WEBVTT

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Hey, welcome to the podcast today. We are living

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up in a down world. And usually I've got my way

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better half sit on the other side of the table

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from me, Annette. She's not going to be with

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us today because I have a special guest. And

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it's actually a whole family today. The coffee

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family and Luke coffee is kind of the center

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of this. show today and his story as one who

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is a young, he was a child actor. He's in a lot

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of shows, a lot of movies, written screenplays.

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He's writing a book right now. A lot of interesting

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things about Luke, but he also has a very powerful

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story of pain, suffering, and what it means to

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follow Christ when things are hard. And one of

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the hardest things in his life was losing his

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fiance. just before they were going to get married

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and heartbreaking tragedy. But on the other hand,

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there was another event that that led to later

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on where he was at the White House and the Capitol

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on January 6th in 2021. And you've heard about

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Jay Sixers and what happened in this supposed

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insurrection. Well, he was a part of that. He

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was an unwilling participant. He didn't go there

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to do that or be involved in any way. But this

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is a young man who loves God, who's worked with

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his father doing prison ministry, and now finds

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himself on the other side of the bars as a Jay

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Sixer. His story is powerful. It's compelling.

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And as you listen to his family talk about the

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dynamics of what they've been through, just keep

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that in mind. So thanks for joining us today

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for Living Up in a Down World, Conversations

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with the Coffey Family. All right. Well, we always

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want to start our conversations with a word of

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prayer and giving all this to Jesus. I mean,

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our heart is to consecrate everything we do to

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him and that people who watch or listen, there's

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an audio and video version of this, that they'll

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be drawn to Christ. That's the whole point of

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this. So I want to welcome you and we'll do introductions

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in just a minute. So let's go ahead and pray

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together. Father, what a privilege it is to be

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here together with this amazing family. Lord,

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what a story they have. twists and turns and

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ups and downs, and yet your life in the middle

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of it all. You, Jesus, ordering their steps and

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delighting in every detail of their lives. So

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I thank you for this family. Thank you for the

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privilege of having a conversation today about

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you and for your glory and your honor. And we

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give everything to you. And for those that are

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watching or listening today, I pray, Lord, that

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you'll touch their heart and that you'll help

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them get on the journey of faith. And get on

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the great adventure with us. Pray these things

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in Jesus' name. Everybody said, Amen. I want

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to welcome you to Living Up in a Down World Conversations.

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As you know, if you're a regular listener or

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now a watcher or viewer, that we've made some

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adjustments in our programming. And before it

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was audio and with Annette, affectionately known

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as Dame Annette around here. And she's actually

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here. She's just sitting over at another seat.

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But we'll do another podcast with us together.

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But I have some very special guests today that

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I'm really excited about. And this is a family.

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Not just an individual, but a family who has

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walked out their journey of faith, walked out

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their life of faith, lived it out. Not just talking

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about it, not just saying it, but doing it and

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living it. And so I'm going to divert, first

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of all, to Luke, because I know Luke. Luke has

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become a member of our church and involved and

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connected. He also is an executive producer for

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another podcast, and I'll let you introduce that

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as well. And we'll let us know how others can

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get to see that great podcast. And I want you

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to introduce your family. Thanks for having me,

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Jimmy. So, yeah, I'm privileged that my parents

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are visiting me in town. I just moved to Fredericksburg

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about five or six weeks ago. And I have the privilege

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of helping produce Going Rogue with Laura Logan,

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who I met through my story. And that's, you know,

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that's why I think you've asked me to come. And,

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you know, the amazing thing is, you know, God

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is the author of story. He created it. You know,

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I mean, he is the master creator. And our testimonies

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are, you know, the biggest way we can impact

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the kingdom. And, you know, my parents will testify.

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But ever since I was a little. Boy, I was making

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movies on my ranch and wanted to be involved

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in media. I was a child actor and did all these

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things. And but I just I know and have seen it

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in my own life through living a adventurous story,

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as you said yesterday in church that living,

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you know, having walking with the Holy Spirit

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and when you fully commit, especially it is an

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adventure. But that means. storms and valleys

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and peaks and all the rest. And, you know, and

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I think in my own story, it's, you know, I have

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trusted because God got me to my knees several

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times where then that's a beautiful thing when

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you when you finally end up where, you know,

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there's no one else that can save you from, you

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know, the pitfalls of this world other than the

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Lord. And so you can only look up. So there's

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there's a beautiful thing when you're. broken

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to that level yeah and uh and so my two heroes

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in my life are my parents and being the oldest

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you know I've I never thought I all my siblings

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have uh have their own children and I you know

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I think thinking back I would have been maybe

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the first to get married but you know I'll also

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love the quote if you want to make God laugh

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tell him your plans so uh I've said that you

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know I continue to echo that but uh but God has

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you know if you trust in a sovereign hand as

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providential planned then he does you know he

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does want to give you the desires of your heart

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and he wants to especially if we're at a place

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where lord just used me if you're there he will

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use you if you cry out and you say it you know

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do i think the big thing is asking um for his

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will if it's your will you know instead of these

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wants and desires that may not be you know that

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may be of the flesh or outside of his will through

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the holy spirit it's like asking Lord, give me

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your will. But if it's your will, I would like

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to have a family and a wife for these, these

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things. So in your timing, you know, so that

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being said, yeah. So this is my father, Rusty

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and Mary Beth, my mother, Mary Beth coffee were

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spelled like the spelled like the drink. Yeah.

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And so I want to. read an introduction to a book

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I'm writing about my story. And then I want to,

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you know, start the conversation. They've been

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through a journey with me through two different

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big tragedies. And we've seen God's hand and

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his redemptive glory in it. And so life has a

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way of challenging our faith, testing our strength

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in ways we never anticipated. In the darkest

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of times, we find ourselves questioning everything.

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especially when the pain feels unbearable. But

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I've learned through the chaos, through the heartache,

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through the storms, God is present, not just

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in the good, but in the struggles too. He is

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the God of miracles, both natural and supernatural,

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and he works in ways that can defy explanation.

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I never imagined I would survive a hit and run

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accident that nearly took my life, nor did I

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imagine I'd be forced to navigate the excruciating

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pain of losing Elizabeth, who's been the love

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of my life. But even in those moments, as my

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world crumbled, I came to see that God's hand

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was at work. He was shaping my story, even in

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the midst of suffering, leading me toward a greater

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purpose. The journey didn't stop there. Just

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when I thought I had weathered the greatest storm

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in my life, the events of January 6, 2021 brought

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me into yet another battle, a battle not just

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for truth, but for my very reputation, for my

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faith, and for relationships I thought were unshakable.

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People I loved, people I trusted began to turn

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away. In the face of adversity, I found myself

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not only physically and emotionally isolated,

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but spiritually tested in a new way. I thought

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I'd been through the worst, and in many ways

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I had, but this way was a new kind of suffering,

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one that cut deeper than any I had experienced

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before. It forced me to confront something I

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never fully acknowledged, my need for approval

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of others. And I think that fear of man keeps

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a lot of good men from stepping up. In the midst

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of public judgment, condemnation, and abandonment

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by people I once held dear, I realized that God

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was calling me to abandon the approval of man.

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No longer could I live for the validation of

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others or seek their approval to determine my

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worth. In the silence of those moments, I understood

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that God's approval was all I needed. It was

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His truth I had to cling to, His voice I had

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to follow, and His love that would sustain me.

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As Romans 8, 28 reminds us, and we know that

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God, that in all things, God works for the good

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of those who love him and who have been called

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according to his purpose. Even in the face of

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rejection, isolation, and suffering, I began

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to see that God was still at work. I had to trust

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that he was using every piece of my story, the

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good and the painful, for a purpose beyond what

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I could see. Sometimes God allows what he hates

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to accomplish what he loves. Through my journey

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of loss, hardship, and healing, I saw how God's

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love can shine through even the most difficult

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circumstances. His miracles are often hidden

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in the mess of our lives, in the trials that

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seem impossible to bear. I'm almost done here.

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When a heart is broken, it's gifted with compassion,

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the kind of compassion that only can come from

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having experienced deep suffering. Through the

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heartache and grief, we are transformed. We begin

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to understand the depths of pain others carry,

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and we are called to love more like our Savior

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Jesus. He comforts us in our suffering, and now

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it becomes our calling to comfort others in theirs,

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as it says in 2 Corinthians 1, 3 -4. Praise be

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to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

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the Father of compassion, the God of all comfort,

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who comforts us in all our troubles so that we

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can go and comfort others in their troubles with

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the comfort we ourselves receive from God. Forgiveness

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has been a cornerstone of my healing journey.

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It's not merely an act of releasing others from

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their wrongs, but a profound release of the burden

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of resentment and anger that heavily weighs us

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on our soul. Choosing to forgive has allowed

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me to let go of the past, to heal, and to move

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forward with a lighter heart and an ultimate

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miracle of grace. This book is a testament of

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these miracles. This story is a testament of

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those miracles to the invisible thread of hope

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and grace that have been woven together in my

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life. It's a story of a man who, through great

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suffering, came to understand that God is with

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us, not just in the mountaintops, but also in

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the valleys. From surviving an accident that

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should have killed me to standing in the storm

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of public scrutiny, God has a present. God has

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been present working through the pain, through

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the loneliness, and through the miracles, both

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big and small. It's a story of resilience, of

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trusting in the unseen, embracing the hope that

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comes from knowing we are not alone no matter

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what we face. And it's a reminder that in the

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end, it's God's approval that matters most. Come

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on, brother. Have you all heard this before?

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Okay, so this is the first time. I heard part

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of that. Okay. Listen, thank you for sharing

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that. It raises questions for me. Good. In a

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good way. And one of them is this. This has been

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credited to Will Rogers, this quote, but it's

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iffy if he actually said it. But it sounds like

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something he'd say, and it is, I never trust

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a man who doesn't walk with a limp. And I'll

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go back right back to Jacob. I go back to the

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river Jabbok where. He wrestled with, the Bible

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gives a capital M, the man. He wrestled with

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a man. And it was in that wrestling, if you'll

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remember what he said, I will not let you go

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unless you bless me. And he held on, apparently,

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through the night. I mean, and he must have got.

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the tar beat out of him. I mean, in Texas terms,

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I mean, he must've just took a whooping, you

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know what I'm saying? Because it literally, you

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know, it dislocated his hip and he walked with

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a permanent limp. And, and I, I echo the sentiment

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of Will Rogers that I, I too do not trust a man

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or a woman who doesn't walk with a limp. And

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so when, partly because of my own journey, my

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own experience, and I'll save that for another

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day, maybe another conversation, but. Having

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walked through the valley of the shadow of death,

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you talked about three different really distinct

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and intense times in your life. The first accident,

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the second accident, and your loss, and then,

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of course, the J6 experience. As parents, okay,

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so I have a son your age, so I could be your

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dad. So as parents, we know that when our kids...

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Our sons, our daughters go through painful times.

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It's a dagger in our hearts. Why don't we start

00:13:18.559 --> 00:13:22.580
with you and just share, even as you hear him

00:13:22.580 --> 00:13:24.899
read that and you know and you've walked through

00:13:24.899 --> 00:13:27.700
this, what's been part of your story in terms

00:13:27.700 --> 00:13:32.440
of how it impacted your life? Well, first of

00:13:32.440 --> 00:13:34.740
all, I want to say I wasn't prepared to do this

00:13:34.740 --> 00:13:40.279
today, and I haven't prayed for them as they

00:13:40.279 --> 00:13:44.980
speak, but I don't. But the Lord will show me

00:13:44.980 --> 00:13:53.200
what to say. I guess as a mother, the hurt you

00:13:53.200 --> 00:14:01.899
carry, you hurt for your child. And without the

00:14:01.899 --> 00:14:04.879
Lord, you tend to carry the burden on your own

00:14:04.879 --> 00:14:10.950
shoulders. So for me, it has been... years of

00:14:10.950 --> 00:14:15.370
giving over my child and my children to the Lord

00:14:15.370 --> 00:14:18.129
and putting them at the foot of the cross and

00:14:18.129 --> 00:14:27.909
knowing that he, he is capable. He is, he is

00:14:27.909 --> 00:14:32.970
capable to carry my burden and I'm not supposed

00:14:32.970 --> 00:14:42.860
to carry it. And as As far as Luke, I look at

00:14:42.860 --> 00:14:48.379
him and see how God has, throughout his life,

00:14:48.519 --> 00:14:54.480
prepared him for today and prepared him for each

00:14:54.480 --> 00:15:01.320
thing that he has been through. God took him,

00:15:01.539 --> 00:15:09.490
prepared every bit of the way. Luke has had a

00:15:09.490 --> 00:15:14.590
burden to glorify the Lord since he was a child.

00:15:14.730 --> 00:15:20.210
And I didn't have any clue that it would take

00:15:20.210 --> 00:15:26.669
all the suffering. But God, by his grace, has

00:15:26.669 --> 00:15:35.139
held him up through this. And I see. the perfecting

00:15:35.139 --> 00:15:42.379
and the just building up and the refining. And

00:15:42.379 --> 00:15:48.159
I do see now how God is going to greatly use

00:15:48.159 --> 00:15:58.000
him. I, to be serious, am still limping and limping

00:15:58.000 --> 00:16:04.340
with two legs probably. I'm one of four. And

00:16:04.340 --> 00:16:07.940
all of my siblings have brought, you know, they've

00:16:07.940 --> 00:16:13.559
had their storms. And my parents have worn, you

00:16:13.559 --> 00:16:16.220
know, their pain, too. I think one of the hardest

00:16:16.220 --> 00:16:19.399
things with our family has been the division.

00:16:19.559 --> 00:16:25.899
You talked about it in church yesterday. We have

00:16:25.899 --> 00:16:30.179
been a very close family when God brings these.

00:16:34.620 --> 00:16:36.139
Opportunities. Opportunities, yeah. That's a

00:16:36.139 --> 00:16:41.879
silver lining moment there. Unknown, unplanned

00:16:41.879 --> 00:16:45.779
for events into your life. And also when you

00:16:45.779 --> 00:16:49.240
have a big, we have four to me, that's kind of

00:16:49.240 --> 00:16:51.960
a big family. And all the different personalities,

00:16:52.159 --> 00:16:57.039
how each one of them handled, you know, and also

00:16:57.039 --> 00:16:59.200
each one of them being in a different place with

00:16:59.200 --> 00:17:05.319
the Lord. That was something that has been tremendous

00:17:05.319 --> 00:17:11.099
as far as impact on our family. So there are

00:17:11.099 --> 00:17:14.519
family members that didn't speak to Luke for

00:17:14.519 --> 00:17:16.779
a while. And then they're like, Mom and Dad,

00:17:16.839 --> 00:17:19.720
why are you handling it this way? And anyway,

00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:24.660
then I see with time the healing that has taken

00:17:24.660 --> 00:17:29.160
place. And we're still praying for a couple of.

00:17:30.329 --> 00:17:34.069
that they will seek the Lord through this and

00:17:34.069 --> 00:17:37.069
that God will use. And we do know that he will

00:17:37.069 --> 00:17:41.529
use it. Our kids definitely up our prayer game,

00:17:41.569 --> 00:17:44.670
don't they? You know, they bring us things that

00:17:44.670 --> 00:17:48.369
happen to them, to you, bring us to our knees.

00:17:48.630 --> 00:17:51.369
And they actually do bring us closer to the Lord.

00:17:51.430 --> 00:17:52.769
There are things that we had to walk through

00:17:52.769 --> 00:17:55.329
with our own family and our own kids. It's not

00:17:55.329 --> 00:17:58.500
been a straight path. If there's anything I've

00:17:58.500 --> 00:18:00.740
learned as I've gotten older, everyone has a

00:18:00.740 --> 00:18:03.220
story. Everyone. They may not all be telling

00:18:03.220 --> 00:18:05.740
it. There's going to be nuances of differences,

00:18:05.819 --> 00:18:08.180
but at the end of the day, there's something

00:18:08.180 --> 00:18:14.180
that pain, suffering, loss breeds in us something

00:18:14.180 --> 00:18:17.339
that looks a lot more like Jesus. Philippians

00:18:17.339 --> 00:18:19.900
3 .10, in fact, Pastor Brian quoted this yesterday

00:18:19.900 --> 00:18:23.190
in his little section there, and he said, Philippians

00:18:23.190 --> 00:18:25.549
3 .10, that I may know him and the power of his

00:18:25.549 --> 00:18:28.210
resurrection. I always thought it'd be nice if

00:18:28.210 --> 00:18:30.970
there was a period there. There's not. It's just

00:18:30.970 --> 00:18:34.470
a comma. And he says, and the fellowship of his

00:18:34.470 --> 00:18:39.009
sufferings, being conformed to his image in death,

00:18:39.309 --> 00:18:42.809
but also the rhetorical is, and also in the resurrection,

00:18:43.150 --> 00:18:46.369
right, to life. And that pain that we go through,

00:18:46.470 --> 00:18:50.519
it either makes or breaks us, doesn't it? But

00:18:50.519 --> 00:18:53.200
for we who have Christ and have that hope, we're

00:18:53.200 --> 00:18:54.799
not like those in the world that are without

00:18:54.799 --> 00:18:57.700
hope, the scripture says. It actually drives

00:18:57.700 --> 00:19:00.839
us to God, not away from God. I made God a promise

00:19:00.839 --> 00:19:03.099
years ago. I said, I'm going to make a lot of

00:19:03.099 --> 00:19:05.720
mistakes. I read about David as a new Christian.

00:19:05.779 --> 00:19:09.720
I said, I'm that guy. I relate to him. But I

00:19:09.720 --> 00:19:11.599
am a man after God's own heart, so I promise

00:19:11.599 --> 00:19:14.079
God. I'm going to run, but I'm not going to run

00:19:14.079 --> 00:19:16.380
away from you. And when I blow it, like David,

00:19:16.480 --> 00:19:18.720
I'll be quick to repent, and I will chase you

00:19:18.720 --> 00:19:22.460
down. And like Jacob at the river Jabbok, I will

00:19:22.460 --> 00:19:25.000
grab you by the legs and not let go. That's been

00:19:25.000 --> 00:19:31.759
my story in my life. And I'm thankful in retrospect

00:19:31.759 --> 00:19:34.440
for those difficult seasons because they did

00:19:34.440 --> 00:19:38.380
train me for the next thing coming. It was never

00:19:38.380 --> 00:19:40.700
looking back, because we can't always see it

00:19:40.700 --> 00:19:43.809
going. forward but looking back you realize this

00:19:43.809 --> 00:19:46.990
prepared me for this the interconnectivity of

00:19:46.990 --> 00:19:51.509
it all and uh i i can see that and even hear

00:19:51.509 --> 00:19:54.750
it just in the the linear version of your story

00:19:54.750 --> 00:20:01.329
this this this and now what next you know that's

00:20:01.329 --> 00:20:04.089
here too as well yeah but thank you for sharing

00:20:04.089 --> 00:20:06.809
that i know that's tender yeah and i will say

00:20:06.809 --> 00:20:12.380
that i'm When you're in the depths of the, I've

00:20:12.380 --> 00:20:15.759
been a believer all my life. And when it has

00:20:15.759 --> 00:20:22.200
gotten very, very dark, we had to wait. There

00:20:22.200 --> 00:20:26.299
was a period of time that I wasn't coming out

00:20:26.299 --> 00:20:32.019
of the darkness. But I knew that he was going

00:20:32.019 --> 00:20:36.990
to bring me out. But it lasted. It can last a

00:20:36.990 --> 00:20:39.910
long time. It can last a long time. So you're

00:20:39.910 --> 00:20:42.089
telling me that as a Christian, you're not perfect.

00:20:42.670 --> 00:20:46.549
Okay, good. We can hang out. And when I would

00:20:46.549 --> 00:20:52.289
be at my weakest rest, you know, God would have

00:20:52.289 --> 00:20:56.190
supplied him with the strength to bring me up

00:20:56.190 --> 00:21:01.809
and vice versa. And we, to be quite blunt, have

00:21:01.809 --> 00:21:04.930
had a difficult marriage when we were younger.

00:21:06.059 --> 00:21:09.539
I see that God, I mean, it's amazing after what

00:21:09.539 --> 00:21:14.299
we've been through as parents that, I mean, we're

00:21:14.299 --> 00:21:17.700
each other's best friends now. God healed them.

00:21:17.859 --> 00:21:25.180
Yeah. So God, and he is healing our family. It

00:21:25.180 --> 00:21:27.480
just takes time and you have to hang in there.

00:21:27.619 --> 00:21:32.940
And by the grace of God, our faith has sustained

00:21:32.940 --> 00:21:44.559
us. Sustained Luke. And it's God. God. Sometimes

00:21:44.559 --> 00:21:47.339
you have to wait a long time. You know, there's

00:21:47.339 --> 00:21:50.420
that scripture. It says those who endure to the

00:21:50.420 --> 00:21:53.740
end will be saved. I never liked that verse,

00:21:53.799 --> 00:21:56.240
to be honest. I'm like, that sounds like there's

00:21:56.240 --> 00:21:59.069
going to be a lot to endure. If we have to endure

00:21:59.069 --> 00:22:01.809
to the end, that means we will be exactly what

00:22:01.809 --> 00:22:04.890
it says. We will have to endure things in this

00:22:04.890 --> 00:22:08.130
life. And there's been some real shifts in my

00:22:08.130 --> 00:22:11.829
own mindset where I used to disdain that. I had

00:22:11.829 --> 00:22:13.630
this fantasy, I think we all did when we were

00:22:13.630 --> 00:22:15.769
younger, thinking there's going to come a point

00:22:15.769 --> 00:22:17.789
in my life where I'll hit a plateau and I won't

00:22:17.789 --> 00:22:19.970
have to suffer anymore. I won't have to feel

00:22:19.970 --> 00:22:22.269
pain or I won't have to experience disappointment

00:22:22.269 --> 00:22:25.450
or loss. But I've learned that's just not the

00:22:25.450 --> 00:22:28.500
way it is. And I've resolved to be okay with

00:22:28.500 --> 00:22:31.519
that. So now when things happen, I don't get

00:22:31.519 --> 00:22:35.700
surprised anymore. I just say, okay, I have to

00:22:35.700 --> 00:22:38.519
trust that everything that's happened up to this

00:22:38.519 --> 00:22:41.579
point has trained me for this. Right? This is

00:22:41.579 --> 00:22:43.680
where we trust. This is a big deal, isn't it?

00:22:44.039 --> 00:22:47.039
Trust. When you can't see. That's what faith

00:22:47.039 --> 00:22:50.420
is. That is. You trust and hold on when you cannot

00:22:50.420 --> 00:22:54.700
see. You cannot see. And you don't know how long.

00:22:55.849 --> 00:22:59.529
Pastor, brother, prison minister. A little bit

00:22:59.529 --> 00:23:02.410
of your version of how this has impacted you

00:23:02.410 --> 00:23:06.750
and just your version of that. My whole life

00:23:06.750 --> 00:23:09.789
or just right here? Oh, really, yeah. Just your

00:23:09.789 --> 00:23:12.529
family. Family. Since I married Mary Beth. So

00:23:12.529 --> 00:23:14.569
important. Yeah, we've been married by the grace

00:23:14.569 --> 00:23:19.789
of God May 21st, 48 years. As she said, it's

00:23:19.789 --> 00:23:23.819
not been always a walk through the park. type

00:23:23.819 --> 00:23:27.039
relationship. We've had ups and downs, particularly

00:23:27.039 --> 00:23:30.779
when we were younger and more immature in our

00:23:30.779 --> 00:23:34.359
persons. But God took us through that period

00:23:34.359 --> 00:23:41.420
of time. What can I say? Luke, before Luke was

00:23:41.420 --> 00:23:51.140
conceived, we would pray daily for our, when

00:23:51.140 --> 00:23:55.779
we found out he was, Going to be a boy. Prayed

00:23:55.779 --> 00:23:59.319
Luke 2 .52. You know that scripture? Not off

00:23:59.319 --> 00:24:01.000
the top of my head. Okay, and Jesus increased

00:24:01.000 --> 00:24:05.119
in wisdom and stature in favor with God and man.

00:24:05.779 --> 00:24:09.720
And like you said, that he would be a man after

00:24:09.720 --> 00:24:12.799
God's own heart like David. That was the prayer

00:24:12.799 --> 00:24:16.160
for Luke before he was even created in his mother's

00:24:16.160 --> 00:24:20.799
womb. Beautiful. And that has come true. That

00:24:20.799 --> 00:24:24.039
is reality now. But I have to say, I want to

00:24:24.039 --> 00:24:26.900
caveat, you didn't know that meant you were setting

00:24:26.900 --> 00:24:30.359
him up for some pain. Because when we ask God,

00:24:30.380 --> 00:24:32.900
we sing these songs in our worship services.

00:24:33.019 --> 00:24:34.839
Have you ever just stopped to look at the words

00:24:34.839 --> 00:24:37.940
we're singing? We're basically challenging God

00:24:37.940 --> 00:24:40.359
to send us out into deeper water, into deeper

00:24:40.359 --> 00:24:42.640
places. And then when it happens, we're shocked

00:24:42.640 --> 00:24:45.140
and surprised. But we don't realize we've repeated

00:24:45.140 --> 00:24:48.500
that every Sunday for six months. And yet God...

00:24:48.970 --> 00:24:52.930
Because he loves us so much, he cares more about

00:24:52.930 --> 00:24:55.410
our character than he does our comfort. And he's

00:24:55.410 --> 00:24:58.049
creating and crafting something. So when y 'all

00:24:58.049 --> 00:25:00.190
were praying those prayers for Luke, sorry that

00:25:00.190 --> 00:25:02.549
your parents prayed that for you, it was in a

00:25:02.549 --> 00:25:07.609
way a setup, but a good setup. Because the outcome

00:25:07.609 --> 00:25:11.430
is gold that's been refined by fire. And I'm

00:25:11.430 --> 00:25:13.529
seeing that. And that's clear in the scriptures

00:25:13.529 --> 00:25:15.529
that we're going to go through the fire. Beautiful.

00:25:15.829 --> 00:25:21.240
You can't escape that. Just a little of my testimony.

00:25:21.319 --> 00:25:24.460
I came to faith when I was 20 years old by reading

00:25:24.460 --> 00:25:30.480
the Gospel of John in a non -Christian class

00:25:30.480 --> 00:25:37.759
at SMU. My whole world was around football. My

00:25:37.759 --> 00:25:39.779
father was a football coach. He coached with

00:25:39.779 --> 00:25:44.599
Royal at Texas. Nice. Later, he became my head

00:25:44.599 --> 00:25:51.059
football coach. a school in Dallas. And so my

00:25:51.059 --> 00:25:55.559
whole life was centered around football or sports.

00:25:57.119 --> 00:25:59.740
So you've been in some of those halftime pep

00:25:59.740 --> 00:26:01.759
talks. Yeah, I can relate exactly what you're

00:26:01.759 --> 00:26:02.880
talking about. That got kind of ugly sometimes.

00:26:03.039 --> 00:26:05.099
Actually, he would come in and be the guy that

00:26:05.099 --> 00:26:08.440
would chew us out. There he is. I was being nice

00:26:08.440 --> 00:26:12.599
yesterday. Church. Yes, but I could certainly

00:26:12.599 --> 00:26:14.460
relate. Can't repeat most of what was said. Right.

00:26:16.240 --> 00:26:19.940
So having been raised by a football coach, as

00:26:19.940 --> 00:26:22.980
he is and was, and he's in heaven now because

00:26:22.980 --> 00:26:26.680
in the last six months before he passed, he came

00:26:26.680 --> 00:26:30.200
to faith. Beautiful. After 40 years of praying

00:26:30.200 --> 00:26:32.960
for him. And mocking my father for being a missionary

00:26:32.960 --> 00:26:36.099
and a prison minister. Wow. He mocked it. Story

00:26:36.099 --> 00:26:39.329
there, right? Oh, yeah. Beautiful. I believe

00:26:39.329 --> 00:26:41.250
her. He wanted to turn me. He said, this is not

00:26:41.250 --> 00:26:43.650
going to last. So just, you know, cause, cause

00:26:43.650 --> 00:26:45.890
I told him I wouldn't give up my football scholarship.

00:26:46.630 --> 00:26:51.130
That made him very angry. But, uh, wow. Uh, I

00:26:51.130 --> 00:26:53.349
did. My dad said, don't become one of the, that's

00:26:53.349 --> 00:26:55.410
good son. Just don't become one of those fanatics.

00:26:55.509 --> 00:26:59.630
I said, it's too late. I'm already there. That's

00:26:59.630 --> 00:27:01.970
right. But he's been gracious. I was one of those

00:27:01.970 --> 00:27:09.519
fanatics and still am. But, uh, I, Quickly after

00:27:09.519 --> 00:27:14.019
graduating from college, I prayed for a godly

00:27:14.019 --> 00:27:19.920
wife. And God brought the godly wife, my wife.

00:27:20.160 --> 00:27:22.839
And it didn't take long to know she was going

00:27:22.839 --> 00:27:26.940
to be my wife. And nine months later, we were

00:27:26.940 --> 00:27:30.180
married. This coming May 21st will be our 48th

00:27:30.180 --> 00:27:32.779
year. Beautiful. I think about a year later,

00:27:32.880 --> 00:27:36.980
we had Luke. After those prayers, I decided.

00:27:38.480 --> 00:27:41.960
And we've had him now for 45 years and been with

00:27:41.960 --> 00:27:46.039
him every step of the way through ups and downs

00:27:46.039 --> 00:27:49.640
of his life. And he's been with ours, ups and

00:27:49.640 --> 00:27:53.680
downs of our life. He's witnessed that. But after

00:27:53.680 --> 00:28:00.420
about 25 years of a business, real estate business

00:28:00.420 --> 00:28:07.599
in Dallas, God put it in my heart to... make

00:28:07.599 --> 00:28:12.059
my focus not building a kingdom on earth, a material

00:28:12.059 --> 00:28:15.339
kingdom, a financial kingdom, which was where

00:28:15.339 --> 00:28:21.599
I was. He brought that all to a collapse, literally,

00:28:21.640 --> 00:28:25.619
because we had the Great Recession of 1986, 87,

00:28:25.779 --> 00:28:30.119
and everybody was in Dallas and around. Texas

00:28:30.119 --> 00:28:32.500
was going broke, and banks were going broke,

00:28:32.599 --> 00:28:36.619
and oil and gas dropped down the bottom. And

00:28:36.619 --> 00:28:40.119
so all this that I had built up collapsed. And

00:28:40.119 --> 00:28:43.940
I see how God took it away. So my focus would

00:28:43.940 --> 00:28:48.279
be on his kingdom, building his kingdom that

00:28:48.279 --> 00:28:57.559
is coming. And so that was 1995 or so, 95, 99.

00:28:57.819 --> 00:29:04.279
I began to go to overseas on mission trips, Russia.

00:29:05.900 --> 00:29:10.200
And then Cuba, I really began to focus on Cuba

00:29:10.200 --> 00:29:16.640
and have now been probably 50 trips to Cuba where

00:29:16.640 --> 00:29:20.759
God is using me to help plant house churches.

00:29:20.920 --> 00:29:24.799
They don't build buildings over there. The government

00:29:24.799 --> 00:29:27.880
will not build them in a communist country. So

00:29:27.880 --> 00:29:31.710
the model of the early church is how. The best

00:29:31.710 --> 00:29:34.869
way to multiply and make disciples in Cuba, and

00:29:34.869 --> 00:29:36.869
I think it's a good model for a lot of places.

00:29:36.950 --> 00:29:38.750
Did you know the church in Corinth was never

00:29:38.750 --> 00:29:43.309
larger than 150 people in seven locations? Oh,

00:29:43.349 --> 00:29:45.049
in seven different locations. Seven locations.

00:29:45.089 --> 00:29:46.569
They were house churches. Seven different houses.

00:29:46.769 --> 00:29:49.430
No one thinks that way. No one thinks that way.

00:29:49.430 --> 00:29:51.730
I know. Because we're American. We're Western.

00:29:51.890 --> 00:29:54.210
We don't think that way. We want everything bigger

00:29:54.210 --> 00:29:56.289
and grander, but, you know, God. Supersized.

00:29:56.680 --> 00:29:59.799
God likes these intimate, small house churches,

00:29:59.839 --> 00:30:04.859
and it really works in multiplying in the country

00:30:04.859 --> 00:30:08.440
of Cuba. So that's kind of my focus. I'm helping

00:30:08.440 --> 00:30:12.099
a couple do that by supporting them and going

00:30:12.099 --> 00:30:15.559
over there two or three times a year to encourage

00:30:15.559 --> 00:30:20.480
them and walk beside them. And I've been working

00:30:20.480 --> 00:30:23.259
with them for 30 -something years. Beautiful.

00:30:25.390 --> 00:30:30.109
That doesn't relate to Luke, but Luke has actually

00:30:30.109 --> 00:30:34.589
gone with me to – I also was going to Cuba for

00:30:34.589 --> 00:30:39.049
a while, I mean Haiti. And Luke went with me

00:30:39.049 --> 00:30:42.009
on one trip to Haiti and then to Cuba, Dominican

00:30:42.009 --> 00:30:45.329
Republic, just that area down there. And prisons.

00:30:45.910 --> 00:30:49.910
Yeah. That's really what my primary focus is

00:30:49.910 --> 00:30:55.259
weekly is to go to Texas state prisons. And talking

00:30:55.259 --> 00:30:59.960
about a broken community, that's inside a Texas

00:30:59.960 --> 00:31:04.740
prison. So these people have been broken. They've

00:31:04.740 --> 00:31:06.859
been stripped of everything, like Luke is talking.

00:31:07.180 --> 00:31:09.480
Literally, they've been stripped of their freedom,

00:31:09.599 --> 00:31:14.980
their families, their finances, their jobs, all

00:31:14.980 --> 00:31:17.680
of that. Their identity. Their identity. I mean,

00:31:17.740 --> 00:31:21.619
this is one of the most broken communities of

00:31:21.619 --> 00:31:24.430
people groups. You'd say in the world is those

00:31:24.430 --> 00:31:27.390
are inside prisons. Thank you for going there.

00:31:27.529 --> 00:31:31.230
I say I was raised in a first responder home.

00:31:31.390 --> 00:31:33.829
He was a firefighter. This is first responder.

00:31:33.950 --> 00:31:36.910
This is frontline stuff going into the middle

00:31:36.910 --> 00:31:38.950
of brokenness and bringing life. It definitely

00:31:38.950 --> 00:31:42.869
is. And it's funny. I've never been arrested,

00:31:43.029 --> 00:31:48.619
but I can somehow relate to these men who. are

00:31:48.619 --> 00:31:51.619
serving time in a prison, although I've never

00:31:51.619 --> 00:31:53.960
been in their place. Probably before 20, you

00:31:53.960 --> 00:31:56.599
just didn't get caught. Well, that's true. That's

00:31:56.599 --> 00:31:58.880
kind of my testimony. Well, that's really true,

00:31:58.920 --> 00:32:02.259
I think. Yeah, you affirm that. That's certainly

00:32:02.259 --> 00:32:09.319
true. But I have a passion for it that God has

00:32:09.319 --> 00:32:14.099
given me. I can't shake it. It's not like, oh,

00:32:14.180 --> 00:32:15.940
I've got to get up and go to prison tomorrow.

00:32:16.970 --> 00:32:20.710
It's not a drudgery, probably as yourself. You

00:32:20.710 --> 00:32:23.750
look forward to getting up and presenting. Can't

00:32:23.750 --> 00:32:25.890
wait. It's game day. Share the word on Sundays

00:32:25.890 --> 00:32:27.769
or whenever. Feels like football day. Feels like

00:32:27.769 --> 00:32:31.009
game day. Game day. It's supposed to work out

00:32:31.009 --> 00:32:34.529
on Tuesday. This is game day. Game night. Friday

00:32:34.529 --> 00:32:37.579
night lights. That's right. And Luke has actually

00:32:37.579 --> 00:32:40.000
gone with me into prison before he. That's the

00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:43.420
first time I had been in prison. First and only

00:32:43.420 --> 00:32:44.940
time before January 6th. I was going to segue

00:32:44.940 --> 00:32:48.700
that because it really does feed into you were

00:32:48.700 --> 00:32:52.000
on one side. Right. Is it a different perspective

00:32:52.000 --> 00:32:54.279
going in the other way? Well, that's where, you

00:32:54.279 --> 00:32:56.319
know, dad was like trying to prep me for it.

00:32:56.339 --> 00:32:58.519
I was like, pops, you get to leave at the end

00:32:58.519 --> 00:33:00.819
of the day, you know. So it's definitely. And

00:33:00.819 --> 00:33:03.599
that's the irony of, you know, the first time

00:33:03.599 --> 00:33:07.200
I ever. shared so i've written a screenplay about

00:33:07.200 --> 00:33:10.920
like my previous uh story about losing elizabeth

00:33:10.920 --> 00:33:15.380
and really you know i it was the worst and best

00:33:15.380 --> 00:33:17.279
thing that happened to me in my life which is

00:33:17.279 --> 00:33:20.519
that's hard to even say those words because she

00:33:20.519 --> 00:33:22.500
was my best friend and loved my life and and

00:33:22.500 --> 00:33:24.480
just to see the family you know that was the

00:33:24.480 --> 00:33:26.640
hardest thing to being a survivor and i can get

00:33:26.640 --> 00:33:28.740
a little more into that but The irony is the

00:33:28.740 --> 00:33:30.799
first time I told that story, I was very, you

00:33:30.799 --> 00:33:32.859
know, God, I wanted I'm mission oriented. I'm

00:33:32.859 --> 00:33:36.099
a mix between these two. I have the compassion,

00:33:36.259 --> 00:33:38.619
compassionate heart, not on the same level as

00:33:38.619 --> 00:33:40.940
my mother. But for a man, I have pretty compassionate,

00:33:41.019 --> 00:33:44.240
you know, heart and especially after being heartbroken.

00:33:44.660 --> 00:33:47.880
And then I have the drive and, you know, passion

00:33:47.880 --> 00:33:51.740
of my father, you know, and his. So I'm a mix

00:33:51.740 --> 00:33:53.539
of these two. And I think I was when they had

00:33:53.539 --> 00:33:57.089
a marriage growing up when it was. you know,

00:33:57.089 --> 00:33:59.990
not the best thing. Like I was kind of in between

00:33:59.990 --> 00:34:03.230
it. And I, I, I kind of saw why one was not what,

00:34:03.289 --> 00:34:05.230
why the one was frustrated. The other is like,

00:34:05.250 --> 00:34:06.789
just tell her she's pretty and you appreciate

00:34:06.789 --> 00:34:10.710
her, you know, mom, just support them, you know,

00:34:10.730 --> 00:34:12.690
just, you know, come on, let's just get this

00:34:12.690 --> 00:34:16.369
to work this out. Yeah. And, uh, so, and that's

00:34:16.369 --> 00:34:19.989
what's irony of that is like, I've been in, you

00:34:19.989 --> 00:34:22.429
know, I'm still 45 yet to be married. I've been

00:34:22.429 --> 00:34:25.250
engaged on, you know, almost twice. And, uh,

00:34:25.559 --> 00:34:29.000
But I've been in between some marriages of some

00:34:29.000 --> 00:34:30.639
of my best friends. You know, they kind of bring

00:34:30.639 --> 00:34:32.920
me in as a mediator. It's very it's been a weird

00:34:32.920 --> 00:34:35.659
deal. And I wrote a marriage program during my

00:34:35.659 --> 00:34:39.500
Christian marriage boot camp, not from my own

00:34:39.500 --> 00:34:42.059
knowledge, but from research. The last four years

00:34:42.059 --> 00:34:45.420
I wrote with a guy hired me to write one. So

00:34:45.420 --> 00:34:48.940
a Christian boot camp for couples that were struggling.

00:34:48.980 --> 00:34:51.260
So that being said, yeah, the first time I had

00:34:51.260 --> 00:34:55.170
gone to prison was to share my story. And, yeah,

00:34:55.289 --> 00:34:57.050
I was a little different when I was checked in

00:34:57.050 --> 00:35:00.449
as a domestic terrorist and belly chained. And,

00:35:00.489 --> 00:35:04.070
you know, I mean, it was and I've played, ironically,

00:35:04.309 --> 00:35:07.570
Jimmy, I've played a domestic terrorist twice

00:35:07.570 --> 00:35:11.489
in TV shows and a prisoner. So it was just very

00:35:11.489 --> 00:35:14.650
strange. Wow. You know. Wow. Very serendipitous.

00:35:14.829 --> 00:35:17.349
It was. So Annette and I, we had someone had

00:35:17.349 --> 00:35:19.789
recommended one of the documentaries, J6 documentary.

00:35:20.150 --> 00:35:22.610
OK. And we were just learning about this. OK.

00:35:22.969 --> 00:35:25.289
All we knew was what the news was saying. So

00:35:25.289 --> 00:35:27.710
we had the news narrative going, oh, yeah, that

00:35:27.710 --> 00:35:29.829
was a bad deal. I can't believe they did that.

00:35:29.949 --> 00:35:32.070
And we saw the guy with the horns, the other

00:35:32.070 --> 00:35:35.969
guy kicking his feet up on the desk. And so that

00:35:35.969 --> 00:35:38.929
was the narrative we knew. And then some friends

00:35:38.929 --> 00:35:41.550
of ours, as I really began to speak into culture,

00:35:41.750 --> 00:35:44.550
said, have you seen this documentary on J6? It's

00:35:44.550 --> 00:35:47.110
not what you think. And that was right after

00:35:47.110 --> 00:35:49.550
all the footage came out. I think Tucker released

00:35:49.550 --> 00:35:52.929
a lot of footage that no one had seen. and all

00:35:52.929 --> 00:35:55.329
of a sudden it's a different story. So we saw

00:35:55.329 --> 00:35:57.690
the documentary that was made out of that. Okay.

00:35:57.949 --> 00:36:01.469
And you were a large part of that. Epic Times

00:36:01.469 --> 00:36:05.269
one? Yes, yes, that is that. And I remember when

00:36:05.269 --> 00:36:07.690
you came on and I heard you talking about Jesus,

00:36:07.829 --> 00:36:10.730
I get goosebumps thinking about it because I

00:36:10.730 --> 00:36:13.550
was like, there's something on that guy. This

00:36:13.550 --> 00:36:17.070
is not normal. And it was really interesting

00:36:17.070 --> 00:36:19.980
that the Lord had directed. Them to tell your

00:36:19.980 --> 00:36:23.119
story. Yeah. And, of course, the tragic side

00:36:23.119 --> 00:36:26.079
of that as well. But also, I'll never forget

00:36:26.079 --> 00:36:27.960
the picture of you, not just the picture, the

00:36:27.960 --> 00:36:30.840
video of you holding a crutch up, telling people

00:36:30.840 --> 00:36:33.920
to pray, telling them to stop, trying to get

00:36:33.920 --> 00:36:36.480
them to stand down, and yet someone behind you

00:36:36.480 --> 00:36:38.980
with a billy club or baton trying to beat you.

00:36:39.039 --> 00:36:43.719
I mean, it was a shocking scene. Yeah. But look

00:36:43.719 --> 00:36:46.849
at the... wisdom of god to get that caught on

00:36:46.849 --> 00:36:50.809
video because it is a testimony and it is now

00:36:50.809 --> 00:36:54.070
you didn't you didn't sign up for this club but

00:36:54.070 --> 00:36:55.949
you're in it and you're kind of the chairman

00:36:55.949 --> 00:36:58.809
of it well and that to take take take you back

00:36:58.809 --> 00:37:01.530
three months before january 6th i was so we were

00:37:01.530 --> 00:37:04.409
raising equity around the story called we were

00:37:04.409 --> 00:37:06.369
calling it texas angel true story faith hope

00:37:06.369 --> 00:37:10.269
and love uh around my my backstory losing elizabeth

00:37:10.269 --> 00:37:13.090
and Maybe in a different episode we can go into,

00:37:13.090 --> 00:37:17.210
cause there's, you know, Steve went into the

00:37:17.210 --> 00:37:19.550
supernatural and that's very much part of my,

00:37:19.610 --> 00:37:22.690
my story. And there are some miracles that happened

00:37:22.690 --> 00:37:26.429
around January 6th as well. But yeah, there was,

00:37:26.449 --> 00:37:29.809
you know, so I, I felt God's sovereign hand through

00:37:29.809 --> 00:37:33.510
that. That's my, that's, and he enlisted me like

00:37:33.510 --> 00:37:35.469
seven days after my accident, I heard the voice

00:37:35.469 --> 00:37:38.670
of the Lord say, Luke, your story is not over,

00:37:38.710 --> 00:37:44.000
but I want you to start telling it. And I was

00:37:44.000 --> 00:37:46.559
going to share it. I couldn't go back to Elizabeth's

00:37:46.559 --> 00:37:48.440
funeral. We were going to share it. He wanted

00:37:48.440 --> 00:37:50.639
me to share it that day. We were going to watch

00:37:50.639 --> 00:37:52.400
the funeral, and Dad kind of did. For all the

00:37:52.400 --> 00:37:57.000
L .A. people, this accident happened in Hollywood.

00:37:57.460 --> 00:38:00.139
Elizabeth and I were from Dallas, and her funerals

00:38:00.139 --> 00:38:04.440
were going to be back in Texas. And I got up

00:38:04.440 --> 00:38:07.679
there, and, I mean, it was an audible voice from

00:38:07.679 --> 00:38:11.219
the Lord. I had prayed all week, Lord, I was

00:38:11.219 --> 00:38:12.739
ready to take my life, Jimmy. I was like, this

00:38:12.739 --> 00:38:14.800
is, her family didn't want her to move to LA.

00:38:14.980 --> 00:38:17.280
I had her over my shoulder when we were hit by

00:38:17.280 --> 00:38:19.820
the hit and run driver crossing the street. And

00:38:19.820 --> 00:38:22.059
I've seen the video of us getting hit. There's,

00:38:22.059 --> 00:38:24.980
I shouldn't be alive. The car was going upwards

00:38:24.980 --> 00:38:28.039
of 90 miles per hour. And I totaled it. My body

00:38:28.039 --> 00:38:30.440
totaled it. And Elizabeth died instantly. And

00:38:30.440 --> 00:38:32.039
I walked out of the hospital seven days later.

00:38:32.559 --> 00:38:35.420
And there's, there's so many, you know, Looking

00:38:35.420 --> 00:38:37.500
back, God had this, you know, I wanted to tell

00:38:37.500 --> 00:38:39.719
great stories and Elizabeth and I wanted to tell

00:38:39.719 --> 00:38:41.739
kingdom minded stories, not necessarily Christian.

00:38:41.920 --> 00:38:44.900
You don't need a label. The Christian label.

00:38:45.019 --> 00:38:48.260
God is the creator of story. And Hollywood is

00:38:48.260 --> 00:38:50.519
a soulless place. So therefore they tell soulless

00:38:50.519 --> 00:38:56.539
stories and demonic ones. So so anyway, but that's

00:38:56.539 --> 00:39:01.900
the irony is God has. Through my life, wanted

00:39:01.900 --> 00:39:04.639
me to tell my own story, which, you know, as

00:39:04.639 --> 00:39:07.139
writers, you are writers and creators, you know,

00:39:07.179 --> 00:39:09.340
your story the best, you know, so that's or you

00:39:09.340 --> 00:39:11.219
people write about what you know, that's what

00:39:11.219 --> 00:39:14.199
they say. And I know my story very well. And

00:39:14.199 --> 00:39:16.659
I also intimately know that God wants to use

00:39:16.659 --> 00:39:22.000
all our stories to glorify his son and through

00:39:22.000 --> 00:39:25.579
the Holy Spirit. And and if you think about I

00:39:25.579 --> 00:39:27.519
always think about this is the greatest story

00:39:27.519 --> 00:39:30.769
ever told was Jesus. It was like this rock that

00:39:30.769 --> 00:39:33.750
was thrown in this pond, okay? And then there

00:39:33.750 --> 00:39:36.550
was just these ripples, you know? But guess what

00:39:36.550 --> 00:39:39.070
caused those ripples? It's the rock of Christ,

00:39:39.309 --> 00:39:43.090
you know? And I prayed before Elizabeth died,

00:39:43.269 --> 00:39:46.570
and I believe that's not why God took her, but

00:39:46.570 --> 00:39:49.469
it's why he took her in my story. I prayed for

00:39:49.469 --> 00:39:52.849
brokenness for a calendar year because she brought

00:39:52.849 --> 00:39:56.070
me back to Jesus. After five years in Hollywood

00:39:56.070 --> 00:39:58.469
where I was, you know, questioning things and

00:39:58.469 --> 00:40:00.590
not living for the Lord. And, you know, because

00:40:00.590 --> 00:40:03.690
of these people who were my rock growing up,

00:40:03.690 --> 00:40:05.690
I mean, the first verses that came through my

00:40:05.690 --> 00:40:07.929
mind was what, you know, trust in the Lord with

00:40:07.929 --> 00:40:09.369
all your heart. That I memorized with my daddy

00:40:09.369 --> 00:40:12.369
when I was, you know, six years old. Don't lean

00:40:12.369 --> 00:40:14.010
on your own understandings. All your ways acknowledge

00:40:14.010 --> 00:40:16.070
them and it'll make your path straight. And as

00:40:16.070 --> 00:40:18.929
I was going through this nightmare. of losing

00:40:18.929 --> 00:40:21.210
her though these verses that i memorized that's

00:40:21.210 --> 00:40:23.409
why it's you know he guys tells us to raise your

00:40:23.409 --> 00:40:25.130
children right you know right raise them up right

00:40:25.130 --> 00:40:29.449
and you know and uh with the lord and i'm saying

00:40:29.449 --> 00:40:31.489
i mean i those were was what came through my

00:40:31.489 --> 00:40:34.070
mind but i prayed every single day for a year

00:40:34.070 --> 00:40:36.889
because i wanted to she had this childlike faith

00:40:36.889 --> 00:40:39.190
and i remember the first night i met her i was

00:40:39.190 --> 00:40:43.789
like um uh i said you know our ranch is shared

00:40:43.789 --> 00:40:47.639
a fence line in texas and she didn't believe

00:40:47.639 --> 00:40:50.260
anything was a coincidence that we met on, you

00:40:50.260 --> 00:40:52.820
know, a boat in Dallas. I mean, a boat in LA

00:40:52.820 --> 00:40:55.139
and our ranch is shared a fence line back in

00:40:55.139 --> 00:40:56.920
Texas. And, you know, and I said, I was going

00:40:56.920 --> 00:41:00.219
to marry her that first night. And, and I remember

00:41:00.219 --> 00:41:04.369
early on questioning about like, you know, Because

00:41:04.369 --> 00:41:07.570
I felt I loved all these people that weren't

00:41:07.570 --> 00:41:09.650
raised like us in the Bible Belt in L .A. It

00:41:09.650 --> 00:41:11.690
was my first time. I went to Bethlehem on the

00:41:11.690 --> 00:41:13.849
Brazos, Baylor University. That's where I got

00:41:13.849 --> 00:41:16.510
my film degree. And I moved to Hollywood. And,

00:41:16.530 --> 00:41:18.849
you know, it was very it was, you know, never

00:41:18.849 --> 00:41:21.849
been to L .A. And there was a lot of darkness.

00:41:21.949 --> 00:41:23.570
And that can be a whole nother episode, too.

00:41:24.150 --> 00:41:27.269
But Elizabeth just had this childlike faith.

00:41:27.349 --> 00:41:28.730
She's like, you don't need to worry about let

00:41:28.730 --> 00:41:30.989
the Holy Spirit do its job and just love people

00:41:30.989 --> 00:41:34.199
and love our Lord. And so just simplify it and

00:41:34.199 --> 00:41:37.380
bring it back to that childlike faith. And so

00:41:37.380 --> 00:41:41.519
I prayed every day, Lord, break me. I was looking

00:41:41.519 --> 00:41:43.719
at the heroes in Scripture. They'd all go through

00:41:43.719 --> 00:41:45.739
suffering. That's a dangerous prayer. It is a

00:41:45.739 --> 00:41:47.780
dangerous prayer. He answers those. He does.

00:41:47.940 --> 00:41:50.239
He does. And I remember these beautiful moments

00:41:50.239 --> 00:41:51.980
in our relationship. She was like my best friend.

00:41:52.039 --> 00:41:54.639
She called me out and stuff, but we were just

00:41:54.639 --> 00:41:58.579
equals, like my teammate, co -partner. And she

00:41:58.579 --> 00:42:02.500
really brought me back to the Lord. God chose

00:42:02.500 --> 00:42:07.500
to take her and leave me. And again, they have

00:42:07.500 --> 00:42:09.159
a charity foundation. They've raised $9 million

00:42:09.159 --> 00:42:11.539
in her name for children in need. It's a Christian

00:42:11.539 --> 00:42:17.960
one in North Texas. But that prepared me for

00:42:17.960 --> 00:42:21.820
the January 6th thing. And I saw God's supernatural

00:42:21.820 --> 00:42:25.579
hand multiple times in that story. And my dad

00:42:25.579 --> 00:42:27.480
can attest, we may have to tell this one before

00:42:27.480 --> 00:42:31.909
we go. That was the worst nightmare of my life,

00:42:31.989 --> 00:42:34.789
losing somebody and seeing the people that she

00:42:34.789 --> 00:42:37.170
loved worse. You know, her father has dealt with

00:42:37.170 --> 00:42:39.190
some addiction and, you know, alcoholism. And

00:42:39.190 --> 00:42:43.550
I've seen them be healed, but it was I hated

00:42:43.550 --> 00:42:46.750
to see, you know, and to know that I survived.

00:42:46.809 --> 00:42:49.210
Like, why, Lord? Why did you not take me instead

00:42:49.210 --> 00:42:51.409
of her? She wanted to be a mother more than anything.

00:42:51.690 --> 00:42:56.269
And so that's. But he carried me through that,

00:42:56.349 --> 00:42:58.630
and he gave me in seven days, I went from wanting

00:42:58.630 --> 00:43:01.510
to take my life to having a mission and knowing

00:43:01.510 --> 00:43:04.909
he wanted to use my story for his glory. And

00:43:04.909 --> 00:43:07.050
the story wasn't over, but I was supposed to

00:43:07.050 --> 00:43:09.610
start telling it. And the irony of that is, like,

00:43:09.610 --> 00:43:12.210
God opened up doors through me telling the story,

00:43:12.269 --> 00:43:15.230
and he said he was. And he said, in my timing,

00:43:15.269 --> 00:43:17.610
Luke, I want you to make a film about this. I

00:43:17.610 --> 00:43:20.929
didn't say when that was. So going to setting

00:43:20.929 --> 00:43:24.630
up January 6th, we were raising equity. kind

00:43:24.630 --> 00:43:27.710
of going in and then covet interrupted it and

00:43:27.710 --> 00:43:30.150
this has been a a couple times we had to put

00:43:30.150 --> 00:43:32.230
this project on hold and it's it's a notebook

00:43:32.230 --> 00:43:36.269
type love story or or love story from the 70s

00:43:36.269 --> 00:43:39.409
that old story that but it's god's there's supernatural

00:43:39.409 --> 00:43:42.650
miracles and and there's too many coincidences

00:43:42.650 --> 00:43:45.869
and it's providence you know these to to if you

00:43:45.869 --> 00:43:48.949
line them up to be to be a made -up story and

00:43:48.949 --> 00:43:50.650
i'm not that creative a guy but you know what

00:43:50.650 --> 00:43:55.989
our god is and and it so it shows All these God

00:43:55.989 --> 00:43:58.449
stepping in at these moments when I was playing

00:43:58.449 --> 00:44:01.110
out like, Lord, I need encouragement. If it's

00:44:01.110 --> 00:44:03.769
your will, you know, and God would show up like

00:44:03.769 --> 00:44:07.429
in supernatural ways. And and my parents can

00:44:07.429 --> 00:44:10.889
attest to all this. But so we got to a place

00:44:10.889 --> 00:44:13.329
at the end of covid. My dad was like, couldn't

00:44:13.329 --> 00:44:15.630
go into prisons because of the lockdowns. And

00:44:15.630 --> 00:44:17.849
he's like, son, I used to raise equity for film

00:44:17.849 --> 00:44:21.030
deals. Yeah. I'm sorry for real estate deals.

00:44:21.409 --> 00:44:23.670
And I want to help you with this equity raise.

00:44:23.730 --> 00:44:25.590
Cause I wanted somebody to be the financial.

00:44:25.670 --> 00:44:27.769
So I could just be the creative aspect of it.

00:44:27.989 --> 00:44:29.449
And I was like, dad, this is what I've been praying

00:44:29.449 --> 00:44:30.829
for. And he's like, you sure? I was like, yeah.

00:44:31.510 --> 00:44:33.969
So I went back that night after meeting with

00:44:33.969 --> 00:44:35.750
him at our lake house, but drove back to Dallas

00:44:35.750 --> 00:44:39.550
and I laid down on my bed and I just heard this

00:44:39.550 --> 00:44:41.809
is the second time where, you know, the first

00:44:41.809 --> 00:44:43.510
time was right. Seven days after Elizabeth, I

00:44:43.510 --> 00:44:47.070
heard the Lord say, Luke, it's not time. Your

00:44:47.070 --> 00:44:49.590
story is not over. I'm going to take you through

00:44:49.590 --> 00:44:53.070
a dark storm. You're going to lose your business,

00:44:53.210 --> 00:44:56.550
your reputation. Family is going to turn on you.

00:44:56.769 --> 00:44:59.429
Friends are going to think you're crazy and and

00:44:59.429 --> 00:45:01.469
you're going to be more attacked by the enemy

00:45:01.469 --> 00:45:04.550
than you ever have before. And he said, I want

00:45:04.550 --> 00:45:07.269
you to start. I've put you in media. And this

00:45:07.269 --> 00:45:08.829
is what he said after Elizabeth. I've made you

00:45:08.829 --> 00:45:11.949
a storyteller, you know, and I put you in media

00:45:11.949 --> 00:45:14.809
to expose. the darkness and I want you to be

00:45:14.809 --> 00:45:17.210
one of my watchmen. I'm pulling back a curtain

00:45:17.210 --> 00:45:19.750
on nothing's new in the sun by pulling back a

00:45:19.750 --> 00:45:24.510
curtain to expose in the season, you know, revelations

00:45:24.510 --> 00:45:30.869
coming, right? And he said, it won't last long,

00:45:30.989 --> 00:45:35.869
but it'll be very painful. But in my timing,

00:45:36.030 --> 00:45:39.769
I will redeem you, my son, and give you an opportunity

00:45:39.769 --> 00:45:43.739
to share my truth. and continue to expose the

00:45:43.739 --> 00:45:46.480
darkness. And so that was three months before

00:45:46.480 --> 00:45:48.019
January 6th. He didn't say I was going to go

00:45:48.019 --> 00:45:51.300
to prison, but it was a gift. It's a good thing

00:45:51.300 --> 00:45:54.699
he doesn't tell us everything. It is. We'd run

00:45:54.699 --> 00:45:58.980
to Nineveh. He told us that experience. The next

00:45:58.980 --> 00:46:01.300
day. Yeah, the next day. And there was immediate

00:46:01.300 --> 00:46:06.199
demonic attacks and just, you know. I had people

00:46:06.199 --> 00:46:08.619
that had worked for me, you know, on my cruise.

00:46:08.719 --> 00:46:10.860
I had a commercial production company, but I

00:46:10.860 --> 00:46:13.260
had been in advertising. And I knew, you know,

00:46:13.260 --> 00:46:15.679
that all this was fear -based propaganda around

00:46:15.679 --> 00:46:20.340
COVID. And, you know, that God wanted, needed

00:46:20.340 --> 00:46:23.099
his people to stand up and expose it, be vocal.

00:46:23.260 --> 00:46:25.940
And this was early on when people were, you know,

00:46:25.980 --> 00:46:28.039
you're going to kill my grandmother, you know.

00:46:28.500 --> 00:46:31.639
And I had, it was amazing, you know, Jimmy, to

00:46:31.639 --> 00:46:35.360
see that. how many men that I thought were like

00:46:35.360 --> 00:46:38.199
alpha males that just bent the knee, you know,

00:46:38.219 --> 00:46:40.980
and, or, or even said, what are you doing coffee?

00:46:41.079 --> 00:46:43.420
You know? And I had fear for my parents that,

00:46:43.440 --> 00:46:44.840
well, you're going to lose your business, Luke,

00:46:44.920 --> 00:46:46.380
you're being out. So I was like, well, so be

00:46:46.380 --> 00:46:48.780
it. I mean, the Lord said he's, he's gonna, you

00:46:48.780 --> 00:46:52.079
know, but I'd also had been praying that God.

00:46:52.559 --> 00:46:54.480
I'm tired of the advertising business. I want

00:46:54.480 --> 00:46:56.780
to do something more kingdom -minded, and I want

00:46:56.780 --> 00:46:59.579
to use my skills to impact the kingdom in a greater

00:46:59.579 --> 00:47:00.960
way. You didn't know this was your exit strategy.

00:47:00.960 --> 00:47:02.639
No, I didn't know this was my exit strategy.

00:47:03.320 --> 00:47:05.400
But that's what he does sometimes. He brings

00:47:05.400 --> 00:47:07.619
in a storm and washes it all away so he can start

00:47:07.619 --> 00:47:10.880
afresh, you know, and set you up to, you know.

00:47:10.960 --> 00:47:14.039
I mean, I met Laura Logan because she, you know,

00:47:14.039 --> 00:47:16.000
going back to documentary, she was making a documentary

00:47:16.000 --> 00:47:18.559
around my story and the death of Roseanne Boylan.

00:47:19.179 --> 00:47:21.880
So it was, I mean, it was a gift that the Lord,

00:47:22.380 --> 00:47:25.480
gave me that because it was, I, I'm a recovering

00:47:25.480 --> 00:47:28.360
people pleaser. I'm still like every day there's,

00:47:28.360 --> 00:47:31.840
there's, you know, I want to be, you know, I

00:47:31.840 --> 00:47:33.920
justify it sometimes. Well, I want to be a good

00:47:33.920 --> 00:47:35.840
guy for the Lord. And, you know, but sometimes

00:47:35.840 --> 00:47:38.719
it's, it's there. That's also, you know, pleasing

00:47:38.719 --> 00:47:41.679
man, you know, and I had all these friends, quote

00:47:41.679 --> 00:47:44.840
unquote, you know, I had 300, 400 people at my

00:47:44.840 --> 00:47:47.760
40th birthday and Gary P. Nunn played. And no,

00:47:47.820 --> 00:47:49.880
those people all disappeared when all this January

00:47:49.880 --> 00:47:53.030
6th came, you know, But there's a, you know,

00:47:53.050 --> 00:47:56.989
it really revealed, you know, I prayed for brokenness

00:47:56.989 --> 00:47:59.630
again. And that was like the big last thing that

00:47:59.630 --> 00:48:03.010
God needed to strip me of was, you know, the

00:48:03.010 --> 00:48:07.190
fear of man. And I'm telling you, when you've

00:48:07.190 --> 00:48:09.949
gone through fire like this and your whole reputation

00:48:09.949 --> 00:48:13.070
of firestorm in the media of, you know, Texas

00:48:13.070 --> 00:48:16.030
Monthly did this huge hit piece on me and said

00:48:16.030 --> 00:48:18.349
I was hiding out from the FBI, told a blatant

00:48:18.349 --> 00:48:20.780
lie while I was talking to the FBI. So how can

00:48:20.780 --> 00:48:24.519
I be hiding out? But it was, I know all my parents,

00:48:24.699 --> 00:48:28.260
you know, it was our family name. It was hard

00:48:28.260 --> 00:48:30.719
for them to endure because it's their son, but

00:48:30.719 --> 00:48:33.360
it's also like everybody's calling them and there's

00:48:33.360 --> 00:48:35.780
an embarrassment and shame aspect of it for all

00:48:35.780 --> 00:48:40.239
of us. And my siblings, especially, you know,

00:48:40.239 --> 00:48:42.079
I remember my brother saying, of course this

00:48:42.079 --> 00:48:44.059
happened to Luke Coffey, you know, it's like,

00:48:44.119 --> 00:48:49.090
so anyway, so it's been just. But again, God

00:48:49.090 --> 00:48:51.969
prepared me for this. And I, you know, and I,

00:48:52.010 --> 00:48:55.510
through what he told me, I said, this is, you

00:48:55.510 --> 00:48:57.329
know, the Lord told me that I was going to go

00:48:57.329 --> 00:48:59.869
through a storm and he's going to use it. He's

00:48:59.869 --> 00:49:02.030
going to use it, but we have to lean into the

00:49:02.030 --> 00:49:04.989
storm and cause he's going to, it's, it's coming

00:49:04.989 --> 00:49:07.090
either way in our lives, you know, at some point,

00:49:07.110 --> 00:49:09.489
you know, that not every person will experience,

00:49:09.650 --> 00:49:14.250
uh, unconditional love. But I think every person

00:49:14.250 --> 00:49:16.510
can relate to something that they've suffered

00:49:16.510 --> 00:49:18.849
through if they've lived long enough. And that's

00:49:18.849 --> 00:49:22.429
a common thread. We see in David's life, he ran

00:49:22.429 --> 00:49:24.710
towards the giant. He didn't run away. He ran

00:49:24.710 --> 00:49:28.170
towards him. It was totally insane in the natural,

00:49:28.349 --> 00:49:30.969
but he wasn't operating in the natural. We also

00:49:30.969 --> 00:49:34.250
see that an eagle doesn't fly away from the storm.

00:49:34.309 --> 00:49:35.989
They fly over the storm, but they've got to fly

00:49:35.989 --> 00:49:39.190
into it to get over it. And there's this principle

00:49:39.190 --> 00:49:43.710
that God has set up where, Those who you see

00:49:43.710 --> 00:49:46.329
Joshua and the Lord saying everywhere you go,

00:49:46.369 --> 00:49:48.369
your feet tread. I'm going to give you that land.

00:49:48.489 --> 00:49:51.110
And he did. He stepped into it. And it was insane

00:49:51.110 --> 00:49:54.090
the things they did. They marched around a fortress

00:49:54.090 --> 00:49:56.710
for seven days and blew a trumpet. Like what?

00:49:57.110 --> 00:49:59.869
But God will bring us into these things that

00:49:59.869 --> 00:50:04.909
make no sense to anyone and even ourselves. Again,

00:50:05.469 --> 00:50:07.190
if he gives you the whole story, you'd probably

00:50:07.190 --> 00:50:10.360
bolt and run. Just like, you know. It's happened

00:50:10.360 --> 00:50:13.539
before, right? Jonah. Exactly. We go the other

00:50:13.539 --> 00:50:17.219
way. And yet I'm glad he doesn't tell us the

00:50:17.219 --> 00:50:19.440
whole story. Right. I'm glad that because what

00:50:19.440 --> 00:50:22.039
he does, he creates dependence on him. If you

00:50:22.039 --> 00:50:23.699
don't know the whole picture, you're just getting

00:50:23.699 --> 00:50:26.199
pieces of it. All you know to do is cling to

00:50:26.199 --> 00:50:28.179
him. And that's what you were doing. You're just

00:50:28.179 --> 00:50:30.780
hanging on, almost like hanging on for the ride.

00:50:30.920 --> 00:50:33.179
Oh, yeah. You know, and not knowing what's coming

00:50:33.179 --> 00:50:36.239
next. Yeah. Well, and I just think, too, just

00:50:36.239 --> 00:50:40.500
if we if we look at. Our life, our life story

00:50:40.500 --> 00:50:43.559
and the Holy Spirit is in us. Like Steve talked

00:50:43.559 --> 00:50:46.519
about that there's that light of the Holy Spirit

00:50:46.519 --> 00:50:50.719
that exists in us, that every day, you know,

00:50:50.719 --> 00:50:53.059
somebody, God could put somebody in your path

00:50:53.059 --> 00:50:56.900
that you could impact, you know, because of where

00:50:56.900 --> 00:50:59.659
you are. That is a Holy Spirit moment. Absolutely.

00:50:59.719 --> 00:51:02.340
But you have to have the eyes to see and the

00:51:02.340 --> 00:51:06.329
ears to hear, you know, and be bold. to make

00:51:06.329 --> 00:51:10.130
use of that moment. But if you're timid or if

00:51:10.130 --> 00:51:12.869
you're just unaware or if you're completely consumed

00:51:12.869 --> 00:51:16.309
with yourself and your desires and all those,

00:51:16.510 --> 00:51:18.550
then you don't have the eyes to see or the ears

00:51:18.550 --> 00:51:22.250
to hear. But I experienced that within my story

00:51:22.250 --> 00:51:25.429
through it was, and again, well, these are just

00:51:25.429 --> 00:51:27.630
previews for maybe another episode, but I had

00:51:27.630 --> 00:51:31.130
a homeless man that intertwined. I'll share this

00:51:31.130 --> 00:51:34.429
one very quickly. Because this is just an example

00:51:34.429 --> 00:51:36.489
of how the Lord works. He sent me a homeless

00:51:36.489 --> 00:51:40.630
man early on after Elizabeth died. Homeless man,

00:51:40.750 --> 00:51:43.650
a black guy that had just gotten out of prison.

00:51:45.690 --> 00:51:49.789
But it wasn't a businessman in a suit. It wasn't

00:51:49.789 --> 00:51:53.050
this CEO. I mean, it was just the nature of Jesus.

00:51:54.010 --> 00:51:57.409
So I know we're jumping around a little bit,

00:51:57.489 --> 00:51:59.849
but this is just, I think the Holy Spirit guided

00:51:59.849 --> 00:52:04.730
me here. I had prayed for God. I was, my friends

00:52:04.730 --> 00:52:06.929
were trying to get me to come out. I'd moved

00:52:06.929 --> 00:52:09.170
back to Texas after my accident. And I thought

00:52:09.170 --> 00:52:12.389
I was that the Lord was going to use me to help

00:52:12.389 --> 00:52:15.329
her family and grieve. And they just didn't want

00:52:15.329 --> 00:52:18.449
to see me. And a lot of the pain and hurt went

00:52:18.449 --> 00:52:21.969
towards me and her dad forgave the driver and,

00:52:22.070 --> 00:52:24.730
and kind of the bitterness went towards me because

00:52:24.730 --> 00:52:26.130
they didn't want her to move away. And I took

00:52:26.130 --> 00:52:28.829
her away. So, and that's another big thing with

00:52:28.829 --> 00:52:32.989
forgiveness and where, you know, unforgiveness.

00:52:33.030 --> 00:52:36.550
And it's very much, again, it's when you're holding

00:52:36.550 --> 00:52:38.710
onto that, that unforgiveness, that's not good

00:52:38.710 --> 00:52:42.599
for you. And, you know, obviously we have been

00:52:42.599 --> 00:52:47.340
shown complete grace from our Savior. And the

00:52:47.340 --> 00:52:50.159
more you hold on to it and let bitterness, you

00:52:50.159 --> 00:52:54.059
know, it's not good for us. But during that period,

00:52:54.139 --> 00:52:56.659
I became bitter at the driver because he was

00:52:56.659 --> 00:52:58.780
forgiven and I wasn't. And they didn't want to

00:52:58.780 --> 00:53:02.969
see me for a long time, her family. But through

00:53:02.969 --> 00:53:05.929
this homeless man, God brought her dad and I

00:53:05.929 --> 00:53:08.730
together. Just ironically, it's just a beautiful

00:53:08.730 --> 00:53:11.550
story. But and you're a music guy. Jimmy was

00:53:11.550 --> 00:53:14.150
in a band and has been involved in the music

00:53:14.150 --> 00:53:17.349
scene. But we had the song Chris Christopherson

00:53:17.349 --> 00:53:20.190
originally wrote it, me and Bobby McGee. And

00:53:20.190 --> 00:53:22.429
but it was Elizabeth's song and it would come

00:53:22.429 --> 00:53:25.070
up at all these major moments. And this is just.

00:53:25.340 --> 00:53:27.739
the this is how beautiful god has like these

00:53:27.739 --> 00:53:30.840
god winks i think especially after suffering

00:53:30.840 --> 00:53:34.519
or grief and that he gives these little uh little

00:53:34.519 --> 00:53:37.199
you know moments where it's it's so personal

00:53:37.199 --> 00:53:39.619
that you know it's from the lord you know so

00:53:39.619 --> 00:53:42.639
um you know elizabeth called me you know her

00:53:42.639 --> 00:53:45.119
bobby and it would just like we were leaving

00:53:45.119 --> 00:53:47.639
when i was driving to la her her parents were

00:53:47.639 --> 00:53:49.219
bawling crying it's the last time her father

00:53:49.219 --> 00:53:53.219
saw her and i drove her with all her packed car

00:53:53.219 --> 00:53:56.559
and And she was bawling. She was like, I just

00:53:56.559 --> 00:53:58.099
wish you knew my daddy better. And I was like,

00:53:58.139 --> 00:54:01.039
babe, we can have you stay for another six months

00:54:01.039 --> 00:54:02.820
while they get used to this idea. And she's like,

00:54:02.860 --> 00:54:04.980
no, this is our life, Luke Coffey. I want to

00:54:04.980 --> 00:54:06.639
go. She's like, let's turn on the radio. And

00:54:06.639 --> 00:54:09.260
so we turn it on, me and Bobby McGee. She's like,

00:54:09.340 --> 00:54:12.139
see, we're walking in God's will, Luke. And so

00:54:12.139 --> 00:54:15.550
that's what she connected this song to. So I

00:54:15.550 --> 00:54:18.170
was going fast forward a couple months after

00:54:18.170 --> 00:54:20.929
our accident. I moved back to Texas and Dallas.

00:54:21.030 --> 00:54:23.510
And my buddies were like, come out, coffee. You

00:54:23.510 --> 00:54:25.829
know, everybody wants to see you. And I was like,

00:54:25.889 --> 00:54:28.289
all right. And I remember I was crying in the

00:54:28.289 --> 00:54:30.909
shower. I was like, Lord, if it's your will,

00:54:31.030 --> 00:54:32.949
I need some encouragement tonight. I want to

00:54:32.949 --> 00:54:35.710
sign that Elizabeth still attached to this world.

00:54:35.769 --> 00:54:39.010
And I think about what Steve said. And even during

00:54:39.010 --> 00:54:42.309
my trial, I just remember there was a big. It

00:54:42.309 --> 00:54:45.630
was a big room. It's a dark, you know, the federal

00:54:45.630 --> 00:54:47.789
building, the federal courthouse is a dark place.

00:54:47.889 --> 00:54:50.070
It is, yeah. And there were these Antifa people

00:54:50.070 --> 00:54:52.289
that were just giving, just, you know, looking

00:54:52.289 --> 00:54:54.809
at me the whole time. And I used, Jimmy, I used

00:54:54.809 --> 00:54:56.789
the whole, it was a five -day trial, but I told

00:54:56.789 --> 00:54:58.369
my whole story, and I was like, I'm going to

00:54:58.369 --> 00:55:00.530
testify of God's goodness, and this will be my

00:55:00.530 --> 00:55:04.090
testimony. You know, so. Be recorded. Yeah, exactly.

00:55:04.230 --> 00:55:05.829
But I remember looking up, and there's just,

00:55:05.909 --> 00:55:08.480
it's a big room, and there's. I just remember

00:55:08.480 --> 00:55:10.599
thinking about all the saints, you know, they're

00:55:10.599 --> 00:55:12.539
sitting in there and watching the heavenly host

00:55:12.539 --> 00:55:15.239
cloud of cloud of witnesses. But I prayed that

00:55:15.239 --> 00:55:17.739
night. I was like, Lord, I want to, well, Elizabeth

00:55:17.739 --> 00:55:20.039
was my biggest cheerleader on earth. I just want

00:55:20.039 --> 00:55:22.480
to know that she's somehow still attached. If

00:55:22.480 --> 00:55:26.400
it's her will give me a sign. So my, my buddy

00:55:26.400 --> 00:55:28.440
picks me up and I'd shared this at Dallas real

00:55:28.440 --> 00:55:31.659
estate ministries. I, I mean, I, right after

00:55:31.659 --> 00:55:34.440
I got home, God, God started opening these doors

00:55:34.440 --> 00:55:37.960
for me to share my story. And it's like there

00:55:37.960 --> 00:55:40.719
was a article written about my story. It said

00:55:40.719 --> 00:55:43.780
when a young girl dies, an editorial piece, human

00:55:43.780 --> 00:55:46.460
impulses to reach for an explanation. And they

00:55:46.460 --> 00:55:50.480
use her funeral saying that God must have wanted

00:55:50.480 --> 00:55:53.679
her home. It's like, that's not right. God doesn't.

00:55:54.139 --> 00:55:57.059
Doesn't allow that. He's up there crying. He's

00:55:57.059 --> 00:55:59.099
not. I'm basically saying he's not sovereign.

00:55:59.199 --> 00:56:02.619
And he lists all these, you know, the Ugandan

00:56:02.619 --> 00:56:06.500
or Rwandan genocide. And God, he's he doesn't

00:56:06.500 --> 00:56:10.219
want children to die, doesn't. So the other editor

00:56:10.219 --> 00:56:12.300
of the paper was in my dad's cabin at Kanaka

00:56:12.300 --> 00:56:14.840
Camp in Missouri when he in the 70s. And he reached

00:56:14.840 --> 00:56:17.659
out to my father and he said, would everyone's

00:56:17.659 --> 00:56:19.239
angry about this article? And it's like, would

00:56:19.239 --> 00:56:22.710
Luke want to respond? um, to this article. Cause

00:56:22.710 --> 00:56:25.170
he's, you know, talked about in this article

00:56:25.170 --> 00:56:28.130
and I'd already said, I'm supposed to share this

00:56:28.130 --> 00:56:30.269
story. My dad says, Luke, would you, here's your

00:56:30.269 --> 00:56:33.230
opportunity. And I had written a letter to the

00:56:33.230 --> 00:56:35.670
park cities, Holland park community and Dallas

00:56:35.670 --> 00:56:38.409
or whatever, uh, three weeks before. And I said,

00:56:38.449 --> 00:56:40.010
I've already written the response. It's complete

00:56:40.010 --> 00:56:42.489
opposite of what this guy's saying. And I just

00:56:42.489 --> 00:56:45.110
tamed the title when I, when a beautiful young

00:56:45.110 --> 00:56:48.489
girl dies, a faithful response should be to trust

00:56:48.489 --> 00:56:52.630
in Jesus. Wow. And that article was just, I got

00:56:52.630 --> 00:56:55.530
probably 3 ,000 emails from people that had forwarded

00:56:55.530 --> 00:56:57.769
it to, that reminded them in their suffering

00:56:57.769 --> 00:57:00.949
what they had gone through, that Jesus is there

00:57:00.949 --> 00:57:04.170
in the storm, you know? And so through Dallas

00:57:04.170 --> 00:57:05.849
Real Estate Ministries asked me to speak from

00:57:05.849 --> 00:57:09.530
that and had some opposition from the enemy,

00:57:09.670 --> 00:57:11.690
like through our close family friend that's like,

00:57:11.769 --> 00:57:13.690
it's too early, Luke, to share your story. And

00:57:13.690 --> 00:57:15.409
I was like, well, it's going to hurt the Toon

00:57:15.409 --> 00:57:16.869
family, Elizabeth's family. I was like, well.

00:57:17.559 --> 00:57:19.679
They don't want to talk to me right now, so I've

00:57:19.679 --> 00:57:21.840
got to walk this journey on my own. I know God

00:57:21.840 --> 00:57:24.019
said to walk through these doors and share the

00:57:24.019 --> 00:57:26.679
story. And so I shared the Bobby McGee because

00:57:26.679 --> 00:57:30.380
it came up in the hospital. So my buddy that

00:57:30.380 --> 00:57:32.460
picked me up knew of the significance of this

00:57:32.460 --> 00:57:35.760
song. He picks me up. We go and park. And on

00:57:35.760 --> 00:57:37.780
the way, he's like, how are you doing, coffee?

00:57:37.960 --> 00:57:39.320
And I was like, man, I'm really struggling. I

00:57:39.320 --> 00:57:42.079
actually just asked the Lord. for a miracle or

00:57:42.079 --> 00:57:44.539
some sign that you know because i want to know

00:57:44.539 --> 00:57:47.340
elizabeth's attached and i believe that she knows

00:57:47.340 --> 00:57:49.639
what's going on and i just needed some encouragement

00:57:49.639 --> 00:57:52.800
and so we literally are parking as i finish that

00:57:52.800 --> 00:57:55.039
statement we get out and this homeless man is

00:57:55.039 --> 00:57:57.460
crossing the street and he's a pudgy guy with

00:57:57.460 --> 00:58:00.340
a big beard and he's singing freedom's just another

00:58:00.340 --> 00:58:03.559
word for nothing left to lose and my buddy goes

00:58:03.559 --> 00:58:06.780
coffee isn't that the song and he turns to me

00:58:06.780 --> 00:58:09.320
and he goes son, that song means something to

00:58:09.320 --> 00:58:11.320
you, doesn't it? And I go, actually, yes, sir,

00:58:11.340 --> 00:58:12.800
it does. And he goes, well, the good Lord told

00:58:12.800 --> 00:58:14.500
me to start singing. So I guess I picked the

00:58:14.500 --> 00:58:17.480
right one. Wow. And so I go, sir, what's your

00:58:17.480 --> 00:58:19.639
name? And he goes, Gary. And I go, Gary, Luke

00:58:19.639 --> 00:58:21.260
coffee. Can I take you get some barbecue tomorrow?

00:58:21.460 --> 00:58:23.840
And he's like, Luke, I'd love that. So I was

00:58:23.840 --> 00:58:25.320
like, I'll pick you up right here. So I'll pick

00:58:25.320 --> 00:58:27.719
you up at noon and took, picked him up, took

00:58:27.719 --> 00:58:30.460
him to Sonny Brian's barbecue on, on a lover's

00:58:30.460 --> 00:58:34.559
lane. And this guy, but he said before Luke,

00:58:34.960 --> 00:58:36.619
I want to hear the significance of that song,

00:58:36.699 --> 00:58:39.059
but I want to first tell you, God connects me

00:58:39.059 --> 00:58:41.800
with people that have gone through or in the

00:58:41.800 --> 00:58:43.559
midst of a storm and suffering. And he said,

00:58:43.599 --> 00:58:47.860
having your heart broken will be the greatest

00:58:47.860 --> 00:58:49.980
gift of your life because it makes you more compassionate

00:58:49.980 --> 00:58:53.559
like Jesus. And and he said, and just so you

00:58:53.559 --> 00:58:55.940
know, I did hear the Lord's told me that right

00:58:55.940 --> 00:58:57.480
when I started crossing that street, he said,

00:58:57.500 --> 00:59:00.840
sing, Gary. And the song I picked that song was

00:59:00.840 --> 00:59:03.199
I had a band at Texas Tech University for five

00:59:03.199 --> 00:59:08.099
years. And I opened up every every set with Chris

00:59:08.099 --> 00:59:11.420
Christopherson's me and Bob McGee. So and so

00:59:11.420 --> 00:59:15.239
then I go in to tell him. the significance of

00:59:15.239 --> 00:59:17.780
that song. And, and, and for, we sat there for

00:59:17.780 --> 00:59:20.260
four hours, Jimmy. And at the end of it, he said,

00:59:20.320 --> 00:59:21.920
Luke, now I just want to encourage you. And what

00:59:21.920 --> 00:59:24.380
did I pray for? I prayed for a sign and encouragement.

00:59:24.440 --> 00:59:27.099
He's God sent this. So he grabbed my hand and

00:59:27.099 --> 00:59:30.139
broke up this ratty Bible and was just, he didn't

00:59:30.139 --> 00:59:31.900
even look hardly look at it. It was just for

00:59:31.900 --> 00:59:35.360
just our, our eyes were connecting like two souls,

00:59:35.440 --> 00:59:37.699
you know, just connecting. And he was just looking

00:59:37.699 --> 00:59:40.400
at my eye and just. reciting scripture, Job,

00:59:40.679 --> 00:59:44.079
you know, all Paul's letters. And just, you know,

00:59:44.099 --> 00:59:47.380
for two or three hours, we were there. And I

00:59:47.380 --> 00:59:48.880
was like, bro, this is going to be a good scene

00:59:48.880 --> 00:59:50.860
in the movie. And if I can find you, I'll let

00:59:50.860 --> 00:59:54.099
you play yourself. And so what was amazing is

00:59:54.099 --> 00:59:57.539
I drop them off, fast forward seven weeks, the

00:59:57.539 --> 01:00:02.719
week before Easter. And Larry and Patty, too,

01:00:02.760 --> 01:00:04.519
and Elizabeth's parents are walking into this

01:00:04.519 --> 01:00:07.019
Louie's, this Italian place around the same area

01:00:07.019 --> 01:00:11.039
I met Gary. And he's walking in with them, and

01:00:11.039 --> 01:00:12.559
this is one of the favorite restaurants to go

01:00:12.559 --> 01:00:15.679
to. And he sees these two homeless men, and he

01:00:15.679 --> 01:00:17.460
goes, Patty, I'll meet you inside. And he goes

01:00:17.460 --> 01:00:20.380
up to these two guys and goes, gentlemen, I don't

01:00:20.380 --> 01:00:21.940
know what it feels like to be homeless, but I

01:00:21.940 --> 01:00:24.039
now know what brokenness is. I lost my little

01:00:24.039 --> 01:00:26.159
girl in a hit -and -run accident in Hollywood

01:00:26.159 --> 01:00:35.199
nine months ago. And if this can help you out,

01:00:35.380 --> 01:00:38.389
this will bring me a lot of joy. Takes $80 and

01:00:38.389 --> 01:00:40.969
hands it to this guy and he goes, you know, Mr.

01:00:41.030 --> 01:00:44.389
Toon, I heard a similar story. And there's another

01:00:44.389 --> 01:00:46.530
man that loves your daughter, too, that's suffering.

01:00:46.889 --> 01:00:49.489
And guess what? Easter's on the horizon. It's

01:00:49.489 --> 01:00:52.309
time for new beginnings. And it was Gary. Oh,

01:00:52.489 --> 01:00:54.969
my God. So that weekend, they call me at the

01:00:54.969 --> 01:00:59.099
end of that week and he says. Luke, I met a we

01:00:59.099 --> 01:01:01.320
have a mutual friend I met this week and he's

01:01:01.320 --> 01:01:03.260
like, can you? I was like, I didn't know what

01:01:03.260 --> 01:01:04.619
he meant. He's like, can you come down to the

01:01:04.619 --> 01:01:07.719
ranch? And so that weekend was when they said,

01:01:07.800 --> 01:01:09.500
Luke, thank you for loving us unconditionally,

01:01:09.500 --> 01:01:11.940
because I'd send them letters and text them.

01:01:12.039 --> 01:01:14.480
And I was just like, Lord, give me the grace.

01:01:14.500 --> 01:01:16.619
Just love them unconditionally during this period.

01:01:16.880 --> 01:01:20.880
And and yeah, so they came down and we. uh they

01:01:20.880 --> 01:01:22.920
just said thank you for loving us when we couldn't

01:01:22.920 --> 01:01:25.079
love you luke every time we see you we see her

01:01:25.079 --> 01:01:28.420
future that she will never have and and uh we

01:01:28.420 --> 01:01:30.199
just thank you for loving us unconditionally

01:01:30.199 --> 01:01:32.460
and you know so that began our healing phase

01:01:32.460 --> 01:01:36.739
which got us to Which led me to be able to let

01:01:36.739 --> 01:01:39.099
go of the anger and bitterness I had for the

01:01:39.099 --> 01:01:43.079
driver. So when we got to our trial, and by the

01:01:43.079 --> 01:01:45.039
way, I've done more time than the hit and run

01:01:45.039 --> 01:01:50.000
driver in prison. But I was able to fully, I

01:01:50.000 --> 01:01:52.699
wanted him to know about Elizabeth and the life

01:01:52.699 --> 01:01:55.599
he took. So I printed out pictures of her and

01:01:55.599 --> 01:01:59.550
her family and her and I and her alone. And I

01:01:59.550 --> 01:02:02.210
said, I wanted to know why I forgive him. It's

01:02:02.210 --> 01:02:06.409
because of the grace of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

01:02:06.510 --> 01:02:08.590
And I said, I hope I get to introduce you one

01:02:08.590 --> 01:02:12.449
day to Elizabeth in heaven. And the judge was

01:02:12.449 --> 01:02:15.610
crying. And he said, I've never seen so much.

01:02:15.690 --> 01:02:18.570
And her dad said a beautiful thing, too. And

01:02:18.570 --> 01:02:21.829
it was hard because when he got his sentence

01:02:21.829 --> 01:02:27.500
was. 120 days and he did i think he did uh 40

01:02:27.500 --> 01:02:30.719
days of 120 days but the judge said i've never

01:02:30.719 --> 01:02:33.219
seen so much grace given to someone that didn't

01:02:33.219 --> 01:02:35.960
deserve it um because he was still denying that

01:02:35.960 --> 01:02:37.960
he knew he hit us and he's like he held up a

01:02:37.960 --> 01:02:40.420
big photo of our like mr coffee's blood is all

01:02:40.420 --> 01:02:42.679
over your car and he totaled it i don't even

01:02:42.679 --> 01:02:45.739
know how you made it to hide it a block and a

01:02:45.739 --> 01:02:48.219
half away it was a hit and run you know But that

01:02:48.219 --> 01:02:50.840
just shows you that God is in the details. He

01:02:50.840 --> 01:02:53.320
is in the details. He cares about the details.

01:02:53.460 --> 01:02:55.760
Because I remember when I was trying to decide

01:02:55.760 --> 01:02:59.260
if I moved to Austin or Hollywood right out of

01:02:59.260 --> 01:03:01.099
college, it was like, does he care where I am?

01:03:01.260 --> 01:03:03.539
And he does. He cares about the details. He will

01:03:03.539 --> 01:03:06.280
guide us when we ask. He will direct our steps.

01:03:06.659 --> 01:03:10.239
That's Psalm 37, 23. It says he'll order our

01:03:10.239 --> 01:03:13.500
steps and he delights in the details of our lives.

01:03:13.539 --> 01:03:15.780
That's in the New Living Translation. The other

01:03:15.780 --> 01:03:19.039
one says he delights in our way. But I love the

01:03:19.039 --> 01:03:22.519
NLT on that. He delights in every detail of our

01:03:22.519 --> 01:03:26.019
lives. You know, the fact that he had Gary, all

01:03:26.019 --> 01:03:28.480
the interconnectedness of things that have to

01:03:28.480 --> 01:03:30.539
happen, the complexity of all that, of getting

01:03:30.539 --> 01:03:33.340
him in that intersection with you at just the

01:03:33.340 --> 01:03:35.940
right time. There's so many miracles connected

01:03:35.940 --> 01:03:39.039
to just getting in there. And everything about

01:03:39.039 --> 01:03:40.659
it. I want Dad to share this because this will

01:03:40.659 --> 01:03:43.820
set up for another episode if we do it. Yeah,

01:03:43.820 --> 01:03:45.480
we'll do it to be continued. Yeah, but will you

01:03:45.480 --> 01:03:48.739
share the Big Ben thing? Because the supernatural

01:03:48.739 --> 01:03:53.099
is undermined. We have a supernatural God. Absolutely.

01:03:53.380 --> 01:03:56.739
He'll work in natural ways, but he still is a

01:03:56.739 --> 01:04:01.719
living book. Our testimonies are still happening

01:04:01.719 --> 01:04:04.380
of his goodness and amazing. The book of Acts

01:04:04.380 --> 01:04:06.400
is still happening. It's us. We're writing it

01:04:06.400 --> 01:04:09.199
now. Exactly. Go ahead and share that. Luke came

01:04:09.199 --> 01:04:12.940
back from L .A., and he was very depressed. And

01:04:12.940 --> 01:04:17.360
we loved, and we still do, love going out to

01:04:17.360 --> 01:04:21.000
Big Bend, the national park out on the Rio Grande

01:04:21.000 --> 01:04:25.440
River, Mexico. So we went up the river and had

01:04:25.440 --> 01:04:28.840
our tents in there. camping equipment on canoes

01:04:28.840 --> 01:04:34.420
and set up camp that night. His younger brother

01:04:34.420 --> 01:04:39.719
was with us and we were all in a tent. And that

01:04:39.719 --> 01:04:44.460
night, this is in probably March of 2007 or six,

01:04:44.539 --> 01:04:48.760
seven, seven. Luke was just, just back, but still

01:04:48.760 --> 01:04:54.079
grieving and depressed at night. The moon. It

01:04:54.079 --> 01:04:56.360
was a full moon, and it came over the Rio Grande

01:04:56.360 --> 01:04:59.139
River right above this Santa Elena Canyon, which

01:04:59.139 --> 01:05:02.400
is a famous canyon there. I don't know if you've

01:05:02.400 --> 01:05:06.659
ever been there, but it's really beautiful. It's

01:05:06.659 --> 01:05:10.079
gorgeous. So that was probably about 3 in the

01:05:10.079 --> 01:05:13.980
morning when this event happened. I mean, for

01:05:13.980 --> 01:05:16.119
the timing, it had to be right there. Right there,

01:05:16.139 --> 01:05:18.579
you know, spotlight. Spotlight on our campground.

01:05:18.880 --> 01:05:23.059
So Luke, prior to this happening, Luke couldn't

01:05:23.059 --> 01:05:26.199
sleep. He has trouble still at times sleeping

01:05:26.199 --> 01:05:31.139
and probably I was snoring too. That was the

01:05:31.139 --> 01:05:33.980
man. It's like a grizzly bear. He was snoring.

01:05:35.360 --> 01:05:37.800
So he said, I'm going to get up and I'm going

01:05:37.800 --> 01:05:39.599
to go down to the, I can't sleep. I'm going to

01:05:39.599 --> 01:05:40.699
go down to the river. Well, I didn't say anything

01:05:40.699 --> 01:05:42.760
to you. I just got up and went. Yeah. Oh, you

01:05:42.760 --> 01:05:47.880
did. Okay. Anyway, when he went down several

01:05:47.880 --> 01:05:54.780
minutes later, I began to hear a acapella. Female

01:05:54.780 --> 01:05:59.760
voice, beautiful. You know, the canyons, you

01:05:59.760 --> 01:06:04.559
know, the walls made it very beautiful, even

01:06:04.559 --> 01:06:07.519
more beautiful. Wow. We had not seen anybody

01:06:07.519 --> 01:06:10.440
on the river, you know, so I knew it was not

01:06:10.440 --> 01:06:14.840
somebody singing at 3 o 'clock in the morning.

01:06:15.059 --> 01:06:16.500
We hadn't seen anybody for three days. Some female.

01:06:16.619 --> 01:06:20.300
Yeah. I knew that's impossible. It didn't sound

01:06:20.300 --> 01:06:23.039
like any kind of animal either. It was a human

01:06:23.039 --> 01:06:27.179
voice, female voice. Human sounding. Yes. But

01:06:27.179 --> 01:06:30.199
it's very beautiful. And I wish to this day.

01:06:30.380 --> 01:06:32.519
In a tongues that you'd never heard of, right?

01:06:32.559 --> 01:06:35.500
In a language I'd never heard of. I speak Spanish

01:06:35.500 --> 01:06:38.639
and English. And Creole. This was neither one.

01:06:40.340 --> 01:06:46.119
And I knew it wasn't Luke because Luke doesn't

01:06:46.119 --> 01:06:51.099
have a very good singing voice. So I didn't know

01:06:51.099 --> 01:06:52.900
what it was. I mean, I really didn't. It was

01:06:52.900 --> 01:06:59.679
unimaginary. So the next morning, you know, I

01:06:59.679 --> 01:07:01.780
finally went to sleep. It stopped. I went to

01:07:01.780 --> 01:07:06.059
sleep. Luke stayed down on the river in one of

01:07:06.059 --> 01:07:08.559
the canoes, and he came back up to the campfire.

01:07:09.340 --> 01:07:13.139
And I asked him, Luke, did you happen to hear

01:07:13.139 --> 01:07:16.980
anything last night after you went down to the

01:07:16.980 --> 01:07:20.170
river? His eyes got really big. He said, yeah,

01:07:20.269 --> 01:07:25.070
I heard that. And I thought I was just imagining

01:07:25.070 --> 01:07:29.010
that. And I said, no, you weren't imagining it.

01:07:29.050 --> 01:07:34.309
I heard it too. We both heard it. And we both

01:07:34.309 --> 01:07:37.690
didn't know to this day. When I had prayed the

01:07:37.690 --> 01:07:40.889
two days before at the outfitter where we got

01:07:40.889 --> 01:07:43.989
in the kayaks, it was like, Lord, if it's your

01:07:43.989 --> 01:07:46.710
will. I would love a miracle out here, you know,

01:07:46.710 --> 01:07:49.110
to happen. I need some encouragement, you know?

01:07:49.610 --> 01:07:52.530
And, and then my brother goes, Luke, didn't you

01:07:52.530 --> 01:07:54.789
ask for something to happen? And cause Nate was

01:07:54.789 --> 01:07:57.269
slept through it. But the fact that God gave

01:07:57.269 --> 01:07:59.949
me, yeah, I went down there from my perspective

01:07:59.949 --> 01:08:02.250
and yeah, dad was snoring so loud. I went and

01:08:02.250 --> 01:08:04.610
got down there with these inflatable ducky kayaks,

01:08:04.610 --> 01:08:07.150
canoes, whatever. And just sleep in there. As

01:08:07.150 --> 01:08:10.500
soon as I got adjusted. It was like somebody

01:08:10.500 --> 01:08:12.719
was 10 feet away from me, but the acoustics of

01:08:12.719 --> 01:08:14.920
the canyon, it was just the most beautiful thing.

01:08:15.000 --> 01:08:17.239
I was like bawling, crying for 20 minutes. It

01:08:17.239 --> 01:08:19.359
was going on and on multiple harmonies, but one

01:08:19.359 --> 01:08:22.560
voice and just in this language, you know, this

01:08:22.560 --> 01:08:25.260
tongues I'd never heard. And, you know, I was

01:08:25.260 --> 01:08:27.699
just like looking around and no one was around.

01:08:27.760 --> 01:08:30.399
But the spotlight was the moon was right on us.

01:08:32.140 --> 01:08:34.779
And I was like, thank you, Lord, if that's in

01:08:34.779 --> 01:08:37.640
my imagination. But then I get up there and dad's

01:08:37.640 --> 01:08:39.159
cooking breakfast. He's like, son, that wasn't

01:08:39.159 --> 01:08:41.619
you. And I was like, but he gave me a witness

01:08:41.619 --> 01:08:43.960
of that. And that's what every time, every miracle

01:08:43.960 --> 01:08:46.880
that God, that's one of five or six just around

01:08:46.880 --> 01:08:50.699
Elizabeth, you know, and losing her. But God

01:08:50.699 --> 01:08:55.579
always gave me a witness, you know. I'll share

01:08:55.579 --> 01:08:57.460
this last one and I know we need to probably

01:08:57.460 --> 01:09:00.899
wrap it up. I was given an overdose in the hospital

01:09:00.899 --> 01:09:04.039
four days after that should have killed me. Four

01:09:04.039 --> 01:09:06.159
days after getting hit by a hit -and -run driver,

01:09:06.340 --> 01:09:08.220
they said I should be a quadriplegic or be brain

01:09:08.220 --> 01:09:11.199
dead. A nurse made a mistake. Made a human error.

01:09:11.439 --> 01:09:17.920
Getting him 24 hours worth of Dilaudid in one

01:09:17.920 --> 01:09:21.199
dose. And it was enough to kill a cow. And so

01:09:21.199 --> 01:09:23.300
they said after I survived, they said, you know,

01:09:23.380 --> 01:09:26.590
you were. you're a miracle that you're here and

01:09:26.590 --> 01:09:27.949
i was like well that's the second time your hospital

01:09:27.949 --> 01:09:31.470
said that in four days wow so if you know to

01:09:31.470 --> 01:09:34.229
think you know two different freak accidents

01:09:34.229 --> 01:09:35.909
that should have taken my life happening in four

01:09:35.909 --> 01:09:40.399
days but to set that up i My, you know, when

01:09:40.399 --> 01:09:42.399
Job was going through his suffering, he had his

01:09:42.399 --> 01:09:44.760
friends that sat with him for a while. So my

01:09:44.760 --> 01:09:47.239
three best friends found out I couldn't go to

01:09:47.239 --> 01:09:49.100
Elizabeth's funeral. And I was just like angry.

01:09:49.199 --> 01:09:50.979
I was like, God, you're not even giving me this.

01:09:50.979 --> 01:09:52.819
You know, I need this closure. And it's like

01:09:52.819 --> 01:09:54.720
this feels because the whole time it felt like

01:09:54.720 --> 01:09:56.720
a movie. I was living in this nightmare, my living

01:09:56.720 --> 01:10:00.600
nightmare. And it was. They said I had more people

01:10:00.600 --> 01:10:03.140
come see me than any other celebrity. I was a

01:10:03.140 --> 01:10:06.239
no one that week at Cedars -Sinai Hospital, and

01:10:06.239 --> 01:10:08.260
it was the love of God. So that was the difference

01:10:08.260 --> 01:10:12.399
of the January 6th. I did feel like God's people

01:10:12.399 --> 01:10:14.720
surrounded me and loved me, but the January 6th

01:10:14.720 --> 01:10:18.060
was me and the Lord and my parents, but my parents

01:10:18.060 --> 01:10:20.989
being my closest confidants. But it was a very

01:10:20.989 --> 01:10:23.250
different experience where strangers, when I

01:10:23.250 --> 01:10:24.550
moved back to Texas, said, I've been praying

01:10:24.550 --> 01:10:29.069
for you. And then I'm this, I call us January

01:10:29.069 --> 01:10:31.250
Sixers or modern day lepers because it was hard

01:10:31.250 --> 01:10:34.210
to find legal representation. And, you know,

01:10:34.229 --> 01:10:36.170
everybody's talking, gossiping about you. Right,

01:10:36.170 --> 01:10:38.989
right. You go from a hero to a zero. I mean,

01:10:39.029 --> 01:10:41.869
literally in a nanosecond. Yes, exactly. Just

01:10:41.869 --> 01:10:44.789
witnessing all that from the outside in, but

01:10:44.789 --> 01:10:47.909
also hearing your story. I so see the hand of

01:10:47.909 --> 01:10:50.890
God in all this because of our own family story.

01:10:51.170 --> 01:10:56.569
And that's another episode. But he orders our

01:10:56.569 --> 01:10:58.890
steps. He delights. That literally means he takes

01:10:58.890 --> 01:11:01.949
pleasure in the details. I've never believed

01:11:01.949 --> 01:11:03.869
it. Even before I was a Christian, I'd hear somebody

01:11:03.869 --> 01:11:05.949
say, oh, the devil's in the details. I'd be like,

01:11:06.109 --> 01:11:09.590
I'm not really a churchy guy or Christian, but

01:11:09.590 --> 01:11:12.369
I don't believe that. That doesn't sound right.

01:11:13.050 --> 01:11:16.029
And sure enough, as a follower of Jesus and learning

01:11:16.029 --> 01:11:18.329
the word and getting to know him and his character,

01:11:18.430 --> 01:11:22.170
his nature, it's God that's in the details. He's

01:11:22.170 --> 01:11:24.270
ordering our steps. He brought Gary along right

01:11:24.270 --> 01:11:27.569
at the right time. He brought that voice to you

01:11:27.569 --> 01:11:29.569
in the middle of the canyon that sounded ethereal

01:11:29.569 --> 01:11:32.609
and the reverb and all that off the canyon walls.

01:11:32.850 --> 01:11:36.710
Well, let me finish with this last little miracle.

01:11:36.850 --> 01:11:41.989
And it's, again, God wants to glorify himself,

01:11:42.369 --> 01:11:44.369
you know, through the Holy Spirit, through our

01:11:44.369 --> 01:11:47.270
lives. I mean, we want to be a living testimony

01:11:47.270 --> 01:11:50.489
of his goodness. And that's where we look at.

01:11:50.670 --> 01:11:54.229
If we change our perspective, it's not what we're

01:11:54.229 --> 01:11:55.649
going to get out of this life. It's what he's

01:11:55.649 --> 01:11:57.869
going to do through our lives. I mean, that's

01:11:57.869 --> 01:12:00.630
just, you know, every day, Lord, use me as a

01:12:00.630 --> 01:12:04.630
vessel of your spirit, of maybe a great lover.

01:12:05.390 --> 01:12:08.229
of people and, and, uh, showing an unconditional

01:12:08.229 --> 01:12:11.590
love and, and give me opportunities to share

01:12:11.590 --> 01:12:14.170
your truth in that love, you know, and, and cause

01:12:14.170 --> 01:12:17.229
you, you can go vomit on somebody, but you, you

01:12:17.229 --> 01:12:19.569
know, they're, they're not going to respond well.

01:12:19.989 --> 01:12:22.430
So you got to do it first in love and be able

01:12:22.430 --> 01:12:26.369
to, to breathe that truth on them. Um, so, but

01:12:26.369 --> 01:12:28.470
what was, what was incredible was, uh, this,

01:12:28.529 --> 01:12:31.020
okay, this particular. night before my overdose,

01:12:31.260 --> 01:12:34.220
I was praying like, or all night I was just vocalizing,

01:12:34.300 --> 01:12:36.399
Lord, take me away. I don't want to live. I don't

01:12:36.399 --> 01:12:39.399
want to see your family again. I'm ashamed, you

01:12:39.399 --> 01:12:42.340
know, and, uh, my three best buddies there, they

01:12:42.340 --> 01:12:44.220
were allowed to stay in my room and they just

01:12:44.220 --> 01:12:48.439
kind of listened. And, uh, and I, cause I found

01:12:48.439 --> 01:12:50.180
out I couldn't go to her funeral because my lungs,

01:12:50.239 --> 01:12:54.100
I had, so I had a broken leg. Um, almost most

01:12:54.100 --> 01:12:56.479
of my ribs were broken, collapsed lungs, you

01:12:56.479 --> 01:12:58.789
know, I have two scars right here. They put bilateral

01:12:58.789 --> 01:13:01.949
chest tubes through my ribs, um, without any

01:13:01.949 --> 01:13:05.289
pain that saved my life. No, in the, cause I,

01:13:05.329 --> 01:13:07.869
my lungs were collapsed in the street. Yeah.

01:13:07.930 --> 01:13:10.869
They put, that's what saved my life, Jimmy. So,

01:13:10.869 --> 01:13:13.090
um, through, and it was painful cause you didn't

01:13:13.090 --> 01:13:15.449
have any pain medicine. And that's what I remember

01:13:15.449 --> 01:13:18.270
just laying in the street. I called out Elizabeth

01:13:18.270 --> 01:13:20.510
and the collapse. And I was like, I could not

01:13:20.510 --> 01:13:24.810
breathe. Yeah. And, uh, so. And my buddies were

01:13:24.810 --> 01:13:26.510
with me all night. And then around four in the

01:13:26.510 --> 01:13:31.550
morning, one of my buddies says, you know, Luke,

01:13:31.630 --> 01:13:33.890
I was taking my Southwest flight up here and

01:13:33.890 --> 01:13:37.029
I opened the window and this light, I had just

01:13:37.029 --> 01:13:39.529
opened the Bible and this light hit this first

01:13:39.529 --> 01:13:43.890
Job 42 .5. And it says, I've heard about you

01:13:43.890 --> 01:13:46.010
before, but now I've seen you in my own eyes.

01:13:46.250 --> 01:13:49.670
And it's after Job had gone through suffering.

01:13:50.359 --> 01:13:52.359
that he actually understood the nature of god

01:13:52.359 --> 01:13:55.159
and christ really to come and it was through

01:13:55.159 --> 01:13:58.000
it was after suffering i've heard about you but

01:13:58.000 --> 01:14:00.579
now i've seen you And that's the difference is

01:14:00.579 --> 01:14:03.720
like when you go through the fire, you see him

01:14:03.720 --> 01:14:05.619
because you need him and you're on your knees.

01:14:06.159 --> 01:14:08.640
So I said, you know, he said, Luke, I think we

01:14:08.640 --> 01:14:09.779
can be bitter and angry the rest of your life.

01:14:09.840 --> 01:14:11.279
And this is for everybody. You can be bitter

01:14:11.279 --> 01:14:12.579
and angry the rest of your life for what you've

01:14:12.579 --> 01:14:15.720
been through, or you can trust that God has a

01:14:15.720 --> 01:14:19.359
plan and believe Romans 8, 28, that he works

01:14:19.359 --> 01:14:21.039
all things for the good of those who love him

01:14:21.039 --> 01:14:23.119
and are called according to his purpose. If you,

01:14:23.119 --> 01:14:26.720
you know, we are called as believers, there's

01:14:26.720 --> 01:14:29.560
a purpose behind our existence. Outside of our

01:14:29.560 --> 01:14:33.420
fleshly desires and wants in this world. And

01:14:33.420 --> 01:14:35.920
it's to be used for the glory of the Lord. And

01:14:35.920 --> 01:14:40.119
to our lives, story is the greatest way to impact

01:14:40.119 --> 01:14:43.279
and break through hardened hearts. Because it

01:14:43.279 --> 01:14:46.260
makes, I'm telling you, just opening up and sharing

01:14:46.260 --> 01:14:48.220
and just being transparent with people. People

01:14:48.220 --> 01:14:51.539
are hungry for truth. And they don't want preachy,

01:14:51.600 --> 01:14:55.149
you know. These celebrity pastors, they want

01:14:55.149 --> 01:14:58.449
real people, you know, and real stories and raw,

01:14:58.649 --> 01:15:04.550
you know, not polished, you know. And so he's

01:15:04.550 --> 01:15:06.270
my buddy was like, I think, bitter and angry

01:15:06.270 --> 01:15:07.850
at trust that God has a plan in this. And I was

01:15:07.850 --> 01:15:11.010
like, Elizabeth, that's what she showed me, that

01:15:11.010 --> 01:15:13.210
God is sovereign. And she didn't believe in any

01:15:13.210 --> 01:15:15.949
coincidence. And then there's a providential

01:15:15.949 --> 01:15:18.529
plan. And I was like, I don't want to be angry

01:15:18.529 --> 01:15:23.560
in her. with her being gone. Um, she was the

01:15:23.560 --> 01:15:25.760
most joyful person I ever knew. And I want to,

01:15:25.760 --> 01:15:28.619
I want to, uh, be a reflection of what she showed

01:15:28.619 --> 01:15:31.260
me, but I wish God would give me a mission and

01:15:31.260 --> 01:15:33.420
let me see her have a dream or talk to her. And

01:15:33.420 --> 01:15:34.960
I'm telling you, you know, set up for future

01:15:34.960 --> 01:15:37.680
because God gave me all three. But right after

01:15:37.680 --> 01:15:40.180
that, uh, he said, well, my buddy said, well,

01:15:40.220 --> 01:15:42.039
let's pray for that. God can do anything as well.

01:15:42.039 --> 01:15:44.039
Luke. So my three best friends pray around my,

01:15:44.100 --> 01:15:49.600
my, um, hospital bed. And her birthday was going

01:15:49.600 --> 01:15:52.760
to be the following day. Her funeral was on her

01:15:52.760 --> 01:15:55.760
birthday. And they made it like a wedding. So

01:15:55.760 --> 01:15:58.800
we prayed that prayer. And I'm telling you, Jimmy,

01:15:58.859 --> 01:16:01.000
at the end of it, it felt like a supernatural,

01:16:01.439 --> 01:16:04.600
like I felt like a shower of just that peace

01:16:04.600 --> 01:16:07.539
that surpasses all understanding. Just tingling,

01:16:07.539 --> 01:16:12.039
but like literally rain like over me. And as

01:16:12.039 --> 01:16:15.220
I opened up my eyes, this woman was rolling in

01:16:15.220 --> 01:16:21.090
a full harp. Okay. A full six, whatever, large,

01:16:21.149 --> 01:16:26.229
the big, and she said, you know, sir, could I

01:16:26.229 --> 01:16:28.050
play for you? And we're all like amazed because

01:16:28.050 --> 01:16:30.270
it's four 30 in the morning and I'm in a regular

01:16:30.270 --> 01:16:33.130
room and she starts playing this heavenly music

01:16:33.130 --> 01:16:36.770
and, and for 20 minutes and we're all, you know,

01:16:36.770 --> 01:16:38.829
puddles, you know, we're all bawling, crying.

01:16:39.170 --> 01:16:43.350
And she, she wheels it. She said, God bless you

01:16:43.350 --> 01:16:45.609
and wheels it out. And then right after my favorite

01:16:45.609 --> 01:16:48.250
nurse who was a believer, and made the human

01:16:48.250 --> 01:16:50.149
error and gave me the overdose came in and said,

01:16:50.229 --> 01:16:53.369
Iris, did you see the harpist jaw of harpist

01:16:53.369 --> 01:16:55.470
coming around in the middle of the night? She

01:16:55.470 --> 01:17:00.590
said, what harpist? And yeah. And she said, Luke,

01:17:00.630 --> 01:17:02.890
we made exception to have your friends here.

01:17:02.989 --> 01:17:04.390
It was like, we don't have, you know, sometimes

01:17:04.390 --> 01:17:08.050
during Christmas we have, yeah, we have, we have

01:17:08.050 --> 01:17:09.850
musicians coming around singing Christmas carols,

01:17:09.890 --> 01:17:13.100
but we don't have the floors closed. Wow. And

01:17:13.100 --> 01:17:15.220
my three best friends were there and witnessed

01:17:15.220 --> 01:17:20.539
it. So right after that, Iris gave me, you know,

01:17:20.539 --> 01:17:22.479
and all week I was also, for two days, didn't

01:17:22.479 --> 01:17:25.359
have medical insurance. I was going to owe $279

01:17:25.359 --> 01:17:28.359
,000 for my time at Cedars -Sinai. So I was like,

01:17:28.380 --> 01:17:30.260
on top of this, Lord, I'm going to be in medical

01:17:30.260 --> 01:17:31.960
debt and all this. I was like feeling sorry.

01:17:32.119 --> 01:17:37.359
And so Iris, I was, my buddies left soon after

01:17:37.359 --> 01:17:39.720
that and mom was about to arrive, but she changed

01:17:39.720 --> 01:17:42.010
out my bag of Dilaudid. And I was like, guys,

01:17:42.149 --> 01:17:44.569
let's go sleep. And so I went into this deep

01:17:44.569 --> 01:17:49.789
sleep. And 45 minutes in the overdose, she came

01:17:49.789 --> 01:17:52.029
in to give me Vicodin. And my breathing rate

01:17:52.029 --> 01:17:54.090
had dropped 24 breaths a minute. I was at three

01:17:54.090 --> 01:17:57.489
breaths a minute. Wow. And I'll tell you this

01:17:57.489 --> 01:18:00.710
part. So they were shaking me for 10 minutes.

01:18:00.949 --> 01:18:06.550
And I came to and I was in this white space.

01:18:06.729 --> 01:18:08.750
And I see Elizabeth right in front of me. And

01:18:08.750 --> 01:18:11.409
it's this beautiful version of her. And she says,

01:18:11.510 --> 01:18:13.869
wake up, Luca, wake up. And then she's like,

01:18:13.949 --> 01:18:17.890
wake up. And that jolted me up. And there was

01:18:17.890 --> 01:18:20.970
for chaos. There was mom was right there. And

01:18:20.970 --> 01:18:24.970
I started vomiting and, and I couldn't use the

01:18:24.970 --> 01:18:26.590
restroom. And I said, something's not right,

01:18:26.689 --> 01:18:28.909
but I'm still carrying this IV five more minutes.

01:18:29.090 --> 01:18:31.710
And then it starts beeping. I'm vomiting. Like

01:18:31.710 --> 01:18:33.350
there's just, I was like, there's something wrong

01:18:33.350 --> 01:18:34.850
with me. And I just wanted to go back to sleep.

01:18:35.510 --> 01:18:38.029
And then that's when we realized they'd given

01:18:38.029 --> 01:18:40.550
me an accidental overdose. And they were going

01:18:40.550 --> 01:18:43.430
to fire Iris the next day. I said, can I see

01:18:43.430 --> 01:18:47.189
Iris? And, you know, she was so ashamed that

01:18:47.189 --> 01:18:48.829
she had made this error. And I was like, Iris,

01:18:48.989 --> 01:18:51.989
I'm so glad you made that mistake because I prayed

01:18:51.989 --> 01:18:55.010
for God to give me a miracle and let me see Elizabeth.

01:18:55.069 --> 01:18:57.689
And I now know she's alive and she's not in this,

01:18:57.689 --> 01:19:00.390
she's not in this, you know, in this physical

01:19:00.390 --> 01:19:02.569
existence, but she, God gave me a glimpse and

01:19:02.569 --> 01:19:04.949
she was the most beautiful version I've ever

01:19:04.949 --> 01:19:07.479
seen over, you know, and it was just. You know,

01:19:07.500 --> 01:19:09.399
we can talk about this because Steve, you know,

01:19:09.399 --> 01:19:11.539
went to heaven. Yeah. I mean, this was a near

01:19:11.539 --> 01:19:14.600
death. This is my near death experience. And

01:19:14.600 --> 01:19:17.560
she, you know, that woke me up. But God in that

01:19:17.560 --> 01:19:20.000
with that also answered my prayer and let me

01:19:20.000 --> 01:19:23.739
see her that she was alive. And also they forgave

01:19:23.739 --> 01:19:27.119
all my medical debt and paid 80 grand for not

01:19:27.119 --> 01:19:32.800
suing their butt. Wow. But also Iris got fired.

01:19:32.840 --> 01:19:37.600
I believe that Luke was able to. Tell her about

01:19:37.600 --> 01:19:41.600
Jesus and say, I forgive you. I love you. I mean,

01:19:41.619 --> 01:19:43.439
I'm glad you made this mistake. And I hugged

01:19:43.439 --> 01:19:47.479
her, yeah. I don't say how anymore. I gave that

01:19:47.479 --> 01:19:50.000
up. I just got over it. And now it's just wow.

01:19:50.560 --> 01:19:53.260
It's just wow. I mean, really, literally, you'll

01:19:53.260 --> 01:19:55.739
hear Annette and I and probably half our church

01:19:55.739 --> 01:19:58.739
will say, wow. We quit. We don't need to know

01:19:58.739 --> 01:20:01.319
how God's doing what he's doing. I just want

01:20:01.319 --> 01:20:04.140
to always live in awe, live in wonder. And mystery.

01:20:04.239 --> 01:20:06.439
I mean, he is mysterious. And be okay with it.

01:20:07.039 --> 01:20:09.340
I don't need to have everything answered. And

01:20:09.340 --> 01:20:11.640
the people I know that need an answer for everything,

01:20:11.720 --> 01:20:13.840
they live a miserable life. Right. Because they're

01:20:13.840 --> 01:20:16.560
never satisfied. And thank you for sharing part

01:20:16.560 --> 01:20:20.920
of your story. And I mean, thank you for you

01:20:20.920 --> 01:20:23.180
two being here. I'm so glad it worked out timing

01:20:23.180 --> 01:20:25.939
wise that you happen to be in town. Happen to

01:20:25.939 --> 01:20:28.060
be. I think God orders our steps and delights

01:20:28.060 --> 01:20:29.819
in the details. That's right. And the detail

01:20:29.819 --> 01:20:31.460
was you're supposed to be on here today. Thank

01:20:31.460 --> 01:20:34.140
you. Share a piece of your story. But thank you.

01:20:34.180 --> 01:20:37.079
And I have to just say this just. one parent

01:20:37.079 --> 01:20:39.640
to another and Annette sitting over here as well,

01:20:39.720 --> 01:20:44.699
but, but job well done. Well done. I mean, you

01:20:44.699 --> 01:20:48.739
raised. You raised a powerhouse in Jesus, and

01:20:48.739 --> 01:20:51.960
you stayed with him through those hard, difficult

01:20:51.960 --> 01:20:56.840
times. And now the product of it is gold that's

01:20:56.840 --> 01:21:00.260
been refined by fire. And I think he's just starting

01:21:00.260 --> 01:21:05.439
to tell a story. I'm grateful for, you know,

01:21:05.479 --> 01:21:10.260
it has been hard being 45, and I desire to have

01:21:10.260 --> 01:21:13.500
a wife, a helpmate. And I also tell all my married

01:21:13.500 --> 01:21:17.340
friends. On the days you love her but don't like

01:21:17.340 --> 01:21:21.420
her, the greatest gift is a helpmate and a wife.

01:21:21.500 --> 01:21:25.880
I know it. But I've gotten to have my parents

01:21:25.880 --> 01:21:30.479
be a part of two major incidents in my life that

01:21:30.479 --> 01:21:34.239
was very dark. And I do value them as they will

01:21:34.239 --> 01:21:37.220
always be my parents, but they're also my best

01:21:37.220 --> 01:21:41.600
friends. And I'm grateful that God gave me two

01:21:41.600 --> 01:21:45.710
powerhouses for the Lord. to raise me in this

01:21:45.710 --> 01:21:49.390
way. And, and also that as we become adult, as

01:21:49.390 --> 01:21:51.189
I became an adult, that they could come alongside

01:21:51.189 --> 01:21:53.130
me as a friend, as a friend, that's a beautiful

01:21:53.130 --> 01:21:55.550
gift. It's a gift, a gift, a massive gift. It

01:21:55.550 --> 01:21:57.630
is. So I want to just thank our friends for joining

01:21:57.630 --> 01:22:00.329
us today. And thank you for staying with us.

01:22:00.350 --> 01:22:04.239
This story is. complicated and highs and lows.

01:22:04.380 --> 01:22:07.140
I mean, it's got everything. It's got the classic

01:22:07.140 --> 01:22:10.960
storyline and then some. And I see that in Luke.

01:22:10.979 --> 01:22:13.760
He's a storyteller. And I look forward to reading

01:22:13.760 --> 01:22:16.239
your book someday. I definitely, maybe I'll get

01:22:16.239 --> 01:22:18.579
bits and pieces along the journey. But again,

01:22:18.680 --> 01:22:20.800
thank you for being with us today. We love you.

01:22:20.880 --> 01:22:23.100
Our heart is for you to learn what it means to

01:22:23.100 --> 01:22:25.460
live up in a down world. And I'll tell you the

01:22:25.460 --> 01:22:27.659
secret to it. The only way you can do it is through

01:22:27.659 --> 01:22:30.600
Jesus Christ. He said, I am the way, the truth,

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and the life. not a way not a truth and not a

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life the way the truth the life and no one comes

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to the Father but through him and that's our

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heart for you we want you to join us on this

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journey we want you to be a part of that and

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we we're here for you we're cheering you on thanks

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again for being with us today we so appreciate

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you telling your story I know it's not always

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easy