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Well, welcome back podcast fans to Rising 365.

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I'm Mike Pena and this podcast, if it's your first time, is all about helping others meet

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the new day with joy 365 days a year.

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The past decade, I have struggled with getting out of bed and I endeavored in finding ways

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that inspired me to rise.

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In doing so, and along this journey, I have met others of all ages and demographics who

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struggled with the same thing.

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So I created Rising 365 and it's been a joy.

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It's been a month since the last episode was recorded.

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The reason for the delay is because the month of May is extremely busy for my family and

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I.

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Actually, we are full-time missionaries with a ministry called Child Evangelism Fellowship.

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We actually are the directors here in central Nebraska and the entire state of Nebraska

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comes together in the month of May to bring teens from all across Nebraska into a ministry,

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a leadership training ministry for them called Christian Youth in Action.

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These teens endeavor in developing and deepening their faith in who Jesus is and their relationship

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with Jesus and with God.

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For an entire week, we minister to them.

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We disciple them and we train them in sharing the gospel through Bible verses and Bible

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songs, memory songs, games, and Bible lessons.

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So they can go out and share it through another summer ministry that Child Evangelism does

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during the summer called Five Day Clubs or here in Nebraska, it's called Summer Good

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News Clubs.

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These are clubs where we go all across the state to playgrounds, to backyards, to churches,

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to neighborhoods, and we just bring the fun of meeting Jesus.

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It's led by these teens, these teens who have endeavored and endured Christian Youth in Action.

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Christian Youth in Action is a training.

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It's not a camp like most Christian camps are.

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This is truly a training.

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These teenagers come and endeavor in a challenge that they face each and every day because

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what they are learning, first off, is is their faith authentic?

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Is it real?

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Is it something they identify with personally and not something that is just because it's

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a part of their family?

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So that's the first challenge they face.

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The second challenge they face is learning how to share the gospel through the different

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methods that take place in the summer ministry club, in the summer good news club.

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Many of these students are homeschooled or they go to Christian schools and they've never

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been faced with having something presented to them and then them having to return the

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presentation in a way that is captivating for say a seven year old.

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So there's methods and steps and the way we present it as teachers and instructors of

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these classes and then these teenagers take it and they learn it.

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When it's early mornings and late nights, new environments away from home, people they

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don't know, they show up on Sunday and they may know some students from the past.

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Christian Youth in Action is set apart from any other pain ministry that's out there because

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we challenge them in their faith and we give them hope that what they have inside their

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heart and mind and spirit and soul actually aligns with scripture.

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Then they are able to go out and share what they believe, not because it's just a felt

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belief but it's a known belief, a belief on truth.

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Because nothing is more fake than a message presented even though it can be the best message

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with the best storytelling techniques and the most persuasive statistics and facts.

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But if the presenter doesn't present it in a way where they believe it, then the message

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falls short.

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So this is the endeavor of Christian Youth in Action.

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These teens leave Saturday commissioned to go and share the gospel just like we're told

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by Jesus himself to go and share the gospel.

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They're ready and you see a progression in their growth throughout the days that they're

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with us.

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Some come reluctant to learn, some come not believing at all, even though when they apply

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to come to CYA we ask them their faith story and come Friday during the bonfire.

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A number of students will say that because of what they have learned and gone through

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at Christian Youth in Action, CYA, as it's more known for, they truly are committed to

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Jesus.

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They truly have become a Christian, it's the week that they were truly saved even though

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they may have been walking underneath the title of being a Christian for years before.

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At the beginning we tell them it's okay to do hard things and it's okay to fail and it's

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okay to try new things.

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All these things endeavor in Rising 365 and you the listener who pressed play in this

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episode you know that it is okay to try hard things, it is okay to fail, it is okay to

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try new things.

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Sometimes you have to be stripped to the core to see where is it at that I need to grow.

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The first lesson these teens learned that they will go out and some went out just this

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Monday to go do summer good news clubs and the first lesson that they shared from their

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heart was the lesson of Naaman.

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You see Naaman was this big powerful soldier of Syria, the commander, but he had a big

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problem.

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He had leprosy.

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If you are a student of the Bible you know leprosy is something that has no cure and

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to this day there isn't a cure for it.

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But leprosy in the Bible is also a picture of our sin that separates us from the relationship

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that God wants from us.

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And this sin comes into our lives because we go a different way, we go the wrong way.

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So Naaman endeavors, he has wealth and position and prestige and he tried it all.

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And in the course of Naaman's life being the commander of this army he went to an Israelite

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country and he took slaves and in the Naaman story we see him meet and have, well he takes

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a servant girl into his household to be a servant.

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And this servant girl who does know Jesus, who has been ripped from her homeland, her

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family and is now serving as a servant, she could have had a bitter heart.

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She doesn't.

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She says I understand my master has a need and he's tried all these other ways and I've

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seen him try these other ways and they're not helping but there is a God in Israel who

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can help.

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She could have kept that secret to herself but she doesn't.

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She shares it with her master and he goes and presents himself to Elisha.

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But in his pride and his arrogance, when Elisha doesn't come out to talk to him he sends his

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servant and the servant has a message for him.

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He says there's only one way you will be cleansed of your illness and that is if you go and

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dip in the Jordan seven times.

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Naaman in his arrogance departs in anger and frustration and his pride is like don't you

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know where I'm from and so many of us get caught up in that ourselves.

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We think because of our position and the amount of money in our bank accounts, where we live,

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the HOA we're a part of, it allows us to have a certain stature when we go and ask God of

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something.

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But when God gives us the one way that we need to correct our lives because we're going

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the wrong direction, we have the audacity and the pride and the arrogance.

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This sin are alive to say you know what it's not worth it.

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I can do it on my own.

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So in that pride so many of us just walk away from God because he doesn't give us the answer

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we want and Naaman does that.

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He walks away from God.

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He walks away from the one way that was presented to him because of his pride and as he's walking

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away again servants tell him what do you have to lose?

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You've tried all these other ways.

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It's what Rising 365 is for.

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Maybe you've tried all these other ways in your life to rise and meet the new day but

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you've fallen short.

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Finally Naaman trusts.

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He reflects and he's like you're right I've tried all these other ways and I don't try

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this one more way that I'm told is the only way.

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The other way forward is death because leprosy leads to death, a painful death.

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What does he have to lose?

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So he trusts and he goes and he dips seven times and on that seven time he's made clean.

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Bible tells us he's clean as a newborn baby and in his joy because his need is met he

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wanted to thank Elijah and give him all the money that he brought with him again because

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remember he's powerful and he's wealthy and he thinks he can buy what he needs and Elijah

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is like you know what I don't want anything you brought with you I just want you to know

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that you are healed because you remember you tried all those other ways and they've led

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you to nowhere.

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Reflect on that.

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What other ways have you been trying to rise?

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Where has it led to you?

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Maybe you're still stuck in your bed or you're able to get out of your bed but you're stuck

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in your house or you're stuck in a routine.

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You've tried other ways.

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Maybe now is the time like Elijah said is for you to realize that the only relationship

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with one true God can fill the void in your life that all the other ways tried to fill

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and it's impossible.

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My encouragement to you as our encouragement as a staff at CYA that last week to our teens

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was what one way do you keep following that leads you into darkness?

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The theme of last week was the word if and if you look the NIT translation of the Bible

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and you type in the word if you the phrase if you there are over 20,000 if you statements

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in the Bible and they all have sure if we respond to God in a certain way God will respond

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to us in a certain way good or bad.

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We are given choices in this life.

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There is no way we can blame God for our situation.

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Yes things happen to us that aren't all our fault weather health relationships especially

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at the young age our ministry focuses on elementary age kids.

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There becomes an age where our choices start affecting our lives.

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We can no longer blame God.

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We only have ourselves to blame because we are choosing the if way we're choosing our

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way the if we're taking is our choice.

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The if he is calling us to follow is the if we follow after the Lord fullheartedly.

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He will give us the strength the joy the peace the hope the gladness the patience that we

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need to rise 365.

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You can see teens graphs this first lesson this first federal lesson of the summer ministry

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that will be taught week after week.

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There's so many ways out there that the world offers and they all lead to a dead end.

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My background is military and law enforcement and discipline so I'm drawn to David Goggins

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people and Jaco people and people who are super disciplined and super dedicated and

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say do this and do that get up early just say no do it under your own strength.

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It can only get you so far.

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Yes there's been a realization where my depression and anxiety had led me to go see a counselor

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and go to the VA and get prescribed anxiety and depression medicine and that's okay.

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The other way I was trying alcohol and bad food and bad choices those were bad ifs.

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The good if of going and experiencing talk therapy and help and turning to the Lord finally

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connected.

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Only God's way can cure us and inspire us to rise 365.

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As we're not even a week after see why included on Saturday 2nd.

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I'm getting down and pressing clay to record this episode for you.

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I want you to reflect on all the ifs in your life.

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What choices are you making right now?

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If you would stop doing them would drastically change your life.

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You know what they are the bad habits that you have.

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If you quit doing that one thing how your health would change or your mood would change

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how your sleep pattern wouldn't change your relationships would change.

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What if you spent time alone with an open heart and an open mind quietness listening

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for the Lord's call on your heart and you what if you really seeked after him you asked

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your questions with no perceived answers and you allowed him to answer you what would your

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life look like if you allowed him in.

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Well I think that's enough for getting back into producing episodes.

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Recap teens left on Saturday inspired and commissioned to go and help others rise.

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I hope you can do the same.

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Thanks for tuning in I hope you enjoyed this episode.

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Again I'm Mike Pena there are many ways to support Rising 365 you can go to CEF of Central

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Nebraska Google it and find us on social media and you can give to our ministry you can email

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me at rising365 at gmail.com.

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Book me for any kind of public speaking events you would need where people in your circle

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or in your community need help and inspiration in rising to meet the new day.

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So thank you for you all for pressing play.

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I hope you press share and like and follow.

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You tell your friends about rising 365.

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If you find help in any of these episodes maybe someone else can.

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So what would happen if you shared.

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Well thank you guys.

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Catch you back here on another episode of Rising 365.