WEBVTT 00:00:03.570 --> 00:00:07.570 He was Liberace's agent. Yeah, that's how far 00:00:07.570 --> 00:00:10.910 it goes back. Liberace's agent. And Liberace 00:00:10.910 --> 00:00:15.179 was old back then. And he was looking for new 00:00:15.179 --> 00:00:18.699 talent, I guess so. He also represented Ginger 00:00:18.699 --> 00:00:21.280 Rogers, right? So he needed some new talent. 00:00:21.859 --> 00:00:24.539 But the agent wanted me to move to Los Angeles 00:00:24.539 --> 00:00:28.300 to pursue a career as an actress and an entertainer. 00:00:28.399 --> 00:00:30.920 My family and friends thought, this is amazing. 00:00:31.519 --> 00:00:33.799 This is a once -in -a -lifetime opportunity. 00:00:34.659 --> 00:00:37.340 And, you know, while it all sounded exciting, 00:00:37.719 --> 00:00:42.399 to me, I just... like the idea of just staying 00:00:42.399 --> 00:00:45.640 in Alabama and completing my degree at Birmingham 00:00:45.640 --> 00:00:48.240 Southern, and then perhaps opening an advertising 00:00:48.240 --> 00:00:51.820 agency, and I wanted to continue to date Hayes 00:00:51.820 --> 00:00:55.240 as well. So I didn't make a decision right away. 00:00:55.659 --> 00:00:58.100 I didn't sign the contract right away with a 00:00:58.100 --> 00:01:00.380 Hollywood agent. I wanted to think about it, 00:01:00.439 --> 00:01:04.480 pray about it, and let some time pass. And after 00:01:04.480 --> 00:01:08.849 some time passed, several months, the more my 00:01:08.849 --> 00:01:10.890 family and friends talked about how this was 00:01:10.890 --> 00:01:14.670 such a great opportunity, I began to think, well, 00:01:14.829 --> 00:01:18.489 maybe I should pursue a career in Hollywood. 00:01:18.829 --> 00:01:20.829 And, you know, it could help my family, too, 00:01:20.890 --> 00:01:23.170 my little sister, and, you know, it could open 00:01:23.170 --> 00:01:26.650 doors for them. It sounded exciting. I did want 00:01:26.650 --> 00:01:31.370 to see more of the world. You see how pageants, 00:01:31.450 --> 00:01:34.290 you know, how it leads to, well, you enter the 00:01:34.290 --> 00:01:37.950 pageant, and then you want more. Hollywood. You 00:01:37.950 --> 00:01:42.269 see how that happens. And so that's what was 00:01:42.269 --> 00:01:45.750 happening. I began to listen to others as well, 00:01:45.989 --> 00:01:49.849 my family members, my friends, and I prayed about 00:01:49.849 --> 00:01:55.489 it, and I didn't feel the peace. There was no 00:01:55.489 --> 00:02:01.469 peace. But then I was torn because I wanted to 00:02:01.469 --> 00:02:06.109 please my family and friends. And after all, 00:02:06.510 --> 00:02:08.189 This was a once -in -a -lifetime opportunity. 00:02:08.870 --> 00:02:11.449 I may not get this, and I can always come back 00:02:11.449 --> 00:02:14.490 home if it doesn't work out. That was my reasoning. 00:02:15.169 --> 00:02:17.770 See, I was torn, trying to please the arm of 00:02:17.770 --> 00:02:21.189 flesh instead of wanting to please my Heavenly 00:02:21.189 --> 00:02:25.849 Father. And I did not receive confirmation. No 00:02:25.849 --> 00:02:29.310 peace in my heart. The pageant experience, as 00:02:29.310 --> 00:02:31.370 I said, left me wanting more, bigger, better. 00:02:31.490 --> 00:02:36.400 What's next? Satan, that's how Satan draws people 00:02:36.400 --> 00:02:40.960 deeper and deeper into his trap. So I decided 00:02:40.960 --> 00:02:45.120 to move to Los Angeles. But a few weeks before 00:02:45.120 --> 00:02:48.099 moving, I got a call from Coach Bear Bryant's 00:02:48.099 --> 00:02:51.719 secretary asking if I would sing at Coach Bryant's 00:02:51.719 --> 00:02:55.680 retirement party. Remember, I mentioned we had 00:02:55.680 --> 00:02:59.620 done commercials together, and he was just such 00:02:59.620 --> 00:03:02.759 a great mentor. He helped so many young people, 00:03:02.879 --> 00:03:07.539 and just a great, great man. And, of course, 00:03:07.560 --> 00:03:10.300 I agreed and sang the song, Thanks for the Memories. 00:03:10.560 --> 00:03:12.919 And then I had a chance to visit with Coach, 00:03:13.039 --> 00:03:15.780 and I told him that I was planning to move to 00:03:15.780 --> 00:03:21.080 Hollywood, and I asked his opinion. Well, Coach 00:03:21.080 --> 00:03:24.539 had a concerned look on his face. And he said, 00:03:24.580 --> 00:03:28.139 Paige, you need to reconsider this decision. 00:03:28.879 --> 00:03:31.539 He said the people out in, he traveled quite 00:03:31.539 --> 00:03:34.460 a bit, played golf with Bob Hope, and he said 00:03:34.460 --> 00:03:38.120 the people out in Hollywood are different. They're 00:03:38.120 --> 00:03:41.300 just not the same as what you're used to. Their 00:03:41.300 --> 00:03:44.819 morals, everything, different. It's a different 00:03:44.819 --> 00:03:47.740 world, and you, really, you should stay here. 00:03:49.300 --> 00:03:52.259 I believe, as I look back, that God was using 00:03:52.259 --> 00:03:56.889 Coach Bryant. to give me a warning not to move 00:03:56.889 --> 00:04:01.150 to Los Angeles. God loves his children. He gives 00:04:01.150 --> 00:04:05.150 us warnings. God knew that Coach Bryant could 00:04:05.150 --> 00:04:08.169 get my attention, and it did make me stop and 00:04:08.169 --> 00:04:12.210 think about it a little more. But in the end, 00:04:12.389 --> 00:04:16.170 I decided to accept the agent's offer and move 00:04:16.170 --> 00:04:19.170 to Los Angeles. And oh, my family and friends 00:04:19.170 --> 00:04:22.500 were really happy about that. But now the heartbreaking 00:04:22.500 --> 00:04:26.579 part was that I had to tell Hayes I was moving 00:04:26.579 --> 00:04:30.459 and that we had to stop dating. Well, that was 00:04:30.459 --> 00:04:34.779 another warning sign. The way I felt in my heart. 00:04:35.420 --> 00:04:38.740 Hayes was my best friend. We prayed together. 00:04:39.019 --> 00:04:43.259 He was a godly guy. And I knew that this whole 00:04:43.259 --> 00:04:46.899 thing didn't feel right, yet I didn't want to 00:04:46.899 --> 00:04:48.800 miss that once -in -a -lifetime opportunity. 00:04:49.660 --> 00:04:52.899 I chose to ignore all the warning signs God was 00:04:52.899 --> 00:04:57.339 giving me. You see, my spiritual eyes were closed. 00:04:57.540 --> 00:05:03.579 I was blind. I couldn't see. Well, so I moved 00:05:03.579 --> 00:05:06.459 to Los Angeles. I attended acting school. I did 00:05:06.459 --> 00:05:09.420 commercials. I auditioned for movie roles. I 00:05:09.420 --> 00:05:12.220 entertained at Liberace's resort in Las Vegas. 00:05:12.680 --> 00:05:16.319 And at first, it was very exciting. But after 00:05:16.319 --> 00:05:19.240 a while... I began to see what Coach Bryant had 00:05:19.240 --> 00:05:22.480 warned about. In the entertainment world of Hollywood, 00:05:22.699 --> 00:05:27.100 I saw an ugly behind -the -scenes picture. I 00:05:27.100 --> 00:05:33.540 saw a lot of drugs, alcohol, no morals. It was 00:05:33.540 --> 00:05:38.959 a dark, dark place without Jesus. And I thought 00:05:38.959 --> 00:05:42.959 to myself, if I stay here much longer, all this 00:05:42.959 --> 00:05:48.360 will become normal to me. So I knew that I just 00:05:48.360 --> 00:05:52.319 had to move back to Alabama. I talked to my agent 00:05:52.319 --> 00:05:55.100 about it, and he suggested that I stay a little 00:05:55.100 --> 00:05:58.000 while longer because he was going to host a fundraising 00:05:58.000 --> 00:06:01.980 event, and he needed to introduce me to some 00:06:01.980 --> 00:06:05.199 very important people that could help my career. 00:06:06.139 --> 00:06:09.000 Well, I should have said no, but my spiritual 00:06:09.000 --> 00:06:12.120 eyes were not opened, and so I agreed and attended 00:06:12.120 --> 00:06:16.129 that event. I met a lot of interesting people 00:06:16.129 --> 00:06:19.230 there, including a real estate developer from 00:06:19.230 --> 00:06:22.629 Arizona. He seemed to be a nice guy, very different 00:06:22.629 --> 00:06:25.569 from the people I had met in Hollywood. He didn't 00:06:25.569 --> 00:06:28.930 like Hollywood either. But we enjoyed each other's 00:06:28.930 --> 00:06:31.850 company, and he said he was a Christian. So he 00:06:31.850 --> 00:06:35.769 asked me out, and we began to date. But shortly 00:06:35.769 --> 00:06:39.709 thereafter, I moved back to Alabama. And that 00:06:39.709 --> 00:06:42.230 was no problem. He said, well, I'll fly back 00:06:42.230 --> 00:06:44.850 and forth from Phoenix to Birmingham, and we 00:06:44.850 --> 00:06:49.410 can continue to date. So this went on, and after 00:06:49.410 --> 00:06:53.370 six months, he proposed. And here was another 00:06:53.370 --> 00:06:57.470 turning point decision in my life, a big one. 00:06:58.050 --> 00:07:00.110 I told him I needed to think about it and pray 00:07:00.110 --> 00:07:03.069 about it. I had mixed signals. He was very nice 00:07:03.069 --> 00:07:06.189 to my family, very nice to me. He said he was 00:07:06.189 --> 00:07:08.980 a Christian. Yet there was something that was 00:07:08.980 --> 00:07:11.839 just not right in my heart. I couldn't pinpoint 00:07:11.839 --> 00:07:14.879 it. And this guy was very different from Hayes, 00:07:14.879 --> 00:07:18.259 who had been my best friend. So I prayed, but 00:07:18.259 --> 00:07:22.300 like before, I didn't wait to hear from the Lord. 00:07:22.839 --> 00:07:26.519 And I allowed the opinion of others to dominate 00:07:26.519 --> 00:07:30.540 my thoughts. My entire family loved this guy. 00:07:31.160 --> 00:07:33.860 I admired him for how he had come from a struggling 00:07:33.860 --> 00:07:37.540 family to become so successful in real estate. 00:07:38.420 --> 00:07:42.819 He was very, very wealthy, successful at a young 00:07:42.819 --> 00:07:46.980 age, and I really admired that. So I accepted 00:07:46.980 --> 00:07:50.100 the marriage proposal, and the course of my life 00:07:50.100 --> 00:07:54.699 was about to spiral downward, far away from God's 00:07:54.699 --> 00:07:59.100 will for me. Again, I trusted in the arm of flesh. 00:07:59.930 --> 00:08:04.129 and how sad it is to be blind, not to have your 00:08:04.129 --> 00:08:08.329 spiritual eyes opened. You are just like a wave 00:08:08.329 --> 00:08:12.230 tossed to and fro, just like what's described 00:08:12.230 --> 00:08:16.829 in James 1 .6. God had to teach me how to wait 00:08:16.829 --> 00:08:21.329 on him and how to trust in him and how to listen 00:08:21.329 --> 00:08:26.709 to his voice. James 1 .3 says, knowing this, 00:08:26.889 --> 00:08:29.970 that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 00:08:31.209 --> 00:08:34.789 So when we go through trials, our faith is tested, 00:08:34.970 --> 00:08:38.830 and that's when we learn how to wait on the Lord. 00:08:39.789 --> 00:08:43.389 I'm thankful I know this today, but I sure didn't 00:08:43.389 --> 00:08:46.230 know it back then. So I married the real estate 00:08:46.230 --> 00:08:49.070 developer and moved to Paradise Valley, Arizona. 00:08:49.669 --> 00:08:51.850 I was able to use my Miss America scholarships 00:08:51.850 --> 00:08:55.750 at Arizona State University, where I earned an 00:08:55.750 --> 00:08:58.889 undergraduate degree in Spanish literature and 00:08:58.889 --> 00:09:01.669 a law degree from the Sandra Day O 'Connor College 00:09:01.669 --> 00:09:06.350 of Law. And after 12 years, I lived a life of 00:09:06.350 --> 00:09:11.549 a jet setter and Phoenix socialite. I was completely 00:09:11.549 --> 00:09:14.970 enveloped in materialism and the world of mammon. 00:09:15.470 --> 00:09:18.629 I hosted dinner parties in our home for prominent 00:09:18.629 --> 00:09:22.169 Arizonans like Barry Goldwater, Cindy, and John 00:09:22.169 --> 00:09:25.450 McCain. I traveled to England several times a 00:09:25.450 --> 00:09:28.690 year. We owned a manor house in the New Forest 00:09:28.690 --> 00:09:31.610 in England, a place called Bramshaw. I traveled 00:09:31.610 --> 00:09:35.370 all over Europe and Asia. I had everything the 00:09:35.370 --> 00:09:40.269 world could offer, but I was spiritually empty. 00:09:41.029 --> 00:09:46.899 I had no peace. I wasn't happy. And although 00:09:46.899 --> 00:09:48.820 my husband had told me that he was a Christian 00:09:48.820 --> 00:09:51.539 before we married, I soon realized that I had 00:09:51.539 --> 00:09:54.279 married an ungodly man who was ill -tempered 00:09:54.279 --> 00:09:58.240 and verbally abusive. But God, in God's tender 00:09:58.240 --> 00:10:01.899 mercy, he blessed me with two sons, and I was 00:10:01.899 --> 00:10:06.059 able to experience that unconditional love. That 00:10:06.059 --> 00:10:09.039 love sustained me during those difficult years. 00:10:09.860 --> 00:10:13.399 Well, one day while I was preparing for yet another 00:10:13.399 --> 00:10:19.450 dinner party, another political event, two Adventist 00:10:19.450 --> 00:10:24.070 teenagers knocked on my door and gave me a copy 00:10:24.070 --> 00:10:27.789 of The Great Controversy. Like I said earlier, 00:10:28.110 --> 00:10:32.049 I thanked them, and I was busy. I had a dinner 00:10:32.049 --> 00:10:35.049 party, but I flipped through it, and then I put 00:10:35.049 --> 00:10:40.269 it in a box and forgot all about it. Then several 00:10:40.269 --> 00:10:43.409 years later, my marriage fell apart when I discovered 00:10:43.409 --> 00:10:47.159 that my husband was unfaithful. And since I had 00:10:47.159 --> 00:10:51.159 a biblical reason to leave the marriage, I filed 00:10:51.159 --> 00:10:53.860 for divorce, packed up my things in a U -Haul 00:10:53.860 --> 00:10:56.879 trailer, hooked it to the back of my Tahoe, and 00:10:56.879 --> 00:11:00.120 moved back to Alabama with my two sons and our 00:11:00.120 --> 00:11:04.139 little cat, Oliver. So I arrived in Alabama, 00:11:04.440 --> 00:11:10.720 and three days later, guess who called me? Hayes. 00:11:11.600 --> 00:11:15.299 My high school sweetheart. Yes, he had gone through 00:11:15.299 --> 00:11:19.419 a divorce involving unfaithfulness as well. The 00:11:19.419 --> 00:11:22.220 same thing had happened to him. He had a son. 00:11:22.340 --> 00:11:26.139 I had two sons. We both felt that God brought 00:11:26.139 --> 00:11:29.940 us back together to be a family. I was so thankful 00:11:29.940 --> 00:11:32.759 that Hayes had forgiven me for moving off to 00:11:32.759 --> 00:11:36.080 Los Angeles years earlier and breaking up with 00:11:36.080 --> 00:11:39.450 him. Hayes was a good man, and he truly loved 00:11:39.450 --> 00:11:42.269 me, and he had always been a hard worker and 00:11:42.269 --> 00:11:44.789 very diligent. While we were apart all those 00:11:44.789 --> 00:11:47.129 years, he had earned his MBA and worked his way 00:11:47.129 --> 00:11:50.210 up to being vice president of a community bank 00:11:50.210 --> 00:11:52.929 and then president of a local community bank. 00:11:53.149 --> 00:11:55.669 Now he told me that his plans were to open a 00:11:55.669 --> 00:11:58.899 new community bank in our hometown. So we dated 00:11:58.899 --> 00:12:01.639 for the next two years, and during that time, 00:12:01.679 --> 00:12:04.279 he raised the capital to start the new community 00:12:04.279 --> 00:12:07.799 bank. And also during that time, I started an 00:12:07.799 --> 00:12:10.240 advertising business, something that I'd always 00:12:10.240 --> 00:12:13.919 wanted to do. I called it front -page advertising. 00:12:15.440 --> 00:12:19.559 And in 1999, Hayes proposed to me, and this time 00:12:19.559 --> 00:12:22.039 I went to my Heavenly Father, and I said, Lord, 00:12:22.259 --> 00:12:26.120 I'm going to pray and ask. I knew it in my heart, 00:12:26.139 --> 00:12:30.000 but I prayed. And I waited, but I didn't have 00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:34.399 to wait for very long. I immediately felt that 00:12:34.399 --> 00:12:38.840 peace and joy in my heart. I knew Hayes was the 00:12:38.840 --> 00:12:42.000 one. Confirmation from my Heavenly Father, it 00:12:42.000 --> 00:12:45.940 was his will. So we were married on May 8, 1999, 00:12:46.139 --> 00:12:50.100 and I finally made a right decision. Praise the 00:12:50.100 --> 00:12:54.200 Lord. Life seemed to be on the right track now. 00:12:54.639 --> 00:12:57.399 As Hayes and I were happily married, our sons 00:12:57.399 --> 00:13:01.059 got along very well. We were attending a big 00:13:01.059 --> 00:13:03.659 church. It was one of those big mega church, 00:13:03.919 --> 00:13:05.919 you know, with the big screens, the celebration 00:13:05.919 --> 00:13:09.960 choir, all that kind. So it was an interdenominational 00:13:09.960 --> 00:13:13.480 church in Birmingham. to participate in church 00:13:13.480 --> 00:13:16.299 Bible studies. And I led a children's ministry 00:13:16.299 --> 00:13:19.659 there. And we had daily family Bible studies 00:13:19.659 --> 00:13:23.379 at our home with our sons. See, we were Adventists 00:13:23.379 --> 00:13:27.200 back then. We just didn't know it. And however, 00:13:27.480 --> 00:13:31.179 about... For about two years there, after about 00:13:31.179 --> 00:13:33.700 two years, we realized that because this church 00:13:33.700 --> 00:13:38.620 was so large, so large, it was like a huge auditorium 00:13:38.620 --> 00:13:41.620 type, and our sons could not make the needed 00:13:41.620 --> 00:13:44.860 connections with the Christian teenagers their 00:13:44.860 --> 00:13:49.289 ages. After much prayer, we decided to attend 00:13:49.289 --> 00:13:52.610 a smaller Baptist church in our hometown. It 00:13:52.610 --> 00:13:54.669 was the Baptist church that Hayes grew up in. 00:13:54.789 --> 00:13:58.230 We really loved the traditional hymns and the 00:13:58.230 --> 00:14:01.149 focus on preaching the word of God in this smaller 00:14:01.149 --> 00:14:05.610 church. However, we had very few Bible studies 00:14:05.610 --> 00:14:10.330 on the end times. I was so confused about topics 00:14:10.330 --> 00:14:13.830 such as the secret rapture. Where is that in 00:14:13.830 --> 00:14:16.649 the Bible? I couldn't understand. And the seven 00:14:16.649 --> 00:14:20.210 -year great tribulation, I couldn't understand 00:14:20.210 --> 00:14:24.590 that whole thing. And then the earthly millennium, 00:14:24.590 --> 00:14:27.190 there was just so many things that I was so confused 00:14:27.190 --> 00:14:30.129 about, and I couldn't get any answers, really. 00:14:31.169 --> 00:14:34.450 So nevertheless, we attended this church until 00:14:34.450 --> 00:14:36.809 our sons were getting ready to move off to college. 00:14:37.519 --> 00:14:40.080 Then after our sons moved off, we decided to 00:14:40.080 --> 00:14:42.139 stay out of church for a while because there 00:14:42.139 --> 00:14:45.419 was a big disruption in leadership in the church, 00:14:45.600 --> 00:14:48.779 and we didn't want to stay there and get involved 00:14:48.779 --> 00:14:51.480 with all the taking sides and this and that. 00:14:51.580 --> 00:14:55.080 So we said, well, we'll just stay out of church 00:14:55.080 --> 00:14:58.159 for a while. Well, we ended up staying out of 00:14:58.159 --> 00:15:04.379 church for 10 years. Satan was moving in to attack 00:15:04.379 --> 00:15:08.419 us. Well, shortly after our sons went off to 00:15:08.419 --> 00:15:12.200 college, I began to suffer depression. It was 00:15:12.200 --> 00:15:15.340 a deep depression I'd never felt before, and 00:15:15.340 --> 00:15:18.480 I sought the help of my doctor. He told me that 00:15:18.480 --> 00:15:22.059 I had the emptiness syndrome, and so he prescribed 00:15:22.059 --> 00:15:25.139 an antidepressant and told me to drink a glass 00:15:25.139 --> 00:15:30.919 of red wine every night. Yes, that was the prescription. 00:15:31.960 --> 00:15:34.240 I had never been on any kind of prescription 00:15:34.240 --> 00:15:37.679 drug before. and I hardly ever consumed any alcohol. 00:15:38.139 --> 00:15:42.059 I wish I'd known about Wildwood back then. But 00:15:42.059 --> 00:15:44.919 I did what the doctor told me to do, and Hayes 00:15:44.919 --> 00:15:47.960 was also under a lot of pressure at work, so 00:15:47.960 --> 00:15:50.240 our family doctors prescribed the same thing 00:15:50.240 --> 00:15:54.899 for him. Well, after 10 years on the antidepressants, 00:15:54.960 --> 00:15:59.179 the daily glass of wine had turned into an addiction 00:15:59.179 --> 00:16:02.950 for both of us. We didn't drink alcohol during 00:16:02.950 --> 00:16:06.009 the day, but we had to have the red wine every 00:16:06.009 --> 00:16:09.549 evening. We had drifted far away from Jesus, 00:16:09.669 --> 00:16:13.889 and we had trusted in the arm of flesh by listening 00:16:13.889 --> 00:16:17.570 to the doctor's advice and taking the antidepressant, 00:16:17.570 --> 00:16:20.330 drinking the wine, instead of praying to our 00:16:20.330 --> 00:16:23.470 Heavenly Father, the one who created us, and 00:16:23.470 --> 00:16:27.370 waiting for his answer. Now, I do want to clarify 00:16:27.370 --> 00:16:29.870 that some people really do need antidepressants. 00:16:29.870 --> 00:16:33.009 I'm not discounting the use of antidepressants. 00:16:33.009 --> 00:16:35.769 I'm just saying that we did not need them, and 00:16:35.769 --> 00:16:38.909 we certainly didn't need to add wine to the mix. 00:16:39.490 --> 00:16:42.230 Because there's something about the antidepressant 00:16:42.230 --> 00:16:45.210 and the wine together creates a powerful addiction. 00:16:45.830 --> 00:16:49.230 The antidepressant makes you crave sugar. It 00:16:49.230 --> 00:16:54.649 releases the serotonin. and then the glucose, 00:16:54.649 --> 00:16:59.149 and you're craving sugar. What is red wine? Sugar. 00:16:59.490 --> 00:17:03.710 So it became an addiction, a very powerful one. 00:17:04.710 --> 00:17:09.710 At a desperate, I knew I had never been under 00:17:09.710 --> 00:17:14.009 this kind of control. It was the strangest feeling 00:17:14.009 --> 00:17:18.970 to be in the clutches of this, to not be able 00:17:18.970 --> 00:17:21.430 to say, tonight I'm not going to have any red 00:17:21.430 --> 00:17:28.240 wine. I couldn't. I was trapped in bondage. I'd 00:17:28.240 --> 00:17:33.160 never been addicted before and powerless. And 00:17:33.160 --> 00:17:37.099 I knew that this was satanic. I knew Satan had 00:17:37.099 --> 00:17:41.039 grips on me. And because my grandmother taught 00:17:41.039 --> 00:17:43.880 me about the blood of Jesus when I was seven 00:17:43.880 --> 00:17:47.099 years old and led me to the Lord, I remembered 00:17:47.099 --> 00:17:52.470 that. See, grandmothers, plant that seed. And 00:17:52.470 --> 00:17:57.049 so I went to my backyard. I fell on my knees, 00:17:57.069 --> 00:18:01.250 and I cried out for Jesus to forgive me and heal 00:18:01.250 --> 00:18:05.089 me from this addiction. I heard his gentle voice 00:18:05.089 --> 00:18:10.049 speak to my heart. He said, my child, I have 00:18:10.049 --> 00:18:13.769 been waiting for you to come back to me. He was 00:18:13.769 --> 00:18:18.089 waiting on me. You are mine. I have redeemed 00:18:18.089 --> 00:18:23.380 you, and I will. heal you. But you must learn 00:18:23.380 --> 00:18:26.960 to trust in me. I will show you the way out of 00:18:26.960 --> 00:18:30.960 this addiction. Listen to my voice. I heard him 00:18:30.960 --> 00:18:35.480 say, listen to me. And then he told me he loved 00:18:35.480 --> 00:18:40.240 me. The next day after this experience with Jesus 00:18:40.240 --> 00:18:44.599 in my backyard, I felt a strong urge to go clean 00:18:44.599 --> 00:18:49.119 out the attic. I mean, I don't like to clean 00:18:49.119 --> 00:18:52.109 out the attic. Who likes to clean out the attic? 00:18:53.569 --> 00:18:57.089 But remember, Jesus said, listen to me, listen 00:18:57.089 --> 00:19:00.890 to my voice. And then I realized Jesus wants 00:19:00.890 --> 00:19:04.750 me to clean out the attic. Oh, maybe he wants 00:19:04.750 --> 00:19:07.529 me to donate some things. I have a lot of things, 00:19:07.630 --> 00:19:10.509 clothes, shoes. I could donate to the Salvation 00:19:10.509 --> 00:19:13.730 Army. Maybe that's the first step is to do something 00:19:13.730 --> 00:19:17.670 good, help others. And so I said, okay, Lord, 00:19:17.869 --> 00:19:20.980 I'm headed to the attic. And I got up there, 00:19:21.000 --> 00:19:23.819 and I worked about three hours. I had three piles. 00:19:23.960 --> 00:19:26.640 I had the throwaway pile, I had the keep pile, 00:19:26.839 --> 00:19:31.140 and I had the donate pile. And I thought, okay, 00:19:31.579 --> 00:19:35.039 this is good. I've found a lot of things that 00:19:35.039 --> 00:19:38.220 I can donate. Well, when I was just about finished, 00:19:38.299 --> 00:19:41.519 I saw an old battered box in the corner of the 00:19:41.519 --> 00:19:44.759 attic. And I thought, that's something I can 00:19:44.759 --> 00:19:48.400 throw away. But when I opened this box and looked 00:19:48.400 --> 00:19:53.170 inside, You know what I found. I found a great 00:19:53.170 --> 00:19:56.849 controversy magabook given to me decades earlier 00:19:56.849 --> 00:20:01.609 by those two Adventist teenagers. Wow. Suddenly, 00:20:01.670 --> 00:20:05.849 tears began to roll down my cheeks. I knew why 00:20:05.849 --> 00:20:09.829 Jesus sent me to the attic. It was time for me 00:20:09.829 --> 00:20:12.890 to read this book, high time for me to read this 00:20:12.890 --> 00:20:15.369 book, so I read it cover to cover. I couldn't 00:20:15.369 --> 00:20:18.230 put it down. The Holy Spirit was revealing so 00:20:18.230 --> 00:20:22.029 much. I learned about the Sabbath truth. I started 00:20:22.029 --> 00:20:24.210 to understand the books of Daniel and Revelation 00:20:24.210 --> 00:20:27.109 and how they go together. You need Daniel to 00:20:27.109 --> 00:20:30.589 understand Revelation. I learned about the sanctuary 00:20:30.589 --> 00:20:36.200 and what 1844 meant. I understood present truth, 00:20:36.339 --> 00:20:42.200 the three angels' messages. Wow. And I knew that 00:20:42.200 --> 00:20:45.779 this book, The Great Controversy, was pointing 00:20:45.779 --> 00:20:50.579 me to the Bible to open my spiritual eyes. I 00:20:50.579 --> 00:20:53.920 wanted to know more. Oh, I ordered more and more 00:20:53.920 --> 00:20:57.680 books by E .G. White. I was so impressed with 00:20:57.680 --> 00:21:01.519 Mr. White's writings. He was so anointed. I had 00:21:01.519 --> 00:21:04.700 to learn more from Mr. E .G. White. And I got 00:21:04.700 --> 00:21:07.579 through about half of the Conflict of Ages series. 00:21:07.759 --> 00:21:10.460 I ordered Patriarchs and Prophets, Prophets and 00:21:10.460 --> 00:21:13.259 Kings. I just kept going. And I just kept reading. 00:21:13.460 --> 00:21:18.720 And wow, this, wow. And then I learned who E 00:21:18.720 --> 00:21:24.980 .G. White was. Ellen White. And then I said, 00:21:25.000 --> 00:21:28.200 well, let me go to the Internet. So I went to 00:21:28.200 --> 00:21:33.029 the Internet. Am I glad that the Lord had me 00:21:33.029 --> 00:21:37.210 so intense on reading all E .G. White's books 00:21:37.210 --> 00:21:41.069 that I didn't even look? I just kept ordering 00:21:41.069 --> 00:21:45.630 more books. And then when I read the lies on 00:21:45.630 --> 00:21:49.809 the Internet about Sister White, I knew this 00:21:49.809 --> 00:21:53.470 is not true. That's not true. I could see the 00:21:53.470 --> 00:21:56.779 enemy. I could see. Satan attacked. Hey, you 00:21:56.779 --> 00:21:59.339 know, if he'd never attacked or done anything, 00:21:59.680 --> 00:22:02.579 then, you know, that wouldn't be good, right? 00:22:02.700 --> 00:22:06.380 But if Satan's attacking Sister White like that, 00:22:06.480 --> 00:22:10.220 we know that there's truth there that Satan wants 00:22:10.220 --> 00:22:15.259 to hide. And I said, I am so thankful that I 00:22:15.259 --> 00:22:17.940 read her books first. Because if I'd gone to 00:22:17.940 --> 00:22:21.579 the internet first, I don't know if I'd be here 00:22:21.579 --> 00:22:24.940 as a Seventh -day Adventist. I'm just so thankful. 00:22:25.480 --> 00:22:28.819 So I shared the spiritual insights with my husband, 00:22:28.880 --> 00:22:32.299 Hayes, and I told him, this book, you've got 00:22:32.299 --> 00:22:35.079 to read it. And, you know, it took a while, but... 00:22:35.289 --> 00:22:37.450 After a while, he began. Of course, I had to 00:22:37.450 --> 00:22:39.369 cook a lot of nice dinners. And then I'd say, 00:22:39.490 --> 00:22:43.890 oh, let me tell you about this state of the dead, 00:22:44.009 --> 00:22:46.430 immortality of the soul lie. And let me tell 00:22:46.430 --> 00:22:49.690 you about this. Oh, yeah. And, you know, it took 00:22:49.690 --> 00:22:53.190 a little while. But he came around. Before long, 00:22:53.529 --> 00:22:56.450 God opened his spiritual eyes, too. And he began 00:22:56.450 --> 00:22:59.569 to read the book. And he watched Doug Batchelor's 00:22:59.569 --> 00:23:03.109 YouTube videos. And we were able to taper off 00:23:03.109 --> 00:23:05.839 the antidepressants. stopped drinking the wine. 00:23:06.019 --> 00:23:11.339 The saving grace power of Jesus gave us that 00:23:11.339 --> 00:23:15.440 ability. We couldn't do it on our own, but Jesus 00:23:15.440 --> 00:23:19.019 gave, empowered us to overcome that addiction 00:23:19.019 --> 00:23:23.460 and to begin to learn the truths that he had 00:23:23.460 --> 00:23:26.359 for us. Praise the Lord. Jesus had broken the 00:23:26.359 --> 00:23:30.519 bondage of Satan, set us free. Praise the Lord. 00:23:30.660 --> 00:23:33.099 As I mentioned earlier, my husband and I were 00:23:33.099 --> 00:23:37.539 both baptized in 2018. And I just want to say 00:23:37.539 --> 00:23:40.259 that because of the book, The Great Controversy, 00:23:40.259 --> 00:23:44.160 not only were my husband and I changed, but five 00:23:44.160 --> 00:23:49.109 other members in my family were impacted. I led 00:23:49.109 --> 00:23:52.029 both of my parents back to the Lord. I said the 00:23:52.029 --> 00:23:55.150 sinner's prayer with two of our sons. And our 00:23:55.150 --> 00:23:57.650 grandson, I told you about, was baptized into 00:23:57.650 --> 00:24:01.650 the Seventh -day Adventist Church in 2023. So 00:24:01.650 --> 00:24:05.630 one book, two Adventist teenagers years ago, 00:24:05.890 --> 00:24:12.970 impacted seven members of one family. See? See 00:24:12.970 --> 00:24:15.150 the power in that? That's why Sister White said 00:24:15.150 --> 00:24:17.609 it was the most important, the great controversy 00:24:17.609 --> 00:24:20.410 was the most important book that she had ever 00:24:20.410 --> 00:24:24.269 written. That's why. The exponential Holy Spirit 00:24:24.269 --> 00:24:28.829 power to open people's spiritual eyes. Hallelujah. 00:24:28.970 --> 00:24:32.049 I'm so thankful. And it was the lesser light 00:24:32.049 --> 00:24:35.500 pointing to the greater light. That's what Sister 00:24:35.500 --> 00:24:38.200 White's writings are. They point you right to 00:24:38.200 --> 00:24:42.119 the Bible, which is just so beautiful. I did 00:24:42.119 --> 00:24:45.460 it like a Berean. I compared, and everything 00:24:45.460 --> 00:24:49.299 that I read, everything that she said pointed 00:24:49.299 --> 00:24:52.339 right to the Bible. Hallelujah. How wonderful 00:24:52.339 --> 00:24:58.680 it is to be a part of the remnant church, you 00:24:58.680 --> 00:25:01.119 know, that keeps the commandments of God and 00:25:01.119 --> 00:25:04.930 has the testimony of Jesus. So in my testimony 00:25:04.930 --> 00:25:07.789 earlier, I said I made a lot of wrong choices. 00:25:08.089 --> 00:25:12.289 I was so blind, but God opened my spiritual eyes. 00:25:12.529 --> 00:25:16.589 You know, the whole thing about the pageant experience. 00:25:17.150 --> 00:25:19.950 Just Wednesday, I was at Little Light Studios 00:25:19.950 --> 00:25:22.990 in Chattanooga, and we had sort of a panel, and 00:25:22.990 --> 00:25:25.589 they were recording. We taped this, and they 00:25:25.589 --> 00:25:28.430 asked me, you know, would you recommend pageants 00:25:28.430 --> 00:25:31.470 to other people? Or, you know, what do you think 00:25:31.470 --> 00:25:35.680 about pageants? And I have to say that back then, 00:25:35.680 --> 00:25:40.019 with the light that I had, it was what God had 00:25:40.019 --> 00:25:43.720 for me. It was part of my journey. And I had 00:25:43.720 --> 00:25:47.519 a choice. You know, I made the wrong choices. 00:25:47.640 --> 00:25:51.220 God always gives us a choice. But God knows the 00:25:51.220 --> 00:25:54.440 end from the beginning. So who am I to say that 00:25:54.440 --> 00:25:57.740 someone shouldn't do this or that? I can't tell 00:25:57.740 --> 00:26:00.920 how much light they have. I can't read their 00:26:00.920 --> 00:26:04.720 hearts. And I certainly don't know the end from 00:26:04.720 --> 00:26:08.400 the beginning. But God used it in my life. That's 00:26:08.400 --> 00:26:11.460 what I have, my testimony. And he used it in 00:26:11.460 --> 00:26:15.400 my life to get to where I am today. And I can 00:26:15.400 --> 00:26:20.119 testify that in my experience, pageants led to 00:26:20.119 --> 00:26:23.440 more and more. You wanted then Hollywood. You 00:26:23.440 --> 00:26:27.539 kept wanting more. And so, again, that it can 00:26:27.539 --> 00:26:31.839 lead to idolatry. And I realize that. But other 00:26:31.839 --> 00:26:35.619 people, you know, maybe not so. It may be a platform. 00:26:35.880 --> 00:26:39.180 I don't know. But I do know that I am thankful 00:26:39.180 --> 00:26:42.839 to be here today with my spiritual eyes open. 00:26:42.920 --> 00:26:48.240 And the title I carry today is not former Miss 00:26:48.240 --> 00:26:53.799 Alabama, not all that worldly degrees and all 00:26:53.799 --> 00:26:57.940 these things. My title is Child of the Most High 00:26:57.940 --> 00:27:03.490 God. That's who I am. So today in this new life 00:27:03.490 --> 00:27:07.490 in Christ, I want to follow that path that leads 00:27:07.490 --> 00:27:11.789 to the crown of righteousness. That's the crown 00:27:11.789 --> 00:27:16.750 I want. 2 Timothy 4 .8, Finally there is laid 00:27:16.750 --> 00:27:19.450 up for me the crown of righteousness, which the 00:27:19.450 --> 00:27:22.569 Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on 00:27:22.569 --> 00:27:27.549 that day, and not to me only, but also to all 00:27:27.549 --> 00:27:32.289 who have loved me. His appearing. Who is Paul 00:27:32.289 --> 00:27:38.309 talking about? To all who have loved his appearing. 00:27:40.009 --> 00:27:44.170 That's the remnant church. That's the ones that 00:27:44.170 --> 00:27:47.950 are looking for the soon return of Jesus. Who 00:27:47.950 --> 00:27:52.309 have loved his appearing. And what is our favorite 00:27:52.309 --> 00:28:01.009 hymn? Jesus is coming again. Hallelujah. That's 00:28:01.009 --> 00:28:03.710 the crown of righteousness that will be given 00:28:03.710 --> 00:28:07.509 to all those who have loved his appearing. So 00:28:07.509 --> 00:28:11.529 I just want to say that for those who are going 00:28:11.529 --> 00:28:16.269 through a trial right now, don't give up. Cling 00:28:16.269 --> 00:28:20.609 to the Lord. Learn to wait on the Lord. Learn 00:28:20.609 --> 00:28:25.029 to listen to his voice and ask him to open your 00:28:25.029 --> 00:28:29.470 spiritual eyes and ears. and he will heal your 00:28:29.470 --> 00:28:33.190 heart. He will change your heart. Stand strong 00:28:33.190 --> 00:28:36.710 so you can say, this life that I live now, I 00:28:36.710 --> 00:28:40.369 live by faith in the Son of God who loved me 00:28:40.369 --> 00:28:44.920 and gave his life for me. Thank you for listening 00:28:44.920 --> 00:28:47.859 to my testimony and may God continue to bless 00:28:47.859 --> 00:28:51.200 this sweet church. And before we close, I do 00:28:51.200 --> 00:28:54.700 want to tell you about my ministry. I started 00:28:54.700 --> 00:28:58.640 a 501c3 ministry called Train His Lambs. Remember, 00:28:58.880 --> 00:29:01.099 two Adventist teenagers gave me the book, The 00:29:01.099 --> 00:29:05.720 Great Controversy. And now I was able to start 00:29:05.720 --> 00:29:09.960 a ministry in 2023 to help our church's church 00:29:09.960 --> 00:29:13.000 school. It's called Floral Crest School. It's 00:29:13.000 --> 00:29:17.319 in Alabama. And the church schools have really 00:29:17.319 --> 00:29:20.700 struggled in two states. In the whole United 00:29:20.700 --> 00:29:24.119 States, Alabama and Mississippi struggle the 00:29:24.119 --> 00:29:26.859 most to keep the doors open. There have been 00:29:26.859 --> 00:29:30.539 so many schools to close. So many. Bass Memorial, 00:29:31.059 --> 00:29:36.359 Bass Academy just closed in Mississippi. So we 00:29:36.359 --> 00:29:40.619 have... so many of these church schools that 00:29:40.619 --> 00:29:46.279 need help. And our church school started in 1905. 00:29:46.500 --> 00:29:50.680 It was in continuous operation. And then in 2023, 00:29:51.119 --> 00:29:56.339 it was almost ready to close its doors. It couldn't 00:29:56.339 --> 00:30:00.140 keep the enrollment up, and the cost of tuition 00:30:00.140 --> 00:30:02.940 was the main reason. So I went to the Lord in 00:30:02.940 --> 00:30:05.470 prayer, and I said, Lord, how can I help? And 00:30:05.470 --> 00:30:07.369 then I heard, who gave you the great controversy? 00:30:07.410 --> 00:30:11.509 Those two teenagers. So then it just came to 00:30:11.509 --> 00:30:14.289 me that, you know, the Holy Spirit just comes 00:30:14.289 --> 00:30:18.269 to you and tells you what to do. I said, okay, 00:30:18.450 --> 00:30:21.130 we can offer tuition assistance scholarships. 00:30:22.029 --> 00:30:26.069 And we can then tie that to literature evangelism. 00:30:26.170 --> 00:30:29.450 So the students go out once a week and give out 00:30:29.450 --> 00:30:32.049 great controversy books, and the age can be Pathfinder 00:30:32.049 --> 00:30:35.509 age, from 10 to 18. And they can give out great 00:30:35.509 --> 00:30:38.509 controversy books and earn their tuition assistance 00:30:38.509 --> 00:30:42.440 scholarships. Well, it has been working beautifully 00:30:42.440 --> 00:30:46.700 the past two years. The school has doubled in 00:30:46.700 --> 00:30:50.240 enrollment, and they're in the black. Praise 00:30:50.240 --> 00:30:53.359 the Lord. We've had people that came to us that 00:30:53.359 --> 00:30:55.500 donated the books, you know, because we have 00:30:55.500 --> 00:30:58.259 to buy the books, but they started donating the 00:30:58.259 --> 00:31:02.299 books. Oh, and then we had the money for the 00:31:02.299 --> 00:31:06.940 tuition assistance scholarships. We went to 3ABN, 00:31:06.940 --> 00:31:09.920 and before we left, Danny Shelton said, come 00:31:09.920 --> 00:31:12.559 to the call center. And so we met him at the 00:31:12.559 --> 00:31:15.299 call center and in the back of Hayes' Tahoe, 00:31:15.380 --> 00:31:19.400 he put box after box after box of books that 00:31:19.400 --> 00:31:21.460 we could give out. So it was just so exciting. 00:31:21.660 --> 00:31:26.160 I want to tell you the website is trainhislams 00:31:26.160 --> 00:31:29.500 .org. I'd like to... I tell you, if the Lord 00:31:29.500 --> 00:31:32.619 feels and puts it on your heart to make a donation 00:31:32.619 --> 00:31:35.440 to our ministry, as I said, Alabama and Mississippi 00:31:35.440 --> 00:31:38.460 struggle the most out of the nation to keep those 00:31:38.460 --> 00:31:40.779 doors closed. And we don't want any more schools 00:31:40.779 --> 00:31:43.200 to close. There have been so many. This is our 00:31:43.200 --> 00:31:47.819 future. These Adventist young people will be 00:31:47.819 --> 00:31:50.440 out in the trenches giving out the three angels' 00:31:50.579 --> 00:31:53.220 messages. So we're at the end times, and we need 00:31:53.220 --> 00:31:57.240 these schools to stay open. And if the Lord puts 00:31:57.240 --> 00:31:59.500 it on your heart, heart please pray prayerfully 00:31:59.500 --> 00:32:04.799 consider donation and thank you so much dear 00:32:04.799 --> 00:32:08.460 heavenly father thank you so much for for all 00:32:08.460 --> 00:32:11.420 you do and for flowing with your holy spirit 00:32:11.420 --> 00:32:15.380 and and connecting us all lord and we just praise 00:32:15.380 --> 00:32:19.440 you thank you lord for your your loving us changing 00:32:19.440 --> 00:32:24.039 our hearts opening our spiritual eyes And just 00:32:24.039 --> 00:32:26.779 continue to lead us on that path that leads to 00:32:26.779 --> 00:32:28.900 the crown of righteousness. We're so thankful. 00:32:29.710 --> 00:32:32.390 to be in your remnant church. We're so thankful, 00:32:32.529 --> 00:32:35.450 Lord, that we know you identify your remnant 00:32:35.450 --> 00:32:38.150 church in Revelation, those who keep your commandments 00:32:38.150 --> 00:32:41.369 and have the testimony of Jesus. So, Lord, help 00:32:41.369 --> 00:32:44.369 us to stand strong and to get out the message 00:32:44.369 --> 00:32:47.710 of the three angels' messages and spread the 00:32:47.710 --> 00:32:52.450 gospel. We know time is so short. We know you're 00:32:52.450 --> 00:32:55.490 coming. You're coming, and, Lord, we want to 00:32:55.490 --> 00:32:59.869 be your instruments. We want to change. We want 00:32:59.869 --> 00:33:04.930 to make a change. We want to give people as many 00:33:04.930 --> 00:33:08.710 books as we can of the great controversy to open 00:33:08.710 --> 00:33:12.309 these spiritual eyes and point them to you. So 00:33:12.309 --> 00:33:14.650 help us in this, Lord. We can do nothing without 00:33:14.650 --> 00:33:17.470 you, but we need your guidance. We need your 00:33:17.470 --> 00:33:22.890 direction. And, Lord, we just thank you for just 00:33:22.890 --> 00:33:25.599 the... There's this beautiful church here at 00:33:25.599 --> 00:33:28.119 Ringgold. We thank you for these beautiful people 00:33:28.119 --> 00:33:32.480 that love you and just feel that warmth here. 00:33:32.619 --> 00:33:36.099 So I pray blessings upon this church and use 00:33:36.099 --> 00:33:38.720 this church in a mighty way to advance your kingdom. 00:33:39.119 --> 00:33:41.920 And I ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.