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Welcome to Real Talk Friday with your hosts Rohan Das and Gus Urban.

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In this groundbreaking podcast segment, we delve deep into the lives of individuals whose

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journey has been profoundly transformed by their faith.

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From the trial of adversity to the triumph of redemption, we explore real stories, real

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people whose encounter with God has reshaped their existence.

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Join us as we embark on a candid and enlightening journey where authenticity meets spirituality

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every Friday on Real Talk Friday, part of Logan City Christian Church.

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Hello and welcome to another episode of Real Talk Friday.

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I'm so glad you guys could join us and we are so thankful for your support.

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Thank you again for the views, comments and you know, just giving us that praise report

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really helps us do so much for you and just boosts our confidence.

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That's what it is.

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Yeah.

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Thank you again.

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And I would like to say that we have a new guest in the studios today and we thank him

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because he came back again to do a full recording.

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Initially, we had a bit of a technical difficulty and we did the full recording and nothing

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recorded.

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But you know, we can do it again, but this time we'll press record that kind of scenario

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that happened.

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But we thank him for being here.

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As usual, I'm going to give it to Gus and he can introduce our new guest.

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Hi everyone.

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Welcome back again.

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So we have Laurie.

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He's a good friend of ours.

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Been at church for a while now.

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10 years, I think you mentioned.

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Yeah, a bit over 10 years.

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A leader in our church, a guy that really helps a lot of our congregation out as well.

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A very busy man.

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Yeah.

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You're retired, but not retired.

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R-E-T-Y-R-E-D.

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There you go.

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You've been retreaded.

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Yeah.

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So a man of God, a man that really keeps busy and puts the time that he has into people,

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into God's church, into the ministry.

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And not just this ministry, other ministries out there as well.

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So yeah, welcome Laurie.

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It's fantastic to have you.

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Thanks Gus and Ron.

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Yeah, well welcome.

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As I said, and we're so glad you could join us again.

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You know, we know a bit of your story from our last failed podcast, but we were really,

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really touched by your story.

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And I just really hope that this podcast that we're doing again can bring out the same exact

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story because we were really touched.

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Yeah, no, it's great.

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As Gus said in our previous podcast, Notebook 3.

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It was yeah, like the Notebook 3.

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Yeah, it was really good.

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So we'll start off again.

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And just want to know a little bit about your childhood, where you grew up, and you know,

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things that you would like to share about your childhood that is significant to you

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and you know, in terms of your relationship with God and everything.

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So give it up to you now.

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Yeah, well, I was raised in a Roman Catholic church family.

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And I was one of six kids, a second eldest.

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So there was girl, boy, girl, boy, girl, boy.

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And mum lost a couple a lot in the middle and at the end.

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So but anyway, we all grew up together.

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And mum and dad were just full on committed Catholics.

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And consequently, I became an altar boy and in the middle of winter, seeing this white

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stuff on the side of the ground going, that looks interesting.

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I was riding my bike to be on doing Walter Boyer at the church at six o'clock in the

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morning, which wasn't my favourite time.

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And I touched this leaf and it just snapped in half and it was that cold, that frost,

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white frost.

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So I never forgotten that.

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Even with your gloves and your jackets and everything, you were freezing.

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But that's nothing what we get here in Queensland compared to other places in the world, obviously.

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No, that's right.

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So anyways, I was raised, then went to the Christian Brothers from grade four on.

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And so that was an interesting experience.

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That was schooling, was it?

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Yeah, schooling.

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Okay.

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From grade four through to year 10 these days.

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They called it junior in those days.

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Okay.

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Yep.

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So yeah, I started year 11 and as a result of my year 10 results, I was given an offer

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to join the Commonwealth Bank.

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Oh, nice.

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Yeah.

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So, but yeah, so that's pretty much the grounding spiritually.

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Okay, that's great.

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From my background.

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Yeah, yeah.

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So it was very strong, very committed, 100% committed.

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Yeah, I guess that would have great benefits in a home really.

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Like you say Catholic, but that God influence a lot of biblical principles.

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The godly biblical principles were there.

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That's for sure.

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Yeah, yeah, yeah.

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But not so much on a foundation of salvation, being born again, but at least it'd be good.

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More on a...

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Morally.

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A strict basis.

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Okay.

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Yeah, yeah, yeah.

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I think that's the right word.

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Yeah, yeah, no, no, yeah.

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Yeah, fair enough.

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Yeah, you had to conform sort of thing.

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Yeah, okay.

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Yeah, yeah.

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So you learnt what to do and you made sure you did it or else.

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Yeah.

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No, that's so good.

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Yeah.

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I want to know more of your relationship with God.

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Where did you see, and like for example, what did you think of God when you...

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Was he like just this supreme being up there or was there like a relationship you had with

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him when you knew the word of God and there was a relationship you started having with

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him?

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When I was about 13, there was all...in the Catholic system, you had the Rosary and the

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Navinas and all these different things they had on from time to time and Lent and you

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had to say the Rosary as a family each night all during Lent for that six weeks.

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Yeah, okay.

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And I heard this song on the hit parade, Telephone to Glory.

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And it goes something like this.

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Telephone to Glory, oh what joy divine, oh to feel the current moving on the line.

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I can't remember some words.

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But then you can talk to Jesus on the royal telephone.

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Yeah, yeah.

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And that song at 13 years of age just witnessed in my gut.

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Yeah, wow.

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And after that song, I could not pray to Mary or Joseph or any of the saints or anything

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only to Jesus on the royal telephone.

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So and I didn't consider it prayer, I considered it talking to Jesus.

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Which was more relational rather than...I felt connected rather than out there and I'm

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here, separated sort of thing.

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So yeah, so that right at 13 years of age that happened to me which was good but I was

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still in the Catholic system all the way through.

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But it's incredible how God will reach out through certain different avenues.

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Oh, He meets us all where we're at.

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Yeah, yeah, exactly.

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It's just incredible.

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Yeah, it doesn't matter.

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The Catholic people, they love Jesus.

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They love God.

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Yeah, yeah, yeah.

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And they are in a strong relationship with Him.

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But at the same time, having learnt what I learnt now, this is more of a...God's more

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of a loving God with grace and mercy whereas in the feeling I had in that system was it

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was compulsion.

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Yeah, okay.

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All right.

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Yeah, no, too easy.

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Yeah, wow.

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That's a beautiful, beautiful story.

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You know, I really love how you said, you know, God meets you where you are.

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And that's a similar story to me.

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You know, He met me where I was and the time that I wasn't my best, He met me there.

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We're all the prodigal sons until we start listening to Him, aren't we?

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Yeah, that's true.

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So let's fast forward a bit and tell us about your story because from our last podcast,

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we are so fortunate to know your story through our last podcast.

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You had a beautiful story with your wife and we want to know how you and your wife met

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and how God, you know, worked on your relationship because I think that's...to me that was very,

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very good.

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So when I was 16 and got this job in the Commonwealth Bank, I started being the first one in the

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family of all the kids to actually get a job.

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Yeah, right on.

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That helped dad and mum very, very much.

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Yeah, okay.

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Because half my wage went on board.

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Oh, wow.

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Half.

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50%.

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Think of that all you kids out there.

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So, but anyway, that was what was needed in the family at that time.

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So anyway, I decided I got my first FJ Holden and a bit of freedom and that was the first

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car in the whole family.

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Oh, really?

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Oh, wow.

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Yeah, mum and dad never had a car.

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Dad was in the railway as an engine driver and we went by rail and bus everywhere or

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walk or cycle.

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Yeah, wow.

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Yeah.

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So yeah, so that was our reality growing up.

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With six kids on one salary, that would have been a hard row.

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Absolutely.

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Yeah.

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So dad was always working shift work as much as possible to get as much as he could.

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So I admire him for what he did and what he knew.

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He was a good dad.

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Yeah, yeah.

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So, and mum was a good faithful mum as well.

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Yeah, that's incredible.

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So yeah, very good people.

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Yeah.

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And I guess, sorry to interject there, but I remember when we interviewed Mike Corrie

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with his prison ministry, he was saying how on Mother's Day where pretty much all the

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Mother's Day cards would be bought and sent out by the criminals.

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But on Father's Day, they'd barely sell any cards, Father's Day cards.

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Wow.

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Yeah.

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And so we just think of the blessing of even though you were just telling us of how financially

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it was tough and missed out on, like say, someone might have had a card that you knew

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but you guys, you know.

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At the end of the day, having a great father and a great mother is such a huge step into

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living a successful life.

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Yeah, I remember dad actually sitting down at the kitchen table with the newspaper and

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going through all the different supermarkets and getting all their specials and writing

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out lists for each of us to go and do.

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So one would go this way, one would go that way.

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We'd all have our list to go to various different shops to get all these specials to help manage

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and be a good steward of what he had.

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So I realise that now it was good stewardship but it was essential.

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So yeah, that's what dad was very diligent at doing.

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And that's a great...

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Very smart man.

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He wanted to be an engineer but never got the opportunity.

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Oh, right.

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So but he was in the railway for 43 years.

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Wow.

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Great career.

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Yeah.

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Yeah, wow.

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Went through from firemen to steam train driver to diesel driver to electric train driver.

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Oh, wow.

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He was one of the first four commissioned in Queensland for the testing of the electric

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trains.

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Really?

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Wow.

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Oh, wow.

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Yeah.

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So good.

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I like what you said about Mike Corey.

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And something you added also in that podcast is honouring your parents with a promise.

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Yeah, that's right.

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Yeah.

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That's very significant.

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We all must remember that.

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Absolutely.

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And we can see you doing great things now and we just know where it's come from, you

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know, that honouring and the blessing from your parents that have brought you so far

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here.

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And...

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They were very diligent with what they knew.

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Yeah.

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And it's funny because me knowing you for 10 plus years, I can definitely see the diligence

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and the attention to detail, the stewardship, all those sort of things like just...

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And faithfulness is a word that comes through.

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They were always faithful to what they believed.

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Yeah.

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And to their family and to everything that they committed to.

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Yeah.

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So good.

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Such simple things but important and powerful things for life.

256
00:13:39,400 --> 00:13:40,400
Oh, solid character.

257
00:13:40,400 --> 00:13:41,400
Yeah.

258
00:13:41,400 --> 00:13:42,400
Yeah.

259
00:13:42,400 --> 00:13:43,400
No, that's fantastic.

260
00:13:43,400 --> 00:13:44,400
Oh, amazing story.

261
00:13:44,400 --> 00:13:45,400
Yeah.

262
00:13:45,400 --> 00:13:46,400
So...

263
00:13:46,400 --> 00:13:47,400
So coming back to my wife...

264
00:13:47,400 --> 00:13:48,400
Yeah, yeah.

265
00:13:48,400 --> 00:13:49,400
That's where we were.

266
00:13:49,400 --> 00:13:50,400
Yeah.

267
00:13:50,400 --> 00:13:55,920
As a result of the getting the job, obviously, I had some money and had some time to do some

268
00:13:55,920 --> 00:14:01,320
things and start to live my life instead of being the protected little boy, you know?

269
00:14:01,320 --> 00:14:02,320
Yeah, yeah.

270
00:14:02,320 --> 00:14:08,840
So I started to spread my wings and my mother's brother used to do ballroom dancing.

271
00:14:08,840 --> 00:14:17,080
So I just somehow got to hear about Sandy Robinson's ballroom studio on a Saturday morning.

272
00:14:17,080 --> 00:14:19,480
So I started going along there.

273
00:14:19,480 --> 00:14:21,360
And that was a blast.

274
00:14:21,360 --> 00:14:22,360
I enjoyed that.

275
00:14:22,360 --> 00:14:23,360
Yeah, yeah.

276
00:14:23,360 --> 00:14:24,360
You had a ball, eh?

277
00:14:24,360 --> 00:14:28,320
I express music through my feet.

278
00:14:28,320 --> 00:14:29,320
Yeah.

279
00:14:29,320 --> 00:14:30,320
Through my body.

280
00:14:30,320 --> 00:14:31,320
Yeah.

281
00:14:31,320 --> 00:14:32,320
Yeah.

282
00:14:32,320 --> 00:14:33,320
So...

283
00:14:33,320 --> 00:14:34,680
So, yeah, I got into that.

284
00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:41,680
After about six months, I started going to the night sessions.

285
00:14:41,680 --> 00:14:42,680
Oh, yeah.

286
00:14:42,680 --> 00:14:45,200
You know, Tuesday and Thursday nights.

287
00:14:45,200 --> 00:14:46,200
Yeah, OK.

288
00:14:46,200 --> 00:14:48,200
Bub Pellegrini's in Queen Street.

289
00:14:48,200 --> 00:14:51,320
I had a big dance studio there.

290
00:14:51,320 --> 00:14:57,680
So anyway, we were only there a short time and I got invited to go to Sandy Robinson's

291
00:14:57,680 --> 00:15:00,680
place over at New Farm.

292
00:15:00,680 --> 00:15:03,520
And he had a big ballroom underneath his house.

293
00:15:03,520 --> 00:15:04,520
Yeah, wow.

294
00:15:04,520 --> 00:15:10,040
So all the posts were pulled out, girders everywhere and just this beautiful timber

295
00:15:10,040 --> 00:15:12,400
floor laid and it was just magnificent.

296
00:15:12,400 --> 00:15:13,400
Yeah.

297
00:15:13,400 --> 00:15:20,560
But when you went first in, it was like a garage with probably three or four bay opening.

298
00:15:20,560 --> 00:15:21,560
Yeah.

299
00:15:21,560 --> 00:15:25,840
And then it came in underneath and it was all under the whole house, a big old Queenslander

300
00:15:25,840 --> 00:15:27,960
right on the waterfront at New Farm.

301
00:15:27,960 --> 00:15:28,960
Wow.

302
00:15:28,960 --> 00:15:32,320
So, but yeah, and this was just amazing for me.

303
00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:34,760
So I was so eager.

304
00:15:34,760 --> 00:15:39,480
I got there really early and I was first there and the opening was there but no one else

305
00:15:39,480 --> 00:15:42,320
was around so I just sat in the back and the lights weren't on.

306
00:15:42,320 --> 00:15:43,320
It was dark.

307
00:15:43,320 --> 00:15:44,320
Yeah.

308
00:15:44,320 --> 00:15:49,720
And then all of a sudden, here's this gorgeous looking woman strutting through the door.

309
00:15:49,720 --> 00:15:57,040
And I go, oh my goodness, look at that.

310
00:15:57,040 --> 00:16:01,400
And so yeah, I was besotted right there.

311
00:16:01,400 --> 00:16:02,400
Yeah, yeah, wow.

312
00:16:02,400 --> 00:16:07,960
And I could only see her in silhouette but the hourglass figure and everything, she was

313
00:16:07,960 --> 00:16:08,960
amazing.

314
00:16:08,960 --> 00:16:09,960
Yeah, wow.

315
00:16:09,960 --> 00:16:16,560
But so yeah, so things got started to happen and people started to get to know each other.

316
00:16:16,560 --> 00:16:18,560
I'd never seen her before.

317
00:16:18,560 --> 00:16:24,200
And most of the people hadn't seen each other before because they come from different class

318
00:16:24,200 --> 00:16:25,200
areas.

319
00:16:25,200 --> 00:16:26,200
Right, right.

320
00:16:26,200 --> 00:16:32,280
But the reason they wanted us to come there was to pair us up for competition work.

321
00:16:32,280 --> 00:16:38,480
So God had his hand in it and made Jean and me partners.

322
00:16:38,480 --> 00:16:40,040
Yeah, yeah, wow.

323
00:16:40,040 --> 00:16:44,040
So I liked that.

324
00:16:44,040 --> 00:16:45,040
Yeah, I could imagine.

325
00:16:45,040 --> 00:16:46,040
She didn't like that.

326
00:16:46,040 --> 00:16:50,720
But that's okay.

327
00:16:50,720 --> 00:16:52,720
Just a bit inconvenient.

328
00:16:52,720 --> 00:16:53,720
Yeah.

329
00:16:53,720 --> 00:16:57,680
But we just happened to be the right height for each other and everything worked out fine.

330
00:16:57,680 --> 00:16:58,680
Okay, so yeah, matches by.

331
00:16:58,680 --> 00:17:01,680
You've got to have your hip height and everything.

332
00:17:01,680 --> 00:17:05,760
Match made it happen, doesn't it?

333
00:17:05,760 --> 00:17:11,920
So yeah, so cut a long story short, we did the competition work for a while and everything.

334
00:17:11,920 --> 00:17:14,520
But she was going out with all these other guys all the time.

335
00:17:14,520 --> 00:17:19,240
And I was being faithful and pick her up and take her home and all that sort of stuff.

336
00:17:19,240 --> 00:17:20,800
But nothing was happening.

337
00:17:20,800 --> 00:17:27,960
So anyway, cut a long story short, she went to bargaining with another boyfriend from

338
00:17:27,960 --> 00:17:33,960
the studio and hurt her hip so she couldn't dance, hurt her leg actually and couldn't

339
00:17:33,960 --> 00:17:35,560
dance for a while.

340
00:17:35,560 --> 00:17:45,120
So we had to go to this and it was probably about a good 18 months to two years that that

341
00:17:45,120 --> 00:17:46,120
went on.

342
00:17:46,120 --> 00:17:47,120
Wow.

343
00:17:47,120 --> 00:17:54,080
So that I, at all that time I was besotted with her.

344
00:17:54,080 --> 00:17:58,760
And I was praying to God and saying, God, turn her heart to me please.

345
00:17:58,760 --> 00:17:59,760
Yeah, wow.

346
00:17:59,760 --> 00:18:01,200
You know, turn her heart to me.

347
00:18:01,200 --> 00:18:03,480
But nothing was happening two years down the track.

348
00:18:03,480 --> 00:18:08,000
So I thought, I'll take someone else out.

349
00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:15,640
So one of the other girlfriends that she was associated with, she was over Chimsideways,

350
00:18:15,640 --> 00:18:21,600
I took her to the movies and it was nothing, no connection.

351
00:18:21,600 --> 00:18:31,160
So anyway, just after that we had to go to a competition at the Rylance studio in Toowoomba.

352
00:18:31,160 --> 00:18:36,680
And so Mum had an old Ford console, my FJ was off the road.

353
00:18:36,680 --> 00:18:45,000
So we jumped in this four cylinder Ford console, big heavy car with a little motor.

354
00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:48,280
Not like the FJ.

355
00:18:48,280 --> 00:18:55,600
So yeah, so I was taking both Gene and this other girl up for the competition.

356
00:18:55,600 --> 00:19:04,800
So on the way up, the girl I took to the movies sat in the front and Gene sat in the back.

357
00:19:04,800 --> 00:19:09,720
And soon as they got there, they disappeared and I didn't see them for the rest of the

358
00:19:09,720 --> 00:19:10,720
day virtually.

359
00:19:10,720 --> 00:19:11,720
Oh wow.

360
00:19:11,720 --> 00:19:14,520
And that was from 10 o'clock in the morning till 10 o'clock at night.

361
00:19:14,520 --> 00:19:15,520
Oh wow.

362
00:19:15,520 --> 00:19:17,480
For all this studio.

363
00:19:17,480 --> 00:19:21,280
See them on the dance floor but not connecting, not sitting with each other or anything.

364
00:19:21,280 --> 00:19:25,600
So I was like the war flower, you know.

365
00:19:25,600 --> 00:19:33,680
But anyway, so we jumped in the car to go home and Toowoomba had this pea soup fog.

366
00:19:33,680 --> 00:19:36,920
And we didn't see it until we got to the top of the range.

367
00:19:36,920 --> 00:19:42,400
And as soon as you got to the top of the range, here's this thick fog that was just, oh man,

368
00:19:42,400 --> 00:19:46,760
you could probably only see about 20 or 30 feet in front of you.

369
00:19:46,760 --> 00:19:51,880
And so we're going down this windy mountain road.

370
00:19:51,880 --> 00:19:56,680
And anyway, when they got in the car to go home, the other girl that was in the front,

371
00:19:56,680 --> 00:20:00,160
she said, I'm getting in the back and I'm going to sleep.

372
00:20:00,160 --> 00:20:02,640
So Gene had to sit in the front.

373
00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:04,080
And bench seats in the front.

374
00:20:04,080 --> 00:20:06,760
Oh lucky you.

375
00:20:06,760 --> 00:20:10,080
And she's sitting right against the door.

376
00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:16,240
And as soon as we get to the top of the range, she sidles over and puts her arm around me

377
00:20:16,240 --> 00:20:18,320
here and up on my shoulder.

378
00:20:18,320 --> 00:20:24,560
And I go, this is good.

379
00:20:24,560 --> 00:20:29,880
And then she says, I was so naive then.

380
00:20:29,880 --> 00:20:34,320
She says, if I told you you had a good physique, would you hold it against me?

381
00:20:34,320 --> 00:20:35,320
And I said, no.

382
00:20:35,320 --> 00:20:39,640
She looked at me and says, are you sure?

383
00:20:39,640 --> 00:20:43,120
And I thought for a minute and finally got it.

384
00:20:43,120 --> 00:20:47,960
Yeah, so that's where God turned her around.

385
00:20:47,960 --> 00:20:48,960
Yeah, wow.

386
00:20:48,960 --> 00:20:54,560
After two and a half years of praying and asking God to turn her heart.

387
00:20:54,560 --> 00:20:59,160
And that two and a half years would have been an emotional rollercoaster.

388
00:20:59,160 --> 00:21:00,160
Agonizing.

389
00:21:00,160 --> 00:21:01,160
Yeah.

390
00:21:01,160 --> 00:21:02,160
Yeah.

391
00:21:02,160 --> 00:21:03,160
Yeah.

392
00:21:03,160 --> 00:21:04,160
Yeah.

393
00:21:04,160 --> 00:21:05,160
Wow.

394
00:21:05,160 --> 00:21:06,160
Gut wrenching.

395
00:21:06,160 --> 00:21:07,160
Yeah.

396
00:21:07,160 --> 00:21:08,160
Oh yeah.

397
00:21:08,160 --> 00:21:09,160
I could only imagine.

398
00:21:09,160 --> 00:21:10,160
That's so good.

399
00:21:10,160 --> 00:21:16,000
And then actually, in that two and a half years, were you like dead set about her?

400
00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:18,160
Like, this is the one I'm going to marry.

401
00:21:18,160 --> 00:21:21,240
This is the one that I have my future with.

402
00:21:21,240 --> 00:21:23,280
Or was it a time where you were not sure?

403
00:21:23,280 --> 00:21:26,880
Or was it that you just kept on praying God, asking him for it?

404
00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:29,560
I just kept praying and thanking him for it.

405
00:21:29,560 --> 00:21:30,560
Yeah.

406
00:21:30,560 --> 00:21:31,560
Yeah.

407
00:21:31,560 --> 00:21:37,720
And you know, I've learned now where I'm at in my life now, there's a thing in the Bible

408
00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:43,120
that says, pray with prayer and supplication, put your petitions to God.

409
00:21:43,120 --> 00:21:44,120
Yeah.

410
00:21:44,120 --> 00:21:48,160
And I've only just recently looked up what supplication really mean.

411
00:21:48,160 --> 00:21:52,600
It means really digging in there and earnestly saying, yeah, yeah, yeah, I want this.

412
00:21:52,600 --> 00:21:54,680
I'm going to do whatever it takes to get this.

413
00:21:54,680 --> 00:21:55,680
Yeah.

414
00:21:55,680 --> 00:21:56,680
Yeah.

415
00:21:56,680 --> 00:21:57,680
That's what supplication means.

416
00:21:57,680 --> 00:21:58,680
Yeah.

417
00:21:58,680 --> 00:21:59,680
Oh, that's true.

418
00:21:59,680 --> 00:22:00,680
It also reminds me.

419
00:22:00,680 --> 00:22:01,920
It's not just a light prayer that just, oh yeah, I'd like this God.

420
00:22:01,920 --> 00:22:02,920
Yeah.

421
00:22:02,920 --> 00:22:05,360
No, you're, it's like birthing it really.

422
00:22:05,360 --> 00:22:06,360
Yeah.

423
00:22:06,360 --> 00:22:09,680
And I think that's cool because it's also a parable that talks about it where you keep

424
00:22:09,680 --> 00:22:10,680
on knocking.

425
00:22:10,680 --> 00:22:11,680
Yeah.

426
00:22:11,680 --> 00:22:12,680
Absolutely.

427
00:22:12,680 --> 00:22:16,520
And you know, your friend will get irritated and finally give you what you want to just

428
00:22:16,520 --> 00:22:18,000
let you go on your way.

429
00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:19,000
Yeah.

430
00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:20,000
Yeah.

431
00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:22,760
So I think that's so important being, you know, being like a prayer warrior and you

432
00:22:22,760 --> 00:22:26,560
know, keeping on that set series about what you want in terms of relationship or anything

433
00:22:26,560 --> 00:22:27,560
in life.

434
00:22:27,560 --> 00:22:29,640
I think you keep on asking God.

435
00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:35,400
And you know, unfortunately, as I said, even in my last podcast, we are the kind of generation

436
00:22:35,400 --> 00:22:37,000
that need things very quick.

437
00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:38,000
Yeah.

438
00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:39,000
Like a fast food restaurant.

439
00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:40,000
Yeah.

440
00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:42,200
But it just doesn't happen that way.

441
00:22:42,200 --> 00:22:47,400
We have to keep on praying and God has its right time and everything will come at its

442
00:22:47,400 --> 00:22:48,840
right time.

443
00:22:48,840 --> 00:22:50,240
And He prepares us as well.

444
00:22:50,240 --> 00:22:51,240
Oh yeah.

445
00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:52,240
True.

446
00:22:52,240 --> 00:22:57,400
But the thing I've learned also is all our dreams, hopes and desires, God has given them

447
00:22:57,400 --> 00:22:58,400
to us.

448
00:22:58,400 --> 00:22:59,400
He's planted them in us.

449
00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:03,320
We're the soil and He's the provider of the seed and everything.

450
00:23:03,320 --> 00:23:04,320
Yeah.

451
00:23:04,320 --> 00:23:09,000
And the only dream, hope and desire we personally have is God given.

452
00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:13,320
When I realised that it wasn't mine and I was asking Him to be my helper, no, when I

453
00:23:13,320 --> 00:23:18,040
realised that He was in control and His timing is perfect.

454
00:23:18,040 --> 00:23:25,720
But at the time also, I wasn't ready to receive what I was asking for at the time and I had

455
00:23:25,720 --> 00:23:28,440
to grow a bit to come to that point.

456
00:23:28,440 --> 00:23:29,440
Yeah.

457
00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:30,440
Yeah.

458
00:23:30,440 --> 00:23:32,800
And then, and maybe the other person had to grow a bit too.

459
00:23:32,800 --> 00:23:33,800
Yeah.

460
00:23:33,800 --> 00:23:35,280
But God's timing is perfect.

461
00:23:35,280 --> 00:23:36,280
No, that's...

462
00:23:36,280 --> 00:23:37,280
I've learnt that.

463
00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:38,280
Yeah.

464
00:23:38,280 --> 00:23:40,280
But I didn't appreciate that at the time.

465
00:23:40,280 --> 00:23:41,280
No, no.

466
00:23:41,280 --> 00:23:42,280
Yeah, yeah.

467
00:23:42,280 --> 00:23:44,320
I could imagine but that makes perfect sense.

468
00:23:44,320 --> 00:23:49,960
And how many people would have given up or, you know, who knows what could have happened

469
00:23:49,960 --> 00:23:51,960
when it was still the plan.

470
00:23:51,960 --> 00:23:52,960
Yeah, well, that's persisting.

471
00:23:52,960 --> 00:23:53,960
Yeah.

472
00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:54,960
Yeah.

473
00:23:54,960 --> 00:23:55,960
Yeah.

474
00:23:55,960 --> 00:23:56,960
Yeah.

475
00:23:56,960 --> 00:23:57,960
Yeah.

476
00:23:57,960 --> 00:23:58,960
Yeah.

477
00:23:58,960 --> 00:23:59,960
Yeah.

478
00:23:59,960 --> 00:24:00,960
Yeah.

479
00:24:00,960 --> 00:24:01,960
Yeah.

480
00:24:01,960 --> 00:24:02,960
Yeah.

481
00:24:02,960 --> 00:24:08,840
And I mean, that's the passion God plants in you and that's your purpose in life.

482
00:24:08,840 --> 00:24:09,840
Yeah.

483
00:24:09,840 --> 00:24:11,920
And it fits in within His will.

484
00:24:11,920 --> 00:24:18,200
When His will and your plan and your commitment to it are in alignment, it's only a matter

485
00:24:18,200 --> 00:24:19,200
of time.

486
00:24:19,200 --> 00:24:20,200
Yeah.

487
00:24:20,200 --> 00:24:22,200
We've just got to learn the patience, persistence and perseverance.

488
00:24:22,200 --> 00:24:23,200
Yeah.

489
00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:24,200
Yeah.

490
00:24:24,200 --> 00:24:25,680
The things we don't naturally have.

491
00:24:25,680 --> 00:24:26,680
Yeah.

492
00:24:26,680 --> 00:24:27,680
Absolutely.

493
00:24:27,680 --> 00:24:28,680
Well, we must pray about it.

494
00:24:28,680 --> 00:24:30,360
But thank you again for that story.

495
00:24:30,360 --> 00:24:31,360
That's beautiful.

496
00:24:31,360 --> 00:24:35,240
Because you know, as you said in the last podcast that didn't get recorded, it's worthy

497
00:24:35,240 --> 00:24:37,320
of a notebook movie again.

498
00:24:37,320 --> 00:24:38,320
Yeah.

499
00:24:38,320 --> 00:24:39,320
Well, this is just the start.

500
00:24:39,320 --> 00:24:40,320
So yeah.

501
00:24:40,320 --> 00:24:41,320
Yeah.

502
00:24:41,320 --> 00:24:42,320
There's so much more to go.

503
00:24:42,320 --> 00:24:43,320
Yeah.

504
00:24:43,320 --> 00:24:47,640
So let's continue your story with you and your wife and how you got into ministry and

505
00:24:47,640 --> 00:24:48,640
everything.

506
00:24:48,640 --> 00:24:53,080
So let's take it from where you stopped and want to know more about how God led you to

507
00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:54,080
ministry.

508
00:24:54,080 --> 00:24:58,880
So from the time I met her, I was about 17.

509
00:24:58,880 --> 00:25:05,920
So it took four years of going together after, well, four years of knowing her, two years

510
00:25:05,920 --> 00:25:07,520
of chasing her.

511
00:25:07,520 --> 00:25:08,520
Okay.

512
00:25:08,520 --> 00:25:09,520
Yeah.

513
00:25:09,520 --> 00:25:14,200
Or trying to woo her and getting God on the job.

514
00:25:14,200 --> 00:25:16,920
And then another two years before we got married.

515
00:25:16,920 --> 00:25:17,920
Okay.

516
00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:21,240
So we got married, moved to Bundaberg.

517
00:25:21,240 --> 00:25:25,840
I was in the Commonwealth Bank and they transferred me there at 21.

518
00:25:25,840 --> 00:25:31,800
And so we're both 21 year olds in Bundaberg with no family support or anything.

519
00:25:31,800 --> 00:25:32,800
Yeah.

520
00:25:32,800 --> 00:25:33,800
Wow.

521
00:25:33,800 --> 00:25:37,800
Totally in an area that we'd never seen or been before.

522
00:25:37,800 --> 00:25:43,840
But we make the most of everything and fit it in and it was really good.

523
00:25:43,840 --> 00:25:44,840
Yeah.

524
00:25:44,840 --> 00:25:46,880
So beautiful place, Bundaberg.

525
00:25:46,880 --> 00:25:47,880
Yeah.

526
00:25:47,880 --> 00:25:53,120
So I was involved in tennis and did a bit of rugby league then.

527
00:25:53,120 --> 00:25:54,120
Yeah.

528
00:25:54,120 --> 00:25:55,120
Cool.

529
00:25:55,120 --> 00:26:01,120
And because tennis was my passion, I got an injury and I thought tennis I can play all

530
00:26:01,120 --> 00:26:02,280
my life.

531
00:26:02,280 --> 00:26:04,280
Rugby league's very short life.

532
00:26:04,280 --> 00:26:05,280
Yeah.

533
00:26:05,280 --> 00:26:06,280
That's right.

534
00:26:06,280 --> 00:26:08,280
So I still enjoy it.

535
00:26:08,280 --> 00:26:09,280
Yeah.

536
00:26:09,280 --> 00:26:11,720
But I certainly have that competitive nature.

537
00:26:11,720 --> 00:26:12,720
Yeah.

538
00:26:12,720 --> 00:26:13,720
Yeah.

539
00:26:13,720 --> 00:26:14,720
No, definitely.

540
00:26:14,720 --> 00:26:15,720
And spirit.

541
00:26:15,720 --> 00:26:19,800
So, you know, Gene used to like me and go and play tennis for fun.

542
00:26:19,800 --> 00:26:21,440
I was trained to play tennis to win.

543
00:26:21,440 --> 00:26:22,440
To win.

544
00:26:22,440 --> 00:26:23,440
Absolutely.

545
00:26:23,440 --> 00:26:24,440
And they are two totally different mentalities.

546
00:26:24,440 --> 00:26:25,440
Yeah, exactly.

547
00:26:25,440 --> 00:26:26,440
Yeah.

548
00:26:26,440 --> 00:26:30,120
So, but she wasn't a sports person at all.

549
00:26:30,120 --> 00:26:36,080
She was a very, very talented seamstress and dressmaker.

550
00:26:36,080 --> 00:26:37,080
Yeah.

551
00:26:37,080 --> 00:26:38,080
Okay.

552
00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:39,080
Yep.

553
00:26:39,080 --> 00:26:41,160
So she had great skills.

554
00:26:41,160 --> 00:26:48,880
She worked for Deon's Bridal Wear, which was the top bridal company in Brisbane, Queensland.

555
00:26:48,880 --> 00:26:49,880
Yeah.

556
00:26:49,880 --> 00:26:50,880
Wow.

557
00:26:50,880 --> 00:26:58,840
And the boss would only let her make the gowns for the salesmen to take as samples to sell

558
00:26:58,840 --> 00:26:59,840
their wares.

559
00:26:59,840 --> 00:27:00,840
Yeah.

560
00:27:00,840 --> 00:27:01,840
Wow.

561
00:27:01,840 --> 00:27:02,840
So that sample has to be bang on.

562
00:27:02,840 --> 00:27:05,960
Her work was just spot on every time.

563
00:27:05,960 --> 00:27:06,960
Yep.

564
00:27:06,960 --> 00:27:13,960
Later on she was working with her girlfriend who was a...and these two girlfriends all

565
00:27:13,960 --> 00:27:16,840
met at Deon's.

566
00:27:16,840 --> 00:27:19,480
One was a cutter and the other two were seamstresses.

567
00:27:19,480 --> 00:27:25,200
So, but the cutter and the two seamstresses all worked and were lifelong friends all their

568
00:27:25,200 --> 00:27:26,880
life until she passed.

569
00:27:26,880 --> 00:27:27,880
Yeah.

570
00:27:27,880 --> 00:27:28,880
Yeah.

571
00:27:28,880 --> 00:27:29,880
The other two are still alive.

572
00:27:29,880 --> 00:27:30,880
Yeah.

573
00:27:30,880 --> 00:27:31,880
Okay.

574
00:27:31,880 --> 00:27:32,880
So, yeah.

575
00:27:32,880 --> 00:27:33,880
So, but she passed just before her 70th birthday.

576
00:27:33,880 --> 00:27:34,880
Okay.

577
00:27:34,880 --> 00:27:40,280
So she had good innings, but, you know, these things, we don't argue with God.

578
00:27:40,280 --> 00:27:41,280
We just accept it.

579
00:27:41,280 --> 00:27:42,280
Yeah.

580
00:27:42,280 --> 00:27:43,280
Yeah.

581
00:27:43,280 --> 00:27:44,280
No.

582
00:27:44,280 --> 00:27:45,280
Exactly.

583
00:27:45,280 --> 00:27:51,540
And the other girls, they were just all hourglass figures and they used to have to get the bus

584
00:27:51,540 --> 00:27:56,960
and walk down George Street to get to the sewing place, the workplace.

585
00:27:56,960 --> 00:27:57,960
Yep.

586
00:27:57,960 --> 00:28:03,000
And she used to tell us about all the guys on the building projects in this George Street

587
00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:06,780
with the wolf whistles and then they'd go...

588
00:28:06,780 --> 00:28:09,560
Play up to it.

589
00:28:09,560 --> 00:28:12,640
Wiggle the hips a bit.

590
00:28:12,640 --> 00:28:13,640
Strut their stuff.

591
00:28:13,640 --> 00:28:14,640
Oh well.

592
00:28:14,640 --> 00:28:15,640
Yeah.

593
00:28:15,640 --> 00:28:16,640
We're all human.

594
00:28:16,640 --> 00:28:17,640
Yeah.

595
00:28:17,640 --> 00:28:22,160
That's such a good story.

596
00:28:22,160 --> 00:28:29,520
I'll come into more of the time that you lost your wife and your dear friend, because I

597
00:28:29,520 --> 00:28:33,280
feel like you have such a good story.

598
00:28:33,280 --> 00:28:40,240
And if I look into that unfortunate moment that you lose your best friend, you lose your

599
00:28:40,240 --> 00:28:46,160
life partner, my relationship with God, I would question it.

600
00:28:46,160 --> 00:28:52,800
I'll be like, you know, I know that she had to go at some point, but it's why have you

601
00:28:52,800 --> 00:28:54,560
left me alone without her?

602
00:28:54,560 --> 00:28:56,760
I would have rather gone with her.

603
00:28:56,760 --> 00:28:59,640
You know, these kinds of thoughts are very natural to come in.

604
00:28:59,640 --> 00:29:04,080
I just want to know how you dealt with this situation and your relationship with God.

605
00:29:04,080 --> 00:29:05,840
Was it hindered or was it...

606
00:29:05,840 --> 00:29:09,200
Did you always question what happened, the tragedy?

607
00:29:09,200 --> 00:29:17,560
Well that goes back to our journey of marriage, because in our marriage, like everyone, you've

608
00:29:17,560 --> 00:29:21,600
got this culture and this culture and you're trying to make them work together, you know.

609
00:29:21,600 --> 00:29:27,880
And you've got these habits and this one's got this habits, you know, and they clash

610
00:29:27,880 --> 00:29:29,960
and you've got to work all that out.

611
00:29:29,960 --> 00:29:38,920
So over a probably 15 year period, there was a bit of tick-tack-toe from time to time.

612
00:29:38,920 --> 00:29:45,960
I think every couple has arguments from time to time and differences of opinion.

613
00:29:45,960 --> 00:29:49,640
And we didn't have God's way of dealing with it.

614
00:29:49,640 --> 00:29:59,320
So we actually...my wife actually was a visionary and a people person.

615
00:29:59,320 --> 00:30:05,880
So she actually went out to...when we were in Bundaberg, we actually had a situation

616
00:30:05,880 --> 00:30:15,280
where we were struggling financially and then Gene's brother actually said, get your butt

617
00:30:15,280 --> 00:30:19,040
down to Brisbane with this...I want to show you a business.

618
00:30:19,040 --> 00:30:20,040
Oh, okay.

619
00:30:20,040 --> 00:30:24,520
So we...four and a half, five hour drive back from Bundaberg at that time.

620
00:30:24,520 --> 00:30:30,040
So we did that and came down and found this direct marketing business.

621
00:30:30,040 --> 00:30:32,560
So she actually got fired up with it.

622
00:30:32,560 --> 00:30:34,120
I mean, on the stage.

623
00:30:34,120 --> 00:30:35,120
I'm a banker.

624
00:30:35,120 --> 00:30:39,320
And I'm a shy, introverted person at the time.

625
00:30:39,320 --> 00:30:42,520
So that wasn't my bag.

626
00:30:42,520 --> 00:30:46,680
But if she wanted to do it, I was prepared to support her.

627
00:30:46,680 --> 00:30:51,400
So we went back to Bundaberg and we started this thing and...well, she started this thing

628
00:30:51,400 --> 00:30:57,560
and I backed it and supported her and played the backdrop sort of thing.

629
00:30:57,560 --> 00:31:00,760
My attitude was always, well, you go do it.

630
00:31:00,760 --> 00:31:05,600
I'll do the paperwork and manage things behind the scenes sort of thing.

631
00:31:05,600 --> 00:31:14,640
So anyway, cut a long story short, she dressed me up like in a safari suit, pink and grey

632
00:31:14,640 --> 00:31:22,120
safari suit in the 70s, mind you, in a country town and dressed me up and trained me to do

633
00:31:22,120 --> 00:31:27,240
this presentation of how the business worked for potential recruits.

634
00:31:27,240 --> 00:31:34,320
And I knew it, this guy had trained me from Brisbane and I could do it verbatim.

635
00:31:34,320 --> 00:31:40,080
Anyway, I got up there and I said, good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and looked at the person

636
00:31:40,080 --> 00:31:42,400
in the front row and froze.

637
00:31:42,400 --> 00:31:44,560
Oh, no way.

638
00:31:44,560 --> 00:31:48,720
And they said I went so white, they thought I was going to fall over.

639
00:31:48,720 --> 00:31:53,720
So the guy that trained me raced from the back and grabbed me before I did fall over.

640
00:31:53,720 --> 00:31:55,520
Oh, no way.

641
00:31:55,520 --> 00:32:00,800
And then that was my first experience of getting up in front of a group of people.

642
00:32:00,800 --> 00:32:01,800
Really?

643
00:32:01,800 --> 00:32:04,040
Scared the living daylights out of me.

644
00:32:04,040 --> 00:32:07,920
See I never would have picked that with you because you do a lot of public speaking now

645
00:32:07,920 --> 00:32:09,480
and everything like that.

646
00:32:09,480 --> 00:32:11,800
Well, you can change.

647
00:32:11,800 --> 00:32:15,440
You can learn.

648
00:32:15,440 --> 00:32:18,520
Necessity is a great teacher.

649
00:32:18,520 --> 00:32:22,320
But you know, it took a long time.

650
00:32:22,320 --> 00:32:26,800
But I learnt a lot.

651
00:32:26,800 --> 00:32:33,480
And God knew that I needed to learn all that and put me with her would bring that out in

652
00:32:33,480 --> 00:32:34,480
me.

653
00:32:34,480 --> 00:32:35,480
True.

654
00:32:35,480 --> 00:32:36,480
Yeah, very true.

655
00:32:36,480 --> 00:32:43,080
So she was not going to ever do paperwork or be a detailed person except in sewing and

656
00:32:43,080 --> 00:32:44,080
creativity.

657
00:32:44,080 --> 00:32:45,080
Okay.

658
00:32:45,080 --> 00:32:53,040
But when it comes to people and intuitive and the compassion and the heart for people,

659
00:32:53,040 --> 00:32:56,040
she had it in space.

660
00:32:56,040 --> 00:32:58,920
And that was God's gift to her.

661
00:32:58,920 --> 00:33:05,240
She put her with me and me with her to complement each other.

662
00:33:05,240 --> 00:33:10,880
When we were into our Christian walk, we actually started going to Christian Outreach Centre

663
00:33:10,880 --> 00:33:15,440
because Jean was watching these TV programs online.

664
00:33:15,440 --> 00:33:20,080
So she changed to be a Catholic to become a, for us to get married.

665
00:33:20,080 --> 00:33:25,760
But the instruction that she was getting from the priest up in Bundaberg didn't answer all

666
00:33:25,760 --> 00:33:26,760
questions.

667
00:33:26,760 --> 00:33:32,520
So anyway, we moved back to Brisbane with this business and we're in Barton and we're

668
00:33:32,520 --> 00:33:38,120
just full on forgetting Christianity, forgetting religion, forgetting everything.

669
00:33:38,120 --> 00:33:39,120
We're going full bore.

670
00:33:39,120 --> 00:33:40,120
We're going to be prosperous.

671
00:33:40,120 --> 00:33:41,120
Yeah, okay.

672
00:33:41,120 --> 00:33:49,040
So we went down that track for a season and after about two or three years, I said to

673
00:33:49,040 --> 00:33:55,080
her, I said, I don't know about you, but I just feel so dry and desolate on the inside.

674
00:33:55,080 --> 00:33:56,680
I want to go back to church.

675
00:33:56,680 --> 00:33:59,120
And she said, yeah, I've been thinking the same.

676
00:33:59,120 --> 00:34:00,720
We lived at Barton at the time.

677
00:34:00,720 --> 00:34:06,840
So the Barton Catholic Charismatic Movement was just the base, embryonic base in the Barton

678
00:34:06,840 --> 00:34:12,080
Catholic Church, which we had no idea.

679
00:34:12,080 --> 00:34:16,880
So we trotted off there on the Sunday morning and then met somebody and they invited us

680
00:34:16,880 --> 00:34:23,200
to a Sunday night, which was the charismatic version of the Sunday night service.

681
00:34:23,200 --> 00:34:27,800
And that was different.

682
00:34:27,800 --> 00:34:30,600
That was just totally out of comfort zone.

683
00:34:30,600 --> 00:34:33,880
I think, holy cow, what's all this?

684
00:34:33,880 --> 00:34:36,400
But it was still within the Catholic Church.

685
00:34:36,400 --> 00:34:41,080
So I'm thinking, okay, understand all this.

686
00:34:41,080 --> 00:34:44,880
So anyway, we cut that long story short.

687
00:34:44,880 --> 00:34:50,440
We went over to move to Barton and bought, not Barton, Hawthorne to buy our first house

688
00:34:50,440 --> 00:34:55,560
and went to Peter's and Paul's, but we got introduced to a Casillo movement in the Catholic

689
00:34:55,560 --> 00:35:00,160
Church, which was a short course in Christianity, Spanish word.

690
00:35:00,160 --> 00:35:06,000
And it was a live in three day weekend where people testified as to what God had done in

691
00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:10,560
their life and how they'd changed their life for the better.

692
00:35:10,560 --> 00:35:16,920
And Jean wanted to do this, but they wouldn't let the women do it without the husband doing

693
00:35:16,920 --> 00:35:20,140
it first.

694
00:35:20,140 --> 00:35:31,760
So I was coerced into going to this, what do they say, the neck turns the head?

695
00:35:31,760 --> 00:35:39,000
So anyway, I went to this one on long weekend, Australia Day weekend in 1974, just around

696
00:35:39,000 --> 00:35:40,800
when the flood was.

697
00:35:40,800 --> 00:35:48,320
And so I went to that at the Banyo Seminary where they trained the priests.

698
00:35:48,320 --> 00:35:59,840
That was a very cold castle type place, with rocks and stones in the building itself.

699
00:35:59,840 --> 00:36:01,840
Recession Freemasonry, right?

700
00:36:01,840 --> 00:36:03,240
No, no, no.

701
00:36:03,240 --> 00:36:04,240
Never got there.

702
00:36:04,240 --> 00:36:05,240
Never got there at all.

703
00:36:05,240 --> 00:36:08,240
Oh, that's good.

704
00:36:08,240 --> 00:36:18,800
So anyway, at the end of that, you've got a little red book called The Fourth Day, and

705
00:36:18,800 --> 00:36:21,640
that's the rest of your life, basically.

706
00:36:21,640 --> 00:36:25,960
And so it then gave you instructions in this little red book, and it was almost like the

707
00:36:25,960 --> 00:36:29,440
same shape as the old catechism that we used to learn.

708
00:36:29,440 --> 00:36:35,440
And it gave instructions of how to have home meetings.

709
00:36:35,440 --> 00:36:40,260
So we'd have a meeting with other people that were in our parish that had been to that

710
00:36:40,260 --> 00:36:42,120
casillo type thing.

711
00:36:42,120 --> 00:36:45,920
So it was like a home church type setup.

712
00:36:45,920 --> 00:36:51,480
And we just did our own Bible study and everything, which up until then, in the Catholic Church,

713
00:36:51,480 --> 00:36:56,640
we were told, don't read your Bible, you won't interpret it correctly, you've got to get

714
00:36:56,640 --> 00:36:59,120
the priests' interpretation.

715
00:36:59,120 --> 00:37:01,280
So that's how it was when I was growing up.

716
00:37:01,280 --> 00:37:02,960
I don't believe it's that way today.

717
00:37:02,960 --> 00:37:06,400
There's a lot of Bible study now.

718
00:37:06,400 --> 00:37:07,400
And that's good.

719
00:37:07,400 --> 00:37:08,400
Yeah, for sure.

720
00:37:08,400 --> 00:37:14,680
But I think the Charismatic Movement has actually, or Pentecostal Movement has actually been

721
00:37:14,680 --> 00:37:17,080
a catalyst for that.

722
00:37:17,080 --> 00:37:18,880
So praise God for that.

723
00:37:18,880 --> 00:37:19,880
Absolutely.

724
00:37:19,880 --> 00:37:31,280
So we went through that, and then Jean was still not real good on the Catholic side because

725
00:37:31,280 --> 00:37:32,760
she wasn't getting all our answers.

726
00:37:32,760 --> 00:37:34,960
And she was asking me questions I couldn't answer.

727
00:37:34,960 --> 00:37:37,640
I said, go talk to the priest.

728
00:37:37,640 --> 00:37:39,160
So she talked to the priest.

729
00:37:39,160 --> 00:37:41,880
At least she did everything.

730
00:37:41,880 --> 00:37:46,520
She didn't sit back.

731
00:37:46,520 --> 00:37:51,720
And then she started watching all these Christian programs on TV, you know, Freddie Price and

732
00:37:51,720 --> 00:37:54,360
Hour of Power, Robert Shiller.

733
00:37:54,360 --> 00:37:59,840
There was Clark Taylor with The New Way of Living, and that was in our own backyard.

734
00:37:59,840 --> 00:38:05,520
So she decided, I'm going to go and check this out at West End days.

735
00:38:05,520 --> 00:38:07,160
Just around the corner, really.

736
00:38:07,160 --> 00:38:08,160
From where we were.

737
00:38:08,160 --> 00:38:09,160
From where we were.

738
00:38:09,160 --> 00:38:10,160
Yeah, yeah.

739
00:38:10,160 --> 00:38:11,160
Not far.

740
00:38:11,160 --> 00:38:18,240
Yeah, so anyway, I'm still with the Catholic side of things, and I'm just saying, hmm.

741
00:38:18,240 --> 00:38:20,160
So I used to sit there with the Bible.

742
00:38:20,160 --> 00:38:22,920
I've got my Bible.

743
00:38:22,920 --> 00:38:30,280
And I used to sit there with these Christian programs and say to her, I didn't say it to

744
00:38:30,280 --> 00:38:34,560
her, I'm saying to myself, I'm going to watch these with you.

745
00:38:34,560 --> 00:38:40,880
And if these guys put a foot wrong by this word, I'm going to nail their hide.

746
00:38:40,880 --> 00:38:48,440
So that was where I was coming from, you know, protecting my wife and trying to protect what

747
00:38:48,440 --> 00:38:49,440
I'd been taught.

748
00:38:49,440 --> 00:38:50,440
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

749
00:38:50,440 --> 00:38:56,360
So, but anyway, Freddie Price one day had on this TV program said, man is spirit and

750
00:38:56,360 --> 00:38:58,080
soul and body.

751
00:38:58,080 --> 00:38:59,780
And I go, what?

752
00:38:59,780 --> 00:39:04,600
And here it is in the scripture, man is spirit and soul and body.

753
00:39:04,600 --> 00:39:05,600
Three distinct functions.

754
00:39:05,600 --> 00:39:08,680
And I go, ooh, okay.

755
00:39:08,680 --> 00:39:12,960
Most of my Catholic teaching had said spirit and soul were interchangeable, virtually the

756
00:39:12,960 --> 00:39:13,960
same thing.

757
00:39:13,960 --> 00:39:14,960
Dichotomy.

758
00:39:14,960 --> 00:39:18,120
And New Age says the same thing.

759
00:39:18,120 --> 00:39:20,320
So, but it's not.

760
00:39:20,320 --> 00:39:24,360
So that really shook me.

761
00:39:24,360 --> 00:39:31,380
So I had my Bible, had the scripture, went off to them because I watched the programs

762
00:39:31,380 --> 00:39:36,800
before mass time on a nine o'clock on a Sunday morning, and then I go off to mass.

763
00:39:36,800 --> 00:39:37,800
Okay.

764
00:39:37,800 --> 00:39:40,160
And then I saw the priest and...

765
00:39:40,160 --> 00:39:42,200
You had your own questions.

766
00:39:42,200 --> 00:39:47,160
Straight round after he's because to the sacristy where he changes.

767
00:39:47,160 --> 00:39:52,880
And I knocked on the door and said, I was watching a Christian TV program this morning

768
00:39:52,880 --> 00:39:54,600
and I was watching it in the Bible too.

769
00:39:54,600 --> 00:39:59,960
And in the scripture, it says, man is spirit and soul and body.

770
00:39:59,960 --> 00:40:01,840
Can you explain that to me, please?

771
00:40:01,840 --> 00:40:04,760
Because I've always thought spirit and soul were...

772
00:40:04,760 --> 00:40:05,760
Like the same thing.

773
00:40:05,760 --> 00:40:06,760
Within the same thing.

774
00:40:06,760 --> 00:40:07,760
Yeah.

775
00:40:07,760 --> 00:40:08,760
Okay.

776
00:40:08,760 --> 00:40:12,720
I don't have time now, but this guy's a senior priest.

777
00:40:12,720 --> 00:40:15,920
He's a monsignor, which is one short of a bishop.

778
00:40:15,920 --> 00:40:20,440
And I would have expected him to know the answer, but anyway, he didn't.

779
00:40:20,440 --> 00:40:23,440
So I said, okay, well, check it out.

780
00:40:23,440 --> 00:40:25,080
Give me the answer next Sunday.

781
00:40:25,080 --> 00:40:32,300
So next Sunday, I went to communion and I give him the nod and he knows I'm coming.

782
00:40:32,300 --> 00:40:34,320
And get round to the sacristy.

783
00:40:34,320 --> 00:40:35,320
He's gone.

784
00:40:35,320 --> 00:40:36,800
Oh, he just took off.

785
00:40:36,800 --> 00:40:40,520
And I thought, ooh, okay.

786
00:40:40,520 --> 00:40:43,000
And there was a school fight just after that.

787
00:40:43,000 --> 00:40:46,160
So the week after on the Saturday.

788
00:40:46,160 --> 00:40:50,800
And anyway, he was tall and I was a bit taller and we could see above the heads.

789
00:40:50,800 --> 00:40:51,800
Okay, yeah.

790
00:40:51,800 --> 00:40:54,480
And I saw him about 50 metres that way.

791
00:40:54,480 --> 00:40:57,280
And he spotted me, but he pretended not to.

792
00:40:57,280 --> 00:41:00,680
And I started making a beeline for him through the crowd.

793
00:41:00,680 --> 00:41:02,640
When I got there, gone.

794
00:41:02,640 --> 00:41:03,640
No way.

795
00:41:03,640 --> 00:41:09,040
So I thought, but this stage we're going to Christian Outreach Centre and getting a lot

796
00:41:09,040 --> 00:41:10,040
of teaching.

797
00:41:10,040 --> 00:41:15,040
I still went to the Catholic Church for seven years.

798
00:41:15,040 --> 00:41:16,040
Doing my duty.

799
00:41:16,040 --> 00:41:18,760
And I'll do that on a Saturday night.

800
00:41:18,760 --> 00:41:22,880
And then I go for two hours on a Sunday morning and two hours on a Sunday night to Christian

801
00:41:22,880 --> 00:41:25,960
Outreach Centre because it was feeding me.

802
00:41:25,960 --> 00:41:28,920
It was giving a new foundation.

803
00:41:28,920 --> 00:41:34,160
And in that seven year period, I got enough biblical knowledge.

804
00:41:34,160 --> 00:41:39,080
And then at the end of that, this guy in the church gave me a Crusader series of comics

805
00:41:39,080 --> 00:41:48,040
put out by Jack Chick, which actually talks about this Dr. Alberto Rivera, who actually

806
00:41:48,040 --> 00:41:55,160
was a Jesuit priest and got high up from Spain into the Vatican and got opportunity to study

807
00:41:55,160 --> 00:41:56,160
in the Vatican.

808
00:41:56,160 --> 00:42:01,720
And then he got ordained, someone gave him a King James Bible, which was not allowed.

809
00:42:01,720 --> 00:42:05,880
It was heresy to have that, but he kept it.

810
00:42:05,880 --> 00:42:09,960
And he used to compare everything the church was teaching with what the King James says

811
00:42:09,960 --> 00:42:12,520
because he wanted to know how to convert them.

812
00:42:12,520 --> 00:42:19,360
See, we all have our motivations, but God uses those to bring us around.

813
00:42:19,360 --> 00:42:20,360
And his word is living.

814
00:42:20,360 --> 00:42:24,760
And the truth sets us free.

815
00:42:24,760 --> 00:42:27,640
And his word is the truth.

816
00:42:27,640 --> 00:42:30,200
So anyway, he knows how to get us all.

817
00:42:30,200 --> 00:42:31,200
He made us here.

818
00:42:31,200 --> 00:42:33,000
He sure knows how to get us.

819
00:42:33,000 --> 00:42:37,920
But anyway, so yeah, so these Chick publications.

820
00:42:37,920 --> 00:42:42,960
And this guy had wrestled for six months before he'd given to me because he thought, oh, this

821
00:42:42,960 --> 00:42:46,000
is going to shake history.

822
00:42:46,000 --> 00:42:50,240
He was groaning within himself.

823
00:42:50,240 --> 00:42:56,360
And he thought, oh, if he gets angry, he'll knock my block off.

824
00:42:56,360 --> 00:42:58,880
Because he was a shorter guy.

825
00:42:58,880 --> 00:43:11,680
Anyway, Saturday morning, we're sitting in bed, reading these four comics that he gave

826
00:43:11,680 --> 00:43:12,680
us.

827
00:43:12,680 --> 00:43:14,080
There was five, actually.

828
00:43:14,080 --> 00:43:19,280
One was about the angel of light, which is how Satan comes as an angel of light.

829
00:43:19,280 --> 00:43:25,600
And then there was Alberto, double-crossed, Godfathers, and the Four Horsemen.

830
00:43:25,600 --> 00:43:28,680
And these are big-sized comics.

831
00:43:28,680 --> 00:43:33,320
And it was good that they were in a comic form because picture and words together gave

832
00:43:33,320 --> 00:43:34,880
it a better thing.

833
00:43:34,880 --> 00:43:38,720
To read it in a book, I would never have done that.

834
00:43:38,720 --> 00:43:41,520
Because I just hated reading anyway.

835
00:43:41,520 --> 00:43:49,180
But I would happily read something that was true, like a real-life story, and had a purpose

836
00:43:49,180 --> 00:43:52,680
for what I could use going forward.

837
00:43:52,680 --> 00:43:54,680
But I was a slow reader.

838
00:43:54,680 --> 00:43:56,020
But I had good comprehension.

839
00:43:56,020 --> 00:43:58,440
So that was good.

840
00:43:58,440 --> 00:44:06,840
So anyway, these comics, I was reading Alberto and double-crossed.

841
00:44:06,840 --> 00:44:11,920
And Jean was reading the other two, which was more in-depth to what the Catholic thing.

842
00:44:11,920 --> 00:44:16,840
And she's, I'm reading and just being straight reading.

843
00:44:16,840 --> 00:44:22,640
And she's reading, going, waiting for me to explode.

844
00:44:22,640 --> 00:44:25,800
Anyway, I finished the second comic.

845
00:44:25,800 --> 00:44:27,760
And I said, that's it.

846
00:44:27,760 --> 00:44:29,440
I'm going to see the priest.

847
00:44:29,440 --> 00:44:31,640
So I put my feet on the floor.

848
00:44:31,640 --> 00:44:33,200
And just about to get up.

849
00:44:33,200 --> 00:44:34,360
And these words come to me.

850
00:44:34,360 --> 00:44:35,520
No, don't go yet.

851
00:44:35,520 --> 00:44:36,720
Read the other two.

852
00:44:36,720 --> 00:44:38,400
And then go.

853
00:44:38,400 --> 00:44:40,840
So we swapped.

854
00:44:40,840 --> 00:44:46,360
And so all that morning, probably about four hours of it, we read these four comics.

855
00:44:46,360 --> 00:44:50,360
At the end of the fourth comic, I didn't have to go and see the priest.

856
00:44:50,360 --> 00:44:53,240
It was all fully covered and explained.

857
00:44:53,240 --> 00:44:58,760
Now, if somebody read that that hadn't been through the Catholic or Anglican traditional

858
00:44:58,760 --> 00:45:04,400
religion type setup, they would just not believe any of it.

859
00:45:04,400 --> 00:45:06,080
It's just too much.

860
00:45:06,080 --> 00:45:13,940
But because I had been through it, and I could identify with what they were saying, it really

861
00:45:13,940 --> 00:45:16,240
made a lot of sense.

862
00:45:16,240 --> 00:45:20,800
But God didn't give it to me until he had laid a new foundation.

863
00:45:20,800 --> 00:45:25,520
And I made the mistake of giving those same comics to my parents without the foundation.

864
00:45:25,520 --> 00:45:28,240
Oh, that didn't go down.

865
00:45:28,240 --> 00:45:34,600
But anyway, so as a result of our Christian conversion, we changed completely.

866
00:45:34,600 --> 00:45:38,480
That's when I left the Catholic Church after that seven years.

867
00:45:38,480 --> 00:45:42,480
And just pursued biblical Christianity.

868
00:45:42,480 --> 00:45:49,280
And my wife and I had these times where we'd spark up a bit.

869
00:45:49,280 --> 00:45:56,160
And so we went through a marriage seminar called Marriage Plus by Ray Mosholder, put

870
00:45:56,160 --> 00:45:58,560
that together over a 10-year period.

871
00:45:58,560 --> 00:45:59,560
And it's in a book now.

872
00:45:59,560 --> 00:46:05,120
You can get it online.

873
00:46:05,120 --> 00:46:13,320
So this Marriage Plus covered what God says about marriage, what God says about divorce,

874
00:46:13,320 --> 00:46:18,960
the role of the husband, the role of the wife, sex in marriage, finances in marriage, raising

875
00:46:18,960 --> 00:46:22,280
children, and I think that's about it.

876
00:46:22,280 --> 00:46:26,920
But each of the segments on the role of the wife and the role of the husband, there was

877
00:46:26,920 --> 00:46:29,240
four tapes on that.

878
00:46:29,240 --> 00:46:33,360
Tapes would be four CDs if you don't know what they are.

879
00:46:33,360 --> 00:46:36,800
You couldn't put them in your iPhone.

880
00:46:36,800 --> 00:46:43,200
So there was four and they were an hour each.

881
00:46:43,200 --> 00:46:49,080
So there's in-depth teaching, which really just changed the course of our marriage.

882
00:46:49,080 --> 00:46:56,240
And it gave us understanding of not clashing but complementing.

883
00:46:56,240 --> 00:46:59,520
So we are together.

884
00:46:59,520 --> 00:47:00,880
Why is he so different from me?

885
00:47:00,880 --> 00:47:02,640
Why is she so different from me?

886
00:47:02,640 --> 00:47:07,520
It's how we bring the differences to be a completion of each other.

887
00:47:07,520 --> 00:47:10,720
When we understood that, that changed the whole course of our marriage.

888
00:47:10,720 --> 00:47:16,160
Well it's sort of like gears are meant to merge together, not grind against each other.

889
00:47:16,160 --> 00:47:17,160
Exactly.

890
00:47:17,160 --> 00:47:22,240
Although there's a time when you get diamonds in the rough.

891
00:47:22,240 --> 00:47:25,280
You've got to cut the facets and then polish them.

892
00:47:25,280 --> 00:47:32,040
So God's cutting and fashioning us as we go by grinding on each other, etc.

893
00:47:32,040 --> 00:47:34,440
Or chipping from each other.

894
00:47:34,440 --> 00:47:39,200
So that's the way we visualised it.

895
00:47:39,200 --> 00:47:46,560
So anyway, because of that transformation of our marriage, Greg Anderson in COC was

896
00:47:46,560 --> 00:47:49,460
the assistant pastor then under Clark.

897
00:47:49,460 --> 00:47:56,120
He actually asked us to do the marriage seminars of the Ray Mosholler material because we got

898
00:47:56,120 --> 00:47:58,520
the whole manual on the whole deal.

899
00:47:58,520 --> 00:48:08,160
So we did a whole series on that over about a three year period in the late 80s, right

900
00:48:08,160 --> 00:48:11,440
up to about 1990 I think it was.

901
00:48:11,440 --> 00:48:19,800
So we ran two of those seminars a year, which was over, I think it was about an eight or

902
00:48:19,800 --> 00:48:23,520
ten week period.

903
00:48:23,520 --> 00:48:30,000
But the marriage thing we learnt was the covenant relationship.

904
00:48:30,000 --> 00:48:36,820
So we learnt about that and how we to complement and to complete each other.

905
00:48:36,820 --> 00:48:42,720
Every time we went to go and do these seminars, the devil would push buttons in the universe

906
00:48:42,720 --> 00:48:47,320
and there'd be an arcing up.

907
00:48:47,320 --> 00:48:50,520
I could imagine.

908
00:48:50,520 --> 00:48:55,360
Because the devil's never happy when he's not winning and he'll cause trouble any way

909
00:48:55,360 --> 00:48:56,360
he can.

910
00:48:56,360 --> 00:49:02,880
But God has got our back and we just stay true to the word and he brings us through.

911
00:49:02,880 --> 00:49:09,000
So anyway, in these marriage seminars we actually got to the point of knowing the covenant relationship

912
00:49:09,000 --> 00:49:18,640
and that Jesus was actually saying at the Last Supper a marriage proposal.

913
00:49:18,640 --> 00:49:24,440
So the marriage proposal was at the Last Supper he was saying, unless you drink of this cup

914
00:49:24,440 --> 00:49:26,480
you can't be part of me.

915
00:49:26,480 --> 00:49:34,640
Well I've seen a little documentary movie called Before the Roth, W-R-A-T-H, and that

916
00:49:34,640 --> 00:49:38,400
talks about the Galilean marriage ceremony and that enriched me.

917
00:49:38,400 --> 00:49:43,680
I only got introduced to that here probably about five years ago.

918
00:49:43,680 --> 00:49:44,680
Was it that long ago?

919
00:49:44,680 --> 00:49:45,680
Yeah.

920
00:49:45,680 --> 00:49:46,680
Wow.

921
00:49:46,680 --> 00:49:52,360
That was amazing because of the marriage seminars we'd done.

922
00:49:52,360 --> 00:49:57,480
And so yeah, so that was just rich.

923
00:49:57,480 --> 00:50:05,720
To get back to the question of how God helped me with my wife passing, had to have that

924
00:50:05,720 --> 00:50:08,960
background before I could answer that.

925
00:50:08,960 --> 00:50:18,040
Because our marriage just got richer and richer and richer and it was just so good all the

926
00:50:18,040 --> 00:50:19,040
way through.

927
00:50:19,040 --> 00:50:22,000
We still had our differences but we didn't have anything.

928
00:50:22,000 --> 00:50:25,080
We just time out, you know.

929
00:50:25,080 --> 00:50:32,720
But at one stage when we're coming through that we're having a bit of a hark up and

930
00:50:32,720 --> 00:50:37,040
the biblical teaching had been getting in there and we started to know what was going

931
00:50:37,040 --> 00:50:39,520
on in the spirit realm.

932
00:50:39,520 --> 00:50:44,280
And I can just see Jean there but behind her I could see these things in the air like little

933
00:50:44,280 --> 00:50:47,080
Pac-Men, you know.

934
00:50:47,080 --> 00:50:52,080
And they're gone.

935
00:50:52,080 --> 00:50:57,240
And I could see them just pushing buttons in Jean and pushing buttons in me.

936
00:50:57,240 --> 00:51:01,320
So there's the devil behind pushing our sensitivity buttons.

937
00:51:01,320 --> 00:51:05,040
And I thought, whoa, you're mongrels.

938
00:51:05,040 --> 00:51:08,160
Yeah, that's right.

939
00:51:08,160 --> 00:51:11,320
So I said to Jean, stop.

940
00:51:11,320 --> 00:51:12,320
I just saw this.

941
00:51:12,320 --> 00:51:15,320
And she was in awe.

942
00:51:15,320 --> 00:51:21,200
So that's what's causing our problems all the time is these devils behind the scene

943
00:51:21,200 --> 00:51:28,760
pushing our sensitivity buttons and not willing, always wanting to be, this is what I want.

944
00:51:28,760 --> 00:51:31,720
Well, it's not about I, it's about us.

945
00:51:31,720 --> 00:51:36,880
And when you come to the us and under God, everything, God commands the blessing.

946
00:51:36,880 --> 00:51:39,400
In unity, God commands the blessing.

947
00:51:39,400 --> 00:51:42,280
So but the enemy is still there poking you.

948
00:51:42,280 --> 00:51:44,280
Oh yeah, absolutely.

949
00:51:44,280 --> 00:51:49,600
And so yeah, so right from that very time we signalled this time out.

950
00:51:49,600 --> 00:51:55,000
If ever we got into this thing, we just, whoever recognised it first, timed out, could go away,

951
00:51:55,000 --> 00:51:59,800
calm down, sit in a public place with a cup of coffee and talk through our issues biblically.

952
00:51:59,800 --> 00:52:01,520
Yeah, yeah, perfect.

953
00:52:01,520 --> 00:52:04,800
And that worked a treat.

954
00:52:04,800 --> 00:52:05,800
Yeah.

955
00:52:05,800 --> 00:52:10,720
So that was why Craig got us to do those seminars because he saw the difference.

956
00:52:10,720 --> 00:52:12,560
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

957
00:52:12,560 --> 00:52:21,320
So but anyway, because of that marriage, understanding the depth and what the marriage relationship

958
00:52:21,320 --> 00:52:29,880
is about and what Jesus, when we're born again, we're actually accepting his betrothal offer

959
00:52:29,880 --> 00:52:32,840
that he gave at the Last Supper.

960
00:52:32,840 --> 00:52:37,480
Then with that knowledge and understanding, I was able to hand Jeanne over when it was

961
00:52:37,480 --> 00:52:45,080
obvious she was going to pass to the Lord as her new husband because that's, we are

962
00:52:45,080 --> 00:52:48,920
called the bride of Christ, the church is the bride of Christ.

963
00:52:48,920 --> 00:52:50,680
So why are we the bride of Christ?

964
00:52:50,680 --> 00:52:55,400
Because he's the bridegroom and we're going to be with him and that's what's going to

965
00:52:55,400 --> 00:52:57,560
happen at the rapture.

966
00:52:57,560 --> 00:52:58,560
Yeah.

967
00:52:58,560 --> 00:53:04,000
So yeah, so I just said to Jeanne when it was obvious three days before she passed,

968
00:53:04,000 --> 00:53:07,520
I just said to her, I said, honey, I said, you know, with the marriage seminars, it's

969
00:53:07,520 --> 00:53:15,400
actually what we know from blood covenant and everything that Jesus is our husband and

970
00:53:15,400 --> 00:53:17,740
you're going to go and be with him.

971
00:53:17,740 --> 00:53:24,320
So I thanked her for being my wife in the natural and all the things that we'd grown

972
00:53:24,320 --> 00:53:32,000
and learned together and then I just said, when Jesus comes, you just go and be happy

973
00:53:32,000 --> 00:53:38,280
and everything will be fine here because God will be looking after it and I will too.

974
00:53:38,280 --> 00:53:45,080
So it was emotional but at the same time she just was totally at peace.

975
00:53:45,080 --> 00:53:52,360
She just rolled over and went to sleep and I sat back on the chair.

976
00:53:52,360 --> 00:53:59,640
And with that sitting back on the chair, God popped a song in my head that I hadn't heard

977
00:53:59,640 --> 00:54:07,440
since COC days for a long, long time and it was simply Jesus, lover of my soul, Jesus,

978
00:54:07,440 --> 00:54:09,440
I will never let you go.

979
00:54:09,440 --> 00:54:17,920
You fashioned me from the miry clay and this peace came over me.

980
00:54:17,920 --> 00:54:28,960
So sure, I had plenty of crying time in the natural but it wasn't lasting and it wasn't

981
00:54:28,960 --> 00:54:32,360
a long term grief process.

982
00:54:32,360 --> 00:54:34,640
And God said, I've got things for you to do.

983
00:54:34,640 --> 00:54:35,640
Amen, amen.

984
00:54:35,640 --> 00:54:44,760
I guess bringing God into the, acknowledging God in your situation is and handing Gene

985
00:54:44,760 --> 00:54:45,980
over to Christ.

986
00:54:45,980 --> 00:54:49,960
We both acknowledge him as being sovereign.

987
00:54:49,960 --> 00:54:54,920
And that sort of opens the door for God's grace in your life to be able to move forward.

988
00:54:54,920 --> 00:54:55,920
Absolutely, absolutely.

989
00:54:55,920 --> 00:54:58,880
I've experienced it amazingly.

990
00:54:58,880 --> 00:55:04,680
Because I remember those times and just thinking, wow, Laurie just seems so strong.

991
00:55:04,680 --> 00:55:06,680
So he's doing...

992
00:55:06,680 --> 00:55:07,680
At peace.

993
00:55:07,680 --> 00:55:14,520
Yeah, it really was miraculous to be able to know what you're going through, what had

994
00:55:14,520 --> 00:55:17,440
happened and yeah.

995
00:55:17,440 --> 00:55:20,320
God's love and grace basically.

996
00:55:20,320 --> 00:55:28,400
The very first time I visited the grave afterwards, I just sat there and acknowledged her.

997
00:55:28,400 --> 00:55:32,640
But the words came to me, she's not here.

998
00:55:32,640 --> 00:55:35,960
And I had this vision of a dancing around heaven with Jesus.

999
00:55:35,960 --> 00:55:36,960
Yeah, exactly right.

1000
00:55:36,960 --> 00:55:41,320
So, you know, there's nothing.

1001
00:55:41,320 --> 00:55:42,760
She's not there, she's in heaven.

1002
00:55:42,760 --> 00:55:43,760
Yeah, exactly right.

1003
00:55:43,760 --> 00:55:44,760
Amazing.

1004
00:55:44,760 --> 00:55:46,960
Thank you, Laurie, so much for your story.

1005
00:55:46,960 --> 00:55:51,360
Unfortunately, again, I wish we had more time.

1006
00:55:51,360 --> 00:55:55,920
But we are looking at another second episode where we can bring our guests back and they

1007
00:55:55,920 --> 00:56:00,700
can answer some of your questions or some of your comments.

1008
00:56:00,700 --> 00:56:02,640
We would love to have that.

1009
00:56:02,640 --> 00:56:06,780
And you know, we're here to ask questions and help you in your journey too.

1010
00:56:06,780 --> 00:56:10,600
But thank you again for your story because I think this is a very powerful story.

1011
00:56:10,600 --> 00:56:16,400
And a lot of people, you know, have marital problems or are facing problems within their

1012
00:56:16,400 --> 00:56:22,800
family that can hear your story that you've said today and give them hope to move forward

1013
00:56:22,800 --> 00:56:24,000
because it's not impossible.

1014
00:56:24,000 --> 00:56:25,000
Absolutely.

1015
00:56:25,000 --> 00:56:26,660
If everything's possible by God.

1016
00:56:26,660 --> 00:56:28,200
So thank you so much.

1017
00:56:28,200 --> 00:56:33,840
Once we put God on the throne of our marriage, it's like a triangle.

1018
00:56:33,840 --> 00:56:37,840
But you know, we're equal but God's sovereign.

1019
00:56:37,840 --> 00:56:41,440
And if we've got a difference of opinion, we just go to His Word and He'll give us the

1020
00:56:41,440 --> 00:56:42,440
answer.

1021
00:56:42,440 --> 00:56:43,440
That's right.

1022
00:56:43,440 --> 00:56:44,440
Great.

1023
00:56:44,440 --> 00:56:45,440
Thank you so much.

1024
00:56:45,440 --> 00:56:47,280
Would you like to pray for our viewers and us as a show?

1025
00:56:47,280 --> 00:56:48,280
Sure.

1026
00:56:48,280 --> 00:56:52,960
And most importantly, praying for people who've gone through the same grief of loss and people

1027
00:56:52,960 --> 00:56:56,280
who are having marital problems or having relational problems.

1028
00:56:56,280 --> 00:56:59,480
I think that's one of the focus of the prayer.

1029
00:56:59,480 --> 00:57:01,160
So would you like to pray for us?

1030
00:57:01,160 --> 00:57:02,160
Yeah.

1031
00:57:02,160 --> 00:57:08,280
One of the first things that God laid into me as a foundation was in Matthew 6.33, it

1032
00:57:08,280 --> 00:57:13,080
says, Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

1033
00:57:13,080 --> 00:57:15,400
Then all these things shall be added unto us.

1034
00:57:15,400 --> 00:57:16,400
So what are all these things?

1035
00:57:16,400 --> 00:57:20,000
All our dreams, hopes and desires.

1036
00:57:20,000 --> 00:57:21,920
That's what God wants to give us.

1037
00:57:21,920 --> 00:57:25,160
But we have to seek first the kingdom of God and do it His way.

1038
00:57:25,160 --> 00:57:26,160
Yeah.

1039
00:57:26,160 --> 00:57:27,160
Not like Jaco.

1040
00:57:27,160 --> 00:57:29,160
I did it my way.

1041
00:57:29,160 --> 00:57:30,160
Yeah.

1042
00:57:30,160 --> 00:57:31,160
Or I'm an individual.

1043
00:57:31,160 --> 00:57:35,320
So yeah, Father, in Jesus' name, we just give you all thanks.

1044
00:57:35,320 --> 00:57:38,200
We give you praise and we give you all the glory.

1045
00:57:38,200 --> 00:57:44,280
We thank you for your Son Jesus to pay the price, to set us free.

1046
00:57:44,280 --> 00:57:50,000
The blood covenant exchange of giving His robe of righteousness to us and Him taking

1047
00:57:50,000 --> 00:57:56,840
our sins and iniquities away from us and giving us the victory over those things and the devil.

1048
00:57:56,840 --> 00:58:02,160
As you said, resist the devil and he will flee and we do it in the name of the Lord

1049
00:58:02,160 --> 00:58:05,120
Jesus Christ who has won the victory.

1050
00:58:05,120 --> 00:58:12,080
And Father, we just ask you, Lord, in every marriage and in every grieving situation where

1051
00:58:12,080 --> 00:58:18,760
people have lost their partner, their lifelong partner, that they just have the knowledge

1052
00:58:18,760 --> 00:58:27,280
and that the Father is the loving Father and Jesus is the loving husband in Jesus' name.

1053
00:58:27,280 --> 00:58:32,480
And we just give you the praise, the glory and the honour that He's got us covered.

1054
00:58:32,480 --> 00:58:35,680
We just have to trust and rely on Him in Jesus' name.

1055
00:58:35,680 --> 00:58:36,680
Amen.

1056
00:58:36,680 --> 00:58:37,680
Amen.

1057
00:58:37,680 --> 00:58:38,680
Amen.

1058
00:58:38,680 --> 00:58:41,080
Thank you again, guys, for joining us for our show.

1059
00:58:41,080 --> 00:58:42,080
I hope you enjoyed it.

1060
00:58:42,080 --> 00:58:47,520
It was a beautiful conversation with Laurie and we hope you join us for our next episode

1061
00:58:47,520 --> 00:58:53,280
of Real Talk Friday.

1062
00:58:53,280 --> 00:58:58,000
As we conclude our episode of Real Talk Friday, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to all our

1063
00:58:58,000 --> 00:59:01,320
listeners for joining us on this enlightening journey.

1064
00:59:01,320 --> 00:59:03,240
But our journey doesn't end here.

1065
00:59:03,240 --> 00:59:09,120
Join us every Friday as we continue to uncover the real stories of real people where authenticity

1066
00:59:09,120 --> 00:59:13,080
intersects with spirituality in profound ways.

1067
00:59:13,080 --> 00:59:17,240
Together we'll navigate the complexities of life, finding inspiration and hope in the

1068
00:59:17,240 --> 00:59:21,640
remarkable narratives shared within the walls of Logan City Christian Church.

1069
00:59:21,640 --> 00:59:25,600
Thank you for tuning in and until next time, may your faith journey be filled with grace,

1070
00:59:25,600 --> 00:59:28,440
understanding and the unwavering presence of God.

1071
00:59:28,440 --> 00:59:43,720
Stay tuned for more Real Talk every Friday on Real Talk Friday.