The Hope Hotline - The Hope Hotline | S01-E73 | 09-27-23

Episode Date: September 30, 2023

The Hope Hotline | S01-E73 | 09-27-23

Real Talk. Real Talk. Real Talk. Hello people. This is far away. I haven't been paying attention while I've been sitting here. I just did because I can see the screen. Super sorry. How's everybody doing? What's today? Wednesday? Wednesday.

Wednesday. Happy Wednesday. My days are flying together. Big time. Like, I cannot get over. We are almost in October. I literally cannot get over this. I feel like it was just January. I'm looking at the

girls because they're all agreeing with me. I cannot. I was just talking to Erin, our worship leader's wife, on the way here, and I'm prepping for Christmas, and I'm almost done with the Christmas Eve service. I cannot believe I'm preparing and almost done with that thing to get ready to go because you have to start so early. Like, I've been listening to Christmas music, people. Not because I've chose to in September. Normally I start in October, end of October. But it's crazy.

October already. What's today's? The 26th? 27th? What? What? It's nuts. Okay, we don't have Tracy with us today.

Tracy's on her 10th anniversary vacay. So we have Heather in the house. Heather, show yourself, girl. Let's see if I remember. Heather, there you go. There's Heather. There's Logan. Okay.

There's Vanessa. Talia. There's Vanessa. See, it's hard. You got a full house today. Oh, my gosh. We got a wild scene going on right now. But thank you for joining us today. So let me show you what Tracy sends us of herself. Look at those leaves. She's

hitting it just at the right time as they're beginning to change. Look at that flippin' view. What a hard life. That is not a Bloody Mary to her left, everybody. That's a cup of coffee and a V8 juice, I'm sure of it, or some kind of like cranberry juice. But at first glance, from a person that kind of drank back in the day, it looks like a Bloody Mary. I know it's not because she'd have a celery stick with her. No, she doesn't drink. So it's definitely not. But if you hear a lot of noise, my shoes, I'm taking them off. They're clickety clankety. Okay. So does she have, can you put up that social graphic down there for me first? Yeah, I'd like to, but when I just click something a minute ago, I don't know where it went. So hold on. Just a kitten. Here. Got it. Very good, Heather.

Heather at the control. Sister, you're taking it up a notch. Woo woo. Okay. I don't have Tracy here. So Heather, you're going to have to help. But so I need you to like and share big time. We're trying to grow the audience like and share and comment or Logan's going to be very lonely over there without you no weirdies though commenting and trying to like listen okay listen if you comment and you're a guy don't try and hook up on here and if you're commenting and you kind of like, if you find that you're the only one commenting most of the time, maybe you need to take it down a notch and listen more. Don't talk less.

Be like Sean. Huh? Be like Sean. And Sean does what? Sean engages. We have funny banter. But, like, he's not a creeper. I just love him.

He's great. He's appropriate. Oh, come on. That's my son. Hold on. I've got to tell him I'm in the middle of my podcast. Hey, is that Aaron? Aaron, can you come here?

He's your friend. Can you tell him that I'm doing my podcast? Thank you ever so much. And he kicked me out of my whole entire thing. As I told my husband on the way to his podcast last night, we are the most unprofessional podcast there is out there. Amen. A bunch of Walmart shoppers doing a podcast right now. I do not shop at Target. Both of them are woke as crap, but at least one's American. Target is French. I like it too, and I like it, too, and I ain't shopping there.

At least at Walmart, I don't fear for a man walking in on me just yet. True. But Target, I don't know. And then they have Starbucks in there. I'll be honest with you. I'm not a huge Starbucks person. But then you just put the cherry on top with them, and they kind of like double down on you with the all-transgender.

So, okay, so like and share. She took it off because I was talking. Yes, thank you. Facebook, Rumble, YouTube, Black Robe. Black Robe and Rumble. That's it. That's the ones you really need to focus on because the rest of them are terrible. But in the meantime, they'll let us use them and abuse them.

We will actually do that. But on the whole, we really want you to go to Rumble and Black Robe. And then subscribe. Like. Okay do I do? Like. Okay, I don't know what that was. Like and share. Subscribe.

Comment. Like, subscribe, and comment. Ring the bell. And ring the bell. Tap the bell. There you go. Tap the bell. Thank you, Heather.

And Talia's over there passing gas. I don't know what's going on, but she sounds like she's passing. And that does not happen on my podcast. Even though Aaron's in the room right now, and he likes to pass gas or make the sound of passing gas. That's only on Tom's podcast. That does not happen on mine. It's not allowed.

It's not going to happen. We have some special merch stuff. Would you like to show that? Oh, please. Bring it, baby. So we already know about the coffee mug cause that's right. That's right here. Okay. So when, when you say available to shop, so it's on the, it is on our website. Talk to me. That could take a lot here. Hold on. Well, you took it. Oh, there's Aaron. Oh dear God. That's scary.

Uh, it's on the website. So you can go to the website and actually purchase it if you're not local to the area. What about the, is the sticker in the middle, is that the sticker? No. We don't have that for sale. If they order it, they will get one with their mug in the mail. They'll get a sticker with their mug? I just made that up right now.

You just made that up? I don't have a sticker. Hey, Tal, do you have your cup with you? It's on your computer. Dang, Nab. It's this. Is it on your computer? Thank you, Heather. You're welcome. That sticker right there, which if I pull it away, it gets worse. That sticker right there. I put that over my apple because they're woke too. But you'll get that sticker if you buy something. It's on the church website. Yes, it is.

The church merch. Oh, and here, bring that too. You can't see what I'm seeing. But coming soon. Tracy. Tracy made a shirt. I'm wearing it. Talia's wearing it.

So it's blue with the logo. and then it says UBU on it, and with Tracy's signature on the back. Which, hey, usually it's the host. I was going to say, whose podcast is this? But let's face it, UBU has got its own brand. She has made it. Was that like a popular saying beforehand ubu or was that or was that only tracy did tracy make that up tracy like i i was laughing about this

this morning but i felt like i i don't feel like created the taco bar it was and then i found out i wasn't so is ubu her thing well adalys said ubu when we were in Pittsburgh. She wasn't a fan. No. She said it down here didn't she? Or wherever. Sorry. Yes. It's not very popular. So Tracy. They must have heard Tracy do it on the podcast. It's a song. It's a song?

It is a book. It's a song and a book. It's old news. Like your taco bar. Yeah. Listen. I'm just saying. I thought that all by myself. I didn't even know that existed. I was pretty dang proud of myself until I found out. I was behind the eight ball on that one.

I kid you not. Logan, you have no idea what I'm talking about, do you? Okay, so Norma's graduating high school. And I'm, like, going to do a graduation party. And Norma loves tacos. It's, like, her favorite thing. Okay. So I'm like, she's going to love me.

I'm going to do a taco bar for her. And I planned the whole thing out. And I don't know if I was talking to Heather or someone else. So I'm telling Heather, Heather, I got this great idea. I'm going to do a taco bar. This is what I'm going to do. This is the whole thing. Nachos, the whole thing.

She's like, yeah, I know that people are doing that or something like that. I don't even know what she said. People do that all the time. No, people do that. I'm like, what? People do that all the time. What are you talking about? And she's like, yeah, that's a thing.

And I'm like, no, I thought of it. I created that. She goes, no, you did not create that. I was pretty depressed, I've got to tell you. This is when you lived under a rock. I mean, you no longer live under a rock. Well, again, great minds. Because that just shows how smart I am.

Yes. True. You're so smart. I'm so smart in my own mind. That's the reason why you people are asking me questions. I'm so smart. Needless to say, I was very disappointed to find out that I did not create that idea. But Christmas, people, nobody's ever, ever seen what we're doing for Christmas. It's never happened.

If you, for Christmas Eve Eve, you don't want to miss this service it's like it's gonna be one for the books nobody's ever done what we're gonna do here and you'll say I bet you now I'm telling you right now nobody's ever done it Heather's got her one eyebrow up it's true have you ever heard of it, Heather? No, I have not. Vanessa, you know. Vanessa's saying, nope, never heard of it. The reason I know it's not popular is because I'm looking for ideas to help my brain and there are none. So that's how I know. Right here though, people. Yeah. This little thing right here, this maniacal little thing right here. It's coming. Yep. It thought of it. I know.

Taco Bar got me. This one's not. Pretty sure. People will be stealing this idea from us. They're going to be like, how in the world? But I'm just going to tell you. It's going to make you feel really inside. It's going to grab the feels big time. You're going to love it. All right, let's go to our first question. I do not know a lot about the Bible, but people have said that the Old Testament talks about

Jesus. Oh, you know what I want to tell too? Let's hold off on this question. If this is your question, we're putting the brakes on it. But I do want to tell people this because normally at the church, I don't have a logo or anything for it just yet, but I do want to start getting the word out right now. So normally our ladies hub at the church, we have the first four are Heather. Yes. First and third, Teresa Steins, Book of Hebrews. Second, Sarah Richardson. Fourth, you. Me.

Fourth, worship night. And then go ahead and tell them. Me on the fifth. I'm going to start doing one on but it's not a bible study i'm stealing adalice's idea and i'm gonna do a ladies night yeah but i'm mine's not called radiance are you gonna say that are you you want me to say it yeah because i can't dare to be oh dare to be can't remember it i thought it was Dig a Little Deeper. Well, you might have changed your mind, but you told me Dare to Be.

I made up the name. All I could think of is Dig a Little Deeper. Love a little harder, girl. That's the song. Dig a little deep. That was the song Tom had for me. But it ain't Dig a Little Deeper. It's, what is it? Dare to Be.

Dare to Be. Yes. I love that name, too, if I could only remember it. I'm glad you told me. It might have been dig a little deeper. I am so glad. It might have been dig a little deeper for Heather, too. But so the fifth Sunday, it starts in October, the fifth Sunday.

I am going to have a ladies Monday night, fifth Sunday. I mean, fifth Monday. And it'll be Dare to be. So that's where I'm going to start that up. So if you're in the area or if you come to Foundation Church, Dare to Be. There you go. All right, let's go to the question. And we'll have a logo for it. I'll have Tracy start working on that. I do not know a lot about the Bible, but people have said that the Old Testament talks about Jesus. How is that when I have never seen his name in the Old Testament? And that is a phenomenal question.

A lot of times people don't even pay attention to the Old Testament. They just focus on the New Testament. But actually Jesus is the whole Bible. The whole Bible from beginning to end is Jesus. If you look at Genesis, the first verse in Genesis, I think it's the first verse, it talks about, I should look it up really quick, but it talks about The pronoun that is used for when the earth was created was not me. It was like we kind of thing. It was a pronoun that involved us, like the Trinity, not God did it by himself. So from the very beginning to the end, And if you look at 1 John 1, it says in the beginning.

It's either 1 John 1 or it's John 1. It's in the beginning. In the beginning he was the word. I'm going to look it up really quick so that I can do this because I want to make sure. 1 John 1. There it is. That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon. Oh, I've got to make it bigger. Squinty.

That is not it. John 1.1. Because 1 John 1.1, it starts out very similar. It says, In the beginning was the Word, and we call Jesus the Word, because that's one of the names of Jesus. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.

All things were made through him, and without him nothing was made. That was made, and him was life, and the life was the light of men. And then it goes on and says, and the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. So from the very, very beginning, Jesus was present. And a lot of people don't realize that. They don't know that. From the very beginning, Jesus was there when the earth was created.

And so was the Holy Spirit. So was God. So the Old Testament is chock full about Jesus. It's chock full when I say that it talks about Jesus. And I'm going to go through these scriptures, but it talks about Jesus being present. Like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. We'll talk about that. It talks about the example of Abraham and Isaac, and then later on God giving up his own son, just like Abraham and Isaac.

It talks about Jesus referring to himself, Isaiah prophesying about him beforehand. We're going to go through all of this. But David, even in Psalms, Psalms talks about Jesus being born, dying on the cross, or the term dying on the tree. It's all prophesied, even in Psalms. If you look in Jeremiah, he's prophesied about. There's over 300 plus, they say, prophetic scriptures about Jesus in the Old Testament and his coming. From his coming to his death. They prophesy about even the things that would come to pass. That's one of the reasons why the Jews were looking for a Messiah because the Old Testament spoke about the Messiah coming. Now

they thought he would come as a king not as a baby. That's what confused the tar out of them because he did not come anything like they said that he would. But here's the thing, is when Jesus came and then he did certain things, there were certain scriptures that said that the Messiah would do these certain things. One was blind eyes would see, deaf ears would hear, people that were lame would walk. Like there was a messianic list of items that that person that was the true Messiah would actually do. Jesus did all of them plus one because he raised the dead. And even though he did all of those things right in front of the Sadducees and the Pharisees

who knew what the true Messiah was to look like and what he would do when he walked this earth because he didn't look like, well, because he chastised them, he corrected them and rebuked them, they hated him because he wasn't like them. And he took, he was taking something away from them. Basically, he was saying to them, saying to the world, don't be like them.

Be like me. And they didn't like that because that took power and authority away from them. So let's look at this. Jesus, let's see, Jesus was seen in the fire. So let's look at this. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, if you remember the story, let's see, Jesus was seen in the fire. So let's look at this. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, if you remember the story, King Nebuchadnezzar has thrown the three boys into the fiery furnace because they wouldn't bow down to the idols and worship them.

And so they said they wouldn't do it. But let's look at that. Daniel 3, 16 through 18 says, Shadrach, Mesheshach and Abednego answered and said to the king oh Nebuchadnezzar we have no need to answer you answer you in this matter if that is the case our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace and he will deliver us from your hand oh king but if not let it be known to you oh king that we do not serve your gods nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up now I will I want to also touch on something.

Because a lot of people that are people that are not faith people, or want to have an excuse not to believe in faith, or to say that God doesn't do it every time, they will use verse 18 to justify their stand. They'll say, but if not, let it be known to you. Okay, so let's see. Let me go back to this. It's actually 17.

And if that is the case, our God, whom we serve, is able to deliver us from the burning, fiery furnace. And he will deliver us from your hand, O king. 18, I am correct. It says, but if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship from your hand, O king. 18, I am correct. It says, but if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up. So basically they said, but if he doesn't deliver us, we're still not doing it. So people will say, see, even they said, we believe that you'll do it, but if you don't, we'll be healed in heaven. So I believe that you'll heal me, Lord,

if it's your will. But if you don't, I'll be healed in heaven. Okay, that's not what they were saying here. And well, that is kind of like what they're saying. But I will say this. That's the Old Testament. Jesus hadn't died on the cross yet. He hadn't bore stripes on his back for your sickness, illness, and disease, which it says clearly in Isaiah and at first Peter, that that's through that healing, through what he did on that cross, that does away with verse 18, because we have a far superior covenant now because of what Jesus did on the cross through salvation. No sacrifice has to be made anymore. We don't kill animals anymore because he is the ultimate sacrifice.

And we don't have to worry about sickness, illness, and disease because the stripes he bore allows us to have healing through that. So when people use this as an excuse and they try and tell you that, which people have done that with me, well, what about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? And my thing is Old Testament, dude, doesn't apply. So let's go on. We're going to jump ahead. Daniel 3.24 says, Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished, and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?

Let's look what happened next. We'll go to 25. Look, he answered, I see four men loose walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt. And the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. Who is the Son of God? Jesus himself. So when three men, Shadrach, Meshach,

and Abednego were in the fiery furnace, the fourth guy in there is the Son of Man, which is Jesus Christ. So then Jesus refers to himself when he walked this earth in John 5, 546. So in John 5, 546, Jesus says this, for if you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. So that's what Jesus was saying to the Sadducees and the Pharisees. He was like saying, you obviously follow Moses's laws, the Ten Commandments. So if you believe in him, then you should believe in me because Moses actually spoke about me. Okay. So Jesus even referred to himself in the Old Testament.

So we have Jesus being seen in the fiery furnace, right, in Daniel. We have Jesus speaking about himself. I'm just giving you some examples of Old Testament so you understand he is in the Old Testament. So you see and understand he spoke about himself with Moses and John. And then he talks about his crucifixion in Isaiah 53, 12. It says, and he was numbered with the transgressors and he bore the sin of many. So Jesus actually uses Isaiah 53, 12 before he was crucified. He said, one of the things when he was speaking, he uses this, and he was numbered with the transgressors and he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors. What's a transgressor?

It's a sinner. And he bore the sin of many. He bore the sin for all of us when he died on the cross. And he made intercession for the sinner so that they could be saved. He also prophesied about his birth. Isaiah 7.14. Isaiah. So Isaiah prophesied about how Jesus would die and for who he would die for or whom he would die for. And then Isaiah also prophesied. These are thousands of years before Jesus was ever in existence. Isaiah 14 talks about how he would be born. Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son. If you look at son, it's capitalized. That means God. He's the son of God. And he shall call his name Emmanuel. What did we call God? Emmanuel, God with us. Jesus is with us. So if anybody tries to deny

that Jesus is the Messiah and Jesus actually came and bore the sins of man, that there's more than one way to get to heaven outside of Jesus, they're crazy. The Bible is the Bible. The Bible is the book that's bought more than any other book every year. No other book is bought more than the Bible. And that's every year, and it has been every year. The Old Testament is chock full of things about Jesus himself. The whole Bible itself is Jesus at the end of the day, from beginning to end.

Let's look at Abraham and Isaac. And this is the story that I love so very, very much. It's astounding. So you know the story of Abraham. God tells Abraham to take Isaac up to the mountain and to sacrifice him. And basically he was testing Abraham. But Abraham, it says that he was in Romans, or is it Hebrews? I believe it's Hebrews.

It's the belief that he's, it's in Hebrews. It's that he is known for his righteousness because of this one act. He actually believed that even though he had waited until he was like 99 to have Isaac, he believed that if he sacrificed Isaac, God would bring him back to life. So he was going up on that mountain. He was going to sacrifice his son, and he knew somehow, some way, God was going to bring him back to life. That didn't have to happen because just before he was to sacrifice and kill Isaac,

the Lord stops him and then there's a ram or they said a ram or a lamb or a sheep. It's all different terminology, but it's in the thickets. And they take him and they sacrifice that animal instead of Isaac. But what a lot of people don't know is that was very symbolic of the future, thousands of years later, of what would happen. On that same mountain, Mount Moriah, is where God sent his very own son to die on the cross. Calgary, Golgotha, all the different terms, the place of the skull, all the different terminology that they use for where Jesus died is actually on Mount Moriah, the very place where God told Abraham that he was to sacrifice Isaac. And God knew exactly when he told Abraham to do that, what he would be doing

thousands of years later with his own son. How profound that, how symbolic is that and how profound is that? And again, the Bible is chock full. If you want to find Jesus in the Old Testament, you will find him. What has to happen is you have to study the word. And once you start studying it, it just opens up. Like all these things, foreshadowing, there's like, there's all these different things that you'll see and you'll just, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. It'll be amazing to you. So does anybody have anything to add about as far as what they've, in the Old Testament, that outside of what I did, that you want to add to that? Are you good?

I'm good. Nobody has a lick of things to say. So that's a good thing. Next question. How long does it take to forgive yourself after you've made a bad decision to have an abortion? I can't seem to get past it. I know Pastor Tom has said I am forgiven, but I am full of shame and guilt. Actually, this is so funny because that's what Tom said last night on the podcast. Because he was talking, I don't know what made him talk about abortion. Do you remember, Heather? I don't.

But one of the things he talks about when he, and he doesn't always hit it in the sanctuary. He does because he's usually like, if he talks about that subject, it's like notifying how many people's lives, or babies' lives are taken. But when he gets more in depth with it, one thing that he does try to hit on is to make sure that if you have had an abortion, that you know you are forgiven.

Because it is super important not to walk around in guilt and shame. Listen, it's not an option. You have to forgive yourself. You, as long as you're bound up in this, you're of no use. You will not be used of option. You have to forgive yourself. You, as long as you're bound up in this, you're of no use. You will not be used of God. And that's exactly what Satan wants to do. And you're saved. You're going to see that baby when you go to heaven.

That's, that's your hope. And that, and I will tell you this, when Jesus died on that cross, he died for mistakes like that. There isn't one thing that he didn't cover for each and every single one of us. That's your thing. I have my thing. Heather has hers, all the way down to Vanessa. We all have something that we sit there and we go, or I don't because I don't have anything that I walk in or I can't forgive myself of. There have been like when I got newly saved. Now, I don't know how long you've been saved, but I'm saying when I was newly saved, there were things I legitimately was like, how can I forgive myself of that stuff? Because I have no one to blame but myself, right?

So, but through time and through the word and just having a very deep walk with God, you realize that is not what he wants for you. That is not his plan for you. You need to let that go. And then once you do, there's such a freedom in it and there's such a peace. But every single one of us, ours is different, but everybody walks in something that they go, how can I forgive myself of this? For the most part, there might be some that have never done anything so horrible that that's not the case. But a lot of people that I do know have at least one thing they were like,

that was a hurdle for me to overcome, right? So I would say to you, you are worthy of forgiveness by the stripes and the bruises and the beating that Jesus took for you. And he did all of that for you so you didn't have to beat yourself up anymore. So take it and run with it. Psalm 103, 12 says, as far as the East is from the west, so far has he removed our

transgressions from us. That's in Psalm. That was talking about Jesus when he died on the cross. That again, for the person who had the last question, that is a reference to Jesus and what he did for us. So every time you bring up your sin to God, he literally saying, I have no idea what you're talking about. I don't remember what you're talking. As far as the East is from the West, he can't remember it. So literally every time you talk to him, he has no idea. So what you need to do is forget about it too. And I'm not saying that if you long for the child that you didn't keep,

I'm not saying that that's not worth like honoring and treasuring. That's not what I'm saying. But remember, you will see that child in heaven. Appreciate that that's the case, but don't live in a place of not being able to move on. Because there's a future and you need to focus on now and let the future be the future, which is seeing that child, but leaving the past behind you too. There's a lot of things that need to be taken care of because you have a story, and that story needs to be shared.

If you can be bold enough, which once you forgive yourself, you actually have something that a lot of women do have, but they're not, they're not, they're not, let's see, how do I say it? Most women who use abortion have no regret. And sometimes it's a means of birth control for them. So they literally have no regret. It's just a way of life, right? You, on the other hand, understand the ramifications of the things that were done. And because of that, you can help other women or girls that are even considering this

or women who are in your same position, once you forgive yourself, you can help other women learn to forgive themselves or not do it. Your story can save many, but as long as you are tied up right where you're at, you have no use, which is what Satan loves. That's his plan.

His plan is to make it so that you don't do anything. You're ineffective so that more babies are taken and more lives of young women and women are destroyed for the ones that actually have a soul and understand what they're doing. So what I would say to you is instead of being so ashamed of yourself and being so distraught and upset and bothered and walking in unforgiveness toward yourself, let it go and do something that is effective for the kingdom in this particular area. And watch and see how you turn it against the enemy and God really uses you in a mighty way. And the thing that you were so distraught over, you'll be like, I'm not glad that it happened,

but I'm glad I'm able to use it. God works all things together for his good. And so in this case, Romans 8, 28, and in this case, use it for his good. Don't let Satan have a foothold and keep you from doing anything or accomplishing anything that can be used for the kingdom. So share that testimony, making an asset instead of a deficit. And there are plenty of organizations out there that would love to have you volunteer and be a voice to help save the unborn. Because you definitely,

your story will be monumentally used in a big, big way. I have no clock, so I have no idea what time it is. You have 24 minutes left. I have 24 minutes left. Can I add something to that? What is that? Can I add something to that? Oh, gosh, yeah, please. I would say that when you have that come in and you feel that guilt or the shame, remind yourself that that's Satan making you feel that way. So don't give him an ounce of feeling that way because he's stealing your joy so in

that moment when you feel that say no i am forgiven the lord does not remember anything that happened in my past so you're going to know that those feelings are not coming from the lord and that they mean nothing and they have no authority over your life so catch it quick and go no not for me get out and don't even ponder on it because it's not, it's not him. Exactly. And listen, I mean, I don't think there's anybody in this room that doesn't know somebody who's had an abortion. I mean, I know in high school, there were plenty of girls that had them and I was in the eighties. So I can't imagine what it was like in the 2000s. Do you know what I'm saying?

Probably very common. But most of the people that I knew that had them, they had more than one. And it was a way of life for them. It really was. It was a contraceptive. It really was. It's like I think that they thought it was a medical procedure. I really do.

I don't think that they, what I feel so bad for is the guys. I feel so bad for these. A lot of times guys have no idea that these girls are pregnant and they're having abortions. And then the guys like got no say in it. And the girls go, it's my body my choice uh you you didn't do that by yourself but i also think that a lot of girls that are younger it's not always their choice either their parents or others are pushing them into it and they really don't want to do it i agree i mean i've heard of girls it's rare rarer i would say i've heard of girls. It's rare. Rarer, I would say.

I've heard of girls, literally, their family members taking them for them. And, like, you cannot have that. And it was a mom. Yeah. Encouraging, strongly encouraging it. You cannot do this, which is crazy. But, I don't know. But I do, my heart breaks for guys.

It really does. It heart breaks for guys. It really does. It really breaks for men because, and here's the thing. To a certain extent it does because a lot of guys, they don't want the responsibility that a girl gets pregnant and they're not even around for it, right? They don't help her, is it? But there are guys that, there are men that are different than that. And those are the ones that I do feel bad for. I really do.

I just want to applaud you. Me? Yes. Because I remember I was that girl on the other side asking the question. Not about abortion, but do you remember me coming up to you before I took you on? Like you took me on the podcast and I was like, I struggled with. Death. Death she's struggling with and I didn't forgive myself.

Well, yours is a little different because yours is wartime. Correct? But it's still. It's still very tough. War is different, girl. You got to even look at um old testament and new testament there was war god waged war right and he had the israelites wage war and take the promised land so those people are when they died those ones that took lives they didn't go to hell

they didn't and so that's the way war war is different wartime is totally different than any other time that's the way it goes it's sad but that's the way it goes so and if you had had your choice you wouldn't have but that's what that's what the that's what the military is for and that's one of the reasons why though I will say I don't really think women need to be in the military god bless you and you probably feel differently about that but I'm just saying And that's one of the reasons why, though, I will say I don't really think women need to be in the military. God bless you. And you probably feel differently about that. But I'm just saying because men look at things even though it can mess them up to a certain extent. There's PTSD and stuff like that.

I understand. But I'm just saying that for women, because we're nurturers, we're caregivers, God made us different on purpose. It was not meant for us to go in and fight. It was in the, to go in and take care of, take care of the soldiers that are injured and need to be nursed back to health and things like that. I think women can be in the military, but under certain roles. We're not meant to be soldiers. Men are meant to be soldiers. That's what the beautiful thing about the difference between men and women, compartmentalizing things. Men are very objective.

We are not objective. We're not. I don't care that most women are not. That's because God designed us to be that way. That's what makes us beautiful. When you have your baby, Logan, when you have your baby, the way that you will be and the way that Chris will be are two different things. And that's on purpose. And the way that that child will go to you for certain things and

the way that child will go to his dad are on purpose. That's the way it is. Yes, I know we don't know what she's having, but I truly believe it's a boy, so I call it a him. But I'm just saying, and if you don't agree with me, and I'm not saying that you don't, I'm just saying if you don't agree with me about being in the military and you you're a woman after you have your kids and if you're truly honest after you have your kids you'll see it it's very different you will not

want your daughter to go off into the military and fight men where harm can come to her in ways that it can't come to a guy things like that and women are in, in my opinion, when a woman is fighting, men have to now not only be concerned about her well-being, because if our military on the other side gets a hold of her, what they'll do to her besides, they're not going to treat the guy the same as they do the girl. It's the facts. And we are not helping this country or

we're pretty much the only country allows women to serve. Like you don't see it in China. You don't. You don't see it in Middle Eastern countries. The women are, they serve, but they serve at a different place. Correct? Yeah. Yeah. Russia. Sorry. They pulling the women in and fighting. It's not happening. There's reasons for that. And I just think it's not good.

It's not good for our girls. My opinion. But I also like, I'm like, there's certain women that, that are police officers. And I'm like, yeah, you could beat up almost any burly, hairy man I've ever met in my life. But most women, like, when my husband had to go in, and there was only maybe two that he could think of, that when he walked in the room with them, he was not worried about their well-being the other women like depending on if it was a bar fight or depending he was like

okay now i'm concerned because i have to watch how she's going to be treated and i have to focus on this it's true like you you you take me like i know as i was uh i was a little bit of a ruffian and kind of a scrapper. But if I was in the military, I mean, if I was a cop and we went into a scene and it wasn't the right scenario and I was going in by myself, listen, I was probably going to get manhandled. I mean, given the right scenario, you're going to get manhandled. Unless I shot somebody. And who wants to do that?

So for me, it's like I don't really want a girl carrying me out if I'm in a fire. And like if I'm getting the crap beat out of me in a bar, I'm not really wanting the tiny girl that's about my size walking in and trying to save me either. I want Tom. I want a Tom coming in, taking the scene over. I know I'm a male chauvinist pig right here. You are. I am.

I don't care. I run my house old-fashioned. I want the world back to being old-fashioned. I was just saying, you're doing a great thing by making sure that these viewers understand that they are saved. I'm old-fashioned? No, that they are saved and that

they are forgiven. That's what I was saying. I was just applauding you on... You didn't want me to attack the military, the police officers, and the fire department. She wasn't going there, but I sure the heck took it there. You're doing a great job.

For the record, Logan was a cop and she was in the military, so I attacked both of her professions. But hey, listen, Logan's from New York. She can pretty much take anything. She cares. She's like me. If somebody was talking about it, I'd be like, whatever. That's your opinion. I i don't really give a flat flip whatever um but i'm old-fashioned i

like women being women and the man being the man i love it i think we have beautiful roles and we need to embrace those roles i think the man should be the breadwinner sorry ladies but i do if and listen i've made more money in jobs than tom but when but the thing was is when even though i made more money he's definitely the breadwinner because he was out there doing more manly things like my i worked except when you were harder digging ditches except for digging ditches that's When I did that. I am flourishing in my role. I am. But I can still out shoot a lot of people and I'll still beat you. Hey, there's nothing wrong with that. Hey, listen.

I love a girl that can handle a gun. Like there's something to be said with like I love redneck. I love girls being tomboys. I love redneck. I love girls being tomboys. I love that. But I also love that the tomboy girl can dress up, put on some heels, get a dress on, put some makeup on, and go out with her husband and be his trophy wife. Do you know what I'm saying?

Like, there's nothing. Like, I'm a tomboy. I love doing guy stuff. Always have. But at the end of the day, when Tom sees me, I want Tom to go, hmm. Like when I walked out today, he was like, hello. You know what I'm saying? He doesn't want, I don't want him thinking he's married to somebody that's like him. Do you know what I'm saying? There's something to be said for it. Why are you laughing, Heather? I don't think you want

me to share why. It was our conversation this morning on the way to the gym. I don't remember that. About, hmm. Oh, yeah, don't listen. We won't talk about that. Told you. Yeah. So I'm just saying.

Well, I was just saying too. That's okay. You're doing a wonderful thing. Forgiveness is a very important thing. Right, Logan? So important. I forgive you for everything you just said. That's like talking to me.

Like you don't even care, which that's what I love about you. I cannot stand when people are so temperamental. There's nothing to be temperamental about. You can have a different opinion and that doesn't mean that the world's coming to a crashing end because we have a difference of opinion. Oh well. It's all good.

So if I offended some women right now, the men are cheering. The men are cheering and the women are like rolling their eyes. But men love a feminine woman. Men love it. I don't care what anybody says. I have never met a man, even men who are married to women who like to run the house. Men would rather the wife, even if he's passive, he'd still love to be passive and just the wife be less passive than him and him still run the house. That's the way it is.

They want a woman that is a woman, not a woman that's trying to be controlling or a woman that cares about what she looks like when he gets home or when she gets home. Or, you know, when she gets home from work. You should have seen what I look like before this. It was hot. I was like, yeesh. Because my house is full of contractors right now, right?

And I came home from the gym and my hair was, I pull my hair out because I, no, this was yesterday. Because I hadn't washed it in like six days. Because I can't wash my hair out because I know I this was yesterday because I hadn't washed in like six days because I can't wash my hair. But once a week. So I pull out my hair. I'm not kidding. My hair literally stayed in the same place and my bangs were up like this. Oh, it was bad.

And I and we have workers in the house and I'm walking around like that. I don't care. I'm not kidding you. I thought to myself when they saw me today, they were like, who the heck is that? That can't be the same person. I literally thought to myself, they're not even going to recognize me when I come out. Like, who the heck is that? Because I look a sight. If anybody's ever walked, I listen. There ain't no shame in this game. I walk with no, if you ever come to the church, you might see me with no makeup on might see me with my hair not done i'm like i'm not into like uh what is that facades and personas or whatever is that the right terminology like always having to i'm not into that keeping up what is that like keeping up and always being perfect oh yeah i don't i don't know

what did you say don't catfish people what, yeah. I don't know. What did you say? Don't catfish people. Don't catfish people? What does that mean? I don't know what catfishing people. Come over here. Can people hear you? There's, like, girls that will, like, always go on dates or, like, before their husband wakes up, put, like, makeup on and stuff. And, like, you're basically catfishing them.

Like, if you're on Tinder and all your photos are, like, you with, like, a whole bunch of makeup on. When you take it offfishing them like if you're on tinder and all your photos are like you with like a whole bunch of makeup on when you take it off you look like a rat like that's basically what it is oh my gosh well that's that's definitely not happening because me and uh last week i think me and vanessa both had no makeup on vanessa looked phenomenal i on the other hand did not but i no, nothing, now everybody will go to my Instagram, my Instagram and Facebook, but I didn't post it on Facebook, but I was like, I can't, you can't care too much

if you post that picture on there. I was like, I don't care. It's me. Who cares? Let's say me when I shave my head. Oh, that's right, when you shaved your head. If I wore a wig, I'd be catfishing people, because I don't look like that. shaved my head. Oh, that's right. When you shaved your head. If I wore a wig, I'd be catfishing people because I don't look like that. Oh my gosh.

Oh my gosh. That's funny when Talia shaved her head. I was like, what the heck happened to you? How old were you when you shaved your head? Which we all know why you shaved your head, but we won't go into that. You were 11 years old. I remember that. I do too. She walked in one Sunday.

One Sunday she has a full head of hair. The next Sunday she's bald as a cue ball. I'm like, what the heck? I knew she hadn't gone through chemo or radiation. So I'm like, what the tarnation. I got privileges though. She's saying I got privileges though. Sounds like you took advantage of those privileges.

You skip lines. I can't. Oh, my gosh. Hey, listen, there's a price to be paid when you lose your hair. And in your way, in your in some ways, it benefited you. Listen, I had a patient that her husband didn't know she had dentures. What? Wait a minute.

She purposely did not know she had dentures? What did you just say? Her husband did not know? So she would go to bed after him and wake up before him and put her teeth in every day. What? Yeah. But I think for her reason, it's like you. She wanted to be proper and pretty for him always, and he didn't know.

Oh, my gosh. That is so sweet. That is the sweetest thing. I remember I told you the story how my mom would always make sure when my dad got home, she always looked. We had no air condition. I didn't have air condition until I was 10. So it was hot.

And we lived in Florida. It's hot in the middle of the state. But my mom always looked so pretty when my dad got home. My dad had no idea that she did that for him. It was like, I know, it was the sweetest thing. I was talking to him. We went somewhere. I don't know.

Me and my dad would like take trips sometimes by ourselves. Like if he had to retrieve me from somewhere. I got a wild hair and he had to go and get my crap for me or whatever. I mean, the poor man. Bailing you out of jail. It could have happened, but it never did. But the poor man, like he was always game for an adventure. So it probably was one of our trips or something like that,

and I was telling him how I just loved that my mom would do that. And he was like, what are you talking about? No idea. I think that it made him love her. He literally was like, oh, my gosh, I had no idea she did that for me. I'm like, yeah. I was like, how did you not know? She did not look like that all day long.

He wasn't there. He wasn't there all day. Listen, she looked like I did yesterday with my hair standing up. She didn't look that bad, but she looked way better by the time he got home. Because, listen, you've got got four kids and three of them are like barely one year apart. It's like having triplets. And me and my brother,

we were a handful. Handful. So I'm lucky that woman's alive to this day. After what we put that woman through. My older sister and my younger sister, beautiful. Me and my brother, I wouldn't have wanted us for sure. I would not have wanted us for kids. It was bad.

Let's move to the next question. How did you know you were called into ministry? I feel like I am, but I don't want to miss it. I work a regular job that pays all my bills. If I get it wrong, it would be a big deal. You know what I thought of, and I knew you were going to be here? I'm looking at Heather. Heather, put yourself on. Because I think Heather, like for me, God told me way in advance. He prophesied it to my mom.

My mama prophesied it to me and Tom. It happened in the exact years that she said it would happen in. Now, we didn't quit our jobs. Like last year is my first year of ever quitting and working full time for the church. I've done it for 20 years without pay and done other jobs along with it. Tom didn't quit until he retired. So I'm not saying you need to quit at all because you can do what we did. But Heather's a whole different story because Heather, I think of Heather, you were going through dental hygiene school.

Like you moved back from Texas. Like did you ever know you were ever called in? Because like what you do is administrative, which is like a ministerial skill. Like, did you ever know you were called into ministry? When did you know? And like you work for this church with working another job, then for free, then you got paid part-time,

and then you went full-time. And like it didn't happen overnight, but tell that story. Did you ever know that you were called into ministry? And if you did, I think when I was younger, I don't necessarily know if I was called into ministry, but I knew that I had something to share and that I was going to be put in two specific places where I could share my story and kind of where I came from and what I went through. So I know that all through growing up that definitely God's hand directed me, even though I was not living for him at that time. He still had picked me specifically to do things. Now, did I? Which is true for everybody. Right, correct. But not everybody is called to be in

ministry like this. Everybody's got a calling. So I think when we moved back from Texas, I did not intend to do full-time ministry. I continued working in the dental field and then went back to school, tried to finish my prereqs, but then stopped because the company, I got promoted promoted promoted and then it made more sense for me not to go to hygiene school because I was already at the level that I wanted in the dental field um and so I had had already been part-time but I knew that it would eventually lead to more and that there was how did you know

did you get listen you need to like you have to think about this person this person is literally trying to figure this out they're like you yeah so how did you know though like it's not a step step step no like you're like making it like how did you know like Like, was it in your innermost being? I think for what happened is everything that I thought I wanted was given to me. Everything that I, for that job, the things that I really, really wanted, he gave to me. And he rewarded me because I continued to do what he wanted me to do. But then after I had it all, he clearly said, now, I've given you everything that you want but this is what I want for you and I was like did you desire it did you desire to work for for the church oh absolutely I did is it like did you think that would like out of everything you're doing like that seems

like every time I do it that's the most fulfilling feeling like. Like I am actually in my, I'm in my spot. Yes. It's my, this is my thing. Yeah. I mean, honestly, it doesn't feel like work ever. It doesn't. It's never hard. We're here way more than we're supposed to be here because it's our second home.

This is our family. This is what we love to do. So when people say, oh, do you live there? Pretty much. I mean, we do, but it doesn't feel like it. And there wasn't, once I clearly heard the Lord say, you will quit your job. It was literally in the middle of a conversation that I was having with other office managers and our VP. It was like a three hour conversation. And I remember it vividly because I was walking up and down my driveway. And he said, you will no longer be at this job. And I'm like, what in the world? So I stayed on the phone call. And then when I hung up, he clearly said, you will go inside and

tell your husband that you're leaving the job. I was like, OK. So I went inside. I'm like, so the Lord just told me to quit my job. He was like, OK. I bet that's how we operate. So it was very clear. So I did. And then I remember I think that night or the next day we had come over to your house just to be like, hey, so.

Quitting my job. I quit my job as of yesterday. And you were like, OK, Tom, are you going to tell her? Yeah. And I was like, what are you talking about? Because I didn't know what you guys had planned and what God was telling you to do. So then as soon as I told you, you're like, OK, tell her. And then I think he said something like, oh, we've been praying for you to be full time.

So when can you start? And I'm like, well, I'm taking vacation first. Yeah. And that was it. It kind of just comes together. Now, Vanessa, somehow get in between because Vanessa,

you need to hear Vanessa story. And I don't know how far I'm over time. And I really don't care because truthfully, this is a great, I have 30 seconds. This is a great story. Just try to switch, you move where Logan is. Do you need to, no, no comments?

Okay. Cool beans. So what a lot of people don't know is Vanessa was in ministry and kind of is back into ministry. She just doesn't work. Her husband works for the church now as one of our pastoral staff people for counseling and meeting with people. So now kind of Vanessa has to do it too with him depending on the

situation but um but before that both of you were in full-time ministry and a lot of people don't so let me ask you because you were very young how old were you when you stepped down into ministry so I grew up attending um a church that was like an outreach church. And so once I outgrew the program, I started volunteering because I was too old for the program. And so through volunteering, a door opened for me to come on as staff. And so as I was pursuing the Lord and as I was pursuing the gifts that he had given me, God opened doors. Okay, how old were you? I was in high school, so I was still, I was about 16, 17.

Now, did you know at a very young age that you were going to do ministry? I want to say yes. I just always loved how I felt serving the Lord and being used. And so I don't know if I audibly said I'm going into the ministry, but I always felt like that pulling into. I felt the pulling when I was very, very young too, even before I walked away from God. But you're so young sometimes that you're just like, I'm so immature. Like, that's probably not God.

Because you just don't trust your voice. Now let me ask you this. Now, you had to, like, this person's afraid to make the mistake. Let me see. What did it say? I work a regular job that pays all my bills. If I get it wrong, it could be a big deal. Yeah, we all know that.

Been there, done that. Big time. How much did Jeff, when you guys went into full-time ministry, how much did you guys make a week? In New York City? He was making, I think it was like $71 a week. I was making a little bit more than that. What year was that? This this was like 2008 2007 71 okay so you work too but let's face it yeah even though it was maybe more than 71 we're not talking that you were making six figures no yeah living in new york city and the church did like give us housing so we were living like in like a parsonage so we didn't have to worry about our housing but 71 for food and gas well you don't pay for gas but you're gonna have to get around i mean come on like everything in new york city if you want you can't walk everywhere

no so like you need money you gotta buy clothes you gotta buy shoes you didn't you you were pregnant your honeymoon and i'm not kidding you. The honeymoon, she got pregnant. So it's like, hello. It's not that simple. I would say this. If you feel like God is calling you, it's not by accident. I would evaluate that. I would get heavily, if you are not volunteering, all of us started volunteering. I didn't get paid until last year. Heather worked and volunteered before she ever, like seven or eight years you volunteered when we started the church she was one of she was like one of our first start um one of our first members 20 years ago like you were volunteering even like you always paid your time with you tied to the church even though you didn't live here so like and when you did live you come on

vacation you always helped out. You always volunteered. So, like, volunteering is huge because where your treasure is, your heart will be also. So if your heart is for ministry, plant some seeds, okay? If you're willing to do it for nothing, then God, if he was faithful with a little, will be faithful with much. He'll see how faithful you are with the little you've been given volunteering. You volunteered, right? That's right. At a very young age

you started volunteering until eventually I just kept showing up. I just kept showing up. That's usually how people get stuff though. If you just show up, God's gonna And if the intent of your heart is correct. If you're wanting to do it so you can be a name and you can be seen

and you can be when you walk in the room, people go, oh, that's so-and-so. That's not the right intent. So if that's what you're doing it for. But truthfully, nobody cares when you walk in the room and nobody cares. Do you know what I'm saying? I don't know. Some people do. Some people do.

They want the, oh, yeah, I did that. I volunteered for that. I was in charge of that. Oh, okay. So they want the thank yous for the accolades for the things that they did. Going into the ministry for the wrong reason. If they're doing it to, yeah, that's what I'm saying. If it's not that, then.

And thankfully, God sees the heart, right? Correct. He'll put a stop to that. He sees the posture of our hearts. So doors won't open if you're doing it for the wrong reason. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, that's true. Yeah, always check and make sure that the reason behind what you do is pure.

And if you're not getting anywhere, re-evaluate. Re-evaluate, truthfully. That's true, too. If you're spinning wheels and you're wishing something was going to happen. But I will tell you this. Listen. If you start volunteering and you step out and doors open for you, it is a big deal for you to maybe take that step. Like, I took a huge pay decrease.

Not a pay increase. I mean, I took a lot less money to come and work at this church. By a lot. Significant. But God's met the need. Like, we haven't hurt from it. We're totally fine. Because somehow, someway, God makes it up.

And he does. In ways that you never thought even possible. He will make it up. But you have to take the steps of faith. And like, Tom and I, just like Heather walked in and told Travis, God told me to quit. And he's like, okay. Well, the same thing when I felt like it's time, Tom was like, okay, well, then we're just going to do it.

And we did do it. We didn't even think about the loss of income. But I will tell you this, just because we didn't doesn't mean that other people don't, and it's not unreasonable for you to kind of have that thought process because bills do have to be paid, and you might be taking a pay cut in going into ministry. I will say this. If you make a mistake and you're wrong, guess what? God's great at fixing mistakes every single time.

And he looks at the heart. So if the heart behind you going into ministry is to better the kingdom and do more for the kingdom and to spread the gospel, to disciple believers, to win the lost, and to be effective for him, then guess what? He'll fix the mistake. And it'll be a blip on the screen. And listen, it doesn't mean if you don't go through seasons of trials, the word is clear, you'll face many trials in this lifetime, but I will deliver you from them all. So just because you face a trial doesn't mean, or you're like, oh, it's tight this month. Okay, that doesn't mean that you shouldn't have done it. That just means you're going to have to up your faith.

You'll know if you stepped out and you shouldn't have done it because, I mean, there'll be glaring signs left and right. It won't be like, oh, we're going to have to figure this one out. Or, okay, God, help us through this. It will not be like that. It'll be like, wah, wah, wah, kind of. It will not be like that. It'll be like, kind of thing. Okay. Two different things. And serving will give them the opportunity to see what real ministry is. What is that? I said, when they just go and serve and give time and do things, they'll see what ministry is, the behind the scenes and inner workings of what really goes on.

Yeah. Because a lot of people think like when you're in ministry that, how do I say this without making it sound bad? They think like the leadership is perfect, that the leadership never makes mistakes, that they never have a bad day. Really, sometimes you do to the degree of how bad the day is. Sometimes you fail, sometimes you succeed. If something doesn't go, I'll give you an example. When we had the women's conference and there were certain things

that did not go the way I intended them to go. Well, the rubber meets the road, and it's going to have to go that way. And I know other ministries, it's the same way in their ministries. But if you do not have a spiritually minded individual receiving that information from someone like me and you can't handle it and ministry is probably not for you right because you you think it's one way when in all actuality it's another and everything that we do and especially at this church everything we do is in excellence and your excellence level may be here and our excellence level may be here.

And it may offend you because we're saying this ain't going to work. You got to bring it up to here. And then the way that it's said because it's not being received any other way, but bring it up to here, then it's like it's not for me. Well, it's not that the leadership is wrong. It's just it's not a fit. We're not going to fit. But it isn't because they're so bad.

And if I had known that ministry was like that, no, no, no. Right. Because that's what gets said. Right. If I knew ministry was like that, I would have never done it. They're such hypocrites. It's like, no, no, that's not how it is. And if that's, if you go into it like that, you're going to fail. Correct. You will fail because nobody is perfect. And then there are

degrees of some people you may walk into a church and the leadership is just willy nilly. Like there is no schedule. You don't know what's going on. They tell you last minute. And they just fly by the seat of their pants. Okay, that works for some people. That doesn't work for other people. But that doesn't mean because that's what works for them that they're so horrible.

Do you know what I'm saying? Because it just doesn't meet your standard, but it doesn't mean that that standard is so horrible. Do you know what I'm saying? Because it just doesn't meet your standard, but it doesn't mean that that standard is so wrong either. And it's just the standard. It's just the standard that foundation church has set. And that's what is expected on all levels is excellence in how we perceive the excellence to be. Yes. Whereas other people's perceptions of excellence. It's perceptions of excellence it's just different it's very different but one is not better than the other and one is not more wrong than the other but if you walk in and your expectations of

ministry is a certain way you're gonna probably be very disappointed you're probably not gonna make it because ministry is a lot of times not like anybody thinks it's just not and people are not like people think. They don't. And the people business is rough. The people business is rough. But it's also beautiful as well. If he's telling you to do it, you better do it,

and you'll overcome all the things that you feel like you got to overcome. You will, because God's enabled you to do it. So anything else you want to add to that, Heather? Because I was like, I'm going to make Heather answer that one. Because most people never heard your story, but you are not going in this direction. But I also know you knew God was telling you to do it. Like I remember talking to you years in advance and saying, I know you're called into ministry. I knew it. But my flesh was set on doing what I wanted to do in the career, the field that I've been in, which I loved. I did love. Yeah, you did. And you're excellent at it. But all of that stuff was training for what you do now. Correct. Because

a lot of it you're using for ministry, which is crazy. But that's what God's doing with you as well. Or anybody else who's feeling like this too. Everything that he's led you to up to this point will be used for ministry. Yes. He's equipping us. Yeah, big time. So don't despise small beginnings and don't despise where you're at because grab as much of it as you possibly can while you're still there because it's vitally important that it's used

in the next place that he brings you to. So on that, we're going to close out. If you don't know Jesus, I invite you right now to say the sinner's prayer with me. Get your life right. Whether you've been here before or you've never been here ever. Let's say this prayer together, and let's start your October off with a bang. In Jesus' mighty name, Father God, I thank you, Lord, for dying on the cross, for the forgiveness of my sins. I thank you for the stripes that you bore, for my healing. I thank you, Lord, that I have the opportunity to come to you and ask you to be the Lord of my life, to forgive me of my sin. And if there's any healing

that is needed in your body, add that to this prayer right now. Just ask him right now in the name of Jesus. I command the sickness that is in my body to be gone in the name of Jesus by the stripes that were bore for me on that cross. Salvation and healing come together from the cross. I will live for you for the rest of my days. Lord, show me what you want for me to do for you. And I will live my life for you from this point forward. In Jesus' mighty name we pray. Amen. It's super simple. If you said that prayer, let us know. We want to hear about it. We want to stand with you. We want to pray for you. And listen, don't be like the parable of the sower, where a seed fell on so many different soils, but there was only one good ground where it grew, took root, and flourished.

Be that seed that was planted in the good ground, flourished and grew, and became mighty, mighty, mighty for the kingdom. Thank you. We'll see you on Friday, and I appreciate you joining in. Bye. Real talk. Real talk.