1 00:00:08,520 --> 00:00:11,120 What's up guys? My name is Alexis Brown, your 2 00:00:11,120 --> 00:00:14,760 host with praises in the pod. And I'm so excited to be back in 3 00:00:14,760 --> 00:00:17,560 the studio. This time I am by myself. 4 00:00:17,560 --> 00:00:20,680 I feel like I haven't recorded by myself in forever, so it's 5 00:00:20,680 --> 00:00:23,200 nice to be back and just do a solo episode. 6 00:00:23,480 --> 00:00:26,160 So we are going to start off in prayer and then we're going to 7 00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:32,800 jump right in. So here we go, Lord, Heavenly 8 00:00:32,800 --> 00:00:35,560 Father, thank you for today. Thank you for all your many 9 00:00:35,560 --> 00:00:38,080 blessings. Thank you for what you've done, 10 00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:40,520 what you're doing, and what you're going to do. 11 00:00:40,520 --> 00:00:42,840 Lord. Thank you for keeping your hand 12 00:00:42,840 --> 00:00:46,120 over my life all these years, Lord, and getting me this far 13 00:00:46,120 --> 00:00:48,160 and waking me up each and every day. 14 00:00:48,160 --> 00:00:52,400 Lord, I just pray that you speak to me and through me in Jesus 15 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:55,680 name I pray, Amen. All right guys, like I said, it 16 00:00:55,680 --> 00:00:57,920 has been a while since I've recorded by myself. 17 00:00:57,920 --> 00:01:02,320 I have had so much going on. If you know and you've listened 18 00:01:02,320 --> 00:01:06,960 to episode 1, He Called my name, you know that I run another 19 00:01:06,960 --> 00:01:10,000 ministry with my mom called Sisters of Faith, which is a 20 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:14,280 transition home for women who have overcome addiction and they 21 00:01:14,280 --> 00:01:16,200 are learning to live on this side of Jesus. 22 00:01:16,200 --> 00:01:20,160 And it is just an amazing ministry and I love being a part 23 00:01:20,160 --> 00:01:22,720 of it. But we have a gala coming up 24 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:27,720 like in a few weeks and it has a literally taking over my mind. 25 00:01:27,720 --> 00:01:30,000 Like that is all I've been thinking about. 26 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:33,320 That is all that I like. I have not even really thought 27 00:01:33,320 --> 00:01:36,120 about what I was going to like talk about this week on the 28 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:41,080 podcast until Sunday at church. And our pastor was talking about 29 00:01:41,080 --> 00:01:43,360 being thankful and all this stuff. 30 00:01:43,360 --> 00:01:46,200 And it just was like, Oh my gosh, like, I haven't even 31 00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:48,840 thought really what I'm going to talk about on the podcast this 32 00:01:48,840 --> 00:01:52,800 week. There was many different like 33 00:01:52,800 --> 00:01:54,800 filing cabinets that I was pulling from. 34 00:01:54,800 --> 00:01:56,040 Like, what about this? What about that? 35 00:01:56,040 --> 00:01:58,840 What about this? And I just kept going, right? 36 00:01:58,840 --> 00:02:02,240 And I'm like, OK, let me just write down some stuff and then 37 00:02:02,360 --> 00:02:03,800 it maybe it'll all come together. 38 00:02:04,840 --> 00:02:08,440 And so last night I kind of went through everything and I'm like, 39 00:02:08,440 --> 00:02:11,360 oh, OK, this kind of does all good together. 40 00:02:11,480 --> 00:02:16,560 So just to be completely transparent, I shared something 41 00:02:16,560 --> 00:02:20,920 on Facebook as a little giggle because one of me and my guy 42 00:02:20,920 --> 00:02:24,000 best friends have this little joke about like when you're 43 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:27,640 texting and you're like, I'm dying, like I'm hollering, 44 00:02:27,640 --> 00:02:29,120 whatever. And you're really just like 45 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:31,640 looking at your phone. Like you're not laughing, you're 46 00:02:31,640 --> 00:02:33,880 not giggling, you're not even really smiling. 47 00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:41,920 And you know, it didn't say L0L 0L it said LMFAO. 48 00:02:42,760 --> 00:02:49,000 And I knew that I did not want to share it because of what it 49 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:56,280 said, but I did anyway because I was like, it's not that big of a 50 00:02:56,280 --> 00:02:58,640 deal. Like it's, I'm not even really 51 00:02:58,640 --> 00:03:01,320 like referring to that part. I'm referring to the I'm 52 00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:04,680 hollering. And so I shared it, didn't think 53 00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:08,280 anything else about it, did not think anything else about it. 54 00:03:08,280 --> 00:03:11,680 And then I went to lunch with my mom and my mom kind of like just 55 00:03:11,680 --> 00:03:14,600 held her phone. She said, what does this mean? 56 00:03:15,480 --> 00:03:17,680 And I, I think she was being sarcastic. 57 00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:20,680 She really may not have been, but I just like looked at her 58 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:24,240 and I was like, I know. And instantly I was convicted. 59 00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:27,360 I was already convicted really earlier in the morning, but I 60 00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:32,480 was like, ah, pish posh, you know, like, it's fine, it's 61 00:03:32,480 --> 00:03:36,200 fine. And then when my mom said that, 62 00:03:36,200 --> 00:03:40,760 I was like, oh, I even told her I was like, this is literally 63 00:03:40,760 --> 00:03:45,120 eating my lunch, that I allowed myself to do that, that I really 64 00:03:45,120 --> 00:03:49,160 conformed to the world and I was just doing what I normally would 65 00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:52,920 have done to fit in. And so that was something that 66 00:03:52,920 --> 00:03:56,520 really triggered me yesterday about really wanting to talk 67 00:03:56,520 --> 00:03:59,960 about this 'cause there was another instance and I posted a 68 00:03:59,960 --> 00:04:05,080 Tiktok singing this song and my mom was like, that's different. 69 00:04:05,080 --> 00:04:07,640 Like usually you don't post that. 70 00:04:08,320 --> 00:04:12,280 Usually everything I post is like either just me talking or 71 00:04:12,280 --> 00:04:15,840 like something like strictly, you know, Christian based and 72 00:04:15,840 --> 00:04:17,320 everything. And so she was like, that's 73 00:04:17,320 --> 00:04:20,200 different. And then I'm like, oh, like I 74 00:04:20,200 --> 00:04:25,880 really am becoming more lackadaisical or more like 75 00:04:26,320 --> 00:04:29,840 easygoing about it. And I I don't want to be that 76 00:04:29,840 --> 00:04:31,360 way. I don't want to conform to the 77 00:04:31,360 --> 00:04:34,200 world. I don't want to fit in and just 78 00:04:34,200 --> 00:04:38,920 look normal. I, I truly have changed so much 79 00:04:38,920 --> 00:04:41,640 of my life, almost every aspect of my life. 80 00:04:41,840 --> 00:04:44,400 Why am I hitting it in reverse all of a sudden? 81 00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:49,280 Why am I getting more comfortable to look that way or 82 00:04:49,280 --> 00:04:53,360 say that, you know, like post that, like that doesn't that 83 00:04:53,360 --> 00:04:56,320 doesn't line up with with what's going on. 84 00:04:56,360 --> 00:04:59,280 It made me start thinking about how I've been doing my quiet 85 00:04:59,280 --> 00:05:04,040 time for the past like week or so and it's really just a check 86 00:05:04,040 --> 00:05:09,880 the box. So as I realize that 87 00:05:10,800 --> 00:05:14,280 disconnecting a little bit from God, like I'm not as close as I 88 00:05:14,280 --> 00:05:18,960 once was because I'm not spending as much time with him. 89 00:05:18,960 --> 00:05:22,400 I'm not in the word. I'm not doing these things. 90 00:05:23,360 --> 00:05:25,920 I'm just reading a devotion and then just going to read a little 91 00:05:25,920 --> 00:05:31,400 scripture and be like, oh, done, did what I needed to do and why 92 00:05:31,400 --> 00:05:32,760 does it? Why is it like that? 93 00:05:32,840 --> 00:05:37,400 So right before this recording, I ran across a video that said 94 00:05:37,640 --> 00:05:40,040 you're laying on the couch and you want to change it to the TV, 95 00:05:40,080 --> 00:05:42,160 right? You you want to change the 96 00:05:42,160 --> 00:05:48,080 channel or honestly when I when I heard this, I didn't really 97 00:05:48,080 --> 00:05:51,720 associate it with a remote. I associated it with a vape and 98 00:05:51,720 --> 00:05:55,920 how I used to be BC you go crazy right? 99 00:05:56,080 --> 00:05:59,240 You're looking for the remote. You're flipping the cushions on 100 00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:02,360 the couch, you're flipping your pillows off the bed, you're 101 00:06:02,360 --> 00:06:04,640 shaking the covers. You're doing all this stuff to 102 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:09,480 find this remote, but yet when we feel like we're disconnected 103 00:06:09,480 --> 00:06:13,160 from God, we're not, we're not seeking him that way. 104 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:15,320 We're not running after Him that way. 105 00:06:15,320 --> 00:06:18,160 We're not trying to hurry and figure out something. 106 00:06:18,160 --> 00:06:20,080 We're not running to him. We're not seeking him. 107 00:06:20,360 --> 00:06:22,040 We're not doing all these things. 108 00:06:22,320 --> 00:06:26,240 We're just like, oh, I got it. I got to figure it out. 109 00:06:26,240 --> 00:06:28,720 Or I just feel disassociated from God. 110 00:06:28,720 --> 00:06:30,720 Like I don't really feel connected to him right now all 111 00:06:30,720 --> 00:06:34,240 this stuff, but like we've lost something and that and we're not 112 00:06:34,240 --> 00:06:37,280 trying to find it. We, we don't have that passion 113 00:06:37,280 --> 00:06:41,360 to find it. And I don't know, that hit me 114 00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:43,880 hard because it made me start thinking about how I used to be 115 00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:47,280 about that vape. I mean, if I couldn't find it, I 116 00:06:47,280 --> 00:06:52,920 am literally spazzing. I am, I'm, I'm, I'm telling my 117 00:06:52,920 --> 00:06:55,000 husband to move. I'm about pushing him off the 118 00:06:55,000 --> 00:06:57,600 bed trying to find it. I'm trying to do all this stuff. 119 00:06:57,600 --> 00:07:02,600 But then when like the past few weeks or I'm, I'm feeling like 120 00:07:02,600 --> 00:07:05,560 I'm not really hearing from God. It's like, but you're not really 121 00:07:05,560 --> 00:07:11,000 seeking him. There's many times where we, we 122 00:07:11,160 --> 00:07:14,920 fall into that and then we're like, but I'm, I'm still going 123 00:07:14,920 --> 00:07:17,720 to church. I'm still reading the Bible. 124 00:07:17,720 --> 00:07:19,440 I'm but you're doing the bare minimum. 125 00:07:20,440 --> 00:07:22,680 And when I say you, I'm talking about me. 126 00:07:23,800 --> 00:07:31,280 And so anyway, one of the verses that I really wanted to hit on 127 00:07:31,280 --> 00:07:35,840 in this episode was when you ask, you do not receive because 128 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:40,120 you ask with the wrong motives that you may spend what you get 129 00:07:40,120 --> 00:07:46,000 on your own pleasures. James 4/3 And that kind of is 130 00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:49,120 like, so that's that kind of goes with what I'm talking 131 00:07:49,120 --> 00:07:52,000 about. You know, I'm saying we're only 132 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:54,160 praying to God about those things that we want. 133 00:07:54,160 --> 00:07:57,920 We only pray to God about this, this and this, but we're not 134 00:07:57,920 --> 00:08:01,560 actually trying to have that intimate relationship with him. 135 00:08:01,560 --> 00:08:03,600 We're not trying to have that personal relationship with him. 136 00:08:03,920 --> 00:08:08,760 We are literally just seeking him when we are in need of 137 00:08:08,760 --> 00:08:13,400 something. And I'm, I'm so bad about this 138 00:08:13,400 --> 00:08:15,360 too. Like I have a friend that I had 139 00:08:15,360 --> 00:08:18,960 been praying about, about alcohol or whatever, and then I 140 00:08:18,960 --> 00:08:24,360 realized that I was doing it for myself. 141 00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:29,880 I was praying that for myself, for the benefits of what God 142 00:08:29,880 --> 00:08:35,640 could do for that person for me. I wasn't praying that praying 143 00:08:35,640 --> 00:08:38,400 that that person finds a relationship with Jesus Christ 144 00:08:38,400 --> 00:08:40,799 and spends eternity with him in heaven. 145 00:08:41,039 --> 00:08:43,760 I was thinking of the benefits that it would do if it came for 146 00:08:43,760 --> 00:08:50,880 me or if this happens, this is good for me, you know, like 147 00:08:50,880 --> 00:08:52,880 it's, it's truly the wrong motives. 148 00:08:53,440 --> 00:08:57,640 I should be wanting true life change for that person, for 149 00:08:57,840 --> 00:09:00,880 Jesus and for God and for them, not for me. 150 00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:04,560 Sisters of Faith is a transition home for women who have overcome 151 00:09:04,560 --> 00:09:06,480 addiction through a discipleship program. 152 00:09:06,960 --> 00:09:10,680 The Gala of Grace is a vital fundraiser that helps sustain 153 00:09:10,680 --> 00:09:13,960 our mission, and we're so incredibly grateful for the love 154 00:09:13,960 --> 00:09:17,360 and support we have received. A special thank you to Chuck 155 00:09:17,360 --> 00:09:20,880 Dagley and Hog Dagley for coordinating the donation of a 156 00:09:20,880 --> 00:09:25,080 pellet grill for our auction with contributions from Law 157 00:09:25,080 --> 00:09:29,720 Roofing and Claims Services for Santiago, Tamika Walton and 158 00:09:29,720 --> 00:09:32,560 Andrew Lefko. Your generosity is making a 159 00:09:32,560 --> 00:09:37,360 difference in the lives of these women and their children in 160 00:09:37,360 --> 00:09:39,240 James. When they're saying, you know, 161 00:09:39,240 --> 00:09:43,200 we're praying for the wrong things, we're praying for all of 162 00:09:43,360 --> 00:09:46,720 these needs. You know, we're, we're only 163 00:09:46,720 --> 00:09:48,880 coming to God when we need something. 164 00:09:48,880 --> 00:09:52,640 We're not seeking him because of that personal relationship. 165 00:09:53,120 --> 00:09:57,080 And so many times we catch ourselves wanting, God bless us 166 00:09:57,080 --> 00:10:00,040 with this job, bless us with this relationship. 167 00:10:00,120 --> 00:10:07,160 God bless me with restoring this friendship or all these things, 168 00:10:07,200 --> 00:10:10,560 but we're not thanking him for what he's already done, what 169 00:10:10,560 --> 00:10:13,760 he's doing. I mean, sometimes we're in 170 00:10:13,760 --> 00:10:16,600 valleys and we're crying out to him, right? 171 00:10:16,600 --> 00:10:19,640 We're, we're crying out to God in these valleys and we know 172 00:10:19,640 --> 00:10:22,040 that we're in a storm and we're in these hard times. 173 00:10:22,880 --> 00:10:25,760 And yeah, we're growing closer with him. 174 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:29,560 But we need to remember how we got on that mountaintop to begin 175 00:10:29,560 --> 00:10:30,840 with. When we do come out of that 176 00:10:30,840 --> 00:10:34,760 valley, when we are delivered from those storms and those 177 00:10:34,760 --> 00:10:39,040 chains and the all the stuff that's going wrong in life. 178 00:10:39,040 --> 00:10:41,720 And we feel like we don't know up, down side to side. 179 00:10:41,720 --> 00:10:44,120 We don't know anything. And we're praying to God. 180 00:10:44,120 --> 00:10:46,800 We're like, get please help me Lord, please help me. 181 00:10:48,160 --> 00:10:52,480 The same way that we are about God when we're in those valleys 182 00:10:52,480 --> 00:10:54,400 and when we're crying out to Him about those things. 183 00:10:54,600 --> 00:10:56,880 We should be that same way when we're on the mountaintop. 184 00:10:56,880 --> 00:11:00,000 We should still be praising Him in everything that we do. 185 00:11:00,440 --> 00:11:04,680 And in Psalms, I will exalt the Lord at all times. 186 00:11:04,880 --> 00:11:07,280 His praise will always be on my lips. 187 00:11:07,560 --> 00:11:11,600 So no matter what, if we're in the valley, the mountaintop, on 188 00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:15,680 the way up the mountain, wherever we are in life, if even 189 00:11:15,680 --> 00:11:18,640 when bad things happen, we should be crying out to the 190 00:11:18,640 --> 00:11:19,440 Lord. Thank you. 191 00:11:19,440 --> 00:11:23,040 We should be crying out to the Lord and just being, you know, 192 00:11:23,040 --> 00:11:27,040 exalting His name. Even even I have this underlined 193 00:11:27,040 --> 00:11:29,440 from last night. The Lord is close to the broken 194 00:11:29,440 --> 00:11:32,520 hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. 195 00:11:32,720 --> 00:11:36,520 So He is close to us when we are in those valleys, when we are 196 00:11:36,520 --> 00:11:39,240 crying out to Him. He does see us, He does hear us, 197 00:11:39,240 --> 00:11:46,120 He is near, but we also need to keep him near when we're when 198 00:11:46,240 --> 00:11:48,920 we're out of that, when we're out of that storm, when we 199 00:11:48,920 --> 00:11:52,480 finally feel like we can breathe again, we need to still be 200 00:11:52,480 --> 00:11:57,000 crying out to him and thanking him for, for delivering us from 201 00:11:57,000 --> 00:11:58,840 that. One of the things I was thinking 202 00:11:58,840 --> 00:12:02,480 about earlier is we always are saying we want to be more like 203 00:12:02,520 --> 00:12:04,560 Jesus, right? That is something that we, we 204 00:12:04,560 --> 00:12:08,720 aspire to do. We aspire to, you know, have 205 00:12:08,720 --> 00:12:13,040 those attributes of love and compassion and forgiveness and 206 00:12:13,040 --> 00:12:16,480 non judgmental. And we we want all of those 207 00:12:16,480 --> 00:12:18,880 things for ourselves. That's that's what we're 208 00:12:18,880 --> 00:12:22,600 followers of Christ. Like we want to be more like 209 00:12:22,600 --> 00:12:24,640 Jesus. How do you become more like 210 00:12:24,680 --> 00:12:25,400 Jesus? Right. 211 00:12:25,960 --> 00:12:28,920 That's that's something we're all on the journey of doing. 212 00:12:28,920 --> 00:12:31,480 We're all trying to figure out how to be more like Jesus. 213 00:12:31,480 --> 00:12:36,320 We're all walking and trying to learn how to do that. 214 00:12:36,320 --> 00:12:38,720 It's not something you just do overnight. 215 00:12:38,720 --> 00:12:42,400 And we'll never fully be perfect like Jesus, but we want to be 216 00:12:42,400 --> 00:12:45,240 more like him. And when I think about being 217 00:12:45,240 --> 00:12:50,240 more like Jesus, I think about if we say that and we're still 218 00:12:50,240 --> 00:12:54,880 cussing, we're still gossiping, we're still drinking, we're 219 00:12:54,880 --> 00:12:58,840 still, you know, partying and getting in these environments 220 00:12:58,840 --> 00:13:02,480 where drugs and alcohol and all this stuff is involved and 221 00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:07,720 vaping and smoking weed and all this stuff, Jesus isn't doing 222 00:13:07,720 --> 00:13:09,840 that stuff. How can we say that we want to 223 00:13:09,840 --> 00:13:13,480 be more like Jesus, but we're continuously putting ourselves 224 00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:16,120 in those positions that he wouldn't be in, that he wouldn't 225 00:13:16,120 --> 00:13:22,280 be doing so that brought me to 1st Peter, 113 through 16. 226 00:13:22,400 --> 00:13:26,760 Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, how? 227 00:13:26,840 --> 00:13:29,040 How are we alert and fully sober? 228 00:13:29,080 --> 00:13:34,320 That's not drinking alcohol. That's not smoking weed, that's 229 00:13:34,320 --> 00:13:37,920 not getting that head change from that nicotine, that's 230 00:13:37,960 --> 00:13:41,800 that's being fully sober or taking pills or anything like 231 00:13:41,800 --> 00:13:44,960 that. Set your hope on the grace to be 232 00:13:44,960 --> 00:13:48,840 brought to you when Jesus Christ revealed at His coming as 233 00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:53,680 obedient children do not conform to the evil desires you had when 234 00:13:53,680 --> 00:13:57,200 you lived in ignorance. That made me think about 235 00:13:57,200 --> 00:14:00,720 yesterday when I shared that thing on Facebook. 236 00:14:01,240 --> 00:14:07,440 And here I am conforming to the evil desires because I wanted to 237 00:14:07,440 --> 00:14:11,320 be funny. But just as he who called you is 238 00:14:11,320 --> 00:14:17,080 holy, so be holy and all you do for it is written be holy 239 00:14:17,080 --> 00:14:22,920 because I am holy. And so I'm like, what? 240 00:14:22,920 --> 00:14:26,560 What is holy, right? And so when I look it up, set 241 00:14:26,560 --> 00:14:31,240 apart and separate, what if we're conforming to the world 242 00:14:31,240 --> 00:14:34,720 and we're fitting in to what our flesh wants us to do? 243 00:14:35,080 --> 00:14:41,600 Our old behaviors that we used to be accustomed to, all of this 244 00:14:41,600 --> 00:14:45,840 stuff, we can't be set apart. We're going to look just like we 245 00:14:45,840 --> 00:14:49,320 used to before we were walking with Christ. 246 00:14:50,640 --> 00:14:57,560 And how can I show people what Jesus has done in my life if I'm 247 00:14:57,560 --> 00:15:01,320 still the same person that I was before I started walking with 248 00:15:01,320 --> 00:15:03,880 him this way, started walking so faithfully with him. 249 00:15:03,960 --> 00:15:08,480 And Romans 12/2 says do not conform to the pattern of this 250 00:15:08,480 --> 00:15:11,880 world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. 251 00:15:12,160 --> 00:15:16,560 Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is 252 00:15:16,720 --> 00:15:20,000 his good, pleasing and perfect will. 253 00:15:20,360 --> 00:15:23,880 One of the things that I think I've I've either talked about on 254 00:15:23,880 --> 00:15:30,680 here, but I want to be so loud, loud about my life today because 255 00:15:30,680 --> 00:15:35,000 I used to be so loud in my sin. I want to be loud for Jesus 256 00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:36,600 because I used to be loud in my sin. 257 00:15:37,080 --> 00:15:39,800 I want to be louder for Jesus because I used to be loud in my 258 00:15:39,800 --> 00:15:43,600 sin. I want to show people how much 259 00:15:43,600 --> 00:15:46,400 God has done in my life so that they can take a look at 260 00:15:46,400 --> 00:15:50,520 themselves and want to see that there is hope that they're not 261 00:15:50,520 --> 00:15:52,720 stuck in that situation that they're in. 262 00:15:52,720 --> 00:15:55,840 They're not stuck in that bondage in them chains and 263 00:15:56,080 --> 00:15:59,960 they're not stuck in that valley that there is a way to get out 264 00:15:59,960 --> 00:16:03,680 of that. There is a way to have a better 265 00:16:03,680 --> 00:16:08,360 life, to live joyfully, to live peacefully because there if 266 00:16:08,360 --> 00:16:12,720 there is one thing that I have, it's peace. 267 00:16:12,760 --> 00:16:16,840 And when people like have, when I've heard people talk about 268 00:16:17,160 --> 00:16:20,520 like the Prince of Peace, meaning when you're walking with 269 00:16:20,560 --> 00:16:23,200 Jesus, like you just have a peace about you, like he gives 270 00:16:23,200 --> 00:16:26,280 you peace. I never truly understood that. 271 00:16:26,280 --> 00:16:30,240 I never really grasped how that's even possible. 272 00:16:30,240 --> 00:16:34,640 But with Jesus, with this side of Jesus being on this side of 273 00:16:34,720 --> 00:16:39,920 Jesus, I understand now. It's something that my mind can 274 00:16:39,920 --> 00:16:43,640 never comprehend before. It's something that my mind 275 00:16:43,640 --> 00:16:46,480 would never even allow me to think about, like life being 276 00:16:46,480 --> 00:16:50,600 peaceful until I got on this side of Jesus. 277 00:16:50,600 --> 00:16:53,280 And now it's just like if something doesn't go my way, 278 00:16:53,760 --> 00:16:56,000 it's fine. Are you looking for a way to 279 00:16:56,000 --> 00:16:58,880 grow your business or share your mission with a faith filled 280 00:16:58,880 --> 00:17:01,320 audience? Prices in the Pod is now 281 00:17:01,320 --> 00:17:03,640 offering advertising opportunities. 282 00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:07,960 Whether you're a small business, ministry, or an organization, 283 00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:11,160 this is your chance to connect with a loyal and growing 284 00:17:11,160 --> 00:17:15,040 community that values hope, encouragement, and meaningful 285 00:17:15,040 --> 00:17:17,359 connections. We're passionate about 286 00:17:17,359 --> 00:17:20,200 partnering with brands and missions that align with our 287 00:17:20,200 --> 00:17:23,000 vision, and we'd love to help you get your message out there. 288 00:17:23,520 --> 00:17:26,680 Interested in learning more? Reach out today and let's make 289 00:17:26,680 --> 00:17:33,480 an impact together. There's just so many things that 290 00:17:33,480 --> 00:17:37,960 like doesn't even bother me. And if you knew me BC and you 291 00:17:37,960 --> 00:17:43,720 knew me before this, you knew truly how controlling I was 292 00:17:43,720 --> 00:17:47,600 about things, how it was always my way or the highway. 293 00:17:47,960 --> 00:17:50,120 I always had to have the last word. 294 00:17:50,400 --> 00:17:55,440 I always was so argumentative. I constantly was. 295 00:17:55,760 --> 00:18:01,920 I had to be like lifted up to tear people down almost like not 296 00:18:01,920 --> 00:18:03,560 almost. That's that's true. 297 00:18:03,720 --> 00:18:09,720 Like I constantly was talking bad about people to make myself 298 00:18:09,720 --> 00:18:11,120 feel better. I don't know. 299 00:18:11,120 --> 00:18:15,800 I was negative about everything. I, I wouldn't even recognize 300 00:18:15,960 --> 00:18:19,600 myself back then if I saw myself today. 301 00:18:20,040 --> 00:18:22,960 Like if I had to come in contact with that person, like I 302 00:18:22,960 --> 00:18:25,800 wouldn't even recognize them because I feel like I have a 303 00:18:26,160 --> 00:18:29,560 totally different mindset now. I have a totally different 304 00:18:29,560 --> 00:18:33,080 perspective on life now. I have a totally different 305 00:18:33,080 --> 00:18:37,320 perspective on souls now. I think that is one of the 306 00:18:37,320 --> 00:18:42,360 biggest thing that God has revealed to me is that everybody 307 00:18:42,360 --> 00:18:47,040 has a purpose. Everybody is a is, is loved and 308 00:18:47,040 --> 00:18:51,360 made in his creation. And that's something that I had 309 00:18:51,360 --> 00:18:54,160 never thought about before. That is something that I had 310 00:18:54,160 --> 00:18:58,840 never even considered. So I was listening to Girls Gone 311 00:18:58,840 --> 00:19:02,320 Bible and it was their episode with Maddie Trout and Grant. 312 00:19:02,320 --> 00:19:05,200 And I look over and my mom's like, Oh, yeah, yeah. 313 00:19:08,160 --> 00:19:10,920 And that kind of threw me because my mom does not listen 314 00:19:10,920 --> 00:19:13,400 to podcasts. She listens to my podcast 315 00:19:13,400 --> 00:19:17,560 because, well, it's my mom. But she was really intrigued. 316 00:19:17,960 --> 00:19:22,360 And she just said, I mean, you know, I relate to that. 317 00:19:22,360 --> 00:19:24,200 I relate to what they're talking about. 318 00:19:24,200 --> 00:19:27,800 And when people relate, they want to, they want to listen. 319 00:19:28,120 --> 00:19:31,840 And so that just has made me think. 320 00:19:31,840 --> 00:19:34,520 I want to be relatable. I want to be approachable. 321 00:19:34,800 --> 00:19:38,920 I want to be transparent. I don't have all this together, 322 00:19:38,920 --> 00:19:44,840 but I also am trying. I never want to be so content 323 00:19:44,840 --> 00:19:48,960 with where I am today that I don't want to get better. 324 00:19:49,240 --> 00:19:54,680 I wanted to start this podcast because so many people knew what 325 00:19:54,680 --> 00:19:59,480 I was like in the darkness that if they can see truly how much 326 00:19:59,480 --> 00:20:04,120 my life has changed since then, they can see. 327 00:20:04,720 --> 00:20:08,720 How God can do it for them? So basically to just sum up 328 00:20:08,720 --> 00:20:12,520 everything, don't conform to the world. 329 00:20:12,520 --> 00:20:15,040 God calls us not to conform to the world. 330 00:20:15,040 --> 00:20:20,960 He calls us to be different, to be set apart, to be more like 331 00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:24,440 Jesus. If he he says to be holy because 332 00:20:24,440 --> 00:20:27,160 he is holy, how do you become holy? 333 00:20:27,760 --> 00:20:30,960 You look different. You're set apart, you know, And 334 00:20:30,960 --> 00:20:34,040 as I was talking about that earlier, talking about how I 335 00:20:34,040 --> 00:20:37,480 shared that on a post and I was singing that song on TikTok and 336 00:20:37,800 --> 00:20:41,200 I used this sound a few weeks ago and I had no idea what it 337 00:20:41,200 --> 00:20:43,280 meant. And I had a girlfriend text me 338 00:20:43,280 --> 00:20:45,680 and she's like, Alexis, do you know what that song is talking 339 00:20:45,680 --> 00:20:47,520 about? I'm like, no, what? 340 00:20:47,520 --> 00:20:49,880 And I'll look it up. I'm like, Oh my goodness, 341 00:20:49,880 --> 00:20:53,200 delete. I could beat myself up about 342 00:20:53,200 --> 00:20:58,240 that stuff. I could continue to let the 343 00:20:58,240 --> 00:21:02,880 enemy think that I'm not worthy to do this podcast because I 344 00:21:02,880 --> 00:21:04,840 made a mistake and I've done all this. 345 00:21:04,960 --> 00:21:09,160 I am trying to do better. I, you know, ask God for 346 00:21:09,160 --> 00:21:13,240 forgiveness. I was so remorseful about those 347 00:21:13,240 --> 00:21:17,200 things. And now I know what to do to get 348 00:21:17,200 --> 00:21:20,520 better. I know what to do to not do 349 00:21:20,720 --> 00:21:23,280 y'all. So basically, I don't know if 350 00:21:23,280 --> 00:21:26,000 any of this went together last night when I was studying and I 351 00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:29,440 was reading and I just felt so confident about everything. 352 00:21:29,440 --> 00:21:31,640 And I probably should have recorded right then and there 353 00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:34,680 because everything was so fresh on the top of my mind. 354 00:21:35,320 --> 00:21:38,120 But I was in my P's. So I was like, I'll just wait 355 00:21:38,120 --> 00:21:41,080 till tomorrow. But I still hope that this this 356 00:21:41,080 --> 00:21:44,040 ends up being a great episode for you. 357 00:21:44,040 --> 00:21:48,360 And I hope that I spoke to you. God spoke through me to you and 358 00:21:48,360 --> 00:21:52,040 he used me to maybe talk to you about some things that you have 359 00:21:52,040 --> 00:21:55,520 been praying about. I hope that he uses me and and 360 00:21:55,520 --> 00:22:01,800 yeah, so I am super excited. We only have a few more episodes 361 00:22:01,800 --> 00:22:05,640 of 2024 and then we're going to jump into 2025. 362 00:22:05,920 --> 00:22:10,800 I've been doing some networking and some scheduling and really 363 00:22:10,800 --> 00:22:15,320 working on some things for 2025. And I I hope y'all really enjoy 364 00:22:15,320 --> 00:22:17,840 it because I have been putting in some of the what? 365 00:22:18,640 --> 00:22:22,880 OK. So anyway, stay tuned, stay 366 00:22:22,880 --> 00:22:24,760 blessed, and we'll see you guys next week.