Women World Leader's guest Candace Kirkpatrick is a faith-based actress in television and film, but she wasn't always focused on faith as she made choices within her lifetime career. Candace shares her story of "surrendering" her choices within her achieved career, to receive God's provision of a lifetime dream. This podcast interview will inspire you and encourage you in your own journey of faith to always do what is right.   *****   Welcome to empowering lives with purpose. And I'm your host, Kimberly Hobbs. I'm the founder of Women world leaders. And we are just so happy that you are here today and I'd love to welcome our guest, Candace Kirkpatrick. Welcome, Candace. Hello, there. Thanks for having me, Kimberly, I'm happy to be here. And we are so happy that you've joined us. And ladies, we are happy to all come together and for a greater purpose. Our purpose here with these podcast series is to encourage you, strengthen you and empower you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. So a verse that I always love to open up with is Ephesians 210, talking about us being God's masterpiece, because each one of us are his masterpiece. But today I want to open with our verse from women, world leaders, which is right there Ephesians 320 on to him who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all we can ask or imagine, according to the power that's at work within us. And we truly believe ladies that when you allow that power of the Holy Spirit to work within each and every one of you, God is going to do exceedingly, abundantly above what you can imagine in your life. So to start off, today, I want to share a little bit about our guest, Candace, she is first and foremost a Christ follower. And she is a wife, a mom, she loves to serve Jesus in her calling, which is acting, she's an actress. So as a well known actress in film, and television, Candice has a story behind it all, where she is now and what she is doing in her industry, and how she is here on this podcast to encourage each and every one of you. That's what we're all about is encouraging, right? And we do that by sharing our stories. And God has given us each a story. We believe that with all of our heart. So what is your story? And hopefully you'll be thinking about that today. As Candace shares a little bit about her story. Her parents were divorced at a young age, she was only like four. And they dropped her at nursery school where she began acting in the first grade. And she loved it so much. She continued acting all throughout school, and she graduated high school valedictorian of her whole class. Then she received a full ride on to college, where she studied the arts. And she got received a bachelor's and a master's while at college and also graduated valedictorian of her college. And that's an achievement. Candace. That's amazing. We are so happy to have you, man, she started attending top acting schools. She got an agent, she moved to New York, where she started doing different things with her career. She's done shows abroad in London. And she's really, she's received recurring acting parts on soap operas. And all of this, she's done as her faith and walk in Christ continued to grow. So in her love of this industry, some of her acting brought her to various parts. And I wanted to start here and let Candace open up about this, all of the sudden change that God was speaking to her in her life through receiving some of these parts that she was auditioning for. So Candace, please share with us a little bit about that. Hi, okay, great. Um, after I got my master's, I was at one program for my Bachelor's a different program for my masters, where I did years of Sanford Meisner training. Then I moved to New York got the agent, like you said, and I was doing a lot of work off Broadway and traveling around the world doing shows, including London, as you said, as well as Ukraine. And then I was getting small parts and TV and film these little bitty recurring roles, nothing substantial. But when I came back from my show in London, that is when I started getting more larger roles. And one of them my agent had sent me up for a role that had come from Toronto. And it was a huge success in Toronto. And he said, you know, they'd like to see you to take over one of the roles, and I went and saw it. And it was offensive. And I can't say anything nice about it. And so I spoke with my agent and said, I'm sorry, I can't do that. And he's like, Oh, you need to it's very successful. It's very popular. And I said, Have you seen it? And he said, No, I haven't. And I said, please see it. And then he said, You need to separate your religion from your work, oh, boy. And I said, What you go see it, and then we'll discuss it. But that didn't go over very well, then I was also getting some roles in now in larger roles in TV, and film. And I didn't even though my character, I didn't have a problem with the character, I was portraying the message that the audience would take away what you know, I didn't agree with. And, again, I went to my agent, and he was like, Well, if you won't do it, we'll get somebody who will somebody else who will. So at one point, I honestly thought, oh, I should go ahead and do this. And then I can take that money and use it for something that would honor the Lord. And the Lord spoke to me very clearly, to obey is better than sacrifice and in your kin. In your case, Candice. To obey is better than compromise. I don't want you to compromise. Obedience, which is interesting, that word obedience, because I hope I come back to it at the end. Because that's something you know, just radical obedience. So I just laid the script for the Lord. And I was like, Lord, I want to honor you, I want my life to honor you. And so some of the things that I was looking at, in that I was reading that before, I just thought was brilliant writing now, it was, um, causing this tension in my in my spirit. Because I saw this as, even though you could say, I mean, there are a lot of incredible writers. But unless you know who you're grounded in, in the board, what comes out May not be edifying, and will not be building up of anyone or giving you a message of hope. And so that is when I seriously, I met with pastors and others to say, Okay, I need Godly counsel right now. Because, as you said, I had I started acting when I was three before I even got into first grade. And then I had done that my entire life for, you know, through middle school, elementary school, high school, college graduates. So to say, Lord, are you calling me away from this? And that is when he surrounded me with some prayer warriors. Wow. Well, that that's huge. Because you are at a point in your life where you are like, Okay, do I sacrifice, the love of my life, what I was doing, to walk away, like you said, and not compromise in this, you know, World of this career that I've built, and then follow after God's heart. And so I'm sure that struggle was there, and you needed women to surround you and pray for you and, and others. So, so you did you, you sacrificed, and you became a mom, you raised a family, you started doing some things through these this 20 year journey of moving away from your career at this point for just a little bit, although I think you're gonna share with us some of the things that happened through those 20 years, which are pretty cool. So let's go there. All right. Well, after much counsel, as I said, from pastors, as well, as I had, I was leading some women's prayer, prayer ministries and Bible studies. As I was praying about exiting this industry, and two women that I was very close with came over almost every day to pray with me that I would just delight myself in the Lord that I would love what he had for me, and that I would trust him. And so I was newly married at the time, so I invested in my marriage, we decided prayed about having a family. I didn't want anyone raising my family as you stated, you know, I was four when my parents got divorced. And we went between back and forth between our parents. So I wanted to make sure that I was intentional in my children's lives that no one else was raising them. And so during that time, I just continued to pray, Lord, use me however you wish to use me. So I continued to teach, I think I have taught Bible for more than two decades, I was leading prayer ministries within their schools. And I was writing and directing place for churches, as well as like, I did this huge, musical, as well as play for churches. And I was also directing their vacation bible school during the summer and helping write scripts or rewrite scripts and direct for that. And God was still giving you those, those desires of your heart to play them out. But it was just in a different role right now, because you are now a wife and a mom. And so you had the best of both worlds being able to do this, but doing it as a wife and a mom, but I think that's beautiful. Yeah. And also, I do think it's important. I mean, you know, when it says, Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he's old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22, six, Amen. Yes. And so I think, to get the word in the child is important. And I, and I think to, for kids to have a love for the Lord. It can't be just do's and don'ts, Do this, don't do this, don't do this. But when you open up the world to them, like to me, when I read the Bible, it leaps off the page, I just embrace everything. It is a live action adventure. And so when you are doing that, and you are presenting these writing scripts, or something where you are bringing the Bible to life, then you're opening up a world for them, to hopefully fall madly in love with the Lord and with His Word. And that was, My desire is that not just my own children, but children at their schools, because I was directing for their schools as well, and for the churches and stuff like that, that they have this love for God. So I love that about you, Candace, you are passionate about pouring into others through what you do. And you found that way to do it while you were raising your children because of the importance of pouring in. And one of the ways I know you are very passionate about studying in the Word, and being a mom and teaching your children about this. But another area that you are passionate in, in why you are where you are today, walking with the Lord talking with the Lord is because of the importance of prayer in your life, Candace. And because of that importance, I know that somebody's near and dear to you in the movie, the War Room, which again, you had your your ties in with that movie, but you, you developed your own prayer room, in your home. And I thought, wow, this is really neat, where you go to that prayer room on a regular basis, you communicate with the Lord, you have two sides of this closet set up. So I wanted you to share with the women right now the importance of prayer in our life and why it brings us to what we can do for the Lord, how we can serve Him if we're in communication with him. Yes. My prayer closet is extremely important to me. And I need to I really want to clarify this. I have been a prayer warrior for as long as I can remember, it's it's breathing to me, I want to be in constant communion with the Lord. Because as Peter said, where else where we go, Lord, for you alone have the word of life. So there's nowhere else I can go. But a tragedy happened in my family in 2018. And it just sent me level on the floor before the Lord. And I mean, you know, I couldn't even draw breath it was and so I can't even describe it. And then I realized, you know, I was not just praying for exams and friendships and you know for my kids and safety and protection, I was praying on a far deeper level. Okay. And when you mentioned the War Room, I was not a part of that film at all. But I have done, I'm doing a TV pilot with Karen Abercrombie, who is plays Miss Claire of the War Room. So she is an incredible, amazing woman. And I need to share that she is more fiery, more passionate in real life than she is in that film. So that just gives you an idea what she has, like she's phenomenal. And her passion for the Lord is like love it. I love it. I just have to share this because now that you brought that up in women, world leaders, we in our Facebook group every day we write empowering words to encourage and strengthen the women. And I have shown Miss Karen Abercrombie, who what is her name and the move is Clara, this Clara. I have played that that stint in the kitchen over and over I put it on women world leaders, because when when I get riled up and I'm writing, you know, and I'm passionate about something I'm saying and I'm like we are going to prayer over this or we're doing this, I put that clip on the bottom. And it just inspires the lady so I'm tickled just you should know she's more passionate than that character. Oh my goodness. So randomly, she just calls me to send me love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love. So anyway, I love that I'm blessed because of her. But anyway, because that movie prompted me with this tragedy to make a prayer closet. And that's what I did. So I shared I don't have the luxury have a very small closet. I didn't like take out all my clothes. I just moved everything over and I have two walls. One is praying how God views work and there are hundreds of scriptures hundreds of how important work is to God. You know, the he has created work in advance for us to do you know, he has already got it. And I don't want to miss what he's called me into. You know what I mean? Right? Not all these things lined up and he's already purposed for it. I want to be Lord, I'm here. I'm here. willing vessel use me use me right here. But then on my other side is praying for loved ones. Last ones, unsaved ones, families with going through health issues, cancer, tragedies, death, rebellious children, divorces everything. And so I have each side, plastered with scriptures like almost from the floor to two thirds of the wall. That's beautiful. And then ticker tapes running. One is a prayer requests and one is a praises. And then I've got about 10 or 15 books in there. devotionals that I do along with my Bible. And I journal I want to promote this here. I'm promoting you see this? And in pew. Okay, this is a guided discipline in prayer, because it helps you because a lot of people don't know, like, where do I start? I'm overwhelmed. You know? No. And this is like, I'm just sharing it because it's the Lord's place. It all mean, what are the circumstances? It says, what are the circumstances? What just happened? And so this is, what are the lies the enemy is telling me? That's the second part. The third one is How am I feeling about this? There's an index with 200 500 how I'm feeling this because a lot of times you may be feeling like 50 different ways. This is how I'm feeling. Okay? And then it says, And this is what Jesus says about it. And the Holy Spirit just download scripture. And I just like this is what Jesus says about it. This is what Jesus says about it. And this is what he says about it. And then on the other side is adoration, confession Thanksgiving supplication, the axe prayer thing. Yep. This those are all important parts of prayer. They are in my prayer closet with me. Because I cannot go operate in my flesh in a world that is broken. I so much want to be filled by His Spirit, armored up like in Ephesians six that I have on the full armor of God. So that when I go into a situation I am Lord, You are speaking through me you will use me and then I will just be an instrument for your glory. I gotta constantly remind myself remove myself. It isn't him and he came About every single person I encounter, whether that person is walking with him or not, he cares. So how can I be his arms and feet and light and joy, and love if I'm not staying? You know, he says, I am the vine, you are the branch Remain in me and you will bear much fruit, but apart from me, you will do nothing. That's right, I want to be, I want to be making a lot of fruit. Remember, even is gonna happen if I am tethered, but I am anchored in the vine. And so I spend a lot of time because there's so many things I can fix and solve. And I'm like, Lord, all right, you got to take care of it, and I'm gonna rest in you, but I gotta be prayed up. So Amen. Amen. And that. That's my point, you know, communication with God is key ladies key. And we all need to have that place where we know that we're going to go to the Lord every day. It's not just when problems come that you go to Him in prayer. No, you develop that relationship and you pray continuously. And if it means taking a designated area where you walk by in your house every day and say, I need to get in that room. I haven't been in there all day. Because we shouldn't let the day go by that we're not praying and communicating to our Heavenly Father. That is how he's going to speak to us. That is how he's going to change our life. That is how he's going to prepare us for the future for what he wants to do in and through you. So please, ladies, make it a point to get this prayer closet. Down. I go in my pantry every day. And I know it sounds funny, but I have a walk in pantry. And I can go in there and I can shut out the world. And because usually it's my kitchen being my domain, but the pantry is that place where I shut the door and block everything else out. And I just focus in there. And I go to the Lord in prayer. And I talked to him. I was in there three times already today. So it's important ladies, right? It's important to be in our prayer closet. So though, Candace, so through all of this communication with the Lord and His 20 year journey, this is so exciting to say that God brought you to now a new acting place. Now you are in faith based only and you are a voice. God's given you a voice to help tell stories to help others share their stories, and you want to be His hands and His feet. And so like I say, God has been preparing you it doesn't happen overnight. Ladies, it's a constant daily walk with the Lord. And before you know it, you're walking right into your beautiful purpose that God has prepared just for you. So Candace share about that, you know, you're now you're in faith base. I know we have to be closing up in a minute. But it's like, here we are. So talk about now you're doing what God has called you to for him?  Well, I pray that he's, I mean, he's still working on me, I you know, He who began a good work in us will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus, that's Philippians, one, six, so he's still working on me. There's prayers that he hasn't answered yet, or he's answering in some phenomenal way that I can't even fathom, which I'm excited about to see how he's going to work. And in 2018, he opened the door for me to go into faith based entertainment. And I said to him, Lord, if you ever call me back into this industry, may I honor you? And that's what you know, there are people who do not do secular work, and God uses them to minister to people on those sets. Okay. So I tried to look at the content. I tried to look at the message I tried to see what is the point that they are writer is trying to get across what is the director's intent? And I read up on it, and he's opened some doors for me, that her clearly his, his not my doing that had become directly from him. And I you know, there's a saying I'm saying, sometimes I just smile and look up and go, Yeah, that was you, God, that was you God. And that's it. You know, because I go, Yeah, that was you. And so he's to Psalm, Psalm 18, verse 30, says, God's way is perfect. Yeah. So well, maybe back 20 years ago, you were doing it the way of the world but God's way is perfect. And now you're in faith based God's way is perfect. All the Lord's promises are true. Psalm 1830. Yes. Well, I hear you know, I'm working on the faith based crime drama, vindication. I have a recurring role on that, which is fun. It's not like the normal dramatic roles I play. It's a quirky OCD character. I love it. I got to do this TV pilot with Karen Abercrombie of the War Room, and Cameron Arnett of overcomer and and hopefully that'll get picked up. I'm supposed to be working on a film called Love one another about racism and how we deal with it in the church. So I'm thankful for that. But in the meantime, I mean, I'm not I'm not anxious, I'm not nervous. I'm just like, Lord, bring me to whatever you want to close doors, open doors. And in the meantime, I wouldn't go back to praying. That's why I pray and I flood, I don't let the world in so much. If I'm not listening to uplifting Christian music, I'm listening to my Bible app on, you know, on my head, that I'm listening to women, faith based writers who are encouraging, you know, your identity in Christ, and you're embracing everything that God has for you. And that's what we need to do women is embrace everything that God has for us keep our eyes fixed on the Lord, right? Yeah, it's a focus. It's fixed on the Lord. How do you do that? You're in His Word. You're talking to him. So yes, Candace, so we have to wrap it up. But I just want you to give that encouragement right now to the woman that's listening right now. What can you speak into her life, about moving into all the fullness that God has for her? Well, the first thing I would say, know that the Lord loves you, intimately. He is intimately acquainted with you, He knows every hair on your head, he has your name engraved on the palm of his hands. So seek him before you turn on the television or anything else. Go to his word, before you call up a friend and want to complain about something, go to him and say, Lord, you know how that stung that hurt that bothered me. And just have him fill you up with how tremendously he loves you and wants a relationship with you. And then surround yourself with godly women who were chasing after Jesus. prayer ministry this morning with a group of women. And I am in constant prayer. Like I have time phone calls throughout the day that I pray with different women around the world because we're in different time zones. People who are pursuing Christ, because we live in a broken world, but we are to be the salt and light. And it's hard to be salt and light, if we're not being constantly filled up with him. So I have to say in saturate yourself in the word, pray, pour out your heart to Him, there's nothing he doesn't know. Just pour out your heart to Him, He will FILL you and give you tremendous joy in the midst of some very hard circumstances. And if you if you need a buddy, call, somebody you know, is a prayer warrior, who was falling hard after Christ, to say I need your help to lock arms with me. And we will go to battle together. And that's what I want to encourage. Amen. And thank you for that encouragement, Candace. And just as Candice connected with women, world leaders, we love that God brought her to this amazing group of women. And that's why we're here ladies is to be that help to you to reach out in all these different areas. There's women walking through what you're walking through, there's women that are here, just to be helped other women. We're here as a as a way to help each other and in Canada, so wonderfully, was led by the Lord to be here doing this podcast right now as an encouragement to you. Maybe God has a story in your life that you're going to share somehow, some way in, in our magazine, and in a book that we're putting out or whatever it may be. But God has a way to use each and every one of you to do not doubt that. If your old way of living is leaving you feeling spiritually dull and dead inside, then it may be time for you to surrender everything to Jesus, just like Candace did. She knew that time that things were not going in this direction that her life was going with the world. God didn't want that for her. So she surrendered. And she changed her heart. And God gave her this passion to serve others, and now she's doing it for him. And we are so grateful that you shared. I wanted to share a scripture portion that I thought was so cool. And kind of goes right along with what we're talking about Canvas. It says our great desire is that you will keep on loving others as long as life lasts in order to make certain that what you hope for will come through then you will not become spiritually dull or indifferent. Instead, you You will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God's promises because of their faith and endurance. That's Hebrews 611 and 12. So in your sphere of influence, ladies think about that. Candace is sphere of influence became her husband and family and then those that God connected her to at that time, and then he opened up her world. And now she's doing all of this faith based way of reaching the loss for Jesus. So whatever your gift that God has given you, it may not look like canvases, it's your own. A verse that I heard Candace share in a past podcast that I wanted to share too, is Colossians 317, which says, Whatever you do, in word or deed, do it for His glory. So we just want to share that with you as well and encourage you with whatever you're doing, just make sure you're doing it for the Lord Jesus Christ with the right heart and the right content. So in closing, I just want to share with you all that we have a magazine that just launched recently, it's a monthly magazine. And if you are looking for extra encouragement, and just a word from the Lord, there's scriptures in here this is put out by women, it's called voice of truth, which comes out every month, and put out by women, all kinds of wonderful nuggets inside that will inspire you encourage you in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you can receive your free monthly copy by going to women world leaders.com. And there you can go to the Contact Us section, and put all your information in and we will be happy to start sending you your copy of voice of Truth magazine. Ladies, you can also join us on our Facebook group where we interact and comments. And it is a private group so just asked to be invited in. Also we have the website, women world leaders.com, where if you need prayer, or if you need another woman to come along beside you, we can help you with that. So just put in a prayer request. And we have tools there ladies. So these are open and available to each and every one of you, wherever you are. We just love you. We want to help you and from his heart to yours. We are women moral leaders, Candace Kirkpatrick. I thank you so much for being there. And you can find Candice Kirkpatrick at...hat is your website? candacekirkpatrick.com Candacekirkpatrick.com There you go. So I'm sure she would love an encouraging word as well. So all content is copyrighted and cannot be used without expressed written consent. God bless you all and have a wonderful day.    

Happy New Year everyone! 2023 is here. As we may reflect on the past and look forward to what's ahead, we really only have today. And God's Word tells us again and again, He is doing "new things"! As our focus and guidance come from the Lord, may we all be joyful in the new things He has for us in this season to bring Him the glory He so deserves. God bless! ***** Welcome to Celebrating God’s Grace, a Women World Leader’s Podcast. I’m your host, Rusanne Carole. I have the privilege of bringing you our first podcast for 2023! We, at WWL, thank you for listening and we are so grateful for all God has done in this ministry and our lives this past year, including being able to bring you a trio of podcasts each week. We encourage you to join us in studying God’s Word and learning about all the promises He has in store for us -His sons & daughters. We are also aware we have had many challenges in this past year of 2022:  including the loss of loved ones, obstacles to overcome and opportunities to continue praising and trusting God through some of the most difficult times this world brings to us and our families and friends. Yet another year is upon us. A new year, 2023, is here! A time to reflect. A time to ponder. A time to trust our Lord and Saviour with every day we are given here on this earth.   Shall we begin in prayer: Lord, thank you for this past year. Thank you for the wonderful times you provided where we celebrated and enjoyed all the gifts you gave us. And help us praise and worship you even through the challenges and the things we don’t completely understand or particularly like!  It’s often through the suffering we experience that we can find peace in resting and trusting in Your promises. Your promises tell us You are with us. You are a God who truly understands everything we go through! You are bringing us into a new year and with all it will bring let us first and foremost look to You in all we do. What is it about the turning of time to a new year that makes us evaluate – re-evaluate – dream – set goals? It’s a restart. It’s a putting behind the past and turning toward the new. All that is ahead. We tend to long for the past and strive for tomorrow. But really all we have is today – so no matter the year God’s Word says all we have is TODAY. Here are a few things to contemplate as we walk into another year: Our days are numbered, God knows our beginning and our end and He gives us free will to live out what many call the dash (the in-between days, the days we are called to be here at such a time as this. What is God calling you to do in this next season? No matter where you are in your “dash” He has something for you, something to do to glorify Him. Could it be joining a prayer team? Could it be a new job? Could it be learning something new or teaching someone else something new?   I encourage you to spend the time with Him and He will show you what you can partner with Him to accomplish for His Kingdom – to bring joy to yourself and others. It may also be things that stretch and grow you. Over & over in the Word it tells us God will do “new things”.  We must seek Him, rely on Him and He will assist us to accomplish what He has for us to do with our time here. Just as the years have seasons, our lives have seasons. What season are you currently in? Some of us are in a resting season? Others in a harvest season? Whatever the season, we are to look to Him and allow for His guidance and His path to be taken. His will, His way we learn with time is so much better than anything we could come up with on our own. Is God calling you to plant a new dream in your heart? Like a woman who may not believe she can step into that new chapter – starting a business, writing a book, taking that job SHE always wanted to take but something held her back. Could God be calling you to water others’ dreams at this time? Like a mother staying home to look after her children or those that may be in their later seasons to really take the role of serious intercessory prayer. We often can undervalue by the world’s standards and Or could God simply be calling you to rest, for you have had a huge year and this is a season to sit, be still and WAIT on Him to tell you what is next. WOW! What opportunities lie ahead for those that seek what God has for them. God is the ultimate planter of dreams in the field of our heart! God is a builder. And lastly, live in the present in each day. As we seek, listen and hear His voice He will be there in the present, the still, small voice. We, as His children, know His voice. We may not get it 100% right each time but in His mercy He gives us another day to have a go until we are called home for eternity with Him. So we have this dash! Lord, help us to make the most of each minute of each day. Lord, let my joy, my peace, my life be a mirror of You and who You are! Lord, let this year (regardless of the circumstances) be a reflection of who You are in me. So as we take on this coming year, let our resolution simply be God, let us be more like You each day you gift us to be here. And if you haven’t accepted Christ as your saviour, here’s an invitation. There is no better time than now! Simply say this prayer: Dear Lord Jesus Christ, I am sorry for the things I have done wrong in my life. I turn to You and ask for forgiveness. Thank you for dying on the cross for me and thank you that you forgave all my sins and set me free from the power of sin in my life. Please come into my heart and life and fill me with your Spirit all the days of my life. Amen. If you said this prayer, the Word says there is rejoicing in heaven as you accepted Jesus into your heart. A new beginning begins! I naively believed that once I accepted Jesus in my life all would be well , that life would be easy, a bed of roses some may say. Boy, what I wrong! There are roses and there are thorns, but I give God the permission to be the gardener of my soul, my life. And all is well because God is with us – we are never alone. Those that have said this prayer celebrate the beginning of a new life in a new year! Those of us who know God begin a new year, hopefully with him as the central focus of all we do! May we live each day for Him and continue to learn and grow and glorify Him above all else. Happy New Year! If you have said this prayer, please reach out to someone who can walk and support you on your new journey. Everyone is invited to contact us at www.womenworldleaders.com – submit a prayer request, register for an upcoming event, and express interest in supporting the ministry in various ways. From His heart to yours, we are Women World Leaders. All content is copyrighted by Women World Leaders and cannot be used without express written content.

Welcome to 2023! However you are feeling today – energized and excited or a bit more trepidatious — Jesus has a message for you: don’t worry, I’ve got this! Join Julie Jenkins today for our study of Luke 12:22-34. ******* Welcome to Walking in the Word – and welcome to 2023! My name is Julie Jenkins, and I’m so glad you have joined us for the start of this new year! If your New Year’s resolution involves spending more time in the Bible, then you are in the right place. Women World Leaders has been blessed with the ability to bring you three podcasts each week. On Mondays, founder Kimberly Hobbs hosts Empowering Lives with Purpose—a 30-minute interview with a different woman of faith who shares her story with the goal of empowering you to walk in your God-given purpose. On Fridays, we have a team of leaders who host Celebrating God’s Grace – a short podcast designed to celebrate all that God is doing in our lives, in this ministry, and in the world. And today, Wednesdays, we are intentional about studying the Bible together on Walking in the Word. We are currently walking through the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. There is so much to learn from these writers as they lay out for us the life of Jesus. Today, as many days, we get the pleasure of studying the words of Jesus Himself. We just celebrated Christmas, which was a miraculous time, but Jesus’ birth is only the beginning of all that God wants us to celebrate. Today, we celebrate Jesus’ teaching and wisdom. A new year is an interesting time. On the one hand, we can feel like we are given a fresh start with energy and focus as we put our new year’s resolutions in place. But a new year can also be a source of anxiety and frustration as we inventory our lives and, perhaps, see a lack of past progress or are reminded that this is the first year we will live without a loved one who has passed, a relationship that has grown cold, or a dream that seems to have fizzled out. A new year can be a springboard, launching us into the future. But if the devil has his way, your new year may feel nothing shy of painful. So I don’t think it is a coincidence that when I opened my Bible today to our next scripture verses, I landed on Luke 12:22-34, finding Jesus’ words of warning about worry and stress and His glorious reminder that we can trust Him as we walk into 2023.   Whatever your attitude as you start this new year, I believe this scripture was written with you in mind today. Before we begin, let’s pray. Dear Most Holy God – 2023 is upon us, and we are so grateful you are with us! We give you this time today as we open your Word together. Teach us what you want us to know. Allow our minds to be attentive, our hearts to be receptive, and our wills to be obedient as you launch us forward today. Father, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.   As we begin today, let’s set the scene. Jesus is speaking to the crowds, which are getting bigger each day. As Jesus’ ministry grows, we tend to think about the crowds getting more belligerent – and they did as the Pharisees and Sadducees felt increasingly threatened by Jesus and tried to trap Him in His teachings. But let’s also remember that there were many people who genuinely wanted to learn from Jesus – including His own disciples. Many had seen His miracles and had already gained from the wisdom He offered—yet they were like sponges, intentionally soaking up all He had to give. As I go through life, I hope I can look past the grandstanders, the nay-sayers, and even those who want to steal the spotlight. I hope I can look solely to Jesus and focus on His words alone. Jesus had just criticized the religious leaders – heaping woes on them. And then He spoke about the rich fool, warning of greed to those with money. But now Jesus turns to his disciples, and as He speaks to those who had already given up all they had to follow Him, He offers wisdom that will translate directly to all his future followers. His simple message is: Don’t worry, I’ve got this. Let’s begin at Luke 12:22 from the New Living Translation… 22 Then, turning to his disciples, Jesus said, “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food to eat or enough clothes to wear. 23 For life is more than food, and your body more than clothing. We love control, don’t we? And we want to know that we are in control of our future, which may include having a big bank account, driving a dependable car that will get us where we need to go, and owning the finest things in life. But the devil doesn’t stop by putting the desire for control in our minds; he is a wizard at making us worry … causing us to dwell on the what if’s. What if I can’t pay my bills? What if my health plummets and I can’t earn the money I need to live? What if inflation keeps skyrocketing? Jesus knows this – none of the devil’s tricks are new to Him. So He warns us – THIS is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life…for life is more than food, and your body more than clothing. Oh – in this tangible world we live in, this can be hard to accept. It’s hard to understand that when we do the will of God, we DON’T need to worry about material things because our God’s got this! So Jesus graciously gives us a picture of what He means, saying…  24 Look at the ravens. Ravens were worth nothing. They were unclean, so they could not be eaten or sacrificed. And they were stupid — they wouldn’t even return to their own nests. God provided a home for them, and they flew away from it, never to return. Jesus continues… (Ravens) don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for God feeds them. God takes care of the ravens…who are seemingly worth nothing. And yet YOU are God’s child! If you don’t understand the important place this puts you, listen to Jesus’ words…  You are far more valuable to him than any birds! Jesus goes on…  25 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? This is a rhetorical question. It doesn’t take a PhD to know that worrying is bad for your health, your outlook, and your demeanor. Numerous studies SINCE Jesus’ time have proven true exactly Jesus’ point…so He adds..  26 And if worry can’t accomplish a little thing like that (adding time to your life), what’s the use of worrying over bigger things? Then Jesus pulls on MY heartstrings as He mentions lilies – by far my favorite flower… 27 “Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 28 And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? Can I be honest with you? For the past several days, I have been feeling a bit lost and forlorn. I won’t get into details…because, well, there really aren’t details to give…but I’ve been in a bit of a funk. I’m guessing you can understand. And today I opened my Bible and read THIS….Look at the lilies… So I pictured a field full of these beautiful flowers. Take a moment to imagien them with me. I actually received a bouquet of pink and white lilies just a couple of weeks ago. And guess what…they did nothing. They just sat on my table. But their mere presence made me smile each time I walked by. They were stunning and they filled the house with a glorious scent. But all those lilies did was EXACTLY what they were made for. It made me think – if I am more important to God than lilies, then just MY presence must make HIM smile. And all I have to do is do exactly what he created me to do — He will take care of the rest. I don’t have to worry. You don’t have to worry. About anything. Because God’s got it all under control—He loves you far more than lilies…or ravens! Verse 29… 29 “And don’t be concerned about what to eat and what to drink. Don’t worry about such things. 30 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers all over the world, but your Father already knows your needs. 31 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need. Let me say that again – God ALREADY knows what you need, and when you seek Him, He will give you everything you need! As we enter 2023 – I don’t even know what I will need! The pandemic sure took us all by surprise! In January of 2020, we certainly didn’t know that many of us would NEED Zoom to communicate with each other. My oldest daughter had already moved out – when we bought our house in 2019, we certainly didn’t know we would NEED a bedroom for her. But God did. And He provided. Worry is the opposite of faith. We worry when we fail to put our trust in our GOOD God who loves us more than we can imagine and is in total control of EVERYTHING. Jesus continues… 32 “So don’t be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom. I love how Jesus reminds us that He is our Shepherd. We are helpless sheep who can NOT take care of ourselves no matter HOW hard we try or how much we worry. But, praise God…we have a mighty Shepherd who is totally in control, who knows exactly what we need BEFORE we need it, and whose PLEASURE it is to provide for us. We simply have to trust Him and believe that God’s got this! Jesus then puts a ribbon on this gift of provision He is handing us: BECAUSE He is faithful and PROMISES to provide EVERYTHING we need, WE can be generous with everything we have! Jesus says… 33 “Sell your possessions and give to those in need. This will store up treasure for you in heaven! (It’s a win-win!) …the purses of heaven never get old or develop holes. Your treasure will be safe; no thief can steal it and no moth can destroy it. 34 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. However YOU are starting 2023 – whether you are raring to go or stepping in with trepidation, Jesus, in this passage, gives YOU permission to step forward feeling safe and secure. You may not feel in control. That’s okay…because God is! You may not know what is ahead, but He does! You most likely don’t know WHAT you will need, but He has already made provisions for you to receive exactly what you need when you need it. And what is your duty in all of this? To simply do what you were made for. To walk in your purpose. To serve Jesus in joy. Your job, Christian, is to trust God’s control, direction, and provision as you exude His beauty for all to see. Beauty that is more amazing than a field of lilies, by the way. Don’t worry. God’s got this. And just by being you, you make the Creator of the universe smile. Dear Most Holy God, We have a hard time understanding your gracious generosity because in our sinful hearts, we simply can’t understand why you give us something for nothing. Thank you for your love, which is too deep for us to comprehend. Thank you for your provision, your guidance, your wisdom, and your strength. Dear God – I thank you for giving us the courage to walk in the path you have deemed for us and ask you to instill in us unwavering faith in you. Thank you for reminding us that you are a good God and for calling us your own. In Jesus’ name, I pr

Please join Kimberly Hobbs as she interviews guest Jean Selig Wenger from Treasure Coast Talent.   Jean is a Los Angeles talent agent who is a woman of faith. She shares her testimony of how God called her into the film industry and shares encouragement and faith to walk into your God-given calling.  

It is our prayer that after the holiday season, you are feeling emotionally, spiritually, and physically refreshed and renewed and ready to jump into 2023. If you aren't, there's still time! Join host Janet Berrong as she extols the value of refreshment and offers tips for starting 2023 by embracing self-care. **** Welcome to celebrating God's grace, a Women World Leaders podcast. I'm your host, Janet Berrong. Thank you for joining us today as we celebrate God's grace in our lives in ministry and around the world.  It's good to be back with you today refreshed and renewed and ready for the new year. January is always a good time to refresh and reboot, you get a whole new start to a new year. We all like a fresh start. Like this year, I started off the year with 11 day fasting and praying. For me it was really powerful, physically, emotionally and spiritually. Physically, I felt incredible and revived emotionally. I was at peace and had a sound mine. Spiritually, I drew closer to God and had many breakthroughs. I took long walks, got out in the fresh air, I worship through music, and I even danced. I filled my atmosphere with only good and nourishing things. Our heavenly Father gives us a fresh start daily. I encourage you to lean in and draw close to the Lord and ask the Holy Spirit to do a work in you get refreshed and renewed from the inside out. Lamentations 323 reads, great is His faithfulness His mercies begin afresh each morning. Do you know that God cares about your body? Yes, he cares about every detail about us. He cares about our body because he created it. He fashioned it so perfectly for health, not to live for health, or to make health of God of its own, but to use it to live out the purpose he has for you. He is not a God of external things. But he is personally God who resides within you. He is watching how you use your time, your money, your talents, your opportunities, your mind and yes, even your body. One of the ways we can become defeated quickly is negative thinking, fear. This is why we have to keep our mind and eyes on Christ. what His Word says about us is the only truth. What about our mind? Does God really care about that too? When we think about maintaining our health, you might not consider your mind as being part of the process. However, maintaining a healthy mind is extremely important. Furthermore, you may not consider that your relationship with God and your knowledge of His truth and his plan for your life is a part of maintaining a healthy mind. Scripture tells us in Romans 12 to do not conform any longer to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. When you do you will be able to test and approve what God's will is his good and pleasing and perfect will. As the Bible says in John 15, one through eight. We must stay connected to the vine in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle and bear spiritual fruit. Maintaining a healthy mind, grow in the Lord. Trust him and his plans for your life. Stay connected to him daily through prayer and studying his Word. My prayer today is searched me God and refresh my heart right now. Please help me to surrender my expectations and transform my mind to draw nearer to you. Search me God and align my heart with yours as I pursue the plans you have for me. Let me remember what you've already helped me overcome. You have already made a way for me to know you. You have already made a way for me to experience eternal life with you. Nothing is too hard for you. Search me God and heal my heart. Whatever the future holds. I know you hold me nothing is impossible for you. Restore me God and make me new into Jesus name, amen. Be refreshed and renewed in this new year. God bless each one of you listening today. And until next time, my beautiful sisters. Thank you for listening to women world leaders podcast. Join us each Monday, Wednesday and Friday. As we explore together God's extravagant love in your courageous purpose. Visit our website www dot women world leaders.com. To submit a prayer request, register for an upcoming event and support the ministry from his heart to yours. We are women world leaders, all content is copyrighted by women world leaders cannot be used without expressed written consent.  

Paul teaches us in Ephesians 6:18-23 to pray in the spirit at all times and on all occasions. What a great reminder as we wrap up 2022! God has a plan and purpose for you in 2023, learn how you can walk in His will through prayer.   *****   Welcome to Walking in the Word, the biblical teaching arm of the Women World Leaders podcast. I’m your host, Julie Jenkins. Thank you for joining us as we wrap up 2022 and head into 2023! Allow me to take a minute and say thank you for your involvement in Women World Leaders this year! Whether you have volunteered with the ministry, attended an in-person event, supported us through your donations, or simply listened to this podcast, please know that we value you! And more importantly, God sees and loves you! If you’ve missed any episodes this year, we encourage you to go back and listen to them or even download them so that you can share them with anyone God may put on your heart. As we study the Bible systematically together through this Women World Leaders podcast, please know that we are ONLY scratching the surface of all that God has for you in His Scripture – which is a living, breathing work of art created especially for you! I pray that you will return again and again to scripture daily, allowing God to speak to you where you are. We are excited to jump into 2023! If you have been around Women World Leaders for very long, you know that our ministry was founded on and is guided by prayer. Before we embark on ANY endeavor, we seek God’s will. So whether you are reading our Voice of Truth magazine or stepping into an author’s role in one of our books or anything in between, know that YOU are covered in prayer. One of our leaders recently commented that prayer is the best gift we can give anyone. I think that says it all! Prayer is so important that our first Leadership Connect of 2023 will be dedicated to learning more about prayer – I hope you will plan to join us for this time of learning and fellowship on the third Monday in January – that is January 16th at 7pm ET. You can join us from anywhere in the world – in fact, we often have leaders on from India, Australia, and Canada. To register to receive the Zoom link, visit our website – www. Womenworldleaders.com. And…as prayer is the cornerstone of our ministry, I thought it would be appropriate to wrap up 2022 by studying scripture about prayer. So today we will be studying Ephesians 6:18-23. Before we begin, let’s pray. Dear Heavenly Father! Thank you for allowing us to Walk in your Word together. Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to know you more and to hear your heart on a personal level as we spend time with you. Father, I ask that you would infiltrate the heart, mind, and soul of each woman listening today – teaching her what you want her to know, allowing her to hear directly from you. We praise and thank you for making this, our time together, possible. And we give all glory to you for every good and perfect gift that only you can supply. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. Sit back and listen as I read the writing of the apostle Paul from Ephesians 6:18-23 from the New Living Translation. 18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.[a] 19 And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike.[b] 20 I am in chains now, still preaching this message as God’s ambassador. So pray that I will keep on speaking boldly for him, as I should. 21 To bring you up to date, Tychicus will give you a full report about what I am doing and how I am getting along. He is a beloved brother and faithful helper in the Lord’s work. 22 I have sent him to you for this very purpose—to let you know how we are doing and to encourage you. 23 Peace be with you, dear brothers and sisters,[c] and may God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you love with faithfulness.   Paul begins this part of his letter by encouraging his readers to 18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Prayer is part of the armor given to us by God. It is ALWAYS available to us …and God wants us to harness prayer continually! Calling on God is the means by which we can experience His PROTECTION, which enables us to stand strong against the schemes of the devil and the evil of the world. How do we pray continuously? On ALL occasions? Is that even possible? Yes, it is! We can pray on all occasions by living our lives devoted to God and by keeping Him in mind at all times. This requires staying alert to and being aware of God’s presence. When we are, we will be more prone to offer quick prayers to God regularly throughout the day. We often condition ourselves and teach our kids to pray before meals and before bed. That is a great start! But what about the other 23 hours and 45 minutes a day? If you were side by side with someone all day every day, and they only acknowledged you for 15 minutes a day, you would just think they were downright rude! Don’t be rude to God – acknowledge His presence! When you see a beautiful sight – thank Him! He created it! Tell Him - great job, God! When you need guidance – ask Him! How should I respond, God? What do YOU think? When you are worried, request His peace! He WILL carry your burden for you. When you are bored, look around…and revel in His glory. When you are in pain, rely on His comfort. No prayer is too small for God! He longs for you to turn to Him every moment! To see Him. To recognize His presence. To share your life with Him! God IS with you … all – the – time! What a treasure we each have simply in His presence! Paul goes on to say… Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. Once you start recognizing God’s presence beside you, remember that He doesn’t want you only to focus on what YOU need, but He wants you to petition Him for the needs of others. We as Christians MUST lift each other up in prayer. Look around – who can you stand in the gap for? That cranky store worker? – perhaps she needs God’s strength to get through her day. What about teachers? Many of us entrust the care of our children into the hands of teachers every day. And teachers are usually overworked and underpaid. A teacher has to be prepared to challenge the student who may learn quickly, to patiently explain to the student who just doesn’t get it, and to deal with emotional, psychological and even physical issues. Teachers NEED our prayers. What about our pastors and healthcare workers? They need our prayers for strength and wisdom and peace. And how much could an overanxious child thrive if someone were to pointedly pray for him? We all need prayer – and it is our honor to lift each other up to our Holy God. Ask God who He wants you to pray for! I used to hate waking up in the middle of the night - I would immediately think about the amount of work I had the next day and how those minutes of sleep I was losing were robbing me of needed energy and focus. But I’ve learned – I’ve learned that it isn’t all about me! Now when I wake up in the middle of the night, I thank God for nudging me and I ask Him who He wants me to pray for at that very moment. Paul knows how important an army of prayer warriors is for each of us, that is why he says next 19 And pray for me, too. We each must be bold in asking for prayers for ourselves! Sister, what God has called you to is HUGE! He has a kingdom-purpose for your life – a mission that you were born for, gifted for, and particularly placed for! And yet, that mission that you are called to, I am here to tell you, absolutely can NOT be accomplished in your own strength – you need the strength of God Himself upholding you! And you need others around you who will petition the heavenlies on your behalf! None of us were meant to walk through this life alone, and YOUR purpose is intertwined with MY purpose. Do you have someone you can go to for prayer? We, at Women World Leaders would be honored to join with you in prayer! Please go to our website – womenworldleaders.com – and tell us how we can pray for you! Paul asks for prayer, not just for his own walk and daily life, but so that he can do the will of God – the purpose of his life. He says… Ask God to give me the right words so I can BOLDLY explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike.[b]  Paul knew how vital his mission was! He knew that telling the good news of Christ was what he was supposed to do, but he also knew that by fulfilling that calling, he was risking his own death. Even as he wrote, he reminds us that He was in prison for living out his anointing – and he asked for prayers for strength and boldness to fulfill that calling – to not be intimidated by the schemes of the devil and the darkness of the world. My life is not in danger when I preach and teach the Word of God, so I truly can’t imagine how Paul must have felt or the empowerment that he needed. But like Paul, my struggles are real. I am not in prison, but I fight against time constraints, pride, and fear of failure – and I, too, request your prayers that I may keep on with the good fight! Even as I ask for your prayers, I lift YOU up in prayer – because we each have a calling that is significant and important, and we must band together as God’s ambassadors – as Women World Leaders – upholding each other, and most importantly, upholding the message of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Verse 21 tells us that Tychicus was delivering this letter to the Ephesians and that Tychicus was there to give a full update on Paul and encourage and strengthen them as Christians. Which should lead us to ask…who do I need to encourage today? Who can I strengthen with my words and actions? Maybe even with my demeanor? A quick text or a well-timed email can mean the world to someone. Eye contact and a smile – even across Zoom – can make a difference in someone’s day and may be the encouragement she needs to just keep walking – and let’s be honest, sometimes we all need that little push to just keep walking! As we close this year and step into a new one, let’s re-commit to prayer in a way that will make the devil want to run in the opposite direction. As Paul ends his letter to the Ephesians, so we at Women World Leaders say to you… 23 Peace be with you, dear brothers and sisters,[c] and may God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you love with faithfulness. Dear Heavenly Father – you are gracious and glorious. You are our strength and our song. You are our provider and our peace. Jesus, I am reminded today that you know what we are walking through – because you walked on this earth in human form, and because you walk beside us each and every day. Father, I pray for strength and joy for my sister as she lives so courageously the life that you have called her to live. We are an army for You, God. Today we put on our armor and we walk forth in victory – knowing that you have won the battle and that evil and death are defeated. We are unified in you, we stand together for you, and we ask that you shine forth your light into this world for all the world to see as we live as imitators of you. God, we submit to you and we take joy in your peace and your presence. I ask your blessing and protection over each one listening today, may she see and know your true presence in her life. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.      

Today's Interview is with special guest Kristen Clark,  co-Founder of "Girl-Defined". This ministry has an outreach touching over one hundred thousand young women for Christ.   Today Kristen will empower you by sharing some of her personal story and how she found fulfillment in Christ vs something or someone else. Kristen shares about keeping Jesus at the head of your marriage and life.

When you think of the Christmas story and Mary carrying the Son of God, I can’t help but think of how she must have felt.  We all have greatness inside of us because we are carrying Jesus.  He has given each of us a story and greatness within us.  Dream and allow yourself to feel His love and purpose for your life.     

This Christmas, run to Jesus! He has come amid the craziness of this world to bring you His peace and joy. He is calling you just like He called the shepherds on that night long ago. Peace be with you, and all glory to God in the highest. (Luke 2:8-20)   *******   Welcome to Walking in the Word, the Biblical teaching arm of the Women World Leaders podcast. I’m your host, Julie Jenkins. I hope you are enjoying our walk through the gospels as we focus on putting the four pictures from Matthew, Mark, Luke and John into one comprehensive view. As I record this, it is Christmas week – the time when we celebrate Jesus’ birth on earth. Jesus, our Holy God, came to earth as a human so that He could die a sinner’s death and give all of humanity the opportunity to step into an eternity with Him. But our most powerful and majestic God also came to earth so that we could individually connect with Him and experience peace in our everyday lives. Have you ever met someone you deem “important” or “famous”? I have – and no matter how prepared I am – when I meet someone “out of my league,” I often feel a bit tongue-tied, or intimidated. My head swims a bit. Do you know the feeling? Although God is, undoubtedly, in higher standing than anyone we will ever meet, He wants to relate to us on common ground. God never wants us to feel tongue-tied around Him. So Jesus came to earth as a man. He was born in a stable. And He lived a common life. He was the extraordinary amid the ordinary who went to extremes to be relatable. So on Christmas, not only do we celebrate the MAJESTY of God, but we also celebrate His HUMILITY as He descended to earth out of sheer love for us, ushering in peace and joy. Let’s begin in prayer… Dear Heavenly Father – today we praise and glorify your name! We know we should do that every day, but today we intentionally remember the birth of Jesus as a helpless baby, praising the fact that you saw fit to come to earth so that you could save us from our sins AND connect with us in such a loving fashion. As we study your Word, God, I ask you to teach us what you want us to know. Guide us in wisdom and joy as we open our hearts to you. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. In today’s scripture, we are going to take a few moments to peer into the lives of the shepherds. These men were perhaps the lowliest of the low. And yet, they were seen by God, who counted them as so important that they were visited by the angels and were the first to hear of Jesus’ birth. Let’s read Luke, chapter 2, verse 8-20 from the New Living Translation: 8 That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in highest heaven,     and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” 15 When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 16 They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. 17 After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. 18 All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, 19 but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. 20 The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.   One of my favorite Christmas hymns, Silent Night, gives us an idyllic vision of what was happening the night of Jesus’ birth…but it seems from this text that there wasn’t much “silent” about that night.   Let’s start with the stable – the birthing room, as it was. I’ve had three children, and although each birth was beautiful, there simply wasn’t anything silent about the process. I think my husband remembers that more clearly than I do! And let’s not forget that the holy family was sharing their space with a stable full of animals. And I imagine the animals had their own chorus going on. But maybe it was a silent night in the fields where the shepherds were?...Let’s imagine… I envision a clear night, with the stars brighter than most of us are used to. After all, there was very little light pollution in those days. But scripture says the shepherds were guarding their flocks…and sheep are very loud animals who only sleep about 4 hours a night. Guarding sheep was a purposeful, 24-hour a day job – so much so that the shepherds had to take turns sleeping and standing guard against thieves and animals. I can picture the shepherds straining to be alert even in the darkness, listening for sounds of intrusion over and above the sound of the sheep. The truth is that the job of the shepherds was far from glamorous – it was constant and messy, certainly not silent and peaceful. It makes me think of being a parent. I can remember sitting up those late hours with each of my newborns, just praying for a moment of PEACE. You probably know what I’m talking about. It can be hard to push through those nights, knowing in your heart that what you are doing is important, but at times, feeling alone in the struggle…like the whole rest of the world is silent, and somehow you alone are fighting to do your job in your loud and messy corner. Some theologians speculate that these shepherds were tending the sheep that were to be used as a sacrifice for the temple services – now that would have been a stressful job! The perfect lamb had to be carefully protected, raised without blemish. Then that perfect lamb would be sacrificed, allowing the high priest to enter the holy of holies to receive a word from God for the whole nation. No pressure. And, to top it off, the shepherds themselves were not permitted to attend the temple because, due to their work, they were considered ceremonially unclean. These were honest men working hard in the trenches whose job was SO important, but they were considered lower class in every aspect. They were humble servants. Sometimes the world seems upside down, doesn’t it? Those who give the most sometimes receive the least recognition. Teachers spend their days shaping the future, pouring into our children, our most precious commodity…and yet their pay is often low and the honor that should be given them is dismissed. Healthcare workers serve long hours, handling messes and dealing with the emotions of patients and their loved ones. The list goes on – social workers, foster parents, firefighters, and police officers—all are humble servants who often work amid chaos, caring for others and putting themselves on the back burner. But in today’s scripture, we see an example of God’s love and acknowledgment for every person who puts themselves out there in service to another. The humble servants in Jesus’ day — the shepherds — had no idea as they did their job, valiantly guarding their sheep, that they were about to receive a personal greeting that would blow their socks off. Across the noisy field, a baby was being born who would change the world. That baby, God made flesh, would open the door, tearing the curtain to the holy sanctuary, allowing God’s presence to fill the earth. The God of all majesty and honor had sent His only begotten son Jesus to earth as a helpless baby to be born in a messy, smelly stable. And the shepherds, hard at work in the fields, would be the first to know. The angels were so excited to share this awesome news! In the book of Hebrews, the angels are called ministering spirits who are sent to care for God’s people. The angels had front row seats to not only the glory of God, which we in our humanity still can not quite comprehend, but also to the fact that God, the divine, the holy, was born among humans, as a human – this was quite the turn of events! This was quite the message – surely sharing this message was one of the angels most important missions ever! And the shepherds, the hardworking yet lowly servants, were the first to be invited to the party. Imagine the shepherds on that dark, clear night. First, they saw one angel, and then a “vast host” of angels…some versions say a “multitude of angels” – the original word is plethos (PLAY – thahs) – sounds like the English word plethora.  – meaning a large or excessive amount of. … all praising God…the angels NEEDED the shepherds to understand the magnitude of what was happening, this was urgent and exciting information. Entire armies of angels filled the sky. That moment must have been thrilling beyond our imaginations. The glory of the Lord had returned to the earth, and the angels could not contain their joy. Verse 9 says that “the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them.” Of course, this site would have shocked the shepherds – it would shock you and me, that’s for sure! The first angel said, “Don’t be afraid!” and he explained himself… “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!   And that wasn’t all…the angel clearly wanted the shepherds to go and see for themselves. He told them WHERE to go and how to find the newborn savior of the world. And then the singing started! The armies of heaven started praising God. With something so miraculous happening, how could they NOT praise God? They simply weren’t about to miss the JOY and CELEBRATION of Christ’s birth. The angels sang, GLORY TO GOD, and peace to those with whom God is pleased! Jesus came to bring us that sometimes seemingly elusive peace! WE, like the shepherds, are meant to experience the peace of God in our daily lives! When we please God, He gives us His peace. So what is it that pleases God? Walking with God and trusting HIS care and protection, even as we care for and protect others, brings us peace beyond all understanding. As children of God, we do not need to fear – because our God is a god of love and protection and wisdom and PEACE. He is holding His umbrella out, waiting for you to take a step under it. Our God is a fierce protector, who, once you take a step toward Him in submission, will never let you go.   The shepherds were initially afraid on that crazy night, but they listened to the good news that the angels brought, and then they ran to Jesus themselves and experienced His peace. Do you remember when you first heard about Jesus and you ran to Him? If you have, you know the peace, the excitement, the joy, that the shepherds knew on that “not so silent” night. If you don’t know God’s peace, if you haven’t yet run to Him…consider this your message…and me your messenger! The Messiah has come! Your salvation is here! You never have to go it alone in this world again! God wants you to come to Him. Run to Him, just like the shepherds did. Jesus did the hard part. He humbled Himself, stepping down from His throne to become human. In His humanity, not only did Jesus make a way for our salvation, but by becoming one of us, He also opened a path for us to communicate with Him. You never need to be intimidated to go to Jesus. You never need to become tongue-tied around Him. You never need to be afraid. This Christmas, I pray you will run to Jesus, welcome Him into your every day, and experience His peace. Oh HOLY God! We praise you! Glory to YOU in the highest! We thank you for ushering in peace on earth! Father, I pray for each woman listening that she may experience your peace and joy today. I pray that she will RUN to your side, experience your forgiveness, rest under the umbrella of your love. Father, thank you for sending your son to us, to this very dirty, messy earthy…to save our very dirty, messy lives. We give our lives to you, O God, and ask you to lead us where you will…we will follow. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.

Please join us for part Two of "The Banner of Sexual Ethics" as Amber Impellizzeri and Ashley Giovannucci from Across My Heart share about a topic pounding our world today. Is sex before marriage ok in today's world? Is LGBTQ and pornography acceptable and how does our society feed lies to us, contradictory to God's design for our bodies and His intentions to have fulfillment in sex? Find out in today's Podcast     

If you feel as though your life is in limbo, it is time to know that in Christ Jesus, you won't fall apart. The little pieces that don't line up with truth will be removed from your soul, to reveal Christ.  **** Welcome to Celebrating God’s Grace, A Women World Leader’s Podcast, I’m your host Robin Kirby-Gatto. Thank you for joining us today as we celebrate God’s grace, in our lives, in our ministry, and around the world. Today’s Podcast is titled, “Limbo.” “I, John, your brother and companion (sharer and participator) with you in the tribulation and kingdom and patient endurance [which are] in Jesus Christ, was on the isle called Patmos, [banished] on account of [my witnessing to] the Word of God and the testimony (the proof, the evidence) for Jesus Christ.” (Revelation 1:9 AMPC) Sometimes we can find ourselves in limbo. Limbo means “a period of awaiting a decision or resolution.” No one knew this better than the apostle John, who was banished to the Isle of Patmos, for preaching the Gospel. Thayer’s Greek Lexicon identifies the Greek word Patmos, means “the place of my killing.” Greek scholar Alexander Cruden states that Patmos means, “I am squeezed to pieces.” This brings light to the scripture of he who throws himself upon the Stone, will be broken to pieces. (Matthew 21:44) Sometimes we think we have things figured out. We might even believe that we know how God will do things in our life. I learned a long time ago, if I think I know how things will work out, it won’t happen that way. I’m sure John the apostle felt the same way, when he was preaching the Gospel. Although he knew it would cost him his freedom, he truly didn’t know that he would have ended up at Patmos. If a place is named, “the place of my killing,” or “I am squeezed to pieces,” that pretty much tells me that it’s not on my list for a weekend getaway, much less living out a prison sentence. Patmos is different today, it’s a tourist site with churches erected in honor of John the apostle. However, back in John’s Day, most likely it was as close to the infamous Alcatraz penitentiary. Imagine how loud the volume of John’s captivity must have been on the Isle of Patmos. Little did he know, is that it would be the birthplace of the book of Revelation. Patmos was the backdrop of one of the most profound books of the Bible, studied by scholars. Had John not been at Patmos, we wouldn’t have the book of Revelation. Part of the requirement for John to receive the writing of the book, was for him to be in tribulation, causing him to throw himself continually upon Christ. Incredibly, John addresses in Revelation 1:9 that he is a sharer in the tribulations of those who are in Christ. As potent as John’s trial was at Patmos, to consider he would join the other servants of God, who were enduring affliction, blessed my heart. I thought this is a man to whom I can relate. You and I haven’t gone through anything like John, but we go through other trials, which test our faith. This occurrence in our lives is tribulation, in which God provides grace. Tribulation comes from the Greek word thlîpsis pronounced thlip'-sis meaning “pressure, afflicted, anguish, burdened, persecution, and trouble.”[i] This comes from the Greek word thlíbō pronounced thlee'-bo meaning, “to crowd, afflict, narrow, suffer tribulation and trouble.”[ii] You know the movie scenes of someone sitting in a psychiatrist’s office, how they hold up ink blots and ask them what they see? The whole purpose of asking a patient what they see, is to get an idea of the thoughts in a person’s mind. I continually feel like that with the Word of God. I am the patient in the psychiatrist’s office, with God holding up the Hebrew and Greek words, asking me “Robin what do you see?” When I saw the first Greek word for tribulation, I couldn’t help but see “the lips is,” I know it should be the lips are, but indulge me. Then, when I saw the primary Greek word from which tribulation comes, I couldn’t help but see “the limbo.” When you feel your life is in limbo, you must be careful what words come out of your lips. The lip is the place that keeps you in limbo. Out of the heart the mouth speaks. Limbo is also the name of a game in which people use a stick to see how low one can go. It originated out of Trinidad, which means Trinity. People started doing the limbo under the cart shaft, which is a wood shaft that attaches the cart to the horse. I imagine that one day someone looked at the cart shaft long enough, and decided they would make a game of it, saying let’s see who can go under it the best. The limbo is about going low, a place of humility. When we go low, we know the power of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. If you’ve ever read a book, you know whether the author has head knowledge on the subject or wisdom, which is an experience within the body. A saying, “I’ve got the t-shirt and have been there,” is an inference that a person has experienced something in their life. The other day I couldn’t help but laugh, as I taught on “sifting” in the Bible and confessed that if we’re looking at this through the colloquium “I’ve got the t-shirt and been there, then I have an entire wardrobe of t-shirts on sifting.” Tribulation is the place of sifting, getting things in us, those little pieces that don’t need to be there, out of our self-image. This helps us see Christ Jesus in us, the hope of glory. John the apostle at the Isle of Patmos was able to throw himself onto Christ Jesus, and in this act, although he might have felt he was falling to pieces or having a nervous breakdown, he was falling upon the Rock of his salvation. Little did he know that he would see the King of Glory. 42 “Jesus asked them, Have you never read in the Scriptures: The very Stone which the builders rejected and threw away has become the Cornerstone; this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes? 43 I tell you, for this reason the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce the fruits of it. 44 And whoever falls on this Stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom It falls will be crushed to powder [and It will winnow him, scattering him like dust].” Matthew 21:42-44 AMPC Jesus is referring to the prophecy of Psalm 118:22, that He would be the Chief Cornerstone on which God’s Kingdom would be built. Cornerstones are the foundation to a building, to which every other stone is aligned.  In the ancient days, the instrument used to ensure placement of all the stones in a building, was a plumbline. A plumbline is a string with a weight on the bottom, which makes it easy to place against the cornerstone and line all other stones on top. The Stone represents Jesus Christ, and His righteousness, upon which our faith is built. Thus, each person who comes into the Kingdom of Heaven, falls upon the Chief Cornerstone. We line up with truth. John was fashioned at the Isle of Patmos to throw himself upon the Rock of his salvation. Instead of falling apart and letting the prison get the best of him, he entered the place of truth, as Jesus called John higher to receive revelation that would change history. Likewise, tribulations in our own life, open our eyes to the Word of truth, so that our heart and mind line up with what God says. During trials, we might feel like we’re falling apart. When you throw yourself upon Christ Jesus and what the Word says, the little pieces that don’t line up with truth, are taken out of your heart and mind. This leads to greater comprehension of Who Christ Jesus is. He is the Rock on which our faith rests. We can cast all our cares upon Him, and He will direct us through it. We no longer are in limbo, but instead have gone lower still. As John the Baptist said, “I must decrease, and He must increase.” Our greatest aim in life is to see Christ Jesus in us, which is the ceaseless grace of God given to us daily. In our weakness, going low, God is strong.   [i] Strong’s Concordance Greek word # 2347 “tribulation” [ii] Strong’s Concordance Greek word # 2346 “trouble”

A fool seeks the things of this world rather than a rich relationship with God. Before we decide we are in the clear, let’s ask ourselves some tough questions. Am I really living for God? Am I willing to give my riches for His glory? Join us on this soul-searching study of Luke 12:13-21.   *****   Welcome to Walking in the Word, the biblical teaching arm of the Women World Leaders podcast. My name is Julie Jenkins, and it is my honor to walk with you as we study scripture together on this, the Wednesday edition of our podcast. We are currently walking through the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John – seeking to see Jesus’ life on earth from all the angles God gives us and learn what He has to teach us today. If you have been a Christ-follower for a while, I know you can attest WITH me that our learning about God and His Word is unending. The depth of His instruction is profound, and though our minds and spirits are prayerfully growing in Him, we ALL have a long way to go. So if you are new to Bible study and feel like you are “behind” or simply “don’t understand” – please have patience with yourself. None of us have arrived, we are all growing and learning together. No teacher or leader has all the answers – if they say they do, that is a strong indication that you should look to learn from someone else. Only God is the perfect guide – and we are all in this together! All that to say, I’m glad you have joined us on this imperfect journey! If you are new to Women World Leaders, I encourage you to visit our website, womenworldleaders.com, where the newest edition of Voice of Truth magazine is there for you to enjoy for free digitally! Women World Leaders was started over four years ago, and, as the cover of this month’s magazine states, God is doing a new thing! As we enter 2023, we will have some new offerings for you, including new ways to connect, get involved, and, of course, share the gospel. Besides viewing Voice of Truth online, you can also receive a physical copy of the magazine as long as supplies last by giving a tax-deductible donation to the ministry. Or, to make sure you never miss a single edition, sign up to become a monthly donor, and we will put you on our subscription list. Let’s dive in, shall we? Today’s scripture comes from the book of Luke, chapter 12, verses 13-21. Before we begin, let’s pray. Dear Most Holy God, we give you this time today and ask you to teach us and guide our thoughts as we study your Word. Father, I ask that you forgive us of any sin, reveal to us how we have disobeyed or come against you, and soften our hearts, enabling us to clearly understand what you want us to know today. We give you this time, for your glory alone. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.   As we enter into today’s scripture, let’s remember where we are. Luke is piecing together for us Jesus’ and the disciples’ evangelical journey. As they travel, we see Jesus gaining a larger following, more staunch adversaries, and even a certain amount of respect. It was customary for people to approach a rabbi to ask him questions regarding the Mosaic law, and as we enter into today’s scene, we see one crowd-member approach Jesus as the authority. But this man does not, in essence, ask for wisdom from Jesus. Instead, he tries to coerce Jesus into standing up for him regarding a family dispute. Let’s begin in Luke, chapter 12 verse 13 from the New Living Translation.    13 Then someone called from the crowd, “Teacher, please tell my brother to divide our father’s estate with me.” Already I want to pause and ask – how often do we go to Jesus and, instead of seeking His will and wisdom, tell Him what WE think, need, or desire? Jesus knows EVERYTHING! He KNOWS what we need, how we operate, what will happen tomorrow, what our reactions will be to each circumstance, and He can untangle any web of personalities and motives in EVERY situation. AND…Jesus loves us more than we can imagine. So what right do WE think we have to tell Him what to do? Oh…He wants us to come to Him with everything —our needs, wants, anger and joy. But if we REALLY trust Him, doesn’t it make more sense for us to come to Him asking for His wisdom and His will to be done in our lives? Oh…now I realize that this may be hitting on a sore point…one of those areas where we just want to look away. Because we CRAVE control, and we think WE know best. I saw a t-shirt the other day that said, "It's okay if you disagree with me.” And then, in very small type below, it said, “I can’t force you to be right.” Isn’t that how we think? That we are right, and anyone who thinks differently than we do is wrong? I am checking myself here. Askinig…How often do I go to God in prayer and ask Him to make my situation turn out the way I want it to turn out? That’s what this man was doing. He didn’t care what Jesus thought. He was, in fact, so self-focused that he assumed from the git-go that he was right. And he just wanted Jesus, the authority, to back him up. No wonder Jesus answered him with a question! And then went on to teach the man a thing or two. Verse 14… 14 Jesus replied, “Friend, who made me a judge over you to decide such things as that?” 15 Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” The man came to Jesus over a financial dispute with his brother. Claiming inheritance was a big issue in Jesus’ day. The firstborn son had more rights and esteem than the other children in any family. So this man was fighting for money, but he was also fighting for his worth in society. On the surface, this is not a wrong thing to be concerned with, but Jesus says  Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own. We live in a greedy society. And even though we, as Christians, might stand against greed, it is difficult to guard our hearts completely from greed. It’s Christmas season – the season of giving – but how many times, as we are shopping for others, do we buy for ourselves? The merchants bank on our greed by offering buy one get one free or other promotions. The other day, my daughter called to tell me that one of her favorite stores was offering a promotion. If you spent $150, you would receive a $100 gift card to spend just days before Christmas. My daughter was eager to tell me because she could, effectively, nearly double her gift. While my first thought was – yeah, I can spend $150 on you now and $100 on ME later. We all have different perspectives. And greed threatens to seep into our souls when we aren’t even looking – Jesus warned about this. And then He gave an illustration… Verse 16…   16 Then he told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. 17 He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ 18 Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. 19 And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’ 20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’ 21 “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.” This is such a short parable that is SO rich with meaning! The man in the story was wealthy – he had been blessed with a fruitful harvest. But instead of lifiing his hands in praise to God – for God owns and orchestrates all things – he said to himself – “What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.” The situation was perplexing to the man. It made him think…but it didn’t make him think of his creator. Have you ever played the game, what would I do if I won the lottery? Oh, the dreams we can imagine – yachts, beach homes, trips, an endless wardrobe. What WOULD you do if you won the lottery? Perhaps the right answer is: Ask God what I should do with the money. That thought didn’t cross the man’s mind in the story. Instead, he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. 19 And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’ The man was focused on himself. And apparently, he was tired of working, because he wanted to sit back and take it easy. He wanted to eat, drink and be merry. Let’s look at a life of leisure from a biblical perspective. Does God ever call us to do NOTHING with our lives? Oh, we are to rest, we are to be still and trust God’s provision, but are we ever to do NOTHING? In Ephesians 4:28, we are told to do something with our own hands SO THAT we may have something to share with others. Philippians 3:12-14 tells us that we are to press on to attain all that God has set before us. And Hebrews 12:1-2 tells us that we are to run with perseverance. It is the devil who wants us to be lazy, to stop achieving, to stop striving to be all that God has called us to be. And it is also the devil who tempts us with greed, telling us that if we hold everything tightly, we can rest on our laurels and never have to work again. There is nothing wrong with earning a good living and there is nothing wrong with being responsible with the money we have, including preparing for retirement and helping other family members achieve their dreams. But notice that the man in the story was not merely being responsible – he was heading directly toward lethargy. And he was heading there alone. Notice, he said… What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ 18 Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. 19 And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, (this man is so alone in life that he calls HIMSELF “Friend”) you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’ God did not create us to exist in a vacuum! As Christians, God calls us to community! He calls us to care for each other, to be aware of each other, to reach down and help each other up when we fall. We are the body of Christ – we were never meant to go it alone. Greed is more than hoarding finances. Greed consists of hoarding our gifts, our time, our position, and our power. Greed is an unquenchable thirst, and it guarantees that we will never be satisfied. In verse 20…God calls the man a fool. 20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’ 21 “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.” The original Greek term used here that is translated as “fool” means that not only was this man stupid, but he was also morally and spiritually deficient. This same word is used in Psalm 14:1, which says, “Only fools say in their hears, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, and their actions are evil.” Oh…we struggle with greed. But if we go to God, believing HE is right and seeking His wisdom, He will continually guide us down the path of righteousness. He will continue to enrich our relationship with Him and infuse the spirit of generosity into our very beings. Learning to know God is a slow process – because His very being is so deep! And learning to be like Him will take us more than a lifetime of steps and missteps. But although the well runs deeper than we can even know, we shouldn’t ever be afraid to dive in! God, when we go to Him, will sanctify us, cleanse us, and refine us. Don’t be a fool…instead of greedily holding onto money, power, or fame, let go of all those earthly treasures and ask God what you should do with them. He will use your obedience to lavish on you the riches of a relationship with Him that is greater than any kind of riches the world can ever offer. Pray with me… Dear Most Holy God – YOU are the treasure we seek this Christmas season and EVERY season. Father, thank you for the earthly provisions you have given us, but please NEVER let those take the place of you in our lives. Never let us hoard all you have gifted us with. Never let us rest on our laurels. Thank you, Father God, for continuing to guide as we grow closer to you. We seek you, and we humbly request your wisdom in all we do. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.  

The topic of pornography and sexual ethics is the subject of today's podcast with Amber Impellizzeri and co-sister/founder, Ashley Giovannucci of Across My Heart.   This dynamic sister team speaks out together addressing the banner of sexual ethics in today's society. Join us for Part I of a two-part podcast with two encouraging sisters in Christ who are passionate about God's GOOD design from sexuality.   ****** Welcome to Empowering Lives with Purpose. And I'm your host, Kimberly Hobbs. I'm the founder of Women world leaders. And we are so happy that you joined us today whether you are new to the women world leaders podcast, or you have joined us hundreds of times we are so happy you are here and we are praying that today, God will share something with you so special to your heart through our topic and what we are talking about today and it is my pleasure to introduce our guest today. I have Ashley Giovannucci. And her sister Amber Amber Impellizzeri. Welcome, ladies, so happy to have you. Thank you for having us. We're excited to be here. Yes, we're very, very excited to talk with you today. We are excited to have you and today is going to be stepping out of the box and being bold and courageous about what we're talking about. Today we are talking about the banner of sexual ethics. So we are excited we are prayed up, we ask God for his content that he wanted us to share. And so we pray that you will be blessed today as you listen in and hear about what God has to say. He says that he is working in you ladies giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him. That's Philippians 213. And it is our hope, as we said, by listening in today that God will touch your heart, maybe spark an idea for you to act upon truth and walk it out in your special purpose. And if this podcast impresses in your heart to share it with somebody we ask that you do because there are so many out there that need hope and healing in Jesus. And that's our desire to share with you today. So I want to talk to you a little bit about our guests. They are special sisters that God allowed a divine connection to happen between women world leaders, and these two ladies and their ministry. So with over 10 years of experience teaching sexual ethics, Amber and Ashley co founded a cross my heart ministry in 2010 to help the next generation navigate all the confusing messages about sexuality. They do not shy away from any topic, tackling everything from pornography to abstinence, healthy relationships and same sex attraction. Four years ago, they took their ministry online with a team of other young women who are also passionate about God's good design for sexuality. And together, they've written hundreds of blogs encouraging young women to follow God's ways. Amber is a high school science tutor teaching biology, chemistry and physics. And Ashley is a student at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary earning her master's in Biblical studies. They live in West Michigan with their husbands, and they are busy raising their toddlers and their babies together. They've had the opportunity to speak on the national level and local levels. And they host annual conferences. Last fall, they lamp launched yada yada, which is a podcast, where they get to teach the heart of Christian sexual ethics. Wow, you ladies are busy. And I am proud to serve with you as sisters in Christ. So let's dive right in. And I'm going to ask you both to share a little bit about your story of growing up and we to where God has led you now in Cross your heart ministry. So that's gonna be a lot in a short content. So listen up to how they started, ladies. Well, growing up in Western Michigan, we grew up in a very conservative, very Christian culture. And a lot of the young women that were our friends that were our age, learning about God's design for sexuality. We're in what was called kind of the purity movement in the 1990s, early 2000s. And there was a lot of good content being taught about, you know, the gift of sex and God's design for a husband and a wife to share sexual intimacy. But oftentimes the message was presented in a way that cast a lot of shame, and that almost made it seemed like if you did all the right things, you'd be rewarded. Yeah. And then it was very much. So a list of do's and don'ts, and kind of missed the heart of why, like it was like to, you know, be able to get married and have sex. And these are all the things you don't do. And if you make it to your wedding night, then you're pure. Yeah. And it just marked miss the heart. And so what we saw was in a lot of, you know, girls our age who are learning these things, they were trying to follow all the right, the right rules, but they didn't have that love for Jesus. And so it created a lot of hypocrisy. And we were just like this, something's missing here. So in high school, I mean, we were I was a high school student, you had just started started college, we said, Okay, let's get together and do a girl's neck just like a fun girls night for the middle school girls at our church have kind of a time where we talk about love and relationships and saving sex for marriage, but cast it under the vision of this, this love for God, and really making him our number one love. And so we did it for the first time. And it was just our hearts passion. I mean, we had the greatest time with these middle school girls, that we started doing it again and again for other churches. And before we knew it, we had done this kind of overnight girls night curriculum, all biblically based for hundreds of girls in the West Michigan area, dozens of churches were getting on board, we were doing these all night retreats, and it was just a great season, that then blossomed into something more. Yeah. Because on one of those retreats, and I'll never forget it, we have these high school, young high school, late middle school girls come forward, really talking about their struggles with pornography. And it kind of turned the direction of our ministry, from just talking about, you know, saving sex for marriage, and the beauty of God's designed for relationships, to having to tackle the hard stuff, the shame, little addiction that exists in our culture, as early as you know, these middle school girls that we were getting to know. And so about three or four years ago, taking our ministry online, forming a larger team and starting to talk about things like pornography, same sex attraction, and really not being afraid to, you know, tackle maybe some of the tougher topics that that this that this generation is facing. Exactly. And we've really kind of seen it evolve in the last 10 years where, like those, those weren't things that we talked about when we first started, not because we were trying to avoid it. But even 10 years ago, it wasn't something that these girls were even really bringing up to talk about. But then eight years, seven years, five years ago, it was like, Okay, wow, yeah, the cult, like, it's changing, the environment out there is changing, and what these girls are being exposed to and taught. And just, especially with social media, we have to start engaging with these topics. And this next generation needs hope more than ever, because we grew up in a generation where, you know, it was maybe still the norm to talk about, like, Oh, you, you know, wait to have sex when you get married, or, you know, you, you know, just things that were more normal today. You know, the statistics show that only 3% of Americans even save sex for marriage. And 25% of all, search engine, you know, people on online searching for things are looking for pornography. So it's just overwhelming statistics that show our our culture, our world at large, need hope that it is possible, to walk in God's ways, even from a really young age. And that's I think, when we say what our story is, we don't have a super exciting, radical story of, you know, this just like crazy testimony of your second generation Christians, our parents are the ones that have the really exciting testimonies. We were blessed to be raised in a in a Christian home. But I think because of that, like it's a it's a rare testimony. It might not be like him, but you said it well. It's rare. It's rare. And it's not because of anything that we were able to do on our own strength. But because of the power of the Holy Spirit working in our hearts and lives a very young at a young age and also in our husbands lives that we can actually say that that's something that we were able to save for marriage. And like, I just it's exciting to be able to share that not so Congratulations, us know, a lot of things. You're weird. People out there that do that. Yeah, I know there's people out there that still do that. And you can, it's okay if you're one of those people and want to be one of those people. Yes, absolutely, ladies, I just I am so thankful to God, how he had you raised in a Christian home, you're a second generation, daughters of the King. And I am just thrilled to have you on today talking about this topic. And he has, I think fast paced you into where you are today. Because there's so much going on, that you got a lot of training in your upbringing, about biblical truths about the the wisdom that God wants us all to carry. And we can all have that wisdom. If we ask God for it, he's tells us in giant James one, five, if any of us lack wisdom, let us ask God, and he'll give it to us generously. And in just in conversation with you ladies, he has poured out His wisdom on you. And I just so deeply admire that, you know, as you speak, and we're going to do two part podcasts, actually, because these ladies have so much to unpack here. So as you just started to talk about porn and the different wide stretch, technology and social media, porn is so rampant in our society, in our cultures, it is spread rapidly, right? And we have drifted so far from God's design for us. And that's what I'd like you to share about right now is, we have drifted far from God's design, haven't we? Absolutely. And you know, the thing about pornography, when we're talking to the next generation to really understand that it's formative. And they're being exposed to it at younger and younger ages. I mean, the average age, a person for sees porn is now between eight to 11 years old. And 80% of those kids are stumbling upon it by accident, or someone showing it to them, they're not searching it out, you know, their innocence is being taken from them because of the world in the culture we live in, because of technology, because of social influence. And so they're exposed to something at a very young age that now is shaping their perception of others, and their perception of what a healthy relationship really should be. You know, we talk about dying, God's good design for sex. And pornography is such an assault on that, because it's really damaging to your own body, which Amber's with her science background, I can share all of that information, but it's also damaged the other person's body. Now you might think the other person who's, who's the other person, it's a screen, right? Like, how am I hurting another person? Well, when you start to look into the porn industry, a lot of these performers are really trapped in a cycle that they don't want to be in. And so to have a heart of compassion for the other, and for those performers in this entertainment industry, and realizing those are people with souls and with stories, and we're exploiting them and turning them into objects for our own enjoyment. Pornography really takes the human soul a human being made in the image of God, and turns them into an object to consume. And that is a dangerous way of looking at another person, you know, it's harmful. If someone is even because they consent, someone will say, Oh, they want to do it. They're consenting, they're making money. But just because someone you know, asks to be shot with a gun, would you do it? No, of course not. And just because someone's being asked to be shot with a camera, and a very demeaning, dehumanizing way, should you do it? Absolutely. not. Absolutely not. So it's damaging to the performers, the people in the industry, but it's, it's actually damaging to us as the viewers as well, for kids who are being exposed to these things in early age, it's changing their brains. Yeah, so So pornography actually can change the amount of brain matter. When it's an addictive cycle, it can change actually the the amount of matter that's making up your brain and cause certain parts of your brain to actually degrade when cotton and addictive cycle with it. But sexuality or sex in general, when God designed it, okay, he didn't only design it to utilize reproductive organs. But the brain is actually very, very involved in sex. And there is a wash of different chemicals that come over the brain during that encounter. And there's three key players okay, there's three chemicals oxytocin, dopamine and prolactin, there are other ones involved. Those are kind of the three driving forces and dopamine is, is released many, many times during the day and in our lives. And it's what helps us know that something is enjoyable. It is a part of like a reward circuitry. So when you hear your favorite song of joy, your favorite food, even when you complete like chocolate, that helps you like move towards a goal, like you get a dopamine release. And so it makes sense that this involved it with sex because sex feels good and does something pleasurable. And so dopamine is involved to kind of reinforce that, oh, this is something that we should do, again, because it felt good. And oxytocin is known as the bonding, the bonding chemical. And so it's very important, like with newborn babies, that moms spend that skin to skin time because mom releases oxytocin and baby releases oxytocin, and it's a part of bonding us to another human being. And so it makes sense that that also is released during sex. And then the final one is prolactin. And prolactin actually helps regulate dopamine levels. And it actually builds in the brain alongside oxytocin, and helps down regulate dopamine, so that it's known as the safe sheet satiation part and actually help someone feel satisfied after sex, because it helps bring the dopamine levels down when it's released. And with pornography, because there's not another physical body involved. You don't get that oxytocin release. And prolactin is tied to oxytocin. And so when you don't get that oxytocin release, you don't get that prolactin release, you still get the dopamine release, but the prolactin isn't there. So it doesn't down regulate the dopamine. So you just get this, this feels good, without it coming down properly. But also because that prolactin is associated with satisfaction, somebody gets in this addictive cycle because something feels good. But then they are actually satisfied, they don't have that satisfaction, feeling. And so that, that dopamine just continues to drive, drive them back in it. And it becomes a cycle, an addictive cycle. Because of that, that dopamine not being properly regulated because of the lack of the other two that aren't released properly. And what I love when we look at the brain like this, I think it really speaks to the way God created us in His image that we are created as relational beings, we were never meant to be alone. Sex is not meant to be a solo act. And we can see that as early as the garden right? God wastes no time talking about sex, he created Eve and Adam to be together. In fact, he says it is not good for man to be alone. And when he created Eve, it was this beautiful gift of love and intimacy for Adam and Eve to share with one another because God is relational. And we're relational in his image. And so pornography really shows that when we try to cut ourselves off from the relational aspects that are core to who we are, it damages our brain, it creates this addictive cycles. And we might say here less and be like, okay, yeah, porn is bad, we get it. But how is this influencing the next generation, while parents are very naive about their kids exposure, or risk owed, that 75% of parents said, My kids have never seen porn. When those same kids who were surveyed, over 50% of them have watched porn by choice. Wow. naivety with parents when it comes to this topic, and so much of our ministry is sounding the alarm about just all of these conversations, because parents need to be having the sex talks with their kids, right? Not just one talk. It needs to be something that's in the home, that they're engaging and having conversations about God's good design for sexuality, not that it's, you know, something so bad that we need to avoid sex, but something so good that we want to protect it in the right time for God's design. Yes. And ladies, I encourage you to just super listen up because I know there's so many listeners that have young children at home and you just said something that was just mind boggling to me about it starting this as early as eight and nine and 10. So, ladies, we need to be aware of what's going on within our homes within our children's lives. So this information, I just felt needed to be shared, like I said, with boldness and courage and God has a better way. He has seen all the different things that are going on in our world today in today's society and statistics on porn and premarital sex even and living together, married, has become the normal and sin has distorted. Unfortunately, what God originally intended. So can you speak more to the women who are feeling that they're dealing with some of these site types of sexual sins right now? You know, they they've seen pornography, they, you know, maybe in premarital situations where they're living with somebody, and they're not married yet. Can you talk about that? And speak to the woman, you know, on sexual sin? Absolutely. I think what Amber shared about the brain and science can come to sometimes really scared people, they can think, oh, my gosh, I'm an addict. Now my kid's gonna be an addict. It's too late. There's no hope. But we're saying these things shape and form our desires. And that doesn't mean you're hopeless. It means where do you turn for that hope? How are our fears shaped and formed? Where do we go? When we're angry? When we're sad when we're confused? What are we turning to? And this is a great place to invite in the Gospel, because the gospel is the best place to turn not to porn on not to sexual addictions. But where do we go when we maybe feel this hopelessness, and the brain is so fearfully and wonderfully made. And it actually has the ability to learn new paths. So you can have something feels so cemented such an addictive cycle is actually able to wire around those addictive pathways, you can form new habits, you can, you can basically, you can train your brain with the dopamine to human, like intentional, like pursuing after good things, and then being like, Oh, that was a really good choice. That helps me, you know, pursue what I know God has, has for me and almost like, not congratulating yourself in like a prideful way like, oh, yeah, me, but like recognizing, when you take a step towards what God has, and away from what you know, is destructive, you actually can train your brain to release dopamine for those things, and actually help help retrain and rewire. So, you know, being armed with this knowledge that your brain kind of, if you are an addict, addicted cycle is kind of working against you right now can actually empower you to then be like, Okay, let's make it work for me. Let's make it work for me. And knowing how to intentionally pray like God, I know these things have been wired in my brain, you know, help those things on wire? Because ultimately, like you have the power to the healing power to touch my body and help Yes, help, you know, and being able to pray specifically. Yeah, Amber, I am so glad you just touched on that because I it, I want to share and be transparent here for a minute that in my past, I had struggled with sexual sin. And I felt there was an addiction there, I knew there was an addiction there. And I would cry out to God and cry out to God, but I wasn't ready to make the changes I needed to do. And I love how you just shared about what is important when you are praying to God when you know there's an issue going on in your life. How do you pray because there's a specific way to pray, you know, of course, God hears me cried to him for help. And but if we can be aware of the ways to pray, you know, specifically to combat these addictions that are so, so very strong and praise God, you know, he reached me, he reached right through and he helped me so I will tell you right now that there is hope, because I think there was any hope for me, I would cry and cry, God just take away all my sexual desires. I don't want to do this anymore, because I kept falling and falling. And it wasn't until I took action. And I backed up my faith and my prayers. I think that that's, you know, humbling yourself recognizing, like, what do I actually have to do to get help? Who do I actually help and be vulnerable with because I think people so much still want to keep something a secret, they don't want to bring out some thrives in the in the dark, it thrives. Don't want to just like do the thing that's unnecessary, because we still want to like try to like have a certain level of control sometimes Right? And, and just being able to just just get it out there and be vulnerable with somebody and you know what you need in order to to move towards God's bestest like you know, the help that you need to ask for and just be willing to ask for it. Humble yourself to ask for it. And I think it's important to recognize that all of us have have bent desires. Yeah, we all have desires for something, you know, sexual stuff might not be something that you personally struggle with that might not be where your desires have been distorted by sin. But we all have distorted desires for something that God says is not good. Right? And that's, that's human. Yeah, that's the fall. We've all had this actually, you know, even in the garden, you know, it wasn't the fact that she looked at the fruit and desired it, it was the fact that she acted on it. She eats. She just looked at it and been like, you know, that's pretty that's, I want it, but I'm going to trust that God knows better. Yep, I'm going to trust that. I'm not going to act on that desire. Yeah. But instead, she did. And that's where that's where sin entered. That's what was wrong. And so to have these desires isn't wrong, but act on our desires, our desire can lead us into sin. Yeah. But it's really comes down to believing like you said that God knows best. Yep, that God knows best and that he wants what is best for us. So you know, this is hard, this is difficult. And like you said, we might not want to bring our sins struggles out into the light, and we might not want to have to deal with them. But it is, it is worth it. Because you are changing the course not only of your life, but future generations. Now we opened by Tony being second generation Christians. That's because we had parents that were willing to break some of those generational sins and generational ties and raised us in a home that we didn't have to unpack that baggage ourselves. They did that hard work. And they were very actually open with us. Yeah. About their struggle, things in their life. Do you feel Amber and Ashley, like you just touched on that by them being open and transparent? Did that make a significant change? Absolutely. your teenage years. They talked about their struggles, they talked about their stories, and the topic of sex was something in the home that wasn't just a one time sex talk. But something that was a conversation brought up again and again, in different ways, as we struggled through, you know, just the trials of growing up and home with open communication, where we're talking about God's ways, being the best, believing that God actually does want what's best for us. And ultimately, that God is what's best for us. Whenever we talk about purity, we want to be careful not to fall into the purity culture that we grew up in, that made it seem like the reward for your right behavior was being blessed with a happily ever after. We want to be clear that the true reward for righteousness and pursuing Jesus is just that, Jesus, we get more of God and closeness and intimacy with Him. When we follow His ways. Matthew five eight tells us that's it are the pure in heart for they will see God that you get to God clearly. And what more could you want in your life than to see God and I think, you know, we can, and we will, because like, we're gonna we still have another episode that we're we're gonna be talking about the things that are going on in our world. But at the end of the day, the only like, we can sit and we can talk about same sex attraction, we can talk about transgender identities, we can talk about all this stuff at the end of the day, you know, the all the confusion in the world, it can only be be made sense of with the clarity that God brings to our lives. Yes. Because pursuing God with your whole heart that brings clarity, it brings clarity to the confusion, it brings clarity to the confusion in the world around us and the confusion of our own desires. Yeah, yeah. Because so much of sin is not is not about just doing what's wrong. It's about adoring what's wrong. We need to and we love sin. You know, it's not just wrongdoing. It's wrong and dooring because we use what we love. And so when we fall deeper in love with God, you know, that is what really motivates us to work on some of these things in our life to kind of do the hard work and the humble work of admitting that, hey, I've got a problem and I, I need a Savior. You know, I need what God has. And when we when we grow in that love for our Lord. That's that's what's truly transformative. Wow. When we commit to Jesus, when we surrender to Him, our thoughts, he knows our thoughts. He knows our desires, just like we were talking about, right. He wants us to be happy. He wants us to thrive in how he designed our bodies and feel good, but there is a plan of execution for that. So ladies, I am just so thrilled that you have come on today. And we have so so much more to dive into in part two, because we are going to get on to some of those touchy things that are going on in our site society right now. Like premarital sex, everybody does it right. Everybody lives with each other in why not? You know, let's just try it before we buy it. Right? And then what about LGBTQ and all the other things, we're gonna get into that in our next week's podcast. So I pray that you guys will join back in with us again, and be part and I want to thank you, Amber and Ashley, for taking your time today to come on and share the nuggets of truth that you did. And in next week, we're gonna unpack even more. So any final words that you'd like to share with the ladies before we close up this week's podcast? Yeah, I think one of the things one of the things that we bring up a lot at our our route our retreats and our conferences, and kind of ties into what we've been talking about, you know, is that our obedience in regards to our sexuality, whether it's our obedience or our repentance, they both honor God in you been on a path of obedience and you're continuing on a path of obedience out of love for God, no, so not just out of like a fear of Pharisee like list of of doing the right thing but out of the love for God, or whether you you know, that you messed up, but you're truly repentant over it. They both honor God, our sexual jewel repentance, both bring glory to God. That is so good and so true and so powerful and I am so glad you share that word, Amber. Amen. Amen ladies. So we are going to close for now and remember ladies next week again, Amber and Ashley will both be back sharing with us and we will look forward to that and we want to close out with saying that you are special you are you are God's masterpiece created a new and Christ Jesus to do the very good things he planned for you long ago. Ladies, he has a plan for your life. And it is his design, how he designed you that he wishes you to follow. So we're gonna get into that next week. God bless you all, and thank you for tuning in today to women world leaders podcast. All content is copyrighted and cannot be used without express written consent. Thank you, Ashley and Amber Have a great day and we'll tell you how you can get a hold of them after next week's podcast.  

Living surrendered to God's will can be one of the hardest things we do yet one of the most rewarding. When we accept God in our lives and begin learning how to live for Him we learn God's plan is the best, better than anything we could come up with on our own. Even when life's biggest challenges come when we surrender to God, His blessings show up - exceedingly greater than we can ever imagine. Join Rusanne as she shares about being a "Forever Mom" and how we together can share how God can be glorified through it all!   ****** Welcome to Celebrating God’s Grace, a Women World Leader’s Podcast. So happy you’ve joined us today. My name is Rusanne and I love this ministry and all it represents because it’s all about Jesus. Through our podcasts each Monday, Wednesday and Friday, our quarterly magazine – Voice of Truth, our conferences and communication through social media we share the gospel of Jesus Christ and are passionate about helping support men and women to share their testimony to empower others as well as introduce our Saviour to those who don’t know Him yet! We are approaching the end of 2022. What an exciting time to be alive. I said exciting but this also means it can be a challenging one too! We, globally have many challenges to face. We, at WWL, are passionate and feel called to share the truth and goodness of our loving God. One of our outreaches involves the publishing of books where followers of Christ share their “God stories” reaching people all around the globe, glorifying all God has done in the lives of His people. This is to give hope and encouragement because we know God will continue to do as the Word says in “Ephesians 3:20 (TPT) … to never doubt God’s mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this. He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination. He will outdo them all, for his miraculous power constantly energizes you” So my friends whatever you are facing, whatever the circumstances you may find yourself in, God is in our midst, in the middle of all our trials, our tribulations, our lives. And it is when we give it all over to Him, surrender it ALL that the greatest human fulfilment can be realised – we live for Him! Today, I’d like to share with you an excerpt from one of the most recent books published by World Publishing and Productions and WWL, “Surrendered, Yielded with Purpose”. In today’s world it is very difficult to give up what we want, we desire at times! We live in a place of instant gratification and with most people on the planet engaged in social media and selfies it’s where our self-will and comparisons can take control and overshadow what God may desire for our lives. Anyone who has walked with God for a decent amount of time and truly surrendered their lives would surely proclaim God’s plan is much better than anything they could have come up with on their own. I hope to share with some of these beautiful stories and powerful teachings from the many amazing collections WWL has published and will publish but today I’d like to share from the chapter I wrote about being what I like to call a “forever Mom”. What is a forever Mom? I think most mothers would agree that no matter how old your son or daughter gets, you are still their mom and care so greatly about them and what happens to them! I know I am all grown up and on the other side of the world but as my Mom often reminds me, “it doesn’t matter how old I get she is still concerned about my well-being. But what I am talking about is when a Mom becomes a full-time carer for their child. Here is the opening of the chapter, “Footprints Toward Eternity in Surrendered: Yielded To Purpose”:    A MOTHER ON HER KNEES It was a warm summer day in Australia. We had been at the beach soaking up the sun and breathing in the salt air. This was our happy place, a place of freedom. Away from the busyness, away from our day-to-day responsibilities, routines and endless therapy and doctor appointments. A place you could be you, the real you. We were free to walk barefoot in the sand, you following my footprints placing your little feet in the imprints of mine.  We watched and listened to the birds, one of your favourite pastimes. I’ve never quite heard someone imitate their sounds so precisely as you do! I wondered what you and those birds spoke about to each other. After our walk, we played in the park. The sun had set and said goodbye to the present day, and the darkness was approaching. You were suddenly on the other side of the road. A large patch of green grass stood in front of me. It was as if the blades of grass were tall soldiers creating a barricade preventing me from reaching you. You looked so little, my son, so far away from me.  “Come, Christian, come on! We need to go home now!” I yelled out to my boy. He began to run towards me, crossing the street. From the left side of my vision, something was coming. My eyes darted to the biggest 18-wheeler truck I had ever seen in my life. It came out of nowhere. It was coming down the street at a speed that would surely plough right into my son! I was frozen in the spot my feet stood. My body could not move, yet my insides were screaming, “STOP, STOP, STOP!!” I could do nothing. It all happened so fast!  Christian ran. Christian ran right THROUGH that massive truck! He made his way right into my open and waiting arms. I fell to my knees in relief and gratitude to have him safely with me. The driver of the truck, a man in his mid-30s with long dark brown, slightly curled hair, turned his head to look and wink at me with his piercing and captivating eyes as if to say, “I was never going to hit him. I was never going to hurt him.” He quickly tapped his horn twice before moving on out of my sight. I also felt the presence of someone next to me. I could not see him, but the word ‘BIG’ came to my mind. His presence was a comfort as I could feel he was there slightly to my left and behind me.  As Christian ran forward and through the massive truck, the man to my left said, “Wow! What a miracle!” He began saying the Lord’s prayer, giving thanks to God, and praising His goodness and mercy. I joined him, reciting the prayer as I held Christian in my arms and fell back to my knees again in worship to the King.  Christian had run right into my arms.  “Thank , God! Thank you for saving him. My son. My son. Thank You, Jesus!” I had never held my son so tightly before. I did not want to let him go! My phone, vibrating on the nightstand next to me, woke me from my deep sleep. The dream was disrupted.  I wanted the dream to continue. Do you know the feeling? When you want to go back to sleep and hit play after pausing a movie that you are totally engrossed in? I wanted to see more. I wanted to see how it all ended.  It was like a dream, a nightmare, when my son at two years of age was diagnosed. He is totally dependent on me, but He is my earthly angel that caused me to seek God. I’d like to invite you to check out this book and others as well as our Voice on Truth magazine which is free to read online or can be ordered with a monthly donation to the ministry. Please visit www.womenworldleaders.com Women World Leaders is currently praying about and gathering carers from around the world that would like to share their story and glorify how God has comforted and strengthened them in their journeys of caring for a loved one. There are other books being woven together, where men and women are called to share their story of God’s love and power. We ask you reach out to us if God is speaking to you about this. During this time of the year, we give thanks for many things. I give thanks that God would allow me to speak into the airwaves to people all around the world about how awesome He is! And He lets me do this from the comfort of my home with my son just in the next room! In the spirt of Giving, we at WWL would love if you would playfully consider: praying for us at WWL and all God is calling us to do, could God be calling you or someone you know to serve with us? We love helping people discover their God-given talents and supporting them serve! Is there a story you want to share? And would God have you become a monthly donor so we can continue to do His work at such a time as this. Please reach out to us at www.womenworldleaders, we’d love to hear from you. Have a blessed end of the year and a very Merry Christmas. Hope to join again with you in the new year. Thank you for listening to WWL’s podcast. Join us each Monday, Wednesday and Friday as we explore together God’s extravagant love & your courageous purpose. Visit our website at www.womenworldleaders.com to submit a prayer request, register for an upcoming event, and support the ministry.  From His heart to yours, we are WWL. All content is copyrighted by WWL and cannot be used without written consent.

God knows your heart – your true heart. He loves you and longs to rid you of your sin and fill you with His grace and mercy so you can shine for Him. Will you submit to Him today? (Luke 12:1-12) ***** Welcome to Walking in the Word, the biblical teaching arm of the Women World Leaders’ podcast. My name is Julie Jenkins, and it is my honor to walk with you as we open scripture and ask God what He wants us to know today. If you are new to Women World Leaders, I’m glad you have joined us! Women World Leaders is God’s ministry, and the mission He has given us is to help others walk in their God-given purpose as we all lead for Christ. Leadership can be tricky, and our leadership skills are to be honed throughout our lifetime. We are constantly amazed as God continues to bring women to this ministry who are blessed with different skills. Women World Leaders is truly a picture of the body of Christ – none of us can do everything, but together, we are perfectly equipped to empower each other to lead in God’s grace and love and accomplish all that He has ordained. The fact that we are a body means that we are incomplete without you. Will you pray about where He is calling you to jump in? Perhaps it is your mission to join with us in prayer or to grow in leadership by attending our Leadership connect. If God is nudging you, I encourage you to visit womenworldleaders.com to get a better idea of who we are. Today, on our Wednesday podcast, we are continuing to walk through the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in an effort to get a more complete picture of Jesus Christ and His teachings for us. Today’s teaching comes from Luke 12:1-12. If you are somewhere sitting quietly, I encourage you to open your Bible as we study together. Perhaps you want to have a pen handy to jot down thoughts that God might want you to pursue deeper later. But even if you are listening as you are driving, walking, or doing chores, I can’t tell you how much God is smiling at the fact that you are including Him as you go through your day. Before we begin, let’s pray. Dear Father God, we are in awe that you are with each person listening to this message! Thank you for meeting us each where we are. We know that you have a word for us today, and I ask that our hearts be receptive to hearing your voice. Father, even as I prepare for the honor of reading and expounding on your Word, I ask you to be with me. Guide my thoughts and let my words be pleasing to your ears and be exactly what you would have each listener know from your heart. We thank you and give you all the praise and glory as we begin. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.   As we have been studying, Jesus has been traveling and teaching to the crowds, and his disciples have been following and watching with awe and excitement. Now the disciples were small-town guys, and they were being thrust onto a very public platform. Perhaps you have found yourself in that situation – where suddenly everyone is looking at you. If you are or have ever been in a leadership role, you likely know what I am talking about. I got my masters in Biblical Exposition because I love the Bible. But I am also very much an introvert who is happy sitting at my desk with my dogs by my side. Something funny happens when we start getting noticed. Although we may feel uncomfortable in the limelight, or maybe BECAUSE we feel uncomfortable in the limelight, it is tempting to put forth a “face” that may take off the rough edges of who we are on the inside. Jesus understood this. He understood that the disciples, who had before only watched others in charge, were now being scrutinized because of their close connection with Jesus. And Jesus understood that this “fame” and “recognition” could threaten to plunge them into the sin of hypocrisy – that is, acting like more than they were. And that this hypocrisy could very well lead to pride and be their undoing. So as the crowd presses in, stumbling over each other, Jesus draws his disciples aside and speaks directly to them. Perhaps this is our first lesson in today’s scripture – When crowds or concerns press in, we should react by spending one-on-one time with Jesus. Let’s begin reading in Luke, chapter 12, verse 1 from the New Living Translation: Meanwhile, the crowds grew until thousands were milling about and stepping on each other. Jesus turned first to his disciples and warned them, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees—their hypocrisy. 2 The time is coming when everything that is covered up will be revealed, and all that is secret will be made known to all. 3 Whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be shouted from the housetops for all to hear! The Pharisees were the authorities in the Jewish faith, and yet it is clear that their power had gone to their heads…and more importantly, infected their hearts. They were more concerned with looking like powerful leaders than being true leaders. True leadership can only stem from obedience and submission to God. Always. As we grow in leadership and people begin looking to us, the devil attacks us with a crowbar, looking for any crevice where he can insert self-righteousness and self-doubt and then use it to pry us apart until all kinds of evil can rush in. Jesus is warning His disciples, preparing them for the day when they WILL take the lead. He teaches that hypocrisy – that is leading out of self-service and self-righteousness while acting the part of doing good for others – infects the leader in the same way that a tiny bit of yeast affects a whole batch of bread. Further, Jesus teaches that God sees everything – even that which we think is hidden. And what is hidden in our hearts is the core of who we are. I have often told my children, and I often remind myself, BE who you want to be. No one else holds the keys to what you have in your heart. If you harbor ugliness, and we are all confronted with feeling ugliness from time to time, confess it to God. Ask for His forgiveness and then ask Him to release you from its bondage. Ask Him to replace any sin in your heart with pure love, to erase any pride and replace it with humility. Petition Jesus to help you see others with HIS eyes, to infuse your heart with HIS compassion, to allow you to care about the things HE cares about, and to be who He has called you to be. It can be tempting to try to “hide” our sins and impure thoughts, but while we may be successful at hiding those from others, we can never hide them from God. What is it that tempts a leader, or any individual, to proclaim he or she is something they are not or believes something they don’t? One thing is fear. As humans, we fear the reaction and treatment of others. So, Jesus further guides His listeners that the only fear we need to bow to is the fearful respect we should feel for God Himself. Verse 4… 4 “Dear friends, don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot do any more to you after that. 5 But I’ll tell you whom to fear. Fear God, who has the power to kill you and then throw you into hell.[a] Yes, he’s the one to fear. Only God has the power to decide our eternity. Therefore, God is the one we need to be right with and the one we need to fear when we are not. And though we should reverently acknowledge God’s wisdom and power, we should also accept His grace and mercy. Because our God, who knows the inner workings of our lives, also loves us so much that His forgiveness, when we are transparent and repentant, covers us in ways we can’t even begin to imagine. Verse 6… 6 “What is the price of five sparrows—two copper coins[b]? Yet God does not forget a single one of them. 7 And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows. God loves you! And He will shout it from the mountaintop! God undoubtedly knows you better than anyone else, AND He loves you MORE than anyone else does. Take a moment to bask in that. God knows you better than anyone and He loves you more than anyone else does. I hope that gives you a jolt of joy! And I hope it empowers you to allow the good that He has put in your heart to blossom and shine for all the world to see. Allowing our radiance to shine for Christ is NEVER bad! God WILL shout His love for you from the mountaintop – and He wants nothing less in return. He wants us to shout our love for Him right back, for all the world to hear. Verse 8… 8 “I tell you the truth, everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, the Son of Man[c] will also acknowledge in the presence of God’s angels. That moment, I guarantee, will be better than ANY recognition or award. …verse 9..  9 But anyone who denies me here on earth will be denied before God’s angels. 10 Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. Please don’t get hung up on that last verse… Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. Let’s take a moment to look at this. The first phrase says Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven. This is HUGE! When we repent, Jesus forgives us of even speaking against Him. That is grace! But it’s easy to stumble a bit over the second part of verse 10… but anyone who blasphemes the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. Let me explain…the Holy Spirit’s mission is to reveal God to us. The Holy Spirit alone can bring us to salvation in Christ Jesus, sealing us for an eternity in God’s presence. Our part of the equation is to listen and obediently respond to the Holy Spirit – that is what brings us salvation. The Holy Spirit guides us into repentance and empowers us to claim Jesus as our Lord and Savior. But we have to take that step into salvation ourselves. When we don’t, when we refuse to listen to and be infused with the power of the Holy Spirit, God cannot and will not forgive us. Hear me out. If you have given your life to Jesus, you are absolved of any and all sin. There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus. But if you refuse the call of the Holy Spirit and do NOT give your life to Jesus, nothing else can save you. There IS no forgiveness outside of submission to the Holy Spirit. Followers of Christ do not need to let that verse cause personal fear, although it will likely give you a burden for those around you – and that’s not a bad thing. And if you are listening and are NOT a follower of Christ, I believe that the Holy Spirit is trying to reach you right now. I pray that you will pause and take Him seriously. Hold out your hands to God, repent of your sins, and experience the freedom of salvation. If you would like someone to talk to regarding this decision, please reach out to us at [email protected] Finally, in verses 11 and 12, Jesus tells us that when we ask God to rule in our hearts and then allow His goodness to blossom, we can trust that He will lead us through every circumstance. 11 “And when you are brought to trial in the synagogues and before rulers and authorities, don’t worry about how to defend yourself or what to say, 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what needs to be said.” Our God is so good, and He is ever-present. He will never leave us alone or allow us to fumble for words. When we give our lives to Him, we can be sure that He will walk with us through every trial, danger, and even success. Remember – He knows you better than you know yourself and He loves you more than anyone else will ever love you. He wants to release you from any ugliness in your heart and give you permission to shine boldly on His behalf. And then He wants to celebrate YOU with all the saints and angels. What an amazing God!! Let’s pray… Dear Most Holy God! Thank you! Thank you for drawing us to you. Thank you for forgiving us of our sins and guiding us on a path of righteousness for your glory. Father, we give you today. We give you our will and ask you to guide us as we commit to lead and live for you. In Jesus’ name, I pra

Today's guest, Founder of Women World Leaders Kimberly Hobbs, is interviewed by Nancy Sabato, host of The Call podcast series.    Kimberly shares her personal and transparent story of walking in sin, to full surrender, to a life of serving the Lord Jesus Christ in a worldwide ministry calling.   *****   Nancy Sabato   Kimberly, welcome to the call. Thank you, Nancy, Kimberly Hobbs   It's a pleasure to be here. Hi, everybody, Nancy Sabato   How can you encourage someone who may feel that they have been left behind in their dreams of doing something great for the kingdom of God? Kimberly Hobbs   Well, we all have a story, ladies. And we come from a past. And I just believe that through sharing our stories, through being able to be open and transparent, that God will use those stories for His purpose. And when, when you can open up and share the great and powerful things that God does through your life that in turn inspires others to think that wow, if this person can overcome this, or that, you know, I can do this. And, and it just shows that our Lord is strong, he is powerful, he can do great and mighty things. And we just show them how through sharing our testimony of how we came to know him. Nancy Sabato   And that's where I bring you into this. And so what happened to you that turned you towards a heart for Jesus and transformed your life. Kimberly Hobbs   God gave me a husband at 19 years old, we fell in love. And we had two children, we were going to church faithfully, we became very involved in church and, and we lived a simplistic life. And my dream was coming true. We built a log home out on five acres of land, we just, we just loved it. And our church life was becoming very involved. And because we built this home kind of far out, we decided to take a little break from church, and we are going to stay close to God, how many of us have good intentions, right? Like, we're gonna, oh, you know, I can handle this, I'm just going to stop going to church, and we're strong in the Lord. And we're going to just do our thing for a little while, we're going to focus on getting our house and our land and build a horse barn. And you know, I'm still, you know, searching for those dreams. And so as active as we were in this very small church, did a lot we pulled out, we took that rest period. But that's exactly when the enemy got his hooks in. And everything that was our focus, which was God and family, and church, and we did everything together as a family, and it was innocent. But we allowed outside influences to start coming in. And Romans 612 says, to beware, you know, do not let sin control the way that you live, and don't give in to sinful desires, and don't let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. And unfortunately, that's exactly what happened. And that's the beginning of the tears in my story, is that enticement of sin when we took ourselves out of that connection with God, and we didn't have that covering, you know, just going to church and just having the accountability anymore. We were left to ourselves, we're starting to spread out in our life. And we, my husband, and I became tempted in in sexual ways. And that's where the, the devil got in to destroy that Christian foundation and we had no armor for battle, because we weren't going to church. We are not reading our Bible like we should we just kind of allowed ourselves to get busy with things in the world. And that haunting memories still haunts me to this day, the pain of regret because the devil just slithered his way in. And without God's presence in our life, and just that you constantly had that struggle of temptation, you know, good and evil. We got into an entangled mess, both of us in our sanctified marriage bed became defiled. And we tried to hide from God but we really were already exposed. And it's weird when we tried to hide right, everybody like I think people can relate because you justify what you're doing. You say it's not that bad, and you try to convenience yourself, but really, you're doing wrong. And God says in Psalm 90, verse eight that all of our flaws and faults are in full view to God, everything that we want to hide God searches it out, and he exposes it by the radiance of his face. Well, he knows What we're doing right so here we are in our weakened marriage. And the enemy had a foothold. And in there was darkness all around in my life started growing into a monster of lies, deceit, wickedness. And it became like a sexual addiction. And unfortunately, our 20 year marriage began to crumble. And he went one way I went another we divorced, and all my dreams were shattered, because I truly loved him. We were married for 20 years. So the challenge is facing, you know, that perfect life and that dream were all shattered. And I was crying out to God through that time, because I'm like, God, how did this happen? You know, because everything was so beautiful. My perfect life was going perfectly, you know, until we stepped out of that, again, that covering that community. And it just seemed like God wasn't hearing my cries during that time, because I wasn't happy. I knew I was in sin. And James 22 are James 226 says that faith without works is dead, right? So I can cry out to God, but if I'm not doing anything about it, and I'm living and wallowing in that mire, and dirt and scum, what's God gonna do? That's my choice. That's our choice to stay in sin. And I knew God was there, I cried to him, but I wasn't willing to change. So my tears could have filled up buckets with that addiction of sin that weighed me down, and I cried and cried, and I wanted to be free from that sexual addiction. And I wanted my innocent life back, but it wasn't coming back. And the devil had his hooks so deeply in me. So anybody that battles addiction out there, I know what those hooks are when they get into you, because you you try and try and try and you want to escape, but you're trying on your own. So how do you get away from that, you know that the enemy is powerful, he's powerful, and he's roaming around trying to devour us. So again, I wallowed in that pity of unforeseen misery, because I didn't see it coming at all. And I tried so hard to just hold on to glimpses of my past life, and I wanted it back so bad, I wanted that happy marriage back, but I couldn't stop with that. sexual drive toward other things, now you get a taste of it, and it just wasn't coming back. And it was so intense that pain was so intense that I just wanted to die. Nothing was satisfying. I tried to go to church here and there, and but I still felt the absence of God's presence. And you might be wondering why. And again, it's because my heart wasn't willing to change or give up. I really didn't want to let go. But I kept saying, God, God, I please stop it, you know, like, like, God's the fix, I'll do all. He gives us His Word with all the instruction. But do we really look into that and make a difference with our hearts, so I wasn't willing to change and I wasn't willing to fully surrender to Him. And I wasn't obedient to God. And so the cycle continued, and there was no healing from the sin. And I was deceived one day, that my prayers might have worked. And I use that word deceived, because when you're looking, and the enemy knows you're looking for things to get you out of what you're not happy. And so I'm praying, but remember, I'm not praying the right prayers. I'm just praying, God, stop this pain, God stop all this, but I'm still going and falling back into sin. So feeling my my prayers worked, I met an extremely wealthy man. And he I started confiding in him and talking to him. And once again, the devil lured me in to another lifestyle. And this one was so strong and so intense, and the chains of bondage that had me shackled. I, before I even knew it, you know, it's like, that's how strong the lie is. Right? Nancy? Like, the devil wants us to believe that lie. So he's gonna put whatever he can in front of you to continue the misery but he's gonna mesmerized like he mesmerized me. Nancy Sabato   Yep, he will do if yes, he finds the crack. I tell people this all the time. He finds the crack in your armor, and he knows exactly where to go with it. Kimberly Hobbs   Exactly. And so I was memory mesmerized I was filled with now a complete different stimulation. And this was tantalizing to my eyes every moment my attention was a lord to money and power. Soon I was traveling to places that I only saw in movies i You couldn't even imagine in your wildest dreams. I was traveling the world, money and power places I was meeting movie stars. I was meeting presidents of the United States I met presidents dinner with presidents a breakfast with presidents. This relationship developed with this person. And before I knew it, I moved in with him and I compromised everything that I knew in God's eyes to be true because now I was being taken care of I was treated like a princess. As time progressed, I found myself being fed quantities of earthly abundance. And now it went from the sexual to now the addiction to living this lifestyle, you know that only 1% of the whole world probably gets to live I was driving Ferraris and Bentley's and Rolls Royce and I can choose from general lineup of cars in the garage of whatever car I wanted to drive. It was like I had jewels of every kind diamonds and more diamonds I had a seven carat engagement ring because he said he was going to marry me right? So all these lies, I'm just led to believe the lie and he knew enough and don't get me wrong he I believe he loved me. But the devil was going to continue to make me believe the lies I'm going to marry you here's a seven carat diamond ring you know and my goodness I had my closet was as big as people's houses. And I had every designer outfit in it you know Louie Vuitton purses, Prada, Gucci, you name it. We traveled all over the world, I had it filled. So I had magnificent show horses, you guys like I can't tell you this lifestyle because but this is going to be the power of God when I tell you the clincher. He even brought my family in and bought them everything. So that relieved a lot of my guilt that he was taking care of them too, which again held me captive in this lifestyle. But I was lonely. And the more I was given the more I started to just give to other people I was taking care of completely. So I wanted everybody else to get a taste of what I was living. So I started giving my money to everybody in need. But I still had that emptiness growing inside of me. It was like incredible, having lived through what I lived through. And I was slowly losing my identity, who I was because I belonged to somebody else. And I was so disconnected from God like you can't even imagine that disconnect. And the emptier I watched my life become I again, I just compromised everything and I became silent in this world of just opulence and festivities until one day. It was truly a miracle. Because I knew if this man just accepted Jesus will get married will live happily ever after will have a perfect life and everything's gonna be fine. So there was a church I knew that was going to Israel. And I was asked everybody I knew that was Christian to pray for my fiancee who I was living with, okay, just getting compromised everything. So I'm like, could you pray that God will touch his heart because I know if I asked him to go on this trip, he'll go because we travel everywhere in the world. I never asked him for anything. I'm gonna ask him for this one thing. And of course, he accepted. So everybody was praying for him. And I thought to myself, alright, God, you're gonna do a mighty miracle in this man's in this man's life on this trip. And so we went and as we listened every day to messages on that seven day trip. And I had been to Israel several times before, but it was in a different way. We were you know, we built an underground playground for the kids over on the Gaza Strip and but I had never been on the Christian side of it. And so he did that for me and he took me in I knew something powerful was going to happen on this trip. And I thought he's going to come to know Jesus as a savior. And as we went through message after message, God was convicting my heart. And he wanted my attention. And it was the last night of the trip. And we were in the Garden Tomb. And my fiance, was there for every message, and he gets a call, and he goes and leaves the garden. And now this was God, because God removed him. So I wouldn't sit there and think, Is he getting this? Is he hearing this? Does he understand this? God wanted my attention for that message. And that message was about surrendering your life. And we were going to take communion. And I sat there wrestling with God in that garden, the last day of the trip, because I knew everybody was watching me on that trip. And like, Who are these people that are on this trip with us? And I thought, I can't take communion God because I know what that meant. If I took communion unworthy, and I hadn't confess my sins, and what is confession mean? That we're going to turn 100%? And go the other way, right? That REPENT OF HEART, if I didn't do that, and I took that communion unworthily, what does the Bible say about all the plagues, all the damnation that's gonna come to you cannot do that. And so I had this wrestling match with God like, and God says in Psalm 37, seven, to quiet your heart, in His presence, and pray, keep hope alive as you long for God to come through for you. And I heard God speaking to me, and he asked, Do you love me? And do you trust me. And I sat there, as the communion was going around, and I was the last one in that circle of 30 people to take communion. And it seemed like forever for it to get to me. And God said, I needed to walk away from this lifestyle and repent of all of it everything. Because my entire path needed to be confessed right now in that moment, and God said, I want your heart back. But I want all of it. And I heard his voice really clear. And I was trembling with fear, because I knew whose voice I heard. And I was faced with a choice to make. Could I surrender everything to Jesus? Where are you right now in your life? Can you surrender everything in this moment to Jesus and walk away from the sin that may be consuming you right now you have a choice to make? God's not going to make that for you. He gives us the choice. So where are you we're setting in to me right now. Because how could I do this? How can I walk away this man took care of everything, and I had everything in the world. And Philippians four, six tells us Don't worry about anything. Instead, pray about everything and tell God what you need. I needed out of this life of disobedience. So simply put, Kimberly Hobbs   I surrendered it all to Jesus at that moment, and I trusted him inside that Garden Tomb that night. And I knew that God heard me. And I told him, I was sorry for everything. And I said, God, I don't know how I'm going to go forward, and I'm gonna trust you. And I know you have a purpose for my life. I don't know what it is. And I don't know how I'm gonna get out of this. But please, God, will you forgive me, and gives me a chance to go forward, I'm just going to trust you. And that's what we have to do people, we have to trust him completely surrender it all. Put yourself on the altar and give it all to Jesus. First, John one nine says that if we confess our sins, He's faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And I just knew that's what I had to do. And I did it. And God forgave me. And so I had to put action on my prayer, right? We have to put action on what we say we're going to do. So Psalm 86, seven says, I'll call out to you whenever I'm in trouble. And you will answer me he's going to answer you people just like He answered me. I called out to him in that moment. I didn't know where I was going to go. I didn't know where I was going to live. I let go of everything in my life to be calm the puppet of this man, and I had no voice, but God knew. And so I needed to trust. And God says in Psalm 138, three, as soon as I pray you answer him He, you encouraged me by giving me strength. That is such a powerful verse. And God strengthened me in that moment. And I began to pray fervently. And this prayer brought healing that I started out with, if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, so I had to do both of those right, I had to seek God's face, and that garden, and I had to say, Yes, God, I'm going to turn from my wicked ways. Then he said, he would hear from heaven, and he would forgive my sins, and he was going to bring healing. And he did. So now focusing on God in His Kingdom, I had to make a change. And I had to serve Him with purpose and a plan and obedience. And God says, then you will call on me and I will come and pray, you will come and pray with me and I will listen to you. So God heard my heart that I wanted to serve Him, that I wanted to do something for him, I wanted to start my life over and be obedient to Him, in a way of service to my king. So it wasn't easy, because I had to tell somebody that I loved and that loved me and gave me a life I could only dream of he didn't do anything wrong. He didn't understand it. But I had to say, I need to go and I needed to go serve the Lord. And I need, I can't live with you anymore. I'm living in sin. And that says He will guide us, He will. So when you let go of that he's going to guide you, he's going to give you help. It wasn't easy. I'm not gonna say it was easy. It was I wanting to fall back and run back to that life of luxury that I live, you bet I was. And it was constant that I needed to rely on God. So what God told me to do was to leave Ohio, I was born and raised 45 years of my life up there. But that's where everything I knew was there. So I had to make a change. So if you're addicted to something, and you're going through something, you have to make that change, so that you're not putting yourself in that temptation over and over. So I had to get away from everything I knew. God led me to Florida. And that's where I heard his voice that he called me to write and share his story. And how important it is to start sharing our story because there is healing through it. I didn't know there was going to be healing through writing. So I left it all I came down to Florida. And I got this one bedroom, dilapidated old condo, it was my detox place, because I had to start stripping off all of the all of the stuff that I was clinging to, that I thought was my new identity. And that's not what my identity was. I knew my identity was now in Jesus and him alone. And so I had to have a completely different look of how I was living, not that I was punishing myself. Because at first when I got this little condo, and it was like from the 1950s. And everything was old in it. And I was like how am I doing? I went from a house servants and laying on iron sheets every night. No, I'm in this, this, this one bedroom place and but there is where God healed my heart. And as I started writing, my purpose started coming out. And I found so much healing and writing in writing out my story. And I encourage you, if you're listening, write your story. Talk about your story, share your story, and people will encourage you as they hear it. And Psalm 191 69 says, Oh Lord, listen to my cry. Give me the discerning mind that you promised. And during writing, I would ask him all the time, God, what do you want me to write? How do I write this? I have to be transparent for you. And so I opened the Bible one day to begin my writing and I seriously closed my eyes. I asked God, God, give me a verse that you want me to start over with that will become my life first. I had never done that before. And I closed my eyes. I opened the Bible. I was in Orlando, Florida, sitting in somebody's backyard and I looked open, I opened my eyes and it was Ephesians 320, which says unto him, who's able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we can ask or imagine according to the power that's at work within us I circled words on that scripture in my Bible. I had never seen that verse before. This was 1214 years ago, never saw that verse before. And I kept circling words, God, what is this verse mean? So for two hours, I sat there, and that verse has now become my life verse. It's our verse for women, world leaders, the ministry I'm in. Because God said He was going to do it, he was going to do exceedingly, abundantly above what I can imagine, not by what I was doing, but by what he was going to do the power of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit working within me, and he will do that for you, too. It's not going to be you. It's going to be him working through you, but only when you give him that permission by full surrender. And so as I communicated with Him through prayer, morning, noon, and night for four years, four years, and I was lonely, I wanted a man in my life, I pray God, I want a man in my life. I was, I wanted to go out with friends, but I knew I had to just seclude myself with God. And I'm not saying everybody could do this, your story might be different. But that's what it took for me to get in the Word, to write my story to understand what God was speaking into my heart, all the lonely days that I would cry out to God. He was doing a new work in me and he was preparing me for that man I prayed for that I could serve and travel the world with that I could do things of God. I wanted to do all those things I was doing before that I felt so empty with because I wasn't with a believer. I wasn't with the man that God wanted me to be with. But I had known in my heart he was going to provide that if I just stayed the course and stayed obedient to Him. So fight, people fight with all you can to fight that enemy in the lies that he puts in your head and you look to God every day, morning, noon, and night, Pray be in the Word. I can't. I just can't express that enough because that is what changed my life. God brought into my life, the man of my dreams, we now serve the Lord together. He's in his ministry unite and men of honor. God brought to me a vision of just there's so many women in this world that are broken and hurting, like I was an empty and messed up in their life, and they carry the shame and the guilt and they can't release it. But God, and so I had a passion to start a ministry to help women, empower them, encourage them with my story. And that's how women world leaders started. So it took time. I'm not gonna say it happens overnight. But Isaiah 6524 This vs. Awesome. God says I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking about their needs. I will go ahead and answer their prayers. Isn't a beautiful Nancy like that? Nancy Sabato   Yes. He always goes before us. Well, since we're talking about women's world leaders, talk about that. What are you doing there? And you have the podcast talk about that a little as well. Kimberly Hobbs   So Women World Leaders is a group of women that have God has joined us together from around the world we connect on Facebook or through women world leaders.com You can find us on Facebook at women world leaders. But what we do is we provide ways for women to connect from wherever you are. We have opportunity for you to serve God with us. What are your gifts, what are your talents, we want to hear about them? We have different ways of serving which is we allow you to write your stories. We do books we do a magazine called voice of truth that comes out and it goes around the world. We are digitally in 70 countries we are nationally in the printed version. Our books have all gone to number one best seller and you can share your story by writing we come alongside of you and help you do that. We have podcasts where God has called us to do I do empowering lives with purpose every Monday and share women around the world their stories, their god stories, how God is moving because other women need to hear that. And then we have teaching podcasts on Wednesday where my co partner Julie Jenkins, in the ministry she's a teacher And she teaches through the word walking through the Word. And so then Fridays we have celebrating God's grace. And different women in the ministry give you just that inspiration that go into the weekend. And it's just tools, people, it's just tools to stay connected. Stay engaged. We have zoom meetings for leadership Connect. We have prayer groups, where we have 50, prayer warriors on a group knew that pray over the ministry, if you love to pray, come on board with us. And we'll put you in our prayer group. We need people that pray for our world, right? Yes, but we just do so much. And I just I love just working and sharing with women and meeting new women. And you can reach out to me at Kimberly, at women, world leaders with an s.com. And just send me an email and say, I want to connect with you. I want to talk to you and I would love, love, love to connect with you. Yes, actually, all of all of our books are on women world leaders.com, you can go to the shop. Thank you so much. And they are available on Amazon. So we have about eight books out right now. So one of the things the ministry is doing is this amazing magazine that goes out worldwide, digitally in 70 countries. It's called voice of truth. And it goes out to the US in printed version. And you can go to our website, women, world leaders, and you can look on the website and read it all the past editions are up, but look at how beautiful like it is full color, All scripture and different things in here to bless women. And it's just amazing. There's no advertising or anything. God provided this amazing coffee table quality magazine. And it's just beautiful. So yes, please go to women world leaders.com. And you can read it online. And if you like it, then you can request your copy in the mail. If you're in the United States. Nancy Sabato   Wonderful. And what would you like to leave the audience with today. Kimberly Hobbs   And the enemy is going to keep you as far from the Lord as He can because he knows that God has a great and mighty purpose for your life. And please follow after God get in His Word, pray, surrender, whatever it is in your life that is holding you captive. surrender that to God and allow him to take over in your life and know that he's going to do what you ask. He's not. He is a respectful guy, but he's not going to interfere where he's not welcome. So ask him in. surrender your life to him completely. And then seek Him with all your heart. Every every day in Scripture is a must walk with Him in prayer and communication. Let him be your best friend. Morning, noon, and night. That's how much you need him not just once a week when something happens. You need Him every day, every hour. So I just encourage you to seek Him with all your heart and He says he will be found. Nancy Sabato   I pray this program has strengthened and encouraged you. And in James 2:5 he says, Listen, my dear brothers and sisters, has God not chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world. To be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him. You've been chosen for greatness. Pray for God to open your mind to all the great possibilities because God speaks to you every day. Are you listening to the call?  

Kelly Williams Hale is our host today on Celebrating God’s Grace and shares three powerful tips on how we can navigate the pressures of the holidays and still stay focused on the reason for the season: King Jesus. For many, Christmas time is difficult. Whether we’ve lost a loved one or are feeling overwhelmed, peace – that surpasses understanding – is always available (Philippians 4:6). Let us be a beacon of light! It really does make a difference to other people. We can all be beautiful examples of Jesus. ***** Today's episode is about healing and the holidays. We just celebrated Thanksgiving. And I hope each one of you enjoyed a wonderful day of Thanksgiving this year. Thanking God for all the things he’s blessed you with, and all the things we’re so grateful for. Counting our blessings is so important to do - not just on Thanksgiving, but every day. And so, as we head into the Christmas season, I want to talk about all the responsibilities, all the things that are going to be happening, and all the things that you have to do. The message today is going to be around our journey, growing, becoming all that God has planned for us. It can be defined as a healing journey… inner healing and really becoming the best version of ourselves, acknowledging the gift that we are - that God created us to be. And on that journey of healing and growing and really diving into God's word and believing who he says we are, the holidays can bring up a lot of struggles – in terms of our emotions, our feelings. With relationships and the people in our life. Many of us have a to do list a mile long, wrapping presents, decorating the house, entertaining or being invited to other events and gatherings. So today I'm going to share three tips on how to navigate that, while taking care of yourself. This time of year can bring up feelings of overwhelm - with all the pressures, and we can lose sight of the reason for the season, which is Jesus, and celebrating his birth. And all that that means… Our salvation as women of faith, and the promises that God gives us in the Bible. The scripture I'd like to start with is: 1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. And I can tell you during this holiday season, we can definitely feel anxious. You might want to write this verse down, keep it by your refrigerator, and when you're feeling overwhelmed with all the things, remind yourself that Jesus is with you. And he cares about you. My first tip for healing and the holidays is to remember to take care of yourself. And what that means is really protect your energy, so that you can truly enjoy this season, you can enjoy your family, you can enjoy all the nuances and all the opportunities to celebrate Jesus. When we don't take care of ourselves, we can get overwhelmed, we may say yes to things we don’t really want to do – and then beat ourselves up… Or we can feel guilty if we say no. I want to give you permission to take care of yourself - and that it's okay to say no. We need to evaluate our priorities. Our emotions can get the best of us during the holidays – We just want everyone to be happy! We don’t want to hurt anybody's feelings by saying no. I remember a Bible Study I did years ago about Mary and Martha. Remember Martha got so mad because she was in the kitchen doing all the cooking, etc – and Mary was hanging out with Jesus. Who did Jesus say was focused on the right thing? Mary It was during this time of this Bible Study that I found myself saying yes to all the requests. Particularly around church needs. But I was reminded that when I always say, I am keeping a blessing from someone else. Just imagine when you somebody ask you for help. Doesn’t it feel good to help out? I actually get upset with friends if they don’t ask for help and they’ve ended up stressed and wore out. Women want to help. Part of taking care of ourselves is asking for help if we need it. Consider this another permission slip to do so! And so, taking care of ourselves may mean saying no or asking for help. And honestly, when you get overwhelmed, start to feel frustrated or stressed, just take a deep breath. I encourage you to stop for a moment and take a deep breath when everything seems to be piling up and time is getting shorter and now it’s Christmas Eve and you still haven't shopped for your husband. Take a moment to pray, breathe and center yourself. And again, Cast your cares on God. Because God is the keeper of time. I can’t tell you how many times I was frazzled, running late or overwhelmed – I took a moment to just to pray and breathe, there was always enough time. It's almost as if God adds an extra 10 minutes to our 24-hour day! Tip number two is to be mindful of your reactions. And what I mean by that is when you're with your family, we can get caught up in different scenarios, different situations, different conversations where, you know, there's nobody like our family that knows what buttons to push. And so being mindful of our reactions is just understanding what triggers us. What triggers our emotions. Like, if Uncle Joe always teases you about, you know, the turkeys dry, or the mashed potatoes are lumpy or whatever, just recognize that you can control your reaction to him, we can control our reactions to the people in our life. When we get caught up in emotional conversations - for example, politics always seems to come up at family gatherings… And if we know we can lose our cool around a particular topic, we need to be aware and also prepared with our responses. Proverbs 16:24 “Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.” So tip 2 is to understand that if you're triggered by certain things, be mindful of your response. We should also take into consideration who the comment is coming from. For example, my response or reaction to something my mom says will be different than my brothers. We can then understand and frame our response based on who that person is. It might be safe and appropriate to say, “that hurt my feelings.” Or it might be more appropriate just to say, “oh, please excuse me, I've got to step out for a minute.” I believe all of us know that certain people and certain situations will push our buttons and so being mindful of our reactions will be helpful as we navigate the holidays and holding onto our peace. Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation with prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God. And the peace that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Finally, tip number three is really about expectations. Setting expectations for yourself and lowering expectations of others. Determine up front what you're willing to participate in. Now is the time to determine your schedule and what you're available for. So that when your husband says, let's go look at Christmas lights tonight, but you've already committed to baking pies for your ladies’ group… you'll be able to say honey, let’s go look at the Christmas lights tomorrow night, because I've got to make these pies. Setting expectations up front – so it won’t feel bad – for you and for others - when you have to say, “no, I’m sorry, I can’t…” And then also, remember that other people are not always going to do the things that we want them to do. Or do things the way we do them. So when I say lower your expectations of others, it will help your nervous system, when someone drops the ball or doesn’t follow through. When we have expectations of others - and they don't meet those expectations – that can create anxious feelings as well during the holidays. We expect Aunt Susie to bring the green bean casserole, but she totally forgot. There’s less disappointment and more grace when we allow others to be human. We all forget things sometimes! We all want to have a wonderful holiday season filled with joy, love and peace. And I believe it is possible! Let us all remember to share a kind word when we’re out and about - shopping at the grocery store, picking up presents, or even at home, wishing the Amazon delivery person a wonderful, blessed day! So many people are hurting this holiday season, whether they've lost someone or they're feeling overwhelmed with all the things… we as believers can be a beacon of light, it really does make a difference to other people. And so, I just want to leave you with this final scripture, John 14, verse 27, that says, Peace, I leave with you, my peace I give you I do not give it to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. So, over the next few weeks, I encourage you all to take care of yourself and remember this is a time to celebrate Jesus’ birth. You get to love your family and love the people in your life. We can all be a beautiful example of Jesus.

Jesus boldly warns us – but will we listen? We pray that this introspective look at Luke 11:37-54 will help you grow as God has ordained.   ****   Welcome to Walking in the Word, the biblical teaching arm of the Women World Leaders’ podcast. My name is Julie Jenkins, and we are honored that you have joined us today. We are excited that this ministry continues to grow! Besides our podcasts, which come to you each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, we have many other offerings that you can learn all about on our website, womenworldleaders.com. For example, in the coming weeks, our tenth edition of Voice of Truth will be mailed to our regular monthly donors, and the digital version will be made available to anyone via our website. We have also recently released two new books that are perfect for gifting this holiday season. And we continue to gather several times a month on Zoom and several times a year in person. In fact, tickets for our next in-person event to be held in South Florida on March 11, will be available as of January 1st. But here at Women World Leaders, WHAT we do is not as important as WHY we do it. Our goal as a ministry is first and foremost to follow God in obedience. This is HIS ministry, and we are simply walking out His plan. And the plan He has shared with us is to offer a place of community and support as we empower each other to walk in our individual God-given purposes. As a student of the Bible, I am passionate about learning from God by going to His Word. That is why we invite you to enter into a study of His Word as we unpack scripture each Wednesday on this podcast. We are currently walking through the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The verses we are studying today come from Luke 11:37-54. But please, if God is calling you to wider study, don’t feel like you have to stop with this episode. God led us to begin this podcast over 2 years ago. We are currently on episode 362, so there are 361 previous episodes that God just might be calling you to listen to today.   Before we jump into today’s study, let’s go to the Lord in prayer. Dear Most Holy God – we give you this time as we seek to quiet our minds and hear directly from you. We know that you have provided us with your Word, and you offer us your individualized teaching every day. Father, we ask for your wisdom – that you would unstop our ears, move aside our pride and the noise of this world, and allow us to hear you clearly. Anoint the words of my mouth, that what I teach in the coming minutes would be pleasing to you. As we open the Bible, God, praise and glorify you. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. Although we are attempting to walk through the gospels chronologically, combining the four books by four different human authors is not an exact science. Most recently, we have been learning primarily from the book of Luke, and we are going to continue that today as we step into chapter 11, verses 37-54, but if you are following closely from one Wednesday to the next, you might notice that we are skipping a couple of chapters. The reason is that those chapters contain teachings we have studied in previous podcasts. So to catch you up on Luke’s timeline, Jesus has recently been teaching the disciples through word and action, and, in doing so, He has healed a mute, drawn larger crowds, and taught what it is to be the light. Many people were learning and growing. And others were at least hearing – but it seems they weren’t responding to Jesus – a fact that Jesus was keenly aware of. A fact that, as we will see, He doesn’t let slide by. Jesus loves us too much to allow us to operate in wrong thinking. He will bluntly and honestly tell us where our thinking is wrong – but it is up to us whether or not we choose to listen. Let’s begin with chapter 11, verse 37 in the New Living Translation… 37 As Jesus was speaking, one of the Pharisees invited him home for a meal. So he went in and took his place at the table.[a] 38 His host was amazed to see that he sat down to eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony required by Jewish custom. The handwashing in this case had little to do with hygiene, but more to do with ceremonial cleansing. In the Old Testament Law, the priests were given explicit instructions on how to wash in a ceremonial fashion before receiving a sacrifice. Over the years, this teaching had been expanded to include washing ceremonially before EVERY meal to guard against being spiritually unclean, AND it had also been expanded to the belief that this cleansing had to be followed by EVERY Jew. This was just one small example of the man-made laws that the Pharisees had instituted in every area of life. Though the Pharisees were a relatively small group, they were strict and they were revered. But, as we will recognize, Jesus was spotlighting that there can be an extreme difference between what GOD asks of us and what religious authorities claim is necessary for us to be worthy followers of God. So we see Jesus break tradition and sit down at the table without cleansing His hands in a ceremonial fashion. I like to think of this as a visual parable. As His onlookers reacted with amazement, Jesus took the opportunity to teach. Verse 39...  39 Then the Lord said to him, “You Pharisees are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and wickedness! 40 Fools! Didn’t God make the inside as well as the outside? 41 So clean the inside by giving gifts to the poor, and you will be clean all over. Jesus was calling out the Pharisees’ hypocrisy. They were more concerned with the ceremony than with the heart. But before we sit back and become spectators to Jesus’ words to the sin-ridden Pharisees, we must remember that the Bible was written for US. Today. So as we read, we each need to ask ourselves the question, what is God saying to ME through this? Neither society nor humanity has changed much since Luke wrote these words. We are still prideful people who like to think that WE have it all together and are here to teach OTHERS. But the reality is, we are ALL sinful and have a LONG way to go before we are the people that God wants us to be – a perfect reflection of Him and His character. This passage is FULL of warnings for you and me. Jesus warned the Pharisees of their shortcomings, and He warns us as well. The Pharisees invited Jesus to dinner – we don’t know their motive – but I’m willing to bet they didn’t expect a lashing. We, through our prayer earlier, invited Jesus into THIS teaching. Maybe YOU didn’t expect a lashing, but God will always tell us like it is. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Yesterday…I got a ticket while driving. I turned through a stoplight onto an onramp of a highway and immediately noticed that the whole highway was at a complete standstill. So I stopped my car. No one else turned behind me, and nobody was moving in front of me. I thought…I can just back up 100 yards and continue on my way, or I can sit in traffic for an hour. I thought about it, and I slowly started to back up. Then, from in front of me, I saw blue and red lights and paused as a police car emerged from the standstill in front of me and whipped around behind me. And I got a ticket for driving backward on a highway. As the police officer handed me the ticket…all I could think was, he’s right. I was in the wrong. The situation was frustrating, and there were a million, yeah buts, running through my mind. But he was right. I was wrong. And he was protecting me and those around me by making me aware of what could have been a deadly situation.  I had to swallow my pride. Sometimes, opening the Bible requires us to swallow our pride. God is ALWAYS right. And He will always guide us the right way. But it is up to us to listen – and learn. And NOT make excuses. If the Pharisees had examined themselves AND the scripture they knew by heart, they would have recognized that the external righteousness they claimed was not pure rightness with God. So as I read, I ask myself…Am I externally righteous, putting on a good “Christian-face” while neglecting to consider and cleanse the thoughts in my head and the wrong leanings of my heart? Jesus continues to unapologetically give warnings …verse 42 42 “What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens,[b] but you ignore justice and the love of God. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things. God calls for tithing. And the Pharisees were SO CAREFUL to tithe even their herbs. That is, ANYTHING that anyone else could see or measure, they were faithful to. But they were NOT faithful to justice and love. AND, Jesus warns, justice and love outweigh ritual. So I ask myself…Do I carefully follow the teachings and rituals of the church but fail to seek individual guidance from God and respond to others in His love? Verse 43… 43 “What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you love to sit in the seats of honor in the synagogues and receive respectful greetings as you walk in the marketplaces. 44 Yes, what sorrow awaits you! For you are like hidden graves in a field. People walk over them without knowing the corruption they are stepping on.” An encounter with a grave was considered to make a person spiritually unclean. Jesus is warning that by hiding our own spiritual sin, we can inadvertently corrupt others. Do I crave a high place in society and sell my soul to get there? Years ago, I LONGED to serve God in a leadership role, but nothing I put my own hands to succeeded. I remember finally giving up one day, and saying “God…I will serve you WHEREVER you want. I will clean toilets for you if that’s what you have for me.” I was craving a high place in service to Him, but God just wanted me to serve with my heart. Finally, a scribe spoke up, taking offense at Jesus’ words…verse 45… 45 “Teacher,” said an expert in religious law, “you have insulted us, too, in what you just said.” 46 “Yes,” said Jesus, “what sorrow also awaits you experts in religious law! For you crush people with unbearable religious demands, and you never lift a finger to ease the burden. Do I, as a Christian, judge other Christians, rather than helping them grow in Christ? Jesus continues…Verse 47…  47 What sorrow awaits you! For you build monuments for the prophets your own ancestors killed long ago. 48 But in fact, you stand as witnesses who agree with what your ancestors did. They killed the prophets, and you join in their crime by building the monuments! 49 This is what God in his wisdom said about you:[c] ‘I will send prophets and apostles to them, but they will kill some and persecute the others.’ 50 “As a result, this generation will be held responsible for the murder of all God’s prophets from the creation of the world— 51 from the murder of Abel to the murder of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, it will certainly be charged against this generation. When we turn our backs on the salvation offered by Jesus Christ through His forgiveness of our sins, we are held responsible for the collective sins of the world. This is a warning. There are no…yeah, buts… We either accept Jesus’ gift of forgiveness or we will be separated from God for eternity. Have I accepted Jesus’ forgiveness? Do I ask Him every day to lead me and do I strive to follow His instructions obediently? Verse 52… 52 “What sorrow awaits you experts in religious law! For you remove the key to knowledge from the people. You don’t enter the Kingdom yourselves, and you prevent others from entering.” Am I leading others to salvation by teaching that a relationship with Jesus is His call for each of us? Am I modeling being a child of Christ so that others will be drawn to Him? Verse 53… 53 As Jesus was leaving, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees became hostile and tried to provoke him with many questions. 54 They wanted to trap him into saying something they could use against him. The teachers and the Pharisees heard, but they didn’t listen. They didn’t recognize Jesus’ warnings He offered in love… instead they said … yeah, but … This is a clear sign of pride and immaturity. We’ve all had encounters with teenagers who think they can do no wrong and have all the answers. If we are honest, we can all say that we’ve BEEN that teenager. Are you still in that frame of mind? Have you grown? Are you willing to heed Jesus’ warning, and take His teaching to heart? We serve a gentle and perfect God, who reaches out to guide us and lead us each and every day. Are my eyes open so that I can follow Him? Is my spirit teachable, willing to put myself aside? Am I willing to examine scripture MYSELF and go to God in prayer one-on-one so that I can hear exactly where He wants me to stand on issues? Am I willing to put LOVE for others over the judgment of their shortcomings? Jesus’ warnings are written clearly for us to see. And He is always wiling to help us decipher anything we don’t understand. But we have to be willing to set ourselves and our objections aside and say – You’re right, God. I trust you. Let’s pray. Dear Most Heavenly Father – you are so gracious to us. You guide us and warn us in order to keep us safe and keep us in your presence. Father, I pray that we would each take this teaching with us through today, that our ears would be open to the sound of your voice, and that we will always be willing to put ourselves aside and proclaim that you alone are righteous. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.  

Dr. Marina Hofman is a professor at Palm Beach Atlantic, author of an award-winning book, Women In the Bible, and she navigates today's challenging times as a leader with strength, character, and courage.    In today's podcast, Marina shares her miracle message of survival and overcoming debilitating anxieties into a life of serving God.   ***** Kimberly Hobbs   Welcome to Empowering Lives with [urpose. And I'm your host, Kimberly Hobbs. I'm the founder of Women World Leaders. And today I'm so blessed to have our guest with us Dr. Marina Hoffman. Welcome, Marina.  Dr. Marina Hoffman   Oh, Kimberly, it's so great to be with you today and our friends around the world listening and being encouraged in the Lord.  Kimberly Hobbs   Amen. Amen. We're in for a wonderful day, a wonderful afternoon and can't wait to talk to you and let the ladies get to know you further and hear about your story. So ladies, this podcast is for you. And we are here to encourage you and inspire you to walk closer with Jesus. That's what we're all about it women world leaders is just a closer walk with our Savior and King. And there are so many ways just to encourage and strengthen the body of Christ together. And one of them is by sharing our stories and our personal accounts of what we've been through our walks. And many of us have had tumultuous walks, some of us have had a little bit easier walks, but when we share them and share how God moved in our life, through our walks, and storms and trials, and sometimes blessings and wonderful ways to we just see how God moves. And some of us can relate to each other and therefore be encouraged, inspired, have hope. And that's our purpose. So that's what we want to bring to you today. So God is working in you ladies giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him. That's Philippians 213. And we just believe that each of us have a purpose. And God is going to lead you to that purpose because he's given you gifts and talents and the power to do what he's equip you to do and his name. So let me tell you a little bit about Dr. Marina Hoffman. She has her PhD and she's a professor at Palm Beach Atlantic University. She is the author of the award winning book, women in the Bible. And we'll talk about more about that later in the podcast. But it's a small group Bible study that she's put together and in beautiful Marina thank you for doing God's work in that way. Marina illuminates the leadership, strength and character and courage of women in the Bible to bring an inspirational message of hope and encouragement to all of us who must navigate today's challenges and uncertain times, right? Because we are all walking through some uncertain times in this world. And today's message is a story is a powerful story. It's a god miracle in marinas life. And we titled this today trust because I asked Marina, what is that word that you can equate to your story and she said trust. So it's trust and from suffering to surrender. So Marina, as we start in to your story, you survived. You are a survivor. So can you tell us and share about what God's miracle was in your life through what happened? In this story you're about to share? Dr. Marina Hoffman   Yes, you know, Kimberly, before it happened, things were going quite well in my life. I had been in school for forever. I finally graduated in September, I got in at Christmas time. I got a job over January. So I was very excited to start work in the fall. And just things were so filled with hope. And I thought, wow, I've spent my whole life in school. Finally, I'm getting out. And I can do something to honor God and to serve others. Well, would you believe we're coming home from a trip up north in the middle of February, and very suddenly, out of nowhere, the car coming toward us? His head drops, and the car plows right toward us. And the setting Kimberley is the word driving about 65 miles an hour. He's driving 60 miles an hour, and the highway is under construction. So it narrows down to one lane and there was nothing Kimberly but a few inches between us. So there was really no options. Everything happened in a split second. And Kimberly I would love to share that my life paths before me but it didn't. I simply thought Oh, I'm dead and I thought that was the end of my story. Thankfully, my husband is a much quicker thinker than I am He responded marvelously. He controlled the car as best he could. And Kimberly when he felt that All was about to fail that he would have no chance of survival. He thought at least he can do his best to save my life. So very kindly, very sacrificially. He throws his body across the, the middle of the car and leans over me and protects me from all the airbags with my own body. And you know, Kimberly, that simple act of sacrifice started off an avalanche of miracles in our lives. So in this car crash, our engine ends up getting pushed into the driver's seat where he should have been, and no one knew how he survived. Three or four days later, the detective comes and says, Sir, I can't put unexplained miracle in my report. How are you alive? And so Larry begins to unravel the story of throwing his body against me and breaking his own rib doing it because if seatbelt was still on, and how his body really wasn't fully in his seat, and that saved his life, although he had many injuries, and for me, the seatbelt gave me four lacerations. So I was you know, Bile is pouring out of my system, I'm about to die. If I had had those airbags Kimberli in a heartbeat, I would have gone on to life with Jesus in eternity. But my husband's body took all the airbags, I also had a very significant brain injury. So it was very close to you know, being a vegetable I couldn't talk I had no memories, I still suffer a bit with those implications. But my husband put my his hand on my head. And I believe Kimberly, that that really prevented me from getting any worse injury, which also could have led to my death. So here I was alive. Um, God just brought, you know, retired firefighter, empty worker EMT workers running around the car to save me to hold me in my place. So I didn't move. I get to the hospital I near dead, and the nurses doing their job. They wanted to pull me through all these tests, and that would have taken two or three hours. Again, Kimberly, another miracle through the life of the surgeon that comes to check on me and says, No, this this girl has minutes to live. We're opening her up right now. And she knew that maybe God spoke to her. She said it was just unexplainable. How she came to check on me out of order, and canceled all the tests opened me up, found all my injuries closed me up. And that was Kimberly, life saving. But I will also share with our friends today that I had a long road ahead of me with severe PTSD, severe anxiety. You know, we've shared before how the beautiful verse have no anxiety, right? We have nothing to fear in the Lord. And yet Kimberly, I feared every single thing all the time, I was shaking around the clock with fear and anxiety after all the trauma that this created in me and my brain being a mess. So I had a long road of recovery. But God was with me every step of the way. Kimberly Hobbs   Amen. He sure was and just seeing that and what gave me goosebumps when we were talking. We had the privilege to have dinner last night together and we're gonna see each other again tomorrow but I'm just hearing more of this miraculous story and you were sharing how when when you were impacted you were forced to stay in your seat and the paramedic that just happened to be in one car that jumped out and then the firefighter like if you would have gotten out of that car the doctor said you would not be alive if you stood up you would have bled out and that would have been it you would have been done and so these miracles I can just blows my mind how God had everything step by step by step plant and ordained to make sure that you were okay. And I we just thank God for that. But yes, you did. You had suffered day to day about the overcoming anxiety and the the debilitating fear that you are constantly feeling like PTSD. And so the Bible tells us to be anxious for nothing. But in everything with prayer and thanksgiving. let your requests be known to God. That's Philippians four, six. Ladies, when you're suffering from fear and anxieties, God wants us to let our prayers and petitions be known to him because he's there to listen. But he says also with thankfulness. So you had a heart of thankfulness. Can you talk right now about overcoming the anxiety and fear in your day to day? Dr. Marina Hoffman   You know, there are so many tips that professionals give us Kimberly and I think there's a place for them all. They were very helpful to me all kinds of techniques that helped me to live to start to live on the path of a normal life and to at least begin to take care of myself again, which itself was a major accomplishment just to get out of bed in the morning seemed impossible with through all that, and alongside all the things that we can do, to help ourselves as human beings, really my anchor was Christ. And I know the only reason I could get up in the morning was because I knew that Jesus Christ had a plan for my life. And I could not see it. And Kimberly, I did not feel it. I did not feel my faith in those weeks. Initially, I didn't even feel my faith really in the hospital and ICU, I thought I was all by myself, I felt utterly alone. I didn't know if my husband was alive. And none of that was true. I was surrounded by family. And they told me over and over, my husband was alive. But in my world, Kimberly, I was so utterly alone. And yet, despite the feelings of feeling isolated as a human, I knew God was with me. And Paul talks about, you know, to live as Christ. And that's my testimony. I remember very little, but I remember hour after hour laying in the bed saying, I know that right now, the power of Jesus Christ is literally pumping through my body in my house. Yes. And it was not the feeling that God had a plan for my life, but the knowledge of it. So I've been a Christian forever. I, you know, from the age of three, I was aware of the Lord, and wanted to commit my life to Him. And all those years of drilling those verses in me on some deep level, Kimberly, I really feel God used that to help me to keep going. Kimberly Hobbs   Yes, yes, God says in His Word, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. And that's what you had you had that peace of God, even though yes, you're in the flesh, you experience we all experience these things that we have to go through fears and anxieties and things like that, but but the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, right, it guarded your heart through that time, and it carried you through. So as God led you into, deeper into your life, there was one thing you were told when that surgery was performed, and all of this, and that was that you wouldn't have children, you know, you're impacted so severely Can you talk about that?  Dr. Marina Hoffman   Yeah, the chance of having a child was more or less zero. And of all the things that happened to me, I knew God somehow the way God's Kingdom works is that suffering is never in vain. And we see that in story after story of Scripture. So I knew somehow God would use all my suffering, for His glory, whatever that meant for me. But one thing I could not accept was that someone falls asleep at the wheel. And suddenly, I can't have a family and I can't be a mom. And I just felt that that was so unjust. It was very hard to walk every day I prayed and prayed and prayed in this reality. But there was a point when I was at the doctor, and they showed me this the results of all these tests, and it was way less than, you know, 1%. It was 0.000. And I thought in that moment, you know what, it's no longer about me trying and what I had for dinner last night. And if I did a whole mile of walking or not, I can be as healthy as I can, Kimberly, but this was so major. This was in God's territory. And you know, I had prayed so hard, Kimberly. But in that moment, I felt the burden lifted off me, even the burden of prayer. And I remember on the way home, I said, God, I have prayed so much, I'm actually going to stop praying, I'm just going to leave it with you. And I'm going to leave it with a few of my close friends that promise to continue to pray every day for me. But Kimberly, I couldn't keep living my life, in a sense, obsessing over prayer for this. So I was able to trust God. And you know, there's a verse in Hannah where this happens. she bakes God for a child. And then it says, she got up she ate and drank. And her face was no longer downcast. And that spoke to me so much. I said, that's what I need to do. I need to start living life, and not where the burden of this on my face anymore. And of course, you know, in the way God works, sometimes, sure enough, in a couple of months, I did get pregnant. Kimberly Hobbs   Amen, amen. And I know that Hannah was just a so closely related to your story. And so that became special to you. And even as you wrote about women in the Bible, and you turned it into a Bible study, you know, that was somebody that really stood out to you and wow, God performed miracles in your life miracle upon miracle. So now, let's talk about the miracle that God performed with Willow. Dr. Marina Hoffman   You know, there was so much prayer from my own heart and my husband and my Family But dear friends as well. And I think sometimes God does something really special in those circumstances. And she isn't an ordinary child. And again, um, what an answer to my prayer like Hannah, I believe she's already becoming a leader among others. And you know, Kimberly, she has been an instrument of joy and healing to so many people. And that's even when she was a little, she would say the things that would just pierce people's heart. And I remember one time a dear friend of mine who lost his daughter at 19, he was broken, he couldn't bear with his family to have Christmas up in Canada and their home. So they came down here just to change things and help them through. I remember he held her for two hours, and she slept. And he near wept. Kimberly, there was something he said about the power of healing that touched us very hard just holding her. And that has marked her whole life as well. So sometimes out of our suffering, are come something more beautiful than we could ever have imagined. And for me, as a mom, it is never a day goes by where I take her for granted. Every night, I tell a little story of how I prayed and prayed and prayed. And one day God answered my prayer, and wow, I was pregnant. And it was a girl and we call her Willow. And I say that every night and I remind my own heart, this thing that I prayed for so much, and I suffered so much with to be attuned to what God has to do in my life as a mother and to make sure that my suffering will always have a purpose. And I think that's a beautiful reminder in our lives, Kimberly, the things that we suffered with and through the trials we had, God wants to use for His glory. But I think we also have a role in continuing to be humble, and allow God to use that even if it means opening up and sharing our stories of hurt and suffering with others to bring them healing, as we testify of God's faithfulness. Kimberly Hobbs   Amen. Amen. And there, there are so many stories of pain in purpose, and that God teaches us through those times he he starts to equip us to go forward into the future with these amazing testimonies. And how would we do that? How would we be able to testify to others unless we walked in those steps, you know, and we suffered through it. And now we have these tremendous stories of faith and perseverance, strength, you know, honoring God, no matter what. And I praise God for your story. I praise him that you are testifying and sharing that. And Revelation 1211 says, they overcame him the enemy, he wants to take us all out, he wants to destroy our life. He he wants nothing more than to conquer somebody that is destined for a life of following Jesus. But revelation 1211 says they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, and the word of their testimony. So Marina, as you go out into the world, and you continue to share these miracles upon miracles, and the tragedy you went through is horrible, and the suffering you and your husband endured. But the faith that you had the mustard seed faith, brought you to have this precious little girl, and I met Willow and she is beautiful. And she does melt your heart, and says the most amazing things. And I know that she is going to be part of your serving as she grows in your family. And can you tell us about women in the Bible? Because you were talking about the there were certain women in the Bible that stood out to you? And I know Hannah was one of them. But how are you inspired to write this book and turn it into a Bible study? Dr. Marina Hoffman   Yes, so until this acts, and I had been studying women of the Bible academically as a scholar, and publishing articles, and it was lovely. But you know, these stories, took on a whole new meaning after my brain injury. And all this trauma I went through when I read them again, simply for personal encouragement, I felt so lonely, Kimberly, I needed someone to walk alongside me. And I didn't know where to turn. So I opened up my Bible to some of the stories that I had studied academically. And of course, as your listeners will know, I mean, the story of Hannah, she became my friend. She understood my sorrow because she had walked through, and she exemplified what it means to be faithful in the various situations I faced. And I found many women like this had gone through things just like we're going through today. It's incredible, isn't it 1000s of years ago, but we say we face the same challenges, and especially in the last few years, with the change we've undergone and culture and society. These are hard times, and what beautiful friendship and encouragement I found in women of the Bible. And as I spoke to women about it All of them kept asking me to write it down. And so that ended up in the devotional, the small group study women in the Bible. And on my website, there's a free video series where I share really how these women impacted me personally. And that video series is free women in the Bible dot info. And if the for the women who want to dive into these stories and say, what are they really about? What did these woman's struggle for? What Can God speak to me through their lives and their examples? This is a wonderful little book, you can go through it alone, eight studies, or I always say Kimberly, with a friend, because we all need friends, Kimberly Hobbs   That's for sure. Oh, my goodness, I that just like brings joy to my heart, women in the Bible. Because, you know, we all hear about, you know, the top two or three, you know, but there are so many significant women in the Bible that had amazing purpose in their life, and God chose to put them in his word for a purpose. So what you've done Marina by drawing, you know those stories out and unpacking them in a Bible study form is just so special. And I just thank you, I thank you for not balling up in a in, balling up in a ball, curling up in a ball. And just wallowing in your fear and your anxiety. No, you, you walked forward by faith and what you knew and God led you, and then you fulfill this amazing purpose and started writing for him. And I know you you teach at a Christian college at Palm Beach Atlantic, I know you are raising a daughter with such just beauty in the Lord Jesus Christ and how you pour into her. Can you just look at the women that are here on this podcast and speak directly to their heart. And give them something from your heart today that can inspire them to walk in their beautiful purpose, to run after God with all their heart, despite those moments that they're curled up in a ball in their bed, just crying out to God, you know, like, how do they get out of that ball and just go running after God like you did? Dr. Marina Hoffman   You know, there's a time for us to be quiet before the Lord and to just heal and to be one with God and to shut out the world to the point where sometimes we need to silence everything around us to hear from the Lord. But then I think Kimberly, and friends who are listening today as God begins to work in your life, and as Kimberly shared today, there is power when we share our testimony. And to begin with that might be just a few words. But as we begin to share our testimony more and more, and to share the faithfulness God has shown us as we walked through the valley of the shadow of death, and as we struggled, something incredible is released within us. I will say one practical example. You know, I was lonely for two years, you can imagine what two years right, we're all cut off from each other. I was so lonely that it hurt me, not just my heart, but my body was hurting with loneliness. And finally, Kimberly, I was so desperate, I began just to tell people that I'm so lonely. And you know what happened? Friends, I found community because there was all kinds of wonderful women around me who were lonely too. And I boldly invited them to come to my house, which was not the thing to do during those days, you know what they showed up. So even showing the little bit of way that I was suffering, and showing God's faithfulness to me opened up my heart for more healing from God, because I was able to expose my heart and say, Lord, heal me. And the Lord spoke such words of life to me, even from the women I will share with, but I also gained friendships. And you know, I think that happens when we open up our heart to others, to share our sorrows, and to share God's faithfulness, what happens, they open up their hearts back to us, and of course, being wise about who we share with but there are wonderful women of God all around us. And I think it's a worthy prayer to say, Lord, show me who they are. build me up that we can bless each other and grow in you together. Kimberly Hobbs   So beautifully said so beautifully said. Community is so important. Friendships are so important and the correct ones those that love the Lord, surround yourself with those people that are going to lift you up before God that are going to pray over you that are going to speak life into you and not death and that woe is me talk but they are going to lift you up in Jesus and those are the friends that you want. And I'm so thankful that God brought community at a time where you were so just desperate for love and connection and you were just like suffocating because you didn't have it, and God provided those that he knew or not afraid and still reached out to you during that time. So I just thank him for that. I'm thankful that you and I got to meet Marina and that we were able to become friends and this just short amount of time. But when you have abandoned Christ, so deep and you're, you're just connected because of him. Things like this just happened so quickly. And ladies, that's for you to go out, go outside of your doors and reach out there are so many people out there that just want to connect with you that God is going to allow into your paths for his greater purpose, trust Him for it, and ask him for it. So I just want to thank you, Marina for sharing with us today. And how can women reach you if they want to reach out to you if they want to get your book? How can they reach you? Dr. Marina Hoffman   Yes, please visit womenintheBible.info and you'll see my free video series, my email address, if you want to connect my testimony, if you want to share with others, and lots of resources to encourage you, I would love to hear from you. And you can get the first chapter for free as well. Or you could buy the book. It's like I think $13 on Amazon here in the US, but it's distributed internationally. So that's womenintheBible.info. Kimberly Hobbs   That's wonderful. That's wonderful. So thank you for sharing that. Thank you for being a guest today on empowering lives with purpose and also look for Marina more because we are connected here at women, we're leaders and we're just excited to see what God has in these future friendships that are made through this amazing ministry. So ladies, I just want to leave you with the scripture that God tells us to call on me when you're in trouble, and I will receive you and you will give me glory. Oh my goodness, when we call on him, he he just encompasses us with His love, right? And he turns us around and we're going to glorify Him by trusting Him. He is amazing that Psalm 50 Verse five. So ladies, as we close out today, just know that God loves you so much. He has a purpose for your life, a plan for your life, even when things may look dark and dreary. Please don't let the enemy lie to you. God has a plan for you. From his heart to yours. We are women, world leaders all content is copyrighted and cannot be used without expressed written consent. Thou bless you Marina thank you again for sharing today. Dr. Marina Hoffman   Thank you so much. And ladies, just embrace the love of God today. And whatever you're suffering you know, surrender to the Lord and I'm praying that you find community as well as you're willing to share God's faithfulness with others. Kimberly Hobbs   Amen. Amen. We prayed over you today ladies before we even started this podcast. Marina and I and my husband we pray before every podcast and and also you were prayed for today and we will close praying for you too. So God bless you all have a beautiful day.

Join Lisa Hathaway as she talks about having faith to touch the hem of His garment.  In our circumstances, we need to focus on just reaching for God and how the faith, even if little, can change our hearts.  The small gesture of touching the hem leads to complete healing.   ***** Welcome to Celebrating God's Grace, a Women World Leaders podcast. And I am Lisa Hathaway and I'm going to be talking to you today for a few minutes. about faith. I know we hear this a lot of times in our lives about having faith and you know, in the Scripture talks about having faith, the size of a mustard seed, but something that has just been really on my heart and something I've reread. And I'm going to read this to you out of Mark chapter five starting in verse 25. And it says, and there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for 12 years, and have suffered much under many physicians. And it's been all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. She heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd, and touched his garment. For she said, If I just touch, even his garments, I will be made well, and immediately the blood, the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. And Jesus perceiving in himself, that power had gone out from him immediately turned about in the crowd and said, Who touched my garments. And his disciples said to him, you see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, Who touched me. And he looked around to see who had done it. But the woman knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, and fell down before him and told him, the world told him the whole truth. And she said to her, Daughter, your faith is made, you will go in peace and be healed of your disease. When I'm reading this, I couple of things stick out to me. You know, when we go through life, sometimes we just want to be able to reach and tangibly touch Jesus, just like the hem of His garment. And I think about this thread, you know, when you have something that you're wearing, and there's a piece of thread that you pull and pull in this, the, it comes apart. And, you know, when she was crawling on the ground, I just envision her just so desperate, after 12 years, just as desperation, of just wanting a touch from Jesus to be healed from this. And all she had to do is just touch the touch the tiny him. And I think so many times we can make things so complicated as Christians, that our faith is something that we just truly inside innately have to believe in once we start seeing something and have faith that it continues to build, and it continues to build and build. And that is what is absolutely so beautiful to me. Another part of this as is when Jesus looked around, and the woman came to him fear and trembling, like came in fear, like she had done something wrong. And she hadn't, she just chooses longing to be healed. And so she just touched his garment. And because he is Jesus, the power left from him to heal her. But she fell down before him and told him the whole truth. You know, when you fall at the feet of Jesus, like so much can happen when we surrender at his feet. If something's going on in our lives, and we're, our circumstances are not like we think they should be or bad things are happening to us or we don't understand or we're suffering or things are happening in our families. And we just, you know, the world's a Hard Place life is hard. And I think that, that in those moments is when we have to clean we have to reach out and visualize just touching the hem of His garment. There's been so many times in the past two and a half years of my life of just going through a lot, a lot of hard things and just my journey that I've literally just reached out to try to touch like, I'm just like to use this. I just want to touch your home. Like I know that you're there. I know you haven't left me I just need that faith and have that faith to be able to touch and see for who you really are. Because when we can have that childlike faith And we can sit here on a daily basis. And we don't understand there's so much in this life that we do not understand. And God doesn't expect us to understand everything because he has a plan and purpose for our lives. And so when I continue to read through this, and you know, nothing takes God by surprise, hey, nothing takes them by surprise, he has it all figured out. He has it all planned out. And to me that should, that should allow us to have enough faith that itself right that he sees the end from the beginning, he knows exactly what is happening. He knows exactly what our day is going to look like. He knows the hairs on our head, he knows what's happening with our children, our spouses, relationships, friendships, whatever it may be, and, you know, sometimes you reaching out just to touch the hem of His garment. And having that amount of faith is when you just cry out and say, Jesus, you have that faith that just uttering the words, Jesus out of your mouth, when there's when you don't know what to say, is is so healing in itself. You know, I remember a time when I was going on my breast cancer journey last year, and I was sitting there and I was trying to worship, you know, there was no, I worship music, I was in just a bad mental spot. And I literally was sitting on my couch just like Jesus, Jesus, I just kept saying it. Like, I didn't have words to say, you know, people say I'm praying for you. And I appreciate all that. But I didn't have the actual words to know what to pray. I just had a double mastectomy. And I was sitting here and I'm just like, I'm not understanding all of this. I'm not understanding your plan right now. But I trust you. And so it's like, having that faith and trust in Jesus who died for us? Like there should never be a question. And so, you know, it's so encouraging to me when we're able to share the love of Jesus through our stories and through Scripture. And when, you know, I continue to read through Mark five, and it, it's just there's so many nuggets in here. You know, she had heard the reports about Jesus. So the reports about him, which means he's a healer. And healing sometimes doesn't take place in the way we think it should. But Jesus is a healer. So she's like, Okay, I've heard these reports, I'm going to try to find him, I'm going to try to touch him, I'm going to try to see him. So she had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd, and touched his garment. So she literally was in the midst of I just picture this huge crowd downtown somewhere. And she's just like, I need to be healed after 12 years of this. And she came up behind him and touched his garment, not even physically touching his body, or his hair, or his face or his hand or anything, she touched his garment. And immediately, the blood dried up. And so I think it's just it's so empowering and powerful to me, you know, when you're processing it out. And sometimes we can't fathom the the greatness of God and the vastness of His love for us. But when we can sit here, and just have that childlike faith to say, God, I know that you have this plan, I know the things that you're working are for my good. I do know there's a purpose. I will call your name, no matter what I will always call your name Jesus, I will always reach for the hem of your garment. Even when I feel like I can't reach I'm going to reach for the hem of your garment because I know that you are so good. And you are so faithful to complete the work that you started. There is never a day that goes by that he hasn't thought about she loves you pursued you, he chose you. And so I just challenge you today and encourage you today that when you don't know what else to do, just take Jesus in or age just reach for him reach for the hem of His garment. It's it might be daunting, it might seem impossible, but it's not because he sees you and he knows and he wants you to call out to him. He wants you to be there. He hasn't left us sometimes we can leave him but he hasn't left us and he's just longing longing for us to say Jesus to keep calling out So, so I just thank you all for listening. I hope this encourages you continue to press in daily. And we have celebrating God's grace for one or more leaders podcast every Friday. So this is again this is Lisa Hathaway. Thank you.

Jesus’ disciples ask Him a simple question, “Lord, teach us to pray.” In today’s passage, Luke describes a scene rich with Jesus’ teaching on prayer. Join Julie Jenkins on today’s episode of Walking in the Word as we examine Luke 11:1-13. **** Welcome to Walking in the Word, the biblical teaching arm of the Women World Leaders’ podcast. My name is Julie Jenkins. As I record this, it is Thanskgiving week in the United States – a holiday that is set aside to reflect on God’s goodness and give Him thanks and praise. We at Women World Leaders have so much to thank God for as 2022 nears a close. This year, we have met and partnered with women leaders from around the globe as we individually and collectively seek to walk in our God-given purpose. We’ve welcomed new contributors to Voice of Truth magazine, new writers to our daily devotions, and empowered women to use their voices on our podcast platform. Together, we’ve written and published two new best-selling books – congratulations to all the authors of Surrendered: Yielded with Purpose and United Men of Honor: Overcoming Adversity Through Faith – both of which are available on our website, on Amazon, and through outlets around the world. And we’ve held local events and monthly Zoom gatherings where we have worshipped and learned together. Most importantly, through 2022, we have grown closer to each other in community and developed a more intimate walk with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. If you are new or newer to the ministry, it is our prayer that you will join us wholeheartedly, serving and growing with us. God is doing a new thing in and through His people. Even as our world becomes more divided politically and socially, we can see God drawing His people together. We at Women World Leaders are certainly as diverse as they come – but we are united by our love for Jesus Christ and our love for our brothers and sisters in Christ. This is a safe place where we focus on God alone. And one more thing we are thankful for – that is that YOU have joined us today! On this, our Wednesday podcast, we focus on opening the Word of God together and asking the Holy Spirit to guide as and teach us what it is He wants us to learn. We are currently walking through the gospels chronologically, and I think it is certainly no coincidence that today, Thanksgiving week, our Scripture itinerary has taken us to Jesus’ teaching on prayer. Today we will be reading and studying Luke 11:1-13. Before we begin, let’s pray. Most Holy God – we come to you today with hearts filled with thanks and praise for who you are and all you have done for us throughout this past year. God, you have guided us, provided for us, and blessed us beyond measure. Father, we continue to lean on you and your Word for wisdom and direction. We thank you in advance for meeting us where we are and teaching us what we need to know today. Guide my words and guide our thoughts as we study together in your presence. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. Let’s begin reading Luke chapter 11, verse 1 from the New Living Translation. Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” The disciples were getting to know Jesus better at this point in their journey. They had witnessed His strength, wisdom, and peace amid turmoil … and they had seen Him pray. They knew firsthand that Jesus’ relationship with God the Father was the most important relationship He had, and they wanted to learn how they could have that relationship, too. But the way this question is asked tells us that the disciples wanted even more than a strong personal relationship with God. They also craved unification and community as followers of Christ Jesus. It was common for groups of believers to have a united way of praying – a liturgy if you will. An agreed upon practice that they could, together, offer to God. The Jews recited scripture regularly together, and, as the disciples stated, John the Baptist’s followers also had a prescribed way of worshipping and praying as a community. It's important that, as a community, we are clear about what we believe. Companies will pay consultants thousands of dollars to help them develop a vision statement, and even churches proclaim a doctrine that they follow. The disciples wanted clarity and unity from their leader on how they should pray. They asked…and Jesus responded. If you think about it, that, in itself, was a prayer. This shows us that prayer can be simple. Prayer is simply going to God with an open heart and speaking to Him. God longs to have an ongoing conversation with you. He is indeed worthy of our honor and deserves all the glory and reverence we can offer, but God thinks you are pretty cool. I like to picture a parent picking up a child from preschool…can you visualize it? The child runs to the parent and the parent scoops him up in her arms. An onlooker would be hard-pressed to say if the parent or the child enjoyed the encounter more. When we go to God, He is the loving parent who scoops us up into a bear hug, making us both smile. Jesus responded to his disciples request…because that’s what Jesus does when we go to Him…verse 2… 2 Jesus said, “This is how you should pray:[a] “Father, may your name be kept holy.     May your Kingdom come soon. 3 Give us each day the food we need,[b] 4 and forgive us our sins,     as we forgive those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation.[c]” The first sentence of Jesus’ prayer recognized the tension that every Christian wrestles with – the fact that God is our Father who longs for a personal relationship with us, and yet is indescribably holy, requiring our reverence and awe. We must love and cling to God, but not let ourselves take His greatness and worth for granted. Prayer is simple…and prayer requires that God be approached with love and reverence. Jesus prays…May your Kingdom come soon. We, too, are to pray for God’s will to be done on earth. This includes praying that OTHERS will follow and yield to God’s will, but we should also request that we, the pray-er, will have the strength and wisdom to willingly submit to following God’s will for US. Jesus continues his prayer…Give us each day the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation.” We can trust God’s provision, forgiveness, and protection – but He wants us to go to Him and ask for it. Prayer is simple and God is to be approached with love and reverence. And when handled as such, our prayers will remind us of God’s goodness. When we ASK God to provide our needs, and then He does – the glory goes to God alone. When we sin and go to God seeking forgiveness and it is granted – God gets the glory. And when we ask God for His protection in a difficult circumstance and His power then flows through us giving us the strength to stand strong against the winds of this world – God alone gets the glory. Prayer is simple. We are to approach God with love and reverence, and when we do, we learn to trust God in all things, and He alone gets the glory. Jesus answered the disciples’ request, giving them words to pray as Christ-followers in community. But Jesus had more to teach His disciples about prayer. Verse 5… 5 Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, 6 ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ 7 And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’ 8 But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence. Let’s attempt to step into Jesus’ culture to understand this story better. The first thing to recognize is that offering hospitality to guests was of paramount importance. When someone arrived on your doorstep, they were to be treated well, including being fed after a long day’s journey. The second thing we need to understand is that there were no carry-out restaurants, pizza delivery, uber eats, or 24-hour grocery stores. Bread was baked likely every few days at each household, and it was not a quick, easy process. Those in the community would have leaned on each other in times of need. Neighbors would have known what days their neighbors baked on. This was important because how a visitor was treated reflected on the community as a whole. So the “you” in this parable – the person with the visitor and no bread offer – was not at fault. They were just at the tail-end of their bread cycle. The respectful thing to do was to go to the neighbor who had baked that day and request some bread for their visitor. In this case, the neighbor reacts a bit grumpily, after all, he had just gotten the kids down for bed – I think many of us can relate to that! But, because of cultural expectations, he does eventually open the door and share his bread. As we hear this story, we are not to assume that God is the surly neighbor with the bread. Instead, we are to make a correlation. If THAT neighbor, though unhappy, would share HIS bread because someone knocked on his door and asked, how much more can we depend on our God who is NOT surly, who loves us unconditionally, AND who holds ALL the bread? When we knock on GOD’S door with a request, we can trust that He will respond with a joyful heart, ready to provide exactly what we need. Jesus continues… 9 “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. God wants us to come to Him with everything. Our prayers are to be ongoing. We must never hesitate to knock on His door. Our prayers can be simple, but they should be constant, full of love and reverence, and offered with an expectation to see God’s glory. Verse 11… 11 “You fathers—if your children ask[e] for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? 12 Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! 13 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.” God loves you more than you can possibly imagine!! And the God who loves you is also the all-sufficient God who created and rules the universe. When we ask our God, it is HIS DELIGHT to bestow His blessings on us! God is not a vending machine or a genie in a bottle, available to grant our wishes. He is so much more. God is PERFECT and HOLY, and when we ask Him, He will give us what we NEED. He may not pull us out of a trial, but when we ask, we can be assured that He will walk through the trial with us. God may not fix all our issues, but when we seek Him, we can trust that He will give us wisdom and strength to handle anything that comes at us. Our gracious Father may not provide everything we want and desire, but when we knock on His door, we can trust that He WILL provide us with everything we need. We are to ask, seek, and knock on God’s door every day of our lives. We do that through prayer – corporate prayer and personal prayer, by reciting liturgy and singing songs together, and even by offering our groans to God through our pain. Our prayers can be simple and should be ongoing. They should be full of reverence and love for the only God we are to glorify and praise. And our prayers can be offered with FULL ASSURANCE that our God will respond – better than we could ask or imagine. Let’s pray… Dear Most Precious God – we love you. We honor you, praise you, and thank you! God we offer our prayers to you – our eloquent words, our needs, and our indiscernible groans. We offer them in full assurance that you will ongoingly hear and answer us – for our good, and most importantly, for your glory. Thank you! Thank you for being our God, our Savior, and our friend. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.  

Sara Bussard is a young entrepreneur who is ministry-minded. She has been through the waves of life and has come out on the other side as a changed individual.    Sara shares her tumultuous life journey which ultimately led her to seek for God, find Him and now serve Him joyfully operating her own company/ministry. Sara cleans up the ocean environment of the sunny Palm Beaches with Through The Waves.   ***** Kimberly Hobbs   Welcome to Empowering Lives With Purpose. And I'm your host, Kimberly Hobbs. I'm the founder of Women World Leaders. And today I'd like to welcome our guest, Sara Bussard. Welcome, Sara.  Sara Bussard   Hi, thank you. Kimberly Hobbs   Sarah is here today to share with us her story, and also a little bit about what she's doing for the Lord and through the waves. So we're gonna hear about that soon. But I just wanted to welcome everybody on today and let you know how valued you are in Jesus, and that we have prayed for you. So there is no coincidence that you are listening to this podcast today. And we believe in our hearts that God has a message just for you. And it's our prayer that they're sharing with one another. So sharing stories of our lives and how God has gotten us through will help inspire you or encourage you and your walk with the Lord. God says that every believer has received grace gifts, so use them to serve one another. As the faithful stewards of the many colored tapestries of God's grace. That's First Peter 410. And we all have grace gifts. We all have different gifts, and we're supposed to use them. God says as faithful stewards. When he gives you a gift, what do you do? Do you reject it and say, No one it? No, we use those gifts to serve one another. And that's one of the reasons that Sarah's here today is God's given her a special gift. And she just wants to share how she's walking in her purpose with Jesus. And so we're just so happy to have you, Sarah. And ladies, we hope that today will be a blessing to you. I want to tell you a little bit about Sarah Bussard. Sarah is married and she lives in Palm Beach, Florida with her husband. She grew up in Ohio. So we're both Ohio girls at heart. I spent much of my life there as well. And now she resides in South Florida. She is living, loving living with near the beach and serving God with all her might. And her company and ministry is called through the waves, which shows her love for the ocean and Christ. And she serves together with her husband. And we are just so happy to have her here in our community. And it's so cool because the way that God brought Sarah and I together was we both had the privilege of serving at a revival that was held at the amphitheater in downtown Palm Beach. And I met Sarah there, and I saw the hands and feet of Jesus and action. And one of the homeless people that I was able to lead to Jesus that day. I saw him near Sara's tent. And he had on a t shirt through the waves. And I saw that Sarah and her husband, I said, How did you get that shirt, he said, they gave it to him. And my heart was so blessed I when he when he walked away with his cart.I had to talk to Sarah and her husband and just thank them from my heart that they saw a need there. And they just so gave this man a beautiful new T shirt that he wore so proudly. And it just was such a glory to God. And then Sarah and I started talking and she asked me to be on her podcast. And I was like, Of course I will. And we just connected our hearts have connected. She's connected with some of our other leadership and women world leaders. And we're just so happy to have her onboard with us and also be able to connect with her ministry up through the waves. So before we hear a little bit about through the waves, Sarah, I know you're gonna share your heart and passion. But can you share your story and how you grew up without Jesus in your life and some of the tumultuous sufferings you went through to get to where you are today?  Sara Bussard   Yes, and thank you again for having me. I'm so excited to be here. And it was just so amazing how we met and God put us in each other's life that day. But yeah, as you said, I grew up in Ohio. I was born here in South Florida. My parents moved to Ohio when I was about five years old. So I lived there for about 20 years. My parents went to church I grew up in the church. I never really cared about it though. When I was younger, we went to a very small church right down the street from our house. I think my parents went more for convenience than really anything. So every time every week my parents wanted to go to church, I was like, Oh, do we have to go. But they did a good job at planting the mustard seed, you know, that little mustard seed of faith. And as I got older, you know, I kind of really strayed away from God. When I was 15. I got into a really serious relationship. I was like about, I think I was a sophomore in high school, I met this kid down the street at the pool that I used to go to in the summer time. And we were together for about eight years. Wow. Yeah, eight years 15 to 23. And while I was with him, I wasn't living a Christian lifestyle, you know, we were having premarital sex and doing things that we shouldn't have been doing. He actually ended up moving into my parents home, when he was about 17. Because his mom was addicted to drugs, she actually ended up leaving his father for his father's brother, which I think ended up causing some trust issues within him. Now, I think she might even currently be in jail at the moment, which is really sad, but I just pray for her and pray that she gets saved. But I think that really caused some trust issues with my ex boyfriend because of the things that he went through with his family. And so he started to kind of take that out on me. And it was just a very kind of verbally, abusive, controlling relationship. He would threaten me all the time and say, if you do this, I'm gonna break up with you. Or I remember one time I didn't even know what Snapchat was, I was probably about 20 years old, when Snapchat was really becoming a thing. It was Thanksgiving dinner at my parents house. And my sister had taken a Snapchat of me just kind of like dancing, excited that the Thanksgiving food was ready. And he had saw that she posted the Snapchat me on her Snapchat. And he got so mad at me and was like, You're such a slut, and this and that. And I'm like, what, I don't even know what Snapchat is. Um, so just things like that. That's kind of how our relationship went. And everyone, so we ended up getting engaged when I was 19. And we were engaged for about four years, everyone was like, Oh, you need to just stay with him, you know, you've been together for so long, you're not going to find anybody else like him. And, and when nobody really knew what was going on in my relationship. So I wasn't even really close with God at the time. Fast forward to about 23, I just started working for a law firm. And we were finally planning this wedding. And I just felt something inside of me, which now I know, was God. But at the time, you know, I don't really know if I knew what it was that I don't need to get married. Like, this is not the one for me. So I started praying. And at this time, when I wasn't even going to church, I wasn't even really following God. for about four months, I prayed. And I said, you know, is this the guy I'm supposed to be with. And then finally, after about four months, I had like this peace come over me to where it's like, okay, you need to just end this and call this off. And I remember that day, it was one of the hardest days because he was so kind, so nice, which most of our relationship was like a lot of anger and other things and just crying, crying and begging me not to leave. But I just knew in my heart like, now I know that that was God. Just saying like, this is not where I want you. And so after that I was single for a while I started partying a lot, just going out and living life because I didn't do that at all when I was younger, because again, he was very strict and protective over me. And then about I would say about a year and a half to two years later, I met my next boyfriend, and things were going fine partying with him not living the Christian lifestyle. He was actually into Scientology, which is very interesting. And that relationship really showed me that it's not okay to be unequally yoked. So we were dating for about only six months. And then he got a job offer in Maryland. And he asked me if I wanted to move to Maryland with him. And at this time, I was an office manager at my job, my law firm that I was working at in Ohio, and I was like, I don't know if I want to leave, but I wasn't really happy there. And I kind of wanted to explore the world. And so I was like, I'll just apply and see what happens and I ended up getting the first job that I applied for. So I had made that leap of faith and I moved to Maryland with him again still not seeking the Lord still just kind of doing my own thing. And then I lived with him in Maryland for about six months and let me tell you that was the worst was some of the worst six months of my life. Just very abusive, again, verbally, physically abusive, not following God, I just remember so many days just like crying on the bathroom floor, why am I here? And that that, but that also led me to, to lean on God. Because even though I wasn't following God, there were days where I was crying on the bathroom floor saying, God, why am I here? Why are you doing this to me. And so fast forward six months, this relationship became just very abusive and bad. I was like, You know what, I am going to move to Florida, I've always wanted to move to Florida. I want to get away from here. This is so bad. I don't know what's going to happen. But I'm just going to apply for jobs down in Florida. And so I had applied for a job down in Florida, got the job. And then after that, I decided to take the leap of faith and move, move here. Wow, wow. Yeah. So God's Word is true when he says the Lord directs our steps. So why try to understand everything along the way, right, Proverbs 324. He says that, and he was directing your steps, and you were crying out to Him, you knew in your heart, but the enemy kept deceiving you. And you know how he dangles those carrots in front of us where we think, Oh, we know it all. We got it together, we're gonna go ahead and do it our way. And we're not following the steps that the Lord has ordained for us. And so you were seeing those tumultuous times rise up and it in God had to get stronger and stronger and getting your attention, right. And the abuse got stronger and stronger in that relationship, you were telling me, and it went from, you know, verbal abuse, which is horrible, that's horrible for anybody to live through. But physical abuse is awful. So God got your attention during those times, and he needed your attention. And the Bible says, Oh, how great are God's riches and wisdom and knowledge. So he was starting to pour into you his wisdom and knowledge how impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and His ways. Because our ways are not God's ways, right. But we have to surrender our control of our life, to his control. And that scripture was Romans 1133. So God led you to Florida. And that is fantastic, because things started to happen. And you've started to look up. So can you talk about how you found Christ, and your purpose in serving him while you were in Florida? Oh, yeah, definitely. So when I moved to Florida, I was actually still, like connected to my ex boyfriend. We were still trying the long distance relationship thing. But then eventually it got it came so bad to where I had to block him. And then we finally cut ties. And I just remember thinking, just like having a really, really dark thoughts and thinking, I'm so alone, I have no buddy, I just moved to this new state. I had, like a few family members that lived here, but wasn't really close with anyone. And all my friends were up north. And I was just like, I have no one. And I just remember feeling so dark and empty on the inside. And my cousin Amy had invited me to church with her. And so I said, okay, yeah, go, I don't have anything else going on. And I just remember listening to this pastor and just feeling so like, moved by the Holy Spirit. And I think that is the first moment where I really, really, really just, I wouldn't say like, found Christ because I knew who he was before, but I really just was like, Okay, God, I'm going to seek you. And so after that, I just, you know, started going to church more and more. And then my cousin, she knew I loved the ocean. I haven't really talked much about that. But I love the ocean so much, which is one of the reasons I want to move wanted to move back to Florida. I swim with sharks and do all these crazy things that my parents are like, Why are you doing that? That's one of the reasons why I wanted to move back to Florida, is to just be close to the ocean. And my other cousin, she was like, You need to try this church. It's called Anchor church. You know, it's anchor ocean base, you should go here and just see if you can meet people and get plugged in and do beach cleanups with them. And so I just started going to this church called Anchor church, and I just, I don't know, God, like really drew me in there. And that's when I really really surrendered everything over to him. And not long after I joined there. I was serving I'm serving on the production team. And that's where I met my husband. He just kind of chased me around. I like to joke with people that he stalked me. But it was it was really cute. We kind of just grew like a relationship while we were growing close to God. And then shortly after that, we started dating. And then like three months later, we got engaged. And then three months later, we got married. But oh, yeah. All in threes. 333. Yeah, it was, it was amazing. But also, before that time, you know, I did have like, some rough patches in between there where I was still struggling with Foley, giving my life over to God. You know, like, I had also met friends down here where they were into partying. And I was still a little bit into that and still coming out of my older relationship with the guy that I was with in Maryland. And so it took a while. But then when I did go to Angkor, and I started serving wholeheartedly there and really jumped in there. And, you know, I just really felt like, Hey, I can't be living my life halfway forgot I have to do it, like, wholeheartedly. That's when everything just kind of started to unveil. And I started to see the purpose that God had for my life. And I was going to this church with my my cousin. We were watching this series, it was called the good work. It's life church, Pastor Craig Groeschel. And he was he was like, I want to help somebody find their purpose in life. Throughout this series, it was like a four week series. And I remember, I was sitting at work one day after the series had ended. And that's where the thought of through the waves had came into my head, it was like, I carry you and everyone through their waves that they go through. And I didn't know what that meant. But I was like, wow, that's like a really great saying, through the waves. And that same week, my cousin had gotten a, like a $45,000 T shirt printer. And so I was like, Oh, this is great. Like, I just got this, like this idea for this company. You guys could print t shirts for me, I could sell them and I could donate the funds. And I can do beach cleanups, and then also use my beach cleanups as a place for fellowship and to share the Word of God. And so that's what I started doing was I started selling these T shirts, which I have one on now. And do hosting beach cleanups. And then I started doing my beach cleanups with my church and just having fellowship and using that, using my love for the ocean to show people the love of God, which at first I was like, Is this stupid? Like is are people going to enjoy this. And then, as I was doing these beach cleanup, beach cleanups, I had people come to me like, Hey, I love this so much. Like, this is just a good way to get out and like, have fellowship and meet new people. And for me, I was like, wow, this is crazy. This is just like picking up trash, you know. And then later on, I really felt like God had put it on my heart to start the podcast that I do. And he brought me back to the whole through the waves thing, which is, you know, he carries us through our waves. And so many of us go through waves even me, you know, I, I have faced a lot of waves just even this past year with like, anxiety or, or self doubt, or, or whatever it may be, to actually share that with other people through my podcast, and not just me, but having other people come on and share the waves that they go through. So people who are going through those waves know that they're not alone.  Kimberly Hobbs   Amen, amen. Wow, wow, what God is doing and how he restored your joy, right? Sarah, I mean, you were crying on that bathroom floor you knew in your heart. There was more to life than what when you were living at that point, ladies. You may be crying on the bathroom floor or crying in your bed or crying on the street. Wherever you are, you know that there is more to this life. And Sara was just showing how God had to get a hold of her life. But she had to take that first step of faith forward and trust Him and follow Him. And then he restored her joys and the Bible says those who look to him for help, will be radiant with joy. This young woman is radiant with joy. no shadow of shame will darken their faces. She's not carrying shame from what she went through and all the mistakes she made. She is running after Jesus, taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh the joys of those who take refuge in Him that Psalm 34 Five and eight and Sara, that is what you're doing right now. And you have started this amazing outreach for the Lord Jesus Christ in a way that is helping the environment. You are cleaning up beaches, you are meeting people all the time and sharing the love of Christ. And God allowed you to reach your husband and you grew with him. I love that in threes right? Three months to date him, three months to be engaged and three months to be married. And that's a complete 333. And I love that. And so God bless you with what you're doing. And we are just so proud of you. And I'm so grateful to connect with you, she's going to be writing in our next voice of truth, ladies, which is going to come out in 2023. It's going to be the next edition are actually we have an edition coming out in December of 2022. So depending on when you listen to this podcast, but we're just excited to connect. And that's what we do in the kingdom of God. We're all working together and serving for God's glory, right, Sarah is so and that's what we have to do. And we want you to come along with us. We need more women of faith, more women that are running after God and serving Him with all their might, because our world is going to help quickly. And we are here to be that light, and love of Jesus to a lost and dying world. So ladies, get connected with us because things are happening. And we got a lot going on. So Sarah, I just want you to take a couple minutes and just just really speak your heart right now to the woman who's listening, that is in that place that maybe she is crying on the bathroom floor like God, I don't know what to do with my life. Why doesn't this, this nonsense? And already, you know, we're looking to God to fix our problems that we put ourselves into. What would you pour into her as wisdom that God has given you that you can just give her some inspiration and hope right now?  Sara Bussard   Yeah, I would say, before I came on the podcast, I kept hearing the word Trust, that is one of my biggest and hardest things to do is to fully trust God through situations. And I think in those moments, like, for me, where I was crying on the bathroom floor, you know, we can tend to blame God, like why am I here, God. But if you think about it, like I made those choices, I wasn't seeking Him. Because I wasn't trusting him with my life. I wanted to have the full control of my life. And I was like, no, no, no, you know what once I feel like it all come around to you. But I think the most important thing to do is to just fully and wholeheartedly serve God and trust God and lean on God. Because we can't control the things around us. We can't control what happens to us. But God is always there for us, and God loves us. And even for me, every situation that I have gone through looking back on it, God has been able to use it for his good that that bad relationship that I want went through. God has been able to use it for his good to share with other women who might have experienced the same thing. Or even just teach me lessons where it's like, okay, I don't want to do this again. You know, not saying everything that we go through in life should be taken lightly. Because a lot of people's journeys are darker or harder than others. But you can and you can get through it with God, and God is always there for you. And, and people will always disappoint you and people will always hurt you. But if you focus on God, if you focus on his truth, in His love, that hurt becomes a little bit lighter. Kimberly Hobbs   Sara, I had goosebumps as you were talking goosebumps because ladies in car just this morning. And I'm sure this sister in Christ is watching this podcast right now. But just this morning, we had a two hour conversation which I don't usually have that much of a window of time, but God permitted it. And she's getting ready to take that leap of faith. And I told her, what I kept hearing from the Lord was when you get afraid, you keep saying God, I trust you, God, I trust you. God, I trust a mu and you walk forward in that faith and that confidence knowing that you've surrendered to God and He is going to take care of you. You've released your control. Everything's gonna be okay. It might not be pretty for a little while because you know, we suffer consequences because of the sinful choices sometimes we make and unfortunately those of others, but God will be there He will never leave us or forsake us. And remember God's word ladies that says trust in the Lord with all your heart and don't lean on to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him. And He will direct your paths. Just as he did for Sarah. He directed her paths. He knew her husband was waiting for her down here in Florida. She felt that pulling to come down here with her love for the waves. That's how God drew her in. And now look at she's serving Him in something that looked at her smile, if those that are watching on YouTube, she has this joy of the Lord, which has now become her strength, because she's serving him where she is happy, which is by the beach by the waves. God knew that. And God brought her there. So I praise God for your testimony. Sara, that is so beautiful. How can women reach out to you if they want to connect with you?  Sara Bussard   Yes, so if anyone wants to connect with me, you can reach me on our Instagram page. It's through the waves Lorda. Or you can reach out to me through our website or my email, which is through the waves FL at Gmail. So any of those platforms if you want to send me a message and reach out I would be so so happy to connect with you. Kimberly Hobbs   Awesome, sweetie, awesome. And just, I feel in my heart that Sarah is definitely going to become part of us that women were a leader. So look for her and like for some of her writing, because we know it's coming in voice of truth. So I am so excited to to have you on board with us too. We could serve God wherever we are, wherever he calls us to serve ladies. And I just want to leave with a verse that says this vision is for a future time. It describes the end and it will be fulfilled. If it is slow incoming, wait patiently for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed Habakkuk two, three. Know that ladies trust that wait patiently in the Lord. If things don't look like they're getting better right away you that's when dust like Sarah said, Trust, she heard that word strong. And for whatever reasons God had me pour that into somebody else this morning to trust. Lord, I trust you, Lord, I trust you. And just keep saying those words to him. And he's going to bring you through and you have to do what you say, trust Him, and go to his word, go to sources that are going to help you and strengthen you in the Lord, go to church, be around community, it's so important when you're sitting alone, you're sitting duck to the enemy, and he's gonna pounce on you. So we don't want that. So trust in the Lord, follow what he's telling you inside to do get to church, go to people that are going to help you and pour life and truth into you through God's word. So you don't want to hear what the world has to say, trust me, because again, you're going in the wrong direction. And ladies, we have tools at women, world leaders that are here to help you. And one of them is our beautiful voice of truth magazine, there's the printed and digital copy. If you would like to receive this, it is free on our website at womenworldleaders.com. And you can look at all the past editions. We've been doing this now for two years and 1000s of women read Voice of Truth. We also send it out to the United States inside the United States, I say but you can get this beautiful copy it's color. It's about 100 pages, it's coffee table quality, if you become a monthly donor to the Ministry of Women, world leaders, and we would be happy to have you on board giving, and even any small amount $5 A month $10 Whatever you can give, you'll get every edition of voice of truth sent to you in the mail. And again, these are beautiful, and they will bless you. They have inspirational stories, scriptures, all kinds of things, no advertisements, and we are so grateful about that, that God has provided this magazine to go out in entirety and excellence with just voices of truth inside women from all over the world. Put this together for you ladies. So we are excited to share that with you. So as we close I want to thank Sarah. Thank you Sarah for being part of this podcast today and speaking to the ladies, thank you so much for having me. This was amazing. I'm so happy to be on here and just be able to share my testimony with you guys. Amen. While you're delightful and we just thank you for giving hope and inspiration to those that are watching. Ladies. We are just so happy that you joined us today and hope that you were encouraged by what you heard and as we close from his heart to yours, we are women world leaders. Remember all content is copyrighted and cannot be used without expressed written consent. Join us each Monday, Wednesday and Fridays for these podcasts as they go out into the world in the name of Jesus. We love you ladies. God bless you and have a beautiful day.

Learn with host Robin Kirby-Gatto, how your mountains can be flattened as you grow strong in spirit. The grace of God is made known within the soul as you face your obstacles and see leadership opportunities. ******* Welcome to Celebrating God’s Grace, A Women World Leader’s Podcast, I’m your host Robin Kirby-Gatto. Thank you for joining us today as we celebrate God’s grace, in our lives, in our ministry, and around the world. Today’s message is titled “The Mountain Shall Become a Plain.” God’s grace flattens our mountain into a molehill, a plain. “For who are you, O great mountain [of human obstacles]? Before Zerubbabel [who with Joshua had led the return of the exiles from Babylon and was undertaking the rebuilding of the temple, before him] you shall become a plain [a mere molehill]! And he shall bring forth the finishing gable stone [of the new temple] with loud shoutings of the people, crying, Grace, grace to it.” (Zechariah 4:7 AMPC) Zerubbabel, the rightful governor of God’s people, was released with the first wave of exiles from captivity to return to Jerusalem. The task given to him by God was the rebuilding of the temple. He had a ginormous undertaking. Resistance surrounded Zerubbabel on every end, as others opposed him. Moreover, the people of Jerusalem were so distracted by building their own houses, that they disregarded the rebuilding of God’s house. No different from Nehemiah, who rebuilt the wall, Zerubbabel had to be both a leader and builder. Many of our mountains are leadership opportunities, as well as building moments. We’re given the gift of leading, as we allow God’s grace to bring freedom to our self-image, thereby building others up. What does this process of being built up in our self-image look like? It’s maturing in the knowledge of Christ Jesus, which is known as growing stronger in spirit. John the Baptist grew strong in the spirit in Luke 1:80, and Jesus Christ grew strong in the spirit in Luke 2:40. Growing strong in spirit means that we understand God’s truth by grace, and not through our own works. God’s grace is His ability that shows us our need for Him, whereby we receive supernatural sufficiency. As I mentioned in my last broadcast # 345, I had a world of hurt in my soul from my prior marriage. It shook my world, and I had to deal with tough questions about who I was. What is it that I wanted to do for a career, as a parent, and what were my dreams in life? Hard times will do this to you, taking you to a microscopic level of the soul, assessing your ability to move forward and to walk in the impossible dreams of God for your life. If everything was easy, we wouldn’t need God. It takes the hard moments in life, to wake us up to who we really are. This is what Zerubbabel was experiencing, a hard moment in life, to wake him up to the fact that he was the rightful ruler of God’s people. He had to lead God’s people and rebuild the temple. It was already a difficult task to lead a massive group of people, much less inspire them to rebuild the temple. It’s the impossible assignments that God calls us to, during the times we feel so insufficient, that He gets us past our quit so that we grow strong in spirit. Before you begin an assignment, without realizing it, God has already gotten you past the place where you would totally quit it, by preparing you in the former place you’ve been, to face your mountain. This is a picture of obtaining grace. Grace flattens your mountain like a pancake into a plain. The Hebrew word for plain is mîyshôwr pronounced mee-shore' meaning, “a level, a plain, equity, even place, right, righteously, made straight and uprightness.”[i] This word might be difficult to comprehend in relation to Zerubbabel’s circumstance, so I want to introduce you to the ancient Hebrew symbols, in which the original first five books of the Bible were written. There are twenty-two Hebrew Aleph-Bet letters, beginning with Aleph, where we get our A from, and the Greek gets Alpha. It was during the time of captivity that the ancient symbols were modernized to the squared-off Hebrew letters we know today. Each of the Hebrew letters in the ancient symbols has a meaning, which when brought together with other Hebrew letters, composes a word picture. You know the saying “a picture is worth a thousand words,” that’s what the word picture does with the ancient symbols, providing us with a richer understanding. Jesus taught in parables because it gave His hearers a picture, as the Word of Truth was amplified within the soul, to understand God’s ways. Proverbs 25:2 says that it is the “glory of God to conceal a matter, and the glory of kings to search it out.” Let’s look at the ancient symbols for the word plain, which means “to make something level.” I’ve used ancient Hebrew symbols, in my messages and books, for a decade, which many readers have thoroughly enjoyed. The Hebrew letters for plain are Mem, Yood, Sheen, Vav, and Resh. The ancient symbol for Mem is a picture of water, like our “M” with three humps instead of two, and means, massive in the positive, as well as flooding, and chaos in the negative. Yood is the ancient symbol of an arm at work and means works, make, and deed. Sheen is the ancient symbol of jagged teeth, like a “W,” and means consume in the positive and devour in the negative. Vav is the ancient symbol of a tent peg or nail and means to add and secure. Finally, Resh is the ancient symbol of a man’s face and means, head, highest, and person. If we put all these letters together for plain, we get the word picture THE WORKS THAT MASSIVELY CONSUME US ARE ADDED TO OUR PERSON. Think about this for a moment. It is a different viewpoint from which to look at the meaning of God’s grace.  God’s grace levels every mountain in our life, as we are flooded with His works, knowing that He has called us to His hope and future, where we do the task at hand in His strength and ability. Therefore, grace is God’s strength added to our soul, to see and do the impossible. Sometimes, forgiveness seems impossible, but by God’s grace, we can forgive. Doing a new job to which we feel overwhelmed and deficient seems impossible, but with God’s strength, we are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus. The mountain that must be conquered, is within the human soul. As you conquer the mountain inside of your soul, which is the way you see yourself, everything is made straight and clear before you. You can see and enter what God has called you to do in this life. Zerubbabel was familiar with being governor over God’s people while in captivity, but to lead them to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple, was a whole other level of leadership. Each mountain that we face in life, makes us better leaders. Zerubbabel had different mountains while in captivity, before going to Jerusalem. It was the mountains in his captivity that prepared him for Jerusalem. The mountains we face in this life come down by the grace of God that we experience within the soul. The Hebrew word for grace is chên pronounced khane meaning, “graciousness, beauty, favor, grace, pleasant, precious and well-favored.”[ii] We obtain God’s favor beyond our personal endeavors, as He cloaks us in the right standing of Christ Jesus, obtaining and doing that, which we don’t deserve. Grace is not the result of our goodness, but the knowledge we have of our insufficiency and weakness, it is us knowing our needs and getting His help. As a parent, I did things for my sons, that they couldn’t do for themselves. I dressed them when they were babies, drove them to daycare and school, bought and cooked their meals, and so forth. I gave them a life they couldn’t get on their own. This is what grace is a picture of. We see this in the ancient Hebrew letters that compose the word for grace, which are Chet and Nun. Chet is the ancient symbol of a fence as well as a chamber and means to separate and secret place. Nun is the ancient symbol of a fish swimming through the water and means life and activities. Therefore, the word picture for grace is BEING SEPARATED IN THE SECRET PLACE TO THE ACTIVITIES OF LIFE. The secret place of the heart is where we’re navigated into the abundant life that Christ Jesus came to bring. This is grace. Like a mother dressing her infant, driving them to the daycare, or getting food to cook a meal, God’s grace is where we grow strong in spirit. We let God be God. This is what Zerubbabel came to know when he began rebuilding the temple. In Zechariah 4:6 Holy Scripture states “Then he said to me, This [addition of the bowl to the candlestick, causing it to yield a ceaseless supply of oil from the olive trees] is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit [of Whom the oil is a symbol], says the Lord of hosts.” (Zechariah 4:6 AMPC) The prophet Zechariah proclaimed the Word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, which was, the work at hand would be finished by the Spirit of God. Zerubbabel would be able to rest in the fact that his insufficiency, was merely the opportunity for God to show Himself as the All-Sufficient One. What things are you doing in your own strength? What weaknesses do you need to acknowledge? Where is it that you need to grow in leadership in the present trial? Growing strong in spirit removes the mountain that’s in your soul and makes your path straight into your destiny, as you go in grace. Join me on the next broadcast, to see the power of mountain-moving faith.           The assignment of the impossible was the mountain before Zerubbabel. He couldn’t do the lead and build in his own strength, but only i     [i] Strong’s Concordance Hebrew word # 4334 “plain” [ii] Strong’s Concordance Hebrew word # 2580 “grace”

As we continue our walk through the gospels, let’s take a step back and be reminded of who Luke, one of the writers of the gospels was. Be inspired to step into your own God-given calling as you learn about Dr. Luke with host Julie Jenkins. (Luke 1:1-4) ***** Welcome to Walking in the Word, the Biblical teaching arm of our Women World Leaders podcast. My name is Julie Jenkins, and it is my honor to walk with you through the Bible each Wednesday! If you have been with us for awhile, you know that we are currently walking through the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John as we ask God to teach us and give us a clearer picture of His time here on earth.   Have you ever heard someone’s name who sounds very familiar to you, and, in an effort to jog your memory, looked them up on social media? Sometimes it is not their profile picture that connects the dots in your head, but in scrolling through their photos, you begin to remember that you DID know this person at one time; It always helps complete the picture when we have more than one view. If you are a Christ follower, you, like me, long to see Jesus completely. To know everything about Him –  including His life, His family and His culture while here on earth. You hang on every word that He has said, craving to learn from His wisdom and His very being. It has been such a blessing to walk through the life of Jesus with you over these past months – to glean truths as we put the four pictures of Him together into one – to the best of our ability and by the power of the Holy Spirit. John tells us in verse 25 of chapter 21 in his gospel that  “Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written.” On this side of heaven, we simply cannot know all there is to know about our Lord and Savior – but that shouldn’t keep us from trying! As we walk together, I pray that God is releasing a greater vision of Himself to each of us. Most recently, we have been studying from the book of Luke, so I thought that today would be a great time to go back to the beginning of Luke, and be reminded of who he was, his giftings, and why he worte his gospel. So our study today is centered on Luke, chapter 1, verses 1-4. Before we begin, allow me to pray for us: Father God – We give you this time. And we thank you for making yourself known to us, in your Word, through prayer, and by the Holy Spirit. We ask you to speak to us in these minutes ahead. Jesus – we long to see you! We know that until the day of our glorification when we stand face to face with you, we will not see the whole picture. But I pray that today, and every day, you will open the curtains a little wider, so that we may know you a little deeper. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. Luke, chapter 1, verses 1-4 as written in the New Living Translation: Many people have set out to write accounts about the events that have been fulfilled among us. 2 They used the eyewitness reports circulating among us from the early disciples.[a] 3 Having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I also have decided to write an accurate account for you, most honorable Theophilus, 4 so you can be certain of the truth of everything you were taught. All the gospels are historical documents – that is, they were written to convey accurate historical information, and historians, archeological findings, and even science have verified their accuracy throughout the years. The gospels have much in common with biographies that were written to preserve the teachings and lives of philosophers, statesmen, and rulers. But the gospels are more than factual historical documents – they are also theological in nature. Besides giving historical information, they were also written to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ – that Jesus was born of the virgin Mary, fully human and fully God. That He lived a sinless life of compassionate miracle-working, and teaching of repentance, right living, freedom in and honor to God; and then this same Jesus died a horrific death on a cross, preceded by beatings and torture and humiliation; all to give us, as sinners who still go against Him daily, the opportunity to spend eternity by His side, living in God’s presence, free of our own chains of suffering and sin. Luke, the writer of this gospel of Luke, was a medical doctor. He was a Greek and a Gentile who was a close friend and traveling companion of Paul – and as such, had ample time and access to other disciples. Not only was Luke an eyewitness to the growth of the early church, but he had a formal education which he used as he undoubtedly questioned, interviewed, and just plain picked the brains of those he traveled with and met. His was gifted with an organized and analytical mind, and was able to keep track of facts and information long before he had a computer or smartphone to help him. As a doctor, Luke was on the front lines as Paul and other Christians were physically persecuted for sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. Luke wrote about this in the other book he wrote – the Acts of the Apostles. He witnessed God’s healing power as the Holy Spirit enabled the growth of the church despite whips, chains, boat wrecks, snake bites, stonings, and other near-catastrophes that his writings bring to life for us so many years later. He was the physician on call when God’s disciples were physically harmed – but as a true follower of Christ, he himself never took the title as their healer, knowing that God Himself, Jehovah Rapha, is the only source of true healing. Before Dr. Luke wrote about the growth of the church in Acts, he wrote to us about Jesus Himself, THE good news, in the Gospel of Luke, arguably the most detailed of the four gospels, which stresses Jesus’ relationship with people, including an emphasis on his relationship with and care for women. Much of what is in Luke is not found in any other gospel – which makes studying his writings so fun. In his book, Luke affirms Jesus divinity, but he also strives to show us Jesus’ humanity. Luke begins his book by detailing his method of writing as a man of science and detail – sent by God to report the facts as a thorough, humble historian and man of God. He knows, per his words, that many others had written of the events of Jesus’ life, but he is sure of his calling – he says he has “carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I also have decided to write an accurate account for you…so you can be certain of the truth of everything you were taught.”   What do we learn about God in these first 4 verses of Luke? What can you and I walk away with today? That, by the way, is always a great question to ask yourself as you read any scripture! I can’t help but notice that God puts the right people in the right place at the right time – for His glory! Luke was positioned to experience, study, interview, organize, and write the words in his book so that you and I can study his words today – so that we can see Jesus more clearly and learn more accurately from a time period that is so foreign to us. Despite time, distance, and culture, God made a way for us to know the Jesus who walked the earth. Ephesians 2:10 tells us “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things that he planned for us long ago.” Luke was God’s masterpiece, created on purpose, for a purpose. And you can take it to the bank that God has a purpose for you, too! YOU, like Luke, are positioned to complete a picture for someone else – but it is only through your obedience to His daily commands for you that you can fulfill that purpose. Women World Leaders strives to walk beside you and empower you as you fulfil your God-given purpose. Just this week, we are releasing a new book, written by women just like you from around the globe who have stories to tell of God’s glory working in their lives. Many of these women did not start out as writers, but God impressed on their hearts that they had a story that the world needed to hear. So they stepped forward and partnered with Women World Leaders to create the book Surrendered: Yielded With Purpose. I’d encourage you to go to our website, www.womenworldleaders.com, and check out that book or one of our many other best-selling books. Maybe God is even calling you to write your story.   Back to Luke. Luke was not an eyewitness to the accounts of Jesus’ life, becoming a Christ-follower after Jesus’ death. At times, I bet Luke must’ve felt like he missed out. Do you ever feel like that? Like you came late to the party? I’m the youngest of seven, and also, live far from each of my siblings – I certainly understand the feeling of being left out. I know we all do. But we can be assured that God sees things in a different way than we see things in this world and He has a purpose specifically designed for you right where He has placed you! Luke was perfectly positioned to gather information about the life of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and he was perfectly gifted to accurately record the information so that generations to come, you and me included, could close our eyes, and feel like we are there – beside Mary and Elizabeth as they each received news of their children to come; singing amongst the shepherds at the birth of Jesus; celebrating with Simeon as he praised God for seeing the Messiah with his own eyes as He was dedicated at the temple; catching a glimpse of 12-year-old Jesus sitting with the teachers in his father’s house; …I could go on and on! It would be impossible to list out all the ways that Luke’s gospel has allowed individuals throughout the years to relive the life of Jesus Christ. And it would be impossible to list all the ways that God has pre-ordained for you to impact the world. Will you humbly submit today to where God has called you? Will you use your gifts, as Luke did, to step into your calling? You likely won’t know, this side of heaven, exactly who you will impact or what lives you will change – but that’s ok – because God knows. He has called you for a specific purpose. When you sit with God, ask Him to reveal to you what He wants you to do today. And then walk in obedience, trusting that He alone will provide the fruit of your actions. I know I, for one, am glad that Luke obeyed! Dear Most Holy God! We thank you for positioning us, like you positioned Dr. Luke, for your glory. Father, I ask you to come into each listener’s heart right now and give her a divine assignment from you. Grant her your power to step into her God-given assignment with purpose and grace – knowing in her heart what you want her to do, and trusting that you will walk with her every step of the way. Father, will you give us each a humble excitement right now – that we may spend our days in search of your glory, and on a mission to shine your glory for all the world to see? In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

We all have very important men in our lives. Today's guest, Ken Hobbs - author, speaker, and coach - shares the importance of being a Man of Honor and how to encourage the man in your life.   Ken shares his story about the influence of a man in his life and what value it had in his own life as well as some of the joys of writing with other men in the Amazon #1 Best Seller United Men of Honor: Overcoming Adversity Through Faith, published by World Publishing and Productions.    ***** Kimberly Hobbs   Welcome to Empowering Lives With Purpose. And I'm your host, Kimberly Hobbs. I'm the founder of Women World Leaders. And ladies, we are so happy that you joined with us today. And today we're going to talk about United men of honor overcoming adversity through faith. And it's my pleasure to introduce our guest today, Ken Hobbs. And Ken is my husband. Ken Hobbs   Well, I, I'm excited to be able to do this, I've been looking from the background, and now it's kind of neat to do this ladies. Kimberly Hobbs   Well, we're happy to have you and, and ladies, we all have men in our lives, whether it be our husbands, fathers, sons, nephews, friends, we all have men that we love very much. And we are happy to announce that women, world leaders and world publishing, work together with United men of honor, and put out this amazing book, United men of honor overcoming adversity through faith. And throughout this book is tools for men, to help them be those men of honor that God has called them to be. And we believe that this book will be an inspiration, a hope, help and healing to many, many men, it already has proven so this book has gone to number one best seller, and actually four Times best seller. And we're going to talk a little bit today about the content of this book, so that it might inspire you to get the book for your man in your life that you really want to reach in touch with a helpful message. So I would like to talk to you a little bit today about Ken Hobbs. And before we get into his story and why he he chose to write about United mandhana, overcoming adversity through faith, I want to share a little bit about him. Not only is he my husband, he is a Christ follower, a wonderful man that has dedicated his life to impacting others in paratroop parachurch ministries, missions, and his business as well, which is a marketplace ministry. He's the founder of United men of honor leading coaching and motivating men to become men have God in their homes and in their businesses and communities. He's part of a leadership team, which is Band of Brothers. He strongly passionate about bootcamps and believes they are needed in this world so that men don't have to fight their struggles alone. Ken is also a Senior Vice President and financial coach to multiple brokerages, and he operates he owns and operates them in South Florida, but they're far reaching across the country. So he's married to me, and has wonderful children. And he works in reaches around the world in multiple multiple ministries. So we are very happy and honored to have you today. I love and I want to open up by sharing a little bit about the book. And there was a paragraph I wanted to share with you ladies about the book before Ken shares about his particular story within the book. As the enemy does his best to take out men off of their mission, the war He instigates rages on in men's lives around the world, where have all the mighty men gone? This world needs more men to step up, step out and be men of honor. Isn't that the truth. They need to be warriors for their faith, their family, their community and their country. And they need to be strong for the week leading them with courage to be overcomers. And this book has been written to proclaim the stories of God, his overwhelming provision and his care and share his word with you and with the world. So we're all a work in progress trying to accomplish great and mighty things in our lifetime. And this book can definitely be an inspiration to many who are just trying to find their way in life. Because these stories that all these men that have come together to write are transparent, and they all focus on how God got them through adversities through faith. So Babe, you talk about in your chapter, the influence of a man and why why did you choose to write on the influence of a Man, and why is it so important to be an influence in this world? Ken Hobbs   Well, I think one of the things that I talked about is, is that men, you know, that having men are influenced by other men, just like women are influenced by other women. That's why women world leaders, and that's why we have united men of honor and man, two brothers, because men, you know, made a difference. You could be your father, your grandfather, a coach, all everybody has been influenced, you know, by somebody else. And I was fortunate, and I wrote my chapter, the influence of a man is that there is a positive and there's negative influences that we've known that we've seen generationally, some of you know that somebody has had bad fathering, or that you know, was had a bad coach or a bad leader. And you know, that that turned out to be goes goes on, because that happens, you know, one of the things that the influence of a man can also have a huge power effect. And what I saw is in my life is where my dad wasn't there, I had two grandfather's that were pillars for me. And so it can be passed on for generations, it can happen, and it can make a deal. One of the things I opened up my chapter with, and it talks about, it says, you know, your dictionary.com says, influence can be defined as the ability to affect the character, development, or behavior of someone or something. And it requires developing strong emotional connection with each, excuse me, with yourself, and others, those who master the art of influence are often skilled at tapping into emotions that drive people's actions. And, you know, that's one of the things that I'm that I hope that I have been able to do as far as with my ministries, because you know, we're here not to push not to pull not to, you know, not to force people. But we're here to, you know, all of us have influence. And one of the reasons I wrote this chapter is to talk about how different people can influence you, and can teach you and how you can make a difference. You know, just like what you've done with, you know, women, world leaders, the influences that you've had on your books and sharing those things. It really makes an impact in today. Kimberly Hobbs   Amen, amen. And you talk about in there, the different ways that men can influence their, their followers, you know, like, how they can pour into lives. And I think that's so important. You know, us women, were supposed to teach the younger women and it talks about that, and in God's word, so how do you feel that men can pour into other men to be an influence in their life? Ken Hobbs   Well, one of the things is, I'll take the takeaways for me, you know that, you know, one of the scriptures that my dad and we use in Vanda brothers, you know, when my dad taught me, and we use a band of brothers is First Corinthians 1613 through 14, it says, Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong, let all you do be in love. And so there's almost a contradiction there. In today's society, if a man is strong, and he is that testosterone guy, they say that testosterone, if he's strong, is toxic in today's thing, but then the Scripture says, Be strong. But then it says, In all things, too, in love. And that was one of the things I was actually modeled, I can say that with my, with my four influences in my life, I was modeled that my father taught me what the definition of forgiveness was, which probably was the single most important thing that happened to me, is to learn that because I could then understand, not how God forgives us. But then also I could be able to relate to other people. And I could go and separate. And so what my dad, and my grandfather taught me, is that true forgiveness is when you can remember the hurt or the incident, and not feel the pain, or the emotions. And that's what God does for us. He remembers everything's written down. But you know what, it doesn't matter because it's not counted against us anymore. So I use the analogy. It's sort of like pleading, no contest, you're guilty as charged, but you're not adjudication is withheld. It's covered. And that's what we do when we forgive. That's why people ask for mercy. Mercy is unmerited grace is unmarried. That means you didn't do anything to deserve it. You're actually you're guilty. You have nothing but we give you mercy because we choose to love you. And I think that's what being strong and that was so important. What I learned from the men that I had in my in my book, and then if you read the rest of the chapters, there are some very, very strong influences that went on through that, how they were able to navigate their walk. So we have pastors that that are pastors today. But when they started out that some of them had addiction problems, some of them had insecurity problems. And in fact, the co founder of our banner brothers with us in Florida, you know, he actually was second grade a teacher, he tested it in test well, so the teachers had called his parents in and said, Well, he's got a problem. He's got a learning deficiency, you better gear him towards sports, because he has a learning deficiency. And really, all he did is he added attention to some deficiency, he was actually so smart. And he now has master's degrees and has all that, but his parents believed what that teacher said, and that and he believed that for so many years, and that's why he wants to go out for sports and stuff. But then he found out now today, his master's degrees, he leads organizations, he's got 100, brokerages in his financial coaching business, all because that lie what other people say isn't necessarily true. And that's what these stories can do. It can expand you what you've been told the agreements that you've been, that you've made, that other people or the world is telling you, insecurities, all those things are not that important that God can overcome adversities through your faith. Kimberly Hobbs   Amen. Amen. While the influence of a man is so very important in lives, right? And how, how do we become that man of honor, and you know, who you have prayerfully spoke to many men, that you feel that God put on your heart to be a part of this book. And these men didn't just come into this book, by chance, each one of them have an incredible, powerful story that will truly inspire, I mean, people will read it and say, Wow, if this person can be transparent, and share this, and get through this, with God's help, there's hope for me. And that was the purpose that you wanted those people that God's strategically placed into this book, to write. And so can you share a little bit about stories and how influencing these stories out how important it is, I know, when you go to Band of Brothers, you share stories, because they have impact on people. And they teach people and all through this book, there's teaching, but we'll get into that in a minute. But talk about all the different people that God called to write in this book, and influence others. Ken Hobbs   Well, you know, one of the things that you know, the scripture that we use, and I know you've used it many times, and it's been the pillar of why you use testimonies, why you've been able to be so successful with women, world leaders and, and be able to rally women around because they, you know, Revelations 1211. And I actually have it in the book here. And I think I don't want to open the answer the question, first of all, by reading that Scripture, the passion translation says that the best says, They conquered him, that means the enemy completely through the blood of the Lamb, and the word of their testimony. And he may triumph, because they did not love and cling to their own lives, even when faced with death. See, what happens is, is that because of our insecurities, because of our pride, we don't share our stories. We don't tell those, those intimate things. And it's one of the things that it's so appealing to choose such an amazing, amazing servant leader, and that you share your story and how you started the copulation books by sharing your story and tears to triumphant and how you serve the story of the turtle faith of the university. We've had with some people in our family and all those things that have gone through as it and that's what we did, and we unified it and Banner brothers 10 years ago started with this where we have responders that deal with each of the four pillars, you know, the adventure to live, the, the princess to, to love, right, the the children to Father, you know, and how important it is because what we're playing for is that according to Barna stats that we quote, a lot of times that they say that when a man comes to the Lord first 93% of the time, the rest of the family will follow. When the woman comes first, it's 37% of the time the rest of the family will follow. And when the child comes first, it's 17% of the time. So if we one of the reasons why we are so aggressive, you know why we are so pushing for this, we're men because men are hard to get to men have caught up into their own things. And this world is trying to isolate men, where we're talking about their strength in a band of brothers. If we unite we can truly be united men together. And so we want to teach people how to do that so that they can father because you understand this generation has been not fathered not parented, mothered is not been coached, it's not been mentored. And that's one of the things that the millennials and the generation X's Z's are having as they've been left to technology, and the media, so much more influence than on an actual parent or coach or a leader of them to be able to do it. That's why I believe these two in these two ministries that we run are so important in this book, the different stories and the last thing I'll talk about, we have a gentleman here that wrote, called did differently abled, and he wrote the story about his son, and what he went through that his son was born not not a normal birth, it had some issues and became differently abled. And how he turned that into a ministry and save souls today, by doing triathlons with carrying him and pushing him by going across, he just went across the from the Bahamas to Fort Lauderdale, on a on a boat, in pulling a paddling, paddleboard paddling his son behind them. And that story was just so amazing, because some of the ladies can understand that, that feel what their child, you know, is going through that we have another gentleman who was a Jewish American brought up there and had real father wounds and never knew what forgiveness was. And he writes his forgiving forward story, and how that work and how he was able to get restoration, we have a father and son team that are in the book, and we are so excited about them. And you know what happened and their stories, how they were able to relate to each other, but also a for the kingdom, you know, and to, they all had their own processes they had to go through, but they were so genuine to share it how a person that owned a construction company that felt the Lord calling him to donate the construction, so you need to and not for profit. And now to do that he writes his story in there. And then the last I can, there's so many there's over 20 stories that I want to leave anybody out, just giving you some highlights you really need to read it is that, you know, we had a gentleman that was in COVID ICU, that went through that whole COVID process with his family, and then nobody at that, that was in that COVID ICU with him, walked out of there except for him. That's the mighty man of God, you know, we're able to do and then are closed with the chapter of agenda on basically a job story, a doctor who lost everything, he still has a trachea and lost his family lost, you know, his health and couldn't walk with thought he was going to be told he was going to suppose to die many, many times, and how God is now using him to tell his testimony and tell his thing. And then his life is still process. But he's walking through it and telling the testimony as it is. Kimberly Hobbs   It's amazing, truly amazing, the men that have come forward to be transparent with the world. And ladies, you could read this book for yourselves and be influenced and moved by what you read. And then I'm sure you're going to want to pass it to those men in your life that you love so much. Because when they can sit down and really read the stories of another man and they can identify with these because these men talk openly about things that they have had to deal with in their life. You know, but God and God helped them through so it gives hope, help healing to others that may be looking in and glimpsing in at these stories, I'm telling you, it's a powerful book, it's already gone to a four times bestseller. So it has sweep the categories and categories as number one bestseller. And again, that's God because He knows these messages need to get out to the world. So the other thing that this book supplies, which is a fantastic is the teaching the teaching with within the book in between each chapter, there are different teachings, you know, face to the subtitle is overcoming adversity through faith. Well, it takes faith to overcome insecurities. It takes faith to overcome temptation. It takes faith to overcome addictions. Each of these are spelled out and how to deal with these things that men face continuously that they're bombarded with. So, um, my love, can you talk about some of these teachings that you have decided to put in between the chapters that are powerful? Ken Hobbs   Well, you know, one of the things was is, this was my first time writing I've spoken in front of 1000s and I have been in public speaking now almost 30 years. And but writing is a different challenge that I have never done because when you transfer what you think and what you say, and you put it down into writing, it changes everything because it actually becomes more real. First off is they always talk about that but the second thing is is that it really made you deal with things that When you're just speaking about it and sharing about it, you don't always deal or think or go back to those times that you had. And so writing about that, in order to write that, you know, you had to actually go back to those times and analyze where it was. So one of the things I dealt with is I kind of felt or dealt with an abandonment issue that I was my parents got divorced when I was very young, and they fought over me for custody and for you know, everything and, and I actually was, when they both got remarried, it was a huge, huge transition. I know probably, you're really you know, your followers are probably have some of the same situations and dealing with that. So I went from the father over child, to the abandoned child, I felt like in you know, one of the things so I talked about how I dealt with abandonment and what Scriptures helped me through but more importantly, is having one of the toughest times of my life, you know, that I've felt more abandoned than I ever felt when I was eight years old, turned out to be the greatest memory that I childhood memory I had when my grandfather pop scene went and got a Winnebago and we went across country and, and went to the Mount Rushmore and Tetons and all the different areas across the country and, and just had an amazing, amazing time. And now with, with my, my aunt, and we just had an amazing time, it turned into a great, great memory, my best childhood memory, I could say, one of my best, and that here is but that was when I was dealing with the biggest issues of abandonment. So God allows people to come into your life. And that's where a man can go and be there for another man. And that's one of the things we talked about. Insecurities is a big thing for a man. I mean, especially in this technology world, we got Facebook, Instagram, we've got all kinds of social media, everything is broadcast out there everything is you're on video camera, everywhere you go everywhere you drive, you're on video, you understand life is is a showcase. And so what ends up happening is is how do you deal with those insecurities? How do you deal with it? How do you man up in this world, right? We talk about how do you navigate yourself and when though even society doesn't even want you to be a man, you know, where a man of God or a Christian man is looked at as Mr. Rogers, whereas God wants you to be David or be Braveheart or be Gladiator. He wants you to fight for what's right, fight for your princess, fight for your children fight for your community, and how do you fight, he fight by putting on the armor, the spiritual armor, you know, the helmet of salvation, we carry around the military coin, that the end of our band of brothers when in fact, we had a band of brothers bootcamp with a record breaking over 450 guys that were there we went through the whole, you know, four day workshop on how to don't call the Wild at Heart, how to deal with all the adversities that you're dealing with, and really breaks down everything that coaching and teaching has never really done in churches and other groups. And we've actually have a coin that when you go through the the bootcamp, they give you this coin and it has on there, put it on Ephesians six, Put on the whole armor of God talking about is is when you feel stressed, you feel depressed. You feel, you know, unworthy, you feel unappreciated men, really I hear more and more that men feel unappreciated today than they ever did because of just the way society you know works and the way society is going right now and and that really is a problem. So they care for this court that you've got to make sure an armor up. We call it fit to fight. We got to look to the other guys and say are you fit to fight? Did you put on your helmet this morning? Did you wash your brain? Did you got your righteousness on your breastplate so everybody can see it that what God has done for you? How big is your sword? Like Oh, guys like the compare how big their fish are? You know, and they always had their fish stories? Well, we want to talk about how big is your sword? And that's how much you know of the Word of God. And then also how big is your shield? How big is your faith? I think that could be the greatest security that a man can give their family, their community that they could do is their faith is so big, that the shield becomes a force field around their families, their communities, their churches. So those are some of the highlights of some that changing, but you got to read the book to get more. Kimberly Hobbs   Yes, absolutely. The teaching is fabulous. And there's so much helpful in there. And we just know that it is just it's going to rock the reader and they are going to just be so moved by what they read and what is poured into them. And I just want to share one more thing at the close of this book. And you had written that God has a plan for your future but so does the enemy and that is so true. His intentions are not good. The devil's plan cannot succeed if you're walking and talking with God living in obedience honoring him and standing firm in His Word that your sword and you speak in Teach of that all throughout this book through the men stories through the teaching. So despite what is happening around you, your enemy, the devil will be defeated. But he's going to try to wreak havoc on you until he is. So ask God for strength and endurance to continue in what you must do, don't give up or give in. Remember, if you start getting consumed by present battles in your life, and feel like you're going nowhere, God has your back. And one of the ways is through a book like this, because you will get so much learning so much teaching so much and for in SPIRATION, that God is preparing you for what's next. So don't lose heart. So as we close in the next minute or two, can you please just speak into the listener right now, which is mainly women right now. And talk to them about how this book can even make a difference in their life? Ken Hobbs   Well, first off is is that all of you one of the things i i love about this, because I read, you know, all the women were leaders books, okay, just so you know, there it is. I have a signed copy from, from the publishers and the authors. So I make sure and do that. But I read the women's stories, and I do their I actually read the women's devotionals that are put out every day, because it gives me a better insight into the women in my life. Obviously, my my love, you know, but I also into my mom, my stepmother, the other women that I'm interacting with that it really, really helps you. So I would first recommend that if you have men in your life, and you would like to have a better relationship, understanding them, so that you can though and maybe have a little bit more influence or, or direction if they needed that this book would be a great read for you. So if you understand what other men have gone through, and how they overcome it, the you can then go and encourage and guide and and do that. The second thing is is that you can actually use this book and have it around and have it well. And try to encourage your man your father, your your husband, your son, your steps on your uncle's any man that you have in your life, or any man in need. There is a story in here that everybody needs to hear. Okay, and it all comes back to the Lord. We're talking to Jesus in His Word is what we direction everything is in the end, I want you to understand that we don't want to get churchy. But we are going to direction where our, our faith and our strength comes through. And, and that happens. And the second thing, the third thing I thought was really cool. And this was something that Kimberly did for me the day that was actually launched that it's a really neat thing, if you order the Kindle version, is that you can actually have Alexa read the Kindle version. So Kimberly went in the head at when I came home that day, and she said Alexa, play United men of honor overcoming adversity through faith or to read it. And it actually read everything that it just went through. And it was so almost brought me to tears hearing it done. Well that's maybe something you could do while you're getting your dishes. While you're doing other things that are going on that you could be listening to it, but guess what other people are listening to. And that happens a lot. And then for your unsaved man that you might have or your unsaved person, you know, obviously pray, okay, but utilize, try to encourage the book. And if they're not open to that, that's okay, too. But you model what some of the things you're going to learn how to deal with the man in your life by this book and be able to utilize it and go forward. Kimberly Hobbs   Thank you. Thank you great word. And so yes, it is not just for the men, it is for everybody. So in there is something that we can all take away from this. I mean, I can't even tell you the flooding of ladies that have already read this that have been coming back with tears. Everybody's saying tears powerful, like they can't even get through this book without crying through all the chapters because these men like I said, I can't say it enough. They are transparent. And they wrote from their heart and they revealed a lot of junk. And there's like four pastures in this book as well. And you know what's so amazing is that they had to go through something we all have a past right? To get to where they are now and how God brought them there is truly remarkable. So when you hear these kinds of stories, ladies to it will rock your world. So as I close, God is awakening warriors to step up and be heard as they live with valiant and courageous faith. With the stories and teachings United men of honor overcoming adversity through faith will help you armor up, become fit to fight and move forward with what it takes to be an honorable leader and kindness as we close out right now. There are going to be those that want to reach out to you and get more information about Band of Brothers or can you give out a way they can reach you in the last 30 seconds? Ken Hobbs   Got it. No problem that first off is is that my bio is in the front of the book. And I do list all our websites that are there that you can access their band of brothers fl.com www dot band or brothers fl.com is for the bootcamps. United men of honor United men of honor.com is another way, my direct email and I'll have any problem with that if somebody wants to contact me direct 10 Hobbs number [email protected] Ken Hobbs, number two Yahoo, we would love to be able to pray. We're also on social media have your man or if you want to follow us on Facebook group, we have a group called United Men of Honor, we all just like you ladies have one. And we also have an Instagram and a telegram chat. I do want to close with one quick scripture one, I really encourage you ladies that if you are pursuing your man's and your man's heart, see that's what you need to do. Don't pursue your man or their actions pursue their heart that the last scripture was his revelations 319 through 21. All those I love I unmask and trained. So repent and be Eagle eager to pursue what is right. Behold, I am standing at the door knocking, if your heart is open to hear my voice, and you hear the door and you open the door within I will come in to you and will feast with you. And to the one who conquers I will give you the privilege of sitting with me at the throne. That's what the stakes were paying for. stand at the door don't give up. Kimberly Hobbs   Beautiful, wonderful word. Yes. And I just have one more scripture to add to because God says Call on me when you're in trouble, and I will rescue you and you will give me glory. And that's exactly what this book is about is all the men that God has rescued from all the garbage that has been in their life. And now they are glorifying him sharing their stories, that Psalm 50 Verse five, if you'd like to know. So God will work everything together in his time. So don't give up. Ladies, this is such a helpful tool, United men of honor overcoming adversity through faith, which is available on Amazon, and also many other different avenues. It's available at Barnes and Nobles. But we have a favor to ask if you are going to order this book for Christmas birthdays, whatever God puts on your heart, would you please order through World publishing and productions.com Because all proceeds of this book go to support the ministries and we are very grateful that God has provided that opportunity. So again, we asked you to go to World publishing and productions.com to the shop and you can order United men of honor overcoming adversity through faith. God bless you all, we are so thankful that you joined in today and pray that you will enjoy the book and please reach out please give us messages of how it impacted you because we placed those on social media we placed them in our world publishing and productions. Lines and we and also on Amazon, please write reviews on Amazon. It's so so important when other people looking to see if maybe they should get this book, they read those and we God can use you in an impactful way to pour into the person saying should I read this book or not? So those would be helpful. So we have to close and again I thank you my love for being on today Ken Hobbs. He is one special man and I am thankful that God brought him into my life and I get to serve the Lord with him. So thank you for being on today babe. Ken Hobbs   Oh, love being here. I love being Mr. Women World Leaders, too. Kimberly Hobbs   Amen So from his heart to yours, ladies, we are women world leaders all content is copyrighted by women world leaders and cannot be used without expressed written consent, but reached out to us. We want to hear from you. God bless you all have a beautiful and wonderful day.  

Life has its ups and downs. Sometimes we feel like we are on the top of the mountain, and other times we are in the deepest valley. No matter where we are, we can know for certain that God is God. And He will always be with us! Join Rusanne Carole today and be inspired, no matter where you are in life. ***** Welcome to Celebrating God’s Grace, a WWL’s podcast. I am your host, Rusanne Carole, born in Louisiana- living in Australia. Thank you for joining us today as we look at how we, as sisters in Christ, we can live and experience the good times and the challenging times -  overcome adversity & challenges we face in this world.  God is our God of the times we are on top of the mountain as well as when we find ourselves in the deepest of valleys.  But as followers of Christ we are called & equipped to battle on, & we’re not alone… we put on the full armour of God, becoming Spirit-led, Spirit-filled Warriors, we are Women of God, we are Women World Leaders.  ***God is God and He is with us whether we are on top of a mountain in life – celebrating the wonderful things this life has to offer… ***  The Bible shares many glorious experiences that happened on mountains… Moses received the 10 commandments, God, on the mountain, wrote these commandments on tablets of stone with His finger!  Jesus appeared in his heavenly form during the Transformation atop a mountain. The happenings on top of a mountain represent the magnificent. The highs.  The celebrations.  Maybe that’s where we get the saying, “ I feel like I’m on top of the world” As a young girl, I took a trip with my high school and we climbed a mountain in Colorado.  As we finally reached the top it was absolutely gorgeous and you did feel like you were on top of the world. Elated.. Like nothing could touch you.  Yet as we grow up… experience life we realise those moments don’t last forever… Changes comes. Challenges come. Circumstances we’d rather not experience present themselves  Much suffering happens in the valleys as God’s ppl struggle with life’s disappointments, trials, temptation. Our faith is tested..  The dichotomy of LIFE – such beauty and happy times yet such devastation can occur too!  Even the biblical Promise Land that God led His ppl to included both hills and valleys alike… Deut 11:11… “But the land you are crossing the Jordan River to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks rain from the heaven. In Matthew 5 Jesus tells us God causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.  But how do we drink rain from heaven in the lowest of our times in the valleys we find ourselves in?  What God asks the Israelites for during their 40 year journey that could have been travelled in 11 days was TRUST.. It’s what He asked of them and it’s what He asks of us now.  We don’t know what tomorrow holds but as believers and followers of Christ, we know who holds tomorrow.  Our hope is in the Lord. – not in this life but the life that awaits.  So practically – how can we drink that heavenly rain as we walk thru the valleys. Here are some things to ponder:   Our feelings during this time can take over… We mustn’t ignore or suppress the feelings but we cannot allow ourselves to stay there.. I had a friend tell me, it’s ok to have a bad day just try not to have 2 in a row. I believe it’s important to pay attention to the pain, acknowledge it, allow it… then the tough part comes in the waiting in the confusing “in-between time when finally the birth of something new comes… For God is good… Nahum 1:7 says The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in Him.  He has us and He never leaves us.   We can quench our spiritual thirst by getting in His Word. Yet I know there have been times in the deepest of valleys it was hard to read or concentrate. This is where it’s important to have a few life verses planted – embedded deep in your heart that you can meditate and ponder on throughout the tough days. And worship music can be most beneficial at this time too.   And of course PRAYER. I recently read: Her secret is simple. On her worst days she prays, and on her best days she prays. God even knew there would be seasons in which we wouldn’t even have the words.  Romans 8:26-27 tells us the Spirit makes intercession for us for HE knows. What a merciful, beautiful God we serve.   So as believers, we will be discouraged , but not despaired for our God is with us always – A beautiful worship song by Tauren Hills (hills & valleys) Says: ... I love visualisations and we know how powerful they can be: I like to picture myself dancing with Jesus on top of the mountain (Him singing over me) when I am being blessed to experience the goodness of God.  ISIAH 52:7 declares “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaimed peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion,  Your God reigns!   IS 55:12 describes worshipping God during a hill time of celebration “You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace,  the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands”  In valleys, we can choose to see our obstacles as opportunities to grow stronger in our faith.   Peter 4 verse 12 and 13 tells us,  ‘Dear friends don't be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through as if something strange is happening to you. Instead be very glad -  for these trials make your partners with Christ in his suffering so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world. Our valley times are temporary. This is the time I’m not dancing on a mountaintop but I am resting in His arms – with my head on his chest so close I can feel his breath on my face and hear his heartbeat beating in sink with mine, like a lullaby allowing be to be still and sit with HIM  Let us pray  Lord, I hope that every ear that has tuned into this teaching will experience more and more of Your love for us whether we are currently celebrating on a mountaintop or struggling through getting through a valley.  In this world, the only constant is change. But Your word tells us You do not change. You are our constant. You are our Rock. Help us to lean into you each day, each moment no matter what our circumstances are.  You give us the peace beyond all understanding. And until we reach that final mountaintop where eternity is our home, help us in Your strength to persevere in the race that is set out for each of us. Thank you for listening to WWL’s podcast. Join us each Monday, Wednesday and Friday as we explore together God’s extravagant love & your courageous purpose. Visit our website at www.womenworldleaders.com to submit a prayer request, register for an upcoming event, and support the ministry.  From His heart to yours, we are WWL. All content is copyrighted by WWL and cannot be used without written consent.  

Oh, Martha and Mary! The sisters who both love Jesus but react so differently to His presence! Who is right? Are either of them “wrong”? Let’s discover together what we can learn as we study Luke 10:38-42.  ***** Welcome to Walking in the Word, the biblical teaching arm of the Women World Leaders podcast. My name is Julie Jenkins, and I am honored to walk with you as we open the Bible together and ask God to show us His heart. If you are new to Women World Leaders, I want to offer you a special welcome. We are a ministry that strives to help others walk in their God-given purpose. As the ministry has grown, one of the things God has led us to is helping women become authors by helping them write and publish their God-stories. The resulting books shine the spotlight on Jesus so others can look to Him as they go through life. To date, each of our books has become a best-seller – people just can’t get enough of God. And rightly so! This year, along with working with women, we have been blessed to partner with United Men of Honor to publish a book of God-stories written by men. The book—United Men of Honor: Overcoming Adversity Through Faith—was recently released and also became an #1 Amazon best-seller. I’m telling you, this book is amazing. I would encourage you to visit womenworldleaders.com to purchase a copy for the man in your life…but you may want to actually purchase two…because you will want one for yourself! While you are on the website, make sure to check out our teachings and devotions and sign up to attend our monthly leadership connection on Zoom. On this, the Wednesday editon of the Women World Leaders’ podcast, we are currently walking through the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John as we examine the life of Jesus. Today’s teaching is from Luke, chapter 10, verses 38-42. Before we dive into scripture, let’s pray… Dear Most Holy and ever-present God,  we thank you for guiding us through this lesson today. God, the scripture we are studying today is short, but it is SO packed with meaning. God, I pray that you guide my words. You know what we each need to hear from you today, and I ask that you use this time to speak to us. Guide each of our thoughts as we listen. Help us to hear YOUR heart, YOUR instruction, YOUR wisdom. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. Today's scripture is just 5 verses, but as I prayed, it is chock full of lessons for us. Luke has grouped this teaching with two other teachings, which we have already studied. Luke 10, verses 1-24 give the lesson that, as Christians, we are to be ambassadors of and for Christ. In these verses, Luke tells of Jesus sending out the 72 messengers, and then he tells of their return – and that the ambassadors are filled with joy because they saw how God faithfully worked through them on their mission. Then, in Luke 10, verses 25-37, we learn the importance of being a good neighbor through the story of the good Samaritan. So we’ve seen the importance, as Christ-followers, of being an ambassador for Christ and of being a good neighbor – the importance of working for the Kingdom. With that in mind, let’s step forward into Luke 10:38-42 to see what our third lesson is. The New Living Translation states… 38 As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. 40 But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” 41 But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! 42 There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” Jesus and His disciples are on their way to Jerusalem, and they come to Bethany, just a few miles east of the city, where three siblings, Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, live. Jesus was good friends with this family and often stayed with them. It seems that they were known for their hospitality. And I don’t know if the house was very crowded or extremely large, but let’s get the picture that there were at least 16 people there. If you have ever hosted Thanksgiving and Christmas for your family, you know how much work it is to feed a large group. When my family gets together, we do it potluck style – everyone is responsible for bringing one or two items. This helps alleviate the burden on the host and hostess, for sure. But in this case, and in this culture, Martha, as the homeowner and hostess, was responsible for doing all the food preparation. And Jesus was a very important guest. Later, scripture clearly tells us that Martha knew exactly who Jesus was, the Messiah, so of course she was going to go all out to serve Him and His disciples. Not only was there food to prepare, there were also beds to be made up, water to be brought in, and lamps to fill with oil. There is no doubt that Martha had been working for days before Jesus’ arrival. And, we are told, she welcomed Jesus and His disciples into her home. She was pleased they were there, ready to enjoy their presence. But before she could rest, she needed to make sure that the food for the next meal was prepared. Martha had obviously hoped that her sister, Mary, would help her. Culturally, this WAS the woman’s job…and we can guess that Mary DID help, but when it came to putting on the finishing touches, Mary went and sat at the feet of Jesus, leaving the remainder of the work to Martha. Let’s focus on Mary for a moment. Sitting at the feet of a rabbi, soaking in the learning, was an honorable and esteemed place to be. And culturally, it was meant as a place for men. Women and girls were not allowed to receive any type of formal education. Society was quite segregated between men and women. Women were responsible for birthing babies, raising children, and preparing food. And that is where they gained their honor. But Mary stopped her work to sit at the feet of her beloved Jesus. And Jesus welcomed her. One of the biggest takeaways of this passage is that Jesus’ teachings are not intended for a select group—all are welcome to sit at Jesus’ feet. Today we don’t have the literal feet of Jesus to sit at, but we do have individual and corporate Bible study, prayer, church offerings, Bible schools and seminaries, and, most importantly, the voice of the Holy Spirit. Jesus welcomes everyone to come and sit at His feet in whatever way His feet are available to them. He wants us all to come and learn and enjoy a relationship with Him. A second takeaway is that we are all different. God doesn’t judge us according to our abilities and gifts, so we shouldn’t judge each other either. Martha got frustrated with Mary because she wasn’t helping her. But Mary was exactly where Jesus wanted her to be. We are all given different gifts and talents to be used in the body of Christ. Some indeed have the gift of hospitality and service, others lean more toward teaching and preaching. The gift you receive is up to God. And God doesn’t make mistakes. Mary and Martha were different. Martha thrived on being a hospitable hostess. Mary had a bent for learning. Both were giftings from God – and both were good. Besides the lessons that Jesus’ teachings are for all of us, and that we are not to judge others’ gifts and abilities, we also learn that even good work can be distracting. We are all called to do and go for Christ – that simply can’t be denied. There IS much work to be done, including sharing the gospel across the world AND with our neighbors, as Luke has taught us, but we must always be on guard against elevating the work we are called to ABOVE spending time with Jesus. What Martha was doing was important. She was serving Jesus!! What an amazing honor to prepare a meal for our Lord! It is no wonder that she wanted everything to be just right. But getting it all just right, in this instance, consumed her. We see that because frustration arose within her when Mary went and sat at Jesus’ feet – leaving Martha with the work. When we are serving Christ in answer to His call and find ourselves frustrated with the way others on our team are serving, our hearts are no longer in the right place. So what do we do? Martha went to Jesus – which WAS the RIGHT thing to do! She said “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work?” If Martha would have stopped right there and listened for a response from Jesus, she would have been golden. I imagine Jesus would have said, “Martha, why don’t you come and sit down, too. We can have dinner later.” And what a different ending THAT would have been! But after Martha went to Jesus with her frustration, she didn’t pause to let Jesus speak. Instead, she told Jesus what to do, saying…”Tell her to come and help me.” When our work for the Lord leads us into territory that is frought with frustration, we should absolutely take our concerns to Him, but we should approach Him with an open, teachable heart that is ready to pause and listen to His instructions. We CAN trust that God has everything in His control. The work WILL get done. The dinner, literally or figuratively, WILL be a success—if we respond in obedience with each step. Even work done FOR Jesus can distract us from spending time WITH Jesus.   Jesus does respond, because Martha takes a breath, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! 42 There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” The primary takeaway from this scriputre is that despite the work we are called to, our relationship with the Lord should always be our primary focus. Martha was busy doing, and she became frustrated. Still, when she went to Jesus, He kindly and graciously pulled her into a deeper relationship with Him. When we go to Jesus, He will always pull us into a deeper relationship with Him, and no one can take that from us. Jesus will never stop trying to reach us. He reached Mary where she was, and He reached Martha where she was. And if you pause and listen, He will meet you, wherever you are. The Christian life requires balance. It requires us to go, be ambassadors for Christ and care for our neighbors—sometimes cooking a meal for many, but it also begs us to pause and allow the Lord to speak to our hearts. Jesus’ teachings ARE intended for YOU – whether you are a man or woman, a pastor or a prostitute. Jesus’ wants YOU to sit at HIS feet. Jesus gifting for each of us is different; therefore, the best we can do is do what WE are called to and not judge others. Jesus doesn’t EVER want our work FOR Him to distract us from our relationship WITH Him. But most of all, Jesus wants us to pause and listen to Him, trusting He will ALWAYS be there to graciously lead and guide us. As Christians, nothing can take that away from us. It is clear from this passage just how much Jesus LOVED Martha and Mary. His patient care is almost palpable. I can just envision the kindness in His eyes that entranced Mary and melted Martha’s frustrations. I’m sure glad Martha took a breath long enough to let Jesus speak. I pray that you and I will do the same today. Let’s pray… Dear Jesus…how kind you are. Your kindness is beyond what we can fathom. We just seem to get off course sometimes, intent on going and doing. Let us each rest in your kind presence today. Help us hear your melodious voice and see your eyes running deep with peace and love. Thank you for always pursuing us and loving us. We give you today and thank you for giving us eternity. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.  

Join us for Part II of Brandie Reader's interview. Brandie is a 22-year-old with a powerful story of a broken life, shattered into a million pieces. The incredible work God is doing to restore her with His healing love will bring unspeakable joy to your soul.      You'll hear the battle of lies Brandie has dealt with and overcome because of God's unfailing promises of Truth.  Brandie shares that this transparent  story isn't just for her but hopes to encourage others with the hope and miracle of God which He brought to her precisely when she needed it. Brandie titled this 2-part podcast: "Hope Is Colorful, Overcoming Darkness With Light"   *****   Kimberly Hobbs   Welcome to Empowering Lives With Purpose. And I'm your host, Kimberly Hobbs. I'm the founder of Women World Leaders. And ladies, we are so grateful that you've joined us today. And I'd like to welcome back for part two, our guest, Miss brandy reader, welcome, Brandie. Brandie Reader   Hey, ladies, I'm so excited to be back again, Kimberly Hobbs   We are so excited to have you. And, ladies, if you were listening in to last week, you will know that this young lady has a powerful, powerful testimony of what God has healed her from. And you are now going to hear the way that God had healed her through what she went through. And ladies, we're here and hopes that we can strengthen you, encourage you and empower you to walk in your beautiful purpose just as Brandie is. And despite all the past and trials and tribulations that a lot of us have endured through our lives. God gives us a solution and he has a plan for each of our lives. He says in Ephesians 210 that we are His masterpiece created a new in Christ Jesus to do the very good things that he planned for us long ago. And I know that he had a plan for brandies life long ago. And she is walking that out right now. And it is amazing to hear her testify and share openly and transparently of her past and now what God's doing in her future. And we pray that this can be you as well, that we all have stories. And those stories belong to God when we are believers, because it's God that brings us through those trials and tribulations in our life and allow us to live so that we can testify of the amazing things that he has done in our lives. So we are hoping today that in part two of this amazing story and testimony that you are going to see the power of God come alive in brandies life, I want to share a little bit about brandy for those of you that have missed last week and may only be tuning into part two and that's okay. We'll just fill you in on what this is about. So brandy reader is 22 years old. She is from West Palm Beach, Florida. She's active in her church, which is bound church in South Florida. And Brandi did a program through her church called 516, where she learned how to truly be a disciple of Christ and how the Lord changed her life through this. Brandi is passionate about God, healing, deliverance, and also prayer. I love to hear that especially from a young lady like yourself 22 years old and you have passions about the things of the Lord. She aspires to bring people closer to God and healing through sharing her story. And I asked brandy of what did you want to title this brandy? Like what do you think is a good title for sharing your story? And she said how about hope is colorful, overcoming darkness with light. And I said I love that. And that's what she used to wear dark clothes when she was walking in that darkness. And now she likes to wear brighter things and colorful things. She has a rainbow earrings on and she is just so happy to be able to walk in the freedom because she has battled those lies that the enemy threw at her. And now she walks in this newness of life. And just to recap a little bit and Brandy is going to tell you a little bit more but God has brought her through. She overcame rejection in her life when she was little paranoia, abuse, painful abuse from a stepdad. And now she's had to go through a lot of things to get to where she is now. But a lot of lies that the enemy fed over these years of brandies life so Brandi Do you want to recap about your life before we go into what now God is miraculously doing through you because it is powerful. Ladies get ready and just take down maybe a pen and paper and jot some of the things down but Brandy is going to share with you because it really truly as inspiring. So go ahead brandy talk about how you're you are broken in a million pieces. And how God webbed into your pain The whole Christ that needed to be found and how he wants the whole Brandie. Brandie Reader   Yeah. So during capital a little bit, you know, I grew up in abuse of all forms that you can imagine just feeling abandoned and neglected and not wanted from a young age, getting put in. My mom losing her rights, my stepdad giving us our toys, being put in a home with someone I didn't really know who didn't love me who didn't want me. And then growing up from that abusive home, to finally meeting God, and still battling hopelessness to overdosing, when I was $15, saving me from that. But still walking around with this feeling of no loss of home, like loss of family, from the Lord putting me in different homes and then battling rejection when I was moved. believing the lie, you know, God's word says he puts a lonely in families, and then being put in families in that being taken away. So they're not believing God's truth. His Word says, For I know, the plans I have you declares the LORD Plans to prosper, not to harm plan to give you hope in the future, not believing that truth. So feeling as if my life was the exact opposite of what God's word said, and how can I believe His truth when my life is saying something different. And so, battling that, but then finally going to college, getting introduced to my church and experiencing a lot of healing. And so through being introduced to my church, I began a program through my church called Project 516. And I remember, you know, I said, and I mentioned this in our other video, that I told people, I was this broken vase that had been shattered, and those pieces had been stepped on. And there was no way that anyone could put me back together. I don't know if God can even put me back together. And so it's interesting, because one of the first things the Lord said to me, when I started this program was brandy, or not remodeling your foundation. I'm demolishing it. And it's crazy. Because if anyone would have asked me, I would have said that God was my foundation, you know, but the Lord revealed that he wasn't. And so that really started to happen. With unforgiveness, I realize his word says, if, for if, For if you forgive others, their trespasses, your heavenly Father will forgive you. I wasn't forgiving others their trespasses against me, I was actually holding them in contempt, thinking that me holding on to it was getting justice. In reality, I was just putting myself in a prison. And so the Lord started to avail and forgiveness, but that unforgiveness revealed trauma and brokenness. And His Word says, He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. And so as this unforgiveness as trauma started to come up, though, or was healing me, but I know because Thor was setting me free, the enemy was trying everything he can to take me out. And so I'm getting set free. But then this darkness is just overtaking me. And I was learning how to replace lies with truth. But in the beginning of learning that, you know, a fear would come and I'd like, His Word says that he's not giving me a sound mind. And then I still feel afraid. And so I was like, this isn't working for me. And I wasn't, I didn't really know how to contend in that space. I was just like, this doesn't work. And so the enemy was just having a playground with my mind. And as I'm an inner healing, and as I'm in counseling, and these things are getting brought up, it's kind of retriggering me and the enemy is using those things to keep me in bondage. And so I remember how I was, as I was going through the program, and I was being healed. My depression was getting worse, like, and I don't even think I would have called myself depressed, but I didn't want to get out of bed, and I didn't want to live. And I remember, one time, I stopped by the inner healing office, and I was talking to the person who does some inner healing. And I said, Katie, I don't want to live today. And she's like, I want you to renounce death and hopelessness off of your life. And I renounce it and then she tells me to renounce control. And as I go to renounce control, I feel someone choking my throat, like, I cannot get the words out of my mouth. And finally, I'm able to like say, I renounce control. And through her discernment, she's like, there's something more going on. So we go into the inner healing room, bring a second person in, and through a lot of prayer. I start I'm out of my chair on the ground, screaming I mean, there's these animal like noises coming on my mouth. And I realized I was experiencing a manifestation. And this brought so much fear, so much fear to me, and so much shame. I couldn't even rejoice that I was being set free and I was being delivered. Because I was so afraid, because I've never experienced that before. And I was, the enemy made me believe that he was more powerful than God. And he used that to, like, create just this fear. And so this fear started to overtake me. And Katie kept saying to me, Brandy, Greater is He that is the new then he that is in the world. But it was so cool because that fear led me to God. And His Word says, There is no fear in love. but perfect love casts out fear, for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. And so this year, drew me closer to the Lord and helped me learn how to fight against the enemy. And so this starts to happen, I go to another inner healing session. And I, this a manifestation starts to happen. And she Kay looks me in the eye. And she says, In the name of Jesus, you will not throw her out of that chair. And I was stuck to my chair. And it was in that moment that I realized, but graders, he that is in me than he that is in the world, because he cannot hear me. And so that was the moment that I began to walk in my authority. So fast forward, I'm still on this program and getting set free. I'm starting to walk in my authority. But the enemy comes even stronger, just with darkness with depression. And I'm like, I'm fighting like, why am Why is this still happening. And this led to one day, I locked myself in the bathroom with pills, my community had a beat on the door. And finally, get me out of there and lay on the floor till three or 4am with me while I'm crying. And I'm like, I don't want to live and I'm just I feel so defeated, because I'm fighting so hard. But the enemy is fighting so much stronger to take my life. And so about a week later, as I went through some really intense healing, the enemy came in when it became silent. And he started to whisper the lies to me that you're going to be like this forever. You know, God's word says he's able to complete what he starts, he started saying he's not going to complete what he started a new UN. So I was ready to work one day, and I heard the light, you know, you're going to be like this forever. He's never going to heal you. And I'm like, No, in the name of Jesus. God is faithful to complete what he starts. And it didn't work. And then I played worship music. And the sorrow just gripped me, because I'm like, I partnered with the enemy by saying, Yeah, you're right. And that was the most dangerous thing that I did. And that's the most dangerous thing we can do is when we partner with the enemy, and say that what he's saying is true. So I partnered with that lie, that I was going to be like this forever. And I pulled into a parking lot in a Walgreens, and I got the biggest bottle of aspirin. And I pulled into a park parking lot. And I started taking a handful of pills. And I had Christian radio playing on my car. I had scriptures all over my car. But because I had partnered with the enemy, there was no like, no receiving, because I'm like, Yeah, this is true. And when I said that was true, it's like I just allowed him into my mind. And I allowed the darkness to take over. And so I take 200 and over 250 pills. And I call a couple of people and they didn't answer. And finally my pastor's wife picks up and she's like, Brandy, I see I was to call. And I'm weeping. And I said, Colleen, I took pills. And she was like, Brandy, what did you do? And I'm like, I took pills. And she's like, You need to make yourself throw up right now. And I know that this was the award, because I think if anyone would else would have picked up the phone, they would have just called the ambulance. But she for some reason, she told me to make myself throw up and she's like, you stay on the phone while you throw up. And so I'm throwing up, you have this white powder, liquid powder, just all over me all over my car. And she runs to come her and my pastor get in the car to run, run and get me I start to feel better. But then by the time they arrive, I'm like out of it. You know, I'm like, I'm dying. And so they pick me up. And they literally have to like get me out of the car and get me to the hospital. And by the time I get to the hospital, I'm like going downhill. And I remember so distinctly when I got there and I got in the wheelchair, my pastor kiss my head and he said I love you. And I know that Ozora because that's what I needed to hear. I needed to hear that I was Love in that I was accepted. And I was in the hospital for days. And I was left alone with myself. And it was in this moment that I realized, people were fighting for me. But I had to fight for myself. Yes. And I think sometimes we want people to be able to fix us. But God is the only one who can. But God doesn't just want to fix us, he wants to heal us. And so it was in at the end of myself that I say, I found God. It was when I was laying in the hospital bed. And I was like, I have nothing. I'm I have nothing left. But God, God was the only one there. You know, of course, my community was definitely but when I'm all alone, I was left with God. And so I went to a behavioral health hospital, I got stabilized. And I came out. And I remember there was just one day, I was in the prayer room at my church. And I asked the Lord, Lord, why did you save me? And he said to me, bring it because I'm faithful to complete what I start, and I keep my promises. And that moment, changed me. It changed my life, because I realized that God saved me for a purpose. I have this vision of the Lord coming into the car and breathing life into me. And that's what he did. When I couldn't breathe for myself. God came into that car, and he breathed for me. And so, through that, you know, I remember there was this one day that I was driving past the hospital. And I felt shame, because I thought back to the overdose. And I heard in my brain, I heard the Lord say, shame is not your inheritance, it's the enemies. And I have coined that phrase, every time I've done so with shame, I'm like that, and shame, was despised on the cross in the Lord showed me. He told me like, His scripture says on Isaiah, instead of your shame, there will be double portion, instead of dishonor, they shall rejoice, and their lot, therefore in their land, they shall possess a double portion, they shall have everlasting joy. And I held on to that, I hold on to that promise. And then finally, I was faced with like, Hey, I just stopped this depression diagnosis, like, what do I do with that, like, I'm supposed to be joyful and happy, and have this depression, diagnosis, but in his word, and Philippians, and 14, it says, Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just whatever is pure, lovely, whatever is commendable. The if there's any excellence, if there's anything worthy of praise, think about these things. And I realized, sometimes, we may see something may not be gone. But I thanked God for what he had not done, because I know that it was going to be done. So I was thanking God, for freedom from depression, even though I hadn't seen it. And so I was holding on I talk about often, we have a reality in this natural world, but there's a reality in the heavenly realm. And the reality in the heavenly realm is that I don't have depression. And so I decided to partner with the reality of heaven, instead of this world to reality, and declare over myself freedom even before I had received it yet. And so it was cool, because as I slowly started to break these things down, you know, he started to heal me from rejection and abandonment, which His Word says, Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb, even these may forget, but I may not forget you. And so as a word, and the beginning said, you know, he had to, he wasn't remodeling, he was demolishing. And all these things started to tear down, it came to the root of i like i There is $1 tree, you know, like, I have put other gods before him and those gods honestly, it was wanting a family more than I wanted him. You know, because of that rejection, abandonment, I saw a family was going to heal me. And the reality is this. It wasn't the only one who could heal me was God. And I had to realize that God was not for me, you know. And so as we dealt with the idolatry, I started to realize I had control. And I had to give up that control to trust God. And it was so cool, because as I realized this, the Lord revealed to me that the foundation that I had created was founded on me, you know, and that is an idol to. And His Word says, If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. And it also says in Galatians, I have been crucified with Christ. It's no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me and the life I now live in the flesh. I live by faith in the Son of God. God, who loved me and gave himself for me. So I realized that I had in that hospital room, I thought I was dying. But there was something dying, I was dying spiritually, so Christ could live with me. And I, like I said, I had to come to the end of myself, to realize God, you know, and once I was able to rise that I was like, God, I don't want to be my foundation, I want you to be my foundation. And so, through that, God, I truly began living my life for God. You know, I love to Lord before this, but I love the Lord, way more than I ever could through this because I started to realize once that I brought these things to the Lord, he started to heal me and replace those things with the truth. You know, and I, I became big, became, I become to fall in love with the Lord and in love with his word. And as I become begin to fall in love with him in his word, he brought home to me. And His Word says that we don't we not only rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope. It's cool also, because, you know, His Word says, He gives us a sound mind, you know, he says, he's going to keep us in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on him. He gave me identity, like, I learned and knowing who God was, I learned who I was, and I am a daughter of the king. And there's purpose in my life, when I didn't believe that his word that says, I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper, not to harm plans to give you hope, in future, I believe that, because when I look back at that car, and I see him breathing life in me, I know that I'm alive today, because there's so purpose in me, you know, two times, you know, I should be dead, the amount of pills that I took, even the doctor was like, It's a miracle that she's not paralyzed, or that she doesn't have liver damage. I'm a miracle. And I'm a testament of God's faithfulness, because he had a purpose and a plan for my life, when the enemy was trying to take me out. And so what's really cool is, a couple months later, I began to walk in freedom. And I begin to walk and healing which I never thought was possible, which the enemy told me wasn't possible. And what's so crazy as on the other side of the enemy's lies, is God's true. The enemy was saying to me, he wasn't going to complete me because God was going to bring complete what he started, because God was going to complete what he started. And so few months later, I'm in my room. And I remember seeing when the depression was happening. I'm like, I just want to laugh. I just want joy. I just want to see light one day. And a few months later, I had this realization, I was laying in bed, I'm like, wow, life feels so light. And it feels like so joyful, and it's brighter. And I heard the word say, to me, hope is colorful. And I've held on to that ever since then. Because, like, Kimberly shared, you know, I was wearing dark colors and wanting to hide, and now I'm like, I wear Ray, I love the rainbow. Because it's hooked. For me, it tells me that there's purpose, and there's joy, you know, there's freedom. And I never thought that I was going to walk in freedom. And so it's just been so amazing, you know, to see the Lord what he can do when we truly surrendered to Him. And what's so cool is that, you know, I look back to, you know, the deliverance I experiencing, I know that the enemy was wanting to take me out, and he wanted to take me out, because my healing is a weapon. And it's, and the word is going to use my healing, not It's not only for me, I'm going to help other woman heal, and our healing is going to be a weapon. And I want to be end because I know our time is coming up with Isaiah 61. Because this is something that the Lord has spoken over me and it says, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring the news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison door to those who are bound to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of the minions of our God to come for all who mourn, to grant those who mourn in Zion to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of badness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit, that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the painting of the Lord that He may be horrified. They shall burn up ancient ruins, they shall raise up the former devastations, they shall repair the ruin cities, the devastation of many generations. And I love this. And I know that this is what the Lord has called me to do. But because he's done it inside of me, the only way I can do it for others is because he's done it inside of me. The reality is, I haven't hit complete healing. I'm not fully healed. But I know now how to fight for it. I know how to contend in it. And my response to life is so much different than what it used to be when I thought no one wanted me, because I know who God is, I know what he can do. And I know that he loves me. And when you're so sure of that, it doesn't matter what the enemy says to you, because you know, who's who's your, and the enemy still, whispers lies to me, he still comes in. But now I don't just repeat it once. I don't just say, he's able to complete what it starts, I say it over and over and over and over and over again, until it becomes true. And so... Kimberly Hobbs   Yes... Brandie, he gave you your identity. And you know what truth is now and you walk in that you are chosen. And obviously you you walk it out in your life and he has created you and knew that verse that scripture I shared in the beginning that For we are His masterpiece created anew in Christ Jesus to do the very good things he planned for us long ago that identity in Christ has come alive. And like you said, you don't just speak at once you speak it again and again and again. Because until you believe it, okay? Those lies that just come at us, ladies, constantly, every day. There's our lies coming in coming and coming. And we have to combat those lies with truth, just as brandy shared her testimony over and over, he gave brandy authority. And she talks about this. And the scripture says, Behold, I give you authority to tread on serpents, and the power of the enemy shall not hurt you like, ladies, you realize the authority that God gives you in the name of Jesus Christ, in the name of Jesus, you have that authority to stomp on the heads of serpents. And just like brandy stomped on the heads of that serpent, you know, God showed up. God is showing up for you to ladies, and he is going to do that he has predestined us to himself, right? We belong to Him. Do you think he's going to leave you alone? No, he is going to send help for you when you need it. He gave brandy that joy, the joy of the Lord is her strength. Now, ladies, please understand that you don't walk around in a depressed state. God, you belong to the God of the galaxies. And he is going to give you strength through the joy that you carry in the name of Jesus. So brandy, one more thing I'm going to ask you to share is to look into that camera. And that hurting broken crying sobbing woman on the other end, that totally knows where you have been. All the pills. I think you said 280 pills you swallowed. Do you realize that was the power of God that showed up? It was truly a miracle that saved you. Look into the lady's eyes that need that miracle today. And just pour your heart into her for the next minute of whatever God puts on your, on your heart, even pray with her whatever you feel led to do, but talk to her right now. Brandie Reader   Yeah, what I would say is anyone listening to this, and you're like, I am there right now I'd say you have purpose. I would say that the enemy wants to take you up because you have purpose. And if you're struggling, and if you're battling and if you're in that pit, I say to you rise up, I say to your spirit rise up and I say right now in the name of Jesus, in the name of Jesus, the enemy has no place in your life. I say enemy you have to go off her mind. I say enemy you have to go off of her body. And I speak right now a sound mind over her. I speak joy. I say right now that morning comes off and that garment of praise is being put on you right now. And I say right now that you have the Lord inside of you, who is life and because of that your life you are full of life and not death. And I see too, that he knows the plans he has for you and they're good plans. And right now it may not seem like that. The His word says he works all things together for good. And I know we're in that moment that it feels hopeless. But one day, you're going to meet someone like me where I was at, and you're going to be able to say, rise up and lift your head up. Because you may, it may look like darkness right now. But the but God is with you, he's going to use your story. He is going to use your story. It is not hopeless. There is hope. And one day, you're going to see the color. It may seem dark right now, but it's going to you're going to see the color. And my last encouragement to you is to declare color in your life, even when it seems dark, to declare light, and joy, even when it seems those things I promise you that as you start to declare the opposite of what's being spoken over you right now, you're going to start to walk in it. And you're going to be like, when did this happen? And you're going to be able to look back and say I declared it over myself when I didn't believe it. And that's where the healing took place. So that will be my encouragement, you know, keep fighting. He wants to take you out. But God has a plan. And if there's anything that I've learned through my story is that the enemy wants to take me out, but it's because he has a plan. Because God has a plan for my life. Kimberly Hobbs   Yes, yes. Oh, praise God, what a word, Brandy, you are precious, you are precious in his sight. God has His anointing over you. And you are sharing your story with the world in hopes that God will use your story to bring others closer to him. And that's for you, ladies, he wants to bring you closer to him and your walk with Him. And ladies, we're here as a ministry to help you to walk beside you to encourage you we remember we talked brandy talked about community how important that is to come around those of like faith that are going to point you toward Jesus that are going to be there for you. So ladies, we encourage you to join in with us at women world leaders reach out to us reach out to me at Kimberly at women world leaders.com. And I will just talk to you, I will put you in the right direction of who to talk to or how we can help you. Also, if you want to talk with brandy, I'll be happy to give her the message. So just reach out to me again at Kimberly at women world leaders.com. And if you have anything that you identified with with brandy story, I'm sure she wants to hear from you. So please don't be afraid to reach out to us. And we will put the connections together so that she can help you if she can and encourage you important to you. But that's what we do as a ministry for women here is we just want to pour into you and love on you and let you know that there is hope in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are not alone. We will pray with you. We have a team of over 50 prayer warriors that faithfully pray for the prayer requests that come in. So please let us know. Go to our website, go to the prayer, the prayer station. Again, reach out to us through women, world leaders, there's devotions for you, there's help for you. So as we have to close out, I just want to thank you Brandy from our hearts for just sharing with us and pouring in. And prayerfully this will not be the last that we hear from our sister brandy, because I believe God has big plans for her to do great and mighty things in the name of Jesus. So please pray for her. As you see there is a beautiful anointing over her. She carries this with the Lord Jesus Christ and just goes out into the world and shares the gospel message of Jesus. Thank you, Brandie. Brandie Reader   Thank you, Kimberly Hobbs   Ladies. God bless you and as we close remember, we have our podcasts every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Please share them. Women need to hear these podcasts lives need to be changed and impacted for Jesus. People need help. They're broken. So we just asked you to just please be part of these podcasts, download them, pass them on to others in the name of Jesus. Remember all content is copyrighted and cannot be used without expressed written consent. We do want you to share, but please just remember contact us if you need further help. God bless you and have a beautiful day. Bye brandy. Thank you sweetheart.    

Join Kelly Williams Hale to hear her personal story about grace and forgiveness. “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to his purpose for them.” (Romans 8:28 NLT) God wants us to live an abundant life and can use our story to provide hope for others. We will defeat the enemy by the blood of the Lamb AND the power of our testimony (Revelation 12:11). ******* So today is my second podcast with women world leaders. And I'm so honored today to share with you what's on my heart and a continuation from last month, where I talked about shame. You can find that episode on womenworldleaders.com, click the Resources tab. Episode 339. Trading shame for significance. It was a powerful message. And today I wanted to share something very personal. And what's interesting is I'm sharing this two days after the 6th anniversary of losing my brother in a tragic, obviously unexpected car accident on Halloween, 2016 My brother was a policeman, he loved being a cop, however, he was the brother that out of four of us… he was the one that got into all the trouble. So it’s very ironic that he got into law enforcement. I'm the oldest of 4. Growing up with three younger brothers. Side note, I believe God was preparing me to be a leader way back then! Scott was the middle brother, And so just another reminder of how important our words are. If you’re a mom, we have such a responsibility to Speak life into and over our children. Scott was the middle boy. Like I mentioned, there were 4 of us kids. It was me and Tim for a while and then Scott came along. My parents were young parents, my dad served in Vietnam and didn’t meet me until I was six months old! So when Scott came along, there were 3 and then 18 mos. later my youngest brother was born. At this point, I was 4 years old. So my folks were like 25-26 with 4 young children. I’m not sure how they did it! Scott was a handful. When Scott would misbehave or push the envelope or just be a kid, really, it was A LOT. I know my mom got tired! And so he sort of became that kid who got into trouble or was trying to get attention… When we got older, he didn't really know what he wanted to do. Growing up, my dad drank. And home life just felt uncertain and unsafe at times, from a child's perspective. But as adults, praise God, we all came back home. I know for me, I always said when I turned 18, I was going to leave home and never come back! But God is so wise and so good. And my family is such a blessing to me, my dad quit drinking when he turned 50. All of us kids tended to gather back home during holidays. And it was a beautiful thing. We did sort of revert to our childhood shenanigans, when we got together. I think that happens with all siblings. And it was always an adventure, always fun, especially when we started having children. And then all the cousins got together. It was a loud house. We had fun. We enjoyed each other's company. We loved each other. And loved our mom and dad, they were such a precious blessing. My dad went to heaven in December of 2021. But prior to that Scott - who had finally found his direction at 33, when he attended the police academy. He served in law enforcement in our hometown for about 10 years. And then went to another department and made such an impact in that city, he loved the people, he was a big tease, but he just had such a genuine way about him that other people were drawn to him. He loved the Lord. And I know I'm gonna see him again in heaven. But it was a tragic, horrible day. And so the anniversary of him leaving was just a couple of days ago as I'm recording this now. My second podcast - just know God had a plan all along. He has a plan for all of us in tragedy. If we can just surrender to him and trust. And be grateful. I’m so very grateful for the time we had together. And so with that said, My message today is a follow up from last month around shame. And shame can really paralyze us… shame around our decisions, shame around mistakes we've made. But God is so much bigger about that. And he tells us that there is no shame. There is no condemnation in Christ. He wants us to live a full abundant life, knowing that we're forgiven, knowing that we walk in freedom, knowing that he has a purpose for us. 1 Thessalonians 2:4 says: We are ambassadors for Christ. Approved by God to be entrusted with the Gospel. We are to model what Jesus did when he was here on earth. Sharing hope with other people. And so today, sweet sisters, I wanted to share that, first of all, his grace is sufficient. Jesus died for our sins. The small ones, the big ones, all of them. The definition of Sin is simply falling short. And Satan would have would love nothing more than for us to be separated from God. And what happens is when we make mistakes, and we feel like we've disappointed God, then we sort of separate ourself from him. But God wants us to run to him when we mess up… Run to him when we fall short. Run to him when we feel like we’ve disappointed him. I made a decision 27 years ago, well, it was 28 years ago now. And last summer, I was blessed to be a co-author in a book published by  women world leaders. I was originally going to write about obedience. The title of the book is victories claiming freedom in Christ. And I found such freedom in Christ when I began to really obey, and really know – and believe who God was and what Jesus did for me. And I began to obey the Lord - not out of any sense of fear or judgment, but rather out of this sense of joy and love. And so I was gonna write this chapter, but the Lord reminded me of revelation 12:11, that says, We overcame him, which is Satan, by the blood of the Lamb, and the power of our testimony. And God reminded me that I needed to share this story. Precious friend, I pray this encourages you, because God will use our story. I terminated a pregnancy, I had an abortion. And there was so much shame around that, that took me 27 years to release. I knew Jesus forgave me, I knew God forgave me. But I, very deeply, unconsciously felt shame and I realized I hadn't quite forgiven myself. And I realized too that the enemy was holding that over me. And so when I wrote this chapter, and I encourage you to go find the book on women world leaders.com, you can click the shop button. It’s a compilation of women sharing their stories of victory, and freedom in Christ. And so my entire story around this decision is in that book. But I wanted to follow up from last month, because shame will keep us hidden. shame will keep us from accepting the abundant love that God has for us. As if we are unworthy to receiv it. I'm going to read a small excerpt from this book. ...

The man asked, “If I am to love my neighbor, who is my neighbor?” Jesus’ answer was not just for the one who asked; His answer is for each of us. As you listen to Julie Jenkins’ teaching on the Good Samaritan, will you take to heart God’s words of wisdom for you? (Luke 10:25-37) ***** Welcome to Walking in the Word, the biblical teaching arm of the Women World Leaders podcast. I’m your host, Julie Jenkins. If this is your first time listening, welcome! We have three different podcast offerings for you each week, so make sure you check out each one every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. You have happened on Walking in the Word, where we take a few minutes each Wednesday to open our Bibles together and study God’s Word. I grew up knowing Jesus, but for a long time I thought the Bible was meant for others. It was an honor in our church to stand up and read scripture, and my dad read to us from the Bible on special occasions, so I always assumed that you had to be credentialed to even open the sacred book. I’m not sure when my attitude changed, but when I became an adult and was feeling far from God, a friend suggested I read the Bible. My response was, I don’t know how to read the Bible. In retrospect, that seems like a silly statement for someone who graduated from college with honors in the field of communications. I didn’t see the irony. But per my friend’s suggestion, I joined a Bible study, and I quickly questioned how I had ever gotten through life WITHOUT reading the Bible! The Bible is our guide for life, and it is meant for everyone! No matter where you are on your walk with Jesus, I encourage you to simply open the Bible and read it! If you are new to reading and studying the Word, a great place to begin are the gospels, specifically the book of John, which was written to tell of who Jesus is – the foundation of our Christian faith. On this study, we are currently walking through the gospels chronologically, combining the teachings of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in order to get a more complete picture of Jesus’ life on earth. I’m glad you’ve joined us! Before we begin, let’s pray. Dear Most Holy God, We are intentionally taking time to pause our busy lives to spend time in your Word. Thank you for always being present and available. We confess that we do not recognize your presence nearly as much as we should, nor do we acknowledge what a miraculous gift you are to us. Please forgive us for our shortsightedness. Holy Spirit, we ask that you be with us as we read and study your Word today. Help us put everything else aside and cleanse our minds so we may focus solely on you. Allow our hearts to be opened so we may clearly hear your instruction and wisdom for each of us today. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. If you have your Bibles, open with me to Luke chapter 10. Our reading today is Luke 10:25-37. Allow me to begin reading from the New Living Translation… 25 One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?” 27 The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”[a] 28 “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!” Over the course of our study, we have seen many come to Jesus seeking answers. We’ve also seen many come to Jesus seeking to trip him up. Whether this man had an open heart to learn is not ours to judge. The fact is that the man was an expert in religious law, and the question he asked COULD have been meant as a trap. Jesus had told his followers that He would lead them to eternal life, but the Scripture available at the time, remember, stated that perfectly adhering to the Old Testament law would lead to eternal life. Instead of going on the defensive, Jesus met the man where he was by first asking what he knew. Oh how I love Jesus! He will always meet us where we are – without judgment! Sometimes His questions to us are difficult, and often, they make us think. In fact, if you have a truly open conversation with God, I guarantee you will walk away thinking – and you may walk away with even more questions than answers. It is often in contemplating the answers and meanings in the presence of the Holy Spirit that God grows us into His image over time. Sometimes, our growth is an arduous process, but it is always worth it! So the man asked… “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus responded…“What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?” The man responded with part of the Shema, from Deueteronomy 6:5 – which the Jews recited daily. He knew the words by heart. He was to love the Lord God with all his heart, soul, strength, and mind. And, ‘Love his neighbor as himself.’” Where many scholars believe the man was trying to trip up Jesus was that he was showcasing that the law said nothing about following Jesus leading to eternal life. But, using scripture to interpret scripture, we understand that when you love God with your whole heart, soul, strength, and mind – the Holy Spirit will ensure that you will hear and have the opportunity to follow Jesus. So, as we’ve often seen, Jesus stepped over the intended stumbling stone with grace, agreeing with the man, saying …“Right!... Do this and you will live!” But though the man knew and could recite the words by heart, he had not allowed the words to infiltrate his heart. I wonder how many of us can relate? Actually, I don’t wonder at all – because if we are honest – there are times that we ALL can relate. I myself have completed Bible studies just to complete them. Saying, “I made a commitment, and I’m going to push through.” I’m also ashamed to say that there are times when praying becomes an exercise for me rather than a true conversation with God. We must always fight against allowing a habit to become habitual and a commitment to God from becoming common. Stay true to your godly habits and commitments, but each day, ask God to open your heart and mind to what HE wants to tell you. The man may have truly been seeking, but it seems more likely that he was trying to limit his own responsibility…verse 29   29 The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road. 31 “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. 32 A Temple assistant[b] walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side. 33 “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. 34 Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. 35 The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins,[c] telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’ You most likely have heard this story before. Most people have. We even have a “Good Samaritan Law” in many parts of the United States that legally protects those who administer emergency care in good faith. But let’s try to look at it with fresh eyes. A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho – a seventeen-mile journey through dangerous country. The road was lined with caves where thieves would hide so they could jump upon unsuspecting victims at any time. Picture walking through a rough part of a big city late at night. You would be wise to keep your head down and walk quickly, not drawing any attention to yourself. Perhaps that’s what the Jewish man was doing when he was jumped. He was mugged, beaten, and left for dead on the side of the road. And the thieves likely ran back to a cave to wait for another victim. A priest was traveling the same path, head down, merely trying to get where he was going. He sees the Jewish man left for dead and keeps walking. We don’t know why. Perhaps he didn’t want to bring attention to himself, putting himself in danger. All we know is he kept walking. And then a temple assistant came along. I wonder if he saw the priest ahead of him and followed his example of inaction. When we neglect to serve as God calls us to, we can be assured of one thing: someone is always watching and using us as an example or justification for not following God. Think about that. Your actions have a ripple effect. It can be fun to think that the positive we are doing in the world will have effects that we cannot even imagine – I often hear it said, “You won’t know all the good you’ve done until you get to heaven.” That is so true – and positive reinforcement often inspires us to keep up the good fight. But the hard reality is that our negative actions, or lack of action, also gives OTHERS the justification to NOT ACT. Luke 12:48 tells us  When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required. The priest was set apart as an example in the religious community, and what he did mattered. Others watched. He ignored the hurting man, giving others the justification to do the same. Finally, a Samaritan came by. I imagine the crowd gasped…or maybe groaned when Jesus said this. Jews and Samaritans hated each other, surely HE wouldn’t help this man whom he had absolutely no loyalty towards. And yet, the listeners were surprised. The Samaritan man felt compassion. He went to the victim, soothed his wounds, and took him to a place of safety, even paying for his care. This Samaritan man probably feared for his own safety as much as the others did, but he recognized and loved the hurt man as a fellow human. This story just grips me. In this world of big government and judgment and claiming our own rights in society, how many times have I walked by a victim, not wanting to mess up my own day? How do I respond to the person from another country fleeing from a war-torn or gang-infested country? How do I treat the addict begging for money on the street? What compassion do I have for the child who lived a life of neglect and, now mentally unstable, lashes out in violent anger? These are NOT easy questions, and there is no easy answer, but that doesn’t mean we should put our heads down and keep walking, ignoring the victims around us. Verse 36… 36 “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked. 37 The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.” Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.” Go and do the same. Go and show mercy to the undeserving. Reach out to those who look like nothing can help. Cross the barrier of racism and hatred, offering compassion and care. Go and do the same. I don’t know what that means for you. If I’m being honest, I don’t know what it means for me. That is why we must search God’s heart. We must lean on the Holy Spirit’s wisdom. And when He calls us to a specific task, we must go obediently and immediately. There are those who are Big Brothers and Big Sisters – they make a lasting difference in a single life. There are women who rock babies who have been born with an addiction. There are prison ministries that reach the lost for Jesus. There are doctors and nurses who have fought through a pandemic, caring for one patient at a time. There are preschool teachers and daycare workers who make it possible for other moms to go to work to provide for their families. There are military personel who fight for freedom and equality. The list goes on and on. Not one of us can do it all, and we aren’t called to. But we are EACH called to something. We EACH are called to make a difference, to make an impact, and to set an example. Make no mistake, God called you to this podcast for a reason. There is a hurting soul waiting on the side of the road for you. Don’t keep your head down. Don’t walk by. Don’t justify your inaction. Remember… Go…and do the same. Let’s pray… Dear Most Holy God! Your words are good, and your words are sometimes difficult to hear. Father, I know that many are walking away from this teaching with more questions than answers. There is no doubt you are calling each of us to show compassion to others, compassion for our neighbors who may not even look like us. Will you show each of us our exact calling for today? Please make it so clear that we don’t even WANT to put our heads down and walk by. Give us eyes to see, hearts full of compassion, courage against fear, and excitement to follow your call in obedience. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Brandie Reader is a 22-year-old with a powerful story of a broken life shattered into a million pieces. The incredible work God is doing to restore her with His healing love will bring unspeakable joy to your soul.      You'll hear the battle of lies Brandie has dealt with and overcome because of God's unfailing promises of truth. Brandie shares that this transparent story isn't just for her but hopes to encourage others with the hope and miracle of God which He brought to her precisely when she needed it. Brandie titled this 2 part podcast: "Hope Is Colorful, Overcoming Darkness With Light"   ******* Kimberly Hobbs   Welcome to Empowering Lives With Purpose. And I'm your host, Kimberly Hobbs, I'm the founder of Women World Leaders. And it's my privilege to welcome our guest today, Brandie Reader, welcome, Brandie. Brandie Reader   Hi, I'm so excited to be here with you today. Kimberly Hobbs   We're so excited to have you she is a young, delightful precious woman of God. And it's just such an honor to be able to interview you today brandy and, and just hear about this amazing story that God has given to you, ladies, we are all about sharing here and just being open together and transparent with the unbelievable God's stories that he has given to some of us. And we all have a story, right? And how we get through our lives is what we pray that you will have, which is a god story in your life. And we know that brandy has an amazing God story that he's given to her. And one of the scriptures I love to share on this podcast is they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb. And by the word of their testimony, that's revelation 1211. And they overcame him which is the enemy by sharing by sharing by the word of their testimony. So there is power in what we do through the power of the Holy Spirit as He leads and guides us to share these unbelievable stories. So it is our hope today that through listening to brandy share about her past and some of what she's had to walk through and endure, that you might be able to relate with her. And something inside of you is going to be stirred. And we pray that it's hope and inspiration as God moves and speaks to you through this most amazing story. And we are going to do it in two parts, because it's pretty intense. Brandy has a lot that she'd like to share with you today. And we just don't want to rush through anything because there's so much amazing what God has done in her life through through this testimony. So we believe that all of you ladies have a purpose. And so we hope that you will maybe find that purpose through listening through these podcasts each week. So a little bit about brandy. Brandy is 22 years old, and she's from West Palm Beach, Florida. And I love it that she's so close to me. And I got to hear her speak and I was so moved by what I heard. And I felt God just nudging me to go talk to her and I kept praying Well, God, I mean, this church was packed with people, how am I gonna ever find her? And God led us to the bathroom. We both come out of the styles together. And there she was. And I just blurted out really quick, like, Brandy, you know, like, I just felt you know that that nudge to say, Would you be willing to share with you know, women were leaders. And what's really interesting is, she said, you know, she was going to pray about it too. And I didn't hear from her didn't hear from her. And somebody gave her a tears to triumph book. And I don't know who that person was because I asked her the name. But through in the world leaders we do these amazing anthologies with women who share their stories, and somebody placed this book tears to triumph in brandies hand and to her it was a confirmation that she was supposed to do this podcast today. So we are praying that it blesses you. Brandy goes to bow down church, and that's where she was speaking and I heard her testimony. She did a program through her church called 516 where she learned how to truly be a disciple of Christ, and how the Lord changed her life. Brandi is passionate about God healing deliverance and prayer. And she aspires to bring people closer to God and healing through her story and I love that. And I had asked her what do you think would be a good title for what we're going to share about today brandy and she said she came back with hope is colorful, overcoming darkness with light and I love that because now she is wearing color and it's color that Jesus has brought into her life. And brandy learned the meaning of God breathing life into her life and she is a daughter of have the most high God. And she handed her pain to Jesus. But he had to tear down to build up. And brandy talks about this in her testimony how he had to pull up to plant. And going through it was how. But Brandi loves God more than she ever has loved him in her life. And now she's ready to share about the hell she went through to get where she is today. So brandy, can you take us back and share some of your past so we know where you came from? Brandie Reader   Yes, definitely. So my mom, I have two older sisters. And my mom got pregnant with me. She was not expecting to get pregnant with me. My biological dad, he's not in my life. But they met kind of in a club one night, and I happen. So my mum was young, I don't believe she was ready to have kids. So there was a lot of just feelings of reduction at a young age, you know, I have learned that the things you speak over yourself, even when you're pregnant, goes into that baby. And so from the time at birth, they were just rejection being spoken over me. And so my mom, she lost her rights when I was two for abandonment and neglect. And my biological dad gave him the right to a when I was two because he was not ready for children. And so I was moved my two older sisters, they shared the same dad, I DCF removed me into their home because they didn't want to be split up. And I just remember feeling as a child, so alone, because my sisters were full sisters, they were my half sisters. They had a better relationship. And my stepdad it just seemed like there was a lot of anger or Yes, not love for me. And so I grew up without a mom and then with a stepdad who really didn't want me. And so starting off, it was a lot of verbal abuse. But then as I grew up returning to physical abuse, and that could range from calling me a fat ESS to physically putting his hands on me and so a lot of insecurity at a young age about myself how I looked. But one of the memories I often share that I remember, an example of the abuse was I was eating macaroni at the dinner table one time, and I remember at the dinner table, we couldn't talk and if we talked, an ashtray would be thrown out of our head, remote, anything you could think of would just get thrown at us. But one day, I was at a dinner table eating and I did not like the macaroni and I threw it up and I was forced to eat it. And so just abuse of all kinds. And later on in life, I will find out that I was sexually abused as well. And so just growing up feeling so alone, I didn't live in a Christian household and my stepdad was actually anti God. Anything God he was against. And so I was never really exposed to face or God. But as I grew up still, you know, just dealing with rejection, abandonment and feeling like, honestly, I think I often just felt like I'd be better off dead like no one wants me. No one cares about me. No one loves me. And so I didn't even really know what love was. And as I walked through a lot of healing, I was able, I've been able to identify that Mike concept of love was actually very for sorted. And so as I grew up, I remember in middle school, there's a teacher who introduced me to a youth group. And I started going to that youth group and just remember feeling at home, and like, I don't know what it is about this place, but like I just feel at home. And I was sponsored to go to summer camp when summer and I met the Lord and it changed my life. You know, I think people sometimes share about how their relationship first becoming a Christian. It's kind of a slow process. For me. It was this quick process, I was still on fire for the Lord. But I was able to see that as I grew closer to the Lord and I met the Lord. The abuse got worse at home. And I'm able to see now that it was the Holy Spirit inside of me and me working in my stepdad. And there was just this clash, you know. And so the abuse got worse. And there's this one day where, you know, I just kind of felt like I had the Lord. But, you know, I was going to church on Sunday, I was reading my scripture, I was praying, but I just still felt like there's hopelessness. And I remember, there's this one night that it just kind of all got the best of me and this darkness really just be in the cloud me. And we had this huge bottle of aspirin at the house I was with with my stepdad. And I started taking the pills and just chewing up these white aspirin pills and laying on the floor and outs crying, and I'm begging the Lord to forgive me, like we're Forgive me, for what I just said, and my sister who was visiting at that time, open the door, and she saw me saw the empty bottle on the ground and called 911. And I was rushed to the hospital. And I actually remember while I was in the hospital, they gave me something for me to pair up, but I had already digested the pills, that none of the pills were coming up until they had to put a tube down my nose and pump my stomach to get the aspirin out. And I remember just thinking like, I'm dying, you know, and remembering like, my stepdad was so angry at me. And just thinking like, right now I need to know that I'm loved. But just there's this anger towards me and so discontinued to confirm the belief that I wasn't wanted to convert the belief that no one cared. And so coming out of the overdose, I was able to realize that, you know, I had accepted God on my heart. But I didn't know that a relationship was possible like that. He actually, I can actually talk to him. And he talks to me, like I was doing all the right things, going to church reading my Bible, but I didn't really have that relationship aspect. And so once I was able to identify that it's like, again, my relationship with the Lord just took off. But again, there are still about reductions, that abandonment. And so there was one day that things were really bad at home. And it was like, to the point where the only place I could go to a school, like I'd be locked in my bedroom, no food to eat, you know, just pure like neglect and abandonment. And I had asked to go to church and my stepdad refused to let me go to church. But I knew that I, I was such in a dark place that I needed community, like I needed people to come around me and encouraged me and give me some hope. And so he left for work that morning, and I left for church. And I laughed, because that was like, the most disobedient thing I've done in my life was leave for church when I wasn't supposed to. So I went to church that morning. And when I went to lunch with some ladies from my church afterwards, and he was calling my phone and cussing me out and told me that he's calling the cops. And I came back to the house after church, and he had called the police on me and told them that I hadn't run away. And I talked to the police. And they're like, We know you're a good girl, like, we know that. You're doing dual enrollment, like you're doing the right things, like just be a good girl. And so to their mind, I was just being a bad girl. They didn't really know what was truly going on. And so I went inside the house, and he came to my bedroom. And he said, Give me your phone. And I refuse because I know for me, my phone was my only source of protection. And he would leave the room and I pull up my devotional and I start reading because I knew like, the Lord was all that I had, you know, I just My Spirit knew that something wasn't right. You know, support my devotional, he comes back into the room, give me your phone, and refusing and he says to me, if I come into this room again, it's not going to be pretty. Here's the room, he comes into the room a third time, give me your phone, and I shake my head, I don't have my phone. He starts be like punching the wall like ripping stuff off of my wall. Come in a flip over then that says that I'm on a mattress on the floor, flips over the mattress and starts putting his weight on me and like suffocating me, and I'm terrified and finally he gets off the mattress and he does if I come in here again and you don't give me your phone. It's not going to be good. And so as soon as he left the room, my bedroom was in a place where like it was just right across From the front door, and I knew that if I did not leave that room, he was going to kill me, you know, for he was going to beat me to pulp. And so I run up my room out the front door. Next thing I know, I look behind me and he's running behind me, and he catches up to me. He's on top of me. And I'm fighting, like trying to get him off of me rolling around in the grass, like trying to wiggle my way out. And then finally he gets on top of me, and he puts his hands on my throat. And he says, This is what you wanted. You want me to go to jail, this is what you wanted. And I'm laying down in this grass. And I'm like, Lord, this is it. You know, this is the end, like, he's going to kill me, I'm gonna die today. And I know, this was only the word, he took his hands off of my throat. And he got up. And he got up and I ran to liquor store, and I called the police. And, you know, this was such a God thing, because it was the same police who had showed up earlier that day when he said I had to run away. And I was in the same outfit. And so they were able to see the before and after wear it with grass stains all over my pants and our marks on my hands and on my, on my throat. Wow. So they saw this Yes, was called. And then I was placed into another family's house, which I had kind of already had a relationship with. And, you know, when this happened, you know, I was going through a lot of PTSD from this. I was because I still lived in the same town. And a restraining order had been given but had this fear of like, is he gonna come find me and told me is he gonna see me in public, he had been arrested. But just as Pharaoh who took me but given in the midst of the fear, there's just this like excitement because I'm like, Wow, Lord, like, I've been praying for so long for family, and I finally received this family. And you know, they were going to adopt me, but DCF had to close the case, too soon. So they weren't able to adopt me. But I'm like, Yay, I finally have a family. And then I was moved to another home. And it just devastated me because, and so on. In Psalms, it says he puts the lonely in families. And I was like, how can that be true, you know, you have put me in a family. And then I was moved, you know. And so I knew at this moment is when I started to mistrust the Lord. I didn't trust that his plans were good. I didn't trust that. I didn't trust His word and that it was true. So I'm moving to the next family. And when I moved to them, I remember telling the Lord like, Lord, if I move again, I don't know if I'm going to be able to survive it, like the pain was just so much. And it just confirmed those beliefs that no one wanted me, no one cared, and then I'd be better off dead. So then when I moved to the spirit home, I think that I was just so heartbroken that even if they did love me, I couldn't have received it because I was so broken by what had happened to me that I like, my eyes were just like, all I could see was people didn't want me people didn't care. Kimberly Hobbs   And that's where you started believing the lies. And the battle of the lies came in brandy. And just like our audience, there's I know there's women out there right now that are living your story, Brandy, or they have lived your story, and they continue battling those lies. So this story isn't just your story. And so continue on because there's so much more but these battles of lies that the enemy was feeding you are horrific. And... Brandie Reader   Yeah, the reality is, is when you believe life for so long, they were my truth. Like they were my truth. No one wanted me it just to me, it just wasn't a lie. This became my truth. And so this family, they had given me their last name. And I'm like, wow, this is so amazing. Because I remember feeling like with my stuff that I had given, I had been given his last name at birth, and I just felt so much shame because I'm like, have a last name of this man who just who hates me? And then I received a new last name and then I moved into a new home I'm like, What in the world with I finally received this gift and then now I carry this name of like, another family, you know, and so just, I was there's so much time meant so many lies that I, the enemy had just made truth in my life that I honestly didn't know what love was. And so I moved into this new family's house. And, you know, that was a gift from the Lord, because they just created this space for me to heal. And I remember, I started going to counseling, and that's when I found out I had been sexually abused. And it devastated me because I'm like, How could How could this you know what I was like, Lord, anything you can think of happened to me. And now this. And I remember coming home one day after a counseling session when I had found out about this, and I was so heartbroken. I was so like, because when you have trauma, often you block out memories, and then you find out and it's almost like you're reliving the trauma for the first time. So I come home, I'm so devastated. And I'm walking in the house. And I heard the Lord say to me, there's joy to be found. And I'm like, I kind of like, okay, I know, whatever. And I take another step. And I hear, there's joy to be found in that. And then I'm like, Okay, now I don't know who he was talking to. Because I know that it's not me. And then I hear a third time, there's joy to be found in this. And I'm just so thankful because I needed to hear it three times. And the Lord has always been so kind and gracious to me. And he doesn't mind repeating himself. And I just break down on that third time that I'm like, How can there be joy found in this, and I remember, I put on some worship music and raise a hallelujah, by Bethel music. And there's this part in it where he says, Now I can't sing the song for you, you have to sing it for yourself. And I start singing in the middle of tears. I am clean, and I am whole. And I'm Clint, which in reality, and in this reality wasn't true. I had been defiled, I had felt dirty. But God was beckoning me to partner with his reality, what his reality is, I'm clean, and I am home. And I just begin to see this over me even though I didn't believe it. But I knew that I, in order to believe it, I had to start declaring his truth over me to combat the lives of what was around me. And so I got accepted to a private Christian College in West Palm Beach, Palm Beach, Atlantic University was, which was a miracle, because my biggest goal growing up was to work at McDonald's, because I'm like, that's what's gonna get me out of this house. And then I get accepted. I graduate college, which I'm the first one out of my ancestry to like, do that. And then I get accepted to college. I'm like, Bob, that is terrible Lord and a Christian college at that. And so I go to college as a really good first year. And then my second year, I get a knee injury. And I just fall into a depression. And I don't think at the time, I would have called it depression, because I didn't really know too much about it. And I realize now depression was just so much of my life, that it was normal. And I get into this depression. And I'm burned out because of this belief that in order to be loved, I serve. So I served from a place of wanting love. And I would try to buy people's love. And so I'm burned out, I get invited to a local church bow down. And remember, the first day I showed up, they literally said everything that I wanted to church was said the first day and so I'm like, Okay, Lord, this is my church. And I just get wrapped up in this community. And I am invited to do this program through my church called 516. And I pray about it. And I'm like, Okay, I'm gonna do this. And so I enter 516. And I remember thinking, and Tom the words, I poured it 516 doesn't heal me. I don't know what can like, I am just so broken. And I often would tell people, I'm just broken base that has been shattered, and the chars have been stepped on into this tiny little dust. And there's no way that I can be put back together. I don't even know if God can put me back together. And so, through this program, I started doing inner healing. And I just began to be like, things that I never thought like, I needed to heal him from like forgiveness, forgiving people. I never thought that that was possible. And I started to experience healing and breakthrough as I did this program, and the Lord started telling me from the lies that I didn't even know that I believed.  

Join host Janet Berrong as she guides you into Spiritual Wellness in this, the last of her three-part series on Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Wellness. Listen and learn how to allow God to lead you into a health-filled balance in your spirit, soul, and body. **** Welcome to Celebrating God's Crace, a Women World Leaders podcast. I'm your host, Janet Berrong. Thank you for joining us today as we celebrate God's grace in our lives in ministry and around the world. It is good to be back with you today sharing about health, wellness, beauty and Jesus. Yes, they do go hand in hand. Today we're going to focus on the spiritual well-being. It's a three-part of the series where we touch base on being healthy physically, emotionally and spiritually. Create spiritual balance by loving God with all your heart. Matthew 2237 reads, Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and all thy mind and all thy soul. When we surrender our troubles to God, we are able to live in abundance of faith, hope and love that only come from him. First Corinthians 1313 reads, now these three remain, faith, hope and love. And the greatest of these is love. Sounds simple right? Love God with all three parts of your creation, and you will walk in freedom. Unfortunately, balance seems to be one of the hardest things to achieve. The heart carries a heavy load. Loving God with your entire heart is an intentional act, and not something that has been done randomly. Love is a choice. This means that you have to take action by making the choice to love. God reminds his children of his restorations and redemptions, and he wants nothing more for us to be a part of that plan. Being involved with God's plan of restoration will help you stay spiritually aligned with the whole heart and allow you to achieve balance of physical, spiritual and emotional health. Our spiritual health will have a significant impact on our emotional health, which will have a major influence on our physical health. The interconnection between the spirit, the soul and the body is certainly a complex connection. Nevertheless, that connection is real. The apostle John was inspired by God to write Third John one two. Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. This is an indication of the importance of attending to the matters of the soul, as it relates to being healthy, loving God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, impacts everything we do, and everything we are. Starting first with our spiritual health makes balancing the wheel much easier because we know who's we are in a culture that encourages us to rely on different kinds of specialties, for different dimensions of our lives, is easy to forget to see our lives as a whole, the way God sees us. You are a new creation in Christ, mind, body, spirit. But until Jesus returns, we are still a work in progress. If you have not put your trust in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you can do so today. Start by trusting Him for His ways, in his timing, get connected and aligned through His Word of God, and having that personal relationship with God Himself, our Creator, Savior, the Holy One. If this is you today, please email us at prayer at women world leaders.com. drop us a note. We would love to pray with you and celebrate with you and your decision. As you continue to place your trust in God. He will continue to fill your heart with joy, peace and hope that overflows into the lives of people around you. Romans 1513 reads, may God of hope fill you with joy and peace as you trust in him. My dear sisters, as I close out our time together. I want to share a poem with you that I felt so appropriate for this time, drinking from my saucer by John Paul Moore. I've never made a fortune. It's probably too late now, but I don't worry about that much. I'm happy anyhow and as I go along life's way, I'm reaping better than I sowed. I'm drinking from my saucer because my cup has overflowed. I don't have a lot of riches, and sometimes the going gets tough, but I've loved ones around me and that makes me rich enough. I thank God for His blessings and His mercy he's bestowed. I'm drinking from my saucer because my cup has overflowed. I remember times when things went wrong, my faith were somewhat thin. But at once the dark clouds broke, the sun peed through again. So God helped me not to gripe about the tough rose i have heard. I'm drinking from my saucer because my cup has overflowed. If God gives me the strength and courage when the waves grow steep and rough, I not ask for other blessings. I am blessed enough. In May I never be too busy to help others bear their loads. I will keep drinking from my saucer because my cup has overflowed. Thank you for listening to women world leaders podcast. Join us each Monday, Wednesday and Friday. As we explore together God's extravagant love in your courageous progress. Visit our website at WWW dot women world leaders.com. To submit a prayer request register for an upcoming event and support the ministry from his heart to yours. We are women world leaders. All content is copyrighted by women world leaders and cannot be used without expressed written consent.

On today’s podcast, host Julie Jenkins continues walking through the Beatitudes, taught by Jesus and recorded in Matthew and Luke. Jesus is always forthright with us – revealing the blessings or sorrows we will encounter based on our obedience. As you listen, ask God to open your heart to His teaching. (Matthew 5:1-12, Luke 6:20-26) **** Welcome to Walking in the Word, the biblical teaching arm of the women world leaders podcast. I'm your host, Julie Jenkins. If this is your first time joining us. welcome. I encourage you to check out our previous podcasts as well as visit our website, www.womenworldleaders.com. Our goal at Women World Leaders is to empower you to walk in your God-given purpose. Some of the ways we do that are through teachings, devotions, prayer books, and the voice of Truth magazine. But one of the best ways you can grow in your God-given purpose is to get involved. God has a place for you in this ministry. We often say that we are reaching over 60 countries but did you know that we also have leaders in our ministry from several different countries? The devil certainly knows how to use technology but so does God. COVID pushed us into a digital platform and what the devil meant for evil, God used for good. One example is that we meet the fourth Monday of every month for a zoom prayer call. We gather and pray for specific needs for those on the call as well as for the needs of the ministry. If you would like to be involved, no matter where you are, send us an email at info at women world leaders.com. On this, the Wednesday edition of the podcast we have the opportunity to walk through the Word of God together. And currently we are walking through the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Before we begin, let's pray. Dear Most Holy God, as we dive into your teaching today, I ask that you be with us and show us clearly what it is that you want us to learn today. God Your Word is living and active and we know that it will meet us where we are and it is you Holy Spirit that allows us to hear your thoughts, direction, and love for us as we read Scripture. God cleanse us of all unrighteousness that we may hear your voice clearly. In Jesus name I pray, amen.   Last week, we began our study of the Beatitudes, the blessings that Jesus presented to his disciples and others listening on that mountain so many years ago. We learned that God blesses those who with humility, put God first in their lives. And the blessing is that they will be granted eternity with God Himself. We learn that God blesses those who mourn. Jesus knew how hard this life was how heartbreaking things of this world can be. Yet he promised that he has overcome this world. And though we mourn, we will receive the comfort of God Himself. We learned that God blesses those who are humble, who are gentle, who put others and their welfare above themselves. To me, this sounds a lot like a lot of parents out there. The reward he promises you who put others first, you will inherit the whole earth. And we learned that God will bless those who hunger and thirst for justice. God promises that when we work for justice in his strength tirelessly and obediently, justice will come to pass. So let's continue with our study and see what else Jesus has up his sleeve. Matthew five verses seven through 12. In the New Living Translation says, God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy. God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God. God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God. God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right and the kingdom for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers, be happy about it. Be very glad, for a great reward awaits you in Heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way. In these verses, we continue to see God's rhythm those who walk in obedience to God's call on their lives, will receive a reward that only God can give. It's important to note that these rewards are not typically a treasure that would be cherished by worldly standards, but they are actually greater than anything that the world could offer. Remember the age old question, if you could have your three best wishes, what would they be, and you're not allowed to say all the wishes in the world. As a child, you might wish for $100, a new bike and your brother to stop bothering you all the time. As an adult, maybe your wishes more along the lines of a million dollars, a new boat, and a trip of a lifetime that you could take your whole family on, including that formerly pesky brother. Well, as we grow in Christ, we begin to get glimpses of even more mature dreams, dreams that God wants for us, that are exceedingly and abundantly beyond what we could ever hope or imagine, dreams of hope and joy and the deepest form of happiness ever, despite what is happening around us. Those rewards often come from a place of growth, and sometimes even a place of suffering. As we look at these attributes that God calls us to, it's important to note that Jesus exhibited each of these perfectly as he walked this earth in human form. Let's continue examining each action that we are called to as Christians, and the reward that God promises to bless us with when we walk in obedience. Verse seven, God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Mercy also means compassion. The only other time this specific word is used in the Bible is in Hebrews 217, which says, Therefore, it was necessary for him talking about Jesus to be made in every respect, like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful high priest before God, then He could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. That is how Jesus exhibited perfect mercy, perfect compassion by giving his life for us. That is a compassion that is really difficult to wrap our heads around, it goes a bit beyond making a casserole for someone or giving up a prime a parking space. And yet, that is perfect compassion. Don't get discouraged by this thinking, I could never be that merciful, and throw in the towel. God grows us degree by degree, and he is patient, and he will never stop encouraging or teaching us. So Jesus, while the greatest example of Mercy also is an example of being the recipient of the greatest mercy, he was brutally killed, exhibiting the greatest mercy, and then he was mercifully resurrected and seated at the right hand of God the Father. This is a lot to comprehend. And perhaps I should just confess here in now that God's ways are higher than I can understand or adequately explain. But I do know that I can live by faith, and that I can trust His promises. When I am wronged, I am instructed to show mercy and I can trust that God's mercy will return to me. When I am in a position to show compassion, I must remember that God is asking me to show compassion, and I can trust His compassion on the other end, even when it feels like I am getting the raw end of the bargain. Verse eight says God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God I've got to be honest, I have a love hate relationship with this beatitude it sounds beautiful. I want nothing more than to see God honestly, it's a great reward. But the criteria, well, that requires me to have a pure heart. The word pure means clean, blameless, innocent, free from corrupt desire, sin, and guilt. Well, that's not me. And I'm guessing it isn't you either. But there is hope. One of the sub definitions of pure is purified by fire. Fire is cleansing. By it, a metal worker is able to clean the impurities out of the metal. But fire isn't fun. It burns and it hurts the flesh. You and I alone can't make our heart pure. But if we ask, we can trust our God to do it for us. And remember, we serve a gentle God. If we take responsibility for our sin and gives give ourselves to Him for cleansing, he will make our hearts pure. First, John 189 says if we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we ask, confess and submit, God will cleanse our hearts and make them pure. And then we get to reward we will see the face of God. Verse nine, God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God. We all recognize the benefits of peace. But what is interesting here is that Jesus notes that on this earth, peace requires work. Some translations say blessed are the peacemakers, the word peacemaker, also connotates action. We have a picture of peace from the 1960s that calm disconnectedness or people can think of peace as you don't bother me, and I won't bother you. But true peace indicates a wholeness, a completeness. We are created to be one family of God together. And that takes work. God will bless our work for peace. Jesus closes this section according to Matthew with these words, God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right for the kingdom of heaven as their got theirs. God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it. Be very glad for a great reward awaits you in Heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way. Throughout history, and throughout the Bible, God's followers have been persecuted and mistreated. The truth is that the devil does not want God's name to be proclaimed. If you are in a position where you are being persecuted for the sake of the Gospel, know that God is wrapping his loving arms around you right now. And that he is holding a place of great honor for you in Heaven. Stay strong, and cling to God, he will see you through. Luke records a bit more as a warning to those who are relying only on what the world can offer. Beginning in Luke 624, what sorrow awaits you who are rich, for you have only happiness now? What sorrow awaits you who are fat and prosperous now? For a time of awful hunger awaits you. What sorrow awaits you who laugh now, for your laughing will turn into mourning and sorrow. What sorrow awaits you who are praised by the crowds, for their ancestors also praised false prophets. I think it is telling that we often focus on the blessings the What's In It For Me, but we forget about the sorrows that I just read. I asked you today to pay attention to the sorrows. If your focus on monetary wealth in the here and now? If it is no that that is not God's will for you. Do you turn away from the responsibility the that God has given you and focus your attention only on the pleasures of life? If you do, you're missing out on God's best for you. Is your time spent lauding yourself at that others will see and remember your name? If so, will you pray about how you can shine Jesus name instead of your own? The Beatitudes show us that God has blessings beyond her wildest imaginations, just waiting to rain down on us. But they also tell us that we are to carry out our end of the bargain, to be obedient to his calling. We are called to be humble, gentle, compassionate, merciful peacemakers, to work for justice, to allow God to purify our hearts, and to do right by God. Let's not give up the fight, stay strong, for your reward is great in heaven. Dear most holy God, you are so gracious and giving to us. You only ask that we put you first and obediently follow your call. God. empower us in Your strength to be obedient. Thank you for reminding us that the rewards you offer are greater than we could possibly ask or imagine and certainly better than the rewards of the world. Help us keep our eyes on the best prize of all eternity in your presence as we walk the path that you have called us. In Jesus name, I pray Thanks for listening to women world leaders podcast. Join us each Monday, Wednesday and Friday. As we explore together God's extravagant love and your courageous purpose. Visit our website at WWW dot women world leaders.com To submit a prayer request, register for an upcoming event and support the ministry from his heart to yours. We are women world leaders. All content is copyrighted by women world leaders and cannot be used without express written consent.

God orchestrates our steps. Today's guest shares how her steps with God led her to what she does now.   Please join us as Women World Leader's Worship leader, writer, and editor for Voice of Truth magazine, Kerri Walker Bridges shares her steps of faith journey and the calling God has on her life.   May Kerri's story be an inspiration of what God can do with a young life of 8 years old in preparation for a lifetime of service to Him. Please be encouraged as you listen in. (Original podcast from May 3, 2021)   ****** Kimberly Hobbs   Welcome to Empowering Lives with Purpose, and I am your host, Kimberly Hobbs. I am the founder of Women World Leaders. Ladies, we are so happy that you decided to join us today. And we are in for a special treat because we have one of our founding leaders here from Women World Leaders, Kerri Bridges. Welcome, Kerri.  Kerri Bridges   Hi, ladies, glad to be here and share with you all today. Kimberly Hobbs   We are so happy that you came. So God says every believer has received gifts, so use them to serve one another as faithful stewards of the many color tapestries of God's grace. First, Peter 410. Ladies, we believe at women world leaders that each and every one of us have a special purpose. And we have been given gifts from the Lord to us for His purpose. And it's our hopes through you listening today and us sharing stories of other women, that we can inspire each other, encourage each other to walk out those special gifts that God has given to us. And we want to encourage you and empower you to also act upon things that God is moving and sharing with you to do in your life. So, before we start with a little bit about Carrie and how God has called her, I want to share with you about who she is, Kerri Bridges, where do I start? Because you are an amazing woman of God in so many ways. Kerri is, as I shared a founding leader of Women, World Leaders. she is one of our original, I believe we had 12 leaders when we started out and now we're at like 27. It's amazing what God is doing. Kerri is our worship leader. If many of you tune into our Facebook Lives every month, you will hear her singing and playing and worshiping and leading us. And she's also an editor in our Voice of Truth magazine. She writes for Voice of Truth as well. And she is also a songwriter, and a lyric writer. And if you listened from the beginning and listen to the end, you will hear the Women World Leaders jingle. That jingle was written and sung by Kerri Bridges. And we are just so thrilled about that because it really has become a little jingle in everybody's heart and mind as they listen. It's so fun. Kerri is married and resides in South Florida with her family and God has blessed Kerri with six children. And I know she looks so young, but it is incredible to hear how old some of her kids are. I'm not going to share that with you. But um, yeah, she has been gifted with youth. Wow, Kerri, and we just rejoice that now you are a grandmother. And you have her grandmother for the first time to baby Ezra who was just born a few weeks ago is a little preemie. But we are so happy to say that he is doing healthy. He's well and thriving. And Kerri's daughter Allison gave birth to a healthy baby boy, just a couple of weeks ago. And Alison also plays on our worship team. And we are so grateful for this mother-daughter duo. So, we begin. Again, you are a plethora of talent, and you are truly a treasure to Women World Leaders. So maybe I thought that you can give us some insight to how God was molding and shaping your life even at a young age of eight years old. And you shared with me a little bit about a gift that you received when you were eight years old. Can you share about how God moved at a young age?  Kerri Bridges   Yes. So I come from a very large family. There are 10 of us. And I think I was around eight years old and my mom bought a Kindle Oregon for all of the children for the whole family. And it was the kind where it had the two levels on it. And it came with these instruction books that had the staff on it with the letter of the note on it. And I had never even thought about it. But I would just sit down at this organ every day and just became fascinated with learning this and started teaching myself how to read the music. I didn't even realize what I was doing. I was just fascinated by it. And so next thing I know, as the years went by, I could play the piano, I had never, I'd never had a lesson at all. But this gift was definitely something that God ordained to put that within me. And ultimately, my, my brother, also he later on in life, I started teaching him how to play and now he is a worship leader in Richmond, Virginia for a very large church. So yeah,  Kimberly Hobbs   That is so cool how God moves, ladies, so you never know what your children are going to do and how God is going to move in and through things by this by your mom, getting that organ. Oh my goodness, that was just the beginning of what God was doing in your young life. The Bible says, oh, Lord, you do such wonderful things. You plan them long ago. And now you have accomplished them. That's Isaiah 25. One. And we can clearly see how he had this planned long ago and Kerry's life. And he's accomplished them now in women, world leaders in how she serves worldwide. It's just mind boggling when you see God Scripture come to life in your own life. So listen to this now, at 17 years old, Carrie, you were ready to step out in faith. And you move to a new place, a new church, youth group. And all of these things are new in your life. But God began to use you for His purpose. At that time in your life. Can you talk a little bit about that?  Kerri Bridges   Yes. So I grew up in a really small church and all of us siblings, we were all part of the choir, we basically were the choir pretty much. And so as we I would play little songs here and there at the church and on the on the piano and sing and then when we moved to a new place, the youth group there that I got involved with the lead keyboardist got married, and suddenly they had a void to be filled. And I don't remember if I offered myself up to play. I can't imagine myself doing that because I'm shy. But either way, I was suddenly thrust into a position of the lead keyboardist for this youth group. And I was singing as well singing backup and leading songs. And that was the next step that God brought me to in this life of worship ministry.  Kimberly Hobbs   Oh, my goodness, that is so incredible. The Bible says to commit everything that you do to the Lord and trust Him and He will help you, and Kerri, that is what you did, like you didn't feel that you were...you knew enough yet to step into that role, but you walked forward in faith, right? You trusted him. And just like the Scripture says, Trust Him and He will help you. That's Psalm 939. Five. So ladies, if you are contemplating something that is right in front of you, God is opening the door in one way or another, but you're afraid and you're kind of stepping back. This verse says, Trust Him, and He will help you. And remember, God's Word is true. He puts it there for us to look at and glean from. So this is exactly what Carrie did. And before she knew it, she was walking out what that purpose was for what were what God had intended for her life. So Carrie, you got married, you started having children. Oh my goodness, and you didn't stop...you are the mom of six children that it's like that blows my mind still. But on top of having six children ladies, she homeschooled every single one of them all the way all the way till their graduation and that just blows my mind because I can't imagine that, Kerri, but Kerri you must be a whiz like in all subjects. My gosh, no wonder you're editing and writing and singing and writing music and I just unbelievable. But during this time, Kerri, you cried out to God, there was something really heavy on your heart at this time. And there was a miracle that was answered. So can you share with us a little bit about, about that crying out to God moment? Kerri Bridges   Yeah, I, at this point, I had been involved in the adult choirs and worshiping with the adult worship teams. And we had family bands with my sister and brother in law, my dad was the drummer and my sister and her husband, they were the lead singers. And so and my husband even got involved in that at one point. So then we have all these kids back to back to back and I we chose to homeschool them. And I, my kids were a little bit old. At this point, my oldest had wanted to play drums when he was young. So he was around four years old. And he showed interest in that. So we got to junior set for him. And he started learning how to play the drums and my dad, who was a drummer would give him lessons here and there. But here I was at this point where I had all six of my children, homeschooling them from high school all the way down to grade school. And it's overwhelming enough just to teach them the four basic subjects for school. So I had realized at this poignant moment that I had never put into them, that knowledge and understanding of music like I would have wanted to, like my heart had always wanted to. And I had no idea how I was going to even incorporate that into my schooling that was already overwhelming. So I cried out to the Lord, I really did. Because this was genuinely a desire of my heart for my kids to learn if they had that desire themselves for them to learn music, so I cried out to the Lord and I prayed helped me figure out how to incorporate this. And within a couple of months, suddenly, my son Maddie, he came to me and he's saying, Look what I picked up on the guitar mom, and he's just kind of picking this phenomenal guitar lick. And I said, How did you how did you figure that out? My husband's a guitarist too, and but he had just decided to pick it up kind of like the same way with me with the piano. And within a few months, he was playing incredible stuff like you would see someone after years of playing. He's picking up after months. And so I saw that this gifting was passed on to him. And then my daughter, Allison started picking up the guitar and the piano and singing and writing music. And then my youngest son Jaden, he is 16 now and he started picking up guitar, drums, piano. And at this point, he is basically a piano prodigy level, he sits down, he listens to a classical song that he wants to learn. And within 15 to 3030 minutes, he has learned the song, he listens to it, and he plays it. And so God answered the cry of my heart. In the same way that I learned, basically, without any lessons God just like downloaded into them the music. So it was incredible  Kimberly Hobbs   If you have heard Kerri sing and play, it still blows my mind that she has never had a piano lesson in her life. She can read music, and she is so gifted in that area. And then God rewarded her by her prayer and crying out to Him about the burden for her children. She wanted her children to know and understand and love music and be able to worship God the way she did. And he did. Ladies, there's a verse again, this could be on any anything that God puts on your heart, you know, the desire for your children, the you know, desire for future of what they're going to do. God says in Second Chronicles 15, seven, Be strong and courageous, your work will be rewarded. So hold that promise to that God promises you be strong and courageous. Do the work. God will reward you and he shared it he answered that cried to carry and through her children now what's going on? It's just it's a god phenomenon, you know, because this family is so gifted in music. So as we continue on now, now God has led you to women, world leaders. So how did you get here? Kerri, let's talk about that because you're a founding leader, my dear Kerri Bridges   Yeah. Well, you and I had met through Sean Loomis, our friend, our mutual friend who was a worship leader. And he asked us to help him out with leading worship at the tiki life group that you guys had held at your house. And next thing I know, I think one of the meetings, I had gone to the piano, because if there's a piano, my husband's always saying, let's go to the piano, let's play, let's sing some worship. And so I was sitting down, you didn't even know at that point that I can play the piano. And I was just playing and you came in, and you were, you know, and that I could play the piano. And then...  Kimberly Hobbs   So beautifully. Kerri Bridges   Thank you...  Kimberly Hobbs   ...and without music. Kerri Bridges   So then, when you go and God birthed inside of you that the calling for women, world leaders, you asked me if I would like to be involved, and I knew that I wanted to be involved, because that was another thing that I had. We I had moved to Florida several years back, and my sisters and I are all very close, actually, my all of us siblings, but my sisters are my best friends. And I missed that friendship that I had with them close up. And I actually I had prayed that God would lead me to some women, I don't easily make friends because I can be so shy. But I prayed that God would lead me to some women that I could develop the friendships with. And so when you offered this opportunity to me, I immediately knew the answer was yes. I don't know if you remember that. That was my answer. I don't even have to pray about it. Because I already prayed about it. And this is an answer to that prayer. Kimberly Hobbs   Right. Do you hear how God works? Ladies, I mean, this is incredible. So he had already put that desire and curious heart. And He fulfilled that desire, as again, he put the desire in my heart to start a group for women, and which turned into in the vision was huge ladies. God gave me that vision from the beginning that this would go worldwide. So carry you are just part of that vision. When he told me to gather leaders Little did I know I'm gathering so many of them. But God knew what was ahead of us. Right? He knew was going to come down the right but you stepped out of your comfort zone. Praise God. Because you are more of an introvert. And yeah, I am. Yeah. But God's given me the grace for each step of the way. So Amen. Amen. So let's share a little bit about what is going on now that women were a leader. So you started off as we met inside of a home ladies, she was playing the piano, and we were just doing worship before we would get into our message. And so she started off there, and then God expanded it so huge. We were busting out of the home to two days a month, because we couldn't even contain all the women that were coming. Our neighborhood couldn't contain the cars that came. And God provided us a fellowship hall. And so Carrie, we got a keyboard for women, world leaders, and we became traveling and carry was our worship leader at the fellowship hall. And then we we were like busting out of that. And, and so we went from the fellowship hall and COVID hit. So we had no choice but to go to plan C. And God was already providing. And we had our traveling keyboard and our our guitars because Allison at that point had come your daughter to share in worship on the worship team. And so Mother and daughter piano guitar, we were all set to go right to Facebook Live and start our meetings that way. And that's how that began. Yeah. And so you were serving so faithfully, Carrie, so faithfully. I mean, this woman, I think, in all of the years, since we've started has only missed one meeting that I can think of, well now too, because of your daughter being in the hospital a couple weeks ago giving birth to as but you are so faithful Kerri, and you have answered the call. Amazing. And now you're an editor for our magazine for women, world leaders voice of truth magazine, can you share a little bit about a purpose creation, which is your column that you write for inside this magazine?  Kerri Bridges   Yes, so my column is Everything Worship. And my first article that I wrote was called A Purposed Creation because there's a scripture verse that says we were created to give God glory. And that was a sermon that the youth pastor that the same youth group that I was talking about earlier, that he had given this beautiful message about, we were created to give God glory. And it was in that moment that I realized that this is more than music that God had put inside of me was not about me, it was about God's glory. And so that birthed in me the desire for taking that gift that God had given me and using it for his glory in His glory alone. And so the art, the column is called A Purposed Creation because we were purposed, created to give God glory. And that's what the column is about.  Kimberly Hobbs   Oh, Kerri, and it is such a wonderful column. And for those viewers that are watching on YouTube, Here's a glimpse from one of the magazines of purpose creation, her column, and it is reaching around the world because not only are we on YouTube, but God has given us the ability to be on five different platforms around the country, we're on. Not only YouTube, but SoundCloud, Spotify, iTunes, Apple podcast, Libsyn. So 1000s of women are able to listen to these interviews, not just watch them. And so you can be walking, you can be out doing things you could be cooking in the kitchen and listen to these podcasts on any of the platforms. So at the, at the gym, as Carrie does. Kerri Bridges   That's where I listen to it. Kimberly Hobbs   Wow. So there's a verse again, I want to share, it reminds me so much of you and me, our listeners gleaned from this verse also. It's First Corinthians 1558. And it says, always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is Ever useless. And carry that is that is so true of you. You work enthusiastically and everything you do, because you're following your dream that God put in your heart. I love it. I love that you are working for him. And now you're encouraging other women through writing in this article to walk into their calling in music, and it's inspiring. So ladies, if you're not receiving this magazine yet voice of truth, please contact us at info at women world leaders.com, you can email us there. And it just give us your mailing address if you're here in the United States, and you'll get your free copy. But if you're outside the country, we give it out digitally. And again, it's free. So just go to email us at info at women world leaders.com. So that takes me to the soul healing Summit. Last year, we put out a soul healing Summit, and Kerri had been serving the Lord back at home and not only serving in ministries, but she was writing music and singing music. And she had this passion to do that. And God provided the perfect opportunity at our soul healing Summit, which was a sold out event at Keiser University in Palm Beach, Florida. And Kerri got to debut her beautiful song that she wrote. And Kerri, can you share a little bit about that moment in time? Because that went over amazing. Everybody loved that song.  Kerri Bridges   Yeah. Well, I'm, again, quite shy with these kinds of things. But you had asked me if I would be willing to do a song that I had written. And this was a special song to me because it was God gave it to me at a very low time in my life. And I it was a rare moment of being alone at home without any of the kids or even my husband and my mother in law happened to call me that day and she she knew what was going on in our lives. And she told me put it in a song. And so I got off the phone. And within 10 minutes that song was written and done. Oh, that song came. Kimberly Hobbs   Wow. And I wish we can play it for you ladies but it doesn't transfer well over zoom which we're recording through right now. So the great news is, Carrie is now going to start singing the songs that she's written and the lyrics she's going to start singing them every month at women world leaders, and we meet for Facebook Live the first Monday of every month at 7pm. Eastern time. So Monday, May 3, which will be the same day this podcast is released, will be the day that Carrie will debut that song for Facebook Live. And you'll all be able to hear the song that she wrote for the Lord Jesus Christ from her heart from a place that God spoke to her so deeply. And I promise you, wait until you hear the song, it will move you to tears. It is so beautiful. And then Carrie has agreed and we are so thrilled to start playing some of the music and worship that she has written. And as well you have your daughter, right, Carrie that she's going to be doing the same thing. She's an amazing songwriter as well. Yeah, she'll so she'll be sharing some in the future off. Yes, Alison bridges, we cannot wait to hear your music as well, honey. And we just encourage you just keep going and serving in the way that God has equipped you. So Oh, my goodness, Carrie, as the Apostle Paul says, I am certain that God will be done the good work within you will continue his work until it is finally finished. On the day when Christ returns. That's Philippians one, six, and ladies for you, God has begun a work in you and He promises to complete that work. So believe that and trust it, whatever it is, that is in your heart, just believe and trust that God will perfect it in you just walk in it and just start doing it just as Carrie did. She had that enthusiasm and in desire and dream. And now here she is serving in a worldwide ministry. All Glory to God and it's so beautiful. So Kerrie, and close. As you stepped out of that comfort zone, and you walked into God's calling for your life, can you share with our listeners, just a word of encouragement that if they're afraid of they're afraid to move from that place in their life that they are right now or they're not feeling worthy to be called by the Lord or whatever could be their their hang up? Can you just encourage them in the way that you will? Outstanding word, sister, thank you. Thank you, thank you, Carrie bridges, you are a delight. James four eight says, come close to God and He will come close to you. So ladies, remember that just start drawing close to him. Be in the scriptures, you know, beat put yourself around believers that are going to encourage you and lift you up to follow after God's heart. And before you know it as the closer you get to him, you are going to be walking with him hand in hand. We promise we promise. You thrill me, Lord with all you have done for me. I will sing for joy because of what you have done that Psalm 92 four and we know that Carrie sings her heart out for the Lord because of all he has done in and through her life. And ladies, we want that to be you. We want you to sing your heart out because of all God has done for you. And he'll carry you the rest of the way. So this is exactly what we'd like to do is just encourage you and inspire just as Carrie has done. So, let us all just testify of the wonderful things that God has done in our life, whatever way he has called us to do that. So in closing, again, I want to say thank you to our wonderful guests, Carrie bridges. Don't forget ladies, May 3, which is tonight. 2021. And in case you're listening to this podcast at another time, you can also look up our Facebook live meetings. And you can hear Kerri sharing her song that she wrote, and now, every month following, she'll be sharing music that she wrote, For the Lord her and her daughter, Allison. So we're so excited about that. Ladies, if you're looking for a place to plug in, we invite you to plug into women, world leaders, God is equipping us with women from all over the world who want to help you and walk alongside of you. One way you can do that, ladies is tune into the podcast each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Every Monday, we have these interviews with women from around the world sharing and inspiring you On Wednesdays we have walking in the word with Julie Jenkins where she will teach from the Word of God and I'm telling you she is a powerful teacher and you can just listen and glean truths, as she brings stories from Scripture to life. And then on Friday, we have celebrating God's grace with Lauren dean. And she Lauren has a heart for God and just will encourage you and inspire you with her stories through women, world leaders and through just stories in life. And it's amazing to hear this young woman share from her heart what God is doing. Ladies, we also invite you to go to our website, women world leaders.com where you can share your prayer requests. You can interact and you can pray for others there. And there's all sorts of things for you to plug into. But we want to make sure that you are receiving voice of truth magazine which comes out by monthly and the way that you can get your free copies are to go to info at women world leaders.com with an email and leave us your name, your address and your email address and we will get that out to you. As soon as the next edition comes. God bless you everybody. And remember from his heart to yours. We are women world leaders. All content is copyrighted and cannot be used without expressed written consent. encouraging, empowering, inspiring each other on this journey of faith Kerri Bridges   Yes, Yes, one of my favorite verses is Psalm 37 Four. And it says Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. And when I was a teenager, reading that verse, it leapt out on the page to me that this verse means that God will place inside of you the desires for that which has created you to do for His glory. And God had put that desire in me. And if you have a passion or desire in your heart for something, God has placed that in you to use it for His glory. And then that can look different from one person to another. But we have to believe and step out in faith that God has called us to do this. And it's not about us. And even though I get moments of anxiety that those few seconds before that video starts, I get that moment of anxiety. But that is a tension on me. And I need to I always pray to push that away from me and remember that that it's about God's glory in that mind, because we were created to give God glory in that ourselves. And so I just encourage you to move forward to give God the glory that He is do.

What is a mountain? A problem larger than ourselves, a seemingly insurmountable obstacle that makes us aware of our inability.   Jesus used the mountain as a metaphor for the difficulties we will face in this life, to prove that nothing was too big for God to handle.    Be encouraged in your life today through listening as Robin Kirby Gatto shares about her own mountain and God's Words of healing.   *****   Jesus Christ explains in the parable about the mountain, that we will have difficulties in this life, which will challenge our faith. 22” And Jesus, replying, said to them, Have faith in God [constantly]. 23 Truly I tell you, whoever says to this mountain, Be lifted up and thrown into the sea! and does not doubt at all in his heart but believes that what he says will take place, it will be done for him. 24 For this reason I am telling you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe (trust and be confident) that it is granted to you, and you will [get it].” Mark 11:22-24 AMPC What is a mountain? A problem larger than ourselves, a seemingly insurmountable obstacle that makes us aware of our inability. Jesus used the mountain as a metaphor for the difficulties we will face in this life, to prove that nothing was too big for God to handle. Mountain climbers train for months to get to the highest mountain peaks. It requires strength and cardiovascular conditioning. Likewise, overcoming our difficulties requires the strength of God’s Word, which stirs our hearts with faith. This is a picture of grace. The Greek word mountain comes from is óros pronounced or'-os and means, “to rise or rear, a mountain, mount, and hill.”[1] The mountain represents what the soul wrestles with, a person’s inner struggles, that which rises against the Word of Truth. I remember in my late twenties and early thirties how insecure I felt. I became a single mother in the fall of 1997, to one-year-old and six-year-old boys. Up to this point, I really hadn’t known any single mothers. There were no divorced individuals in my family; I was the first one. Parenting my young boys, as well as finishing my master’s degree was top on my list. I received the news of the divorce the week before my first-semester mid-terms and had difficulty studying. The stress of it all, as well as the inability to cope, led me to seek professional help, and see a psychiatrist. I was put on antidepressants and in the meantime got counseling, so that I could gain my footing again, having had the carpet pulled from under my feet. Prior to the divorce, everything had been planned. We put a contract on my dream home and were to move in a few months. I would finish my master’s degree at the University of Alabama and commute for the last year of my degree. Then I would have it made, being a social worker, my husband a doctor, and having two amazing sons. Who could ask for more? It seemed I had life all planned out until the mountain of divorce rose in my face, the unexpected life crisis that would send my world spiraling. Like an adventurist training to climb to the highest peak, I had to get into the Word of God to receive the strength to conquer the mountain that was in the way of me moving forward in life. Having been a social worker, I did what I knew, and found support groups in which other divorced single parents were facing their own mountain. I went to one group on Sunday mornings at a Baptist church, and another one each Tuesday evening at a Catholic church. Within those support groups, I came to know two women, with whom I grew close. They invited me to a mom’s night out, at which I was offered a glass of wine. I wasn’t a drinker but thought it might be enjoyable to have a glass of wine and blow off some steam. Before I knew it, one glass of wine turned into another glass, and so forth. Weeks turned into months and instead of conquering my mountain, I found myself in the mire of alcoholism at the foot of the mountain. Alcoholism was pain medicine for my soul. I longed to forget my mountain was there. Inept at being a successful single mother, I hadn’t realized that what I was experiencing at the base of the mountain, was merely a “learning curve.” I graduated with honors from high school, as well as with my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work, so you can imagine how hard it was for me to believe that I had hit a learning curve in life. The learning curve means “the rate of a person’s progress at gaining a new skill.”[2] I had difficulty grasping what my new world would look like. Deep fog surrounded me at the mountain base, and I sat there fearing it as if it could hurt me. I could barely see my hand in front of my face. It felt impossible to begin the climb, much less conquer. The word failure loomed within the thick fog, bathing my self-image in negative messages, which led to a nervous breakdown. In time, I surrendered to God, and He showed me that my real issue was that I didn’t trust Him. Trust is the spark to faith. I knew that as I continued to submit my life to God, no matter how messed up I was, He would stir me with hope and strengthen my faith. I continued going to church and seeking the Lord, the fog lifted a little. I had somewhat of a routine and finished my master’s degree, went to work, and took care of my sons. Things begin to get a little normal and bit by bit, I had the ability to cope and recreate a new world in which I was climbing my mountain. The higher I went, made it seem smaller. Jesus tells us in Mark 11 to speak to our mountain. Speak in Greek is épō pronounced ep'-o meaning, “to speak or say (by word or writing); answer, bid, bring word, call, command, grant, say, and tell.”[3] We speak the Word of God to every obstacle in our life, by opening our mouth or writing it down. Daily devotional journals helped me put pen to paper, as my heart wrote what I couldn’t put into words. The grime upon my soul, washed away a little at a time, as I read the scripture for the day, and wrote from my inner man. Slowly but surely, I was succeeding, and the learning curve I had, began to fade away. No longer at the base of the mountain but halfway up, I kept my eyes on scaling its peak. Speaking to the mountain represents the faith in the Word of truth within our inner man that is larger than any obstacle in our lives. Jesus taught the disciples that anything was possible to the person who believes. The Greek word for faith is pístis pronounced pis'-tis meaning, “persuasion, assurance, believe, belief and faith.”[4] Our faith turns into an invisible mountain upon which we scale, as we keep our eyes on the Kingdom of God. It’s not God that has to be persuaded of our victory, because He already knows the end from the beginning and the power of His Word. He sent Jesus Christ, to the earth to tell all who would hear about the Kingdom of Heaven. That was the message Jesus brought to this world, which was at the bottom of faith’s invisible mountain, that’s peak is hidden above the clouds. Those who would hear and be willing to perceive that there was something greater than this world offered, were given the skill of the Word of Truth to scale the invisible mountain of faith to heaven’s blessings, knowing the Father’s will and praying it to be made known in the earth. This was where I had come. The obstacle that had been before me, turned into my opportunity to go higher than I ever could have before. Sometimes the obstacles are what lend to our increased faith, persuaded that no matter how bad the circumstances look, God is greater. This is Grace! Shortly after the divorce, the boys and I were in the car as I was doing a Saturday run to get donuts. While out and about I was stopped at a red light in front of this mountain in Pelham, Alabama. God then spoke to my heart and said “Robin, speak to that mountain and tell it to be cast into the sea.” Without a moment to think, I blurted out, “Mountain be uprooted and cast into the sea, in Jesus’ Name.” I could hear my two sons giggle in the back seat. Two years later, on top of the small mountain was a bulldozer, bit by bit digging into it. Within a few months, that mountain was gone and is where Home Depot now sits today. Even more amazing is the name of the street that runs through that place where the mountain was removed, which is WORD STREET. Similarly, the mountain of enormous human obstacles before me slowly became a plane, as the Word of truth rose within my heart as an invisible mountain of faith, giving me the ability to hope again, and trust God. I was willing to risk loving again and consider marrying. It was then that God led me down a certain path, in which I met my husband Rich, whom I wed in 2001. He was the man of my dreams! I had reached the peak of heaven’s plan, God’s plan, and discovered it, as He laid it forth in my life, drawing me down a road I wouldn’t have known. I have been happier than ever and couldn’t have thanked God enough for leading me up the mountain that at first seem so formidable. Time healed the wounds with God’s Word, giving me the strength to believe in the impossible. Moreover, my ex-husband and I are good friends, and Rich and I have had coffee with him and his wife. My boys have a great relationship with their dad. We’re a unique family where everyone has a gift to help one another out. The mountain of human obstacles inside of my soul was that I would never be whole again or know “normal,” much less be happy. God’s grace speaks to the mountain in everyone’s life and causes faith to arise when there’s a need. Many times, we run ahead of God, before we realize our needs. I needed to know I could receive help and feel love, not by a man but by God. As I came to know God’s love, I became refreshed and renewed. What mountain of human obstacles do you face? Where do you need faith to arise? Join me on this journey of Mountain Moving Faith, as God unfolds scripture about the power of His grace.   [1] Strong J. (1890) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Abingdon Press Greek word # 3735 “mountain” [2] “Learning-curve” Oxford University Press. The Oxford American College Dictionary. Published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2002   [3] Strong J. (1890) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Abingdon Press Greek word # 2036 “speak” [4] Strong J. (1890) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Abingdon Press Greek word # 4102 “faith”

The Beatitudes Part I (Matthew 5:1-12 and Luke 6:20-26) Join us for Part I of this two-part series on the Beatitudes. The word “beatitude” means “blessing.” Jesus offers many blessings to His followers. Dive into The Beatitudes and learn about God’s Kingdom and the blessings that come with it as we study Matthew 5:1-12 and Luke 6:20-26. ***** Welcome to Walking in the Word, the biblical teaching arm of the Women World Leaders podcast. I'm your host, Julie Jenkins, and I'm so glad you are here. I want to encourage you to join us each Monday, Wednesday and Friday for our trio of podcasts. On Mondays Kimberly Hobbs the founder and executive director of Women World Leaders hosts Empowering Lives with Purpose, a 30-minute podcast where she interviews a different woman of faith each week, showcasing how God has worked in her life. Kimberly is a master connector with the gift of encouragement. And you will be blessed when you tune in and listen to her Monday podcast as she encourages you to walk in your God given purpose. Then on Fridays, we have a team of leaders who host Celebrating God's Grace — a short, power-filled podcast that will launch you into the weekend with joy and excitement about all that God is doing in our world today. And here on Wednesdays, we have the privilege of walking through the Word of God together. We are currently walking through the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John as we learn from the life of Jesus, I pray that the series is blessing you and that you are finding many treasures along the way to get you through the day. You know, I heard a story somewhere that has stuck with me for many years, a young seminarian learned about how little a listener of sermons actually retains, which led him to question his calling. He went to his mentor and asked, Well, why would I spend this much time and put in this much effort to learn to teach the Word of God if people aren't going to be able to recall most of what I say? The mentor replied, people have to eat every day, despite what they ate the day before. Our words are meant to illuminate the Word of God on a daily basis, because people need to nourish their spirits every day. If you can nourish someone for a single day, for a single minute, even then all your work will be worth it. Amen? My prayer for you is that God would speak to you through this podcast today. I don't care if you remember my name or even the name Women World Leaders. If my words encourage you to think about God for even a single moment, to ponder his words, then my work is worth it. Let's pray before we begin. Dear Heavenly Father, it is your name we seek to glorify today it is your glory that we want to see. It is your word and instruction that matter. God, I ask that you teach us today reach into the spirit of each listener and let her feel your presence and know your thoughts. Allow her to let go and let you guide her on the path that you have prepared for her for today, tomorrow, and always, no matter what may come her way. We give you this time and we thank you in advance for the teaching that you are about to give us. In Jesus name I pray. Amen. Well, today on our journey, we will be looking at Matthew chapter five verses one through 12 and Luke chapter six, verses 20 through 26. From the New Living Translation, as we begin our walk through the Sermon on the Mount. This is actually just part one of our teaching on the Beatitudes. So you will have to come back next week to hear part two. Listen as I read the Beatitudes as written in Matthew.   One day as he saw the crowds gathering, Jesus went up on the mountain and sat down. His disciples gathered around Him and He began to teach them. God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him. For the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. God blesses those who mourn for they will be comforted. God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth. If God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied. God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy. God blesses those whose hearts are pure for they will see God. God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God. God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right. For the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you, because you are my followers. Be happy about it. Be very glad for a great reward awaits you in Heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets are persecuted in the same way.   Well, we know this teaching as the Beatitudes, which means blessing in Latin. You may be familiar with other translations, where each phrase begins, blessed is the one or happy is the one. The original Greek word that starts each phrase is Makarios and carries with it the connotation of divine joy, and perfect happiness and inner satisfaction or sufficiency. That doesn't depend on outward circumstances. This word was reserved for the gods, not for humans, and certainly not for humans who are currently living. But Jesus offers this blessedness the secure happiness to his listeners to the living, even mentioning the worldly circumstances that they were currently enduring, drawing them in to the realization that they could be blessed Now, despite their circumstances. Now, Jesus had already announced that the kingdom of heaven was near as recorded in Matthew 417. So it's likely that he was hearing questions along the way, like, what is the kingdom of heaven? And how do we get there? So he begins his teaching with God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him. For the kingdom of heaven is there's this verse, often translated as blessed are the poor in spirit means blessing are those with humility. Humility is a necessary requirement to get into heaven. We need humility, meaning that we must recognize our own sinfulness and our own need for God, it's God's kingdom, we seek to enter. So to enter his kingdom, we must put him first and become subservient to him. It makes sense. You don't walk into someone's house without their invitation. And in order to receive the invitation, we must put God the owner of the kingdom, first in our lives. These blessings then go on to describe what it means to be a follower of Jesus, what we can expect from this world and what we can expect from our God. It showcases a character traits that true children of God will exhibit in a world that throws curveballs at us, trying to confuse us and pull us off the path that God intends. One of those curveballs was that the people had been taught for years, that righteousness was following the letter of the law, even man made laws, as the Pharisees taught and enforced. Jesus is teaching that there is a better way, and that there are better rewards that haven't even been told about yet.   As he teaches Jesus falls into a rhythm. Our God is very organized. He first gives the requirement then teaches about the reward. The rewards themselves are telling before you enter a contest, it's human nature to ask, what is my reward? What is the payoff? Is it worth it? Jesus says, Here are the rewards. And to sum to those who are looking at the rewards through a worldly lens. The rewards may not look so great. But when you look at the rewards through Kingdom eyes, they are better than any rewards we could dream up. My husband and I are in a walking competition right now through his work. We are on teams of five people each made up of employees and their spouses. And we are walking from Nashville, Tennessee to Portland, Oregon. Well, not really. I I live in Florida. And no matter how many miles I walk, I'm still in Florida. But theoretically, Portland is our destination. When we walk 1900 miles, we will have made it to Portland. This is a three month challenge, and I'll let you in on a little secret. I am a crazy competitor. The best way to get me to do something is to challenge me. So I am walking and walking and walking. What's the payoff you might ask? Well, the reward for the team who gets to Portland first is two extra days off work for a company that I don't work for. You'd think I wouldn't want to walk through the blisters. But for me, there is a greater payoff, my health. Ultimately, the price I am working toward is not the price that is being offered by those who are running the competition. But it's better. The blessings that Jesus offered may seem a bit strange, but they are the best prizes. If we look at them with Kingdom eyes, verse four, God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted. This must have caught the crowds attention right off the bat, who doesn't mourn on Earth. This earth is not our home, the kingdom of the kingdom of God is our home. In this world, we will have trouble but God has overcome this world. The kingdom of heaven is an already and not yet phenomenon, something that is very difficult to understand. Once you have confessed your sin and given Jesus reign over your life as Lord, you become a citizen of the kingdom of heaven and receive all the rights and privileges do a citizen. And yet you still live and breathe and walk on this earth. And on this earth, you will mourn. You will mourn the death of a loved one, the loss of health, the loss of a job, even a dream. But as a citizen of heaven, you will be blessed as you receive God's comfort. And when you look at that reward through Kingdom eyes, nothing could be better than the comfort of God. Verse five, God blesses those who are humble for thy will inherit the whole earth. The word humble can be translated as meek or gentle. God blesses those who do not assert themselves at the expense of others. This is one of those upside down teachings of Jesus, you would think that those who scrape and tackle their way to the top would ultimately claim their ground. But Jesus teaches the opposite. It is by gentleness guided only by the Holy Spirit, that the children of God become the victors. That Gentle, gentle will inherit the earth. Verse six, God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied. The words hunger and thirst indicate a need, we all need to eat and drink. And we will work tirelessly to make sure that we and our loved ones have enough to eat and drink. Jesus is saying when the need for justice is so great within you that you are willing to work for justice, as you work for food and water, you will be satisfied justice will prevail.   Only God can bring justice. So what is our role when we see an injustice? The answer to that question is highly personal, and one that is too vague to answer in a short podcast. But what Jesus does teach us in this passage is that he does not want us to sit back in our easy chair and watch injustice happen around us. If you are being faced with an injustice, or if you are aware of an injustice, I beg you to go to God on your knees and ask him what he would have you do. In your quest, read the Word of God and go to a trusted Christian source. God may be calling you to stand up against that and injustice in a practical way. Or he may be calling you to stand in prayer against that injustice. Or perhaps he will give you his wisdom on how he wants you personally, to offer relief to the persecuted. When you seek God's answer as you would seek water on a hot day you He will give you the answer. And when you answer his call obediently, you will be satisfied. We are so quickly running out of time. So we will continue with this teaching on the Beatitudes. And next week in the meantime, you have some homework to do. Have you received your invitation to the kingdom of heaven? If you have Have you answered, in order to receive the kingdom of heaven or to be admitted into the kingdom of heaven, we must be poor in spirit wrapped in humility. We must put God first. And we must put ourselves last. Will you ask God to show you how are you in mourning? If you are Will you allow God to comfort you? And if you are not in a season of mourning? Will you take a moment to look around at who in your circle may be morning and offer them the comfort of God? Say a prayer on their behalf or text a Bible verse to your neighbor in the kingdom? Is someone or something coming against you tempting you to rear up and defend yourself at the expense of another? Will you pray to the Holy Spirit and ask him to empower you to be gentle in your dealings? trusting Jesus that by being gentle, you will inherit the earth? And will you pray for God to open your eyes to the injustice is going on around you? There are plenty. Ask God to personally grant you wisdom for the path that he would have you take to stand against that injustice. If you are a child of God, the kingdom of heaven is yours. Will you take ownership? To Heavenly father I pray for every listener that she will enter into your kingdom and will take ownership in the very personal way that you have commanded her. Give her a moment today to sit quietly and listen to your voice. Give her courage and wisdom to step out where you call her. Give her a humble heart and a gentle spirit to do Your will. In Jesus name I pray. Amen. Thanks for listening to women world leaders podcast. Join us each Monday, Wednesday and Friday. As we explore together God's extravagant love and your courageous purpose. Visit our website at WWW dot women world leaders.com To submit a prayer request, register for an upcoming event and support the ministry from his heart to yours. We are women world leaders. All content is copyrighted by women world leaders and cannot be used without express written consent.

As we prepare to launch our newest book, Surrendered: Yielded With Purpose through Women World Leaders, join us to hear one of the powerful stories within the soon to be released book. Ellie McGraw from British Columbia shares how to Let Go and Let God.   Ellie McGraw received freedom from a painful past as she learned to surrender one by one, things that held her captive to her past.  She openly shares her God-given story to glorify God and inspire others. Ellie is using a pen name in order to protect people within her story.   ***** Kimberly Hobbs   Welcome to Empowering Lives with Purpose. And I'm your host, Kimberly Hobbs. I am the founder of Women World Leaders. And we are so happy that you have joined in with us today for our podcast. And it's always a pleasure to welcome our guests and today I'd like to welcome our guest, Ellie McGraw from British Columbia. Welcome, Ellie. Ellie McGraw   Thank you. awesome to be here. It's a privilege. Kimberly Hobbs   And we're glad to have you Thank you. Ladies, I'm, I'm really excited because in women, world leaders, as many of our followers know we have books that God has allowed us to put out. And every year, our books have gone to number one best sellers. In fact, our book, one of our books last year, victories and victories, claiming freedom in Christ went to number one best seller last year. And this year, God is giving us several books that are going to be put out through the Ministry of Women, world leaders, world published productions. And we are excited about these books. And we decided that we are going to share some of these stories with you some of the stories that are in these amazing books that God has allowed us to present. So this book, surrendered, yielded with purpose for 2022 is going to be launching in November. And God has brought forward some of the authors and writers in these books, to do some podcast interviews with us. So today, Ellie, as one of our guests, is one of the writers in the book surrendered, and you get to hear her story that she is sharing. And God tells us in His Word, and Revelation 1211, they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb. And by the word of their testimony, they overcame him Who is him, that is the devil, the enemy, and we overcome by sharing, sharing about what God has done in and through our hearts in some of the stories that he has given us in our life. And God has given Miss Mrs. Ellie McGraw wonderful story, and it's one of healing and restoration, but she went through a journey to get through it. And we're hoping that today this will inspire you and encourage you, as you are on your own journey through your walks of life, whatever it is that you are going through, but sometimes we can identify with other stories. And that is our hope today that you might be able to relate and to Ellie's story that she's going to share with you. So let me share a little bit about Ellie McGraw, Ellie is actually going under a pen name, to protect the identity of those that were written about in her past through her story. So she is from British Columbia. And again, we are just privileged to know her she is a wonderful woman of God loves the Lord with all of her heart. She is a dynamic, fiery, passionate, prophetic voice, who loves the presence of God in her life. And from a young age Ellie heard the voice of God. And because of the freedom she herself has received from the Lord, she loves to see the body of Christ set free. And I love that she loves to see them set free, healed and delivered. She has a passion for equipping leaders and raising up champions through giving sound biblical keys to the kingdom of God. Ali speaks at churches and various nations. And since 2000, she has a counseling healing and deliverance ministry called freedom to soar. She leads many groups including a 24 hour prayer line called the Canadian firewall. I love that. I love that because we at women, world leaders believe in the power of prayer and that is the only way this ministry is flourishing in the name of Jesus. So prayer is vital. And I love that you are doing a 24 hour prayer line in Canada. That's amazing. She's a mom, she's a grandma. She's living in British Columbia with her husband, and she's a woman world leader. or soon to be published author in the book by women world leaders called surrendered, yielded with purpose. And that is what we're talking about today is one of the stories in this book soon to be launched in November, end of November, beginning of December 2022. So, Holly, as we get started with your story, you have a story of surrendering brokenness to the Lord surrendering homelessness. In fact, you titled it, let go and let God and it's a painful story. It started off that way. But we know it doesn't end that way. And God says, Colin, to me, and I will show you great and mighty things which you do not know Jeremiah 33, three. And when you are going through that pain, and that brokenness, God knew what was coming ahead. He says, Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight that that's proverbs three, five and six. So as we start out, we're gonna ask Ellie to share a little bit about that painful brokenness that she felt. Pat, take it away, Ellie. Ellie McGraw   Well, thank you so much. I, it's you know, it's an honor to share about the pain and the brokenness, because it's in that place, where we begin to see a glimpse of God that we never would have imagined. But it's my story starts out with my husband, who was in a rage, which seemed to be quite often, in fact, it it got to be more and more all the time. But he was in a rage, and he began to choke me from behind. While he was doing this, there was so many lies that I began to, you know, that were going in my head, like, see, you deserve this, you don't have any value, you're unworthy, you don't measure up, you're nothing, all those things began to just go round and round in my head. See, it's your fault. And I, I was trying to sort through as you're fighting for your life, you know, and, of course, as I'm doing that, I'm covered in shame. It's like, it's like a blanket that just sort of goes over top of you to snuff the life out of you. And the whole world was literally closing in on me. I struggled. I struggled, you know, with the hands i but because he had come from behind, it was very hard for me to to get those hands away. And of course, as he's doing this, there was a lot of cussing that that was deafening to my ears. And I just kept ripping away at those fingers. While this was all happening, my four and five year old little girls, they I remember looking over and I and I saw them. And I was like, Oh my gosh, my kids are seeing this you know, and it was like they were like shocked they were just staring there. Their eyes were huge because they couldn't even believe what was going on. They had heard some of this kind of stuff before but not to this extent. And so when when I felt like I was going down, you know for the sort of the last time and as I was trying to rip away I just thought God I'm not gonna make it i i don't know what to do. And I looked at the one and she was just like staring or she was just like huge hurt. She has big brown eyes anyways, but they were just huge. And then the other one all of a sudden she looked at me right at the point where I thought okay, this is it. I'm passing out I'm I don't know what else to do. And it was almost at that very second that she screamed. And it was like this pierce it was like, you know, I mean I can't even explain what it sounded like but it was like stop your she actually said You're killing mommy. And when she said that the group it was almost like that shock stopped the the fight and he loosened and as soon as I felt the loosening course i i was Coming to again. And I remember, I was sputtering and like, oh God, and I'm gasping, and I'm coughing and then trying to strangle up to my feet. And as I do it, my, I'm thinking, I've got to get the kids, I gotta get them out of here. So I'm, I'm sort of doing that. And he's still, I think, in shock from the screen. And so I grabbed them, and I grabbed the dog, and we go running into the night, and just I shoved them in the car, and I just kept praying, you know, God, I pray this car works, because it wasn't the newest car, you know, but and that's playing for your life. I was and I did not know where to go what to do, who to call, it was late. And I'm thinking well, now what? So, but I knew a woman and her husband that had always sort of been been like, a grandma and grandpa almost to the children. And they had always said, you know, if ever anything happens, you just know, you can come here. So we died. We did. That's where I went. And, and as I went there, and I remember laying on the bed, and I just cried and cried. This was after the police came and they took pictures of me because I was a mess. And all of that. And then I laid on the bed and I just cried. I cried and cried and cried. And I as I was sobbing, I was wondering, you know, like God, I thought I was supposed to be the bride of Christ. Like, what kind of what kind of bride of Christ is this? I'm a mess. I'm confused. I'm wounded and broken. I'm literally like grieving. But he just was silent at that point. He just was quiet and sort of comforting me with peace. And I was in a ball curled on the bed and he just kept saying it's okay. So I thought, Okay, well, God. Now what do I do? What do I do? I'm homeless. I don't have a home. I don't have which we had a beautiful home. Like we had a swimming pool, we had a boat, we had all the nice thing. They've done a river. Not a river, a bank in the mountain. And so we didn't have anybody behind us. It was nice place. But God kept saying, you know, his sheep follow him. For they know His voice and the voice of a stranger they will not follow. So I began to pray. Okay, God, I need your voice. I need you to speak and I need to know that it's your voice and no other voice. Because you say a voice of a stranger. I won't follow. So it's like, Okay, God, shut off all the other voices. I just want you. Kimberly Hobbs   Wow. I can't even imagine living through that trauma or living through that pain. And you you had nothing nobody. But you had God to cry out to. And that is what you did. And your first surrender as you share in your chapter in the book surrendered is brokenness. You surrendered and you let go and you let God and then the second surrender was your home you were homeless, you had no place else to go and use had to surrender that beautiful home that you had back to the Lord. And now this is going to be very tragic ladies. But she incurred another horrific painful experience in her life was she lost her father to a massive heart attack. God cares, Lady about ladies about every detail we go through. And he saw that that was coming and again, she would have to endure that pain, more pain. The Lord will perfect that which concerns me Your mercy oh lord endures forever. Psalm 138 Eight, and you began embracing God, le by reading the scriptures. You surrendered your homelessness you let go of pride to reach out for assistance to God. God says whether you turn to the left or to the right, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying this is the way walk in it. That's Isaiah 3021. So can you now share with the ladies after your father has this massive heart attack? How did you find strength now to let go and let God Ellie McGraw   Well, more than ever, it was the word. I just kept running into the Word and going okay God, I'm going to begin to speak it out and declare it because there's power when we say make out the word especially. And the breath of God comes out of us. You know, and it's not just dead religion of just saying a bunch of words. It's like, Okay, God, I want your breath to speak through me. And I began to speak those very words, you know, your word is a lamp unto my feet. Your word is a light unto my path. Okay, God, you're going to show me I don't know where to put my feet, but you're going to show me and another one in in Psalm 91. You know, the Lord is my shepherd, I will not want. Well, I, I wanted to argue there was a part of me that wanted to argue, oh, yeah, you know, I'm wanting Lord. But you say I won't want. So I will not lack Okay, God, I'm going to take you at your word. And you know, His Word will perform what it's meant to do, as we decree it. As we speak it out as we pray it. It's like, it's like, something comes underneath us and then begins to carry us in his arms. Your word says, you know, in in Isaiah 30, it says, Your ears shall hear the word behind you. This is the way walk a walk in it. Yes. Kimberly Hobbs   I love that scripture. That is one of my scriptures, too. Oh, my goodness. And ladies that are listening. You may be able to identify with Ellie and in something horrific in your life that you've gone to and where does that assistance come from? Our our help comes from the Lord, we just call out to Him. We read the scriptures. And God's gonna provide a way when there seems to be no way. And Ally, as we continue on. God gave you strength. He gave you grace, He gave you faith. And he gave you wisdom when you needed it. And ladies, again, I love to share the Scripture wisdom. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask God and he will give it to you generously to any of us who asked. That's James one five. Holly was praying, God, give me your wisdom. Ladies, pray that to the Lord. Lord, give me your wisdom and whatever it is right now that you're going through that may allow you to identify here with what Ellie's going through, or went through. Pray for that wisdom. God brought you grandma Gerda le and you were able to surrender your control to God. You also had that was the third thing you had to surrender to Him. And when grammar Gerda came into your life, can you explain how you learned about forgiveness and the ability to forgive as Jesus forgave you? Ellie McGraw   Well, um, you know, there was one time when we were running because the police had come to my door and they'd said, Look, your husband's out of jail and he is on the rampage. So flee your home. So we went we've we fled and she drama kurta picked us up, and we just were driving around. And as she's driving around, she just finally she stops and she says to me, Holly, or Ellie, you have to let go of your girls. You've got to literally lay them on, on you know, just lay them down. Because she says if you don't you're going to be a mess. Always. You're going to be worried you're going to be fearful you won't be able to you know get what he wants you to get. You can't live at peace that way. And I let I remember I surrendered them. I just said okay, God here I give you my children. And that was the hardest thing. I just again cried and cried and cried and sobbed because it was breaking a stronghold that Okay, God, you, you might not do it. And then as she kept coaching us, it led us to forgiveness where I began to forgive. And I began to see this man almost separated from the power that was influencing him. And it's that's a very hard thing to say. But it's the only way sometimes you can forgive is when you separate the person from the rage or the influence that is controlling them. Because if if you keep picturing them like that, that's the thing that will you know, it'll try to hold you but if you can say okay, that was him under the influence of wicked things, wicked spirits and rage. Now, he this here is actually a person who God you love. And you forgive. And you you cherish. And I had to I had to separate the two Do because sometimes that's the only way we can forgive is if we separate the two. Yes. So that was one of the things that I had to do as I forgave. But of course, as I forgave, I had to also let go the trauma. And many times I pictured trauma and pain and losses and disappointments, just by saying here, Jesus, you drank a cup of suffering. Oh, and so I pour these into your cup of suffering. And you will, you've drank that cup, you've read me. So I don't know, I don't have to carry this any longer. That was another piece of my healing is that part where I can finally let it go in that cup, and watch him? Take it, there was much forgiveness that I had to do, I had to go through each each particular in incident that had happened in my life and begin to say, Okay, God, I give you this one. And I gave you this one. And I gave you this one. And then I had to ask forgiveness for carrying it has, sometimes when we carry things like that, it's actually idolatry. And what it is saying is, Jesus, your death wasn't enough. So I'm just going to carry this, I'm going to carry this unforgiveness and hatred all my days. But one wants is to say, hey, you need to tear that altar down. You don't take it, I take it. And so, yeah, so that's another part of the puzzle in forgiving, you know, we don't forgive because of our own self, or because of that next person, we forgive because to free ourselves. And, you know, by forgiving, and by letting go, the amazing thing is, as I did all those things, God worked it out that we became friends. I mean, wow. You know, you know, celebrate, like the kids is birthdays and, and their weddings. And they're, you know, we went through the grad and we went through the, the weddings. I mean, this was my ex husband, he obviously became my ex husband. Right, all those things, we just finished celebrating Thanksgiving together. My husband now and my x and all our kids and all our grandkids. So I think if I could end by saying, you know, it's a bigger picture, we must see the legacy we're leaving on the earth. Like, what is the legacy we're leaving? Is it the trauma, the brokenness, the pain, the disappointments, the betrayals, the shame, the depression? Or if you know what, God you look bigger, you look into the generations, you look into the kids, you look into the grandkids, and so on, what can I leave them that will continue to ripple, and be in effect, forgive for Christ? Kimberly Hobbs   Amen. Good word, good word. It is something we all need to think about. What are you leaving for the children and the power of forgiveness when they see that in an example, such as they saw it in you, Ally, as an example to your children, is powerful. It's powerful, because it's not easy. We're not saying forgiveness is easy. But we have the most beautiful example of Jesus and how he forgives us. Who are we we are sinners, saved by His grace. And we just thank you, Jesus, for your forgiveness. And when we can see ourselves as that sinner, and that God had to come and die for us. And we ask him for that for that forgiveness. That's powerful, because he says, How much does he forgive us? As far as Easton is from West and he remembers those sins no more. And ladies, we're not saying that we're God. We're not saying again, that this is easy, but we're able to follow the example in Jesus because He loved us so much that he forgave. And how many times did he forgive us? He forgave it talks about forgiveness in the Bible. 70 times seven. Wow. So ladies, just practice the word surrender in your life and surrender those things that are holding you captive, that you can't let go of that are holding Just like Ali said, they become idols. When you don't release that to the Lord, you have to release it in full surrender to God and allow him to come over and take full control of your life. And then you're going to start walking in those blessings and freedom with the power to forgive the power to overcome control, brokenness, homelessness, all of these things that the enemy just wants to take us out with. And allow us to wallow in that mire. And in brokenness, you want you there forever. But no, no. We have Jesus and His forgiveness. And just remember that ladies, that is what is gonna get you through is the power of forgiveness. It's powerful. So ally in our clothes, can you just in one minute or less, just give that woman listening that identified with this story that has gone through tremendous heartache and brokenness, maybe it's from a spouse, maybe it's from another past abuser in her life, or I don't know what kind of brokenness she's going through, but, but just give her that word of encouragement that you would that would just give her hope to go on. Ellie McGraw   I think what I would say of course, is let go and let God like, until she lets go. She's going to strangle herself in a stronghold of hatred and anger and unbelief and all kinds of things. But when she just like full surrenders, like Okay, God, here I am. And it's almost like, Here I am, I lay on your and I always picture it as a hammock. I lay back in the hammock of God. And I just say, God, I do not know what we're going to do. But I'm trusting in you. I can trust in you, you know, we T is faithful, why? His word is faithful. Amen. We can take that word. We can take that word, because it's faithful. It's true. And that's all we got. We got everything. You know, Jesus, well, right. He's faithful. He won't disappoint us, we think, oh, you know, but No, he won't disappoint. So as we let go, we can trust God to carry us and He will bring us through. I even think of these days now, when we're almost like in a boat, and all the waves are tossing and turning. And we're like, God, what's happening in the world and what's happening everywhere, like everything's out of whack. And meanwhile, we're just like, there's one onslaught after another after another, the only place of freedom is to let go and let God Kimberly Hobbs   Praise God, praise God. Ladies, I hope that you heard that final word, let go and like God, and know that he's going to carry you he is going to carry you in. That's what faith is. Faith is the substance of things hoped for. The evidence of things not seen, we can't see what God's gonna do. But ladies, he knows the beginning to the end. So we need to trust him. Trust that he loves you ladies, that he's got you. And he's not letting go of you. So voice that to him, Lord, I know, I know you have me, I trust you. I can't see what's coming. But I trust you. And you hold on to that faith, ladies. And you go and you go with God, and you let that word strengthen your heart. It's going to strengthen you there is power in the Word. So our encouragement, Ellie, and I's encouragement to you is stay grounded in the Word of God, ladies. And that, again, is one of these purposes of these books that we put out by women, world leaders and the book coming out surrendered, yielded with purpose is going to be fantastic. I can't even tell you, and we ask you to get this book, be part of it. And then read this book for yourself and then pass it on to whoever God speaks to you and puts on your heart and you be part of this team that is going to help spread the word of God into the world because these books contain the word of God every chapter contains the powerful word of God and how these amazing women of God used that word in in our Bibles to show glory to God of how he used those scriptures to get them through a horrible time. And so again, ladies we just encourage you to look for this book surrendered, yielded with Purpose, it's coming late fall, November of 2022. So I'm not sure when you're going to listen to this podcast. But even if you hear it in 2023, you know, this book will have already launched out into the world and prayerfully, it will become a number one best seller, as our past books have. And ladies, you can be part of that to helping us achieve number one bestseller with this book, because that just means more people in the world are going to hear these stories. And that's what's so important, ladies, and let's do this as a team effort from women, world leaders and make sure these books get out into the world. So I just want to thank you, Ellie macdon. And you can look for her story and surrendered yielded with purpose. And she's also given permission for you to reach out to her at Freedom to soar.me. Write me Oh at me, freedom to [email protected] Thank you for that correction. And as we close again, I want to thank you, Ellie McGraw for being our guest today and speaking to the hearts of the women that are listening, and ladies, and we love you. And we appreciate you every week faithfully coming to listen to empowering lives with purpose. And we invite you to go to our website where we have the shop, and you can look at the different tools that God has allowed us to put on there the books that we have produced through women, world leaders, and you can also join us each Monday, Wednesday and Friday for more podcasts from women, world leaders. And also we have voice of truth magazine that goes out into the world 1000s of women digitally it is reaching and we are so so just blessed by all of those that are reading and growing and becoming part of women, world leaders through reaching out to us. So we encourage you to reach out to us too. If you are moved and inspired to do so or maybe you want to share your story. We give you the ability to do that through women world leaders. So God bless you all have a wonderful day. And remember from his heart to yours, we are women world leaders all content is copyrighted and cannot be used without expressed written consent.    

In today's podcast, Rusanne Carole speaks honestly about when we "feel" God isn't there and we have difficulty hearing Him or seeing Him at work in our lives. We all have times of joy and laughter and times of discouragement and questioning. It is normal for doubt to enter our minds, but we mustn't be led by our these thoughts that cause doubt that God is always present desiring the best for us. As women of God, we are called to persevere! Run the race of faith knowing God is there even if we can't "feel" it. He promises this and it's a promise we must cling to for when we are weak, He is strong! ****** Welcome to Celebrating God’s Grace, a Women World Leader’s podcast. I am your host, Rusanne Carole. Thank you for joining us today and we hope you can join us each week as every Monday in “Empowering Lives with Purpose” with, Kimberly Hobbs, our founder, she shares with us a beautiful time of chatting with women of God who give part of their testimony, their “God story” -  giving God the glory.  It is so encouraging when we hear others’ stories of overcoming and celebrating God’s goodness and faithfulness. The Word tells us there is power in the testimony. This 30-minute interview inspires and lets us know we are not alone in our challenges, but God is always with us and never leaves us! And each Wednesday, our very own Julie Jenkins in Walking in the Word shares a study where she is currently looking at and teaching from the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. 20 minutes where she teaches verse by verse and delves into the life of Jesus that fills and feeds the soul. And on Fridays, we have a team of podcasters I am honoured to be a part of where we celebrate God’s goodness and all He has for us to live the abundant life He desires for each of us. I want to be very open and honest with you today.  I didn’t “feel” like working on a podcast for this month’s message and recording. I’m currently going through one of the most challenging seasons of my life. This is not about sharing every detail of what is happening, we are all going through things. And if we aren’t currently life has a way of presenting things for us (or our loved ones) to deal with! And the enemy has reminded me often – “Is this really the best it’s gonna get?” “Where is your God? I don’t see him helping you and it’s been months, where do you think He could be? Is He really for you? Is He really real?” I am reminded of a song that the lyrics say, The world will say, “Where is your God” and we will say, “He’s right here with me!” But what about the times that you just can’t see Him or you are not hearing from Him? I recently read and contemplated a statement a pastor wrote: When we are in the perfect will of God, we hear and feel nothing. What? What do you mean? I’ve always pictured I’m in His will when I “see” Him at work in my life, when I am hearing from Him  - loud and clear. Oh, what a joyous time those have been when I just knew it was God directing me, guiding me. It felt safe and secure – knowing He was there helping me down the path of life and it’s many decisions. But as I have gotten older and having spent more time in relationship with my heavenly Father He is showing me more and more about faith! Believing, even when I don’t “feel” Him at work. 2 Cor 5:7 says for we walk by faith, not by sight. Can we be an unbelieving believer? I think yes. We are called to believe in the Lord Jesus with our whole being. MIND, BODY and SOUL. Our minds can receive and even believe all that we learn in His Holy Word, yet our emotions can be unbelieving! Our mind can run to Him. And our emotions can run away from Him. A negative emotional perception of God will hinder the attempts to look at Christ as the WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE. So back to getting in His will for us? Do we honestly believe He has a better plan for our lives than we could pursue for ourselves. When everything in us is screaming, “NO!!! I want my life to be different!” We must pray, “Lord, I want your will, not mine.” It involves dying to the self that drives us daily. God truly does have the best plan for our lives. We must believe! And when God is quiet it requires trust, perseverance in our walk (whether we are hearing and seeing Him at work – the Word promises us that He is). Same as my boys. When they were young and suppose I told them not to drive their bikes in the street. If I saw them riding in the street, I would yell at them to get out of the street – and if they didn’t hear me I would run outside to get close where they could hear me or even retrieve them out of harm’s way. However, if I looked out the window and found them doing what they were supposed to they would hear nothing from me. The same is true with the Lord. We must be careful not to compare, especially in this world where we “share” so much on the spinning reel of social media.  God will speak to us all differently and in His time – not ours. I know God has spoken to me in the most amazing times when I least expected it. I had not asked for it but He in his wisdom spoke when He decided to speak. He doesn’t have to speak to know He is there. His promises tell me so! So sisters, my prayer for all of you and myself is we KNOW God is there working for us, loving us, directing us – even when we don’t “feel” it. Regardless of our worldly circumstances, for there is a “heavenly home” that awaits. Regardless of our feelings, for they are like a yo-yo, up one moment and down the next! Regardless of what the world may say about where our God is, as Christians – Christ lives in us! And as I come to an end of writing this and speaking this out I already feel better for it is His Holy Spirit that comes to minister to our heart, mind and soul and ask him – COME, even if we have to ask over and over and over again. Our Lord understands.

The 72 disciples returned from their mission with amazing stories. Jesus celebrated with them, saying, “I saw Satan fall like lightning.” As ambassadors for Jesus, He gives us His power to defeat evil in this world. Let’s take a stand together! (Luke 10:17-24) ***** Thanks for joining us today for Walking in the Word, the biblical teaching arm of the Women World Leaders’ podcast. My name is Julie Jenkins, and I am the host for this, our Wednesday edition of the podcast. If you are new to Women World Leaders – we offer three different podcast episodes on this one feed each week. On Mondays, founder Kimberly Hobbs host Empowering Lives with Porupose – a 30-minute interview with a different woman of faith who shares her God story in the hopes of empowering you to walk in your God-given purpose. On Fridays, we have a team of leaders who present Celebrating God’s Grace – a joyful and instructive podcast about God’s grace in our world today. And, of course, you’ve happened on Walking in the Word, where we take a few minutes each Wednesday to open and study scripture together. There is SO much going on at Women World Leaders! If you have been around the ministry for any length of time, you are likely aware that God continues to bring us writers who are eager to share their God stories. We are continually building and coaching teams to work together to write books filled with individual one-on-one encounters with and teachings from God. We are SO excited to announce that we have TWO new books soon to be PUBLISHED! So keep an eye out on social media and through our newsletter to find out how you can purchase these soon-to-be-released books! Also, we ask you to pray with us! By God’s grace, each of our previously-released books has hit best-seller status within days of their release, and we are praying for the same for each of these books — because the more books that sell, the more God’s glory will be revealed to our world! To receive the newsletter in your email to ensure you don’t miss out on anything God is doing in and through this ministry, please visit our website at www.womenworldleaders.com Let’s get to the teaching, shall we? As we dive into our walk through the Word, we continue learning from the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John verse by verse, asking God to show us what He wants us to learn from each step. Today our study comes from Luke 10:17-25. Before we begin, let’s pray. Dear Most Holy God, we come to you today, first, seeking your forgiveness for the wrongs we have done. Father, we don’t want anything to impede the Holy Spirit’s power and wisdom within us as we seek to understand your Word. So we say we are sorry for the recent moments when we have offended you, and we thank you for your mercy. God – lead us today as we read and study your Word. Help us understand what you want us to know. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.   Last week, we studied Luke, chapter 10, verses 1-16. We saw Jesus send out 72 disciples in pairs to prepare the cities where He Himself would soon be going. He instructed the disciples that first, they were to pray for others to come alongside them as helpers, because there was much work to be done. Then He instructed them to be aware, because they wouldn’t always be walking into friendly territory. Jesus told them they shouldn’t take any money or provisions, instead trusting God’s provisions along the way. They were told that as they entered homes, they should declare God’s peace and not hesitate to accept hospitality. When they were welcomed, they were to heal the sick in God’s power and declare that the Kingdom of God had come. If it happened that they were not welcomed, they were to shake the dust from their feet and move on. The 72 disciples were sent as ambassadors of Jesus Christ, with the power of Jesus Christ to heal and proclaim His name. If you listened to last week’s podcast, you may remember that I gave you a charge – to go out and be an ambassador for Christ. I wonder how your week went? It’s always important for us to take a look at how we are doing – to hold ourselves accountable. One way to do that is to be involved in a group that cares about your walk with Jesus. My favorite thing about Women World Leaders is that, through this ministry, God facilitates community, fellowship, and accountability. I am very much an introvert – I gotta’ tell you, I was just fine with the pandemic forcing me to work from home. So I understand if you are a person who doesn’t want to “get out there” – trust me, I do! But my commitment to my fellow sisters in this ministry helps me stay on the right track. Each time we meet, whether it be in a leaders connection, a writers’ meeting, a prayer Zoom, or any of the many other meetings that we have – that you are also invited to attend, by the way - I feel a resurgence in my spirit. And I’m reminded that despite the sins I commit, God still considers me His daughter, and, as His daughter, He has given me the gift of sisters who hold me up and hold me accountable. These ladies remind me daily of God’s glory working in and through this ministry and the world. I believe that is how the 72 disciples who Jesus sent out felt. Because, though they each had a very individualized mission, they were not going it alone. They were part of a community of believers. And today, as we read forward in Luke, we get to peak in on the return of the 72 – what happened when they came together in community to share their individual experiences with their peeps? Let’s begin reading in Luke 10:17 from the New Living Translation… 17 When the seventy-two disciples returned, they joyfully reported to him, “Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!” I wish Luke had spent more than one sentence on this reunion! I love that they all returned together – I’m not even sure how God orchestrated that without cell phones. And I love their joy – even though they were probably dog-tired. I know when I return from a trip, I am spent. And I don’t ever have to walk to my called destination! But these 72 were clearly energized by the fact that THEY were used by God! Have you ever been there? I sure hope so! The devil works hard to mask the miraculous that God does in and through us. That’s exactly WHY it is important for us to reflect on our days and weeks. Think about your prayers – who have you prayed for that God has healed? We tend to not think in those terms, but I assure you that God DOES hear you when you pray. And He does respond. How have you seen God give His peace to someone dear to you in the last week? Is it possible He used YOUR words to bring a momentary smile to someone’s face? That’s being an ambassador. And I know there are plenty of ways we’ve affected others that we won’t even know about until we get to heaven. I know our magazine contributors and book authors pray for their readers all the time – that God would speak a word of encouragement, empowerment, comfort, or grace to the one who happens to be holding the writing in his or her hands. But we may never hear all those stories. And that’s okay, because we know that when we go for God, in God’s power, we can trust that He will use every word and every step and every bit of strength we muster to serve Him. Though Luke doesn’t record too much of the celebration of the returning 72, he does record Jesus’ response. 18 “Yes,” he told them, “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning!  This was the BEGINNING of Satan’s downfall on earth! That fight rages on even today, but the disciples won THAT battle – and Jesus celebrated with them. We have battles we walk into every day, too. But when we give ourselves fully to God’s plan, we can be assured that Satan falls far and fast – like lightning! Jesus continues… 19 Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you. This is GOOD NEWS – it was for them, and it was for us. We, with the power of Jesus coursing through us, have the power to conquer evil in this world. The disciples had already seen this first-hand, but Jesus is now telling them that their power wouldn’t stop with that one mission trip, but was meant to be harnessed every day of their lives. Carrying God’s power is both a blessing AND a responsibility. There is a job to be done on earth, and God has called you and me to do it. Jesus continues, saying that as exciting as all this is, it isn’t the best part. Verse 20…  20 But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.” Cities of the day kept a book, a registry of their citizens’ names. Though we may live temporarily on earth, our true home is in God’s Kingdom. If you have given your life to Christ, YOUR name is registered in heaven. THAT is the true celebration. And with that thought, Jesus broke into prayer…verse 21… 21 At that same time Jesus was filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit, and he said, “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way. 22 “My Father has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” Jesus praised and honored God the Father – who made a way for us ALL to understand the depths of His teachings no matter what education or background we have. Holy, unfathomable, righteous, omniscient, and omnipresent God Almighty sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to reveal to US His magnificent secrets and promises and power. I don’t know about you, but that is just TOO MUCH for me to even take in. I imagine the disciples with eyes wide and brimming with tears at the wonder of it all. But Jesus wasn’t done teaching them…verse 23… 23 Then when they were alone, he turned to the disciples and said, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you have seen. 24 I tell you, many prophets and kings longed to see what you see, but they didn’t see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn’t hear it.” Jesus’ arrival on earth was heavily anticipated for a long time. Through the years, MANY prophesied of His coming. Many MORE believed and waited, yearning for His arrival. And these individuals, the 72, were honored to receive the blessing of serving Jesus’ as He walked in the flesh. Since Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven, we have been waiting again. This time, for Jesus’ return. But we, too, are blessed beyond measure because we have been given so much – we have the Holy Bible—God’s own Word translated into hundreds of languages. We have teachers and preachers who have studied and taught and shed light on God’s teachings. And, most importantly, we have the gift of the Holy Spirit. When we submit our lives to Jesus Christ, we are infused with the Holy Spirit Himself, who comes to live within us, giving us full access to His power, joy, and wisdom. This is simply remarkable and should cause us to break out in our own song of praise and thanksgiving. God sent Jesus. And Jesus called His disciples, revealing the glory of the Father, and sent them on a mission for Him. And He has done the same for us. We DO walk among snakes and scorpions—the path is not easy. And the more we learn, the more responsibility we are given. It’s essential to remember that we have God’s power in us, and as we walk,  to stop and take notice of all God is doing in and through us. And we should never forget to celebrate with others—because God didn’t call us to walk alone. We all need each other – we were created to hold each other up and hold each other accountable. So let’s stand together in His presence! We are going to know each other for eternity, so we might as well start relying on each other in friendship now! Let’s pray. Dear Most Holy God – what an amazing family you have called us to be part of! You have given us gifts and joyful responsibilities beyond our wildest imaginations. God, sometimes the road is tough, but you warned us of that in advance, and assured us of your power to overcome the world, Satan, and evil of every kind. God, we stand as your army, in your power, ready and willing to fight the good fight for you. Thank you for bringing us along for the ride. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.      

God has given each of us as believers a story to share with the world.   Today's guest, Janet Whisnant Harllee, talk show host of "Faith In An Ever Changing World," discusses the importance of sharing your faith story with others to bring about encouragement, Inspiration, and hope while sharing the love of Jesus.   Please join us to hear examples of why YOUR story might make a difference in another's life.   *****   Welcome to Empowering Lives With Purpose. And I'm your host, Kimberly Hobbs. I am the founder of Women World Leaders. And we are so happy that you have joined us today. Today. Let's welcome our guest, Janet Harllee. Welcome, Janet, we are so happy to have you.  Janet Harllee   Thank you, Kimberly, thank you for giving me this opportunity.  Kimberly Hobbs   Of course, of course and ladies today. This is really fun because Janet has a program where others are invited on to share their stories. And I'm going to introduce her in just a moment. But I just wanted to say a little bit about who we are women, world leaders, the name of our podcast today is empowering lives with purpose. And it is our desire ladies to inspire you encourage you in the Word of God, and also to walk out that beautiful purpose that God has just for you. God tells us in His word that we are a masterpiece Ephesians 210 says we are God's masterpiece, we are created anew in Christ Jesus to do that very good things that he has planned for us long ago. And ladies, we know that you have a beautiful purpose. And whether you're walking it out now, or you have those reservations of walking it out, we want to help you we want to propel you forward in your faith, to walk out that purpose and serve the Lord wholeheartedly. And so as we have some of our guests on that is our purpose that they can help inspire you through sharing their stories of how they came to walk with Jesus and share their purpose. And when they share with you. Hopefully that will just jog something inside of you to say, Okay, Lord, if they can do it, I can do it. Right. So, Janet, I just want to share a little bit about our guest, Janet Harley today. She is a storyteller, and she's a speaker, a broadcaster and an author. And she has a passion to share God's truth and deliver it to her audiences, where she encourages, inspires and entertains with messages of faith in an ever changing world. Her other experiences include theater, radio, television, and she's currently the host of her broadcast, which is faith in an ever changing world, which gives encouragement and hope, as she interviews with others to share their faith story. And also pastors who share various faith topics with faith focus. She enjoys encouraging people through coffee breaks, and she loves making new friends. And Janet Harley is available on YouTube. So Janet, again, we welcome you. And thank you for being here. We, you're so welcome. We each have a story to tell ladies. And the stories could be ranging from how we give birth and pains and trials that we've had, you know, we all have different stories that we share with people. But as Christ followers, ladies, those stories are of the utmost important, what has he done in your life? What are our Faith Journeys? What is your faith journey, and the goal of our faith journey is to deepen our relationship with God. Right. And by sharing our faith story, and telling our story, we encourage others to share their stories. And God says in Revelation 1211, And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb. And by the word of their testimony, we overcome the enemy, and all that he's trying to do in our life. When we proclaim our testimony to the world. God says that in his word, and that is how important it is. Janet, you have a story. So how did you get started in encouraging others to share their story? Let's hear a little bit about your story. Janet Harllee   Well, I retired a couple of years ago at the age of 70 and And I've never really thought about retiring, Kimberly, I enjoy what I was doing. And the Lord has blessed me with good health. And so, but at 70, I thought, well, it's just time. But you know, you never retire because God's work never stops. So I wondered what was going to be next? My next chapter, what, what, Lord, what do you have for me? Now, what can I do? And one of my speaker topics was faith in an ever changing world. And I added encouragement and hope. Because for the broadcast, he put on my heart to, to do a Facebook page. And it's really his Facebook page, not mine. And he wanted me to help others or to get other people to share their stories, because in how faith, either how faith had gotten them through a certain situation in their life, or their testimony, that we each have a testimony a story. And when we tell our story, we tell HEDIS. Amen. So I started the PageRank. So just let it go around in my head for a while, you know, and in September last year, and this September will be a year that the broadcast has been going on Facebook. And so I've just pray every day that the Lord will use me will show me what he wants me to do. Because when you retire, when I retired, I repurposed. I retired to repurpose. And I just think that the Lord has says he has put this on my heart, that this is what he wants me to do at this particular time. Kimberly Hobbs   Oh, my goodness, Janet, you are so delightful. And I love that when you retired, you said you repurposed? Yeah. How awesome. Is that? Right? That? I said, I want to be like you when I. When I'm at that age to retire, I'm gonna say no, Lord, let me repurpose it, because serving Him is amazing, right? Janet Harllee   That's right. That's right. And we are, we are to do that. That certainly is our purpose is to encourage and empower each other, especially as women, Kimberly Hobbs   especially right as older women. And so ladies, your job on earth here is never done. Don't you think about retiring? Because God says no, he's gonna use you. You're here for a purpose. Remember that? If anything in this podcast today, you're here for a purpose, ladies. And by sharing your faith story, it touches it touches other people's hearts and helps them see their story through your story. Okay, so as they're seeing and listening to you, they identify with what you're saying. That's the importance of sharing the story. They can have compassion, they can be inspired. But they can also say, Wow, if she did it, I can do it. Right. Right. So it's through sharing these stories that also brings us closer to God, ladies, and I think God for Janet hardly that she saw a purpose in this. And she decided, You know what, she's going to go and gather those stories that God brings across her path to share with the world. So thank you, Janet, so much for doing that. So much. So I have another question for you. So tell us how you would encourage someone else to share their God's story. Janet Harllee   Well, stories connect us on so many levels, Kimberly, they are inspirational to to us. They encourage, they are empowering. And it's important for us to share those stories because we can certainly apply as you have said help other women. Women because we go through a lot of the same kinds of trials. And I'm a member of a group testimony Tuesdays on Facebook. And so we Every Tuesday we share testimony. Well, I shared a testimony Yesterday, it was a testimony of obedience because my sister and I became caregivers for my parents. And you know, when when the roles switch and you become the parent, it's, it's difficult, it's emotional. It's tiring, but it's also the most rewarding of anything I ever do. And my parents were such godly parents. And so it was just so in sharing that through the other comments you see, of other people, they can relate. Maybe they've been a caregiver too, and they knew what I was talking about. And so, in our stories in our storytelling, we certainly want to share this. And a lot of times, women think that they don't have a story. And they, but you do, yes. Um, now my story about how I came to know the Lord. I don't have a heart wrenching story to share as Sunday because I was blessed to grow up in a Christian home. But I do, it's my story. And I enjoy telling you, and as I've gotten older, and in this stage of life, where I am right now, in my last quarter of life, I am more closer to God than I ever have been. And each day, I just seem to be even closer to him. Kimberly Hobbs   So is that saying true that your later days are your glory days? Janet Harllee   Oh, yes, I tell you, he has just been another can look back and see how faithful and how he has worked in my life. From the pit pitfalls and consequences that could have happened. And Kimberly Hobbs   he prepared you for such a time as this, he prepared you, that you you know, you may have not had like you said that heart wrenching story. But yet he knew that you were going to be compassionate. And you are going to encourage others that we have those crazy, you know, stories of what they've been through those heart wrenching moments, you know, that are and you encourage them, to talk about it, to share it to express it to others, in hopes that it will draw them closer to our Lord and Savior. And that is one of the best ways to share your story as you are you're drawing others closer to God by letting them listen into your life being vulnerable being open, right? Be a friend. Yes, it'd be kind of godly examples. That's what we're called to do. And you talked about obedience to, you know, you were obedient to take care of your parents, like, you know, you can be doing a lot of other things in your retirement years. Right. Janet Harllee   Absolutely. Still working. This was while I was still working. Wow. So yeah, we had to move. And, of course, I needed a job and a place to live. Me and my husband. So Robert found an apartment that was brand new, nobody had lived in it. So we we got to got a place to live. I called a lifelong friend. And she was taking a new position and needed someone. So I had a job. I mean, it's just things like that how things fall together. When we obey. Kimberly Hobbs   Oh, that is so true. That did you hear that? Ladies? When you walk in obedience with the Lord, He's going to guide your steps, things are going to come together for you. If you think everything's in array right now, check your obedience to the Word of God. Put it up against the scriptures. Are you walking in obedience to Him? Are you doing your own thing? Yeah. So Janet, you said it right. Obedience is key to unlocking the blessings that God has in our lives. And he blesses. That's right. That's right. He sure does. So God gives us examples, ladies all over his word about how we should share our testimonies and why we should share our testimonies. And one of those is John 439, where it talks about the Samaritan woman, and she had an encounter with Jesus. And then she went out and she shared that encounter. She shared that story of how it transformed her life. She was an AHA of this wonderful Savior that forgave her for what she was doing knew everything about her. And so she ran out and told all of her fellow neighbors her story. And in that the town believed in Jesus. And it's all because of this woman testifying lives were transformed. So that's what we're called to do Janet Harllee   I love that story. Amen. It's just and that's what we should do. And with joy, Kimberly Hobbs   with joy. So one more verse I want to share is First Chronicles 16, eight, where it says, Oh, give thanks to the Lord call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people. Does he say, keep quiet about everything God did in his word? No, it says, Make known his deeds among the peoples. So ladies, we have a job to do. Janet, I know that through interviewing all of these women and men that you interviewed, because you do both you do men and women, you've heard some amazing stories. Yeah. So can you encourage the women by sharing maybe some of those that have had an impact on not only you, but others that have really made a difference and why they made a difference? Janet Harllee   Absolutely. There are many, but there are a couple of women that come to my mind right away. One woman had three boys, and they of course, her husband. And one night they were awakened with fire in their home. And so they were trying to get out and get the children out. And I she was badly burned. And still have scars today, but of the burn. But she passed out during a while she was in the ambulance, and didn't wake up for six weeks. And but God healed her it took a long time. But the the very, very another sad part of it was she did lose, they could not get her youngest son out. So he did perish in the fire. So she speaks to women today about losing those who have lost a child, and all you know the emotions, and she has a podcast and called Purple thoughts. And if any women listening wants to know about it, and to know more about it, please, we'll give you the information to get in touch with me a little while. But she is just such a wonderful, inspirational woman and speaks a testimony all the time, into the halls of how God has been so faithful and good and how he still is being faithful and good. The other day, I noticed she showed a picture of her getting in there taking her into the ambulance, and then a picture of her today. How alive she is and how beautiful she is. And Kimberly Hobbs   She had to take a step forward to faith right? Yeah, absolutely. And not be in that place. I mean, because we all know if we've gone through sickness, you know, we can wallow in our pity of woe is me for a long time. Yeah. And it took a lot to overcome what she did, but she stepped down and shared her faith story and what she's doing now and I know you have more, share some more of that story. Janet Harllee   Oh, one more, one more real quick, about a lady who was kidnapped at the age of five, and found at the age of 10. And during those five years, she was abused every day, by her kidnapper. She now has has turned her life around. Of course there's so much that can be said about her because of his She was so young. And to have this happen to her. At such a young age, that's all she knew was the behavior and the the language that she heard from this man. And so that's all she knew. And when she was found at the age of 10. She was so relieved she was Happy to be away from that environment. But social services took over and so forth. And at some point they they did it to her into school. And in the fifth in the fifth grade, she had never been to school at all. And so she didn't know how to act didn't know how to react, to interact with other children, and the teachers, but she, she got through. And then later a lady came in her life that introduced her to the Lord. And so her life, of course changed. And her faith every day now is spent helping other women who have been in similar situations, and how they can come to know the Lord and how she forgave her kidnapper, and how she brought him to the Lord. And didn't get to meet her mother. And I didn't say this, but she was abandoned at the hospital by her mother. So she was abandoned, kidnapped. It's just amazing how God got her through this situation. And now, how her how he's using her life to help other women. Wow, wow, is just amazing. So these are encouraging stories, amazing stories. And I can't imagine being in this situation, because it nothing like that has ever happened to me. But it just, it just inspires me to, to be more grateful, and more thankful to God about house so faithful and good in my life. And how I can help other women and men to share their stories to encourage and bring hope to others. Kimberly Hobbs   Right. Wow, Janet, and thank you, thank you for encouraging this woman to come forward and share that story. And even you sharing it today, how many lives are being touched, just listening to this. And knowing that when she came to know Jesus, she took her whole life story, and she put it into purpose in serving Him. And how powerful is it because others listening may have just come out of something tragic, just like that. They can identify with the pain and the hurt and the suffering. And then you get their ear because they'll listen to you because they relate to you. And you can share with them, you know, the overcoming that when we know Jesus, and we're following Him in His steps. So we have a story to tell of turn to Jesus and give him all your hurts and pains. They'll listen to you at that moment because they're identifying with you. Yes. So don't you doubt ladies for a moment that your story isn't important. Just like Janet said. She didn't grow up with a unbelievable story. She grew up and God was preparing her life for such a time as this to help others share their stories. Do you see this? Like, it just goes on and on and on. And we don't know what time in our lives God is going to use us or when he wants to use us every day of our life, by the way. So honestly, we are so appreciative of what you do Janet and encouraging others to share their story. Yes. And so tell me how I you know we have to close again wrapping up. It's just like our time with alive. It does it goes so fast. But I would like for you to share a couple of closing words to encourage the woman to share her story. And also tell us how ladies can get a hold of you Janet. Janet Harllee   Okay. First of all, I'd like to share my life scripture is found in Proverbs 356. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths. No matter what age you are women, no matter what age we are, that he shall direct our paths and one other one. Which is it At this particular time in my life, it's how he is going to be with us, even when our hairs turn gray. And my now is turning gray. And I love it Kimberly Hobbs   With age comes wisdom, Janet. Janet Harllee   That's right. That's exactly right. Kimberly is wisdom. And but I just pray every day for his wisdom, and discernment. And just stay true to God, trust God, in all things. Kimberly Hobbs   Amen, that that Scripture is so special to me too, because that's my mom's verse. And you know, I always hear or, you know, I can hear her with her little finger up in the year, Trust the Lord with all your heart. You know, like that's always saying that, so it's a great one. So how can ladies get in touch with you, Janet? Janet Harllee   All right. Of course, I have a YouTube and you just type in my name, Janet Harley. And the email that I have is Janet [email protected]. Kimberly Hobbs   Hey, man, I love that. Okay. And Janet is also a woman world leader, we are so grateful that she has come on board to serving and just being a part of just a unity of women that are going out into the world with their special purposes, doing what God has called them to do. And I thank you for that. Janet again, to serve with you is a pleasure. Janet Harllee   Oh, it's been a pleasure with us. Well, thank you so much. Kimberly Hobbs   Oh, you're so welcome. Ladies, I just in closing, want to share Luke 839, which says return to your home and declare how much God has done for you. Proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus has done. Oh, my goodness, right. He tells us go out into the city ladies proclaim it. It doesn't mean just be quiet and just tell somebody here on the corner, you know, in secret? No, it says proclaim it that means be loud about it. Proclaim what he has done with for you ladies share your story. It's so important that is the purpose of empowering lives with purpose is to get women on here to share their stories. So others can be inspired. And we hope that we're doing that for you. And another way that women world leaders loves to inspire is we do some books each year. And one of the books that we put out is tears to triumph. And it is releasing pain to receive God's restoration. So by some of the women that have shared in this amazing book, their stories of pain of suffering, it has inspired others to find Jesus. And we are so this book went to number one best seller. And number one international best seller, tears to triumph. It's available on our website, women world leaders.com. It's also available on Amazon, but we'd prefer you get it through women, world leaders. Ladies, this is a book that you will just you will cry through this book, but you will be inspired. And also we have another amazing tool for you ladies. And this is voice of truth women were leaders puts out a publication by monthly magazine. I see Janet is holding up hers. For those watching on YouTube. Yes, yay. Well, voice of truth is your tool ladies to inspire you encourage you strengthen you in the Lord filled with the gospel message of Jesus and every addition. Also, we have many ways that you can get involved with women were a leader as you can find us through voice of truth, of course, and be inspired to share your story somehow, someway, maybe, right? Maybe do a podcast with us. Whatever it it is that God's putting on your heart. We give opportunities here in this ministry, for you to get involved and share your beautiful purpose with the world just as God has asked you to do as to all of us to do some ladies and close. Again, I want to say thank you to our guests, Janet. I love you Janet, you are just beautiful treasure. Thank you so much. God bless you ladies each and every one of you and again I just pray that something today touched your heart and that you will go out into the world and proclaim what God has done share your story flames there is a world out there that is hurting and needs to be inspired through Jesus Christ live The good side. So ladies, from our heart, from his heart to yours, we are women, world leaders and all content is copyrighted and cannot be used without expressed written. I bless you all and have a wonderful day.    

Join Kelly Williams Hale today to hear what God’s Word has to say about shame. Shame can often lead to self-sabotage in our lives, God’s grace covers our pain and shortcoming. His grace frees us to become who He says we are. We can trade our pain for purpose. Our fear for courage. Our shame for significance. "Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion; instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot; therefore, in their land they shall possess a double portion; they shall have everlasting joy." (Isaiah 61:7 ESV) ***** Hi there, and welcome to the Women World Leaders Podcast. My name is Kelly Williams Hale and I'm your host today on Celebrating God's Grace. Let me tell you a little bit about myself. I'm an author, speaker and coach leading women through inner healing and intimacy work. I teach women how to get past proving their worth and step into the purpose and plan God has for them. And so today, I want to share a message that the Lord gave me around shame. It is a loaded topic. To be clear, shame is an emotion. Like fear, guilt, anger, overwhelm and happiness. Shame is simple a feeling. I found this definition by Brene Brown, the author of Dare to be brave: Shame is the intensely painful feeling or experience of believing we are flawed and therefore unworthy of love and belonging. The roots of shame often come from our childhood. It's the feeling we get when we do something that disappoints the people we love. Have you ever heard the words, “shame on you?” Parents often use this phrase to correct their children when they’ve made a mistake. If you're a mom listening, it’s super important for us to be mindful of the words we speak. Proverbs 18:21 says: Life and death are in the power of the tongue. We obvious don't want to speak words of shame on our children. And speaking of shame, mama’s please release any feelings of shame that you may have spoken. I have an 11-year-old and understand the frustration when our kids misbehave or don’t follow instruction. My point is our words are so powerful. A better way to correct, is to let them know that WHAT they did is not okay. We separate and support WHO they are from the behavior. We can often feel ashamed when we mess up, our behavior. But praise God that we can go to him and repent – ask forgiveness and remember WHO we are. Psalm 139:14 says “we are fearfully and wonderfully made” God knows we’re going to make mistakes. He knows I’ve made a lot of mistakes. And the enemy would like nothing more than for me to feel ashamed. Feel the shame that I’ve disappointed God and how could he love me. But sisters, God loves us so much! Romans 8:37-39 NIV 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. John 3:16 NIV 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Satan uses the feelings of shame to make us question our value and worth. When we feel unloved or not belonging, we can often undermine our own success. By believing we’re undeserving of rewards, celebration, or accolades. Have you ever said, I’m going to start my diet tomorrow? And you have all the best intentions to “be good” – but your coworker brought donuts and just one won’t hurt… So, you have the donut – but beat yourself up for failing again, feeling shame that you can’t stick to anything, etc. etc. Sisters, we all do this! So how do we release shame? Before I share, I’d like to tell you a story. It’s about Will Smith. Do you remember the Academy Awards ceremony back in March of this year, which is 2022 – Will Smith was expected to win his very first Oscar for King Richard, the story of Serena and Venus Williams and their dad’s influence on their tennis career. And if you recall, Chris Rock was the host and made a joke about Jada, Will’s wife, starring in GI Jane 2. Because of her bald head. So, Will Smith walks up - onto the stage - and slapped Chris Rock. It was SHOCKING. Will Smith is widely known as a likeable guy and this reaction from him was totally out of character. When I watched the replay the next morning – I immediately recognized what happened. It was self-sabotage. Will Smith didn't feel like he was worthy of that ultimate achievement. We can sabotage our own success because deep down, we don't believe we deserve it. Shame can be a trauma-response. I believe Will Smith’s response to Chris Rock’s joke, subconsciously, was deep-seated shame for unresolved trauma that he experienced in life. Many of us struggle with unresolved trauma. This is why we all need Jesus. His grace covers our pain and shortcoming. His grace FREES us to become who we ARE in Christ. We can trade our pain for purpose. Our fear for courage. Our shame for significance. A sidebar. If somebody acts out of character, it’s usually because something’s going on in their life. Let’s strive to be more curious and empathetic before we go to judgement. Ok, so how do we deal with shame. First of all, we recognize who we are. Who God says we are. 1 Peter 2:9 ESV But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. When the enemy’s lies begin to creep up like, who do you think you are? OR remember what you did? We must ACTIVATE the authority that Jesus gave us with the Holy Spirit. Luke 10:19 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. 2 Corinthians 3:17 ESV Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. When I was young and didn’t have a personal relationship with Jesus, it felt like God was just waiting for me to mess up. When we are in Christ, His grace is sufficient. And we can release those shameful feelings we have when we've messed up. Satan who would like nothing better than for us to be separated from God. We tend to want to hide from the Lord when we sin. We isolate. And that makes the enemy so happy. Let’s choose to run to God. He’s not surprised. He knows and wants us to remember who we are. Romans 8:1 ESV There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. I’m going to close in prayer.    

Jesus’ ministry on earth expanded as He appointed 72 followers to prepare the path ahead of Him. As we examine Jesus’ instructions to the 72, let’s prayerfully seek His lessons for us today. (Luke 10:1-16) **** Welcome to Walking in the Word, the biblical teaching arm of the Women World Leaders podcast. My name is Julie Jenkins, and I’m honored that you have chosen to listen today and pray that as we open God’s Word together, He will infuse you with insight and joy. If you are new to Women World Leaders, I invite you to check out our website, www.womenworldleaders.com. We are a ministry on mission to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ and empower you to walk in your God-given purpose. Everything we do is geared toward those two aims. When visionary and founder Kimberly Hobbs started this ministry in her living room four years ago, she never dreamed that we would be podcasting three times a week, creating a quarterly magazine, or publishing books to showcase God’s glory. She DID, however, foresee us reaching the world – and today, we reach over 60 countries. If you would like to jump in deeper, we’d love to help you grow and serve in your specific gifting. A great place to start is to attend our monthly Zoom leadership meeting on the third Monday of the month at 7pm ET. Our next meeting is on October 17th. You can receive the link by signing up at womenworldleaders.com. And just a reminder – the deadline to subscribe to Voice of Truth magazine before the next edition comes out is quickly approaching. Voice of Truth is still free digitally, but to receive the magazine physically in your mailbox, we are asking that you become a regular monthly donor. Your regular monthly donation of any amount will allow us to budget for the ministry AND pay for or offset the cost of producing and publishing Voice of Truth. So don’t forget to go to our website, click on the donate tab, and register to give a recurring monthly tax-deductible gift. We so appreciate you and the way you are all pitching in. Your gifts enable us to continue providing quality content to help you grow in your God-given purpose! Let’s get to today’s teaching! If you are familiar with this, the Wednesday edition of our podcast, you likely know we are currently walking through the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John – looking at the life of Jesus chronologically as the Holy Spirit guides us. Today’s reading takes us to the book of Luke, chapter 10, verses 1-16. Before we begin, let’s pray… Dear Most Holy God – we give you this day and we give you these next few minutes. Father, we ask you to guide us through this teaching that Luke wrote so many years ago. God, we thank you for the education and the divine wisdom you infused into Luke, allowing him to write the words we will study today. We thank you for preserving your Word for us. And we thank you for the translators you spoke to as they carefully put these words into the English language. God, you have already ordained, overseen, and coordinated so much just so we can open our Bibles today and hear from you, and we don’t want to ever take any of that for granted. The least we can do, God, is give you our undivided attention as we study this glorious gift you have provided us. So it is with great expectation and joy that we open your Word, and it is with great confidence and faith that we ask you to speak directly to us. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. Today we move from Jesus’ teaching in Jerusalem to the preparation for His return to His teaching tour, so-to-speak. Yes…Jesus went on a teaching tour. Although God calls us to come to Him, He will go to great lengths to meet US where WE are. I’ve heard it said that if there are 100 steps between you and God, you can count on Him to take 99, but you have to take at least one. So Jesus was preparing to take the 99 steps toward those who did not come to Jerusalem for the Festival of Tabernacles. But since, as He was fully human, He could only be in one place at one time, He sent a group of His followers before Him to prepare the hearts of those He would meet. Let’s begin in Luke 10:1 from the New Living Translation… 10 The Lord now chose seventy-two[a] other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit. 2 These were his instructions to them: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields. 3 Now go, and remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves. 4 Don’t take any money with you, nor a traveler’s bag, nor an extra pair of sandals. And don’t stop to greet anyone on the road. Do you see that Jesus is empowering His disciples to walk in their God-given purpose?? I just noted that Jesus was fully human and could only be in one place at one time, and that’s correct. But Jesus was also fully God – and God can do whatever He wants to do! But God CHOSE to use humans – sinful, messed up, unqualified humans – to prepare the way for Jesus to enter the hearts of others. I don’t know about you – but that makes me feel pretty good! In fact, it kind of makes me awe-struck. It can be easy to think, in our Christian walk, that we are not good enough or qualified enough to serve our almighty God, let alone serve other people! I felt called to be a leader for Christ from the time I was very young. But I grew up the youngest of seven children. And as the youngest of seven children, it can be hard to seen or recognized. My place became hanging out in the background, allowing everyone else to have center stage, because, in my heart of hearts, I felt like I was not as important as everyone else around me. I still carry some of that, but through the years, God has empowered me by assuring me of my importance in His sight, and by reminding me that He created ME on purpose, for a purpose. Dear Friend! You were created ON PURPOSE for a purpose! And we ALL, as believers in Jesus Christ, have the purpose of sharing the glorious news of Jesus Christ with others! Just yesterday, I was in a meeting with some leaders in our ministry, and one of our leaders said, “I used to be the person that was being led and poured into, and now I find that I am the one leading and pouring into others.” THAT is what the Christian community is about! It is about rising to our God-given purpose, and then empowering others to rise to theirs. That is what Jesus was doing – He was elevating those 72 individuals He called to go before Him to share His name. And just listen to the instructions He gave them… First, Jesus told them where to go and that they wouldn’t be alone. Oh, I don’t mean that God was with them. Of course, He WAS, but Jesus also partnered them up and sent them out two by two! Isn’t that just like God to give us people we can do ministry together with?? If you don’t have someone to work with in ministry in this season of your life, will you ask God to send you someone? And then, will you partner up? That can be the hard part!! Because we are selfish, willful human beings, and sometimes, we would rather work by ourselves. But trust me, we all need someone to hold us up and hold us accountable to all that God has called us to. So first…Jesus told them where to go and who to go with. The second instruction was to PRAY for others to join in the work! In ministry, the work sometimes seems to multiply as God brings more and more to do! But God never intended for ANY of us to do it all and certainly not for us to do it alone! His plan is for us to work together. That might mean that YOU, like the leader I mentioned above, will be tasked with leading and encouraging others! Now, that’s exciting!! Next, Jesus instructed them to expect issues…saying… remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves. When we go for God, we should EXPECT opposition. Remember, Satan rules this world, so we are in enemy territory. BUT, God promised HIS provision, saying… Don’t take any money with you, nor a traveler’s bag, nor an extra pair of sandals. And don’t stop to greet anyone on the road. In other words, they were to walk in obedience, fully trusting God’s path. And Jesus told them not to greet anyone on the way because their destination was to be their focus. It can be easy, when God calls us on a mission, to get sidetracked. Let’s read further and see what Jesus’ next instructions to the 72 were…verse 5… 5 “Whenever you enter someone’s home, first say, ‘May God’s peace be on this house.’ 6 If those who live there are peaceful, the blessing will stand; if they are not, the blessing will return to you. 7 Don’t move around from home to home. Stay in one place, eating and drinking what they provide. Don’t hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve their pay. It is always our responsibility, as Christians, to declare God’s peace over an environment or situation. And we can be assured that if hearts are open to Jesus, the peace will remain and grow. And if the hearts are NOT receptive, the blessing of peace we declare on others will return to us. Isn’t that a freeing thought? We don’t have to force peace on a situation. Ever. We offer it, and if we are turned away, we keep the peace in our own hearts, despite what is going on around us or elsewhere. Jesus also told the 72 to be patient and stay in one place. They were to not cause confusion in the community but remain where God sends them, accepting His provision. This is a word for us, of course. We can always trust God’s leading. Verse 8 continues… 8 “If you enter a town and it welcomes you, eat whatever is set before you. 9 Heal the sick, and tell them, ‘The Kingdom of God is near you now.’  The 72 were given God’s power to heal for the same reason Jesus healed – to showcase God’s glory and turn people toward Jesus. Verse 10… 10 But if a town refuses to welcome you, go out into its streets and say, 11 ‘We wipe even the dust of your town from our feet to show that we have abandoned you to your fate. And know this—the Kingdom of God is near!’  God stands with open arms – welcoming all to become His children. And He sends those children to proclaim to others that they, too, are being called into the Father’s arms. What a GREAT purpose we all have!! But not all will listen to God or to us. In fact, MOST will not listen, but it is still our duty to speak! To share what we know. But when we are not welcome, God gives us the permission to walk away…to shake the dust from our feet. Some people are surrounded by such a thick wall of unbelief and distrust – it’s as if layers have grown up around them. Imagine, if you will, that each Christian who approaches an unbeliever has the power to remove someone’s outer layer of unbelief. If we obediently remove just that top layer in 10,000 people in our lifetime, that’s 10,000 layers! If we all walk in obedience, God will use us ALL to strip off those layers, and together and with the power of the Holy Spirit, we can wear out the devil and destroy his purposes. And yet…here’s the warning…some will consistently refuse to see the power of Jesus and accept His life-giving salvation. To that, Jesus says, beginning in verse 12… 12 I assure you, even wicked Sodom will be better off than such a town on judgment day. 13 “What sorrow awaits you, Korazin and Bethsaida! For if the miracles I did in you had been done in wicked Tyre and Sidon, their people would have repented of their sins long ago, clothing themselves in burlap and throwing ashes on their heads to show their remorse. 14 Yes, Tyre and Sidon will be better off on judgment day than you. 15 And you people of Capernaum, will you be honored in heaven? No, you will go down to the place of the dead.[b]” 16 Then he said to the disciples, “Anyone who accepts your message is also accepting me. And anyone who rejects you is rejecting me. And anyone who rejects me is rejecting God, who sent me.” God is rejected by many. Jesus is rejected by many. So we shouldn’t beat ourselves up when we are rejected just because we bring the message of joy and peace on behalf of Jesus Christ. I don’t know where God is calling you to walk. I don’t know what enemy territory He is leading you into, but I want to encourage you to stand strong for Him. Partner up with someone – we’d love to partner with you at Women World Leaders. Pray that as the work increases, God will send more people to work with you on His behalf. Walk purposefully and with urgency to your destination, expecting opposition. Be the first to reach out with the peace of God and remain where God has placed you until He calls you elsewhere. If His peace is not received, don’t take it personally, but move on, trusting you have made a difference even if you can’t see it. And finally, showcase God’s glory with whatever gifting God has given you. Next week, we get to see the return of the 72, and I think you will be amazed. But this week, will you commit to being God’s servant? Will you go where He leads you today? I can assure you if you do, you will have a story to tell as we check back in on the 72 next week! Let’s pray… Dear Most Holy God! Yes…we will go for you!! We will walk obediently and with urgency where you lead us. We will offer others YOUR peace by your power alone. We just need you to show us where to go and how long to remain, and we trust that your power will rain down on us. We give you this week, dear God, and we trust you to go with us always. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Obedience and God's timing are two things of importance when it comes to walking out the plans God has in our lives.   In today's podcast, Kayla Follin shares her story of following after God's heart as a college student waiting on His divine timing. Kayla is now the graphic artist for Voice of Truth magazine. May her story inspire you to seek God for your empowered life and beautiful purpose.   ***** Kimberly Hobbs   Welcome to Empowering Lives with Purpose. And I'm your host, Kimberly Hobbs. And we are so happy that you decided to join us today. I'm so excited to welcome our guest today, which is Kayla Follin. Kayla, welcome. Kayla Follin   Hello. It's so wonderful to be here.  Kimberly Hobbs   And we're so glad you are here. Ladies, we're in for a treat from this young lady from Liberty college. And we just cannot wait to get into today's content. But first, we want to tell you why we are here. Empowering lives with purpose is here to encourage you, inspire you on your walk with Jesus. And we know that God is going to make an impact in some significant way if he has led you today to listen in and join us. So Ephesians 210 says that we are God's masterpiece. We are created a new in Christ Jesus to do the good things that he planned for us long ago. And so ladies, we believe that each and every one of us have a purpose and a plan. And God knows what that plan is. And he's working daily to talk to us about that to guide us and direct us to walk in that plan that he has executed over our life. So this is exciting to hear about Kayla and how amazing God is using her in this ministry and women world leaders and I'm going to share a little bit right now about who she is. Kayla is a brilliant student who is studying at Liberty University right now in Lynchburg, Virginia. And her current studies are studio and digital arts with a focus in graphic design. That's so interesting. And you are going to see ladies how this unfolds today. And Kayla is a woman world leader and she is currently serving on the leadership team now at women world leaders and wow what what a blessing. She has been to this group of women that serve on the leadership team. She's a joy and just a Pleasant, Pleasant girl to be around. She is the graphic design artist for voice of Truth magazine. And we could not do this without her and we are just so grateful for her part in this magazine. So she loves serving God with all her heart. And some of her loves include photography, she she loves to do photography she loves to hike, and her heart is just sold out to Jesus. So Kayla, today, Kayla and I are going to talk and share a little bit about obedience and God's perfect timing right because we have to be obedient to God. He's called us to obedience and the life that we live through Jesus Christ. And there is a verse I wanted to share before I asked Kayla, the first question that we're going to ask her. And that verse is as we dream about things in our lives, ladies, and may not know what it is that God is going to bring us to and I know Kayla, as a young student in college probably had those dreams and visions of what is my life going to be like, you know, I'm going to college. What am I going to do there? God says show me the right path. Oh, Lord, point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me for you are the God who saves me. All day long. I put my hope in you that Psalm 25, four and five. So Kayla, God says show me the right path. Oh Lord, point out the road for me to follow. And he did that. And he brought you to Liberty University. Can you talk about how and what led you to go to you Liberty University? Kayla Follin   Yeah. Well, I am I always wanted to be a veterinarian and ever since I was like eight years old. And so I knew I wanted to go study something and so Finance, actually, and I loved science and math, they were my best subjects. And chemistry was my favorite class. And so going in, I was thinking about majors. And I always knew I wanted to go to college and actually hadn't heard of liberty until later on in my high school years. And I think I actually found out about it from somebody at church, and they were a little bit older than me. And they were going to be coming to Liberty that next year. Kimberly Hobbs   And Liberty, by the way, is a a Christian college. Kayla Follin   Yes, yeah. And so, of course, when you're a junior in high school, you do all of your your college tours, and I went to a few different schools in Virginia. And it came down to liberty, or Virginia Tech, and I finally came to visit and you walk on campus, and you can feel the Holy Spirit here, you really can. And I remember leaving thinking, wow, everybody was so friendly to me. Because as a freshman in college, usually it's like, you've kind of the young one, and everybody kind of picks on you, and especially upperclassmen. And professors are always kind of mean, and you just have this idea that college isn't going to be a warm and fuzzy place, it's going to be like fend for yourself. And I remember coming on campus, and everybody was just talking and talking about their gods stories, and how God brought them here, and what he had done in their lives. And I was like, Okay, Lord, like this place is different. And this is where I want to be. And I have that peace moving forward. Like, if I have the chance to go to a school that's gonna support me in my walk with Christ, then why would I not like, and and yes, maybe another school would have brought different opportunities. I mean, of course it would. But the chance to be surrounded by Christians that are like minded and support one another and have this amazing community of young people who are just passionate about God, it that's what sold me. And Kimberly Hobbs   that is so good, Kayla, because there are I'm sure some that are listening that may be younger than you that are now contemplating college. And, and that's a scary thing, when like you said, you are used to having to fend for yourself in the real world and you know, in schools and things like that. But being able to go to a Christian college is different because the focus is different. Correct? Kayla Follin   Definitely, um, our school's motto is Training Champions for Christ. And I think I think that sentence in itself just shines because every professor here, no matter what you're studying, is going to tie it back to your face, and how are you going to use your career to share the gospel? And how, how does science combined with creation? And it's not that they don't like teach things like evolution and, and teach World theories, but we take it down to the core level and say, Well, how does this compare to what God's Word says and what he's done? And how can we take the knowledge and then take it out into the world to to share that with, with people? Yeah, so it's a great place to be. And I think college is hard, and you become who you're going to be most of the time. And it shapes a lot of how you think. And if you can choose to go to a Christian Christian College, then that just is it's setting you up for continuing in your faith and growing in your faith and not feeling so alone and, and having to search for that community. Kimberly Hobbs   Oh, that's such a good point. And I just I love that you already had that desire to follow after God's heart, you know, as a young lady, and you were really seeking and God protected you and leading you to a Christian college in you know, he put a whole hedge of protection around you from your emotions and your feelings and everything in the moment that you got there. So it's important, it's so important to really look to God and ask Him, anybody out there that is, you know, listening in and making a big decision about choosing a college. And again, this today, we're talking about obedience and God's perfect timing. You know, when you look to Him, and you really trust him to direct each step, you know, he will, he's going to direct you and Kayla, you were exactly where God wanted you to Be at Liberty college walking in that door. And you knew that you may not have known what it was that you were going to take. But that's all part of the story, right? Because you said, you started in you were going there thinking you wanted to be a veterinary or veterinary assistant. And let's talk about that here for a minute. Yeah. started to talk to you a little bit more. Kayla Follin   Yeah, he made it very clear where he wanted me. And very clear, that's very clear. And but yeah, I wanted to be a vet my entire life, I loved animals, I was riding horses and wanted to kind of go into that realm of things. And then I think my senior year of high school, before coming into college, I realized, well, maybe four years of grad school isn't going to be my thing and started looking a little bit more into human medicine. And one that really stood out to me was to be a physician's assistant. And you practically get to work as a doctor under under a doctor's supervision, but you get to do everything they would without the paperwork. So I was like, Okay, two years of grad school versus four, that sounds good. So I, I switched over to being a physician's assistant and came into Liberty studying biomedical sciences. And I think, as you heard earlier, can really said that is not what I'm studying right now studying studio and digital arts. So that was a big switch. And, and God really took me on a journey to make that switch. Kimberly Hobbs   Can you talk about that a little bit, Kayla, because that's like, pretty incredible how that happened. Kayla Follin   Yeah. Yeah, it was, it was a, it was crazy. It was only through God. And my first year, here, I was just not happy. I mean, I was I was happy with the school, I love the school. But when it came to my classes, and what I was studying, I didn't have a passion for it. And like my whole life, I've been good at science and math. So it was like, You need to use that and go in the medical field. And that's what people who are good at science do. And I really did love it. But the passion wasn't there. And I realized that very quickly into my classes, and I kind of had a heart check with God, like, Am I doing this out of my own pride because I, I want people to know that I am smart. And I am able to do these things. And it was always what I led with when I met people like Oh, I'm studying biomedical sciences. And I really do think it was a thing of pride for me to, to leave that major and say that, you know, maybe I'm not good enough for it. It was a big claim for me to make, and it was a big step. But in that unsatisfied heart of mine, and not being secure, and what I was studying the Lord led me through some dark times. And I had to really claim to him and say, Well, what it felt like everything was spinning around me like, What is going on right now. I, I thought this is what I wanted to do. I thought this is what I'm passionate about. But I'm so unhappy. And one night, I was just laying in my bed in my dorm room and 2am and I couldn't sleep. And I was like, Okay, well, let me just scroll through the list of majors on Liberty's website. And so I'm scrolling through and I'm just reading them and nothing was standing out. And I got to the bottom and it said, studio and digital arts graphic design. And I saw graphic design. Wow, what like, what is that I didn't even know what it was. But it was when I say it was as if every other word on the page was blurred out. I'm not exaggerating that it was like there was a shining light on studio and digital arts graphic design. And I have Kimberly Hobbs   And I have goosebumps. Goosebumps, like this is incrediblie Kayla Follin   It's crazy. I was just too am and I was bursting with energy. Like, what is this floor? Like? Why do you want me to do with this? I don't even know what graphic design is. And so on over the next few days, I started learning more about it and talking with friends who are a little bit older than me at school and saying, Well, what is graphic design? Like do you know anybody who's studying it? And so through a chain of people, I got connected with some upperclassmen that were studying and had meetings with them and it was felt like a huge decision for me to make this change to a different major. So I was really trying to educate myself as much as I could, but I knew that that That's where the Lord wanted me and I had that peace about it. And so the middle of my spring semester, I made the switch to from a science major to an art major. Kimberly Hobbs   Wow, that you believed God. And you believe that he had a good plan for your future? You know, you trusted him. You didn't understand what was going on in that moment. But you started to sense that something because you said everything else was blurred. that stood out on the page, you were bursting with excitement, right? Ladies, these are all signs as God speaks to us all in different ways. Kayla was knowing something unique and different was going on in that moment, right, Kayla? Yeah. And then look at how he just took you. Some are proverbs 20 says that the Lord directs our steps, right? We literally took you by the hand directing those steps. Kayla Follin   Yeah. And he was preparing my heart for that change. Because I, I needed to kind of rely on him. And it took that unsettled feeling. And that just, and I don't know, I just wasn't happy, you know, and I didn't have peace about it. And when you don't have the peace of God, like, there's something missing there. And it I needed to kind of cling to him and what he had, and he revealed it to me after much prayer and, and struggle, he revealed it to me. So.. Kimberly Hobbs   I love that I love that. Psalm 139 says, God goes before us, and follows us. So he not only goes before us in in the plans that He has for us, but he says in Psalms 139 Five that he follows after us to, you know, that is so comforting, right? And this story that Kayla is walking us through, is quite remarkable, because how she started out in college with one thing on her mind, God changed those directions put that desire and fuel in her heart for something he was preparing her to do, which is global, which is major. And it's all God's timing, and acts of obedience, because we have to follow and be obedient to what God is saying and speaking into her heart. And Kayla, you had a vision while you're at school, you started to visualize Wow, can I really see myself doing this line of that you started to study in and graphic design. So there's another scripture I wanted to share, which is, this vision is for a future time. Listen to this verse. Ladies, this is so exciting. This vision is for a future time. It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled. God says it will be fulfilled. If it seems slow and coming wait patiently for it will surely take place. Ladies, how many of us think about things dream about things. God has a plan. But we give up way too soon, because things aren't happening in our timing. It's not our timing. It's God's timing. And Kayla was in school already studying something she wasn't even sure about. She thought that's what she wanted to do. But God says wait patiently for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed because it's God's timing. That's Habakkuk 2:3. So Kayla Follin   I love that verse, especially because to jump forward in the story even more. I you know, was getting settled in my new classes. And then God ignited this dream and my heart of working for a publication and a nonprofit women's ministry. Oh my goodness. I knew in my heart, I was like, this is definitely something I want to do. But in my mind, it was like, Okay, maybe when I'm like 30 or 40. And I have, you know, my career setup, and it can be something that I start up on the side. Well, little did I know that he would bring this opportunity, my senior year of college. So I didn't know you were going to talk a little bit more about the process of how I got here, but Kimberly Hobbs   I'm just covered here in goosebumps too, because, again, I'm finding all these little details out about UK law. And you know, even though Kayla and I are privileged to work together in this ministry, I'm still learning about Kayla. And so this interview is exciting to me too, and just knowing that God put that desire in her to work for a ministry to work for a publication. And it just goes to show that your obedient heart honey that God was honoring that and he was blessing you by opening doors. So this is really exciting ladies I've got to share this with you. So that you can see that this truly is a god story of how he led this young lady to this women's ministry and this publication. So follow this, okay, because it took literally two and a half years as Kayla was in school, all of God, God's doings were in the making. And it took eight other people that had to take steps of obedience for Kayla to be here today. And so I just, I'm gonna go through them quickly. But I just want you to see how God was working all the way through this to bring Kayla to where and what she is doing right now, which is the amazing graphic artists, this entire publication voice of truth. All right, so it started out two and a half years ago, with actually our stepson, we were up in Ohio visiting him, and he wanted us to go to church. It was around Christmas time. And in honestly, sometimes, you know, you you step away on vacation, and it was like it wasn't the first thing that that we were going to do. But Jonathan wanted us to, you know, go to church with him and see the church he was going to so we again, Jonathan step of obedience to go to church. We went to church with him. And then we get to church. All right, that's two people involved. Then we're walking through the the hallway, and we meet a little boy, seven years old, eight years old, comes up to us, and greets us. And he particularly says a very beautiful compliment to me, which all right, that's the fourth person I looked down at him. I'm just amazed at, you know, how kind of this little boy was doesn't know me from Adam. I look up and I see his mom standing there. And I said, Wow, you raise such an amazing son, you know, to just to be so kind and loving to a stranger. And, and so we had a few words. And then we went into for the message. And afterwards, this woman, there's a lot more to the story. But this woman seeks me out. To pray with me after she felt led. God led her to pray with me, because she was going through cancer. And she was a young woman. She had two small children, obviously one of them that contacted me, and, and so I prayed with her there in the in the entrance of that church. And then I felt compelled to tell her about women, world leaders. As the story continues on, she gets involved in women world leaders. And she has a sister that was also battling cancer, who lived in England, and she felt burdened. This was about six months later, she felt burdened, and asked if women world leaders would put together a zoom prayer meeting because this was during the beginning of COVID. So nobody was able to go out anywhere. So we pulled together this Zoom meeting, and I meet this woman who is this lady sister, and we meet her over zoom. Well, we had opened it up to other women to come in to pray for her. And in the prayer Zoom Room was another woman by the name of Connie, who was praying for Liz in England. Connie hears about this women's ministry women world leaders and reaches out to us separately, and says she would love to talk about possibly writing or doing something with her writings for women, world leaders. Well, women were a leaders had been praying about starting voice of Truth magazine. So we looked at her writings, and we were like, wow, we can use this woman in as a contributor to voice of Truth magazine. So we started to put together through that year magazine meetings and prayer meetings and everything to put together this publication that was going to come out in January of 2021. But we needed a graphic artist, and we didn't know where this graphic artist would come from. But we knew that God had a plan. We couldn't do this without a graphic artist. So we went to prayer. And in one of the meetings, the magazine meetings which Connie had sat in on again she was on staff at Liberty University. Connie has an amazing idea to contact one of the teachers that had students in the graphic artists department and see if one of them would be interested in doing an internship. Oh, my goodness. Kayla comes forward. And as you see ladies this took, how many acts of obedience? How many years of time in God's perfect timing, that person after person did what they were called to do walked in the steps of obedience, eight people, two and a half years later. And here we have Kayla fallin, who is now the graphic artist for women, world leaders. And through her talents and what she has done. Over 16,000 viewers have been looking at voice of truth magazine, have been receiving this incredible publication. I mean, this is something only God can do. We have over 60 contributors in this magazine. And Kayla is the graphic artist who is putting all of this together from day one. So God's perfect timing, Kayla, I'm going to ask you just God will accomplish His plan in your life. You just need to take the steps to do it. Right. Jeremiah 2911 says, I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. Kayla, what do you like best about this ministry? Kayla Follin   I will. The community I think every single person I've met here has is so on fire for the Lord. And it's unlike anything I've seen before. It's like you took every person who is just the most passionate out of so many churches across the world, and you combine them into one group. And that has been what's so inspiring for me is because I've never had a strong community of people, you know, a little bit older than me who can pour into me from their life experiences and, and show how passionate they are about their faith. And when I remember the first meeting that I had with you guys, and I was listening to the way you prayed. And I was like, specifically you can really because you you and Carrie would just pour out so much faith or you had so much faith in that God was going to do what he said he was going to do. And I had this take a step back afterwards. I was like, do I do I believe like they do like in my passionate enough that God is going to do what he says he's going to do. And you guys just constantly push me in the best way God uses you to push me to trust him more. And to believe big God dreams and have those things ignite in your heart that only he can do and know that he will do them if it's if it's meant in his will. So that's what I love about you guys. Kimberly Hobbs   Amen. Well, and there is that verse that we have for women, world leaders unto him who's able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all we can ask or imagine according to the power that's at work within us. So if we're each of us, exuding that power that's at work within us. God is going to do the rest of the exceedingly abundantly beyond. And so we were all just doing our part. And then as God brought you in, Kayla, now you are doing your part honey. And this whole world is being impacted because of everybody steps of obedience, to execute a mission that God put on our hearts to do. And that's our purpose here ladies with Kayla and I here talking is just to encourage you into your steps of obedience encourage you into knowing that God's timing is the right timing. And so Kayla, I just want to ask you, how do you think this ministry could affect young women? Like as we're talking right now, what would you say to maybe the mom out there that has a daughter that is ready to take that step and go to college? What would you say to that mom? Encouraging her daughter? Kayla Follin   Yeah, I think you know it It is just encouragement. And it's, it's being there and being vulnerable about the lessons that you've learned through your life, and how that can be a testimony to her. Because I think the greatest encouragement that people have poured out on me is, you know, sharing in the same struggles that, you know, they might have already been through, and they are on the other side of it, but I might be in the midst of it. And when you have faith to be vulnerable with people and share those deep struggles and what impacted you and what you learned, and maybe even your faults and what you should have done better, that's where I think true encouragement comes from. And it develops a sense of trust to you know, like, I can trust what you're saying and your advice because you are being open with me. So specifically for college like I would say, just encourage them to chase after the Lord because if they're chasing after the Lord, their heart is going to want to be where he is. And, and that's the best place to be. Kimberly Hobbs   I love that Kayla. So transparency ladies, be transparent with your children be transparent with your your nieces and nephews are those that are facing you know, these life decisions that they're making. Share your, like Kayla said, Be vulnerable and open up. It's so important when they're making their decisions. They know that they need to know the realities of life and what you have been through and that you are pointing them in the right direction. So that they'll trust you. And Kayla, I'm so what would you speak into the student you're talking to? That person graduating from from high school right now? Or or somebody that may have been wandering out of high school and not in college yet or going into a future? What would you recommend to them? Kayla Follin   Yeah, I would say the most important thing you can do right now is to seek after God's heart. And He reveals so much about yourself, and so much of the plans that He has for you when you just take time to rest and, and who he is and focus on developing that relationship above all. And a verse that comes to mind, I think it's Psalm 46, five, and it's God is within her, she will not fall, something like that, that might be a good paraphrase. But I actually had that on a poster above my, above my bed in my dorm room. So it's funny that that is just coming up right now. But it's true. When we're walking with Christ. He protects us from anything, and we are covered by him. And he, he's closer than our very breath. So we can we can trust him. And when we're near with him, he gives us those urges in our heart and this, you know, pray for our passions to align with his passions were like, Lord, what do you want for me to do? Would you ignite that in me? So being open and ready for whatever he's got, and, and don't think that just because you're young, that you can't, you can't be impactful in a ministry. Because you you maybe don't have as many life experiences. But God uses us in every stage of life. We don't have to wait until we're grown adults to share what he's doing. Kimberly Hobbs   Amen. And you your life. Kayla, to this point is a prime example of that, you know that God will accomplish what he's going to accomplish through you. If you are willing, if you're willing, ladies, and you young women just hold that tight, God is going to accomplish it through you. It's not what you're gonna do on your own. You just need to be obedient. I have another verse I have to share. God says, oh, Lord, I will honor and praise your name. For you are my God. You do such wonderful things. You planned them long ago, and now you have accomplished them. Isaiah 25 One. So ladies, he's the one that plan this long ago in your life. He's the one who's going to accomplish it. You don't need to worry or fret about what it's going to be you need just need to follow in the Acts of obedience and just walk it out. Have that peace in your heart that you know that you're walking in the right direction. Just like Kayla got that peace. It came after she went to college when she wasn't sure of what she was going to do in her one area focus of study, and she changed it. And then she said, Everything blurred out around those words. And graphic design just popped out like a bright light. And immediately she got excited. And she knew in her heart because there was that burst of joy, that this is what she's supposed to do. And two years later, how God has opened the door now to what she is doing. So we need to close and I just want to say thank you, Kayla, thank you for sharing your heart. Thank you for sharing your time in this ministry and women world leaders. There is a place for everybody here ladies, and we are in so encouraging you to step out in faith, whatever it is that you do. As you saw, it took eight people in steps of obedience to get Kayla, to women, world leaders and doing the graphic design for voice of Truth magazine. So ladies, we don't know what it is that you do you have giftings your giftings are welcome here in this ministry, and we're asking you to come forward with them. So if you want to receive your free copy of this publication, and we said free, we just asked you to go to info at women world leaders.com You can email us there info at women world leaders.com. And leave us your name, your address. And be sure to leave us your email address if you are outside of the United States, because we will send it to you digitally and those that are inside the United States will get their free printed copy. And we are working on printing copies outside the United States. And it's all in God's timing things are coming together. So just walk with us and know that God has a plan a perfect plan for all of us. So as we close today, I just again want to say thank yous precious Kayla. And please go to our website at women world leaders.com where you can catch us every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for other podcasts. We have teaching podcasts on Wednesdays we have grace podcasts on Friday. And of course the interviews come out on Monday. So we're on five different platforms. We asked you to search us out and you can pray with us. If you have a prayer request. We asked you to share it on our prayer wall at women world leaders.com Where we have prayer warriors that are so happy to pray for you. And if you are a prayer warrior and you want to pray for some women and women, world leaders and just look for us and our prayer wall tell us you want to come in and be a prayer partner love to have you. So ladies from his heart to yours. We are women we're a leaders. All content is copyrighted and cannot be used without expressed written consent. God bless you all. Thank you, Kayla. Thank you. Have a beautiful and blessed day.    

Join host Janet Berrong from Part 2 of her three-part series on Wellness as she discusses emotional and mental wellness, sharing that in life's ups and downs, Jesus is the solid rock and refuge we can count on.  **** Welcome to Celebrating God's Grace, a Women World Leaders podcast. I'm your host, Janet Berrong. Thank you for joining us today as we celebrate God's grace in our lives, in ministry and around the world. It is so good to be back with you today. Sharing about health, wellness, beauty and Jesus. Yes, they do go hand in hand. Today we're going to focus on the emotional and mental well being. It's a three-part series where we touch base on being healthy, physically, emotionally and spiritually. Proverbs 17:22 reads, a joyful heart is good medicine. But a crushed spirit dries up the bones. How many of us have experienced heaviness in a lifetime that literally feels like you have a crush spirit? I can tell you it's happened to me more than once in my lifetime, through suicide of loved ones, rape, emotional abuse and trauma. I have felt that crushed spirit. Life's different ups and downs can affect our emotions and mental health. We are all have experienced a lot of ups and downs this past two years with the pandemic, the unknown, isolation from our loved ones, sickness and disease and some even death. Psalms 18 to reads, The Lord is my rock, my refuge in my deliver. My God is my rock and I whom I take refuge, my shield in the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I can say it's been true for me that God has been my rock and my refuge. If you're a woman listening today that needs that solid rock and refuge. I encourage you to call on the name of Jesus and let him come into your heart and be that refuge for you. In this season of life, give others a little extra grace. Focus on healthy things, like turning off the TV and going outside getting some fresh air being around people who lift you up, be with community. Here are a few other things that will help you mentally in emotional wellness. learn a new skill, give to others, pay attention and be present in the moment. Get Physical Touch. Yes, I said it. As a therapist. I'm a big advocate for healthy touch. Studies show this touch signals safety trust and it soothes basic warm touch calms the cardiovascular stress, it activates the body's vagus nerve, which are intimately involved with our compassionate response. And a simple touch can trigger release of the oxytocin, also known as the love hormone. So a single massage or touch can have a positive influence on our psychological health. And research findings show that it can improve anxiety, negative mood, and experience of physical pain. So get out and hug someone, it's for your good health. I don't think God intended that we would never experience anxiety or sadness. He created the emotion. What I do believe he desires for us is that we are not consumed by it. Instead, he wants us to depend on him for our peace. A certain amount of anxiety can actually be a good thing. It can fuel us and give us the energy we need to accomplish certain tasks and goals. And anxiety becomes a negative when we're overwhelmed by it. And it causes distress affecting our psychological and physical well being Philippians four, six and seven read. Do not be anxious for anything, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving. present your requests to God and the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. You are loved. You are cherished my beautiful sisters. Until next time, stay thankful, grateful and be blessed. Dear Lord, we come before your throne of grace to say thank you for uniting us women, so we can serve you and accomplish your plans in this world. Let's eat slavery listening today. Feel the anointing of the Holy Spirit in and on their lives, heal the emotions and mental well being of anyone that is suffering. I asked for complete healing in the name of Jesus. Lord, we love you. We honor you In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

What does it mean to have Spiritual Vision? Join us for the study of John 8:48-59 as we seek to understand Jesus' teachings His way instead of the world’s way. ***** Welcome to Walking in the Word, the biblical teaching arm of the Women World Leaders’ podcast. My name is Julie Jenkins and I am honored to walk with you as we open God’s Word and continue our study of the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. If you are new to Women World Leaders, I want to take a moment to welcome you to our podcast and invite you to step into this ministry. I first encountered Women World Leaders over three years ago when I attended a monthly meeting, which at that time, was held in person in South Florida. As I sat in the back, I clearly heard the voice of the Holy Spirit telling me to help with an upcoming event. So I very carefully dipped my toe in the water – and I found out that the water was more than fine! I want to encourage you today that no matter where you are in your walk with Christ or how you foresee your involvement with Women World Leaders – you are welcome here! We have women around the world who simply listen to our podcast or soak in the teaching from our magazine, Voice of Truth, and we have others who have followed God’s call to dive in. Our goal is to simply to meet you where you are and empower you to walk in your God-given calling and purpose – no matter what that is!! To find out more about the ministry, please visit us on Facebook or our website – www.womenworldleaders.com. As for our podcasts, we have three offerings for you each week. Besides this, our Wednesday walk through the Bible, on Mondays, founder Kimberly Hobbs hosts Empowering Lives with Purpose – a 30-minute interview with a different woman of faith who shares her story of God’s empowerment in her life. And on Fridays, we have a team of our women who host Celebrating God’s Grace – a short, joyful opportunity to celebrate all that God is doing in this world. Before we begin with today’s teaching from John 8:48-59, let’s pray… Dear most holy and gracious God – We give you all the praise and honor from all the ends of the earth as we gather together around your Holy Scripture. God, we thank you for teaching us and leading us every minute of every day, but we especially thank you for the Bible – your love letter and book of instruction and wisdom written specifically to us. God, it is simply impossible for us to understand that you hold us each in your hand and that you had us each individually on your mind even as these words were inspired and penned. I humbly ask that you go before us in this teaching today – let my words be your words and allow our thoughts to be infused in us from you, Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. As we have been walking through Jesus’ teaching on the temple grounds during the Festival of the Tabernacles over the last couple of weeks as recorded in John chapter 8, we have witnessed the temperature rise a bit. The Pharisees and the teachers of the religious law challenged Jesus, and He continued to unapologetically lay out the truth.  In sharing His true identity, Jesus didn’t shy away from giving his listeners “tough love” – that is – explaining exactly why many of them didn’t believe in Him. He didn’t mince words when he told them they were sinners, unable to understand His teachings because they were children of the devil who wished to carry out their father’s desires. You can imagine that that was tough pill to swallow. We finished last week with John 8, verse 47 with Jesus’ words:  Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to the words of God. But you don’t listen because you don’t belong to God.” The unbelievers were clearly taken aback and even personally offended by these statements. Today we pick up in verse 48 from the New Living Translation… 48 The people retorted, “You Samaritan devil! Didn’t we say all along that you were possessed by a demon?” This statement could have been meant as a theological dig, or as a name-calling lash out. “Samaritan” in some senses meant someone who knew scripture but didn’t study under a Rabbi. But more likely, the use of the word Samaritan was meant in this case as a racist insult.  Regardless of the motive behind the slander, we see Jesus’ grace as He totally ignores the comment, and instead, refutes the more significant claim that He is possessed by a demon. Verse 49… 49 “No,” Jesus said, “I have no demon in me. For I honor my Father—and you dishonor me. 50 And though I have no wish to glorify myself, God is going to glorify me. He is the true judge. This is an amazing statement, and one that we should each take to heart. “I have no wish to glorify myself, God is going to glorify me.” This world teaches us, above all else, to glorify ourselves. We are lured by wealth, fame, and prestige. As we climb the ladder of success, it is tempting to look down on others, even thinking, “I used to be there.” We see with our physical vision well-dressed, perfectly groomed individuals, and sometimes become envious. We dye our hair and wear make-up and the best clothes. I am certainly not immune to this allure, and we could have quite an interesting discussion about whether some of these things are sinful in God’s eyes, but that is not the point. The point is that God wants us to obediently do what HE calls us to do, and then to let HIM do the glorifying, rather than seek to be glorified through our own efforts. This can be a paradigm shift, but trust me, God can glorify us better than we could EVER glorify ourselves! Jesus’ next statement is a testament to this…  51 I tell you the truth, anyone who obeys my teaching will never die!” I can’t imagine how difficult a concept this was for the people to hear. I have been a Christian all my life. When I go to funerals, though I am sad for those left behind, I am filled with JOY for the one whose life is being celebrated, because, if he or she was a believer in Christ, the struggle is over and their true reward has begun! On the surface, and with our human vision, we all die. What’s the old saying? The only thing sure in life is death and taxes, right? But what is death? Death is a separation. When we physically die, which yes, we all will – even Jesus did – our spirit is separated from our body. But in spiritual death – what I would call “real” death – our spirit is separated from GOD. We will ALL be separated from our bodies. As I get older and my body gets achier and more cantankerous, being separated from my body looks better and better! But to be separated from GOD? That is a darkness and a pain that we can’t even begin to imagine. Jesus Himself, upon His death on a cross, was separated from God His Father for a time. That’s a fact we can’t really wrap our head around. But what is an even more daunting thought is that Jesus WILLINGLY CHOSE to be separated from God so that you and I would not have to be! Separation from God is THE TRUE death that Jesus overcame FOR us by His death on the cross. We will not live on this earth forever, attached to our failing bodies – we WILL die, experiencing a separation of body and spirit. But Jesus promises that if we obey Him, we will NEVER experience true death – that is, we will never experience a separation from God. I don’t know about you, but that thought brings relief and joy to me. The fact that I NEVER have to be apart from God? That gives me the courage and strength to get through ANYTHING this world can throw at me! THAT is the point Jesus is trying to get across to His listeners. But they had to choose to see through spiritual eyes rather than trusting their limited human vision to understand this. And their response shows that they clearly weren’t seeing through spiritual eyes…verse 52… 52 The people said, “Now we know you are possessed by a demon. Even Abraham and the prophets died, but you say, ‘Anyone who obeys my teaching will never die!’ 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?” 54 Jesus answered, “If I want glory for myself, it doesn’t count. But it is my Father who will glorify me. You say, ‘He is our God,’[a] 55 but you don’t even know him. I know him. If I said otherwise, I would be as great a liar as you! But I do know him and obey him. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced as he looked forward to my coming. He saw it and was glad.” Now THAT confused the people! How did Abraham SEE Jesus? They said… “You aren’t even fifty years old. How can you say you have seen Abraham?[b]” We may ask the same questions – if we are still intent on seeing with our earthly vision instead of with our spiritual vision. It would have been impossible, with eyes of flesh, for Abraham to “see” Jesus, who died long before Jesus was born. But Abraham saw with spiritual eyes. Abraham believed that God was calling him and he left his home without physically being able to see the land he was promised. Then Abraham saw his future family with spiritual eyes despite his physical body being simply too old to father children. And then in the ultimate test of faith, Abraham committed to the physical sacrifice of his own son even while seeing spiritually that God was doing something greater. Throughout his lifetime, Abraham developed his spiritual vision – he stopped seeing with his limited human vision and, instead, began to see and understand through God’s eyes. Have we developed our spiritual vision? If you are a believer in Christ, your eyes have been opened, and you only have God to thank for that! Still, we must continue to pray that God will sharpen our vision so that we can see from His perspective even more clearly. When we see clearly spiritually, we can begin to understand Jesus’ next statement…verse 58… 58 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I am![c]”  I tell you the truth – also translated “verily, verily” – means hear and understand me! Or, to follow our analogy - look with your spiritual eyes rather than your physical eyes, and rely on me to see that which you can’t see in your own flesh. Jesus told his listeners that in His being, He predated Abraham. But then He dropped the bombshell – Jesus claimed the name “I am.” I am is actually the name Jehovah in Hebrew. ‘I am,’ or Jehovah, was the divine name that God called himself when Moses, who was beckoned by God to lead the Israelites out of captivity, said to the burning bush that God spoke from… “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?” God instructed Moses that he should respond, “’I am’ has sent me to you.” Jehovah had released the Israelites from the chains of slavery in Egypt, and now Jehovah – Jesus – was there to set all of humanity free from the chains of death. This was too much for the listeners who could only see with their limited human vision. Verse 59… 59 At that point they picked up stones to throw at him. You see, the law stated that if anyone should claim to be God, he should be stoned. And through their human vision, Jesus claimed to be God. But had the people filtered Jesus’ statement through a spiritual lens, they would have realized that Jesus’ statement was not a claim, but a statement of fact. A statement of truth. When we ask God to allow us to see from His perspective, we can be assured that He will. When we ask for His wisdom, we can trust He will grant it. That’s not a Christian-trick. It’s a blessing and a power that we can claim in EVERY area of our lives. But it requires our humility. It requires us to NOT strive to glorify ourselves, but to walk in obedience as we aim to glorify God alone. Verse 59 goes on to state that after the people reached down to pick up stones to throw at Jesus, they were simply left holding the stones, dismayed…as  Jesus was hidden from them and left the Temple. Yet again we see God’s protection, as the time for Jesus’ death had not yet come. Reminding us that we can always trust that God IS in control! Let’s pray… Dear Most Holy God – We thank you for claiming us as your children. God, we ask you to sharpen our spiritual vision – allowing us to see every circumstance from your perspective. We know that our physical vision does not always give us the whole story, and when we come to you, we know you will always reveal the truth to us. God, we commit to walking in faith, trusting your vision and perspective, as we seek to glorify you alone. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Re-set. Lifted out of the pit of despair to a new direction of life, guest author, speaker, and founder of Bold University, Latoya Rattery shares her God story as inspiration and motivation to our audience. Latoya offers some great tips with prayer on how to re-set from a past of broken pieces.   ******* Kimberly Hobbs   Welcome to Empowering Lives with Purpose. And I'm your host, Kimberly Hobbs. I'm the founder of Women World Leaders. We are so happy that you decided to join with us today. And can we all welcome our guest, Mrs. Latoya Rattery welcome, Latoya. Latoya Rattery   Thank you for having me, Kimberly. Hello, everyone who's out there watching tonight. Or in the morning. Kimberly Hobbs   I know all over the world. We don't know what they're tuning in. And Latoya, where are you from? Latoya Rattery   Yes, I was originally I was born in Jamaica. Actually. I came to the US when I was nine years old. And I moved to West Palm Beach, Florida. And after high school, I moved to Orlando. And so I've been in Orlando for almost eight or 10 years after college. And so I'm here now just really enjoying Orlando, and open to move if God said so. Yeah. Kimberly Hobbs   Well, Orlando is awesome, the home of Disney World. And I'm sure everybody that lives in Orlando is so used to people identifying Orlando with Disney. So we are so happy ladies that you joined with us today. And we are going to be talking about reset. And we are hoping that today's podcast interview is going to inspire you and encourage you and strengthen you and empower you in the Lord Jesus Christ to walk out your beautiful purpose that God has just for you. God says that they overcame him by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony. That's revelation 1211. And ladies, Latoya is going to share her story in just a moment. But first I want to introduce a little bit about who she is. And Latoya is a speaker. She is an ordained evangelists and our business coach. She's a transformation leader who is compassionate about seeing individuals live a life of enjoyment, growth and freedom. Latoya has worked developing programs around the world with empowering women and youth. She has experience in health, social behavior, case management, program development and education. Latoya is the founder of bold University of faith based wellness and business network that educates and empowers and engages women to advance their spiritual, personal and professional development. Latoya helps women in leadership establish wellness roadmaps to improve their standards in life and business. Latoya has her degree in psychology and is pursuing right now her master's in leadership. She's been featured in magazines, and on podcasts on TV shows and also a top five finalists in the 2020 Coca Cola pitch competition, and a member of the Christian coaches Alliance. And we're happy to welcome Latoya here today with us as our guest and she is one busy woman. Let me tell you, my goodness, this girl. So I am so happy again to be able to share this time with you Latoya and with our audience. So can you talk to us a little bit, we're going to talk about reset today and you have a lot of goodies in store for us. But you have a story, Latoya, we all have a story. And you had some brokenness, and God brought you from brokenness to reset. So can you share with us a little bit about your story before we get started? Latoya Rattery   Yes, I love, Kimberly, I love the fact that you said we all have a story. That bio, that BIOS my story, but it's just it sounds like it's confetti ease. But never the pain have been highlighted in it. And so when God brought me from brokenness to reset was everything because it started there. A couple of years ago, before I was at University of Central Florida. That's when I really met Christ. And I grew up in a family, a Christian family that had Christian values took me to church and was church but never really had a relationship with God never really had an encounter with God, but feared Heaven and Hell, in some aspect, because it was taught in some way. So when I got off to college, it was like party time. Let's go out let's have fun. I went to the club. I had funded everything that was not price like and there came a time in my turning life while I was in college, that the Lord was pulling on me, but I didn't really know. And so after that I went through a time period of disbelief about heaven and hell, and so mind you that month reminding you that I went to church when I was younger, but never really had that encounter with God. And so I really cried out to God one night after I broke up a relationship with a guy that I used to talk to. And I said to God, I, you know, after God start pulling on you, everything that you used to do, don't feel the same. And the things that you used to say doesn't, you know, be the same, because God is now ready for that always been ready for you, but he's tugging at you. And so that was my situation. And so I remember that and knocked down on my knees, and I said, God, if you are real, you're gonna have to show me that you're real. I became like, the doubting Thomas like, because I was dealing with this disbelief, if this heavenly father that I was going to church clapping for singing on the choir, is he really real because I never really had an encounter with them. And so long story short, I came into a time where I surrendered my life to God. And that's begin and openness of my brokenness where God started to open up and unlock in the hurt and the things that he was ready to deal with me with. And so that started the broken area, in in me where God started breaking those things. And so later on, I started looking at my life rejection and different things like that, that I've been through and how God wanting to use it. And so it leading into so many things have fallen my pathway based on generational stuff, some things consequences, or things or decisions that I've made. And so all of this God of wanting to take, and so I can recall and and, and I can recall a time when I was moving in college, and I remember moving, like I was moving something downstairs like the third floor. And it was, I believe it was like a glass and I remember the glass broke from the third floor. And guess what happened when glass broke, it shatters. So the glass is everywhere. And what Revelation that brought to my mind in order for God, and it is something that always embedded in from in order for God to to use you, he has to break you. And so what happened, when you look at the glass, the glasses were able to be distributed everywhere. And so that is the process of God has given me an example of Latoya, what it means to truly be broken, is that you are going to be broken. But one thing about broken glass, that you can use those as making it in beautiful, beautiful masterpieces. And that's where the reset start. Kimberly Hobbs   Oh my goodness, amen. Amen to that. And when you just said that I always love sharing this verse, but Ephesians 210, so that we are God's masterpiece, right? We're created anew in Christ Jesus to do the very good things that he planned for us long ago. And I am so thankful that he took all your broken pieces and reset them onto a new path in life. And God's Word also says that as soon as I pray, you answer me, you encourage me by giving me strength. And this is really beautiful. Because that's Psalm 138. Three, God took everything he formed you back gave you strength, and he reset. So reset was in your belief, your image and your purpose, which you were telling me about earlier, when we were able to share together, Latoya. So can you talk to us a little bit about some of these things, the belief, the image, the purpose and what you can do to reset? Latoya Rattery   Year, so reset started for me, reset has been an echo. Honestly, with the bold University, we have a reset club. And is really for women who have dealt with burnout or those individuals are high achievers and not resetting. And so reset is everywhere. But with my personal life when I really created and courageous space. For a professional working woman, I wanted the corporate woman to know that you bleed too. And you hurt too. And just because you have an education, and you have an amazing bio, there is scars on the inside of you that you probably work over, you might have went into relationship with the same scar, but you cannot unpack the old you to think that you can get your new you the Bible that is no god that in order for us to, to live again is to be born again. And the Bible also flutters in the know that God wants everything new, but he doesn't put new wine in old wine skin. And so when I remember that I understand that God is not going to patch you up with all new things. He's ready to kind of make you over. And so for me, I began to see how God was not so much of a call to ministry. But God is more concerned. He's so concerned about the man internally than even the man's ministry. Because what profits for man to gain the whole world and lose it lose our soul. So as I begin to see that God wanted to go internally, and deal with Latoya, and heal me, in order for me to be called, and continue to do the work that he has called me to do. And so that deals with my image. So for a long time, God, I knew that God has called me and we were talking about how do you reset, the first thing is your image, I want you to know that I dealt with low self esteem, I dealt with issue for those ladies who are Listen, listen, and now you are those are the things that you you might be dealing with. And those are the images of the enemies goal is to allow you to feel as if you're not beautiful, you're not confident that the scar that you have is the thing that makes you feel guilty and shameful. And I look at your image to be even your your story as well, there's some story that we're not happy about. There's some things that I wasn't happy about and even share it. And so with that, I realized that God has a way to allow us to look at him in his image and his likeness, because we were created in His image and his likeness. And so as I understand those things, I realized that I have to first get into know my imaging God. And that started helping my belief a little bit. Because when I realized that I was transforming, and the image of God and in the likeness of God, it has nothing, the best way to change my mindset, how was looking at myself the belief, what am I? How am I thinking, what am I doing with my time? How am I building my mindset? What am I doing to change my mental state, because I know that it's going to change someone else. And so as I went deeper and realize that God wanted to heal trauma and things that I didn't know, that was trauma. And so as I begin to move into those things, in my belief start changing, I realized that God is ready to talk purpose to me, because oftentimes, we move into purpose and thing, our purpose will, it will, it has a way to change your image, and it has a way to change your belief. But many women today has taken their careers as purpose. Yeah, and just because you're doing a role, and or they have even allow themselves to be confined in certain position, because that's what the image, that's the mindset, you can't go around the block. You know, that's what you're thinking, you're not passing any milestones. And so we cannot box ourselves in, when it comes to our belief. God wants us to expand our mind, and I had to get there to a place where I start saying, God, no longer I start thinking little of myself, but it's time for me to see me the way that God sees me. Kimberly Hobbs   Amen. Amen. Wow, you really touched on a lot of things there. That is amazing. And and God says that is soon as, as soon as you pray, he hears our prayers, right? That scripture I shared just before you started and and there were so many things you were trying to do in your life, that it it's useless for you. But God's word says it's useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat, when God will give you rest he's gonna give rest to his loved ones, right? And he gave you that rest LaToya and allowed you to put the broken pieces back together and show you what he can do with your life and give you purpose is which is what he did. And ladies, that Scripture is found found in Psalms 127. To that he will give you rest, he will put those pieces back together, he's going to heal those broken pieces of your past. And then he's going to reset your life into a new purpose. And as LaToya and I were talking about a little bit about her sharing her story and the broken pieces and everything she was telling me about prayer therapy, and freedom and deliverance in prayer therapy. Can you talk about that a little bit for our audience? Latoya Rattery   Yes. This has been and this has been a journey with God when it comes to ministry and everything that prayer therapy started was that I was praying, I was praying about God, deliver God save God, renew my belief. God renewed my purpose, God in my image, and I and I was pushing towards Jesus and I was pushing towards the community, of having a church family, which I still do today and have the privilege to serve with my leaders. But God brought up something that I think we have made an option and not a requirement, a part of our DNA, to change our DNA and to be a part of our life and the Word is therapy. Many of us are shun it, some of us have shun it, some of us don't have a therapist, I'm a life coach. But I truly believe that you need a therapist as well. And so when I started looking at the way of, of looking at, you know, just really serving the Lord, and going after God, there is trauma in itself or anything with pain is on process at times. And so it's important with prayer therapy, it is really a spiritual intervention. And I'm looking so forward to doing retreats on prayer therapy, because there's a lot of things when it comes to deliverance and freedom, freedom from mental illness, freedom, from the abuse, those things that you might be going to therapy for, but there's not any prayer that's connected to it. Not all says this, do pray. And it depends on what type of therapist that you're going through your sin. But I truly believe in the power of prayer as well. And it's so important to integrate those things. And so I want to create spaces for women who have undergone trauma or mental illnesses. And we are in a society today. And when you look around it, many woman, especially in the church, don't know what wellness look like, for us. What are some things that we can do, and then it becomes this do and don'ts. But there's something that God wants us to get back to is the power of prayer, and the power of communication. And prayer don't have to always be you, Warren and prayer prayer to be you're going in therapy for prayer with God as well. And so the communication with God has to be embedded, and really teach a woman the power of prayer and the principles of prayer, but also backing it up with a clinical psychologist, or clinical personnel to be able to help facilitate that session. And so prayer therapy, I do yearly prayer therapy Summit, where I invite out cycles, therapists, and we'll have a pastoral counselor in the mix. And also social worker, we talk about the community. We also talk about what's happening in the church and what the church is doing for mental health. And we talk about what's actually going on in the offices when psychotherapist are seeing clients. And the goal is to advocate for that. And so each and every year, I get the privilege to do that. But the great thing that I'm doing in Orlando is that I call I started a walk called Walk with bold, and we are going to be having different therapists being highlighted to come on these walks with us, because the goal is to get women into a place of freedom and health. Kimberly Hobbs   Wow. Yes, I mean, it's so important, so important. But I love that you are integrating prayer and you are trying to get others to come along with you because there is so much power in prayer, right? That's where everything begins our communication with the Lord and only he is the one that he says for us to bring all our cares to Him because He cares for us and, and we do need to pray about everything. The Bible tells us to pray without ceasing. Yes, yeah, pray without ceasing. So God's Word says, I am certain that God who began the good work within you will continue his work until it is finally finished. On the day when Christ Jesus returns. That's Philippians one, six. And we believe truly that God has begun a good work and all of us he has, and he's going to complete it until the end of the age it we're a work in progress, all those broken pieces take time to come back together. But God is not going to give up on you not whatsoever, and we need to trust Him. We need to walk it out. We need to seek that help. That we need. You know, mentors, like she like Latoya was talking about therapists. But everything needs to be coupled with prayer, because that's what God tells us all the time. Throughout his word, go to the Lord in prayer. So, Latoya, I have asked Latoya, if she would pray over you are sisters, those of you that are listening that are broken like she was, and has all these broken pieces. Can you please just pray a powerful prayer over that listener that is thinking How are my pieces of my life ever gonna come back together? Latoya Rattery   Yes, and for those for that woman that's listening right now. I want you to stop everything that you're doing. And I want us I want you to reset and what that mean is to stop, reset, it really means to recalibrate, to rethink and to realize, and what prayer does it has the ability to do that. And when God in the Holy Spirit, it he wants to visit you right now and he wants to come where you Are because he's concerned about your, your scars. We can't heal without God. And many of us have tried our self healing and it's not working, because we need a savior to do that. So just close your eyes and let the Holy Spirit come in. God, I thank you for that woman that is listening, listening right now. God, I decree and declare that you are healing every scars, and that every broken places are becoming straight God, God, I thank you that you're mending. Oh, God, every stories and everything that she has left behind. God, I pray that you're resetting her today. I pray that you are given her the ability to soar among everything and above everything that will try to hinder her growth, God's decree and declare that the healing and anointing is coming now. And I pray that you will continue to use that woman and use her for your glory. I decree and declare that there isn't a trauma. Is there any abuse and anything and places and phobias and fears and any type of disorders God that they're battling with God, I decree and declare that the peace of God will become peaceful upon them now, and I decree and declare that every curses is broken. In the name of Jesus God, I pray deliverance now and I pray the power of Jesus over their lives, I pray that they will never be the same. And they will prophesy and they will call your name great. In the mighty name of Jesus, I pray I plead the blood of Jesus now, and I decree and declare that God there's a peace that is happening after this prayer. In Jesus name I pray, amen. And amen. Kimberly Hobbs   Oh, wow. Amen. Oh, my goodness. Yes. I decree and declare with you and all of us that were praying together, we just decree and declare over one another ladies that God is doing something powerful he is he is in you and, and just as Latoya was praying the scripture that says, Call on me, when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory. And just as God rescued Latoya, with all the brokenness that was in her life, she is now giving him glory. And it's so beautiful that Psalm 50 Verse five, there's so much power in God's word, ladies, it just look for the scriptures that give you promises. Now Latoya is serving him wholeheartedly. She's walking out her life, she's able to share all of these different things that were in her life as broken pieces. But behind each of those is a story, a story how God stepped in and rescued her and reset her life. And he can do that for you, ladies, you just have to trust him. You have to seek Him with all your heart. God says if you seek Him, you will find him. So I just encourage you ladies to dig deep go into his word. Ask him God, I know you're there God, you can help me pick up these broken pieces of my life. And I want to give you glory, I want to give you glory with my body with all that I am. And ladies, he'll hear that prayer and He will guide you and direct you to the Word of His scriptures. And before you know it, you're just going to start walking those out by faith every single day. And here we have a precious beautiful sister that came in to just share and pour into you she's doing and if you were moved in any way and one of reach out to Latoya to just know about her further and know about bold University know about some of the things she's doing. She has welcomed us to get in touch with her. So how can they do that? Latoya? How can they reach out to you? They want more? Latoya Rattery   Yeah, there's several ways I'm on social media at coach Latoya if you look me up on IG, or Instagram, which is Instagram IG or Facebook is Coach Latoya. Also you can find me at WWI bold University dot club. That is where our community for our corporate woman normally have different events, VIP day and wellness and we're taking woman back into getting in tune with themselves and retreats and you name it. I also have an upcoming sisterhood circle. starting very soon with a great friend of mine and I'm so excited business. It's a lot of things going on. But one of the things when I dealt with burnout that I've learned is to make sure that I'm leveraging in order to do what I'm doing today. So I'm just so grateful to be here but if you need me, you can contact me at BoldUniversity.club. Kimberly Hobbs   Amen, amen. Okay ladies, so she gave it to you how to reach out to her and she is one excited woman she is just full have the joy of the Lord. That's why she's so strong in the Lord. So I'm sure she's willing to pour into anybody that wants to reach out to her and Latoya as we close out today, I'd like to ask you if in in a minute or so can you just give that woman right now that's thinking about resetting her life, what is one word of encouragement to leave her with right now, the first thing she should do when she wants to reset her life? Latoya Rattery   First thing that you need to do is, let it go, seem so simple, but let it go. You know, I remember when I dealt with burnout, and I lost my car and my apartment, and that was hard. And I remember saying something to myself that I can't go with what left me. And that was a wake up call for me to know that whatever, left your life, let it go, and whatever needs to be all get away from your life, let that go as well, because there's time that we're holding on to things, and God wants to release something new in your life. But before he can do that, he has to allow you to let the old go so that the new can come in. And so I want to let you know, again, let the old go so that the new can go come in. And that's when your reset began with the realignment and the rethinking of how you view life and how you do your story and how you do your healing. And take your healing very seriously. Let nothing come between you and your healing. Because it's very, it's a priority. Kimberly Hobbs   Amen. Very important. Very important words. Include God in everything, and I so appreciate your good word. Latoya. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And thank you for being our guest today. Latoya Rattery   Yeah, I'm excited ladies. Thank you again. Kimberly Hobbs   Oh, we're so excited to have you guys and have a new plug in and women were a leaders it's so beautiful just to connect with women around the world. i We are just so grateful how God has just opened up this ministry and and ladies, there are so many women within this ministry that are just here. They've they've come in through connections such as these podcasts such as the books that we're writing, and voice of truth magazine that we're doing. And ladies, you all have gifts, right? And so we want to hear from you. We want to know how can you serve the Lord here in this amazing, worldwide ministry with us because we can't do it alone. We are an army of women of all shapes, sizes, colors, races, we just come together to serve our Lord together. We're going to live together forever in Heaven, right? So we just want to serve him together. If you have a gift, and you just want to connect with some women around the world, we have a new leadership, we're well it's not new. We've been doing this a couple of years. But we are going to open our leadership meeting to the whole world. So ladies, every third Monday, it's a standing meeting on Zoom, you can connect with us for more ever you are you can ask, I'm gonna put a link on this podcast where you can sign up, give us your email, let us know that you want to come to our monthly once a month leadership connect Zoom meeting, and you are welcome in and then you can hear more about the ministry more of what we're doing opportunities that you can use your gift here, because we believe that everybody has a gift. And why not use it for Jesus right? He's given you the gift to us to glorify Him. So and there's many other opportunities and ways you can serve. And ladies, we also have these podcasts available to you each Monday, Wednesday, where we have teaching podcasts walking in the world, walking in the Word. We're all walking in the word world, but lacking in the word and you can glean some amazing teaching from this podcast and we also have celebrating God's grace every Friday ladies, so there are tools for you here in this amazing ministry. So ladies, again, thank you for joining us today. Thank you Latoya Ratterree you are an amazing powerful woman of God continue walking out your purpose sister are glad to have you today. Latoya Rattery   Likewise, thank you for having me. Kimberly Hobbs   All content is copyrighted by women world leaders and cannot be used without expressed written consent. God bless you all and have a fantastic beautiful day. Latoya Rattery   Bye bye

God's grace and healing power are so present in our world today! Enjoy this reading of "Miraculous Manna" by Rusanne Carole from Voice of Truth. ***** I lay in a hospital bed only a couple of kilometers from my home, but it felt like I was a world away - alone with my thoughts, fears, and yes, so many soul churning and burning questions.   So many looming questions sneaking up like an unexpected visitor at the front door of my heart and mind! And with the battle of words in my head - more questions, more concerns, more potential for my mind to go to places I did not wish it to go! Wandering worry came against me like a thunderous cloud of darkness, tempting me to receive or reject the spewed false claims. But I believed God was saying to me, “Rusanne, you have known me well now for a time and learned much. What would I ask you to do if I were sitting right here with you in this hospital room?”  I knew He was saying, “I am here. I will never leave you. We will walk through this together.” His great, mighty love brought me the comfort I was longing for and spoke to the worry and fret-filled enemy of fear. Additionally, the Holy Spirit's boldness was swelling up deep inside my heart. His very presence was preparing me to witness to those around me. Here I was, lying in a hospital bed yet still on mission for the cause and glory of Christ. It began August 11, 2020 when, like most mornings, I woke early to make my coffee and sneak back to bed to have my quiet time before my boys woke up. But that morning was different. I could not walk to the kitchen. My legs felt weighted down like someone was pulling me down through the polished concrete floor, and the pain in the lower right side of my abdomen took my breath away. I slowly made it back to my bed and, when I lay on my left side, the pain eventually subsided enough to allow me to try again. I attempted this short walk from the bedroom to the kitchen five times. Each time with no success. It was 4 am, in the spring in Queensland, Australia, just the right time for the sun and the birds to present themselves as if to say, “Wake up and rise with us! Another day awaits!”  I waited until 5:50 am and then rang my son to come to my room. Two of my four sons live at home with me, and the other two older boys live locally.  I teasingly said to him, “I don’t want to worry you, but I am not well, and I need you to make your first call to 000 for an ambulance.” Suddenly, he was in front of me as if he had catapulted from his room to mine. I also asked him to ring the carer that comes to assist me in supporting my son to get ready for school. He has special needs and requires assistance with day-to-day tasks. I knew I wasn’t going into work that day, but that I would be going to a hospital.  I was finally able to walk to the ambulance waiting in my driveway after several attempts at “sucking the green whistle” – taking the pain medication that the ambulance driver provided. Once in the back of the ambulance, I remember being asked where I wanted to go.  I replied, “Hawaii.”  They chuckled and said, “No, what hospital?”  And immediately I knew I had a choice to make, but I also knew God was right there with me. I have beautiful friends here in the land I chose to move to over twenty years ago, but I do not have any family other than my children. I am a single mother raising two boys and, whenever I have been unwell, the enemy has taken advantage and attempted to do his dirtiest work in my life, each time trying to place me in a state of fear and despair. I was familiar with the enemy’s tactics and schemes, and knew that I must always be on alert and ready for his surprise attacks and be adorned in God’s armour and have my total focus on Him. I knew this, but it is an entirely different thing to practice it - especially when extreme waves of pain are coming at you full force like a train of testing and trial. Focus was needed. Focus on Jesus. But the battle began in my mind yet again.   Worry, fret, and fear lured me into their cycles of destruction. Arrows flying straight into my heart. Who will look after my boys if I can’t? What if something happens to me? No one can look after my sons like I can, especially my son who requires care for all of his needs. Lord, please let me be ok.   I was first misdiagnosed with kidney stones. Then, two days later, my appendix was removed. And yet my pain persisted.  An MRI was scheduled. All the while, unrelenting circles of confusion afflicted my heart and mind.   When I was in the tunnel of the MRI machine, I found it very difficult to breathe and relax. I was on a lot of pain medication, which made me feel very frightened and panicked. While I was lying there, a vision landed in my mind. I closed my eyes and saw purple wings enclosing me, rather than the beige walls that sloped around me eating me up with the loud, clanking, beating sound of the MRI machine. The wings reminded me of God’s presence and protection. Immediately the Lord brought my mind to Psalm 91:4 “Lord, you will cover me with Your feathers. Under Your wings I find my refuge. Your faithfulness will be my shield and protection.”  Then the contrary words were spoken by the doctor, “You have a mass and we will phone the oncologist.”  It was as if I was thrust by force off the rock of Christ. I knew I had to jump back on and gather myself. I had a choice right then and there - allow my mind, heart, and body to fall off the rock into a sea of distress and despair; or fight to stand again by the power of His Holy Spirit, on His rock. He was calling me to plant my feet back on His rock of refuge, to be soothed and protected by His strength. It was there that He reminded me He had carried me through so much in the past eleven years - ever since I had given my life to Him.   There was a piercing scream inside of me that only I could hear. Armed by His power, I sensed the Lord’s soul-piercing hope. “No! This is not how it ends! The enemy had come again to kill, steal and destroy, but my God and I say No!”  After eleven days in the hospital, I was discharged. The doctors wanted me to have time to recover from the surgery before I would have another MRI to determine if the tumour had changed at all in size. After that there would be an appointment to discuss the next steps of my treatment, but that treatment would definitely include a biopsy. My doctor, the fifth one who looked after me in my eleven days in the hospital, said the diagnosis was a one in one million, and the mass was located in my hip/buttocks area. My beautiful pastor and friend came to visit and anoint me with oil. As we visited and ate green apples with peanut butter and drank peppermint tea, he jokingly said, “I always knew you were one in a million and a pain in the butt!”  To find laughter in a time such as this was medicine for my soul, and I was so thankful to have him with me praying for healing. I was saved in his little Uniting Church on December 13th, 2009.  Another story for another time. I returned home. I had never seen the results or pictures from the MRI.   One day, God gave me an impression of a white snowball melting in the snow. By His presence, I knew. I began telling everyone that my tumour was gone, including the surgeon that I had my follow up visit with that operated and removed my appendix.  He kind of brushed it off, and asked me to let the doctor contact him after the biopsy was scheduled and the results were in. Because he was a teaching doctor at the university, he was very curious about the diagnosis and how we would proceed. I had many prayer warriors and friends fighting for me in combat prayer. I was so grateful for the many friends that prayed, phoned, and dropped food at my home for my boys.  It was a real witness of the love and support of the body of Christ in time of need.     Sometime after the revelation with the Lord, my beautiful friend and sister in Christ, Lynne, phoned to check on me.  She said she had been praying for me and God prompted her to paint. During our conversation she shared and sent a picture of the purple wings she had painted. These were the SAME purple wings God had given me a vision of the day I was having the MRI. We both took the time to praise and thank God, and I had confirmation in my heart that God had this.    This painting that linked us at that moment is the beautiful and anointed painting that God placed on the cover of the first edition of “Voice of Truth” in January 2021.  Isn’t our God amazing how He weaves and orchestrates beauty and connections in a tapestry of love and testimony for those who love, seek and serve Him? The time came for the follow up MRI and the next appointment with the surgeon. The young man who greeted me at the clinic to conduct the test was named Adam. I giggled at this. I often experience God’s sense of humour present in a situation. When he introduced himself, “Hi, I’m Adam,” I think I even replied laughing, “Of course it is!” He kept sliding me in and out of the machine, time after time.  He finally asked about the diagnosis and inquired if I was given any medicine, because he couldn’t find anything!  This time I had taken a sleeping mask to place over my eyes to help me keep my eyes closed, which would, hopefully, help me stay relaxed.  As he slid me into the machine one more time after sharing the news he could not find any mass, the soft fabric on the mask caught the tears that flowed from my eyes in gratitude that the snowball (tumour) had actually melted. It had melted in the mighty Hand of God. He did what no man ever could, He had miraculously healed me. The following day I sat in my doctor’s office. The doctor sat at his desk in front of his laptop, while I leaned across his desk with my chin in my hands watching him flip from the results taken in the hospital to those from the previous day’s test. He kept pushing the computer buttons with the tip of his bright yellow pencil and, looking at me above the rim of his silver framed glasses then looking at the computer, saying, “this is unexplainable!”  I spoke with God-given confidence, “It is explainable. It is the power of prayer, and God has healed me.” You see my friend, this topic of healing was near and dear to my heart, for to this very day as I write this, I am awaiting God to heal my son. God had me name my precious boy Christian, even before I became a Christian. And just months prior, I had been studying the topic of healing. I had asked God, “Lord, show me a healing!” I had no idea it would be me.   To those of you reading this, I don’t have all the answers, but God does. I don’t know why He healed me and removed the tumour, but I am grateful that He did. He is a loving God and wants the best for all of His children. I have never been good at waiting. But God has shown me it is all in His way, His timing, in His grace and goodness.    I’m still believing in healing for my son. I’m still believing in all He has for me and my family and friends…and humanity. I’m still believing in Jesus who came to save and who prepares an eternal home for His children. I’m still believing in God’s ways that protect me. And I’m still believing that He loves me and He loves you. I’m still believing…I pray you are too!    And for those who have lost loved ones to death and disease, none of us can wholly comprehend the faithful and just plans of God, or why we hear of some being healed and others not. I am praying that in those moments of the lack of our earthly understanding, God’s love and provision will meet you here on this earth giving you strength to continue running to Him, no matter the loss and cost. I am trusting that in heaven one day we will understand God’s perfect timing, and we will all experience the comfort of God himself wiping every tear from our face. 

What does Jesus mean when He says we will be set free? And how do we achieve freedom status? Dive into Scripture today with Julie Jenkins as we study John 8:31-47. **** Welcome to Walking in the Word, the biblical teaching arm of the Women World Leaders’ podcast. My name is Julie Jenkins, and it’s my honor to be your host as we study Scripture together. I hope that you had the opportunity to join us for our leadership meeting Monday. We heard from one of our leaders, Michele Hughes, who taught us and led a discussion on how we can be physically heart-healthy. The Bible teaches us that our bodies are God’s temple, and as Christians, we can attest to the power of the Holy Spirit that resides in us. There is no doubt God has work for us to do, and the means by which we get around this world are our bodies! These bodies certainly won’t last forever – can I get an Amen and a Hallelujah? – but they are what we have while we are here, and God DOES call us to take care of ourselves so that we can serve Him and others.  If you weren’t able to join us, I do invite you to mark your calendar for the third Monday of each month at 7pm ET to join us for our leadership meeting. Next month, October 17th, we will continue our teaching and discussion on healthy leadership. To join us, sign up on our website, www.womenworldleaders.com. While you are on the website, I do hope you will consider becoming a monthly donor to the ministry. Your donations are tax-deductible and will allow us to continue providing excellent Christian guidance and empowerment. AND, when you become a monthly donor, we will, as a thank you, make sure you receive a physical copy of Voice of Truth magazine in your mailbox. Well, let’s dive into today’s Scripture, which comes from John 8:31-47. But before we do, let’s pray. Dear Most Holy God – we come to you today in total submission, asking you to teach us what you want us to know. Father, as we open your Word each day, we are blown away by your wisdom and the relevance of your teaching in our lives. These words were written so many years ago, but you breathe new life into them each time we study and read. God, help us know your thoughts as we study today and help us walk away with you on our minds, allowing you to reach deeper into our hearts. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.   You likely recall from our recent Wednesday podcasts, that we are currently walking through the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John studying the life of Jesus as chronologically as the Holy Spirit guides. For the last few weeks, we have been listening in on Jesus’ teachings to the crowds on the temple grounds in the days around the Festival of Tabernacles. We have seen many question him, but we can’t ignore the fact that many also came to a saving belief in Jesus. Last week, in fact, we wrapped up with John 8:30 which says, “Then many who heard him say these things believed in him.” In the very next verse, where we begin today, Jesus continues his teaching. We haven’t spoken on this podcast about different Bible translations recently, so hopefully, you will indulge me for a minute. For this podcast, I tend to read out of the New Living Translation because I find its language clear and its phrasing understandable. But sometimes questions can arise from how something is worded – in any translation. All scripture was originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. So ANY other translation, is, well a translation. When questions arise regarding specific words, it is best to go back to the original language, or, at the very least, look at other translations and see what we can learn. The NLT tells us that many people believed IN Jesus, and then, in the following verse, says that Jesus spoke to those who believed IN Him. But if we look at other translations of the same verse, verse 31, it is clearer that Jesus was not responding to those who believed IN Him, but turning and speaking to those who merely BELIEVED Him. I bring this up because WHO Jesus is talking TO in this set of verses is important. Many theologians and scholars think that Jesus was NOT, at this point, speaking to those who had put their faith in Him, but instead, He was speaking to those who believed all that He was saying, but weren’t ready to accept Him as their Lord. Do you know anyone like that? Perhaps you are like that. Perhaps you see nothing wrong with believing that Jesus IS God, but that fact has never made a difference in how you live your life. The distinction is kind of like going to the doctor for a physical health issue and having the doctor prescribe medicine that will help your condition. You walk away with the prescription in hand, but that prescription will do you no good unless you ingest it into your body and let it do its work. Those who BELIEVED IN Jesus, took the medicine – they consciously choose to receive Jesus into their lives. While those who BELIEVED Jesus, simply held the medication in their hands. As we read today, we can imagine Jesus saying – TAKE THE MEDICINE ALREADY! With that thought in mind, let’s begin by reading beginning in John 8:31 out of the New Living Translation… 31 Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Jesus is giving his listeners who believe, instructions on what to do with that belief. He instructs: remain faithful to my teachings. And He says the result of remaining faithful to His teachings is that the believer will know the TRUTH, and will be set free by the truth. Notice the order. The listener had to understand, and then, by faith, follow Jesus’ teachings. THEN he or she would know the truth, and THEN they would be set free. Back to our medication analogy. They held the medicine in their hands. But they HAD to ingest the medicine, in FAITH, that it would affect their bodies the way Jesus said it would. And THEN, they would get better. And THEN, they would be empowered to live their best lives for God. I keep saying they, but again, Jesus was talking to US. To you and me. There comes a time  – whether it has been in your past, your present, or your future – when YOU are holding the medicine to life in YOUR hand. God makes SURE that we each hear and know about Jesus – that’s a miracle in and of itself. But what we EACH do with that information is up to us. If you don’t yet get it…keep listening…verse 33… 33 “But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?” These listeners were Jews. They were part of God’s chosen people. They were the children of Abraham. And they assumed, in their pride, they were automatically free. Maybe you can relate to this statement. Many people grow up in the Christian faith. They might even go to church with their families every week and attend Sunday school. But until the individual CHOOSES to put his or her faith in Jesus, they are simply holding on to the medicine. And holding onto the medicine gets you nowhere. Verse 34… 34 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. 35 A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free. 37 Yes, I realize that you are descendants of Abraham. And yet some of you are trying to kill me because there’s no room in your hearts for my message.  Sin is a deadly disease. And in this life, it carries the symptom of enslavement. The Jewish people considered themselves one big family, and Jesus teaches them that as sinners, they are actually slaves to God’s family, not sons of God’s family. The slaves in that time often enjoyed the benefits of the family they were serving, so from the outside, who truly belonged and who didn’t may not have been readily apparent. But at ANY time, the slave could be cut off from the family, and indeed, would DEFINITELY be cut off at some point. But a son of the family would enjoy the family and the benefits of the family for life. Remember the prodigal son that Jesus had taught about? He ran off and squandered his inheritance, and yet, he was invited back with a party, because he belonged. As children of God, we will always be invited back; God will search for you and forgive you NO MATTER WHAT you do. Because you belong; you are a part of His forever-family. But before you can move from slave to child status, you have to CHOOSE to. God is waiting with open arms for each of us to CHOOSE to become a member of His forever family. Jesus continues, making the point to His listeners that though they have BELIEVED Him, they have not yet put their belief IN HIM…verse 38… 38 I am telling you what I saw when I was with my Father. But you are following the advice of your father.” This went all over them – see if you recognize their pride. Verse 39… 39 “Our father is Abraham!” they declared. “No,” Jesus replied, “for if you were really the children of Abraham, you would follow his example.[a] 40 Instead, you are trying to kill me because I told you the truth, which I heard from God. Abraham never did such a thing. 41 No, you are imitating your real father.” They replied, “We aren’t illegitimate children! God himself is our true Father.” 42 Jesus told them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, because I have come to you from God. I am not here on my own, but he sent me. 43 Why can’t you understand what I am saying? It’s because you can’t even hear me! 44 For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 So when I tell the truth, you just naturally don’t believe me!  Did you hear the pride? The people couldn’t put their pride aside to listen and learn from Jesus. They were like entitled children who thought that they knew everything there was to know and they had everything under control. I’m willing to bet that as you listen to this, you can think of a circumstance when someone dismissed your knowledge – when they simply didn’t understand what you were trying to tell them and went their own way. In fact, I KNOW this has happened to you, because it is such a common occurrence that humans swell up with pride and close their ears to others. Even as you think about that person or instance, however, I want you to intentionally wipe that out of your mind. And instead, ask God to show you your OWN pride. Where have YOU steadfastly turned the teaching of someone else away because it ruffled your feathers? Maybe the words came from a boss or a relative. Or maybe, the words and teachings you didn’t want to hear came directly from God’s Word. Love your neighbor – yeah, the one who parks his big RV and boat in the street making it difficult to pull out of your driveway. Give to the poor – yes, perhaps that surprise bonus in your paycheck wasn’t meant for you. Or maybe you are ignoring the teaching to put your faith in Jesus Christ. To say yes to Him. If that is you, will you pray for God to help your unbelief and give you the courage to take the medicine – so He can set you free. Not just to live for eternity, but to live EMPOWERED to serve Him in JOY today. Maybe it’s US who need to let go of OUR pride and give ourselves FULLY to God’s call on our lives. We say He is righteous, we say He is perfect, we say He cares for us and loves us and will always take care of us – but are we willing to put ourselves in His hands, and like a child held swaddled in her mother’s arms, completely and peacefully rest in His provision and protection? Jesus continues to his listeners… 46 Which of you can truthfully accuse me of sin? And since I am telling you the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to the words of God. But you don’t listen because you don’t belong to God.” Do you listen to God? Do you belong to God? Are you healed, forgiven, accepted as a child into His forever family? You can be! You just have to choose it. And He will set you free. Let’s pray.   Father God…we believe you and we want to be in your forever family! Jesus, we seek today to be faithful to your teaching. Give each listener a special word right now – a teaching to follow today. Whether you are guiding the one listening into a freedom-filled relationship with you or moving her deeper into a life of obedience as you empower her to walk in your will and your way is personal, just between you and her. God, I ask you to guide her clearly – what is it that you want her to do for you today? …. Thank you for your Word to our hearts. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.