The Hope Hotline - The Hope Hotline | S01-E17 | 03-15-23

Episode Date: March 15, 2023

Question #1When I’m praying in tongues, I have a hard time not getting distracted! My mind wonders everywhere. Should I be thinking about what I’m praying about or not thinking about anything?Question #2I have a family member who is gay. We have a hard relationship as we obviously don’t see eye to eye on Biblical values. How do you overcome a relationship like this without feeling like you are pushing Jesus and the Bible onto them yet not being accommodating to just keep the peace? Ignore their values and go on or continue to try to get them to believe?Question #3Getting a boob job....sin or not a sin? Sincerely all the previous breastfeeding mamas. Question #4This is a bit of a strange question. Ever since my son’s freak accident and death, 30 plus years ago, I can’t remember any more dreams; feel like I have a mental block. I had lost faith in God, but am watching your husband’s service every Sunday. I still feel like I can’t quite connect. Am I still angry at God or why am I struggling. I do read the Bible every day.

Welcome to the Hope Hotline Podcast. I'm so glad you're here with me this week or this day I should say because I don't know what day it is to be honest with you that we're doing this so whatever. I wanted to open up the podcast with a praise report I got. Some of you might remember this, some of you might not remember this or watch this podcast but it was uh the one where the woman had to go she was newly saved she had to go and or she wanted to go and read the books that were explicit uh sexually explicit maybe violent um things that were being put in the school systems libraries um to make and she was going to be one of the people that had to read them to make sure that kids weren't reading something that was inappropriate

that they shouldn't be reading. She had a great praise report. I, in turn, had said to be very careful about what you read because she is, I wouldn't say new newly saved, but she is trying to get everything back on track, getting stronger in her faith. So I was very cautious with her, or I told her to be very cautious in what she was reading. You know, God is so good, because I know she prayed about the meeting with the school board that she had to go to to address these issues.

I knew that she was praying about whether or not she should read these things. God is so good. And if we will just prayerfully go after whatever our current concerns are or whatever we're about to embark on, God will like the path that he provides to get to the other side of the situation that we're concerned about. He just opens opens it up he takes care of it and it's better than we could ever hope or believe for um at the end of it so let me just read this to you really quick it says thanks hope for the great advice on the sexually explicit book committee readings i shared your ask hope video with my mom my with my mom friends so she what she ended up doing is sharing

that particular podcast that area with her friends okay we did not read the disturbing books but instead found a great source and this is one of the reasons I want to read this is for all of you that are listening and you want to know what your child's reading or what is in the school system, maybe you are doing what she's doing and you're reviewing books that are in the library for children and you don't want to read the books. She has a great source so that you can know exactly what's inside of a book

without having to read the whole thing. So she said we found a great source, which is called bookslooks.org, and we are going to place that below so you can see that, write that down, make note of it so that you can use that source as well. And she says it's created by conservatives, so it's a conservative viewpoint on the particular book that you might be investigating citing the ugly parts which we could use for committee debate and public comment at public

school board meeting the school board members also said after we spoke that they couldn't tolerate reading these books they are also appalled so her school board when she went there they shared the same consensus and let me just tell you, that is very, very rare right now because a lot of the school boards are filled with liberal committee members. And their hopes are that we can bring these books into the system and the depravity will get into the minds and hearts of our children and take their heart and soul. I mean, out of the heart is where everything starts. So where your heart is, there your treasure will be also, is what the word says. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. So you know when somebody speaks where they are biblically a lot of times

without having to see an action. But she goes on to say, we are one of the only counties that I know of who actually had a school board who listened and didn't cut off our mic, but instead paved the way for us to speak. That's what prayer does. That's a fact. I always say I I've listened

to some of my podcasts and I I seem to use the same terminology all the time which is that's a fact I do that all the time but that's a fact that's a fact that I say that all the time that that's a fact. Yeah. The board mostly agreed with us last night, which was at the beginning of March. Three out of five are Democrats. That's huge. That's what prayer does, guys. I mean, there is no denying that if you make something vitally important in the spiritual realm, and you prayerfully wage war against it,

the doors will be opened. And if they're not opened, then you know victory is still ahead. That's a fact. They will continue to work on strengthening the book's policy. God was with us last night. Amen. Yes, he was, girl. He was.

We were also asked last night by the superintendent to be internal book auditors to find inappropriate books in classroom sets and bring up other books that were not already being challenged. So now the superintendent has put them on task to find these books for them so that they can be removed out of the system. Instead of having to go and fight the system the system is saying you know we want you to work alongside of us and help us find these books and we're going to remove them i mean amazing god um she said god has given us favor with the school administration prayer works tomorrow we are invited to go to tampa for a press conference for a bill announcement that will strengthen the laws in close loop and close loopholes for explicitly sexual books

i cannot applaud you more she said god's in charge here. Revival is happening. Thank you. They are thankful for me and Tom's continuous words of wisdom letting God's direction flow through you. If you don't think that you have the power and authority to change the world that you are living in, you are sorely mistaken. If people did what she did or does and then grabbed a group of other people around, I mean, we can change the world that we are living in,

even if it's just in a small little setting. It's like throwing a pebble in a pond. It's the ripple effect. What you do and what you can do is profound for the world that you live in. And it just builds from there. So I could not be more proud of you. I could not. You are an encouragement to me.

You built my faith through this story, to be perfectly honest with you. It's very profound. It's very encouraging you I it's very profound it's very encouraging and it's a huge faith builder and anyone that is walking through what you're walking through you just showed them and strengthened them to move forward and to not waver on what they feel like God's telling them to do and that that's huge. So I thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for you. You could have not even sent that in and let us know the result. But by doing so, you've built my faith, you've built others' faith. So if there's anyone that has a situation like hers, that the podcast has helped you out and you have a positive result,

please share it because you just don't know whose life you might change through it. I just had someone come up to me on Sunday who was in the military, who fought in a war recently and they watched the podcast and they said that the what i said about how god looks at war and killing people is different than just going out and murdering they had been walking around with concern over salvation for themselves because in war you do kill people and that was a And so for me, it was very like, you don't know what people are walking through. You don't know the internal conflict of others.

And I wasn't even speaking about that per se. But it just was part of scripture and a part of, of, of another person's question. So that one little thing that I was talking about, that was a part of the scripture and a part of, of of of another person's question so that one little element helped somebody else and you just don't know how it works out so I just say if somehow some way something has been revealed to you and it's helped you please let us know because it does encourage others so and it's a huge encouragement to me and i always say this but if you've gotten saved and you've um either rededicated your life or you've gotten

saved please let us know we want to pray alongside of you so that you know that it sticks because matthew talks about and matthew talks about the parable of the sower. And there's only one good seed that falls on the good ground. And then it stays. And you need us to pray alongside of you so that that seed grows. And that you're discipled and everything takes off for you so that you can do the same for others. So let's get into the podcast. Our very first question says, and we keep talking about this because people have lots of questions about it. But this is a different, this topic is asked a different question with this topic.

So it says, when I'm praying in tongues, I have a hard time not getting distracted. My mind wanders everywhere. Should I be thinking about what I'm praying about or not thinking about anything? Well, I mean, it's a very, very good question. A lot of people, when they pray in tongues, their minds wander. That's true. You're no different than anybody else, to be perfectly honest with you. But I will tell you, when I am praying praying most of of the time I only pray in my

prayer language I don't pray with words I let the Holy Spirit speak on my behalf because he knows better than I do but when I am praying over something specific which you which we're always praying over something specific, but when I'm praying specifically over one thing, what I do is I think on that one thing. And so, for example, if I, like my daughter's been in South Africa, right? So I've prayed over her. So when I'm praying over her specifically,

I have prayed over her safety. I've prayed over the experience for spiritual growth, you know, all different things. So when I'm praying, let's say I'm praying over spiritual growth for her. In my head, I am saying, Heavenly Father, I just ask that, Lord, you would reveal yourself to her in the most powerful way. That, Father, she will experience the things that she's never experienced before. She'll receive revelation knowledge of things that she would never have known

had she not gone to South Africa and experienced it. I'm saying that in my head while I'm praying in tongues. So I'm telling the Holy Spirit, this is what I want to say. Now, Holy Spirit, you say it better. You say it better than I can say it. Okay. That's what I do. I'm not saying that's what you should do. But when I'm speaking in my head and verbally praying in my prayer language, what happens is I can't really focus on anything else. I'm focusing on my daughter. I'm focusing on what I'm trying to attain for her through that spiritual growth

or whatever that topic is. Does that make sense? I hope that makes sense. Does that make sense, girls? Now, let me ask you. You can't see this. Heather and Tracy, you're in the room. Is that what you do when you're in your prayer language do you find yourself less distracted when you are praying do you do you pray in your head like i pray a topic

do you pray in your head and then but not always sometimes yes if it's a specific thing i'm praying over but sometimes if I am being still and not knowing which direction I'm supposed to go, I don't have a specific topic. So Heather says that if she's just being still, she doesn't necessarily have anything in her head. So your head is blank. Like she was saying, do I just think about nothing?

So sometimes are you thinking about nothing, but you're just praying in your prayer language? How do you keep yourself from not being just, see, my head, I go squirrel all the time. Like, I, now, Heather does not go squirrel. Heather can be so focused that she won't think about other things. I'm not like that. Like, if I'm not thinking about something, I feel lost. I feel lost. I'm like, I should be thinking about something I feel lost I feel lost I'm like I should be thinking about something right now that's being still and knowing that he is God super important and I think that's a

busyness mentality now I I have sat and just sat and had my mind blank and I thought about nothing but I wasn't praying in tongues I just sat and was still with the Lord. I said nothing. I just had my mind blank or I pondered him as who he is, but I've literally sat in a chair before and I said, you're going to be still. You're going to be still and you're going to focus on God. Be still and know that I'm God. You're going to focus on God. You're going to do absolutely nothing. I don't pray in my prayer language at all. I sit there and I can so I am still but if my mouth is moving I can't I don't think I can do that at all I think I'm too like too my brain's too crazy like I dream a lot like I don't I dream a lot and I don't remember my dreams you remember all of your dreams I don't, I dream a lot and I don't remember my dreams. You remember all of your dreams.

I don't know I've dreamt, but I don't remember all of them at all. I'll be talking in my dreams. Tom says I talk a lot in my dreams, or I talk a lot. I don't remember talking at all, nor do I remember my dream. But I know I dreamt. Like, you know, because I'll have at least one dream I'll remember to a certain extent. But do you get, are you like me?

Like you get distracted easily? So you? A little bit of both. So I like the application of praying something specific and then praying to your tongue after. Okay, so Tracy just learned something. Yeah, I did. I'm going to have five minutes. Okay, so Tracy just learned something. Yeah, I did. Okay, so Tracy doesn't.

You're a chill person, though. If you knew Tracy, she's very chill. I didn't think that he'd answer it, but I can see how you get distracted. Yeah, it's very easy to get distracted. When she sent that in, I was like, that's a great question. Okay, so Tracy thought your question was great. Because when she first got it. Because see, Tracy gets all the questions questions and then she transfers them to me.

That's why some people think that I know who wrote the questions. I don't know who wrote the questions. I can only speculate sometimes who the question might be from. But Tracy gets the questions and then she sends them to me. So Tracy read your question and thought that's a pretty good question. Now you don't get distracted that much, but you do get distracted, so what I just said will probably help you.

Okay, just so in case you couldn't hear what she was saying, because they're not near a microphone, so that you understand, but yeah. Yeah, exactly. What were you saying? What does she do? Yeah, what do you do? I'll convey to you what she does.

This is gonna be quiet for just two seconds. You blank out. So you'll blank out. Will you be praying in tongues? Or then you'll blank out, and then you'll start praying in tongues when you feel good? But you do get distracted. Okay. Yeah. It's common. common like it's a common thing I mean it's happened to me that's how I stopped getting distracted though yeah because it I think

everybody gets distracted except for Heather Heather's the only one that doesn't get distracted no if you're that personality type though you're not going to get distracted. She's very focused, though. She's very, like, Heather's very like this all the time. Like, what's those things that horses wear so they don't? Blinders. She's got blinders on, and, like, let me just tell you. It's, oh, she goes not in a bad way.

I will tell you. Not in a bad way. It's, oh. She goes, not in a bad way. I will tell you. Sometimes it could be. I can tell you otherwise. Not in a bad way. Like, yeah, not when you're praying. But I will tell you, like, listen, she's a force to be reckoned with. That's all I'm going to tell you. Yeah.

She's a force to be reckoned. Thank God I'm a mother figure in her life otherwise I might have to take my hands and wrap them around her neck and kill her huh the only reason she goes you still might and the only reason I won't is because I'd like be killing my own kid it's not gonna happen I couldn't kill Tommy or Norman I definitely can't kill Heather. Like, that's my baby. So that's my girl. But that, you know, that might work for you. That might not work for you. It works for me.

But that's a great question because I think there's a lot of people who struggle with staying focused and stuff like that. We just live in such a world that's so fast moving, always tantalizing the carnal nature. Like, I didn't grow up with a telephone or a cell phone. You didn't grow up, Tracy, did you grow up with a cell phone? I was 16 when I got my first one. Okay, so not really. So Heather didn't either. So, cause I remember Heather when she was a kid. So I mean, I've known Heather since she was like, what, 17 years old, something like that.

So like literally when I say she's like my kid, I kid you not, she's like my kid. So none of us grew up with phones, but kids today, the ones that have, they're always stimulated, right? We didn't grow up like that, but we have adapted to that. So even though we don't necessarily feel like we're, have that potential of it being like, we absolutely do. We are so stimulated all day long, constantly, that it's super important, and I would strongly encourage like listen on a regular basis I don't do this to be fully transparent I need to so the

advice that I'm giving you is the advice that I need to take myself so important to take time and even if it's an hour a week. And it's super easy. The hour goes by just like that. To be still and know that he is God. Like go. What I normally do is I go out on my pool and I, when I've done it, or I go in my husband's office and sit in his Lazy Boy, or I've gone out on the front porch in my rocking chair. I've got three places that I have done this,

not to the level that I should, but I have done it many times where I just go out and I don't even, I barely move. I try and not move hardly at all. I literally try to be still and um my my eyes move around but I don't say anything I look at the environment around me I try and clear my mind out as possible as much as I possibly can and it's amazing the things that you will hear or your senses are heightened because you're not stimulated. Like you can hear birds. You can hear grasshoppers jumping. Like it's just crazy when you're finally quiet, how much your sense is heightened and how valuable you'll, when you're done with it, you're like, that was,

I need to do that more often. Because you really just are alone with god it's a quiet time there's such peace it's crazy if you're a person that's full of anxiousness i suggest you not do it way more than for an hour because by the time your hour is up you're just finally like getting to a normal person's level so plan to be out there for like two hours but it'll be most best two hours well spent you'll just calm peace there's something about it being still super important that's the reason why it's in the word next question i have a family member who is gay we have a hard relationship as we

obviously don't see eye to eye on biblical values how do you overcome a relationship like this without feeling like you're pushing jesus and the bible onto them not being accommodating to just keep the peace or i guess she meant or not being accommodating ignore their values and go on or continue to try to get them to believe um either way i'm going to be honest with you you're probably going to get rejected either way i i have experienced this personally with some family members who are gay they are unbelievably i love like one of them's one of my most favorite people that's ever walked this earth, who has nothing to do with me. They just, it's very tough. It's very hard. But Jesus is an offense.

Jesus was an offense. The Bible is an offense. So if that's the case, you will be an offense. That's just the way it is. And it's, that's just the way it is and it's that's just the way it is it's very tough even if you say nothing the light that shines through you that it you know jesus that jesus shining through you is an offense you can say absolutely nothing. You can apologize if another family member does the most inappropriate thing,

or in their eyes, may not have been inappropriate. This might not have been the greatest decision, but it's still not the most inappropriate thing. But they feel like it's the biggest offense in the world. You can apologize for that family member. That family member can even apologize for not being like whatever and you'll still be rejected. There's nothing you can do about it because the word is an offense. Jesus is an offense. People that live in sin want people to accommodate the sin. I am sure you have family that people live together

that are living in heterosexual sin. Now, nobody ever discusses that, and it's just as big a sin. It's still, because all sin is the same. And if you try to witness to them and tell them that they were living in sin they're probably going to reject you maybe not as harshly but they're going to reject you hard I mean I've dealt with this myself because you know living together is very common today. It's not a problem at all for people. Shoot, there are people that go to church every single Sunday. They're living in heterosexual sin by living together,

and they don't think a lick about it at all. And churches will allow them to have positions in the church. They have no business having a position in the church. Like in leadership roles it's very very dangerous it's not it's not good at all um but same with the homosexual there there's churches allowing homosexuals to have you know and i'm not talking about greeting positions i'm not talking about um i'm talking about people who are doing children's ministry as far as they're like going in and they're teaching it, worship leading, being in the choir, things that people are promoted in.

That's very dangerous. Not that I agree that someone that's living in homosexual sin or heterosexual sin should be ushering or greeting or anything like that. That's not, but I'm just saying there's different levels. So I don't really think there's much of anything you can do. I think that you should be the light. Don't think you should shove Jesus down anybody's throat. Sinners don't know they're sinning. And some of them will say that they're Christians. But in truth, they're not. And you know they're not.

Unless the door is open. And it says, it's very clear in Scripture that unless Jesus is picking and prodding them and then the door opens for them. It says he's got to draw them in, right? So to try and open a door or break down a door that's not opened, sinners don't know. So if the door opens and they want to talk to you about it, then you do it. Otherwise you don't and you just live by example. Because at some point, they might find that they need to talk about this, and they need to come to know him.

They might not. So I'll give you an example of what I'm talking about. At some point, your family member may become sick, and they know that you have power and authority over sickness and disease and they are afraid of dying or they they want to be healed that's your open door to share your faith and to to fix this because that's that's the opportunity, right? Or they might just at Thanksgiving or whatever be sitting at the table and say, hey, listen, I know you don't agree with my lifestyle.

Can you tell me why? It's happened to me. And then that's an open door. Otherwise, your principles offend them. And like when I lived in sin, I only wanted to hang around the people that either did what I did or agreed with what I did, even though they may not have been doing it. They were going to put their stamp of approval on it.

They're not going to want to hear what you have to say. They just don't. They don't have your same values. They don't want to hear your values. And I say you be like jesus jesus i say you still hang around them or not hang around them you still see them you still be a part of their life if whatever part they want you to be in there jesus ate with the sinners you know he he ate with the tax collectors. He hoped a door would be open. You know, you look at Matthew, a tax collector,

who, because Jesus would be a part of his life, that light reflected his sin, the darkness. He became a disciple through Jesus just being willing to say, listen, I know your lifestyle, but you can have better than that. Conversion, right? So if Jesus hadn't been willing to be a part of sinners lives, and I'm not saying go to the bar and win the lost. I'm not telling you to do that I do not agree with that at all but what I am saying is when you have a family member that's living in sin you don't disconnect from them unless they want to disconnect from you there you are

always leave the door open for them I like the I have family members who are gay. They want nothing to do with me. But if they ever want to have something to do with me, I'm ready and available. I love them. They're incredible people. Such great people. They just have sin in their life, right? And God wants them saved. I want them saved saved i don't want them to go to hell and um i love them dearly my family loves them dearly and so through that hopefully hopefully the the the door being you being open to them, even though they don't like you or they're offended by you, you always being open and availing yourself to them and that tenderness, you might be the one that they come to when the time is right and they're ready to get their life right.

So continue to pray for them. Don't give up on them and see what happens that's what I'm doing I'm I'm like I'm gonna see what happens and and and love them and and there's been some pretty harsh words and some pretty unkind things that has been done but there's they don't like you got to remember that they're not saved and so to expect anything different than that is crazy you got to look at the source they're they're not saved they're sinners and um i remember when i was a sinner like like I was no different. I said things, I did things very unkind, treated people very unkindly. God is the only thing that changes the heart. He's the only thing that renews the mind.

He's the only thing that purifies this sinless being, right? And he restores us and makes us anew. So that's the goal that we want to get them to, but to expect them to be different than what they are or to respond in a Christian or a better way, it's not reasonable. So I don't want to say love them through it because that might sound accommodating don't accommodate the sin but love them enough that

when it's time for them to come to you or or someone else that is a christian believer love so that restoration can come to pass. I hope that makes sense. Does that make sense, guys? Yeah, okay. All right, because I felt like I was all over the place, but at the same time, we're going to ask the Holy Spirit to fix that one

because we do not accommodate sin of any kind, but we leave ourselves open to share the gospel, to love them so that when the time is right restoration can be taken and put into place and that we can actually if we're the one that god brings to um us to them then we love them enough to speak to them in the love of Christ. Okay. This next question is kind of fun. And it's kind of fun because of somebody that I know. But getting a boob job, sin or not sin? And this is from somebody that sincerely all the previous breastfeeding mamas.

This is super funny. So apparently somebody wants to know if getting a boob job is sin or not sin and that's because of being a breastfeeding mother it ruined them I know hey listen I know a lot of women that went from being pretty big chested why is somebody hiding over there why is somebody hiding over there somebody's hiding over there are you guys laughing they probably know the person or it relates to them one of the two I don't know um no listen I think we all know somebody in this room. First of all, everybody that's ever breastfed, listen, guys. I'm going to tell you something.

I'm going to share something personal, okay? So all the men that are listening to this question, just might want to skip right on over this one and go to the next question. I don't know how to tell you to do that because we don't have them all timed out but here's the deal women who breastfeed I'm going to give all you women that have never had children a secret okay Heather says your boobs are never the same that is quite accurate Heather I think that's why she's over there laughing okay first of all I'm gonna tell you this getting a boob job is not sin at all your husband will love you for it that's just the facts I said how many times have I said

that's the facts a bunch today we're gonna start counting okay but let me say this all right first of all women who have breastfed you can have a nice rack right and then after you have a child and you breastfeed the nice rack either is no longer like i've known people who are c's that go to an a after they breastfeed, the nice rack either is no longer, like I've known people who are C's that go to an A after they breastfeed. Not that being an A is rough because it isn't rough, but when you've gone and you've had a C to go to an A, mentally, like you have clothes, you have bras. I mean, it's a rough one to a certain extent. Then there's women that go from being an A or B or C or whatever, and they go, and now, I'm going to stand up a little bit, they're down here.

Listen, I can solve that problem for you, though. Truth. I can help you all right huh yeah I got cream the neck cream I got some cream Heather's laughing that was Heather's idea okay cream does not help let me just tell you I don't even think cream works for stretch marks does it no I didn't get stretch marks. Stretch marks are hereditary. I mean, that's the way it is. There's nothing you can do about that. Huh?

Or if you eat too much. That's true. What is that? Oh, yeah, two babies. That'd be Tracy. Tracy's conveying that she has stretch marks then. Yeah, twins. Listen, I don't have stretch marks, but you get big, girl.

My girlfriend in Texas used to say she looked like the Texas Roadmap. The Texas Roadmap? Oh, that's rough. Okay, right now my stomach is so fully cellulite because I'm so fat. Okay, I'm working on it. Okay, I'm working on it. Babe, I'm working on it. But I don't have stretch marks. Huh?

I am eating gummies. Ladies, I'm doing, listen, I'm doing a test on these gummies. They're all laughing. We have a running joke about these. They're weight these gummies they're all laughing we have a running joke about these they're weight loss gummies I have them so Tom thank god Tom doesn't watch this podcast because I have them sitting on my bathroom thingy my son told me I need to catch up to his father because his father's been losing weight so now that means I have to lose weight apparently the girl's gonna lose some weight but what was I saying Oh cellulite cellulite is a real problem for women okay I don't that's my problem cellulite right men women have stretch marks I don't have stretch marks but some women do get them I knew a girl who

had one child they're both laughing over there still. Recompose yourselves, ladies. It's my gummies. Listen, if the gummies work, I am going to share them with everybody. If they don't, we're not wasting our time. But listen, I'm just telling you, I'm looking at myself right now, that cream does work mightily. Everyone in this room can concur because they've seen me up close and personal.

It does work. And somebody from the church told me on Sunday they bought some because they have the same problem as mine with the neck. But here's the thing. Here's the thing. Stretch marks. I know somebody whose stomach was so stretched out and, like, they must have been huge. Like, now their stomach, like, hangs and the stretch marks. There's nothing you can do about that.

I say if you want to go and get, like, surgery for that, you can't get rid of the stretch marks, but you can get rid of the hanging stomach from it, right? Like do it. Like if it makes you feel better about yourself, especially in the bedroom, like for married women, like obviously you're not having kids. Well, you shouldn't be having kids if you're not married, but like for women in the bedroom, we're very self-conscious.

Men are very visual creatures, right? Very visual. So for real like do things that make you feel good if your boobs are down here get a lift if that makes you feel better but I can tell you how to make that happen so that they don't droop and there's here's the story okay you can get a boob job to make them bigger you can get a boob job to make them lift back up when they from where they fell like I say like get a nose job if it makes you feel better about yourself get get like I'm not big on doing a whole lot of uh facelifts and stuff like that but I'll tell you a reason why I mean have you seen Courtney Cox

girl girl not pretty she went backwards big time lots of these women like they they it's so popular to get those lip lip inflations and stuff like that but what you don't realize is when you turn sideways this whole thing right here it's not good I mean it's just not good I know that people are so worried about staying looking young but there is something about being confident with your age and how you look and growing all growing gracefully in your age and things like that you don't need to do that. I know you can say, well, you put cream on to help your neck. Okay, agreed.

But I'm not going to go like that lady from Fox News and get a neck lift, okay? Not happening. It's dangerous. Heather's saying I need one. She just went like this. Like maybe, no, I'm just kidding. No, I'm just kidding. I'm not big on the faceless because I I'm not first of all I think that I'm not saying you can't get laser here I mean but you don't you stop looking like yourself it's not like I love

Joyce Meyer okay God bless the woman She's a mighty woman of God. But she does not look good at all. And you don't end up, like, I say like a lot too, so I apologize for that. But don't change your looks so drastically that you no longer look like yourself. Okay, God made you to look like yourself. But if you're like, if you have a bump in your nose, if you have that you don't like, if there's something about you, if you don't have a chin,

like some people want to have that facial structure, go and do those kinds of things, right? I know it'll change you a little bit but it's different than defying as you grow older I know it sounds hypocritical I know I'm sounding talking out of both sides of my mouth but I hope you understand what I'm trying to convey it's not you don't fight the aging system, we find that it's beautiful because what's happening is these young girls are looking at all these older women trying to look young. So now women at the age of 18 and in their 20s are getting this facial surgery. This is crazy.

You're beautiful. You don't need it. I mean, I'm not kidding. If you looked it up, women that are in their 20s, there's such, it never happened before. Now they're getting major facial, look at the Kardashians for crying out loud. They don't even look the same. They're young. They're beautiful.

And now it's just insanity how much plastic surgery is being being done unnecessary plastic surgery is being done so um be very careful about that but i will tell you this if you don't want your boobs to hang low there's a way to solve that problem when you what is that let's hear it tracy wants to know you're it's too late for you sorry you're gonna have to do surgery yeah I'm sorry that's just the way it goes for you sister it's too late no it's not gonna happen and there's I'm gonna tell you why it's not gonna happen for her unless God miraculously gets those muscles back into place it's all about the muscle miracles do happen.

I can help you. I can pray for that if you want. I can help that God restores the muscles in your breasts if you want. But here's the thing. When I was young, Heather's listening intently. This might help you, Heather. Okay? What?

Heather's good. Heather does look good. I ain't going to lie. So here's the thing. This is what I did. I didn't get married till I was older. Heather's laughing so profusely over there. So here's what I did. And I started this about when I was 18 years old. Not because of, uh, not because I was going to have kids. That's, I was, I didn't get married till I was 18 years old not because of uh not because I was gonna have kids that's I was I didn't get married till I was much older but here's the thing like I'm not a small person like I'm a small in stature but areas of me are not small so I didn't like my grandmother used to

undress in front of me she was like I didn't want her to undress in front of me but the woman was like double d it was crazy but her boobs were down here and I was like dear lords of mercy I don't ever want that to happen to me so what I did is I would wear a sports bra I never I never don't wear. Ever. I would wear a sports bra every night before I went to bed. I put it on. Okay? So, get a good bra and then wear a good sports bra. The muscle stays in place.

Like, you don't have to have saggy boobs after you have a kid. Listen, I lived in a bra even when I was pregnant breastfed the whole thing I lived in a bra while I was pregnant the whole thing never not so like when the because when you get pregnant usually your boobs grow with your belly like they were like all you saw coming with me oh yeah some people are cow yeah some people like I'm not kidding you like not to be too graphic but all you saw coming on me was the rack like it was ridiculous ridiculous you think my belly was bigger nope nope it was unbelievable uh so I was concerned about that but here's the thing I never didn't go without a bra so girls if

you haven't had kids or girls that have had one kid like wear a bra all the time I know it's not fun and it doesn't sound like all of us want to take our bras off when we get home and just walk around with no bra on. You'll pay for that later unless you miraculously pray that the muscle stays in its place. But I'm just saying, I'm walking proof that there's tangible difference when I take my bra off. I mean, obviously there is a difference because for crying out loud. But not by much girls heather's looking at me like whatever i'm just can't i'm done i've even asked tom i've asked

tom personally i'm like do they look that much different because they don't look a lot different he's like no they do not look very much different from when we got i know that's what i'm saying too because i literally look at them and i go, they don't look that much different from when I got married to him. Not hardly at all. But listen, I live in a bra, for crying out loud. They don't ever not. So put a sports bra on, get good support.

You two don't have to sag. Hey, listen, I could sell that. I could make some serious money. I could make a sports bra. There you go. Hope hotline on it. There is hope. Oh, there is hope.

I love it. Get a logo. Get a bra. I'll put, well, I was going to say I'll put some people in them so you can see how they work. We're not doing that. We're not doing that we're not doing that because girls won't lust but guys might we're not going to participate in sin we can wear them on the outside of shirts so people can see them how about that get on it heather get some bras made with the

hope hotline on them or there is hope can we put the little microphone on them yeah perfect where let me see heather yeah right here not in the nipple oh my gosh dear lords we're not doing it not there okay the only other thing i would say to you is make sure if you get the breast surgery you know how some people go cray cray and they just make them so big so inappropriate um so stay natural looking exactly exactly what heather said stay natural so if you are a b don't go to a double d okay like don't make it so that you're trying to make everybody look at you. And, like, if you do have a big chest, let's make sure that we always are modest. Nobody needs to see your cleavage. Okay?

All you're doing is you know what you're doing when you wear stuff like that. It's completely inappropriate. We don't want anything to make men lust listen it's hard enough for guys with the attire that is being like if you go shopping women mostly teenage girls like not teenage like enormous age group college age group there is nothing out there in their age that's appropriate all the shorts are super short all the shirts are are high-waisted not all but a lot like normal when she goes shopping it's hard for girls to go shopping uh with appropriate attire um so let's it's a sexualized world that's all it is let's make sure that we always take into consideration

someone else and that would be men because men have a hard enough time keeping their hearts and minds pure i don't know why men uh god created men to be such visual creatures and to be hormonally charged, but let's be considerate and like let's be modest in what we wear and how we convey ourselves as to who we are, right? Most men will tell you that the woman that they are most attracted to are women that are modest, that they don most attracted to are are women that are modest that that they um don't have to like some women wear wear barely barely anything so there's not much to the imagination as to what

they look like naked men like it where they don't have to know what you already look like naked okay you may get the attention of men but it ain't the right attention so when you if you decide to do it go for it but let's make sure that we are modest i mean be modest in it what's your purpose behind it what's the heart behind it and make sure that that stays pure too so there we go next question um this says this is a bit of a strange strange question ever since my son's freak accident and death 30 plus years ago i can't remember any more dreams feel like i have a mental block i had i had lost faith in god but i'm watching your husband's service every sund. I still feel like I can't quite connect.

Am I still angry at God or why am I struggling? I do read the Bible every day. So first and foremost, I want to say I am so sorry for your loss. I know it's been 30 years, but it's still your child. So I feel for you, and I'm so sorry that you lost your son. Second of all, I want to say thank you so much for watching Foundation Church, the Sunday service, and even for watching this podcast. I greatly appreciate it.

I mean, you can have a podcast all you want to, but if nobody's watching it, what's the point, right? There's no point. So thank you for watching this. Thank you for submitting a question. I dearly appreciate it and sincerely appreciate it um what i would say to you with this is pray the lord is so sweet and he's so tender and he wants to give us the desires of our hearts that's what the word

of god says so if you want to have dreams, pray that you have dreams. Pray that that's restored in your heart, in your mind. And you might be having dreams and you just don't know it. Like I said earlier in the podcast, I dream and I don't even remember dreaming them, some of them. I have lots of dreams. I dream every night, but I don't remember every single dream. So ask that the Lord recall it to remember, so that when you wake up in the morning, you remember it. Pray that they are happy dreams,

that they're dreams that fill you with joy and peace. I would tell you, get into your prayer closet. Have a heart-to-heart with God. He already knows what you're feeling and what you're thinking to begin with. But he wants to hear from you. I would say to you, if you're angry still, and maybe you don't even know it, but get in your prayer closet and just have a deep heart-to-heart with him and talk over every single feeling and emotion that you're walking through.

Everything that your heart wants and desires for the remaining part of your life. He wants the deepest part of you. You need to desire the deepest part of you. You need to desire the deepest part of him. And with that comes a restoration and a healing for you. When you get in there, I'm going to tell you this. Like, I don't, I have felt like I, many, many years ago, Tom tells this story. It was a Christmas morning that we had. We were killing it.

Like, we, so much money rolling in. Like, we were on top of the world as far as the world standards life was great great marriage there was nothing there was no nothing bad going on in life like there was no worries no fears no nothing and then you had add on there the financial part of it you're just like it can't get any better than this and I remember that Christmas morning the tree was just full of just get it was only him and I like for crying out loud we didn't need that many presents but we just you know we went hog wild and I remember feeling so empty and so disconnected from God like nothing there was no happiness there was no joy there was just such a vague void it was so I couldn't figure it out

but I knew that it had to do with God and what was missing. I remember going, I remember us opening up the presence and Tom saying to me, what, what's going on? What's wrong with you? And I just told him, my relationship with God, it's not, I wasn't sinning. I wasn't doing anything wrong. I love God, but I was not connected. I remember telling him, I'm going to have to go in the room. I'm going to, I have to fix this. I have to, I have to spend some time with God alone I went into that room and I bawled my brains out I shared and confessed just a lackadaisical walk with him um the disconnect everything that he already knew I mean it's nothing this wasn't anything new to God but I needed to share it with him so that I think it was good for God to hear and to see the tears because you know repentance is huge and it wasn't for sin or anything like that. What made David a man after God's own heart is because he was always repentant.

He was always chasing after God. He always wanted that closeness with him and things like that. So true restoration comes from a heart of true repentance. And it doesn't have to always be sin. It can be compromise. It can be just neglect. So I just remember going in there and just baring my soul. And I, I don't even know how long I was in there. It felt like a really long time. When I came out, I was a whole new person and I have never, ever, ever felt like that ever again. And I told told God I never want to feel like this ever again

I remember a girlfriend of mine um telling me and I could tell something was going on um with her I remember her telling me the same thing she's like she had gotten so busy that like she was disconnected from God solid Solid believer, not sinning, not doing anything. Great mom, still teaching her children about the Lord, the whole thing. But her busyness had caused her to feel like a disconnect with the Holy Spirit as well and with the Lord. And she's like, I just don't know what to do. And I told her, I said, I'm going to tell you the same thing that I had to do myself. I told her exactly what to do. i told her i said i'm going to tell you the same thing that i had to do myself i told her exactly what to do she went into that prayer closet she got everything fixed and renewed and then what you do after you do that is you spend time in prayer you spend time in worship

you spend time in in the bible and in the word and then you spend time with other believer other believers where iron sharpening is iron is sharpening iron i'm telling you prayer and worship are key you you can tell where somebody is spiritually by how they worship that's that's the truth and so if somebody is totally in love with jesus their worship that's not always the case for the most part. If somebody is a good worshiper and true worshiper, then, and is not, you know, um, what's it when you get drunk and your, your, um, your walls come down, but it's your, when somebody's apprehensive to do something, a lot of times it's because they're more concerned about their outer appearance.

And so they'll focus on that. But this is not the right word that I'm trying to think of. I might not think of it. But you're no, when you get drunk, all of your something is no longer, is no longer there. Like, so you do the things that you normally wouldn't do. You're what? No, it's not filter. I don't know how to explain it, but the thing is most people, they tend to care more about, they're so carnal, they care more about what others around them will think

or even letting their guard down or being very raw with the Lord. So they always have their guard up. And what God wants you to do is drop all of it, right? Just, just fall in love with him, worship him in spirit and in truth. Let all of your apprehensions and things that would keep you from doing things that you normally wouldn't do, just get rid of all that and so when you pray you're when you're praying you're through your words you're conveying your heart through your worship is also a means of declaration because you're surrendering yourself completely to him through your worship and so i would say once you have that heart to heart with the lord

dedicate not just bible time because you're already doing that right but bible time can tend to be easy because i read a chapter a day or get in the word for an hour but i would say to you is get in that prayer time you know you have a best friend if your best friend didn't talk to you every day and you didn't have a heart-to-heart conversations would you still be best friends probably not what God wants that same relationship with you the Holy Spirit wants to have conversation with you every day he wants to hear your heart's desire he wants to hear your hopes and your dreams he wants to hear your fear so that he can defeat the devourer over those things. Perfect love casts out all fear.

In order to have perfect love, you have to have that one-on-one relationship with the Holy Spirit where you communicate those things. Then the worship part, you're surrendering yourself to him. You're giving yourself completely to him. And you just fall in love with the presence of the Holy Spirit. And that will radically, radically change everything that you're experiencing right now. 100%.

You will be a whole different person, I say, in less than a month if you do those four things. Get in, get some friends together, iron art, sharpening iron, people who will hold you accountable and keep you on the straight and narrow so any kind of thought that comes across your path that isn't that will you know take you right back down that old road they'll veer you right back to where you need to be right which guide guides me right into the most important part of this whole entire podcast is if you're saved or if you're saved and what if you were saved and you walked, if you're saved and if you were saved and you walked away, or if you don't know him, listen, God wants, he wants you.

The thing is, is whether you realize it or not, you need him. And if you've walked away from him, you know, you need him because you know, nothing satisfies anything. Nothing. You can buy. I mean, Heather and I were just talking about this. People who just buy things, get the next thing, go on the next trip. Always having to have something to fill that void.

It's never going to fill that void, guys. It's never going to fill that void. Because God purposed that you have a hole in your heart that only he can fill so you can keep spending money on things that will never take care of it or you can run to the cross and then when you run to the cross and that void is filled all the rest of the stuff you've been chasing won't matter anymore you'll realize that was a waste of time. And then you'll get those things, but they'll be put in perspective. And then they still won't mean anything to you. They're just a cherry on top, right?

So yeah, Heather's saying, yeah, it's true. It's very true. So what I would say to you is this, if you were saved and you want to come back to him, I'm going to give you the chance. And then if you don't know him, run to the cross because you can keep running and going after everything that this world has to offer, but you will never be satisfied.

He is the thirst. He can only quench the thirst that you're running to. You will stay thirsty. You know, hunger and thirst after righteousness is what it says. You can go everywhere that you want and you will never be satisfied. I've done it. I've walked with him. I've walked away from him and then I've done it. I've walked with him. I've walked away from him. And then I've come back.

And the reason I came back and I came back harder and more fervent than I was before, because I know nothing will satisfy you. Nothing. You can try all you want. But he is the drink that only quenches the thirst. And he's the food that only satisfies the hunger that's the truth okay so um if you want to you can do this on with me now or you can do it later on when maybe you're saying this isn't for me right now maybe it's not for you right now but

you don't know what an hour away you may feel like. You might not know what two weeks from now feels like. Just listen to it. You don't have to say the same thing I say, but you can say it later in your own words and become saved. All right? Let's just do it right now. Heavenly Father, repeat after me. Heavenly Father, I come to you right now.

Lord, I know I need you in my life. I know that you are the only thing that will satisfy all my wants and desires. I ask you to come into my life. I ask you to be my Lord and Savior. I ask that, Lord, you will help me to turn 180 degrees from the life that I'm living right now. And then when I grow old, I will come and live with you in heaven, and we will reign together.

In Jesus' mighty name we pray, amen. If you said that prayer let us know I will be praying for you I want to know but just in case you don't we will be praying for you and I just I'm just excited for the new new life that you're gonna be living and all of us in this room we wouldn't be this we wouldn't be where we're at and we wouldn't be who we are right now if we didn't take that step that you just took so we are excited for you i can't wait to see you at the next podcast have a great day have a good evening and we'll see you soon real talk

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