WEBVTT 00:00:02.510 --> 00:00:05.309 Hey there, welcome to the God's Goodness podcast. 00:00:05.769 --> 00:00:08.269 We are your host, Josh and Shelly Hankins, and 00:00:08.269 --> 00:00:10.650 we're here to share real stories of God's power, 00:00:11.369 --> 00:00:13.929 stories of hope, healing, and miracles that will 00:00:13.929 --> 00:00:16.370 strengthen your faith. No matter what you're 00:00:16.370 --> 00:00:18.589 walking through, we want to remind you that God 00:00:18.589 --> 00:00:21.429 is good and is still moving today. Let's dive 00:00:21.429 --> 00:00:27.519 in. Welcome back to the God's Goodness Podcast. 00:00:27.899 --> 00:00:30.239 Today we have an incredible couple with us and 00:00:30.239 --> 00:00:32.939 you are going to be blessed by their story. We 00:00:32.939 --> 00:00:36.039 know them from church and our church has hundreds 00:00:36.039 --> 00:00:38.619 of people and we don't know everybody, but Pastor 00:00:38.619 --> 00:00:41.340 Rick thought it was important for us to be introduced 00:00:41.340 --> 00:00:44.600 because they have an incredible way of the way 00:00:44.600 --> 00:00:47.439 God led them to each other and throughout their 00:00:47.439 --> 00:00:50.460 lives together. And so he's, God's been working 00:00:50.460 --> 00:00:53.399 through them and They just wanted to feature 00:00:53.399 --> 00:00:56.579 their story on the podcast. So today we have 00:00:56.579 --> 00:01:00.179 that special couple. It's Jen and Pat Mary. And 00:01:00.179 --> 00:01:02.640 we're going to have them open us with an opening 00:01:02.640 --> 00:01:05.939 prayer and then we'll get into their story. Father, 00:01:05.939 --> 00:01:08.920 we just give this time to you. This is for your 00:01:08.920 --> 00:01:13.680 glory and to just be a blessing to others to 00:01:13.680 --> 00:01:18.609 impact your kingdom. In Jesus' name. Amen. Thank 00:01:18.609 --> 00:01:20.930 you so much for being here. So I know you wanted 00:01:20.930 --> 00:01:24.329 to start at about where you guys met like it 00:01:24.329 --> 00:01:27.989 was a divine leading so which one of you wants 00:01:27.989 --> 00:01:31.150 to start us off? I could start that. Patrick 00:01:31.150 --> 00:01:34.670 and I met at South Hills Assembly over 30 years 00:01:34.670 --> 00:01:37.909 ago and after attending for a time we started 00:01:37.909 --> 00:01:41.489 to date and that's when God spoke to me at the 00:01:41.489 --> 00:01:44.489 altar that Patrick was the one I was supposed 00:01:44.489 --> 00:01:49.170 to marry. I was surprised. I was on my way to 00:01:49.170 --> 00:01:52.170 work one day and I kept asking the Lord, are 00:01:52.170 --> 00:01:56.129 you sure, are you sure that this is the man for 00:01:56.129 --> 00:02:00.310 me? And as I was speaking to the Lord, I saw 00:02:00.310 --> 00:02:03.909 a marquee at a restaurant saying, congratulations, 00:02:04.049 --> 00:02:07.609 Jennifer and Patrick. It was a place, Peter's 00:02:07.609 --> 00:02:12.009 place, that had marriage, you know, rehearsals, 00:02:12.550 --> 00:02:17.180 dinners. So that was really... Wow. Okay, Lord. 00:02:17.219 --> 00:02:21.180 That was an exact answer. I had a dream of being 00:02:21.180 --> 00:02:24.159 in this wedding dress in my dressing room. This 00:02:24.159 --> 00:02:27.500 all happened over a period of time, not one thing 00:02:27.500 --> 00:02:32.599 after another. And wow, okay. I believe and I'll 00:02:32.599 --> 00:02:36.860 hold on. Yeah, as Jennifer said, this is a year 00:02:36.860 --> 00:02:39.500 and a half to two years in the making. Again, 00:02:39.719 --> 00:02:42.800 Pastor Rick Cardell was very instrumental in 00:02:42.800 --> 00:02:45.879 us getting together. I introduced myself to Jennifer 00:02:45.879 --> 00:02:52.099 at South Hills Assembly, and she seemed like, 00:02:52.099 --> 00:02:55.620 you know, how long have you been going here? 00:02:55.879 --> 00:02:58.699 Just kind of a little distant. And I thought 00:02:58.699 --> 00:03:03.699 we had a connection going by. But anyway, she'll 00:03:03.699 --> 00:03:07.379 keep saying no to that. I was being mentored 00:03:07.379 --> 00:03:11.460 at the time with Pastor Rick Cardell and I told 00:03:11.460 --> 00:03:13.439 him about it and he said, well, when the time's 00:03:13.439 --> 00:03:16.539 right, you know, Holy Spirit will lead you and 00:03:16.539 --> 00:03:19.259 we'll, you know, introduce you guys and we'll 00:03:19.259 --> 00:03:22.219 see what happens then. A month went by, two months, 00:03:22.340 --> 00:03:25.300 three months. So we're about five months into 00:03:25.300 --> 00:03:28.349 this and There's nothing going on, no connection, 00:03:28.770 --> 00:03:31.590 no introduction. And I'm, you know, at a place 00:03:31.590 --> 00:03:34.530 in my life where I needed to grow and Pastor 00:03:34.530 --> 00:03:37.210 Rick was everything I was looking for. You know, 00:03:37.210 --> 00:03:39.409 he was a guy that really had a heart for God, 00:03:39.930 --> 00:03:41.949 didn't have, you know, a lot of things of the 00:03:41.949 --> 00:03:44.969 world, wasn't interested in, you know, the worldly 00:03:44.969 --> 00:03:47.009 culture, which is what I was looking for in a 00:03:47.009 --> 00:03:51.250 man of God. And he was that person. So I trusted 00:03:51.250 --> 00:03:54.819 his guidance. And one day after one of our classes, 00:03:55.060 --> 00:03:58.620 me and Jennifer went, were in together. He gave 00:03:58.620 --> 00:04:01.539 me the eye of it's okay, you know, just like 00:04:01.539 --> 00:04:04.419 winked. So I went over and we started talking 00:04:04.419 --> 00:04:08.599 and I asked her out and she said, that would 00:04:08.599 --> 00:04:13.500 be a date. So that's where we, and he said, no, 00:04:13.599 --> 00:04:16.800 it's not a date. It's just, so that's how we 00:04:16.800 --> 00:04:20.180 got started. And the things that Jennifer mentioned, 00:04:20.379 --> 00:04:24.480 happened as we dated for months, God confirmed, 00:04:24.560 --> 00:04:27.500 which He does. You know, He allows us to step 00:04:27.500 --> 00:04:31.680 into things, and as we step into those and follow 00:04:31.680 --> 00:04:34.459 those, then things get confirmed more, which 00:04:34.459 --> 00:04:37.319 is what He did, you know, in our relationship. 00:04:37.759 --> 00:04:40.779 Now, did you ask her to marry you before she 00:04:40.779 --> 00:04:42.579 saw the marquee? No. Or was she milling about, 00:04:42.959 --> 00:04:45.360 like, am I wasting my time dating this guy? No. 00:04:45.360 --> 00:04:47.480 You know, just going somewhere. I didn't ask 00:04:47.480 --> 00:04:49.949 her. So you were mulling about it. I want to 00:04:49.949 --> 00:04:52.990 know who knew first. Like, this is the one. So 00:04:52.990 --> 00:04:55.889 who did God tell first? It was me. Okay. It was 00:04:55.889 --> 00:04:59.050 way before. Okay. And there was months that passed 00:04:59.050 --> 00:05:01.029 when I was searching because I didn't want to 00:05:01.029 --> 00:05:03.250 make a mistake. It's like Brie and Luke. So Brie 00:05:03.250 --> 00:05:06.490 was told before Pastor Luke was told. Oh yeah, 00:05:06.689 --> 00:05:12.470 I knew ahead. Okay. So yeah, that was something 00:05:12.470 --> 00:05:15.029 that I had to navigate through in my life. It's 00:05:15.029 --> 00:05:19.699 going back 30. 31 years, that getting married 00:05:19.699 --> 00:05:22.240 relationship. One of the things that we help 00:05:22.240 --> 00:05:24.379 couples with today and over the years is blended 00:05:24.379 --> 00:05:28.259 families. Because we're both coming from backgrounds 00:05:28.259 --> 00:05:32.759 of marriages that didn't work out. And in this 00:05:32.759 --> 00:05:35.399 system, the world system, there's a lot of that 00:05:35.399 --> 00:05:38.879 going on. But we have had the opportunity to 00:05:38.879 --> 00:05:41.199 be, we believe, put together, given a second 00:05:41.199 --> 00:05:45.310 chance to do marriage, and God's been with us 00:05:45.310 --> 00:05:47.990 the whole time. We look at divorce as something 00:05:47.990 --> 00:05:52.009 we don't want to do, but it happens, unfortunately, 00:05:52.290 --> 00:05:55.850 but it is something God forgives, which He did 00:05:55.850 --> 00:05:58.949 for us and gave us a second chance. So we do 00:05:58.949 --> 00:06:02.970 have a 30 -year experience with blended families. 00:06:03.259 --> 00:06:06.759 So that's something that we've helped a lot of 00:06:06.759 --> 00:06:10.040 couples with. But as we got started at the time, 00:06:10.139 --> 00:06:12.540 30 years ago, we did not know what that was going 00:06:12.540 --> 00:06:16.740 to look like. But we kept moving forward with 00:06:16.740 --> 00:06:19.759 that. And eventually, we got married after two 00:06:19.759 --> 00:06:23.699 and a half years of dating. And then we started 00:06:23.699 --> 00:06:29.480 ministry. It was what you would expect. You're 00:06:29.480 --> 00:06:31.660 already doing prison ministry. You got a lot 00:06:31.660 --> 00:06:34.319 of good things doing that together. We did that 00:06:34.319 --> 00:06:36.839 before we got married at the Allegheny County 00:06:36.839 --> 00:06:40.170 Jail. Lot of God things happening there. That 00:06:40.170 --> 00:06:42.209 sounds like a very pastor Rick kind of calling. 00:06:42.329 --> 00:06:44.850 Yeah Yeah, he headed up he headed that up and 00:06:44.850 --> 00:06:47.230 you know these things that we got involved with 00:06:47.230 --> 00:06:50.810 you know He was a part of and then that you know 00:06:50.810 --> 00:06:53.449 kept going but also youth ministry We were helping 00:06:53.449 --> 00:06:56.449 because we had teenagers its time with the youth 00:06:56.449 --> 00:06:58.750 ministry at that time I just realized we had 00:06:58.750 --> 00:07:00.829 two pastors on the show that have been in jail 00:07:00.829 --> 00:07:04.990 So it's just funny pastor Rick and pastor buckles 00:07:04.990 --> 00:07:08.850 well pastor You know, Justin Buckles. Yeah, so 00:07:08.850 --> 00:07:10.589 that's fun. So it doesn't matter if you've been 00:07:10.589 --> 00:07:14.769 to jail, God will use you anyway. Yeah. But okay, 00:07:14.910 --> 00:07:19.209 Jennifer, do you want to add to that? So we were 00:07:19.209 --> 00:07:23.529 married four years and this is when doing these 00:07:23.529 --> 00:07:26.649 ministries, we started getting some direction 00:07:26.649 --> 00:07:31.529 and words from God to go to Oral Roberts University. 00:07:31.790 --> 00:07:35.529 Okay. And this is where, you know, telling the 00:07:35.529 --> 00:07:38.750 audience direction, getting direction from God. 00:07:39.269 --> 00:07:43.009 Jennifer got more direction getting married and 00:07:43.009 --> 00:07:45.730 seeing things and confirming things. Now we're 00:07:45.730 --> 00:07:50.589 getting ready to go to Tulsa, Oklahoma. And we, 00:07:50.670 --> 00:07:52.589 you know, for anybody, okay, you're married four 00:07:52.589 --> 00:07:55.310 years, good jobs, and you're going to leave all 00:07:55.310 --> 00:07:58.170 that to go to Bible college. So that's where, 00:07:58.170 --> 00:08:01.689 you know, we really needed God's direction. So 00:08:01.689 --> 00:08:05.550 taking bold steps, you know, to do that. Do you 00:08:05.550 --> 00:08:09.230 want to talk about your Bible study? Sure. Again, 00:08:10.089 --> 00:08:12.829 for some of us, I really needed a lot of clarification 00:08:12.829 --> 00:08:15.930 from the Lord. This meant picking up and leaving 00:08:15.930 --> 00:08:19.709 our families, but our yes was on the table. I 00:08:19.709 --> 00:08:23.389 just was going to this Bible study, the usual 00:08:23.389 --> 00:08:27.370 Bible study, and... I said, before we went, I 00:08:27.370 --> 00:08:30.189 prayed, I said, Lord, I want to see this in your 00:08:30.189 --> 00:08:32.429 word. I don't know why I would ask him that. 00:08:32.690 --> 00:08:36.230 But when I got there, there was a white box on 00:08:36.230 --> 00:08:40.009 the table all yellow around from 1989. And this 00:08:40.009 --> 00:08:44.110 lady came that I never met. She was new. And 00:08:44.110 --> 00:08:47.289 she was a Peters Township teacher that found 00:08:47.289 --> 00:08:49.750 this box in her garage that she'd forgotten about 00:08:49.750 --> 00:08:52.610 from a student that used to go there and he wrote 00:08:52.610 --> 00:08:55.490 a little note that said, we need to get God back 00:08:55.490 --> 00:08:58.509 in the schools. And she goes, take a look at 00:08:58.509 --> 00:09:01.590 this. And she opened it. And as she did, I had 00:09:01.590 --> 00:09:04.350 to keep my amazement to myself because we agreed 00:09:04.350 --> 00:09:07.169 not to tell anybody about what God was doing 00:09:07.169 --> 00:09:10.809 in our lives at that time. It was an ORU study 00:09:10.809 --> 00:09:15.559 Bible. I mean, like... So that did it for me. 00:09:15.659 --> 00:09:18.019 She said oh you stop seem like you really like 00:09:18.019 --> 00:09:20.679 it I said I do she said I think this is for you 00:09:20.679 --> 00:09:23.279 So I took it home and put it on the dining room 00:09:23.279 --> 00:09:25.279 table as we're eating dinner and I said look 00:09:25.279 --> 00:09:29.120 at what's in that box I Love when he does stuff 00:09:29.120 --> 00:09:34.100 amazing. I like to know that I know And he knows 00:09:34.100 --> 00:09:36.820 that you like to know that you know, I do and 00:09:36.820 --> 00:09:39.840 we believe he does want you to know, you know, 00:09:39.840 --> 00:09:43.039 it's just as we talk further, the relationship 00:09:43.039 --> 00:09:46.220 you're in with Him, the connection, the intimacy 00:09:46.220 --> 00:09:48.480 that you have with the Lord. You know, I was 00:09:48.480 --> 00:09:52.080 reading this morning in John 15, it says, abide, 00:09:52.399 --> 00:09:56.179 verse 4, abide in me. You know, that word means 00:09:56.179 --> 00:09:59.000 to stay, to dwell, and you know, that's where 00:09:59.000 --> 00:10:02.799 we get more direction and more insight. But the 00:10:02.799 --> 00:10:08.159 other thing, because we, this is like the unbelievable 00:10:08.159 --> 00:10:11.899 thing about it, there's So I was in sales and 00:10:11.899 --> 00:10:16.519 working. I didn't finish college and I had 72 00:10:16.519 --> 00:10:19.940 credits from Kent State Pitt in South Carolina. 00:10:21.000 --> 00:10:22.600 And I was just praying. I was gonna go back to 00:10:22.600 --> 00:10:27.000 school at Pitt and get into counseling. And we 00:10:27.000 --> 00:10:29.580 were praying about it and this started coming 00:10:29.580 --> 00:10:32.720 up to go to Oral Roberts University. And so we 00:10:32.720 --> 00:10:35.700 prayed and we agreed that if I would go as a 00:10:35.700 --> 00:10:39.549 junior, this is 25 years later. These credits 00:10:39.549 --> 00:10:43.490 are 25 years old. So I went to these schools 00:10:43.490 --> 00:10:45.990 and sent my credits in, and we agreed that if 00:10:45.990 --> 00:10:48.809 I would go in as a junior, that that was an open 00:10:48.809 --> 00:10:54.750 door. Well, 61 credits transferred in each 60 00:10:54.750 --> 00:10:57.629 to be a junior. So that was another green light 00:10:57.629 --> 00:11:01.309 for us to keep moving forward. And then we prayed 00:11:01.309 --> 00:11:05.309 about going down to visit. And that was something 00:11:05.309 --> 00:11:07.929 that opened up. And nobody knew except Pastor 00:11:07.929 --> 00:11:12.399 Rick. at the time. So, and he was so excited 00:11:12.399 --> 00:11:14.580 for us. He just felt like that's where God was 00:11:14.580 --> 00:11:18.779 leading. So he was agreeing with us as we kept 00:11:18.779 --> 00:11:21.419 searching the Lord and praying about it. So the 00:11:21.419 --> 00:11:23.960 next thing was, if you want to talk about that. 00:11:24.080 --> 00:11:27.559 How did we know it was time to go, you ask. Although 00:11:27.559 --> 00:11:30.139 no one knew yet, we were involved with the youth 00:11:30.139 --> 00:11:35.090 and one of the pastors asked us, hey. Would you 00:11:35.090 --> 00:11:38.769 like to bring a van of used that want to check 00:11:38.769 --> 00:11:40.970 out ORU when they graduate? They wanted to know 00:11:40.970 --> 00:11:46.309 what it was like and we said sure. So we took 00:11:46.309 --> 00:11:50.169 a van full of kids down. Wow. To ORU and in that 00:11:50.169 --> 00:11:53.269 time Pat got to meet with the counselor there. 00:11:53.309 --> 00:11:56.909 Huh. Yeah we got to look around and it was amazing. 00:11:57.029 --> 00:12:00.710 I mean only God could think this up. Wow. Yeah. 00:12:00.909 --> 00:12:03.009 I mean, it seems like you had a lot of reinforcement 00:12:03.009 --> 00:12:05.590 about this school. You guys both had jobs at 00:12:05.590 --> 00:12:08.529 the time. And how scary was that to walk away 00:12:08.529 --> 00:12:13.230 from known into an unknown situation? No job, 00:12:13.990 --> 00:12:16.350 states away, no family. I'm assuming you didn't 00:12:16.350 --> 00:12:18.970 have family in Oklahoma. No. You had nothing, 00:12:19.049 --> 00:12:22.330 no support. No. Whatsoever, except God himself. 00:12:22.590 --> 00:12:25.389 Yeah, we had his work. How intensely, like, was 00:12:25.389 --> 00:12:27.009 there any fear that crept up here and there? 00:12:27.169 --> 00:12:29.779 Were there worry, doubt? No. I didn't have any. 00:12:29.779 --> 00:12:33.659 You got Mrs. White Box with you or you got your 00:12:33.659 --> 00:12:37.779 answer. Yeah. That's a good question. Anybody 00:12:37.779 --> 00:12:41.519 feeling a nudge or leading, God answers all that. 00:12:41.539 --> 00:12:44.340 He wants you to know and feel comfortable with 00:12:44.340 --> 00:12:47.679 the direction you're taking. Isaiah says you 00:12:47.679 --> 00:12:51.529 will go out with joy and be led by peace. So 00:12:51.529 --> 00:12:53.909 these confirmations, you know, I wouldn't tell 00:12:53.909 --> 00:12:56.909 anybody to, you know, pull up stakes, quit your 00:12:56.909 --> 00:12:59.590 job, and go to a Bible college unless the Holy 00:12:59.590 --> 00:13:01.509 Spirit, you knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that's 00:13:01.509 --> 00:13:03.950 where the Holy Spirit's leading. Which is, you 00:13:03.950 --> 00:13:06.929 know, I was 40 years old at the time, and we're 00:13:06.929 --> 00:13:09.230 getting this direction, and yeah, okay, we're 00:13:09.230 --> 00:13:11.970 making good money, and we can relax, you know, 00:13:12.009 --> 00:13:16.210 just live life. But we had to call, so we answered 00:13:16.210 --> 00:13:18.929 it, and that means, yeah, we quit our jobs. And 00:13:18.929 --> 00:13:20.309 we didn't know where we were going to live. We 00:13:20.309 --> 00:13:21.970 didn't know anything about school. How was I 00:13:21.970 --> 00:13:24.490 going to do? And I had another incident, you 00:13:24.490 --> 00:13:26.750 know, on our way down to visit ORU the first 00:13:26.750 --> 00:13:30.190 time we stopped at a truck stop. You know, I'm 00:13:30.190 --> 00:13:32.149 thinking, you know what? I'm too old for this. 00:13:32.250 --> 00:13:36.250 You know, this is too hard. And we were at the 00:13:36.250 --> 00:13:39.529 truck stop and this old lady's walking around 00:13:39.529 --> 00:13:43.350 with this big Jesus pin on. 92. Yeah, she's 92 00:13:43.350 --> 00:13:45.899 years old. And she said, you know, I just try 00:13:45.899 --> 00:13:48.860 to encourage people and make them happy. And 00:13:48.860 --> 00:13:51.480 she's passing out tracks. And I'm sitting there 00:13:51.480 --> 00:13:53.419 thinking, you know, well, I'm too old to go down 00:13:53.419 --> 00:13:56.120 there. And so God just, you know, shook me a 00:13:56.120 --> 00:13:57.820 little bit there. He's like, you're just getting 00:13:57.820 --> 00:14:01.740 started. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Exactly. Because 00:14:01.740 --> 00:14:03.960 the trip, when we got there, it was very, very 00:14:03.960 --> 00:14:07.539 busy. He said you're 52 years younger than you 00:14:07.539 --> 00:14:10.779 could be to go. Yeah. Right. Right. Exactly. 00:14:11.019 --> 00:14:15.740 Very good. Yeah. At the time, Pat didn't have 00:14:15.740 --> 00:14:18.840 a job yet. I knew it would happen because God 00:14:18.840 --> 00:14:21.220 said we were supposed to be there. He always 00:14:21.220 --> 00:14:25.179 provides and gives grace and favor to provide 00:14:25.179 --> 00:14:27.679 everything for you. You know, when you put your 00:14:27.679 --> 00:14:30.840 yes on the table. I had a job eight weeks before 00:14:30.840 --> 00:14:34.299 we went. Oh, wow. Why? I don't know, but I had 00:14:34.299 --> 00:14:37.419 a... I tried a salon. That's what I used to do. 00:14:38.179 --> 00:14:41.029 This one salon and everything was... Yes, yes, 00:14:41.070 --> 00:14:45.149 yes. So did you find a place to live before you 00:14:45.149 --> 00:14:47.549 moved there or you just like kind of rented a 00:14:47.549 --> 00:14:49.029 place or like how did that work out? We looked 00:14:49.029 --> 00:14:52.269 at a few places when we got there, right? Yeah, 00:14:52.269 --> 00:14:56.509 but we didn't find a place. Jessica was a senior 00:14:56.509 --> 00:15:00.009 in high school and we wanted to get a place for 00:15:00.009 --> 00:15:01.830 her to go to school and where she could walk 00:15:01.830 --> 00:15:04.649 there. So it was a real nice high school, one 00:15:04.649 --> 00:15:08.220 of the best. Tulsa at the time. So we got an 00:15:08.220 --> 00:15:11.799 apartment right near there. That was our guiding 00:15:11.799 --> 00:15:14.120 light for the apartment, somewhere where she 00:15:14.120 --> 00:15:17.720 could go to school. But God worked that out too. 00:15:17.720 --> 00:15:20.600 She was a senior and she was all ready to go. 00:15:20.879 --> 00:15:23.960 And she ended up going to Oral Roberts as well, 00:15:24.080 --> 00:15:26.879 after she graduated. And we had the blessing 00:15:26.879 --> 00:15:29.679 of her and I having a couple classes together. 00:15:29.820 --> 00:15:32.460 Yeah, and they walked together too. They didn't 00:15:32.460 --> 00:15:36.399 plan it. Everything just... Gives me chills. 00:15:36.860 --> 00:15:39.259 Yeah, I used to make a joke about it and say 00:15:39.259 --> 00:15:42.440 that because you know We there was about 50 or 00:15:42.440 --> 00:15:45.120 so of us my age going though Are you because 00:15:45.120 --> 00:15:48.360 about 5 ,000 student are all you know generally? 00:15:48.799 --> 00:15:53.059 18 to 22 and You know I used to make a joke about 00:15:53.059 --> 00:15:55.320 it. So you know my daughter goes here, and I 00:15:55.320 --> 00:15:58.899 don't mind It's kind of reversing that you know 00:15:58.899 --> 00:16:01.840 I remember when we were down there And you know 00:16:01.840 --> 00:16:04.870 God's Word says humility comes before honor And 00:16:04.870 --> 00:16:06.590 I'm thinking, man, it was this big calling, you 00:16:06.590 --> 00:16:09.929 know, God calling. It was like, as we mentioned, 00:16:10.110 --> 00:16:13.690 just concrete. And it was exciting. And I just 00:16:13.690 --> 00:16:16.710 kind of wonder what he's got for us down there. 00:16:17.389 --> 00:16:20.110 So I started working for the state of Oklahoma 00:16:20.110 --> 00:16:24.370 night shift for a emergency shelter for abused 00:16:24.370 --> 00:16:29.529 kids. And when you worked a night shift, at least 00:16:29.529 --> 00:16:32.539 this was my job, All these people that came in, 00:16:32.539 --> 00:16:35.700 they came in from homes that were just horrific 00:16:35.700 --> 00:16:38.539 things going on and some stories that are really 00:16:38.539 --> 00:16:44.960 sad and break your heart. So I'm there and I'm 00:16:44.960 --> 00:16:46.860 doing my job and I'm looking out the window, 00:16:47.080 --> 00:16:50.860 it's about three in the morning and I'm like, 00:16:50.960 --> 00:16:54.120 God, I think I've missed you. What am I doing 00:16:54.120 --> 00:16:57.759 here? So I'm doing the wash of these kids. That's 00:16:57.759 --> 00:17:00.159 what I was doing, washing their clothes. And 00:17:00.159 --> 00:17:03.820 I felt like, you know, that I should be speaking 00:17:03.820 --> 00:17:06.140 into people's lives, I should be counseling on 00:17:06.140 --> 00:17:09.079 something, and here I am washing clothes, and 00:17:09.079 --> 00:17:13.119 God almost spoke to me, but he really impressed 00:17:13.119 --> 00:17:17.819 on my heart. And he said, these are my kids, 00:17:18.119 --> 00:17:21.119 and you need to take care of them. So it like 00:17:21.119 --> 00:17:23.880 straightened me right up. Oh yeah, yeah, no, 00:17:23.940 --> 00:17:26.970 I could see that coming. Yeah. You are doing 00:17:26.970 --> 00:17:29.150 his work. When you do it to the least of these, 00:17:29.269 --> 00:17:31.990 you're doing it to him. Amen. Right from his 00:17:31.990 --> 00:17:34.930 own lips, you know? Yeah, so it was a moving 00:17:34.930 --> 00:17:38.289 experience, life -changing for me. And of course, 00:17:38.369 --> 00:17:41.250 we have a whole bunch of those. Honey, would 00:17:41.250 --> 00:17:45.829 you like to pick up from there? Well, the next 00:17:45.829 --> 00:17:51.329 job for me, I said I'd never do. Ah, oh boy. 00:17:51.879 --> 00:17:54.660 I worked in a, what is the name of that shelter 00:17:54.660 --> 00:17:57.119 again? It was so long ago. Laura Dester shelter. 00:17:58.579 --> 00:18:01.359 I said I would never work in a place like that. 00:18:01.500 --> 00:18:03.579 And then there was an opening. I guess I was 00:18:03.579 --> 00:18:06.480 done with hair right then. It's a long time ago. 00:18:07.019 --> 00:18:10.900 So yeah, what an eye opener. My first day, I 00:18:10.900 --> 00:18:14.400 had to wash, give a bath to a little boy who 00:18:14.400 --> 00:18:19.400 was about seven and he had bruises on him. on 00:18:19.400 --> 00:18:22.779 his behind and he was saying that his daddy you 00:18:22.779 --> 00:18:26.099 know heard him I was like I was devastated inside 00:18:26.099 --> 00:18:30.960 I just thought can I do this Lord yeah so and 00:18:30.960 --> 00:18:34.240 I saw I was a uh like a house mother for these 00:18:34.240 --> 00:18:37.039 little ones getting their food ready, helping 00:18:37.039 --> 00:18:39.119 them get ready for school. They would ask if 00:18:39.119 --> 00:18:42.700 they could go home with me. I just, it did something 00:18:42.700 --> 00:18:45.660 to my heart. Yeah. And it did something to theirs 00:18:45.660 --> 00:18:48.319 too. I hope so. They learned what safety was 00:18:48.319 --> 00:18:50.519 like. They learned what love was supposed to 00:18:50.519 --> 00:18:53.339 look like. You have no idea how much you touch 00:18:53.339 --> 00:18:55.799 those kids. I'm telling you now. They needed 00:18:55.799 --> 00:18:58.119 that. They needed it in a way that you cannot 00:18:58.119 --> 00:19:00.480 fathom that God put you in a place to help those 00:19:00.480 --> 00:19:03.460 kids. And he said, you know, to heck with your 00:19:03.460 --> 00:19:05.700 discomfort, you're going to help my kids. Yeah. 00:19:05.960 --> 00:19:08.720 Yeah. So you got over it and they healed a little 00:19:08.720 --> 00:19:10.859 bit because of it. You know, so praise God for 00:19:10.859 --> 00:19:13.099 you and that that is a very difficult situation 00:19:13.099 --> 00:19:17.400 to be in. Well, he used it for his his glory 00:19:17.400 --> 00:19:23.920 to love love through me. So. Yeah. So, so God's 00:19:23.920 --> 00:19:29.259 preparing us for what's next. And we graduated 00:19:29.259 --> 00:19:32.940 from Moria, but before that, I'll, this is a 00:19:32.940 --> 00:19:36.480 quick story there, because I wanted to take a 00:19:36.480 --> 00:19:39.339 class which would allow me to graduate early. 00:19:40.140 --> 00:19:43.440 But you needed a prerequisite to graduate, to 00:19:43.440 --> 00:19:46.079 take the class. And I was talking to the dean 00:19:46.079 --> 00:19:48.700 of the counseling department, and you know, he 00:19:48.700 --> 00:19:50.990 said, Because he let me take a class without 00:19:50.990 --> 00:19:52.769 a prerequisite. I thought this would be a shoe 00:19:52.769 --> 00:19:56.390 in. And what happened was, he says, you know 00:19:56.390 --> 00:19:58.130 what? This isn't going to be that easy. I don't 00:19:58.130 --> 00:20:00.289 know if this teacher is going to let you do that. 00:20:01.089 --> 00:20:03.210 So I went to her and talked to her. And I said, 00:20:03.269 --> 00:20:06.569 look, if I take this, I'll have this done. And 00:20:06.569 --> 00:20:09.769 then I'll be able to graduate a year early. I 00:20:09.769 --> 00:20:13.690 know this has got to be a God thing. And she 00:20:13.690 --> 00:20:16.309 said, oh, I'm sorry. I can't let you do that 00:20:16.309 --> 00:20:20.779 without a prerequisite. I was devastated. I was 00:20:20.779 --> 00:20:24.019 mad for about a day and a half, and I'm, okay, 00:20:24.200 --> 00:20:28.519 God, I know you open doors that no man can shut, 00:20:28.680 --> 00:20:32.240 you shut doors that no man can open, and I know 00:20:32.240 --> 00:20:34.160 you got something here. I don't know what it 00:20:34.160 --> 00:20:37.150 is, because I was making plans. to take a job 00:20:37.150 --> 00:20:41.829 in Oklahoma, Tulsa, and it was similar to Little 00:20:41.829 --> 00:20:44.730 Art Duster. So it was just being planned out 00:20:44.730 --> 00:20:47.509 and, you know, it was all being set up and that 00:20:47.509 --> 00:20:51.769 door shut. So if I would have done that, what 00:20:51.769 --> 00:20:56.049 happened almost nine months later, we get a call 00:20:56.049 --> 00:21:00.049 from Pastor Jack Stepp and they're interested 00:21:00.049 --> 00:21:02.589 in doing a counseling center, which is what I 00:21:02.589 --> 00:21:05.880 was studying. at ORU, and that's how that got 00:21:05.880 --> 00:21:09.599 started. And we came back, graduated, and started 00:21:09.599 --> 00:21:14.400 Compassion Connection Counseling Center in 2005 00:21:14.400 --> 00:21:20.299 after I graduated. And with that, the takeaway 00:21:20.299 --> 00:21:23.799 of five years of doing that is starting with 00:21:23.799 --> 00:21:27.960 three people the first week of counseling. And 00:21:27.960 --> 00:21:32.950 then when we left, there was at least 60 plus 00:21:32.950 --> 00:21:36.029 people coming in every week. You know, we had 00:21:36.029 --> 00:21:38.670 interns, made a lot of connections with the colleges, 00:21:38.769 --> 00:21:42.470 and we also had some part -time therapists. And 00:21:42.470 --> 00:21:44.829 again, the bigger takeaway is speaking into people's 00:21:44.829 --> 00:21:48.329 lives, seeing marriages get healed, seeing depression, 00:21:48.589 --> 00:21:51.750 anxiety, people having a place to go and believe, 00:21:52.130 --> 00:21:55.069 because it was faith -based Christian counseling. 00:21:55.650 --> 00:21:58.430 And that's what I've done for the last 20 years. 00:21:58.670 --> 00:22:00.990 And I won't do anything else but that because 00:22:01.369 --> 00:22:04.890 And I call it my scope of practice. Did it cover 00:22:04.890 --> 00:22:08.049 everything? You mentioned what marriage is, but 00:22:08.049 --> 00:22:10.309 you also mentioned depression and anxiety. Yeah, 00:22:10.309 --> 00:22:13.769 mental health. So you just, across the board, 00:22:14.630 --> 00:22:17.170 whatever it is you guys had, or they had, or 00:22:17.170 --> 00:22:19.089 anyone had, you would be willing to step into 00:22:19.089 --> 00:22:21.829 the name of Christ with a counseling that was 00:22:21.829 --> 00:22:24.410 Christ -centered. Yeah, absolutely Christ -centered. 00:22:25.230 --> 00:22:28.569 Of course, it's all homegrown. I've had issues 00:22:28.569 --> 00:22:32.170 in the past 30 years ago plus with alcohol and 00:22:32.170 --> 00:22:35.670 then I've had depression. But the Lord has delivered 00:22:35.670 --> 00:22:38.269 me and I've overcome all that with the power 00:22:38.269 --> 00:22:42.190 of the Holy Spirit and His Word. I can say that 00:22:42.190 --> 00:22:45.349 to everybody, which I do. One of my favorite 00:22:45.349 --> 00:22:49.369 scriptures, 2 Corinthians 10, verse 4 and 5, 00:22:49.490 --> 00:22:51.049 the weapons of our warfare are mighty through 00:22:51.049 --> 00:22:55.220 God pulling down strongholds. casting down imaginations 00:22:55.220 --> 00:22:57.460 and taking every thought gap to pity, pity, and 00:22:57.460 --> 00:23:00.660 to Christ. So as a therapist and, you know, cognitive 00:23:00.660 --> 00:23:04.119 therapy, just a bunch of fancy words there that 00:23:04.119 --> 00:23:06.339 psychologists use, but it's really your thinking. 00:23:07.150 --> 00:23:09.069 You know, what am I thinking here? You know, 00:23:09.089 --> 00:23:11.190 God's a spirit. You know, that's what's the main 00:23:11.190 --> 00:23:14.109 thing. What, you know, you're thinking. So we 00:23:14.109 --> 00:23:17.190 talk a lot about that and helped a lot of people. 00:23:17.210 --> 00:23:20.009 Me and Jennifer, early on, you know, did marriage 00:23:20.009 --> 00:23:23.170 counseling together. And as time went on, then 00:23:23.170 --> 00:23:26.069 from there, you know, went into private practice. 00:23:26.190 --> 00:23:28.430 And you want to maybe talk about Colorado a little 00:23:28.430 --> 00:23:32.609 bit, because that happened while we were at Oral 00:23:32.609 --> 00:23:35.029 Roberts University. And maybe a little bit about 00:23:35.029 --> 00:23:38.680 Pawnee and Jerry. Oh, we had some friends. We 00:23:38.680 --> 00:23:44.400 were on the prayer team in Tulsa and still friends 00:23:44.400 --> 00:23:49.799 with them today. And meeting Bonnie, she told 00:23:49.799 --> 00:23:53.119 us about a place called Coffee and Council. And 00:23:53.119 --> 00:23:56.640 it was just a little cabin in Colorado where 00:23:56.640 --> 00:23:59.299 ministers or people in ministry could go rest 00:23:59.299 --> 00:24:03.940 for a week, maybe a few days. And we could stay 00:24:03.940 --> 00:24:07.230 there free, you know. I'm pretty sure we gave 00:24:07.230 --> 00:24:11.309 a little offering there, but we went and we loved 00:24:11.309 --> 00:24:15.509 it. It was so quiet and so beautiful. And when 00:24:15.509 --> 00:24:19.690 we left, it seems like to me, we took a piece 00:24:19.690 --> 00:24:23.190 of it with us. And then we met Joanne. And then 00:24:23.190 --> 00:24:25.130 we, oh, that's right. While we were staying at 00:24:25.130 --> 00:24:27.890 the cabin at that first time, there was a little 00:24:27.890 --> 00:24:30.630 cabin up here. And we walked over, you know, 00:24:30.670 --> 00:24:34.279 we met her. Her name was Joanne. She's in heaven 00:24:34.279 --> 00:24:38.160 now, and she had a little dog. And you want to 00:24:38.160 --> 00:24:41.940 take over? Yeah, so here we are. First time in 00:24:41.940 --> 00:24:44.000 Colorado, we're 10 ,000 feet in the mountains. 00:24:44.039 --> 00:24:46.839 Yeah. I mean, it's breathtaking. And there was 00:24:46.839 --> 00:24:49.200 one cabin right next to this one, ladies out 00:24:49.200 --> 00:24:52.519 in the yard, and we're talking. And she said, 00:24:52.519 --> 00:24:54.400 well, where are you from? I said, I'm from Pennsylvania. 00:24:55.039 --> 00:24:57.880 Oh, I'm originally from Pennsylvania, really. 00:24:57.920 --> 00:25:01.380 And then I told her the town, Washington, Pennsylvania. 00:25:01.900 --> 00:25:05.049 And you're kidding. That's where I'm from. So 00:25:05.049 --> 00:25:08.509 here we are, 10 ,000 feet in the mountains. She's 00:25:08.509 --> 00:25:11.970 been living there 40 years and this is our first 00:25:11.970 --> 00:25:14.609 time there and God put us together so right away 00:25:14.609 --> 00:25:17.630 the antennas go up and you're like, okay God, 00:25:18.029 --> 00:25:21.849 what's going on here? What's the direction? Does 00:25:21.849 --> 00:25:24.069 she know Jesus? You know, that's the first thing 00:25:24.069 --> 00:25:27.630 we think of and she did and you know, we've prayed 00:25:27.630 --> 00:25:29.369 with her and got to know her really well over 00:25:29.369 --> 00:25:32.279 the years. But eventually, you know, we went 00:25:32.279 --> 00:25:36.559 back to Pennsylvania and the decounseling center, 00:25:36.920 --> 00:25:39.539 and we were praying into that, you know, for 00:25:39.539 --> 00:25:42.480 almost 10 years. Colorado. Yeah, before, to Colorado, 00:25:42.680 --> 00:25:45.460 yeah, before the door opened up. And then we 00:25:45.460 --> 00:25:49.740 went out there to the work, the Denver Rescue 00:25:49.740 --> 00:25:53.259 Mission, which, and we bought a house, which 00:25:53.259 --> 00:25:56.599 we felt the Lord leading us there. About two 00:25:56.599 --> 00:25:58.839 miles away from where Joanne lived. So yeah, 00:25:58.880 --> 00:26:01.500 we lived at 9 ,000 feet in the mountains I know 00:26:01.500 --> 00:26:03.299 people like you're kidding now. We weren't getting 00:26:03.299 --> 00:26:05.799 off the grid. This was all God, you know leading 00:26:05.799 --> 00:26:09.700 us there and Working at the Denver rescue mission 00:26:09.700 --> 00:26:13.980 was just a high level Of the Holy Spirit doing 00:26:13.980 --> 00:26:17.160 things every single day that I was there Whether 00:26:17.160 --> 00:26:19.640 it's discipling bringing people into the kingdom 00:26:19.640 --> 00:26:22.660 praying for healing just a lot of incredible 00:26:22.660 --> 00:26:27.599 experiences there And even before we settled 00:26:27.599 --> 00:26:31.740 down there, it just seems like we heard people 00:26:31.740 --> 00:26:34.259 over here in this restaurant or that in Pittsburgh 00:26:34.259 --> 00:26:37.900 and Colorado, we just kept hearing Bailey, Bailey, 00:26:38.460 --> 00:26:40.440 Bailey. And this is where that woman lived and 00:26:40.440 --> 00:26:44.259 where we were staying for that week. And then, 00:26:44.720 --> 00:26:47.539 I know this is unusual, but God sometimes shows 00:26:47.539 --> 00:26:49.420 you things over and over to get your attention, 00:26:49.640 --> 00:26:54.230 right? We got to a point in these 10 years, like, 00:26:54.329 --> 00:26:57.890 do you want us to go or what's taking so long? 00:26:57.990 --> 00:27:00.569 Should we just forget? Forget about it. No, he 00:27:00.569 --> 00:27:02.589 wanted us to go. We were just getting prepared. 00:27:03.390 --> 00:27:07.329 It would seem as if people were flocking to Pittsburgh 00:27:07.329 --> 00:27:10.970 from Colorado. We saw license plates, I mean 00:27:10.970 --> 00:27:13.849 everywhere. Even in our apartment windows, somebody 00:27:13.849 --> 00:27:16.970 just parked right there and like, oh my goodness, 00:27:17.309 --> 00:27:19.880 we thought we're going to buy a house here. But 00:27:19.880 --> 00:27:22.759 it just didn't work out. Didn't work out. I know 00:27:22.759 --> 00:27:24.319 you're thinking of something. Well, I was thinking 00:27:24.319 --> 00:27:27.519 about the one house. I knew it. We were going 00:27:27.519 --> 00:27:30.079 to buy it. And I was like, that's it. I'm going 00:27:30.079 --> 00:27:34.079 to put a bid on. And Jennifer felt led to call 00:27:34.079 --> 00:27:35.960 me. And I'm sitting in front of the house, picturing 00:27:35.960 --> 00:27:39.180 what it's going to look like. And this is actually 00:27:39.180 --> 00:27:43.119 on the road I grew up in Washington County. And 00:27:43.119 --> 00:27:45.220 she said, hey, I just felt like, what are you 00:27:45.220 --> 00:27:47.759 doing? So I'm looking at the house. I just want 00:27:47.759 --> 00:27:51.279 to see what all we can do with it. And I'm sitting 00:27:51.279 --> 00:27:54.819 there talking to her out on a remote road in 00:27:54.819 --> 00:27:57.140 Washington County. And I look in a rear view 00:27:57.140 --> 00:28:01.910 mirror. And his Colorado license plate is right 00:28:01.910 --> 00:28:04.049 behind me. They pull right up behind him, and 00:28:04.049 --> 00:28:06.549 it's like, uh -uh, it's not here. I say, you're 00:28:06.549 --> 00:28:10.049 not going to believe this. He paused. I'm like, 00:28:10.089 --> 00:28:12.269 what's going on? But I was still being stubborn. 00:28:12.430 --> 00:28:15.670 I said, I'm still buying the house. So then we 00:28:15.670 --> 00:28:17.910 did. I went to bid on the house, and somebody 00:28:17.910 --> 00:28:20.390 bought it like the day before. The soda door 00:28:20.390 --> 00:28:25.700 shut. I'm like, OK. You know, so. We kept looking 00:28:25.700 --> 00:28:27.420 and looking. We couldn't find anything. And then 00:28:27.420 --> 00:28:30.480 we would go to Colorado and move. And we found 00:28:30.480 --> 00:28:32.299 a house the second day we were there, and closed 00:28:32.299 --> 00:28:35.539 on it in 30 days. True. But the year before that, 00:28:35.660 --> 00:28:38.640 we were looking at houses in Colorado. Remember? 00:28:38.799 --> 00:28:42.059 Yeah. And I saw that house, and I went, that's 00:28:42.059 --> 00:28:44.720 interesting. I wonder where that is. And here, 00:28:45.039 --> 00:28:48.099 like Pat said, it was near Joanne's house, only 00:28:48.099 --> 00:28:52.619 about two miles. But it stayed empty. for a few 00:28:52.619 --> 00:28:55.619 years and the first day we went to look at houses 00:28:55.619 --> 00:28:58.960 there with a realtor it was like oh that's beautiful 00:28:58.960 --> 00:29:01.980 you want in a different house okay i liked it 00:29:01.980 --> 00:29:04.539 and then she came in the office after we saw 00:29:04.539 --> 00:29:06.740 it she said i'm sorry i didn't know somebody 00:29:06.740 --> 00:29:09.559 already put a bin on it and i'm like and the 00:29:09.559 --> 00:29:12.359 next morning we woke up that other house they 00:29:12.359 --> 00:29:14.200 must have took it off the market for a while 00:29:14.200 --> 00:29:17.000 came up i said this is that same house i looked 00:29:17.000 --> 00:29:19.880 at so when we were going to look at it remember 00:29:19.880 --> 00:29:23.789 right in the middle of the National Forest. Yeah, 00:29:23.849 --> 00:29:26.630 it was a God thing. Oh my gosh, we walked up 00:29:26.630 --> 00:29:28.930 the steps and saw three mountains from our living 00:29:28.930 --> 00:29:32.230 room and that was it. We were ruined. Oh yeah. 00:29:32.990 --> 00:29:38.609 I said this is it. And the takeaway is okay, 00:29:38.789 --> 00:29:40.730 it's the house, but you know, God allowed us 00:29:40.730 --> 00:29:43.710 to live. In the mountains and you know work the 00:29:43.710 --> 00:29:46.349 Denver rescue mission where he was doing a lot 00:29:46.349 --> 00:29:50.349 of things every day and You know Jennifer spent 00:29:50.349 --> 00:29:53.089 a lot of quiet time. You know you get close to 00:29:53.089 --> 00:29:59.109 Jesus in prayer So what would you like to even 00:29:59.109 --> 00:30:02.190 before that we were our lease was coming up while 00:30:02.190 --> 00:30:05.859 we were still living here And one day we got 00:30:05.859 --> 00:30:07.759 a letter in the mail saying, you're not allowed 00:30:07.759 --> 00:30:09.900 to have a dog here. We lived there for five and 00:30:09.900 --> 00:30:11.539 a half years and they said we're allowed to have 00:30:11.539 --> 00:30:14.779 a dog. It was gone. And we were praying. We're 00:30:14.779 --> 00:30:18.160 like, oh my gosh, where are we going to go? What 00:30:18.160 --> 00:30:20.940 are we going to do with our dog? We love our 00:30:20.940 --> 00:30:24.420 dog. We have this family. And it hit me. He's 00:30:24.420 --> 00:30:28.200 kicking us out. It's time. And then I heard when 00:30:28.200 --> 00:30:30.740 we were at the sofa, I'm getting chills remembering 00:30:30.740 --> 00:30:36.000 it. Are you ready for a whirlwind? What? And 00:30:36.000 --> 00:30:37.640 we were, even though we were looking for another 00:30:37.640 --> 00:30:41.160 place, and then you had, I don't know how you 00:30:41.160 --> 00:30:44.259 did it, but in that space of time, you put an 00:30:44.259 --> 00:30:47.519 app in, Application for Denver Rescue Mission, 00:30:48.579 --> 00:30:51.319 and he did a Skype interview, and as long as 00:30:51.319 --> 00:30:54.480 it took for this to happen, boom, boom, boom, 00:30:54.859 --> 00:30:58.170 it was very fast after that. It's like standing 00:30:58.170 --> 00:31:00.130 at the top of a water slide and you're scared 00:31:00.130 --> 00:31:02.769 to go down and finally he kicks your feet out 00:31:02.769 --> 00:31:04.890 from underneath and you have a wild ride down. 00:31:05.470 --> 00:31:06.349 We didn't stay but we didn't know where we were 00:31:06.349 --> 00:31:09.569 going to go and then we knew that was part of 00:31:09.569 --> 00:31:11.349 it. The gentle encouraging wasn't working so 00:31:11.349 --> 00:31:14.170 he had to do it. He rolled his sleeves up and 00:31:14.170 --> 00:31:18.569 said, all right. Maybe you didn't hear me when 00:31:18.569 --> 00:31:21.289 I said I need you to go here. No, we just didn't. 00:31:21.369 --> 00:31:24.170 Every time we would go out to make sure it just 00:31:24.170 --> 00:31:27.460 didn't seem there yet. Yeah. We were willing. 00:31:27.819 --> 00:31:30.000 And that's the thing with waiting on God is, 00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:32.319 you know, His timing. Yeah, it's not easy to 00:31:32.319 --> 00:31:35.059 wait. It's not yes, it's yes, no, or not right 00:31:35.059 --> 00:31:38.099 now. Yeah. And that's been our experience over 00:31:38.099 --> 00:31:44.279 the last 30 years together. So 30 years in whirlwind 00:31:44.279 --> 00:31:48.660 of disappearing from Pennsylvania to go to college 00:31:48.660 --> 00:31:51.369 in Oklahoma. With the weird weather that they 00:31:51.369 --> 00:31:54.329 have there, you know, from hail to scorching 00:31:54.329 --> 00:31:58.150 to tornadoes, like just changes every minute, 00:31:58.230 --> 00:32:01.730 every day, just something new. To coming back 00:32:01.730 --> 00:32:06.670 here and then going to Denver, or near Denver. 00:32:07.549 --> 00:32:11.029 What miracles did you guys see in these 30 years 00:32:11.029 --> 00:32:13.309 of ministry and counseling? I mean, other than 00:32:13.309 --> 00:32:15.029 what you just shared, what are some of the ones 00:32:15.029 --> 00:32:19.380 that stick out of your head like, wow? Do you 00:32:19.380 --> 00:32:22.200 want to go first? No, you can go. One of the 00:32:22.200 --> 00:32:26.180 things, okay, when I was in Denver, this was 00:32:26.180 --> 00:32:28.680 so incredible, and you want to see it all the 00:32:28.680 --> 00:32:33.200 time. And we were on a prayer team in our church, 00:32:33.299 --> 00:32:37.440 and they were visiting a church that had a priest. 00:32:37.900 --> 00:32:44.480 It was Catholic, but he was Spirit -filled. I've 00:32:44.480 --> 00:32:46.799 never experienced anything like this, but there 00:32:46.799 --> 00:32:50.019 were people there that needed prayed for and 00:32:50.019 --> 00:32:53.420 I remember a guy with a broken arm and I prayed 00:32:53.420 --> 00:32:56.079 for him and he got healed. And then there was 00:32:56.079 --> 00:33:00.859 a guy that was limping and prayed for him and 00:33:00.859 --> 00:33:03.640 he got healed. So this was an annoying thing 00:33:03.640 --> 00:33:07.700 that this place had and it just opened my eyes 00:33:07.700 --> 00:33:13.250 more. to how, okay, it's not cookie cutter, it's 00:33:13.250 --> 00:33:16.509 really God moving in places where people have 00:33:16.509 --> 00:33:18.630 faith, but they don't really know Him that well 00:33:18.630 --> 00:33:22.450 yet. And that's where this place was. And there 00:33:22.450 --> 00:33:26.289 was another time where God was ministering to 00:33:26.289 --> 00:33:30.349 the homeless, and this is just an incredible 00:33:30.349 --> 00:33:34.089 thing of how God shows us that He cares for everybody. 00:33:35.189 --> 00:33:38.369 And he gave me the guy's name, and I kept saying 00:33:38.369 --> 00:33:46.210 the guy's name. God wants to bless Tom. And it 00:33:46.210 --> 00:33:49.890 was like silence. Nobody was coming up, and we 00:33:49.890 --> 00:33:52.390 talked a little bit more. I just kept getting 00:33:52.390 --> 00:33:56.170 it. And I said it again. God wants to bless you. 00:33:56.410 --> 00:34:02.410 So finally, this guy kind of just hunched over, 00:34:02.789 --> 00:34:07.779 came up. Older gentleman African -American and 00:34:07.779 --> 00:34:10.280 he and I just started praying with him. His name 00:34:10.280 --> 00:34:14.360 was Tom and you know, they live homeless and 00:34:14.360 --> 00:34:17.420 you know, they You know, we all know they don't 00:34:17.420 --> 00:34:20.719 their hygiene is not the best and So that was 00:34:20.719 --> 00:34:23.599 evident but it was just amazing how you could 00:34:23.599 --> 00:34:27.679 feel God's love for this gentleman And it was 00:34:27.679 --> 00:34:30.190 a word that God gave me, you know for him to 00:34:30.190 --> 00:34:33.530 encourage him. So that was another experience. 00:34:33.809 --> 00:34:36.769 And then Jennifer, we prayed for a few people 00:34:36.769 --> 00:34:39.289 there. And she can tell you about that, that 00:34:39.289 --> 00:34:44.530 we're not having children. Yeah, I got opportunity 00:34:44.530 --> 00:34:48.289 always at my jobs to somehow get divine appointments. 00:34:48.489 --> 00:34:51.090 Well, because I want them, I guess. I want to 00:34:51.090 --> 00:34:55.869 make a difference. And it seems like I was on 00:34:55.869 --> 00:34:58.110 a roll with people that wanted to get pregnant 00:34:58.110 --> 00:35:01.510 but couldn't. And this one girl at a hairdressing 00:35:01.510 --> 00:35:03.210 place, we went out back and we were talking. 00:35:03.289 --> 00:35:05.409 She goes, I just want a baby. I said, well, let's 00:35:05.409 --> 00:35:09.190 pray. You want to pray? Yeah. And I prayed for 00:35:09.190 --> 00:35:11.949 her to get pregnant. Simple prayer. That's a 00:35:11.949 --> 00:35:14.869 desire of her heart. Not a believer yet. And 00:35:14.869 --> 00:35:18.969 she said, what was that? She felt his presence. 00:35:19.170 --> 00:35:22.309 That was the first step. And then, I don't know, 00:35:22.409 --> 00:35:25.750 it was a month later. She had called the salon 00:35:25.750 --> 00:35:27.690 and wanted to talk to me. She said, you'd never 00:35:27.690 --> 00:35:31.219 guess. I said, you're pregnant. Yep. And then 00:35:31.219 --> 00:35:35.420 even our daughter -in -law, they were here visiting. 00:35:35.820 --> 00:35:42.429 They're in Oklahoma. Where were we? We were at 00:35:42.429 --> 00:35:44.550 a little coffee shop. Yeah, just so they know. 00:35:45.070 --> 00:35:47.849 Josh ended up moving there and staying when we 00:35:47.849 --> 00:35:49.949 moved. Yeah. He wasn't there yet. And he met 00:35:49.949 --> 00:35:52.829 his wife. They'd been married, what, 15, 16 years. 00:35:52.949 --> 00:35:55.769 Yeah, somewhere along those lines. And we were 00:35:55.769 --> 00:35:57.849 in a coffee shop. Me and April were waiting for 00:35:57.849 --> 00:36:00.349 the guys to get our coffee. She said, just want 00:36:00.349 --> 00:36:01.989 us to have children. I said, do you want to pray? 00:36:02.030 --> 00:36:05.429 Just a couple seconds. He had our granddaughter, 00:36:05.630 --> 00:36:08.380 Lily. That's awesome. And then there was another 00:36:08.380 --> 00:36:11.019 one that I don't remember that much about, but 00:36:11.019 --> 00:36:13.619 she got pregnant too, and I thought... That was 00:36:13.619 --> 00:36:16.960 one of the interns. Huh? Oh, it was the intern. 00:36:17.079 --> 00:36:19.280 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. It was a long time 00:36:19.280 --> 00:36:22.619 ago. Well, 30 years of doing this, I would imagine. 00:36:22.980 --> 00:36:24.840 But we're not done yet, you know, but that's 00:36:24.840 --> 00:36:28.840 where he had us in those places. You just had 00:36:28.840 --> 00:36:32.340 a recent experience. That's right. You know how 00:36:32.340 --> 00:36:35.300 you're just going grocery shopping. And this 00:36:35.300 --> 00:36:38.519 lady, we just seemed to intersect in the aisle. 00:36:38.639 --> 00:36:41.500 And I said, hello. And hello. And we started 00:36:41.500 --> 00:36:43.739 talking. And I could tell she's a new believer, 00:36:44.840 --> 00:36:49.599 a new believer. And we got to talking. And she 00:36:49.599 --> 00:36:52.019 said, how do you know when God's directing you? 00:36:52.099 --> 00:36:55.699 What's his direction? And I just spoke a little 00:36:55.699 --> 00:36:58.420 about some of the things, you know, that we've 00:36:58.420 --> 00:37:01.940 been through. Ask him, be attentive. And he'll 00:37:01.940 --> 00:37:05.019 show you. And she was just... I was blessed by 00:37:05.019 --> 00:37:07.679 just having that. And other little things like 00:37:07.679 --> 00:37:10.619 that. Divine appointments. They're special. They 00:37:10.619 --> 00:37:13.219 may seem small, but it can alter a whole person's 00:37:13.219 --> 00:37:15.340 life. I feel that my whole life is just divine 00:37:15.340 --> 00:37:16.960 appointments as well. I love that. I love that. 00:37:17.019 --> 00:37:19.619 Where are they? Where are they? I don't go looking 00:37:19.619 --> 00:37:22.719 for anybody. God puts them to me every single 00:37:22.719 --> 00:37:25.219 time. Exactly. Right in your path. Every single 00:37:25.219 --> 00:37:27.969 time. I was just actually mentioning it to Shelly 00:37:27.969 --> 00:37:29.989 earlier today. Well, I was talking about a guy 00:37:29.989 --> 00:37:33.349 that I run into at Cheats that singled me out 00:37:33.349 --> 00:37:35.690 because I was in uniform and I'm in EMT and he 00:37:35.690 --> 00:37:38.659 shared that he was in EMT 30 years ago. and that 00:37:38.659 --> 00:37:40.599 he had killed somebody and quit. And I was like, 00:37:40.739 --> 00:37:42.400 man, that's horrible. And then he kept talking 00:37:42.400 --> 00:37:44.599 to me, and I was like, oh man, I don't know if 00:37:44.599 --> 00:37:46.400 I have time to talk to you. Does he give me his 00:37:46.400 --> 00:37:48.420 whole life stories? I just wanted to go away. 00:37:48.619 --> 00:37:50.820 I'm kind of an introvert, so I don't like to 00:37:50.820 --> 00:37:53.380 have a lot of conversation with people. And then 00:37:53.380 --> 00:37:55.500 he shared what had happened, and I was like, 00:37:55.539 --> 00:37:58.079 that's not your fault. And so I started pouring 00:37:58.079 --> 00:37:59.900 life into him and saying, look, dude, that... 00:37:59.690 --> 00:38:01.409 If you had a surgeon right there that couldn't 00:38:01.409 --> 00:38:03.210 have saved this man, how do you think you killed 00:38:03.210 --> 00:38:05.849 him? That's not you. You need to get rid of this. 00:38:05.949 --> 00:38:08.289 You need to not hold onto this. He absolutely 00:38:08.289 --> 00:38:11.190 did. Yeah. And my partner, he had gone. I don't 00:38:11.190 --> 00:38:12.909 know, he just saw a little vapor trail. He was 00:38:12.909 --> 00:38:15.170 in the cartoons because he wasn't about to talk. 00:38:15.309 --> 00:38:16.809 And I was like, well, come on. I'm all alone 00:38:16.809 --> 00:38:18.730 here. And I'm glad because it was only meant 00:38:18.730 --> 00:38:21.929 for me. And so, yeah, that's the only way I live 00:38:21.929 --> 00:38:23.889 is God has to hand them to me. Here, I got one 00:38:23.889 --> 00:38:25.409 for you. Here, I got one for you. Here, I got 00:38:25.409 --> 00:38:28.429 one for you. Yeah. And I totally respect his 00:38:28.429 --> 00:38:31.900 method on that. because he gears it towards people 00:38:31.900 --> 00:38:35.059 like us. He gears it to people that want to help 00:38:35.059 --> 00:38:36.800 people, that when they hear the right thing, 00:38:36.900 --> 00:38:39.519 they're like, oh, hold on. As Pat said earlier, 00:38:39.780 --> 00:38:41.739 the radar went up. I was just going to say, the 00:38:41.739 --> 00:38:44.800 antennas are going, oh, OK, OK. Hold on, something's 00:38:44.800 --> 00:38:48.219 going on. This is it. And so I really appreciate 00:38:48.219 --> 00:38:50.659 those moments. I appreciate that God does that. 00:38:51.579 --> 00:38:54.460 Because it's more evidence that He is with us. 00:38:55.289 --> 00:38:57.389 It isn't just like, well, you have a faceless 00:38:57.389 --> 00:39:02.269 God. He doesn't talk to you. My God doesn't stop 00:39:02.269 --> 00:39:06.110 talking to me. Yeah, that's the part that, you 00:39:06.110 --> 00:39:08.590 know, a lot of people do cry out to God when 00:39:08.590 --> 00:39:11.849 they're alone. And that's what we have. We have 00:39:11.849 --> 00:39:16.210 God. We have Jesus. And that's why we connect, 00:39:16.389 --> 00:39:19.329 because they come and tell us, like you, Josh, 00:39:19.690 --> 00:39:22.789 their whole story. Because we have God in us 00:39:22.789 --> 00:39:25.369 and they feel open and led to do that. Yeah, 00:39:25.449 --> 00:39:27.570 and we have the answer You know the answer is 00:39:27.570 --> 00:39:30.349 Jesus and he can turn everything around for you 00:39:30.349 --> 00:39:34.929 which he does a couple weeks ago, we Helped some 00:39:34.929 --> 00:39:37.610 friends of ours at a Dairy Queen. They were serving 00:39:37.610 --> 00:39:40.630 breakfast. It was an outreach free breakfast 00:39:40.630 --> 00:39:44.150 for everybody I had the blessing people drove 00:39:44.150 --> 00:39:46.989 through and they could get a couple pancake sausage 00:39:46.989 --> 00:39:51.730 and whatever there was like over 300 people that 00:39:51.730 --> 00:39:54.510 came through there. But we had the blessing of 00:39:54.510 --> 00:39:57.429 praying for people and I was just amazed. The 00:39:57.429 --> 00:39:59.130 people in their cars come up, you need prayer. 00:39:59.670 --> 00:40:03.889 Just weeping, crying, yes, I need that, losing 00:40:03.889 --> 00:40:07.590 loved ones, suicide, just break up. There's just 00:40:07.590 --> 00:40:10.929 a lot of hurting people out there. And I believe, 00:40:11.329 --> 00:40:14.509 like Josh and Jen are talking about here, Divine 00:40:14.509 --> 00:40:17.230 appointments are available. God wants us to be 00:40:17.230 --> 00:40:19.969 ready just to be in the moment, but they will 00:40:19.969 --> 00:40:23.489 be available everywhere you go. God wants to 00:40:23.489 --> 00:40:27.289 use you, speak life, and walk in the power of 00:40:27.289 --> 00:40:31.070 the Holy Spirit. Couldn't agree more. Yeah, I 00:40:31.070 --> 00:40:33.630 mean, when you see someone far away crying in 00:40:33.630 --> 00:40:36.630 their car, a normal person doesn't just walk 00:40:36.630 --> 00:40:39.510 up to them, right? But someone filled to the 00:40:39.510 --> 00:40:42.510 Holy Spirit. that has compassion that says this 00:40:42.510 --> 00:40:45.250 is not right this is this i need to say something 00:40:45.250 --> 00:40:47.769 i need to see if this person's okay that's the 00:40:47.769 --> 00:40:49.670 holy spirit moving if they don't believe in god 00:40:49.670 --> 00:40:51.309 and they have that that's the holy spirit moving 00:40:51.309 --> 00:40:52.750 them because they're going to believe in him 00:40:52.750 --> 00:40:55.690 eventually right because he knows and so i just 00:40:55.690 --> 00:40:57.909 i love that i love that so much when he does 00:40:57.909 --> 00:41:03.050 that amen what a ride that you guys have been 00:41:03.050 --> 00:41:06.579 on yeah and then when you get those little experiences, 00:41:06.579 --> 00:41:09.360 they just energize you and make you want to have 00:41:09.360 --> 00:41:11.579 more encounters and do it again. And you're like, 00:41:11.599 --> 00:41:13.980 do it again, God, just show off and show us how 00:41:13.980 --> 00:41:17.239 good it can get. And it's just encouraging. And 00:41:17.239 --> 00:41:19.940 I hope others can be encouraged to step out because 00:41:19.940 --> 00:41:22.760 if you're put in an experience, like a situation 00:41:22.760 --> 00:41:25.539 like my husband, just go with it because God 00:41:25.539 --> 00:41:30.079 can use you in any place he puts you. So you 00:41:30.079 --> 00:41:32.530 just have to be willing. Right. Yeah, if you're 00:41:32.530 --> 00:41:34.869 willing and obedient, just go with it. It could 00:41:34.869 --> 00:41:37.650 be the biggest adventure of your life. For sure. 00:41:39.530 --> 00:41:41.730 Wow. I hope that doesn't frighten anybody who 00:41:41.730 --> 00:41:46.469 doesn't like adventures. Yeah. Yeah, we wonder 00:41:46.469 --> 00:41:51.989 what's next sometimes. So, go ahead. All right, 00:41:51.989 --> 00:41:54.550 so I was going to, you know, some of our listeners 00:41:54.550 --> 00:41:57.030 are probably seeking clarity and direction that 00:41:57.030 --> 00:42:00.260 you guys clearly have. What advice would you 00:42:00.260 --> 00:42:02.019 give to someone who feels unsure about their 00:42:02.019 --> 00:42:09.019 next step? Sit at his feet. Take time to be quiet 00:42:09.019 --> 00:42:12.519 and be attentive to his voice, to Holy Spirit. 00:42:13.539 --> 00:42:16.179 Don't forget your spiritual disciplines. Prayer, 00:42:17.420 --> 00:42:21.659 get in the Word, meditate on the Word, and pay 00:42:21.659 --> 00:42:26.360 attention. Keep your ear to the ground. He'll 00:42:26.360 --> 00:42:29.789 respond to that. Oh, absolutely. Like Mary. The 00:42:29.789 --> 00:42:34.050 problem today, people are too busy. And it's 00:42:34.050 --> 00:42:37.030 easy to be busy. There's so many opportunities 00:42:37.030 --> 00:42:39.289 to be, but we need to keep our priorities straight. 00:42:39.570 --> 00:42:41.750 Okay, so when God speaks to us, I mean, what's 00:42:41.750 --> 00:42:43.969 a practical way to discern that that is the voice 00:42:43.969 --> 00:42:46.429 of God, right? We know that we can check it with 00:42:46.429 --> 00:42:49.190 the Bible, right? But like, when we hear that 00:42:49.190 --> 00:42:52.110 initial voice, how do we discern God's voice? 00:42:54.199 --> 00:42:56.260 He'd get used to hearing it. You know, he said 00:42:56.260 --> 00:43:01.199 my side know my voice It is relational if you're 00:43:01.199 --> 00:43:03.119 not reading your guys gonna speak to you like 00:43:03.119 --> 00:43:05.960 we all know more out of his word I mean we get 00:43:05.960 --> 00:43:08.920 the opportunity To sit down with the author every 00:43:08.920 --> 00:43:11.619 time I read the Bible. So that's right. He's 00:43:11.619 --> 00:43:14.900 gonna go with that but like the other day I heard 00:43:14.900 --> 00:43:18.679 you know, call your cousin and I had some business 00:43:18.679 --> 00:43:21.639 to do with him. I knew that was God Because I, 00:43:21.639 --> 00:43:24.800 you know, just let it go and I needed to do it. 00:43:25.179 --> 00:43:28.380 And so just that little thing. Because, you know, 00:43:28.400 --> 00:43:30.860 I've been witnessing to him and talking to him 00:43:30.860 --> 00:43:35.039 and trusting God with his life. So you want to 00:43:35.039 --> 00:43:37.059 keep that connection going and, you know, keep 00:43:37.059 --> 00:43:40.760 favor in unbelievers' lives. So, you know, they'll 00:43:40.760 --> 00:43:43.199 keep trusting you with what you're saying. But 00:43:43.199 --> 00:43:47.340 that was just a practical thing that I needed 00:43:47.340 --> 00:43:50.199 to do, but I knew it was God -impressing. And 00:43:50.199 --> 00:43:52.699 we try to do that every day, you know, just, 00:43:53.039 --> 00:43:56.320 okay, if I'm, and I did this, I need to go to 00:43:56.320 --> 00:44:00.539 Home Depot. And I didn't want to do it then, 00:44:00.539 --> 00:44:04.599 but I really got impressed by the Lord to do 00:44:04.599 --> 00:44:08.539 it. And soon as I walk in, there he is, the guy 00:44:08.539 --> 00:44:11.239 that God wants me to talk to. And I knew it. 00:44:11.659 --> 00:44:14.179 And we did, we had a long conversation. I've 00:44:14.179 --> 00:44:17.860 witnessed to him before. And he's getting, you 00:44:17.860 --> 00:44:21.269 know, his... medical issues going on or getting 00:44:21.269 --> 00:44:24.309 a little worse. So we prayed for him and, you 00:44:24.309 --> 00:44:25.969 know, he's just having a hard time trusting God. 00:44:26.670 --> 00:44:28.389 But the point was that God impressed my heart 00:44:28.389 --> 00:44:31.429 to go to Home Depot. I know I needed to get something, 00:44:31.449 --> 00:44:33.590 but yet there was a bigger deal there besides 00:44:33.590 --> 00:44:36.650 me needing to get something but to talk to this 00:44:36.650 --> 00:44:39.210 guy. And we don't know. We're planting seeds. 00:44:39.750 --> 00:44:44.920 We're watering. God gives you increase. It can 00:44:44.920 --> 00:44:47.880 really be something as simple as stop what you're 00:44:47.880 --> 00:44:52.400 doing and pray for your husband now. What? Okay, 00:44:52.619 --> 00:45:00.099 okay, now. I prayed, you called, and I asked 00:45:00.099 --> 00:45:02.599 what mountain were you on at that time? Where 00:45:02.599 --> 00:45:06.079 were you? Yeah, we were in a dangerous spot. 00:45:06.239 --> 00:45:09.579 Climbing Maroon Bell, me and a really good friend. 00:45:09.639 --> 00:45:14.679 He was a chaplain. And then his friend was with 00:45:14.679 --> 00:45:20.300 us, too. And I've climbed a lot of 14ers in Colorado, 00:45:20.500 --> 00:45:23.400 never had any issues. This was the first time 00:45:23.400 --> 00:45:25.960 that I was climbing this mountain. We got off 00:45:25.960 --> 00:45:28.300 trail, and the first time I thought, I'm way 00:45:28.300 --> 00:45:32.239 over my head here. And I thought we were going 00:45:32.239 --> 00:45:34.260 to fall off the mountain. It was just five inches 00:45:34.260 --> 00:45:36.000 of a cliff. And God literally stopped. Yeah, 00:45:36.059 --> 00:45:38.820 so Jennifer prayed for us when we were going 00:45:38.820 --> 00:45:41.719 through. I had no idea. But it's just things 00:45:41.719 --> 00:45:43.420 like that just think your marriage could have 00:45:43.420 --> 00:45:47.679 ended if you didn't do it. Yeah Yeah, you can't 00:45:47.679 --> 00:45:50.940 just say well. Yeah, no do it later. Do it now. 00:45:50.960 --> 00:45:53.739 That's obedience delayed obedience. It's not 00:45:53.739 --> 00:45:56.260 really obedience Mm -hmm. Yeah, you know one 00:45:56.260 --> 00:45:59.579 last thing is you guys? Called the goodness of 00:45:59.579 --> 00:46:02.300 God. Mm -hmm, and this is where the enemy's biggest 00:46:02.300 --> 00:46:06.070 lie God isn't good Oh, he's sold. From the very 00:46:06.070 --> 00:46:09.469 beginning, right? Right. God's, you know, He's 00:46:09.469 --> 00:46:12.949 holding out on you. That is such a lie. But this 00:46:12.949 --> 00:46:17.210 is where, and I talk to people every week, but 00:46:17.210 --> 00:46:20.550 they don't believe, I don't think God loves them. 00:46:20.829 --> 00:46:23.989 And that's where this thing goes sideways too 00:46:23.989 --> 00:46:26.090 much, or they don't read, or they don't get to 00:46:26.090 --> 00:46:28.420 know Him. because they don't believe. And that 00:46:28.420 --> 00:46:31.000 was one of the things I had to overcome years 00:46:31.000 --> 00:46:33.920 ago, you know, just basing on your earthly father 00:46:33.920 --> 00:46:36.179 and, you know, yeah, God loves you, but, you 00:46:36.179 --> 00:46:38.739 know, you got to work hard at it. And if you 00:46:38.739 --> 00:46:40.659 do something wrong, he's going to hit you over 00:46:40.659 --> 00:46:43.099 the head. And then I've gotten to know God over 00:46:43.099 --> 00:46:45.579 the last 30 years. That's not who he is. You 00:46:45.579 --> 00:46:48.820 know, it says he is love and he is. And when 00:46:48.820 --> 00:46:51.820 we fall in love with him, which I did, it makes 00:46:51.820 --> 00:46:55.539 it so much easier. to read your Bible, to spend 00:46:55.539 --> 00:46:57.500 time with him, because you're in love with him. 00:46:58.480 --> 00:47:01.199 I think the biggest problem that we have in today's 00:47:01.199 --> 00:47:04.619 society isn't we deflect and we say that I don't 00:47:04.619 --> 00:47:06.780 feel God's love, but the real reality is you 00:47:06.780 --> 00:47:08.820 can't love your neighbor like you love yourself 00:47:08.820 --> 00:47:10.760 because they don't love themselves. That's true. 00:47:11.039 --> 00:47:12.539 And the biggest problem we have is we live in 00:47:12.539 --> 00:47:15.039 a society that is self -centered, egocentric. 00:47:15.400 --> 00:47:18.360 and people do not love themselves. It is very 00:47:18.360 --> 00:47:20.340 hard to reach a loving God if you don't know 00:47:20.340 --> 00:47:21.780 what love is because you haven't experienced 00:47:21.780 --> 00:47:23.480 it in your own life because you don't say it 00:47:23.480 --> 00:47:25.420 to yourself. There you go. I mean, it's hard 00:47:25.420 --> 00:47:27.880 to reach out to your neighbor. Look at the political 00:47:27.880 --> 00:47:29.920 climate. Don't care what side of the fence you're 00:47:29.920 --> 00:47:33.119 on, extremists on your side, that just bash each 00:47:33.119 --> 00:47:36.619 other. There is zero love. Zero love. And that's 00:47:36.619 --> 00:47:39.179 what we need. And I really appreciate you guys, 00:47:39.440 --> 00:47:42.940 especially in your counseling and missions. where 00:47:42.940 --> 00:47:44.739 you're helping homeless, where you're helping 00:47:44.739 --> 00:47:47.219 addicts, you're helping marriages, you're helping 00:47:47.219 --> 00:47:49.679 people that have mental instabilities for whatever 00:47:49.679 --> 00:47:52.679 reason, you know, from past traumas, from the 00:47:52.679 --> 00:47:55.539 enemy attacking their life. You guys have shown 00:47:55.539 --> 00:47:58.440 and demonstrated God's love towards a multitude 00:47:58.440 --> 00:48:00.800 of people, and that is something you can hang 00:48:00.800 --> 00:48:03.829 your hat on. And it's something that you probably 00:48:03.829 --> 00:48:06.510 don't because you give all glory to God. And 00:48:06.510 --> 00:48:09.090 that's an amazing, amazing thing. And I really 00:48:09.090 --> 00:48:11.150 appreciate having you guys on today and telling 00:48:11.150 --> 00:48:14.349 us your story because that is, I think is something 00:48:14.349 --> 00:48:16.860 very important for everyone to hear. that God 00:48:16.860 --> 00:48:19.340 is still talking to us, that it is possible for 00:48:19.340 --> 00:48:21.460 us to listen to Him. You are worth His love. 00:48:21.579 --> 00:48:23.760 You're worth your own love. And it doesn't matter 00:48:23.760 --> 00:48:26.079 what you've done, right? We all sin and fall 00:48:26.079 --> 00:48:28.199 short of the glory of God, right? That while 00:48:28.199 --> 00:48:29.900 we were still sinning, He sent His only Son for 00:48:29.900 --> 00:48:31.980 us. Not because He said, hey, man, you cleaned 00:48:31.980 --> 00:48:34.679 yourself up. Here's my son. Not that at all, 00:48:35.239 --> 00:48:37.840 right? And I appreciate the work you guys put 00:48:37.840 --> 00:48:41.679 in. I appreciate you listening to God and then 00:48:41.679 --> 00:48:44.699 giving hope to our listeners that too can act. 00:48:45.259 --> 00:48:47.880 God's word that they too can wait for him and 00:48:47.880 --> 00:48:50.539 they too can get confirmation To do the things 00:48:50.539 --> 00:48:52.780 that need to be done. Even if it seems scary 00:48:52.780 --> 00:48:55.019 that he will not let you drown He will not let 00:48:55.019 --> 00:48:57.639 you be submerged in that fear that he will take 00:48:57.639 --> 00:49:00.059 care of you And I think you guys are a tremendous 00:49:00.059 --> 00:49:03.000 blessing and I appreciate having you on Well, 00:49:03.099 --> 00:49:06.460 Josh and Shelly Jennifer and I are very Honored 00:49:06.460 --> 00:49:09.159 and humbled to be here. So thank you for having 00:49:09.159 --> 00:49:11.900 us Thank you for having us for coming share our 00:49:11.900 --> 00:49:15.699 story Before we wrap this up, would you pray 00:49:15.699 --> 00:49:19.139 over our listeners seeking direction and next 00:49:19.139 --> 00:49:24.039 steps? Sure Father we thank you for Jesus and 00:49:24.039 --> 00:49:27.099 you said in your word The Holy Spirit will guide 00:49:27.099 --> 00:49:30.280 us into all truth and we rest in that we believe 00:49:30.280 --> 00:49:33.920 that we trust that and we Pray that over this 00:49:33.920 --> 00:49:37.239 home with Shelly and Josh and we pray that over 00:49:37.239 --> 00:49:41.420 our audience that they can trust you and know 00:49:41.420 --> 00:49:44.199 that the Holy Spirit will guide them wherever 00:49:44.199 --> 00:49:47.239 they need to go. The right place, the right time, 00:49:47.320 --> 00:49:49.039 doing the right thing with the right people. 00:49:49.360 --> 00:49:52.539 You want to do that for them. And we just pray 00:49:52.539 --> 00:49:55.320 that over this audience that they would be blessed 00:49:55.320 --> 00:49:58.199 with that direction and that they would come 00:49:58.199 --> 00:50:01.219 to know you better and just keep reaching out 00:50:01.219 --> 00:50:03.780 to you because we know that you're always going 00:50:03.780 --> 00:50:06.780 to be there for them and you want a close relationship 00:50:06.780 --> 00:50:09.639 with them. And we pray all this in Jesus' name. 00:50:10.059 --> 00:50:39.699 Amen. Your heartfelt feedback always reminds 00:50:39.699 --> 00:50:42.760 us why we do this. Until next time, remember, 00:50:43.099 --> 00:50:45.579 God is always working, miracles are real, and 00:50:45.579 --> 00:50:47.619 your breakthrough could be just around the corner. 00:50:48.300 --> 00:50:51.000 Keep believing, keep expecting, and don't forget 00:50:51.000 --> 00:50:53.159 to share this with someone who needs hope today. 00:50:53.840 --> 00:50:54.719 We'll talk to you next week.