Living the Reclaimed Life
Living the Reclaimed Life
El Roi: The God Who Sees Me ~ Stephanie Palmer Ep.157
Our special guest, Stephanie Palmer, founder of Hope Transformed, will explore what it means to encounter God through all your senses. Stephanie shares how creative worship experiences can open our hearts to healing, intimacy, and moments of holy connection, even in ordinary places like a playground or the kitchen sink. She also guides listeners through a powerful reflection on one of God’s most tender names: El Roi: the God who sees me. If you’re longing to feel seen, known, and enough in God’s eyes, this episode will meet you right where you are and gently usher you into His presence.
Stay Connected with Hope Transformed
FREE RESOURCE: 5 ways to use all 5 senses in your worship
Here are two FREE Ebooks for you!
1. Shame Off You: 10 steps to shattering shame in your life, HERE.
2. ABC's: CLICK HERE for a FREE E-book to help you combat lies and replace them with God's truth. For more encouragement, check out some of our offerings at www.reclaimedstory.com
Did you know we have a jewelry line that speaks to your identity in Jesus? CLICK HERE to shop. Every purchase helps support our mission to provide healing and hope to women worldwide.
Would you partner with us to spread the message of hope and healing? You can DONATE HERE. Living the Reclaimed Life is a Reclaimed Story, Inc. podcast, An Arizona non-profit corporation.
If you would like to connect with a safe group of women doing real-life together, join our private Facebook page, “Living the Reclaimed Life” or on Facebook or Instagram
Transcript Episode 157 - Autogenerated
Welcome back to living the reclaimed life. I'm Denisha. Today I'm excited to introduce you to Deborah Murphy. Deborah Murphy is the newest member of the reclaimed story team. She is going to be serving as our ministry development coordinator, and part of the thing she's going to be developing in this ministry. Is this podcast, Deborah, we are so happy to have you here.
Unknown 0:26
I am so excited to be here today. I want to invite you into a conversation with our guest, Stephanie Palmer. She is with a ministry called Hope Transformed encountering God, the One who sees you in a creative way. So let's dive in. Well, hello, Stephanie. I am so excited that I get to do this podcast today with you. I'm so excited that you came on to be our guest. Would you do me a favor today? And welcome Stephanie Palmer. Stephanie is the founder of Hope Transformed a ministry that helps people encounter God in creative and deeply personal ways through biblical interaction in worship experiences and her YouTube channel, Stephanie invites people to engage with the scripture in using their senses and creating space for reflection and healing and renewed intimacy with our Creator and with your podcast is this idea of inviting God into us Using all the senses. And her current YouTube series is called the names of God, and so we have invited her here to talk with us about the names of God. Viewers can discover God in new ways through her teachings and her prayer on her YouTube channel. So Stephanie Palmer, Would you welcome her? Thank you, Stephanie, so much for coming and being a part.
Unknown 2:05
Welcome. Thank you for having me. It's such an honor. Yes,
Unknown 2:11
yes, we're so excited to have you. Well, Stephanie, we're going to just dive right in. And before we dive into the names of God, tell us a little bit about Hope Transformed and your passion for helping people encounter God in creative ways. And how did that first begin? Yeah,
Unknown 2:31
so it first began when I worked at a church in the youth department and we noticed that the kids were just showing up for social hour. They were there to visit with their friends. And the pastors just really encouraged me as the worship leader and the you know facilitator of all of that, just to really come up with some fresh new ideas of inviting them to have an encounter with Jesus. And so we started out just by having them get up during one of the songs to go partake with in communion. And so they would get up and they'd walk to the four corners of the room. And this is, you know, 30 years ago. So this is way pre, pre 2020, and all of that stuff. So so we started with that my one of my favorite stations was just taking a piece of butcher paper and throwing it on the floor or hanging it up on the wall and just writing the simple words, Jesus, I love you because dot, dot, dot, and then inviting the students to go and fill in why they love Jesus. And there's something so beautiful about a middle schoolers response to why they love Jesus. And I think, you know, it just draws me back to God, inviting us to come with a childlike faith, with a with a renewed sense of who he is. And you know, he wants to meet with us. He wants to encounter our spirit, with His Spirit, and our God is so creative. You You just sit and you look out your window, or you take a walk in the woods, or you sit by a stream and listen to the sounds around you. Just all of creation is, you know, just constantly showing us how creative Our God is, and he wants to meet us in in those ways. So that's kind of how I got started.
Unknown 4:47
Wow. That is so beautiful. I love that. I love how God brings us through these walks and through these paths to get us to where we are today, and causes us to encounter him in new ways. So one of the things that I loved seeing inviting us, inviting him into using all of our senses to communicate with us. It's like such a beautiful thing that you do with your with your YouTube videos and so talk to us a little bit about what it looks like for someone who's never experienced this our our listeners maybe that don't Understand what interactive worship is. Tell us about how they can encounter this idea and how it helps them to encounter God more deeply.
Unknown 5:52
Okay, so I had a really difficult time describing this with words like for a couple years, I knew that it was powerful, and I was invited to do a series of four retreats through the course of a year with one of my mentors, and I just told her I was like, I can bring in A worship experience. I don't even know how to describe it right now. And she was like, I trust you, like I know you. I trust you do what you're going to do. And she just told me later, she was blown away by the moments that were so sacred and so special, and so coming off of doing it in retreats, where people are coming to the retreat and they're spending time with God, and then they're, you know, emotionally prepared to walk through this. So at a retreat, I will set up stations at tables. You know, sometimes they're at coffee tables. If we're in a house or something, I've set it up in a school gym where the kids just walk from table to table around the room. Every single experience that I set up looks completely different, and the feedback that I got back from all of those participants was, how do I get this every day, every week, every like, how do I get this at home when I'm not at a retreat? So I really went back, and I was just like, Okay, I don't, I don't know how to do that, you know? And whenever God gave me the go ahead to start the YouTube channel, I was I was like, Okay, God, what do I talk about? And he's like, Well, you've been studying my names. Why don't you just start with that? And I was like, Okay, how do I incorporate using all of our senses with studying the names of God, and he has just been so good about showing there's just little tangible things, activities or moments of laying something down, or moments of picking something up and holding it. And so a lot of it has to do with the tactiles of it, our sense of smell, our sense of taste. Sometimes it is taking communion, taking a cracker and and meditating on what does that mean? You know? So there's these little pieces in in church services, where they they incorporate some of those activities to in, to invoke our senses. And so it was just really like, how do I how do I hone that in and bring them in. And so if you will, let me, I would love to share one of the names of God with our audience today and actually walk us through an activity so that they can get a feel for what that would what that could look like. Yeah, on quiet time,
Unknown 9:20
that's beautiful. Yes, we would love that. Okay, let's
Unknown 9:25
go. Okay, so
Unknown 9:28
the the name that just okay. I say this about all of them, all of God's names are my favorite. But one of my favorites is Elroy. And I'm not sure if I'm saying it right, because I've heard it said a couple different ways, but I've just started saying it Elroy, but it's spelled E, L, R, O, I, and Elroy means the God who sees me. And what I take away from that is
Unknown 10:04
you are not invisible to God.
Unknown 10:08
So you may feel like nobody sees you. You may feel very unseen in your home, in your relationships, at your job. You may, you know, a lot of us feel like I'm doing all of the things, and nobody even sees what's going on in the background, right? And so there is a name of God that speaks to that place of hurt, or that place of pain inside so many of us. And it is it is Elroy, the God who sees me, and it comes from Genesis, 16, verse 13. Hagar was a servant, and she was running away from mistreatment. She found herself alone, in desperate need, and she was in the wilderness. So for those of you who don't know the story of Hagar, she was Abraham and Sarah's maid, and Sarah could not conceive a child, and so she took matters into her own hands, and she sent her maid servant in to Abraham, and Hagar conceived Ishmael. And whenever you know, Hagar was doing what her owner, her boss, told her to do, but then Sarah mistreated her for her being able to conceive a son, and so just a lot of pain in Hagar. So she ran away, and in her running, she found God, and God saw her. God saw her pain, and God said, go back. I have a plan for you. I have a plan for your son. Go back. And so in the prayer in Genesis, she says, You are the God who sees me. God knew exactly where she was. God knew exactly what she needed. And so this name of God, I think, is very personal. He doesn't just see us from a distance, you know, watching down. He's intimate. He's personal. So that's where his name comes from. Of Elroy, and I would love to just walk you through a little meditation. So I happen to have a little hand mirror here with me, and so if you have a little hand mirror nearby, maybe a compact in your purse, or something like that, you can pick up and do this exercise if you don't have a mirror with you right now, maybe take some time and go stand in front of a mirror. And, you know, listen to this again later if, like, the powerful moment comes when you're looking in a mirror. But I realize, if we're driving down the road, we obviously can't do that. So if you're listening to this, just imagine that you are there or go back and do that again. But for those of you right now, if you just want to close your eyes and just picture yourself standing in front of a mirror, and sometimes we ask ourselves, Am I enough? So if you'll just take your mirror and look at your eyes, look deeply in your eyes. And ask yourself the question,
Unknown 14:07
Am I enough?
Unknown 14:10
Are you overwhelmed by self doubt? Maybe there's a lingering fear of failure. Do you struggle with perfectionism? Competency? So just ask yourself, in what areas do I struggle with this question, am I enough? And I'm going to just call you all daughters, daughters of the King, the answer to this question is a resounding yes, you are enough because God has created you in His image. You are fearfully and wonderfully made with a purpose and a calling that only you can fulfill. He doesn't measure your worth by successes or failures, but by the unconditional love He has for you. So in moments of doubt, remember that He equips those he calls and his strength is made perfect in your weakness, you are enough because God is working within you, shaping you, growing you, and guiding you every step of the way. His love and His grace are more than enough to cover any imperfections, and he delights in the unique gifts and talents he's placed within you. Trust that in his eyes, you are more than enough, just as you are. So now take a deeper look into the mirror. Focus on your eyes and see what God sees in you.
Unknown 16:12
You are his beloved daughter,
Unknown 16:17
and as you gaze at your reflection, meditate on the truth that God has declared you enough through His Son, Jesus Christ, you can speak these words of affirmation out loud, I am Blessed. I am chosen. I am complete. In Christ, I exist. And so now, every time you pass in front of a mirror, let it remind you that when God sees you, he sees someone who is fearfully and wonderfully made, someone who is already enough because of his grace. And let your focus be on your true identity in Christ, blessed, chosen and complete.
Unknown 17:10
That is so beautiful. Oh, my goodness. Thank you so much for walking us through that. That's such a neat encounter, I'm telling you so the first time that I became aware of your podcast, your YouTube series, I I got one of them. I started listening to it, and I was I had my daughter, I was at a playground, and I had my daughter, she was out there playing, and, you know, while she's playing there, I'm just like, Okay, I'm gonna just do this. I'm gonna let her guide me through what I do next. And and I couldn't believe how I could sit there at a playground with my daughter playing on the playground and just close my eyes and start to think of approaching the throne of grace in in the heavenly realms, and seeing Jesus seated there, and walking to the King of kings, you know, and just encountering that and totally transformed this playground into This intimate moment of just being at the feet of Jesus at His throne room. And so for our listeners that are out there that maybe are struggling today, maybe are struggling to even feel like they could approach the throne of grace, or they could get something with an encounter from the King of kings, what a beautiful thing that you're doing to help people be ushered into those moments, and I'm just so thankful for that. I just want you to know I bless you today. I bless your ministry. I thank you so much for just what you're doing and for our listeners who maybe are struggling today. Maybe you are just barely hanging on. Maybe you've gotten some bad news. Whatever it is today that you're facing, I just want you to know that the King of Kings wants to meet with you, and you can encounter him and just sit at his throne, sit at his feet and receive from Him and that beautiful message that you are enough, I just pray that that sinks into your heart today, that you are hearing that, that You're receiving that Stephanie that was just so beautiful. Thank you. You
Unknown 19:44
are welcome. I just I pray for everybody who is listening to this right now that they will just be overwhelmed with God's grace and peace and love, because that's that's everything you can have moments with with him, when you're washing the dishes, when you're sitting at the playground, when you're driving your car in rush hour traffic, you know there's, there's a lot of times where I'm listening to a podcast and I have to go back and re listen to it, When I'm able to just sit and be with it, but I love that you're able to sit at the playground and and have that moment with God. And that's the beautiful thing about you know, when I'm at a retreat, like I do all the work ahead of time, like I'm praying and I'm asking God, what do you want me to say? What do you want me to write? What do you want me to do? You want me to do? And it was really funny, because I did a conference with a friend, and we were talking about which of the stations we should use, and I wrote one specifically for her that I thought would work for her event. And she came back and she's like, I love this. It's all good, but that's not what we're supposed to use. She's like, What was that one that I went through on this other retreat? And so I sent her the script, and she read through it, and she's like, Have you changed it? And I was like, Nope, it's still the same. She's like, that is not what I got at the retreat at all. She's like, God spoke this and this and this at that retreat. And I was like, and that's that's where I was able to just take a huge step back and say, Okay, God, you're working in this space, and I'm hands off now, like I've done the work to, you know, set up the tables, set up the activities, set up the stuff, Whatever. And now it's, it's just the beauty of of watching you work and and the Holy Spirit takes over. And, yeah, I'm hands off.
Unknown 22:10
So I love that. It's so true. God is all creating, and he's just creating new moments I just love so for someone who's listening today, who wants to know God in a more intimate way, maybe they're in a season of searching or of needing healing. Thank you so much for bringing to light the God who sees and I'm praying that God will minister to you and allow him to know that he sees you today if you're listening and hearing and needing something from the Lord. So thank you so much for being here today. I want people to know who are listening that you have some free resources,
Unknown 23:02
right? Yes. So the the one that I have out right now is five ways to encounter God using your five main senses. And so that one is just a real quick, you know, PDF download. You can print it out, you can put it up on your computer screen, whatever. And it's just five easy ways that, in your quiet time, you can put into practice some of these things. And when you sign up for that on the email list, then you'll receive more resources and tools within within the emails, but that's just the quickest way. And then obviously on the YouTube channel, just going back and watching the ones that I have already out, the ones that I'm going to be recording next and encountering God through each of His Names. Like the one that you were describing about the playground is Melek, the king is on His throne. And I've talked about Elohim and Adonai, El Shaddai, you know, like I've already got a few of them out there. And so encountering him through each of those names is, is just a fun thing, you know. And some of them you can do with your kids. On one of them, I made origami swords. Like it's totally random, you know, so fun activities to do with your kids. Um, what I have right now for November is the gratitude experience. And so the link to that is going to be in the show notes also, and that one is geared more towards younger kids, and I actually recorded it as I used to be a school teacher and a preschool teacher. So I recorded it as teacher Stephanie, so you can use my recording to teach the the you know, teaching, or you can do it yourself, either way, but it's experiencing how we can be thankful and express gratitude for water, one of the basic needs that we have, and it's a little bit sciency, because we're learning about water, and it's very hands on you. You need a bowl of water, a spray bottle to show the vapor and ice cubes like it's super easy for you to to do with your kids, so I have that one available as a digital download in my store. So
Unknown 25:54
great. I love that. I'm so thankful for your ministry. So beautiful that in closing, let's just remind our listeners that they can find you on Hope Transformed right YouTube channel. So go to Hope Transformed YouTube channel. Search up the names of God series, and it is very, very transformative. I am so thankful that you're doing this as a ministry. It's very beautiful.
Unknown 26:31
Thanks for listening. I pray you found hope in today's conversation, and maybe even feel a little less alone in your story. Stay connected with us on Facebook and Instagram at reclaimed story. Want to learn more about living a reclaimed life and how you can be a part of our growing community of Reclaimers. Check out our website at WWW dot reclaimed story.com and if you enjoy these inspirational podcasts, be sure to subscribe, rate and review. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next time.