Kathy Branzell: Making Faith Your Legacy

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Hey friends and welcome back to Her God's Story,

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a place where you will always hear powerful,

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faith -filled stories to encourage and inspire

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

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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're tuning

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in today. You know, Jesus said in Matthew 5 16,

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let your light shine before others that they

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may see your good deeds and glorify your father

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in heaven. That's not just a call to speak truth.

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It's a call to live it out, to reflect his heart

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through the way we care, give, and love. We invite

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you to do that through our Widow and Orphan Fund.

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As a community of women, we have the privilege

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of shining God's light into some of the darkest

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places on earth, bringing real hope to those

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facing unimaginable hardship. Just recently,

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We were able to send support to Christian widows

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in Myanmar, a nation ravaged by civil war and

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rocked by a devastating earthquake. Many of these

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women lost their husbands to violence or persecution

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for their faith. In their grief, they are also

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facing crushing poverty, displacement and fear.

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Some have even felt so overwhelmed, they've lost

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the will to live, but God sees them. He hears

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their cries and because of generous friends like

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you, tangible help and lasting hope are reaching

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them through trusted ministry partners on the

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ground. These precious women now know they're

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not forgotten. Would you prayerfully consider

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joining us in our Widow and Orphan Fund? Just

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visit hergodstory .org and click help now. Every

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gift makes a difference. And yes, we even accept

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cryptocurrency. Now let's dive into today's episode.

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One of the most powerful ways we glorify God

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is by passing on our faith, living it out daily

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in such a way that it leaves a lasting mark on

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others. Psalm 78 four says, we will not hide

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them from our children, but tell the coming generation

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the glorious deeds of the Lord and his might

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and the wonders that he's done. Every generation

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needs to hear how God still moves, how he heals,

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provides, sustains and redeems. That's what my

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guest Cathy Branzell does so beautifully and

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why I've taken a portion of a previous episode

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to highlight this powerful calling. Through Cathy's

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incredible journey from military dreams and medical

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battles to motherhood and ministry, she has lived

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a life that tells of God's faithfulness. She's

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not only the president of the National Day of

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Prayer Task Force, but a passionate woman of

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faith who has learned how to pray deeply, love,

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lead faithfully. and walk courageously through

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trials most of us can only imagine. Her story

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is a living legacy of hope and one that continues

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to impact lives across the nation. So whether

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you're a mom, a mentor, or someone still finding

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your footing, Kathy's testimony will encourage

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you to live your faith in a way that it shines

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and inspires the next generation. Let's listen

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in. While you were growing up, did you always

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have a dream of serving the Lord in ministry?

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No, not even close. My dream was to fly SR -71s.

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I wanted to serve God and country. All I wanted

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to do was fly SR -71s in the outer atmosphere

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and fight the enemy by collecting intelligence.

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I wanted to do that all the way through life.

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Did you apply for an Academy job? I did and wound

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up going made a decision to go to the University

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of Georgia on ROTC into the ROTC detachment.

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But dreams were shattered as we found out I was

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night blind. Now I had learned to fly at the

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age of 15, but I did not get had no idea that

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I was night blind. I thought everybody had trouble

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seeing at night. I wasn't trying to hide it,

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but in getting to go into a deeper, much deeper

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physical for the possibility, not probability,

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but possibility of getting to fly. They found

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out I was night blind and everything came to

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a screeching halt at that moment because you

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can't fly and be night blind in the military.

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I've seen in my life, and I'm sure you have too,

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Kathy, that God directs the paths of the righteous

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even before we really know we're righteous sometimes.

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You know, I mean, you, you have been a Christian,

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of course. And so he was directing your paths,

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but sometimes even when we don't know God's directing

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us, he is directing us. And when we look back

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on our life, we think, wow, God, you were there

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even when I felt like you had abandoned me. Even

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when I felt like I missed it, Lord, you were

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still there directing my path. So along the way,

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you met your husband, you got married, you started

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a family. I met my husband when I was 11 and

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he was 13. Our dads were stationed in Texas together.

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I know we have this sweet story of no secrets

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when you know each other from that. But yeah,

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we met. It's really a funny story. I'll tell

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it very briefly. But he he was a really, really

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good baseball player. And I belonged to the Baptist

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Church in Texas. And Baptist softball is a big

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deal in Texas, or at least it used to be. And

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we, you know, played each other. All these churches

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played each other. And it was very competitive.

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Our youth group wanted him to come play because

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he was so good for our team. But you had to go

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to church. At least one day a week to get to

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play that week my husband will self -profess

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that he was quite the heathen as a child and

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Really didn't want anything to do with God But

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our youth group dragged him into Wednesday night

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where he got dinner in youth group And as he

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tells the story he walked in he can tell you

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what we ate What I was wearing and where we sat

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and the dirty looks my father gave him all through

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dinner As he sat down across the table from me

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with his spaghetti plate in hand looked at his

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friend Randy Hawkins and said, I'm going to marry

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that girl. Wow. So many, many, many, many years

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later, we got married. My father became his Sunday

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school teacher first. So anyway, we've known

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each other a really long time, but yep, along

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the way, finally got married and started a family.

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But even after that, you were dealt another pretty,

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pretty big blow. One that made your dream of

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not becoming a pilot pale in comparison. Yeah.

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It's a dark day when you hear your doctor say,

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you have a brain tumor and having an infant and

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having a brain tumor is not something anybody

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can plan for. And so just, you can either, I

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struggle with the idea of getting angry at God

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because I'm like, why would you run from the

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one God And because I don't want to call him

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a person, but the one who is your help and your

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hope, even if he decides not to be your earthly

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healer, he is going to be your ultimate healer.

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And so I don't judge a single person, please

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hear my heart, who who does get mad. But that

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was not my path. My path was to run headfirst,

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headlong onto my face into the throne room of

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heaven at his feet and cry for help. So did you

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get miraculously healed? Did you have to go through

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some medical treatments? How was that journey

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for you? 14 and a half years of chemotherapy.

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It was a very long, gross, painful journey of

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experimental chemo, but then I would go into

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remission. And each time the remissions got a

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little shorter and shorter. At one point, they

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had taken me off the chemo too early, thinking

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I was in remission and I wasn't. The tumor started

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growing back almost immediately, but it grew

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into a different area of the brain. And I lost

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my short -term memory for 18 months. Wow. And

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so that's, you know, always keep your sense of

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humor and everything. People would look at me

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funny, but it was the only way to explain it

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to people was I would say just I'm Teflon brain.

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Nothing sticks. Yeah, nothing. It was very almost

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Alzheimer ish where I could turn to you and meet

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you turn away and turn back to you and meet you

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again. And so that was a very scary 18 months

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as I had my long term memory, but we just had

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moved to Colorado, so I had no long term memories

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there. So if I eventually if I left my house,

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I was lost. But God and so varying stages of

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chemotherapy reached a point where there was

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nothing more they could do for me, signed paperwork

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for an experimental surgery. And two weeks before

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that surgery, God said enough. sent this incredible

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woman I've never met before and never seen since

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from Mexico who had a dream the night before

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about me and God told her to tell me I was healed

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and I would love to be able to confess that I

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received that with great faith and jubilation

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but I did not I questioned her and God made it

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clear that That was the case in our conversation

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and I went home had an MRI and Praise the Lord.

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The tumor was gone. And so that was in 2000 even

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in the middle of your grim prognosis You decided

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not to get mad instead. You started getting involved

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in ministry So how did you do that? I can't pinpoint

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it to a moment, but you know, there was a Chris

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Rice, Chris Rice song that said, teach us to

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number our days and teach us to make our days

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count. That was really bringing me back to my

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roots of every, every minute has mission and

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meaning. And was I going to waste? I still rested.

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I still did my treatments. I mean, it was a long

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road. But I wasn't going to sit around and wait.

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And a lot of time the opportunity was at the

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hospital, in the hospital, the lab, you know,

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just encouraging others, continuing to speak

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faith, knowing that God's always faithful. He's

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not going to stop being faithful to me on this

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day. And so expressing that faithfulness and

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encouraging others. wherever I was, people who

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were bringing me food, doing my laundry, taking

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care of my children. They would always say, you

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know, I came over to minister to you, but you

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ended up ministering to me. This is this is crazy.

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And so just being willing to take all that God

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has for every day and to invest in that opportunity

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to store up treasures in heaven. Well, after

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your 14 year struggle and you and all that you

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and your family had been through, What did God

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do? You know, you learned some deep lessons from

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the Lord. Can you share some of those? Oh, wow.

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Trust Him with everything. Don't take anything

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at face value. Take everything at faith value

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is really what I would tell people now. I often

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say, God, what are you up to? And you can almost

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hear say, well, come up and see. You know, He

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will give you heaven's view. If you ask him,

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that comes from one of my most favorite Bible

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studies of all time, you know, T .W. Hunt's From

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Heaven's View. With that, just trusting him in

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the moments, not running ahead of him, not falling

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behind, but keeping in cadence with his heartbeat

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for you and living that out for my children,

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living that out in our family. A pity party only

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puts you in a pit, you know, when you really

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think with the root of a pity. party is the word

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pit and so how do you just celebrate life every

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single day wherever you're living it and however

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you're living it for a planner like me taking

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everything one step at a time with the Lord can

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be challenging I mean I'm daily learning how

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to do that I'm getting better at it but I like

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to run ahead and say okay let me see what's ahead

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Lord but He doesn't show us. Well, I plan to

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be spontaneous. Yeah. The joke is I plan to be

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spontaneous. And so that's just a discipling

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moment where you still make plans. Let me just

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say that you still make plans. You're just willing

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for God to frustrate them. Not long after you

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and your family had been through all that you

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had been through, your son experienced a health

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crisis. And as a mom, that probably shook you

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more than your own mortality. How did you walk

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through that? It is it was the worst. As a matter

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of fact, I when when our son just a year later,

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we were we were a cancer free family for for

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a whopping 13 months, not even. And when the

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doctor said that he had this horrific rare blood

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cancer, I actually whispered the words to God,

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just give me mine back. And God's like, that's

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not how this works. That's not what this is about.

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But that was painful. And in that moment to have

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my 16 year old boy. OK, everybody just stop.

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And if you've ever interacted with a 16 year

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old boy, if you had a 16 year old boy, you'll

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know this was God and his response. He looked

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at the doctor. He looked over at me and he looked

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back at the doctor and he said, either way, I

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win. And his Jewish doctor said, I I have no

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idea what you're saying. What are you talking

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about? And Chandler said, well, Doc, if by the

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miracle of medication, Jesus allows you to cure

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me, to heal me, and I live longer here on earth

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than, in the words of my mom, he's not ready

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to graduate me, and I win. But, Doc, if he decides

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that my time here is done, if I'm not healed

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here and I get to go home and be in heaven with

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Jesus. That's a bigger win. And so, Doc, just

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so you know, no guilt for you, but no glory for

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you either. Jesus decides my days. And he said,

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my mom had cancer for over 14 years and I know

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from watching her, this is an opportunity to

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glorify Jesus. And that's what we will do. So

00:14:58.460 --> 00:15:02.519
that was that journey for almost two years and

00:15:02.519 --> 00:15:06.879
thankfully he still is with us and is thriving

00:15:06.879 --> 00:15:10.559
and serving the Lord in media. And what a testimony

00:15:10.559 --> 00:15:13.159
though really of how you walked through your

00:15:13.159 --> 00:15:17.259
cancer journey that your son would be have seen

00:15:17.259 --> 00:15:19.539
your faith in the middle of it all. I'm sure

00:15:19.539 --> 00:15:22.659
you had days when you were like can I do this

00:15:22.659 --> 00:15:25.639
anymore Lord? Seeing that steadfastness gave

00:15:25.639 --> 00:15:29.759
him the confidence when he faced it to say yeah.

00:15:29.950 --> 00:15:33.490
I can do this through God, through God, not my

00:15:33.490 --> 00:15:37.110
own strength. He saw it as a platform to get

00:15:37.110 --> 00:15:41.970
to share his faith. And he had chemo every single

00:15:41.970 --> 00:15:44.049
Friday. Imagine that, you know, your high school

00:15:44.049 --> 00:15:45.610
years are supposed to be the greatest years of

00:15:45.610 --> 00:15:48.929
your life. And every weekend for his junior and

00:15:48.929 --> 00:15:51.470
senior year, he's sick as a dog. He's in the

00:15:51.470 --> 00:15:54.470
infusion room all day Friday, but he just used

00:15:54.470 --> 00:15:57.070
it. No matter where we were in the lab, he was

00:15:57.070 --> 00:16:00.690
hospitalized several times. We're at Children's

00:16:00.690 --> 00:16:03.490
Hospital and he just used it to express his faith

00:16:03.490 --> 00:16:08.220
and it was a platform for him. A microphone.

00:16:08.620 --> 00:16:11.100
So it was great. So for her moms and grandmas

00:16:11.100 --> 00:16:13.539
out there, let me just speak to grandmas and

00:16:13.539 --> 00:16:15.340
aunts and, you know, maybe some older people

00:16:15.340 --> 00:16:17.379
right now. They're like, why am I still here?

00:16:17.480 --> 00:16:19.919
What is my purpose? You know, is God still using

00:16:19.919 --> 00:16:23.059
me? My dad used to tell us stories about him

00:16:23.059 --> 00:16:25.299
growing up and things that he's been through.

00:16:25.379 --> 00:16:28.039
And of course, my brother and I had to jab with

00:16:28.039 --> 00:16:30.879
my dad. We called them boohoo stories, you know,

00:16:31.440 --> 00:16:33.960
walking to school both ways in the snow, uphill

00:16:33.960 --> 00:16:36.220
with no shoes, you know, those kind of things.

00:16:36.700 --> 00:16:39.220
But really I want to encourage you to talk about

00:16:39.220 --> 00:16:43.139
your history, talk about your days with children,

00:16:43.340 --> 00:16:45.779
with youth, with whatever. But instead of making

00:16:45.779 --> 00:16:49.659
it about you, make it a story about God's faithfulness.

00:16:49.679 --> 00:16:52.019
Talk about where God showed up. That's what scripture

00:16:52.019 --> 00:16:55.980
is. You know, we know these great stories of

00:16:55.980 --> 00:16:59.740
all of these people, but it's like. And here's

00:16:59.740 --> 00:17:02.159
where God engaged. And here's what God did. And

00:17:02.159 --> 00:17:04.259
here's how God provided. And here's what God

00:17:04.259 --> 00:17:07.559
said. And yes, here's where people were disciplined.

00:17:07.640 --> 00:17:10.420
And here's where people died. And here's where

00:17:10.420 --> 00:17:13.259
David's running for his life and living in caves.

00:17:13.960 --> 00:17:17.140
It's not this fairy tale story, but it is a story

00:17:17.140 --> 00:17:19.480
of God's faithfulness. So make your life and

00:17:19.480 --> 00:17:21.759
your testimony and your conversations without

00:17:21.759 --> 00:17:25.789
becoming preachy. Make your stories about God's

00:17:25.789 --> 00:17:28.269
faithfulness and start building up courage and

00:17:28.269 --> 00:17:30.670
strength in our younger brother sisters in Christ

00:17:30.670 --> 00:17:34.529
lives So that they know whose they are the character

00:17:34.529 --> 00:17:37.529
of God and his strength and they start walking

00:17:37.529 --> 00:17:40.430
in that instead of what they're hearing on the

00:17:40.430 --> 00:17:42.789
news and what they're hearing at school and what

00:17:43.619 --> 00:17:45.819
bullies and friends in peer pressure are telling

00:17:45.819 --> 00:17:48.480
them start building up that God confidence and

00:17:48.480 --> 00:17:51.799
that God identity in them as you tell your story.

00:17:51.920 --> 00:17:54.119
You know, my parents were the first believers

00:17:54.119 --> 00:17:56.319
in their families, at least in that generation.

00:17:56.740 --> 00:17:58.579
My whole family, we got saved within a month

00:17:58.579 --> 00:18:00.640
of each other and kind of grew in the Lord together.

00:18:00.660 --> 00:18:04.529
But I loved when I was little to read. biographies

00:18:04.529 --> 00:18:08.009
of believers. I would read Cory Tan Boon and

00:18:08.009 --> 00:18:10.190
I would read, you know, Of Whom the World Was

00:18:10.190 --> 00:18:14.009
Not Worthy and, you know, Amy Carmichael's story.

00:18:14.069 --> 00:18:16.869
And I loved those stories of faith because they

00:18:16.869 --> 00:18:19.490
gave me such confidence that God was going to

00:18:19.490 --> 00:18:23.740
work in my life too. And it's even more impactful

00:18:23.740 --> 00:18:25.700
when you hear it right out of the horse's mouth.

00:18:25.700 --> 00:18:28.299
I mean, over the years, God has allowed me to,

00:18:28.299 --> 00:18:31.299
you know, meet some believers who have lived

00:18:31.299 --> 00:18:34.279
long and seen God's faithfulness in their lives.

00:18:34.640 --> 00:18:37.299
And just what you said, it's so impactful to

00:18:37.299 --> 00:18:41.000
hear right from them. This is what God did for

00:18:41.000 --> 00:18:46.059
me. You know, I think I was just reflecting the

00:18:46.059 --> 00:18:50.099
other day on my life because of many things that

00:18:50.099 --> 00:18:53.009
have happened, even as a child. And I thought

00:18:53.009 --> 00:18:56.069
out loud, you know, the enemy has always been

00:18:56.069 --> 00:19:01.170
after me. The enemy has my entire life has wanted

00:19:01.170 --> 00:19:04.109
to shut me down because of the plans that God

00:19:04.109 --> 00:19:06.250
has for my life. And that's true for every human

00:19:06.250 --> 00:19:09.609
being. I'm not special. I'm not, you know, we

00:19:09.609 --> 00:19:13.130
we all walk in kingdom purpose. But just thinking

00:19:13.130 --> 00:19:15.990
about how the enemy's been after me all the time.

00:19:16.490 --> 00:19:19.470
Even as a child and going back and saying thank

00:19:19.470 --> 00:19:22.049
you God. Thank you for your protection Thank

00:19:22.049 --> 00:19:24.589
you for snatching me out of the enemy's hand

00:19:24.589 --> 00:19:27.670
in that moment Thank you that I didn't go into

00:19:27.670 --> 00:19:30.609
some pit of despair because of that happening

00:19:30.609 --> 00:19:34.150
because of people very close to me committing

00:19:34.150 --> 00:19:37.710
suicide in high school and on and on the stories

00:19:37.710 --> 00:19:41.049
go, but just having your kids make it a habit

00:19:41.049 --> 00:19:44.609
to stop and notice God's faithfulness and the

00:19:44.609 --> 00:19:47.210
whole God is great, God is good, and we thank

00:19:47.210 --> 00:19:50.029
him for our food. You can teach a four -year

00:19:50.029 --> 00:19:52.230
-old, a three -year -old to talk about, well,

00:19:52.309 --> 00:19:55.670
how is God great? You know, try that for a dinner

00:19:55.670 --> 00:19:57.990
conversation. Well, what else do you think him

00:19:57.990 --> 00:20:01.349
for besides food and really growing up this these

00:20:01.349 --> 00:20:04.529
prayer warriors and and these warriors in Christ

00:20:04.529 --> 00:20:08.109
so that they are strong all the way through Whatever

00:20:08.109 --> 00:20:10.490
God has for them and quite frankly, whatever

00:20:10.490 --> 00:20:14.329
the enemy has for them so that it's a glory story

00:20:14.329 --> 00:20:18.369
men I love the women that you got to work with.

00:20:18.450 --> 00:20:20.869
It was such a privilege for you, I'm sure, to

00:20:20.869 --> 00:20:23.890
work so closely with women like Shirley Dobson

00:20:23.890 --> 00:20:27.289
and Vinnette Bright and Anne Graham Lotz. I mean,

00:20:27.589 --> 00:20:29.450
true women of the faith, true mothers of the

00:20:29.450 --> 00:20:31.829
faith. Just by being around them, I'm sure you

00:20:31.829 --> 00:20:34.789
learned so much. You got to observe their lives

00:20:34.789 --> 00:20:37.509
and watch how they dealt with crisis and share

00:20:37.509 --> 00:20:39.849
one or two memorable things that you learned

00:20:39.849 --> 00:20:42.029
just by being around them shoulder to shoulder.

00:20:42.309 --> 00:20:45.380
Wow. I certainly learned to pray. You know, we

00:20:45.380 --> 00:20:48.740
say prayer is caught, not taught. You really

00:20:48.740 --> 00:20:52.220
grow a deeper, more intimate prayer life by praying

00:20:52.220 --> 00:20:54.740
with people who have deep, intimate prayer lives.

00:20:55.339 --> 00:20:58.000
And so definitely learned how to pray, learned

00:20:58.000 --> 00:21:01.180
a lot about leadership, but also learned a lot

00:21:01.180 --> 00:21:06.440
about marriage and family life. Like what? I

00:21:06.440 --> 00:21:11.420
remember standing at chapel and focus on the

00:21:11.420 --> 00:21:18.170
family with Shirley. and she's just looking adoringly

00:21:18.170 --> 00:21:22.670
at Doc. It was the sweetest thing to just step

00:21:22.670 --> 00:21:25.089
back for a second and look at her looking at

00:21:25.089 --> 00:21:28.410
him. Now they have a very cool relationship and

00:21:28.410 --> 00:21:31.359
I've... had the privilege of spending an enormous

00:21:31.359 --> 00:21:33.559
amount of time with them and traveling with her,

00:21:33.640 --> 00:21:36.460
traveling with both of them. And they tell funny

00:21:36.460 --> 00:21:38.500
stories on each other. They have this great sense

00:21:38.500 --> 00:21:41.700
of humor. They just have a sweetness about him.

00:21:42.000 --> 00:21:45.220
But getting her to look at him and then after

00:21:45.220 --> 00:21:48.059
chapel, she grabbed my arm. It was like she was

00:21:48.059 --> 00:21:50.240
going to explode if she didn't tell somebody.

00:21:50.599 --> 00:21:56.150
And she said, integrity. When I look at my husband,

00:21:56.670 --> 00:21:59.829
I have so much respect for him because he is

00:21:59.829 --> 00:22:04.910
a man of integrity. And I thought, ooh, sis,

00:22:05.230 --> 00:22:09.750
you plant that in your heart right there. Because

00:22:09.750 --> 00:22:14.230
so many times we honor people for Worldly applause

00:22:14.230 --> 00:22:17.150
and she could have said how many books he's written

00:22:17.150 --> 00:22:20.150
the number of people he's helped Look at this

00:22:20.150 --> 00:22:22.930
massive ministry that he grew, you know from

00:22:22.930 --> 00:22:27.089
a seedling but she looked at his character and

00:22:27.089 --> 00:22:30.990
she honored him that's something for us to remember

00:22:30.990 --> 00:22:34.369
as wives is to watch what we say even if we're

00:22:34.369 --> 00:22:37.190
like just joking, you know, the Bible says don't

00:22:37.190 --> 00:22:43.230
do that because We're saying this is really what's

00:22:43.230 --> 00:22:47.589
in my heart about you. And so to remember, I

00:22:47.589 --> 00:22:50.490
would say I learned from all of those women various

00:22:50.490 --> 00:22:54.410
things, but that every human being needs acknowledgement.

00:22:55.109 --> 00:22:58.329
So don't ignore people. They were all great.

00:22:59.170 --> 00:23:02.349
at stopping and giving people their focused attention,

00:23:02.410 --> 00:23:04.650
which is hard to do when everybody not looking

00:23:04.650 --> 00:23:06.869
over your shoulder, not looking around the room

00:23:06.869 --> 00:23:09.490
for somebody more important. Or how do I get?

00:23:09.630 --> 00:23:13.349
I mean, so just acknowledging you as a human

00:23:13.349 --> 00:23:16.809
being, giving appreciation to everyone, to their

00:23:16.809 --> 00:23:20.349
staff, to their families and just appreciative

00:23:20.349 --> 00:23:24.690
people and great affection. not withholding beyond

00:23:24.690 --> 00:23:26.589
the leadership. You can, you can take a whole

00:23:26.589 --> 00:23:30.309
bunch of leadership lessons. Um, and at the root,

00:23:30.650 --> 00:23:33.890
there were those, those three things. So you

00:23:33.890 --> 00:23:37.130
love prayer head of the national day of protest

00:23:37.130 --> 00:23:38.970
for us. A lot of people don't have that same

00:23:38.970 --> 00:23:41.750
feeling about it. How did you get to that point

00:23:41.750 --> 00:23:45.470
and how can others get to that point? Like I

00:23:45.470 --> 00:23:47.849
was saying, prayer is caught, not taught. And

00:23:47.849 --> 00:23:51.589
so for a lot of us, prayer feels awkward. You

00:23:51.589 --> 00:23:55.690
think that maybe you were raised that you have

00:23:55.690 --> 00:23:58.750
to go into your best King James version and you

00:23:58.750 --> 00:24:02.849
have to use big words and you have to sound very

00:24:02.849 --> 00:24:06.670
glamorous and well -educated in your prayers

00:24:06.670 --> 00:24:11.160
and use some dolls and some arts. And really,

00:24:11.839 --> 00:24:14.339
prayer is a conversation with the one who loves

00:24:14.339 --> 00:24:16.920
you more than you could ever understand. And

00:24:16.920 --> 00:24:20.160
the one that can do anything and everything abundantly,

00:24:20.299 --> 00:24:22.799
be all anything we could ever imagine. It's a

00:24:22.799 --> 00:24:25.680
conversation with your Abba father, but respectful.

00:24:26.319 --> 00:24:29.819
But I would say probably my most spoken prayer

00:24:29.819 --> 00:24:34.059
is help. Yeah. And maybe my second most spoken

00:24:34.059 --> 00:24:38.119
prayer was shut my mouth. You know, guard my

00:24:38.119 --> 00:24:41.339
lips. It doesn't have to be glamorous, but really

00:24:41.339 --> 00:24:44.019
the fervency of prayer comes out of a warm heart.

00:24:44.900 --> 00:24:48.220
It doesn't come out of here, out of your brain,

00:24:48.440 --> 00:24:50.759
it comes out of your heart. Being willing to

00:24:50.759 --> 00:24:54.460
learn different parts of prayer as a study of

00:24:54.460 --> 00:24:56.940
prayer, because this year, Exalt the Lord, we

00:24:56.940 --> 00:25:00.779
got to talk about praise. And people will very

00:25:00.779 --> 00:25:03.619
quickly confuse praise with thanksgiving. Now,

00:25:04.200 --> 00:25:08.720
we praise God for who He is, unchanging all His

00:25:08.720 --> 00:25:13.140
attributes. I love my husband because He is my

00:25:13.140 --> 00:25:16.599
husband. And I don't withhold my love based on

00:25:16.599 --> 00:25:19.299
what He does or doesn't do. That's thankfulness.

00:25:19.579 --> 00:25:22.380
We thank God for what He does. We praise Him

00:25:22.380 --> 00:25:25.880
for who He is. We love Him because of who He

00:25:25.880 --> 00:25:29.500
is. We are faithful because of who He is. And

00:25:29.500 --> 00:25:31.960
so starting to understand what intercession is

00:25:31.960 --> 00:25:35.259
and praises and thanksgiving is and listening,

00:25:35.339 --> 00:25:38.279
letting it be a conversation. Your prayer life

00:25:38.279 --> 00:25:41.660
can grow. You can grow out of a quiet time and

00:25:41.660 --> 00:25:44.859
into a prayer life. Just kind of a day at time,

00:25:45.119 --> 00:25:47.700
a moment at a time, every day along the way.

00:25:48.480 --> 00:25:51.220
Just saying either out loud or in your spirit

00:25:51.220 --> 00:25:54.700
as a beautiful bird flies by or you see the sunset

00:25:54.700 --> 00:25:58.369
or your kids all climb in the car and are chatting

00:25:58.369 --> 00:26:00.829
away to you about their day and you're talking

00:26:00.829 --> 00:26:03.630
to God about it. That is prayer to me. As we

00:26:03.630 --> 00:26:06.210
close I love to ask my guests if there's a woman

00:26:06.210 --> 00:26:09.529
in the Bible whose story has inspired or encouraged

00:26:09.529 --> 00:26:12.029
you or taught you something and how her God's

00:26:12.029 --> 00:26:15.250
story relates to yours. You know for a long time

00:26:15.250 --> 00:26:19.589
it was Ruth because I mean can you I think about

00:26:19.589 --> 00:26:23.779
Ruth and Naomi and and that that trip, you know,

00:26:23.960 --> 00:26:27.279
over from Moab to Bethlehem and traveling with

00:26:27.279 --> 00:26:29.680
someone who calls herself bitter. Can you imagine

00:26:29.680 --> 00:26:34.000
how fun that road trip was for Ruth? But she

00:26:34.000 --> 00:26:37.039
was so sweet and so faithful. And just to have

00:26:37.039 --> 00:26:40.539
this intimacy with her mother -in -law like that,

00:26:40.799 --> 00:26:42.700
making it clear my mother -in -law wasn't like

00:26:42.700 --> 00:26:48.059
that, just to be willing to journey with the

00:26:48.059 --> 00:26:51.900
bitter. to be willing to journey with the hurting,

00:26:52.460 --> 00:26:55.799
even the hateful, and show them the love of Jesus

00:26:55.799 --> 00:26:58.920
Christ like Ruth did. Man, I want to be like

00:26:58.920 --> 00:27:00.940
that because it's too easy to run from those

00:27:00.940 --> 00:27:03.980
people and just be like, okay, enough. But in

00:27:03.980 --> 00:27:08.660
these days of such great mental illness, such

00:27:08.660 --> 00:27:11.099
mental illness going on in our country right

00:27:11.099 --> 00:27:13.980
now, so many hurting people, so many hopeless

00:27:13.980 --> 00:27:17.779
people, we need to be more Ruth -like. and be

00:27:17.779 --> 00:27:22.099
willing to serve them, love them, stick with

00:27:22.099 --> 00:27:26.039
them, so that our God will become their God.

00:27:26.579 --> 00:27:28.839
Amen. As we've heard through Kathy's powerful

00:27:28.839 --> 00:27:32.599
testimony, our lives, marked by God's faithfulness

00:27:32.599 --> 00:27:36.359
through trial and triumph, can become a living

00:27:36.359 --> 00:27:39.900
legacy of faith to those around us. Just as Paul

00:27:39.900 --> 00:27:44.920
said to Timothy in 2 Timothy 1 .5, the NIV version,

00:27:45.240 --> 00:27:48.819
I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first

00:27:48.819 --> 00:27:51.400
lived in your grandmother, Lois, and in your

00:27:51.400 --> 00:27:54.839
mother, Eunice. And I'm persuaded now lives in

00:27:54.839 --> 00:27:59.119
you also. We are called to pass on that legacy,

00:27:59.619 --> 00:28:01.660
not only through our words, but through the way

00:28:01.660 --> 00:28:05.200
we endure, trust, and walk closely with the Lord.

00:28:05.680 --> 00:28:07.940
So Cathy, would you take a moment and pray for

00:28:07.940 --> 00:28:10.380
everyone who listens to this amazing God story?

00:28:11.000 --> 00:28:13.339
Absolutely. Lord Jesus, we love you so much and

00:28:13.339 --> 00:28:15.480
we thank you that you loved us first and your

00:28:15.480 --> 00:28:17.359
loving thoughts towards us are more than even

00:28:17.359 --> 00:28:19.660
the numbers of grains of sand up on this planet.

00:28:19.740 --> 00:28:24.740
And so Lord, I pray that you would encourage,

00:28:25.500 --> 00:28:29.400
that you would bring courageous confidence, courageous

00:28:29.400 --> 00:28:33.839
love, courageous joy, peace, patience, kindness,

00:28:34.119 --> 00:28:36.700
goodness. faithfulness, gentleness, and self

00:28:36.700 --> 00:28:39.880
-control into the lives of every listener. Lord,

00:28:40.180 --> 00:28:43.039
that the seeds that were planted in the Holy

00:28:43.039 --> 00:28:46.160
Spirit's hands today would grow into an orchard

00:28:46.160 --> 00:28:49.240
of fruitfulness, that we would remember that

00:28:49.240 --> 00:28:53.519
self -control coming from the Holy Spirit really

00:28:53.519 --> 00:28:58.460
plugs our heart into the spirit, that fruitfulness,

00:28:58.740 --> 00:29:02.670
not feelings. Should run our life when we are

00:29:02.670 --> 00:29:05.670
plugged into the Holy Spirit And so Lord I ask

00:29:05.670 --> 00:29:08.130
that you would to help us to sort through the

00:29:08.130 --> 00:29:14.589
emotions of life To get to the root of you So

00:29:14.589 --> 00:29:17.210
it is to our father's glory that we bear much

00:29:17.210 --> 00:29:21.849
fruit. And so I ask for courageous Listeners

00:29:21.849 --> 00:29:25.529
today who are encouraged in you deeply rooted

00:29:25.529 --> 00:29:29.059
and being built up in you established in their

00:29:29.059 --> 00:29:31.920
faith just as they were instructed, and that

00:29:31.920 --> 00:29:35.920
they would be overflowing with gratitude. In

00:29:35.920 --> 00:29:38.960
Jesus's beautiful, powerful, wonderful name we

00:29:38.960 --> 00:29:42.759
pray. Amen. What a powerful reminder that the

00:29:42.759 --> 00:29:45.079
faith we live out today can echo into future

00:29:45.079 --> 00:29:49.220
generations. Just as Lois and Eunice's sincere

00:29:49.220 --> 00:29:53.279
faith poured into Timothy's life, Kathy's journey

00:29:53.279 --> 00:29:55.940
shows how a life of steadfast faith and prayer

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can shape not only our path, but the faith of

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those who walk beside us. From her own miraculous

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healing to the courageous stand of her son, we've

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seen that faith in God isn't something just for

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the good times. It's a way of life. It's how

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we anchor our souls in hope and how we pass on

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the legacy of a living relationship with God.

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If you'd like to hear more of Kathy's story,

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check out the episode posted on July 11th, 2022,

00:30:23.920 --> 00:30:27.420
entitled, I Take Things at Faith Value. Now,

00:30:27.519 --> 00:30:29.640
let me bless you with these words from Psalm

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121. May the Lord keep you from all harm and

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watch over your life. May the Lord watch over

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your coming and your going both now and forevermore.

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May his peace guide your heart, may his presence

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go before you, and may your life continue to

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tell the story of his faithfulness. If you need

00:30:50.380 --> 00:30:52.779
prayer, we'd be honored to stand with you. You

00:30:52.779 --> 00:30:57.019
can call or text our prayer line at 855 -459

00:30:57.019 --> 00:31:00.519
-CARE or email us at prayer at somebodycares

00:31:00.519 --> 00:31:04.039
.org. It's our joy to believe with you for God's

00:31:04.039 --> 00:31:06.940
work in your life. You can explore more about

00:31:06.940 --> 00:31:09.019
Kathy's books and her work with the National

00:31:09.019 --> 00:31:11.960
Day of Prayer in our show notes at hergodstory

00:31:11.960 --> 00:31:16.220
.org. Until next time, I'm Jody Caracasta. Keep

00:31:16.220 --> 00:31:19.039
seeking God and remember, He is still writing

00:31:19.039 --> 00:31:22.279
your story. Her God Story is a ministry of Somebody

00:31:22.279 --> 00:31:24.880
Cares America and international. To find out

00:31:24.880 --> 00:31:27.799
more about or support the ministry, go to somebodycares

00:31:27.799 --> 00:31:28.500
.org.