TV star. He has been involved in the nonprofit landscape his entire life. He's out of the East Coast, and we are going to be really delving into just the topic of fundraising events. So from golf to galas from barns to ballroom ballrooms, we're going to be talking about it all. So join us on fundraising events TV we'd love to see you. Hey, Ashley, you've totally inspired me. I have a big meeting this afternoon. This is like the honest truth. I'm going to go back, and I'm going to call all of the stuff that I was going to jam at these people. Well, I'm glad to hear that and I want to thank you for the second opportunity to appear on your show and I thank you for the opportunity I thank you and Jared for the work that you guys are doing to give voice to nonprofits and lend tips and knowledge. We can all benefit and help each other so thank you. Well, thank you you are always a delight to talk with. And as we end the show we want to remind everybody that way that we end every show. And that is to stay well, so you can do well. We'll see you back here tomorrow everyone.