and we'll be right back.
Don't get down when you're seeing the worst
Cause the last will be the first
What a day I'm telling you
All things will be new
Living up in a down world
Yeah we're living, yeah we're living
Living up in a down world
This is Jimmy Internet and we are coming to you
from the Living Up in a Down World studio
in the heart of Fredericksburg
I can't even say it
Fredericksburg, Fredericksburg
What's wrong with you?
I've had too much coffee
A little jittery
Cause it's morning, it's Thursday morning
and I'm jittery
and you're working, you need to get off your computer
I know, I'm gonna get off my computer right now
Thank you
We're at work and it's one of those busy days
and we're like if we don't do a podcast right now
this isn't gonna happen
I actually enjoy doing it at the studio
more than doing it at home
because I don't like building a tent city in my office
It's ghetto
It is ghetto, it was ghetto
but we just don't have a little Chevy with us
I know, Mr. Chevy is at home
in his bed, I don't say his cage
cause it's not puppy jail
He loves his bed which is crazy
He loves it and he doesn't mind when we shut it up
He's like, oh good, that means you're gonna be gone for a while
and I'll just sleep
I'm good to go, he doesn't care
So we are on episode number 78
and we're rolling along
Feels like we just did a podcast
We did, on Sunday
Sunday afternoon, it's Thursday
and at our age you blink and a week is gone
I mean that's just the way it is, right?
That's for sure
But I wanted to get one in
even though we're gonna make this one a little bit short
cause we have an appointment coming up
We got some good friends coming in that we love to visit with
but they're going through some stuff
and we're just gonna get some time with them
But we wanted to welcome you to the podcast
Go to livingupinaworld.com
Oh, Living Up in a World?
I did it again
I told you
and Adam said everybody has livingup.com
so we can't do that
So it's your fault
Wait a minute
Living Up in a Down World
We have a sign
I know, I'm reading it right now
Livingupinadownworld.com
It's because you're trying to talk too fast
I am, I don't know why I do that
It's cause of the caffeine
Right?
I've had two cups of Black Rifle coffee
and that will do it right there
and I'm about to get my third
That and Patriot Brew will do it
Yeah, I know, for sure
Thank you Rick Green from the Patriot Academy
and your great coffee, Patriot Brew
Livingupinadownworld.com, go there
Subscribe to our newsletter
You can do that easily on the front page of our website
but also go to the blog section
The blog is listed across the top
I do daily devotionals
I post them every day
I may skip a day every once in a while
but they're on there every day
The archives are there
and they're just short little
three, four, five sentence devotionals
that will help you kind of kick your day off
so be sure and go there
and then like us on social media
or actually leave a review
That is so helpful
and that actually gets more things out there
when you do a review
So talk to me
Oh, you're telling me to speed up
Well
I have to do this part
I know, we usually do that at the end
But diving in
I want to just go right for the jugular
First of all, we want to remember the folks
the good people of the storm
What are you doing?
I know, I'm just trying to get comfortable
You can't hold your microphone
I should be able to hold it like you do on stage
I have to scoot up
Yeah, scoot up
You're vertically challenged
Yes, very much
So now if you'll turn your microphone this way
and then spin
I will, don't worry
Okay, you're good
I got it
Stop
You act like I've never done this
Sorry for all the noise
Sorry
Now we need to talk about the hurricane
I know
And its effect on so many people
Six states
And what our government is not doing
Hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people impacted
Already
No water, no electricity
So we have two situations going on
We have boots on the ground
Steve Maxwell who lives in Polk County, Florida
He's coordinating all kinds of things
We're going to help
We did get the information today on where to send that
So we're going to help and do our part
We're going to help this week
But then we're also going to take up an offering on Sunday
in both services
But I just, we've got to get help out there to people
He's already sent three full semi trucks
They've got another one
They've got front end loaders
They're using to help clear roads
So Steve's doing a great job out there
Like I said, he's boots on the ground
He lives there
And this is his home
And so they're also sending trucks up to South Carolina
There's a lot going on
But this has been a massive
They're saying now it's already impacted
It's larger than Katrina
Wow
And yet the federal government's response
Has been almost nil
Now I reached out to Adam Curry
Who has a lot of boots on the ground friends
And I actually asked him about that
I want to pull up what he wrote
Because I asked him, you know, what's going on
He said there are conflicting reports
Here's how he put it
Where is it?
You know what?
It hasn't come up yet
This is what frustrates me sometimes about
Technology
Technology and the way it's supposed to
I'll just pull up on my phone
Because I've got it here handy
I was trying to not have my computer open
Because it's distracting
So let me tell you what Adam said
He's got, Alexi's got getting boots on the ground reports
He says this
Conflicting reports
I'm hearing that the state does not want the government to come in
I don't know what state
There's six states involved
So I don't know if this is Florida or whatever
Therefore and not allowing them to operate under Title 10
Which means they come in and declare emergency
And that means they have total control
Ah
That makes sense
They don't want the same mess as what happened with Katrina and the feds
Still unconfirmed but it sounds plausible
He said he was listening to all the local radio stations in North Carolina yesterday
On the internet and it was only the Christian radio stations that were even talking about what was going on
And were assembling goods and funds
So yay, go brothers and sisters in Christ
Of course
Were participating in that as well
That's what the church should be doing
Absolutely
Not the government anyway
He said it's beautiful to see citizens of America helping each other out
Regardless of race, background, creed, religion, and political affiliation
And I give a hearty, hearty amen to that
And so yeah, he says there's
I ask him, I said
I said Steve said the boots on the ground are the civilians and local responders
No feds that he's heard of as of yet
He says correct
No feds
No federal helicopters flying
As with everything in this early stage it's very hard to determine what is true or not
But for sure we're not seeing federal response on the ground
But nobody knows what's the truth
Exactly
That's what's hard
So I guess we shouldn't bash the government if we are in the understanding that maybe they don't want the government to be involved
They want to see who else can come in
Either way the fact that our president and vice president
Vice president was partying in Hollywood with celebrities all weekend
And our president was on the beach in Delaware
Just having a great weekend while Rome was burning while the world was falling apart
And thousands and thousands of people
Oh but he was on the phone for two hours
A couple hours on Sunday
Yeah
So man thank you Joe Biden for handling that
Lord
I know
I'm going to move right along because I will get sucked down that black hole
It's so frustrating
But we need to pray for those people
There are so many people that are not found
And people are assuming that their loved ones have passed away
Which is so sad and we want to pray for those families
And that they will be able to find their loved ones
And that people are hanging on
And I just pray for peace in the midst of this storm
Yes
And the only one that can give that peace in the midst of the storm is the peacemaker
And that's Jesus
I want to give a good update from Steve Maxwell
He says this
He says revival is breaking out in these communities
Listen to this
Revival is breaking out in these communities
One church is wearing t-shirts as they deliver goods that say
Will I see you in heaven?
It's the opening
It's opening the door for the gospel to be shared
Wow
And I said not surprised Aslan is on the move in the midst of a world in chaos
He tends to work that way
Steve says suffering gets our attention
No drag queens in sight
Wow
And I said in the Mike Smith documentary Into the Light
Boone Cutler says the truth is we have not felt enough pain to change
My former boss Dave Ramsey says the pain of staying the same has to outweigh the pain of change
Indeed suffering does awaken us
For those who have ears to hear
No divas will be found in the midst of real life chaos
That's true
And I said real men run into the fire
Wow
And so yeah thank God for those people that are boots on the ground
Those civilians that are helping one another
And I agree with Adam that you know when the bomb drops like this
You don't worry about whether you're a dim, you know you're a dim Republican
It doesn't even matter
Or conservative
It doesn't matter
No but you just
Or what color you are
You try to save lives
Yes
And help people and that's really
It's sad but it's when things get tragic and catastrophic
That the good side of humanity comes out
I mean also the idiots come out looting and robbing
And man may God, may the canopy of God's justice be over them
And it will
I'll just put it that way
Definitely will be
So I wanted to visit just for a minute because I know
You and I have had a conversation about your story
You know we were at a wonderful event this last Tuesday night
Over in Kerrville, Texas and it was for the pregnancy resource center there
And Kelly Lester was the keynote speaker and she's got a wild story and testimony
And the whole time she's talking I'm thinking about you
Because I'm like this is your story
Except for the hardcore drugs
Yeah I didn't do drugs
You weren't part of that dark drug culture in the end
Thank God
You had a fair share of weed
But I was around many people
Well I didn't really do a lot
I didn't really
I didn't either
That wasn't my thing
I didn't like how I felt even trying that
So that wasn't a big deal for me
Listen to Kelly I was thinking you know what
You need to tell parts of your story that you've not shared
And I want you to take a few minutes to just talk about that and how God heals and redeems
Well I talked to Kelly and Monica Klein who was the one who invited us to this event
And told them you know Kelly's telling her story about how she went to Planned Parenthood
When she got pregnant and they offered her an abortion
Or information on how to get an abortion
And it brought back a lot of memories for me
She ended up having multiple abortions
And then ended up working for Planned Parenthood
And she really exposed the tactics that they use to lure women into going ahead with an abortion
When women have questions
And it made me think about as I have told my testimony
I have not really shared much about my experience with Planned Parenthood
And I did go to Planned Parenthood a couple of times
First time thinking I was pregnant
And I wasn't although I really was it was too early to tell
And them giving me a bunch of condoms
I remember them giving me a sack full of condoms
Instead of giving me education on why this is not good for me at 15 years of age
They are just saying here you are going to do it anyway
Here go give this to your boyfriend
And I will never forget that
And I remember it was my boyfriend's best friend that took me to Planned Parenthood
And I was so angry when I got in the car
Just because I don't know why I was so angry
I should have been happy that they were trying to keep me from getting pregnant at that age
Because that is good I don't need to be pregnant at that age
But I remember us driving off and there was a big trash bin
And I just threw it in there I was just like
But I remember them saying come back in a couple of weeks it may be too early
And I went back two weeks later and sure enough I really was pregnant
At 15
And the very first thing they did was tell me I was really too young to be pregnant
Really interesting I wasn't too young to have a lot of sex
But I was too young to
Right and they were going to give you something to help that
Yes and help that
But then they gave me I remember them handing me a piece of paper
And it was the name of two different abortion doctors and said you need to call them
There wasn't any education there wasn't we are here to help you
It was just that was the only solution from them
And this was back in what 78 77 and I'm just going I look back and I'm like wow as far back as 77
When when this was years ago Planned Parenthood had come out and said no we don't talk about abortion at all
Well now it's very obvious that they do
But there were many years that they denied it and it was during those years that they denied it when I knew what they were really doing
And that's when I had my first experience with them my last as well
And I didn't know if they were pregnancy resource centers I didn't know anything about a Christian a center
Tell the difference between those well a pregnancy resource center will give information to the pregnant woman to educate them to help them
They will do a sonogram so that they can hear the baby's heartbeat and see that this is a real human being from conception not when it's when the baby's birthed
So they'll suggest options
They'll suggest options
And they do not do abortions
They don't do abortions and they and they give you information on really what the abortion entails which they don't do that at pregnancy resources
They're not going to tell you that they're going to pull every organ and mean it at the excuse me at Planned Parenthood
They don't tell you that they're going to pull every limb and organ out of a baby you know and destroy it they don't tell you they're going to kill it exactly
Exactly what it is they they don't give you any of that information but at the pregnancy resource center if you're asking about that they will tell you exactly what it entails
So you didn't have that option so you're hearing from them that they'll do an abortion they'll get you taken care of and you're thinking what I'm thinking I think I had enough sense
Well for one I was trying to get pregnant which is because in my little young mind immature mind I thought that was my only way out of a bad home situation
That was the dysfunction but thank God I had the fortitude to know that there is a baby in there and that I don't want to destroy this child
I'm different from a lot of people a lot of people had aspirations especially around our decade of growing up
They had aspirations of big things and maybe a baby gets in the way for me it was the only thing that was going to save me
And I had such a horrific childhood because I didn't have the love of my parents they didn't by the time you know I came along they didn't
They were just too wrapped up in their own social activities and I was just kind of the afterthought and so I needed to feel loved
I didn't realize at that time that the love I really needed was the love of Jesus 100% and that that would fulfill me
I wanted to mix the two I wanted Jesus but I also wanted a baby that I could give the love to that I so desired and which is basically what happened
The great thing is the good thing about you know what I love about God is even when we make poor choices and we have challenges that are sometimes beyond our control
God can turn it around for His good and there is scripture that talks about that and for me I got to see a change in my father because of having my daughter
I got to see a father that I always wanted and desired to see in my life but it wasn't through me it was through my daughter
because he just I don't know what happened to him but he absolutely adored her which was so unbelievable to me because he didn't treat me the same way
but I got to see a glimpse of it with her not with me until his deathbed but with her I got to see the father I always wanted
So you know God turns things around but you know I think my hope and prayer for someone who finds themselves pregnant and you don't know what to do
Go to a Pregnancy Resource Center, don't go to Planned Parenthood, go to anything but Planned Parenthood because the options they give you are going to cause you to have
problems with shame and you are going to lose hope. There is a lot of people I know that have had abortions and God can forgive that
He can forgive anything. I'm sorry I feel like an interviewer here but how did the people in your church, your mom's church
They loved me so much they gave me a baby shower. So there wasn't judgment? No there was no judgment in my church. That's beautiful. They treated me
They knew that I had made a poor choice obviously but they treated me with love and respect. So in one sense you made a poor choice but then you made a good choice
The poor choice was obviously to have premarital sex and try to get pregnant out of that dysfunction but the good choice was to say I'm not going to kill a child
I'm not going to kill a child and I'm going to. And you know I had the opportunity for adoption. I did have a family in our town
Because again that's another viable option. And I had a very wealthy family in our town that came to me and they desperately wanted a baby and asked me if I would consider
I mean looking back I don't know exactly what choice was the right choice but for me the right choice was to keep Alicia. And I think if she would have gone to that family
She would have been just fine because you don't ever want to believe that you've made that wrong choice. You want to believe that the choice you made was right at that time
And I wouldn't change that. I want to share a scripture so while you were talking I couldn't help but go to Psalm 139
And it says this it says for you speaking to God for you formed my inward parts you knitted me together in my mother's womb I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made
Wonderful are your works for my soul knows it very well my frame was not hidden from you when I was being made in secret intricately woven in the depths of the earth the womb
Your eyes saw my unformed substance in your book were written every one of them the days that were formed for me when as yet there was none of them
How precious to me are your thoughts oh God how vast is the sum of them this is such a clear statement of understanding from the scripture that life begins at conception
That God has a plan for that baby not that little mass of cells or this quote embryo is dehumanized no for this baby and any mother I've ever been around when they feel that kick in their stomach
Usually about four months you feel it and there is nothing like it but when you hear the heartbeat you know and you're in your you know probably two months along two to three months
And that's when you pretty much find out you're pregnant and you can hear when I heard the heartbeat that was the only thing we didn't they didn't do sonograms back then
Oh there's a piece of fetal tissue inside of my body with a heartbeat and that pretty much solidified for me this is a real child and because I wanted a child I kept the child
That's really what it comes down to is when does that baby become a human and it becomes a human the moment those cells interact and begin to multiply life has begun
Thank you for sharing that I think that's really important for people here
I've not really shared that much of I have so much testimony
There's another element we need to talk about and that is your rape scenario and the stalker scenario which we've talked a little bit about that but you've not talked about the rape scenario
We'll talk about that another time but people need to understand they always think that pastors and people who are leading churches have just got this squeaky clean perfect life
And when I meet people like that and there are a handful of people out there but when you get behind the veil and you peel the layers back you realize oh no there's stuff
Everybody has a story and every story has multiple arcs and valleys and twists and turns and there's just life is hard on this planet it's not easy
I gave my testimony a couple weeks ago at church and I left some things out just because it's so much and literally a part of me didn't want to tell especially the rape because of shame
It's almost like the enemy wanted to bring that and go okay well if you tell that now you've really you know you're going to discredit yourself
But you know what's going to happen when you talk about that there's going to be a lot of women who are going to go oh my gosh she knows she's been there
I feel really compelled to you know I'm in the women's ministry here I'm writing it now as of this year at our church and I'm going to be speaking quite a bit
And I felt like the Lord would give me a time to where I can give those little testimonies
And one of the things that Tina said that I really needed a topic that's really big on her mind and what she feels like is on every woman's mind is rejection
And so I felt like oh I could easily in January you know speak to that and intertwine that with the rape because that you know plays a big part of that
Because of why I'm not telling the story so anyway. Thank you for telling that yet another facet of your story
It makes me love you even more it makes me so grateful that God trusted me to be your husband and to do this love together
I don't think I could have gotten through any of this without you without your love because you have literally shown me the love of Jesus
Thank you and I'm grateful. It's an honor and a privilege to do this life 32 years almost November I know we are coming up on 32 years of wow
Oh next month. I know here we go. Big diamond ring. No I'm just kidding. One thing I want to land the plane with. You ignored me. I know I know
I'm going to land I'm redirecting the art of redirection. I just want to say thanks to Adam and Tina Curry we got to spend an evening with them
We don't do that enough because we're all running in different directions, but just so much fun
There's so much life that happens when you find there so Mike Smith made this comment to me now. I just want to all in with this
He said there are people who come into your life for a reason for a season and for a lifetime and I love that
The Curry's came in all three for a reason for a season and now for a lifetime. Just so thankful Adam and Tina check out their
Amazing podcast Curry and the Keeper on any of the platforms you can find them there there and also Adams
Media deconstruction with John Dvorak no agenda. Definitely check those guys out again. Thank you for being real
Thank you for being transparent and honest. You and I are both are just brutally transparent
But but is there any other way that you'd want to live? No, no, me either. Me either. I love you
Well, we do need to thank James Barron for giving a donation this week. Thank you James
I told you don't do it because I know you're on a very small fixed income and he keeps doing it
We love you James. God's gonna bless you Adam Adam brought in a nice huge hundred thousand seven seven seven
And and I'll just give me a quick
Striper booze, but so appreciate others who are giving and so thank you for supporting us
Yes, and we're until the notes David Foley. Thank you again for your letter. Awesome. You're amazing
You're you and your wife are amazing amazing people in our lives, don't we? We do absolutely
This was short really short
Sure, we got folks coming in probably walking through the building right now
Yeah, with us, but we want to say we love you keep living up in a down world
I will try to slow down my speech. Yes, get that out there and look at the sun. No, I know. Hey guys
Have a wonderful week. What's left of it? We'll catch you next week. God bless you You