1 00:00:09,000 --> 00:00:11,520 What's up guys? My name is Alexis Brown, your 2 00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:14,480 host with praises in the pod, and I'm so thankful that you 3 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:17,440 decided to join us today. We are going to be talking about 4 00:00:17,440 --> 00:00:20,640 some holy habits and what we can do every single day to grow 5 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:23,040 closer with Jesus. But first we're going to start 6 00:00:23,040 --> 00:00:25,440 off in prayer and then we're going to jump right in. 7 00:00:33,800 --> 00:00:35,600 Lord, Heavenly Father, thank you for today. 8 00:00:35,600 --> 00:00:37,280 Thank you for all your many blessings. 9 00:00:37,280 --> 00:00:42,400 Dear God, thank you for allowing me to have this platform to to 10 00:00:42,400 --> 00:00:45,600 just be able to get on here and talk to people about you. 11 00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:49,080 Lord, thank you for reaching down from on high and drawing me 12 00:00:49,080 --> 00:00:52,600 out of deep waters. God, thank you for seeing the 13 00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:55,040 light in me when I didn't see the light in myself. 14 00:00:55,040 --> 00:00:58,560 Lord, I am just so thankful that all that you have done in my 15 00:00:58,560 --> 00:01:01,320 life, all that you're going to do and all that you're doing 16 00:01:01,320 --> 00:01:04,400 right now. Lord, I pray that as I speak on 17 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:07,840 this today, Lord, that it just resonates with the other people 18 00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:10,840 that are listening. Lord, I pray that they want to 19 00:01:10,840 --> 00:01:14,560 be eager to know you and grow closer to you and just have a 20 00:01:14,560 --> 00:01:17,720 relationship with you. God, I pray that first and 21 00:01:17,720 --> 00:01:21,240 foremost, this podcast just brings you glory and it just 22 00:01:21,240 --> 00:01:25,960 shows exactly who you are and how good you are and how you get 23 00:01:25,960 --> 00:01:30,000 just have mercy on us. Lord, I just pray that you speak 24 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:32,800 to me and through me in Jesus name, I pray Amen. 25 00:01:34,080 --> 00:01:37,720 All right guys, so let's jump right in. 26 00:01:37,840 --> 00:01:45,320 I am going to be so honest. I am really nervous about this 27 00:01:45,320 --> 00:01:50,960 podcast because it's been easy. OK, so you know, the first one 28 00:01:50,960 --> 00:01:55,720 I'm on just talking, rambling, whatever, just 7-8 minutes. 29 00:01:55,920 --> 00:01:58,600 And then the next one, I'm talking to my mom about her 30 00:01:58,600 --> 00:02:01,360 testimony. The next one I'm talking about a 31 00:02:01,360 --> 00:02:03,960 part of my testimony and my surrender. 32 00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:07,400 The next one, you know, I'm kind of just still talking about 33 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:09,400 things that have happened in my life. 34 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:12,880 And then the next one was one of my besties. 35 00:02:12,880 --> 00:02:19,120 So it was just so easy, right? And, you know, while I do want 36 00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:22,640 it to be, you know, easy, I just get on here and talk and 37 00:02:22,640 --> 00:02:26,000 everything else. I mean, I need to be, you know, 38 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:29,000 saying stuff from the word specifically and just trying to 39 00:02:29,320 --> 00:02:31,640 teach different things and whatever. 40 00:02:31,640 --> 00:02:37,800 So I wanted to like really sit down and let God place it on my 41 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:39,640 heart of what I need to talk about. 42 00:02:40,080 --> 00:02:44,240 And one of the things that, you know, I started thinking about 43 00:02:44,240 --> 00:02:48,560 was holy habits. So as I'm reading, I come across 44 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:50,480 something that was talking about gossiping. 45 00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:53,560 And I was like, Oh my gosh, that would be so great for me to talk 46 00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:59,160 about gossiping to Goss blur, you know, And I was like, that'd 47 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:01,480 be a great title. Let me do that. 48 00:03:01,560 --> 00:03:06,600 And then it just kept, it was just a full circle of, you know 49 00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:09,680 what? Like it all kind of goes 50 00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:11,600 together. But like, I was branching out. 51 00:03:11,600 --> 00:03:15,080 I was getting too crazy. So I went back to what I thought 52 00:03:15,080 --> 00:03:18,880 about and I really want to hit on holy habits because I think 53 00:03:18,880 --> 00:03:24,120 that's a great place to start. And then last night I went to a 54 00:03:24,120 --> 00:03:28,520 women's gathering at a local church here in town with some of 55 00:03:28,520 --> 00:03:31,320 my girlfriends and I had mentioned something about holy 56 00:03:31,320 --> 00:03:33,920 habits. And they, they were talking 57 00:03:33,920 --> 00:03:37,640 about how they're currently taking a class and like doing a 58 00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:40,160 Bible study about holy habits and all this stuff. 59 00:03:40,320 --> 00:03:43,840 And I was like, Yep, that's it. You know, like I had already 60 00:03:43,840 --> 00:03:47,400 wrote like so much, so many notes and everything, but like, 61 00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:51,000 that just solidified it for me. So that is what I want to talk 62 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:52,760 about. And so that kind of intimidates 63 00:03:52,760 --> 00:03:56,240 me a little bit because I had never really wrote a message or 64 00:03:56,240 --> 00:04:01,680 like, you know, dug into the word because it was all about 65 00:04:01,680 --> 00:04:05,720 experience that I have currently, you know, dealt with 66 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:08,760 and current things that God had personally done for me. 67 00:04:08,760 --> 00:04:12,320 So for me to get on here and just like, you know, talk, I'm 68 00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:15,160 just really like, I'm like, Lord, just speak to me and 69 00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:18,000 through me, please, like just give me the confidence. 70 00:04:18,320 --> 00:04:21,560 And so then I went to lunch with my mom today and I told her, you 71 00:04:21,560 --> 00:04:23,440 know, like, this is what I was going to be doing. 72 00:04:23,440 --> 00:04:24,600 This is what I was going to talk about. 73 00:04:24,600 --> 00:04:25,960 And she thought it was great too. 74 00:04:25,960 --> 00:04:31,320 And she gave me some insights and here we are, just here we 75 00:04:31,320 --> 00:04:33,000 are. So I am just super excited. 76 00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:35,920 These are a few things that I recommend to strengthen your 77 00:04:35,920 --> 00:04:37,880 relationship with Jesus Christ as well. 78 00:04:38,720 --> 00:04:42,880 The first one is prayer. This is so important. 79 00:04:42,880 --> 00:04:45,800 So one of the things that I do before my eyes even open in the 80 00:04:45,800 --> 00:04:47,760 morning, my mind starts waking up. 81 00:04:48,160 --> 00:04:52,760 I thank you for today and thank you for all your many blessings, 82 00:04:52,760 --> 00:04:56,360 dear God. And it's small, it's short. 83 00:04:56,400 --> 00:04:58,760 I always start my prayers with that. 84 00:04:59,440 --> 00:05:02,160 And it, you know, people might think it's a script or, you 85 00:05:02,160 --> 00:05:04,480 know, I'm just saying what I normally say or whatever. 86 00:05:04,480 --> 00:05:07,360 But no, like I am so thankful for today. 87 00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:10,480 I am so thankful for all of his many blessings that he gives me 88 00:05:10,480 --> 00:05:14,960 that I don't even know about or things that he's doing that I'm 89 00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:18,080 not even aware about. So that is just one thing that I 90 00:05:18,080 --> 00:05:20,880 start my day with. My mom talks about how she 91 00:05:20,880 --> 00:05:25,560 spends her first hour with Jesus and getting into the word and 92 00:05:25,560 --> 00:05:27,360 prayer and all that. And that's what they're taught 93 00:05:27,360 --> 00:05:30,560 at the Potter's house to do. And that is something that I did 94 00:05:30,560 --> 00:05:36,480 for a long time or I tried to do for a long time, and I got this 95 00:05:36,480 --> 00:05:39,480 space. And I didn't want this just to 96 00:05:39,480 --> 00:05:42,400 be, you know, a podcast studio. I wanted this to be a space 97 00:05:42,400 --> 00:05:45,360 where I can come and get into God's Word and I can work and I 98 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:49,520 can pray and I can just just dwell in the space with God. 99 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:55,840 And so I have moved my quiet time more in the afternoon and 100 00:05:55,840 --> 00:06:01,280 it just works better for me now. I, I just enjoy it so much more. 101 00:06:01,280 --> 00:06:04,840 I don't like once I get home for the day, it's something that I 102 00:06:04,840 --> 00:06:08,120 do instead of in the morning when I'm like in a hurry and 103 00:06:08,120 --> 00:06:10,600 maybe I'm running late. And so I only spend a few 104 00:06:10,600 --> 00:06:13,080 minutes in there instead of like spending more time. 105 00:06:13,400 --> 00:06:17,680 And so this just allows me to spend more, you know, stress 106 00:06:17,680 --> 00:06:20,760 free time with him. And if I go over an hour, if I 107 00:06:20,760 --> 00:06:24,000 go under an hour, like I'm just here, you know, I don't really 108 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:27,520 have like, somewhere to be because I'm just, I'm just home. 109 00:06:27,520 --> 00:06:31,160 And yeah. And so basically my biggest 110 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:37,800 thing is, is like prayer does not have to be some long prayer 111 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:42,080 that has all these big words and using all these things that 112 00:06:42,080 --> 00:06:44,760 you've heard in church. Like it is just a conversation 113 00:06:44,760 --> 00:06:47,800 with you and Jesus. Like it's just a conversation 114 00:06:47,800 --> 00:06:52,480 with you and God. It is just a conversation, point 115 00:06:52,520 --> 00:06:55,280 blank period, just a conversation. 116 00:06:55,720 --> 00:07:00,720 And when I understood that and I really started, you know, 117 00:07:00,720 --> 00:07:03,160 praying more and everything else, and it was just 118 00:07:03,240 --> 00:07:06,840 conversation like, that's when the pressure was lifted a little 119 00:07:06,840 --> 00:07:11,880 bit because I had such a hard time like, and I was embarrassed 120 00:07:11,880 --> 00:07:15,200 almost praying out loud because I wasn't confident in it. 121 00:07:15,640 --> 00:07:19,480 And I even told my mom a while back, like every time I pray out 122 00:07:19,480 --> 00:07:23,480 loud, I cry. And, and for a long time it was, 123 00:07:23,680 --> 00:07:27,520 but I spoke it and I said it out loud and I was freed from that 124 00:07:27,520 --> 00:07:30,600 because God started working on my heart and showing me that it 125 00:07:30,600 --> 00:07:32,800 was just something between me and him. 126 00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:37,600 It didn't matter what I said about like if those other people 127 00:07:37,600 --> 00:07:38,840 thought it was stupid that I said that. 128 00:07:38,840 --> 00:07:41,520 Like it didn't matter because it was coming from me and I was 129 00:07:41,520 --> 00:07:44,720 talking to God. And so prayer is just so big. 130 00:07:44,720 --> 00:07:47,600 And one of the things that I think about first and forth most 131 00:07:47,840 --> 00:07:50,440 when I think about prayer is how Jesus prayed. 132 00:07:50,880 --> 00:07:56,960 And he, him and his disciples go out into the garden of G. 133 00:07:56,960 --> 00:07:58,520 I'm not even going to try to say it. 134 00:07:58,680 --> 00:08:00,680 I'm not even going to try to say the word. 135 00:08:00,680 --> 00:08:04,160 I'm going to butcher it. And so they go into the garden 136 00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:07,240 of G and he tells, you know, some of his disciples to stay 137 00:08:07,240 --> 00:08:09,000 back and that he was going to pray. 138 00:08:09,360 --> 00:08:11,840 But he tells them he's like, please keep watching. 139 00:08:11,840 --> 00:08:15,120 Pray so that you won't be tempted and all this, but they 140 00:08:15,120 --> 00:08:19,680 end up falling asleep. So he's just praying that you 141 00:08:19,680 --> 00:08:21,840 know God's will be done. Like he knows what's going to 142 00:08:21,840 --> 00:08:23,680 happen. Like in a few days he's going to 143 00:08:23,680 --> 00:08:27,920 be crucified and he's just out there spending time with God. 144 00:08:28,200 --> 00:08:31,240 And so he comes back and the disciples are sleeping and he's 145 00:08:31,240 --> 00:08:34,559 like, because y'all not stay awake because y'all not pray. 146 00:08:34,559 --> 00:08:39,240 Like I asked you for one thing and they couldn't do that. 147 00:08:39,240 --> 00:08:42,000 He goes back out and prays again and it's just a cycle. 148 00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:46,560 I think he does it like 3 times. He said are you still sleeping? 149 00:08:46,640 --> 00:08:52,160 This is Matthew 2645. Then he returned to the 150 00:08:52,160 --> 00:08:55,000 disciples and said, are you still sleeping and resting? 151 00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:58,600 Look at the hour has come and the Son of Man is delivered into 152 00:08:58,600 --> 00:09:01,320 the hands of sinners. Rise, let us go. 153 00:09:01,400 --> 00:09:06,080 Here comes my betrayer. He knew that Judas was coming 154 00:09:06,080 --> 00:09:08,720 and bringing people and he was about to be taken. 155 00:09:09,040 --> 00:09:12,800 And so he was telling them like, pray, pray, pray. 156 00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:15,680 He knew what was coming, but he still wanted to go spend time 157 00:09:15,680 --> 00:09:18,560 with God. And so like, that just was the 158 00:09:18,560 --> 00:09:21,120 first thing that really came to my mind when I started thinking 159 00:09:21,120 --> 00:09:24,160 about prayer and why it's so important for us to pray. 160 00:09:24,360 --> 00:09:27,680 Jesus prayed. Like, what more do we need to 161 00:09:27,680 --> 00:09:29,920 know? Like if Jesus prayed, I should 162 00:09:29,920 --> 00:09:31,920 be praying. We want to be more like Jesus. 163 00:09:31,920 --> 00:09:35,440 We want him to fill us. We want to be the hands and feet 164 00:09:35,440 --> 00:09:37,320 of Jesus. So how do we do that? 165 00:09:37,680 --> 00:09:40,480 We do things that Jesus did and he prayed. 166 00:09:41,680 --> 00:09:48,000 And so one of the biggest things to me too, that I like thought 167 00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:55,400 about was if we knew, OK, so the disciples, OK, they're sleeping. 168 00:09:56,080 --> 00:09:59,120 Jesus is about to be taken and he's going to be crucified, you 169 00:09:59,120 --> 00:10:04,920 know, And so if they knew how much time that they had left 170 00:10:04,920 --> 00:10:08,280 with Jesus, don't you think that they would have been doing what 171 00:10:08,280 --> 00:10:09,960 they needed to do? Like, if they knew, like 172 00:10:09,960 --> 00:10:13,560 tomorrow Jesus was going to be, you know, it's going to be 173 00:10:13,560 --> 00:10:17,120 killed, was going to be crucified when like, I would be 174 00:10:17,120 --> 00:10:19,440 like, Oh my gosh, I can't spend enough time, you know, like I'm, 175 00:10:19,520 --> 00:10:21,560 I can't spend enough time with him. 176 00:10:21,560 --> 00:10:23,280 Like, what else do I need to know all this? 177 00:10:23,280 --> 00:10:28,200 But they didn't know that. And so knowing you only have a 178 00:10:28,200 --> 00:10:34,640 little time left with Jesus and let it pass by sleeping the 179 00:10:34,720 --> 00:10:38,000 disciples then. And that just is kind of like, 180 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:40,680 it convicted me because I'm like, sometimes I don't spend 181 00:10:40,680 --> 00:10:43,160 enough time with him. And I'm like, if he came back 182 00:10:43,160 --> 00:10:46,600 tomorrow, like I didn't even spend enough time today. 183 00:10:47,680 --> 00:10:51,680 And you know, I'm doesn't it change things? 184 00:10:51,680 --> 00:10:55,040 If they would have known, if they would have known, wouldn't 185 00:10:55,040 --> 00:10:57,160 they have wanted to spend more time with him? 186 00:10:57,280 --> 00:11:00,400 So we don't know. We don't know when he's coming 187 00:11:00,400 --> 00:11:04,800 back, but we should be thinking of it as he could come back 188 00:11:04,800 --> 00:11:06,800 tomorrow. He could come back today. 189 00:11:06,960 --> 00:11:09,800 We need to spend as much time with him as possible and getting 190 00:11:09,800 --> 00:11:11,960 to know him and just living for him. 191 00:11:12,200 --> 00:11:14,200 That was just something that really stood out to me. 192 00:11:14,200 --> 00:11:17,560 And I was like, oh, that is good, Alexis. 193 00:11:17,680 --> 00:11:22,400 That is good, girl. So another thing that popped 194 00:11:22,400 --> 00:11:26,600 into my mind about this was scripture reading. 195 00:11:27,040 --> 00:11:31,480 And obviously that's spending more time with him. 196 00:11:31,480 --> 00:11:37,400 And that is, you know, just another thing that is a way that 197 00:11:37,400 --> 00:11:42,600 we can grow closer with him. And it's just so important 198 00:11:42,600 --> 00:11:46,880 because when Jesus was in the wilderness and he was fasting 199 00:11:46,880 --> 00:11:49,560 and we're going to talk about fasting too, because you know, I 200 00:11:49,560 --> 00:11:52,800 talk about fasting almost every single episode, I feel like. 201 00:11:53,280 --> 00:11:58,360 But when Jesus was in the wilderness for 40 days, 40 202 00:11:58,360 --> 00:12:02,160 nights fasting, he was the weakest then he was depending 203 00:12:02,160 --> 00:12:04,880 solely on God. He was not drinking, you know, I 204 00:12:04,880 --> 00:12:07,600 don't know if he was drinking, honestly, he probably was 205 00:12:07,600 --> 00:12:09,160 drinking. I was he drinking water? 206 00:12:09,160 --> 00:12:11,800 I don't know, I need to go back and look, I would hate to tell 207 00:12:11,800 --> 00:12:15,400 you all the wrong thing, but you know, like he is fasting from 208 00:12:15,400 --> 00:12:18,200 food and so he's weak and everything else. 209 00:12:18,200 --> 00:12:22,800 And so Satan then comes and tempts him and he says, you 210 00:12:22,800 --> 00:12:27,360 know, these rocks turn these rocks to bread, like if you're 211 00:12:27,360 --> 00:12:29,560 the son of God, turn these rocks to bread. 212 00:12:29,960 --> 00:12:34,760 And he replies with Scripture. He says man shall not live on 213 00:12:34,760 --> 00:12:38,640 bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of 214 00:12:38,640 --> 00:12:41,160 God. He said, I know what my father 215 00:12:41,160 --> 00:12:43,920 says, I don't need, I don't need that bread. 216 00:12:44,320 --> 00:12:49,560 I'm, I can depend on every word that comes out of the mouth of 217 00:12:49,560 --> 00:12:53,120 God. And so, so then the devil tempts 218 00:12:53,120 --> 00:12:57,200 him again and he says, you know, throw yourself off the highest 219 00:12:57,200 --> 00:12:59,560 temple like God's going to save you. 220 00:12:59,560 --> 00:13:03,400 He's not going to let his son die like you know, for it is 221 00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:06,720 written, he comes with Scripture and he says he will command his 222 00:13:06,720 --> 00:13:10,360 angels concerning you and they will lift you up in their hands 223 00:13:10,480 --> 00:13:13,280 so that you will not strike your foot against the stone. 224 00:13:13,520 --> 00:13:20,040 So even the devil knows scripture, but Jesus comes back 225 00:13:20,040 --> 00:13:23,720 with more scripture and he says, but it is also written, do not 226 00:13:23,720 --> 00:13:26,040 put the Lord your God to the test. 227 00:13:26,440 --> 00:13:32,160 So I just thought like this was just, you know, Satan knows who 228 00:13:32,160 --> 00:13:35,600 God is, He's just disobedient. He knows what God says, but he's 229 00:13:35,600 --> 00:13:41,000 just disobedient. The devil does it one more time. 230 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:44,240 He tempts him one more time and he looks out over the mountains 231 00:13:44,240 --> 00:13:48,320 into the kingdoms and he says all of this I will give to you 232 00:13:48,600 --> 00:13:51,000 if you will bow down and worship me. 233 00:13:52,560 --> 00:13:56,200 Jesus said to him, away from me Satan, for it is written, 234 00:13:56,280 --> 00:13:59,840 worship the Lord your God and serve him only. 235 00:14:01,200 --> 00:14:04,920 So that is just something that you know, stuck out to me about 236 00:14:04,920 --> 00:14:10,320 Scripture reading too, because Jesus knew Scripture. 237 00:14:10,560 --> 00:14:14,280 He read scripture, he studied, he spent time in the word, He 238 00:14:14,280 --> 00:14:20,240 knew how to when when temptation rose, he knew how to fight the 239 00:14:20,240 --> 00:14:24,560 good fight with Scripture. He knew that the weapon that 240 00:14:25,200 --> 00:14:28,320 that was formed against him would not prosper with 241 00:14:28,320 --> 00:14:33,600 Scripture. And so I just love that. 242 00:14:33,600 --> 00:14:35,600 And you know, that was one of the reasons why I wanted to 243 00:14:35,600 --> 00:14:38,560 bring up Scripture is because we can pray, we can do all this, 244 00:14:38,560 --> 00:14:41,600 but if we're not in Scripture, we're not allowing God to, you 245 00:14:41,600 --> 00:14:45,000 know, speak to us because the main form of the way that he 246 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:46,920 speaks to us is through Scripture. 247 00:14:47,400 --> 00:14:55,040 And especially like I know that from my heart because I, I mean, 248 00:14:55,040 --> 00:14:58,720 if you've listened to episode 2 of my surrender, he spoke so 249 00:14:58,720 --> 00:15:02,760 boldly to me when I'm praying and crying out to him. 250 00:15:03,160 --> 00:15:07,920 He answered me in Scripture after Jesus responded that third 251 00:15:07,920 --> 00:15:09,960 time and he was talking about worshiping your God. 252 00:15:10,400 --> 00:15:15,560 That brought me into praise and worship like music. 253 00:15:15,560 --> 00:15:20,240 That made me think about music. And so growing up, one of the 254 00:15:20,240 --> 00:15:25,480 things that I realized was a pattern for my mom, which was a 255 00:15:25,480 --> 00:15:30,800 pattern in my life because her, you know, story kind of blends 256 00:15:30,800 --> 00:15:32,960 with my story because that's my childhood. 257 00:15:32,960 --> 00:15:37,280 But one of the things that I realized was when she was doing 258 00:15:37,280 --> 00:15:41,480 so good and she was in her word and she was, you know, clean and 259 00:15:41,480 --> 00:15:44,520 sober and all this stuff, she was always listening to worship 260 00:15:44,520 --> 00:15:46,720 music. Like we were always listening. 261 00:15:46,720 --> 00:15:50,800 Caleb, we are always, you know, just the music in the house on 262 00:15:50,800 --> 00:15:54,000 Saturday mornings when she woke up and would clean, that's 263 00:15:54,080 --> 00:15:55,600 that's the music that was playing. 264 00:15:56,600 --> 00:16:02,240 And then when I would then some along some point along the line, 265 00:16:02,240 --> 00:16:06,560 like I would always see a shift like now we're listening to 95 266 00:16:06,560 --> 00:16:09,840 one, you know, now we're listening to, you know, like 267 00:16:09,840 --> 00:16:13,680 just just regular, you know, music. 268 00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:17,280 And so that is just something that I have always noticed. 269 00:16:17,280 --> 00:16:21,880 And so once my mom started to listen to different music, I 270 00:16:21,880 --> 00:16:25,400 started realizing like things were happening and then longer 271 00:16:25,400 --> 00:16:28,960 down the road she would relapse or something. 272 00:16:29,320 --> 00:16:32,080 And so that has always just stuck with me. 273 00:16:32,080 --> 00:16:34,320 That is just one thing that really stands out about my 274 00:16:34,320 --> 00:16:37,600 childhood and music because I've always loved music. 275 00:16:37,600 --> 00:16:41,600 I don't think I can sing. I don't think I can, you know, 276 00:16:41,600 --> 00:16:45,600 I'm not very musically inclined, but I love music. 277 00:16:45,600 --> 00:16:49,080 It is just something that I've just always loved my BC. 278 00:16:49,600 --> 00:16:55,280 I would listen to rap music and just really just felt the music. 279 00:16:55,280 --> 00:17:00,120 Honestly, now I only listen to worship music and I only listen 280 00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:03,240 to Christian music because it's just something that was 281 00:17:03,240 --> 00:17:06,400 instilled in me that what I'm putting in is what's going to 282 00:17:06,400 --> 00:17:10,440 come out. And if I want God to be coming 283 00:17:10,440 --> 00:17:14,160 out of me, I need to be getting God from all over. 284 00:17:14,280 --> 00:17:16,560 Like I need to be getting messages. 285 00:17:16,560 --> 00:17:19,760 I need to be getting words. You know, listening to pastors 286 00:17:19,760 --> 00:17:23,480 and listening to music and get and just reading my Bible and 287 00:17:23,480 --> 00:17:26,160 praying and all this stuff and music was one of those things 288 00:17:26,160 --> 00:17:31,480 that I truly have to do. I don't want to listen to the 289 00:17:31,480 --> 00:17:35,280 other music, you know, and I mean, if you do, I'm not saying 290 00:17:35,280 --> 00:17:37,480 anything. This is just my personal thing 291 00:17:37,800 --> 00:17:40,440 is where it is like a gateway for me. 292 00:17:40,440 --> 00:17:43,600 And that's what I associate it with because that is what I'll 293 00:17:43,600 --> 00:17:46,760 just always grew up at with. And so it's a gateway for me. 294 00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:53,960 And I don't want to even give that time of day because like 295 00:17:54,200 --> 00:17:58,960 recently, so recently, you know, I was in the car and we were 296 00:17:58,960 --> 00:18:00,920 just kind of talking about music and all this stuff. 297 00:18:00,920 --> 00:18:07,120 And I just put on like this one song and instantly I'm like, oh, 298 00:18:07,280 --> 00:18:09,480 because in the song it cussed or whatever. 299 00:18:09,480 --> 00:18:13,280 And so in my mind, you know, like I was saying the words like 300 00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:15,160 I was thinking about it. And then later on, the song was 301 00:18:15,160 --> 00:18:17,080 stuck in my head and I'm like, here we go. 302 00:18:17,800 --> 00:18:22,240 So just that's something that's not something that I can wiggle 303 00:18:22,240 --> 00:18:26,760 on. For me personally, because BCI 304 00:18:26,760 --> 00:18:30,120 had a very dirty mouth. I cussed a lot and everything 305 00:18:30,120 --> 00:18:32,440 else. And so now in today's music, 306 00:18:32,440 --> 00:18:37,160 there is a lot of cussing and that's just, I'm just, I just 307 00:18:37,160 --> 00:18:41,200 don't want to cuss, you know, like I really do feel convicted 308 00:18:41,200 --> 00:18:44,880 about cussing. And so I'm just not going to. 309 00:18:45,480 --> 00:18:47,520 So one of those things was music. 310 00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:52,440 And when I thought about worship, and I thought about 311 00:18:53,680 --> 00:19:00,040 just just worshipping God and singing to him and praising him, 312 00:19:00,560 --> 00:19:04,160 I thought about, you know, the book of Psalms, obviously. 313 00:19:04,880 --> 00:19:10,240 And in Psalm 147 seven, it says sing to the Lord with grateful 314 00:19:10,240 --> 00:19:14,640 praise, make music to our God on the heart. 315 00:19:15,720 --> 00:19:20,840 I'm not playing no harp, but you know, like I, I, I want to be 316 00:19:20,840 --> 00:19:23,240 grateful and sing praise to Lord. 317 00:19:23,600 --> 00:19:28,000 And I want him to know that like when I'm singing, it's to him. 318 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:33,840 So when I am thinking about worship and praise and I'm 319 00:19:33,840 --> 00:19:39,320 reading in Psalm and I'm thinking about this, I have the 320 00:19:39,320 --> 00:19:44,200 YouTube up on the TV and worthy of my song starts to play. 321 00:19:44,800 --> 00:19:50,840 And it was just so oh, I think it's one of my favorite songs 322 00:19:50,840 --> 00:19:54,680 because he's saying like in the blessing in the pain, you are 323 00:19:54,680 --> 00:19:58,600 worthy of my song. You are worthy of everything. 324 00:19:58,600 --> 00:20:01,760 No matter what I'm going through, no matter what goes 325 00:20:01,760 --> 00:20:04,760 wrong in life, no matter what goes right, like I am going to 326 00:20:04,760 --> 00:20:06,680 worship you. I'm going to praise you. 327 00:20:06,720 --> 00:20:09,400 I'm going to you are worthy of my song. 328 00:20:09,840 --> 00:20:12,720 And like that is one of my favorite songs. 329 00:20:12,720 --> 00:20:14,120 And there's also a part in there. 330 00:20:14,200 --> 00:20:17,120 This is kind of. Off topic, but there's also a 331 00:20:17,120 --> 00:20:24,960 part on there and it says whether you say yes, son, 332 00:20:25,240 --> 00:20:29,160 whether you say yes or no or wait, you are worthy. 333 00:20:29,440 --> 00:20:33,640 And you know, that song was played at the conference that I 334 00:20:33,640 --> 00:20:35,680 went to right before God spoke to me. 335 00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:37,520 That's where I learned that song. 336 00:20:37,520 --> 00:20:39,680 And so I kept singing that song, singing that song. 337 00:20:39,680 --> 00:20:42,440 So then that next week when God speaks to me, you know, that's 338 00:20:42,440 --> 00:20:46,440 my favorite song at the point and and it said whether you say 339 00:20:46,440 --> 00:20:49,720 yes or no or wait, you are worthy. 340 00:20:49,960 --> 00:20:53,720 And the first time I heard that after he had spoke to me, I just 341 00:20:53,720 --> 00:20:58,280 like sobbed because yes, he told me like you're going to be a 342 00:20:58,280 --> 00:21:00,120 mother, but you're going to have to wait. 343 00:21:00,120 --> 00:21:05,480 Like this is my time. Even though he said wait, it was 344 00:21:05,480 --> 00:21:08,600 still him answering and he is still worthy. 345 00:21:09,400 --> 00:21:14,760 That was just another point for me to go into about, you know, 346 00:21:14,760 --> 00:21:19,160 song and singing and praise and music and just everything else 347 00:21:19,160 --> 00:21:21,600 that I totally forgot about because even right before I 348 00:21:21,600 --> 00:21:23,640 started recording, I started talking. 349 00:21:23,640 --> 00:21:27,160 I started thinking about Paul and Silas and that's what I was 350 00:21:27,160 --> 00:21:29,480 going to go into and I completely forgot about worthy 351 00:21:29,480 --> 00:21:32,600 of my song. So it was just like, so just a 352 00:21:32,600 --> 00:21:35,840 God moment that I was on the white right track and I was 353 00:21:35,840 --> 00:21:39,120 doing what he had placed on my heart because it just everything 354 00:21:39,120 --> 00:21:41,640 just started falling, you know, like into place. 355 00:21:41,640 --> 00:21:44,280 I started remembering remembering all this scripture. 356 00:21:44,280 --> 00:21:47,400 I started thinking of all these things that I wanted to speak 357 00:21:47,400 --> 00:21:52,920 about and just so that was just another I like to call them 358 00:21:52,920 --> 00:21:55,480 little God winks. Nothing is a coincident. 359 00:21:55,480 --> 00:21:59,800 Everything is a God wink. Paul and Silas when they are 360 00:21:59,800 --> 00:22:02,040 traveling and they're going to tell everybody about the good 361 00:22:02,040 --> 00:22:03,480 news. They're going to talk about 362 00:22:03,480 --> 00:22:05,240 Jesus. They're going into all of these 363 00:22:05,240 --> 00:22:12,520 villages and talking. They there's a woman that is 364 00:22:12,520 --> 00:22:16,000 following them and she is supposed to be a fortune teller. 365 00:22:16,320 --> 00:22:24,160 Or is it a fortune teller? Hang on or see the future. 366 00:22:24,640 --> 00:22:27,000 OK, So they don't call her a fortune teller. 367 00:22:27,400 --> 00:22:31,000 Paul and Silas were being followed by a woman who had a 368 00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:33,360 spirit where she predicted the future. 369 00:22:33,680 --> 00:22:36,040 And so she did this for multiple days. 370 00:22:36,040 --> 00:22:38,960 She was just following them around like, you know, screaming 371 00:22:38,960 --> 00:22:43,080 about how you know, these men are servants of the most high 372 00:22:43,080 --> 00:22:46,560 God who are telling the way to be saved and all this. 373 00:22:46,560 --> 00:22:48,720 And so Paul finally is just so annoyed. 374 00:22:48,720 --> 00:22:51,400 And he just says, in the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to 375 00:22:51,400 --> 00:22:53,840 come out of her. And, and at that moment, the 376 00:22:53,840 --> 00:22:58,480 Spirit left her. But she worked for like these 377 00:22:58,480 --> 00:23:02,840 high men that made money off of her fortune telling or future 378 00:23:02,840 --> 00:23:06,840 telling, whatever. And so they ended up throwing 379 00:23:06,840 --> 00:23:11,800 Paul and Silas into prison. And even when like most people 380 00:23:11,800 --> 00:23:14,640 would probably be mad at God, like you told me to come do 381 00:23:14,640 --> 00:23:16,640 this. You told me to step out. 382 00:23:16,640 --> 00:23:19,320 You told me to come, you know, spread the good news of what 383 00:23:19,320 --> 00:23:22,480 you've done and everything. Now you're going to throw me in 384 00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:26,080 prison. Like, why? 385 00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:29,200 Like you don't understand it. But instead of getting mad at 386 00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:31,920 God, getting mad about all these things because they were 387 00:23:31,920 --> 00:23:35,160 severely beaten too. Like it wasn't just like they 388 00:23:35,160 --> 00:23:40,720 were thrown in prison, like they were severely beaten and you 389 00:23:40,720 --> 00:23:44,040 know, instead of getting mad at God and starting questioning God 390 00:23:44,040 --> 00:23:47,880 and stuff, like they started singing praise about midnight. 391 00:23:48,120 --> 00:23:51,840 Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the 392 00:23:51,840 --> 00:23:54,240 other prisoners were listening to them. 393 00:23:54,800 --> 00:23:57,560 So, you know, they're being bold in their faith. 394 00:23:57,560 --> 00:23:58,880 They're just singing and praising. 395 00:23:58,880 --> 00:24:01,120 They have been beaten. They're in prison, but they are 396 00:24:01,120 --> 00:24:04,480 still worshipping God. And it said suddenly there was 397 00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:08,280 such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison 398 00:24:08,280 --> 00:24:09,960 were shaken. At once. 399 00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:13,640 All the prison doors flew open and everyone's chains came 400 00:24:13,640 --> 00:24:16,400 loose. The jailer woke up and when he 401 00:24:16,400 --> 00:24:19,480 saw the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about 402 00:24:19,480 --> 00:24:22,760 to kill himself because he thought that the prisoners had 403 00:24:22,760 --> 00:24:26,120 escaped. But Paul shouted, don't harm 404 00:24:26,120 --> 00:24:28,720 yourself, we are all here. The jailer called for the 405 00:24:28,720 --> 00:24:33,040 lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 406 00:24:33,240 --> 00:24:36,480 He then brought them out and asked them, Sir, what must I do 407 00:24:36,480 --> 00:24:38,800 to be saved? They replied, believe in the 408 00:24:38,800 --> 00:24:41,880 Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household. 409 00:24:42,080 --> 00:24:46,440 Because they were just singing even in the hardest times, like 410 00:24:46,440 --> 00:24:48,520 they didn't understand why it was happening to them. 411 00:24:48,520 --> 00:24:50,000 They don't know why they were in prison. 412 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:53,000 They don't know why God forced them to come here. 413 00:24:53,760 --> 00:24:56,080 They were still going to sing about his goodness. 414 00:24:56,080 --> 00:24:59,400 They were still going to cry out praises to him. 415 00:24:59,400 --> 00:25:04,120 And so when all this happens and no one flees because most of us, 416 00:25:04,160 --> 00:25:10,680 you know, we're like, oh, God, I was singing praise. 417 00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:13,360 So God opened these doors for me to run through. 418 00:25:13,360 --> 00:25:17,880 He told me to go on, you know, no, like they stayed. 419 00:25:18,280 --> 00:25:20,600 And because they knew that they were in prison, there wasn't 420 00:25:20,600 --> 00:25:23,680 they weren't going to escape. Like they were there for a 421 00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:25,760 reason. And they, you have to be so in 422 00:25:25,760 --> 00:25:29,880 line with God to know what he's opening up for you and what the 423 00:25:29,880 --> 00:25:32,440 enemy is trying to get you to do. 424 00:25:32,640 --> 00:25:37,160 OK, so the enemy would have wanted them to escape, right? 425 00:25:37,480 --> 00:25:42,600 And that was the evil. But instead, they knew that God 426 00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:46,720 was calling them to stay there. And not only did they just stay 427 00:25:46,720 --> 00:25:50,680 there, the the jailer doesn't, you know, takes favor on them. 428 00:25:50,680 --> 00:25:54,760 Like he gets saved and he, you know, cries out for God and he 429 00:25:54,760 --> 00:25:57,640 wants his family to be saved. Because in the next few chapters 430 00:25:57,920 --> 00:26:02,840 they talk about how they went home with the jailer and they 431 00:26:02,840 --> 00:26:06,280 ate and everything and we're washed and then they baptized 432 00:26:06,280 --> 00:26:11,080 them, him and his household. So when I just think about 433 00:26:11,080 --> 00:26:15,320 praise, like I just think about, you know, Paul and Silas and and 434 00:26:15,320 --> 00:26:18,560 the new song that just came out by Brandon Lake, That's who I 435 00:26:18,560 --> 00:26:20,640 praise. I want to dance like David. 436 00:26:21,240 --> 00:26:24,400 I want a faith like Paul. I want to sing like Silas 437 00:26:24,400 --> 00:26:28,560 tearing down the prison walls. Whoa, I love that part. 438 00:26:29,080 --> 00:26:35,880 He he ate with that anyway. Anyway, Anyway, anyway, so that 439 00:26:35,880 --> 00:26:39,520 is just like three things that I think are just something that 440 00:26:39,520 --> 00:26:42,160 you need to add into your every single day. 441 00:26:42,560 --> 00:26:48,440 And you know, that is that is how you grow closer with God. 442 00:26:48,640 --> 00:26:53,120 You make that this schedule, you get this routine, like you add 443 00:26:53,120 --> 00:26:57,960 it where it's something that you cannot miss, you know, like that 444 00:26:58,240 --> 00:27:01,120 that is the that is something that's really going to grow your 445 00:27:01,120 --> 00:27:02,400 faith. That's going to bring it to a 446 00:27:02,400 --> 00:27:05,480 whole new level. You're going to start seeing God 447 00:27:05,480 --> 00:27:09,200 and feeling God and hearing from God more than you ever have if 448 00:27:09,200 --> 00:27:13,840 you start making him a priority. And oh, I remember, I remember, 449 00:27:13,840 --> 00:27:18,320 I remember. So I might have said this but I 450 00:27:18,400 --> 00:27:22,520 I lead a middle school small group and before our small group 451 00:27:22,520 --> 00:27:25,840 this past Sunday my bestie Catherine, which she will be on 452 00:27:25,840 --> 00:27:30,440 the show soon I promise. She said something that really 453 00:27:30,440 --> 00:27:33,320 stuck with me and this was one of the reasons why I wanted to 454 00:27:33,320 --> 00:27:36,400 throw this in here too. And she said, how can someone 455 00:27:36,400 --> 00:27:41,280 lead, give advice or live biblically if you're not reading 456 00:27:41,280 --> 00:27:44,520 your Bible? And I don't want to say that's 457 00:27:44,520 --> 00:27:48,320 quote UN quote, but that's something that like, I, I heard 458 00:27:48,320 --> 00:27:50,040 it. That's how I interpreted what 459 00:27:50,040 --> 00:27:54,920 she said. And so that was, that was just 460 00:27:54,920 --> 00:27:58,560 so good to me because it is like, we're out here, you know, 461 00:27:58,560 --> 00:28:00,760 going to church and all the stuff on Sundays. 462 00:28:01,120 --> 00:28:03,760 We don't want to just be those Sunday churchgoers. 463 00:28:03,760 --> 00:28:08,480 And I talked about this on the very first pilot episode. 464 00:28:08,640 --> 00:28:11,480 We don't want to just be Sunday Search churchgoers. 465 00:28:11,480 --> 00:28:15,400 We want to be Monday morning faith people. 466 00:28:15,400 --> 00:28:17,960 We want to still have that same faith on Monday, Tuesday, 467 00:28:17,960 --> 00:28:21,040 Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday as we do on Sunday. 468 00:28:21,360 --> 00:28:25,680 And how do we get that? We go to God in prayer, we read 469 00:28:25,680 --> 00:28:29,960 our Bible, we worship, we praise, we sing to him. 470 00:28:30,320 --> 00:28:35,200 And another thing that I wrote down was community and fasting. 471 00:28:35,200 --> 00:28:37,400 And I just think that's going to have to be like a whole 472 00:28:37,400 --> 00:28:39,800 different thing. I talk about community almost 473 00:28:39,920 --> 00:28:44,760 every single episode. I feel like because it is so 474 00:28:44,760 --> 00:28:48,760 important. Like I do not know how to, to 475 00:28:49,080 --> 00:28:52,320 say how important it is without saying it's just important 476 00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:58,640 because you're held accountable when you have those friends that 477 00:28:58,640 --> 00:29:02,400 are in their word and they are praying and they're praying for 478 00:29:02,400 --> 00:29:05,280 you and all this stuff like they're going to be more 479 00:29:05,280 --> 00:29:07,400 accountable. You know, you're going to want 480 00:29:07,400 --> 00:29:09,800 to do better because you're surrounded by people that are 481 00:29:09,800 --> 00:29:12,280 doing better too and that they're living for Jesus. 482 00:29:12,760 --> 00:29:15,600 A step that you could do. It's very uncomfortable. 483 00:29:15,600 --> 00:29:18,800 Don't get me wrong. I it's, it's, it will be 484 00:29:18,800 --> 00:29:22,880 uncomfortable. Don't just show up the service. 485 00:29:23,520 --> 00:29:28,160 Umm, at service time, like get there like 1015 minutes early, 486 00:29:28,160 --> 00:29:31,360 walk around, talk to people that that's scary. 487 00:29:31,360 --> 00:29:33,920 I know these introverts are like, oh, she lost me. 488 00:29:34,480 --> 00:29:37,400 You're going to start to click with people and you're going to 489 00:29:37,400 --> 00:29:41,880 be able to do life with them. Like don't you don't think that 490 00:29:41,880 --> 00:29:44,920 you have to just jump right in instantly and jump in a small 491 00:29:44,920 --> 00:29:47,760 group and do all this stuff? Like maybe just start trying to 492 00:29:47,760 --> 00:29:51,280 come to a service or a little bit earlier, stay a little bit 493 00:29:51,280 --> 00:29:55,680 after and like try to get to know people and you know, like 494 00:29:55,720 --> 00:29:59,840 just start meeting those small, like make them small changes. 495 00:30:00,520 --> 00:30:05,240 And then I wanted to talk about fasting because Jesus, you know, 496 00:30:05,240 --> 00:30:07,960 fasted in the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights. 497 00:30:07,960 --> 00:30:11,320 And we talked about this this week, but I just think that 498 00:30:11,320 --> 00:30:17,480 maybe that needs to be a whole different like episode because 499 00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:21,960 I'm just so passionate about fasting and I just love fasting. 500 00:30:21,960 --> 00:30:28,480 And I actually just fasted last week, I think, and it was 501 00:30:28,480 --> 00:30:30,440 different than what I've ever fasted before. 502 00:30:30,440 --> 00:30:32,680 It was something completely different than what I've ever 503 00:30:32,680 --> 00:30:35,600 done. And so I kind of want to, you 504 00:30:35,600 --> 00:30:39,440 know, I genuinely want that to be a different episode because I 505 00:30:39,440 --> 00:30:43,040 have had people reach out to me about fasting after I had talked 506 00:30:43,040 --> 00:30:47,320 about it in other episodes. And so I just think that it 507 00:30:47,320 --> 00:30:49,560 doesn't just need to be vaguely hit. 508 00:30:49,560 --> 00:30:51,360 Like I would love to talk about it more. 509 00:30:51,720 --> 00:30:54,200 So I think we're going to hold off on that part. 510 00:30:54,320 --> 00:30:58,160 My main takeaways basically are spend some more time in prayer. 511 00:30:58,360 --> 00:31:00,960 It doesn't have to be long. It doesn't have to be a certain 512 00:31:00,960 --> 00:31:03,760 designated time. It can just be first thing in 513 00:31:03,760 --> 00:31:05,560 the morning while you're brushing your teeth, while 514 00:31:05,560 --> 00:31:07,800 you're in the shower, while you're using the restroom, while 515 00:31:07,800 --> 00:31:10,160 you're cooking dinner, while you're on the way to work, while 516 00:31:10,160 --> 00:31:13,320 you're doing this. Like it's just thoughts. 517 00:31:13,320 --> 00:31:17,360 It's just you making time and acknowledging God and spending 518 00:31:17,360 --> 00:31:19,920 time with him. So I challenge you to spend more 519 00:31:19,920 --> 00:31:23,280 time praying. I challenge you even if it's 520 00:31:23,280 --> 00:31:27,680 just a chapter a day, jump into the Gospels. 521 00:31:27,680 --> 00:31:29,600 Like if you've never read the Bible, if you've never even 522 00:31:29,600 --> 00:31:33,400 start, start with Matthew 1 and you know, try to read Matthew, 523 00:31:33,400 --> 00:31:36,960 Mark, Luke, and John, even if it's just one chapter a day. 524 00:31:37,040 --> 00:31:40,360 And chapters are not pages on pages and pages like it is. 525 00:31:40,600 --> 00:31:42,920 It's a few, it's usually a few paragraph graphs or so. 526 00:31:43,320 --> 00:31:45,880 So like don't get overwhelmed when I say read a chapter. 527 00:31:46,520 --> 00:31:49,400 Just start somewhere. Don't think that you have to, 528 00:31:49,440 --> 00:31:54,040 you know, read front to back Matthew and day one, like just 529 00:31:54,040 --> 00:31:57,320 start small. So scripture reading, prayer, 530 00:31:57,320 --> 00:32:00,280 worship. I actually wrote posted a TikTok 531 00:32:00,280 --> 00:32:04,840 today actually saying, you know, like I challenge you to only 532 00:32:04,840 --> 00:32:07,360 listen to Christian music for the next three days. 533 00:32:07,760 --> 00:32:15,680 And I may drop my like URL playlist for Spotify down in the 534 00:32:15,680 --> 00:32:19,200 comments of this video or on this podcast. 535 00:32:19,200 --> 00:32:21,920 And you know, like I have all genres in there. 536 00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:25,240 Like there's some rap Christian, there's some like alternative 537 00:32:25,240 --> 00:32:27,520 rap Christian or alternative Christian. 538 00:32:27,880 --> 00:32:33,760 There's like just worship heartfelt music's crying out to 539 00:32:33,760 --> 00:32:34,840 God. Like it. 540 00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:37,440 I just have abundance of like everything in there. 541 00:32:38,440 --> 00:32:43,120 And then really trying to challenge you to stay after 542 00:32:43,120 --> 00:32:46,360 church for 1015 minutes extra and talk to people. 543 00:32:46,360 --> 00:32:50,520 Step out of your comfort zone because even though like it's 544 00:32:50,520 --> 00:32:53,040 scary and you're an introvert and you don't know what you're 545 00:32:53,040 --> 00:32:56,920 going to say to people, like pray first, you know, there's an 546 00:32:56,920 --> 00:33:00,400 opportunity to pray, like, pray, pray before you go into that. 547 00:33:00,400 --> 00:33:02,360 Like when they're doing the altar call and they're closing 548 00:33:02,360 --> 00:33:05,160 out the service, go ahead and say like God, I really want to 549 00:33:05,160 --> 00:33:07,440 stay after today. I want to make some new friends. 550 00:33:07,440 --> 00:33:10,840 I want to talk to some people, you know, give me the strength 551 00:33:10,840 --> 00:33:12,560 to do that. Give me the confidence to do 552 00:33:12,560 --> 00:33:14,480 that. Help me step out of my comfort 553 00:33:14,480 --> 00:33:18,280 zone and you know, He will give you the strength because He 554 00:33:18,280 --> 00:33:21,320 wants us to be in a community. He doesn't want us just showing 555 00:33:21,320 --> 00:33:24,480 up to church, you know, right on time and running out the door as 556 00:33:24,480 --> 00:33:26,960 soon as it is because we got to get to lunch. 557 00:33:27,120 --> 00:33:30,360 We got to get before the church crowd hits, you know, stay that 558 00:33:30,360 --> 00:33:32,840 few extra minutes and meet some people. 559 00:33:34,120 --> 00:33:39,040 So yeah, if if I had to sum up how I've grown my relationship 560 00:33:39,040 --> 00:33:43,760 with God in the past year over year, I would say that basically 561 00:33:43,760 --> 00:33:47,680 is those four big things. That is how I come to know God 562 00:33:47,680 --> 00:33:49,240 better. That's how I become more 563 00:33:49,240 --> 00:33:53,080 confident in my walk and everything else is just those 564 00:33:53,080 --> 00:33:55,200 four things. And so I encourage you to try 565 00:33:55,200 --> 00:33:57,920 it. I encourage you to do something 566 00:33:57,920 --> 00:34:02,160 different, challenge yourself. Yeah. 567 00:34:02,160 --> 00:34:07,280 So I'm just so blessed for all the people that have reached out 568 00:34:07,280 --> 00:34:10,000 to me and have texted and called me. 569 00:34:10,000 --> 00:34:13,400 I have gotten messages on messages talking about people, 570 00:34:13,639 --> 00:34:18,520 people's stories and how my podcast has helped them and how 571 00:34:18,520 --> 00:34:21,400 it's encouraged them to do different things and just all 572 00:34:21,400 --> 00:34:23,400 this stuff. And I love your messages. 573 00:34:23,400 --> 00:34:27,440 I absolutely like. I love your messages. 574 00:34:27,639 --> 00:34:31,800 It's just one of those things where it it, I don't want it for 575 00:34:31,920 --> 00:34:35,280 me, but it just shows me that like I'm doing what God's 576 00:34:35,280 --> 00:34:39,000 calling me to do and it's just awesome. 577 00:34:39,199 --> 00:34:43,920 So I did create a e-mail address and it's praises in the 578 00:34:43,920 --> 00:34:48,520 pod@gmail.com. And I would love you to reach 579 00:34:48,520 --> 00:34:53,199 out to me, send me emails and your stories or your 580 00:34:53,199 --> 00:34:55,600 testimonies. And you know, like if you send 581 00:34:55,600 --> 00:34:58,400 it to me, I would love to be able to, you know, possibly read 582 00:34:58,400 --> 00:35:01,960 it on here and talk about it on here and just everything else. 583 00:35:01,960 --> 00:35:05,880 So I won't say your name, I won't say anything like that. 584 00:35:05,880 --> 00:35:09,120 But you know, like, I just want this to be just a place where we 585 00:35:09,120 --> 00:35:13,680 can all grow together and we can all just like be our own 586 00:35:13,680 --> 00:35:17,280 community. Praise peeps, praise pals. 587 00:35:17,280 --> 00:35:19,920 I don't know what we're going to be, but you know, someday it's 588 00:35:19,920 --> 00:35:24,680 going to click. But I just want to do life with 589 00:35:24,680 --> 00:35:26,480 all you guys. I want to get to know you guys. 590 00:35:26,480 --> 00:35:29,160 And like, I see all these viewers and all these numbers 591 00:35:29,160 --> 00:35:31,440 going up and I'm like, oh, who is it? 592 00:35:31,440 --> 00:35:33,400 Like I want to know who these people are? 593 00:35:33,880 --> 00:35:37,520 Anyway, I am so excited for next week is going to be an awesome 594 00:35:37,520 --> 00:35:42,240 testimony from my best friend Abby Gordy and her husband 595 00:35:42,240 --> 00:35:45,680 Dexter Gordy. And God is just all in their 596 00:35:45,680 --> 00:35:48,680 story and it is incredible. It is incredible. 597 00:35:48,680 --> 00:35:50,120 And you're not going to want to miss it. 598 00:35:50,400 --> 00:35:54,040 So stay tuned, stay blessed, and we'll see you guys next week. 599 00:35:54,480 --> 00:35:54,680 Bye.