Welcome to the God's Goodness podcast where our mission is to encourage as well as highlight
God's goodness and modern-day miracles.
We are your hosts, Josh and Shelly Hankins.
Today we have with us a special guest, Tiffany Dawson.
She and I met a couple years ago volunteering for a church thing and we've known each other
ever since.
She has just an amazing story that is no surprise.
She's going to mention Pastor Rick.
So one of these days we're going to get him to come on, despite him not listening to podcasts,
but it'll be a great tale and you are just going to be blown away by the way that God
showed up in Tiffany's life.
And welcome, Tiffany.
Hello.
She's going to open us with a little prayer.
Father God, I just invite you into our midst where you said two or three are gathered in
your name.
You shall be in the midst.
And you did ask that I come back and spread the good news and to let people know that
there is a heaven and I'm here to do your work.
And I just want to say thank you and I love you and I praise you and I worship you and
I'm thankful to be here and alive today to be in your presence with friends.
Thank you Jesus.
Amen.
So where do you want to start?
I'll start off by letting you know a little background.
What actually happened with me is I had a massive brain aneurysm.
What happened was I woke up with like the headache of a lifetime.
You know, you think you have a migraine.
It's just a simple migraine and you kind of like, oh, I'll take some Tylenol, but this
is a little bit different.
But I workaholic, so I was like, oh, I'll just, you know, take some Tylenol and keep
going and just go in to work a little bit late.
So I called my assistant manager and I said, I need you to, you know, hold down the fort
for me for a couple of hours and then I'll be in soon.
So I just got myself together, got in the car, which was really dangerous driving to
work after, you know, you have a headache like that.
I ended up getting to work and sat down at my desk.
And for whatever reason, when I looked at the computer screen, it looked like a really
weird like binary code and I thought, what the heck's going on?
So I said, let me go ahead and walk to the bathroom and splash some water on my face,
you know, maybe that will help.
So I got up from my desk and got around the corner going towards the bathroom and that's
like the last thing I remember.
And apparently some of my employees told me that I passed out on the floor and I passed
out on the floor and they rushed me, I guess called the ambulance from what I heard because
at this point I was lights out.
So they rushed me to the hospital at this time in Ohio and in Ohio, they didn't have
the equipment that they needed to handle the type of brain aneurysm that I apparently
had.
Was it like just deep in the brain?
Then it wasn't surface.
I know it's a TBI, but it was a sub-rachnoid.
Sub-rachnoid?
Yeah, sub-rachnoid hemorrhage.
So they didn't have the equipment in Ohio to handle it.
So the hospital in Ohio had a good relationship with Presby, UPMC Presby here in Pittsburgh.
So they life-lighted me or rushed me, somehow got me to UPMC Presby and it just so happened
that my cousin worked for me and so she was able to contact my family and let them know
what was going on because my dad actually lives here in Pittsburgh.
So he was able to get over to the hospital or contact people at the hospital that he
knew to let them know that I was on my way.
So I ended up getting there and they had some complications because of the hemorrhage that
I had was so complicated they needed like special equipment.
So they didn't have the special equipment that was needed for that.
So what they did is they just waited a little while and the doctor was really good.
His name was Dr. Gardner.
He's awesome.
Phenomenal brain surgeon, top of the line.
He said, okay, I'm going to wait and make sure that I have everything correct because
I want your daughter to have told my dad, I want your daughter to have a long and fruitful
life after this, be able to function and things like that at 100% or at least what
she can because the hemorrhage I had was so severe.
It's just I had a 50-50% chance of living or dying.
Wow.
That's incredible.
I had a 50-50% chance so I deal with a lot of things and left untreated, it's a 100%
chance of dying.
You know, you're not making it out of that one.
And the complications that can arise from brain surgery are many.
It is, they'll say routine for some things.
There's no routine when someone's sticking something inside of your body.
It's a foreign object with infections, with misses.
Like, you know, they call it a practice still because no one's perfect at it.
Well, God is.
Right?
But God's not doing the surgery at that time.
And so Dr. Gardner obviously was very skilled to be able to do this and like I said, when
you walked in this door, I had no idea your story because you seem perfect in every way.
That's pretty cool.
Thank you so much.
He actually went through my eyebrows.
Wow.
Yeah, right?
Because normally like, you know, you have to have like a full craniotomy where they like,
you know, do all the stuff.
But yeah, he actually went through my eyebrows.
So I was thankful for that.
Wow.
Even though it was hard to get my eyebrows done after that for a while, you know.
Oh man.
It'd be worth it.
Yeah, it's worth being alive, right?
Wow.
So basically what happened is they put me after my surgery, I started having like massive
seizures and so the doctor put me in a medically induced coma for about 45 days to try to let
my brain heal and to try to stop the seizures.
So I basically wouldn't die after, you know, I went through all of that.
And while I was in the coma, I had a really great experience.
God basically took me to heaven.
So I'm really grateful for that.
And I can tell you a little bit about that.
Oh, please do.
Yes, please do.
You can't lead with, you know, he took me there and then move on.
Right?
I know because.
You're in the city.
Yes.
Sometimes people think that you reflect on all the past things in your life, but because
of Jesus dying for us, that, you know, we are forgiven and that God, he loves you and
you can never forget the love that he has for you because he will give you multiple
chances second and third, you know, fourth chances.
And so I did write a book and not a write a book, but I wrote a story which I put in
a Pastor Rick Cardell's book, it's called My Father's House Has Many Rooms.
Which of Pastor Rick's books because he has a few?
Yeah, he does have a lot of them.
Do you know what it's called?
Then they would.
I know that it's green.
I forget the actual name of it, but.
Oh, it's the green one.
Yeah, it's a bit stark.
Yeah.
Right?
You didn't know there was going to be a test.
Right?
I know, right?
Well, and then one of the side effects that I've had to fight through with in a brain
injury is being at the top of your game, being in management and running companies and running
multinational companies, you know, and then not being able to remember where you set your
keys, what your middle name is, what your birthday is, what your social security number
is, how to drive, how to walk, how to cook, how to clean, how to wash clothes.
I had to learn how to do all that stuff again.
So that's why I'm like, it's the green book.
So please forgive me.
There is no condemnation.
Where are your accusers?
We don't accuse you either.
I've dealt with people with TBIs and such, and I've had very mean people after they've
had traumatic head injuries, and I take zero offense because I understand that they are
not themselves.
My bonus stat, he had that.
It just happens.
Yeah.
And so, yeah, we may joke with you, but we will never make fun of you or joke at your
expense and try to make you feel small.
That's not cool.
So yeah, we'll laugh with you, but it's cool.
Okay.
Well, basically, I did put in my story, John 14 verse two.
I quoted this out of the NIV.
Basically my father's house has many rooms.
If that were not so, would I have told you that I'm going there to prepare a place for
you?
So, basically, it's pretty cool.
I hope so.
Yeah.
I mean, it's this untangible place, but it's a place where you're not sick anymore.
For instance, my mother passed away in 2012, and she had diabetes.
She was a physician.
She was a doctor for many, many, many years before she passed away, but she did have diabetes.
But when I got to heaven, one of the cool things was that she was able to eat a bunch
of cupcakes.
That was the first thing she was doing.
She was like, wolfing down cupcakes.
I was like, yes, I like it here.
But when you get there, I'll just go through exactly what happened.
So I got there, and the planes were different.
It's like a space, like an astro plane.
It's kind of flat.
And the first person I saw, which was kind of strange, was my old boss from 20 years
ago, and he's Russian.
He was very religious, a great man.
He was rushing, I was kind of like, wait, wait, hey, trying to say hi.
And he was like, look at me like, oh, no, I got to go.
I'm trying to get into the gates.
So you get to the plane, and he's like rushing in, and I'm trying to call him like, hey,
it's me.
And there's these big, huge gates.
There are really pearly gates.
There are gates there.
Because when people say that kind of stuff, you're like, ah, OK, really?
You've got to get in some way.
Yeah.
When you told me this, I'd be like, yeah, you know, like, you kind of think people are
crazy if they tell you something like that.
What was Peter standing outside the pearly gates with a checklist saying, nope?
Yep.
No, there was just the gates, and you kind of go in.
And when you get there, when I got there, there was like a really long line of, like,
my family members.
They were all there.
I mean, like, people I could never even tell you who they were, but I knew they were my
family.
And they were all there to tell me hi.
Hmm.
They basically are telling them hi.
And they know everything.
There's like, everybody has like homes in heaven.
Like they have their own house.
Like, I guess maybe it's their own reality or their own house.
Or like, I guess they say, but in my father's house, there are many mansions.
Well, everybody does have their own kind of mansion.
Like whatever their comfortable places or their reality.
Like the first place I went to was my grandmother, my great-grandmother.
Her name is Rebecca.
So I went to my grandmother, Rebecca's house, and you kind of see things in the past.
Like, I saw my father riding his tricycle in her house, which my father's like 65 now.
But you know, I did see him as a child.
She was trying to show me or God was showing me.
He was like riding around a bike in her house.
And then there was like these huge plates of food, because apparently she used to cook
for all the grandkids.
On lunch, they would all leave school and they would come to her house to eat, which I didn't
know about all this.
But there was like a big bowl of mashed potatoes and fried chicken and some other stuff, you
know, on the table when I got there.
And then she also showed me there was like a cellar, what the old folks call it, like
a root cellar per se.
And she took me down the root cellar.
And inside that cellar, there was a man in there.
And he kind of scared me because it was dark in there.
I didn't know this, but the man, she used to let a guy who was like homeless back then,
she used to let him live in her root cellar.
And so the man, he was down there.
Must have been some root cellar.
Yeah, right.
And she had all these like preserves on the shelf, you know, and she was like grab whatever
you want.
You know, so that was pretty cool.
So if heaven, you can describe your ideal home as is where you're living in, right?
So like whatever you're thinking like, Oh God, this would be wonderful.
I was like, there it is.
Right.
This man wanted to be in the root cellar.
Well, I think that was his comfort place that he thought the most love.
It could have been because I think that really with heaven, it's your comfortable place.
You know, like what is in your heart like this?
God sees your heart.
Maybe that was his comfortable place.
It's probably the first time he felt loved, you know, because, you know, all that, all
those mashed potatoes and good fried chicken she had, you know, he probably was like, I
like it here.
I want to stay even if I have to be in the root cellar.
She clearly didn't mind.
Yeah.
So, you know, I went there because I never knew her, but apparently everyone says I looked
like her, so it was nice to see because I kind of, I looked at her and I went, and it's,
it's funny because in heaven you are your younger self, your favorite self.
So I looked at her and I was like, Oh wow, that lady looks like me because I was looking
at her and I was like, wait a minute.
It's kind of weird here, but she looked just like me.
So when I always, I know I was heard that I looked just like her in her younger years.
So and she did.
I was, we looked alike.
So, you know, I got to spend a little time with her and then I moved on to another place,
which I did not know at the time.
I ended up like in this, within like a twinkling of an eye they say, I ended up on this bus,
but you're like, okay, bus.
Like a tour bus?
Yeah.
Like a bus with a bunch of people on it.
Now, let me be whole what I did not like a great hunt from Philly to Pittsburgh.
Yes.
Exactly.
The bunch of people on it too.
Yep.
Right?
And I was like, why am I on a bus?
Okay.
Like really?
So then I was on the bus and my grandmother who had passed away, who was my best friend,
my dad's mother, we're on the bus together and we pull up and I look out the window and
I see this like Detroit pistons logo and I'm like, why do I see a Detroit pistons logo?
That's kind of weird.
Yeah.
So, and then I had an aunt who lived in Detroit.
Her name was Minerva.
So we went to visit my aunt Minerva, but that's why we were in Detroit visiting my aunt Minerva,
but all these things I did not know.
These are things like after the fact when I asked my family about them, they told me
what was really going on, you know, but the thing about the prayer bus was my stepmom,
who my dad just got married to right before I had the surgery or right after I had the
surgery, they had a big church down in Houston and all the people on the prayer bus were
praying for me to pull through because like I said, I had a 50-50% chance of living or
dying.
So all these people on this prayer bus are praying for me.
That's why I ended up on the bus.
I'm like, why not a bus?
But after the fact, you know, like a year later, I find out that all these people were praying
for me to pull through because they thought I was going to die.
So that's why I was on this bus, you know, and going to Detroit to visit my aunt or something.
He showed you the power in Intercessory Prayer.
That's all.
That was it, you know what I mean?
And, you know, God was showing me, you know, that prayer is real, you know, and he operates
not only in the spirit realm but in the physical as well.
You know what I mean?
Because his prayers do come down and they do actually work and they're working constantly.
That was like the realization of the tangible of the prayer, you know what I mean?
Like showing me, okay, yes, people are praying for you, but here is where I'm manifesting
it right here and now and letting you see it, you know, so you understand the power of prayer
and what it means and who you're really talking to.
You're pumping me up.
Yeah.
Like my spiritual adrenaline is just like, yes, please go on.
Yes.
So after that, and it's kind of like you kind of, it's like twinkling out of an eye kind
of thing.
Then you like snap to another place.
So then my mother who passed away, then I'm with my mother and then we're like riding
or and heaven has roads.
And I heard their gold.
It could be kind of yellow.
The important part was you were with your mom.
Yeah, they could be.
Now I think about it.
I was like, yeah, it could be kind of yellow, you know?
Yeah, we're like, she always wanted like a drop top.
Like that was her dream vehicle that she never got here on earth.
But in heaven, she did have that drop top.
So we got on the drop top and we're like riding around like all over heaven in the drop top.
It was pretty cool.
And like if somebody told me this, I'd be like, yeah, right.
But you know, when it actually happens to you, I was like, I have to, you know, write
this down because that's what God asked me to do.
So we rode around heaven, kind of hung out.
And then we ended up by this water in heaven.
All the colors are very vibrant.
They're beautiful.
And like everything has its own motion, like your hair kind of like moves.
Like if your hair is curly, it's like the curls kind of move on their own.
Like everything has its own motion, its own time.
Like it's, it's really beautiful.
And the colors are really vibrant and bright.
When you look in the water, you can see all the way to the bottom, you know?
So we kind of like pulled over and we, there's this like big body of water.
Like water is a big thing in heaven and God makes it clear that he, that water is a big
part of things.
And when you look in the water, you can see like whales and fish.
You can see like all the way to the bottom.
It's beautiful.
Like the ocean, you could just look right in and see everything in there moving.
Awesome.
And so we kind of stopped off and looked at that.
It was just so beautiful.
Like you kind of don't want to leave.
No doubt.
When that is the goal, you know, the end goal.
Why would you want to, you know, we're sitting in this room and it's not a bad room, but
compared to the vibrancy of heaven, compared to the intensity of heaven, compared to the
joy of heaven, this place seems pretty bad.
Right?
This place seems dull, dreary.
You know, I'm going to step my toe on a bed probably sometime in the near future and
it's going to hurt.
And that would never happen in heaven.
Right?
I know it's going to happen eventually.
I do it all the time.
Yeah.
I'm never going to run out of gas.
Right?
I don't even need a car.
I just want to fly myself.
It's got Superman in this Jesus.
I'm ready.
Yeah, right?
And then I saw a lot of my family members, like my grandfather.
I got to see him, got to talk to him.
But what he told me was that basically he yielded his time with me so I could spend time with
the females in the family because I had been through such a traumatic experience.
I think I needed like a mother's, grandmother's like love to kind of pull me through the other
side, you know?
So he was like, okay, well, I yield my time.
So I know it's like great-grandmothers, aunts, grandmas, moms, you know, all kind of surrounding
me pulling me through.
And then I did go to my grandmother, my mother's mother's house.
And what we used to like to do on the holidays, we would, you know, do our own dough and our
homemade rolls and make our own cookies and caramel cakes and things like that.
So I, we did, I did go to her house and we ended up cooking, you know, for one last time.
It was nice.
And you know, making our food and got to, you know, because she passed away while I
was in college down living in Nashville in Tennessee.
So I didn't get to really see her very much before she died.
Or get that closure you need.
Right.
And God allows you, when you're in heaven, you're able to heal, you know, that part of
that experience was healing because I did get that closure.
Like you said, yeah, we were able to do, you know, the caramel cake and kind of have that
closure.
So he kind of takes you through all the places, the broken pieces in your life.
God takes you to different places that allow you to heal.
That's why I guess he's the ultimate healer.
I mean, that was a big part of my experience in heaven.
It turned a lot of things around in my life that were broken.
So I got to spend some time with her as well.
And then after that, God kind of brought me back and I did see South Hills.
I was wondering what church I kept seeing, but I was in the balcony.
I was really high up and I kept seeing the drum stand, you know, with the glass around
it.
But I didn't know I had no idea that I would be, you know, really coming to this church.
But all I could see was like the drum where people played the drums with the glass around
it.
And I was up in the balcony and looking down at it.
I guess hindsight is 20-20 because now I know why God was showing me this church and
what he wanted me to do because what I do here now, I work at the food bank, you know,
I help feed people, I help do the baskets and things like, you know, we've done and
different things like that.
So he also wanted me to serve and have a place to serve and a place to continue to be close
to him and not stray.
So this wasn't your church when you had?
It was not.
And so when did you come here?
I came here when I got out of the hospital in 2016.
And when did you realize that this was a church that God had showed you?
When I saw the glass drum cage like from up high, like I just knew.
When I saw the sanctuary, I knew this was it from one.
Did you have like a jaw dropping moment?
Like, this is it.
I did.
So you know, you were in heaven for 45 days.
Now did it feel like 45 days or did it feel longer?
Did it feel shorter?
Like, because I know time isn't the same because God is above time, space and matter.
So he does things as how he does things.
I felt like maybe two days, max three.
Really?
Wow.
Well, attorney's going to feel like a really long time then.
And in all this time, you know, you talked about, you saw your family, they lined up,
they queued up, your grandfather yielded his time because he's like, Hey man, I'm going
to play the long game.
I'm going to see her eventually.
Nobody comes off Earth alive.
So I'm going to, I'm going to get to see her again.
I'm going to have my time.
But where did God show up?
Did you see him?
Did you see like this?
I'm curious now.
Like this is.
Yes.
Um, but God didn't show up until he told me I had to come back.
He basically wanted me to really see heaven and really get a feel for it and to see it
for what it really was.
Because you know, like I said, people won't believe it.
If somebody told me this, I wouldn't believe it, but he really wanted me to have that time
to experience it and to know what it was and what it looked like.
And there were roads and there were cars and there was food and there were, there were
houses and people and how beautiful the colors were and the people were really alive and
vibrant and it was super cool.
But I think he wanted me to get the full effect of heaven so I can come back because what
he wanted me to do is tell people about it.
If you don't know Jesus, if you don't know the Lord that you make it a point to do that
because you don't want to miss out on heaven, you know, and I'm so grateful that Jesus died
for me.
So I didn't miss out on heaven because you don't have to be a perfect person to get there
because I definitely wasn't.
I mean, I always love the Lord.
I always went to church, but you know, everybody has their flaws, but just try to try to work
those out and get right with God.
Why you still can't.
And if he gives you a second chance, try to make it right with him.
So what was your experience with God like?
He was really kind.
You should also fear God.
Yes.
Because he's God, but he was really kind.
He was really kind.
He wasn't like scary or anything.
He was, he was, you couldn't see his face.
His face was covered with like, what it looked like to me.
It was like, it was a wooden box.
I can only see like from the box down, but you really couldn't see anything and I know
that sounds weird, but I could not see his face.
It doesn't sound weird.
It sounds like something that God would do because you weren't dead.
You were in a coma and therefore you, maybe you weren't allowed to see the fullness of
God because you weren't, you didn't cross over that threshold to stay in heaven permanently.
You were just there on the visitor's pass or a three day pass, the weekend pass.
Right.
And so that makes sense to me that, you know, because how many times has Isaiah is like,
Oh, I can't be here.
I'm such a sinner, right?
Like I can't be in front of the Lord and they want to shield themselves because they know
that just by being in his presence, his holiness alone would destroy you.
Right.
Maybe that's why you can't see his face.
Okay.
That makes sense.
That's just a guess.
You know, I don't know.
Me too, because I was kind of like, I wonder why he covers his face, but that's why.
You know, it tells you that in scripture, you know, about that stuff.
But you know, his voice was really kind.
He spoke to me like a father would, you know, he's really kind and he was like, it's not
your time yet.
You have to go back because if you die, your father will die, which is my earthly father
here, you know, because he needed me to take care of him through everything he's been through
heart surgeries and cancer and everything like that.
After I got well, and he said to get to know Jesus better because I could see Jesus in
heaven, but he was not interacting with me and I think God was making a point that I
needed to get to know him better.
And he said, it's not your time that you have to go back, but the main thing is get to know
Jesus better and to tell people about this.
So that's why I was really glad about doing this podcast.
And that's why I also wrote the story in Pastor Rick's book because if God tells you to do
something, you better do it.
So I have a question.
He wants you to get to know Jesus better.
How was your relationship with Jesus prior to the event?
The word for me, honestly, that's coming up in my spirit was detached because I didn't
really have a full relationship with Jesus.
You know, you have kind of a relationship with God, you think, per se, but not Jesus
as Jesus and who he was and what he did and why he did what he did and the reason why
and what it actually did for us.
That it really saved us.
From God's wrath.
Right.
That's, you know, you're talking about you should fear God.
That's a scary thing.
Yes.
Right.
Most people are like, oh, the worst thing I could worry about is the devil.
Like wrong.
Right.
The worst thing you've got to worry about is God.
You do not want to be on his bad side.
Like have you read Revelation?
What happens at the end?
Like when he blows to the trumpet, Jesus comes back, right?
What happens at that?
He pours the bowls of wrath on the earth.
No, thank you.
I don't want his wrath.
Like he's creative.
He made all of this.
I don't want to be in creativity with his wrath either.
And again, I can't do simplest tasks without screwing it up.
So thank God that, and I mean it, thank God that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.
Thank God that, that I have an intercessor that stands before the judge and said, this
one's covered.
This one is paid for.
This one is mine.
And God says, next.
Yes, he is the gate.
And it's so profound that, and I love that you're on the podcast with us.
I love that you get to reach people with this story as God asked.
And I want to pray for it, that it reaches the most amount of people that we can possibly
reach.
That God would supernaturally reach us.
That your story that he asked you to tell can reach as many years as humanly possible
for his glory.
Because I think it is very important.
That's why I asked you what your relationship was like with Jesus.
Because we all think we have a relationship with Jesus.
If you go to church, right?
If you think you're saved, you think you have a relationship with Jesus.
So I want to know where your baseline was, where God is telling you, hey, get to know
him a little bit better.
Right?
Like, so you're in heaven.
You made the cut, but you could be a better relationship.
So I wanted to help the listeners to understand what it takes to have a relationship with
Jesus, what it means and where they are.
And maybe they should take a look at themselves and examine themselves.
Right?
And even if you think you've got a great relationship with Jesus, I would encourage you to get to
know him a little better.
Because what's it going to hurt?
Right?
Well, for me, it was really delving into scripture, you know, because you're like, you've got
this life and you're busy, you're working, you're cooking, you're cleaning, you're running
the grocery store, you're doing this, you're doing that.
And you know, you don't take the time to really, you come to church, you go through the motions,
and then that's it in a way.
But what it took for me personally, what I suggest is scripture.
And in particular, I like what worked best for me was John, reading the gospel of John
and listening, reading and even watching even some movies, you know, things like that.
But John really hit home with me.
That really helped me understand the goodness of God and the goodness of Jesus and what
he actually did for us and how he really saved a lot of us from so many things.
And I think it's our personal responsibility to really get to understand what Jesus did.
And if you can't do it on your own, what I did as I asked God to make a way for that
to happen, to show me and to send me, you know, ways and Bible studies and different
things like that, so I could get to know Jesus better because that's what he wanted me to
do.
But I wanted him to actually give me an avenue to do so because I was having a hard time
doing it on my own, you know, you're looking through the Bible and you're trying to pinpoint
the scriptures and how to do it and how to go about it.
And what I did is I said, okay, God, I'm a little jumbled here on this.
So please send me or point me in the right direction, show me how to get to know Jesus
better.
I want to do what you were asking me to do.
And he did, you know, it took a little while.
It wasn't exactly like snap of a finger and human time and my time, it was all at his
time.
Right, and so I ended up taking a class here at South Hills Assembly and signed up for
a Pastor Luke and Breeze class.
That really has helped me a lot.
And so I was able to do what God was asking me because you get a little scared when God
tells you to do something and you're like, it's been a couple of years and you're like,
you know, you still haven't nailed down what he asked you to do to get to know Jesus better.
And then when the class came up, I was like, yes, this is perfect.
Because I really didn't know that it was about, you know, Jesus, the John classes.
I didn't think they were going to really teach me more about Jesus.
But when I got there and they started talking, I was like, aha, okay, God, this is what you
wanted me to do.
And you put me in the right place at the right time to do what you asked of me.
And I really appreciated that from him because it shows how much he loves us.
He doesn't want us to die.
He wants us to live forever.
And he wants to make a way for us to do so.
I can't imagine a God that would sacrifice his son so that we would have that way that
wanted us to perish.
Like, I want you guys to die, but I'm going to give my son just in case.
Like not at all.
You know, and scripture says that, you know, for God so loved the world that he gave his
only begotten son so that whoever believed would have eternal life wouldn't perish.
Because he doesn't want us to perish.
Amen.
Yes.
Yeah, because I was trying to figure out, okay, how am I not going to perish here?
But okay.
So he put me in the right place at the right time and he was walking with me every step
of the way.
And I will say like a lot of this time, you know, learning how to drive again because
I couldn't drive.
Learning how to cook, clean, you know, walk, learn, work, everything.
He basically carried me, you know, when I couldn't carry myself, you know, when I, at
certain times, you know, I hate to say this, but you know, I was like suicidal because,
you know, you can't, you can't think, you can't remember anything.
You can't drive.
You're stuck in the house.
You're just like, you know, and during those times, he carried me when I couldn't carry
myself.
You know, you were the third or fourth person that we've had on the podcast that had thoughts
like that.
So you're not alone in that.
This is a common theme with people.
It's a common way the enemy attacks us.
And so I want you to know that there's nothing wrong with you, that you're perfect, you're
whole, you're wonderful.
And there's nothing to be ashamed of.
Thanks.
I'm not God without Jesus carrying me.
I don't know where I'd be today.
You know, it's funny.
I'm thinking here you are in heaven.
You're getting the three day pass.
You're getting the weekend pass, the holiday pass, you know, you're going to the holiday
express in heaven where all of a sudden you know everything.
It's holiday express commercials.
Eat cupcakes.
Eat cupcakes, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, the guy, with the guy in the root salad, you
know.
And then God tells you, he needs you to get closer to Jesus.
You need to know who he is better.
But clearly you made the cut.
Clearly you were good enough to heaven, right?
And so my only thought is, is the reasons why he wanted you to get to know Jesus better.
You know, I think, you know, maybe it's because if you knew you went to heaven, you'll get
cocky.
You'll get confident.
You'll get comfortable.
And you won't do the things he needs you to do.
So he needs to get it poured into you like, hey, maybe he needs you to tell other people
about Jesus and the road that you take to get to know him better is going to get other
people to know him better.
Right?
And I think there's so many ways that I feel that he could reach out to you just by that
one thing.
And I feel that Jesus was distant from you in that, so that it could hit God's message
home.
And I think that's what really hit home was when he was not interacting with me.
It kind of made me sad.
Yeah.
You know, I was like, okay, does he not like me?
You know, like, I think that's a problem.
And when God was like, get to know Jesus better, Jesus was not interacting with me.
I went, oh boy.
I think even though I'm like singing, I'm doing this and I'm per se studying, it's like
I wasn't where I needed to be.
You know, because you think like you said, you get kind of cocky.
You think, okay, I go to church.
I do this.
I do that, you know, but it's really to me getting in the word and listening to the word
and digesting it and making the necessary changes in your life to become more like what
the word is telling you to be, be transformed.
You know, he wants you to be transformed.
And so that's the main thing is being transformed.
That's the second time I've heard that today.
We had men's breakfast this morning, John Colb, former Pittsburgh Stealer, and part
of his message was be transformed through the renewing of your mind.
So second time I've heard that today.
And when you brought up, you know, you wanted to seek him.
You didn't want to sit comfortably where you were.
The last episode that we did, we talked about Christians getting complacent in their comfortability
and that's not a place God wants his children is complacent.
You know, we're asked to be spiritual warriors for him and his kingdom.
We're asked to be doers of the word, right?
And that's hard to do when we get comfortable.
It's hard to do when we get complacent.
It's hard to do when we're cocky, confident and arrogant in our seat.
Like, I know Jesus, I worship him in spirit and truth.
And we walk out that door without looking at people.
We had a pastor before, a pastor, John Kent.
We've had him on one of our podcasts.
And he has a phrase he likes to say is that you never lock eyes with someone who doesn't
matter to God, meaning every single person whose eyes you look into matters to God profoundly.
No matter what you think of them, whether you like them, you don't like them, you're indifferent.
This person matters profoundly to the creator of the universe.
And I feel that you should treat him accordingly.
If this person matters to God, I better be nice to him, right?
That should be something I do.
I don't always do that.
I'm not perfect, but as often as I remember that, I am.
Right.
Exactly.
You know, we all fall short.
Oh my goodness.
But, you know, you just have to pick your cross back up and keep walking and change your
mindset and remind yourself.
And that's why it's good to...
Which I love, part of my new life is making sure I stay grounded in the word a lot.
That keeps your mind on track of, you know, where you don't get cocky and where you don't...
It keeps renewing your spirit, you know, every day and it keeps transforming you from the
inside out every day, every day, every day.
That's an awesome story that you have.
There's a phrase called, rock-a-zock.
You know, it's the old Israeli, you know, it's kind of like tightening your spiritual knuckles,
preparing for the battle with the enemy.
And, you know, I really feel something deep down every time you speak of this.
I feel conviction.
I feel like this message, I know it's for others, but I feel it was for me too.
And I really appreciate you being on today and sharing this.
This is tremendous, tremendous.
Now, when we were talking the other day in our small group, you had mentioned that Pastor
Rick had prayed for you.
Oh, yes, for sure.
Okay, so when I got out of the hospital, you know, again, part of that back to being suicidal,
I couldn't remember how to do anything.
I was just like, you know, if you set something down, like three seconds, I will lose it.
And I would just have...
I was...
My mind was so...
It was messed up.
Foggy.
I mean, I couldn't remember anything, like nothing.
And so I was in a church service and it was like a healing service.
And I said, anybody who wants to be healed, you know, get up and come to the front.
And the Holy Spirit said, you know, get up and go.
So I got up and ran to the front.
And Pastor Rick, you know, anointed my head with oil and, you know, prayed from there
on out.
That was the beginning of my recovery.
I'm going to be totally honest because I couldn't remember anything.
I was a hot mess, so they say.
But that right there, just having the faith to get up and walk and go and listen to what
the Holy Spirit told me to do.
Because, you know, you're like, you know, I'm hearing stuff, you know what I mean?
He says go and you're like, yeah, okay.
But he said, get up and go.
And I said, you know what?
I'm going to get up and go.
And I went to the front, anointed my head and prayed for me.
And I'm able to talk to you today with like a smidgen of clarity because before it was...
I was all over the place.
It was so bad.
So Pastor Rick was a big part.
God working through him was a major step in my recovery.
It propelled me forward to where I'm able to drive, to work, to live, to be human, basically.
Awesome.
I love it.
I can't wait to have him on here.
Everybody.
There's so many people that mention him.
He's going to be here two hour.
Besides, he's going to be a two-parter.
Oh, man.
So do you have anything else you wanted to share?
Everything just flowed so well.
You wouldn't know that you had brain surgery?
Yes, still don't know.
I still don't believe you.
I believe you about heaven, but I don't believe you had brain surgery.
It's been a long road.
Like I said, it's taken a good five plus years to actually get a lot of physical therapy,
a lot of cognitive therapy, a lot of, you know, just constant trying and not giving in
and prayer, staying in the Word.
And ladies from Central Assembly of God and of course, South Hills Assembly Bible Studies.
That has been a big part of my recovery too because, you know, the only place I could
really even drive was just to make it here to Bible study.
That's all I asked God to just, you know, just let me be able just to get the Bible study
in home.
So I was able to do that at least at first to drive here and back.
And so you just got to keep fighting, never give in, stay in the Word.
Don't get discouraged.
Don't listen to the thoughts that the enemy plants in your head because when you're at
your weakest point, kind of like, you know, Machiavelli used to say, attack your enemy
at their weakest point per se, the enemy will attack you when you're weak.
So the best thing to do is surround yourself with people that love the Lord, that know
the Lord, stay in the scripture, stay in the Word.
Don't ever give up.
Don't ever listen to, don't ever doubt.
When you're walking on the water, don't doubt.
Just keep staying in the Word.
Just keep praying to God and being honest with Him.
If you have doubt and you feel doubt inside of you, just talk to Jesus about it.
That's why Jesus died.
You know, talk to them about it.
Let them know your feelings.
Ask them to strengthen you, empower you, show you the way and, you know, just never give
up and just believe there is a heaven and you will see your loved ones again, even your
pets.
I love it.
And you can eat cupcakes in heaven.
Yum.
It sounds delicious.
Glazed donuts.
So they say that prayer is when we can talk to God, but the scripture is how God can talk
to us.
Yes.
So that is great.
I love this.
I felt the Holy Spirit really thick in this room.
It was so good.
And like some parts I had tears in my eyes because like when the Holy Spirit just fills
me, but you'll know because I'll have tears.
She overflows.
Her cup runneth over.
It does.
It was so good.
Thank you so much for being here and sharing that with us.
I'm so glad you got to do that.
Thank you for asking, you know, God made a way for his story to be heard.
Which he, obviously we have the Bible and other things like that, but I think he wants,
especially in these times, he wants to keep pushing that he loves us.
He's here.
He's him.
And he wants more people to come to him because he loves us.
He calls us to give our testimonies.
This is how we win people over.
You know, I could tell you all day long, it's in the Bible and then someone's going to say,
well, Scott, daddy, this and well, listen, man, this is what he did for me.
Right.
You can try to refute that.
You can't take away what I saw.
You can't take away what I felt.
You can't take away what I experienced.
So refute that.
Right.
So our testimony is very important.
Right.
Our eye witness account, our experience is very important when we speak to nonbelievers
about the goodness of God.
When we speak to nonbelievers that, you know, Jesus isn't mad at you.
And if you don't like God, it's not because anything he did, it's because the people
that represent him, you know, we're called to be ambassadors for him.
Some of us screwed it up.
Right.
And we have two things say things that make people feel distant from God.
Like, I don't want that.
Right.
And we feel distant because we listen to the lies of the enemy.
Oh, yeah.
We have to put on the full armor of God and we have to put on, what is it, the helmet
of salvation.
The helmet of salvation allows us to block those thoughts that the enemy is trying to
put in our head, you know, and we have to, you know, get our shield up and block those
fiery darts because we have to block out those thoughts because you can't let those
consume you because we have to remember that God loves us.
And that's the most important thing that I learned because me personally never would
have thought that I could have gone to heaven.
No, not allowed there.
You know, don't ever doubt.
Just don't let the enemy get in your head and try the best you can do everything you
can while you're here and you're still alive.
That you have the chance to get to know Jesus better because heaven is real.
It's real and you can eat cupcakes.
We can eat cupcakes.
You know, a couple of guests ago, we had someone on that had an experience with God or with
Jesus and Jesus actually showed him hell and heaven, but he said he felt like he was in
hell longer to experience it.
And I think it's so profound the differences and how he's teaching and reaching certain
people.
It really does speak to how he ministers to us because he knows our hearts.
He knows what works best.
He knows how to motivate you and he knew how to motivate him.
Even though sometimes it doesn't feel like he knows how to motivate me and everybody
else.
And we just have to learn to lean into that.
And that can be hard because if you're like me, you're very bullheaded and I'm going to
do this.
And God's like, no, no, shut it.
I can't hear you.
I do children's ministry here and I didn't want to.
I was like, God, I put it on my heart to ask you.
I'm like, why?
Like I did it in the last two churches.
Like, can I just sit in a pew?
And I was like, all right, I'll pray about it.
And then I prayed about it.
I didn't like the answer.
And so I prayed about it some more and I was like, well, you're not changing your mind.
And so I agreed to do it.
And you know, I don't find joy or anything by serving in children's, but I know that
I'm doing his work.
I'm knowing that I'm doing something that he wants me to do.
I don't know why he wants me to do it.
I feel so underprepared.
I feel so overwhelmed by the task, but there's some reason he says, like, this is what you
need to do.
And so I'm going to try to do the best I can at it when I'm there.
Yes, both of you guys.
I mean, he put you in the right place at the right time.
He made it so, you know, even though whatever was going on in the other room made a way.
He's always going to make a way for us to do his work and to let people know he's good
and he loves us and he wants us to be with him forever.
Well, thank you for coming on.
Because this episode has been a blessing to you, we ask that you send it along to somebody
because it might help encourage them.
I know I felt encouragement just by hearing the story.
And then also we have a fundraising campaign to help pay for our expenses.
And if you look up GivesAndGo.com and God's Goodness podcast in there, you'll be able to
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You can do financial donations and that'll help us a lot.
And we hope you enjoyed this and we'll talk to you next time.