WHOA That's Good Podcast - Breaking Cycles & Building Something New | Sadie Robertson Huff & Terra Tucker

Episode Date: May 26, 2025

Sadie's own therapist, Terra Tucker, is here to talk about generational blessings, breaking cycles, and seeing how God uses our stories for His glory. Mrs. Terra encourages us that we are neither the best nor worst parts of our stories, but we're undeniably shaped by them—and from them, we have a narrative. So what do we do with that? Mrs. Terra shares about her book and course, Generational Blessings, on how we can find healing and make changes regardless of our family of origin. You can learn more at www.GenerationalBlessings.study! This Episode of WHOA! That's Good is Sponsored By: https://sadiepens.com — Stock up on Mr. Pen Bible journaling supplies today! Upgrade your sleep with Miracle Made! Go to https://trymiracle.com/WHOA  and use the code WHOA to claim your FREE 3 PIECE TOWEL SET and SAVE over 40% OFF. https://covenanteyes.com/sadie — Visit the website to earn more and start your journey toward a healthier, stronger marriage today. - Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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she was just a friend, but she's actually our counselor. And so sometimes when she comes on, I feel very vulnerable in this moment. but this is for all of you. I know she's gonna bless you with just the words that she says and the way that she lives her life. Truly, she's studied so much. She has all this credibility and all the things, but who she is is gonna bless you. So we have Ms. Tara Tucker back on the podcast.

Welcome back, my friend. Thank you. And I love you. Aw. And who you are. And as you just shared, I didn't, but you did. I know who you are. And I love who you are.

So sweet. You've always made me feel that way. And for those listening too, just to make a connection, her daughters are my best friends, Sarah and Gracie, who were just on the podcast a couple weeks ago. We were talking about relationships, which was really fun. Did you get a chance to listen? A little bit. It was great.

It was fun. Gracie was cracking me up. She's so funny. Did I make Gracie? It's just fun. She's just funny. And honest. She is. She said, you know, I would rather be single until I'm, you know, 50, if it means waiting that long to find the man.

And she goes, hold on, back up, can I change the age to like 40 or something? I was like, no, you said it, stick with it. And she means it. No, she really means it. And with her personality, it's hard for her. Like it really is, but her heart is so good. And she's going to be like, hush mom, we're not selling me.

But her heart is so good. It's just, it's difficult for her. No, it's true. And you and Gracie have started doing little Instagram videos, which I love so much. It's kind of like my mom's a counselor type of video. Gracie. Gracie's helping.

Gracie asks you all the questions. It's so good. Also, you have written this incredible study, which you're so funny. When I had this in here, you're like, you didn't have to do that. And I said, well, yeah, we're gonna talk about it. You're like, we don't have to talk about it. I'm like, yeah, we're gonna talk about it.

It's incredible. It is generational blessings. And if you are in a tough spot in your life, you need a counselor and you go to counseling, but maybe you never have, this is a great place to start. I'm so excited to chat with you all about this, Mistyra. I'm just so thankful that you put all your years of wisdom into a book, put it on paper,

and video form, it's such a blessing. But I do wanna ask you, what, because I said you have all these years of experience, how long have you been a counselor, and what is your journey with schooling and all that looks like? Okay, I graduated from being a marriage and family therapist in 2008.

And so I did that for years, I worked with the church. So I was kind of the not on staff, but was the church counselor. I did that for about eight years. And I just did it more as ministry. And I would start praying before each session for the Holy Spirit to be the counselor. And then I would try to not do that for a little bit, honestly, because I thought, okay, you want insurance. And so you want people to be able to give you their insurance. Let's stay within the guidelines once I wasn't working with

a church. And I couldn't counsel without praying that. And so then one of my best friends, she taught for Lipscomb University in the Bible department. And she invited me to go in with her to the prison to teach classes. And just she wanted me as her counselor friend there with her. And so that's how I first started going in with Lipscomb as a teacher assistant, and they ended up offering a master's, basically in pastoral care. It was a master's in Christian arts with an emphasis in pastoral care. And so I was able to get that master's

beside inmate students inside of prison walls. I went every Wednesday night for four years for that, and I'd volunteered for four years before. I always said that just changed me. And I got to see real transformation in those that were transformed in ways that only God could have done that. And so, little by little, staying in the ministry lane, I ended up combining the marriage and family therapy, the masters in that, with the masters in pastoral care. And so now I just kind of call myself a pastoral care marriage and family therapist. I've gone to school, I've had the supervision hours. I pray before each

session. So in Tennessee, I'm not licensed because I'm not going to try to pretend I am when I'm not. I do it more as ministry. I don't really do it for monetary reasons, although I'm for that. I really am for people. I think that is wise, and get your license and do it the way God's called you to do it. God can absolutely work in those ways. But God just kind of had me take a different path. And then back in 2010, the church that I attended, that I counseled at said, you know, let's teach a study. What if you had a study? And I had a long waiting list. And so, I was like, what if I just show people, I keep doing the same things over and over and over again. I could teach them how to do this at the most basic level. And so, to make the long

story short, here we are many years later after teaching it in prison and church groups and different things. And that study is just my best tricks. They're real theories, real therapist theories that I could filter through scripture with guardrails around them that can help people have a little extra hope and healing. And I had it, like I'm pretty simple. And I'm not ashamed of that. Like I have a dear friend who's like a doctorate in something

and knows Hebrew and Greek and all this stuff. And she was like, your gift is you bring it down to the fourth grade level. And that used to offend me. I was like, well, yeah, I know. And like I'm from the country, country and stuff. And she's like, no, it's in the best way. Everybody can understand it. And then I had another friend, she said, everyone can eat at this table.

Everyone can understand what and it can meet them where they are. And everyone can eat. And I went, okay, I'll just be me and keep it simple and let the Holy Spirit meet. Because that's one of the tricks of the whole study and the way that I try to counsel. I want the Holy Spirit to be the counselor. I don't want to take God's place. And then I see my role is I get to join God where God's already at work in people's lives. So I'm just joining where He already is

and applying things that have been proven to work well, honestly, to draw people back to God. Like that's the goal. It's so cool, like being someone who has been counseled by you for years. I mean, I think the first time I sat in your room office was like, was I 19, 20 maybe? I maybe just turned 20. I mean, I was, so you've been with me through, you know, meeting Christian and getting married and having kids and postpartum and all things

ministry and all things real life. And what I love about sitting across from you in a room is you always pray first and you always ask the Holy Spirit to counsel. And even this morning, you always say, you will never share anything, and I know you truly won't because your girls never know anything that I tell you. But I will say this, it's so cool that you do that because the way that I've seen God love me

through you making space for me to see God has been so cool. Like this morning, you were like, this is so crazy. I was looking for my books. You tell it. Tell what happened because this is a part of doing it with God. Okay. A part of doing it with God.

One, any person that I sit with, I say, is a God trust. I mean that. And it truly, it's an honor. Now it's an honor I sit with, I see as a God trust. I mean that. And it truly, it's an honor. Now, it's an honor to sit with you. It's also an honor to sit with someone, if God leads, who works at McDonald's, if that be where they are in life and what they're,

and even what they're called to, there's nothing wrong with that at all. But all people who, if God lays it out and that's who I'm sitting with, I see it as, okay, God, this is a trust. I wanna be trustworthy. And I see that as both an honor and I'm answering to God and doing my very best, just to the best of my ability.

But a sweet thing in joining God at work, mostly I'm listening, I'm a trained listener and question asker. That's what therapists really do, except that I'm trying to be in tune with the Holy Spirit. And my goal is for you all, for the Holy Spirit to be working in your midst and also working when I'm not there. Like, God is always at work. And so, I was looking, coming to visit, just coming for a little visit, and I get to see you in Christian, who I love. And I'm looking, coming to visit, just coming for a little visit, and I get to see you and Christian who I love.

And I'm looking through books and trying to be responsible with this. I didn't know we were talking about this study. I thought we were talking about relationships. And my husband thought, I was like, honey, you've done this almost 20 years. You know the answers. I'm like, no, I want to be responsible. And just make sure I'm given the correct information, the best I can give. I hadn't looked at this in a while.

So I'm looking through books, and in a book, in my space, and you haven't been in that space in a long time, and I know not for this reason, at the end of every marriage and family pre-engagement or pre-marital session, we go to Scripture. And we take it through 1 Corinthians, you know, we know the love and what love is and how you can love each other in a God way. And then we'll go to Ephesians, and we'll begin with that mutual submission and how you submit to each other.

And we'll read through that chapter in Ephesians, and then we'll come down to the bottom, and basically it's love and respect. And we'll talk about how a man feels loved when he feels respected, and a woman feels loved when she feels cared for, adored, taken care of. And I'll share that. This author wrote about it, and it's a great book. And doesn't every counselor wish they had written it? And so, because it was so smart and accurate. And so I know we talk about that at the end of a premarital.

Wasn't thinking about that. In my stack of books, there was a tag sticking out like a bookmark. And so I saw it and I grabbed it just because it was in the stack and I was tucking it in and I opened it. And I thought it was my book because I know I've had that book. I've read that book years and years ago, like many years ago. I opened it and Sadie, it was your book. It was to Sadie and Christian.

Literally said, to Sadie and Christian. I was like, I don't know how I got this, but I'm going to see them tomorrow and I'm going to make sure I see them tomorrow because God is at work and I'm taking them their book. And I would have given it to you years ago. I wasn't keeping your book. Had no idea. But that's the fun in watching God at work. And then also I don't take credit for anything.

When God does a good work, it's God doing it. I just got to be a little part. It was the coolest thing because it literally was this book that she was looking for all the other stuff to study for the podcast. And it said, to Sadie and Christian, and it was a note from the author of the book to us, which I never got, obviously.

I never brought that to you. I don't know how you got it. I don't know how I got it. And Christian and I got married five and a half years ago. So the fact that that's been sitting on your desk and then you find it the day before you're gonna see us and before we're gonna get to meet with you. And then it was just so cool

because the thread of so much of our conversation today went back to stuff in the book. All right, fam, I gotta brag on Mr. Penn for a second because they have truly become my go-to for Bible study and journaling supplies. One of my favorite things to do is sit down and read God's words, slow my brain down, and take notes or journal right there in the margins, and that is why I love Mr. Pen. It's a Christian company that actually designs pens and highlighters specifically for those

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quality as a good highlighter, except for it doesn't bleed through the Bible pages. So very impressed with that. And also I love just their tabs. Like they have very nice tabs that keep me in the book that I'm in, especially whenever I'm preaching, I'm going back and forth, makes it super simple for me. So they just have everything they've really thought of it all.

So stock up on your Mr. Penn Bible journaling supplies today. Visit SadiePenns.com and be sure to check out my favorites. That's SadiePenns.com to get all your Mr. Penn Bible journaling supplies. You're gonna be so glad that you did. And I was just like, like that is the beauty of getting to let the Holy Spirit lead and that you let the Holy Spirit lead as you counsel

and as you walk people through therapy. I mean, it is the coolest thing to be on the receiving end of it. And I'm sure the coolest thing for you to get to like constantly be blown away by God. Always. One thing that I want to ask you, because it's actually been a topic we've talked about in the podcast a lot recently, is that sometimes the plan God has for you is out of the box of what society has set up, right? So it's like, you wanted to be a therapist and were a therapist,

but then you also had this pastoral side of you. And then you didn't necessarily want to do it for the money because then that got complicated with how you could bring God into the mix and there's insurance and there's all this stuff. Therefore leading you to have to say, okay, well, God, if you're calling me to this and it's gotta look outside of the box, how do I trust you with that? Well, then now we're sitting on

the other end of it where it's like, you come up with this generational blessings book, you've been walking people through therapy for years and years and years. It's obviously worked. You know, it's obviously been a blessing, but there are so many people who listen to this podcast in their twenties and thirties going, man, God, you put so much in me. And they're trying to fit it in the box that is a degree or the box that is, you know, this job title. But yet God's like calling them to use all of their talent. You know, how do you trust God in those moments? And what does it look like to be okay with stepping outside of the box

when you feel like a God calling on your life? Wow, I feel like I've lived outside of the box. And just the sweet part of what I get to do, it increases my faith. I always say, I get to hear God's stories. I get to, and I get to watch God be at work in people's life. And it makes me believe in more.

You mentioned schooling, and I was so blessed to get to go to school as much and as long and all those things, even though it didn't always feel like a blessing. But I know a lot of people with a lot of degrees. And that's wonderful. But I know a lot of people who know Jesus, who might not have those degrees, and that's wonderful. And so, in my path, it was a combination. And really, there's

not exactly a box for me, except that I follow Jesus. And whatever God has called you for, whatever He's laid on your heart, He'll make a way. And is it easy to always trust? Well, faith is not knowing and doing it anyway. And so you just go with, and God will kind of, he'll lead the way. I think about, I glanced over at that workbook, years ago, as I counseled at the church, and I didn't know what I was gonna do,

I just knew I was always called to ministry and that was a good fit at the time. And it trained me so well, like for dual relationships and stuff. I always tell people, you don't have to hide from me. I promise I won't be weird if I see you outside of this and I'm never going to ask you how you're doing. I just know you a little better, love you a little more. And the Holy Spirit really does make it like what's in this room is this room and what's

outside of that, it's almost like two different people. But when I was counseling at that church, there was a red bird, I know they're Cardinals, I do know that in my simpleness, but there was a red bird that would sit on my car mirror for hours, like all day, every day, and would peck at the mirror underneath it.

So people would come in and they would tell me that they had been visited by their grandmother. And I would get so aggravated, I'd be like, Lord, now they've wasted half a session, they think that's their grandmother, and it's not. But God was using that, because at first it aggravated me. And then I was like, okay, I kind of love that silly bird. And then when I was getting ready

and felt God was leading me to write that, I was like, Lord, you'd have to bring a red bird. And he did. And I was like, okay, I do not worship the red bird. Like I'm always like sticking in my little lines. And I was like, but I do worship the God who was kind enough to bring him when I need him because he knows and he'll encourage me in that calling.

Yours might not be a bird, but it might be a direction. It might be, however, the Holy Spirit, the people He surrounded you by, the different things that are just something between you and God, that God knows you love, and you know God knows you love. People who speak truth, speak encouragement, you go with God and trust God with the rest of it.

And even that is that act of faith. And that's you going, okay, God, I trust, I hand it to you, and God being faithful always, then it's no longer your responsibility. You're doing the best you know. And it doesn't mean easy, and it doesn't mean, a funny thing about generational blessings is,

God's not about finances. Like, it's included, like that's a great blessing, but God is the blessing. Having nothing separate us, and I always, I'm like, I pray blessings, I pray also financial blessings on all of us to be taken care of, I'm not anti that. But that's not the point. God is the blessing. God is the blesser.

Having nothing separating us in our relationship from God. That's the blessing. And so in your walk of your calling, if it draws you closer to God, if you're transformed as you walk by faith, you are blessed. Great, that's so beautiful. I meant to tell you this, this is actually so cool.

On my way out of our house this morning, I got to the end of the driveway, waiting on the gate to open, and I'm not kidding, a red bird flew right in front of me, and I was like, oh my gosh, this is so classic of God, that on my way to go see him is here. It's just the kindness of God. And I love that you said,

it's not like you're worshiping that thing, but you're worshiping a God who's kind enough to bring the thing, to make you smile and go, okay, God, I see you. You know, it's so cool. And thank you for seeing me. Yes, it's so cool. So I wanna talk about,

because you are so saturated in the Holy Spirit and love the Lord and everything you do is led by God. And you actually talk about this in the book. It's like how everything you do is shaped by what your view is of God and the way that you think and everything. And there are people who are listening to this podcast who are tracking with you.

They're like, this is so good. Yes, amen, sister, preach. And there are people who are like, how do you even see God like that? Like, how do you know God like that? Can you talk a little bit about just that view of God and what has shaped it? And this is a big question, you go through this a lot in the book,

but I think it's an important thing to talk about as we encourage so many people, like, gotta let God lead, and people are like, how do you even know God? I'm telling you, part of it really is that I've gotten to hear a thousand stories. And part of it is the story, and we're all born into a narrative, a family of origin.

And we start there. And I'm always telling people, there's, I don't know, there's just so many viewpoints out and breaking cycles. I'm all about breaking cycles. I'm all about that.. I'm all about that. But I'm also about gathering treasure and keeping the treasures and going, and the things that were harmful or sin patterns

that ran in my family, like I teach people how to draw a genogram. It's a master's course for marriage and family therapists, but it's not that hard. And everybody can learn from theirs. And I've done them in prisons. I had a lady once, she probably had a fourth grade education, and only God knows everything she had been

through, but God loves her, and regardless. And so, and she can always choose God and have a redemptive story. She can always, I was a this and now I'm a this, God saved me. And so she's absolutely a perfect candidate to be sitting there taking the class. So she draws hers like on a fourth grade level, and she still gained, okay, well, this person was hardworking, but this happened and I don't want that anymore. And so she was able to gather some treasure,

and she was able, I call it trash, but no human is trash, no human. But the behaviors that need to be taken out, like the trash, and then you get to choose which one you live from, those are treasures, and those are some of the blessings. A part of what I was born into was a mom who had grown up in an orphanage, and a grandmother who had adopted her, but had been sick, but still loved Jesus, and mentally sick, very mentally sick. And all she had was her Bible, and she would pray, and she would sing, and she would walk up and down the street, and

she would have good days where she would read to me. My mom did not know to not leave me with her. But all this woman had left was her faith. And so I grew up watching that be real, as real to me as air, and everybody's got their story. And I also had another side of the family that was more religious. They had more rules. They were good people, but they were more rule-based. God allowed me to be born into that family. From that, some of my beliefs, because we're shaped from our family of origin, and we learn from our life stories,

like we're always taking things in, so we're always gathering information. In my life story, I was saturated in, every day there were hymns. Every day there was Bible reading and carrying. It was a little extreme. It was a little extreme. And yet, it was just normal.

And then on Sundays we did church. And so that was great. And so that was a part of my DNA, which kind of led me into this. And plus, my mom, although she could have chosen to have turned from God, she had every reason. Didn't she? She chose to instead, she still says, the good Lord. Now, she has some behaviors I'm not just like her in. She has other behaviors and there are a lot of attachment issues that I'm like, oh, I admire and I treasure that. And so we're shaped from our family of origin.

And some people have grown up and they, like me, were saturated in it. Others have grown up and they haven't heard of God at all. Okay. I think that's growing. I think God's going to be known. And I would even say in this generation that God is being known. God is, Jesus hasn't come back generation, that God is being known. Jesus hasn't come back yet, so God is still at work doing what God's at work in doing.

And that is bringing his kids back. And so to him, and that includes Gentiles, that's all of us, God loves and wants all of us. And we get to choose. Well, friends, summer is coming in hot. And if you're like me, you know that trying to sleep when you're sweating your face off is the worst. And that's why I want to tell you about Miracle Made Sheets. They're inspired by NASA tech and use silver infused fabrics that actually help regulate

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But we're shaped by both our family of origin, what we're born into, we're shaped by our story. I always tell people, you are not your story. You are not the worst part of your story. You're not the best part of your story. But your story has had a part in shaping you. It's given you a narrative. It may be a false narrative. That family of origin may have given you a false narrative.

So we look through family of origin, genogram, week two, we come just as we are. There is no choice. It's all you got. It's all you got. Try to come to somebody else. You won't be able to. And we look at our narrative. And then we go, okay, neither of those are our identity. And we come back to, there's a saying, Tozer, T-O-Z-E-R. I'm always like, did I say it right? Did I not say it right? But Tozer, one of those great writers, wrote, the most important thing about any person is what they believe to be true about God. I have found that one, what you believe to be true about God, two self, three others, shapes everything else you believe to be true on the planet. So let's look at it.

Sitting in classes with women who were in prison and having the question posed, what do you believe to be true about God? Now they've got awful stories. They've lived, I've never done a genogram and go, I'm so surprised that you got here. Like how could this have happened to you? You just out of nowhere made, no, it makes sense. You're like, why would they not have

with the life they were given? I had a lady walk into prison one night and I told her, you know, this is the study. And she literally said to me, I need you to know that I hate God, first night. Wow. I sized her up because I thought, okay, you're going to hate me. Can I take you? Probably not. But at least I can, I can be safe if you decide you hate me. And so, and I, but instead I said, okay. I said, but I love God, and I'm gonna talk a lot about him.

And you're welcome to stay, but you can go. She said, I'll stay. And I was like, great, so excited. By the end of the class, she said, they would call me professor. I wasn't really their professor, but she said, Professor Tucker, I need you to know I really don't hate God.

I really love God. I just hate what people did in His name. Wow. And oftentimes, we're made in the image of God. But we as humans tend to make God in our image. And what we know to be true, it's all with God. Whether it be father, mother, caretaker, just what we've been raised around,

we think God is like, or even ourselves, like we would be. And so in the study, we stop and go, okay, let's question, let's lay it out there. People do all this deconstructing now that you can look up anything in just a minute. This is what I've learned, God is bigger. God is bigger than any verse you want to park on and argue with God. God is bigger than the narrative of God.

God is bigger than the words of God. In the same way, Sadie, if you wrote your life story, would you be bigger than your writing of your life story? Yes. If you were to, that's the narrative, you're talking to me. We've got words and words are so powerful. Are we as individuals bigger than our words? As is God.

That's great. And so for those, I wanna debunk it, I wanna find this. Scholars argue about what different verses mean, but the greatest of scholars will all agree on the Christ event. Jesus came, born of a virgin, died on a cross, rose again. They'll all point back and go, we want to argue about this, and we want to argue about women in the church, and we want to, okay. But they all land on that Christ event. That happened.

And I love that. And so in the study, we go, okay, what's shaped your view of God? What do you just not understand? What's never gonna make sense to you? Lay it out there. God already knows because he knows your heart. Then we look at, okay, let's take our Bible as our textbook.

Like we read a science book, if we were in middle school, this is our text, this is where we're gonna find our answers. And we pull through and we go, okay, this is our text, this is true, God's word is true, it is the true that we have. Did humans write it? Yes, because God led them, because he led them. And they were inspired though by the Holy Spirit.

And so you take it and it's the only book that can transform a human. It's the only one that I read and it talks back and I'm changed. I can read the same verse 10 different times in 10 different seasons and it can meet me right there. I've read many books many times. Only that one does that. So we go, we're gonna use that as the text.

That is the truth. Then you go another step and you go, okay, so if that's the text, this is what we're taking as true, what is the character of God? Because I'm not real easy on just trusting just whoever. I'm not one of those easy to trust. So I gotta know your character. There are a lot of things I'm not real easy on just trusting just whoever. I'm not one of those easy to trust. So I gotta know your character. There are a lot of things I'm not impressed by.

You know me, so you're kinda grinning. But there are a lot of things I'm not impressed by. This is me too. I'm like that too. I know you are. I know that. I mean, I'm telling you, my daughters know. After our own family, you're way high on that list

of my favorite humans on the planet. I'm like, that one's the real deal. And I know you're that way. And you're raised by people who are that way. You come from a good, when I think generational blessings, I've been around, I haven't been around your dad's side as much, but I've watched you in your mom's side of the family a little bit. And I'm like, oh, that's beautiful. That's like to great grandmother. Like that's a, that's a passing it down. And no one's perfect. I'm not saying they're perfect and nothing against your dad's side,

I think they're lovely, I saw them once at your wedding, but I don't know them as well, but I just see that and I'm like, oh, that's good stuff, and part of what's made you you. And so in that not being easily impressed, I need to know people's character, and it takes me a minute. The names of God describe the character of God.

I love that part of the- So, isn't that cool? I love that part of the- Isn't that cool? I love that part. And I didn't make them up and I can't pronounce half of them, but I can find the God I know in them. And so you take it and you go, okay, the truth is God's word,

the character are the names, and I have people filter that through. And then we land on the fact that God is perfect love. God is a God in your best interest, love. God's always for you. When I say God's at work, God is always at work in the work that God is at work in doing. I went to church, my entire life had 20 different Bibles, every Bible so you could imagine, and I didn't know what God was at work doing. A beautiful picture of that is Isaiah 61.

That's what the study kind of, and I'm not saying that's the most important scripture in all the Bible, but I think it paints a really good picture because in Luke four, Jesus quotes Isaiah 61. I love that. Isn't that cool? That is one of the coolest things. It's just the coolest thing,

and basically says this is what I'm here to do. And so, and that's what he's at work doing, restoring, renewing, rebuilding, coming after his kids, and doing the works of the enemy. Bringing us back to an Eden before anything separated us from God, getting us to where we can repent through that cross, turn, and come back to God.

Because God loves us. None of us have had perfect parents. I am not a perfect parent. I on purpose tried really, really hard and I'm still not a perfect parent. I know I've messed up at times. Everybody has, everybody will, because we're not perfect. We're not God. But God is through that love. So you go, God's Word is true. God is his characteristics from his name. I can pull that through the essence of he really is love. It doesn't take out judgment.

It doesn't take out him being holy. He is not our big buddy in the sky. There should be a fear and reverence for God. And then I go look back, tell me, ask the Holy Spirit to lead you, pray. Say, God, show me where you've been this. And I have them pull out and go, okay, that's your faith in your God.

And then for those who go, I don't want that, I'm like, that's fine, you can stay. You are still gonna learn some really good, knowledgeable, have been proven to work theories that can benefit you. But your turning from God does not make God turn from you because he can't do it. He's the light of the world.

So he's always gonna want you to turn back to him, but the choice is yours. And so, and I'll stand on that and just be like, that's God, we can believe that God. And if you had heard half the stories, I mean, I'm just like, I've gotten to gather them. It's priceless, it is priceless. And just see God at work in people's life

and what only God could have done. I promise people wouldn't doubt him. And they would see in their own life, the goal is that they can see, wow, God was always loving me. God's not like whoever let me down that I may have thought God had been like. God wasn't waiting to hurt me.

God wasn't going, oh, let's see where they mess up so I can zap them. God was actually loving me and trying to bring me back to him. Circumstances may be hard. We can't base who God, God is good regardless of the circumstances. I've had people say, you know, where was God when?

With you. Why didn't God prevent free will? Those are hard. And then you go back to your list of God, I will never understand this. And sometimes you just have to leave that there and go, but I will trust you. That is so... That's a lot. You didn't even ask for all that.

There are so many things you just said that I'm like, like one, mind blown, two, one to unpack, three, want to listen back to the last five, 10 minutes myself and just dwell on the way you just, people listen to this podcast right now, you just unpacked how to discover God and how you've discovered God and put so much truth into it. I remember the first time I heard a sermon preached on Isaiah 61 and Luke 4, and my mind was so blown because I didn't understand at that time how the Bible was truly one whole story and what prophecy meant. Like that things written in Isaiah were hundreds of years before they happened,

and then Christ fulfilled them. Like that hadn't hit me yet. And so when Jesus heard Isaiah 61 be read as a scroll, and then said, that's me, like he found himself in the story and told everyone, this is me in the story, this is what I'm gonna do. And then proceeds for the next, you know, remainder of the book to do it

and to fulfill all the things. And is still. And is still doing it. It's so incredible. Friends, let's talk about marriage. It is one of the most beautiful gifts from God, but let's be real, it is not always easy. One of the biggest challenges couples face today is the impact of technology on their

lives. And that's why I'm so thankful for tools like Covenant Eyes. Their victory software helps couples build trust and protect their marriage by bringing accountability into the way that we use the internet. Victory monitors screen activity and sends reports to your chosen accountability partner that can be your spouse, maybe a close friend, so that you can really create a relationship rooted in honesty and openness.

In today's digital world, pornography and inappropriate content are way too easy to access, and it can creep into marriages, creating distance almost before we even notice it. But Covenant Eyes helps you fight the battle together. And it's definitely not about guilt tripping or pointing the finger.

It's just about getting honest with each other, healing together and fighting for the kind of marriage that's full of grace and growth, the kind that actually lasts. Because when God designed marriage, He meant it to reflect His love, full of truth and trust and totally unshakable. And covenant eyes is such a helpful way

to keep that foundation strong, even in a tech savvysavvy world. I have talked so much on this podcast about just the beauty of authenticity and vulnerability and confession and what's on the other side of that. And I know it can be really scary to bring someone into things and confess things and, you know, be held accountable. But I truly believe that that's where freedom begins. So if you're married, engaged, or even just dreaming about the future, I cannot recommend covenant eyes enough.

Go to covenant eyes.com slash Sadie to learn more and start your journey towards a healthier, stronger marriage today. That's covenant eyes.com slash Sadie. I've been thinking about this aspect of God lately is that, and I hope this makes sense because I haven't processed this out loud to anyone but Christian, but it just has meant something to me because I have been, you know,

I like to be over-prepared for everything, which is my blessing and my curse. And I have been trying to prepare for the unknowns of this season of life. Well, newsflash, you can't totally prepare for the unknowns of a season of life. All of them are going to, any time you step into something new,

it is going to also come with risk and you're gonna have to have open hands with that. And I think when you open yourself up to be more known by people, you're opening yourself up to be more misunderstood by people, which is really hard to like willingly walk into. Or when you open yourself up to a new thing,

you have to know there's gonna be a good side of this and a bad side of this, and there's always gonna be. And the other day I was thinking about this and I thought about God, and I was like, God allowing himself to be known by man was willing to be misunderstood by man. And he sits here, perfect and holy, holy, holy, and looks down and we misinterpret and misunderstand

and are confused by and question and wrestle with, and he's okay with that. Because in that wrestle, you get to know more, you always have more revelation of who he is, and it always is gonna come back to that he's holy and that he's loving and he's good. And at the same time, he's willing to take a risk that whatever he creates is going to have opportunity for good and have opportunity for evil.

And I was thinking about this with like AI, which is like, just blows my mind. And I was like, okay, because I just went to the Illuminations gathering and they're talking about how AI is going to rapidly increase the timing of when scripture is going to be able to be translated into every single language on earth, which is fulfilling like a prophetic word that like every tribe, every tongue will know and then the end will come. Well, that was supposed to take over 100 plus years. Now with AI, it could literally take just the next 10 years.

Well, I just heard that with Luminations last month, I was at a completely different conference with politicians and world leaders and all this stuff. And they're talking about AI. And they're talking about how destructive AI is and how it's too powerful and it's gonna destroy the world and how are we gonna even live the next 10 years with the power of technology

because if it gets in the hands of evil doers and blah, blah, blah. So back to back, I'm like, God, first of all, how am I in these rooms? But I got to see one perspective of the creation of this new technology could have the potential to destroy us. And then the creation of this technology could have the potential to fulfill the prophecy that the Lord would come back

and not destroy us, but give every single person in the world the chance to know the hope of Jesus. I was like, God allowed AI to happen, like knowing the good and the bad. You know, he allowed mankind to have the idea to create something that would be this powerful. I think about social media. God allowed social media to happen. There's a lot of bad that happens on social media.

There's a lot of good. And as I was breaking this down, I was like, and then God created me who has the full potential to be used for good or totally be used for evil and do evil and turn my back. And just the willingness of God to create humanity in our messiness and in our imperfections

and allow us to be a part of the plan. Cause Christian said about the Bible translation, why didn't God just do it? Like, why do we have to work this hard and all come in and be so complicated? I was like, but then if he did it, why would Jesus tell us, like the great commission to go in and like, we get to be a part

of building kingdom on earth. Like, he actually wants us to do it with him because the beauty of being in a relationship with God is that you get to be in relationship with God. And that God would, like, allow himself to be in this messy relationship with mankind, even though he's so holy, which only is possible because of Jesus

and the blood of Jesus. It's just been blowing my mind. And it's been like so cool because as I step into things, I'm like, I have to trust situations and things to know that, hey, there's a good and a bad to this, and that's okay. And God's still good no matter what He's in me. God's still holy no matter what.

God's still loved no matter what. And hey, there's the potential to be misunderstood in that. And that's okay, because God's misunderstood. And I'm going to be able to relate to Him more and find myself in Him more and find agape love in Him more as I'm misunderstood. And it's just like amazing, because I think when you think about God, for me even, like, sometimes we put God in this context of like Sunday church, or we put God in this context like when I read my Bible. But it's really cool when you start going, God, what do you think about AI? God, what do you think about my friendships? God, what do you think about me doing a podcast? God, what do you think about? And then you get to walk with God.

That's how like when you get to counsel with God, living with God, and you see red birds and you see these things, it's like, oh God, you're in it all. And yeah, it shapes the way that you love God, shapes the way that you love people, shapes the way that you love yourself, to your point of those things,

shape everything about your life. It's just truly walking with God. There are so many things from everything you said. I wanna touch on it, I'm torn which way to go. But one way I do wanna go is, because people do say that about my family sometimes, you know, it must be nice. You had this amazing generations before you,

that's why you are the way you are. And I'm like, honestly, yes, it is. I'm so thankful. I'm so thankful for that. That is probably why I am how I am. I've been so blessed to see it generation after generation. And people are like, oh, I wish I had that, but I don't, you know?

And it breaks my heart, because like the truth is most people do not have that. That's not the story. You talk about this a lot in generational blessings. There's generational blessings, there's generational curses. Like you talk about, there's treasure, there's trash, there's hard things. And in my story, like you said, in my generations,

it is not perfect. That's why you've helped me through things. Nobody's perfect. But there are certainly more tragic stories, like you mentioned the women in prison. And I love how you talked about the woman with the fourth grade education. You said she was like prime candidate to understand this

because of like what transformation was available to her. When people look at their life story and what got them to where they are, and it's unfair and it's not right, like how do you go, hey, there's still hope and you can be that change. You can change, you can be transformed. Especially because you hear like, no one can,

like you can't really change, you can't change someone blah, blah, blah. Like, how do you encourage that person to go, hey, you're not too far off, you're not too far gone, you're not too old, you're not too young, to be that shift in your generation. I would tell them, even looking back, like, and that's why I share, and with my mom's permission, the little bit of her story, I know a little bit of her family of origin. I shouldn't be me.

My daughter shouldn't be them. That shouldn't be our story. But God, she could have turned towards God her way. I'm always just so thankful she turned towards. But to anyone who turns towards God, transformation means change. Things can change. That's the hope with the study that any person can see without tossing their family away. My big thing is let's not toss everybody who's ever poured into us. That's not healthy. And all these cutoffs, I hear about that all the time and I'm like, there are times and there are reasons. Safety.

That's a good reason. But for the most part, they're going to be funerals. And there are people who did just the best they knew to do with what they had been given. But that you live in a time when something like this even is available to you, you can change. That you've heard the name of Jesus means you can change. Now it takes work, but there is always hope. That's what Jesus did.

Jesus gave us hope. That's what Jesus did. Jesus gave us hope. Jesus broke the curse of sin. Curses, basically, most of them passed along. They're just behaviors of the ways. I talk about Hank Williams Jr. and that just shows you what a country girl I really am. But you know, the song, Why Do You Drink? Why Do You Roll Smokes?

I can sing every word. Take a long, girl. I don't sing. But I have family members, but not me. But I could sing some Hank Williams Jr. I know every word to the song. And I'm like, well, why wouldn't they? It's all they know till somebody knows different. Till somebody meets Jesus.

I am one generation down from a mom who was adopted when she was eight or nine years old. We don't know because we don't know how old she is. Well, I am one generation down. My children are one generation from me. The key to my parenting is I didn't know what I was doing and I knew it. So I was always praying, God, give me wisdom.

God help me, God show me the wisdom. God, help me. God, show me the way. God, help me treasure these things and change some of these other things that are just because people didn't know better. They weren't bad people, but show me where some things, according to your word, according to who you are, God, that can be changed. And I promise you, God won't go, that can be changed. And I promise you, God won't go, no, I forsake you because God can't forsake. And so when you're in a space and you're given the opportunity and there is hope,

you are in a church where they're teaching something different, where you can learn. There are things on your phone, the helpful part, that can help with parenting even. And you can just learn different things. As long as you're among the living, you have hope. If you can breathe in, you can breathe out. God's pulling for you.

You see things you wanna change. You can be the change. You might be the first generation. Wow, you just shook everything up. It may not look like five generations down if it's been passed along, but you've changed everything through the power of Jesus Christ who wants to help you change and be able to

pass along. We're blessed to bless. In the beginning, you know, when God made man, he made him in his image, made him for a relationship, said, be fruitful and multiply. That's family. The multiplying, that's the family. Said, be fruitful and multiply. That's family. The multiplying, that's the family. Said, be fruitful and multiply. And he blessed them. God's initial intent was to bless, to be in that communion with humanity. God didn't make us in his image yearning for relationship.

That's part of his image, Father, Son, Holy Spirit. So we would long for relationship to not be there to give us relationship. And then also healthier with each other. God can change us. Some good counseling, there are tons of good counselors. I don't have to do it my way. They know the tricks that work. I would say get a Christian, a faith-based,

if you're a follower of Jesus, go to that and God can work through them. The Holy Spirit can work through them. They don't have to say the prayer. You can say the prayer and sit there and say, Holy Spirit, you be my counselor and guide this counselor. I always tell people, pray for your doctors. When you go to see the doctor, pray for God to work through their hands.

If you have a surgery, pray for God to work through your counselor or your pastor or your whoever, your mentor. But just know God can change, and He can reframe your story. I think about Joseph, who looked at his brother, came from dysfunction. Oh my goodness, I have that genogram in there. We've got Abraham, Isaac, and you just go on down.

Yeah, Jacob, he was the worst dad. I'm like, he was a mess, But God was faithful, maybe not worst dad, but let's just say he had a favorite. He was tough. He had a favorite, he favored the favorite, upset the brothers. He didn't set it up real well. And then you've got, and Joseph,

his brothers really did him wrong. I use him as the reframe, because he says, you intended to harm me. Here's the secret. Everybody's got a you, and it's not who you think it is. It's not actually the humans, our family can hurt us because they're in close quarters. It's the enemy using their woundedness.

They're not knowing, they're getting the best they knew to have received. And him using those spots that are broken to then cause injury to others. Hurting people hurt people. It's the enemy who's out to hurt you. Most people just doing all they can do to get by in this world.

But you see it for what it is and you go, okay enemy, you intended through whatever to hurt me. And I'm like, don't stop there. But what has God done? And if it's just, but you found me, but now I know you. The scripture says, but God intended it for good and for the saving of many lives. In my story, my hope is that God intended for me to know what blessing is, to know Him, to have both treasures and have sin patterns that I repent of turn from.

Sin is the curse. Jesus broke the curse. All we gotta do is repent. That's great. Come back to God. Let nothing separate us. Just come back blessed and from being blessed and transformed as we receive the Holy Spirit, as children of God, God will do his part. The Holy Spirit will change us as we seek Jesus. And so with that happening, we're changed to be made into the likeness for our heart to be more like Jesus.

It's beautiful. We are blessed, then we bless others, changes everything. It's beautiful. So if you're first, you may change everything. Yeah. Beginning with you. That's so good. I love your, everyone's got a you, but it's not who you think it is. That is so good.

Because we all think, oh, if this person, well, this person was just a wounded person by whatever, but God also loves and they have the opportunity. There is nobody watching that God's against. I promise. It's so good. It's funny because sitting with you for so many years, it's trained the way that I think about things. And so even today, because we're still human, like you're still gonna mess with you. Even though you know more truth,

it doesn't mean that you're still not gonna be, you know, susceptible to the enemy. And I'm like, let me start this by saying, I know this person is a wounded person and going through their things, but also this is how it made me feel. And it's okay to wrestle through that. And that matters both.

It's so good, Ms. Tara, this is so good. It makes me think about, cause you said everybody has a choice. You can do this with God or you can do it without God. There's a lot of practical tips people can give you to get by life. But man, what a blessing it is to do alongside God. And I was reading the Psalms this morning and it said,

though I fall, I will not be, it said, cast headlong, for I will hold the hand of God. God will hold my hand. And I didn't really know what cast headlong meant, so I looked it up and I could assume what it meant, but I wanted to see exactly what it meant. And it was talking about how like, if you fall fast and like, then you start going in that downward direction.

So it's like snowball, like you get pushed out and it goes fast and then it just spirals. And I was thinking about how in life it tends to happen like that. Like you get knocked and then you start going down this trajectory and it's like a downhill trajectory. And then you gotta work yourself out of it or you don't, right?

You either keep going in that downhill direction or you stop and you get some help. And I was thinking, man, I'm so grateful that that Psalm said, though I fall, like not like if you fall, it's like, no, you're gonna fall. Though I will fall, I don't have to be going in that downhill direction for long for I hold the hand of God for God lifts me up.

And it's beautiful. I was thinking about today, because I read it this morning, I got to meet with you and I'm like, this is me not going down long. This is me going, I fell, I'm gonna get back up. I think that's the beauty of like therapy, but also the beauty of walking with God.

Like you hold the hand of God. So yeah, you can do it without God, or you can do it with God. And when you do it with God, like you hold the hand of God. So yeah, you can do it without God, or you can do it with God. And when you do it with God, you get back up. You get back up a lot stronger. And you get up more than you could get up. We can only get up so much, but we have the same power that raised Christ from the dead.

That's a mighty hand to hold. That's a good hand to hold. Now, it doesn't mean you don't have to work your way. I'll say, well, you didn't get here in a day. It's gonna take a minute. Like when somebody comes in, because everybody wants to be, fix it now. And I'm like, oh my.

And sometimes people, and sometimes people, you know, they'll be at the bottom of the bucket. I'm like, that's all right. That's a good spot to reach up. But here's the truth, God is faithful. That hand doesn't move. I think about Jacob wrestling with God, because we wrestle sometimes.

We fall, we wrestle. And I had a professor that said, how do you think Jacob was able to wrestle with God? And a dear friend of mine, she's just wise, and she said, because God didn't let go of Jacob. God never lets go of us. God can't not be God.. God can't not be God. So God can't not be good. Again, holy, just, all the things.

And God can't not be love. And God can't not let go of your hand. You can let go of his and say, no, I will do it my own way. He's still there. And you can always go back. It's great, it's so good. And I love, and everybody does that, that's okay.

With the Holy Spirit in you, the thing to do, once you realize I'm on it, the second you realize, go, God help me, just God help me, that stops it. And then you turn back to God, and He's right there, turned towards you, and you all began to go a different way. Yep, it's great. Oh, it's so good.

Everything you said is so good. It's been so encouraging. And for those listening, if you're like, whoa, okay, we just got fed so much. Maybe God is moving so much in your heart right now and you don't quite know what to do with all of it. First of all, I would just encourage you to get with God, sit with God, meditate on that. Ask God, God, what are you doing in my heart right now? What are you pricking in

my heart right now that I need to respond to, that I need to ask you more about? And so first off, just have a conversation with God. And then secondly, I would say the good news is for you is Ms. Sarah literally did right, an eight week study and everything she said and so much more is in here for you to literally work through yourself. There's so much scripture, there's so, all the names of God, there are so many places where you can stop and you can write your thoughts out,

write what you're going throughout. And then not only that, but she also has her teachings online. So if you're like, I need Miss Tara my life, you can have Miss Tara your life. Isn't it generationalblessings.com? Do're like, I need Miss Tara in my life, you can have Miss Tara in your life. Isn't it generationalblessings.com? Do you just, I think I looked it up this morning. Either.com or.study.

Okay. And I know church groups are starting to look at it. And it gets cheaper if you do it in a church group. Okay, so if you do it in a church group, do it together, which I think is such a blessing to do it alongside of people. It would be amazing because you get to hear Ms. Tara teach for the eight weeks as you go along to study. And so

just highly encourage you to go look this up and dive more into it. But Ms. Tara, thank you so much for one being on this podcast and blessing us today. But thank you so much for your life work and for putting it on paper for us to have for the generations to come. Thank you. Thank you for having me.