WEBVTT 00:00:14.800 --> 00:00:17.039 Welcome to the Gospel Truth Project podcast. 00:00:17.219 --> 00:00:20.379 I'm your host, Jason, and I usually have my co 00:00:20.379 --> 00:00:23.780 -host, Dylan, and he is unavailable to join us 00:00:23.780 --> 00:00:27.140 today, but we do have a guest today. Danielle, 00:00:27.239 --> 00:00:29.679 do you want to introduce yourself, kind of tell 00:00:29.679 --> 00:00:32.520 people who you are and what you do and potentially 00:00:32.520 --> 00:00:36.320 why you're here? Okay, my name is Danielle Anderson, 00:00:36.479 --> 00:00:41.100 and I am from Greensboro, North Carolina. Professionally, 00:00:41.119 --> 00:00:44.789 I am a professional ship. Um, I teach culinary 00:00:44.789 --> 00:00:48.810 arts. Um, I am a praise and worship leader at 00:00:48.810 --> 00:00:53.570 church, uh, children's choir director. Um, uh, 00:00:53.789 --> 00:00:58.810 I have many, many hats, but the main reason I'm 00:00:58.810 --> 00:01:02.869 here today is, uh, the ultimate goal is to make 00:01:02.869 --> 00:01:06.750 God clear and visible and to let people know 00:01:06.750 --> 00:01:11.019 that he is real. Awesome. Good stuff. Yeah. No, 00:01:11.099 --> 00:01:13.780 I was reading up on you and I think, uh, like 00:01:13.780 --> 00:01:16.599 you, the book you have, we're going to get into 00:01:16.599 --> 00:01:18.680 that. We're going to get into a little bit more 00:01:18.680 --> 00:01:22.379 about how you've, uh, I think you had a metaphor 00:01:22.379 --> 00:01:24.780 about an onion and peeling back the layers too. 00:01:24.959 --> 00:01:27.799 And I, I've seen some stuff and I think, I think 00:01:27.799 --> 00:01:31.480 how you correlate your talents and God given 00:01:31.480 --> 00:01:35.040 abilities and what he's helped you like get like, 00:01:35.180 --> 00:01:39.760 uh, profess that and um has really shown like 00:01:39.760 --> 00:01:42.359 you using those things to talk about god in the 00:01:42.359 --> 00:01:44.939 relationship with god and i think uh that's definitely 00:01:44.939 --> 00:01:47.379 something we we definitely need to get into a 00:01:47.379 --> 00:01:49.459 little bit more too but it sounds like you have 00:01:49.459 --> 00:01:51.060 a whole bunch of plates all over the place i 00:01:51.060 --> 00:01:59.359 do yes yeah that's good i know that um so first 00:01:59.359 --> 00:02:01.540 off i wanted to Touch up on the book, because 00:02:01.540 --> 00:02:04.519 I know your your memoir in this instance for 00:02:04.519 --> 00:02:09.280 from darkness to light. Right. Did it take the 00:02:09.280 --> 00:02:12.120 16 years to write or was this kind of like over 00:02:12.120 --> 00:02:13.879 time you were writing stuff and then kind of 00:02:13.879 --> 00:02:16.039 put it together over the last couple of years? 00:02:16.099 --> 00:02:19.039 Or how does that look like and how did God intervene 00:02:19.039 --> 00:02:26.300 on that one? Wow. It was really since I was a 00:02:26.300 --> 00:02:28.879 little girl, I've always written because that 00:02:28.879 --> 00:02:31.939 was my way of escape. Um, went through some, 00:02:31.960 --> 00:02:36.199 some things as a child, um, and then into my 00:02:36.199 --> 00:02:39.219 teen years. And of course, you know, that's like 00:02:39.219 --> 00:02:43.460 a root. So whatever root you have as a child, 00:02:43.560 --> 00:02:47.560 you usually take it into adulthood. So some things 00:02:47.560 --> 00:02:53.060 that manifested in my childhood, um, of course, 00:02:53.060 --> 00:02:56.080 you know, it's like baggage. We, we take it along 00:02:56.080 --> 00:03:01.960 with us. And God began to deal with me while 00:03:01.960 --> 00:03:07.460 it's been probably about, I think when he really 00:03:07.460 --> 00:03:11.240 started purposing in my heart that I needed to 00:03:11.240 --> 00:03:14.599 write a book was in 2001, I was diagnosed with 00:03:14.599 --> 00:03:18.319 stage four cervical cancer. And he began to speak 00:03:18.319 --> 00:03:23.500 to me then about writing the things that I had 00:03:23.500 --> 00:03:27.319 been through. the things that he had done for 00:03:27.319 --> 00:03:31.560 me. And I wrestled with it. Of course, we all 00:03:31.560 --> 00:03:33.840 do. We don't want people to know, you know, things 00:03:33.840 --> 00:03:36.460 that we've done in our life, things that we may 00:03:36.460 --> 00:03:38.439 have went through, you know, in our family, things 00:03:38.439 --> 00:03:42.840 like that. So I wrestled with it and pushed it 00:03:42.840 --> 00:03:46.360 to the back burner. And then again, in 2009, 00:03:46.719 --> 00:03:52.219 I was diagnosed with stage four sarcoidosis and 00:03:52.219 --> 00:03:55.969 sarcoidosis. a more aggressive disease than cancer. 00:03:56.710 --> 00:04:03.169 It really destroys all your major organs. So 00:04:03.169 --> 00:04:06.810 it was like God said, okay, you're going to be 00:04:06.810 --> 00:04:11.110 obedient and do what I tell you to do. Because, 00:04:11.229 --> 00:04:14.810 you know, I was busy. I know I was in 10 ministries 00:04:14.810 --> 00:04:17.329 in church, just running, running, running, doing, 00:04:17.529 --> 00:04:19.529 doing, doing. And it was like he kept saying, 00:04:19.689 --> 00:04:24.160 I need you to write the book. And sometimes when 00:04:24.160 --> 00:04:29.360 we don't do what God tells us to do, he'll make 00:04:29.360 --> 00:04:32.579 it so we have no other choice. So when I was 00:04:32.579 --> 00:04:37.420 diagnosed with the sarcoidosis, I was out. I 00:04:37.420 --> 00:04:41.480 was down for the count to the point where I asked 00:04:41.480 --> 00:04:47.019 God to take my life because that's how. And it 00:04:47.019 --> 00:04:51.379 was like then he said, OK, it's time. for the 00:04:51.379 --> 00:04:54.839 book to come forth so he wouldn't open up a door 00:04:54.839 --> 00:04:58.680 for a job I was out of work I had no other choice 00:04:58.680 --> 00:05:02.399 I was home so I began to write and it was like 00:05:02.399 --> 00:05:08.319 the more I wrote the more that was released from 00:05:08.319 --> 00:05:11.680 inside and we we don't realize the stuff we hold 00:05:11.680 --> 00:05:17.500 on to it's like cancer and it truly eats away 00:05:17.500 --> 00:05:23.839 at us and it was like Each chapter, when it came 00:05:23.839 --> 00:05:29.660 forth, it was literally like scales being shed. 00:05:29.839 --> 00:05:32.740 And as you stated earlier, it was like that onion. 00:05:33.279 --> 00:05:36.959 He was getting to that root. So each chapter 00:05:36.959 --> 00:05:41.120 was like a layer that he was peeling off. And 00:05:41.120 --> 00:05:45.899 in our writing, it's not really for us because 00:05:45.899 --> 00:05:48.519 at the end of my writing, there was a young lady 00:05:48.519 --> 00:05:52.189 that, was in church with me. We were good friends. 00:05:52.290 --> 00:05:54.810 We were in the unmarried ministry together. We 00:05:54.810 --> 00:05:57.949 did a lot of stuff together. And one day she 00:05:57.949 --> 00:06:01.990 disappeared. Nobody heard from her. Nobody knew 00:06:01.990 --> 00:06:04.290 where she was. And I got a letter in the mail. 00:06:05.850 --> 00:06:09.529 And in that letter, she wrote to me and said 00:06:09.529 --> 00:06:12.509 to me, Danielle, I can't tell you where I am, 00:06:12.610 --> 00:06:15.509 but I just want to let you know that I read your 00:06:15.509 --> 00:06:19.470 book. And she had been in an abusive relationship 00:06:19.470 --> 00:06:23.350 for 20 years. And by her reading my book, I'm 00:06:23.350 --> 00:06:29.930 trying not to cry. By her reading my book, she 00:06:29.930 --> 00:06:32.829 was able to walk away from that relationship 00:06:32.829 --> 00:06:39.189 and not turn back. So that to me really said 00:06:39.189 --> 00:06:43.290 a lot. And it let me know that really, the book 00:06:43.290 --> 00:06:48.529 had to be put out. And it had to go forth. And 00:06:48.529 --> 00:06:53.389 not only that, my mom, like I said, I wrestled 00:06:53.389 --> 00:06:56.449 with, you know, even allowing the book to come 00:06:56.449 --> 00:06:59.490 forth. So God prompted me to send the manuscript 00:06:59.490 --> 00:07:03.149 to my mom. And when I sent the manuscript to 00:07:03.149 --> 00:07:08.129 my mom, my mom called me and she said to me, 00:07:08.230 --> 00:07:14.470 baby, this book has to get out. And my mom was, 00:07:14.589 --> 00:07:21.449 you know. A hard woman that never cried. My mom 00:07:21.449 --> 00:07:25.350 was in tears and it opened the door for her to 00:07:25.350 --> 00:07:30.649 begin to tell me stuff about her past and stuff 00:07:30.649 --> 00:07:32.990 that she had been through that I would have never 00:07:32.990 --> 00:07:37.029 known had I not written the book, had I not been 00:07:37.029 --> 00:07:41.889 obedient. So it started something in my mom to 00:07:41.889 --> 00:07:46.009 be able to also get to the root. of some problems 00:07:46.009 --> 00:07:47.970 that she had been going through and that she 00:07:47.970 --> 00:07:51.930 had been dealing with. So our books are not for 00:07:51.930 --> 00:07:55.389 us, just like the Bible. The Bible, everything 00:07:55.389 --> 00:07:59.050 that the disciples and the apostles and everybody 00:07:59.050 --> 00:08:01.790 in the Bible, everything they went through was 00:08:01.790 --> 00:08:06.250 for us today. So God has let me know that everything 00:08:06.250 --> 00:08:12.050 that we go through is for the future people coming 00:08:12.050 --> 00:08:17.060 in behind us. doesn't know God or didn't have 00:08:17.060 --> 00:08:20.600 the relationship that we may have or has not 00:08:20.600 --> 00:08:23.779 yet been introduced to the God that we know. 00:08:23.939 --> 00:08:26.860 So this opens up the door of opportunity. And 00:08:26.860 --> 00:08:30.959 that's why I believe Romans 8, 28, when it says 00:08:30.959 --> 00:08:35.659 all things work together, everything we go through 00:08:35.659 --> 00:08:39.120 is going to work together, not because it says 00:08:39.120 --> 00:08:43.080 for your good, but it's to me, it's for. The 00:08:43.080 --> 00:08:49.740 good of revealing who God really is. Gotcha. 00:08:50.139 --> 00:08:54.240 No, that's good. I think, yeah, that's really 00:08:54.240 --> 00:08:58.000 cool to see the Holy Spirit use your stuff and 00:08:58.000 --> 00:09:02.500 use you to be a voice to people. And I think 00:09:02.500 --> 00:09:06.259 that that's something that is really crucial 00:09:06.259 --> 00:09:08.740 because you don't see it at the time. You may 00:09:08.740 --> 00:09:11.360 not see like, oh, it's just. It's just something 00:09:11.360 --> 00:09:15.519 I have. For me, I was looking at the stuff I 00:09:15.519 --> 00:09:18.220 was doing. I was like, I'm insignificant in a 00:09:18.220 --> 00:09:20.960 sense that there's so much more famous people. 00:09:21.059 --> 00:09:24.980 There's more people, more reach. And to see God 00:09:24.980 --> 00:09:29.700 use... an individual and to such an extent of 00:09:29.700 --> 00:09:33.139 releasing the Holy spirit to show himself to 00:09:33.139 --> 00:09:37.259 people through it is just a beautiful way to 00:09:37.259 --> 00:09:40.539 show how God uses us. And as long as we're obedient, 00:09:40.740 --> 00:09:44.100 we obey him, we follow him, step out in that. 00:09:44.159 --> 00:09:46.080 And that's what that faith is, is stepping out 00:09:46.080 --> 00:09:48.259 in faith that we are obeying God and following 00:09:48.259 --> 00:09:51.899 God. And then he uses that to bless others around 00:09:51.899 --> 00:09:55.259 us and to. bring his spirit to the people around 00:09:55.259 --> 00:10:00.120 us. So I definitely see that. And it's like that, 00:10:00.179 --> 00:10:02.419 it kind of reminds me of the parallel with, obviously 00:10:02.419 --> 00:10:04.320 with Jonah, with the whole like, hey, I need 00:10:04.320 --> 00:10:06.220 you to go do this. Like, well, no, not right 00:10:06.220 --> 00:10:08.500 now. Not right now. It's fine. And it's like, 00:10:08.539 --> 00:10:10.639 well, now you're in a fish's stomach. So what 00:10:10.639 --> 00:10:12.440 are we going to do? All right, send me back. 00:10:12.879 --> 00:10:16.840 I'll do it. And literally, that's how I felt, 00:10:16.899 --> 00:10:22.929 really. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, no, I definitely get 00:10:22.929 --> 00:10:26.809 that, especially like because our listeners know 00:10:26.809 --> 00:10:29.409 that I was writing and I have a book that I wrote 00:10:29.409 --> 00:10:32.789 and there was chapters in it when I was writing 00:10:32.789 --> 00:10:37.710 it that while I was studying and writing, I was 00:10:37.710 --> 00:10:41.009 convicted myself on things and it brought me 00:10:41.009 --> 00:10:43.669 to tears and the Holy Spirit showing me, you 00:10:43.669 --> 00:10:47.190 see this, you know this, this is what I'm calling 00:10:47.190 --> 00:10:51.559 you to do. And it really. It's really cool to 00:10:51.559 --> 00:10:54.360 see once you're stepping out in obedience that 00:10:54.360 --> 00:10:57.860 God will work with you, work on you and work 00:10:57.860 --> 00:11:00.860 through you. And it affects not just people around 00:11:00.860 --> 00:11:03.100 you, but it will affect you, too, because you're 00:11:03.100 --> 00:11:05.179 stepping out in something God's called you to 00:11:05.179 --> 00:11:07.279 do. And it's just something where it's like, 00:11:07.379 --> 00:11:12.600 wow, OK, hi, this is cool. And the funny thing 00:11:12.600 --> 00:11:16.679 is, you know, within writing the book, the first 00:11:16.679 --> 00:11:19.769 thing I said was God. I don't know what to do. 00:11:19.850 --> 00:11:22.889 I don't I don't have the finances. I can't do 00:11:22.889 --> 00:11:27.269 this. And when I finished writing the last word, 00:11:27.370 --> 00:11:32.169 I had been through culinary school. And I got 00:11:32.169 --> 00:11:36.250 a call from the head person over the culinary 00:11:36.250 --> 00:11:39.289 department, and he said to me, I want you to 00:11:39.289 --> 00:11:42.929 come back and work. Awesome. And the job that 00:11:42.929 --> 00:11:47.940 I have now. you, you're supposed to have a master's 00:11:47.940 --> 00:11:53.980 degree. I don't. And it's like when God opened 00:11:53.980 --> 00:11:58.379 up that opportunity, it caused me to have the 00:11:58.379 --> 00:12:02.220 finances, not just for the book, but to, you 00:12:02.220 --> 00:12:05.019 know, to sustain me. And he said, now what's 00:12:05.019 --> 00:12:10.480 your excuse? So I, I didn't have any more excuses. 00:12:13.149 --> 00:12:15.789 No, that's really cool because you can see God's 00:12:15.789 --> 00:12:19.549 using that and working with that. It's really 00:12:19.549 --> 00:12:23.149 cool to see God come back and bless because of 00:12:23.149 --> 00:12:26.009 obedience or because you're living in that and 00:12:26.009 --> 00:12:28.929 living with him as ruler of your life in that 00:12:28.929 --> 00:12:30.850 sense. Okay, I'm listening to you. I'm following 00:12:30.850 --> 00:12:34.210 you, faith in you. And then he starts opening 00:12:34.210 --> 00:12:37.269 those doors to help and to show you like, I got 00:12:37.269 --> 00:12:40.330 you, trust me. And it's really cool. I love that 00:12:40.330 --> 00:12:46.710 stuff. I think I was going to ask, because this 00:12:46.710 --> 00:12:49.210 is something that I know a couple of our more 00:12:49.210 --> 00:12:51.070 dedicated listeners who talk in our Discord and 00:12:51.070 --> 00:12:54.429 stuff. Because you're incredibly active in your 00:12:54.429 --> 00:12:56.669 local church, as you mentioned, like praise leader 00:12:56.669 --> 00:12:59.830 team, soulist drama, ministry leader. You're 00:12:59.830 --> 00:13:03.570 kind of like an all around. How do you balance 00:13:03.570 --> 00:13:07.330 all of these creative outlets with your faith? 00:13:08.009 --> 00:13:11.009 Wow. Because everything I do, I do unto God. 00:13:12.830 --> 00:13:17.690 Nice. So when I'm doing it, my first question 00:13:17.690 --> 00:13:21.769 is, God, is this what you want me doing? I try 00:13:21.769 --> 00:13:26.429 not to do anything unless he prompts it in me. 00:13:26.909 --> 00:13:31.090 And when you talk about the drama, yes, because 00:13:31.090 --> 00:13:35.470 I'm on a local TV show here in Greensboro. All 00:13:35.470 --> 00:13:39.549 of that is the gifts that he has given me. And 00:13:39.549 --> 00:13:43.200 I believe. What scripture is that where it says 00:13:43.200 --> 00:13:47.080 he gave one 10 talent, one five talents, one 00:13:47.080 --> 00:13:52.320 two talents. My prayer is that every gift that 00:13:52.320 --> 00:13:54.980 he has given me, that I will use it to the fullest. 00:13:55.960 --> 00:13:59.779 And I have realized that it seems like the more 00:13:59.779 --> 00:14:02.940 I use the gifts that he's given me, the more 00:14:02.940 --> 00:14:08.029 I look around and wow, it's like. I have more 00:14:08.029 --> 00:14:11.269 stuff that I didn't realize I could do that. 00:14:11.649 --> 00:14:17.769 So it's like, I don't know. Like I said, everything 00:14:17.769 --> 00:14:25.190 that I do, I'm doing unto God. And my prayer 00:14:25.190 --> 00:14:28.850 to him is, if it's not pleasing to you, let me 00:14:28.850 --> 00:14:32.450 know so that I can release it. Because I have 00:14:32.450 --> 00:14:35.690 stepped away from some ministries that I was 00:14:35.690 --> 00:14:38.039 in at church. And it was because he said, okay, 00:14:38.100 --> 00:14:43.000 your season is up. It's time to move on to the 00:14:43.000 --> 00:14:47.320 next. So if we just take the time and just listen 00:14:47.320 --> 00:14:50.679 and seek him, that's why he says, seek me first, 00:14:50.860 --> 00:14:53.799 my kingdom and my righteousness and all other 00:14:53.799 --> 00:14:56.659 things shall be added. So if we're seeking after 00:14:56.659 --> 00:15:00.279 God and listening for his voice, then we're going 00:15:00.279 --> 00:15:04.279 to know where we need to be. Absolutely. Yeah. 00:15:04.720 --> 00:15:07.980 For our listeners, if you go to Matthew 25, 14 00:15:07.980 --> 00:15:11.340 to 30, that is the parable she was talking about 00:15:11.340 --> 00:15:13.320 of the talents. Definitely recommend reading 00:15:13.320 --> 00:15:17.820 that. And I agree with the statement because 00:15:17.820 --> 00:15:20.830 it's like, even with the Colossians. three if 00:15:20.830 --> 00:15:22.970 you go read that colossians 3 i think it's 17 00:15:22.970 --> 00:15:27.330 and then uh 23 and 24 talk about do everything 00:15:27.330 --> 00:15:30.250 unto the lord right we work as if we're working 00:15:30.250 --> 00:15:33.350 for god directly not for any human masters as 00:15:33.350 --> 00:15:35.750 it puts it in this instance it's like we work 00:15:35.750 --> 00:15:41.490 for god um That, it's funny because that mantra 00:15:41.490 --> 00:15:45.009 or that idea of like we work for God, I have 00:15:45.009 --> 00:15:48.210 that at work. I have that written on my whiteboard, 00:15:48.350 --> 00:15:51.230 just the verse reference, because I'm like, that 00:15:51.230 --> 00:15:54.289 is how we live life, is we live life according 00:15:54.289 --> 00:15:57.490 to Christ, that everything I'm doing is for God. 00:15:57.570 --> 00:16:00.049 Everything I do is to the abilities that God 00:16:00.049 --> 00:16:03.669 has given me and that I thank him for it and 00:16:03.669 --> 00:16:06.450 I give thanks by doing what I can in that sense. 00:16:07.529 --> 00:16:09.690 Yeah, no, that's beautiful. That's right up the 00:16:09.690 --> 00:16:15.330 alley. I'm with you all the way. So that's really 00:16:15.330 --> 00:16:24.950 cool. So in your book, so from what I've been 00:16:24.950 --> 00:16:27.169 kind of picking up on, just to kind of pick your 00:16:27.169 --> 00:16:29.350 brain a little bit, because you talk very candidly 00:16:29.350 --> 00:16:31.909 about the friction between your ambitions to 00:16:31.909 --> 00:16:34.970 be like an entertainer, I think modeling, singing, 00:16:35.250 --> 00:16:38.049 acting. That stuff. And then your desire to live 00:16:38.049 --> 00:16:40.870 a life pleasing to God. So how do you navigate 00:16:40.870 --> 00:16:51.230 those two colliding worlds? Because then I didn't 00:16:51.230 --> 00:16:56.309 know the importance of protecting my gifts. Now 00:16:56.309 --> 00:17:02.049 I do. One of the things that God showed me, I 00:17:02.049 --> 00:17:04.269 don't know if you guys were. you know, watching 00:17:04.269 --> 00:17:06.769 all this stuff that was going on with Diddy and, 00:17:06.769 --> 00:17:09.549 you know, and all of that. I was in that world. 00:17:10.349 --> 00:17:18.809 Wow. Oh, my goodness. And the year that I decided 00:17:18.809 --> 00:17:22.109 I was going to turn my life over to God, I was 00:17:22.109 --> 00:17:28.369 given the opportunity, was in Atlanta with one 00:17:28.369 --> 00:17:31.970 of the big name producers. And I was sitting 00:17:31.970 --> 00:17:35.349 at his keyboard and he was like, we want to sign 00:17:35.349 --> 00:17:39.930 you, but you have to deny your children. That 00:17:39.930 --> 00:17:44.930 did something to me. Now I know it was the Holy 00:17:44.930 --> 00:17:47.730 Spirit prompting me. Then I didn't know because, 00:17:47.789 --> 00:17:50.349 like I said, I was just starting my relationship 00:17:50.349 --> 00:17:54.730 with God. But it was it was something in me that 00:17:54.730 --> 00:17:58.750 cringed. And he said to me in this industry. 00:17:59.420 --> 00:18:01.920 You have to appear younger than what you are 00:18:01.920 --> 00:18:07.720 and you can't have any attachments. Yeah. And 00:18:07.720 --> 00:18:11.339 instantly I looked at him and said, you know, 00:18:11.380 --> 00:18:15.400 I've decided I'm good. You can keep your record 00:18:15.400 --> 00:18:19.160 contract. And I walked away and never turned 00:18:19.160 --> 00:18:23.920 back. Yeah. And when all of this stuff started 00:18:23.920 --> 00:18:26.380 happening, you know, in the media and everything 00:18:26.380 --> 00:18:29.980 about Diddy and all, you know. God said to me, 00:18:30.019 --> 00:18:36.380 that could have been you. And it was like, sometimes 00:18:36.380 --> 00:18:41.019 God will do like a playbook, you know, and let 00:18:41.019 --> 00:18:46.660 you see and remind you. If I hadn't of that day 00:18:46.660 --> 00:18:48.960 when I was sitting there at that keyboard, made 00:18:48.960 --> 00:18:54.660 my decision to say no, my relationship with God 00:18:54.660 --> 00:18:58.319 is more important. Then any record contract or, 00:18:58.319 --> 00:19:01.559 you know, anything that the world, because now 00:19:01.559 --> 00:19:03.799 I know that it's the world, anything that the 00:19:03.799 --> 00:19:06.140 world can give, God can give that. And then some, 00:19:06.299 --> 00:19:11.720 because God gives eternity. And he allowed me 00:19:11.720 --> 00:19:16.039 to see, had I not made the decision to come with 00:19:16.039 --> 00:19:20.940 him, I would have been lost in all of that stuff 00:19:20.940 --> 00:19:26.829 that was going on. I'm very, very, very protective 00:19:26.829 --> 00:19:32.910 over all of my gifts now because they're not 00:19:32.910 --> 00:19:38.630 my gifts. They come from God. There was a pastor 00:19:38.630 --> 00:19:41.250 that came from Africa a couple of years ago, 00:19:41.329 --> 00:19:44.710 you know, and with me singing. And one of the 00:19:44.710 --> 00:19:47.990 things he said to me was, you have to make sure 00:19:47.990 --> 00:19:51.470 you protect this gift because God is going to 00:19:51.470 --> 00:19:55.980 use it. to do many things to draw many to him 00:19:55.980 --> 00:19:59.839 and that right there just it was like a shield 00:19:59.839 --> 00:20:04.299 that all of a sudden I made sure you I can't 00:20:04.299 --> 00:20:08.420 you can't like he said you can't be lukewarm 00:20:08.420 --> 00:20:11.299 and you know there was a time in my life where 00:20:11.299 --> 00:20:14.380 I was lukewarm where I was going to church but 00:20:14.380 --> 00:20:17.460 yet and still I was you know doing the things 00:20:17.460 --> 00:20:21.650 of the world and when I made up in my mind that 00:20:21.650 --> 00:20:25.230 I couldn't live that way anymore. I knew that 00:20:25.230 --> 00:20:28.529 I had to make sure I was guarding. Like he said, 00:20:28.569 --> 00:20:30.849 we have to guard our hearts with all diligence. 00:20:31.490 --> 00:20:34.809 And we have to be real careful of what we allow 00:20:34.809 --> 00:20:37.930 to come into our spirit because that stuff attaches 00:20:37.930 --> 00:20:41.390 itself. And once it do, it's hard to get it. 00:20:42.109 --> 00:20:46.630 It's hard to release it. To answer your question, 00:20:46.710 --> 00:20:49.829 I'm very, very protective over my gifts that 00:20:49.829 --> 00:20:53.230 God has given me. That's good. Yeah, that reminds 00:20:53.230 --> 00:20:58.309 me of Proverbs 4 .23. It says, guard your heart 00:20:58.309 --> 00:21:00.309 above all else for it is the source of life. 00:21:00.730 --> 00:21:03.930 Yes. If you look at the translations of that 00:21:03.930 --> 00:21:09.049 from Hebrew, to guard or is to maintain ownership, 00:21:09.309 --> 00:21:13.329 it's to maintenance, care, support. It's more 00:21:13.329 --> 00:21:16.299 of... Not just a, oh, I'm just going to not look 00:21:16.299 --> 00:21:18.940 that way, that way, but it's a maintenance. It's 00:21:18.940 --> 00:21:24.359 maintaining this and guarding it. I mean, even 00:21:24.359 --> 00:21:26.660 with what you referenced near at the end there, 00:21:26.880 --> 00:21:31.559 1 Peter 4 .10 talks about as we receive a gift, 00:21:31.660 --> 00:21:33.559 use it to serve one another as good stewards 00:21:33.559 --> 00:21:37.000 of God's very graces, right? It's God's grace. 00:21:37.579 --> 00:21:42.730 And so those talents are to be used. to glorify 00:21:42.730 --> 00:21:44.890 God and I see that. And that's the cool thing 00:21:44.890 --> 00:21:46.710 is that you recognize that and the Holy Spirit's 00:21:46.710 --> 00:21:52.970 like, hey, you don't want to do that. Yes. And 00:21:52.970 --> 00:21:54.950 that's where it's like that following is good. 00:21:55.789 --> 00:22:02.509 It hurts when you, I often tell people because, 00:22:02.630 --> 00:22:05.210 you know, when I first got saved, I loved God. 00:22:06.769 --> 00:22:11.000 But when I fell in love with God, That changed 00:22:11.000 --> 00:22:14.799 everything. So it's the difference between loving 00:22:14.799 --> 00:22:19.019 and being in love. When you're in love with someone, 00:22:19.319 --> 00:22:22.779 you try everything in your power to make sure 00:22:22.779 --> 00:22:25.420 that you don't do anything that's going to hurt 00:22:25.420 --> 00:22:30.519 that person, disappoint that person, or discourage 00:22:30.519 --> 00:22:34.420 that person in any kind of way. And that is where 00:22:34.420 --> 00:22:37.720 my relationship with God is. Everything that 00:22:37.720 --> 00:22:43.680 I do, I want to make sure. That. It not in any 00:22:43.680 --> 00:22:48.680 way. Makes him look any differently at me, which 00:22:48.680 --> 00:22:53.559 he he won't, but still. I keep that in my mind 00:22:53.559 --> 00:22:56.539 because that's that's how much he means to me. 00:22:57.500 --> 00:23:02.180 Mm hmm. Yeah, I've used to actually I use that 00:23:02.180 --> 00:23:04.940 metaphor in the sense of like I'll talk to people 00:23:04.940 --> 00:23:07.420 about like my wife. Right. So I'll be like, well, 00:23:07.559 --> 00:23:10.819 if I love her. And she's like, hey, I don't like 00:23:10.819 --> 00:23:13.400 going to sushi. She does, but she's like, I don't 00:23:13.400 --> 00:23:15.880 like going to sushi. And then I'm sitting here 00:23:15.880 --> 00:23:18.319 like, okay, cool. Well, let's go out to sushi 00:23:18.319 --> 00:23:21.339 every night. That doesn't show that I'm responding 00:23:21.339 --> 00:23:23.200 in love, but I'm like, oh, I love her because 00:23:23.200 --> 00:23:25.759 she's gorgeous. I like her, like she's artistic 00:23:25.759 --> 00:23:28.039 and all those cool things. And then I'm like, 00:23:28.079 --> 00:23:29.920 but let's go to sushi. It doesn't show that I 00:23:29.920 --> 00:23:33.430 actually do. I'm in love with her. It just shows 00:23:33.430 --> 00:23:36.829 that I love what I think about her, but not necessarily 00:23:36.829 --> 00:23:39.589 I'm in love with her. So if I'm in love with 00:23:39.589 --> 00:23:41.970 her, she's like, I don't like this. Gotcha. I 00:23:41.970 --> 00:23:45.529 don't like it either. I won't do that either. 00:23:45.630 --> 00:23:48.549 I'm with you on this one. And that's kind of 00:23:48.549 --> 00:23:51.470 the beauty of our relationship with God, because 00:23:51.470 --> 00:23:55.789 we have this loving, all -powerful, all -knowing 00:23:55.789 --> 00:23:57.569 God who's like, I want to do what's best for 00:23:57.569 --> 00:23:59.670 you. I know what's best for you. And then we're 00:23:59.670 --> 00:24:02.130 like, we have the option and the choice. Do we 00:24:02.130 --> 00:24:04.849 love him where we trust him, believe in him? 00:24:04.930 --> 00:24:07.750 And now I want to follow him because I believe 00:24:07.750 --> 00:24:10.509 that this is true. And he tells me what he does 00:24:10.509 --> 00:24:13.769 and doesn't like. Okay, cool. Then if I really 00:24:13.769 --> 00:24:16.309 do love him, then I'll do that. I think that's 00:24:16.309 --> 00:24:18.569 like the main point when you go into James, for 00:24:18.569 --> 00:24:22.170 example, he was going up against these people 00:24:22.170 --> 00:24:24.329 who believed in what's known as cheap grace, 00:24:24.529 --> 00:24:27.230 where they just thought, oh, Christ died for 00:24:27.230 --> 00:24:29.720 me. I can go live the life I want to live. It 00:24:29.720 --> 00:24:32.480 doesn't matter. And James is like, actually, 00:24:32.640 --> 00:24:38.380 true faith has a response to it. If you truly 00:24:38.380 --> 00:24:41.900 believe in God, then there will be evidence of 00:24:41.900 --> 00:24:44.559 that by how you live your life because you're 00:24:44.559 --> 00:24:49.299 in the reflection of that. And I think that's 00:24:49.299 --> 00:24:51.900 really cool because it shows it's like, okay, 00:24:51.980 --> 00:24:55.299 I believe is that there's a difference between. 00:24:56.250 --> 00:24:59.630 I love God and I'm in love with God. And exactly 00:24:59.630 --> 00:25:02.650 what you were saying, it's transforming. It's 00:25:02.650 --> 00:25:05.670 life altering. I can't say the same after that. 00:25:06.950 --> 00:25:11.690 And one of the things he showed me was, because 00:25:11.690 --> 00:25:14.089 like I said, I'm a writer, so I'm always writing. 00:25:14.269 --> 00:25:18.049 And he asked me one day, Daniel, do you want 00:25:18.049 --> 00:25:20.970 to look like me or do you want to reflect me? 00:25:21.710 --> 00:25:24.170 And of course, you know. I want to look like 00:25:24.170 --> 00:25:26.089 you. And he said, no, that's the wrong thing. 00:25:26.910 --> 00:25:30.730 He said, they say your daughter looks like you. 00:25:31.029 --> 00:25:36.109 He said, looking like someone and reflecting 00:25:36.109 --> 00:25:39.250 someone, when you reflect someone or when you 00:25:39.250 --> 00:25:43.190 reflect something like a mirror, a mirror is 00:25:43.190 --> 00:25:48.029 reflecting the true image. Looking like someone, 00:25:48.130 --> 00:25:52.829 you don't necessarily have their heart. Just 00:25:52.829 --> 00:25:55.289 you can look like them, but you don't have their 00:25:55.289 --> 00:25:59.190 heart. But when you're reflecting, you're reflecting 00:25:59.190 --> 00:26:04.269 that true image. Wow. I would have never. So 00:26:04.269 --> 00:26:07.809 I said, okay, God, I want to reflect you. Yeah. 00:26:08.029 --> 00:26:12.150 Yep. I think that that's an important distinction 00:26:12.150 --> 00:26:15.049 because I think a lot of people think they just 00:26:15.049 --> 00:26:18.380 have to look like. And they just try to put on 00:26:18.380 --> 00:26:20.220 the clothes and say, look, I look, I'm wearing, 00:26:20.279 --> 00:26:22.460 I'm wearing daddy's shoes. I'm wearing daddy's 00:26:22.460 --> 00:26:28.680 clothes or whatever. And that's where I think 00:26:28.680 --> 00:26:31.400 it's not necessarily what we're called to do. 00:26:31.480 --> 00:26:33.839 Cause we, we see in scripture, for example, like 00:26:33.839 --> 00:26:37.039 in Corinthians three is talking about it is like 00:26:37.039 --> 00:26:41.160 we are transformed in the image of Christ and 00:26:41.160 --> 00:26:43.099 we were given a new heart. And then we were. 00:26:43.680 --> 00:26:47.200 reflect it right we give it we show people but 00:26:47.200 --> 00:26:49.240 that's because the holy spirit resides in us 00:26:49.240 --> 00:26:53.180 and so it helps us walk that walk but not necessarily 00:26:53.180 --> 00:26:56.259 just putting on the clothes like like you were 00:26:56.259 --> 00:26:58.960 saying it's like i am reflecting this because 00:26:58.960 --> 00:27:01.240 this is who he is to me and i'm reflecting this 00:27:01.240 --> 00:27:05.799 to others so um It's like sharing his heart to 00:27:05.799 --> 00:27:07.900 others. So that's like Galatians 5, we're talking 00:27:07.900 --> 00:27:10.440 about the fruits of the Spirit. We can see that 00:27:10.440 --> 00:27:13.299 the fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, 00:27:13.539 --> 00:27:15.359 patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and 00:27:15.359 --> 00:27:17.539 gentleness, and self -control. And those are 00:27:17.539 --> 00:27:19.839 the things that we reflect to people because 00:27:19.839 --> 00:27:22.839 Christ is in us, Holy Spirit's in us. So we reflect 00:27:22.839 --> 00:27:25.740 that to people. And it's evident that he's there 00:27:25.740 --> 00:27:31.619 with us. So yeah, that's good stuff. Um, I was 00:27:31.619 --> 00:27:33.779 going to ask a question cause I think this is 00:27:33.779 --> 00:27:36.000 something that our listeners, I, again, with 00:27:36.000 --> 00:27:38.619 our listeners, I highly recommend going and getting 00:27:38.619 --> 00:27:42.119 darkness to light. Uh, that's on Amazon. Uh, 00:27:42.259 --> 00:27:45.039 if you actually search it, uh, darkness to light 00:27:45.039 --> 00:27:48.240 by Daniel, uh, Daniel Anderson, you will, it'll 00:27:48.240 --> 00:27:52.359 pop up everywhere. I tried it. That was an easy 00:27:52.359 --> 00:27:55.720 way to find it. Um, so when people finish reading. 00:27:56.359 --> 00:27:58.420 From darkness to light, what is the single most 00:27:58.420 --> 00:28:01.640 important gospel truth that you hope that they 00:28:01.640 --> 00:28:05.140 take away from your life story? That God loves 00:28:05.140 --> 00:28:10.640 us unconditionally. In spite of. In spite of. 00:28:10.859 --> 00:28:17.720 Yes. He truly loves us unconditionally. I think 00:28:17.720 --> 00:28:20.740 that's good. I like that because I think any 00:28:20.740 --> 00:28:24.359 interaction, I hope. And I'm sure you would agree 00:28:24.359 --> 00:28:26.519 is if I have an interaction with someone that 00:28:26.519 --> 00:28:29.259 doesn't know that God loves them, that they experience 00:28:29.259 --> 00:28:31.460 God's love or at least a taste of it through 00:28:31.460 --> 00:28:33.720 what I'm doing and how I'm interacting with them. 00:28:35.339 --> 00:28:39.799 It was Dylan and I were talking about it on our 00:28:39.799 --> 00:28:42.839 last episode and we mentioned and we were talking 00:28:42.839 --> 00:28:46.440 about it saying that it's not our capability 00:28:46.440 --> 00:28:50.000 or ability to love Jesus, but to love Judas at 00:28:50.000 --> 00:28:54.210 the table. It's like this is because we're called 00:28:54.210 --> 00:28:56.789 to love those around us. So we are called to 00:28:56.789 --> 00:28:59.230 show that love that Christ has shown us. And 00:28:59.230 --> 00:29:02.789 it does mean including the love, the Judas that's 00:29:02.789 --> 00:29:05.970 at our table. And that's sometimes a hard message 00:29:05.970 --> 00:29:10.910 to swallow. It was hard for me at first because 00:29:10.910 --> 00:29:13.750 as we talked earlier, I didn't grow up in church. 00:29:14.309 --> 00:29:17.990 So I couldn't phantom in my mind that someone 00:29:17.990 --> 00:29:22.990 could really love me. knowing, you know, the 00:29:22.990 --> 00:29:25.329 things that I had done, the things that I had 00:29:25.329 --> 00:29:30.509 been through. I couldn't imagine why would someone 00:29:30.509 --> 00:29:35.289 love me knowing that because I often tell people 00:29:35.289 --> 00:29:38.170 I was looking for love in all the wrong places 00:29:38.170 --> 00:29:42.609 because I was searching for my father's love, 00:29:42.869 --> 00:29:49.269 natural father, not knowing that I had a father. 00:29:49.960 --> 00:29:54.720 That was there even in all the things that I 00:29:54.720 --> 00:29:57.539 was doing, all the things that I had been through. 00:29:58.039 --> 00:30:02.200 He was there all the time. And it wasn't until 00:30:02.200 --> 00:30:07.119 that light bulb went off that I realized that, 00:30:07.180 --> 00:30:12.140 wow, I can have someone that because I was in 00:30:12.140 --> 00:30:15.319 an abusive relationship and in that relationship, 00:30:15.559 --> 00:30:18.039 my daughter's father would say things to me. 00:30:18.559 --> 00:30:21.819 You know, who's going to love you? Nobody is 00:30:21.819 --> 00:30:24.039 going to want you but me. And, you know, he would 00:30:24.039 --> 00:30:28.059 say things to me. And I didn't grow up in church, 00:30:28.140 --> 00:30:32.960 but my grandmother still instilled in us prayer 00:30:32.960 --> 00:30:38.599 and, you know, trust in God. So I remember one 00:30:38.599 --> 00:30:41.819 night falling on my knees and crying out to God 00:30:41.819 --> 00:30:44.599 because I had been trying to leave this man for 00:30:44.599 --> 00:30:49.250 seven years. And when you have low self -esteem, 00:30:49.329 --> 00:30:52.269 you take on whatever somebody says about you, 00:30:52.309 --> 00:30:55.410 you begin to believe it about yourself. And as 00:30:55.410 --> 00:30:59.230 I stated, I didn't grow up in church. But when 00:30:59.230 --> 00:31:01.609 I fell on my knees and cried out that night, 00:31:01.769 --> 00:31:05.490 now I know that it's the Holy Spirit that began 00:31:05.490 --> 00:31:07.109 to speak to me because I didn't know anything 00:31:07.109 --> 00:31:09.829 about the Bible. But I began to hear, Danielle, 00:31:10.190 --> 00:31:13.940 you were created in my image and likeness. You 00:31:13.940 --> 00:31:18.240 are fearfully and wonderfully made. I love you 00:31:18.240 --> 00:31:22.740 in spite of where you are or who you are. You 00:31:22.740 --> 00:31:26.619 are my child and you are precious in my sight. 00:31:26.740 --> 00:31:29.339 And I began to hear these things. And as I began 00:31:29.339 --> 00:31:35.180 to hear these things, that voice overrode anything 00:31:35.180 --> 00:31:38.079 that my daughter's father could have ever said 00:31:38.079 --> 00:31:40.529 to me. And not just my daughter's father. people 00:31:40.529 --> 00:31:43.109 in my family, because I got pregnant at an early 00:31:43.109 --> 00:31:46.329 age, got pregnant as a teenager. So I was told, 00:31:46.390 --> 00:31:49.890 you're never going to amount to anything. You're 00:31:49.890 --> 00:31:53.730 just like this person. But there was a person 00:31:53.730 --> 00:31:56.609 that was speaking to my heart, my inner person, 00:31:56.710 --> 00:32:01.349 that was letting me know that I was more than 00:32:01.349 --> 00:32:04.269 what anybody could have ever thought that I was. 00:32:04.690 --> 00:32:11.180 And once that happened, When I say when the light 00:32:11.180 --> 00:32:14.299 bulb went off and I walked away from that relationship, 00:32:14.539 --> 00:32:22.019 my life was never, never the same. So if there's 00:32:22.019 --> 00:32:26.319 anybody out there that's listening, that's in 00:32:26.319 --> 00:32:29.119 a place where you don't think that you have worth, 00:32:29.319 --> 00:32:34.700 go to God. Because trust me, he's there and he's 00:32:34.700 --> 00:32:38.190 just waiting on you to come to him. Just like 00:32:38.190 --> 00:32:40.789 that night I fell on my knees and I cried out. 00:32:40.910 --> 00:32:43.650 He was waiting on me. He was always there because 00:32:43.650 --> 00:32:47.529 he's not going to force himself on us because 00:32:47.529 --> 00:32:51.430 that's not the God he is. He wants us to come 00:32:51.430 --> 00:32:54.509 to him willingly. So when I fell on my knees 00:32:54.509 --> 00:32:59.109 and I cried out to him, when I say he showed 00:32:59.109 --> 00:33:03.029 himself and when he showed himself and I began 00:33:03.029 --> 00:33:07.160 to see him for who he really was. It changed 00:33:07.160 --> 00:33:13.000 me. It changed the inner me because it's not 00:33:13.000 --> 00:33:15.799 what's on the outside that counts. It's what's 00:33:15.799 --> 00:33:19.619 on the inside. So my inside will never be the 00:33:19.619 --> 00:33:23.500 same after that day. Amen. Yeah, that's good 00:33:23.500 --> 00:33:26.920 stuff. There you go. That's really important 00:33:26.920 --> 00:33:32.369 because for people just back. her up in what 00:33:32.369 --> 00:33:35.910 she's saying. Psalms 139 .14 says that where 00:33:35.910 --> 00:33:38.269 he's like, I praise you for I'm fearfully and 00:33:38.269 --> 00:33:41.529 wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works. My 00:33:41.529 --> 00:33:45.289 son knows it very well. We have scriptures constantly 00:33:45.289 --> 00:33:49.109 in 1 Corinthians 13 and Song of Solomon 2 .7, 00:33:49.349 --> 00:33:52.849 2 Corinthians 9 .7, where it talks about that. 00:33:53.150 --> 00:33:57.690 that love is not forced. Love is a gift and it's 00:33:57.690 --> 00:34:01.269 been given as long as you accept it. And so it's 00:34:01.269 --> 00:34:04.670 not forced. So this is where I think this is 00:34:04.670 --> 00:34:08.130 a good point because I have friends who are, 00:34:08.190 --> 00:34:11.289 you know, are atheists who sit there and they're 00:34:11.289 --> 00:34:13.030 like, well, you know, if there was a God, he 00:34:13.030 --> 00:34:15.429 wouldn't love me. And if there is a God, why 00:34:15.429 --> 00:34:19.650 doesn't he make me love him? And then I explain 00:34:19.650 --> 00:34:23.500 it's like, because love is not forced. And God 00:34:23.500 --> 00:34:28.079 loves you regardless of what you have done because 00:34:28.079 --> 00:34:31.760 he loves what you will become through him. He 00:34:31.760 --> 00:34:36.119 loves you as you are, but he loves you enough 00:34:36.119 --> 00:34:37.559 to where he doesn't want to leave you where you're 00:34:37.559 --> 00:34:40.400 at. He wants to pull you out of that and show 00:34:40.400 --> 00:34:42.659 you the promises and the goodness that he has 00:34:42.659 --> 00:34:45.780 for your life. And that's what he calls us to 00:34:45.780 --> 00:34:48.480 is goodness because goodness comes from God. 00:34:48.679 --> 00:34:52.000 So I think that's really important. important 00:34:52.000 --> 00:34:53.699 bit is actually one of the questions i was going 00:34:53.699 --> 00:34:56.199 to ask you so you kind of answered that perfectly 00:34:56.199 --> 00:35:03.539 went into that so um i i think uh i think this 00:35:03.539 --> 00:35:06.639 is a a good point to bring up just to kind of 00:35:06.639 --> 00:35:10.739 turn it a little bit is because i see that you 00:35:10.739 --> 00:35:14.119 you went through pain and you've seen pain and 00:35:14.119 --> 00:35:16.880 you've had people who were touched by your book 00:35:16.880 --> 00:35:20.440 and touched by your testimony and how God can 00:35:20.440 --> 00:35:24.440 move and it shows that God's moving. So with 00:35:24.440 --> 00:35:28.019 this showing that all this pain was put into 00:35:28.019 --> 00:35:32.039 purpose for God's kingdom and he's using it to 00:35:32.039 --> 00:35:34.079 advance the kingdom for it and to reach out to 00:35:34.079 --> 00:35:37.739 more people. What, what is, um, what's next for 00:35:37.739 --> 00:35:40.199 you? Like whether ministry writing or even your 00:35:40.199 --> 00:35:42.179 culinary work, like what's kind of like your 00:35:42.179 --> 00:35:43.860 next steps? What are you thinking that you're 00:35:43.860 --> 00:35:48.940 going to? I'm already, I was up just the other 00:35:48.940 --> 00:35:51.659 night, the entire night. I was like, but God, 00:35:51.719 --> 00:35:53.380 I got to go to work in the morning. But I am 00:35:53.380 --> 00:35:57.059 working on book number two. Book number three, 00:35:57.099 --> 00:36:00.039 I started it. But book number two, he wants to 00:36:00.039 --> 00:36:03.880 come after from darkness to light. And the name 00:36:03.880 --> 00:36:08.139 of it is There's Power in Forgiveness. And once 00:36:08.139 --> 00:36:11.900 you come from that darkness and all that stuff, 00:36:11.980 --> 00:36:17.699 all that pain, you have to forgive in order to 00:36:17.699 --> 00:36:23.659 truly move on. Um, because we have to learn to 00:36:23.659 --> 00:36:28.619 forgive because I have learned some things through 00:36:28.619 --> 00:36:33.420 forgiving my daughter's father, you know, for 00:36:33.420 --> 00:36:36.960 the things that we went through and, you know, 00:36:36.960 --> 00:36:40.619 not just him. Um, I was molested at an early 00:36:40.619 --> 00:36:46.860 age and like I said, that stuff become a, becomes 00:36:46.860 --> 00:36:49.760 a cancer. And that's where most of our major 00:36:49.760 --> 00:36:53.539 diseases come from is from holding on to stuff 00:36:53.539 --> 00:36:57.000 that really doesn't belong to us anyway, because 00:36:57.000 --> 00:37:01.880 he says that it cast our cares upon him and he 00:37:01.880 --> 00:37:05.079 will take them on because it doesn't belong to 00:37:05.079 --> 00:37:08.800 us. So if we forgive and move on with our life, 00:37:08.900 --> 00:37:15.599 then I'm in a different place than where I should 00:37:15.599 --> 00:37:20.440 be, according to. Man, I'm in a different place. 00:37:20.539 --> 00:37:26.940 And just last year, my daughter's father was 00:37:26.940 --> 00:37:31.480 diagnosed with a brain aneurysm. And him and 00:37:31.480 --> 00:37:35.460 his family called me and asked me to pray with 00:37:35.460 --> 00:37:41.860 them. Wow. That, to me, said a lot. And it said 00:37:41.860 --> 00:37:50.269 a lot about... Who God has called and changed 00:37:50.269 --> 00:37:53.750 me to be, because in the past, I wouldn't have 00:37:53.750 --> 00:38:00.389 done it. But now. I'm not holding on to to all 00:38:00.389 --> 00:38:03.769 of that. That baggage and God made me realize 00:38:03.769 --> 00:38:07.949 that. When you get on a plane, they only allow 00:38:07.949 --> 00:38:11.730 you a certain amount of weight on a plane. Right. 00:38:11.989 --> 00:38:16.340 And he said the reason. is because if you bring 00:38:16.340 --> 00:38:20.079 on a whole lot of baggage onto that plane, then 00:38:20.079 --> 00:38:23.380 that plane can't fly the way it should. And it's 00:38:23.380 --> 00:38:26.059 the same thing with our lives. If we're carrying 00:38:26.059 --> 00:38:30.380 around a whole lot of unforgiveness and baggage 00:38:30.380 --> 00:38:33.239 and old stuff, that's why he says you can't put 00:38:33.239 --> 00:38:36.579 new wine in old wine skin. You have to let all 00:38:36.579 --> 00:38:40.500 the old stuff go in order for the new stuff to 00:38:40.500 --> 00:38:45.119 take place. So that's to me is a part of forgiving. 00:38:45.739 --> 00:38:48.960 You have to you have to let that stuff go so 00:38:48.960 --> 00:38:52.360 that you can really soar like the eagle that 00:38:52.360 --> 00:38:54.579 he's called you to be. Because now I'm in that 00:38:54.579 --> 00:38:57.820 place. I'm an eagle and I'm flying and I'm soaring 00:38:57.820 --> 00:39:01.420 and I'm flying above all the stuff. Because if 00:39:01.420 --> 00:39:04.559 you think about it, an eagle is really one of 00:39:04.559 --> 00:39:09.000 the only birds that can fly over a storm. And 00:39:09.000 --> 00:39:12.079 you can't become that eagle. If you're carrying 00:39:12.079 --> 00:39:14.039 around all of that stuff, because you will never 00:39:14.039 --> 00:39:16.840 be able to get up high enough to get over those 00:39:16.840 --> 00:39:24.159 storms. So there's power in forgiveness. Agreed. 00:39:24.179 --> 00:39:30.079 I mean, we see it where Ephesians 4, 31, 32 says 00:39:30.079 --> 00:39:32.719 that we forgive others as Christ forgave us. 00:39:32.980 --> 00:39:36.519 And does Christ hold back on forgiveness? Well, 00:39:36.699 --> 00:39:40.829 no. So therefore we should not. hold back on 00:39:40.829 --> 00:39:45.929 forgiveness. And Matthew 11, 28 and 30, Christ 00:39:45.929 --> 00:39:48.590 says, come to me, all who are weary and burdened, 00:39:48.590 --> 00:39:51.730 and I'll give you rest, right? Take my yoke upon 00:39:51.730 --> 00:39:55.449 you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble 00:39:55.449 --> 00:39:57.650 in heart, and you will find rest for your souls, 00:39:57.730 --> 00:40:00.329 for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. And 00:40:00.329 --> 00:40:03.889 this is something that I have a friend that suffers 00:40:03.889 --> 00:40:09.360 from anxiety. hardcore anxiety. And I was showing 00:40:09.360 --> 00:40:12.960 them like, this is where you, you are going to 00:40:12.960 --> 00:40:15.960 have a harder time in the sense of like, you're 00:40:15.960 --> 00:40:18.300 being fed all this information to your brain. 00:40:18.320 --> 00:40:20.800 Like, Hey, this is like, I need to be anxious 00:40:20.800 --> 00:40:22.780 about this, this, and this, this is where you 00:40:22.780 --> 00:40:24.880 lean on God. This is where you go to God and 00:40:24.880 --> 00:40:29.130 say, I trust you. And I believe in you and I 00:40:29.130 --> 00:40:31.590 have faith in you. And I'll walk in that faith 00:40:31.590 --> 00:40:35.869 that whatever this anxiety thing is I have, regardless 00:40:35.869 --> 00:40:38.489 of if it is just driving to work or back or whatever, 00:40:38.730 --> 00:40:43.230 I will have faith that you have me. You got me 00:40:43.230 --> 00:40:45.570 and I'll step out in that faith and live life 00:40:45.570 --> 00:40:50.610 that you are with me. And so I agree that that's 00:40:50.610 --> 00:40:52.949 a really important message to know and to hold 00:40:52.949 --> 00:40:58.079 on to, I think. I think that's really good. And 00:40:58.079 --> 00:41:02.460 our words have power. True, true. Our words do 00:41:02.460 --> 00:41:07.280 have power because Christ is in us. And so if 00:41:07.280 --> 00:41:10.639 we are ambassadors in the sense of representing 00:41:10.639 --> 00:41:13.139 Christ on earth, in the sense that we live a 00:41:13.139 --> 00:41:16.280 life according to what he's called us, how we 00:41:16.280 --> 00:41:18.780 talk to people, what we say to people, everything 00:41:18.780 --> 00:41:22.219 is very important to know what and why we say 00:41:22.219 --> 00:41:25.639 things and to watch what we say in that sense. 00:41:27.539 --> 00:41:32.219 It's for me being like a gamer guy that plays 00:41:32.219 --> 00:41:35.099 video games. I got to be careful when I'm talking 00:41:35.099 --> 00:41:38.360 to friends. I'm not doing banter of like negative 00:41:38.360 --> 00:41:41.019 banter, like, oh, you suck or whatever. Because 00:41:41.019 --> 00:41:43.440 if I am trying to represent the kingdom of God, 00:41:43.500 --> 00:41:45.219 even the video games, I'll sit there and I'll 00:41:45.219 --> 00:41:47.320 be like, God, you are good. And I'll say, no, 00:41:47.400 --> 00:41:49.800 you got this. I believe in you. It's like it's 00:41:49.800 --> 00:41:51.760 that reinforcement of like I'm bringing life. 00:41:52.380 --> 00:41:55.300 because i speak life because god is alive in 00:41:55.300 --> 00:41:58.019 me like christ is alive in me and i want to speak 00:41:58.019 --> 00:42:00.320 life to those around me even if they do or don't 00:42:00.320 --> 00:42:02.420 believe they'll know because they're like well 00:42:02.420 --> 00:42:05.159 they're always there's always going to be that 00:42:05.159 --> 00:42:08.119 seed of like why is that different and then hopefully 00:42:08.119 --> 00:42:12.039 i can talk to them so and continue that so that's 00:42:12.039 --> 00:42:14.840 good stuff i do i like that that was a good good 00:42:14.840 --> 00:42:20.940 point there um thank you so let's, let's do this. 00:42:20.940 --> 00:42:22.820 Cause I know we're coming up on our time here 00:42:22.820 --> 00:42:27.780 pretty quick. So where can our listeners connect 00:42:27.780 --> 00:42:29.880 with you online or find your book or like, what's 00:42:29.880 --> 00:42:31.800 the, what's some stuff that you want them to 00:42:31.800 --> 00:42:35.900 know how to kind of find things. Okay. What you're 00:42:35.900 --> 00:42:40.000 doing. My book is on Amazon and all the major, 00:42:40.179 --> 00:42:44.980 um, books online, uh, Barnes and Nobles. Um, 00:42:45.000 --> 00:42:50.250 wow. It's even in, I think she said 150 countries 00:42:50.250 --> 00:42:55.510 now. So you can get it on all the major outlets. 00:42:56.230 --> 00:43:01.650 I am on Facebook. I'm on Instagram and YouTube. 00:43:02.110 --> 00:43:07.090 And as you stated earlier, there's a character 00:43:07.090 --> 00:43:11.909 that I play that God has really been using called 00:43:11.909 --> 00:43:14.949 Grandma Adame. So Grandma Adame is about to start 00:43:14.949 --> 00:43:18.179 her own podcast. So she will be giving you a 00:43:18.179 --> 00:43:23.699 call to come on to her podcast. But it's called 00:43:23.699 --> 00:43:27.139 Real Talk with Grandma Ida Mae. So that will 00:43:27.139 --> 00:43:30.440 be coming out in the next couple of weeks. And 00:43:30.440 --> 00:43:34.400 it's like you're like you're doing. It's sometimes 00:43:34.400 --> 00:43:38.719 people just need to talk. And it's in that talking 00:43:38.719 --> 00:43:43.539 that revelation is spoken. And sometimes people 00:43:43.539 --> 00:43:45.519 are in places that they don't realize they're 00:43:45.519 --> 00:43:48.889 in. And if they begin to talk about it, it opens 00:43:48.889 --> 00:43:53.050 up a light bulb like it did for me. It opens 00:43:53.050 --> 00:43:56.710 up a light bulb and lives can be changed through 00:43:56.710 --> 00:44:02.050 it. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Yeah, I agree with 00:44:02.050 --> 00:44:04.590 that. That's really good. Yeah, I saw a little 00:44:04.590 --> 00:44:06.409 bit about that online about Grandma Ida Mae. 00:44:06.610 --> 00:44:11.670 So that's really cool. Yes, that's my comedic 00:44:11.670 --> 00:44:16.530 side. Love it. Love it. So for everybody listening, 00:44:16.829 --> 00:44:19.989 the book, highly recommend it. It's Insider Weekly 00:44:19.989 --> 00:44:24.349 Best Inspirational Memoir 2025, Silver Global 00:44:24.349 --> 00:44:27.070 Book Award winner and number one Amazon bestseller 00:44:27.070 --> 00:44:30.710 for a time. So it's really, really well worth 00:44:30.710 --> 00:44:34.019 it. And it's not just like a... Not like my book 00:44:34.019 --> 00:44:36.219 where it has like 10 or 20 who knows what's, 00:44:36.219 --> 00:44:40.199 but it's highly recommended. Definitely go check 00:44:40.199 --> 00:44:44.159 it out. And yeah, I appreciate you, Danielle, 00:44:44.280 --> 00:44:47.679 coming on. I think it's really cool to see what 00:44:47.679 --> 00:44:51.380 God's doing in your life. Thank you. And seeing 00:44:51.380 --> 00:44:55.920 another, like a sister in Christ, just Holy Spirit 00:44:55.920 --> 00:44:58.460 using. And it's really awesome to see. I really 00:44:58.460 --> 00:45:03.619 do appreciate you coming on. Well, you keep doing 00:45:03.619 --> 00:45:08.920 what you're doing as well. I appreciate it. It's 00:45:08.920 --> 00:45:12.119 one of those things where I want to do everything 00:45:12.119 --> 00:45:14.820 I can for God, and I know that I have a lot of 00:45:14.820 --> 00:45:19.380 tech stuff. The only thing I'll tell people on 00:45:19.380 --> 00:45:22.780 this... podcast is that i'm working on an app 00:45:22.780 --> 00:45:25.260 gospel truth project is working on an app it's 00:45:25.260 --> 00:45:28.340 called prayer flare what happens is a user will 00:45:28.340 --> 00:45:30.960 go onto the app you you invite your friends and 00:45:30.960 --> 00:45:33.599 you add certain ones of your friends to be um 00:45:33.599 --> 00:45:37.159 close friends like close like i trust these people 00:45:37.920 --> 00:45:40.420 And if you're struggling with temptation or you're 00:45:40.420 --> 00:45:42.780 struggling with something in your life that's 00:45:42.780 --> 00:45:45.719 trying to pull you out of trusting God or cause 00:45:45.719 --> 00:45:48.559 anxiety or fear, you click the button on it and 00:45:48.559 --> 00:45:51.460 your close friends will get a notification. And 00:45:51.460 --> 00:45:53.099 it says, please pray for them. They're dealing 00:45:53.099 --> 00:45:55.139 with something. And they click the button. You'll 00:45:55.139 --> 00:45:57.059 see a little flame around the circle that you 00:45:57.059 --> 00:45:59.000 pressed showing that they're praying for you. 00:45:59.139 --> 00:46:01.699 So it's just to try to help you see that there's 00:46:01.699 --> 00:46:04.210 others. Instant communication that they're praying 00:46:04.210 --> 00:46:06.449 for you and you see the reaction that they're 00:46:06.449 --> 00:46:08.730 praying for you And I just wanted to create like 00:46:08.730 --> 00:46:12.090 a kind of like accountability app So that will 00:46:12.090 --> 00:46:13.949 that should be coming out in the next month I 00:46:13.949 --> 00:46:15.489 think but I just kind of want to share because 00:46:15.489 --> 00:46:17.449 this is the first time we mentioned it But it 00:46:17.449 --> 00:46:19.469 just reminded me. It's like yeah, that's something 00:46:19.469 --> 00:46:23.789 coming to And it just makes me think about peter, 00:46:23.909 --> 00:46:27.550 um when they were praying for him and how god 00:46:27.550 --> 00:46:31.619 knocked down the walls and and you know Brought 00:46:31.619 --> 00:46:34.000 him out of jail. And, and that's what our problems 00:46:34.000 --> 00:46:39.980 are is jail. And that's awesome. Wow. Yeah. I 00:46:39.980 --> 00:46:42.539 think stuff like that is just instant communication 00:46:42.539 --> 00:46:45.000 with other believers and making sure that we're 00:46:45.000 --> 00:46:48.619 all working together for the glory of God and 00:46:48.619 --> 00:46:52.179 helping each other. Like scripture says that 00:46:52.179 --> 00:46:54.559 we carry each other's burdens. We help each other 00:46:54.559 --> 00:46:59.400 up. We gratify and we serve God and, and bless. 00:47:00.119 --> 00:47:03.679 Bless others because of it. So I think all this 00:47:03.679 --> 00:47:06.500 has been good today. I've been. thank God for 00:47:06.500 --> 00:47:08.380 our conversation today. And I think this is, 00:47:08.380 --> 00:47:11.480 this is really good. So, um, once again, I do 00:47:11.480 --> 00:47:15.360 thank you for being on, on the podcast, um, for 00:47:15.360 --> 00:47:17.880 everyone listening, we're going to continue to 00:47:17.880 --> 00:47:21.719 do more episodes more consistently. I know that 00:47:21.719 --> 00:47:24.719 we've had some gaps and that's because a lot's 00:47:24.719 --> 00:47:26.960 been going on. I moved Dylan, moved Dylan, got 00:47:26.960 --> 00:47:29.400 a kid. Dylan's now at a new job and then I'm 00:47:29.400 --> 00:47:33.599 moving stuff. So, so much fun. So again, I, I, 00:47:33.880 --> 00:47:36.599 I pray God bless you and continue to keep you 00:47:36.599 --> 00:47:39.420 and to continue to hold you in the ministry that 00:47:39.420 --> 00:47:42.559 he's called you to. And I thank you for your 00:47:42.559 --> 00:47:45.519 presence here and being able to talk about it 00:47:45.519 --> 00:47:50.000 and be open about it. And I guess I'll see everybody 00:47:50.000 --> 00:47:54.780 else on the next episode. Thank you. And have 00:47:54.780 --> 00:47:55.679 a wonderful day.