Carolyn Jones: Saying Yes to God Daily

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Hey friends, and welcome to Her God Story, where

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you'll always hear stories that encourage and

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inspire your walk with the Lord. I'm your host,

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Jodie Chiricosta, ministry leader at Somebody Cares

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American International, author and traveler on

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this journey with Jesus. I'm so glad you tuned

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in. Today, we're going to talk about something

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that is at the very heart of Christian life,

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living out our faith. Not just hearing God's

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Word, but actually living it out every day. Jesus

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made this so clear in Matthew 7 24 when he said

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that the one who hears his word and puts them

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into practice is like a wise man who built his

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house on the rock. When the storms come, and

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they will, what we've built our lives on is revealed.

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And James echoes that same truth in James 1 22.

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The NIV says, do not merely listen to the word

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and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. That

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really is the invitation for all of us, not just

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to know scripture, but to live it. So let me

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ask you something. Have you ever found yourself

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knowing what God's word says, but struggling

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to actually live it out? Maybe it's trusting

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him with your finances, forgiving someone who

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hurt you, or stepping out in obedience when it

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feels uncomfortable. The truth is, faith becomes

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real, not just in what we believe, but in how

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we respond. I grew up in a home where the word

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of God was honored. And I remember as a young

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child, probably around seven or eight years old,

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hearing my dad read in scripture about tithing.

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And I felt the Holy Spirit nudging me to do it,

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even at that young age. So I started tithing

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for my allowance. It wasn't much, but it was

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obedience. And over the years, that simple act

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of faith has become a natural and joyful part

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of my life. I've seen God honor that obedience

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again and again and again. I can't tell you all

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the stories. But one of the clearest ways I've

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seen God's faithfulness in my life is through

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my education. I was able to finish my undergraduate

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degree and go on to earn two graduate degrees

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and even complete a doctorate all without debt.

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Talk about a miracle. And honestly, that wasn't

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because I had the resources to make that happen

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on my own. It was God. I couldn't have planned

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or orchestrated that. It was his provision again

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and again, and I have never forgotten it. Trust

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me, there are plenty of times when I've known

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what God's Word says and still been slow to do

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it, and I've felt the impact of that. But over

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time, as I've learned to really trust His character,

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to trust that He actually knows what's best,

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obedience has started to feel less like a struggle

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and more like a natural response. And that's

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exactly what Jesus was talking about. When we

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build our lives on His Word, not just hearing

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it, but actually living it, we begin to see his

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faithfulness show up in real and tangible ways.

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And one of the things we know from scripture

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is that living out our faith always means reflecting

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the heart of God. James 127 reminds us that caring

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for orphans and widows matters deeply to him.

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So I want to take a moment and thank all of you

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who faithfully support our Widow and Orphan Fund.

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Because of your generosity, we're able to bring

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real help, dignity, and hope. to some of the

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most vulnerable people in the world. And if you'd

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like to be a part of that, you can visit HerGodStory

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.org and click on Help Now. And that really connects

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to what we're talking about today, because living

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out our faith isn't just personal, it shows up

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in how we care for others. Today's guest, Carolyn

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Inez Jones, is someone who truly lives that out,

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not just in theory, but in everyday life. I've

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had the opportunity to meet Carolyn at the National

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Religious Broadcasters Convention, and I immediately

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noticed her joyful spirit and commitment to following

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God's word. I knew right away, this is a God

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story that needs to be told. Carolyn's journey

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is both fascinating and deeply grounded in faith.

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She's fluent in French, but she'll be speaking

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in English today, and has been involved in humanitarian

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development work in Francophone Africa, stepping

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into places where trusting God isn't optional,

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it's essential. Currently, she's living out her

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faith in the U .S. in very practical ways. She

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serves as the executive director of Lighthouse

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Counseling Services while also working in customer

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service at a car dealership, balancing both ministry

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and marketplace with a heart to follow God wherever

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he leads. God has taken her on some incredible

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adventures along the way, but what stands out

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most is her willingness to simply say yes and

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put his word into practice. Carolyn, I'm so glad

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you're here. Welcome to the podcast. Thank you.

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Thank you. It's a joy. I appreciate the invitation.

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Before we dive into some of those incredible

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experiences, take us back to the beginning. What

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was your early life like and how did your relationship

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with the Lord start to take shape? I'm an only

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child, and people will say, I'll bet you were

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spoiled. And I say, no, my parents, they did

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not like spoiled children. So I wasn't spoiled,

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but I got lots of love. When I was a very, very

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little girl, we were on the campus of Western

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Michigan University. My dad was both a professor

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and a student there at the same time, very gifted.

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Being on that kind of a campus, there are lots

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of different kinds of people, nationalities,

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people of different ethnic backgrounds. My babysitter

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was actually from Latvia. And so it was just,

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you know, it was just natural to be around lots

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of different kinds of people. The street we lived

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on, there was our family, a Mexican family, there

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was a Caucasian family. God knew way before I

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would have had any idea what he was going to

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do years later, having me in that kind of a background.

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Because of my dad's giftedness, his master's

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was in vocal music and conducting, gorgeous bass

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baritone voice. His ability to conduct was pretty

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amazing. He had the entire Handel's Messiah memorized.

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My mom was involved in women's ministry. The

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idea of being in church was normal. Sometimes

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there's tradition and there can be a, I don't

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know, I want to say it kindly, there can be kind

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of a superficiality that it doesn't always line

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up with where. you know, where things should.

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About the age of 13, my mom, who already was

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trying to live out her faith as she knew how,

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you see within the Bible, teaching and working

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with women's ministries, she had a very, very

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powerful encounter with God. And the Holy Spirit

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became so, there was a difference. And it just

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intrigued me because like so many children that

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are only children, There is a certain loneliness

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till you get more mature. I have always been

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very highly analytical. So as this lonely, very

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analytical child, I watched her and asked lots

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of questions. She gave me a book to read. Might

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seem odd for a 13 -year -old to have a book.

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That was by a lady who was up in years when she

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wrote the book. She was a godly Quaker woman,

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Hannah Whitehall Smith, and her book was A Christian

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Secret of a Happy Life. As I read the book and

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then began to really study scripture myself,

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leading up possibly to being baptized, the church.

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had said that you know somebody wanted to be

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baptized that they would go through six months

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studying the word and and i didn't know if i

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wanted to be baptized or not i didn't know anything

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other than what my mother had intrigued me because

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i could tell that she had a best friend in in

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god and so um i studied and by the time that

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That period was over. I did choose to be baptized.

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And little by little, step by step, began to

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learn to discern God's voice, to be led, to be

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corrected, to be convicted, little by little.

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So after you surrendered your life to the Lord

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at age 13 or 14, your relationship with him really

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began to grow. Even in your teenage years, how

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did that start to take shape in your life, especially

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when you were a teenager? I can't say I was an

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introvert. That'd be a little bit too extreme.

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But I was more inward than extrovert. I had this

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growing sensitivity to God's voice. I wanted

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to live out my faith, but I didn't know exactly

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how. So to her credit, my mom began to help me

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to get a daily morning and evening. I'm sure

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you're familiar with Charles Spurgeon's morning

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and evening devotional. So I started doing that.

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And so just really absorbing God's word and understanding

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it's, you know, we have to live out what we're

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reading. Having a regular prayer time with him

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and trying to understand, well, how do I witness?

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At that point, I was what would have been junior

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high. There were buttons. Now, buttons aren't

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so popular anymore, but there were buttons that

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people would wear, kind of like, you know, politicians.

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They'll wear a button that says, vote for me.

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One of my favorite buttons was, God has a better

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idea. That was back when Ford, that was one of

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their slogans. But somebody had taken that and

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made that into that button. And there were other

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buttons, and I would wear those. And there were...

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So it was just a very gentle way. I began to

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actually live out my faith in the junior high

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school. And people noticed. And I think, Jodi,

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one of the things that was a part of my personal

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training program by the Lord. was I was learning

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to obey even at the risk of becoming even more

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of a misfit because I was already a misfit. A

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misfit, when you're an only child, you're around

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adults or the way you think. It just tends to

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be more adult -like even when you're a kid. There

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were two years out of my life where our family

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lived in the hood. We lived in a housing project,

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but we were only there two years. So a lot of

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times people will look at my skin color because,

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you know, I have to be a dark skinned African

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-American person. But their their assumption

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before they start speaking to me and we begin

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to interact is, oh, well, you know, I'll bet

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you. um lived in the hood and and remember all

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these things well i don't because that wasn't

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my background you know i started out on university

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campus and went into the ann arbor public school

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system that's where the french started but um

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but anyway um just trying to learn certain disciplines

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i think sometimes we don't like the word discipline

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because we think uh straight jacket but no discipline

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is a good thing some of our chief or top athletes

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we respect because of the discipline that they

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put in, the outstanding gymnasts. You know, I

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mean, discipline is a good thing, and especially

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in the spirit. And so there was another thing

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the Lord began to help us to do. It was mostly

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my mom, my parents, and, you know, all these

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things I'm sharing. Of course, I didn't know

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necessarily at that age, but learned my father,

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who had grown up in the church. his dad had passed

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away when he was only 15. So he had to grow up

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real quick, even though he was the youngest of

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his siblings. He was a male, of course, but he

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was also very responsible kind of a kid. And

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he just had to grow up fast. When he and my mom,

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when they got married, he said to her, he says,

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now he says, you know, I don't believe much anymore.

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But he said, I want our daughter to... you know,

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to be raised the way you would feel is best.

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Because even before my mom had this amazing experience

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with the Lord, of the two of them, she definitely

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was the one who was the most faithful. So she

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was kind of helping to guide the process of her

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little daughter. And one of the things that she

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and I started somewhere along the way and that

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I still do today, we started what we called a

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book of remembrance. So a book of remembrance

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is different than a diary or a journal. It's

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what I call God sightings. So there are things

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that take place and it's like, wow, that was,

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that was the Lord. I mean, there's not this,

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that, that, that wasn't coincidence. It's amazing.

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That's all I got to the national religious broadcasters

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convention. I mean, you know what I'm saying?

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It was just like, this is beyond, this is, this

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is supernatural in here. And, um, so, so we would

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just keep our perspective books of remembrance

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and, um, And then our tradition for many years

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was on New Year's Eve, we'd start like about

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10 o 'clock at night. And then we would be reading

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our books back and forth to each other going

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into the new year. So starting the new year,

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remembering the things God had done. And sometimes

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when life gets really hard, even middle of a

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year, there's a lot to be said for going back

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and getting those Book of Remembrance entries.

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and reminding yourself yeah god was helpful thankful

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for what he did with for you know for David and

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so thankful for how he helped Joshua. But this

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is my own handwriting. And oh, my goodness, I

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forgot what God did for me. And this is going

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to help me as I'm, you know, I'm going forward.

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I love that idea. The book of remembrance. It's

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a it's a great way because, you know, we're always

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supposed to be thankful. The Bible says be thankful

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so often. And, you know, if when we don't remember

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and recognize God's hand, we can be presumptuous

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and not be grateful and thankful for all the

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things he's done. So another thing I love. Love

00:14:38.549 --> 00:14:41.950
is, you know, you were said when you were younger,

00:14:41.990 --> 00:14:44.870
you were a little bit shy. And God didn't call

00:14:44.870 --> 00:14:47.149
you to, you know, get out there with a bullhorn

00:14:47.149 --> 00:14:50.850
and preach the gospel. He did it some, you know,

00:14:50.870 --> 00:14:53.250
a very sweet way. He put on your heart to use

00:14:53.250 --> 00:14:56.250
these buttons that. allowed people to come up

00:14:56.250 --> 00:14:58.870
to you and ask the questions. So, you know, God

00:14:58.870 --> 00:15:01.409
doesn't force us out of our comfort zone. He

00:15:01.409 --> 00:15:04.590
invites us to take steps of faith, but he doesn't

00:15:04.590 --> 00:15:07.049
want us to be who he's not created us to be.

00:15:07.149 --> 00:15:09.210
He wants us to be who he's created us to be.

00:15:09.309 --> 00:15:11.929
So every one of us has a unique walk with the

00:15:11.929 --> 00:15:14.129
Lord and in a unique way to be obedient. Well,

00:15:14.169 --> 00:15:17.250
the neat thing about it is however God leads

00:15:17.250 --> 00:15:23.120
us, if he's in it, then then it's not just self,

00:15:23.220 --> 00:15:28.500
you know, it's not just us. And if I might briefly

00:15:28.500 --> 00:15:34.639
share that where I got to see that in a couple

00:15:34.639 --> 00:15:38.980
of ways that were really very, very meaningful

00:15:38.980 --> 00:15:43.740
to me because I was learning how to hear, not

00:15:43.740 --> 00:15:46.500
always well, not always, you know, accurately,

00:15:46.620 --> 00:15:49.159
but learning how to hear God's voice and walk

00:15:49.159 --> 00:15:53.139
with him. And I really, despite my shyness, had

00:15:53.139 --> 00:15:57.860
a heart for my classmates. One of my classmates

00:15:57.860 --> 00:16:01.340
was a girl whose mother was a self -professed

00:16:01.340 --> 00:16:06.100
witch. And this girl was just terrified in her

00:16:06.100 --> 00:16:11.159
home. This one weekend, she came to our home

00:16:11.159 --> 00:16:15.200
to, you know, just to have an overnight. And

00:16:15.200 --> 00:16:18.120
in the middle of the night, she started talking

00:16:18.120 --> 00:16:20.559
to me about all this stuff that went on in her

00:16:20.559 --> 00:16:23.000
home. I thought, oh, my goodness. I thought,

00:16:23.080 --> 00:16:26.720
oh, no, I don't know. What have I invited into

00:16:26.720 --> 00:16:33.340
my house? But as she began to share, I said to

00:16:33.340 --> 00:16:37.279
her, Judy, I said, you know, I said, that sounds

00:16:37.279 --> 00:16:41.120
really scary. And I began to just tell her best

00:16:41.120 --> 00:16:44.690
I understood about Jesus. the difference he'd

00:16:44.690 --> 00:16:47.669
made in my life. And I said, he's become my best

00:16:47.669 --> 00:16:50.850
friend. I said, you know, I said, if I lived

00:16:50.850 --> 00:16:53.750
in a house like that with a mom, with things

00:16:53.750 --> 00:16:55.970
going on that you're telling me about, I said,

00:16:56.190 --> 00:17:00.789
I believe that I want Jesus to know he could

00:17:00.789 --> 00:17:04.150
help me in the middle of that. And I said, would

00:17:04.150 --> 00:17:07.190
you like to know him too? And she said, oh, can

00:17:07.190 --> 00:17:11.450
I? Can I? I said, well, well, yes. There in the

00:17:11.450 --> 00:17:15.619
middle of the night. We felt out by the bed and

00:17:15.619 --> 00:17:19.279
she accepted Jesus into her heart. The next morning,

00:17:19.380 --> 00:17:21.740
I couldn't find my glasses. We searched high

00:17:21.740 --> 00:17:24.160
and low for those glasses. I said, let's pray.

00:17:24.339 --> 00:17:28.099
She said, pray about glasses? And I said, yes.

00:17:28.220 --> 00:17:30.880
I said, remember, I said, Jesus has become my

00:17:30.880 --> 00:17:33.819
best friend and he can be your best friend. And

00:17:33.819 --> 00:17:36.960
she said, yes. I said, well, I said, don't you

00:17:36.960 --> 00:17:39.759
think Jesus knows I need glasses to go to school?

00:17:39.880 --> 00:17:45.180
So we prayed. the glasses that we could not find,

00:17:45.279 --> 00:17:48.880
that we searched high and low for. And she told

00:17:48.880 --> 00:17:53.839
me about that many, many times afterwards. She

00:17:53.839 --> 00:17:57.539
said, God helped you find your glasses. And she

00:17:57.539 --> 00:17:59.920
said, we looked everywhere. And I said, I know.

00:18:00.220 --> 00:18:03.019
Then I said, and if he'll do that for somebody

00:18:03.019 --> 00:18:05.400
in some glasses, I said, think of what he would

00:18:05.400 --> 00:18:09.759
do in your house where your mom is a witch. There

00:18:09.759 --> 00:18:13.859
was another time my teacher was sick. I was just

00:18:13.859 --> 00:18:16.339
so burdened because he was sick and he couldn't

00:18:16.339 --> 00:18:19.420
come to school. And so I talked to my mom and

00:18:19.420 --> 00:18:21.799
I said, do you think it'd be okay if we went

00:18:21.799 --> 00:18:25.900
to the hospital and visited my teacher? She said,

00:18:25.980 --> 00:18:29.279
well, sure. She said, that'd be wonderful. You

00:18:29.279 --> 00:18:33.039
know, we went and visited him in the hospital.

00:18:33.930 --> 00:18:36.910
And when you were talking at the outset and you

00:18:36.910 --> 00:18:39.150
were saying how there are times we know what

00:18:39.150 --> 00:18:42.769
to do, but then we allow fear, we allow something

00:18:42.769 --> 00:18:46.349
to come in. Well, while I was at the hospital,

00:18:46.609 --> 00:18:49.329
the spirit of God, he was moving. The teacher

00:18:49.329 --> 00:18:52.109
was deeply touched. The student would come and

00:18:52.109 --> 00:18:56.589
I prayed with him. But then when I went back

00:18:56.589 --> 00:19:00.130
to school and he was, you know, back in the classroom,

00:19:00.329 --> 00:19:04.069
I could tell the Lord was dealing with me. to

00:19:04.069 --> 00:19:07.130
go up to him after class and just say, I hoped

00:19:07.130 --> 00:19:09.230
everything was all right. It was so good to have

00:19:09.230 --> 00:19:13.170
him back. And I let that fear overcome me. And

00:19:13.170 --> 00:19:15.769
I just kind of put my head down and walked out

00:19:15.769 --> 00:19:19.589
of the classroom. And I could tell, it's almost

00:19:19.589 --> 00:19:23.250
like when you can feel people's eyes, but you

00:19:23.250 --> 00:19:25.549
don't, you're not looking at them. And it's like,

00:19:25.609 --> 00:19:28.890
I could feel his disappointment and confusion.

00:19:29.690 --> 00:19:33.769
It's important not just to talk the walk. We

00:19:33.769 --> 00:19:37.170
all get nervous. We all can feel intimidated.

00:19:37.549 --> 00:19:42.809
But the Lord, we're links. We're links in a chain.

00:19:43.170 --> 00:19:48.869
And so it's not about us. It's about who does

00:19:48.869 --> 00:19:52.470
he need for us to be, not only for ourselves

00:19:52.470 --> 00:19:56.309
and our growth, but for the advancement of the

00:19:56.309 --> 00:19:59.869
kingdom and these other people whose lives that

00:19:59.869 --> 00:20:03.109
we're linking up with. And we don't know what

00:20:03.109 --> 00:20:06.369
our obedience or our disobedience, what that

00:20:06.369 --> 00:20:09.150
does. So Carolyn, you were growing in the Lord

00:20:09.150 --> 00:20:11.890
and your faith was growing and you were learning

00:20:11.890 --> 00:20:14.569
to trust God and all of these kinds of situations.

00:20:14.650 --> 00:20:17.609
But then your family went through a really painful

00:20:17.609 --> 00:20:20.849
season when your dad left, which turned everything

00:20:20.849 --> 00:20:23.670
upside down for you and your mom. Would you share

00:20:23.670 --> 00:20:26.430
what that time was like and how you experienced

00:20:26.430 --> 00:20:28.970
God's faithfulness even in the middle of that

00:20:28.970 --> 00:20:31.680
difficult time? Well, it was certainly a turned

00:20:31.680 --> 00:20:36.460
upside down time because of the employment that

00:20:36.460 --> 00:20:40.980
my dad had. Our family would have been considered

00:20:40.980 --> 00:20:44.480
probably middle to upper middle class. And so

00:20:44.480 --> 00:20:49.039
when he left financially, that was really huge

00:20:49.039 --> 00:20:54.599
because my mom, she didn't have to work and she

00:20:54.599 --> 00:20:59.130
did all the volunteering everywhere. with many

00:20:59.130 --> 00:21:01.509
different organizations. And all of a sudden

00:21:01.509 --> 00:21:03.849
it, you know, that just turned things upside

00:21:03.849 --> 00:21:07.849
down for her. The kind of lifestyle that I personally

00:21:07.849 --> 00:21:11.230
was used to was, I mean, you know, that kind

00:21:11.230 --> 00:21:16.029
of evaporated. Probably one of the biggest, one

00:21:16.029 --> 00:21:21.109
of the biggest challenges was when after being

00:21:21.109 --> 00:21:24.789
in the Ann Arbor public school system and starting

00:21:24.789 --> 00:21:27.950
French when I was in the fourth grade. and just

00:21:27.950 --> 00:21:32.430
loved it and kept right on going. When I finished

00:21:32.430 --> 00:21:37.289
high school and had felt that I should use the

00:21:37.289 --> 00:21:42.190
French in some way, I didn't know in what way,

00:21:42.289 --> 00:21:46.730
but needed to continue with that. After I went

00:21:46.730 --> 00:21:50.710
away to school, the junior year abroad is very,

00:21:50.849 --> 00:21:53.009
very common where there's an immersion during

00:21:53.009 --> 00:21:56.619
that junior year. And under ordinary circumstances,

00:21:56.680 --> 00:21:59.500
that would not have been a problem with our family.

00:21:59.619 --> 00:22:02.980
It was a problem because there wasn't money for

00:22:02.980 --> 00:22:06.519
anything like that. Because my dad was torn between

00:22:06.519 --> 00:22:10.759
our household. He did leave my mother, but it

00:22:10.759 --> 00:22:13.619
wasn't like all at once, nor was it something

00:22:13.619 --> 00:22:19.740
where he was hostile by any means toward her

00:22:19.740 --> 00:22:23.299
or toward the household. He was just torn. You

00:22:23.299 --> 00:22:26.779
know, he would talk about how he just needed

00:22:26.779 --> 00:22:30.420
to make some changes in his life. The person

00:22:30.420 --> 00:22:35.299
that he had left the household to be with was

00:22:35.299 --> 00:22:39.059
really, really pulling on him. This woman was

00:22:39.059 --> 00:22:43.220
not happy. Anything that my dad did for our household,

00:22:43.500 --> 00:22:45.940
she would tell him that her grown children, that

00:22:45.940 --> 00:22:48.279
she didn't do anything for them and that there

00:22:48.279 --> 00:22:50.400
wasn't anything that he should be doing for me.

00:22:51.000 --> 00:22:57.500
At the point where I would be going for the junior

00:22:57.500 --> 00:23:00.920
year abroad and there weren't funds, the Lord

00:23:00.920 --> 00:23:04.500
intervened through the body of Christ in a pretty

00:23:04.500 --> 00:23:12.000
amazing way and provided a major down payment

00:23:12.000 --> 00:23:16.480
or part of a down payment that was needed toward

00:23:16.480 --> 00:23:21.420
that trip. But the large part, which at that

00:23:21.420 --> 00:23:24.220
point, I think was something like $2 ,000, it

00:23:24.220 --> 00:23:27.900
just wasn't there. And I had talked to my dad

00:23:27.900 --> 00:23:30.539
and he was saying, well, no, that wasn't anything

00:23:30.539 --> 00:23:33.940
he was going to do. The Lord used the body of

00:23:33.940 --> 00:23:37.519
Christ, two different godly pastors, neither

00:23:37.519 --> 00:23:39.819
of whom I knew very well at that point, but the

00:23:39.819 --> 00:23:43.500
Lord used them in my life to speak into my life

00:23:43.500 --> 00:23:46.140
and to let me know that the Lord was, he was

00:23:46.140 --> 00:23:52.279
working. everything out. And that night, the

00:23:52.279 --> 00:23:57.400
night where the second pastor spoke into my life,

00:23:57.460 --> 00:24:00.519
that same day in the morning, the first pastor

00:24:00.519 --> 00:24:03.420
had spoken the same words. We went to church

00:24:03.420 --> 00:24:07.619
that evening, and I was asked to sing. My minor's

00:24:07.619 --> 00:24:11.200
in music, and in vocal music. I was asked to

00:24:11.200 --> 00:24:14.650
sing, and when I sat down, The pastor just said

00:24:14.650 --> 00:24:19.049
something like, just showing love to this daughter,

00:24:19.289 --> 00:24:22.069
he called me. And these women and these little

00:24:22.069 --> 00:24:24.529
girls just started lining up, started coming

00:24:24.529 --> 00:24:27.569
from all over the church. And as they started

00:24:27.569 --> 00:24:30.910
coming, the pastor said, and as you're loving

00:24:30.910 --> 00:24:33.930
her, he says, take something with you. So these

00:24:33.930 --> 00:24:37.009
people that I did not know started coming from

00:24:37.009 --> 00:24:42.809
all over the church with hugs and money. and

00:24:42.809 --> 00:24:47.109
my hands, I'm not very big, and my hands were

00:24:47.109 --> 00:24:50.390
soon filled up with this money, and so, and remember,

00:24:50.549 --> 00:24:54.549
I had on a dress, and the people would put money

00:24:54.549 --> 00:24:56.569
in my lap, but then they started handing the

00:24:56.569 --> 00:24:58.930
money to my mother, so both her hands and her

00:24:58.930 --> 00:25:04.710
lap was filled up, and when we got finished,

00:25:05.009 --> 00:25:09.089
there was this part of this down payment that

00:25:09.089 --> 00:25:12.720
was needed. When we got home, from church that

00:25:12.720 --> 00:25:16.519
night, upstairs on my bed, there was a note from

00:25:16.519 --> 00:25:20.160
my father saying, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry.

00:25:20.220 --> 00:25:23.279
If you ever need anything, let me know. In the

00:25:23.279 --> 00:25:27.200
midst of all of this turmoil, God was doing a

00:25:27.200 --> 00:25:29.759
work and he was doing a work in me too, Jodi,

00:25:29.839 --> 00:25:33.299
because there was a time where I was so hurt

00:25:33.299 --> 00:25:37.299
at what my father was doing. I was mostly, it

00:25:37.299 --> 00:25:40.769
was mostly the fact that um you know what what

00:25:40.769 --> 00:25:43.690
what I could see happening with my mother I could

00:25:43.690 --> 00:25:47.710
see what this was doing to her the the deep scarring

00:25:47.710 --> 00:25:51.470
in in her so there were times uh there was one

00:25:51.470 --> 00:25:54.329
time in particular where I just I just did not

00:25:54.329 --> 00:25:56.490
I didn't want to have anything to do with him

00:25:56.490 --> 00:25:59.849
he came over to the house because he would often

00:25:59.849 --> 00:26:04.109
come God in in his uh as God has a way of doing

00:26:04.109 --> 00:26:09.869
he um he would use my dad to help help our family

00:26:09.869 --> 00:26:12.390
and some of the ways were absolutely hilarious

00:26:12.390 --> 00:26:17.829
potty uh seat um instance uh where this home

00:26:17.829 --> 00:26:19.910
that he had and he finally married this other

00:26:19.910 --> 00:26:24.730
woman but um but the woman worked she worked

00:26:24.730 --> 00:26:28.970
but my dad's salary was so much higher than hers

00:26:28.970 --> 00:26:33.609
and her tastes were so so far beyond her means

00:26:34.190 --> 00:26:37.250
That she always wanted more, more, more. And

00:26:37.250 --> 00:26:39.970
whatever they had, she wasn't satisfied with

00:26:39.970 --> 00:26:44.150
it. Meanwhile, over at our house, we had, just

00:26:44.150 --> 00:26:48.029
to give you an example, we had this toilet seat.

00:26:48.269 --> 00:26:50.769
It was just a normal ceramic kind of a seat.

00:26:50.950 --> 00:26:54.029
And it got a crack in it. And we'd be trying

00:26:54.029 --> 00:26:56.230
to figure out how to sit on the seat. And my

00:26:56.230 --> 00:26:59.650
mom got this masking tape. And the masking tape

00:26:59.650 --> 00:27:02.130
would come apart. You know, you'd be sitting

00:27:02.130 --> 00:27:05.309
in there, your bones would be getting bent. And

00:27:05.309 --> 00:27:09.150
so we began to say, Lord, if we, you know, we're

00:27:09.150 --> 00:27:11.410
just going to trust you for a potty seat. And

00:27:11.410 --> 00:27:13.230
so we said, we're going to save up our money,

00:27:13.269 --> 00:27:15.390
well, to have it. And we said, if we're going

00:27:15.390 --> 00:27:17.970
to have a potty seat, it'd be nice to have one

00:27:17.970 --> 00:27:20.130
of those kind of fancy ones that sort of kind

00:27:20.130 --> 00:27:23.549
of whoosh when you sit. And this sounds so silly.

00:27:23.970 --> 00:27:27.369
But, you know, we picked out this seat and to

00:27:27.369 --> 00:27:31.420
save up. The seat we chose was $25, which for

00:27:31.420 --> 00:27:34.059
us was, that was a lot of money. Not just because

00:27:34.059 --> 00:27:39.059
of that time, you know, but it was because we

00:27:39.059 --> 00:27:41.559
didn't have anybody, certainly for potty seats.

00:27:41.819 --> 00:27:46.500
And here came my dad this one time looking a

00:27:46.500 --> 00:27:48.579
little sheepish and embarrassed. And he said,

00:27:48.660 --> 00:27:52.640
well, he said, I just wondered if you could maybe

00:27:52.640 --> 00:27:56.400
use any potty seats? And we looked at each other

00:27:56.400 --> 00:27:58.799
and looked at him and he says, I know he says,

00:27:58.819 --> 00:28:01.319
it sounds ridiculous, but he said, and he, you

00:28:01.319 --> 00:28:03.700
know, called the name of his wife. And he said,

00:28:03.759 --> 00:28:06.859
he said, she, she doesn't like these. He says,

00:28:06.920 --> 00:28:08.980
I picked these out, but she says she doesn't

00:28:08.980 --> 00:28:10.960
like those. She wants something, you know, that

00:28:10.960 --> 00:28:13.880
calls more money. And he says, I thought, well,

00:28:13.900 --> 00:28:15.480
I'm not going to throw out perfectly good potty

00:28:15.480 --> 00:28:17.339
seats. And he said, I just wondered if you could

00:28:17.339 --> 00:28:20.819
use them. And we just burst into laughter because

00:28:20.819 --> 00:28:25.519
here were these lovely squishy potty seats. Perfectly

00:28:25.519 --> 00:28:27.960
matched our decor. Those would be some of the

00:28:27.960 --> 00:28:30.160
kinds of hilarious ways the Lord would use my

00:28:30.160 --> 00:28:32.420
dad. Well, anyhow, this one time he came to the

00:28:32.420 --> 00:28:35.420
house and I just decided I didn't want to see

00:28:35.420 --> 00:28:39.180
him. I didn't like at all what was happening

00:28:39.180 --> 00:28:43.160
in my mom and the hurt that she was going through.

00:28:43.740 --> 00:28:47.680
God was helping her. But, you know, someone has

00:28:47.680 --> 00:28:51.420
said that God gives us the grace to go through

00:28:51.420 --> 00:28:54.640
hard times. people watching us they don't get

00:28:54.640 --> 00:28:58.940
the grace the grace is for the person going through

00:28:58.940 --> 00:29:02.319
my dad came over and i went into the bathroom

00:29:02.319 --> 00:29:06.079
this was before our potty seat uh story i just

00:29:06.079 --> 00:29:08.079
told you but i went into the bathroom not because

00:29:08.079 --> 00:29:10.359
i needed to use the bathroom it was because i

00:29:10.359 --> 00:29:12.880
didn't want to see him and so i just went in

00:29:12.880 --> 00:29:15.480
uh found a comfortable place on the floor and

00:29:15.480 --> 00:29:19.140
started to read And after about 20 minutes, I

00:29:19.140 --> 00:29:22.440
heard him outside the door saying, well, is she

00:29:22.440 --> 00:29:24.339
all right? And my mother said, well, she was

00:29:24.339 --> 00:29:27.420
fine when she went in, as far as I know. And

00:29:27.420 --> 00:29:30.500
then after a while, I could hear him say, well,

00:29:30.660 --> 00:29:34.200
I guess I better go. And he says, well, he says,

00:29:34.319 --> 00:29:37.079
I hope she will be all right. And she says, I

00:29:37.079 --> 00:29:41.259
think she'll be all right. And my dad left. And

00:29:41.259 --> 00:29:44.119
the instant I heard the front door close, I came

00:29:44.119 --> 00:29:46.480
out of the bathroom. My mother looked at me and

00:29:46.480 --> 00:29:48.519
she said, and what was that about? I said, I

00:29:48.519 --> 00:29:50.220
don't want to talk to him. I don't want anything

00:29:50.220 --> 00:29:54.700
to do with him. And my mother, who was in such

00:29:54.700 --> 00:29:58.500
a hard place that God was walking her through,

00:29:58.660 --> 00:30:02.920
she looked at me very tenderly and she said,

00:30:03.019 --> 00:30:06.599
Carolyn, she said, your father loved you and

00:30:06.599 --> 00:30:10.059
he will always be your father. And she said,

00:30:10.079 --> 00:30:14.920
anything that is... has gone on or is going on,

00:30:15.000 --> 00:30:17.099
she says, it really doesn't have anything to

00:30:17.099 --> 00:30:20.900
do with you. She said, he will always be your

00:30:20.900 --> 00:30:23.400
father. And when God says to honor your father

00:30:23.400 --> 00:30:28.000
and mother, that's what you need to do. You need

00:30:28.000 --> 00:30:30.880
to ask Jesus to help you to honor your father

00:30:30.880 --> 00:30:35.259
and your mother. Well, you know, Carolyn, your

00:30:35.259 --> 00:30:37.980
father leaving, as you expressed, it really,

00:30:38.019 --> 00:30:42.170
really goes deep. And if we don't deal with it,

00:30:42.250 --> 00:30:44.910
it doesn't just shape us, but it can take root

00:30:44.910 --> 00:30:47.609
in our hearts and affect our identity and our

00:30:47.609 --> 00:30:50.410
relationships like it did with your father, even

00:30:50.410 --> 00:30:52.450
our relationships with God if we don't address

00:30:52.450 --> 00:30:58.230
it. So how did you walk through that? How did

00:30:58.230 --> 00:31:01.710
God lead you to a place of forgiveness and ultimately

00:31:01.710 --> 00:31:05.809
even reconciliation with your dad? The way it

00:31:05.809 --> 00:31:10.049
happened was because I had not, I wasn't always

00:31:10.049 --> 00:31:12.750
at home, you know, because of the calling God

00:31:12.750 --> 00:31:15.589
had on my life. Sometimes I was other, I was

00:31:15.589 --> 00:31:17.970
at school or overseas, wherever I happened to

00:31:17.970 --> 00:31:21.690
be. But I was at home enough where I had a chance

00:31:21.690 --> 00:31:30.650
to see in shoe leather how God was helping my

00:31:30.650 --> 00:31:36.339
mother. So God helped me to forgive my dad, mainly

00:31:36.339 --> 00:31:41.779
because through her hurt, her pain, her disillusionment,

00:31:41.799 --> 00:31:46.319
her devastation, he was helping her to walk out

00:31:46.319 --> 00:31:50.940
principles such as pray for those who despitefully

00:31:50.940 --> 00:31:56.319
use you, like it tells us in Matthew 5, 44. He

00:31:56.319 --> 00:31:59.660
was helping her to walk out. principles such

00:31:59.660 --> 00:32:03.940
as vengeance is mine i will repay like it tells

00:32:03.940 --> 00:32:10.940
us in romans 12 19 talks about in both proverbs

00:32:10.940 --> 00:32:17.180
25 and romans 12 about putting coals of fire

00:32:17.180 --> 00:32:20.279
on a person's head which i used to just delight

00:32:20.279 --> 00:32:22.839
and i was like yeah lay it on and let me help

00:32:22.839 --> 00:32:26.099
light the fire Until, wouldn't you know it, I

00:32:26.099 --> 00:32:29.940
learned, nope, that's not what that means. Coals

00:32:29.940 --> 00:32:34.039
of fire was a term that is actually saying that

00:32:34.039 --> 00:32:40.039
you would be blessing someone in a way that is

00:32:40.039 --> 00:32:44.619
helpful to them. So putting the coals of fire

00:32:44.619 --> 00:32:48.400
on their head had to do with a period of time

00:32:48.400 --> 00:32:50.799
where that was actually helping a person to stay

00:32:50.799 --> 00:32:55.680
warm. uh in in a time it was very very cold um

00:32:55.680 --> 00:32:59.460
but it's a principle of when when you want to

00:32:59.460 --> 00:33:05.220
to lash out um and you want to hurt someone because

00:33:05.220 --> 00:33:10.799
they hurt you that you you take you take the

00:33:10.799 --> 00:33:14.900
scripture and you walk it out with god's help

00:33:14.900 --> 00:33:18.700
because as human beings we can't do this so i

00:33:18.700 --> 00:33:23.690
had a chance to to watch her Treat others the

00:33:23.690 --> 00:33:26.170
way you want to be treated. Talks about that

00:33:26.170 --> 00:33:32.210
in Luke chapter six. And so I could see how God

00:33:32.210 --> 00:33:36.329
was truly helping my mother as she was putting

00:33:36.329 --> 00:33:41.190
one painful foot in front of the other to live

00:33:41.190 --> 00:33:47.170
out his word. And her consistent example helped

00:33:47.170 --> 00:33:51.279
us both. to get in on God's best rather than

00:33:51.279 --> 00:33:54.599
Satan's agenda. For many of us, forgiveness is

00:33:54.599 --> 00:33:56.740
really one of the hardest steps of obedience

00:33:56.740 --> 00:33:59.859
we have to take. But when we choose to live out

00:33:59.859 --> 00:34:03.299
God's word like your mother did, and eventually

00:34:03.299 --> 00:34:06.819
you as well, even in those difficult areas, it

00:34:06.819 --> 00:34:09.199
begins to change the way we live. You know, when

00:34:09.199 --> 00:34:11.840
we can release that unforgiveness, when we can

00:34:11.840 --> 00:34:16.659
step in obedience, other people notice. So Carolyn,

00:34:16.760 --> 00:34:21.780
just give. one or two examples of other simple

00:34:21.780 --> 00:34:24.099
ways that you lived out your faith in front of

00:34:24.099 --> 00:34:27.199
others and what kind of impact that had? I think

00:34:27.199 --> 00:34:34.199
a couple of thoughts that come to me. One was

00:34:34.199 --> 00:34:39.019
when I was living in France, so I completed my

00:34:39.019 --> 00:34:45.239
degree and my degree program. I was in France,

00:34:45.260 --> 00:34:48.480
but then I went back. for a master's program

00:34:48.480 --> 00:34:51.460
and while I was there I met this very precious

00:34:51.460 --> 00:34:57.400
woman who her her husband had had passed away

00:34:57.400 --> 00:35:00.300
the year before so everything was changing in

00:35:00.300 --> 00:35:05.300
her life her family had you know had moved things

00:35:05.300 --> 00:35:07.659
out of the home she and her husband had lived

00:35:07.659 --> 00:35:10.780
in for decades and they were looking for somebody

00:35:10.780 --> 00:35:14.480
who could stay with her during the night hours.

00:35:16.010 --> 00:35:19.789
And this woman, she was French, but her background

00:35:19.789 --> 00:35:24.150
was Polish Jewish person. She's very, very bitter.

00:35:24.530 --> 00:35:28.449
And here she's got this Christian in her home.

00:35:28.989 --> 00:35:33.289
And so on the one hand, there would be times

00:35:33.289 --> 00:35:36.789
I would come into the home. And although her

00:35:36.789 --> 00:35:40.489
family dearly loved her because of her bitterness

00:35:40.489 --> 00:35:45.860
and all of the upheaval. I'd walk in and she

00:35:45.860 --> 00:35:49.519
would just be screaming on the phone with her

00:35:49.519 --> 00:35:51.940
daughter. Or I'd come in the home as I was coming

00:35:51.940 --> 00:35:54.900
down the hall headed toward her home. I could

00:35:54.900 --> 00:35:57.659
hear the screaming as they were arguing back

00:35:57.659 --> 00:36:00.320
and forth with each other. She at first had a

00:36:00.320 --> 00:36:03.760
very, very hard time with me because I would

00:36:03.760 --> 00:36:06.300
do something as simple as, you know, pray over

00:36:06.300 --> 00:36:09.610
my food. And the first time that I did that,

00:36:09.630 --> 00:36:11.690
bowed my head just to pray. I wasn't trying to

00:36:11.690 --> 00:36:13.889
make a big show of it. I just believe in praying

00:36:13.889 --> 00:36:17.489
over the food to thank God for the food. And

00:36:17.489 --> 00:36:24.269
I heard her say, what are you doing? And I said,

00:36:24.369 --> 00:36:29.730
I looked up at her and I said, I'm thanking God

00:36:29.730 --> 00:36:34.329
for my food. And she said, she said, well, why

00:36:34.329 --> 00:36:40.320
are you doing that? And I looked up at her and

00:36:40.320 --> 00:36:43.340
I said, because I'm thankful for the food. I'm

00:36:43.340 --> 00:36:46.920
thankful God's provided the food. Bowed my head

00:36:46.920 --> 00:36:51.420
again. Vous devez me remercier. You should be

00:36:51.420 --> 00:36:55.119
thanking me. Looked up again and I said, Madame,

00:36:55.300 --> 00:36:58.980
I am thankful. I'm very thankful. I'm very thankful

00:36:58.980 --> 00:37:02.639
to be in your home. I said, but I'm also thankful

00:37:02.639 --> 00:37:07.519
to God for the ability to be here. and for this

00:37:07.519 --> 00:37:09.800
book. And by my head, I didn't finish praying.

00:37:11.099 --> 00:37:15.500
Well, those kinds of interactions, you can imagine,

00:37:15.500 --> 00:37:18.699
it was very stressful being in her home. And

00:37:18.699 --> 00:37:21.119
after many, many months of this, and I'd be calling

00:37:21.119 --> 00:37:26.739
home, I need prayer. And the one day I came in

00:37:26.739 --> 00:37:29.500
the house and I could tell there'd just been

00:37:29.500 --> 00:37:32.000
another one of those screaming matches between

00:37:32.000 --> 00:37:35.659
her and her daughter. And as I came through the

00:37:35.659 --> 00:37:38.019
door, that woman looked at me and I thought,

00:37:38.139 --> 00:37:40.179
oh, I don't know what's about to happen. There

00:37:40.179 --> 00:37:42.980
was a look in her eyes and she started walking

00:37:42.980 --> 00:37:45.519
toward me. And I thought, I don't know if I'm

00:37:45.519 --> 00:37:48.980
about to get socked. I don't know if she's about

00:37:48.980 --> 00:37:52.159
to cuss me out. I don't know what's going to

00:37:52.159 --> 00:37:56.179
happen here. But I had tried as best I knew how

00:37:56.179 --> 00:38:01.699
to love this very unlovely, very unhappy, miserable.

00:38:02.639 --> 00:38:08.440
hurting woman over several months. And she came

00:38:08.440 --> 00:38:12.519
right up close to me and laid her head on my

00:38:12.519 --> 00:38:15.820
shoulder and just began to weep. It's just one

00:38:15.820 --> 00:38:23.619
example of when God calls us somewhere, we don't

00:38:23.619 --> 00:38:28.320
always know why he has us there or what he...

00:38:28.539 --> 00:38:33.739
He can, it will allow him to do through us because

00:38:33.739 --> 00:38:40.559
as much as I was thankful the Lord had provided

00:38:40.559 --> 00:38:44.880
a place for me to stay, it was pretty miserable

00:38:44.880 --> 00:38:48.539
being in this home. But from that day forward,

00:38:48.719 --> 00:38:52.440
there was a change. And when I would call home

00:38:52.440 --> 00:38:55.619
and say, I have got day of prayer. That was one

00:38:55.619 --> 00:38:57.539
of the things that my mother would say. She'd

00:38:57.539 --> 00:39:03.559
say, Carolyn, I know it's hard, but this woman

00:39:03.559 --> 00:39:08.280
needs, she needs Jesus and she needs the love

00:39:08.280 --> 00:39:13.340
of Jesus and God has put you there. And so I

00:39:13.340 --> 00:39:16.650
am praying for you, but I'm praying that. that

00:39:16.650 --> 00:39:19.630
you'll be faithful where he's called you. And

00:39:19.630 --> 00:39:21.610
that's hard, isn't it? A lot of times we think,

00:39:21.630 --> 00:39:23.610
oh, being obedient to the Lord is going into

00:39:23.610 --> 00:39:26.570
full -time ministry, but no, it is walking those

00:39:26.570 --> 00:39:30.949
hard character challenging times and seasons

00:39:30.949 --> 00:39:34.590
with integrity and love and grace and forgiveness.

00:39:35.690 --> 00:39:39.550
That's really hard, much harder than getting

00:39:39.550 --> 00:39:42.170
up on a stage and preaching. I'm not saying that's

00:39:42.170 --> 00:39:45.079
necessarily easy, but. Living with integrity

00:39:45.079 --> 00:39:48.179
every day in our Christian faith, that can be

00:39:48.179 --> 00:39:51.039
very difficult until we learn the beauty and

00:39:51.039 --> 00:39:55.139
joy of it. One of the stories I'll just share

00:39:55.139 --> 00:40:01.539
very briefly was the Lord, he allowed me to be

00:40:01.539 --> 00:40:07.239
in West Africa for a time. And, you know, so

00:40:07.239 --> 00:40:10.699
many funny stories that come to mind. You know

00:40:10.699 --> 00:40:13.440
what, Jodi, I think the thing is, is... that

00:40:13.440 --> 00:40:23.460
we know God has wired us in a certain way. And

00:40:23.460 --> 00:40:27.860
it's true. He worked within our wiring, but he

00:40:27.860 --> 00:40:31.619
is not necessarily concerned about our comfort

00:40:31.619 --> 00:40:35.619
as much as he is about using what he knows is

00:40:35.619 --> 00:40:40.960
inside to accomplish his purposes. And so when

00:40:40.960 --> 00:40:45.500
I was in West Africa, and was at a gathering

00:40:45.500 --> 00:40:49.780
of the director of the organization I had gone

00:40:49.780 --> 00:40:53.239
to work with. He had this gathering at his home.

00:40:53.400 --> 00:40:59.019
And afterwards, I was talking with the person

00:40:59.019 --> 00:41:03.260
who was the field director for this program that

00:41:03.260 --> 00:41:06.530
had allowed me to be in Africa. I was a postgraduate

00:41:06.530 --> 00:41:09.889
fellowship. And even that reticence, that's a

00:41:09.889 --> 00:41:12.769
good word, that reticence as I was growing up,

00:41:12.869 --> 00:41:18.650
pushing past that when needed to obey God. You

00:41:18.650 --> 00:41:22.710
know, it's continual. As we go into adulthood,

00:41:22.989 --> 00:41:26.449
we have to choose to obey, whether it's comfortable

00:41:26.449 --> 00:41:29.989
or whether people understand. And so the field

00:41:29.989 --> 00:41:32.590
director, he would. He would make his rounds

00:41:32.590 --> 00:41:37.329
and he would come through our country a few times

00:41:37.329 --> 00:41:39.909
during my time there. I was there for about a

00:41:39.909 --> 00:41:42.829
year. This was his third time coming through.

00:41:42.969 --> 00:41:46.369
And each time he would come, I would say to him,

00:41:46.429 --> 00:41:48.030
you know what? I'd say, you ought to come to

00:41:48.030 --> 00:41:50.250
church with me sometime. And he'd say, yeah,

00:41:50.349 --> 00:41:54.019
yeah, I'm going to get there. And this last time,

00:41:54.019 --> 00:41:57.599
this car was full of people that he was taking

00:41:57.599 --> 00:42:00.139
back from this gathering. One of the reasons

00:42:00.139 --> 00:42:02.119
he was taking them was because many of them were

00:42:02.119 --> 00:42:05.940
in no condition to drive. Right there, all this

00:42:05.940 --> 00:42:08.739
hilarity and half drunkenness and so forth that

00:42:08.739 --> 00:42:12.599
was in the car. Deep in my spirit, I could tell

00:42:12.599 --> 00:42:16.219
the Lord saying, you need to ask him again if

00:42:16.219 --> 00:42:18.860
he'll go to church with you in the morning. Now,

00:42:18.880 --> 00:42:22.340
inside, I'm thinking, oh, Lord, you know, The

00:42:22.340 --> 00:42:24.579
other times when I talked to him, it had been

00:42:24.579 --> 00:42:27.780
him by himself, you know, just him and me. Here

00:42:27.780 --> 00:42:29.880
are all these people. I didn't care anything

00:42:29.880 --> 00:42:34.920
about church. And and as the car was getting

00:42:34.920 --> 00:42:37.659
closer and closer to where he was going to be,

00:42:37.840 --> 00:42:41.059
you know, letting me off. Spirit was like, well,

00:42:41.260 --> 00:42:44.920
you know, you speak now or you're going to miss

00:42:44.920 --> 00:42:48.679
it. I took a deep breath, called his name and

00:42:48.679 --> 00:42:52.480
I said. How about church? I said, how about going

00:42:52.480 --> 00:42:54.500
to church with me in the morning? I said, you

00:42:54.500 --> 00:42:56.320
promised that you're going to come. This is your

00:42:56.320 --> 00:43:02.500
third visit. Silence. Whole car. It's silence.

00:43:03.579 --> 00:43:08.739
And he said, well, you know, he said, I'm going

00:43:08.739 --> 00:43:12.480
to come with you. So the church that I attended

00:43:12.480 --> 00:43:14.900
in the morning, it was the French speaking church.

00:43:15.400 --> 00:43:18.199
The evening, it was the same building, but it

00:43:18.199 --> 00:43:21.400
was all the people that were there that were

00:43:21.400 --> 00:43:23.280
English speaking from all the different mission

00:43:23.280 --> 00:43:27.059
organizations and so on. And so he came with

00:43:27.059 --> 00:43:31.320
me. And very nice church service. Got out on

00:43:31.320 --> 00:43:36.480
the patio. It's Africa, so it's hot. And we were

00:43:36.480 --> 00:43:38.639
out on the patio before we were going to leave.

00:43:39.179 --> 00:43:43.829
And I started hearing all this clamor. coming

00:43:43.829 --> 00:43:46.150
down the street. It was like, what on earth?

00:43:46.269 --> 00:43:47.789
Because by that time, it's probably like nine

00:43:47.789 --> 00:43:51.030
o 'clock at night, this shouting and guns going

00:43:51.030 --> 00:43:54.050
off. And it was like, what could it be? Next

00:43:54.050 --> 00:43:58.369
thing, here come just these caravans of these

00:43:58.369 --> 00:44:01.469
rebels that were going down the street, shooting

00:44:01.469 --> 00:44:07.050
guns in the air. And it turns out that we were

00:44:07.050 --> 00:44:10.250
witnessing an attempted coup, an attempted overthrow

00:44:10.250 --> 00:44:13.809
of the government. This man turns and looks at

00:44:13.809 --> 00:44:17.750
me and he says, are you trying to get me killed?

00:44:18.369 --> 00:44:21.389
And it just came out of me. I just laughed. I

00:44:21.389 --> 00:44:24.710
said, why? I called his name. I said, so and

00:44:24.710 --> 00:44:27.670
so. I said, if you're going to die, I said, what

00:44:27.670 --> 00:44:30.869
better place than in church? Lots of times where

00:44:30.869 --> 00:44:38.500
the Lord, he calls us to be faithful. as I say,

00:44:38.619 --> 00:44:41.360
kind of kicking or screaming or joyfully, one

00:44:41.360 --> 00:44:45.300
way or the other. He calls us to be faithful.

00:44:45.519 --> 00:44:47.599
And you know, what I love about your obedience

00:44:47.599 --> 00:44:50.880
is God doesn't promise that we get to see the

00:44:50.880 --> 00:44:53.739
end result of our obedience. I mean, you planted

00:44:53.739 --> 00:44:57.860
seeds in both of those lives and you were faithful

00:44:57.860 --> 00:45:01.260
to plant and you had to trust that God was going

00:45:01.260 --> 00:45:04.670
to use other people. and their obedience to water

00:45:04.670 --> 00:45:07.530
those seeds and eventually to bring it to harvest

00:45:07.530 --> 00:45:09.750
so that they would come to know Jesus as well.

00:45:09.849 --> 00:45:11.949
You didn't get to see that result, but you were

00:45:11.949 --> 00:45:15.909
faithful in doing what God called you to do.

00:45:16.010 --> 00:45:19.510
And, you know, that's, that's a beautiful thing,

00:45:19.570 --> 00:45:21.909
but also a hard thing when we don't get to see

00:45:21.909 --> 00:45:23.989
the end result. I mean, I'm a results oriented

00:45:23.989 --> 00:45:25.969
person. I want to know that what I'm doing has

00:45:25.969 --> 00:45:28.969
got a result, you know, but we don't always get

00:45:28.969 --> 00:45:33.420
to see that. Yeah. Yeah. Well, your journey has

00:45:33.420 --> 00:45:35.500
really included a lot of different seasons and

00:45:35.500 --> 00:45:37.719
roles, everything from aid work, like you just

00:45:37.719 --> 00:45:40.239
talked about, to radio, nonprofit leadership,

00:45:40.500 --> 00:45:43.440
even customer service. Can you share how God

00:45:43.440 --> 00:45:45.820
has guided you through some of those transitions?

00:45:46.079 --> 00:45:47.880
Because that's, you know, pretty big transitions.

00:45:48.239 --> 00:45:50.480
Let's just share one or two ways God has guided

00:45:50.480 --> 00:45:53.579
you through some of those uncertainties. You

00:45:53.579 --> 00:45:56.159
know, I think probably one of the biggest things

00:45:56.159 --> 00:46:02.909
is because I've I really believe the application

00:46:02.909 --> 00:46:09.710
of God's word is so key to our at least trying

00:46:09.710 --> 00:46:13.150
to live, as the author's book said, a Christian

00:46:13.150 --> 00:46:17.829
secret of a happy life is to apply God's word.

00:46:18.570 --> 00:46:24.130
I think I would say the concept of being faithful

00:46:24.130 --> 00:46:29.190
and little to be entrusted with much. So how...

00:46:29.760 --> 00:46:35.039
And that's a scripture that we see in Luke, in

00:46:35.039 --> 00:46:39.519
Luke chapter 16, verse 10, to be faithful in

00:46:39.519 --> 00:46:42.880
little so we can be entrusted with much. So many

00:46:42.880 --> 00:46:48.320
of the transitions occurred because I was trying

00:46:48.320 --> 00:46:53.699
to be, as best I understood, to actually apply

00:46:53.699 --> 00:46:59.199
God's word in shoe leather. Just a quick example

00:46:59.199 --> 00:47:03.599
with how I even got to Africa at all was I was

00:47:03.599 --> 00:47:07.179
finishing up my master's program and the school

00:47:07.179 --> 00:47:09.619
had said, if you have any outstanding accounts,

00:47:09.820 --> 00:47:12.360
you should go to the library. And that's where

00:47:12.360 --> 00:47:14.199
they're going to be. You know, they'll have a

00:47:14.199 --> 00:47:18.159
list of who owes what. Well, I tend to be people

00:47:18.159 --> 00:47:20.460
have laughed at me over the years and say I'm

00:47:20.460 --> 00:47:22.079
the kind of person that makes pennies scream

00:47:22.079 --> 00:47:24.380
for mercy. That's because I tend to be very,

00:47:24.460 --> 00:47:27.500
very frugal. I thought, I don't think there's

00:47:27.500 --> 00:47:30.340
anything outstanding. But I thought about that

00:47:30.340 --> 00:47:34.860
principle of being faithful in little. And I

00:47:34.860 --> 00:47:37.199
thought, well, what if there's $5 somewhere?

00:47:37.380 --> 00:47:41.739
I just don't remember. So I went to the library

00:47:41.739 --> 00:47:46.880
and stood in the line thinking, this is a waste

00:47:46.880 --> 00:47:50.019
of time. And as I was making my way up to the

00:47:50.019 --> 00:47:53.900
counter, This African student who I'd never met

00:47:53.900 --> 00:47:58.579
before during my years at the school, he said,

00:47:58.699 --> 00:48:01.059
what are you going to be doing when you finish?

00:48:01.179 --> 00:48:03.119
And I said, you know, I've got some different

00:48:03.119 --> 00:48:06.780
ideas, but I don't know exactly what. He said,

00:48:06.820 --> 00:48:10.000
well, here, he said, take this packet. He said,

00:48:10.019 --> 00:48:12.900
I've been trying for a year and a half to get

00:48:12.900 --> 00:48:16.199
in with this fellowship program. And he said,

00:48:16.360 --> 00:48:20.760
but they want American students to go. And he

00:48:20.760 --> 00:48:23.340
said, I'm from Africa. He says, I know Africa.

00:48:23.460 --> 00:48:25.300
And I keep trying to tell him I'd be a great

00:48:25.300 --> 00:48:28.179
candidate, but they say we want to have American

00:48:28.179 --> 00:48:33.320
students go. And so he handed me this packet.

00:48:33.440 --> 00:48:35.639
I got up to the counter. I didn't know any money,

00:48:35.760 --> 00:48:39.960
but I had this information, which ultimately

00:48:39.960 --> 00:48:46.500
was, the packet was from an organization called,

00:48:46.599 --> 00:48:48.440
all these long names, but it's the International

00:48:48.440 --> 00:48:52.070
Foundation. for education and self -help, which

00:48:52.070 --> 00:48:54.590
thankfully we just called IFISH. It takes a lot

00:48:54.590 --> 00:48:58.230
less time to say all that. And because of my

00:48:58.230 --> 00:49:03.550
French background, the Lord helped me to be one

00:49:03.550 --> 00:49:08.090
of only 22 people that was chosen out of several

00:49:08.090 --> 00:49:11.610
hundred that had applied for this IFISH program.

00:49:11.929 --> 00:49:15.050
Well, I wouldn't even have been at the library

00:49:15.050 --> 00:49:20.719
if I hadn't been trying to apply. that principle,

00:49:20.940 --> 00:49:25.460
he who is faithful in little can be entrusted

00:49:25.460 --> 00:49:32.920
with much. And so, you know, I just think that,

00:49:32.920 --> 00:49:38.179
I think that lots of times, and I want to be

00:49:38.179 --> 00:49:40.900
careful how I say this, Jodi, because I want

00:49:40.900 --> 00:49:44.519
to be sure what I say is in a way that is what's

00:49:44.519 --> 00:49:48.059
in my heart. But I think we all talk a pretty

00:49:48.059 --> 00:49:51.300
good talk. You know, we sing, whether we're on

00:49:51.300 --> 00:49:56.239
key or off key, we sing lots of songs. And the

00:49:56.239 --> 00:49:58.599
lyrics that we're singing, I don't know that

00:49:58.599 --> 00:50:03.039
we always really, that we think much about what

00:50:03.039 --> 00:50:10.820
we're singing. But if God's word, if it's the,

00:50:10.820 --> 00:50:14.679
you know, the psalmist, it says that as my soul,

00:50:15.150 --> 00:50:18.469
pants after the water brook or as the deer pants

00:50:18.469 --> 00:50:21.010
after the water brook so my soul pants after

00:50:21.010 --> 00:50:27.630
you um i think if god can help us in just in

00:50:27.630 --> 00:50:32.150
practical everyday ways to have that that love

00:50:32.150 --> 00:50:37.389
of god's word and then say so when i'm at work

00:50:37.389 --> 00:50:40.610
like you know as you mentioned um working in

00:50:40.610 --> 00:50:43.010
customer service in a very secular environment

00:50:43.920 --> 00:50:47.420
How do I plant seeds here? And the Lord says,

00:50:47.579 --> 00:50:52.019
well, like this. And when you talk to this person

00:50:52.019 --> 00:51:01.340
here, I've seen so many ways where the Lord continues

00:51:01.340 --> 00:51:07.400
as he helps me to know how to take his word and

00:51:07.400 --> 00:51:12.380
apply it. just to see things that I wouldn't

00:51:12.380 --> 00:51:16.239
even believe that God could do. It's very exciting.

00:51:17.119 --> 00:51:20.519
Yeah. Well, as you look back, really, Carolyn,

00:51:20.719 --> 00:51:22.639
on all the ways God's led you, all the different

00:51:22.639 --> 00:51:25.900
seasons and adventures, what would you say is

00:51:25.900 --> 00:51:29.039
the one key truth you really want our listeners

00:51:29.039 --> 00:51:31.860
to take away today? If I might just quickly share

00:51:31.860 --> 00:51:34.760
some key scriptures that I think would help us

00:51:34.760 --> 00:51:40.860
all. Proverbs 3, 5 to 6 is a very familiar passage

00:51:40.860 --> 00:51:43.099
of scripture. Trust in the Lord with all your

00:51:43.099 --> 00:51:45.519
heart and lean not on your own understanding.

00:51:45.619 --> 00:51:48.340
In all your ways acknowledge him. He will make

00:51:48.340 --> 00:51:51.219
your path straight. Holy Spirit really convicted

00:51:51.219 --> 00:51:55.980
me one day as I was reading that. And I was going

00:51:55.980 --> 00:51:58.460
to keep right on reading. It's like he just caught

00:51:58.460 --> 00:52:01.739
me off short. He says, acknowledge me. Acknowledge

00:52:01.739 --> 00:52:05.980
me. He says, when I say acknowledge me. I'm not

00:52:05.980 --> 00:52:12.000
saying just grunt in my direction. Another scripture,

00:52:12.480 --> 00:52:17.800
guard your heart above all else because out of

00:52:17.800 --> 00:52:20.739
it come the issues of life. We are all soaked

00:52:20.739 --> 00:52:28.000
and saturated. Billboards, movies, music, media,

00:52:28.159 --> 00:52:33.019
even if we are not signing up, even if we're

00:52:33.019 --> 00:52:36.760
not subscribing to a netflix or we're not turning

00:52:36.760 --> 00:52:40.659
to a certain station the point is you can't go

00:52:40.659 --> 00:52:44.840
throughout your day without being impacted because

00:52:44.840 --> 00:52:47.860
everything is out there it's like dust you know

00:52:47.860 --> 00:52:50.699
i'm in my house right now use a little dusting

00:52:50.699 --> 00:52:55.440
um so dust it just it just comes and the word

00:52:55.440 --> 00:53:00.599
says um above all else guard your heart for it

00:53:00.599 --> 00:53:05.099
is the wellspring of life another one uh song

00:53:05.099 --> 00:53:10.260
of solomon where um it says catch for us the

00:53:10.260 --> 00:53:13.539
foxes the little foxes that ruin the vineyard

00:53:13.539 --> 00:53:19.619
because our vineyards are in bloom um it's it's

00:53:19.619 --> 00:53:22.699
the little foxes it's not always the big foxes

00:53:22.699 --> 00:53:26.440
and without being paranoid the lord doesn't call

00:53:26.440 --> 00:53:30.500
us to be paranoid but he does call us to to um

00:53:31.260 --> 00:53:36.579
to have a heart that's tender, that's tender

00:53:36.579 --> 00:53:40.079
for him and the voice of his Holy Spirit. And

00:53:40.079 --> 00:53:42.480
that's not going to happen if we're not in his

00:53:42.480 --> 00:53:46.719
word. And the last one that means a great deal

00:53:46.719 --> 00:53:51.219
to me from 1 John, it says, if we claim to have

00:53:51.219 --> 00:53:53.639
fellowship with him, yet walk in the darkness,

00:53:53.739 --> 00:53:57.460
we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we

00:53:57.460 --> 00:54:00.880
walk in the light as he is in the light, We have

00:54:00.880 --> 00:54:03.699
fellowship with one another and the blood of

00:54:03.699 --> 00:54:09.000
Jesus, his son, purifies us from all sin. I just

00:54:09.000 --> 00:54:13.000
believe, you know, we have to say, Lord, I'm

00:54:13.000 --> 00:54:16.500
weak. I don't know everything. There's a track

00:54:16.500 --> 00:54:23.079
record that I've seen. You're faithful. I can

00:54:23.079 --> 00:54:28.800
trust you. And I think that just that. concept

00:54:28.800 --> 00:54:32.960
is what i would leave with our listeners um because

00:54:32.960 --> 00:54:37.500
god really does know best it's hard to believe

00:54:37.500 --> 00:54:39.400
isn't it i mean sometimes it's just hard to believe

00:54:39.400 --> 00:54:41.460
lord you don't know my situation but he does

00:54:41.460 --> 00:54:44.960
he knows it better than we do one thing i learned

00:54:44.960 --> 00:54:48.559
uh gosh i was probably an early adult that one

00:54:48.559 --> 00:54:52.539
that god knows me better than i know myself i

00:54:52.539 --> 00:54:56.860
thought i wanted one path God took me in another

00:54:56.860 --> 00:54:58.980
path and I kind of went kicking and screaming.

00:54:59.260 --> 00:55:03.639
But along the way, I realized, wow, I enjoy this.

00:55:03.699 --> 00:55:06.400
And I would have hated that other path. That

00:55:06.400 --> 00:55:08.619
other path that I thought looked so enticing.

00:55:09.139 --> 00:55:12.539
I would have been miserable because of the demands

00:55:12.539 --> 00:55:15.519
that it required. So God knows us better than

00:55:15.519 --> 00:55:18.400
we know ourselves. And if we'll just follow him,

00:55:18.500 --> 00:55:22.750
we find joy. that we didn't expect well i always

00:55:22.750 --> 00:55:25.289
love to ask this uh carolyn what woman of the

00:55:25.289 --> 00:55:27.969
bible has really inspired or impact your walk

00:55:27.969 --> 00:55:30.349
with the lord and and how i'm laughing because

00:55:30.349 --> 00:55:34.909
she's kind of an unusual one but it's jl so jl

00:55:34.909 --> 00:55:40.710
is the one tell her story i'm not sure everybody

00:55:40.710 --> 00:55:43.730
and everybody remembers the story of jl is in

00:55:43.730 --> 00:55:47.750
um her story is in judges chapter four and five

00:55:47.750 --> 00:55:54.429
and um the Children of Israel or many of the

00:55:54.429 --> 00:55:59.710
tribes, they had forsaken the Lord. And her husband

00:55:59.710 --> 00:56:04.230
actually had made peace with the enemy. So she's

00:56:04.230 --> 00:56:08.829
in a household like that. Sisera, who was the

00:56:08.829 --> 00:56:14.329
head of the army of the enemy, was really, they

00:56:14.329 --> 00:56:21.110
were wreaking havoc in Israel at that time. As

00:56:21.110 --> 00:56:24.449
Deborah, who many people probably know more familiar,

00:56:24.570 --> 00:56:27.570
the prophetess Deborah, when she rose up and

00:56:27.570 --> 00:56:31.829
she began to gather together those tribes that

00:56:31.829 --> 00:56:34.789
were willing and able to go out and fight, as

00:56:34.789 --> 00:56:40.829
she rose up, this great battle ensued. And the

00:56:40.829 --> 00:56:44.409
guy who was the head of the enemy army, Sisera,

00:56:44.550 --> 00:56:48.090
he fled. He got out of his chariot, fled on foot.

00:56:48.570 --> 00:56:52.489
And he went to the home of J .L. because her

00:56:52.489 --> 00:56:55.750
husband had made peace with, you know, with the

00:56:55.750 --> 00:57:00.550
enemy. And when he comes to the door there, she's

00:57:00.550 --> 00:57:04.210
like, oh, come in, come in. And she says, lie

00:57:04.210 --> 00:57:06.210
down. I know you're just exhausted. You know,

00:57:06.250 --> 00:57:08.949
lie down. Let me help. And he says, oh, he says,

00:57:08.969 --> 00:57:11.469
if I could just have something to drink. Definitely.

00:57:12.440 --> 00:57:15.980
And he asked for water. No, no, no, water, not

00:57:15.980 --> 00:57:18.820
water. Let me give you some of the finest of

00:57:18.820 --> 00:57:24.260
the cream from our cows or lambs or whatever

00:57:24.260 --> 00:57:26.280
it was. Anyway, give some of the finest of the

00:57:26.280 --> 00:57:29.530
cream. So he has this lovely cup of cream. and

00:57:29.530 --> 00:57:32.110
lies down to rest he says now he says if anybody

00:57:32.110 --> 00:57:34.809
comes by he says don't let him know i'm here

00:57:34.809 --> 00:57:38.570
not a problem so she covers him up nicely after

00:57:38.570 --> 00:57:43.409
his nice cup of cream and as he has just fallen

00:57:43.409 --> 00:57:47.150
into a slumber she gets out a tent peg and a

00:57:47.150 --> 00:57:51.980
hammer and strikes it into his temple And when

00:57:51.980 --> 00:57:56.099
the people come by and they find there, she hears

00:57:56.099 --> 00:57:59.579
them outside of the home coming by looking for

00:57:59.579 --> 00:58:02.360
him. She opens up and she says, come right on

00:58:02.360 --> 00:58:04.239
in. She says, the person you're looking for,

00:58:04.340 --> 00:58:07.519
there he is. Well, you might say, why on earth

00:58:07.519 --> 00:58:11.139
would somebody like that be a heroine for you?

00:58:11.400 --> 00:58:14.519
It's because this woman feared God more than

00:58:14.519 --> 00:58:18.170
she feared man. And when you think about the

00:58:18.170 --> 00:58:21.650
household she was in and the fact that in that

00:58:21.650 --> 00:58:26.690
day for a woman to just be that much, to have

00:58:26.690 --> 00:58:31.769
that kind of resolve, that it's kind of like

00:58:31.769 --> 00:58:35.030
Esther. If I perish, I perish. Love the story

00:58:35.030 --> 00:58:38.449
of J .L. Yeah, she had resolve. That is for sure.

00:58:38.909 --> 00:58:41.050
Well, Carolyn, thank you so much for sharing.

00:58:41.599 --> 00:58:43.539
parts of your story with us. We could go on all

00:58:43.539 --> 00:58:46.219
day and hear more stories, but what stands out

00:58:46.219 --> 00:58:49.300
for me is how your life reflects something that

00:58:49.300 --> 00:58:51.519
we long for, that our faith wouldn't just be

00:58:51.519 --> 00:58:54.460
something we believe, but something that we really

00:58:54.460 --> 00:58:58.000
live. It reminds me of what Paul writes in Colossians

00:58:58.000 --> 00:59:00.719
3 .17. The NIV says, and whatever you do, whether

00:59:00.719 --> 00:59:04.079
in word or deed, do it all in the name of the

00:59:04.079 --> 00:59:07.019
Lord. When we intentionally represent Christ

00:59:07.019 --> 00:59:10.639
in all of our actions, it really impacts not

00:59:10.639 --> 00:59:12.500
just the big moments, but our everyday choices.

00:59:12.780 --> 00:59:15.039
I mean, if I'm walking around thinking I represent

00:59:15.039 --> 00:59:18.019
Christ, it's going to change the way I do things.

00:59:18.820 --> 00:59:21.840
I'm also reminded of Galatians 5, 6, the NIV

00:59:21.840 --> 00:59:25.820
reads, the only thing that counts is faith expressing

00:59:25.820 --> 00:59:28.599
itself through love. That's really what we've

00:59:28.599 --> 00:59:31.960
seen in Carolyn's story, faith that moves. Faith

00:59:31.960 --> 00:59:34.780
that responds, faith that shows up in real life,

00:59:34.900 --> 00:59:40.139
as she says, in shoe leather. And so for those

00:59:40.139 --> 00:59:42.079
of you listening, maybe God's been nudging you

00:59:42.079 --> 00:59:44.400
in an area of obedience, something you've been

00:59:44.400 --> 00:59:46.579
hesitant to step into. I just want to encourage

00:59:46.579 --> 00:59:49.079
you, when you take that step of faith, even a

00:59:49.079 --> 00:59:52.260
small one, God will meet you there. Over time,

00:59:52.360 --> 00:59:56.239
those steps of obedience begin to take shape

00:59:56.239 --> 01:00:00.340
in a life that is steady and fruitful and full

01:00:00.340 --> 01:00:03.119
of his presence. Carolyn, would you just take

01:00:03.119 --> 01:00:04.820
a moment and pray for our listening friends?

01:00:05.179 --> 01:00:08.000
Father, I just want to thank you for the honor

01:00:08.000 --> 01:00:12.820
and the joy of speaking to this audience of those

01:00:12.820 --> 01:00:18.699
who embrace the power of God in their lives and

01:00:18.699 --> 01:00:22.460
want to live it out in shoe leather. Father,

01:00:22.539 --> 01:00:25.360
I ask that you will help each one of us that

01:00:25.360 --> 01:00:28.980
we would have a greater fear of you than we have

01:00:28.980 --> 01:00:33.320
of man. that you will help us, Father, so that

01:00:33.320 --> 01:00:38.119
as we are going forward, Father, we would recognize

01:00:38.119 --> 01:00:43.860
you know us better, as Jody has said, than we

01:00:43.860 --> 01:00:46.400
know ourselves. You will lead, guide, and direct

01:00:46.400 --> 01:00:51.460
us into more and more light as we allow that

01:00:51.460 --> 01:00:55.420
light to continually cleanse us from all unrighteousness

01:00:55.420 --> 01:00:58.440
and to enlighten our understanding. We commit

01:00:58.440 --> 01:01:02.150
ourselves, Father, into your hands that we might

01:01:02.150 --> 01:01:04.849
please you and make you more and more proud of

01:01:04.849 --> 01:01:09.829
us for your son. Amen. Amen. Well, before you

01:01:09.829 --> 01:01:12.409
tune out, I want to leave you with a blessing

01:01:12.409 --> 01:01:15.449
drawn from James 1 .22 and Colossians 3 .17.

01:01:16.050 --> 01:01:19.349
May the Lord help you not just to hear his word,

01:01:19.429 --> 01:01:22.090
but to put it into practice. May he shape your

01:01:22.090 --> 01:01:24.809
thoughts, your choices, and your actions as you

01:01:24.809 --> 01:01:28.389
walk with him. And may you see his faithfulness

01:01:28.389 --> 01:01:31.630
revealed in your life day after day. If today's

01:01:31.630 --> 01:01:33.489
conversation encouraged you, I'd love to invite

01:01:33.489 --> 01:01:35.510
you to share this episode with someone who might

01:01:35.510 --> 01:01:37.909
need it. And take a moment to like, subscribe,

01:01:38.070 --> 01:01:40.750
or rate the show. This helps more people hear

01:01:40.750 --> 01:01:42.829
the stories of what God's doing. You can also

01:01:42.829 --> 01:01:45.389
find the show notes of this episode at hergodstory

01:01:45.389 --> 01:01:48.250
.org, where we'll include the scriptures and

01:01:48.250 --> 01:01:50.429
resources we talked about today. And if you're

01:01:50.429 --> 01:01:52.110
walking through something right now and need

01:01:52.110 --> 01:01:54.750
prayer, please don't hesitate to reach out. Our

01:01:54.750 --> 01:01:57.769
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01:01:57.769 --> 01:02:04.090
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01:02:04.090 --> 01:02:07.150
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01:02:07.150 --> 01:02:09.610
pray with you. And before we go, I want to remind

01:02:09.610 --> 01:02:11.530
you that caring for widows and orphans is close

01:02:11.530 --> 01:02:13.610
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01:02:13.610 --> 01:02:15.789
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01:02:15.789 --> 01:02:18.530
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01:02:21.170 --> 01:02:23.250
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01:02:23.809 --> 01:02:25.869
Until next time, dear friends, remember this,

01:02:25.909 --> 01:02:28.050
no matter where you are in your journey, God

01:02:28.050 --> 01:02:30.900
is faithful. And he's still writing your story.

01:02:31.099 --> 01:02:33.679
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